Three perfumes three little reviews for the last Friday in September

The Body Shop Moroccan Rose.  Actually this stuff is extremely good for the price. A lighter and less complex take on Lutens Sa Majeste la Rose.  Not much 'Moroccan" - more of a soliflore.   And is quite long lasting.

Odin New York 04 Petrana. An extremely well-crafted iris.  Carol/WAFT called it a "drunken iris."  Meg/Olenska gives it five stars.  Suzanne of Eiderdown Press wrote that this perfume was at the top of her 2010 list in her Sniffapalooza article.  And I'm left blown away at the craftsmanship but not moved by it at all.  So don't listen to me - those other three have much better noses so click over to read what they have to say about this one.

L'Artisan Poivre Piquant. "Inspired by wedding story in the Kama Sutra" and translates to 'hot pepper'.  Oh dear.  If I was that bride, I'd be miffed.  White pepper, licorice, milk and honey. And again, I think I'm the only one in the world who is totally uninspired and unmoved by this one, and I'm a big pepper and licorice fan.  Every other review I found for this is has been glowing.

Interesting that the one I liked best was the least expensive.

and the winner is!!!

(all my samples are totally and completely organized...for now!)

I used a random number generator but cannot figure out how to post it on my blog.

1) Laurie
2) Poodle
3) Christine
4) Barbara

And the random generator kicked out the number ONE - which is Laurie.

Congratulations Laurie - email me your address and the sample(s) you would like.

Thanks to everyone for posting.  And because this was really fun for me, I'll be doing more giveaways in the future.

weather turning and spicy roses

Monday: Gorilla Perfume at LUSH - The Smell of Weather Turning.  I really wanted to like this one better. Probably because I expected more dirt and wet, and less mint or something. The weather where I live doesn't turn this way.  (The dry down is really nice, though.).  Check out a marvelous review of this by Olenska here at Parfumieren.

Tuesday:  I haven't sampled Le Labo Patchouli 24 until now. And please know that I do not know which formulation I have, although after reading this post by Gaia, I'm assuming it's the/a newer version.   First impressions is that it is a sweetish smokey patch. Unlike some reviews I have read, this does not shout out very loud on me, and actually falls away from my skin fairly quickly. Here's another review, this time from Michael.

(I add to this post each day so if my syntax is confusing, that's one of the reasons why.  Another reason is because I'm a sloppy writer ;)

I'm also putting on some Rose 31. Okay now this is the stuff!!  A wonderful spicy spicy spicy warm rose, and absolutely perfect for this weather.   Cloves, pepper, and oud?  WHAT!?! I swore to myself that I would not touch any oud for another year or so.  I had big silly plans to go all oud in the future, sort of a "I'm too late but aren't I funny that I'm bringing back oud when everyone is sick of it" kind of thing.  You know, bringing oud-y back.  Sigh.

I'm testing it against Eau d'Italie Paestum Rose (PR is sweeter and more rosey), L'Artisan Voleur de Roses (VdR is lighter/fresher) and Czech & Speake Dark Rose (DR is fruiter and marble floor-ish - I know that makes no sense to anyone but me, esp since I do not believe there is fruit or marble in the notes.).   I actually really like and/or love all of the perfumes mentioned here.  I'm just thinking a decant of  Rose 31 may be in my near future.

Wednesday: Cool and rainy. Going with another Le Labo, my well-loved Labdanum 18.

Giveaway!   There is no rhyme or reason for a giveaway other than the fact that I have never done it before.  So if one lucky reader wants a 3 ml decant (or three 1 ml decants) of anything in my list of full bottles and my large decants, post something below.  I made it easy - there is no 'captcha' anymore.  But your response may take some time to show up as I moderate them now.  The last day to reply is TOMORROW,  Thursday September 27th by 5:00 p.m. EST  (USA only, sorry)

(leaves turning in front of our house)

Spending time with Providence Perfume Co.

Between the two gardens I have (at home and at the community garden) I have been so busy with canning, freezing and dehydrating the fruits of our labor that I have neglected to post for awhile.  But I have spent some personal time with my Providence Perfume Co. samples in these last two weeks, and have been thoroughly enjoying them.  Two from my stash I have already reviewed and I have linked to those reviews.    Rose Boheme and Eva Luna.

I'm going to get this out in the open straight away.  I like Charna.  I like her a lot.  Although I have never met her in person, she was so very helpful to me over the phone last year when my son was moving to Providence and I was needing some logistical help with the whole moving process. I'm stating this for the full-disclosure thing-a-ma-jig.  Am I able to review her perfumes without the thought of her kindness?  Well probably not, but I will try.  I'm linking each perfume to the Providence Perfume Co. website so you can see all the notes and information.  Also know that many of these samples I bought on my own, and a few Charna sent to me free of charge.  I cannot remember which are which, though.  Oh my poor aging brain!

All the samples are Eau de Parfum except for the one body oil.

Hindu Honeysuckle:  This is one of my absolute favorites of the line. It is fresh and deep all in one, with jasmine being clean, the vetiver not overwhelmingly (I have a difficult time with vetiver - sometimes it is too melancholy for me, but not in this perfume), and the dry down is pure Charna signature beauty.

Ginger Lily:  Big fat slices of juicy goodness on a bed of warmth. 'Nuff said!

Osmanthus Oolong:  One of the best tea-based perfumes I have ever tried.  So many others are wimpy - this one has stature  I'm kinda bummed I spent money on a 10 ml decant of Tea for Two.  Drat.

Divine: A sophisticated orange blossom/neroli that is glamorous and yet down-to-earth.  Gorgeous!

Divine Noir:  This is absolutely stunning.  "A vintage inspired interpretation of our Divine..." (from Charna's website).  I cannot get enough of this.  Must.have.now.  I adore the root beer/sarsaparilla note in it which adds lift and a pinch of sweetness to the bottom notes of oakmoss and vanilla.  The way the notes are blended and yet stand on their own is genius.

Orange Blossom Body Oil:  I have been using my sample on my hands because they're super dry with all the gardening I have been doing.  With a mixture of oils (sweet almond, safflower, apricot, to name a few), this skin-loving-product is perfect for not only my hands, but the bath too.  I'm actually going to order the set of these samples next as a full bottle of one (or two) of these body oils is a must have.  Other body oil offerings are Amber Cream, Lavender Vanilla, and Wild Lime Leaf.  At $26.00 for a 100 ml bottle, you cannot go wrong!

Okay I admit it.  I gush about Providence Perfume Co.  I do. But I think it is worthy of gushing.  I also want to hang out in Charna's house some time - I bet it smells amazing.

I'm off now to pick the last of the tomatoes at the community garden.  And then I have to figure out what to do with them. Wish me luck.

The first week in September, scents

Sunday - Les Nereides Opoponax.  My birthday is coming up next month - I am going to ask for a bottle of this for my present!

Monday:  PdE Azemour.  It was a bit bitter on my skin, but I'm blaming the humidity.

Tuesday:  Laura Ashley L'Eau (thanks L!).  What a pleasant surprise!

Wednesday:  It was a cool day, plus I was up late Tuesday night watching the Democratic National Convention, so I wore Parfumerie Generale L'Ombre Fauve. Nearly as good as wearing a sweater!  (Inspired by Olenska's review found here)

Thursday:  Hilde Soliani Conaffetto.  I am embarrassed to say I do not remember who sent me this sample.  It has been sitting for awhile, and I am now on a mission to sniff every un-sniffed sample I own (see my new list of samples in this blog). Conaffetto is magical!  Only three notes:  orange blossoms, almonds, and sugar. Think Jordan almonds with depth and atmosphere and longevity.  Here's a wonderful review, with the background to the making of this perfume, at CaFleureBon.

Friday:  Coty L'Aimant; the perfect way to start the weekend!

What a day!

I spent over 5 hours cataloging and organizing all my samples. I hope to have the list posted soon - I want to highlight those I have mentioned on this blog, and then figure out where to go from here.

I'm wearing a ton of stuff.  While going through so many samples, I just had to stop and smell the roses, or the vetiver, or the..well you get the idea.

Thanks goes out to all of you wonderful perfume lovers - bloggers and non-blogger alike - who have swapped, or just sent me samples from the love in your hearts.  And thank you again for those who read this blog!

I'm overjoyed and overwhelmed!

(This photo was actually taken at the end of August, but I was happy because I just canned a bunch of stuff and felt accomplished, and I'm also super happy today so I thought I'd post it.  Also note that everyone looks good when you take a photo from a high angle! ;)

One sentence reviews- this should be fun

Tom Ford Violet Blond:  A dusty version of Serge Lutens Bois de Violette.

Aramis 900:  Could be unisex, could be more.

Diptyque 34 Blvd Saint Germain.  Hmm..well okay then, I'm getting sleepy.

Diptyque Eau Rose -  Eau yes - a beautifully simple pretty rose which I need and want as soon as possible.

Oh and thanks to Dana Oliver who wrote up this list on Stylelist!  - and for those who found this blog through that article, hello and welcome!  I actually don't think I'm one of the top perfume bloggers but it sure was wacky, weird and wonderful to see my blog mentioned there!