...Sweetgrass:Clearly I was lying to myself when I said no more blind buys: I just snagged a vtg "Chamade" edt off eBay. Not that I have any regrets about it!I've...

...Clearly I was lying to myself when I said no more blind buys: I just snagged a vtg "Chamade" edt off eBay. Not that I have any regrets about it!

...Lah2o:Well done everyone for not smoking! I haven't been quite as good because I was kind of supposed to be on a no-buy. But then there were some irresistible deals. You can guess what the result was.Oohh, plenty of stuff I'm curious about smelling, like Tendre Jasmin, Lys Carmin and Tam Dao. Any chance of a review?

...you Sweetgrass. Yes, that quote from Edmond Roudnitska is quite fascinating. I can almost see and smell the conditions that he must have worked in. Yet he...

...I am not an expert on this era but you can google around for the noses and houses active at that time, and every once in a while you get a quote or something from those days, like here, in Bois de Jasmin's review of Rochas Femme:“Let me tell you, I created [Rochas] Femme in 1943 in Paris during the worst days of the war in a building that had a rubbish dump on one side and paint factory on the other,” remarked Edmond Roudnitska about one of his most sensual compositions, a perfume that smells of woman’s skin and ripe summer plum.The chemical industry was obviously working overtime during the war for various purposes, and that will have had an effect on perfume, as I imagine more ingredients were synthesized and new ones introduced at a faster rate. An ingredient the name of which escapes me right now that was/is instrumental in "Rochas Femme" was a by-product of medicine production or research IIRC, for instance, and so was coumarin before it, one of the key ingredients in modern perfumery.I do wonder if anybody has tried to outline the legacy of the war(s) on perfume, socially as well as within the trade! For instance modern computing owes a great deal of its development to IBM being contracted by both the US and Nazi Germany to create systems for their records and operations during WWII. Similar, although hopefully far less gruesome, legacies must live on in the cosmetics trades as well.

...to the same degree, then we consider price relative to income. Many young parfumistas' have amassed a great knowledge and an acute olfactory skill. Sweetgrass, your comments are highly regarded...

...Omni:Is it me? Have they changed? I recently purchased L'Heure Bleu in an EDT. Previously I had only attempted the EDP and we didn't get along. L'Heure Bleu is supposed to be Apres L'Ondee's older sister but I kept thinking I'd used Mitsouko instead. Has my brain found the Guerlainade and amplified it? Funnily enough I'm enjoying it more. Mona Di Orio (rest in peace) gave her heart to L'Heure Bleu. After she died I decided I would try harder. Have you tried harder to like something and has anyone got any clues as to why I smell Mitsouko in L'Heure Bleu?For what it's worth, I find L'Heure Bleue too old for me to wear, although I can appreciate its complexity and beauty... But this is the second time I hear someone liken LHB to Mitsouko and even though I do find those two very different, I've come to think it's the Guerlinade, or whatever else they use in the base of these classics. I love Mitsouko dearly and would wear it all the time were it not for that dank drydown. Sometimes it's just not meant to be. With some perfumes, pushing them to the back and getting back to them after some time has passed (talking months, minimum) has helped, but it may not work out for you since you have been into perfumes much, much longer than I have (my tastes are still forming). If I were you, I'd just shrug and give up, and appreciate LHB as a classic but quit trying to like it actively. And who knows, maybe one day you wake up craving it and nothing else will do.Glad to hear I am not the only one who hasn't been wowed by SL. For me, they just keep missing the target -- most of what I've tried hasn't been unlikeable as such but just not right for me, though.

...Sweetgrass, "Knowing" is so very beautiful. I hope you enjoy it. I'll be curious to know how you like it. I used to wear "Caleche" years back, too. Nice choices...

...Sweetgrass, "Knowing" is so very beautiful. I hope you enjoy it. I'll be curious to know how you like it. I used to wear "Caleche" years back, too. Nice choices...

...DarkMatter:Congratulations! I've been smoke free for four years and know how hard it is. You deserve those treats! :DThank you, and Greysolon too! :)I decided to resist and forego Jasminora, and instead scored a mini of vintage "Calèche" and a mini "Knowing", and sold some bottles I wasn't really reaching for. So far so good, I think perfume is keeping me on the straight & narrow and off cigarettes tbh :D

...Sweetgrass: I just put in an order for "Lisette", debating whether to fork out money for "Aqua Allegoria Jasminora" as well as a gift to myself -- 5 weeks smoke... debating whether to fork out money for "Aqua Allegoria Jasminora" as well as a gift to myself -- 5 weeks smoke-free this Sunday! Woop woop!Congrats, Sweetgrass! No backslidin...

...Omni:I ordered a bottle of Flora Nymphaea due to an online daily special. I am weak. It hasn't come yet but I will report on it. Katie Puckrik's review is flattering.As for Apres L'Ondee, it is proving very difficult to get and the price is skyrocketing.Wow, I do hope it isn't discontinued! eBay seems to have the edt, hopefully also where you live...I should don Flora Nymphea today, it's so sunny! I am not such a fan of honey per se though, I might swap/sell my bottle because life is too short for just nice perfumes.

...Lol DarkMatter, no reason to feel ashamed! That looks like a nice wardrobe base for all sorts of moods and situations so you should be well set up providing you like at least most of what you got :)I just put in an order for "Lisette", debating whether to fork out money for "Aqua Allegoria Jasminora" as well as a gift to myself -- 5 weeks smoke-free this Sunday! Woop woop!

...Scarletting:A friend gave me two miniatures from this range but the labels had come off the pretty bottles and so I've had to guess to identify them. I'm pretty sure one is Lys Soleia and the other is Pivoine Magnifica. Trying to find some way of positive ID besides going by detectable notes... might have to bring them to a counter to be 100% sure.The minis should have stickers in the bottom with batch numbers and fragrance names, have they come off too? Daamn...

...Omni:I have toyed with buying one of these but with Apres L'Ondee likely to be discontinued I bought it instead at a very good price on Fragrancenet. I read somewhere that Guerlain was trying to recapture something of Apres L'Ondee's ethereal appeal with the AA series.Huh, I hope they won't discontinue Après l'Ondée. I certainly haven't smelled any Aqua Allegoria that could live up to its ethereal appeal, as you put it (even though Al'O is not my favourite perfume, not by a long shot), although some of them are nice and well-done light edts on their own.ETA: Sleuth, Bois de Jasmin has done a review, other than that nobody seems to be talking about it.

...My perfume rarely draws comment (nobody's ever remarked on Alien, even...!), but a few days ago I was trying out "Moschino" and went to help a friend clean up after moving, and she said it reminded her of her grandmother and brought back some unpleasant memories :shock: Won't be wearing that one around her any more, not sure if I'm going to keep the bottle even because it's just not my style.

...Sweetgrass:I am tempted to buy both "Odalisque" and "Chypre Mousse" so I could layer them, I love it!This is the voyage of the Starship Enterprise. Whoooohoo...

...Another vote for Serge's "Gris clair..." is an exceptional lavender perfume although it is feminine-leaning more than unisex imho. There's nothing fresh or spring-like that I can think of though :D

...Sleuth:- Relatively new release: "Soir de Lune"- Old and worth checking: "Knowing" and "Miss Dior Original"- Chypre structure without moss: "Le Parfum de Therese", "Colonia Assoluta" (a mature and not-so-light cologne)I'm sure there's 21st century avant garde chypre stuff, but don't ask me!Thanks - I've been looking at "Knowing" as it's relatively easily available across the board. :) The closest thing to 21st century avant garde chypre I can think of is "31 Rue Cambon", the chypre that isn't really a chypre. "Disco Diva" is a nice fruity chypre, and I love those both as well as contemporary (!) "Mitsouko".

...Yes thank you to refills, especially if they come in recyclable containers!