Guess that scent. A game:

One house, five perfumes:

1. Browning's last one is on the wall

2. Marlene Dietrich

3. Another name for a siren

4. An eye for an eye in paradise?

5. Rhymes with "stinks"

Scent by Alexis
is the name and
1) Duchess
2) Blue Angel
3) Femme Fatale
4) Eve's Revenge
5) Minx
is the game?

Yes. Perfect!

Thanks Cryptic! Remember this?


Well, it's still here after some 40 hours. Seems it wants to marry me...

Few years before millennium,
this famous needles house
gave us this first one, out of five,
which can be put on to contrive,
if you forget your blouse...

Maybe it's time for a Silkwood shower.

Where is Triffid? She'd get this one in a flash.

Okay, no sign of dear Triffid, so I'll take a guess. Is this what you had in mind?

www.parfumo.com/Perfumes/Sonia_Rykiel/Sonia_Ry kiel

Thank you thinking of me, especially as I'm sure you had the answer straight away Cryptic. I am feeling the curse of intellectual midgetry. In fact, I saw the Rykiel and thought "Hmm, that'd do for a blouse and it's the right period" but then I was distracted by the needles reference (thinking of pine leaves and my stash of Milward sewing needles).

Your guess is right Cryptic. My "needles" thing was literal this time Triffid, as Sonia Rykiel's alias is "Queen of Knitware".

Triffid, remember the "Iquitos" question? I think we all get distracted sometimes, and "intellectual midgetry" made me shake my head, it's so untrue.

I'm a strange little thing that appears after rain,

And according to this house, I must have a brain.

I may be quite deadly or simply benign;

The answer you seek is the name of the line.

I assumed that Triffid's "intellectual midgetry" was booze induced, thus temporary. Maybe they're celebrating something down under... Otherwise it's an absolute no-no!

Could it be Lily Lambert's Spectrum line? Of course not! I just thought I should give it a try. It appears after the rain (although one can't call it exactly little), it may be deadly or benign (as in spectre), and it is a perfume line. But no "brain" connection unfortunately.

On the other hand I'm almost certain it's about some iris (another name for rainbow and a messenger of the gods in Greek mythology, hence the bearer of either good or bad news), but which one? The "brain" part puzzles me. I'll go with Prada's Infusion d'Iris, counting infusing as a sign of intelligence, and considering that its three flankers render it a line.

Either that or she was tripping. Speaking of which, here's another clue:

Though I am no fish, I do possess gills;

Enlightenment seekers will eat me for thrills.

Me and my certainties! OK then, after an epic battle with snails and rainbows, I'll go with The Mindful Mushroom...

The Mindful Mushroom it is, GothicHeart. Have a look at their site. "Old World Apothecary and Finery for Nomadic Faery Girls and Wandering Forest Boys"...

www.etsy.com/shop/themindfulmushroom

"Nomadic Faery Girls and Wandering Forest Boys" in Texas? Gee, now that's something to ponder over...

When snow falls upon its fur
it's looking forward to purr
next to some heart(h)y fires.
It rubs against its mistress' feet
hoping its fickleness will meet
her quaint and queer desires.

There are so many possibilities here and I've looked at everything from Friendly Fur to Pussy Deluxe to Porno Pussy (yes, really) and tales with snow and cats (Freya, Narnia, anyone?). I also looked for flaming hearts (you know, "heart-y fires").
So, based on the print ads with their curtain of falling crystals, the name, the hideous bottle with furry doo-dad and the likely "quaint and queer" desires of this mistress, I'll get the ball rolling with the sad little offering of "Cat Deluxe at Night" by Naomi Campbell.

OMG Triffid! Somebody give this Lady an Oscar/Nobel/whatever award/prize/whatever for being a master of impossible connections and meticulous research! No "sad little offering" at all! Actually I feel a little embarassed for "wasting" my clue, when using it for your suggestion would make a great match! Alas, this time the truth is so much simpler. I used "hear(t)y" combinating hearty and hearth for metric reasons, as "hearthy" does not exist. Since your research took a feline turn, I'm sure you encountered my almost 100% literal clue at some point.

P.S.: Porno Pussy??? What do you take me for, some ex-rock star of the KISS kind? Cause that's exactly what I am...

P.S.: Porno Pussy??? What do you take me for, some ex-rock star of the KISS kind? Cause that's exactly what I am...

I knew it! I suspect that anyone who knows the height of Ronnie James Dio has probably worn snakeskin platforms and a little panstick at some point in their past (or present - no judgement).

To return to the clue: I will go in the opposite direction and suggest the most obvious one of all "Purr" or "Meow!" by Katy Perry. I can't really picture snow falling on those plastic kitty bottles as they dream of melting by the fireside. I"m guessing the answer falls somewhere in the middle ground between tenuous connections and charity giveaway.
The upside of all that research is that I have a great wealth of material to mine for future clues (if I ever get one right, that is).

My vinyl collection would kill me in broad daylight if I ever burned any brain cells for making a Katy Perry clue! I think I'll use the classic picture to words ratio...

I'm bypassing the entire Hello Kitty range (featuring lots of pink) to offer "Winter Kitty" by For Strange Women.
I previously did not think about trying the word 'kitty', only kitten. cat, pussy etc

Oh pats!

Two perfumes.

When you visit England
And you tour around the 'shire,
Just head up to a dairy
If it's perfume you desire;

If gourmand is your genre
And a stinker suits you fine,
Then serve this on a platter
With some crackers and some wine;

If you want to layer
With a second scent that's good,
An oven fresh concoction
Is ideal companion food.

You're making me hungry Triffid...

Eau de Stilton by Stilton Cheesemakers Association?

Oh wait! The clues multiplied...

Since we're dealing with guilds, then I think Eau de Toast by The Federation of Bakers makes the picture whole.

Well that was quick, Gothicheart, and indeed the perfume experience would be Stilton on Toast. Surely these scents are promotional or fund raising ventures? I just don't see the logic...

Money talks and logic walks (usually out of the frame)... If any celebrity believes that what the world really needs is the 20th flanker of their tremendously successful "original/classic", then why shouldn't bakers and cheesemakers think the same? After all, their trades are so much closer to perfume creation than any average football player or lip-syncing pop star will ever be. Plus the funny part, because I don't believe they take themselves very seriously, and given that both houses are English gives them by definition enough credit if the whole thing is some kind of a joke. Wait, it's a perfume guessing thread now, not some philosophy board, right? Well, this next one is a real bargain, as you get three perfumes with one clue...

Where was your mind Athenian boy
and didn't change the sail?
See what you've done?
He thought you're gone
and went down with a wail!