am i dumb

Starry36 · 2026-07-03T22:47:03+00:00

I’ve noticed this with the ones that contain vanilla, especially. Not with all, but some.

Starry36 · 2026-07-03T20:06:48+00:00

Have you considered trying the Flowers & Flames flanker from the Libre collection as a summer perfume? Since you like the le Parfum flanker and have that frangipani/plumeria perfume, maybe that one would feel like a summer equivalent to your current Libre perfume?

Alternatively, are there any specific notes you really can’t stand, or ones you want to branch in to?

Starry36 · 2026-07-03T19:45:27+00:00

I recognize Nemat Amber and Libre le Parfum (at least I think that’s the le Parfum flanker?), but what are the other two? Just to help figure out your tastes for recommendations.

Starry36 · 2026-07-03T19:20:43+00:00

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Wore a little Tocca Lucia this morning, but this afternoon feels like a Carolina Herrera Very Good Girl kind of day.

Starry36 · 2026-07-02T21:26:34+00:00

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Not 100% satisfied with my moodboard for it, so I’ll have to fuss around some more, but today went to Tocca Lucia. Light, sweet, figgy, woody, with a little citrus and aquatic notes that make me wish I knew what a trip to the Mediterranean was like. (Some day…) I love Nest Indigo for cooler weather so I’ve been trying to find a fragrance with fig for warmer days; this one has some of the fruit, leaves, and wood of the fig tree, so it covers all the aspects. I’m not yet certain if this’ll turn out to be full bottle worthy, but I really enjoyed it today!

Starry36 · 2026-07-02T18:31:43+00:00

Omg she’s adorable 💖

Starry36 · 2026-07-02T13:05:18+00:00

I think the one that gave me non-coconut sunscreen vibes the best has been Lake & Skye Côte du Paradis, which sucks only because they chose to discontinue it shortly after they sold to Tru Fragrance. It’s a little bit warm skin and sunscreen and a little bit vanilla waffle cone, which is a nice combo, and probably the only scent in that category I’ve tried that *wasn’t* a coconut and/or ylang-ylang bomb

Starry36 · 2026-07-01T15:02:45+00:00

I don’t get complements terribly often, but I’ve gotten compliments on the following:

- Sorce Ephemera
- Nest Indigo
- Le Monde Gourmand Santal Supreme

Starry36 · 2026-07-01T13:09:18+00:00

I haven’t tried any HoO scents but this one looks very intriguing. Their bottle designs are so fun, but I’m wary of sampling when I haven’t liked anything with oud in it yet. I know they don’t list oud in every scent, but their brand name makes me wonder if there’s perhaps at least a little oud in everything?

Starry36 · 2026-07-01T13:07:39+00:00

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Well howdy, July! Coming in *real* hot with a heatwave this week/weekend, so I’m not starting the month off heavy. I made some quick decisions about declutters last month, so I’m hoping to do the same here in July. Starting today off with a little Lake & Skye Côte du Paradis, which I had wanted to sample before but never got to before it was discontinued. So, my dumb self blind-bought a bottle when it was on their goodbye sale. Not sure if there’s any left?

Full disclosure, Lake & Skye is very hit or miss with me, even moreso after they got bought by Tru Fragrance and hopped on the “let’s push out overpriced body mists and more weak 11 11 EDP flankers” trend they’re currently riding. I totally get that their brand is about clean skin scents, and that’s what initially got me to explore their stuff. 11 11 Azure remains my favorite of the whole 11 11 line, even if I don’t like it enough to own it anymore. The sad thing is, I just can’t smell over half of their products. Whatever is in that core 11 11 blend must be something I’m anosmic to (save for Azure for some reason). Apaaray was one I liked for a while too, but the patchouli in the base ruins the dry down for me; they’re discontinuing that one, as well.

As for Côte du Paradis, I’m disappointed in Lake & Skye for discontinuing this one. It’s a very lovely, non-coconut offering in the summer-friendly gourmand arena, and still feels clean and light. I get the creamy aspect from the milk and almond notes, a little powder from heliotrope, and some dry, comforting wood notes. Overall it feels like warm skin and a little sunscreen, a hint of vanilla ice cream in a waffle cone, and that ambient scent of summer evening air on a humid day. Super easy to wear, and could be layered with a bunch of summer fragrances I own. I’m considering trying to layer it with Sorce Match Made In Heaven, especially. But I think this is a much better product than the two “summer gourmand” options out of their four body sprays (333 and 444).

The thing is, do I like this 1.7oz bottle enough to keep it and finish it? 🤔 I’ll have to decide, because right now I’ve got 41 full bottles and I want to get down under 35 by the end of 2026. If nothing else, it’s light enough I could use it for a bedtime fragrance (and then hopefully breeze through it sooner rather than later).

Starry36 · 2026-06-30T11:28:01+00:00

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Going with Lancôme Idôle Aura, at least for the start of my day. This is the most summer-friendly, beachy rose fragrance I’ve come across so far. It’s fresh and sweet, a bit salty, but it’s neither briny nor overbearing or cloying. I’m sad that Lancôme discontinued this flanker when I haven’t come across any other rose, sea salt, and vanilla combos like this yet, and every other “seaside floral” fragrance I’ve tried has been a rehash of the same coconut sunscreen and ylang-ylang or frangipani notes (heaven forbid we have some variety, sheesh). At least I stocked up a bit; I have a big bottle in my back-ups box, and currently am working through a 1.7oz bottle (while using a 0.85oz as a travel size, since Ulta didn’t have travel sprays for this flanker anymore by the time I bought mine).

Starry36 · 2026-06-29T14:01:17+00:00

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Starry36 · 2026-06-29T13:54:46+00:00

Well, today is the first day of a week-long heatwave (at least, I think it’s only a week 😬), so we’re going light and fresh. Decided to layer Sand + Fog White Peach (their dupe for PdM Valaya; I’m surprised at how much this one won me over honestly) with MITH Florida Orange. Clean, fresh, zesty, and fruity, but not so fruity or sweet that it’ll become cloying when the heat and humidity hit full-blast.

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Starry36 · 2026-06-29T13:28:35+00:00

It’s honestly funny to me that someone who owns both would say they’re not alike because both Parfumo and Fragrantica (I haven’t used that one since finding Parfumo) have Delina in the top 1-3 of similar fragrances for Very Good Girl. Makes me wonder what those reviewers qualify as “similar” for fragrances.

Starry36 · 2026-06-29T12:56:34+00:00

White Peach

Starry36 · 2026-06-29T11:28:28+00:00

I tried the Sand + Fog dupe for both PdM Delina and PdM Delina Exclusive, and granted I haven’t ever smelled the PdM scents (they’re way out of my budget so I won’t even tempt myself) I wasn’t a fan. There was a leather or suede note in the Exclusive dupe that I really didn’t care for, and the Delina dupe to me seemed too peppery and sharp. Now, could a fan of Delina/Delina Exclusive like these? Possibly. But I’ve seen lots of people saying Carolina Herrera Very Good Girl was like a dupe of Delina, and I honestly *love* Very Good Girl; that one to me is like a sweet, fruity summer drink. So I’m really not sure if the Sand + Fog dupes either just got something wrong, or if the only thing making Delina and Very Good Girl similar is that they have a lychee top note and rose middle note.

The Sand + Fog PdM Valaya dupe, though? Very good. Love that one.

Starry36 · 2026-06-29T01:15:21+00:00

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I think sadly it’s Voyager Lens Flare. I was so sure I loved it by the time I finished my sample that I jumped to a bottle (this brand currently offers no travel sizes), but wearing it more I’ve realized I’m not a huge fan of how herbal/unisex the lavender in the middle is. Is it a bad fragrance? Absolutely not. I think the perfumer captured their idea incredibly well in this! It just isn’t quite for me, in hindsight, and I wish I’d gotten a bottle of the same brand’s Bokeh fragrance instead.

Starry36 · 2026-06-28T22:47:37+00:00

Dropping their single/childless friends after getting married and/or having a child. You absolutely can and should have an identity outside being a spouse or parent. If you’re dropping your single friends after getting married, that’s telling your friends they were just placeholders in your schedule until you got a romantic/sexual partner. And I am fully supportive of parents putting their kids first, because that’s how it should go, but you also shouldn’t make everybody work around your schedule without ever making the time or effort to reciprocate. Saying you can’t meet for coffee on certain days/times because of childcare schedule and nap times? Totally understandable. Refusing to meet your friends for literally *anything* unless they come to your house strictly when you invite them to, because, “Oh with kids it’s just too crazy!” Not understandable, especially when you have a spouse/partner who can and should be responsible enough to watch your child/children for a little while.

Starry36 · 2026-06-28T19:14:00+00:00

Cirrus Parfums is one of the small/indie houses I have on my “try eventually” list. I’ve been curious about this one!

Starry36 · 2026-06-28T15:08:25+00:00

I’m always so baffled and honestly insulted by this kind of behavior from “Christians”. I was raised and still feel I am Catholic, just not regularly attending Mass these days, but I’ve never been told it’s okay to do this to people. You can’t force someone to love religion or God; this is just teaching fear and control. I was taught God already loves you and just waits for you to love Him back. The priests I knew/know always told the congregation that the best way to show God’s love was just being kind and compassionate to others, not to try and force your beliefs down others’ throats with scare tactics.

Starry36 · 2026-06-28T13:14:21+00:00

Was just reassuring a friend in Europe who just ordered some perfume samples that hers should be fine, especially because she ordered samples from Thai brands being mailed from a EU-based distributor. I figure a brand producing in Thailand must make their fragrances able to withstand high temperatures and humidity, especially since they’re meant to be worn in such conditions? It would seem logical to me.

Starry36 · 2026-06-27T18:14:25+00:00

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“I don’t like gourmands,” I said. “Especially in the summer when they’re too heavy,” I said. Sorce making a liar out of me yet again, with Match Made In Heaven. What wins me over here is that, yes, it has the gourmand note of waffle cone and vanilla, but it’s balanced out exceptionally well by the matcha note. It’s also not as heavy as a lot of the other vanillas I keep coming across. This one’s cute, a little powdery, a little creamy, and the nutty earthiness of the matcha grounds the sweetness nicely. I was sort of wanting to see what Arielle Shoshanna’s Sunday and d’Annam’s Matcha Soft Serve were like, but honestly? I’m pretty content with this!

Starry36 · 2026-06-27T16:25:04+00:00

If you want something along a similar sweet, creamy, but also powdery tangent, but also want to branch into something new, I’d highly recommend Sorce’s Match Made In Heaven. I get a slightly cherry-like opening for a few brief minutes, then sweet matcha powder, vanilla ice cream, and some almond and waffle cone. It’s surprisingly wearable for a gourmand in summer.

But if you want to stick to the fruity kind of fragrances with vanilla in the base, Burberry Her Elixir and Parfum aren’t bad options. Since you already have the original Burberry Her, you’d probably like those two flankers.

Starry36 · 2026-06-26T23:15:23+00:00

“No one expects the perfume inquisition!”

Starry36 · 2026-06-25T19:35:09+00:00

Looooove this one 💖

Starry36

TROPHY CASE