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Portia
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Hey Hey Perfume Junkies,
OK I’m adding a THUNKED section here too. It’s becoming an APJ obsession and I love the idea of us using our fragrances and hoiking the vial, decant or bottle. Thunk is the sound of an empty hitting the bin so you must empty it for the thunk to count.
Anything worthy of comment, either good or bad, that’s passed under my nose through the week will get a short write up. If I think something is terrible, shamefully lazy, greedy or stupid and you should know about it, it will be said. As always YMMV.
I’d love it if you get involved: agree, respectfully disagree, have any thought-out opinion and want to share, do so in the comments below. The point is starting a conversation.
New Sniffs + Thunked: 17.1.2019
New Sniffs:
In The Woods by Cult of Scent
Not strictly speaking a new sniff but I am loving rediscovering its spiced and minty cedar surrounded by the cool unburnt resins of incense and citrus. I had forgotten how terrific this is. MMMMM
Tom Ford Lost Cherry
OMG! I’m embarrassed by how much I freaking LOVE this. Sour Cherry Cheesecake sprinkled with almonds and arriving in new Tupperware! They’ve done it without any of that freaky saccharine back taste too. This shit is my jam.
Should be a Guerlain. If they could remember how to make fine fragrance.
Now I want it BADLY!!
Colorado by DSH Perfumes
Dawn has created a thing of beauty, eye rollingly good. Warm, sweet and thick, luscious. Resinous woods, maple syrup, clean smelling beeswax and the cold fluffy char smell of a dead fires ashes.
Only 50 signed bottles made in conjunction with American Perfumer.
Thunked:
Vanille Fleur by Micallef
It’s an odd bird. Vanilla and roses, with a dash of fruitiness. You’d think it would be luscious and dewy but it isn’t. Dry, desiccated coconutty vanilla with subtle fruity rose thread running through. Quite a surprise.
Ma Bête by Eris Parfums
Ma Bête is a LOT raunchier at heftier levels, the resins and something bed heady are SO GOOD! All overlaying a very pretty, vintage feeling, aldehydic floral. Now I really want a bottle.
Midnight Spirit by Olibere Paris
Thunked a 2ml spray sample. OMG! I am a sillage bomb! Citrus (with that ultra sweet grapefruit tartness), booze, zingy pink pepper and greenery with a very nice dry grass heart and smoky amber woods base
Have you tried any of these? How did they work for you?
Portia xx
Nope, not a single one of them, but In the Woods and Ma Bete could be just right for my taste.
Lost Cherry – I can’t even imagine such an edible perfume but now you’ve made me curious 😉
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Curious is good Neva,
TBH I was ready to write Lost Cherry off as another name with no substance from the stables of TF. Turns out it’s well good, but ridiculous;y overpriced (of course)
Portia xx
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I’m curious about Lost Cherry as well.
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The good thing is it’s available at TF counters to spray for free Matty.
Portia xx
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That’s what I’ll be doing when I go into Selfridges. XXX
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O M G ! I love it there……..
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Hiya Portia!
I completely enjoyed wearing Lost Cherry as well. It really is my first Tom Ford that I liked. The SA gave me only one spritz and I would love to try it with more.
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Hey Sandra!
You must be getting ready for the big move! So exciting.
I think Lost Cherry is going to make its way into my collection at some point. It’s yum.
Yes, LOADS of spritzes.
Portia xx
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I want to try Lost Cherry too! Of course I haven’t tried any of these, but I’m off to have a little gander🤓
And THUNK to Camel this morning. Gorgeously unctuous fruit.
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Love Camel! I have a travel spray and I don’t want it to end.
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I didn’t want to either😢
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I guess you know what to do about it 😉
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Neva! Evil. Bahahahaha!
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I am thunkless this week, sorry! But I did try Lost Cherry and also really liked it. We have a lovely SA here who is nuts about his product, and will talk and spritz with abandonment. Yay!
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Woo Hoo JackieB, that’s the kind of SA we all need.
Portia xx
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I haven’t tried any of these. I’m afraid to try Lost Cherry. Even if I could afford it, I really don’t like the name (didn’t like FFabulous either). Maybe a little prudish but Tom Ford seems increasingly like a frat boy (maybe he always was?) and I don’t want to support that. No shade on anyone who does of course, my Puritan side is just coming out. 😳🙄 (yeah, I know, it’s just perfume…..)
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Hi MMKinPA,
Yeah, it’s kind of funny but in a $2 shop kind of way, not fine fragrance. It doesn’t bother me on a moral level but it does on a luxury level.
Portia x
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Portia – do you get any cedar in Colorado? I love Dawn’s perfumes and that one intrigues me but I often struggle with cedar.
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Honestly my nose is very blunt to the nuance of wood, especially when there are more than one note used. I will wear it again with a nostril especially looking for cedar. Even then the different cedars are all quite different too.
Portia xx
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I have difficulty with cedar as well in fragrance MMKinPA. I feel like I miss out on many fragrances, but can’t get past the not wanting to smell like cedar. I love it in nature, not on me. I love Dawn’s perfumes as well, but wasn’t interested in Colorado or any of her outdoor scents (I even live in Colorado). I walk daily in nature and maybe I get enough of the outdoors scents there?
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I bought Lost Cherry for my eldest daughter for Christmas. It smells fantastic on her. I tried it on when she opened it and loved it for about an hour which is when it disappeared. She gets about six hours out of it. Jealous.
Recently thunked Kiki VdP which took me about three wearings to fully appreciate and Le Mat which only took about three minutes for lust to set in.
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Hey Marcella,
You’re not the first to mention longevity issues with Lost Cherry. I don’t remember it being particularly short lived for me either. It might have collapsed a bit but didn’t disappear.
Bummer for you.
Portia xx
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Winner for me. More $$ for Le Mat!!
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Le Mat pops up a bit. What makes you love it, marcella?
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Le Mat is one of the few rose perfumes that don’t go sour on my skin. There’s a good dose of warm and earthy patchouli to colour that rose dark, dark red and a sprinkling of immortelle to sweeten it up. Although it performs like a good vintage it’s distinctly modern. It’s warm but not suffocating. It’s not airy but also far from dense. To my nose it is perfectly balanced, unique and comfortable. Not a cozy gourmand woody comfort though.
It’s not a no-brainer but neither is it challenging. It’s just an absolute pleasure to wear. The warm, slightly sweetened and earthy rose is absolutley addictive. I also think it could be worn in all seasons except for the peak of summer.
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Marcella! You have officially given me my first ‘must try’ of 2019. Your description has me building up an olfactory image that I cannot shake.
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That’s exciting. I’m dying for someone else to give it a whirl. Honestly, I don’t think you’ll regret giving it a try. Let us know!
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I shall do.
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Enthusiastically seconding the recommendation for this, because it’s something special… though do try it *lightly* the first time (though it’s also worth lashing it on as well just to see what it does!) The opening, particularly, is as rich and thick as brandy butter. I prefer it once it’s got past the first twenty minutes or so, and unfolded a little, and burned off the booziness.
It’s kind of PoaL’s goth sister.
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Oooooooh! That has me hook, line, sinker.
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I have that same problem with TF, lovely as they might be, longevity is not good which is just not on at that price point. There are two exceptions, Orchid Soleil and Black Orchid. Perhaps the base material is similar in those two.
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I put on my sample of Le Mat after reading your post. It really has a lovely comfortable dry down. I purchased Rituale from this line, I love it as you love Le Mat. Very well made fragrances!
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Thunkless this week. Just not in the mood for smelling like anything other than ME. : (
Dawn’s Colorado sounds marvelous (ya got me with the beeswax), but $125 in my bank account sounds even more marvelous with no disrespect to DSH.
I did sample Andy Tauer’s latest body oil called Wowilla. Portia, I think you might like this one. Way way way too sweet for me. A really villainous vanilla bomb. Notes are Reunion vanilla, sandalwood, labdanum, patchouli. Labdanum is one of my favorite notes but the vanilla in this (and it’s a good vanilla, not a synthy, stinking one) is all I could smell. It was so intense, I had to shower again to rid myself of it.
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Oh no Cee,
Wowilla sounds like it smells like its name, too much and not enough. I will give it a go though, you’ve hit my intrigue button.
Portia xx
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There’s quite a few fans of Wowilla here at APJ. I’m still struggling with the feeling of body oils, although I think I tend to over apply.
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I NEVER struggle with the slicking my body down 🙂
Over application is the way to go!
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Yikes! How do you not slide out of bed?
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my skin eats the oil….it’s very dry
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Try it! It’s a Wow for me🥰
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$125 in my bank account sounds good to me too!
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New sniffs for me this week:
* Portal by Kingdom Scotland. Nope. Not a hit with me. Even on fabric it feels rather more like a functional/cleaning product than “verdant florals” and “ancient Caledonian forest”. Disappointed, because I really liked Metamorphic and bought a travel spray of that one (but I am a sucker for a good peaty smoke scent). I need to stop bothering with anything marketed as “fresh”, I think.
* Bois Sikar by Atelier des Ors. This doesn’t go Islay malt and a cigar for me–which I would be totally down with–but instead feels a bit too heavy on the nutmeg and bacon on a campfire (it’s a meaty smoke along with the cold tobacco.) The opening is lovely, but then it becomes a bit, er, robust.
When I go wandering to smell Si on Kate’s recommendation, I’m going to have to try the TF too after this. Though I would cheerfully knock TF’s head together with Kilian’s, for the puerile saucy-seaside-postcard names. (I can out-swear and out-innuendo most, but these just piss me right off.) Colorado sounds bloody lovely… i don’t think I’ve ever tried a DSH scent. Here’s hoping American Perfumer does so very, very well they set up an outpost in the UK and give us access to such loveliness.
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Oh Crikey, thank you for that!! A better lashing Tom Ford and Kilian have not yet received. Richly deserved and I loved it.
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Agree on the attempt at headline-grabbing names. Too much of the “look at me, look at me,aren’t I naughty” not that I’m overly bothered by the swearing either- there are navvies who can’t swear as well as I can, I’m sure.
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That’s not a coincidence, then: I thought I was one of the few pissed with Kilian and TF’s naming practices.
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I am equally as pissed at the prices
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Yeah. Makes it seem like the perfumes were named by pre-pubescent boys. That humour is unattractive. Gah!
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I agree with all of you!
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Tried none of these but In the woods and Ma Bête have piqued my curiosity. I’d try Lost Cherry because of so many favourable reviews but, honestly, the name is rather unpleasant. Tom, your frags should speak for themselves, there’s really no need to go the Kilian way and invent some childish names. “I’m so fabulous. – No, you aren’t. – Are, too!” 🙂
Oh, and no new sniffs and no thunks so far. I know, I know, I should get with the program.
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You know, I purposely avoid Kilian and Tom Ford for exactly that. Adolescent names and marketing are a HUGE turn-off for me.
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And yet their prices are even worse than their marketing 😉
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Ain’t it the truth!
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Yes!!!
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I am not a fan of Mr Ford. Clever guy, but I find him smug and condescending. Luckily, I am not really a fan of his work, so very content to not elevate his income.
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🙂
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Kate- Ditto reTF!
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Hey Diana,
Don’t worry about the program. Go your own way. We just like having you around to chat.
Portia xx
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Nothing thunked this week, a nearly thunk on a sample of Memoir Woman, but i saved the last drops for another wear. I ordered this sample in the beginnings of my new interest in perfumes and thought it was a very loud floral. Now 9months later i am beginning to see its beauty….. Even got me interested in a decant.
Today testing Liquides Imaginaires Peau de Bete. I just made a dab on the back of my hand. Wow, this is a musky, skin-like and sweaty scent. I don’t get leather, more a flowery musk. As i have a 10ml decant, i can do a thorough testing.
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Hey Tanja,
Liquides Imaginaires Peau de Bete is a beast. If you’re game try a quadruple chest spritz and then go lie down for an hour. The ride is AMAZING!
Portia xx
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Some lovely scents on your list Portia. Lots of new sniffs for me as my STC and Decantshop orders arrived. Highlights Bond No9 Washington Square, Eau d’Italie Sienne, Bvlgari Au the Noir and Atelier Iris Rebelle. Tiziana Terenzi Gold Rose Oudh will be thunked by end of day. And treated myself to another little sample of A Lab on Fire California Snow.
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OOOO! Have always been fascinated by Washington Square as it is very near the Marshall Chess Club where all three marzipans used to play. I am curious as to what you think of it. How insane is it that the name alone intrigues me enough to want to try this one?
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Well Brigitte, I’m trying it mostly because the bottle is so very pretty and i think it would look super fancy next to my Chinatown. Initial wear – soft powdery musk. I’ll wear it in earnest soon and put my thoughts on SOTD xx
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OOO that sounds pretty good! I would like that bottle too next to our own bottle of Chinatown…I know you and I are both fans of Chinatown….technically it’s my daughter’s but she shares 🙂
Looking forward to what you have to say on the SOTD
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Ha! Yes- Make a Bond No 9 bottle map of NY!
I love Chinatown (Mel 😘)
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Sounds lovely. Any comparisons?
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YAY! How exciting is it to get the Surrender To Chance package? One of my favourite moments.
Love Bvlgari Au the Noir (grabbed a bottle, need to get it out) and Atelier Iris Rebelle is SO on my list for FB purchase, it sang beautifully on my skin.
Portia xx
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“This shit is my jam”….lordy, Portia, I LOVE THAT LINE.
I tried all of the Eris Perfumes and Mx was Mr. Marzipan’s favorite…quote “where that retro perfume for me”….I had a sample of it and for the life of me I don’t know where it is…probably hiding in the basement somewhere.
It’s been a busy thunk week….completely emptied my decant of Bottega Venetta Absolu, my mini of Bottega Venetta, and my entire sampler of Comp Sud Pacifique….the ones that I count as thunks also are the ones that were confiscated…bottles of Berdoues Violettes, Meteorites, and Iris Nobile. And decants of Rose all Dae, Intimate Seduction and Apres LOndee extrait. My little bottle of Eau de Cartier sits in my work bathroom and I spray lavishly every time I go in…and other folks are using it too so by next week that will be a thunk.
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Oh crap….”wear” NOT “where” …it’s been a long stinkin’ day at work!
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The queen! You thunk so that I don’t have to, really, lol.
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Ha! Yeah, I’ll thunk for all of you!
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Thank you!
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My pleasure 😊
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YAY! I’m glad I gave you a new line Brigitte, that particular one makes me laugh to myself on so many levels.
YOU are the THUINKing Queen of APJ. What a huge use-up this week. Congratulations.
Portia xx
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do you find lost cherry to be better than FF, I have tried none. Is lost cherry similar to some extent to Guerlain La Petitie Robe since that makes use of notes like almond, cherry etc, too unless I am forgetting something. Or is there any other frag. Lost Cherry reminds you of?
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Hey Fazal,
F**cking Fabulous was a comfortable amber-centric fragrance on me, nothing I don’t have in my collection already.
La Petitie Robe has always felt screechy and ungrounded for me, except in the extrait. Lost Cherry wears with gravitas only skin. It is a fruity, creamy gourmand but done elegantly and with zero screech factor. Modern cherry frags also have the backbite of sugar free drinks for me, which I find uncomfortable to my palate, LC is free of that toxicity too.
While being a sideways glance at all the other cherries it feels like a grown up look at the genre.
Portia xx
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thanks for the detailed explanation. I actually happen to have la petite in extrait (that 30ml tester cube bottle). So in extrait version, la petite does have some similarities to LC?
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Haven’t tried anything new this week, because I’ve been ill. Apart from trying again a tiny dab of Orlov perfume, not sure the sample is correctly labelled (says Orlov Orlov). Boozy perfume, should try again.
No thunking, except for body lotions.
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Get better soon, Ingeborg! A perfumista is like a shark: must always be on the move i.e. sniffing and smelling 🙂
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Feel better soon 😷
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Yikes, Ingeborg! Rest up and get back to thunking. X
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Body lotions still count. Hope you start feeling better soon.
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Hope you make a recovery very soon. And body lotions still count!
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And thrice: get better soon😃
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My WordPress is still awry, and acting like a toddler with a tantrum 🙄
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HUGS! Get well Ingeborg.
Portia xx
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Tried Rogue by Rhiana yesterday. Not my thing. So very synthetic. Began to annoy me 15 min later. Scrubbed after 30 min.
Sprayed La Vie Est Belle Flowers of Happiness on the other hand. Ok opening. Rather like Ever Bloom Ginza by Shiseido. Shrieking peony. I quite liked it, but didn’t sit well on me. My two boys and mum agreed that it isn’t me. Apparently 24 Faubourg edp is what they think of as ‘me’.
Onto a card went a white floral by The Body Shop. One of the 5 edps… Can’t think of it’s name. Bright tropical opening and completely gone in 10 min. A shame…
No thunks, though I am trying to use up my shower/bath products. I keep finding little travel sized gels everywhere.
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24 Faubourg: one of my old colleagues called it her ‘pulling perfume’ and I will always think of it in those terms because of her😉
Does it ever work for you like that?
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Lol! Hardly! Wish it did. 😂😂😂😂
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WOW Kate! 24 Faubourg is so gorgeous. They think highly of your frag mojo.
I too suffer the breeding shower/bath product syndrome. If I had 20 showers a day for the rest of my life there’d still be half my stash left, and I’m lucky to bathe daily.
Portia xx
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How do they grow?! I even found some forgotten Lush bath bombs this morning. And a cardamon soap. No idea where that soap came from. Weirdly, my boys go through shower gels like no tomorrow.
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I think they are asexual reproducers that randomly spawn thousands of minis.
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Bahahahaha! I had exactly the same thought.
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I think the potential breeding colony needs to reach a critical mass first–the population needs to be high enough to support and camouflage the offspring in their earliest days at the back of crowded shelves and cupboards, until the young products start to emerge with more confidence into the open and can appear fully-formed on shelves.
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LOVE IT Crikey.
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Crikey, I am quietly confident your theory has substantial creedence to it, based upon my long standing observations and empirical measurements taken. Shall we start our own academic journal of international scent breeding and thunking?
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Viva La Juicy. Thunk! Not bad but not really my thing. I got a couple of free samples (from DJs or Myer?)
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YAY for the thunk Jyotsna.
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