...Hold out, Briarthorn! If your body sends you such signals, you should not ignore them!All the best for the time ahead!

...Apicius:But, this story does not really make sense to me.+1 http://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Tom-Ford/Neroli-Portofino-12192.html Seems like a double...

...The strangest note we have in the database is maybe the Eel-infected sea water in a Violette Market perfume ("Nagini's Curse").But if you a are looking for strange notes you just need to scan through the Comme des Garçons fragrances. They deliberately make fragrances with synthetic smelling scent notes. I can confirm that the smell of Dusty light bulb is indeed in "Odeur 71".And while numerous perfumes imitate leather, they have "Series 6 Synthetic: Skai". Skai is an artificial leather substitute or imitation with a strage chemical smell.

...Great idea!Here is my no-office list:Monday: "Jasmin Rouge" by Tom FordTuesday: "Oudh Ma'al Wardh" by Al HaramainWednesday: "Tabac Original (After Shave)" by Mäurer & WirtzThursday: "Fleur du Mâle" by JPGFriday: "Joop! Homme"Saturday: "Cuir Venenum No.03" by Parfumerie GénéraleSunday: "Korrigan" by Lubin

...ScentedSalon: Have you tried Cartier's Oud and Oud? Though Western, I feel that there is real oud in it.No, I haven't.There are numerous oud perfumes around that user the synthetic oud blends as offered by IFF, Givaudan and others.There are only some very rare cases of high-priced oud perfumes by Western houses where they seem to use natural oil instead of substitutes. I would say that Xerjoffs "Oud Stars - Zafar" could be counted in. My impression of Zafar was that some good quality oud oil was stretched by other woody notes. Given the high price tag I think one can get better value for the money elsewhere.Since you describe Cartier's "Les Heures Voyageuses - Oud & Oud" as having a barnyard smell it might very well contain natural oud oil. Actually many perfume lovers dislike natural oud perfume when they find out that it has a fecal aspect.I suppose the Cartier Ouds are aimed at the Arab market and will stay extremely niche in the Western world.BTW, if you prefer (natural) oud as a spray instead of oil, the Dubai based brand Ajmal has good and reasonably priced offers. I can recommend their "Dahn Oudh Al Shams". I wear it quite often.

...I'd like to draw your attention to an offer that I received via mail today:Oudh.co.uk is offering a sample pack of drops of 3 different oud oils for 20 £. It is one of the rare occasions to get to know natural oud oil without having to spend lots of money.Some years ago, I ordered a sample pack from this site and I was very satisfied with it. It gave me the opportunity to find out about the "real thing" and get an understanding that oud oils can considerably differ from each other.http://www.oudh.co.uk/en/perfume-samples/pure-oud-samples/newly-arrived-pure-oudh-sample-pack

...I have tested a few but so far none of their perfumes made it into my collection. The MH perfumes are high quality niche perfumes but like most you should try before you buy

...To be honest, I prefer soaps and body washs that are not strongly scented. I don't want them to interfere with the perfume that I will be wearing.It is quite difficult to find products that aren't scented at all, so I go for somethimg that smells nicely, is discreet and without lots of longevity. I feel very much at home with Speick.

...@ BriarthornIf you like a honey touch I guess some of the Micallef Ouds would be for you: Aoud, Aoud Gourmet and Night Aoud. There is also a "Rose Oud". Their "Arabian Diamond", however, resembles the classic rose/oud combo. Personally I don't have a special favour for honey so it all depends on the perfume if I like it or not.And their "Rose Extrême" gets the price fpr the most splendid perfume bottle, with Svarovski stones covered all aver the sides!I remember the Saffron in Aoud Safran was less noticeable than expected. I get more saffron from Micallefs "Aoud".

...Which of the ones listed do you think would be the best blind buy, "Calligraphy Rose" or "Rose Malaki". Are they very different from "Dark Rose"?@Apicius, Thank you for the break down of the Montals. Very helpful. I have Reviewed "Aoud Queen Roses" and liked it very much. It was a well done composition...

...for time at the moment, but for the men:I think one of my absolute favorite roses for a man is "Voleur de Roses" by L'Artisan. I believe that you, Apicius, will really like it. It's opens with the full rose bush, branches, dew, leaves, soil, and blooms. The patchouli is very dirty and on me becomes a...

...Rose and PeachPresumably the most beautiful fragrance of this kind is Guerlain's "Rose Barbare". I have it, I love it but I find it difficult to wear.Rose and SpicesBesides the 2 Montales mentioned above I would like to point out Il Profvmo's "Touaregh". For some reason it always brightened my mood when I wore it. Unfortunately, natural rose oil which I believe is in there seems not to be very stable, and so my Touaregh has lost a bit of its charm after a year or so.Roses for MenRoses that lean more to the masculine side are ambitious projects. There are some around:- "Flowers For Men - Rose" by Neil Morris: a wonderfully laid-back rose, just the right fragrance for a chill-out in a hammock.- "Black Tie" by Washington Tremlett: a very dark rose, somehow oudish although oud is not listed. Beautiful piano lacquer black bottle with a big silvery cap. Gothic but sophisticated: a Vampire's rose.- "Domenico Caraceni 1913": very noble rose and incense cologne. Seems to be discontinued- "Geranium pour Monsieur" by Frédéric Malle: I always count in geranium as a rose fragrance. Geranium oil is processed from a pelargonium species, and one can consider it a less expensive substitute to rose oil or a facet of rose fragrance that stands for itself. Many people are attracted by the combination with fresh mint in the top notes.- "Rose d'Homme" by Les Parfums de Rosine. This house exclusively sells rose perfumes, and they also have a few for the gents. I tested Rose d'Homme some years ago, it is okay but I missed something in it that would make it special.- "Shiloh" by the Belgium house Hors Là Monde: rose with herbs, quite opulent and maybe a bit difficult to wear. It is something special, a true niche fragrance.

...Great topic!That reminds me that I could wear a rose fragrance again which I haven't done for quite a while. Actually, there is so much to be said about this topic, so please excuse me for being wordy.Montale: Rose and OudWhen it comes to rose oud combos, Montale's Black Aoud is the role model for the whole group. Over the years Montale has launched numerous variants of that classic combination. I think they can be arranged along a line from dark/masculine/oudish to bright/feminine/flowery, and so here is an (incomplete) attempt, starting with BA:- "Black Aoud"- "Steam Aoud"- "Aoud Safran"- "Aoud Flowers"- "Louban"...- "Aoud Sliver"- "Orange Aoud"- "Aoud Melody"...- "Aoud Queen Roses"- "Deep Roses"- "Royal Aoud"- "Aoud Shiny"- "White Aoud"Personally, I'd prefer Steam Aoud over BA. It has less rose, but it also misses a certain roughness. I find it more balanced. An absolute rose and oud feast is Aoud Flowers, and I would have it if I hadn't bought Washington Tremlett's Black Tie before, which is similar.Louban is an interesting green rose oud: just imagine Morticia from Addams family switching off all the blossoms from the rose bouquet she had received and arranging the wonderful stems in a vase!The "in between" ouds are very wearable. I used to wear Aoud Sliver quite some times, it actually resembles an Arabian Mukhallat (blend) but is of high quality. The newer releases Orange Oud and Oud Melody are remarkably discreet for a Montale oud.I only had some brief sniffs of some of the very flowery or powdery Ouds that I would classify as ladies' only fragrances.Whereas the fragrances in this lineup very much follow the classic rose oud combo, Montale has released perfumes where they tried to bring together a rose/oud fragrance with another classic fragrance direction from Western or Arab perfumery:- "Wild Aoud": Rose/oud blended in a very average mainstream ambery gent's cologne or sport fragrance.- "Aoud Forest": Montale goes Pino Silvestre and Acqua di Selva!- "Greyland" and "Amber & Spices": Two spicy ouds for gents who like Halston's spicy colognes, a decent Bay rhum or Hermès' spicy chypre "Equipage".- "Aoud Cuir d'Arabie" and "Aoud Leather": Aoud Cuir d'Arabie is the scent of a shiny new leather jacket with oud, very strong, and no rose. Aoud Leather is less strong and more suede than enamelled leather.

...Does no blind buys mean that they should be easy to find in one of your local perfume shops?

...all,I'm looking for a replacement of my "Amber pour Homme" because it's just not my taste. Apicius already recommended "J'S Extè Man", "Custo Man" and "Arpège pour Homme". They are probably very good, but I'm fed up with blind buys......So I'm...

...Apicius:Actually, I would find it a good idea if we could automatically display this statistic to each other.Indeed, it a good idea, would be interesting.my...

...Which are the perfumes that you use the most often?Actually, I would find it a good idea if we could automatically display this statistic to each other. It would be interesting to see what people actually wear according to their statistic. Well, until then let's share it here.Just in case you don't know: If you tell Parfumo your daily wear it can build a statistic for you.So, here is mine from today.

...The sketch of a fluted, cylindric black glass flacon with a white cap reminds me of something but I don't get it.I see a similarity with the flacon shape of the classic Dunhill perfumes but they weren't black with white cap.I'll call the German community for help.http://www.parfumo.de/forum/viewtopic.php?p=497600#497600

...The logo is copyrighted by Giorgio Armani, so it must be an old Armani fragrancehttp://www.trademarkia.com/ga-79046732.html...if the logo is correct.The problem is that there weren't many perfumes by Armani 1992 or before:http://tinyurl.com/nt2k6geThe explanation given in the first post by Deutsh would fit to the old Eau pour Homme (black bottom and black cap) but the sketch with the white cap and black glass does not fit to any historic Armani perfume.Deutsh, sometimes our memories betray us. Are you maybe confusing two perfumes with each other ?

...agree Apicius, I would consider buying them just for the bottle...