The Nose Knows: The Final Sniffs
Sep. 25th, 2019 11:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stonepicnicking_okapiI've reached the end of my adventure in vintage perfume. The last group is seven:
Bel Ami by Hermés
Evening in Paris by Bourjois
Crêpe de Chine by F. Millot
Je Reviens by Worth
Jolie Madame by Balmain
Shocking by Schiaperelli
Zibeline by Weil
Bel Ami by Hermés (1986) is the only leather fragrance I’ve liked. I think the leather is balanced with other notes that make it smell warm and not so stranger. Fragrantica says it celebrates ‘leather in its most authentic expression.’ (Minor liked it very much. The boys got to smell all of them and some of them they asked to wear. I don’t let Minor wear them to school or soccer practice, so he’s worn less than Minisculus. I’m fairly certain I’m the only mother to have a 4 year-old running around in the gym daycare wearing vintage perfume. Who knows? Maybe it will inspire something later in their lives.) Fragrantica says it has a chypre extract with woody, aromatic, and leather notes. I will keep it. It seems like an autumn scent, but probably a one-wrist dab (instead of both) because it is kind of strong. It’s named after a novel by Guy de Maupassant, but going by the summary, it isn’t a novel I care to read.
Evening in Paris by Bourjois (1928) I liked very much the first time I tried it, in fact I told the boys that it was my favourite so far, but it strikes me as a bit too strong on repeat smelling. Fragrantica calls it a powdery scent with floral and woody notes. It smells very much like Perfume with a capital P.
Crêpe de Chine by F. Millot (1925) is a chypre-floral fragrance that smell a bit gross and off-putting. Fragrantica says it has floral, woody, aromatic notes.
Je Reviens by Worth (1932) is a very flowery scent. Fragrantica calls it a floral-aldehyde fragrance with floral, woody, and green notes. It smelled high and sweet. An additional funny thing is that the nose behind it is something named Maurice Blanchet, which mystery novel lovers know is the name of the psychiatrist who coaches and mentors Jacqueline Winspear’s detective Maisie Dobbs in her observational and empathetic skills.
Jolie Madame by Balmain (1953) is a leather fragrance, of which I happily recognised the leather note. Fragrantica says it has woody, white linen, and green notes. I thought it was an odd assortment of notes. And it has the same nose (Germaine Cellier) as some other famous scents like Bandit and Fracas.
Shocking by Schiaperelli (1937) was a bit raw-smelling. Fragrantica calls it an Oriental-floral fragrance with musky, animalic, and honey notes. It also says civet is among the top notes, and I recognized something sharp, but not leather.
Zibeline by Weil (1928). Fragrantica calls it a floral-aldehyde fragrance with aromatic, woody, and floral notes.
So that's the lot. In the end, I'm keeping Dioressence, L'Origan, Vent Vert, Bel Ami, and Evening in Paris, but I wonder if I will actually wear them or if they will sit in their little gold box and gather dust. Either way, I think it wasn't a bad diversion. And to close it out, of course, a final 221b with my gals BBC Fem!Johnlock on their way home from a perfumer's convention.
---
“I solved the case,” said Sherlock, indulging in a rare instance of stating the obvious for John’s sake.
“Yeah,” said John, grumpily.
“What’s wrong?” asked Sherlock. John opened her mouth, and Sherlock added hastily, “Tell me, so I don’t have to deduce. It’s quicker.”
“I don’t ever want to go to another perfumers’ convention.”
“Noted.”
“I mean, did you read the whatever-they-call-it about that one perfume? It said one of the ingredients was ‘angel skin.’ Like, are they going around skinning angels?! To put in a bottle and sell for 100 quid an ounce?! Bullocks!”
“Perhaps they do it humanely, John and just wait for the angels to shed their skin and collect the discarded bits.”
John scowled. “The whole business…” She waved her hands.
“Stinks?” offered Sherlock.
John snorted. “I thought I was one who made the puns.”
“Yours are more pungent,” conceded Sherlock.
“All this talk of a signature fragrance. I sniffed loads of them. Not one of them screamed ‘John Watson!’”
“Good. I’m the only one who should be screaming that.”
John tried not to smile. And failed.
“If I were writing one of those things about your signature scent, John, I’d say it was ‘woolly jumpers, strong tea, and something uniquely you.’”
John cringed.
“But in truth, you don’t have a smell. And that’s my favourite bouquet.”
Bel Ami by Hermés
Evening in Paris by Bourjois
Crêpe de Chine by F. Millot
Je Reviens by Worth
Jolie Madame by Balmain
Shocking by Schiaperelli
Zibeline by Weil
Bel Ami by Hermés (1986) is the only leather fragrance I’ve liked. I think the leather is balanced with other notes that make it smell warm and not so stranger. Fragrantica says it celebrates ‘leather in its most authentic expression.’ (Minor liked it very much. The boys got to smell all of them and some of them they asked to wear. I don’t let Minor wear them to school or soccer practice, so he’s worn less than Minisculus. I’m fairly certain I’m the only mother to have a 4 year-old running around in the gym daycare wearing vintage perfume. Who knows? Maybe it will inspire something later in their lives.) Fragrantica says it has a chypre extract with woody, aromatic, and leather notes. I will keep it. It seems like an autumn scent, but probably a one-wrist dab (instead of both) because it is kind of strong. It’s named after a novel by Guy de Maupassant, but going by the summary, it isn’t a novel I care to read.
Evening in Paris by Bourjois (1928) I liked very much the first time I tried it, in fact I told the boys that it was my favourite so far, but it strikes me as a bit too strong on repeat smelling. Fragrantica calls it a powdery scent with floral and woody notes. It smells very much like Perfume with a capital P.
Crêpe de Chine by F. Millot (1925) is a chypre-floral fragrance that smell a bit gross and off-putting. Fragrantica says it has floral, woody, aromatic notes.
Je Reviens by Worth (1932) is a very flowery scent. Fragrantica calls it a floral-aldehyde fragrance with floral, woody, and green notes. It smelled high and sweet. An additional funny thing is that the nose behind it is something named Maurice Blanchet, which mystery novel lovers know is the name of the psychiatrist who coaches and mentors Jacqueline Winspear’s detective Maisie Dobbs in her observational and empathetic skills.
Jolie Madame by Balmain (1953) is a leather fragrance, of which I happily recognised the leather note. Fragrantica says it has woody, white linen, and green notes. I thought it was an odd assortment of notes. And it has the same nose (Germaine Cellier) as some other famous scents like Bandit and Fracas.
Shocking by Schiaperelli (1937) was a bit raw-smelling. Fragrantica calls it an Oriental-floral fragrance with musky, animalic, and honey notes. It also says civet is among the top notes, and I recognized something sharp, but not leather.
Zibeline by Weil (1928). Fragrantica calls it a floral-aldehyde fragrance with aromatic, woody, and floral notes.
So that's the lot. In the end, I'm keeping Dioressence, L'Origan, Vent Vert, Bel Ami, and Evening in Paris, but I wonder if I will actually wear them or if they will sit in their little gold box and gather dust. Either way, I think it wasn't a bad diversion. And to close it out, of course, a final 221b with my gals BBC Fem!Johnlock on their way home from a perfumer's convention.
---
“I solved the case,” said Sherlock, indulging in a rare instance of stating the obvious for John’s sake.
“Yeah,” said John, grumpily.
“What’s wrong?” asked Sherlock. John opened her mouth, and Sherlock added hastily, “Tell me, so I don’t have to deduce. It’s quicker.”
“I don’t ever want to go to another perfumers’ convention.”
“Noted.”
“I mean, did you read the whatever-they-call-it about that one perfume? It said one of the ingredients was ‘angel skin.’ Like, are they going around skinning angels?! To put in a bottle and sell for 100 quid an ounce?! Bullocks!”
“Perhaps they do it humanely, John and just wait for the angels to shed their skin and collect the discarded bits.”
John scowled. “The whole business…” She waved her hands.
“Stinks?” offered Sherlock.
John snorted. “I thought I was one who made the puns.”
“Yours are more pungent,” conceded Sherlock.
“All this talk of a signature fragrance. I sniffed loads of them. Not one of them screamed ‘John Watson!’”
“Good. I’m the only one who should be screaming that.”
John tried not to smile. And failed.
“If I were writing one of those things about your signature scent, John, I’d say it was ‘woolly jumpers, strong tea, and something uniquely you.’”
John cringed.
“But in truth, you don’t have a smell. And that’s my favourite bouquet.”