Catching up from yesterday! Initio describes this as: Magnetic, bestial, deeply erotic...All the power of natural Amber Grey in a molecule with pheromone effects. When the science excels, it becomes an art…

Unfortunately, this doesn’t do much for me. IT comes on sharp and chemically and quickly drifts away into a very faint animal musk. I could smell it for about 2 hours; and it wasn't something that I really enjoyed.

Magnetic blend was much more potent on my husband. The opening had a little pop of citrus but was still a bit harsh, and dried down into a strong civet musk, waning into an animal-amber. He said he the heart lasted a solid 6 hours. However, “it’s not my favorite,” was his verdict.

You don’t have to be rich to have a great fragrance wardrobe. You just have to learn what you like, and then budget accordingly.

There are a lot of places online that will sell decants (small samples from a larger bottle) for a small fee. This is a good way to try things that you don’t have normal exposure to without doing a ‘blind buy’ on a full size bottle. Google for decants or scent splits and have a field day!

Scentsplit, Luckyscent, Fragrancesplit, Decantx, Microperfumes and others sell samples. Many will give a coupon for x% off a full bottle purchase thereafter.

Some fragrance houses also sell sample packs of their scents or will make travel size packs for a little more, such as MFK, Killian, Zoologist, Mancerra, etc.

If you live in a large metropolitan area, you may be able to take advantage of a good size retail establishment and try on samples there for nothing but a conversation with a friendly sales agent.

Have fun out there!

Well, well, well. This morning, I doused myself with Creed Santal. Before I left for work, I asked my husband what he though of it, and he took a hearty sniff. “Hmmmm, seems okay, it’s really mild,” he said. And, he was right. Santal is a very mild woody fragrance on me. Barely a whisper of an opening, and weak but steady amber woods through the life of it.

Early this evening, I did a refresh spritz, and also gave my husband a quick spray. Mine smelled the same – very bland and mediocre amber. On him, however, the scent absolutely comes alive. The top notes of ginger, juniper and rosemary are prominent. I’m pretty jealous, to be honest. Because it then opened to a luscious heart of cinnamon and sandalwood…wow! It’s just taper down a bit now into more of a musky, cedar, tonka combination with a hint of that cinnamon left in the background. Very nice.

While the fragrance didn’t work out for me – it smells great on my husband.

Good luck out there – keep it smelling fresh!

Quelques Fleurs L’Original is a classic floral (described by Houbigant as green-floral-woody). This is a full floral from start to finish for me. It has been going strong for over 12 hours – I am still enveloped in a little flower cloud. Quelques Fleurs opens up with a pop of fresh lemony white florals – it’s a very strong opening. It’s brightness slowly fades into a warm bouquet of tuberose, jasmine, lily of the valley ad carnation. There’s a hint of clove that underpins the heart and continues into the base. Ultimately, this dries down ito a still rather potent base of sandalwood, civet, tonka bean and I still pick up that clove. I’m sure there are other notes in there – but I’m not able to single them out. For all-day wear, you can’t beat the staying power of Quelques Fleurs.

I did a random blind buy on this one. It was $223 for 100ml on sale for $69 at the time. I was intrigued by the brand and the description of the frgarnace, so I decided to take the gamble. Shantung EDP marketing says • Mood: unpredictable and optimistic • Notes: mandarin, blackcurrant, rose, cashmere wood

I’m going t be honest, here. The initial spritz is entirely reminiscent of bug spray…like Off! or some serious DEET spray. After about 15-20 minutes, that demon burst dies down a bit, but still carries a really synthetic tone. I can’t discern any of the notes discussed in the marketing; and I’m not sure if that’s my nose, body chemistry, or…??? Well, after about an hour, the harshness really broke down, but there wasn’t much there in the end. I’d call the drydown a faint skin musk at best. It didn’t work for me, but if you are into really strong chemical bugspray, this could be for you.

On a side note, I like the little structured, paisley fabric-wrapped box that this came it - it was a very nice touch.

L’interdit is described as white flowers with a “dark accord” which I’m thinking Givenchy is referring to as seductive. L'Interdit Eau de Parfum was developed in the 1950s for Audrey Hepburn, who wore it exclusively for a year before it was released in 1957 (a great year for Chevy, also). Givenchy and Hepburn had a tight relationship – they basically dressed her and she became the first actress to ever be “the face” of a perfume. Pretty cool.

This is a sweet, feminine, flowery fragrance, with a sexy little undertone. To be entirely honest, the fragrance notes do not change over time when I wear it. All day, I can smell the same components, but after many hours, they will wane. I get the orange blossom, sweet jasmine and patchouli. I’m sure there are other components in there. It is quite sweet smelling, but in a more flowery rather than fruity tone.

Interdit means forbidden in Francais. I can see where that fits in the mid 1950’s and still fits in as a fragrance classic today. I’ve been glad to have this in my repertoire for many years (this may not be my first or second bottle) – it’s a sweet, sexy feminine floral.

Went out on a nice little stroll in the woods today with mom. Got a thorough brushing after to make sure there were no ticks! Stay safe out there!

Kicking off the morning with Acqua di Parma’s Mandolo di Sicilia from the Blu Mediterraneo series. The shower gel is a candy bomb – it reminds me of the center of a 1977 Russell Stover chocolate covered cherry. I’ll admit that I actually love the smell of candy; but this may be waaaaay too sweet for a lot of people. This was largely marketed as a male fragrance, but I think it smells like candy and has much more of a unisex/feminine lean. Anyway, let’s get past the shower gel and talk about the cologne.

The cologne begins with a sweet and fruity smell; and I am really picking up a cherry/fig scent, rather than the anise and orange top note described in AdP marketing. The heart is very sugary, sweet and almondy - it reminds me of a great amaretti cookie (and now I can pick up a hint of anise)…and this all dries down into a warm, woody vanilla musk. Overall, this is a really sweet fragrance with limited projection and a few good hours of personal space scent. I’m going out later tonight and will definitely need another dosage!

Oooooooooooooooooohm. The Scent of Peace. Described by Bond No9 as: Grapefruit, Black Currant, Lily of the Valley, Hedione, Cedarwood, and Musk. I thought to myself..wtf is hedione??? Methyl dihydrojasmonate is an aroma compound that smells similar to jasmine. In racemic mixtures the odor is floral and citrus while epimerized mixtures exhibit a dense buttery-floral odor with odor recognition thresholds of 15 parts per billion. The compound is also known as hedione…per wiki. Ok, then.

Well, honestly, this really is a nice grapefruit bomb on first spritz. I love this kind of citrus burst right off the top – it’s invigorating. I also pick up that hint of black currant/blackberry in the background. After that initial pop of citrus, you’ll get a solid heart of lily-of-the-valley (or muguet, if you are fancy). The drydown is a very light white skin musk (at least on me – I get very little woodiness). I tend to refresh this one after about 6 hours, because I like to renew the freshness and strengthen the overall aura of fragrance. Perhaps I’m a bit of an oversprayer, but I don’t really care. You never know when things will come to an end - enjoy every damn minute of what life has to offer! Peace out!

Sol De Janiero Cheirosa 71 is a super sweet mist of cookie-like goodness. Yes, it may be too sweet for some people…but it sure smells nice. Reminds me of the scent of fresh-baked blondies just pulled from the oven. Salty, buttery vanilla caramel is the delicious opening, but it does fade quickly to a nutty/tonka base that still smells warm and toasty. It’s a really comforting fragrance if baked goods are your thing. There are days that I really need this in my life. Tuck one into your tote, because you’ll definitely want to reapply.

Omnia (original) was released in 2003 and this particular variety was discontinued some time ago, but can still be procured on the gray market or by resale. It was marketed as a fragrance for women and opens up with a spicy little kick, but not overwhelming. There’s Ginger and other warm but bright spices. It tones down a bit with a very earthy middle of Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Almond, and honestly…the earthiness I speak of reminds me of dirt (which I happen to really like). The base dry down is tonka bean and a lot of woody notes (along with that fading earthy dirt). I put this on at 6AM for a killer day at work; and finished up 12 hours later with it still going pretty strong. Ahhhhh. Have a great night, fragrance friends!

I bought this many years ago as a backup bottle for my husband. He has decreased his use, and I have adopted this as my own. Erolfa is a very masculine scent, opening with a wallop of green spice/citrus (lemon/lime/basil). The heart is more of a mixup that smells very piney (like rosemary) with lavender. It dries down (just a little) to a rosemary/cedar - very woodsy. It makes a pretty darn strong statement all day long. No need to reapply. I enjoy wearing this as I really like the herbal tones that it carries throughout.