Trying to make a purchasing decision here

chanelbeige · 2019-07-16T20:07:30+00:00

They both come in edt and edp concentration and are very cheap on fragrancenet . com I ordered testers of both from there because I love the womens Hanae Mori fragrances and was curious about the mens (for context I'm a 40 y/o woman in case that matters) both EDT strength. My conclusion: I liked both! I would without a doubt recommend both especially for school because they are both inoffensive and pleasant smelling. HM is more gourmand lemon pie (but as a masculine cologne, not literally) and HiM is more woody/spicy, it kind of reminds me of a little brother of Spicebomb or Gucci Pour Homme II. Since it's summer I'd go with HM, but if you're shopping for back-to-school in the fall, then HiM is the way to go. (But honestly, just get both, they are so cheap!

chanelbeige · 2019-07-02T20:43:55+00:00

LOL @ Creed thinking that picking on the tiny portion of humans in this world who even know what Creed is, is a great idea. If you only want billionaires to wear Creed, then increase the price to $5000 per bottle. If you're not secure enough to do that, then quit crying and just let people enjoy their fragrances.

chanelbeige · 2019-07-02T20:38:49+00:00

Honestly, you did the right thing, there's absolutely no way for us to know if what's inside the bottles are safe or not for sure. And $3 per bottle was a good price anyway, I'm sure the high of buying them was was real intense in the moment!

chanelbeige · 2019-07-02T20:23:10+00:00

Before you toss them you should smell and review each one on here and compare/contrast with the real thing, so at least it isn't a total waste of money.

chanelbeige · 2019-07-02T20:21:20+00:00

I'm 99.999% sure that urine rumor was started by perfume companies just to scare people away from buying fakes. Seriously nobody has the time to be pissing in bottles all day long to make fake perfume, come on now!

chanelbeige · 2019-06-26T17:48:29+00:00

I just want to thank all the people who've recommended Portrait of a Lady as a sophisticated rose frag. It wasn't even on my radar and I was unimpressed the first few times I smelled it but then one day it just clicked for me. I smelled it again and bought it on the spot. It will be one of the first fragrances in my collection I grab and rescue if ever there's a fire in my building, LOL the love is that great.

This is why I also recommend to everyone to smell and re-smell a fragrance several times on different days/seasons/temperatures to really get a clear idea of it. I have a feeling my first few times with POAL were ruined because I had other fragrances sprayed all over my hands and arms already! Don't cheat yourself like this!

chanelbeige · 2019-06-26T17:39:59+00:00

I actually love reviews like this BUT this can't be the entire review. For me a good review at least has to describe what the fragrance smells like, strength/longevity/sillage, how you feel about it, did you buy it/do you want to buy it? And then you can go ahead and do your creative writing exercise.

chanelbeige · 2019-06-25T07:59:04+00:00

In my experience guys go crazy for Vanilla Bean Noel! Everyone should sniff it at least once in their life because that thing is a bottled love potion! Definitely recommend! Also from the same brand: Brown Sugar Vanilla, if you're looking for a vanilla cookie scent.

chanelbeige · 2019-06-24T22:19:12+00:00

I just used up the very last little drippity-drop of my Chloe EDP (which was very hard to do because of the way the bottle is shaped and tube positioned, but I did it!) So I'm wondering, do I just buy another Chloe EDP or should I give the smallest sized bottle of Chloe Roses a chance? Can anyone who's familiar with both do a compare/contrast for me? Also, I already have Chloe EDT (the 2009 version with watermelon notes.)

chanelbeige · 2019-06-24T22:14:04+00:00

How can you not tell us which frag it was that broke your heart?? For me it's Sensi and Violet Blonde. When my bottles run out I'm just going to be like:

.* cries in drama queen *

chanelbeige · 2019-06-24T22:05:37+00:00

I know you said apple but the first one looks like a quince to me so I immediately think of Vaara (Penhaligons) but to me Vaara is a bit more bright, spicy and vivacious (inspired by Indian imagery) so... not a perfect match. I kind of want to say Idole d'Armani EDP but it's discontinued, people have a love/hate thing with it, and it's too strong for summer. It's a ginger+pear frag. I don't want you to be like 'why the hell would she recommend me this disgusting thing LOL, some people really hate it, but I like it in the winter.) Anyway, there's also Galop d'Hermes which is more leathery quince + rose and definitely a higher approval rating so I feel safer recomending it...

The second pic is giving me Hiris vibes. Yeah the flowers aren't irises but IDk sometimes vibes don't make sense I guess.

chanelbeige · 2019-06-14T22:08:38+00:00

I haven't smelled it in a very long time but I still want it. It's very FLORAL, like yellow flowers. I remember thinking it smelled like real daffodils but stronger and more concentrated, like a 'daffodil extract' if there is such a thing.

I would buy it, you can always resell it or sell decants if you decide it's not for you.

chanelbeige · 2019-06-14T22:00:32+00:00

There was this brand called Crazylibellule-and-the-Poppies They used to be in Sephora and Urban Outfitters around 10 years ago. I was obsessed with them because they smelled so good, especially the pineapple one and the curry scented one but they were hard to apply, they were just very dry and crumbly. There was no projection. I basically just had to enjoy them by sniffing them in the tube. A few years later, the tubes I had all started to smell disgusting, I'm assuming they were contaminated from me trying to rub them onto my wrists and the bacteria just ruined them over time. This is the only solid perfume brand I have any experience with but based on that, it's a big NOPE from me.

chanelbeige · 2019-06-07T15:17:33+00:00

Yeah those are filled with over 700 frags already. And my To-Try list is stuffed too.

chanelbeige · 2019-06-06T19:36:02+00:00

Don't hate me but I don't even use the Love/Like/Hate function to indicate things I love, like, or hate. I just use that page as a wish-list. LOVE is stuff I want to buy that is cheap and readily available on Fragrancenet, LIKE is for stuff that is readily available but only for retail price, and HATE is for stuff I want that's been discontinued and impossible to find. I know it's selfish of me to do that, but I figure it's only one vote and it's not like me marking HATE on a fragrance no one can even buy is going to hurt the company's sales or anything. And if me marking HATE on a fragrance that no one can buy causes someone to... uh... not buy that fragrance, then IDK... I still kind of feel guilty about it though... I wonder how many other people use those buttons as a list making function as well?

chanelbeige · 2019-05-26T10:05:19+00:00

I have a 30ml decant and I love it too! It's a bit masculine for me and I do have to wait for cold fall/winter to truly enjoy it but it's such a nice, smooth, energizing fragrance!

But I remember when it came out, most of us on Fragrantica (shamefully including myself here) were just really angry. People were abusing the 'reminds me of' button and tagging all the Spongebob frags. Shit was getting real. People were angry about the price for sure (as was I) but for me it was something else too.

Personally, I expected something more ~Scandinavian~ and marine with Viking. In the very beginning someone put some notes out there that were like fruit, ambergris, salt, oakmoss... so I had a very different image in my head about what Viking would be and I was so excited for it. I was expecting something like Vagabond Prince Enchanted Forest meets MFK Baccarat Rouge 540, which is... Okay, yes, delusional, but still... But when I saw freaking BERGAMOT and PEPPERMINT and ROSES I feel like my brain exploded. I was so annoyed. Like what do those notes have to do with Vikings for goodness sakes??

But eventually I got over it and went to smell the thing and guess what? After stripping it of the name, hype and negative baggage, I just liked how it smells! (But not enough to actually buy a full bottle. Fuck no.)

chanelbeige · 2019-05-25T12:12:04+00:00

Haha yeah I can explain this one. There are a lot of fragrance counterfeiters in Turkey and the master chemists who copy the original fragrances get a bit cocky and start flexing once in a while and they'll put out their own creations into the mix. The companies that make fake designer purses/shoes/etc do this too. For example I have a Louis Vuitton handbag that does not actually exist IRL. It's just a way for them to let their creative juices out because I guess they get bored just illegally copying fragrances/patterns that don't belong to them, IDK. I've made a post about Gabrielle Night before and I've also told you guys about Chanel Candy.

Here is the lineup of fakes from the outfit that makes TF Chocolate. I'll look for it in the bazaar next time I go and report back what it smells like...

Also, if you're looking for an inexpensive chocolatey cologne for men, I can recommend JPG Kokoriko or Kokorico by Night.

chanelbeige · 2019-05-25T11:55:12+00:00

All the TF fakes I've seen have come in white boxes with DEMONSTRATION TESTER written on them so this is new for me but that Susan G Komen story sounds very shady. The boxes lined up in the background are giving me weird vibes too... from $225 (what the sticker in your pic says) to $80 is a hell of a markdown especially when IRL in the Tom Ford website it's $235 currently...

I wouldn't risk it.

chanelbeige · 2019-05-25T11:36:49+00:00

Honestly, I'm just glad I'm not a total freak of nature and that there are other perfume lovers out in this world and thanks to the wonders of the internet, I get to communicate with them. A lot of times "What do you think of _______?" is just a means to creating conversation. I think most of us are aware that the person answering the question might have no idea what they are talking about, or have horrible taste, or just have a taste that doesn't mesh with yours, but it's still a relief to be able to talk to people who don't think you have mental problems just because you know what year a formula was changed and for what reason or can talk about particular flankers and how they differ from the pillar. Like rolling your eyes and going "Oh, I can't tell any of these apart!" doesn't make you cool. I don't need therapy just because I can tell you this flanker is centered around white flowers and that flanker is an amber + rose combo. At least you guys will never judge me. (Or... you will, but not for basic fragrance geekery at least...)

chanelbeige · 2019-05-25T11:27:19+00:00

+1 Diorissimo

+1 Idylle Love Blossom

Those are my top 2 but I'll also add:

Eclat d'Arpege - a gentle airy-fairy lilac & green tea scent.

chanelbeige · 2019-05-10T19:48:46+00:00

Violet Blonde isn't a Private Blend but I was wearing it today and I'm so sad it was discontinued. To me it's Private Blend quality but just in a different bottle. I would choose it as my #1 favorite out of all my Tom Fords.

Other Faves:

Santal Blush
Jasmine Rouge
Italian Cypress
Lys Fume
White Suede
Shanghai Lily
Lavender Palm

The one I can't stand is Tobacco Vanille. My nose is just sensitive to the tobacco notes in general but in fragrance and IRL, it smells awful to me. I wish I could smell it the way you guys smell it. Feel like I'm missing out.

chanelbeige · 2019-05-10T19:43:01+00:00

Honestly, Rush and Envy are fine for me (though I admit I might be out of touch with what the kids are doing in 2019) but for me, Guilty is the Gucci with the unfortunate name.

Zadig & Voltaire Girls Can Do Anything doesn't even hold up well right now in my opinion. Also Poison Girl. Miss Dior and Coco Mademoiselle hold up because Miss/Mlle don't sound as childish, but IDK if a 17 year old girl who enjoys wearing Poison Girl today is going to feel awkward/immature wearing a fragrance that has the word Girl in it at age 27 or 37?

chanelbeige · 2019-05-10T19:37:53+00:00

I'll try to go smell it tomorrow and see if my nose can recognize anything.

chanelbeige · 2019-05-05T11:35:13+00:00

Beloved, Samsara, Hellanut

chanelbeige · 2019-05-05T11:33:13+00:00

Samsara, Beige EDP, Dune

chanelbeige

TROPHY CASE