Mini Sniffage
I got together with my friend from Makeupalley again yesterday, and we did some moderate sniffage. Always fun to find a kindred spirit and much more rewarding to go smell perfumes with someone who has an idea of what it’s like to be a perfume maniac. Plus, you can proudly face all the sales assistants. So, off we went to Barney’s, Hermes, Neiman Marcus, Saks, and Nordstrom’s. Today is Friday, so I’m chilling (although, what difference does it make when you’re unemployed?) and will just share with you some of the highlights of our sniffage.
At Barney’s, we played a little with the L’Artisan Parfumeur line, and this time I really fancied Premier Figuier Extreme. It’s an intense version of their best seller Premier Figuier, a fig scent, which I quite like but never really found bottle worthy. The Extreme version grabs me by its cozy, coconutty milkiness extremely appealing and not quite so figgy in chilly weather. We also experimented with some scent layering: Safran Troublant (vanilla, saffron) with Piment Brulant (pepper, cloves) that turned out excellent.
At Hermes, we had a nice chat with a man who generously sprayed the Hermessence scents for us to test (Ambre Narguile, Vetiver Tonka, Poivre Samarkande, Rose Ikebana, and Osmanthe Yunnan – if you haven’t had a chance to smell these, I highly recommend you do) as well as experimented with some layering again. My favorite combo: Ambre Narguile and Poivre Samarkande. I also asked about the new Paprika Brasil that’s supposed to come out this year, and he said it was good but really sweet and should be in the boutique by the end of the year. Sweet is not always bad, considering harsh Midwest winters.
The real shock came at Neiman’s where I retested the Missoni fragrance (bergamot, magnolia, peony, rose, mandarin, bitter orange, chocolate, amber). I actually got quite a bit of really yummy chocolate – had it not been for the overpowering, peony-dominated floral bouquet, it could have won me over. We also played with the Creed line, and I gave a proper sniff to Love in White (orange zest, jasmine, daffodil, sandalwood, rise husk, iris, vanilla) which I found to be a pretty, light-spirited floral that supposedly layers well with other scents (which I’ll have to do at some point). The new Marc Jacobs autumn splashes were in – Amber (ginger, anise, cassia bark, amber, lily, tonka bean, benzoin), Ivy (nutmeg, cardamom, mandarin, orris, tonka bean, vetiver, sandalwood), and Violet (bergamot, peony, violet, orris, cedarwood, vanilla, musk). I didn’t give them a proper test, so won’t judge yet but I did quite like Amber, Ivy left me underwhelmed, and Violet was way too heavy on vanilla.
At Nordstrom’s, we camped at the Giorgio Armani counter, and I once again confessed my love and devotion to Pierre de Lune (violet, green notes, cassie flower, iris, woods, amber) and became a happy owner of yet another lip shimmer (#12, for the record).
If you’ve sniffed anything new or exciting recently, please share in your comments. Happy weekend to all!
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12 comments September 22nd, 2006