Fragrance Thread

[lego]

Anyone tried the new Prada men's? It looks like it's going to be a rip-off of the women's Iris fragrance, perhaps part of Miuccia's current mission to turn men into women?

[gimmegimme]

Went to Sephora last night to pick up Mugler Cologne for a gift for my uncle. They didn't have a sample and refused to open the box for me to smell it. I actually never smelled it before so I wasn't going to buy it blind. I was so pissed off at some dumb bitch working there so I asked for a manager. And here comes the good part. The manager was this hot 30something blonde who just happens to be polish. Got the Cologne and her number. Good times!

I just wait until they turn around and open the box.

Anyone tried the new Prada men's? It looks like it's going to be a rip-off of the women's Iris fragrance, perhaps part of Miuccia's current mission to turn men into women?

Not yet...apparently it's like a blend of the women's iris with the men's amber. As far as I'm concerned, the women's iris is already a unisex scent.

[tangerine]

Anyone tried the new Prada men's? It looks like it's going to be a rip-off of the women's Iris fragrance, perhaps part of Miuccia's current mission to turn men into women?

A friend of mine tried it and I sniffed her wrist; I got more amber than iris, and I liked what I smelled.

[gimmegimme]

A friend of mine tried it and I sniffed her wrist; I got more amber than iris, and I liked what I smelled.

I was hoping it'd be the other way around.

[tangerine]

I was hoping it'd be the other way around.

YMMV; remember, I got the Jasmin in JeC, and you got the Cigarette.

Worth a try!

[gimmegimme]

YMMV; remember, I got the Jasmin in JeC, and you got the Cigarette.

Worth a try!

True true.

[Tekrah70]

Received the Donna Karan Chaos a couple of days ago as a gift to my girlfriend, have to say is is utterly delicous !

She loves it too which is great.

Now I am going to start wearing her Black Cashmere for a deeper similiar scent.

On a side note I also got her the Hermes Un Jardin Apres La Mousson which I'll wear from time to time , really rather like it's interesting spicy but 'green' scent.

I also bought the same day the CDG 888 (gold) which is a really interesting fragrance I cannot put my finger on any particular note but that's probably whay I find so appealing about it, it is a warm fragrance butjust sooo interesting.

Next up for me is my all time fave Fuel by Donna Karan and they DK in London are going to call me when in stock as I only have about 2/3 of a bottle left and a nearly full Unleaded.

The bottle for Chaos is totally different these days too, a black glass cylinder with generic silver label more akin so a salon hair product !

[masuerte]

I'm reading all these reviews, articles, and coupled with my short experiences in frags... I'm getting this strange idea that gourmands attract women... or at least attract more overt attention to the point of comments from strangers.

Anybody experience this? Gourmands moreso than say... flower-male/freshy-clean/uber-male-citrus scents?

Is lolita lempicka gonna make me smell like an edible fruitcake? I'm going to try a 5ml mini.

[Tekrah70]

I'm reading all these reviews, articles, and coupled with my short experiences in frags... I'm getting this strange idea that gourmands attract women... or at least attract more overt attention to the point of comments from strangers.

Anybody experience this? Gourmands moreso than say... flower-male/freshy-clean/uber-male-citrus scents?

Is lolita lempicka gonna make me smell like an edible fruitcake? I'm going to try a 5ml mini.

Lolita Lempicka will get confused by alot of people for Jean Paul Gaultier, lempicka though is soo very much nicer and odder too.

i don't think mysdelf it is like JPG but I guess those who ask will never have heard of Lolita Lempicka, hence the asking.

((am I making sense?)) :confused:

[dave023]

Still Green Irish tweed from Creed....

[gimmegimme]

((am I making sense?)) :confused:

No.

I don't think anyone would confuse Lolita Lempicka for Le Male...well, possibly the women's, but even that's a stretch. Both the Lolita's are based on licorice. The men's is almost candied, like Goodies. The women's is based on Mugler's Angel, but with a licorice twist.

Good pickups on the new DK rerelases though. Looking forward to trying them once they land here.

[masuerte]

Lolita pour Homme is sadly discontinued?!

Stuff smells neat on me... reminds me (cuz of the vanilla probably) of fresh cola scent complete with a fizzy sparkly feeling. It's not my favorite smell by a longshot but I had to buy extra due to one sales dude telling me it'd be discontinued and also because it's really the one thing that I've gotten consistent stranger-comments with.

Safe Gifts for people:

I think a safe yet rather spectacular gift for your friends (guys, girls) would be the Angel Men Pure Coffee that PeredePierre reviewed a while ago. The drydown is what sold me, a dark chocolate yet still lightly transparent and masculine scent that lasts hours... well, just read the review, I agree wholeheartedly on it. You can still get it from Nordstrom even though it was limited edition, there are still bottles out there avail. You just go ask from your local Nordstrom and they'll send you a bottle out, free shipping.

http://www.peredepierre.com/2008/05/angel-men-pure-coffee-thierry-mugler.html

[homeboy]

^^

Last week I nabbed a sample of that Mugler coffee edition. I loved the mystic scent but to my disappointment the scent didn't last too long on my body.

[gimmegimme]

I've heard nothing about Lolita Lempicka being discontinued? :confused:

Pure Coffee is a great scent...I actually received it as a gift. I find it lasts a really long time on me, but everyone is different.

[masuerte]

^^

Last week I nabbed a sample of that Mugler coffee edition. I loved the mystic scent but to my disappointment the scent didn't last too long on my body.

Didju try lotion? Dry skin eats up some frags. I was kinda sweaty-hot when I sprayed and it lasted a long time on me.

These gourmands made me start wondering though... about which fragrances can convey me smelling naturally good and which fragrances smell of me wearing a distinctively good (yet not human) smell. I think Chandler Burr writes a bit about it on The Perfect Scent... where he talks of the way fragrances are worn by people using metaphors that compare them to jewels, or transparent scarves...

something along the lines of:

There are perfumes that sit on your skin like beautiful jewelry, they are distinctly about the perfume "this is my parfum" and eliciting comments of "your perfume smells good!"

Then there are perfumes that smell like light accessories, like a transparent ethereal silk scarf, lightly floating and wafting about your presence.

Then there are perfumes that smell of skin or of the idea of skin/human/etc. and elicit comments that specifically state "you smell good."

[tangerine]

^ sometimes the amount you apply can make the difference between it being a "skin scent" and an ornament; I find this to be especially true of orientals and gourmands.

[junglejane]

thoughts on Creed's Vetiver?

I have been using Le Labo Vetiver but I feel it might be too masculine for me at times.

[tangerine]

I haven't tried Creed Vetiver so can't help with that. Have you tried Guerlain Vetiver? It is a great, versatile fragrance that although marketed to men, is worn and enjoyed by many women as well. Has tobacco and tonka bean notes.

Also you might want to try The Different Company's Sel de Vetiver; a fresh take on vetiver with grapefruit in the opening and a sea salt accord.

I love the Le Labo vetiver; sorry to hear it isn't working for you!

[junglejane]

well, after I smelled the le labo on a guy I realized that I really loved it as a masculine fragrance... I don't want anything too toned down, just maybe something more 'me'.. which would imply some jasmine and vanilla notes here and there. my search begins!!

[gimmegimme]

Creed's Vetiver is awful...it has nothing to do with vetiver whatsoever.

Some other recommendations (still try the Creed by all means):

-Racine by Maitre Parfumeur (very good, citrusy)

-if you can find it, Guerlain's Vetiver Pour Elle is a jasmin/vetiver (very expensive tho)

-Armani Prive's Vetiver Babylon isn't terrible

-Chanel's Sycamore also isn't terrible

-Vettiveru by Comme des Garcons is very nice with some floral elements

-Vetiver Oriental by Serge Lutens

This is a great article on women's vetivers:

http://perfumeshrine.blogspot.com/2008/08/vetiver-series-4-secret-of-gender-in.html

[totally epic]

So I bought some nice diffuser reeds for my apartment a few months ago (this). It's running a bit low and I feel it's a waste to buy another one. Can you make your own with some nice essential oils + alcohol?

[gimmegimme]

So I bought some nice diffuser reeds for my apartment a few months ago (this). It's running a bit low and I feel it's a waste to buy another one. Can you make your own with some nice essential oils + alcohol?

I don't see why not...I know stores like Snowdrift Farms sell supplies for all that stuff...but I don't know what the recipe would be for how much alcohol, etc. You'd probably want to buy more of the sticks either way, because they'd be saturated with the old smell.

Basenotes might have some info in the DIY section.

[junglejane]

thanks for the suggestions I hope to find a decent perfume seller close to me (not easy)

[gimmegimme]

thanks for the suggestions I hope to find a decent perfume seller close to me (not easy)

Tangerine should be able to suggest (I assume East Bay means SF?)

[junglejane]

I was in SF up til a week ago... I'm now in italy where I am permanently. I just found a perfume joint close to me that stocks l'artisan, I hope they might have a decent selection of other brands. will update!

[masuerte]

How does one go about shopping online for frags in the EU Jungle Jane? I would like to re-iterate how great Vetiveru is, should still be stocked at Barneys... but it's fairly straightforward eh? And is also from a cologne series so haha, if you're aware of gender in frags, then beware of the masculine woody drydown.

L'Artisan has a vetiver, so I'm excited for you having acess to it. I heard it might not last long though, so definitely give it a good long test-ride.

Tried Creed's Vetiver and it was more of that american "clean" soapiness than it was of vetiver.

Chandler Burr reports The Diff Company's Sel de Vetiver to be more about the Salt than about the Vetiver... the designer apparently didn't want to go so deep into the concept of Vetiver because apperently it's been done so many times before.* Which makes me worry about alot of frags really "aging" themselves in the process (which is at the same time kinda silly for me to care much about)..

* Forgive all the Chandler Burr quotes since I'm still re-reading the perfect scent.

As you can tell, I've been looking for a vetiver to suit me also. The one that I really love to smell and that I think would suit you is Vetiver Oriental by Serge Lutens. It's on LuckyScent and they ship internationally (though so damn expensive but oh so worth it). It's described as a woody oriental but the frag is just so rich, with so much flavor, and with beautiful notes of bitter chocolate and vanilla and amber. First 2 things that I thought of when trying this at the scent bar was "definitely would love for cooler weather under a coat etc." and "I wonder if the Vetiver will fade away?" Droves of reviews later and it seems the vetiver stays throughout the skin-life of the frag. http://www.luckyscent.com/shop/detail.asp?itemid=36110

[JackFrost08]

Anyone know somewhere that ships D.S. & Durga colognes internationally?

Cheers

[junglejane]

thanks mas!!

I am sad to read that Creed's vetiver has that annoying soapy freshness that almost all men's fragrances have.

The different company's Sel intrigues me, as I am partial to uncommon scents and blends.

I'm also interested in the serge lutens, especially since it merges woody oriental notes and vetiver. since I can't buy a perfume without smelling it first I guess I'm gonna have to track it down, smell it and then decide!

any italian brands I should look at? acqua di parma? santa maria novella?

[gimmegimme]

I assume Eau d'Italie is Italian, but they might be based in France. They have something to do with the Sireneuse (sp?) Hotel. Paestum Rose is striking and unusual.

Santa Maria Novella is a decent brand...Nostalgia is a strange, strange scent. Acqua Di Parma Assoluta is good, and you might like Iris Noble (although not much about iris).

I can't really help you with shops in Italy, but you're lucky that Serge Lutens will ship within Europe. They don't "do" samples, but they will send you a card with scent-impregnated wax that will give you a pretty good idea. This is their website. Iris Silver Mist is the best of the line, but all are fairly spectacular and use only the best ingredients.

As Mas suggested, Sel de Vetiver is quite nice. It does have a salty vibe to it, but is still mostly about vetiver. If you've ever tried Terre d'Hermes, it has some similarities (other than both being created by family members).

[ken shinoda]