...That's beautiful, Hayven!I love your description. Ahhh, the clean, pure air, how much I miss it.Apparently I'm a Northwest Pacific type as well, because somewhere with pines, mountains and cool air would be an ideal place to live for me too :) A big body of water at my feet wouldn't hurt either :lol:

...If I may disagree, Bouzeos. Working under the pressure of restrictions (budget, marketing strategy etc) is not a place to shine for anyone, perfumers included. This is the major flaw of mass market scents where all and any creativity is being obliterated. At that level perfumers are more concerned whether they meet the market requirements well enough to secure themselves another similar gig. Moreover, the big players in this market are also notorious for employing the same chemists to work on "fine fragrance" as on laundry detergent scents. So yes, in this field talking about the nose behind the fragrance is often irrelevant. However, that's just one, although admittedly the biggest one, part of the perfumescape. If we look at the scope of niche and artisan perfumes created under much more liberal conditions, it's evident that even with very precise briefs by creative directors, the unique style of each perfumer shines through. Jean Claude Ellena brings his sleek minimalist vision into everything he does. Bertrand Duchaufour's work is always recognizable too, no matter if it is sold under L'Artisan, Penhaligons or Neela Vermeire label. With significantly older creations "marketing" was not even an issue and most perfumers were their own creative directors anyway, so in vintages it's even more apparent. Maitre parfumeurs do venture into mass market labels once in a while, like Annick Menardo did with her Black for Bvlgari which to this day is the black sheep (forgive the pun) of that tightlipped flock. But we don't see the likes of Alberto Morillas making perfumes for Comme des Garcons and MPG, and there's good reason for that.

...Sweaty incense... Hmmm...I'd really love to see your comparison, Shera :)

...So Passage features somewhere in this equation as well...Thanks for the input PBullFriend, that's something to consider.

...Jean-Paul Guerlain, "Chamade"Jean-Louis Sieuzac, "Opium"

...Please don't be so put off by its apparent stupidity as to exit without answering! :lol: Are "Dzongkha" and "Timbuktu" similar and if so, how?They share more than a few notes, and most times one of them is mentioned the other one is at least referred to.Samples are not easily procured where I live, so I only have a tiny one of Dzongkha and am thinking whether or not Timbuktu is now in order.If anyone cared to do a side by side comparison, I'd be beyond grateful.

...I was just perusing Cafleurebon, and in one entry they suggested their readers to come up with a new destination for L'Artisan's Les Voyages Exotiques series. So I came up with this little exercise for our own synesthetic creativity. What would you like to see bottled? A place, an experience, a state of mind, an historical personage... a movie? Anything that rocks your boat. What's important is that you put it in actual scent and that it's something you'd really like to have as a perfume and wear on your person. I'll start with mine. And yes, I'd love it to be a L'Artisan creation. I’m thinking New Orleans at the turn of 20 century. It's a journey that begins in the morning, in the French Quarter with its air full of uplifting aromas setting the mood for what starts as a beautiful leisurely day: the lemony and green facets of blooming geranium, freshly roasted coffee and bitter orange marmalade. Then, in its afternoon phase it progresses into an exaggerated, stereotypical Southern Belle bouquet of white florals (magnolia, gardenia, dewy jasmine and orange blossom), adorned and gradually overshadowed by a succession of honeyed pipe tobacco, bourbon and tabasco peppers, which take us through different parts of the city to finally introduce the outskirts with their strange viscous waft of herbs, ashes and beeswax out of voodoo shops, and the breeze from the Bayou bringing feral scents of the great river. Definitely a stealthily executed furry animalic undercurrent at this point, to evoke a presence of something dark and mysterious, but not make it at all visible. An unsettling fragrance that encompasses both light and dark, beauty and the invisible lurking beast.Let's hear yours!

...OMG! :shock: I thought the first one was rock bottom, but she's really outdone herself this time.

...Dulcemio:ChapeauClack:Awww, how sweet! Jeez, I love it when a man cooks. And that perfectly laid out table? Wow! Congratulations to the Chef on a beautiful meal!I'm on a strict diet, so drooling all over the keyboard already, and thinking Finn-like thoughts.I wonder how much thinking Mr. Finn actually does prior to scarfing. :lol:ROFL Well, something must rush through his head :?: My dog once gobbled up a whole batch of waffles. I'd been setting them out on a tray to cool as I cooked up more, and the best place I found for that tray was on a stool by the work surface. Right at her eye-level. So as long as I cooked and put more and more on the tray, she just kept lurking quietly nearby and eating them one by one as soon as I turned my back on her. I hadn't noticed long enough for her to finish the lot of them.

...Dulce, thanks for reminding me of the movies! I should plan a trip to the DVD shop asap. I've been testing numerous Serge Lutens creations I'd ordered samples of. I've been reconsidering my former skepticism. Big time. :shock:

...Tar:Only once, in a bakery in last month: SacrebleauWhat did they say? What did they say???

...Awww, how sweet! Jeez, I love it when a man cooks. And that perfectly laid out table? Wow! Congratulations to the Chef on a beautiful meal!I'm on a strict diet, so drooling all over the keyboard already, and thinking Finn-like thoughts.

...It's nice to know I'm not the only one! Dlane, what a great thing to do! I've been wanting to dust my French textbooks off forever, but there's always some lame excuse. :roll:

...I've been thinking my so called long term economy strategy in fact proved an epic failure. The idea was to only buy samples of perfumes that sound like true stunners on paper, so that I wouldn't have to spend on the ho-hum "kinda curious to try but unsure" stuff.And guess what! Now nearly every sample I buy ends up on the full bottle wish list! Talk about saving money...

...I'm head over heels for 1889 Moulin Rouge of the Histoires de Parfums line ever since I first tried it several months ago. First I wanted a travel size but then I realized it's a measly 14 ml, so decided to wait until I can reap the fruit of my current big translation job and then I'm totally shelling out for a full bottle.Meanwhile I've been also been dropping subtle hints to the extended family, that surprising me with a bottle of SL Daim Blond wouldn't be an entirely bad idea.

...With that I cannot argue :wink:

...I know! But really, that says more about the wine than about me. 8)

...Eeeehehehehe you sure got your wine on, ladies!Speaking of which, I ran into a most unpalatable bottle of Trebbiano a couple of nights ago (while some of you have emergency ice cream runs, I have... well... you know).I sank as low as giving it the Chinese treatment i.e. mixing. With an ion-supply drink of all things :roll: What? It's mildly flavored, took the bite out of that mistake of a wine and it's good for ya!

...This made me think how rarely I attribute scents to real places. Most of my perfumes seem to paint some kind of an unreal dreamscape for me.The only one I can think of off the top of my head is"Aromatics Elixir" which is part Chinese pharmacy, part sun-drenched forest where I used to walk my dog when I was a child.

...Out of the three you posted, I've tried Parfum Sacre and Grand Amour.Parfum Sacre seems somewhat deeper, so that if Grand Amour were a soprano, PS would be a contralto. It also lasts a lot longer, at least on my skin. While both are delicious and very high quality, they are ultimately in different weight groups.If I may suggest, try Guerlain Chamade before Grand Amour, they are clearly related notewise, but Chamade has a much bigger wingspan and develops more slowly with lots more nuances.