I've Gotta Stop

Okay, so the bag event.   I bought a bell jar of Muscs Koublaï Khän, which i have been meaning to buy for a while.  I do still have MKK in the spray bottle, but I feel it belongs in a bell jar.  Likewise, Bornéo 1834, which I will no doubt get the next bag event.

I also got L'Incendiaire (50ml).  Yes, I know I know, I just got Veilleurs de Nuit so TWO Section d'Or bottles in a month or so.  I did have over $100 in Barneys gift cards, so the damage wasn't quite so bad.

I won't be able to confess any of this on Now Smell This's quarterly confession.

I was, if it's any consolation, showered with both men's and women's bags and extras.

No One Can Hear My Muffled Screams

I know I have been on a serious Serge Lutens kick lately and have been buying a lot of Serge fragrances as of late. Things have not always been this way, however.

When I first tried something from the house, in fact, I absolutely hated them. I consciously avoided the house for several years because of it.

The first three Serge Lutens scents I tried were Chergui, Daim Blond, and Ambre Sultan. I chose them because of reviews I read on Basenotes, basically, thinking they would be a good place to start. Most people seemed to love them.  Instead, I found all three unbearably sweet and cloying. "Treacly" was the word I used at the time, I think.

Ambre Sultan has the distinction of being the only perfume to make me physically ill.  Granted, I had been out with a friend the previous night drinking kamikazes so was generally very hung over when I tried it first. However, the scent still makes me queasy whenever I smell it.

Fortunately, I discovered some fragrances that I liked in the house.  I think Gris Clair... was the first Serge I bought. Then Chêne. Bornéo 1834 and Muscs Koublaï Khän came out in the export line. So I learned to love some things in the house and generally paid attention more than I had in the past.

Why have I gotten so many bottles this year, though, is the big question. By my own count, I have gotten ten Serge perfumes this year, most in the past few months.  Part of it is the availability of the bell jars in the US in recent years.  Part, too, is the availability of the export line at discounters more recently, at fairly reasonable prices.

I got two of my hated scents, Chergui and Daim Blond, recently, as they had been on sale at a discounter for each under $50.  Hell, Bvlgari's Eau Parfumée au Thé Rouge is going for more than that.  100 ml of the Bvlgari used to be easily found for less than $30. It must be getting rarer.

The odd thing is, I don't find them as sweet as I remember them. Reformulation? Maybe. Maybe my tastes have changed. I still don't think either is the best of the house by a long shot. Chergui made #4 in Basenotes' recent list of the greatest modern perfumes, based on Basenotes data. I really don't get why it is so popular.  Unless, of course, that it smells of baked goods. Or maybe just the bandwagon. 

Ambre Sultan I still can't abide.  I recently received a mini of Ambre Sultan from Serge Lutens when I ordered something directly from the Serge web site. I didn't throw it away in scorn or give it away.  I think I'll hang onto it because -- who knows? -- I may end up liking it at some point down the line. 

Orders and Purchases

I've ordered... but they haven't arrived yet:

Guerlain Habit Rouge eau de parfum.  I've been meaning to get this for a while now.

EDIT:  Arrived 31 May.  I'll have to compare this to my Beau Cavalier sample.  Sweeter than I remember.  Still, this may be the first Guerlain that works on me.

The Different Company Osmanthus.  

EDIT:  Arrived 5 June.  The lid unscrews.  This is remarkable only because the lid of Oud Shamash does not do this.  Is this an older bottle? Are the Collection Excessive bottles somehow different? The box was certainly more elaborate.  I've been looking online for discussions about the bottles and caps, but haven't found anything.  Even on the Different Company web site. Which is odd. Also, the box Osmanthus came in is black and grey.  I see there are also boxes with flowers on them from pictures online.  

Serge Lutens El Attarine.  My first bell jar, really, if you don't count Borneo 1834 or Muscs Koublaï Khän (I bought the bottles separately, either empty or with only 15 ml inside).

EDIT:  Arrived 4 June.


I bought today at Barneys:

Aedes de Venustas soap.  I already have the perfume, so I thought I would give the soap a whirl. I was also given a 12 ml bottle of Byredo Oud Immortel.

Yet Another Bag Event

Today I had lunch with Sara Dornacker from work.  We went to The Cheesecake Factory, where another co-worker, Laura Marshall, works.   Sara is, I guess a regular there.  Anyway, I am still stuffed.

Afterwards, we went to Barneys.  They were having their fall bag event.  So, yes, I bought some stuff.

First, I got Comme des Garçons Ouarzazate, from their Incense Series.  I'm meaning to get all five, eventually.  It's not as show-offy as others in the series, but I like it.  It probably would have been better in the summer, and it has been getting colder and colder, lately.

Next, I got Serge Lutens Louve.  I had a sample of this, and tried it recently.  I don't think a lot of people like this one.   The Perfume Guide only gives it two stars.  I do think it is very nice, especially now that it is getting colder.  I may have more words on this later, after I have worn it more.

Barneys in New York has begun carrying all the non-export line in what they call "cloche" bottles.  (The Serge Lutens web site calls them "flacons de table.") Prices are roughly twice what they are in Paris.  I guess that is to be expected.  I ordered five samples from Surrender to Chance (my first order since they broke away from The Perfumed Court):  La Myrrhe, De Profundis, Boxeuses, Iris Silver Mist, and Fourreau Noir. I figured I wasn't about to blind buy a $300 bottle of perfume, and these were the ones I was most interested in.  Surrender to Chance also sells empty bell jars for, like, $9.  So I got one for Bornéo 1834, which I have in the export line spray bottle.  Muscs Koublaï Khän and Borneo 1834 seem kind of perfect if they were in bell jars.  I figure I can decant my bottle of Borneo into the bell jar.  I had bought a 15 ml decant of MKK in a bell jar a few years back from the Perfumed Court, but I never decanted my 50 ml export version into it (they do smell the same).  The MKK bottle's label was kind of smudged when I got it.  The Borneo bottle is in perfect shape, though... so I think I will go through with it.  If I like other non-export scents, and they are not exporting them soon, I may plunk down eventually for a cloche bottle.  Why not?  The cloche bottles are 75 ml.

I also got a 1/4 ml sample of Amouage Homage.  I haven't tried it yet (nor have I tried the Lutens decants). I was looking for something else today, and I found my sample, or what's left of it, of Amouage Tribute.  I'll hang on to it until my bottle comes (it's currently on backorder), considering all this talk about reformulation.

Sara was acting very conspiratorial with Andy at Barneys, and she ended up buying Nuit de Cellophone, which I thought an odd choice.

26 September 2012 EDIT:

Sara smelled very good in Nuit de Cellophane.  It actually was a good choice for her.  Beautiful.  I guess I pretty much ignored it previously because it was a floral.  I still don't think it would work on me.

While I had been at Barneys, I tried Bois de Violette.  I'd like to try it more.  I have Féminité du Bois already, but it really does smell different from the Shiseido version (of which I have a 1 ml sample somewhere).  I think Bois de Violette smells more like the Shiseido version.... although, I would have to compare them.  Anyway, more research!

I tried my sample of Homage, and, to be honest, was kind of disappointed.  I gave my sample, for what it is, to Sara, because she liked it. I hope I am not disappointed with Tribute whenever it arrives. I'm saving the remainders of my Tribute sample so I can compare it with the bottle when I get it.