Some Things New

I got a bottle of Osmanthe Yunnan because it has been so hot... then it cooled down.  Osmanthe Yunnan just bloomed on me in the extreme heat.  When it cools down it is not as noticeable.

I also ordered a bottle of Voyage d'Hermès.  It hasn't arrived yet though.

I guess I have gone all Hermès lately.

Shoes

I've gone kind of shoe mad lately.  Here are the most recent.  I had better stop.

Newer Things

On Saturday I went to Barneys. I got Comme des Garçons Eau de Parfum.... the new one. 100 ml. I also got Frédéric Malle's Café Society room spray. Last Thursday night, I was reading Basenotes, and in one thread, someone had bought a bunch of L'Artisan fragrances on Fragrancenet, for very cheap! I checked it out, and ended up ordering Méchant Loup and Thé Pour un Été, both 100 ml, each for less than $50! Anyway, the bottles arrived today. Both are the old bottle design, so that may be good, an older vintage. Very quickly after I ordered, a lot of the L'Artisans were out of stock, or the price had doubled or tripled!

Home again

Just got home this afternoon. Snow, pretty much for the first time this season, so everyone in a panic. I had a few hitches on the way home.... ANA said my ZED tickets were only good for 3 months, so I had to buy a ticket to Tokyo. I need to look into this. I thought they were good for a year. I got business class on the way home. So that will cost me about $150 or so, as well.

I got home around 6 pm, and my bottle of Epic Man was awaiting me. Four Seasons was having a 20% off sale, so I actually paid less for this Epic Man, which is 100 ml, than I did for my 50 ml of A Taste of Heaven. I don't feel so guilty.

L'Artisan is having a sale, so I ordered bottles of Poivre Piquant, Piment Brûlant, Passage d'Enfer, Mûre et Musc Parfum, and Tea For Two. They were all 50% off. I haven't gotten them yet, and they may not even have mailed them. They all seem to be discontinued. The first three in the 50 ml size. And maybe the MeMP, which maybe was only a limited edition anyway. [EDIT They were out of the Mûre et Musc Parfum, so I didn't get it.] The shocker is that they may be discontinuing Tea For Two. I thought it was pretty popular. Why would they discontinue it?

I thought I would give the Mûre et Musc a try. If I don't like it I can give it to someone as a present. I have the edt, which I like. Passage d'Enfer is a funny one. I always feel like I can't smell it for the life of me. I figured I would pop for half off... again, I can give it away because no one else seems to have this problem. Piment Brûlant and Poivre Piquant I only have in 15 ml size at the moment, and they are going to run out at some point. Currently, I have a lot left of these (although my Safran Troublant is running low). Tea For Two, of course, I already own. Either I will have this as a backup or give it to Tamio for his birthday this year, since he is clearly to cheap to buy one for himself!

My father also sent me $100 by USPS! That finally showed up. So maybe tomorrow I will go shopping for more!!

Nagoya

I flew to to Tokyo on the first. Amazingly, I was able to sit in first class!! And, even more amazingly, perhaps, I was able to fly ANA to Nagoya. It is the New Year holiday here, after all. So I arrived tonight. It is now the third, at 2:15 am. Naturally, I am up. Naoki is asleep.

I brought some samples with me. Lucky Scent had a package all ready, and I had a few I wanted to try.

Frapin 1697 edp. I haven't tried this yet.
Mary Greenwell Plum. I smelled it a bit, seemed a tad girly,
Parfum d'Empire Azemour. Tried it a bit. Reminded me somewhat of Yuzu Fou. They don't really smell alike, other than citrusy, but the feeling is similar.
Isabey L'ambre de Carthage. Haven't tried it. Not so nuts about ambers, as you well know, so not so keen to try.
Comme des Garcons Eau de Parfum. I am kind of very excited about this. It's the one with industrial glue and scotch tape, in the cool bottle.
Idole de Lubin edp. I'm very excited to try this, as I'm a big fan of the edt.

I'll let you know as I try them all. I may be here close to 2 weeks.

Afterchristmas

Well... I got my sister one of those L'Artisan amber balls. I gave my mother Ninfeo Mio. I gave my other sister Diptyque's Pomander room spray. What did I get? My mother gave me a box of coffee cups (for a Keurig machine).

I bought myself Annick Goutal Mandragore Pourpre, which finally came today. I got the woman who works in the office of my apartment building Guerlain Samsara, which is what she wanted. It just came today.

Went to Barneys

Today I bought Serge Lutens Arabie. I used to hate it, but it is really nice this time of year.

I also got Frédéric Malle's Notre Dame candle.

News

Last week I got Serge Lutens Douce Amère. This past Saturday, I got Comme des Garçons Avignon.

New Things

I guess I have gotten a bunch of new things since I last wrote.

Serge Lutens Féminité du Bois, Bvlgari Eau Parfumée au Thé Rouge, Lalique Flora Bela.... these all a while back.

Also: Lubin's Bluff -- hurray! -- and Cinq Mondes' Eau Égyptienne -- the last only 15 ml.

Yesterday, I got L'Artisan's Bois Farine. I had been indifferent to it for a long time... but came around to liking it a lot.

Anyway, I think that is it.

I've been kinda sick for a long time, since before I went to Japan. Bad cough,which still won't go away.... kind of affects my sleep.

I applied for a new job at United, and got it. So I start tomorrow. We shall see. Because I had only been part time, it is a huge raise for me. I need clothes to wear!

Another Bag Event

Yesterday, Barneys had yet another bag event. So, I got L'Artisan's Traversée du Bosphore and the Frédéric Malle Coffee Society candle.

Naoki is visiting. He may go home tomorrow, maybe Tuesday. Depends upon flights.A short visit. I went to Japan on Monday, got stuck in a typhoon when I got there and none of the trains were running in Nagoya. It took me 6 hours to get to Naoki's house from the airport. I didn't have enough money for a cab, and the cash machines were closed. Naoki (who is a civil engineer) was working because of the flooding, and couldn't give me a ride. So at 1230 am he finally was able to drive me home, but then went back to work.








Image from L'Artisan Parfumeur web site.

By The Way

By the way.... I got myself bottles of Voleur de Roses on sale from L'Artisan and a bottle of Annick Goutal Ninfeo Mio this month.

Voleur de Roses I am not quite sure I like. It smelled very nice from the sample. From the bottle it may be a bit too rosy for me. Will give it more time.

Ninfeo Mio also seems to smell different from sample to bottle. From the bottle it seems greener, more like Premier Figuier than I remember.

L'Eau de Jatamansi

I bought a bottle of L'Artisan's L'Eau de Jatamansi for Delwin and Chad. I gave it to Delwin tonight when he drove me home from work. A couple weeks ago I wore it to work, and Delwin really liked it. I made him a decant (maybe 3 ml). The next week he told me that Chad really loved it and was wearing it all the time. So I figured I would get them a bottle.

I got mine last year. It was all I could do last summer from wearing it every day. I'm glad Delwin likes it. Last year I converted Janet (who went through a whole bottle in a year) and Tamio.

It's been on sale at the L'Artisan site. I hope they aren't discontinuing it.

Iris Pallida

L'Artisan Parfumeur seems to have rebottled Iris Pallida 2007 in 50 ml bottles ands reduced the price ($115). Barneys got three -- count 'em -- three bottles in yesterday, and I bought two!!











Image from L'Artisan Parfumeur web site.

New Acquisitions

I went to Barneys today. They had their bag event, so if I spent $200 I would get this bag o cosmetics. Zo....

I got Frédéric Malle's Saints des Saints rubber incense and L'Artisan Parfumeur Cœur de Vétiver Sacré. I've only tested the L'Artisan from samples, but it has grown on me. It might work better in warmer weather. I was undecided between that and Méchant Loup.... well, perhaps next time. The Malle rubber incense I think suits me more than a candle would. We'll see how this all works. They only have the rubber incense in one flavor so far....

Anyway, my purchases did the trick, and I got my bag... bags, actually. Patty at Barneys made up a "man bag" for me, which is mainly Malin and Goetz samples and some Kiehls after-shave balm. I also got the regular bag they were giving out. Most is stuff I will never use (lipstick? nail polish?), so I will give them to someone. There were some samples of Serge Lutens Nuit de Cellophane, FM Outrageous!, and Barneys' own Route du Thé included. I did get some other perfume samples on top of those as well: The Different Company Rose Poivrée, FM Lipstick Rose and Le Parfum de Therese, Mark Birley for Men, Ulrich Lang Nightscape, and Voyage d'Hermès.

I ordered bottles of Annick Goutal Sables and Chine Impériale several weeks ago, and they finally showed up. I had been curious about Chine Imperiale ever since I had read about it on Perfume Posse, so bought it blind. It's a room spray, but March seemed to have worn it on her skin. I bought it from FragranceNet, who normally do not have odd rarities.... so I was kind of excited about it. It wasn't that expensive, either!! I'll weigh in on it at a later date. I'm kind of scented out at the moment!

Things Fall Apart

I got an email at work a few weeks ago, which began:

I purchased two tickets to Aruba. My husband after 31 years walked across the street and is living with that girl.

This is quite the amazing opening to a letter of complaint to a large corporation.

Breaking in My Barneys Card

Today I bought a 50 ml bottle of Byredo's M/Mink, as threatened. I guess they just came out with the smaller size.... I was waiting to get the 100 ml, but this will work.

I had gone to Barneys with the intention of getting a bottle of L'Artisan's Iris Pallida 2007, which I thought they had. Turns out, no! I am pretty bummed about this. Looks like Aedes de Venustas carries it, as well as Beauty Encounter, and probably some other sites.

I also got a 50 ml bottle of Frédéric Malle Musc Ravageur in the oil form, which I do like better than the eau de parfum. It's still a bit sweet, but I think I will like this better.

I got a bottle of L'Artisan's Thé pour un Été for Tamio. I hope he likes it.

Let's Get Serious

I brought samples with me this trip. Naoki only has Givenchy Insense Ultramarine, no thanks! I see his bottle is running dry... yay!

I was going to bring my backup bottle of Dzongkha and leave it here, for when I was here. However, I wore it a couple days ago, and could imagine getting really sick of it if I wore it every day. I still may buy Francine's bottle offa her because she doesn't want it.

SO, the samples:

Byredo M/Mink. I'm seriously debating buying this.

Frederic Malle Une Fleur de Cassie and Dans Tes Bras. I got a lot of Malle samples recently, both before and after buying Portrait of a Lady. I brought just the two, because I wanted to clarify things in my head somewhat. One reason I think I wasn't so nuts about the Xerjoffs is that I tried them all at the same time. I was afraid of doing the same with the Malles. Une Fleur de Cassie, because I am trying to like florals more, and Carnal Flower smells a tad post-coital on me. Dans Tes Bras, because Shelley makes it sound so great! Plus, I was there when she bought it. I was not so entirely excited about the Malle line initially. Musc Ravageur, I really didn't like (smells of Nestle's Quik on me, although, maybe the oil is better, thank you, Katie Puckrick). Vetiver Extraordinaire doesn't seem wholly original to me. Portrait of a Lady kind of turned my head around, both for Malle and florals. I am still trying to adjust to it. I need to develop the perfect spray level. When Christina at Barneys sprayed it on me, it was perfect. I find that when I spray it on, I am conscious of it all day, which kinda bugs me. Anita says it gave her a headache, and I can see that. So I need to lower the level or something. I still love it, and it gets my best release of 2010 vote. Anita thinks it will reveal itself in hot weather, so we shall see.

By Kilian Cruel Intentions. I was not expecting to like this at all, but find I do. It reminds me of Amouage Epic Man, which is on my wish list. They are about the same price, so one or the other. I have Back to Black in the nifty travel atomizer and A Taste of Heaven in the full bottle-and-box presentation. In retrospect, I should have reversed these: Back to Black in the bottle, and A Taste of Heaven in the travel size, because I like the former more. But A Taste of Heaven is a beautiful lavender if there ever was one. Much nicer than Caron Pour Un Homme, which is a bit musty on me (though cheap! and, if you don't compare it to the Kilian, it is also a beautiful lavender once the mustiness fades). But Serge's Gris Clair... is my fave lavender still. Anyway, Cruel Intentions is the only other Kilian to make an impression (as in "want") on me so far (I need to test Pure Oud more, though it is entirely out of my budget).

Vero Profumo Kiki and Onda edps. I haven't tried the pure parfums of these yet (I also have a sample of Rubj in edp, but didn't bring it). I have worn Onda once so far, want to explore these more.

L'Artisan Parfumeur Cœur de Vétiver Sacré. I really love Karine Vinchon's L'Eau de Jatamansi (in the summer, it is all I can do not to wear it every day), so want to give this a fair chance (she also did Amouage's Opus III and Memoir Man, both of which I have samples). My first reaction was that CdVS was a bit sweet on me (another L'Artisan, Traversee du Bosphore is also really sweet and I want to give it more time, too, but didn't bring). And I am kinda sorta a L'Artisan fanboy, if you haven't noticed.

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Absolue Pour le Soir. Francis Kurkdjian, Francis Kurkdjian.... I have not smelled a single thing he has made that I liked. Until this. I own Davidoff's Silver Shadow, which smells of baby powder, pretty much. I have gotten similar reactions to others by him. Meh. Absolue Pour le Soir, however, seems different. I was pretty positive about it when I wore it the once.

So, that's what I brought. I am here ten days (maybe longer, if I can get someone to pick up my hours on January 13th and 14th). Eight samples, so there should be some repeats. I wore Borneo 1834 on the plane over. So... maybe I'll do some reviews since I have idle hands all day, every day (Naoki will be working much of the time. He's out visiting his mother, who is very ill, as we speak).

Happy New Year!!

I flew into Japan today... I'm currently up at 3:45 am.... natch! Naoki's asleep (good for him!) I'll be here for another week or so.... maybe longer, if I can get someone to work for me the 13th and 14th...

Happy New Year, all!

Merry Christmas!!

Image from The Woodblock Prints of Ando Hiroshige.

浮世絵

I was reading Patty's review of Hermès's Iris Ukiyoe at Perfume Posse, and naturally thought of... ukiyoe!

This is my favorite ukiyoe print: Seba from The Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido by Hiroshige (click to enlarge). I have a copy of this print, framed, although it is still not hanging. I bought the print at the Ukiyoe Museum in Matsumoto. The man in the store claimed they made it using Hiroshige's original wood block. However, if you compare my copy with this one, or ones from the Japanese National Museum, the lines aren't as fine in the grass, so I think the salesman was fibbing. Still, I love the loneliness of the scene. The location is in Nagano-ken.

I took this image from an excellent site with copies of Hiroshige, The Woodblock Prints of Ando Hiroshige. Coincidentally, this site uses Seba as the image on its home page.