Idôle EDP by Lancome

Today's blind grab from the goodies from my friend is one that I might have passed by in the store, although I might have been tempted to stop because the juice is such a pretty pink (and sometimes the delicate and lovely and soft grab my attention in spite of myself).

Per Lancome, this is considered a "fresh floral," and the top notes are bergamot (citrus), juicy pear, pink peppercorn; the middle notes are rose and jasmine; and the base notes are white musk, vanilla, patchouli, and cedardwood.

Based on the notes alone, some may put this in a fruity floral camp, and at first application I did get a distinct pear note that immediately dropped down to give place to the rose (and yes this rose is another bright, raspberryish rose) and the white musk. Some other sites said that it has a chypre edge at the base, but I'm not getting that (or the patchouli) at all.

As it dries: I waved it under my husband's nose. Since it was still fresh, he blinked a little bit and said, "That's a little more...sharp than I expected?" Sharp, for him, covers a world of notes, but usually tends to mean it hasn't faded down much so he is reserving judgment. For me, I find it to be veering more toward a "classic" floral, with very clean lines, and the fruit seems to be serving to keep it from going too dry or too floral. It feels like a bright late spring day, one where the sky is brilliantly blue, clouds are fluffy, and the air has a small bite still (hasn't yet decided to go heavy or muggy).

There is something about this that reminds me a little of church camp in the late 80s/early 90s, where hairspray and perfume and chatter, and the absolute essence of femininity, swirled around the dorms as everyone got ready for church. For that alone, I'm loving it a lot. It's happy, and feminine, and has a bit of an edge, but also is soft and contains moments of quiet reflection, too.

The longer it sits on my skin, the patchouli, an extremely soft one, slowly steps forward and reminds me of a shawl that has been carefully packed away (the way they used to be shipped eons ago) in patchouli and roses, so when you lift it out you get the faint whiff of far away places and adventure, while still feeling like you don't have to leave home if home is safe and comfortable. Throughout it all, the rose weaves and dances and rises then drops back down again, keeping this firmly in the floral camp, but also teasing the senses with, "But I'm more than a floral!" And it is!

It's happy. Comforting, but not in a smothering way. It has edges, but is soft. It comes forward, then falls back to rest quietly on my skin. It's charming and bright, and makes me feel much prettier than I woke up feeling, and that alone is probably a big mark in its favor lol. This feels like it will pair well with any kind of day. Blue? Put this on. Happy? Put this on. Ornery? This may encourage you to act on it, but in a way that lightens the heart and makes you giggle for the rest of the year. Melancholy? Put this on, and let it wrap around you and remind you that beauty and life and light still exist. (I think this will also be beautiful on a brisk autumn day, where the nose may be cold and the sky may be gray, but the breeze wafts this around and fills the air with glorious perfume and a reminder of sunshine and hope.) It's a delightful mix of contrasts, and I'm so glad I have it!

Miss Dior EDP by Dior

I know, I know, this blog usually focuses on Indie/niche perfumes. However, a dear lovely someone sent me some perfume samples, and...well, what is one to do but to dive head first into them? (I have to admit, people who send/give/throw perfume at me rank pretty high on my list, by default.) Yesterday, I smelled like a melange of deliciousness (because the box came in yesterday and so I had to dab on as many as I could, of course), and now today I am starting my lovely exploration of them individually.

I had in mind that this would be the one I tried first, by itself. I was amused and tickled when I reached into my "grab bag of awesome" and pulled out the first one I touched, and it ended up being this. I love when a plan comes together.

According to Dior, Miss Dior "celebrates the beauty of a sensual Grasse Rose wrapped in fresh notes and woven with a lively Rosewood." According to Fragrantica, this has "dominant notes of roses, the Damask rose and May rose from Grasse, to be precise. The rest of the composition consists of a fresh opening of lemon, mandarin, pink pepper and a sensual accord in the base that includes rosewood and patchouli." Hmmm, rose/s? Note of death? We'll see how THIS goes.

At first application: I don't really get the rose, but I do get fresh and light, clean, a little powdery (but not talcum powder, more like...ahhh sometimes rose can go a bit powdery). Also, according to Dior, this is a "sensual floral fragrance." Sometimes those haaate me, but so far this is...pretty. Pretty and light and soft and I'm not getting the citrus, but am getting what could be the pink pepper.

As it dries: Ohhhh, there at the bottom is a soft rose note. But a fresh rose. Not heavy. Slightly sweet and raspberryish (like a sweet rose musk) the way some roses can go. Rounding that out is the mandarin (adding more to the sweet notes here, I suspect).

I just left the room for a minute (had a face mask on and had to wash my face) and when I stepped back into the room, ooooooh! That was pretty! There! There's the rose--soft and lovely! And the rosewood! Mmmm! It's definitely not coming up on my skin the way it lingers in the room, but it's so pretty and bright. (I also ran and shoved my arm under my husband's nose while he is working, and his face lit up and he nodded very emphatically, then mouthed, "I like that one a lot!" in the middle of his meeting lol.)

This is, as Dior described, wrapped in fresh notes. For me, that means it lies clean on the skin. Doesn't get heavy or muddied or muddled at all. It floats a bit around me, not quite the way warm laundry on the line can give that clean floaty vibe, but nearing that territory. I don't really get the patchouli that is mentioned, but there is something to the base that could be it (although it merges with the musk, for my nose). To me, perfumes can have moods, and although Dior says this is sensual (and perhaps it is on someone else's skin), this is more happy, bright, friendly, outgoing. (Although, to be fair, this is making me think it would be fun on a date night, so maybe there is something to be said about the sensual aspect.) And it's also really pretty. Delicate. Light. (Should I go dress up now? I feel like that would be appropriate.) If someone walked past me smelling this, it would make me smile and be grateful for allll the lovely smells out in the world.

Santal Basmati EDP by Affinessence Paris

I approached today's sample with caution. I really couldn't bear a repeat of yesterday, and had decided that 1) I would open this vial and sniff first and 2) move along if anything about it reminded me of yesterday's offering.

Thankfully, when I very slowly and very carefully opened this up, oooooohhh! I immediately got a lovely creamy fruity note with a whirl of sandalwood.

The Luckyscent notes for this are: Mysore sandalwood, basmati rice, patchouli, iris, and cashmeran.

At first application, my husband and I both agreed: We liiiike this one!

What was fruity smooths out immediately and is no longer fruity, but is rather the bright edge of a really yum sandalwood. A hint of toasted rice, that is then mixed with warm milk so it becomes creamy and soft, comes through.

As it dries: This sandalwood is gorgeous. I love sandalwood, but too often juuuust when I think it'll behave on my skin, it turns into mosquito repellent and I have sadness and woe. This, instead, when I close my eyes and focus on the fragrance, makes me think of soft soft sandalwood shavings that I can crumble with my fingertips, and that never go splintery or sharp at all. The iris comes in shortly after, and gives this a beautiful edge of a powdery lift. I suspect the cashmeran is what holds this all together in one snuggly, warm, cozy hug.

Another perfect autumn/winter fragrance, and yet there is something light enough about it that when I stepped outside for a moment (into heat and humidity that coats like a second skin), this sparkled. Absolutely sparkled. It's light, airy, delicious, and comes across as something decadent but also...a bit serene, calm, soothing. It's light, but steady. Soft, but knows how to stand firm. Warm, yet cool.

I don't ever really get anything that yells patchouli at me (although I do think it hangs around in that fruit note, and gives some heft to the woody notes of the sandalwood). The way this blends and merges is a beautiful balance together and also on my skin.

I think, maybe, just perhaps, I may have found the sandalwood I have been looking for for years. Am in love. 

New York Intense EDP, by Parfums de Nicolai

Today's blind grab is one that I've been curious about for a little while. This, supposedly, leans more masculine than the unisex ones I tend to gravitate toward, so I figured this might be worth exploring.

I have regrets.

The Luckyscent notes for this one are: bergamot, Sicilian lemon, cloves, thyme, cinnamon, black pepper, pimento, oak moss, vetiver, amber.

On paper, this had potential. I like a good oak moss, and a decent vetiver can make things smokey and delicious and warm and a bit astringent to give a bite.

At first application: Ohhhh no. I have made a very bad decision today. At first, I thought it was just me, but when I put it on my husband, he gave me a wrinkled nose and a very sad look like, "What?!?! I thought you looooved me?!?!"

But I had hope! Sometimes when things go on so...strikingly, sometimes they snuggle down and get cozy and warm (especially when amber is mentioned) and...

Nope.

The oak moss is really dominant, like HI I'M OAK MOSS, and normally I like a good oak moss, but when it's making me want to run away from myself...ehhhh not so much. And, I hate to say it, but this one is so...itself that it's making me feel nauseated as I sit here (I don't even have to wave my arms to get a waft...it just oooozes up from my skin).

This comes across on my skin as a men's fragrance from the 80s, which isn't terrible if one is in 1984, just snorted a pile of blow, and is sporting a nice wide-collared polyester shirt, a pinkie ring, big gold chains around the neck, while huffing a cigar and possibly contemplating taking out the head of the other crime family that runs the town. But...today? Ehhh. However, that image really does say New York Intense, and I'm absolutely feeling that vibe. Boy, am I ever.

This one reminds me of the saying: No matter where you go, there you are. I can't get away from myself fast enough.

To be fair (and this is one reason I am still posting a review, instead of slinking away into silence), it does feel like it could be amaaaaazing on someone else's skin, but it is not MY skin. So, if these notes sound worth a try, do try it. At the very least, you'll have an experience, and sometimes that's worth the cost of a sample vial.

Paris LA EDP by A Lab on Fire

Today, I decided that I need to lean on the lighter side of things, so very deliberately pulled from "my" pile of fragrances I've been wanting to try. I discarded a couple of florals (I am NOT feeling floral today, no way, no how) so it really wasn't exactly a blind grab, but after the last tuberose went by, I said, "Okay, whatever hits next is it." I admit that I was pretty relieved when I saw this in my hand.

According to Luckyscent, the notes for this one are: key lime, ginger, cola accord, neroli petals, coriander seeds, thyme, macaron accord, amber, and musk.

I had some...trepidation about that coriander. Sometimes coriander goes directly to sweaty underarm funk. Sometimes, it's more polite and holds the base and "dirties" up whatever I'm wearing juuuuust enough to make it a tad flirty. Sometimes, it acts like it will behave and then goes to skunk. So.

At first application, this is ooooh yum. Lickable, tasty vanilla, with a touch of that cola, and macaron (without any hint of coconut, and I'm glad for that). It immediately passed the sniff appreciation test for both me and my husband. (He said, "Oooh! I like this one!")

As it dries down, some of the key lime lifts up from somewhere underneath and gives the cola a bit of fizz. The thyme stays low, waaaay low, but it keeps the sugar from going too overboard. And the coriander? Well, now, I think that has decided to play nice after all. It's coming across as a bit of a woody note (probably with help from the thyme), and dances on a slightly herbal edge while fluttering some eyelashes and promising long slow walks on the beach.

On my husband, the wood lifts up even more than on my skin, and the vanilla takes on a slightly masculine purr. On me, the ginger seems to weave in and out, but never comes across as ginger, but more so something that helps out that cola note to keep from going flat. I don't really get the neroli petals, unless it's helping along the slightly creamy vibe I'm getting.

As it dries further, the coriander does go a tad more dirty, but it continues to behave just enough to help hold the sweetness of this one in check. I do feel somewhat like a confection, and it's tempting me to go find a sun dress, a big hat, and pretend I have nothing better to do than sit around being delectable. Since that would only last for about two minutes before I get bored, I've decided that this is a perfectly fun, bright fragrance with a lot of interest and notes, and that relies on the vanilla/macaron to keep it from being anywhere close to staid. It's bright, sweet, and pretty, and seems like it would wear well any time of the year. (And it's rather delicious on both men and women.)

No. 7 Le Sel de la Terre EDP by Thomas Kosmala

I looked at the random pile of fragrances still strewn across my desk, reached in and grabbed. Today's fragrance comes from a perfumer I'd never heard of (sorry), but I'd added to the list because my husband says he likes fresh and "marine" type notes.

The Luckyscent list of notes for this one: bergamot, Italian lemon, fresh marine notes, aqua, fresh floral, fresh wood, musk. In their description, they said that it was like a "white shirt freshly pulled from the dryer..." with a "salty undertone...enough to suggest the mineral tang of the beach."

At first sniff in the vial: Ohh, I think I may like that.

Application on my skin and his? Ummm, nope. And as it began to dry? Nopenopenopetynope.

My first take: "It smells soapy." When I looked at my husband, he was very gingerly holding his arms out like he was an airplane, and making faces. "I think I'm going to let this one sit for a little bit," he said.

As it continued to dry, y'all I don't know what it is in this one, but it made my stomach churn. The ingredient list indicates fresh or freshness, and perhaps for someone with less cynicism and sarcasm that may be the case, but I suspect I am a weeeee bit toooo something for this to ever lean fresh on me. Unless fresh means, "Go wash your mouth out with soap, young lady!" I could see that.

We both have let it sit for a while (managed to not scrub it off), and there were some things my husband said he was somewhat liking about it, but when you have to make yourself sit still so you don't get any of the waft, that's not necessarily the sign of a win.

There were a lot of things about this one that had potential, but the...execution died completely and without mercy on my skin. I don't get a lift from the citrus, I get a sliiiiight hint of the bergamot (like the back end of a nice cup of Earl Grey), and the fresh woods and florals are...I dunno. I'm suspecting that when they said "fresh marine" they may have been looking at someone after a hard day of military training, but that's as close as I'm going to give it.

Sadness. Woe. Definitely going in the "Do I give this or toss it," pile.

Voix Humaine 8 EDP, by Filippo Sorcinelli - SAUF

Summer has hit here, and the humidity levels are of the sort that bring sinus headaches and thoughts of running away to Alaska in winter. Which means it can be difficult to get back into trying samples. However, despite the humidity, curiosity said, "Why aren't we playing with those lovely lovely vials," and so I blind-grabbed another.

The Luckyscent notes for this one are: bergamot, cardamom, elemi, ambrette, jasmine, orange blossom, amber, leather, olibanum, milk mousse, musk, and vanilla.

At first application, my husband said, "Wow, the vanilla is pretty dominant. It smells like opening vanilla," and he waved vaguely at the kitchen. We both agreed that it was definitely not a sweeter more sugary vanilla, but that deep woody and warm vanilla that comes from vanilla pods.

Within minutes, we both are finding it fascinating that sometimes what seems to disappear on his skin (or drop down really quickly) will hold on me, and what disappears on me seems to hold better on him. This is one that immediately went all snuggly skin scent on him, whereas on me, the vanilla leaned over to the cardamom and leather and said, "Let's play."

Along with the frolicking leather/vanilla, a faint under note of something that sometimes comes across as fresh pine, or a deep resin (which I suspect is the olibanum, since olibanum is basically frankincense, and frankincense can range from church incense to pine to other resins) helps to round out and flirt with the vanilla beautifully (while the bergamot flirts from the other side).

We both liked how it seems to shift around a bit initially. This did not in any way get the "Oh gross, urinal puck," face from him (as a couple of the ones that had orange blossom in them did). For me, it's leaning slightly toward the "wood pudding" fragrances that I simply cannot get enough of, but this has a lighter touch, and the musk has a slightly messy hair, sultry vibe to round out the edges and make this a little less snuggly and a little more leather corset.

I suspect the jasmine and the leather are partly giving that sliiiiightly animalic growl, but mmmm they play so well with the rest of the other notes, and the ambrette is adding a "clean skin" lift so it doesn't come across as heavy as some of the notes indicate it could.

This is...delicious. I actually think I could wear this out in the humidity and heat without it feeling stifling, but it will also be delightful on chilly days, and in the long dark days of winter. This fragrance feels like...light and home or like looking across at someone you love while an autumn sky fades from silvery lavender to navy, and a freshly baked vanilla something or other wafts itself around you, and waaaay off in the distance you get the scent of hewn logs. This is love and home, and...sigh...I may actually have to get a bottle.