Author Archives: L.

Oud Sadness

I truly smell awful in oud. I’ve tried my other options and none of them were even as good as Dior’s Oud Ispahan. Some actually reminded me of Lysol. Sincerely. Particularly Mutheer.

I have absolutely no doubt that they smell luxurious, elegant, rich and decadent on someone with a different skin chemistry than my own. And it is what it is…

Actually though, I sampled Gentle Fluidity Silver by MFK recently too and loved it. Many people hate that one due to skin chemistry (apparently it smells like cheese on some people in the drydown) but on me it’s gorgeous and feminine from start to finish. Cool yes. Cool like an IKEA showroom or a glass of sparkling water with lime served next to the sea. And it’s also feminine and appealing the entire time. My ex-husband even complimented me on it and, as you may recall, he never does that.

…And actually, I think I’ll add one more, possibly En Passant or Gentle Fluidity, vintage Aprés L’Ondée and (another sealed) vintage L’Heure Bleue and then be done for a while. For the year at least. Collecting perfume. I might run into a great vintage here or there but those will be unplanned treats and rare ones. Rare finds.

…Maybe unless Chanel releases a new Les Exclusifs (I still need to add Boy) or I find a perfect vintage Guerlain or Chanel I’ll not buy much perfume after this year. Oh sure, I might add Baccarat Rouge too. We’ll see. But I feel like I’m really winding down with my intense collecting phase. Or perhaps truly intense collecting has only begun.

Just a fragrance update.

Oud

I’m already thinking about the fragrance I’d like to focus on wearing for Fall 2021 and this year I think I’ll focus on oud. …Although so far it’s not looking promising…

My search for the perfect oud has already started. I’ve ruled out oud by MFK as that MFK note is terrible on my skin. It very unfortunately smells like a portable toilet at a 4th of July festival. …And actually if not for my Dior sample of Oud Ispahan I would not even be considering an oud at all.

I really like Oud Ispahan. It’s certainly a possible fall fragrance buy and, as I just said, it’s what inspired me to reconsider wearing oud in the first place. But just to be sure I also ordered a sample of the most promising oud by Krigler: Sumptuous Oud and I went to Luckyscent online and ordered samples of Mutheer Attar, Parisian Oud, Siberian Rose, Fall Into Stars, and Hedonist Rose Absolute.

Along with Sumptuous Oud I tried Palm Dream from Krigler. I love the opening of both and trying these two Kriglers reminds me to sample more from this house but I can’t say either are a win. To my nose Sumptuous Oud smells a lot like a mixture of vintage Helena Rubinstein Heaven Scent, Donna Karan Cashmere Mist and Hermès leather. I mean those comparisons quite literally too… The oud note is present but not prominent. Palm Dream is fascinating but my ex-husband says it reminds him of the smell of a dive bar: stale cigarettes mixed with cheap perfume. …Sumptuous Oud is powdery and absolutely gorgeous but not for me. It’s so beautifully retro though and for whatever reason to me it just seems to beg for Elizabeth Taylor to wear it, especially in her 1960’s roles. But again, while I appreciate this Krigler gem it’s not really my olfactory style. …Just because a fragrance is retro or vintage doesn’t mean it’s automatically my style of course (too bad Liz Taylor is no longer with us).

…I’ll be waiting for my Luckscent samples…

…What if I just don’t like oud except for the rare exception of Dior? Ha! I want to like oud. I really do. It’s a stunning and culturally and historically important note. But perhaps it’s one of those notes my skin chemistry doesn’t work well with. Ozonic notes rarely work well with my skin either. In the 2000’s and 2010’s that was especially frustrating. I’d feel almost ill if I wore really ozonic fragrances…

Oh well.