Scent/Fragrance of the Day thread

[Notreknip]



I only get a mild powdery note, but I am using a sample bottle I got at Saks. I looked up the price - $220 for 50ml. And I thought Duro was expensive!

Indeed. It's very pricey.

I expressed some interest in buying a split portion about 2 months ago and one poster put up a split (in the thread) soon after, but as I recall nobody ending up signing up. I think it's just not original enough to justify the cost.

...to be honest, I've never even sniffed it.

If I'm understanding your text correctly and you do indeed have a bottle I wouldn't mind a small decant for a fair price. Find me via PM if you wish.

 

[rach2jlc]

^I'll sound curmudgeonly, I guess, but it seems to me that fragrances are quickly becoming the new "designer jeans" fad. Given work and changing tastes, I've not been buying or sampling new stuff in the past 3-5 years as much I used to, and it seems that in that time the number of $200+ bottles has just exploded to the point where nobody is really shocked by it anymore.

Reminds me of 1995 or so, when $150 for Helmut Lang jeans or Diesel's for $125 was considered insane. $150 these days is considered "cheap," and even outside the "main" designers (Gucci/Prada/etc.) are all those premium denim brands that come and go.

Historically, Creed for $150 or so was about as expensive as you'd get until fairly recently, and the ne plus ultra of scent would be a guerlain pure parfum for $300-ish. There were still expensive lines, but they were quite superb and rare... MPG, Malle, etc.

You can't even spit now without hitting a $200 50ml jobby and new ones pop up every fifteen minutes. Not saying that they aren't good, but at some point (like those $500 jean brands that you've never heard of), i think a lot of these brands and fragrances will disappear in market "olfactory fatigue."

At a certain stage, just throwing every expensive ingredient in high concentrations wont' make a beautiful scent. Pound for pound, I find it hard to believe that all of these other ones are going, at the end of the day, to be better than some of the Malle creations, the classic Guerlains, some caron founts, etc.

Curmudgeon steps off his soapbox. Although, I guess a part of me is probably just jealous of Killian... rich cognac heir who has nothing better to do than comission perfumes? Sure, I want his life.

mitsukou parfum for me today.

edit: by the above, I don't mean people shouldn't try these new scents, and enjoy their "exclusivity;" however, I think you should always keep a healthy focus on the absolute classics when trying new things, to see what was done and how it was handled. It's really a treat after trying a bunch of "rose absolu, oud wood, patchouli, and santal de mysore mixed with Unicorn *****" to try a simple, balanced, amazing creation like a Tabac Blond, a Vega, a Cuir de russie, a parfum de therese, a Diorissimo, a vintage Givenchy III.

Although, I must admit, Ropion's recent "Portrait of a Lady" for malle is perhaps the most amazing oriental I've tried in years and years.

 

[dmoss]

Nasomatto-Black Afgano

 

[L'Incandescent]

Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere today. I wore pink pants today, and for some reason I associate this fragrance strongly with the color pink.

 

[rach2jlc]



Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere today. I wore pink pants today, and for some reason I associate this fragrance strongly with the color pink.

Really like this one. Haven't bought a bottle, but I was really impressed with it.

On my Chanel list currently I want no. 19 EdP and parfum, eau premiere, and also a a few of the Les Exclusif gigantic bottles. Still waiting until I finish up all my old bottles before I buy anew, though!

Others on the "must have" list for full bottles now are (as mentioned above) Malle's Portrait of a Lady and parfum de therese.

 

[Dane]

Found some vintage L'Heure Bleue EDC yesterday, so wearing that today. Not quite up to par with the extrait, but still very nice. I can't believe people are paying hundreds of dollars for Creed and the like, while vintage (or even new) Guerlain and Chanel can be had for a fraction. To each their own I guess.

 

[willpower]

Monsieur Balmain - Decent but dated

 

[Notreknip]

In response to Rach, sort of:

Firstly, I can definitely see the trends that you spoke of evolving.

I hate blind buying full bottles; it's silly really. You end up being forced to love something because you've spent money on it. The hype can quickly begin to shape one's tastes. Blind buying small splits (10-30mL) still sucks, but really - when you're in the middle-of-nowhere - there is no other option.

The swap box was a Godsend for me in that regard. I got to sniff a lot of stuff that just doesn't exist nearby. (FWIW, I'd get laughed at if I spend my rare and precious time in NY, LV, etc. in the stores smelling perfume.)

I actually wore Malle's Portrait of a Lady two days ago with much love (thanks to the swap box). I walked by my laundry pile yesterday and caught a bit of lingering rose from 4-5 feet away. Impressive. I'm no expert by any means (particularly with rose scents) but to me POAL is the Montale Black Aoud that I want to wear but just can't handle.

Today is a rainy day, so, continuing the Malle "trend", I've got some Musc Ravageur on.

Oh, and to bring this post full-circle, I've never had a chance to smell Cuir de Russie, but I love Sycamore and Coromandel. I'd be up for a CdR split anytime.

 

[rach2jlc]

^I approached POAL with skepticism, only because seeing the notes, and knowing that the Oriental field is SUPER saturated (and has been for decades), I didn't really see what Ropion could do to need yet ANOTHER one. The usual base notes... rose, amber, patchouli, spice/incense, etc. ... I rolled my eyes at first. I didn't really see why we needed more orientals, after Opium, Le Baiser de Dragon, etc.

BUT, alas, was I wrong. I should have had more faith in a genius like Ropion. Amazing how he kept the fragrance "family" familiar to the nose, but really took it in a unique direction. Sweet without being cloying, dark without being weird, unique without being gimmicky. Really a standout. Along with TF Black Orchid, probably the only other time with a sweet/oriental scent in recent memory I've had true "love" at first sniff. Just too bad the stuff costs $300 a bottle for EdP.

As for Musc Rav.; it's created by (perhaps) all time favorite parfumeur, Maurice Roucel. When I first heard of his name and saw his creations, it was strange because it turned out that almost all of my favorites and daily-wearers at the time were made by him. He has a very unique nose and I love what he does... a very sort of earthy, gourmandy, lush type of scent.

As you said, too, there are so many new scents popping up all the time at premium prices, that you can never sample them all. SO, you end up playing the blind buy game, and that gets old (and $$$) REALLY fast.

Today Tabac Blond extrait.

 

[Thomas]



^I'll sound curmudgeonly, I guess, but it seems to me that fragrances are quickly becoming the new "designer jeans" fad. Given work and changing tastes, I've not been buying or sampling new stuff in the past 3-5 years as much I used to, and it seems that in that time the number of $200+ bottles has just exploded to the point where nobody is really shocked by it anymore.

(...)

edit: by the above, I don't mean people shouldn't try these new scents, and enjoy their "exclusivity;" however, I think you should always keep a healthy focus on the absolute classics when trying new things, to see what was done and how it was handled. It's really a treat after trying a bunch of "rose absolu, oud wood, patchouli, and santal de mysore mixed with Unicorn *****" to try a simple, balanced, amazing creation like a Tabac Blond, a Vega, a Cuir de russie, a parfum de therese, a Diorissimo, a vintage Givenchy III.

(...)

I hear ya. I gave up my reviewer gig at the beginning of the year when I realized that there ain't much new stuff that I think is worth the lucre. And I have enough old stuff to keep me smelly well into my dotage and beyond. I have enough Chanel alone to last until I get my AARP card!

That said, there have been a few recent releases that I adored, but yeah - sifting through the lot of new, overpriced dreck to find the lucky masterpieces is hard for me to swallow.

Today...ironically enough - Pure Havane. Really ought to give Tea for Two another sniff since they seem awfully alike.

 

[rach2jlc]



I hear ya. I gave up my reviewer gig at the beginning of the year when I realized that there ain't much new stuff that I think is worth the lucre. And I have enough old stuff to keep me smelly well into my dotage and beyond. I have enough Chanel alone to last until I get my AARP card!

That said, there have been a few recent releases that I adored, but yeah - sifting through the lot of new, overpriced dreck to find the lucky masterpieces is hard for me to swallow.

Today...ironically enough - Pure Havane. Really ought to give Tea for Two another sniff since they seem awfully alike.

Yeah, T, if the end of the world comes, at least the Chanel frag archives will be safe in TX. (haha)

As for "new" stuff, while there are certainly talented noses out there, also with these "super premium" scents coming out a dozen a week, they all try to 'outdo' each other with some random thing, and so the whole balance ends up being thrown off. Fragrance is really built around a few staple 'cores,' and subtlety is absolutely the key. As such, you get those expensive scents with tons of oud, rose, etc., and then just to be different, they try to throw something weird in... "monkey blood!" And the balance gets off. That's one issue I had/have with the TF PRivate Blend... there are some true knockouts, but the man put out 10-15 scents at once, and keeps putting out several new ones all the time (what were those musk ones?) There are some real misses in there. Likewise with CdG series stuff... they put out 6-7 at once, and one or two are great, with the others... meh. Gotta say the same for Montale. There's just not that much more you can do with oud. I'm waiting for "Montale Aoud Charlie" or "Montale Aoud Turnip."

That's why you have to appreciate something like a tabac blond, or (more recently) a Bond Riverside drive... scents that have "clashes" in them that are unique. Tabac with its floral/leather/chypre you name it clash, and Bond RD with its spicey, yet gourmand, yet fresh appeal. Those balances don't come from just throwing a bunch of good ingredients into an expensive decanter.

But, again, I'll say that I've heard good things about Killian, so I don't just mean him. I just hate him and who he is out of sheer spite and jealousy (at least I'm honest.) I'm tired of working; i want my daddy to be a cognac baron.

 

[sjmin209]

Yesterday: Piper Nigrum
Today: Dawn Spencer Hurwitz Cuir et Champignon

 

[Master-Classter]

today Azzaro PH to finish my little blind buy bottle. Classic, but too mature for me.


Re: discussion about high price frags, I see the trend too. lots of low end houses doing little 'exclusive' collections (D&G, Boss, etc) that are mostly junk, and even the more traditional guys like Chanel and Dior and Guerlain are starting to pump out frags at an alarming rate. Price doesn't equal quality; good design/composition is great and if there's a high price attached than so be it.

The second I smelled Malle POAL I smiled and loved it right away. I was very tempted to keep it but assumed that if it went into the box a few other people would love it too and maybe want to do a split...

also speaking of more recent standouts, I don't think I can really wear it but IMO one of the more intentionally weird but still good releases was Womanity. It's crazy but I still think it's actually good.

 

[Goombi]

L'humaniste yesterday, Opus 1870 today.

 

[rach2jlc]

So, I have to brag... I hit the mother load today.

Went walking around the city today (am in Japan for the summer) and took a train to a stop I'd never been to before, just to see what was there. Not far from the station was a dumpy little shop that had used clothes and stuff. These are my favorite Japanese shops, because you never know what you'll find.

WELLLLL.... I found some vintage frags today at very, very good prices. I have no idea where they got them, but they were fresh, and cheap, and real. I got:

Two 50ml bottles of vintage Givenchy Gentleman (the original formulation.) The new stuff is still good, but the old stuff is MUCH boozier, darker, dirtier. I've been on the hunt for one since having a decant AGES ago that disappeared too quickly, and then finding the recent formulation "off" in comparison (though still decent)

Chanel no. 19 Load; this has long been a favorite, so finding these made me really happy:
Two bottles PARFUM, both sealed. One in the atomizer spray, and the other in the standard 15ml stopper flacon.
50ml rechargable bottle of EdT.
50ml rechargable bottle of EdC
75ml bottle of Voile Parfume (refreshing body mist; basically like the EdC, only without alcohol)

Chanel no. 5 EdP 50ml recharge spray
Chanel Cristalle EdP 100ml spray
Chanel COCO EdT 30ml vintage/original bottle (1980's)

Vintage Dior "Miss Dior" 50ml splash (this has been discontinued for ages in this type... damn it's an oakmossy chypre explosion)
Dior "Diorissimo" 30ml EdT and EdC (vintage)
Dior "Dolce Vita" 50ml EdT
Guerlain Samsara parfum (15ml)
Guerlain Samsara eau de parfum (30ml)
Guerlain l'instant EdT (50ml)

Others:
Prada Infusion d'iris EdP (50ml)
Cartier Pasha EdT (50ml)

SOOO, wearing Chanel no. 19 parfum today. Holy hellfire it's just as wonderful as I remember it. Definitely go for the parfum or the EdT; the EdP is actually a wholly different formulation, much more floral/friendly. With the EDT, you get more green/crispness, with the Parfum, you get more of the leather/oakmoss/cedar base, which when added to the green, really creates a unique, wonderful experience.