...Fhaldara, although I didn't know your mother I am saddened by her sudden demise for the loss you are experiencing. Please accept my condolences.All in all I have been left uninspired by the perfumes I have sampled this year (purchased decants or manufacturer's carded samples) and put through their paces.Most have been high end or niche and all have been underwhelming to such an extent that I can't bring myself to write a review for most of them.I am finding that modern formulas are smelling artificial to me and many make me feel unwell which I think is down to some of the artificial musks. And linear, so very linear in performance.My biggest disappointment has to be the reformulation of Aromatics Elixir which brings me out in an angry red rash and has a lemony top that I find out of place to say nothing of the general thinness or lack of depth to the scent (compared, of course, to my bottle from around 20 years ago which is absolutely intact and dry in smell - fruity top, no thanks).My biggest success has to be 3ml rollerballs from Ajmal, in particular Himalayan Rose - lovely and sweet, a little Indian rose josstick vibe about it, and 1001 Nights which I went on to buy a full bottle of. I am planning on using up my perfumes this year (or at least drawing right down on them) and hiding at the back of the cupboard those that I don't like to wear but don't like to throw out as they act as reference points for me.My biggest surprise was the reformulation of Dior Poison which I found shocking. All I can say here is that any who loved the original must be feeling as disappointed as I do over the loss of Magie Noir.I am not sure I know where to try next as I am definitely over sensitive to some of the modern aroma chemicals. What is that minty but not mint running through Madonna Truth or Dare Naked, making it smell so cold? What is that odd fruityness that can't be identified that is found in many perfumes? What is that woodyness that is very present, makes me feel unwell, and yet I can't really smell it - dreadful, feels like drifting into and out of consciousness. And what is it in some of these modern perfumes that makes them so difficult to wash off the skin (some surviving several days and showers) and so difficult to wash out of man made fibres? I have never had essential oils that won't wash off or out. Some perfumes I tested stuck to the skin so hard that I couldn't test another perfume on that patch for days!Reading back through this post it all sounds rather negative and I think that reflects how I feel at the moment - flat.There are some perfumes I really like that I would still like to test the newest formula (Phul Nana, Nuit de Noel, Caleche, Amazone, Magie Noir) just in case the manufacturer's pulled something out of the hat so that I could bring a long lost love back into my life.Otherwise I think I can see myself not testing anything for at least a year.

...DorothyGrace, I haven't had much luck growing lavender where I live. I believe it is too hot. I love cooking and baking with lavender flowers. I have a wonderful...

...DorothyGrace, if you have got so many things around you containing Lavender, it is completely reasonable to do not search this note in perfumes :-) I also have...

...Prompted by your post I went through my perfumes and found that the only one I (apparently) have tried with a dominent lavender note is Tova Signature so I went ahead and tried it again and jotted down my experience of it in a short review.I haven't shied away from lavender and indeed am always partial to a drop of lavender essential oil in my aromatherapy mixes; I use lavender, rosemary, ginger, and frankincense as a rheumatic mix for my poor aching thumbs (I find it takes a little sting out of them and has the added bonus that it smells lovely).Lavender to me is very wearable; a grandmother of mine only ever wore a drop of lavender water on a hadkerchief which she kept in her 'going out' handbag so I associate it with exciting days of visiting family out in the country (so exciting for a towny like me, to see wide open spaces, lovely old cottages, horses, the smell of dried hay, vegetables picked fresh, and my dear, darling, Victorian/Edwardian relatives).I grow and dry my own lavender some of which I use to make lavender bottles (pick very long stems whilst the stems are still soft, fold a few inches below the flowerheads so as to form a cage of stems around the flowers and tie them together so there is a cage of flowers and some stems below them; hang them up to dry and then use in dry flower arrangements or between winter bedding in store).I have several lavender essential oils from the sweet French lavender (lavendula augustifolia) to the more resinous Spike lavender (lavendula latifolia) and several English lavender species growing in the garden.Recently I made some very successful cold process soap which I scented with a mix of peppermint, lavender, and rosemary. It is a peppermint dominent smell but the lavender and rosemary make it more gentle, almost creamy. Yardley used to made thyme & lavender, and rosemary & lavender soaps - they imparted a nice delicate fragrance that was suitable for office wear. I certainly appreciate having a nice scented tablet soap in the shower.Of perfumes with a dominent lavender note I think Sarah Jessica Parker's Covet looks interesting; plenty of bottles still sloshing around so maybe one day I will.I haven't tried any of those mentioned by Tar but I think Blenheim Bouquet is one to sample. Of those mentioned by Briarthorn I do have Blue Grass which isn't working for me at the moment (perhaps the perfume has turned). I very much like the older versions of Youth Dew although I haven't tried the most up to date as I was put off by the version from a couple of years ago which was, for me and mum, one reformulation too many.So I haven't got any recommendations as I haven't tried enough lavender dominent scents but I hope to see lots of recommendations from others on this site.

...agree DorothyGrace, it's got to be phenomenal for me to spend more than $80 on it. The only bottles I own that I paid more than $100 for are my New Haarlem and APOM. I...

...ok. It might be that I got mixed up with Opium in Red Rouge Fatal (limited edition bottling I think rather than a new perfume) and then dreamt it.How many flankers does that make? 28? 29? 30?

...A short while ago I thought I saw advertised Aromatics Black Cherry in red but now I can't find it.Did I dream it?

...I do look in second hand shops to see if they have had any perfume in so if I come across a bottle of Diva I will pick it up (I just don't know anything about vintage to dip my toes into the bay). Mind you the secondhad shops hardly ever get anything in unless it is in the most monstrous state (the last lot of bottles were so filthy I wouldn't pick them up without plastic gloves - they were completely off of course).I think you are right about some similarily in taste and wonder what do you think of the new Magie Noir? I think the old is one of my absolute all time top three but I am wary of trying the new in case it disappoints.Gone a bit off topic but I think with all the testing I have done recently I just haven't come across anything that has come up to scratch. For me to shell out the big money it has to be as good as or better than Aromatics Elixir or Magie Noir not just for the fragrance itself but in performance on my skin.

...Yet another perfume I had never heard of. Was it released in the U.K. as well as the U.S.A.?

...DorothyGrace:I had my eye on Diva at one time (before I decided I was not going to make any more blind purchases). Also, people said the vintage was so much...

...I had my eye on Diva at one time (before I decided I was not going to make any more blind purchases). Also, people said the vintage was so much better and the new a bit of a disaster.I used to browse Cheapsmells (now allbeauty) quite a bit and picked up some bargains (Parfum Sacre for one when they were selling off the current bun tops).I had a look and they also do a Limited Edition version of Diva. I wonder if it is the same as the eau de parfum but in a new bottle or if it has any differences.Hope you find a bottle in good condition.

...I am on the fence about Rozy Voile.I love it. It brings back lots of memories for me but I am working my way through a second sample trying to get it to work for me.So far I think I could pull it off under clothing as the smell coming through my sleeve today is very nice; my skin however smells like I have coated it in Sainsbury's yellow set honey (I did a side by side comparison to make sure).But, there you are, another perfume I love that I know smells a bit stinky on me.

...Your review makes this sound quite enticing.But (and not trying to be a party pooper)it came out in 2012 so for such a high priced item I highly recommend purchasing a new sample first; just in case.Now that does make me sound like an old sour puss and grumpy face but I got caught with the reformulation of En Avion (I hadn't realised how long I had had the sample and didn't think about reformulation). It smells identical to my nose when fist applied but pulls a very sour Zoflora Carnation disinfectant on my skin after a couple of hours (the decant samples I had never did).Sigh.

...I haven't been able to find Mary Greenwell's perfumes in store so I guess it is not looking good.Perhaps she is selling through a small nihe outfit somewhere (but I don't know where if she is).Shame. I don't like seeing people losing their businesses (if she has).

...Nearly a year ago. Was this resolved?

...The only perfume I have had a reaction to is the new version (2014) of Aromatics Elixir. The old one I have is fine, just the new so no backup bottle for me.

...DorothyGrace, have you seen the Minajesty commercial? It's about a Disney Princess who desperately chases her prince (apparently, a horse) through the forest...

...I was trying to look up this company (after reading a review for Night Blooming Cereus but found the link to be dead.Are they still trading? If they are does anybody have their website address?

...I think I am over sensitive to some of the modern aroma chemicals so the balance of some perfumes is off for me.As an example, Teint de Neige is one of the most powerful, owerwhelming scents I have ever tried; there is not a dab small enough to reduce it to a strength of smell that is reasonable and it seems to gather pace as the hours pass. Nice smell but mind blowingly strong. Habanita I wanted to love as the advertising blurb says it is made with the same 600 ingredients as the original, but to me it has a powerful sour medicinal wintergreen/Germoline smell that takes over completely. Onda has this note as well so that is all I can smell.I haven't tried Kenzo Jungle; they don't carry that one in my local department store. Is it still made?Testing, testing, one, two, three.

...hope DorothyGrace! I managed to pick up a few bottles of vintage Tabu on Ebay and Etsy for a really good price. Only one of the bottles I found from the 1980s had the...