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Lasting power, your thoughts

Lasting power, your thoughts 10 years ago
Yesterday was a hot day here in the Southern Hemisphere. I wore "Un Jardin après la Mousson" for a walk through the park with Luca the poodle. Later, having forgotten that I had used it, I sprayed myself with Annick Goutal's "Passion (Eau de Parfum)" for a trip to the shops. In the evening I sat down to watch Downton Abbey and it was Apres La Mousson that came to me, quite strongly in fact. Passion was all spent.
10 years ago
I made the mistake of trying out my bottle of Habanita EDP today. Between the warm weather and being a little trigger happy with a new fragrance I almost made myself sick with it. It's tricky... most perfumes fade very quickly on me. The ones that don't last so long they're almost nauseating.
10 years ago
Kelly Caleche today, the EDP, lasting about six hours now and just a skin scent but I'm lapping it up. Thunder clouds have built, it's 98% humidity and I'm glad I didn't wear Mitsouko, which I planned to do after reading Miss Frolova's blog this morning
10 years ago
Longevity is such a deal breaker for me. Nothing disappoints me more than sampling a fragrance and really falling for it, only to find that it doesn't last. I'm not talking about the change of gear that turns down the initial volume but keeps the scent humming along; no, I'm referring to fragrances that just vanish after a couple of hours with barely even a trace of skin scent. EDPs and expensive ones, too! I try to sample in different seasons and temperatures, to be fair, but sometimes a dud is a dud.
I don't always have the opportunity, budget or inclination to reapply every few hours and doing so simply tops up the opening volley and robs one of the extended heart and base note evolution that keeps a fragrance interesting for me.
It's always a pleasure to go back to some of my older chypres (Miss Balmain, Miss Dior, Scherrer, Paloma Picasso to name a few, even though they're reformulations) to remember that these fragrances in EDT formulation run rings around the longevity of some of my newer EDP niche samplings.
I'm not a huge oriental amber/vanilla fan but admit that these seem to have the edge in endurance. Tauer's are great for longevity (half life of days!) but there are so many I admire but am not quite compelled enough to purchase.
I'm being a bit more forgiving at the moment, now that hot weather is underway and I'm sweating/showering a lot. In these circumstances it can be fun to change fragrances a few times a day without feeling they've been "wasted" by washing off before they're spent.
I should add: one of my biggest disappointments has been the Tommi Sooni line. They're a niche Aussie brand and their perfumes are gorgeous, just my thing, I'd buy them all in a heartbeat (er, their high price tags notwithstanding) but Jeeze - they just don't last! Only one of them (EDTSII - the amber oriental, of course) has good staying power. It is so frustrating, they use oak moss, they have a lovely green chypre and a floral aldehyde that smells divinely French - but even the bloggers agree with me about the poor longevity. Sigh.
Last edited by Triffid on 27.11.2013, 07:00; edited 1 time in total
10 years ago
Omni I am really baffled by your experience with these two perfumes because when you look at the notes, I would have thought that the Goutal with its Patchouli, Oakmoss,Jasmine, Tuberose, and Vanilla would have killed off Hermes hands down in terms of longevity.

The only thing I can think of would be the amount of fixatives each contains.
Perhaps Après La Mousson has much more and therefore lasted longer.
10 years ago
Many of the Goutals seem to have a reputation for poor longevity, based on reviewers comments. I only own one, "Ce Soir ou Jamais" and give it an 'acceptable' personal rating. More than a few hours but not a marathon. Could be better, could be worse but it smells so wonderful I could forgive any shortcomings.
10 years ago
Yes, I will agree with the Goutal remark..I am so disappointed with my Vanille Exquise, I love it so much, but it barely lasts 2 hours on me. I would have bought another bottle if it had a better longevity , but, sadly it hasn't. All the Andy Tauer fragrances are super for lasting power...worth the high price tag, if you like the particular fragrance ).
10 years ago
Dolby, I was completely floored at the ALM scent survival. But there it was, beating out the Goutal. Tomorrow I go to a graduation, a flight and car journey so I will pit a couple of others up against one another. Triffid is right, one needs to put them through their paces to gain a favoured position. A sleep and then here goes.
10 years ago
Yeah!
Battle of the Scents Part II
You go girl!
Laughing
10 years ago
Dalmajen:
Yes, I will agree with the Goutal remark..I am so disappointed with my Vanille Exquise, I love it so much, but it barely lasts 2 hours on me. I would have bought another bottle if it had a better longevity , but, sadly it hasn't. All the Andy Tauer fragrances are super for lasting power...worth the high price tag, if you like the particular fragrance ).

Where on your body do you spray? I spray the top of my forearms and/or my stomach and wrists and with two full sprays, "Vanille Exquise" lasts all day on me. It's smooth and unobtrusive, but it's there.
10 years ago
I took Cristalle and No 19 away with me, figuring that No 19 would take over from Cristalle in the evening. It did work out that way but I do wish that Cristalle lasted longer.
10 years ago
Lately a great number of high end perfumes suffer from this "disappearance act". Reformulation? No one knows.
Tauer, as mentionned, has a good longevity. Heeley perfumes, all of them, are great in this respect and I had a surprise with Dali by Dali and Origan by Coty, the vintage eau de toilette.
10 years ago
Tessa:
Lately a great number of high end perfumes suffer from this "disappearance act". Reformulation? No one knows.
Tauer, as mentionned, has a good longevity. Heeley perfumes, all of them, are great in this respect and I had a surprise with Dali by Dali and Origan by Coty, the vintage eau de toilette.

You mention Dali which is wonderful I am led to believe. I haven't had the pleasure. I am lusting after an Explorer pack by Tauer (my birthday I hope)
10 years ago
Dali is good and wearable.
I am also curious about Andy Tauer's Explorer though I am always shocked by his scents. I own Reverie au jardin, Lys du desert-from the Centennials-and Loretta from the Tableaux ...All his scents are meditative ones.
While Reverie, with its lavender, is something you can wear fearlessly, the Lys is so dense and impressive that it scares me. At least for a while. It is as if you are in the outer space in the black void and you cannot have a breath of air and instead of beeing super light from the lack of gravity you have the impression of being rooted to the ground, motionless. It is only from time to time that I wear them. Loretta is an orange perfume. A strong one .
10 years ago
Scarletting:
I made the mistake of trying out my bottle of Habanita EDP today. Between the warm weather and being a little trigger happy with a new fragrance I almost made myself sick with it. It's tricky... most perfumes fade very quickly on me. The ones that don't last so long they're almost nauseating.

I owned a vintage Habanita until about 2006 when I used the remainder as a room spray before open homes at our houses. I,too, was overwhelmed by it.
10 years ago
Longevity always brings up the question of anosmia for me. I've had several perfumes where I thought the longevity was poor, but it turned out my nose had just become accustomed to them, because people around me could still smell them on me from a couple feet away.

However, whether it's anosmia or poor longevity, the effect is the same for the wearer: they can't smell it.
10 years ago
Anosmia - so true, Dulcemio. I usually ask for a second opinion if I think a fragrance has disappeared and my husband does the same with me. Sometimes fragrances just settle quietly into a skin scent - fair enough - but some don't seem to have any fixatives at all and just evaporate away after a short time.
Re anosmia: there was an article written on this and there's a link to it buried somewhere in a fragrance review. Apparently, fragrances with a high percentage of violet ionones can cause temporary anosmia by paralysing nasal receptors (or something like that). These are those fragrances that seem to come and go and come back again when you wear them (Bottega Veneta is one example) and often there will be dissention amongst reviewers about the longevity (doesn't last, lasts for ages etc). The clue is that others can usually smell the fragrance on you quite easily (at least until their noses are temporarily paralysed too).
10 years ago
Triffid:
Anosmia - so true, Dulcemio. I usually ask for a second opinion if I think a fragrance has disappeared and my husband does the same with me. Sometimes fragrances just settle quietly into a skin scent - fair enough - but some don't seem to have any fixatives at all and just evaporate away after a short time.
Re anosmia: there was an article written on this and there's a link to it buried somewhere in a fragrance review. Apparently, fragrances with a high percentage of violet ionones can cause temporary anosmia by paralysing nasal receptors (or something like that). These are those fragrances that seem to come and go and come back again when you wear them (Bottega Veneta is one example) and often there will be dissention amongst reviewers about the longevity (doesn't last, lasts for ages etc). The clue is that others can usually smell the fragrance on you quite easily (at least until their noses are temporarily paralysed too).

When I was a child you could buy penny bunches of violets. I would draw a long steady inhale thinking that violet was the world's most beautiful scent. I didn't know that ionone blocked the scent receptors and that would be the end of it. The flowers sat in a little glass of water as if cursed by a gypsy, withering quickly.
10 years ago
It all makes so much sense tho. I've noticed so many times when sniffing a perfume on myself that suddenly I cannot smell it. Then awhile later, it seems to reappear. Temporary anosmia validated. Finally.
Great discussion... 10 years ago
Having recently joined you all I have been ordering and testing a different perfume sample every day. The only one so far with any lasting capability has been Portrait of a Lady. I was shocked that I could still smell it at least 24 hours later.

POAL just happens to also smell better at the end of that time too. I had to keep smelling my wrist, I loved it so much.
Re: Great discussion... 10 years ago
Tnahowru:
Having recently joined you all I have been ordering and testing a different perfume sample every day. The only one so far with any lasting capability has been Portrait of a Lady. I was shocked that I could still smell it at least 24 hours later.

POAL just happens to also smell better at the end of that time too. I had to keep smelling my wrist, I loved it so much.

I think that Ambre Dore by MPG has a half life of plutonium. Very much a winter perfume it is too dense in summer. My next fume is Mon Parfum Cherie par Camille. The hesperidic scents of summer tend not to last more than an hour. Eau du Sud, Prada Infusion D'Oranger, Christalle, Tuscan Soul all take one look at a puffy white cloud and go to join it. I must get my hands on POAL.
10 years ago
I don't know whether it is my particular skin, but the lasting power of "Nuit Andalouse" by MDCI Paris is practically nil. I keep on reapplying it and other than a sort of Grand Marnier liqueur orange waft, there is not much. Big failure considering such an expensive scent.

But, "Le Rivage des Syrtes" by MDCI Paris has very good lasting power and a certain crispness, and so has the sweet and delicate "Vepres Siciliennes".

All those scents come from a sample program which is very reasonable for a nice coffret with either 5 or 8 minis.
10 years ago
Pipette:
I don't know whether it is my particular skin, but the lasting power of "Nuit Andalouse" by MDCI Paris is practically nil. I keep on reapplying it and other than a sort of Grand Marnier liqueur orange waft, there is not much. Big failure considering such an expensive scent.

But, "Le Rivage des Syrtes" by MDCI Paris has very good lasting power and a certain crispness, and so has the sweet and delicate "Vepres Siciliennes".

All those scents come from a sample program which is very reasonable for a nice coffret with either 5 or 8 minis.

Thanks Pipette, you are great at finding these lovely sample sets.
10 years ago
POAL is on my Christmas wish list but I think I will be getting one of my other choices. It's a beautiful scent, similar to Juliette Has a Gun 'Vengeance Extreme' but more refined and longer lasting (and four times the price, alas).
I agree that some of the stayers seem to be more suitable for colder weather. Tauer's Carillon Pour une Ange and Le Maroc Pour Elle have a half life of days but I couldn't imagine wearing them in summer.
I'm wearing some vetiver based fragrances in our current hot weather - they seem to last well and as they're devoid of sweetness they seem to have a sort of tonic effect that's quite bearable over an extended period.
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