Between L’artisan and Serge Lutens were testers from The Different Company. Since I love Bois d’Iris, I didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to at least try one of them.
Bois d’Iris notes
iris (iris pallida aka “the Fastuous” or iris florentina), vetiver, bergamot, cedar wood, narcissus, geranium, musk
I decided to sample Un Parfum des Sens et Bois as much because I like woodsy notes as that I like several of Serge Lutens ‘Bois’ fragrances.
Un Parfum des Sens et Bois notes
Chinese Cedarwood, White Violet, Black Pepper, Elemi, Ginger, Patchouli, Vervain, Bergamot, and Incense.
Of the ones I tried, this was not on my list of favorites. It was more pungent than it was sweet or spicy. The predominate notes on me were pepper, ginger and incense. It was more masculine than I usually wear, and I would love to smell it on a man.
So there you have it, three companies sampled in one day. At least two that were bottle worthy. I might order decants before I get down to smell these in person again. I wish I had them tonight!
Ahhhh… Oh my. This is the first time I’ve seen so many Lutens fragrances in one place since I was in Paris. On that trip I was overwhelmed by the choices, didn’t really know the offerings, and felt confused enough not to make a choice. Then a generous POL’er (you know who you are) sent me from Europe a wonderful selection of sample vials so that I could really try them at my leisure. I went on to order several decants and a couple of partial bottles.
This week I sampled Rousse, Datura Noir, and Miel de Bois.
Miel de Bois is practically straight honey. I prefer L’Occitane’s Honey and Lemon which has less honey predominating:
Miel de Bois:
Notes of honey and woods with top notes of ebony, gaiac and oak wood, middle notes of honey and bottom notes of beeswax, iris and hawthorn.
Honey and Lemon:
lemon and citrus fruit, golden honey, vanilla and caramel scents.
I liked this Datura Noir quite a bit, but I have Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier’s Secrete Datura* and while not the same, it gave me pause to think of getting this one. I look forward to putting it on skin again, and comparing it to SD.
Datura Noir
Notes of myrrh, bitter almond, tonka bean, and musk, heliotrope, mandarin, lemon flower, and tuberose, vanilla, coconut oil, and apricot.
My favorite of what I tried was Rousse . I fell in love with this one, but I would want to sample it comparing it to Fou d’Absinthe on my next trip, unless I simply decide to bite the bullet and get both. Rousse was created by Chris Sheldrake. Cinnamon is one of my favorite spices, so to have it in a fragrance that is more than gourmand, is a delight.
I expected it to be like Chypre Rouge, which I find masculine, but it is not. Rousse is certainly wearable by a man; it is equally wearable for me.
Rousse
notes of mandarin, cinnamon, cloves, spices, floral & aromatic notes, fruit, cinnamon wood, precious woods, amber, musk and vanilla.
Now, I would be completely happy concerning fragrance if I had one or both of the ones I loved — but then would I be on the hunt for more? Yes, probably, but I’ve resigned myself to the knowledge that there are so many new offerings that it is impossible to test all of them. I must be satisfied with the few.
There were a couple Lutens I didn’t care for, but I didn’t write their names on the cards, and I am having trouble recognizing the names as I look for them, so I will have to have an addendum when I sample them again.
Karin
Secrete Datura’s notes:
Notes: Datura, Sandalwood, Vanilla, Chocolate
Top: intermingles the lily, heliotrope and lemon.
Mid: jasmin, honeysickle, wallflower and orange blossom,
base: iris, vanilla, chocolate, and sandalwood.
This week when I headed to a major city a few hours away, I thought I’d check out the perfumes at Neiman Marcus, because I knew they had L’Artisan and also Serge Lutens. The last time I was in a NM closer to home, they had neither.
I planned to treat myself, but ended up not choosing anything, because my idea of what I thought I wanted was different from what my sense of smell was telling me. I’ll check them out again, before I decide, and by then, a decant might be enough until I really know that what I want is FBW. The SA was helpful to me without being pushy. She was happy to let me spray cards and give some thought to the selections.
I sampled the following L’Artisan’s: Timbuktu, Passage d’enfer, La Chasse Aux Papillion, and Fou d’Absinthe. They didn’t have Dzing ! or Dzongkha or Poivre Piquant or Ananas Fizz (I love this one and might have bought more) or Navegar in a tester, unless they were in another location.
My favorite of the ones I tested was Fou d’Absinthe, which smelled lush and spicy. I don’t know what I expected, but I didn’t expect this would be my favorite. I have never had Absinthe, so I don’t know how well it compares. I only know it was spicy and delicious, without being heavy or overbearing. It was a delightful surprise.
Fou d’Absinthe
Notes: absinthe, angelica, blackcurrant buds, star anise, four-spices, patchouli, pine needles, labdanum, fir balsam
Perfumer: Olivia Giacobetti
Passage d’enfer is a fragrance well beloved by many, but I can’t smell it on me –or on the card — or it is so light that it operates below my radar. To my knowledge, so far, it is the only fragrance I’ve ever smelled that I can’t smell. I had hoped that in larger quantities, I might be able to smell it. OTOH, if I would have had to use so much in order to smell it that it would have knocked out anyone around me who could smell it, it would not have been good! It is said to be incensy and hypnotic, but you couldn’t prove it by me. Can you smell this one? Do you wear it? What category of fragrance do you usually wear?
Passage d’Enfer
Notes : white lily, frankincense, aloe, white musk
I was already familiar with Timbuktu, and I like it because it is spicy which I love, but it is similar to others I have, so I would prefer something different; I just wasn’t sure what. I was willing to spritz it again to see if it called my name.
La Chasse aux Papillion is one that is loved by many people, so I wanted to sample it. I have to be careful, because it is mostly white flowers, but it is different enough that I think I can get away with it. I was, however, afraid to try it on my skin because of how this category reacts on me. I might try it on skin the next time, but I likely would buy something spicy.
I was surprised they didn’t have Ananas Fizz, simply because it is a lovely summer time fragrance. I’ve reviewed it before. Perhaps they had it to sell, but not to sample. It is subtle and elegant, not fruity or too sweet.
Notes: Pink Grapefruit, Bitter orange, Rum, Victoria Pineapple, Lychee Sap, Cocoa Milk and Vanilla.
Next I moved to the Serge Lutens counter. That will be my next post.
Generally speaking, I don’t buy books, as I absolutely have no place to put even one more — which doesn’t stop me on occasion.
I tend to go to the library and have them order a book for me, even if it is outside our library system.
When we first moved here, the area around us was undeveloped (which it isn’t now) and we were served by a mobile library truck that came once a week. Even that was nice! Then they put a library into a strip zone shopping center. When the library outgrew that, a free standing library was built about 5 minutes away (and also 5 mins from us.) This is a very nice library, and I can usually find books.
Additionally, within 30 minutes of us there are at least 6 libraries. I tend to go to others if I go in that particular direction and have enough time to spare.
One library in particular has the most interesting books that are displayed in a way that I can always find a new author or an interesting book that I might never, ever find in the library closest to my house. I had stopped myself from picking up any of these books two nights ago as I still had books to read. Then, I had to go past it again last night, so I succumbed and got them all (they were still there.) I am set to read now!
How about you? Is there a particular library that you tend to go to, where you can usually find something interesting? Do you have the options of several libraries or only one? Or are you not particularly a reader (as two of my family members are not — it’s like pulling teeth to get them to read.)
This book jumped out at me from the library shelf, and because it sounded more interesting than some, I thought I’d give it a try.
I’ve never seen this subject matter in a novel — compulsive gambling — which doesn’t mean there aren’t some books that deal with it. Hudson does such a good job of describing it, that if you have trouble with this, as someone I know does, you shouldn’t read it.
The only thing Skye McNally doesn’t play are the slots:
I play things where a little skill and intuition are involved. Not slots…I’ll take a bet on whether or not there’s a gas station in the next twenty miles. Whether or not it rains tomorrow. Whether or not I can somehow pull an inside straight. I like blackjack. I like poker. p 126
With a father who’s a bookie, an ex-husband who helps her father run his business in New York, growing up without her mother, Skye is a flawed character with a heart of gold and a happy ending. She is living in Las Vegas, attending Gambling Anonymous meetings, hoping to get her coin that represents going 30 days without gambling. Her sponsor is a tough talking, also-heart-of-gold, retired football player.
When one of Skye’s female acquaintances is found murdered for lack of ability to pay back her gambling debts, a woman who had turned to turning tricks, Skye finds herself face to face with the worst case scenario of her own life. She escapes to the Nevada desert to get away.
…I glimpsed the absolute fright wig that was my hair. Only bald men should drive convertibles. Sure, it looks all sexy driving with your hair whipping around your face, but really…I looked like I’d stuck my finger in an electrical socket. My jet-black curls made Medusa’s look well-coifed…p 116
There, in a chance encounter, she meets another football player who has escaped from his own situation just before Superbowl. He had learned through his own sleuthing that he’d been poisoned with digitalis so that the upcoming game would be thrown and the one(s) responsible for poisoning him would have a chance to recoup his/their own debts.
You can imagine what happens when the press gets wind of their romance.
Throw in other assorted characters, including a fixer who fixes the things that professional athletes get into, a bit of a gay love story, and the inside scoop on gambling, and you have a book that at least holds your interest. Hudson does a good job making it all seem believable.
There’s a lot of humor in this book, a good deal of poignancy, characters that genuinely care for each other. And Skye is a wise-cracking intelligent woman who stands her ground against impossible odds and comes out on top.
4 star. One thing I do wish, though, is that there was less drinking.
Karin
Hudson has written another book which I will attempt to find and see if it is as good as this one.
Do you read a book from the first page to the last?
Do you read the ending first?
Do you skip around and reread sections when you come to them again?
Do you read books more than once? (College Girl does.) (It is rare for me to.)
Do you read all types of books or only certain genres? What type(s) do you like?
Do you give yourself permission not to finish a book if you don’t like it or it bores you? (This one took me a long time. I was such a prolific reader growing up that I read everything — and fast — so it was only as my adult life got more involved that I just didn’t have time to finish a book that didn’t hold my interest or was too grueling. It was so hard the first time! Now I’ll skim a couple sentences on each page if I simply must get an idea before I cut it loose.)
I was surprised to find out a friend reads the endings first, like I do. She reads constantly and never leaves home without a book. I generally devote my spare time (what spare time!) to one thing at a time, could be knitting, reading, beading, needlework. Right now it is reading.
Her reasoning could be mine:
Always. Mostly with mystery books, because they tend to get under my skin otherwise. I need to know who lives and dies, so I read the final 2 pages, sometimes less, sometimes more. WIth some mysteries, like Stephanie Plum, they are funny and I don’t bother, but if there’s any chance of a sober ending, I’m reading the end first. There’s just as much fun finding out how they got there as there is in the surprise, with less anxiety.
If you like any of the beachy smelling perfumes, such as Estee Lauder’s or Tom Ford’s, then check out Avon’s Tahitian Holiday for a fraction of the cost — while it is being introduced it is only $9.99, later it will be $15, still a bargain.
This scent smells a whole lot richer than the price! One of my daughter’s loves it and would like some of her own.
First, I have to say I’m not a fan of either Estee Lauder’s from last year or this year, but I like Tahitian Holiday. (Not to mention I’d like to go on a real Tahitian holiday!) To me, and on me, Estee Lauder’s grabbed the oiliness of the scents, and I was afraid over time it would smell rancid. Second, when it smells so much like suntan oil, why bother paying for a perfume, just use suntan oil…
The notes of Tahitian Holiday are:
Ginger, tiare, coconut oil, musk, monoi oil (evidently monoi oil is tiare flower and coconut oil.)
There is enough coconut to balance the tiare, and while there is a beachy/oily/coconut smell, it smells like fragrance, not suntan lotion.
I bought the edt spray. I have not tried the body spritz (now $6.99, will be $9) which is dual-phase (it includes moisturizing oil.) They say it cools, moisturizes and refreshes (that’s 3-phase.) (I didn’t notice that it separated in the bottle, so I’m assuming it didn’t and is thus blended well.)
There is also a shimmering body lotion ($5.99, will be $7) and a hair mist ($5.99, will be $7) that is a leave-in treatment with moisturizers and UV filters.
I’ve also ordered Meet Mark’s Instant Vacation Greek Isles. I’ll let you know more about that one when I try it in quantity vs. a small sample. I loved my time in Greece, so this will give me some memories.
If you want to have an enjoyable couple of hours with laughs galore, head on over to your nearest theater and take in this movie. I went with my girls today, college age, 12 and 10, and we all loved it. Interestingly enough our local paper gave it one *. He must have had a bad day.
Sure, you have to be in the mood, but what’s not to like about a character most of us are already familiar with…I only hoped they hadn’t made it so my littlest ones wouldn’t appreciate it.
Afterwards, I asked them what they liked the best.
12 year old: I liked it all…
Then she began to go through scene after scene and we were off and laughing again.
Steve Carrell can be over the top sometimes, but in this movie he strikes just the right balance. And who doesn’t want to watch Anne Hathaway in everything she does! Honestly, is it possible that The Rock can get any more handsome! (Don’t answer that one!) Alan Arkin as the chief…Terrance Stamp as Siegfried…James Caan as the president…Dalip Singh as the good bad guy…not to forget the cameo by Bill Murray, which was funny in itself…
How about some scenes: the scene in the airplane bathroom…the dance sequence…and on and on and on…
I’m ready to go to Get Smart #2. It’s rare to come out of a movie and really feel good. This is one that succeeds.
