Coutureguru

I bought this blind in a duty free some weeks ago and it's probably the best blind buy I have ever made! I was very lucky to spend this weekend past in a castle, the private residence of a friend. I took Chic with me and while it's one of those fragrances that I don't really notice on myself after 2 hours, it must have superior sillage because people were tracking me down (the place is huge and easy to lose yourself in) by following my fragrance trail :).

I don't get much watermelon and thankfully the musk is sensibly done and does not overpower. The Pepper and Sandalwood dominate on me with creamy amber nuances in the drydown which lasts forever. My shirts the next day are a fragrant wonder to behold ... all in all the best CH I have ever worn!! So happy to have found this ... It'll be a staple in my rotation. I'd better get a stockpile going before the reformulation police have a go at it!!

Awesome ... think big hair, shoulder pads and blue eyeliner sporting a wrap dress in a loud floral :o). Actually, this fragrance is quite relevant today also ... the dreaded EA touch can be felt, but has possibly made it a little more wearable?? Not AS loud as it used to be ... definitely tamer but still breathtakingly beautiful if you like Tuberose and white waxy flowers. The drydown is JUST GORGEOUS with the musk playing (thankfully) a non speaking cameo. Pull the fruit, add a "modern" note like "ozone" or some such, rebottle, rename, remarket and it'll be a hit all over again! OH!! Hang on ... Frederic Malle did :o). Go on ... give it a bash ... you know you want to :o) ...

STILL STUNNING!!! I'm not entirely convinced that Cinnabar has been reformulated, and if it has it's been done very sympathetically. I remember vividly playing around at my grandmother's dressing table as a young boy and being absolutely entranced by the oriental magic of Cinnabar!!

My nose has always been keen, so much so that my favorite party trick is to stick it in someone's neck, take a deep sniff and tell them what they are wearing. This was a lot more easily managed when Lauder fragrances were "individual" and special, like Cinnabar, Private Collection, Beautiful ...!
Most of their latest efforts "smell like" some other newly foisted-upon-humanity-rubbish-made-by-accountants-posing-as-parfumeurs that was released last Tuesday and will be forgotten by this coming Sunday. OH!! Silly me ... they have a marketing term for that type of ploy. It's called a "Limited Edition" ... BAH!!!

Cinnabar retains all the glory of it's past IMHO. It still comes out of the bottle slightly oily and could stop the charge of a bull elephant at 200 paces if not treated with respect. I wear this in lieu of JHL. It's pretty much the same ... just a little more flamboyant which suits me fine! Brilliantly complex, comfortably reliable ... Thanks Mrs. Lauder, rest with the angels!!

SEX ... sex for breakfast, sex for lunch and sex for tea!!! Joy is sex in a bottle!! Raunchy, forbidden sex in the alleyway of a nightclub with someone you just met and didn't bother to ask a name! The aldehydes and tuberose on top are a primal scream with the civet, adding a frisson of freshly worn jockstrap not far behind! Pearls and pumps my ass :o) ... Joy is hedonistic and wanton and so so NOW!!! It strays, like it's hard to come by sister 1000, into masculine floral territory ... I'd love to smell this on some big butch rugger bugger! Automatic panty drop. In fact ... point me in the direction of the nearest rugby team ...

WOW!!! This is STRONG!!! Even for me ... but a wonderful deep, rich rose right on the bush! I don't think I've ever said this about a fragrance before ... this one will have to be treated gently when sprayed. It could very well be a killer!! I just received this in the mail untested on my skin (I knew someone who wore it about 15 years ago and loved it on her) and gave my left arm 5 healthy blasts! That was a half hour ago and I am still reeling :o) ... albeit happily so. Looking forward to the development of this one!!

Update:
About an hour in and the 'rubbery' note has disappeared (I have a sneaky suspicion it may have been the tuberose) and I'm having a cigarette ... I think this would be incredible layered over a tobacco note. Very happy chappy here :o) ... as far as I am concerned this is a unisex frag. Why should gals be the only one's to smell so divine?

And a little bit more about this fabulous fragrance:

I managed to snap up a vintage 50ml bottle of this also. I will wear the re-formulation as much as I have been (I use it as a day scent in the Salon I work in from time to time on a tropical island)and simply just LOVE it.

The vintage variety, however, is an animal of a different nature. I am told that this particular bottle hails from the early 80's ... which I have no way of confirming ( I wish frag companies would date the bottles!!) or disputing. The box is a slightly deeper shade of grey with the label being a little more ivory than my new bottles have been. The juice is also a more golden colour and the sprayer seems better than the current version ... still plastic, but more opaque. The fragrance itself is pure heaven ... richer, deeper and rounder than the one I have become accustomed to with way more Sandalwood in the base. It's EFFING fabulous!!! I will keep this one for special and continue using the other for day ... 'reformulation' is fast becoming one of the dirtiest words in my vocabulary. Thankfully Ebay abounds with vintage bottles of this ... track one down ... you'll be so glad you did!

Update:

Not as many vintage bottles left as I thought!! Will definitely have to preserve mine ...