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Friday, February 22, 2008

Sometimes They Come Back: L'Heure Bleue, Saffron... and a Prize Draw

Almost exactly a year ago I wrote a tearful post about the end of my love for a whole bunch of scents, saying that when love dies, it can't be brought back to life ever, ever, ever. Well, that still holds true for all but one of the perfumes which I lamented in that post. On one not so fine February day, L'Heure Bleue came back into my life. It hasn't changed, nor have I. It still smells dark, husky-sweet and Very Guerlain. And I still feel uncomfortable with Guerlain's trademark ambery powderiness which L'Heure Bleue has in abundance. And yet, somehow, miraculously, it all works. Again. I wake up in the morning "with a winged heart", because I am facing another day of wearing L'Heure Bleue. Who knows how long we will be happy this time. Judging by our past tumultuous history, not too long. But it is better to have loved and lost again and again than never to have loved at all. I am a firm believer in that, both in matters of heart and in matters of perfume.

I also fell back in love with saffron. Without a doubt, during my obsession with it a year or so ago, I overdid on saffron, big time. We were on a break for a good long while, and now I am enjoying the note again. My latest saffron discovery is Black Tie by Washington Tremlett. Yesterday I wrote about the delectable Royal Heroes, and I highly recommend that you pay close attention to the "masculine" offerings from this company (whereas the feminine My Fair Lady is pretty but nothing much to write a blog about). In Black Tie, the soft golden deliciousness of saffron is contrasted with the pungent spiciness of geranium (which also gives the composition a beautiful, ripe rose-like undertone), the forceful greenness of galbanum and the earthy darkness of patchouli. If Safran Troublant and Black Aoud had a fling, the fling would have resulted in an offsping that smelled just like Black Tie, black and gold, sharp and softer than soft.

To celebrate the resurrection of my loves, let us have a small prize draw. Tell me in your comment if you have recently fell back in love with any perfume and if you would like to participate in the draw. The winner will receive samples of Black Tie, Royal Heroes, Skarb, Goutal Ambre Fetiche and Tauer's latest, Incense Rose. Have a great weekend, everybody!

Labels: ,

128 Comments:

Blogger Erin said...

Um, I don't really fall completely out of love with things. I tend to take a long time to fall, then wear something three times in a row, move on (but still cherishing and raving about my love) and then rediscover my infatuation several months later. My mother complains I love *everything* - which is not true, not true at all, but I do tend to be very chatty about the things I do like, and they don't tend to fall into distinct categories (floral, woods, musks, orientals, etc.) One of the only ones I can never make up my mind about is (MUA #1) Chergui - sometimes it really bothers me, and others times I adore it. We're having a love-in lately, but that could change.

10:07 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Erin
I tried so many times with Chergui. It's just not happening :-(

10:18 PM EST  
Blogger Renee said...

Yes, I fell madly for PdN Vanille Tonka and then it literally turned my stomach. I couldn't even tolerate sniffing the bottle. This last week however, I have worn it everyday and can't stop sniffing my wrist! I don't know what changed or if anything even changed, but I'm in love again!

Yes, please, enter me in the drawing!

10:19 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Renee
Here is hoping it will be forever happy between you and V( from now on. You are in the draw.

10:22 PM EST  
Blogger Aimée L'Ondée said...

Hi there! I'm not sure if I've commented before, but I really enjoy your blog. I lurve L'Heure Bleue. I swear I'm not a vintage snob, but I have LHB in vintage parfum and cologne, and can't live without it! The new stuff has a plasticky scent for me. But actually, I kinda like the new body lotion for just that effect, so don't take that as a criticism of queen LHB! Let's see, something I recently fell back in love with... all of a sudden Dioressence just conked me over the head with a grand passion again. And it's not even the vintage! The new stuff is supposed to be so dismal in comparison with the vintage, blar de blar. I'm sure it is, but I'm kinda tired of the iffy ebay buys, for the moment, though. Ah, I'm sure that moment of sanity will pass soon enough, though.
Please enter me in the draw, thanks!

10:24 PM EST  
Blogger risa said...

hello M! while it only happens to me once in a blue moon, i did rediscover something which i had stopped liking - Calyx. the sweet grapefruit is a lot nicer in the winter than i expected! it's almost, dare i say, warming underneath my cotton sweaters in this crazy windswept nor'easter weather.

i would like to join the draw, as well. thanks so much!

10:28 PM EST  
Blogger Unknown said...

I can say this every year in fall I have very brief and intense fling with Lolita Lempicka. And sometimes I have brief falling out with my vanilla scents (which I will admit is most of my wardrobe) this almost always happens after I have been sick, but I always return again.

10:32 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tabu, of all things. I used it when I was a teenager, but took a dislike to it for many years, feeling it wasn't very sophisticated. But the other night I picked up a bottle and sniffed and just loved that golden musk/vanilla/whatever else! It's being a perfect winter scent for me.

10:34 PM EST  
Blogger Erin said...

Oh, and sorry, draw me! :)

10:42 PM EST  
Blogger Sue said...

Very timely post, Colombina - I just fell in love with Estee Lauder Youth Dew Amber Nude today. Inspired by your YDAN review and Bois de Jasmin's, I finally tried it and YDAN is the gorgeous, non-citrus, ginger I have been looking for! Figures it'd be discontinued...

Please enter me in the draw and
thanks for the great blog and giveaway!

11:01 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I newly love CB's Russian Caravan Tea. Love it by itself and adore it with Spiritueuse Double Vanille. I kept asking people to smell me today. ;-)

Please enter me in the drawing. I have enough love to spread around.

11:29 PM EST  
Blogger Kelley said...

M, I am distraught! I wore Sables on Tuesday at the same time I am trying a new diet to combat heartburn. Needless to say, I was nauseous...really nauseous while wearing Sables and had to run home and wash it off! I am afraid to even bring the bottle out to test it again! This isn't really falling out of love...more like a shotgun divorce! Don't worry, I am going to get back up on that horse, eventually.

I think I have a lot in common with Erin, I love just about everything, including Chergui. I even got a compliment while wearing it a couple of weeks ago, which never happens to me!

11:48 PM EST  
Blogger Kelley said...

Ooops, would you enter me in your contest, please?

11:50 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, L'heure Bleue never fails to move me in a quiet but deep way. That's why I don't let myself wear it more then a couple of times if month, I'm afraid it's going to lose it's magic:)
I recently came back to Le Maroc pour Elle(sp?). When it works, it's gorgeous, but when it doesn't..... Oh, boy, I don't want to go there (baby vomit, anyone?) There, I've said it.
Would love to be in the drawing, thanks!
Veronica

11:54 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Falling back in love is as hard with a perfume as with a man. I fall out of love if I overwear, or wear too long without a break. Sometimes, when the formula changes, it might as well be something else entirely.

I have a love/hate relationship with Eau de Hadrien, which I return to until the cedar takes over on me--which takes about three days. So I wear it, abandon it, and wear it again.

L'heure Bleu was my first "expensive" perfume purchase, I blew all my allowance on it and slept with it under my pillow that night.

Please put me in the drawing.

12:01 AM EST  
Blogger tmp00 said...

Well I have to write that Chergui is a love hate; sometimes it's lpve and sometimes it's not so much.

Kelley-

DO NOT give away the Sables! Put in a closet and comeback to it. For some reason right now it's feather light (diet change?) and comely.

12:44 AM EST  
Blogger Unknown said...

aka JenniferR, very fitful poster of late --
I have so badly wanted to love l'heure bleue. For years I have pursued her to no avail. I keep trying. One fine day, perhaps we shall meet on my skin.
In the meantime, I've been having an on-again, off-again affair with Bois et Fruits. Some days, it all comes together in favorite-child-of-FdB fashion (and I'm still passionate about FdB ...). Other days, it takes off and runs the other direction. Just lies down and does nothing on my skin.
I suppose this is not exactly a falling-out-of-love-and-then-back-in-again story. But it's my fitful courtship story of the moment.
Oh, and the draw is exceptionally enticing. Please enter me!

12:44 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ohmigosh! I want to be in the bed, or on the floor, when Black Aoud and Safran Troublant have their lovechild. Put me in that draw! You know, I am easing back into a relationship with Coco. I'm not a teenager anymore and she is not the exotic impresario she used to be...we are having a more equal, mutual relationship now that I am in my 30s...

1:29 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

definitely in for the draw.
Paloma Picasso was a perfume I wore for years and then just stopped wearing it for a few years. I recently fell for it again - just love that sharpness. Also, my initial sniff of Luten's Un Bois Vanille was love then hate and finally love again - I succumbed to a bottle! Kim

2:10 AM EST  
Blogger kamala said...

i'm wearing L'Heure Bleue today! the edp and parfum both, actually - the parfum is unbelievably gorgeous, but i like the more "doughy" smell in the edp, also, and it gives off more sillage. i'm so glad you're loving LHB again! it's one of my favorites.

i haven't ever fallen out of love with a scent that i was really into. the closest i've come to that was my experience with Ambre Narguile. when i first wore it, i thought it was wonderful, but when wearing it to work one day, the heavy sweetness gave me a headache and made me a bit nauseated. i was afraid to wear it again for a while, but when i finally did, it was perfect, and didn't seem overwhelming at all - i guess i was just having a "sensitive" day.

please enter me in the drawing!

3:04 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

After wearing Guerlain Vetiver more or less exclusively for a couple years, I've been trying all sorts of new things for a few months now.

The days on which I go back to Vetiver are always interesting. I still love it. But having worn other things, I experience it rather differently. I wish I could put my finger on all the various differences....I guess the most obvious is that Vetiver tends to feel lighter the day after wearing, say, Fumerie Turque.

And please enter me in the drawing! What an interesting set of samples!

3:19 AM EST  
Blogger Haus von Stone said...

I fell back in love with Annayake's Miyako lately. I ignored it for a while thinking it smelled dusty. Now I think it smells like the best kind of dust - gold dust! It's warm and comforting, but incensy and interesting, and reminds me of a gilded painting. Please enter me in the drawing...thanks!

3:56 AM EST  
Blogger air.ocean said...

I've owned Un Jardin Meditteranee for a while now, and at some point it just stopped exiting me. So I gave it to my Mom. And now, after almost half a year without it, I feel like I really want to ear it again. Will have to steal some back from Mom:)

Please, enter me in the draw, thanks!:) And thanks for the lovely post!

4:12 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi!
My love in the past few weeks have been Montale Aoud roses petals and Bandit. Two days ago, as I stopped by a perfume shop do some sniffing, I started thinking sinful thoughts about Molinard Habanita, which I had previously tested some months ago from an old vial. At the time I hated it and scrubbed it away immediately, but I'm afraid my vial was way too old and gone bad.
Thanks for the lovely post and please, put me in the draw, as anything related to aoud+rose looks to me like a powerful cure-all.

4:43 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Histoire d'Eau by Mauboussin. I loved it for a time, then decided I hate it, and gave my bottle away. But lately, I've succumbed to its gorgeousness again - and thankfully, my friend gave me my bottle back, since she wasn't using it herself!

Apart from that, I don't usually fall out of love - my affection for perfumes tends to come in waves: I can't do without a scent, then it gently starts receding, I forget about it, after some time find it again, can't do without it for a time..... and so on and so forth.

5:21 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

And please enter me in the drawing.... pretty please.

5:22 AM EST  
Blogger elle said...

Oh, I never say that love dies forever - especially w/ perfume. I'm always rediscovering love for scents I thought were permanently in retirement. I think the most recent was for Diorissimo, which I'd truly come to dislike rather intensely. However, not long ago I saw a positive thread about it on POL or MUA and, Dior sl*t that I am, decided to go dig out my bottle for one more sniff and w/in minutes I was on ebay hunting down a new bottle of the vintage parfum. Still can't wear it all the time (am seriously lacking in the requisite innocence), but I am very much enjoying it once again.

5:24 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've finally learned not to get rid of a once beloved fragrance when it stops working for me because usually I end up craving it again. I've fallen back in love recently with YSL Paris after swearing off of it forever, and I've fallen again for SL Fleurs d'Oranger after divorcing it for making me smell unwashed. The dread cumin note used to mean sure death for a fragrance, but I am liking it now. I wonder what changed? Please enter me into the drawing.
Thanks!
Kathy

7:51 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I do this, too. Not that often, but: I fall hard, wear it all the time, suddenly find myself unable to think about putting it on again, swap or give it away, and then have to procure more of it a couple months or even a year later when the memory of the initial fling--oh, but we were so good together while it lasted!--returns to haunt me. The latest is actually CB Revelation, oddly enough. And I'd love to be entered in your drawing!

7:54 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I recently fell back in love with Cologne Blanche by Dior. I had always liked it, but had gone without for a while. I got a new decant on a whim and realized that I never want to be without again!

8:09 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh yes, and drawing drawing, etc. etc. please!!

8:10 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

When I first purchased Ambre Narguile, I wore it obsessively...couldn't get enough of it. Then I woke up one day and had no desire to ever smell it again. I ignored it completely for about 9 months. That was the cure. I now enjoy it on a here-and-there occasional basis. I'll just never go steady with it again. :-)

I'd love to be included in the draw!

8:56 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'd would love to be in the draw!
Thanks :)
Years ago, during one summer I'd really like to forget, I wore Theorema constantly. Well, it developed an association with some pretty disturbing memories. A couple of years later, I ALMOST threw it away!! Oh the thought horrifies me now. Luckily I didn't throw it away, just hid it in the bottom of a basket, and about a year ago I revisited and fell totally back in love. It took awhile to wear out the bad memories, but I did, and now when I wear it all I can think of is just pure loveliness.
--Molly

9:10 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I don't fall in and out of love with fragrance-I become indifferent. Two scents that have recently re-scaled the heights of Mount Iwannasniffya are Gucci Eau de Parfum and Lubin Idole. I would like to enter the drawing! Cheers, Sara

9:18 AM EST  
Blogger lilybp said...

You're doing it again, M-- Blogging about scents I have to try! My poor cc.:(

Like some here, I don't really fall out of love, though I let scents go through "fallow" periods and then rediscover them. But I can't think of a good example now. Sorry. MORE COFFEE!!

I need to try those WTs, so please put me in the draw.

9:36 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I bought Hypnotic Poison early in my fragrance journey, and I had a falling out with it, as I begin to discover the many wonderful fragrances from specialty & niche houses. Still haven't fallen back in love with it though!

Would love to try all the samples in your draw, the only one I've tried so far is AG Ambre Fetiche, which I do like.

9:52 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I know I'm in a decided minority, but my on-again-off-again is with Mitsouko parfum. I love it in autumn, as summer is winding down and the leaves are drying. However in spring, summer, winter I have to have Mitsouko in EdT. The parfum is too rounded, not wild enough. I love the way the toilette smells of awakening earth, sometime between April and May when the morels are about to pop. It captures perfectly the smells of a spring trek in the woods. Please enter me in the drawing, as I've been aching for Incense Rose to take over for Incense Extreme!
Have a wonderful weekend all!
Heather (HikerChickNH)

10:06 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Aimée L'Ondée,
Thank you!
The hunt for the vintage stuff is nervewracking, I agree. I stopped trying to find old versions and to compare a while ago.

10:15 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Risa,
I recently got to try Calyx and loved it!
You are in the draw!

10:16 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Jenavira13,
I try not to even touch perfumes when I am sick. Because if I wear something during that time, I invariably hate it afterwards.

10:17 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Laurie Brown ,
It does seem like a perfect cold weather scent!

10:17 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Erin,
You are in!

10:18 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Sue,
I did not realize it was already gone :-(

10:18 AM EST  
Blogger Unknown said...

Daim Blond! Was my first grown-up perfume and I overdid it in the tropical heat of Bangkok during the hot season. Just rediscovered it come December, ahhh... Would love to be entered in the prize draw!

10:19 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Janet in California ,
Russian Caravan Tea, CB's version and real stuff is yumsters! :-)
You are in.

10:19 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Kelley,
Oh I hope you'll feel better soon! As Tom says below, hold on to Sables, because you never know.

10:20 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Kelley,
You are in.

10:20 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Veronica,
Whenever I wear Le Maroc, my husband asks if something is burning :-) To me, however, it is always perfect :-)
I know what you mean wanting to keep special scents really special.

10:21 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Quinncreative,
I agree with you :-)

And I love the story about L'Heure Bleue. Aww!

10:22 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Tom,
Lucky you. With me and Chergue it is hate-hate.

10:23 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

JenniferR,
"Perhaps we shall meet on my skin." I love that, am totally borrowing the phrase :-)

10:24 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

2scents,
LOL! Yep, it would have been one hot and irresistible couple, no?

10:25 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Kim,
There are perfumes that I have worn for years that I am afraid to touch now. BUt I am thinking about it.
You are in the draw.

10:25 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

kamala,
so we are scent twins today.
I used to be madly in love with Ambre Narguile. And then I went off it once and for all :-(

10:26 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Ben,
It's amazing how different old favorites smell after a break!
You are in the draw.

10:27 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Susan,
You are in. You know what smells dusty to me? Bois d'Ombrie and Sienne d'Hiver.

10:28 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

air.ocean,
Thank you!
My mum too has a collection of perfumes abandoned by me for various reasons :-)

10:29 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

delfina,
You are in.
I recently revisisted Habanita and adored it!

10:30 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Dinazad,
You know, to my shame, I have a feeling I either haven't tried Histoire d'Eau or don't remember it. I will have to remedy that.

10:30 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Dinazad,
You are in!

10:31 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

L,
I actually don't find Diorissimo all that innocent. None of Roudnitska's creations are innocent. There is something a little depraved in all of them. Which is what makes them gloriously fantastic. :-)

10:32 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Kathy,
You are in.
I am glad you are enjoying FdO again!

10:33 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Mel,
Ah, Revelation is gorgeous!
You are in.

10:33 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Billy,
I never want to be wihtout at least a little bit of CB either

10:34 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Billy D,
You are in

10:34 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Suzanne,
Yep, that's how it was for me and AN too. Only for us being out of love is final.

10:35 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Molly,
You are in!
There are a couple of scents that have the same heavy "baggage" of memory as Theorema did for you. I am still afraid to touch them.

10:36 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Sara,
YOu gave me the huge craving for Gucci EDP :-)
You are in.

10:37 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Judith,
I think you might possibly like both "masculine" WTs. Sorry. :-)

10:37 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

GGS,
That is the one Poison that I can't wear :-(
You are in.

10:38 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Heather,
You are not in minority. I am. I can't love Mitsouko. Can't even like it. :-(

10:39 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Noy,
Yep, DB is one of those scents that just blossomes in the cold.

10:40 AM EST  
Blogger Unknown said...

hi there,

I haven't worn L'heure bleue in a year now. I went through a bad period in my life when I happened to be wearing LHB and I think I ended up associating that bad time with the perfume. However, you have inspired me to wear it again. Perhaps love can be brought back from the dead.

Please enter me in the drawing

10:55 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Brenda,
Hopefully it really can. Fingers crossed both for you and me :-)

10:59 AM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I won't say "back" in love, but I did fall in love recently with a previous foe. Arabie. We hated each other. Now, it's a slightly rocky love affair.
L'Heure Bleue deserves another try for me. It's got roses so I'm not sure, but the other notes sound good to me. I remember spritzing it once on my lunch hour way back a decade or 2 before I had any perfume sense whatsoever. I got back to work thinking, hmm. Maybe this is nice? But my coworkers all said "Eiw, old lady" so I gave it up. And we all know that "old lady" sometimes means "too sophisticated & odd for your nose" ... sort of like cheese isn't stanky, it's fab.

So yes please, draw me.

11:05 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

M,
Going from hate to love is the best. Those are the most intense and exciting relationships. Don't last though, often, but hey! :-)

11:12 AM EST  
Blogger Ducks said...

Can I confess that I fell in love with some really foody scents?

First there is the Beeman's-gum wonderfulness of Annick Goutal Myrrhe Ardiente. Yum.

Possets' Gingerbread Whorehouse is scrumptious. My husband turns up his nose because it is "exactly like you've just been baking gingerbread... which is nice, but is it perfume?" Who cares? It cheers me up and I can smell every element of my very own gingerbread recipe in there.

The Froot Loop giggle of Lostmarch Lann-Ael is fun too. Yes, it IS Froot Loops! Coupled with crazyrumors/Brew's Orange Bergamot lip balm, it's a Froot Loop festival.

Um, what else... oh, Villainess' Jai Mahal "Whipped" moisturizer. The scent is beautiful, and reminds me of Christmas ribbon candy.

Wow, I guess I'm in a foody mood today.

11:13 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Linda,
And can I just confess that I am no end intrigued by "Possets' Gingerbread Whorehouse" :-) Is that really the name of a perfume? :-)

11:15 AM EST  
Blogger parisa said...

For me, it's all white florals. I think that they should work for me and after endless purchases, none actually do. Today, I fell in love with Tubereuse Couture. I had a troubled history with it and vowed off white florals forever and now, I can say that the love has returned.

12:06 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm not sure if it's full-fledged love yet, but YSL Kouros and I are "trying to work things out on a tentative basis." There's something in Kouros that still scares and repulses me a tiny bit (sometimes a hallmark of long-standing love), even though I wore it regularly in my early 20s (and that's almost hard to imagine -- I constantly wonder in retrospect if people were always hoping I would leave the room and take my sillage monster with me).

Thanks for once again reminding me that I MUST try L'Heure Bleue soon. And I'd love to be in your draw!

12:09 PM EST  
Blogger kamala said...

marina,
oh no! not Mitsouko!
what is it that you don't like? (i can easily see how people wouldn't like it, btw, i'm just wondering what specifically did it in for you.)

12:25 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fell back in love? Um... Dior Homme. The makeup/lipstick notes have faded and now I can smell the iris.

Also, I had NO idea Black Tie had saffron. Saffron and I are not friends, but I have heard such good things about BT.

I'd love to enter the drawing. Thanks!

12:44 PM EST  
Blogger Denise said...

I haven't been an amateur perfumista long enough to fall out of love with any of my favorites, however I'm often really impressed with something at first (Chergui, Juozas Statkevi...Statkiev...oh, bother. Statkus.), only to think "meh" the second time I try it.

I've been wanting to try L'Heure Blue for a while now; seems perfect for my current state of mind. Please enter me in the draw!

12:48 PM EST  
Blogger Unknown said...

I just recently discovered a little perfume shop near my work and stopped by to browse. They had some Bonds so I decided to resniff Chinatown. I'd initally loved it upon first try and promptly ordered a large decant. Unfortunately, before I'd even finished my sample, I'd gone off it. It was just so dry it made me thirsty. But sniffing it again, I am finding myself really drawn to it again. Maybe it needs to be layered with something...
Please enter me in the draw! Thanks.

1:01 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Colombina, I am so glad that you are back in love with LHB. To me, it is beyond perfume, it is almost a way of being. Sorry if that sounds hokey. I could (almost) see giving up most other scents for good if I could just keep a bottle of LHB (well, except for my new boyfriend, Domenico Caraceni).
I would love to be in the draw, if it is not too late.
-Existentialist

1:04 PM EST  
Blogger Elizabeth said...

For me, that would be Caron Narcisse Blanc, described by Luca Turin in his 1994 perfume guide as "the wise little brother" of Narcisse Noir. I loved it when I first tried it in the Caron boutique three years ago, wore it for a while, then forgot about it as other things took my fancy. I've just rediscovered it and I've been wearing it for three days straight: A record! I'm convinced that the whole Caron line was created just for me in a past life.

Please enter me in the drawing. :-)

1:32 PM EST  
Blogger Heather said...

My two new loves are Lolita Lempicka and Cannabis Santal. I'd tried each of them several times before and found them oddly off-putting, then one day, I tried them and loved 'em. I've gotten more comments on Cannabis Santal. Men and women love it, I love. It's warm, spicy, sweet and a bit green on me. Very nice. Please enter me in the drawing! Love your blog.
Heather

1:47 PM EST  
Blogger tmp00 said...

actually yes, I fell back in love with Sables- this time it's not being so syrupy sweet to me..

1:49 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

WHOAH! That is one amazing prize draw! Please enter me!! :)

I know I'm writing on a blog read by perfumistas and I wish my answer was more niche, more "sophisticated" but my honest answer is Bulgari Aqua. It is simply beautiful. I love it. Don't make fun of me! But I went for almost a year without wearing it because I'd gone off in more adventurous directions and it's saltwateriness grated on me into the later summer months... now, it's perfect all over again! Cool post! Thanks...

-Anthony

2:12 PM EST  
Blogger Robert said...

What a fabulous contest!Please enter me. I have a couple.

A recent one: CB: IHP Wild Hunt. I loved it and used up the sample and then bought a bottle and could smell nothing but pine-sol and mildew. Last weekend I gave it a sniff and it is back to love.

Grey Flannel and I fell out of touch with one another. Oh there was the fond memory, the wistful star into the sky, but really nothing but the most distant contact until a month ago when I bought a bottle. Lovely stuff, though I am wearing it sparingly and just once and again.

3:20 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I hate all the perfumes that I wear for more than a couple of weeks at a time. I need to vary them a bit.
Enter me in the drawing please.

4:26 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Mmmmhhh, the BT sounds scrumptious. Loved your post, as always, and would love to be in the draw. I don't have a love-hate-back-to-love story, as I alternate frequently. Also, were three females in my house, so we use things up fairly quickly (who knew that could be a good thing?).
Sabina

4:28 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Forgot to say I'm glad you fell back in love with LHB, it's a scent I adore. For me it has a secure feeling to it, you know, like someone you've been in love with for a long time, who knows you and you can be exactly the way you want to be, without pretense. Melancholy too, in a good way.
Sabina

4:37 PM EST  
Blogger Alba said...

One of my teenage memories is the bottle of Miss Dior on a white shelf in the bathroom. It smellt so feminine, so grown up, so "wise"... My mother used to wear it and I sprayed it onto my wrist to check what it felt to be that sophisticated and grown up. Years later, in my thirties, I had the chance to try it on again. This time it felt stale, old fashioned, too familiar...and I went for the more modern, flashy ones. Some months ago a 30ml bottle was given to me by a friend. Now I feel it's mature, balanced. just rightly sophisticated, knowing... everything a middle-aged woman like myself would wish to be. It's my lighthouse, we could say. Well...

6:02 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I tend to reject first and then fall hard. The only two I've really fallen in love with are Tauer's Orris and Montale's Black Oud. And so far, I still love them. So, I'd LOVE to try the Black Tie.. please enter me! thank you!!
Rachel

6:23 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Definetly fallen out of love with Louve recently. not shocking, since it is a little too, something...i've fallen in love with lipstick rose though! Please enter me in the drawing! Thanks! xoxo

7:22 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Parisa,
I am so glad it returned. I love Tubereuse Couture.

7:35 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

joe805,
LOL at repulsion being a hallmark of a long-standing love. I kind of understand what you mean. :-)
You are in the draw.

7:36 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Kamala,
You know, I recently read what Anais Nin said about love: "there is no because". Well, the same is true, to me, of hate/dislike/whatever. I just can't do Mitsouko. No because. Just can't. :-(

7:37 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

mikeperez23,
Lipstick in Dior Homme? I like that! :-)

7:38 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Denise,
I often jump at conclusions :"oh, I love it!', only to feel meh at the second sniff.

7:38 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Theresa,
Chinatown is actually one of the scents that I feel out of love with completely. It became so very heavy and sweet on me. But I am so glad it is working for you now.

7:39 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Existentialist,
I love how you describe it: beyond perfume, a way of being!

7:40 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Elizabeth,
I know what you mean about being created just for you in some past life. I am convinced everything Roudnitska Sr. has ever created was created for moi. :-D

7:41 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Heather,
Thank you! You are in.
I like Cannabis Santal very much, and it smells great on the DH.

7:42 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Tom,
I think you and Kelley share one love for Sables. So when he is out of love with it, you fall in love with it. :-D

7:43 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Anthony,
You are in.
I am not familiar with Acqua, but I think Bvlgari has some great scents!

7:44 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Monkey,
OK, I ned to hunt for my sample of Wild Hunt :-)
I love your phrase about "the fond memory, the wistful star into the sky"!

7:45 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

maitreyi1978,
I do too. That's why I try not to do that :-)

7:46 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Sabina,
That is fun living in a household like that. I only have one little female living with me. I am sure she will be sharing my perfumes in no time at all :-)

7:48 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Jane,
I love stories like that, thank you for sharing. It is like you "grew into" Miss Dior.

7:48 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Rachel,
I do that too :-)
You are in!

7:49 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Elizabeth S,
I've fallen back in love with Lipstick Rose recently too, thanks to Ina of Aromascope :-)

7:50 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmm..The first niche fragrance I tried and really liked (was it love?) was Jo Malone Blue Agava and Cacoa..I thought I was in love and wore my sample very often Then I suddenly stopped even liking it and didnt wear it for quite a while. When i finally did wear it again after a while, I liked it. But I'm sure I will never really love it ..except that, when I smell it now I get this 'feeling' vaguely echoing that feeling (of excitement?) associated with my first niche discovery(if that makes sense)

I keep falling in and out of love with tam dao- but that might be more of a seasonal thing- I don't love it in summer! Now Poivre transcends time and season..*love*

Do enter me in the draw (haven't smelt any of them except incense rose)

8:38 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Lavanya,
Poivre by Caron?
You are in the draw!

8:48 PM EST  
Blogger Shi said...

I recently rediscovered the ever popular Spring Flower by Creed. I forgotten how pleasant of a scent it is. Please add me to the draw!

10:03 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What I have fallen back in love with lately has to be SL's Douce Amere, now there's a sublime licorice that I can actually wear. Please enter me into the drawing as well.

11:13 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Annie
It is a lovely scent. You are in the draw.

7:48 AM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Zeram,
I wish. I could find licorice I could wear. I used to be able to wear Caron's, but not anymore.

7:51 AM EST  
Blogger Alba said...

Hi Colombina,
I told you my story about Miss Dior but I forgot to ask you to count me in for the draw. Is it too late?

12:48 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Marina- yes, I meant Caron Poivre..:)

Lavanya

2:27 PM EST  
Blogger Marina said...

Jane,
It's not too late and you are in.

8:21 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Tolu. The first time I smelled it I said, "Eh, it's nice," wore it a few times and then didn't think about it again for a year. Someone sent me a decant recently, and now it's love! I crave it. Glad you hear you and L'Heure Bleue have made up:)

Please enter me in the drawing if it's not too late.

5:05 PM EST  
Blogger Anne said...

If its not too late... love to be entered. I tried Diorella about a year ago and fell in love. Bought a fb and about a month later I couldn't figure out what I had been smelling that made me buy a fb. Put it away to sell on ebay. A week ago tried a samp of Dirella. Wow, the love is back, I found the bottle and I hope I never lose the love again!

6:33 PM EST  
Blogger Farmgirl Cyn said...

I just recently tried L'Heure Bleue, and I think I'm in love. At first, i smell like an old lady...then after 30 minutes or so, it has faded into something wonderful and sensual, and I can still smell it hours later. That just does not happen with me!

7:54 PM EST  
Blogger Farmgirl Cyn said...

PS Please enter me, if it's not too late!

8:03 PM EST  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

L'Heure Bleu is also, for me, one that I've fallen in and out of love with... within the past 20 years, depending on where I've been in my life, I've focused on various notes which, when I've been in love with lhb, I've either loved or been repelled by. I just last week purchased a bottle of EDP, and I'm not sure whether I love it or find it too powdery. I have been searching for years for the perfect scent to define me. But a futile quest, as we are continually evolving. Final word of warning: hold onto all fragrance that you LOVE at any time, as I've found through 50 years of living, that sooner or later you'll be drawn back to it. For instance, I'm so disgusted that I got rid of Caron's "Parfum Sacre". Damn! Rich, complex, warm... I'll be spending the next however long searching for a replacement bottle. I'd LOVE to be entered into your drawing, as I'm fairly new to niche fragrances and would love to expand on them. Oh, and possibly find the perfect "me" scent!!

11:33 AM EDT  
Blogger Maria said...

I know it's late for this comment. But I just wanted to share my experience with Serge Lutens (export line, didn't get to Pallais de Shiseido, I'm just waiting for their Livre de Parfumes, do they ever send that actually).
So it happened that last fall I discovered your blog and few others and they helped me to get into the real world of perfumes (I always loved and hates smells, made my every day). And my luck that in local Douglas appeared at the same time his export line. It was a hit, in a way nothing else smelled like them before. I went for weeks everyday to sniff them and even got some samples (Ambre Sultan, Datura Noir,Douce Amere etc). It was my little heaven. Up to a day when I decidede that is too much, that it's just an idea behind the whole line, I felt that the creators just somehow played with us, trick us, it was like they knew will seduce us with some dirty secrets. Hard to explain, I just don't wanted anymore. I couldn't even see my samples. And the spring came and I was again in front of Serge Lutens and I thought of giving a try to Fluers (de Citrone and d'Orange) and look at me, I am back. I don't know what is with Serge Lutens but there is something, still so different by anyone else and at the same time so close with so many other big perfumes. I would give a thought and say that in a way he gives us the perfumes of our days, he is not a modern, he is just a classic who reinvented perfumes for our noses today. Kind of Andy Warhol, he just got it. So, I love Serge Lutens again. By other, I love white florals but I can't wear them. Fleurs d'Orange is probably still the only one I could be able to wear.
Love your blog, you make my days, too :-)

5:18 AM EDT  

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