...I guess it could be put this way PBullFriend. Apologies for being kind of incoherent, but please blame it on the festive swilling spree. What I'm actually asking is your opinion about whether it's France or Italy being the most important country in perfumery, based on your personal likings and most cherished scents.Of course there's always a chance that someone could answer that her/his favourite country is England, if (s)he's in love with Atkinsons', Geo F. Trumper's and Yardley's creations. So you're right, I'd better rephrase and ask which is the country where most of the fragrances in your "I love it" list come from.

...First of all I hope that all of you had a perfectly perfumed Christmas and I wish you a divinely fragrant New Year.Now, this is pestering me for a couple of decades. I'm yet to conclude whether it's France or Italy that tips the scales when it comes to deciding who was the heaviest hitter in both vintage and contemporary olfactory fields. The question also includes who could be the bronze medallist in this race if Germany, Spain and U.S.A. where also standing in the starting line along with the shoo-ins. So let the starter shoot his gun.

...It's a miniature of Aubusson's "Vingt Cinq / 25" like the one depicted here.http://www.parfumo.com/Users/Ute/PerfumePicture/27487It's name was printed on a sticker which in your vial has obviously come off.

...It was a by all means groundbreaking fragrance when it was launched, but this doesn't mean anything by itself. Its uniqueness was in the fact that its aquatic qualities were neither fresh nor sunny. They were rather of a very dense, metallic and somewhat oily kind, bordering haunting I might say, which made it a very difficult and demanding fragrance to wear. If Davidoff's Cool Water, the other iconic aquatic fragrance of the era, was a picture of the crystal clear, warm and friendly waters of the Mediterranean, Kenzo pour Homme was the darkness of the desolate hadal waters of the Marianas Trench. This made it one of the scariest fragrances ever in my book. And since a) scary fragrances are not common at all and b) I like them a lot, there was no other way to go with Kenzo pour Homme except loving it.

...Well, what else can I say, other than Fransesco Smalto should sue the hell out of them? To tell the truth Pierre Cardin's bottle always reminded me of a microphone more than anything else, with a gear stick coming a close second. By the way, Pierre Cardin still "is", and as it seems he remains an old sleaze even in his 93.As for Rochas Man, it looks like an award of the "Western Mongolia Porn Film Festival" kind, and perhaps this is why the Chris Isaak wannabe pretends that he doesn't see it...

...The original Kenzo pour Homme bottle was supposedly a reference to a bamboo stem, which is a symbol of power and flexibility in Japan. Since these two traits are crucial for Japanese sword making, it could be also interpreted like the hilt of a katana sword, or a shirasaya to be more precise.Now, since no one seems to know anything about the elusive hybrid which kickstarted this thread, let's have some fun. Speaking of phallic, how about this fine specimen of modesty and subtlety galore?And if you think this is an insulting example of male chauvinism, well, think again. It comes for ladies too, in the most unexpected colour for a lady.The guys at Francesco Smalto were swearing that the bottle is inspired by a rifle stock, obviously expecting that its name, FullChoke, will provide their allegations with some credit. I don't know, but if that was really the case, then it must have been the greatest fail of seeing the obvious ever...

...The new flacon is plastic??? Oh my...I really had no idea! Well, what else can I say except that this was the utmost way to desecrate an once divine fragrance?

...During an online search about the availability of vintage Kenzo pour Homme, I stumbled upon something that shouldn't be there. I guess we all know how the first masculine Kenzo looked like when it was launched and how its "modernisation" scarred it for ever (although it did so by actually removing its scars). But just in case...So, does anyone have any idea about what on earth is this?The beautiful sculpted bottle of the vintage one (one of my favourites ever), has been changed with the simple and dull one for over a decade now, if my memory serves me well. So does anybody know what's the case with this one having the vintage bottle and a completely unknown embossed box? The vintage white and gray box was actually embossed too as I can say with certainty since I used a good number of bottles back in the day. The conundrum in question is mainly found in Russian, Belarusian and Polish perfume sites, and thus I was wondering whether it could just be the way that Kenzo pour Homme dresses over yonder. But on a second thought, distributing the fragrance in its original bottle just for a couple of countries doesn't make much sense. Why would they keep its vintage bottle but not its vintage box? Being a knock-off doesn't seem possible either, since this is quite an expensive bottle to make and the fragrance is not produced in this bottle anymore anyways. Unless it's the latest presentation of Kenzo pour Homme, and I was caught off guard and totally unaware of it. In this case I'd be more than happy to have the old bottle welcomed back, given that the fragrance inside has also made a U-turn towards its glorious past. I hope there's someone out there that'll shed some light on this possible mystery...

...GothicHeart:Absolutely fine with me. Reduced to how many? Suggestions anybody?Thanks for understanding...

...Absolutely fine with me. Reduced to how many? Suggestions anybody?

...Eucris it is! Εύχαρις/EF-ha-rees/Eucharis means graceful in not so ancient Greek indeed. It is mentioned by Ian Fleming in "Diamonds are forever". The other fragrance out of the two that he has mentioned in his novels is No.89 by Floris. When he asked them if he was allowed to use it in one of his books, the guys in Floris were not only thrilled by this unexpected advertising, but they also provided Fleming with a lifetime free supply of it. Good work Cema! Now it's your turn to puzzle us.

...Welcome aboard Cema, and happy guessings! Unfortunately it's not Ardent. It's something much much older than that.

...Although Jicky was Sean Connery's and Roger Moore's favourite, no, it still has to be tall and black. It actually looks a lot like the one you've posted, but it has a much less flamboyant silver crown topping it, which is made of pewter!!! It's named after a greek word for "graceful". It was (allegedly) worn by James Bond as a character, not by the actor impersonating him, and it's one of the two colognes that Ian Fleming has mentioned in his books (or so I think). It comes from an English house, and the crown cap is found in every perfume they make, with the one in question being the only one having it in silver.

...James Bond in "Diamonds are Forever" is the key indeed... I think that now it should come as a piece of (English) cake.

...I have to admit that I'm not capable for staging such an elaborated clue, or figuring such an one out probably... And your impossible connections, they all fit goddamn it! But... The century plus period is literal, the certain Brit's name is James, and the "C" is of the kind that's found on Mendeleev stuff...

...Being an impertinent doomsayer, I'd be happy with this house clue too...Actually I like Gauloises and Gitanes a lot. The combination of their foul stench with Davidoff and Drakkar Noir was simply divine back in the days!It's black, it's tall,it wears a crown.A century it's lasting.Was worn by a certain Britwhen C was everlasting.

...Gauloises and especially Gitanes were my staples in high school when I wanted to reduce ciggy scrounging a (big) bit. No one has ever asked for a second one... 100% cutthroats! As for the Frenchy helm, I wish I could make you one, but I'm not that good a blacksmith. However, if you ever need any badass and battle ready Viking shield, just let me know...I'd say Almost Transparent Blue by A Lab on Fire.

..."This" will suffice Triffid... Pity they've changed the iconic packwith this "modernization" disaster.Ciggies can be reformulated too as it seems. And never for the better...

...Actually Sirius IS a Greek word (Σείριος), and it means the one who scorches, but nevertheless, I'd like to see the "...it's an uncommonly used Greek form of Sirius.", because I've never heard of it. Xeryus was meant to be launched as Keryus in the first place, but Yves Saint Laurent started bitching about a possible confusion with his Kouros, making Givenchy to change the name after perhaps a handful of bottles were launched under the Keryus label. So if you ever come upon one of these, don't choke yourself laughing about the lame counterfeit attempt. On the contrary, grab it and run! The same goes if you encounter any Xeryus that has its name written on a sticker, as its 100% Keryus underneath it. Given all that, it seems that Xeryus had nothing to do with the star originally, as Keryus could be only related with Καίριος (Kerios) which means crucial or Κύριος (Kyrios) which means main or master/lord, if the name derives from a Greek word, that is. Pisces here; pleased to meet you Taurus!Rather unknown, both scent and house,and that's for sure a shame.She's much more French than any French,as proudly claims her name.If she had red she'd be her flag,and Marseillaise would rock her.And though she has no smoky notes,as some old winged helmet denotes,she's quite a heavy smoker.

...I LOVE astronomy clues!!!Soivohle's Dog Star and Dolma's Sirius.