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Portia
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Hey Hey Perfume Junkies,
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.
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.
Thunk is the sound of an empty hitting the bin but there is some leeway here, selling or gifting away can also count.
We also want to know what you have tried or thunked each week too, please share in the comments below. You don’t need to be a hardcore perfumista to join in, just give your impressions. Others will join in with their impressions too, everyone has a slightly or hugely different experience with scent. That’s part of the fun.
New Sniffs + Thunked: 11.4.2019
Over 50 responses I will draw a Secret Scent Sample Pack (from my collection)
Last Weeks Winner: Hajusuuri
eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with your address please
New Sniffs:
Leather Oud by DIOR
Not really NEW but I did dig my bottle out after it sitting in a box since the week after I bought it. Bought in 2012 or 13. It seems to have mellowed considerably. While still being a band aid style oud and a lovely dark leather it now shows so much more honey and patchouli. Really beautiful.
Chypre Shot by Olfactive Studio
Chypre Shot opens quite warm and amber-ish with a spicy pepper/saffron zing and smooth cardamom overlaying all. Not a chypre in the vintage mode, here a clean patchouli works with hints of moss. Very nice.
Oajan by Parfums de Marly
(Thanks Matt D for the sample) Osmanthus and honey spend dry and sweet, given a lift by the green artemisia. I’m not sure why Fragrantica lists cinnamon as the leading ingredient, I can’t smell it at all. Cajan smells surprisingly like a “natural” fragrance and has that slight, dark swampiness about it. It could be the ambergris mixed up with all the vanilla, sweet beans and resins. Interesting but unfriendly and weird.
Pink Pepper Wood by 1000 Flowers
Well named. Zingy pink pepper over a floral woodsy base with cool, unburnt incense sticks. A nice hit of clove gives the pepper a very pleasant depth. Though it is really nice Pink Pepper Wood doesn’t really sing for me. It could be my mood.
Thunked:
Fiery Pink Pepper mini by Molton Brown
This is the third Molton Brown mini from TinaGs Christmas Present. One more to use. They are lovely. Excellent scents and bubble action. Perfect gifts.
Have you tried any of these? How did they work for you?
Portia xx
25 new sniffs and 15 thunks….. it’s been a busy week.
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LOL 🙈 now that’s what i call a true sniffing week 👍🏻👍🏻😄
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I am making up for last week where I pretty much wore the same fragrance all week long.
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Just WOW. You’re on fire.
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🔥🔥🔥🔥
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I’m in awe, Brigitte…! Anything worth mentioning of the new sniffs?
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Off the top of my middle aged head I remember liking Love in White, Amour, vintage 19, Milk and Tracy Reese
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O M G!
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Hee hee…. actually some of the samples and Decants were not full ao they were easy thunks. Plus, my skin’s lasting power is the life of a gnat so I can easily test upwards of 8 per day on various body parts.
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Sometimes wearing a mix of several different samples all at once makes for a wonderful scent in and of itself!
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Ha, that’s true!!
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And I think my 250 ml of Pour un Homme is sorta thunked via confiscation because Mr M is using it now as catnip for moi. Plus, he tolerates it which says a lot as he really is NOT into fragrances. However, I still have access to the bottle and will be sneaking spritzes . Last night I layered NOA over it and I highly recommend this combo. That would be an interesting Saturday question if it hasn’t been done yet… plus would give us some great layering ideas.
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Wow!! You have been a busy girl. I have woefully been behind on my sniffing and thunking, although I did thunk a vintage sample of Dune and sniff the reformulated Leather Oud (still too dirty for me). I have smelled Oajan but found it just okay.
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Vintage Dune is beautiful.
Yes, I guess I got Mt mojo back 😁
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My not Mt
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Thunked a small decant of korrigan by Lubin, great juice. About Oajan from PDM, is funny cause i feel a lot of cinnamon, especially in the opening 🙂 other than that, yeah i agree it was a little bit weird at first sniff but after a few wearings it has changed a lot on me (in a good way), so give it more wearings 👍🏻 Also it feels nice in the air cause i’ve got positive comments everytime i’ve used it 😊
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I’m so glad to read that about Oajan Alen, I think it might have been me. Not feeling 100% my sniffer may have been off, or my mood.
Portia xx
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I thunked two this week but can’t for the life of me remember what they were☺️ I’m such a doddery old woman. I’m only several years late in trying Bois des Iles. Very nice but not setting me alight. It’s well put together and very Chanel.. Tried Fève Délicieuse, and really like that one. It’s a snuggle fume. I haven’t tried any of yours, P, as per usual. I’m really liking the sound of Pink Pepper Wood.
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Cassie, I’m with you on the forgetting part 😀 I’ve placed an extra paper on my desk so in future I can make notes about new sniffs and thunks 😉
I’m also on the Chanel (re)discovering path. They are very good so far but not the way they would knock me off my feet and make me buy a bottle. Let’s wait and see…
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Hey Cassieflower,
The BdI EdP is a lot flatter than the EdT was. Try the extrait.
Fève = Fab U Lous.
Portia xx
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One of my favorite perfumes is Bois des Isles EDT. I’ve never sampled the EDP version, and the extrait is on my wishlist.
I also want to try Fève Délicieuse, heard so many good reviews.
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Aha, the one I’ve got is edp.
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You will be able to try Pink Pepper Wood once your sampler arrives!
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Should arrive any day now. Can’t wait 😊
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I just had email from Jessica and my 1000Flowers sampler is shipped on route from France. Looking forward to sniffing them all!
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I haven’t gotten my shipping notice yet but I’m guessing very soon it’ll be on its way.
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I had ordered my sampler coffret quite awhile ago, and inquired about shipment. Jessica responded promptly with tracking info that it was on its way.
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I really wanted to like Feve but just could not. Acquired and sold it twice. On the other hand, I do like Mitzah.
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Oh yes, Mitzah is fabulous.
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That Chypre Shot sounds very good to me, Portia.
I’ve decided to try some Chanels after many decades of avoiding them for fear of disappointment because of reformulations. I compared Cristalle EdT and EdP and No 19 EdT and EdP and I found them all still very beautiful. I prefer the EdP versions though. I’ve tried 1957 too and I understand the love it gets. You can smell how the notes unfold – bergamot, orange, iris, musk. Simply beautiful.
Oh, and I’ve tried ISO E Super my friend bought on ebay. It could totally pass for Molecule 01 and it is 10 times cheaper.
No thunks for me last week.
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Hey Neva,
Interesting that you are preferring the EdPs in the department store CHANELs. No 19 I really like the modern EdT, so much throw and lift. The EdP is lovely too a bit plusher. My bottle of Cristalle is OLD, it’s an EdT but I think it might be late 20th Century.
HA! Yeah, iSO E! It’s pretty much all that’s in 01, just a few bells & whistles added.
Portia xx
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Must revisit Cristalle. That was beautiful, as was the Cristalle Vert, I think that was a limited edition as it disappeared off the shelves rather quickly.
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Just checked and the Eau Verte is still very much available. I just haven’t seen it🤓
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I recently wore why Cristalle after reading Old Herbaceous post reminding me of it. And I realized I had the Vert version! Such a beautiful fragrance for spring!
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Going to spray myself silly next time I see it! And I will actually look for it.
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I’m visiting friends in Dallas next weekend, where there is a Chanel boutique. I’ll sample the EDPs and spray myself silly with the fragrances I don’t yet have in my collection. So looking forward to it! Do you have a Chanel boutique where you live?
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Yes, there’s a Chanel boutique in my hometown. They have all the Exclusives too.
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Envy! That’s wonderful you have the opportunity to sniff nearby. I don’t have a Chanel boutique with Exclusives near me, therefore I am super excited to be in Dallas and have the opportunity next weekend.
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Enjoy the sniffing in Dallas 🙂
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Thank you, will do! I’ll be in my happy place!
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Unfortunately not. Two hour trip away from me but I’ll remember it next time I’m in the city.
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Eau Verte is still available, don’t worry 😉
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This week I thunked my Dusita Issara decant. Which reminds me, I need to track down a La Douceur de Siam sample…
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Congratulations on your thunk Verbenaluvvr,
Did you love it?
Portia xx
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I’m not familiar with your new sniffs Portia, and the scent of pink pepper I just can’t identify or figure out. Still not sure what it is supposed to smell like?
I’m sampling some Ex Nihilo (Devil Tender, Venenum Kiss, Love Shot, Sweet Morphine), and I’m really liking them all. I could see myself pursuing a full bottle of one of them some day.
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Hey Kathleen,
I’m no perfumer but when Pink Pepper is in something I get a zing, much like aldehydes but with a hint of dry, cracked pepper.
OOOH The Ex Nihilo range is very popular in the niche hound world. I’ve tried a couple but think I might need to find the set and sample properly.
Portia xx
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Thank you for that explanation Portia. I will be receiving a 1000Flowers sampler coffret very soon and will sample the Pink Pepper and try to differentiate and understand that note.
Do give Ex Nihilo some more sniffs, I’m really enjoying them!
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And I’ve just thunked my Mécanique! Resprayed myself for going out to a show. I smell mighty fine, if I do say so myself. Oh and congratulations to hajusuuri on winning PPP.
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WOO HOO for the thunk Cassieflower,
Portia x
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Congrats to Hajusuuri on your win.
The only new sniff for me wasn’t even mine. It was a Bond No 9 my friend had just reveived.I think it was just called Harrods.
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I have been trying a couple of Hendley perfumes that are new or I didn’t know. The new one is Untitled, which I love: its very strong on the sandalwood on me, but with iris and vetiver also present. An older one that I am liking but not with the same kind of love is Blond. It starts off strong and then fades a bit to a point where things are quite indistinct to my nose. And there seems to be something new in the works, as he sent me sample of one not listed on Fragrantica: Narcis, I think it’s called, and it is straight up wonderful daffodil. Me want more.
I finished a bottle of I Miss Violet, but fortunately have a back up as it is a perfume I love.
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Thunked a homemade sample of Chanel Gardenia. Portia’s new sniffs are not familiar to me and since I’m not a big fan of pink pepper or oud, a few are not of the kind I would seek out.
Really should try something from Parfums de Marly, need to get around to swapping with friends again.
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was your gardenia the chanel exclusive formula? I have recently gotten that formula which came in 35 ml bottles with white cap. I wonder how much that is different from the latest version.
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Yes, the Exclusive formula, bought earlier this year. It seems quite similar to the gardenia one I tested in Copenhagen in 2013, in fact. But I guess what I tested then was technically edt.
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The gardenia I have is not part of the exclusive line. I think it is from the time when gardenia was part of chanel’s regular line. Maybe early 2000s era before the introduction of exclusive line. It is 35ml bottle and has the same shape as some of other Chanel’s 35 ml bottles, just replacing usual black cap for no. 5 or coco with white cap.
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Chanel Gardenia is incredibly beautiful Ingeborg.
I have Parfums de Marly Athalia. It has orange blossom, iris, amber, and musk. A powdery floral if you like that sort of fragrance.
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Powdery is not always for me, but I love orange blossom and amber and several iris perfumes.
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I would classify Athalia as mostly an iris forward perfume, and I’m definitely a powder lover There are many Marly perfumes that I hope to sample more in the future as well
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I have Leather Oud, too, the very first formula. I had two bottles, one 125ml and 250 but sold the 250 one which was the first reformulation. even 125 ml is too much and I don’t expect to finish it since just a spray or two works. I am glad if it mellows down over time because I would prefer that. I like Oud Ispahan more in this style. You can see clear link between leather oud and oud ispahan but that rose twist in oud ispahan is really amazing. Now that i think, Oud Ispahan is probably my favorite oud rose perfume. Every other oud rose perfumes smells the same so for Oud Ispahan to reveal a different kind of oud rose combo deserves lot of credit.
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I adore Pink Pepper Wood. I bought the sprays when I was there and so far all make me happy and they last a good while on my skin. Looking forward to hearing what you all think of your samples!
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I’ve only heard good reviews and feedback about 1000Flowers, so looking forward to experiencing them.
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I’ve had plenty of familiar sniffs this week, still am playing with that bunch of samples a friend sent me a couple weeks ago, the new ones (I mean now I’ve formed a more or less stable opinion on them) were Le Galion Special for gentlemen, a gorgeous lavender scent that reminds me of vintage Jicky, Lutens Datura Noir, – a big “no” from me: it does smell like the poisonous flower, and vintage Ma Griffe. I love the clary sage note in this one.
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