Notes from out in the Wild

Whoo-hoo I went out! It was the coldest day of the week, I was short on cash, short on time and I felt crappy. As in crappy on the outside: my hair needed a washing and I feel fat, too much sitting/hanging in the house, the winter isn't good for me. But my jeans still fit : ) Crappy or not I had to get out for an afternoon, so I did.

I had my sights set on either Jeux De Peau or Musc Ravageur, both of which I have tested at length (in the form of a couple of sample vials and a  8ml decant).  No money. I brought my Saks card (just in case, in case of what? Me falling for another Guerlain?)

Photo: Tom Kelley / Getty Images

Some quick thoughts & impressions:

on the back of my right hand is: Serge Lutens Fleurs D'Oranger. Um, it's ok. Didn't knock me off my feet. Nice and indeed similar to Eau De Naphie which I have a bottle of stashed away.

on the back of my left hand is: SL's Cuir Mauresque. I am sorry I wasted my hand on this. First impression: bleech. Not good. Sounded good on paper (the notes, that is) not good to my nose.

On a slim strips of test paper are:

Sa Majesté La Rose: I have never smelled a perfume that smelled more identical to a rose as this. It's all rose, as if you've stuck your nose right into one, inhaling the soul of a rose. Yes it's green in the beginning, but that's just you as you're approaching the garden, once you're at the rosebush, it's all rose. It smells alive. Like there are freshly cut roses in a vase nearby, but even that doesn't fully describe the "alive" part. It's hard to explain. I don't think this is something I'd wear, I don't know-I like to think of myself as adventurous, if given a sample/decant I'd give it a whirl. I have been thinking of roses lately,  Rose is my middle name-and my family would address me using both my first & middle names to distinguish me from the other N's in the family.  I have a rose tattoo, I feel I'm entitled to have a rose perfume, too. But this doesn't seem as the rose scent for me. I am not writing it off completely, though.

Feminite du Bois: Classical, smokey, woods, I don't get peach or florals in this, it's striking me as inscense-y.  Did I spray one thing & write down another? My next trip will tell.


Now....what the hell is on my left wrist? Wowee, 7 hours later and after washing some dishes I'm smelling something outstanding on my wrist. Not Palmolive. I have good reason to believe it's Tubereuse Criminelle, I am almost positive it's what I sprayed on my left wrist because right after I sprayed the SA* appeared again and I asked for a test strip because I was running out of skin.  This is warm, spicy, slightly creamy,  like something I've smelled before. My vintage Dioressence comes to mind, but this is sweeter and not as perfume-y, not in an old school sense of perfume, if that makes any sense.

Tubereuse Criminelle :
The fragrance features jasmine, orange blossom, hyacinth, tuberose, nutmeg, clove, styrax, musk and vanilla.

Dioressence:
Top notes are aldehydes, orange, fruity notes, patchouli, green notes and bergamot; middle notes are carnation, tuberose, cinnamon, violet, orris root, jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose and geranium; base notes are musk, patchouli, benzoin, vanilla, oakmoss, vetiver and styrax.

Well, they share some notes....will have to get to the bottom of this. It's got to be Tubereuse Criminelle, I just bought a decant (hasn't arrived) and I recall picking up the bottle and thinking I'd be getting a preview.

Edited: My Tuberose Criminelle decant arrived today. That just couldn't be what was that on my left wrist. It smells NOTHING like Dioressence. If I experienced that horrid opening in the store I would have ran for my life : 0 Medicinal, menthol, Ben-Gay, Vicks Vapor Rub, gasoline, rubber (?).
The medicine cabinet notes dried down within 1/2 an hour, but what remained was faint. By that time I was out the door running and running. As in running to the bank, to the vet for the baby's prescription diet food (yes, the baby is a dog, don't think I've mentioned her before here), to the drugstore for the human prescriptions and so on. Not a lotta time for wrist sniffing. Will have to test drive this one when I'll be home all day.

I'm beginning to wonder if one of the Kilian strips rubbed on my wrist when I was searching for something in my purse? It did slightly resemble Love. But it had s spicy vibe. *Sighs* I may never know. And by the time I get back to the store I will have forgotten what it smelled like.

Moving right along....

More paper strips:

By Kilian: Beyond Love. It's beyond yum. Coconut makes me weak at the knees. It's Beyond Reach right now, lololol. Saks does have a set of travel vials equal to 1oz for $70, not too bad.


Love by Kilian. There's enough "Love" at the Kilian display to cause confusion. Prelude to Love, Love and Tears, Beyond Love, Love, Don't Be Shy, Love and Rockets, Make Love Not War. Ok, the last two I added for fun. I sprayed plain old "Love" on my paper strip, took a few sniffs and stuck it in my purse.**

Love is ok, pleasant, but a tad too sweet. Not full bottle worthy. If I need a sweet fix (marshmallow) I can go to La Petite Robe Noire 2. Have to add the 2 in there, did not like the LPRN 1.

One paper strip sprayed with Love, Chloe. The notes sounded promising, but in store and on paper it smelled like a chemical, shrill mess.  Threw the paper away somewhere in my travels.

Alright, next trip with money the Jeax De Peau will be mine. Samples have run out. The last of the samples I let Hubby try, figuring since it's unisex and if he liked it, that would justify buying a bottle. He said the sprayer vial was empty.

*My usual, very helpful SA was not around today. If one of the other SAs had given me the spiel of  "If you apply for a Barney's Card you'll get 10% (or whatever it is) off your purchase today" I would have done so, since I am broke. Ah, it's just as well I didn't. I don't need to be spending money that I don't have. Been there, done that. Learned the lesson. I will go again, next time with some spending money.

**Test Strips: I have a system: spray the paper strips, stick in separate areas for future reference-one in each pocket, one in each compartment of my purse, one in my bra, and so on. Prior to spraying, write name on strip!