I have just started this list and will add a few fragrances at a time. It will take a while for the list to be completed.
I have loved scents for many years.
My love of fragrance began long before I discovered nail polish (which has only been the last three years). Scents have been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. Back in the day, I would even mix my own Potpourris. Although I gave that up long ago, I still have an ongoing love for fragrances, especially perfumes.
I love trying the classics, but also enjoy finding out about the newer Indie and niche perfume houses. Rather than buy full bottles, which can be very expensive, I discovered decanting companies. They give me the opportunity to purchase small amounts and I can sample many different fragrances. My main go-to site is Perfumed Court.
This is my list of fragrances I have tried and I will update when new fragrances are tested. When you love something, it is fun to share. I guess that's the teacher in me.
The bold large type is the perfume house and smaller type is the scent. I will have brief description and a link to a larger elaboration.
I show the scents in their packaging, but I don't buy them like this. I get mine in vials and small spray vials.
Atelier Cologne
Artiquiste
The Architect's Club-this is a take on the 1930's smoking clubs in London. The dominate notes are vanilla and wood. It is an unisex fragrance.
Balmain
Chantecaille
Couquillete-I love this background story on Couquillete
Herat -Herat blows me away when I first put it on. It's top notes are Tobacco, Jasmine and Ylang-Ylang. It's rich, exotic and sweet at the same time. These notes last about an hour then it turns into a generally sweet scent with Afghan Hashish, Amber and Myrrh. After about six hours I personally can't smell to much. But this is one that I will reapply just to get a whiff of that first heady scent.
Sulmona-this perfume makes you want to go and have some luscious dessert.
It is a mixture of vanilla on all three levels. The top note includes
almond and sugar with vanilla. The heart note has bitter almond and
orange. Finally, the base note just has the orange added. If you like
sweet perfumes, you will like this one. There is always a time to wear
sweet perfumes in my opinion.Eric Buterbaugh-Some background on Eric Buteraugh
Florals Sultry-Rose-Once upon a time I said, " I wil raise a Rose but not wear a Rose". Eric Buterbaugh put a stop to that nonsense. This perfume is deep and mysterious. The top notes are Rose, Passionfruit and Pepper. Check out the links for the middle and bottom notes. This one is glorious. The creator is llias Ermenidis who created it for himself but gave it it Eric as a tribute to his flower artistry.
Florals Virgin-Lilly Of The Vally -Pierre Negrin says that he wanted the sense of the Lilly scent floating in the air. He actually placed it in the heart notes, first warming up through a top of orange, lime and rosewood. Another beautiful scent. I was attracted to this one because of the childhood memories of the Lilly Of The Vally flowers that my mother grew on the east side of the house. You walked there in the Spring and was taken over by the scent and it has ever since been one the my favorite scents. This video of Eric and Pierre give you a sense of what they were after.
Frederic Malle
Musc Ravageur by Frederic Malle is a Oriental fragrance for women and men. The nose behind this fragrance is Maurice Roucel. Top notes are lavender and bergamot; middle notes are cinnamon and cloves; base notes are sandalwood, tonka bean, vanilla, guaiac wood and cedar. It all sounds so wonderful. But when it gets on my skin, I smell over ripe Iris. My body chemistry is just not cooperating with Musc Ravageur.
Gautlier
Classique-the top notes of Classique is rose and rum, which is quite a heady combination and makes a great impression when it is first put on. The heart notes are vanilla orchid and Narcissus. The base notes are vanilla, tonka bean, amber and sandalwood. The problem I have with this fragrance might be just my body chemistry,(because I know it is very popular), is that after just three hours I had nothing but baby powder and hardly that. I would have to reapply this one.
Guerlain
Shalimar was one of the first "great"
fragrances that I owned. I was somewhere in my forties before I had the urge to
take it on. I had always heard the quote
that not every woman could wear Shalimar. I decided I was old enough to be one
of those women.
Jacques Guerlain created Shalimar in
1925. It is a elixir of bergamot, lemon, rose, jasmine, patchouli, opoponax,
vetiver, civet, musk, vanilla, iris and tonka bean. It was a tribute to the
love story between Emperor SHAHJANAN and his wife Mumtaz Mahai. So began the
oriental perfume. After she died at the
age of 30 giving birth to their 14th child, he was bereft and built
the Taj Mahal.
When I first put Shalimar on it seems
as it’s a fierce animal, “I am woman, hear me roar!” After a bit it the middle
notes come into play with a sweeter but still with a little spice. This is my
favorite place to be with Shalimar. Finally.
Shalimar has been written about for
almost a century by experts and that I am not. There isn’t anything I can say
that hasn’t been better said before. Instead, I am going print two great and
favorite quotes.
It has an extraordinary round and sensual base, but nearly no heart. It is so sensual that it goes perilously close to the edge of good taste. What makes it magical is the way in which Jacques Guerlain counterpointed it. That's something few other perfumers have managed to do with the oriental accord. Counterpointing is the ability to balance the rough with the smooth, the rich with the light and fresh. When you make a perfume as sensual and rich as Shalimar, you have to find a way to balance it, so that you don't end up feeling that it is just too much. (quoted in Michael Edwards' Perfume Legends, p. 56)
And from Luca Turin:
...] Unlike modern perfumes eager to make a good first impression, Shalimar is an intricate machine designed to project an olfactory effect remote in both time and space. It does not smell "good" in the strict sense for at least half an hour after being put on skin. It also often feels rather strange up close, while radiating a quietly melodious aura. But just as we patiently sit through an overture in anticipation of the aria at the end of the first act, we rightly expect Shalimar to come on-song in an hour's time, and to be better appreciated from the stalls than the stage. How does Guerlain achieve this? A century of practice and two or three perfumer geniuses along the way certainly help, but there is another, more earthbound reason: Guerlain's raw materials are of a different order than the stuff that merely mortal firms can get their hands on. Their vanilla absolute is sensational, their civet tincture is unique, and they have the sort of know-how that makes great cuisine more than the sum of its parts. (quoted by Chandler Burr)
Fragrantica’s link to Shalimar is HERE.
Imaginary Authors
Yesterday Haze-A stunner of a scent with notes of:
Fig, Iris, Cream, Tonka, Tree Bark, Walnut Bitters & Orchard Dust.
This scent is deep and sensual. I highly recommend it. I’ve used mine up and need some more.
Lenora Blumberg’s acclaimed debut “Violet Disguise,” tells the story of a farmer’s wife who, after maintaining a decades-long affair with a crop duster pilot, decides to come clean to her husband (who also happens to be her lover’s employer).
“Just as sunsets are more beautiful on hazy days so, too, are the memories of yesterday.”
Imaginary Authors
Yesterday Haze-A stunner of a scent with notes of:
Fig, Iris, Cream, Tonka, Tree Bark, Walnut Bitters & Orchard Dust.This scent is deep and sensual. I highly recommend it. I’ve used mine up and need some more.
Lenora Blumberg’s acclaimed debut “Violet Disguise,” tells the story of a farmer’s wife who, after maintaining a decades-long affair with a crop duster pilot, decides to come clean to her husband (who also happens to be her lover’s employer).
“Just as sunsets are more beautiful on hazy days so, too, are the memories of yesterday.”
A Few Perfume Review Sites
Decant Shops
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