Love in Paris

A couple months ago in a fit of … something … I ordered a bunch of samples. Not that I needed any more.  Believe me. I think there was a sale? Free shipping?  I’d read or heard something about every sample in the package that prompted me to want to [...]

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Happy Fourth of July!

Happy fourth, Posse readers! I’m planning to celebrate with the grand American tradition of a cookout, followed by blowing stuff up. (What scent goes with gunpowder?) The rest of you — enjoy today any way you want and we’ll see you Monday!
photo: digi-hound.com
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DKNY Women

 
Unfinished business: I did five minutes of research on Tasha Tudor after yesterday’s post and came up with the family website, which is worth a look if the topic has piqued your interest at all. It’s got photos and text and illustrations and depending on your perspective is either charming or creepy — [...]

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In the Woods

I’m not dead – just off to Maine. Which some of you would say is the same thing … well, I’m back now, anyway. In my haste to pack the Ship of Fools and prepare for a trip during which I wouldn’t be online — including getting all those lovely folks to cover [...]

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St. John

 

Today’s theme is: What I Was Not Expecting.

Some of you must be familiar with the St. John clothing line, of the expensive knit suits and other pricey wear. The Big Cheese’s mother liked St. John, and I wound up with a couple of lovely things. …

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Perfume Porn

WARNING: CONTAINS EXPLICIT FRAGRANCE ADDICTION AND HARDCORE SCENT ACTION.
(This post is dedicated to Carmencanada, Louise and Patty, my partners in crime! Special thanks to Carmen for putting up with me on this — now you see what Patty has to deal with…)

As some of you have figured …

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Tan Giudicelli Annam

Every now and again it’s my sacred duty to blog on something that is almost impossible to find – a counterbalance, if you will, to what’s new at Sephora and my posts on Dior Addict. And thus I begin this story at the beginning – when, poking around on …

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More Addict

 

First off: there was confusion and word incorrectly got out that the Chi-cocoa Scentsation event in September is “by invitation only” and people are asking how you get invited. ANYONE CAN COME to the event. Just please RSVP to chicocoascentsation (at) gmail (dot) com …

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Random Sunday: Anger

The Trader Joe’s near me has tyke-sized metal grocery carts for toddlers to push, painted in the same signature red as the regular ones. They’re really cute. The last time I was at the store they were down to one cart. According to the manager, parents are …

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The Pink Room

 
 

Unfinished business: The winner of the tester of Cabaret Gres, picked by Enigma’s nimble fingers, is … Eileen! And don’t bother hitting Contact Us, because Patty gets those emails and she’s on her trip. I’ll email you. Congrats! Okay, on to today’s post.
I’d heard …

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For Romantic Evenings

 
Okay, I’m walking, sort of. I saw the doctor on Thursday. I tore my fascia and maybe broke the tip of my cute little heel spur doing the 30-foot dash barefoot on concrete last week. Foot is taped, no bare feet, rest, anti-inflammatories blah blah blah … …

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Random Sunday: The Porch

Today we’re cleaning off the porch. It seemed like the right time – June the first, and the first real day I’ve felt like it was warm enough to want to go sit out there and read.
Any of you all have a porch in a seasonal climate? Then …

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Go Big or Go Home

Pia sent me a bottle of fragrance with a full disclosure at her local Post Office (they know she’s swapping perfume), resulting in a “ground only transportation” label or some such, which to be honest I didn’t even know existed. I just knew I wasn’t supposed to …

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Chicago Update: Hotels

Okay, a quick update on the Chi-Cocoa Scentsation – while you are making your plans, we want you to know on Saturday evening there will be cocktails and that’s probably when Liz and Neil will be presenting their stuff so be sure to work that into your travel schedule. …

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Annayake: A Revisit

So, we announced the Chi-Cocoa Scentsation coming in September, and put it out there with some details, and then … a bunch of you surprised us by announcing you’re planning on coming! Musette is working her butt off on this, on a totally volunteer basis, trying to get …

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The Guide: Sniffage

First off – thanks to everyone who voted for Perfume Posse on the 8th Annual Basenotes Awards – we took the silver medal (and congrats to Now Smell This for gold and Bois de Jasmin for bronze.) We work really hard on this blog, as you can tell, sort …

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Shopping my Shelves

First, it’s official: the ChiCocoa Scentsation will be Saturday, SEPTEMBER 13 — that’s the date most people can come. Mark your calendars! Okay, on to today’s post –
For someone who does a lot of yapping about my alleged restraint in buying bottles (as opposed to hoarding samples) I’ve …

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Eye Candy

 
Okay, your assignment for next Monday – hey, why should I do all the work?!? No, seriously, I like to read your responses. So – the assignment, suggested by Maria last week (and with a nod to Now Smell This, who just did something similar on Friday): …

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Chi-Cocoa Scentsation

 
 
Join us in Chicago this fall for an incredible, decadent day of fragrance and the Universe’s favorite food: CHOCOLATE!
Patty and March from Perfume Posse will be with us as we spritz, sniff and sample our way through some of Chicago’s finest fragrance departments and boutiques, with many stops to sample …

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Monsoon Season

 

I dropped the Big Cheese off at the airport yesterday for his trip to Thailand, China — and Burma. The devastation from Sunday’s cyclone (15,000 dead was the last count I read) changes his plans, but he’s not sure how yet. He has friends in Yangon, and the …

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More Things to Dust

 

I think I have remarkably few bottles for a fragrance obsessive. I’m not going to name a number because (like sexual partners) no matter what I say, some of you would be horrified at the sheer wanton profligacy of my spending, while others of you would think, is …

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My Serge Drawer: Friday Guest Post

(hi, folks — here’s a guest post by Nava, a regular reader and contributor at Perfume Critic and Makeupalley, and a commenter at the Posse as well as other scented and unscented blogs. She lives in New York with her husband and cat, and loves to be a …

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Jo Malone Wins Me Over

Anyone keeping an eye out for alarming signs indicating the coming of the End Times need look no further than my recent infatuation with some Jo Malone scents. I gave up on Jo Malone quite awhile ago, not too far into my fragrance addiction – somewhere after French Nectarine, …

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The Guide: Discussion

 
As promised, today’s a revisit of Perfumes: The Guide by Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez, now that more of you have had a chance to read it. For my earlier review of the book, click here. I propose a free-for-all discussion of any aspects of the book that …

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Annick Goutal for Monsieur and Me

Musette is hard at work on the Chicago Thingy – a get-together with perfume and chocolate in Chicago on a Saturday in September/October. Have you been to Chicago? Chicago has: great food; interesting architecture; excellent theater; amazing shopping. And did I mention chocolate? And perfume? …

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Perfume Vagabond

First off, a shout-out to Patty, who will be on NPR at 11:40 EST this morning, as part of a Perfumes: The Guide interview with LT and TS, I guess they’re going for the blogger perspective. Go, Patty! Second, a reminder, this coming Friday we are featuring …

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Top Ten Spring Fragrances

It’s that time of year again — our Top Ten Spring fragrances, even if it hasn’t felt quite as much like spring at this point as we’d hoped. Patty and March each offer up five’ish scents perfect for thinking about spring:

March

Spring is probably my least favorite fragrance season, which strikes …

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Sniffapalooza

It’s me, March, posting on Lee’s day. I know — it feels weird to me, too. But since Lee’s abandoned us taking a break from blogging, we’re rearranging the schedule slightly – I’m back to Mon/Weds., Patty’s Tues/Thurs, and Friday will be a mixed assortment of pleasures while …

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Idole

I wrote this post before I left for the NYC Sniffapalooza, given the rigors of the schedule and my travel.  I’ll report in later, if Patty doesn’t cover it tomorrow. Instead I thought I’d cover one of my fragrant surprises.
Two weeks ago I grabbed one of my gazillions of …

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Perfumes: The Guide

I’ve spent much of the past couple of weeks tucked into Perfumes: The Guide, to the dismay of the Big Cheese and my children, who kept interrupting me for trivialities like requests for food, or the location of some clean clothing. I was ostensibly issued an early copy for …

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Five O’Clock Snooze

Sniffa attendees: Patty and I and Divalino have triple-dog-dared each other into some shenanigans. Look for me in a tasteful rhinestone tiara at the Sniffa Bergdorf breakfast on Saturday; I believe Patty will be wearing her KU cap (and won’t we be a sight?) At the BlueMercury cocktail …

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A Package from Maria

Item One: Sniffa attendees — you should all have gotten your email itineraries. I didn’t realize it was such a full schedule. What say we try to hook up during the two-hour cocktail deal Saturday night (6:30 - 8:30) at BlueMercury, assuming we haven’t met already? Everyone …

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Le Dunce

 
It’s peak allergy season, and I’ve responded by wearing tried and true fragrances for a few days, because bad allergies put me at the razor edge of migraine. I’ve got tons of samples calling out to me (thanks Kelly and Maria!), but we’re going to be a little …

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Tea, Woods, Love

Random visits, revisits and surprises.
Kenzo Amour Indian Holi - Rice Steam, Cherry Blossom, Incense, Rose, Red Berries, Frangipani Blossom, Peony, White Musk, Sandalwood, Vanilla Infusion. Those of you who think Kenzo Amour is total dullsville and find my love for it baffling can skip down to the next review. …

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Tommi Sooni Tarantella

When I read on Now Smell This about Australian niche house Tommi Sooni’s fragrance debut – a chypre called Tarantella, targeted at women age 25+ and inspired by a walled garden in Avignon full of native plants from Sicily – I was thrilled. It sounded like a …

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More Comfort Scents

Today’s post evolved from my most recent fragrance acquisition, a swap on MUA that (small world) turned out to be with a Gail, a blog regular. Gail shares my fondness for comfort scents and included several interesting things in her package, which got me headed in a new direction. …

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Strange Invisible Perfumes

 

On its website Strange Invisible Perfumes describes itself as purveying “botanical fragrances and artisanal products” developed by Alexandra Balahoutis. The site doesn’t go on and on about SIP’s mission, at least that I could see, a fact that pleases me. So far as I’m concerned, their mission …

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More Thoughts on Scent

Warning: today is a really long post. Get your coffee first. This post was supposed to be an experiment, a rapid-fire sequence of impressions of a much-admired line I hadn’t tried yet, and will now remain nameless, a small perfumer. The scents are not me, and we’ll …

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Cowgirl Candy

Posse readers – I bring you glad tidings! I, your devoted perfume cowgirl, am quoted in the current Time magazine in an article about perfume! Me! in Time! Not that I’m tooting my own horn or anything! (Now Smell This, Sniffapalooza and Vetivresse are …

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March’s Two Scents

Two scents today.
First, Lee blogged on Serge Lutens’ new ginger scent, Five O’Clock au Gingembre, yesterday. It occurred to me that this would be a fine time to plug Roger & Gallet’s Gingembre.
I love ginger – ginger tea, gingersnaps, ginger beer. Is R&G Gingembre a replacement for Serge, …

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Snowdrops, Gardenia

Saturday morning was the best kind of morning – rainy. The general routine is, the twins wake me up, I stagger downstairs and pour them two bowls of cereal, let the dog out, get the coffee going, and go back to bed. The sound of them puttering …

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Leap Year Candy

Vetiver and I have a difficult relationship. I blame this on a tragic first meeting with Hermessence Vetiver Tonka, one of … how do I put this delicately? One of the most heinous fragrances on the planet. Vetiver Tonka is the fragrance equivalent of avocado ice cream …

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Euphoria

Look, let’s talk. You know I love a niche perfume as much more than the next person – maybe a scent you can only get from a little shop on the outskirts of Ulan Bator with no phone or website. I’m a perfume snob, in that perfume represents …

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February Posse Scent Club - Part I

Hey, perfume fans – greetings from March. We’re experiencing localized weirdness in that as of Wednesday night neither Lee nor I can log onto the site. So. In a demonstration of my tireless devotion as your perfumed love slave, I’m emailing this to Patty, she’s going to post it from …

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I Fell Into The Candy

Having mostly recovered, I fell into the candy samples bowl, where I was amused to discover a number of things I’ve been wanting to try.
Honestly, where do these things come from? Do people just stop by my house now and leave atomizers on my desk, and then three …

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My Funny Valentine

Today’s Valentine’s Day. This was supposed to be an exploration of some of the Neil Morris scents, which I find very romantic, or a post reporting on trying various foods while wearing what I’d imagine to be complementary fragrances, an idea I find romantic which was put into my …

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Aftelier Perfumes

The first time I smelled the Aftelier scents in Henri Bendel a few months ago, I practically fell down on my knees in thanks that I hadn’t succumbed to the poetry in Marina’s review of Tango and bought one of those cute mini-sets. My initial reaction to the …

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Eau d’Hermes

One of the fun things about going into the Hermes boutique on Madison Avenue in New York was checking out all the variations of their fragrances, some of which I didn’t even know existed. I can’t find my notes, and my memory can’t be relied on, but this …

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Penance

I’ve hurt the feelings of a couple of regulars on the blog recently. It was accidental, and one I couldn’t anticipate; the other … well, for someone (generally) sensible and sensitive, I have weird social blind spots. You guys know who you are, and again – I’m sorry.
So …

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Gardenia, Orchid

Nobody’s gotten the smell of gardenia quite right, in my opinion. Sniffing them yesterday on the bushes in the National Gallery of Art rotunda, I had a chance to ponder. Gardenia is a little … fetid. There’s definitely that bleu cheese note of JAR’s Jardenia, but you’d …

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