By Kilian Incense Oud

By Kilian sent me a sample of their newest release, Incense Oud, this week. Perfume lovers who are wondering how to get free samples... I think I received this one because I recently went to their site and registered. This was their newest release since I registered, and it came to the address that I used on that site.I have to admit that while I am incredibly appreciative of the free perfume sample, this isn't my favorite By Kilian fragrance. Incense Oud is a dense, high sillage perfume with that slightly medicinal, slightly metallic edge that oud lovers are sure to enjoy. Like most perfumes in this category, there is a rich, slightly sweet...

Read More

Vintage Perfumes & Antique Shopping

Micanopy Florida is our regional "antique store town", and it's where I headed yesterday in search of vintage perfumes. I'm sure that there are towns like this all over the country: small towns with 2 or 3 small streets with historic houses that have been converted into stores selling 1930s glassware, old world war 2 memorabilia, old books, and antique dolls with splotchy, discolored faces. I hadn't gone since college, but I've reading about perfume lovers finding vintage perfumes in these antique stores, so I decided to give it a shot. If you have a town like this near you, it's time to jump in the car and go!What was I looking for? Two things:...

Read More

Chanel Perfume Photos: Vintage Cristalle and Cuir de Russie

Sean and I took some photos of my perfume collection. I'll be adding them over the next few weeks, but in the meantime, here are a few to get you started. I purchased the two mini vintage Chanel perfume bottles on ebay. The vintage Cristalle bottle is a 1/4oz eau de toilette.The other bottle is a 3.5ml pure parfum of Cuir de Russie by Chanel.The large bottle is the star of my collection: a pre-exclusif bottle of Chanel Cuir de Russie eau de Toilette.All photos taken by Sean and me. All rights reserv...

Read More

Hermes Iris Ukiyoe Perfume Review (SOTD)

Being a huge fan of Jean Claude Elena and Hermes, I was excited when they announced the launch of the new Hermessence Iris Ukiyoe—but I'm on a budget, so it’s taken me a few months to obtain a bottle. A few weeks ago, I ordered a travel bottle (15ml), which arrived in the mail on Thursday afternoon. I had a big road trip planned for the weekend, and I wondered what to do… It’s dangerous to spray yourself liberally with a new perfume and jump into a confined space: you can end up with a headache or nausea or just a plain scrubber. But Jean Claude Elena’s scents tend to be transparent, so I decided to give it a full spray before jumping in the...

Read More

Juste Un Reve - Parfums de Nicolai - SOTD Perfume Review

Juste un Reve by Parfums de Nicolai is the perfect perfume for any Monday morning. I dabbed some on from my decant this morning and can still smell the eau de toilette now (and that's more than 12 hours later)-- not bad for an edt!A lot of people classify this as a "tropical floral" or "vacation perfume" because of the notes. You'll see different notes listed on different sites; some even focus on the coconut and monoi notes. I agree that those are there, but it's not nearly as fruity as Parfums de Nicolai Cococobana (a green coconut) or Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess.I'd list Juste un Reve as a slightly-powdery green floral. It's pretty in the same was that Givenchy Amarige was: a lush white flower with lots of gardenia and jasmine. The coconut starts off very green and non-gourmand, with an...

Read More

Vintage Lauren by Ralph Lauren - SOTD Mini Review

I rarely wear my small, 15ml stash of Vintage Lauren by Ralph Lauren, but when I do I'm never disappointed. Six months after I became serious in the perfume hobby, I began to track down my favorites from when I was young, including both Lauren and Chloe by Lagerfeld.Lauren was my first "adult" perfume, which I received as a gift when I was about 13. I had the set, which included a burgundy glass bottle with a bulbous gold cap, a small container of lotion (which was silky smooth and thin) and a small bottle of the pure parfum, around 5ml in size. I knew nothing about perfume back then and thought that the parfum was just a small, convenient-for-traveling...

Read More

SOTD: Parfums de Nicolai Week-end a Deauville

I love Parfums de Nicolai, and when I heard about the launch of Week-end a Deauville (a Paris exclusive at the time and a limited edition) I knew that I had to have it in my collection. At the time, I had not yet purchased a full bottle unsniffed, so I was weary of buying an expensive bottle from Paris and wasn't sure exactly how to go about it, though I had purchased from "theparisshopper" on ebay before with some success... and I considered asking her to pick up a bottle for me.As luck would have it, a fellow MUA'er (J) was kind enough to send me a sample. Along with it in this package, she sent Violette in Love, MDCI Un Coeur en Mai, and a...

Read More

SOTD Review: Van Cleef & Arpels Gardenia Petale (Collection Extraordinairre)

SOTD is Van Cleef & Arpels Gardenia Petale. I'm dabbing it from a sample set that I purchased, and I can only imagine how pretty this perfume will be when sprayed. I've already used up a full sample, so clearly this is on my "to buy" list.Here's the thing: I really like the idea of wearing floral perfumes, and this one is clearly very well designed. And it's very pretty. I imagine it is one of those perfumes that my fellow office workers would compliment me on. And if you are wearing perfumes for other people to smell, this is a great choice. It's clean, pretty, not overly sweet and without any real musk elements. It smells very natural.While 95% of it smells like my above description (fresh flowers, gardenia, jasmine, lily of the valley), 5% of it smells slightly beach. And that's what...

Read More