...Dateless and desperate I seem to be replying to my own post. I have found that Elie Saab EDT is rather nice with the Goutal body cream

...I am in love with the Body Cream. It is late winter here in the Antipodes; my skin was dry, so I bought some. It's luxurious all right, I can wear it on my neck as a moisturiser and enjoy the perfumed result. Apart from Prada Infusion Iris Absolue it doesn't layer well with other fumes, but this is an addiction. Is there a soft soft rose that would layer with this? I tried Quel Amour and it's too fruity.

...For this mission I would wear Ivoire by Balmain, the new one, I love it, not too far from Miss Dior Cherie or Elie Saab, gorgeously romantic

...I've bought many many from FX.. All good except for my foray into WORTH. I thought to reacquaint myself with Je Reviens and try Courtesan. Both bottles were decidedly off. To be safe I would buy from them if you are planning to use your fumes up within a year or so.

...Tar:Omni:I am fascinated with Love Potion No 9 by Penhaligons. This fragrance pre dates Dune by a year or two and is so similar that Sherapop cannot tell the difference.Now you surprised me. It is quite interesting to me, that LP No. 9 could be similar to Dune, I always felt Penhaligon's more spicy and Dune sweeter.And I agree with that, but looking at the reviews on Fragantica there are many references to Dune. On Basenotes reviewer Darvant raises the topic. Sherapop finds them practically identical on a dry down wrist comparison. So, did Dior 'knock off' LP, invent a marketing ploy around it, and tweak it enough to become 'Dune'? In any case, the head topic here seems to fit..Shera didn't buy one because she already had the other. Thanks for your thoughts, Tar. There must be more.

...I am fascinated with Love Potion No 9 by Penhaligons. This fragrance pre dates Dune by a year or two and is so similar that Sherapop cannot tell the difference. The behommeth that is Dior made Dune into a commercial success and FI award winner whilst little Brit Penhaligons had not a sniff, if you pardon the pun.

...My Cuir Amethyste opens with a tonne of birch tar, it settles so beautifully. I'm sure we are perfume twins, separated at birth Triff

...ScentFan:I remember my mother wore Abano by Prince Matchabelli and yesterday when I smelled it realized she wore Blue Carnation by Roger and Gallet. She also used lavender toilet water and soaps. Lavender was her favorite note and daisy her favorite flower.I loved Cachet by P Matchabelli. Carnation and Lavender were refined, ladylike scents. My Aunt always had scented gloves, cotton, pin tucked, that she put on to go to the shops, even in summer. The summer ones (white) had lace inserts

...Going back to my Mother/Mother in law's younger days, in New Zealand imported goods required overseas funds. Unless you knew someone who travelled you likely looked at the magazine ads and just yearned. 'English' perfumes were available, such as Lentheric 'Tweed' and Yardley Apple Blossom. I picked up a re-make of Tweed some weeks ago and memories flooded in, the call of the paper boy, the ammonia of the hair salon, the smell of Nugget shoe polish, and Goddards floor wax. My Mother used to wax the floor tiles.

...Eau de Protection aka Rossy de Palma. I keep banging on about this one

...I'm waiting for Quel Amour by Annick Goutal

...My own Mother liked Rochas Lumiere for a while. The perfume she likes most from those that I send her way is Patou's Enjoy. I think it's because it's quite strong and berryish. Have daughters in law or son's girlfriends changed how you feel about fumes?

...My mother in law wore Je Reviens and L'Air du Temps when I met her. She moved on to Anais Anais, Giorgio Bev Hills and White Diamonds. She also had a massive bottle of Infini that sat in her bathroom (I think it may have been a marketing tool in a store) and it was never used, so could have been coloured water. What are your responses to your Mother in law's fragrances?

...I have Catholic tastes, as in embracing all, not incensey taper fumes, and I actually helped my girlfriend sell Avon for a while. I remember a small bottle of, I think it was Genesis Oil, seeping into my makeup bag. Talk about for-evvah!Triffid, I ordered a small bottle of Je Reviens pure perfume with my Courtesan order and in a way it's a blind buy because I only know it through my Mother in law who has a stash of vintage. Now that gives me an idea for a thread. Let's have fun.

...Triffid:I hope it works out for you Omni! I'm just realising how many BBs are actually in my collection. Recent spectacular successes with "Cuir de Lancome" (adore it), Guerlain "Heritage" (fellas be damned! Love it) and "Ma Griffe" (perfect green, very cheap but, alas, longevity could be better).Ma Griffe was one of our first perfumes in the sixties, the collection that my Mum and I scored as abandoned or forgotten when the guests checked out (she was a housemaid at an International hotel) It was too old for me then but I wore it, and others. Weil de Weil was bone dry and one that made it to New Zealand. Rive Gauche and Je Reviens were popular. I remember my Aunt giving me 'Le Train Bleu' by Picot, the equivalent of poor mans' french perfume. Shiseido Zen was so beautiful then but I thought it was slumming it. How stupid, with hindsight it was amazing. Fidji, another gift, disappeared faster than a speeding bullet. I'm sure the current Ma Griffe is better than Fidji was.Cuir de Lancome is ravishing, so was Magie Noire. I really liked Magie Noire, my memory banks can almost smell it.

...Triffid:I wear the Chanel "Allure Homme Edition Blanche" myself and two of the men in my household are "Gucci Pour Homme II" wearers. I think the majority of us have largely designer scent collections with a handful of niche, vintage or pricier scents. There's no shame in collecting budget or designer frags!I ordered Courtesan by Worth as a Blind Buy. It hasn't come yet. It was inexpensive at the online discounters. My best blind buy was Loris Azzaro's Couture, $25 NZ dollars from SNet on a daily special. It's happiness in a bottle, so effervescent and yet so posh. Love it. Sometimes I'm not so lucky, but hey, I'm not playing the one armed bandits in a seedy dive, I'm a perfume hobbyist and I have a budget, mostly, fairly consistently, with a little leeway

...Esoada:Thank you for the good answer!You are very welcome

...Esoada:Where can I buy a real Shalimar pure perfume?I live in SwedenGo to Fragrancex. At the bottom of the page is a menu that lists Pure Perfume. It's all in Black, the print I mean, so take your time to find. Shalimar Pure Perfume is listed as of today. I live in New Zealand, at the bottom of the world, and order frequently from this site. I have had no problems although sometimes it can take a couple of weeks.

...I think Burberry London is a contender

...dont know how it happened but I seem to be a sucker for the leather/violet combo. but I am promiscuous, as you would expect from a leather/violet lover. The humble bee doesn't worry where it gets its pollen from.