Perfume Reviews
Nov. 22nd, 2014 08:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lunabee34Although Emma and I have been testing perfumes, I haven't had the time to post any reviews, so here's an attempt at clearing the backlog. This also means I have quite a few samples I'd love to re-home with someone else who will love them more than I do. At this point, I'd like to just get the samples out of the house to clear the way for my new order of BPAL which will hopefully arrive before Christmas. So, if you're really interested in something and have nothing to trade, no worries. Consider it a gift. If you only have one scent to trade, and you're interested in ten of mine, you can have all ten! I'd really prefer to send these out in multiples, so please ask for more than one. Be greedy, my friends. :) Someone will also get a sample of something Sephora sent me with an order (a skin mattifying creme, I think).
On to the reviews!
Caron Pour un Homme: lavender + vanilla + musk
I really like this. It's a lovely lavender and vanilla, and is so much more satisfying than Chanel Jersey and so much less expensive. It's not as long lasting as I'd like, but my skin just eats lavender. I'm coming to terms with the idea that lavender is never going to linger on my skin. I also like to use this one as a pillow spray. Very soothing to fall asleep to.
Coco Chanel: "coriander, pomegranate blossom, mandarin orange, peach, jasmine and bulgarian rose; middle notes are mimosa, cloves, orange blossom, clover and rose; base notes are labdanum, amber, sandalwood, tonka bean, opoponax, civet and vanilla" (per Fragrantica)
This is an instant backbutton for me. It reminds me terribly of Lancome's Tresor. It's powdery and contains an underlying whiff of fruit that's gone rancid (I'd have said apricot but that's not listed as a note, so I bet it's the peach).
Chanel Egoiste: "Egoïste is a very conservative masculine fragrance composed of spice, wood and vanilla notes. The top notes, intensive and fresh, include rosewood and coriander. Later on, the fragrance character becomes warmer and mysterious due to Bulgarian rose, carnation and warm cinnamon in its heart. The main theme of the composition (long and intensive woodsy trace) reaches its full expression in the lingering base composed of sandalwood, intensive vanilla and ambrette seeds." (per Fragrantica)
Ha! My nose is improving. Without looking anything up, I identified both the ambrette seeds and the cinnamon. It's also powdery in that way that many Chanels are powdery and contains a fruity element. Egoiste smells fine but is not right for me.
Chanel No. 5: "The top notes are composed of aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, neroli and ylang-ylang, the heart of jasmine, rose, lily of the valley and iris, while the base is created of vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, amber and patchouli." (per Fragrantica)
Oh, man. I like this but not as well as I remembered. The knock-off I wore for years in high school was a smidge sweeter, just the barest hint of a smidge. I like this just fine--perfectly serviceable and respectable, and I'd be pleased to wear it--but I vastly prefer Chanel Sycomore. Frankly, I vastly prefer Chanel Sycomore to almost everything I've tried since my adventures in perfume began. I think I need to test No. 5 again; the slight difference between the real deal and my memories was just jarring enough that I'm not sure I gave the scent a fair shake.
Eau de Rochas: "Top notes are lime, mandarin orange, basil, grapefruit, bergamot and lemon; middle notes are coriander, carnation, patchouli, jasmine, narcissus and wild rose; base notes are oakmoss, sandalwood, amber and musk." (per Fragrantica)
On paper, this ought to be a slam dunk for me. I love all incarnations of citrus, even the Lemon Pledge-y ones, so I expected to utterly adore this perfume. And yet, I don't. It reminds me a great deal of many of the Guerlain perfumes I tried, and you all remember how The Most Noble and Ancient House of Guerlain and I get along. The scent is very muted on me; it reminds me of Apres L'Ondee to a degree but without the instant recoil I felt for that scent. They must share a note in common (I thought perhaps iris, but maybe it's the jasmine). I wanted to like this so badly that I tried it multiple times, but it never strayed far from powdery Guerlainade + clean plastic + the barest hint of bergamot. I should mention that the bottle is made of gorgeous, textured glass. Thanks so much for giving me the chance to try this scent,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
decynthus!
Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Terrible: "Top notes are grapefruit and pink pepper; middle notes are lavender and vetyver; base notes are amber and vanille." (per Fragrantica)
I think this is my second favorite scent so far, #2 following Chanel Sycomore, and unlike Sycomore, it falls into the totally affordable range, so I have asked Josh to get me a bottle for our anniversary in the spring. Yay! Le Male Terrible would probably be classified as masculine by many people, but it just smells awesome to me--clean, fresh, strong vanilla and lavender that mellow over time. The amber softens the scent, and the vetiver grows more prominent as it wears. It's very complex and interesting, and I feel like a million dollars wearing it. Thanks so much,executrix!
Giveaways and/or Swaps
Etat Libre D'Orange La Fin du Monde
Velvet Moon Bathery Velvet Gypsy
Eau de Rochas 10ml
BPAL
Thy Godfather's Present
Nefertiti
Hemlock
Centzon Totochtin
Voodoo
Chanel Jersey
Chanel Cuir de Russie
Chanel 28 La Pausa
Chanel Bel Respiro
Lyr: Baobhan Sith, Dior Homme
Katarik: Chanel Coco, Croquet
Devon: The Lotus Tree, Dragon's Musk, Yggdrasil, Chanel Egoiste, Chanel Gardenia, Has No Hanna
On to the reviews!
Caron Pour un Homme: lavender + vanilla + musk
I really like this. It's a lovely lavender and vanilla, and is so much more satisfying than Chanel Jersey and so much less expensive. It's not as long lasting as I'd like, but my skin just eats lavender. I'm coming to terms with the idea that lavender is never going to linger on my skin. I also like to use this one as a pillow spray. Very soothing to fall asleep to.
Coco Chanel: "coriander, pomegranate blossom, mandarin orange, peach, jasmine and bulgarian rose; middle notes are mimosa, cloves, orange blossom, clover and rose; base notes are labdanum, amber, sandalwood, tonka bean, opoponax, civet and vanilla" (per Fragrantica)
This is an instant backbutton for me. It reminds me terribly of Lancome's Tresor. It's powdery and contains an underlying whiff of fruit that's gone rancid (I'd have said apricot but that's not listed as a note, so I bet it's the peach).
Chanel Egoiste: "Egoïste is a very conservative masculine fragrance composed of spice, wood and vanilla notes. The top notes, intensive and fresh, include rosewood and coriander. Later on, the fragrance character becomes warmer and mysterious due to Bulgarian rose, carnation and warm cinnamon in its heart. The main theme of the composition (long and intensive woodsy trace) reaches its full expression in the lingering base composed of sandalwood, intensive vanilla and ambrette seeds." (per Fragrantica)
Ha! My nose is improving. Without looking anything up, I identified both the ambrette seeds and the cinnamon. It's also powdery in that way that many Chanels are powdery and contains a fruity element. Egoiste smells fine but is not right for me.
Chanel No. 5: "The top notes are composed of aldehydes, bergamot, lemon, neroli and ylang-ylang, the heart of jasmine, rose, lily of the valley and iris, while the base is created of vetiver, sandalwood, vanilla, amber and patchouli." (per Fragrantica)
Oh, man. I like this but not as well as I remembered. The knock-off I wore for years in high school was a smidge sweeter, just the barest hint of a smidge. I like this just fine--perfectly serviceable and respectable, and I'd be pleased to wear it--but I vastly prefer Chanel Sycomore. Frankly, I vastly prefer Chanel Sycomore to almost everything I've tried since my adventures in perfume began. I think I need to test No. 5 again; the slight difference between the real deal and my memories was just jarring enough that I'm not sure I gave the scent a fair shake.
Eau de Rochas: "Top notes are lime, mandarin orange, basil, grapefruit, bergamot and lemon; middle notes are coriander, carnation, patchouli, jasmine, narcissus and wild rose; base notes are oakmoss, sandalwood, amber and musk." (per Fragrantica)
On paper, this ought to be a slam dunk for me. I love all incarnations of citrus, even the Lemon Pledge-y ones, so I expected to utterly adore this perfume. And yet, I don't. It reminds me a great deal of many of the Guerlain perfumes I tried, and you all remember how The Most Noble and Ancient House of Guerlain and I get along. The scent is very muted on me; it reminds me of Apres L'Ondee to a degree but without the instant recoil I felt for that scent. They must share a note in common (I thought perhaps iris, but maybe it's the jasmine). I wanted to like this so badly that I tried it multiple times, but it never strayed far from powdery Guerlainade + clean plastic + the barest hint of bergamot. I should mention that the bottle is made of gorgeous, textured glass. Thanks so much for giving me the chance to try this scent,
decynthus!Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Terrible: "Top notes are grapefruit and pink pepper; middle notes are lavender and vetyver; base notes are amber and vanille." (per Fragrantica)
I think this is my second favorite scent so far, #2 following Chanel Sycomore, and unlike Sycomore, it falls into the totally affordable range, so I have asked Josh to get me a bottle for our anniversary in the spring. Yay! Le Male Terrible would probably be classified as masculine by many people, but it just smells awesome to me--clean, fresh, strong vanilla and lavender that mellow over time. The amber softens the scent, and the vetiver grows more prominent as it wears. It's very complex and interesting, and I feel like a million dollars wearing it. Thanks so much,
executrix!Giveaways and/or Swaps
Etat Libre D'Orange La Fin du Monde
Velvet Moon Bathery Velvet Gypsy
Eau de Rochas 10ml
BPAL
Thy Godfather's Present
Nefertiti
Hemlock
Centzon Totochtin
Voodoo
Chanel Jersey
Chanel Cuir de Russie
Chanel 28 La Pausa
Chanel Bel Respiro
Lyr: Baobhan Sith, Dior Homme
Katarik: Chanel Coco, Croquet
Devon: The Lotus Tree, Dragon's Musk, Yggdrasil, Chanel Egoiste, Chanel Gardenia, Has No Hanna
no subject
Date: 2014-11-23 04:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-11-23 04:04 am (UTC)I generally like Chanel's take on powdery perfumes but dislike Guerlain's. IDK how powdery can be different from house to house but it totally is.
If you want to try Egoiste, I'd be happy to send it to you. (and I totally understand if you're not comfortable sharing personal deets; just thought I'd offer)
no subject
Date: 2014-11-23 04:59 am (UTC)Thanks a lot for the offer, but no thanks. :) Atm I do not have as much control over my privacy (i.e., freedom from other people seeing and having questions about everything) as I'd like it to have. I may possibly take you up on that offer in a few months though...;)
no subject
Date: 2014-11-23 04:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-11-23 05:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-11-23 05:00 pm (UTC)Anything else you want? I've had no takers so far so go hog wild!
no subject
Date: 2014-11-25 02:14 am (UTC)Also, look back at the post and see if anything else pings your fancy. I'm going to send you Dior Homme as well because it is all amber all the time and I think you might like it. I like it but not well enough to wear it myself.
no subject
Date: 2014-11-25 08:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-11-25 08:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-11-23 06:08 am (UTC)Always interesting to see how different things smell to different people.
no subject
Date: 2014-11-23 04:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-11-23 02:56 pm (UTC)(Gets up from desk to look in still-unmailed box of Chrissiepressies...nope, I didn't get you That Thing You Don't Like.)
no subject
Date: 2014-11-23 04:55 pm (UTC)I do like! The full size bottle is a glorious mess--it's a teal male torso with dog tags. LOL I can't wait for my anniversary to roll around.
no subject
Date: 2014-11-23 10:33 pm (UTC)I'm afraid I don't have anything to trade/swap; I haven't gotten into perfume fandom, with my roommates' noses. Could I perhaps PayPal you a couple bucks?
no subject
Date: 2014-11-24 01:25 am (UTC)Could I interest you in anything else? Croquet is fruity, nectarine and grapefruit to be specific. :)
PM me your address, and I'll get it out to you in a day or two.
no subject
Date: 2014-11-24 05:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-11-25 05:27 pm (UTC)*off to post office*
no subject
Date: 2014-11-26 04:16 pm (UTC)I look forward to surprise perfume! Thanks again for your generosity.
no subject
Date: 2014-11-29 02:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-11-29 02:54 am (UTC)I just put them away! I feel very fancy now, owning perfume like a real grownup. Thanks so much, I look forward to trying them out. Will be sure to let you know what I thought of them.
no subject
Date: 2014-11-29 02:55 am (UTC)And please do. My favorite part is seeing how differently we all react to different scents!
freebies/swaps
Date: 2014-11-24 07:43 pm (UTC)Let me know if those are not available.
For swap I have an unopened decant of Weenies 2014 "Sonnet D'Automne" which is a bit sharp for my tastes. (a shivering white musk with vanilla-infused white cocoa, amber incense, and dead, dry leaves) It must be the leaves.
I can also send you a decant or partial bottle of Arcana "Growl" which is too dark for me. It's very Growl-y. (Caramel, chandan, tiger maple, burnt vanilla, smoky musk, and vetiver.) Probably the smoke is what I dislike.
Re: freebies/swaps
Date: 2014-11-25 02:17 am (UTC)Sonnet D'Automne sounds really interesting. I'd love to try that. PM me your address, and I'll try to get it out to you tomorrow with the others. :)