Perfumes

[Prince Barry]

I agree with you incroyable, although my latest discovery was first thought of as a man's scent by the perfume company, but so many women loved it that it was decided that it would be released as a shared scent.

The scent in question, is the incredibly hard to get hold of at the moment 'Idole de Lubin'. Yes! the old perfume house of Lubin has been resurrected with exciting things in the pipeline.

Here is a link to their website....

http://www.parfum-lubin.fr

[Incroyable]

Today I bought Kolnisch Juchten by Regence Paris, which I like very much.

[Prince Barry]

Incroyable, if my memory serves me right, isn't that one a rather nice leather scent?

[Incroyable]

Yes, it's a nice leather scent, somewhat reminiscent of Cuir de Rusie, however it is an Eadu de Cologne.

It also contains notes of spice and tobacco. Regence also has an exceedingly verdant scent, rather nice for spring.

[Prince Barry]

Incroyable, if you don't mind me asking, did you buy it over the internet or in a store?

I haven't been able to locate any stockists of that line over here in the UK anymore.

[Incroyable]

Prince Barry:

I bought it in a store, apparently the only place that sells it in America. It is called Perfumes Jacqueline located in San Francisco.

As far as I know, it is not available on the internet.

[Prince Barry]

Thank you for that information incroyable.

[BirdofSydney]

Annick Goutal makes a few exceptional unisex scents, my favourite being Eau D'Hadrien, which strikes me as nothing so much as a more sophisticated Blenheim Bouquet...

[Prince Barry]

BirdofSydney, I agree that the late Annick Goutal made magnificent scents, the only problem with most of them is the longevity. I find that the more recent Nuits d'Hadrien has much more longevity but it isn't as 'sparkling'.

My favourite Goutal of all time is Sables.

[Costi]

I find that many of the perfumes I enjoyed wearing before I quit smoking some three years ago have since lost much of their charm to me. Tobbaco is a very strong odour that smokers simply must take into account when choosing perfumes, just as primarily important as skin type / acidity. Tobbaco smoke, besides penetrating one's clothes and sticking with the smoker wherever he goes, also changes the way the skin itself reacts chemically to various fragrances and substances to be found in perfumes. While certain scents are quite well complemented by tobbaco (I find that some of them are actually ENRICHED by it), other scents do not agree (or even conflict) with smoke. After quitting smoking I had to critically review all the various fragrances that I used and more than half of them are no longer "wearable" for me.
I agree that a (gentle)man's perfume (if any) must be discreet. Sometimes the traces of scent that a good shaving cream leaves behind, plus a complementing lightly fragranced aftershave balm or skin food is all it takes to smell good without denaturating your "personal scent". Everyone has a "personal scent" (when the skin is clean and well ventilated) which one is usually unable to detect on oneself, but is very familiar (if we ask) to people who are close enough to us to give us a hug or a kiss on the cheek occasionally. It is our skin's chemistry that produces this very subtle fragrance, which is unique for each of us (again, clean skin). In my opinion, the farther we stray from it using perfumes, the more "artificial" the result. Ideally, in my opinion, the fragrance we use must be subtle enough to harmoniously blend with this personal scent without completely covering it. Compare it, if you will, to the soft coat (in sartorial terms) which follows closely our body's contour, as opposed to the heavily padded and stiffened coat that notably alters our body shape.
Such a result can be attained in more than one way, with various fragrances and perfumes. I find that, in summer, I prefer very light perfumes that “fill the air” around you (perfumes evaporate more anyway in warm weather, don’t they), creating a “fragrance bubble” arround you (one meter, not five, mind you!) - a small sillage, as Mr. Alden puts it. In winter, I find more appropriate what I call a “skin perfume” - richer fragrances that tend to stay close to the body, detectable only from a very close distance. We may discern between daytime perfumes (more fresh) and evening perfumes.
Also, when travelling in a car, train or plane it is wise to pay special attention not to put on too much perfume and to choose a “soft” fragrance that is least likely to disturb others (some people have a very high sensitivity to strong smells).
Of the variuos fragrances that I tried over time I am still faithful to Aqua di Parma (one of the most versatile, in my opinion), Trumper’s Astor and Gucci by Gucci.

[RWS]

As each of his postings, Costi's remarks on men's scents are insightful and clear. I agree completely with his insistence that an applied scent complement and not war with one's own natural scent: but discerning a complementary scent is difficult if not impossible for those of us who (willingly or not) live and shop alone.

[uppercase]

On the related subject of cross over use of perfumes, from women's to men's.

I recently found an interesting perfume - George Sand by Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier and found it very nice for the Winter.

It was sold in the men's section of the retail shop but I later found the perfume listed as a woman's perfume on the net and indeed, on reflection, it could be considered rather feminine, though beautiful and heady, and this very feature makes it unusual and attractive though in small doses.

Just where should men drawn the line in terms of straying into women's territory?

[Costi]

Thank you, RWS, for your comments. The answer to the issue that you rightly raise is seeded into your very words:

those of us who (willingly or not) live and shop alone.

(just kidding - I see your point; yes, good advice is needed if one is to apply that principle).

[Prince Barry]

Yes, Sillage is the correct term for the trail of perfume that one leaves in one's wake.

Smoking does actually dampen down a chemical that works with the nose's olfactory receptors. In non smokers, the perfume that one smells, appears to fade away quicker, you know the effect where one applies perfume and then after a while it is no longer discernable. In a smoker, this chemical get's a kind of delayed reaction so one smells a perfume for longer and sometimes in slight amplification.

George Sand is a magnificent perfume. It has been likened by some perfume lovers to YSL's Opium. Another scent that I find similar to George Sand is Eau de Gloire. It is a scent that recreates a day in the life of Napoleon Bonaparte.

[Parishow]

[ It is a scent that recreates a day in the life of Napoleon Bonaparte.[/quote]

Now, thats a SCENT!.....if it can do that!

Vive Le France!