I know what you mean. I suggest buying the travel size when available. It's an ideal size to figure out if the scent is for you imo. For Kilian- Apple brandy on the rocks, the travel size is 7.5 ml.
Perfume Chat Thread
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Oh hell yes. The travel sizes are one of the things about Frederic Malle that I really love. That line almost never works for me when I first try them out. They’re complicated, though, so I’m always drawn back to them. Their travel sizes are 10ml and a really good way to wear and figure out a perfume. I’ve gone from thinking one of their perfumes was absolutely disgusting to it becoming one of my favorites thanks to the travel spray.
I usually know after the first wearing if I want to try it again or not. So some get eliminated right away. Some fragrances are immediate loves, some are likes, and a few may fall under the category of "interesting" which means I need to explore them further but am not sure exactly how I feel about them just yet. Usually, if I am really enjoying the sample, I will try it a few times and perhaps decide to get a bottle. Sometimes, I may get another sample after my first one is finished, just to be sure. Or get a travel size as suggested above, which is an excellent size to get to really know a fragrance.
A travel size is such an obvious solution but it didn't even occur to me! 
Thank you all so much!
That was what I was expecting. An instant: Love/ Like/ Hate response. It just so happens that I started with a scent that fell under "interesting" and I got stuck on how to proceed from there!
Hopefully, I'll figure out how I feel about it with the next trial.
Thank you all so much!
That was what I was expecting. An instant: Love/ Like/ Hate response. It just so happens that I started with a scent that fell under "interesting" and I got stuck on how to proceed from there!
Hopefully, I'll figure out how I feel about it with the next trial.
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Some beauties here@JenJBS, +1 with @Purses & Perfumes ( and @ultravisitor regarding Frederic Malle Une Rose. It’s amazing. I think of it as a white Burgundy of rose fragrances. It somehow hits a high note without being brash, yet it has depth and nuance, not cluttered by add ons that are present in the more modern dark rose fragrances. I wasn’t particularly a rose fan at all until Caron air et Noir and FM Une Rose. . . @Purses & Perfumes, I will also revisit Sa Majeste la rose, thank you for the reminder)
@Tasha1, thank you for the recommendation of fueguia 1833. I just ordered some 1ml samples: gardenia; magnolia; rose musc and Rosa de los vientos. I was curious about rose oud — I think it was aquilaria— but don’t believe samples were offered for that one. Thanks again!
Favorite bottles. I prefer simple crystal bottles generally. The original release of Caron Poivre (I also have a number of crystal peppercorn travel flasks) and of tabac blond both of which I bought via online auction. The old extrait bottle of Guerlain VdN was enough of a favorite that I bought it empty. At the time, I could not find one, sealed, with contents intact. And, my favorite inexpensive bottle is the black Lalique molinard bottle, but since the scent is horrendously powdery on me, I no longer have it. Caron used to also sell crystal travel flacons and atomizers that you could have refilled by them.(8 have some on the top shelf, second pic on the left). Here are pics of two perfume cabinets with some of the Caron and guerlain bottles on the top and bottom shelves of the second pic. I also like the Guerlain Parure grey wave bottle. In the first pic, bottom shelf there is a first edition Lys Epona in an antique bottle and balenciaga le dix bottle.
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What a wonderful collection. Bravo!
It has been a while since I tried Do Son but I remember it as being more or less a straight up tuberose scent. It's a good tuberose fragrance, especially for tuberose lovers, but for whatever reason, I did not feel compelled to seek a full bottle. I haven't sampled the Diptyque line extensively, but I remember liking Tam Dao and Eau Rose. To me, a lot of the Diptyque scents are nice and well made, but for whatever reason, so far, I have not found one compelling enough to pursue a full bottle. That said, if someone gifted me one of these Diptyque bottles, I wouldn't say no.
As a vanilla lover, you should try to sniff the new Shalimar Millisime Vanilla Planifolia one. I've heard that it's very vanilla forward. Regarding notes I don't like, I'm not into very sweet, fruity patchouli (fruitchouli) scents. I do like some fruit -- peach, apricot, plum and citrus notes -- but prefer them skillfully interwoven with other notes rather than just as straight up fruit. Aquatics are mostly a miss for me. While I am fond of resins and balsams, last year I had some difficulty wearing very dense, resinous scents -- it's not an issue of not loving the smell, but more one of having some mild reactions to some of them, like a sniffly nose or watery eyes (thankfully the reactions only lasted for a short while after application).
My favorite tuberose scent is Frederic Malle Carnal Flower, and from among vintage scents, I enjoy Michelle Balenciaga extrait. Michelle is discontinued though. Robert Piguet Fracas is a benchmark tuberose scent. I only have it in parfum and it's fantastic, but also a big perfume. I just apply a few drops though and I like to wear it more in the summer when the warmth seems to make the notes shine. However, Piguet's perfumes are not that easily available for sampling. You could check out L'Artisan's La Chasse aux Papillon, which is a lighter, airy take on tuberose (available in Sephora I think). Estee Lauder's Tuberose Gardenia is excellent, but it's more gardenia than tuberose. And I just realized I still haven't tried Tubereuse Criminelle!I am so far behind on my sampling!
I hope you have fun sampling and keep us posted.
If you love tuberose, Moon Bloom by Hiram Green is well worth a look. It’s simply glorious. Lush, creamy tuberose, with a richness that is almost impossible to find outside of very deep vintage perfumes. All natural, and stunningly beautiful.
Thank you for the excellent suggestion, and welcome.
I actually ordered samples of Moon Bloom (and Slowdive) by Hiram Green a while ago and tried a little dab on a very cold day. It's beautiful, and I definitely got the lush, rich quality of the tuberose when I tried it, but I've noticed a lot of my tuberose perfumes seem to absolutely "bloom" on a warm day so I want to give it a full wearing when the weather warms up here. Sadly, I missed ordering Dilettante from Hiram Green, which is an orange blossom fragrance and now I think it might be discontinued.
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I've often layered matching lotion with EDP or EDT, so I certainly think you can try layering the parfum roll on with the EDP.I love Byredo, but the scents don't last long on my skin. So, I'm tempted to buy the respective parfum oil roll-ons and layer them with the eau the perfume. Does anyone layer perfume oil and eau de perfume? I would love to get your feedback on this. Thanks
@jblended, I am sorry to read about the covid-related anosmia. Have you tried smelling single note fragrances as you try to fully regain your sense of smell? Perhaps you have already done this. I hope you are soon able to smell the milder/softer scents as well.
Thank you and welcome.
Thank you for the welcome! I am new to the site, and it is such a joy to find people that share a love of silks and perfumes
It certainly does bloom in the heat! It becomes even more voluptuous with a little extra warmth to skin, and air. I often reach for it when visiting LA for exactly that reason.
Dilettante is, sadly, discontinued. It’s a really lovely, slightly dirty, orange blossom. It has that true-to-life indolic quality that is missing from most modern orange blossom perfumes, which can come off as very soapy.
As there seem to be quite a few rose lovers here, I’ll add that Lustre is excellent too. It’s a very bright natural-smelling rose soliflore. In the opposite direction to the gothic beauty that is Portrait of a Lady, but lovely all the same.
I have no affiliation with Hiram Green, by the way, I just think he is incredibly talented and under the radar for many people.
I'm so glad you posted about Moon Bloom and reminded me of my Hiram Green samples. Sometimes, I get back-logged on testing samples and perfectly wonderful fragrances get quite unintentionally pushed further down the pipeline, especially if I put them away for the season. I am looking forward to trying it again as soon as it warms up here.Thank you for the welcome! I am new to the site, and it is such a joy to find people that share a love of silks and perfumes
It certainly does bloom in the heat! It becomes even more voluptuous with a little extra warmth to skin, and air. I often reach for it when visiting LA for exactly that reason.
Dilettante is, sadly, discontinued. It’s a really lovely, slightly dirty, orange blossom. It has that true-to-life indolic quality that is missing from most modern orange blossom perfumes, which can come off as very soapy.
As there seem to be quite a few rose lovers here, I’ll add that Lustre is excellent too. It’s a very bright natural-smelling rose soliflore. In the opposite direction to the gothic beauty that is Portrait of a Lady, but lovely all the same.
I have no affiliation with Hiram Green, by the way, I just think he is incredibly talented and under the radar for many people.
Another tuberose-centric fragrance which really blooms in the heat is Carolina Herrera Carolina Herrera. I have a pretty old bottle which is very potent, and it's a rich combination of tuberose and jasmine with some civet lurking in there. Definitely a "one spray only" perfume for me, but when I wear it on a warm, summer day, I enjoy it fully.
Too bad that I missed Dilettante! I agree that a lot of orange blossom perfumes have that white (laundry) musk note in them in the base, which just takes the entire perfume away from the lush, natural floral realm and into that soapy, white laundry arena.
However, I do have Serge Lutens Fleurs d'Oranger which has that cumin note and thankfully no white laundry vibe, but I admit to struggling a bit with Fleurs d'Oranger. Some days, it's great; other days, it doesn't quite sing on my skin. Houbigant Orangers en Fleurs is kind of similar to the Lutens fragrance, but without the cumin note (it does have a very slight suggestion of skankiness though.)
There are indeed lots of rose lovers in this thread, so thank you for suggesting Lustre. And yes, it's great fun to chat about perfumes.
Is there a perfume ban island? I need a one way ticket ASAP.
I'm so glad you posted about Moon Bloom and reminded me of my Hiram Green samples. Sometimes, I get back-logged on testing samples and perfectly wonderful fragrances get quite unintentionally pushed further down the pipeline, especially if I put them away for the season. I am looking forward to trying it again as soon as it warms up here.
Another tuberose-centric fragrance which really blooms in the heat is Carolina Herrera Carolina Herrera. I have a pretty old bottle which is very potent, and it's a rich combination of tuberose and jasmine with some civet lurking in there. Definitely a "one spray only" perfume for me, but when I wear it on a warm, summer day, I enjoy it fully.
Too bad that I missed Dilettante! I agree that a lot of orange blossom perfumes have that white (laundry) musk note in them in the base, which just takes the entire perfume away from the lush, natural floral realm and into that soapy, white laundry arena.
However, I do have Serge Lutens Fleurs d'Oranger which has that cumin note and thankfully no white laundry vibe, but I admit to struggling a bit with Fleurs d'Oranger. Some days, it's great; other days, it doesn't quite sing on my skin. Houbigant Orangers en Fleurs is kind of similar to the Lutens fragrance, but without the cumin note (it does have a very slight suggestion of skankiness though.)
There are indeed lots of rose lovers in this thread, so thank you for suggesting Lustre. And yes, it's great fun to chat about perfumes.
I had the Lutens, and have the Houbigant
. My Fleurs d’oranger was an early bottle, and I had much the same experience as you, with it wearing differently. I gifted it eventually, and should have kept it!Orangers en Fleurs has such a lovely opening, very wearable, and quite realistic. A couple of hours in and it goes in the same clean laundry musk direction that so many do. I don’t reach for it as often as I should for this reason, as clean musks aren’t my thing, but I do enjoy the opening. I have a similar experience with Ostara: Bertrand Duchafour did such a wonderful job for Penhaligons of creating a photo-real narcissus. I adore the opening, but the white musk evolution is hard for me! It’s a lovely Spring Scent and I enjoy the opening so much that I keep this one in my collection to enjoy when the daffodils bloom.
Did anyone ever claim the Samsara? I have fond memories of it, but haven’t had a bottle in years. If it’s still languishing in a closet, I will be happy to give it a new home!
Thank you so very much for the suggestion and well wishes!
I'd love to say that there's some method or strategy that I've been following, but I really was just fumbling my way through until quite recently.
Initially, I waited for the sense of smell and taste to return on their own. It was only after several months had already passed that I asked a doctor and did some reading online, only then learning that I had to actively try to retrain the senses.
I was told by my doc to start by sniffing coffee beans, garlic and cloves. Would you believe I got nothing even when I shoved my face in them?
Now that I can finally smell those really strong smells, I'm being more thoughtful and methodical about retraining. I'm rotating between different shower gels and shampoos, and now adding some perfumes (which is what brought me to this thread). It's still far easier to smell men's colognes than say, my shampoo, but it's all gradually improving.
It's also a bit harder than it should be because I don't want to expose myself to an allergen along the way, so I'm probably progressing far slower than I should be by being extra cautious.
Anyway, sorry to go on such a tangent. Back to your regular programming!