...I knew you'd work it out Cryptic! Well done. I don't think the gift they're referring to is a severed horse's head though, likely some German fairytale unknown to me.

...If there are no takers just yet, I shall post a clue.I hope this is not too difficult. One perfume.This mystic brand sells many oilsWith names to match, of course,But this "tale" only brings to mindThe head cut from a horse.

...Triffid has poetry covered so no worries, but we've drifted off task as Flac used to say. Here's your answer (I think) and I believe it's... has poetry covered so no worries, but we've drifted off task as Flac used to say. Here's your answer (I think) and I believe it's Triffid's turn to post a clue. :idea:The brand of perfumes called "Davidoff,"brews loads of elixirs by the trough. Their flankers, "Cool Waters" stink up...

...Triffid has poetry covered so no worries, but we've drifted off task as Flac used to say. Here's your answer (I think) and I believe it's... has poetry covered so no worries, but we've drifted off task as Flac used to say. Here's your answer (I think) and I believe it's Triffid's turn to post a clue. :idea:The brand of perfumes called "Davidoff,"brews loads of elixirs by the trough. Their flankers, "Cool Waters" stink up...

...Triffid:Greysolon, we welcome your enthusiasm most enthusiastically. +1How did we overlook the Cool Water line? There are 39 flankers, which might be a...

...Greysolon, we welcome your enthusiasm most enthusiastically. When I got to five houses, I got lazy and stopped looking but all credit to you for that extensive and (to my mind) shameful list. I have nothing prepared, it's bedtime now so I'll sleep on it and see if any elves have posted a clue overnight.

...Flanker madness! Even the flankers have flankers! Are there people out there who collect these as sets? I don't think I own a single flanker of anything except a couple of GWP minis and Joy/eau de Joy which seem to be different releases of the same perfume.I think Greysolon should have the next turn as he outed so many offenders. Unless shy I-don't-do-clues-Cincy would like a turn?Actually, it's Cryptic's call anyway.

...Hope to hear from others as well. As a start: Marc Jacobs "Daisy"Guerlain "Shalimar"Guerlain "La petite Robe Noir" Dior "Miss Dior"Thierry Mugler "Angel"Honourable mention to "Fahrenheit" with a modest ten flankers.

...Great clue, Cryptic! I see it as The Marketing Shame File. or "Who's succumbed to corporate greed?"

...Spot on, Cryptic. Poor old Porthos! I was watching a re-run of Slumdog Millionaire the other night and was reminded of the last question he is asked "Who is the third Musketeer?" to which he correctly guesses Aramis. I'm ashamed to say that I never read the books and had no idea that Aramis was not just a classic men's fragrance.

...Not sweet for me . I l love florals and big perfumes - but not cloying ones - so moss, leather, galbanum - anything with some added bitterness or dissonance works for me. With big florals from the pre 90s era, sweetness is less of a problem for me than certain floral notes e.g. big tuberose or big vanilla/amber are not for me. Interestingly, many contemporay men's frags are much sweeter than those marketed to women a few decades ago. I much prefer fougeres and dry masculine leather/woodiy perfumes to some of the modern men's orientals with lots of sweet tobacco and amber/

...OK, here we are. Two perfumes, different names, different houses.You can't deny this trio's fameBut only two have perfume names.

...Oh well, I was half on the right track. After auditioning some possibilities, I thought that 'scary' might be a near-rhyme too far. With an American accent it works much better than a Strayan* one!Will return with something.(*How to pronounce 'Australian')

...Is for sadists and masochist-iques.The aroma is scary,It's no bowl of cherries, This Etat Libre d'Orange is for freaks!Hit us with the next quiz, Triffid!Oh, and Cincy, thanks for being so kind :wink...

...I can't find a suitable rhyme for 'bowl of cherries' so I will just make up something else.The perfume "Secretions Magnifiques"Is for sadists and masochist-iques.The aroma is shit (or crappy, or wrong)It's no bowl of wit (or happy, or song)This Etat Libre d'Orange is for freaks!

...Hmmm, I'm pretty sure I have the perfume (such as it is) but trying to reconcile those middle lines is proving tricky.

...I have the answer but I'll give someone else a shot....

...don't think I've read any of her work, Triffid, but from what I gather she's certainly prolific. I can't resist a funky little indie perfume house! All five of these perfumes are from one of them...

...You got it Cryptic! Apparently she is the highest selling (living) author at the moment and the fourth biggest seller of all time. That's a lot of family-saga-airport-fiction.

...When you've sold so many booksYou're ranked as number one,A perfume seems superfluousBut this is what she's done;There's just a single title,Selling cheap, without much hype,An uninspired formulaTo match her fiction type.?