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Portia
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Hello Fellow Fumies,
At APJ we have a Saturday Question. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it’s a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.
The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back regularly and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them. The aim is to generate real conversation and connection even though we are scattered around the globe.
Over 100 responses I will draw a Secret Scent Sample Pack (from my collection)
Last Weeks Winner: Only reached 34 responses
eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with your address please
Saturday Question: What’s Top 3 On Your Wishlist?
Wishlists! We all have them. Some of us (hand raised) have a wishlist that reaches well over 50 bottles. There’s always something I fell madly in love with that’s being added. Lately I’ve been keeping the samples away so I can go through a week without adding more to my already overloaded dreams of perfume acquisition. It’s fun though to think about what I’ll buy next and how excited I’ll be when it arrives. You know what I mean right?
My Answer:
Memory Motel by Une Nuit à Montauk
My last order from First In Fragrance brought this sample. A strange, slightly off kilter fragrance that doesn’t smell like anything else I ever sniffed. An oddly plastic patchouli and carnation fragrance that smells like it has tomato leaves hiding under the vinyl. Challenging and magnificent Memory Motel has an aroma chemical that jumps out nastily at me from a couple of things I’ve smelled before but here it fits so perfectly that I love it. 20 minutes in and the blend settles to a comfortable patchouli vanilla with tobacco underpinnings, spare and freakishly 1970s.
Le Jade by DSH Perfumes
NEW for DSH Perfumes in 2019 and one of Dawn’s most delectable fragrances, sent with my last pack from her and now right up top of my wishlist. Le Jade is beautiful, potent and full of peaceful space. Greenery, coniferous branches, torn leaves, almost eucalyptus but much smoother and softer. A glamorous resinoid fragrance that smells like the forest, flowers and incense. My imagination takes me to hilltop monasteries in the cool evening of spring. Also some of the expensive Taj properties in the Himalayas, surrounded by trees and beautifully perfumed.
Goldea by Bulgari
Yes, the original Goldea. Department store fragrance in the lovely bottle. I fell for its lush white floral-ness the first time I smelled it but don’t want to spend big bucks on it. I’m waiting till it gets the inevitable price drop at the discounters and then I’ll swoop. Jasmine, yang and amber done perfectly to my taste. Hardly a new idea but Bulgari has totally nailed it.
I have been very naughty and have satisfied most of my Wish List. I only had 2 until I read your post 😱
1. Coromandel Extrait
2. Penhaligon’s Cairo (I will get this at the Rockefeller Center boutique during Sniffapalooza. With the work done by the Karens to organize Sniffa, I feel it only right to support them by patronizing the businesses that have opened their doors….plus there’s always something special with a purchase.
3. Le Jade by DSH
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Cairo sounds nice, Penhaligon’s has quickly become me of my favourite houses
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I got a dabber sample and it was love at first sniff. I’ll probably split it because it looks like it’s only available in 100mL bottles.
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Hey Hajusuuri,
LOVED Cairo when I smelt it at the Aussie launch. So good. Coromandel Extrait is also on my list but won’t be coming to Australia in the foreseeable future, BUMMER!
YAY! Enabler pin here please.
Portia xx
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I guess you just go to Paris to purchase it 😂. And here’s your enabler’s pin 💎 for your tiara 👸 ❣️
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I also get super excited about my wishlist, and when I place the order and the excitement upon arrival!
My wishlist is also long; however, the top 3:
Ormande Jayne Rose Gold
Chanel Coromandel Extrait
Tauer Au Coeur du Desert
(Dior Feve Delicieuse was on this list, and I ordered it last week with arrival hopefully Monday, Wheeeeeee!)
Portia, your Goldea sounds divine, and it is available at Fragrancenet. You have me looking now!
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Hiya Kathleen,
YAY! Feve is beautiful. I bought a bottle too. There’s still a 10ml decant lying around though so it doesn’t get used yet.
Another vote for Coromandel Extrait. I think it’s going to be the perfumistas XMAS choice this year.
Portia xx
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I don’t actually have a wishlist written down or on a spreadsheet { I suspect a few may do},however before the end of 2019, I would like to acquire another bottle, or 3. I doubt it ,though due to my poor finances. Anyway
1.Chloe Nomade
2 Carnal Flower
3. 31 Rue Cambon
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AHHHH! Sally Anny,
I LOVE Chloe Nomade. The best mainstream release in ages, since Bottega Veneta EdP for me. So yummy.
Portia xx
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Would anybody believe me if I said I only have 2? And that’s only because I’ve only heard about them. Samples of Eve and Pandora. If I started to really think hard the list would be much longer. I’m going to get those two next week. Another gem for Brigitte’s very sizeable crown.
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Oops, I forgot to mention Frederic Malle Rose et Cuir.
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On my list, and I’ve been lucky enough to smell them. Eve is particularly beautiful.
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Oh can you describe? I haven’t entirely loved the first three releases, alas, but am always curious.
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Wee!
I am wishing for full bottles 😬
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Oh yeah Cassieflower!
I just ordered a decant of Rose et Cuir. Can’t wait to smell it. Currently getting conflicting reports on how much I’ll love or loathe it. Haven’t had this much hype about a new malle personally hit my inbox ever.
Portia xx
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It will be interesting to hear what you think of it. I’m going in totally open-minded.
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I don’t have a wish list either. My finances are really poor as well. I’m looking forward to all the answers. I will write down what takes my fancy in case I can afford any. XXX
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BUGGER Matty,
It’s hard not having cash to splash. I’ve done tough times too. Fingers crossed for better outcomes for you.
Portia xx
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Thank you,Portia but I fear there’s not much chance of that !!!!! I’ve had a few unexpected financial payouts.It’s a no buy for me., but I’ve got some nice perfumes to keep me going for ages. I do love reading what everyone is buying and wearing. XX
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Currently I don’t have any perfumes I’ve decided I’ll need to add to my collection. Recently I ruled out several perfumes that were in the “maybe” camp, and I have almost no contenders for the spot on that list. It doesn’t mean that I won’t buy any (I’m sure I will), but as of now I just don’t feel like I need (or even “need”) anything else. But I still enjoy wearing those that I already have.
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WOW Undina,
What a heavenly place to arrive at.
The truth is I could ignore everything new for the rest of my life and contentedly use up a millionth of my fragrant wardrobe. Buying more is my addiction even more than the scents themselves.
Portia xx
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That’s true for me too – I wonder why that is? What is it about the buying that makes it even better than the wearing? If I could fix that my life would be 1000% better.
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I also enjoy the process of buying perfume way too much! I haven’t figured out why that is either. At least I’ve learned and narrowed down my perfume style loves, and don’t feel like I need to have every shiny new item. That will save me a lot of money going forward!
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Oh, I totally get it! Right now I’m considering purchase of the second most expensive bottle of perfume in my life – just because I don’t need more perfumes, so I can spend my perfume budget on less bottles of more expensive perfumes (and I don’t have budget for increasing my perfume storage space 😉 ).
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WOO HOO! Which fragrance is in your sights Undina?
Portia xx
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1. Amouage Imitation Woman
2. Frederic Malle Lipstick Rose
3. Chanel Bel Respiro, EdT
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Hey PL67,
Those elusive EdTs from CHANEL. I just grabbed Jersey and No 18 EdTs from a FB Sale doc. Really happy to have them in my wardrobe.
Portia xx
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I don’t have a current wishlist because I binged while in Italy in August and when 4160 Tuesdays had the big clearout before moving to new quarters. I’m trying to limit myself to samples for now. I did make an exception for the relaunched Anne Klein II I found in TJ Maxx for $12.99! The original was one of my favorites back in the day, and it was discontinued years ago. The relaunch, by a different company but in almost identical packaging (so watch out for online listings, because the vintage costs a fortune), smells very similar to the original, so I’m a happy (bargain) hunter!
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WOO HOO OH!
How fantastic to read that a rerelease by a different company has exceeded your expectations. That is probably the first time I have ever read that in a blog. PLUS 12.99!!! Amazing. That’s got to have been a good day at the ranch.
Portia xx
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It’s not identical, but it’s very nice, and well worth what I spent or more! I have an old bottle of the original, and it still has its price tag: $19.99 for 50 ml, back in the 1980s. This relaunch isn’t as rich as the original but it is close enough! And now I can spray as much as I want. You’re right, very few reformulations or reissues get positive reviews. Balmain Ivoire got some. I have the old version of that, not the new one.
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I truly wish that I had kept my bottles from the 70’s and 80’s. What really bothers me is I have no idea what I did with them. Loads of Annick Goutals, Poison, Opium, Shalimar + other Guerlains, Chanels, ugh….. the list goes on 😢
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I am with you. But I know what I did with mine, I thunked them all!!!
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At least you have perfume closure! It drives me crazy sometimes.
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Yes that would probably drive me nuts too!
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You mean MORE nuts. Or just plain nuttier will do 😘
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I would like a bell jar of Luten’s ISM but have plenty otherwise so yeah ….. Wanted Coromandel Parfum but after trying it – nope. Very disappointing. No list.
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Hey CQ, in what way was the Coromandel Extrait disappointing? It’s rare to be ab,e to try extraits, even at the flagship boutique in midtown so I wou,d essentially be buying a large “sample”.
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Way too ambery for me, would sooner wear Mitzah. It is nice but I felt it was too soft., kind of boring., like the drydown of the EdP. To be fair I judged it on one wearing, I took a LOT out of the bottle in the Chanel boutique and smeared my wrists with it. It disappeared too fast which surprised me on my skin. I might try it again next time I’m in Vienna. 🤷🏼♀️
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OH NOOOOOOO! A million perfumista hearts breaking all over the world. That is a complete bummer. If it doesn’t linger on your skin imagine how quickly it will disappear from mine. WAAAHHHHH!!
I’d love to read a post about the day CHANEL let you down.
Portia xx
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I will try it again. But we have Amber Sultan, Mitzah … other beautiful amber frags, and I felt the Coromandel Parfum would not stand out in a crowd and it REALLY should.
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Yeah I hear you but the thing that stands out usually about CHANEL is how they DON’T stand out, they’re so beautifully refined and elegant that they make their mark through perfection rather than display. I almost always feel like a perfume introvert when I wear any of the CHANEL Exclusives (Except No 22 of course)
Portia xx
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Agreed Portia, I love the beauty and elegance of Chanel. Except for No22, I wear her layered with the body lotion when I want to live in a fragrance grand fragrance cloud. I can’t imagine being disappointment with Coromandel extrait! It will likely be a blind buy for me in the future as there will be no opportunity for me to sniff it otherwise. I love both the EDT and EDP versions of Coromandel.
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This breaks my heart, I have high expectations!
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You might love it. I wanted it to be amazing. But for me it was not. But as I said I will try it again. I never thought it should be an Extrait. La Pausa would have been my new parfum of choice.
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I think I want Coromandel to be amazing as well, and hoping I won’t be let down as you were. Let us know if you do sample it again and if you change your mind about it. Usually first impressions are quite accurate though.
I enjoy the EDP equally with the EDT, so perhaps Coromandel even in extrait won’t disappoint me because it is so special for me?
I had that experience with Papillon Bengale Rouge. I built up the anticipation and expectation so big in my mind, after loving Salome and reading all of the reviews. It is a gorgeous fragrance, but when I finally received my bottle, I was a little let down only because it didn’t meet my expectation.
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BR. Nah.
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And I think that is precisely why I’ve been delaying my order of Bengale Rouge samples. I love Salome. And now there has been so much positive reaction to BR, I too have built it up in my mind. I’m going to continue to wait to smell it until I’m feeling a little less anticipation and a lot more just plain curiosity.
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That is wise to wait Marcella. I hope you love Bengale Rouge when you decide to sniff it, it is a well-done fragrance. But if I had purchased a sample first, I probably would have bought a back up of Salome before BR full bottle. Salome best in my mind.
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I agree, BR is lovely, but Salome is better. Longevity is good on BR but sillage is nonexistent and I can hardly smell it on myself.
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Valuable contribution! I get very grumpy about perfumes with next to no sillage. I don’t need people across the room to notice it, but I certainly want to be able to smell it myself without having to bring my wrist to my nose.
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Salome is really very special indeed.
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I have been moving through my ISM bell jar. Something about the dabber? Or my maniacal over application? Do you have Rose & Cuir? I tried it after all the online love from you and others and am intrigued but think that Bandit-y thing about it might be a little too astringent for me to feel fully comfortable wearing it. But I’ve got a little decant so will try again.
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St Clair Eve and Malle Rose & Cuir.
Wouldn’t say no to a bottle of any of the Senyoko perfumes if they fell in my lap.
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OOOH! Another gong for Rose et Cuir Crikey,
Cool.
Portia x
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blame the cookie queen for that hankering: she waved R&C under my nose.
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St Clair Scents Eve
St Clair Scents Pandora
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Lucky their from the same company and you can save on P&H Brigitte! YAY!
Portia x
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FK Oud Satin Mood. It’s the the only perfume I’d like to buy, if only in the little travel spray asit would otherwise be Too Much both in price and I guess sheer oomphiness. I did like 28 La Pausa,but it was too fleeting.
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Annie have you seen the sample pack you can order from the MFK website? 6×2 mls samples for around $25AUD with free shipping. Outstanding value really and I think you can double up on the one scent if you like.
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@j.d. Ooh, scurrying over to the site…rats, can get one each of oud satin mood regular and extrait, but then have to select two non-osm samples. Good to know, though!
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You have to select 4 unique frags but then can select a bonus 2 at the checkout. From memory the 2 you select at checkout can be double ups so essentially you could have 4 out of 6 OSM (2xEDP, 2xExtrait)
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Hey AnnieA,
Isn’t it cool that you can buy a Travel Size at MFK, Do they do them singly or are you going to split your purchase with a couple of buddies?
Portia xx
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Portia, How hard is it to send a bottle from the USA to AU? I have a desperately underused and underloved bottle of Memory Motel and would love to send it to you if I can get past the mail demons. Any guidance? Email me?
But wish list. Right now:
1. Les Indemodables Cuir de Chine – I find this line to be amazing ! has anyone else tried them?
2. Reims Parfums Eau de Reims — a green incense by Duchafour that is quite lovely
3. Masque Milano Kintsugi – I can’t even figure out if I like it but I also love it. But I get this one first!
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I emailed the attached email address Amy. WOO HOO!
Never heard of Les Indemodables, what’s it like?
Portia xx
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Fancy French too expensive, but almost everyone beautiful. There’s a chypre with some sophisticated citrus thing happening, an amazing iris, a rose with a lot of tarragon that is beautiful. Antoine Lie did at least some of them and I am becoming sort of a fan girl.
I also like that the bottles are heavy and nice but not too showy and the packaging sufficient but minimal. I really think the money *is* going to high quality ingredients. At least in part.
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I’m on a self imposed bottle ban so I’ll stick with samples. A few samples that have so far eluded me:
Xerjoff – Esquel
Kilian – Sacred Wood
Nishane – Ani
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Good luck getting them JD,
Portia xx
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I’m feeling pretty content right now, but if I had to name three things right now I guess they would be Bengal Rouge, L’Air des Alpes Suisses and Keiko Mecheri’s Cuir Cordova. I also would like backup vats of Fève Délicieuse, Iris Ganache, Gourmand Coquin, Cuir Beluga and Angélique Noire. 🙂
I smelled it about a year and a half ago so my memory is a bit fuzzy, but I loved Memory Motel as well. They have the line at Luckyscent now.
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OOOOH! What a stellar line up TaraC,
You must be moving really soon?
So glad you loved Memory Motel, it really struck me as something special.
Portia xx
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We are getting wound up, move date is 15 Oct!
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Bengale Rouge is very very nice. It also gets better the longer you wear it, which seems to me maybe a bit rare these days? I hope moving is smooth.
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1. Hiram Green anything
2. Annick Goutal Rose Pompon
3. Annick Goutal Floravil
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Interesting Gina that you loved Rose Pompom, it lay like a dead duck on my skin. I was bummed because that new bottle design had me palpitating, lucky I spritzed before laying my money down.
HA! Hiram Green anything, you’re the best.
Portia xx
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I haven’t smelled Rose Pompon. I just want to blind own it. I love rose and love Goutal and have all the other rose ones.
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3 that immed come to mind are:
1. Vintage Givenchy Vetiver
2. Ormonda Jayne Vanille d’Iris: it did seem to have Dior Homme iris vibe
3. Serge Lutens La Myrrhe: preferably in vintage formula (I think I have most of the Lutens I wanted, just La Myrrhe continues to evade me, of course, at a good price), it will be a blind buy but the reviews give me confidence I will like it.
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Hey Fazal,
If I remember rightly vanilla d’Iris was perfection.
La Myrrhe will always make me think of Val the Cookie Queen.
Portia xx
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La Myrrhe is magic. You will love it. Hope it falls into your hands soon!
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I’m working my way through a sample of Au Coeur du Desert, and I will be sad when it’s done, so that’s top of my list. Other than that, SL Fleurs d’oranger and Elie Saab Gardenia (so buttery it’s obscene).
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Hey Amanda,
REALLY the Gardenia is good. Bloody hell, why didn’t I hear that from anyone yet. They were on super sale at FragranceNet a while ago but I didn’t hear anyone really raving so ignored them. Now they’re expensive again.
Portia xx
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I have an insufficiently attended bottle of the SL if you are interested. I’m in the USA.
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Yay what a fun fantasy question! My top three dreamy bottle wishes right now are:
Bengale Rouge by Papillon
Cafe Cabanel by Teo Cabanel
The Dark Side by Francesca Bianchi
Loving deeply moving sexy dark scents lately!
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Hey Erica,
It’s always so nice to see you back here at APJ. We miss your beautiful, heartfelt reviews around here.
Bengale Rouge is getting a LOT of wishlist action today.
Teo Cabanel is way underestimated in my book. I love Alahine, Barkhane and the Roses one. Is the Cafe Cabanel really coffee-is?
Portia xx
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Francesca Bianchi is getting a lot of love on Instagram. I have not yet explored the line.
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Top 3….hmmm kinda hard to choose (my list is veeeery long) 😄
MFK – Grand soir (i own some decant but need a fb asap)
Chanel – Boy 👌🏻👌🏻
Exaltatum – Osmathus Noble (gone through a sample vial and i’m still blowned away 😍)
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Hey Alen,
Wonderful choices.
CHANEL Boy is almost empty around here. Perfect go-to scent that fits anywhere and smells great.
Portia xx
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Dammit, just looked up Boy and now I need to try it 😬
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I got the travel spray of Grand Soir with the MFK travel spray case. Grand Soir is so good!
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I don’t really have a wish list as such, but there are perfumes that I hanker for, mostly ones that I haven’t been able to get my hands on, or are too pricey to even consider. My top 3 in this vein would be:
1. Papillon Anubis
2. Parfums de Marly Herod
3. Maria Candida Gentile Barry Lyndon
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Hey Greg,
What’s Maria Candida Gentile Barry Lyndon like?
Portia xx
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I have a list finally for this year and am trying desperately to stick to it. I have Bengale Rouge right at the top followed by Juriah by Sultan Pasha Attars and the third one I cant decide on Jersey edt or have a wild card. I will see how I go I suppose.
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Hey BBMc,
I have Jersey EdT and it’s freaking gorgeous.
Portia xx
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I have a sample and it’s the first lavender fragrance I really enjoy x
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I have Sultan Pasha Irisoir. Have you tried it?
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Hajusuuri, yes. I have a bottle. It is my favourite iris scent. I love rose scents but they are rather challenging on my skin and I tried Juriah recently and it’s glorious 😀
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Jersey is fab! I just realised that I love all the Exclusifs!
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Jyotsna, I own Cuir de Russie and Misia and I think the Exclusifs are lovely x
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Lutens Muscs Koublai Khan or Liquides Imaginaires Peau de Bete
Salome
LeLabo Iris
Lately i found a vintage Opium Ed from the early 90ies, still wrapped for 50€, so thats finally off my list.
I would love to try Chinchilla, but dont want to invest so much money without sampling
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I have a soft spot for Iris 39. It was one of my first niche purchases and I love it to pieces!
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OOOOOH! Love both your first pics Tanja,
My BFFs Mum loved Opium. I stockpiled the vintage for her and now she’s gone. Sometimes I wear it for nostalgia.
Portia xx
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There is one at the top of my list and it will most likely end up living on the list in perpetuity. Le Mat. Love it. It is only available as a 100 ml bottle. Firstly, that is far too much. This perfume packs a punch and has tremendous longevity. The price tag is cringey. It will ring in at about $360-$380 (depending on exchange rate) plus postage. Let’s call it an even $400.00. Which is a hive-inducing amount. So, decants are going to be the rule for Le Mat.
Obviously there are several others but I have yet to smell them. Bengale Rouge, duh! Coromandel perfume. Bel Respiro EDT and 31 rue EDT. In the past, my planned purchases had almost an obsessive quality to them. I NEEDED to have them. I’m much more chill now. Content with what I have. If my ‘wants’ never make it into my hands I am perfectly okay with that.
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Yeah, Le Mat is speedy Marcella.
Have you thought about doing a split? Then you could sell 5 x 10ml off and keep 50ml. That makes it not SO pricey.
Portia xx
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I’m far too lazy to organize a split 😂
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I was very lucky for having exact the right amount of credit at the only perfumery in the Lowlands that sells Bengal Rouge. So wish fulfilled. It is the first Papillon I get along with wonderfully. I thought I would love Dryad but I didn’t, same with the others. So now for today’s list:
1. Liquid Dreams April Aromatics
2. Iunx Talc
3. Paris Deauville sample.
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I have almost used my 20mls of Talc. It sort of slips on unnoticed. Gorgeous fragrance.
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Talc – the name sounds so meh. But I take notes now. Learned my lesson with Beige 🤦🏽♀️ Who is naming this juice??
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Ahhhh! I love the CHANEL Eaux series Hamamelis, they’re all so lovely.
Portia xx
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Bengal Rouge is getting a lot of love. Must try & get a sniff of it.
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Even though I keep whittling away on it, the list keeps ever increasing in length by leaps and bounds. Right now at the top:
1) Providence Perfume Co Sedona Sweetgrass
2) Providence Perfume Co. Lemon Liada
3) Profumum Roma Confetto
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Hey Otamum,
Providence Perfume Co do some fabulous frags. I also love their bath oils. SO GLAM!
Portia xx
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This is an easy one for me! Dear Universe, full bottles, please!
1. Chanel Exclusifs Bel Respiro
2. ELDO You or Someone Like You
3. Masque Milano Tango
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