Greetings, my lovelies! I'm writing from the boy's house in Maryland. The wedding was good (though I was exhausted, as expected [actually even more than I expected, but that's because I always forget how wiped I get after flying]), and I'll have pictures up at some point, and we spent the day today relaxing in his hometown. We did some shopping––picked up a light sweater and thin belt at Marshalls (sales tax sucks, btw––if only Eugene had a better shopping selection!), some tea as a hostess gift for his mother (guys, Teavana is mad expensive, be forewarned), and sniffed a bunch of perfumes at Nordstrom. The boy was a very good sport, and gamely tried everything I stuck under his nose. We agreed on most of them, though I think he was less bothered by the super sweet scents than I was. Some brief notes on what I remember:
Elie Saab: Pleasant! Didn't smell overly soapy, like orange blossom tends to for me. Need to try on skin. Thanks to MM for bringing this one to my attention! Definitely not my kind of perfume, but she loved it so much I had to try it.
Lady Gaga Fame: Exactly as all the reviews said, it smells like generic sweet berry mess. Reminded me of Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire, which was a scrubber on me. How disappointing. Sniffed it right after Nicole by Nicole Richie, which is also exactly like every other celeb fragrance, but I was less offended by it because a) it had less berry (I hate berry!), and b) I was expecting it to be a snore, so there was no major letdown.
Hermes Un Jardin en Mediterranee: Basil, I think? Unpleasantly herby. And that's coming from me, she who loves Eau Sauvage! And who regularly exclaims "why can't they make a perfume that smells like this" when my mother is chopping basil. Something went wrong here. The boy's opinion: "No person should smell like that." We are, apparently, in the minority, as Fragrantica has it rated very highly (and doesn't mention any basil, go figure).
Hermes Un Jardin Sur le Nil: Grapefruit hairspray? Or just really, really green grapefruit. Pulled much greener and sharper on my skin than on the blotter. It might be really nice in hot weather, especially if you like crisp citrus scents, but I ended up being not crazy about it.
Hermes Un Jardin Sur le Toit: Grass and apple, which together smelled like green apple (the actual fruit, not the candy flavor). Smelled nice on the blotter, and was the boy's favorite out of all the Jardins. Would like to compare it to DKNY Be Delicious.
Prada Candy, the other scent I ended up deciding was worth trying on my skin. It's more refined than the name would suggest, but still very, very sweet, somewhat like burnt caramel. It's not bad, but I much prefer my gourmands with more of a bite––if I can have Shalimar, why settle for Candy? However, if Shalimar is too much for you, Candy may be a good entry. Infinitely better than most fruity floral messes!
And Givenchy Dahlia Noir, which was the sweetest of them all (though less offensive than Fame).
There were others, but apparently nothing memorable...
We're off to New York tomorrow, via Megabus, which should be fun (fingers crossed that they're not running too behind!). Lots of people to see and perfumes to sniff! I'll keep y'all posted on anything new and exciting :)
Have you tried any of these perfumes? What did you think? Any recommendations for places to eat in New York?
Elie Saab: Pleasant! Didn't smell overly soapy, like orange blossom tends to for me. Need to try on skin. Thanks to MM for bringing this one to my attention! Definitely not my kind of perfume, but she loved it so much I had to try it.
Lady Gaga Fame: Exactly as all the reviews said, it smells like generic sweet berry mess. Reminded me of Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire, which was a scrubber on me. How disappointing. Sniffed it right after Nicole by Nicole Richie, which is also exactly like every other celeb fragrance, but I was less offended by it because a) it had less berry (I hate berry!), and b) I was expecting it to be a snore, so there was no major letdown.
Hermes Un Jardin en Mediterranee: Basil, I think? Unpleasantly herby. And that's coming from me, she who loves Eau Sauvage! And who regularly exclaims "why can't they make a perfume that smells like this" when my mother is chopping basil. Something went wrong here. The boy's opinion: "No person should smell like that." We are, apparently, in the minority, as Fragrantica has it rated very highly (and doesn't mention any basil, go figure).
Hermes Un Jardin Sur le Nil: Grapefruit hairspray? Or just really, really green grapefruit. Pulled much greener and sharper on my skin than on the blotter. It might be really nice in hot weather, especially if you like crisp citrus scents, but I ended up being not crazy about it.
Hermes Un Jardin Sur le Toit: Grass and apple, which together smelled like green apple (the actual fruit, not the candy flavor). Smelled nice on the blotter, and was the boy's favorite out of all the Jardins. Would like to compare it to DKNY Be Delicious.
Prada Candy, the other scent I ended up deciding was worth trying on my skin. It's more refined than the name would suggest, but still very, very sweet, somewhat like burnt caramel. It's not bad, but I much prefer my gourmands with more of a bite––if I can have Shalimar, why settle for Candy? However, if Shalimar is too much for you, Candy may be a good entry. Infinitely better than most fruity floral messes!
And Givenchy Dahlia Noir, which was the sweetest of them all (though less offensive than Fame).
There were others, but apparently nothing memorable...
We're off to New York tomorrow, via Megabus, which should be fun (fingers crossed that they're not running too behind!). Lots of people to see and perfumes to sniff! I'll keep y'all posted on anything new and exciting :)
Have you tried any of these perfumes? What did you think? Any recommendations for places to eat in New York?
