Basenotes Chicago Meet-Up

I met a bunch of people this weekend from Basenotes who all came to Chicago to walk around, shop, and talk perfume.  I had a great time, and I hope we can all do this again.  Some came all the way from Boston and Seattle! I felt ind of odd-man out, especially as I was the only man there not married to one of the participants.  But everyone was extremely nice and mdd me, as well as other newcomers, very welcome.

I ended up getting L'Artisan Parfumeur Amour Nocturne.

I'm surprised this is the second of the Explosions d'Émotions that I got.   I was expecting to get Skin on Skin, but, after multiple wearings, decided it was kind of sweet.  This may have to do with the soap I have been using lately, this interesting gel foam by this brand called Rituals.  The can of soap came with the Barneys bag.  Because I bought more this weekend, Andy gave me another bag, PLUS two more cans of the soap! Anyway, the soap is supposed to be scented of cherry blossoms (I never knew they had a scent), which may explain the heightened sweetness of Skin on Skin.  I will try it again later, without the soap.

We also went to Hermès, where I got, oddly, the Terre d'Hermès Parfum.  I like it more than the edt, but I wasn't really feeling it when I wore it today.  Nice cap/sprayer, though!

Again, my reaction may have to do with the dang soap. I could have gotten it at a discounter, rather than pay full for it at the Hermès boutique on Oak Street.  Also:  when I checked the Hermès web site, they had a different bottle (1 oz) plus a large refill bottle for the same price.

Saks has the Christian Dior Collection Privée line, and I was looking forward to testing them all out.  However, several people wanted to decant my bottle of Byredo Black Saffron (and one of my M/Mink), so I took the bus home, got stuff, and then came back, missing their tour of Neiman Marcus and catching them at the tail end of Saks.  I live here, so I suppose I can go myself any time.  Also, I didn't need to spend still more money! But I wanted to sniff.

After Saks, we went to Nordstroms, which I guess I have never been to before, and I was kind of lost, not seeing much that I was interested in.

Finally, we went to Merz Apothecary.  They have Santa Maria Novella, and this time, they finally seem to have the potpourri, but only for the terra cotta urns.  They also had the terra cotta pomegranates.  So I may get one or the other for someone for a Christmas present.  Alas, no Nostalgia!

From there we went to Quarry's room at the Palmer House, and everyone swapped samples.  There was nowhere really to sit except the floor.  As I was not feeling especially limber, I stood the whole time, and finally just pooped out and went home on the bus with another newbie, Annette, who lived near me.

Amour Nocturne photo from Barneys.
Terre d'Hermès Parfum photo from Badger and Blade.