Cookie Queen’s Top Three 2018 Perfumes

/ cookie queen

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Val the Cookie Queen

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Seasonal Heys APJ

Yeah well, if you are expecting or hoping for a whole list of fragrances you have come to the wrong blogger.  Don’t get me wrong, I am a hardcore perfume junkie.  I always wear fragrance, I plan what I am going to wear the next day the night before, Scent of the Cookie Run is serious, and I am excited every day to spritz myself.  I have my perfume rituals.  I travel to England just to pick up bottles that cannot be sent.  However, I have very little interest in new stuff any more.  That could be down to the fact that I have easy access to nearly everything and maybe that takes away some of the excitement – or maybe they all suck.  Still, three beautiful perfumes is damn good going.

Cookie Queen’s Top Three 2018 Perfumes

HERMÈS CÈDRE SAMBAC BY CHRISTINE NAGEL 2018

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I used up a 15ml travel of this, and then bought a bottle.  It might be my most worn perfume ever.  I am using it as much now as I did in the summer.  The cedar is more prominent in the cold weather perhaps, wrapping itself around the jasmine.  It is voluptuous, transparently opulent, alluringly animalic.  I cannot impress upon you how much I love this.  Spray it on top of:

HERMÈS MUSC PALLIDA ESSENCE DE PARFUM OIL BY CHRISTINE NAGEL 2018 

And you have a marriage made in heaven.  The oil alone oozes elegance and tranquility.  Opening with iris, it becomes sightly peppery, there is a tinge violets around the iris, and muted muses.  The oil is of pure parfum strength, and stays put for hours.  It even outlives the Cèdre Sambac if you have it on top.  Divine.

HYDE BY HIRAM GREEN 2018

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It would have been a top two actually, had Hiram Green not slipped in the launch of Hyde at the very last minute.  Lemon, bergamot, birch, Cassie, labdanum, vanilla, and oakmoss.  It reminds me of being at the festivals, incense sticks, spicy chillum smoke, campfires; the remnant smoky tendrils wrapped around a malty vanilla note, droplets of oak moss clinging to it all.  I bought a bottle.  Oakmoss, integral to the composition, will soon become a thing of the past.  Gotta grab it while you can.

FRIENDSHIP,  AND OTHER  PERFUME TREASURES

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I cannot express how thankful and blessed I feel to be part of this incredible perfume community.   The generosity of one particular perfumista who, when seeing I was running low on Coromandel EdT, sent me a large decant; followed up by a large decant of Mitzah, after seeing that I had smashed mine, melted my heart.  This was added upon by another who sent me her old Mitzah bottle, and what was left in it.  I received as a gift the stunning La Pausa 28 EdT.  And to cap it all Vintage N°5 Parfum from Portia, my long suffering boss.  I mean really?  Why would I even bother with anything else.

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So I bought three bottles of perfume this year, Cèdre Sambac, Hyde, and Chanel N°18 EdP.  No plans for anything new in 2019, but there will be a new Chanel Exclusif ……

Holy Cow.  I am going into my fifth, or is it sixth year, with APJ!  And you guys are still reading this stuff.

Wishing you all a fragrant festive season, and the strength to live through it.

Mistletoe Bussis

CQ

PS. Jump onto A Bottled Rose if you wanna see my fave movies and music from 2018. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

30 thoughts on “Cookie Queen’s Top Three 2018 Perfumes”

  1. I’m with you. I could never do a Top Ten list of anything perfume-related. I’m sure it saves us some cash at least. Love your choices. A Cedre Sambac travel bottle was my only purchase outside of the stuff I bought from Portia.

    As we know and you demonstrated here, this community IS THE BEST.

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    • Thaaaaank you! I am so looking forward to a break from making cookie dough, much as I love it. Plus a very dear friend is coming from England for a week. You too, rprichpot, have a good one. Hugs, Val xxxx

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  3. Woo Hoo! I got a mention.
    Did those other bottles of #5 ever arrive? I did send them, promise.
    You’re so funny. Saying I don’t care about new releases blah blah blah and then WHAM! two brand new releases. Excellent.
    Another fun post, YAY!
    Thanks for all the beautiful years. It was 2013 we met and you started writing. Thank everything for that fateful day.
    Portia xx

    Liked by 1 person

    • Sure they did. Remember? You told me how to empty out the sprayer so that I did not die of some kind 40 year old fume poisoning, I wear them all. Gorgeous stuff.
      Well I guess I should have said I don’t care about new releases unless they drop in mil ap and I dot have to get off of my are and look for them. On saying the, I have zero interest in most of it. Ahhhhh Portia – thank you for never firing me. Hahahahahaha. The Deadline Queen. xxxx

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  4. First of all, I wish you a very happy festive season!
    I’ve only tried Cedre Sambac but I’m pretty sure the other ones are as stunning as CS is, if not more so. Hyde seems especially appealing (anything with birch and labdanum does).

    I’ve been blessed with many fragrant presents this year, and I’ve bought some bottles myself. At least three of them were long overdue: Givenchy Irresistible for men, – it took me 11 years to get my own bottle! I finally got closure, and it smells fine 🙂 Then there’s Avignon which I got last week, and In Love Again by YSL which was one of the first true French scents I’ve ever tried. I loved it when I was sixteen but couldn’t buy it back then. I find it a bit similar to another YSL perfume, Blouse, which might be one of the best scents I’ve smelt in 2018.

    Perfume-wise, it was a pretty good year.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Diana! Have a fabulous festive time – I just love the friendship and passion we share. Wow, you have had a serious year, that is wonderful to hear. 11 years is a long wait. What will you wear for Christmas huh? That is the burning question! It will be the N°5 from Portia for me. I know already. After cooking Christmas lunch …… Big hugs. Val xxxxx

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      • Thank you, Val, I hope we’ll all enjoy some happy time! As for my SOTX-mas, I don’t plan that far ahead when it comes to perfumes, cometh the hour, cometh the scent, y’know 😉 Hugs xx

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  5. I love your posts Val. You’re so uncompromising 😀 I mean it as a compliment.
    The Hermessence line contains some true beauties and the oils are a good addition to be used as glue for the perfumes. Good to know that it actually works because they are very fleeting on me.
    I like your list and the fact that you’re open for a surprise (Hyde).
    I wish you also a beautiful holiday season!

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    • Hi there Neva. I have no idea how much of theirs you used, you need a really good hefty smear of them – and then they do last for hours and hours, at least on me. A tiny dab, the kind that the shop assistant says will last for a week because there are such rare and special ingredients in them? Nope – bullshit. Grab the bottle and slap it on yourself. Have a peaceful season Neva. Thanks for being an integral part of the APJ scene. xxxxxx

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  6. I am always impressed by your restraint. I have been a *total* perfume slut this year, starting from my Paris adventures, leaping from sample-sniffs to purchase with glorious abandon. Next year will be far, far more limited and sensible: not least because I am mostly in student mode, rather than well-paid worker mode for the foreseeable future. But I will smell damn good in 2019 even if I am earning buttons.

    Not one of my 2018-acquired true loves are this year’s releases though: Vero’s Rozy VdP, MEM and Aeon 001 by the glorious Mr. Gardoni of Bogue, Papillon’s Dryad, Bruno Fazzolari’s Au Dela Narcisse, Slumberhouse Kiste, Malle’s Portrait of a Lady, and some vintage No.19 extrait. Seriously: how bloody fortunate have I been to experience all of these and add them to my magpie stash?!

    eBay has been *very* good to me for acquiring much cheaper very-nearly-full bottles of painfully expensive things I was hankering after. Bloom’s decant club subscription from xmas last year let me mix it up without buying even more. And the generosity of other perfumistas continues to amaze me and educate me. Thank you! ❤

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    • You will of course smell amazing in 2019. You scored some seriously good stuff. I have never bought a thing off of eBay. I even got Tara to order some atomizers for me because I was. too scared. I have an enormous block in my head …… hahahaha. That you for being such a wonderful part of my life. Looking forward to being in Scotland next year. Beware. xxxxxxx

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  7. Like Neva, I am in admiration of your uncompromising attitude towards perfume purchases. And like Crikey, I have been a total perfume slut this year, as per usual.

    However, I share your unreserved love for Cèdre Sambac. It’s my favourite release of 2018. And although Hyde sadly did not work on me, I fell deep in love with his previous release Slowdive and have been enjoying that one immensely.

    Merry Christmas! I have only been to Vienna in the summer but I am sure it is magical at the holidays.

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    • Hey there Tara C. Yaaaaas! Cedre Sambac is just amazing. Slowdive is beaitufl, yes. I would love a travel size, and guess I should see if there are any left. Hyde needs to be used with caution, but I totally get that it won’t be everyone’s thing. Plents of other stuff to chose from. I adore the Arbole Arbole and have nearly finished my 10ml bottle. I find the lasting power of Hiram´s stuff mind-boggling. Merry Christmas my dear! Vienna is lovely in the winter, but I think Salzburg know spots off of it. Bussis. Val. xxxx

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  8. I am ridiculously out of touch with new releases, but follow along when you, Tara or Undina make a much loved new discovery. And I think I find quite enough gems that way!. I am indebted to you for a number of recent tip offs, including the Hermes range above – which prompted a purchase of a travel spray of Myrrhe Eglantine 😉 – and I must retry Cedre Sambac in this cooler weather now.

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    • I think indebted is little strong, but ……. I love the Myrrhe Eglantine too, and would love a bottle, same with the Agar Ebene. Perhaps a travel set with two of each would be enough. CS was the only real contender for a whole bottle. I don’t really follow new releases either, but Hermes and Chanel always have me dancing, And Hiram sent me a Hyde sample otherwise it would have taken me a lot longer to try it. 🙂 xxxx

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  9. You’ve reminded me that I need to get myself to Hermès – which really isn’t far from my home – to try the oil. I’ve got some CS right next to me now! I’m wearing MM Hemingway, which I think is from this year and a spicy vetiver I love. Hope you have fabulous holidays!

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  10. Hey there Val! What beautiful perfumes for 2018! I love the Hermes oil. It works so nicely throughout the seasons. Enjoy your treasures.
    Merry Christmas! Sandra xoxo

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  11. you bought only three perfumes this year? gosh, I would never have guessed that. I thought you bought more than this number every month… I guess you have wisely moved on to sampling new perfumes through samples mostly or visit to the stores and only buying something that really moves you as Hyde and Hermes did.

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    • Fazal! I am the perfumista that rarely buys anything. I think most new stuff sucks, I do not search out samples, but some do come to me. I do visit stores like Chanel and Hermès when something new comes out. I received the new Hermés as a press pack this year, as a gift from a good friend. Through that I bought the Cèdre Sambac, and have the 7.5ml of both of the oils. If I had all the money I needed I could not come up with three perfumes a month to buy, I mean I only managed 3 in the whole year! I have a small collection and don’t wear half of it …. ❤️

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      • This is a great approach. I agree with you most of the new stuff sucks. Most of my purchases are perfumes of yesteryears, not the latest stuff.

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