Aromatics - yesterday and today - a savoury experience

Eaking out my older bottle of Aromatics and feeling that I really didn't want to use it all up I decided to give the new formulation another go; my first try hadn't gone so well as it brought my wrist out in an angry red rash.

I took my son to the local shopping centre to buy him glasses and took the opportunity to leave him to it so I could sneak off into the department store to try on some perfumes (he doesn't understand my obsession with perfume) and gravitated towards the Clinique display. Ha ha.

Three heafty sprays on the thick skin of my forearm before I headed home then once home I sprayed once from my old bottle on the other arm so as to do a side by side comparison.

First, I think the one spray from my old bottle is comparable in strength to the three sprays from the new bottle. Not all that scientific I know as it is difficult to say how much is in each spray and a lot depends on ones own sensitivity to the chemical mix. I don't think the fact I sprayed the new one about 15 minutes earlier than the old should make too much of a difference for this testing exercise.

I think the new one smells more artificially indollic, like a bit too much indol has been added rather than the very smooth indollic smell one gets from straight up floral essential oils. Also, the new one has a slightly higher pitch to the scent; just a tad brighter.

Finally, the latest version smells just a little less rich as though the amount of true floral essential oils has been decreased and this also leaves it a touch more woody. It also seems to smell a little more 'perfumy' (whatever that means to me; nothing specific, just a feeling).

My bottle from the 1990s (badly stored before I knew better) is totally intact and I would certainly pick up a secondhand bottle if I saw it in a charity or junk shop.

Altogether, as these drated IFRA pushed reformulations go Aromatics Elixir is not at all bad (long term users of Aromatics Elixir will certainly know the difference).

Then disaster. At around the four to five hour mark this reformuation developed a very savoury smell on my skin; Marmite to me and meaty or umami to my son. Now I love me some Marmite (peanut butter and Marmite sandwiches, gravy, added to soups and stews) but I do confess that it had never occured to me to use it as perfume and now that I know what that is like I will give it a miss. Totally unwearable for me and needless to say I am super disappointed that once my bottle has gone that Aromatics Elixir is gone for me.

I wonder what causes that meaty smell on my skin as I have found it in a couple of other new perfumes that I have reccently tried at around the four to five hour wear time.

No relevant pictures so here is a photograph of my Auntie's cat. She was very difficult to photograph as she is actually coal black and quite difficult to look at as she sucks up all the light.