Women's Fragrances

[Dane]

Are we talking Yohji Homme? That one was fantastic...most of the others were meh.

[Faust]

Yes, Yohji Homme! Sorry for the confusion.

[Dane]

I get excited sometimes when I'm at a junky perfume store and a see a Yohji box...but it always ends up being one of the "others".

It sells for a fortune on ebay now. I should have stocked up when I had the chance, but frankly, it's not my style personally, so I would only be being greedy.

I did, however, stock up on Le Feu d'Issey and various others that are hard-to-find now...glad I did!

[kirie]

I love the dark tones of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's perfume oils.
they have a sort of dark romanticism in them that's just lovely. The attempt to create a narrative with scent- often based on literature, paintings, or abstract concepts. Some of the scents are hit and miss (f you do order from them I would suggest samplers and then reordering your favourite scents in full bottles).

the two that I always have a supply of are

"Bat"
Dusty amber, grey musk, red orchid, moonflower, night-blooming phlox, stock, honeysuckle, English ivy, toadflax, and purple salvia.

"The Sailor's Den"
Orris, bay rum, palm, coconut meat, oak wood, tobacco, linen, blue lilac, and leather.

I have a tendency to mix Sailor's den with Chanel's Bois des Iles, it takes the scent from veins of Caribbean whorehouse (the coconut can become very strong on certain people) to a victorian era opium den feel.

[Dane]

You're basically raping you Bois des Iles.

[kirie]

I was given a small bottle of the perfume oil as a gift and it turns into far too heavy of a sandalwood scent on my skin. The florals completely disappear by 15 minutes and the vanilla is gone after 30 minutes maybe. If I use it by itself I end up smelling like the hemp store in my hometown after about an hour or so.

I find it adds a lovely feminine touch to the other scent however. I should probably clarify that I don't physically mix the two oils, I usually apply sailor's den, wait about 15 minutes and then apply a small amount of bois. you'd just have to smell me, I guess

[Dane]

Perfumes smell the same on everyone.

Anyway, do what you want...it's your perfume. You just won't get my approval...which probably doesn't matter much to you anyway.

[timber]

I've been wearing Un Parfum des Sens et Bois by The Different Company for a few months - it's a very clean cedar, violet and ginger unisex scent that stays close to the skin. It's nice to wear during the day, so I don't go wafting around too much while I'm at work.

I tried a sample of Comme des Garcons x Stephen Jones a few years ago and fell in love with it - the closest I can come to explain the scent is like violets and cold steel...

And lastly, I just got a few samples from Carnival Wax -- I was looking for a smoky unisex, sort of darker perfume, and Black Amber is fantastic. It smells like cedar and smoke, and faintly of leather - a bit like the Comme des Garcons incense line. The bottle is under $100, so I might find myself compelled to pick one up when I'm in New York next month...

[theseasonofmist]

I have been wearing Amouage Lyric for the past few months. I find it works well on my skin, it lasts all day and I personally like the spiced rose effect that I get - I don't find it too sweet. My ex recommended it to me and I can see that it works well as a unisex fragrance.

I also dabble with Serge Luten's Feminite du Bois from time to time.

I recently sampled By Kilian's Rose Oud and Cruel Intentions, neither seemed to really appeal to me. I want to give Amber Oud a try soon, I just have not gotten around to purchasing a sample.

[Verdandi]

The Kilian perfume's are a bit too generic for me to justify the price tag. The only one I really liked was Back To Black.
Sweet Redemption is also nice if you like white florals but not it wasn't nice enough to buy it.

Speaking of big white florals; I finally managed to get my hands on CB I hate Perfume's Cradle Of Light. I think it is everything white florals should be plus it has that gorgeous musk underneath it.

[rider]

has anyone ever smelled comme des garcons Daphne?
I found out it has oudh in it and wonder if this is as smokey/lingering/subtle as i've heard it is?

[Dane]

has anyone ever smelled comme des garcons Daphne?
I found out it has oudh in it and wonder if this is as smokey/lingering/subtle as i've heard it is?

nothing subtle about it...and if there's oud, it's buried deep beneath the monstrous fruit-loops-tuberose. it's basically the polar opposite of the actual Daphne Guinness...something I'd see Anna Dello Russo wearing. I happen to like it, but it's not for everyone.

if you're looking for a specific oud-recommendation, I can probably help.

[rider]

wow, thanks for the insight, that was so much more than i was expecting. bold floral wont suit me at all and anything dello russo i run away from, too fruity for my tastes. fruit loops and comme seem odd companions at first (then i remembered this spring show)... I'll take a whiff next time i'm at the comme store.

what else is available with oud essence in the US? sorry for the misspelling above, are there two ways to spell it? thanks for your help, i appreciate it.

[Dane]

everyone spells it differently it seems - oud, ouhd, aoud, etc. etc.

if you want oud front & centre - the cheapest path is YSL M7. More expensive and a bit raunchier - Le Labo Oud 27. Very expensive but nice - Kilian Pure Oud (the other variations are nice too).

If you want something a bit more subtle, Guerlain's Habit Rouge Eau de Parfum (not the original) is a beautiful composition with a lovely oud note in the drydown. Citrus, leathers, oud, some vanilla...beautiful stuff.

I'm not a big Montale fan, mostly because their line is crowded and impossible to navigate, but they also offer several (hundred) oud variations.

[Verdandi]

Can anyone recommend some good rose and patchouli fragrances? I was never too fond of these two because rose makes me think of old Lady and I once had a roommate that drowned himself in this goth shop patchoulie stuff and it made me run screaming.

The only rose fragrance I have really liked thus far is Kingdom. I think Rochas Femme and Bal a Versailles also have rose and/or patchoulie somewhere but I cannot really detect them.