Spray v. Dab

Most of the time, the samples I have on hand to test are 1 ml. ones.  I usually dab the perfume on, and write impressions of it, or spend a little more time with the fragrance (a couple of days with the dab) and write a little more about it.

A recent episode with HdP Noir Patchouli made me question how I do things - my initial post about this scent was done after I had dabbed my sample on over a couple of days.  Then I received a 10 ml decant of it and I was able to spray with abandon.  I had to change my thoughts on this fragrance because with spraying, it became really loud (which I love) but that wasn't my initial take on it.  In fact, yesterday I had to sample from both items (the 1 ml which I had a tiny bit left and the 10 ml decant) to see if the formula was different. No the formula didn't seem that much different, but now I don't even trust my nose anymore!

As this blog is more a journal for me as I weave through all the scent in my life, I do feel a bit guilty that perhaps I steer readers wrong.  Well, I usually do link to other reviews, but still.

Hmmmm.

Impressions: Iris 39, and a handful of vanilla

Iris 39:  Ahh, gorgeous floral celery.  Yeah, I know, doesn't sound so good, but it is.

Now for the vanillas:  I have been on the look-out for the perfect vanilla - something that smells like vanilla extract in perfume form.

Yves Rocher Vanille Noire - The most lovely hit of creamy vanilla, and a bit of medicinal something. Quite the steampunk, with lace.

Annick Goutal Vanille Exquise.  This pretty vanilla stays very close to my skin.  I need to drench myself to really revel in it, so perhaps I need a large decant or should I throw caution to the wind and get a full bottle?  Once it settles in, this is what I mean when I say I like vanilla.  But I want it LOUDER!  Check out Abigail's review at Now Smell This here.

Roger & Gallet Vanille.  Oooh, a citrus vanilla!  Can be worn all year 'round. And so inexpensive.

L'Aromarine Vanille Parfum Extrait.  I have such a soft spot for L'Aromarine (now known as Outremer) so it is quite usual for me to gush about this line.  But in this case, although I love the deep rich toasted vanilla fragrance, the scent runs away from me almost immediately.  I wonder if it would last longer if I poured some in a hot bath.

Santa Maria Novella Vaniglia.  This is a boozy vanilla which got some love from Patty, but doesn't get a lot of love from me.

Mona di Orio Les Nombres d'Or Vanille.  Another boozy vanilla, and smoke?  To me this smells like the day after a night at the bar, back when one could smoke in a bar.  Cool idea, but not what I want in a vanilla perfume.

I think I'm going to play around a little bit more with the Goutal.

(image from http://graphicsfairy.blogspot.com)

The vanillas I sampled are all from the most lovely LN. (the the exception of the Mona di Orio) Thank you!

election week: what I wore

Monday:   Bond No. 9 Chinatown.  I have had a decant of this for quite awhile, and never talked about this much.  Probably because so many people have (Chinatown was released in 2005), and I do not have much more to add other than "I really like it and glad I have this decant." I'm sure most of the people who read this blog have experienced this one already.  But if not, check out past reviews from  Scentsate and Katie Puckrik.

Tuesday: Voted in Les Nereides Opoponax, and in the evening I wore YSL Opium Fleur Imperiale.  (I probably should have thought this through and wore perfumes by American perfumers; oops)

Wednesday:  Stayed up way too late Tuesday night/early Wednesday morning, so needed a fresh bright perfume - Lalique Flora Bella fit the bill nicely.

Thursday:  Le Labo Rose 31 (released in 2006). I recently purchased 10 mls of this baby.  I love rose scents, and I love even more those rose perfumes that have spice.  But never fear - if you are not a huge dark/spicy rose person, this one doesn't overwhelm. The spice plays nice!   But if you doubt me (and I can understand why as I tend to like louder 'fumes in general), here are some reviews  -NST,  The Non-Blonde and The Candy Perfume Boy.

Friday:  Given that the weather was damp, Diptyque L'Ombre dans L'Eau was perfect!

"The whole house smelled good, with the sweet and spicy smells from the kitchen, and the smell of hickory logs burning with clear, bright flames in the fireplace, and the smell of the clove-apple beside Grandma's mending basket on the table."   

This week's scent in literature snippet is from Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder 

I re-read the entire series nearly every autumn/winter for the past ten years or so, and I read and re-read this series at least another dozen times in my youth.

distracted

I have been completely distracted by other things this past week, and my zillion samples that are sitting waiting for me have been woefully neglected, so instead I share another little piece of scent writing in a book I'm currently reading:

"She smelled of leaf mold and rich earth, of pine needles wet with rain."

(from Illuminations: A novel of Hildegard von Bingen by Mary Sharatt, describing the fictional hermit Trutwib)

(painting of hermit Saint Rosalia by Anthony van Dyck)