...Cruella:Sweetgrass:Cruella:Cryptic:Change of diet, medication and hormonal fluctuations all can have an impact on skin chemistry. Hope the issue resolves itself soon so you can go back to enjoying your favorites.Skin chemistry is an urban myth.How so? I am asking in earnest since I can only assume it is the unique chemistry of one's skin that can turn silver black on some people while it stays bright on others. As an example.Well if you look for skin chemistry online you won't find any reputable scientific explanation or study on it, in fact, the term doesn't even exist within the scientific community because it is a phenomenon that simply doesn't exist. There is scientifically proven old people smell, and pheromones, and also even change in skin smell because of certain diseases, but the notion that a perfume is going to change its odor profile in 0.2 seconds from being sprayed to touching the skin because of a person's individual odor is not a phenomenon supported by science or recognized by it, and further more, most perfumers don't recognize it and in fact assert that it doesn't exist.Thanks for the clarification!

...Cruella:Cryptic:Change of diet, medication and hormonal fluctuations all can have an impact on skin chemistry. Hope the issue resolves itself soon so you can go back to enjoying your favorites.Skin chemistry is an urban myth.How so? I am asking in earnest since I can only assume it is the unique chemistry of one's skin that can turn silver black on some people while it stays bright on others. As an example.

...Not that it isn't interesting to read different takes on the general pressure for brands and houses to reformulate, but I wasn't looking to start yet another topic on that subject seeing as there already is an active, recent one for that purpose. I was merely curious about other people's experiences on a few Piguet reformulations vs. the originals, seeing as the vintage formulas are way out of my reach but someone somewhere could maybe have smelled them. I repeat that there is another topic for discussing IFRA and the evils of reformulation.

...I'm sure Christine Nagel is more than fit for the job! As for Hermès' current selection, where should I start? Apart from "Eau des Merveilles" which I didn't like, they are foreign ground for me.

...Cruella:Well I haven't smelled those but I have smelled vintage Fracas and Futur and they are literally the same smell now as it was in the 40's and 60's respectively. ...I think they are doing a great job really, my only problem is that they released 13 new scents in one year. I don't see a point in doing that, but I don't wear them anyway, the important thing is that their classics are perfectly preserved.That is good to hear! I've read that Visa would not have survived reformulation quite as well, though. I wish I could like Bandit but on my skin it's just poisonous green florals and pungent musk and nothing else gets through, alas.

...Is there anyone here who is familiar with vintage Piguets and could weigh in on the recent reformulations of Bandit and Visa? I have been sniffing Visa today and while it's okay and inoffensive, I do wonder what it was like originally.

...Triffid:I now have my Explorer set, though not from the giveaway Pipette mentions. The presentation is fabulous - the larger slider tin looks both modern yet retro and delivery took just a few days via Fedex. Two free samples were also included - bonus!Ooohh sounds fantastic! Which ones did you order btw? Any chance of a few reviews? ;)I got a 15ml bottle of "Une Rose Vermeille" and wonder if I'm going to like it... Nevertheless I'm curious, but feeling too sensitive to smells right now to try it. I sampled a few absolutely horrible perfumes a few hours ago and I still feel a bit ill for it.

...I have been playing with a very curious 10-month-old puppy while he was staying at our place. He seems to love chewing our firewood. Haven't had a dull day the entire week :D

...BEYONCÉ!

...Thank you.

...Epimedes:Sweetgrass:I am not that familiar with the functions on Basenotes (other than I find their directory hard to use and sorely lacking) but one thing really irks me: reviews have to approved by an admin before they are published. Is this is a general thing or something they do to control new members for spam accounts? Does anybody on here know? Because that hampers news users' participation, and seeing as I already participate in two perfume communities, I can't be arsed to jump through hoops like that.EDIT, never mind — apparently you have to pay for your reviews to go through instantly. I knew there was a reason why that site seemed a bit off to me.I don't think about Basenotes as restrictive or that they discourage new users' participation. True, there have been a few instances of overreaching mods, but the real problem with how things are run is on the technical side, which I believe also irks Aromi so much (and I agree). For one thing, I would prefer if they had more control over the obvious shills infesting the forum, for one company in particular which shall remain unnamed here so as not to generate another google hit.I can totally see your frustration, Sweetgrass. But there are lots of good people there who are truly enthusiastic about perfume and it is a lively community. They just need someone who is really competent and has a clear vision to go over their technical base, that's all. And I really hope this thread will not evolve into some sort of BN bashing. Let's stay on the constructive side!I was talking about how counterintuitive in the extreme it is to put a core function of any perfume site behind a paywall, and that was my entire frustration. I haven't even set foot in the BN forums or explored other parts of the site, as I said, and was not commenting on how those are moderated, and much less on how the site's migrations have been handled. I am sure it is a nice and lively community but life is short.EDIT: I hope this doesn't seem rude or anything, I certainly don't mean to offend anyone, but it seems like you (Epimedes) were responding to something completely different than my post, which you quoted. But you are right, discussing BN's (lack of) functionality here seems a bit misplaced, and I am not here to slam the site, either.

...I am not that familiar with the functions on Basenotes (other than I find their directory hard to use and sorely lacking) but one thing really irks me: reviews have to approved by an admin before they are published. Is this is a general thing or something they do to control new members for spam accounts? Does anybody on here know? Because that hampers news users' participation, and seeing as I already participate in two perfume communities, I can't be arsed to jump through hoops like that.EDIT, never mind — apparently you have to pay for your reviews to go through instantly. I knew there was a reason why that site seemed a bit off to me.

...Cruella:I don't think Elizabeth Taylor perfumes should be considered cheapies, at least not the first three she released, they all cost over 160 dollars an ounce and debuted at the most high of the high end stores. Specially White Diamonds which cost 200 dollars an ounce upon release.I had no idea :shock: they float around eBay for 10-20 USD for a 100ml bottle so something has clearly changed.

...I think your question contains the answer. If you have office-appropriate fragrances in your collection, just wear them. If you need new fragrances for office, buy them! I trust that your living situation will change at some point (few of us stay put for all eternity) and you will get the chance to wear your heavier favourites without a care. Better be armed with a comprehensive perfume wardrobe because you never know what the future will bring :)

...Digindirt:Sweetgrass won my Worldwide LOT. She won: 4.5ml of each Guerlain Apres l'Ondee Guerlain Shalimar Ode a la Vanille Sur la route de Madagascar Guerlain Shalimar Ode a la Vanille Sur la Route du Mexique Guerlain Mayotte and 2.5ml of each Guerlain L'Heure Bleue edt (lot 1x01, from 2011) Guerlain Guerlain Idylle Duet Jasmin-Lilas Photo on my album and 15 ml of Tauer Une Rose Vermeille Laura Mercier Eau Gourmande Creme de Pistache.There is a photo in my album.Somebody just won Lutens La Fille de Berlin 1.7 oz bottle for just $2I am really happy for this and really encourage Parfumo folks from the US to participate!

...Lah2o:Hi everybody, I just discovered this site yesterday and it has been fun reading all your replies! So far I've heard two comments regarding the perfume I was wearing that I will probably never forget.I was having a really, really lovely evening in a fine restaurant with my boyfriend. Before leaving I sprayed some Frederic Malle's Portrait of a Lady on me in the restroom. When we left the restaurant hand in hand my boyfriend took a good sniff and said "Mm, you smell like the woman of my life."Another time I was wearing Comme des Garcons Incense series Zagorsk. The goddaughter of my boyfriend told me I smelled "funny, like nose spray" O_oHi Lah2o, and welcome to Parfumo! I can only wish for compliments like you got from your boyfriend, seriously that is the best I've heard :)

...Sherapop:Looking at my windowsill this afternoon, I realized that the reason why these four bottles are completely drained is because I can wear them anytime and spray on with reckless abandon--they are all feel-good perfumes for me:Oh dear I forgot Féerie! I have the edp, which is gorgeous. Just curious, is there any difference between the edt and edp or are they just that, different concentrations?

...Must be "Coromandel". Oh god. This perfume is everything.

...Seeing as the actual formulas are trade secrets it could just be a marketing ploy, especially in the midst of the current wave of reformulation. Without a vintage sample to compare it's impossible to say whether the perfume has remained the same. IFRA regulations could play a role but that is being discussed in another thread -- interesting stuff!Not saying it's a bad thing though -- when big businesses keep swallowing smaller perfume houses, some kind of a sign of independence is really good pr and will definitely catch my eye.

...Sherapop, some really good points, especially on BHT! Are there any sources aside of Wikipedia on it? Any theories as to why it's pushed?It's a shame though that friend of mine cannot stand me wearing "Coromandel", even though she is fine with everything else I've used in her presence and uses some perfume herself. But then again some light sneezing just the once is probably not enough to turn a person off perfume :)