...The German word for perfume is Parfum or Parfüm.

...Sleuth, do you prefer the night? Do you have a pale complexion and are your canine teeth a little bit longer than usual? Then Washington Tremlett's "Black Tie" is the geranium fragrance for you! ;)

...I googled for information about grape varieties and got ads for medication against cirrhosis of the liver!

...The good news is that once you have spent the value of a well-equipped VW Golf you start buying less. You realise that most of the new perfumes resemble something you already have in your collection, and they are hardly better. :)

...The Parfumo search shows 10 perfumes with the fragrance note Asafoetida. Amazing!

...I think there is more then one Holy Grail in perfumery.Holy Grails are kept at the Osmothèque at Versailles. There is a report of it by Luca Turin in one of his books since he was allowed to take a sniff of the historical Fougère Royale. But normal perfume enthusiasts like us can only test contemporary fougères and guess what the quintessence of it was like. Personally, I don't think that Houbigant's remake Fougère Royale from 2010 comes particularly close to the original. Fougère was a success story of 19th century perfumery, and a few decades after its launch, many perfume manufacturers had their own Fougère. So, it is a good idea to look for traditional fougères from early 20th century perfumery that are still available.For reference purposes I recommend ordering a small amount of Fougère by Harry Lehmann in Berlin. The manufacture was founded in the 1920's, and they still produce some perfumes according to the traditional formulas. The web site is in German so you might need to use bing or google translator, and it has no shop. Orders are simply accepted via e-mail or phone. Taking Harry Lehmann's Fougère as a role model for the supposed original helped me to explore the world of those fougères that could be called 'classic' in modern perfumery. It helped me discriminate between the general fougère essence and the specific or individual touch of a fougère. The Holy Grail of classic fougères is somewhere in between the following:Fougère by Harry Lehmann,"Sartorial" by Penhaligon's,"1445" by Castle Forbes,"Jacques Zolty""MPH""Fougère Royale (2010)"Some lighter variants are:"Knize Two""1872 for Men"And a vetiver with a classic fougère heart:"Vétiver de Frédéric"

...I have tested and reviewed "Narcotico" by Meo Fusciuni recently. It is a patchouli-laden fragrance, at least in the top and heart notes. The patchouli is fading a little later on. I think this is good since such a distinctive scent as patchouli can easily get on one's nerves after a while.It might fit for you and is well worth testing, Greysolon.

...I see, either I overlooked it or you just added it to your collection :)

...Keppy1792, I actually prefer Fleur du Mâle. I think it suits me better. I like the combination of flowery orange blossom with a deep dark accord that reminds me a little bit of tar and gasoline. It is two extremes put together.Because Fleur du Mâle is a bit opulent and strong (just as Le Mâle) I then went for "Fleur du Mâle La Cologne". This version is perfect for me but unfortunately discontinued by now.Every fragrance has its time. Le Mâle once was extremely popular in my country and since it is very recognizable you soon got the feeling that everybody was wearing it. At a certain point, it got linked to a negative clichée of lower class male youths, and that was the point when some people were really put off by it. I think it still sells well, and it is worn by those who really like it and give a damn about what people think.What has happened to Le Mâle happened to "Joop!Homme" a decade earlier. Exactly he same scheme: an opulent and unmistakable fragrance was worn by far too many people, then people got fed up with it and it got a bad image for many years. Unlike Le Mâle, Joop!Homme is getting a revival. You can smell it on some people (not too many) nowadays, and you think: That wasn't that bad after all.I think this will happen to Le Mâle as well but time has not come yet.Have you tested Joop!Homme?

...Keppy1792:I want to be a little different from the crowd and choose Le Male Terrible over the original Le Male. How good and versatile is the juice?I tested Le Mâle Terrible shortly after its launch, and it left me a bit clueless. It is basically Le Mâle but with a variance towards some Eau de Cologne in the top notes, something slightly animalic in the heart and maybe a bit vetiver in the base notes. Besides that it is just slightly different from the original, and I could not find a different concept in that fragrance.I don't think that people who smell it on you will necessarily notice that you are wearing something different from Le Mâle.Good alternatives with a statement of their own to Le Mâle are:"Fleur du Mâle""Collection Impériale - François Charles""Antonio de Curtis""Custo Man"

...We have a storm warning at the moment here in Germany

...Oh yes, Nobile is very recommendable. Pontevecchio for Men is a smoky perfume with some resemblance to Divine's L'Homme Sage.I really like the Cedro Atlas collection from the Alla Corte Del Rei series. It makes such a beautiful gift! They were originally designed as perfumes for teenage boys but this story has been dropped by now. Each package contains 3 x 30 ml perfume in Eau de Cologne strength and an instructive leaflet about the art of perfume. "Cola" is simply gorgeous. It contains more authentic Cola smell than there is taste in that beverage!Sleuth, do they also sell the Cedro Atlas box in the shop you mentioned?

...To be honest I seem to get past the curiosity for more new perfumes, and most perfumes I enjoyed last year are the ones I also enjoyed in 2013 and before. Of course, "Chamade Homme", my signature sent.One outstanding 2014 perfume deserves to be mentioned: Montale who started the oud hype years ago with so strong and opulent fragrances like Black Aoud made a U turn with their 2014 releases. I particularly liked Aoud Melody as an example of how a Montale style oud can also do a good job in a rather discreet perfume. Then, we had a new launch from Divine called Spirituelle, a feminine rose fragrance. A new Divine perfume is always a welcome sight, I really apreciate their work! So far for new releases. Among the perfumes I have been wearing with special pleasure were some Fougères: the wonderful Clive Christian "1872 for Men", an early Geza Schön fragrance. Then I also enjoyed "1445" by Castle Forbes.Among the chypres I have finally come to terms with Guerlains "Derby". It took me a few years to like it but now I do. I also went back to Hermès' "Equipage" which is a very spicy approach to chypre.There was one particular gents' cologne by Micallef which I occasionally used: "Royal Vintage". You have to be in a special mood for it. It is very musky, animalic, leathery and presumably lets you look mean the whole day :)Let me also mention a perfume that I would have liked to wear in 2014 but couldn't get it: "L'Or du Verger pour Homme" by Anne-Marie Grallet rsp. Maison de la Mirabeille.Maison de la Mirabeille is a family run business in the Lorraine region in France. They are farmers who specialize in mirabelle plum. Besides jams and eau de vies they have their own cosmetic and perfume line Anne-Marie Grallet. From the shape of the bottle I very much assume that Micallef is the producer behind it. Micallef are quite busy selling little batches of "Private Line" perfumes to small businesses. The private line perfumes I have got to know are all good. Besides that, an official Micallef perfume has been the only fragrance so far where I found the scent of ripe mirabelle plums: Aoud Gourmet!However, they only sell within France. Maybe I make it to their place in 2015?

...Tar:Another idea is, to have votes with questions about perfume (of course I do not mean a quiz, but a poll), and under it people could discuss about the question and their opinion detailed. On other pages with other main subjects, it generated a vivid discussion.Tar, I am not sure I understand your idea correctly. Are you aware that we do have a poll feature? Everybody who opens a new thread can add a poll with poll questions to it. Just click the poll flag!Have you already noticed and checked it? If so, I'd be curious about the next perfume discussion with poll. :)

...Cryptic:Besides, you can't force people to mingle with each other (unless you happen to have liquor ;)).Nice idea to send out a few bottles of liquor to make people talk a bit more :)What we need (and currently don't have) are a few volunteers who'd feel responsible for the forum and look after it. It simply means community building: - leave a welcome message on the new user's pages- start threads (one per week?)- involve new and other users in discussions- offer help and advice.That we don't have such a team of moderators today does not mean we won't have it tomorrow. Parfumo is still growing by number of daily site visits. So, anybody who wants it a bit more livelier here, just go on! And please let me or Don know if you'd be interested in such a role.

...Here is a little hommage to the brand (Designer S*****) that ran into a copyright issue over their name. Each perfume picture contains another version of this funny tune. Choose your favorite!

...Debussy - Les sons et les parfums tournent dans l'air du soirBTW: Perfumeshrine relates this piece of music to L'Heure Bleue(Click on the pic for the music)

...Scentimental:Apicius:Welcome back, Scentimental! Good to see you again!Thank you sir! I am pleased to see you overseeing the site as when I first joined! I noticed some projects underway. Can I be of assistance? Let me know if so.Happy Holidays Apicius!!Sure you can, Scentimental! It just depends on what you would like to do and what you are interested in.

...Scentimental:I have been working on a database of fragrance intro that importantly to me include not just when a Frag was introduced but when was it discontinued as well. Obviously the owners aren't keen on sending out a press release on a discontinuation. There are many sources online that include the intro date but only one or two, that I know of that will include the opposite.What is your opinion?If we know it we could as well include it in our database.

...Welcome back, Scentimental! Good to see you again!