...Ooooh, I'll have to think about this - what an interesting observation. I do think it may have gone the other way for me - I love lots of exposed wood in my home even before I loved it in perfumes.

...Oh, oops. That was not fishing for compliments. Thanks, Dulcemio!

...Triffid:I think there's another thread somewhere about recruiting more reviews from members and it is a bit surprising to see that a fragrance owned by, say 100 members, has only garnered a handful of reviews. Triffid: Good thoughts, all! I think the reason why that happens sometimes, though, is that the page will show everyone who owns the perfume on both the .net and the .de sites. Sometimes I see that 20 people own a perfume and no one has reviewed it. But then I click through on the member names and discover I'm the only one from .net. (The .de site has been around longer and is more established.) But you're right - more reviews would be great.There are some reviewers on here, though, who are SO eloquent, that I regularly read what they've written and thought, "Yep. That says it all." I don't have the gift for beautiful metaphor that some do, and my terse, factual style seems so prosaic next to the work of Ysbrand, Coutureguru, Sherapop, jtd, Silverfire, and others. (Those were the first few who came to mind. The full list is prob 2-3 dozen.) But I'll still write a review if one of them hasn't!

...Flavorite: Yeah, I think Bonfire is out of the regular lineup. I bought my bottle on eBay. I can send you a decant of that & a small sample of Burning Leaves if you like. (I'd wait a couple of weeks until the weather cools down - it has been hitting the mid-90s here & I don't want your perfume fried before it reaches you.)Nope, haven't tried "Fire from Heaven."Whee! Fall is my favorite season & I always get a big mood boost when I see it's coming! Almost time for the smoky perfumes!!!!

...I really like the CB IHP Burning Leaves. There's a Demeter Bonfire that I also really like, but I think they're pretty close, so you might not like it. Have you tried Profumum Roma Arso? I only have a little sample but I think it's quite nice.

...Thanks, Sherapop. Good to know!

...Thanks, Pipette! There are so few good books about perfume. Right now, I'm reading The Perfume Lover: A Personal Story of Scent by Denyse Beaulieu, a book about B. Duchaufour's creation of L'Artisan's Seville a l'Aube. The author is a good writer, but a really annoying person to me. (She gets one of the world's finest perfumers to work with her for free on making a perfume that captures a special time in her life. She spends a good deal of time being disappointed in him for not dropping all of his PAYING customers to work on her project. Also, lots about her adultery and her wearing of furs and Louboutins, none of which I wanted to know.) I'm hoping she writes another perfume-related book that is less about her. :roll:

...I'll be eager to hear what Sherapop, who has a chemistry background, will say here. It has been my impression that, when you smell water, you're not smelling WATER, per se. I think that, when I smell water that I've poured into a glass, I'm probably smelling the chlorine that has been added to it. (I just took a sniff of the glass of water that's on my desk and think I may also be smelling a hint of the dish detergent I used on the glass.) Outdoors, when I smell water, I think I'm usually smelling the water's effect on dirt and flowers and trees. (This article points out that animals may be smelling geosmin rather than water: http://web.expasy.org/spotlight/back_issues/035/ This article points out geosmin's affect on how water tastes: http://gallery.usgs.gov/audios/411 )I don't smell anything when I sniff iodized table salt, but there certainly are types of salt that smell. Doesn't that have to do with the other minerals that are in with them?

...Hey, Flavorite! Good mention - yes, Garden of Eden is still there and I believe they do at least carry all of the Votivos and all of the Thymes. (Thymeses???)Did you ever go to the Thymes Warehouse Sale in the fall? Sadly for us/good for them, they stopped holding those a couple of years ago. Their inventory control has improved to where they don't have enough overstock to hold a sale any more. It has never occurred to me to search Grand Ave. specifically for perfume, but I should. And, meanwhile, do PM me if you ever come back to visit, OK? I'll do my best to find something worth smelling.

...Hey, ChapeauClack: I don't think I have both available. However, my testing notes (which are several years old) say that one time Dzongkha reminded me of Timbuktu and another time it reminded me of Passage d'Enfer! Sorry I don't have anything more helpful to say.

...Hmmm. I'm sorry no one has answered yet, Sleuth. I've only tried one of the three. So I wonder whether no one happens to have read this who has tried them all.

...Hey, folks, Here's a handy list for New York City. Some highlights are:Uptown Manhattan (above 59th St.)Barneys New York660 Madison AvenueFrédéric Malle Editions de Parfums898 Madison AveOn (upper) Madison Ave you can also find the likes of Armani, Creed, Dyptique, Etro, Hermès, Jo Malone, Lancôme, Tom Ford ..Midtown ManhattanArabian Oud1584 BroadwayBergdorf Goodman754 Fifth AvenueThe do Guerlain exclusives and apparently also JARCaron BoutiqueOne Grand Central Place60 E 42 St, 54th FloorHenri Bendel Flagship712 Fifth AvenueNorma Kamali11 W 56th StreetLots of designers to be found on Lexington Ave, (lower) Madison Ave and 57th Street.Greenwich VillageAedes de Venustas7 Greenwich AvenueDiptyque377 Bleecker StreetFrédéric Malle Editions de Parfums94 Greenwich AvenueSoho & NolitaBond no. 9 Flagship9 Bond StreetMiN New York117 Crosby StreetOsswald NYC311 West BroadwayExcellent range of niche fragrancesBrooklynCB I Hate Perfume318 Maujer Street, 3rd FloorTwisted Lily360 Atlantic AvenueFabulous niche selection!

...Wow! What an interesting idea. I'll have to think about it.My batting average with some of the companies listed on their blog is pretty low, though... do I want to gamble? :?: Thanks, ChapeauClack!

...Thanks, Hayven! I'm glad they're doing this. With the easy availability of camera phones, etc., it seems like it wouldn't be very burdensome for most people and should make it easier to spot fakes.

...It is an interesting thought, Pipette. Availability is so different in different countries. I'm amazed sometimes to see something that hasn't been released in the US yet, but two dozen folks on .de already own it. In a way, it's really nice to see that, despite all the talk of "global" markets, there really are what seem to be profound difference in taste even among somewhat related cultures. (For instance, Germany shows up in the ancestry of USians more than any other country: http://www.businessinsider.com/the-12-most-common-ethnicities-in-america-2012-3?op=1) This makes life more interesting!

...Sure, why not? :lol: I'm so glad this site exists. It seems like there are a lot of very sophisticated perfume collectors who are German-speaking. And you are so kind, Pipette, to do the translations.

...Blumenblut: Great idea! Thanks so much for coming over here and starting the party with those of us who can't say much more than "kartoffelsalat" auf Deutsch. :oops:

...Hmmm. You know how a friend will say "Why do you use the word ______ so often?" And it is perfectly obvious to them that you use that word all the time, even though you have never been conscious of it.I guess I need an objective outsider to tell me which parfumista category I fit in as well. My FBs are more designer than niche. I'll seek out all perfumes I can find that feature one of my favorite notes more than I pay attention to the nose behind them. I guess I'm kind of a bargain-loving gal as well. Nothing in my collection is much over $100. There are just so few things I enjoy enough to justify buying them much beyond that.

...Ooh, Flavorite - now I see why there seem to be a lot of sniffing parties in L.A. ChapeauClack - I don't see a problem with posting links - it gives the writer full credit and no one's making a profit off of someone else's work.

...When I'm sampling for the first time, I only apply to my wrists/inner arms. The positive of this is that the skin there is tougher and more accessible than one's neck or chest, for instance. If I don't like it, I use an unscented exfoliating scrub by Ahava that contains pretty large salt crystals. (I was just looking for it & they don't seem to make it any more, but there must be other unscented exfoliating scrubs out there.) This has worked better than anything else I've tried, including alcohol, witch hazel, and oily scrubs.