...Cryptic: There's snow in the forecast. Are you the kind of person who races to the store for milk, bread and eggs before the first flake falls, or do you space it out and end up running to the market for toilet paper mid-blizzard? Use your imagination if you live in a warm climate.First, to the question of Sherlock. Really? I'm beginning to worry about your lack of exposure to popular culture, Cryptic. Chortle. Although your view of Downton Abbey might be, in a way, applicable to Sherlock: the curse of the third season. Sherlock is basically a contemporary setting of the Conan-Doyle canon. The first 2 seasons were fantastic. However, after 2 seasons of well executed novelty, things went over the top. Sort of like the opera world portraying Wagner's Valkyries as a motorcycle gang. Spoiler alert: Dr. John Watson's wife is a former black ops assassin. Ugh...My answer to the either/or:Mid blizzard shopper. Hey, and if the car gets plowed in slap on the cross country skis. You can't avoid snow so you might as well indulge in it. Everybody on the forum is welcome to join in the game! Next Either/Or:Stephen Fry or Hugh Laurie?

...I like that many people started their replies by saying, "At the moment my favorites are..." Like everyone else, I tire of some of my favorites or grow to love those that initially rubbed my nose the wrong way.Chamade pour Homme - GuerlainFille en Aguille - LutensVolutes - Diptyque Ambra Nera - Farmacia SS. Annunziata Noire de Noire - Tom FordBaie de Genievre -Creed (discontinued)Chene - LutensPhilosykos - Diptyque5 O'clock au Gingembre - Lutens

...Cryptic:Yet another show I never watched! What did we do before Google? Fontana and Green on account of Jesse L. Martin.

...Even though I buy perfume for my nose and my pleasure -I apply scent very judiciously- it's a disappointment when someone doesn't smell the narrative character of the fragrance as intended by the perfumer or the same way I experience the scent. One of my favorite fragrances is Philosykos by Diptyque. Its narrative is built around a fresh, watery fig leaf accord. Occasionally someone will notice I'm wearing it and say, "Mmm, that's a nice coconut scent!" Well, it just so happens coconut is a building block in the fragrance. If you smell fig leaf and coconut side by side they share some similarities. But it still kills me every time I get that comment!

...Fresh flowersLaw and Order partners...Joe Fontana and Ed Green or Lenny Briscoe and Mike Logan?

...I don't have a "bucket list" but some day I'd love to visit Paris' Musée du Parfum. Until then maybe a whiff of 250 year old rum (mentioned in the article below) will have to do. Also mentioned is the oft cited reason for perfume's use in the past: the lack of human hygiene. Perhaps the smell of a mug caked with dried rum or the odor of human funk is preferable to Pinaud Bay Rum which you can buy in a one quart plastic jug. :PI've included the link if you want to listen to this NPR segment.Smell As Old As TimeMuseum's 1770s Artifact Smells Of Rum"People read about history, watch films about history, see it unfold before them, but how often do they get to smell history? Well, when Philadelphia's Museum of the American Revolution opens next year, visitors will have their chance. As Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep said on Wednesday, the contents of the museum include an earthenware mug from the 1770s — which still smells of rum poured by some Revolution-era drinker. Thankfully, other smells from centuries ago have not transcended time. A book on the country's early years says before running water, even the most fastidious people bathed only once a week. Some bathed once a year, whether they needed it or not. Funky — and not the good kind."

...Hi Amit, I think Cryptic is spot on with Heine.When it comes to Mendelssohn's music I've always gravitated to his early works which, of course, means Midsummer's Night Dream as well as the string symphonies and chamber music. For a perfume to represent that period of his life it has to be open and crystalline, with a touch of florals and a base note that doesn't bog down the effervescence of the fragrance: "Eau d'Hadrien (Eau de Toilette)" by Annick Goutal.As Crytic said, Bach is difficult and she probably has the best choice with Amouage. Bach's musical counterpoint can be incredibly complex yet all the voices can be clearly heard. The same is true with the emotional counterpoint. His music is human/heavenly, joyous/contemplative, earthly/noble. Then there's all those dang kids! I mean, for a man of the 18th century he must have smelled OK to have basically worn out two wives! :shock: When it comes to a tour de force of counterpoint in a fragrance my pick would be "34 Boulevard Saint Germain" by Diptyque

...Nose/house. But I wouldn't really know about blind buying because I never do it... says the guilt ridden, in denial addict.:roll: Cary Grant or Tom Hanks?

...ScentedSalon:My favorite is Winter Delice: it is not only red berries and resin but also pine.ScentedS, Winter Delice is a great fragrance for a pine scent balanced with other elements. For the same reason I enjoy "Encens Flamboyant" which is a nice, subtle balsam incense scent and "Nuit Étoilée (Eau de Toilette)" which is balanced out with florals. I'm so glad you reminded me about these other fragrances. My wardrobe selection suddenly expanded for the holidays! It's a Christmas miracle!

...Christmas just gives me another reason to wear Serge Lutens "Five o'clock au gingembre". Also, "Fille en aiguilles".

...Dulcemio:Cryptic:"A lot of the wrong people have confidence."-- read on FacebookOoohhh, that's a good one. Someone I work with is one of the most uninformed people I've met and the most likely to spout uninformed opinions with SO MUCH hubris. I think the Universe put her in my path to teach me self-control and patience. If not for being in the workplace, I would've ripped her a new one a long, long time ago.Cryptic and Dulcemio, I love this from Mark Twain:"Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience."

...PontNeuf, I've never tried a Juliette Has A Gun fragrance so "Vengeance Extreme" might be interesting. Leather and patchouli, hmm...Sleuth and Flavorite, the Italian houses always interest me so I Profumi di Firenze's "Patchouly Rosso" and "Patchouly Noir - Osmo / Patchouli Noir - Osmo" will get a look-see.

...Beard. I'm no Tom Selleck. Really.A vacation that provides stunning natural surroundings with upscale accommodations on a fjord in Norway or a coastal rainforest in the Caribbean?

...Christopher Sheldrake, Jean-Claude Elena and Olivia Giacobetti

...Briarthorn:Cryptic:The magnolias are blooming and boy, do they stink. Unlike you lucky Southern duckies we don't have the Grandifloria variety which has such a great fragrance. Our cultivar smells sort of like a crushed stink bug. :/Eww. That's a shame. There aren't too many Magnolias down here. My Queen Palm is blooming again. I don't get much of a scent from it but it always drives our allergies crazyCryptic, sorry your magnolias are all stanky. You're absolutely right about the scent of Magnolia Grandiflora; it's one of my favorite floral smells. Not only is the scent incredible but the flowers are nearly as big as a dinner plate and the trees are huge, majestic evergreens. Our neighborhood has lots of Magnolias and on hot, still days when they're in bloom it's like Mother Nature has opened the best perfume shop in the world. We've got about another month before they bloom.Briarthorn, it's rained a lot this spring so we caught a break with pollen season. Normally, we have about a 3-7 day period when pollen swirls through the in air in huge dusty clouds. Everything ends up coated in sticky, putrid yellow-green pollen grains.Japanese Honeysuckle has begun to bloom. On cool, damp nights you'd swear Olivia Giacobetti has come out with a new, watery floral fragrance. I just wish the vine wasn't so invasive.

...Old Twin Peaks, although the final season of the series was not so great when David Lynch handed over the show to others. And, speaking of which, I think David Lynch is the one ditching the new Twin Peaks. Unfortunately, if someone tries to mimic Lynch's vision the new series will likely be a pale, goofy imitation.Here's a message to Lynch from the original cast:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/08/twin-peaks-cast-david-lynch_n_7026144.htmlPotato chips or Cheetos?

...Ernest Stavro Blofeld only because he's a fictional character and Karl Lagerfeld is a real life freak-a-zoid who gives me the heebie-jeebies. Lost or Twin Peaks?

...Cryptic:Ahem. Maybe the diabolical logo was made by someone with an irreverent sense of humor as opposed to an actual hater. :twisted:Hmm, 7 billion people on planet earth... I wonder who that person could be? :lol:

...Sleuth:haha ROFL! :) Go ahead and take it Sleuth! Name those frags! :D

...Apicius:Maybe it is worth ordering a small amount of Iso E Super from Perfumer's Apprentice instead, just to find out.I have a sample from Perfumer's Apprentice and it seems pretty clear that Iso E is at the heart of Terre d'Hermes. There are other essences used to boost it but Iso E is the dominant note.Last week I spritzed on Terre d'Hermes from my 2-3 year old bottle and was surprised to find the citrus notes had all but disappeared. :( Then I thought I ought to check my summer favorite Pamplemousse Rose to make sure it was OK. Same thing, no citrus. Iso E? Just fine. Yes, I stored them well but it's just part of the transitory nature of our obsession with volatile substances. Sigh...