...Prada´s Amber - it has become a regular in my wardrobe.

...Everybody is allowed to eat delicious foods but I am the only one who must sit aside and watch them scam in loads of macarons ! :-)Or you have the finest fragrances you could image just in front of you but when you reach for the bottle it vanishes :-)Or you become the personal assistant of Anna Wintour *laughingnow*...the devil wears Prada as we all know, right ? :-)

...Handbags can become a hobby :-) I have more than I need but they are so nice to have and also to look at.My most favourite cheapies are vinyl bags by FAUCHON, the French noble supermarket and HARROD´S. These bags are not only very practical and handy and lots of stuff fits in them (and you can nicely wear them on your shoulder) but they also look very nice and nobody else has them (at least not where I live) :) And they last for years, even with daily use and strain by carrying heavy things in them. I have those :http://www.fauchon.com/fr/sac-shopping-pop.htmlhttp://www.fauchon.com/fr/sac-shopping-ton-sur-ton.htmlhttp://www.fauchon.com/fr/sac-shopping-noir-et-blanc.htmlhttp://www.harrods.com/product/westie-shoulder-bag/harrods/000000000002923376?cat1=new-gifts&cat2=new-gifts-shoppershttp://www.harrods.com/product/harrods-boutique-gusset-bag-small/harrods/000000000002274770?cat1=new-gifts&cat2=new-gifts-shoppersAbsolutely love them.Designer bags are nice but I only have a few expensive ones. The foldable bags by Longchamp ("Le Pliage") are very nice, too.Style does not define itself by a big name but by the way a decorative piece is worn :-) That´s my humble opinion.

...Wine : Sorry, I am not much of a wine afficionada but I might enjoy a glass or two of Dom Pérignon Vintage :-)Travel : Tahiti or Bora Bora *dreamingawaynow* Sitting on the beach, watching the sunset, sipping a Pina Colada and not worrying about a thing. I might add that my favourite music for that scene might be some Chopin nocturnes or Barbra Streisand :-)Perfume : That´s a tough one, really tough :-) I love so many but the one that stands above all others is MITSOUKO.

...Hi Everyone !I am curious and would like to know your absolute all-time favourite songs :-)Here is my listing :1) Big Spender / Shirley Bassey2) Waterloo / ABBA3) Penny Lane / The Beatles4) Temple of love / Sisters of Mercy5) True colours / Cindy Lauper6) My baby just cares for me / Nina Simone7) Dancin´forever / THP Orchestra8 ) Wonderful world / Louis Armstrong9) New York New York / Frank Sinatra10) Magic Fly / SpaceThe songs are not listed with any preferance, I have loved them all for ages and I will most likely do so for the next 30 or so years :-)Your turn now :-)

...Gone with the windHarold and MaudeDead Poets SocietyFried Green TomatoesDriving Miss DaisyBen Hur (the original one with Charlton Heston)Planet of the Apes (also the original with Ch.Heston)The BirdsRear windowThe handmaid´s tale

...Pipette:Well, they show-case where they believe they can get buyers. Us mere mortals who only occasionally take plane transport, are left with department store ware, well, there is always the internet as a source of most coveted things.I am happy that Guerlain finally have made their exclusive lines more available in well-known department stores in bigger cities so that one does not always have to travel to Paris in order to get one of their nice frags.However, I have not made good experiences with their staff. Once I bought Bois d'Armenie + Oriental Brulant in Munich which together sold for about 400 Euro (!!) and I received a smile but no samples at all whereas I read that in other sales locations they do hand out some.In Paris a very young sales assistant did not know anything about the oud line which was upcoming at that time. I found that rather embarrassing (for her and Guerlain).In Stuttgart/Germany (Breuninger department store) the ladies are real b....s, they tend to look down on you as if you were an insect that is annoying instead of a valued customer. Not good.Unfortunately, it seems there is no Guerlain online store where one could order and have it shipped internationally ?Sometimes I am tired of such "exclusive bla-bla-bla" brands that only aggravate customers instead of letting them feel the magic that some of their fine scents actually transport. A pity, really.

...Gold:Pipette:From Frankfurt to Paris in three.five minutes ?!? No TGV can zip that fast ... he he heI wrote 3 hs and fifty (50) min - and that's the time it really takes. No kidding! Have done it so often, no doubt about it. :DYup, same from Stuttgart where I usually embark on the TGV :-)

...Only one : "Baiser du Dragon" by CartierA shame they no longer produce it - such a nice almondy elixir.

...Seatonica:Let's not forget that these days a discontinued perfume doesn't have to be very oldOf course, you are right. It was just that my first notion with "discontinued" usually refers to scents gone for more than a decade or so. I was young in the 80s and 90s so my memory is sort of stuck there :-)

...If somebody asks what I am wearing it is usually a person that I know. Complete strangers never have.I do not keep my perfume a secret. It´s a vital accessory but not the essence of my soul. Besides, I have noticed so many times that the same perfume smells quite different on each person so to me there is no "scent rivalry" with others.

...@ Pipette : I watched Supersize Me and really felt sorry for Morgan Spurlock doing such an experiment with himself.After all his doctor seriously recommended him to stop eating those greasy burgers and fries.I admit : I like fastfood and also like burgers (even though I cannot eat them anymore due to my veggie regimen) but only once or twice a year.For sure I am not the the one to point the finger at those "bad bad foods" that are said to kill us way ahead of our time by diabetes, strokes, liver failure or whatnot.But I have noticed that during my new way of eating (much more vegetables and soy products regularly) I am inclined of saying that I feel much better physically. Often I was terribly tired in the afternoon but that has changed for the better. Besides, my migraines have reduced significantly. I am still trying to find out if only the absence of meat is the cause for that or if a regular dosis of soy helped me with those headaches. However, I frankly admit that I sometimes want a piece of meat *sigh* ... do I feel like a "better" human being now by ignoring meat products ? Hmmm....no, I´m afraid not.

...Cryptic:The Beatles!!! Nobody has posted a single Beatles song yet. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJhcGepfG04Lovely ! I like the good old Beatles tunes a lot.My favourite songs of the Fab 4 are "The long and winding road", "Penny Lane" and "Eleanor Rigby". Immortal music to my ears.

...Dannyboy:Lamb - Wise EnoughDo you know Lamb´s "Gorecki" ? I love this tune.

...I have bought 2-3 discontinued fragrances so far and they all had gone bad and smelled accordingly so I am now reluctant to waste any more time on such old frags.Hence I now rather pay attention to scents that might go out of production and buy a spare bottle instead.

...My favourite retro shows :Golden GirlsBewitchedI dream of JeannieThe MunstersThe Addams FamilyTwilight Zone (the 60s black-white original)The Night GalleryScience Fiction TheaterAlfred Hitchcock Hour / PresentsHighway to HeavenHart to HartMurder she wroteRemington SteeleSimon & SimonStar TrekKojakDynastyFalcon CrestLove BoatPaperdollsThe Cosby ShowFriday 13th (remember that cool red-head lady ? *g*)Fury (I loved that horse when I was a kid)X-Files(and a few more but it would take up too much room to continue *g*)And here are the modern-day ones :Sex and the CityThe NannyPrince of Bel AirCarnivaleBoardwalk EmpireThe Walking DeadIn German television they have recently launched PanAm, Grimm and soon there will be American Horror Story which I will most likely enjoy alot :-)As you can see I am more of a retro-oriented gal. I love shows that are much older than me.

...I am fighting with my excessive pounds - not (yet) really bad but undoubtably something to be dealt with.Although I try to cook as often as I can this does not necessarily result in low-cal meals :-( Since 3 weeks or so I have started being a "Boycotarian" as I call it : an ovo-lacto vegetarian with the aim to become a better human being. I actually love the smell and taste of meat meals / products but I watched a documentary showing horrific cruelty to animals, that was the point when I started "boycotting" this industry. I do not know how long it will last or even if my health will improve at all but it is an interesting experiment to me and surely worth a try.Well, losing some weight might be a more than welcome side-effect. I hope.The absence of meat / meat products in my diet surely has helped my intestines. Used to have bowel issues but that has really improved. Fast food tastes good - sometimes but I have come to appreciate the merits of freshly cooked dishes, the taste is no comparison.I am just too lazy in the evening when I come home from work.

...Victor Hugo / "Les Misérables""Avoiding sometimes resembles searching." Freely translated from me as I could not find any official transcript into English. Have read the novel in German, the original was written in French.***********************************************W.M. Thackeray / "Vanity Fair""A love-transaction: the one who loves and the other who condescends to be so treated." This is the original wording.***********************************************I must not forget dear Oscar Wilde who blessed mankind with so many brilliant bonmots :"Be yourself. Everyone else is taken." :)

...Used niche scent was fine (based on 1 experience so far) but vintages turned out a major fail for me - they had gone bad :-(As for new mainstream perfumes I would rather buy those elsewhere.My recommendation : try to find your samples / bottles here at Parfumo. It´s worth perousing the souk.

...Oud really seems to be a major issue everywhere in the perfume world. I have come to love Montale´s "Black Aoud" and Armani´s "Oud Royale" as well as "Midnight Oud" by JHAG, I have tried many many more oud scents and most of them had to move out again.XerJoff´s Oud Stars somehow disappointed me after the first glamour feeling waned. Not even the much-hyped "Mamluk" could thrill me.Do I feel bored with oud ? Very much so, especially after discovering that now even Roberto Cavalli offers his "oud".For the time being I will stick to "my" ouds and let the others rave. I think it is perfectly OK not to chase every fashion trend :-)