Lol. I'm only messing. There's no murder, murderers or murdering in this post. There is, however, perfume.
A particularly common Christmas gift is some sort of fragrance. Many of us will have experienced this first- hand very recently. The attitudes towards gifting perfume are summed up by the following exchange in Father Ted.
Dougal: Perfume is the ideal woman present, isn't it?
Ted: Yes, well that's why God invented perfume, so you don't have to put any thought into it whatsoever.
Now, of course most people actually gift perfume with the best of intentions. However, as I have discussed before, it is a tricky gift to give. Perfume is quite personal and terribly subjective. Most people don't stray much from their favourites. In fact, for the first five or six years that I used perfume, I stuck rigidly to one at a time. So much so that Armani Code is sixteen year old me to my friends and Daisy by Marc Jacobs is first year of college. If I wear either now, it freaks Daniel out a little.
Since then, I've come around to having between three and four perfumes on the go at any one time. Still, I would only trust my mother to pick a new scent for me - no one else in the world.
My rule of thumb is; unless they already wear it/said they wanted it, don't buy it.
My mother was my educator in all such things. She always has the most beautiful perfumes and calls the new 'it' scents. My early perfumes were hand-me-downs or inherited and taken on as my own. As a family, we have run through quite a few scents, as a result of Mammy's passion and knowledge. I decided to gather all that was in the house; unfinished, out-grown, forgotten, old, new, gifted and chosen.
It turns out we have a shit-ton. It's a bit mental, really. So, I've decided to rummage through it all and do some reviews.
Here goes.
Men's Scents.
Chanel No. 5
This cologne has such a powdery scent that it makes me think of talcum powder. It's rather gentle and a little sweet. Not really my cup of tea.
3.5/5
Gucci Guilty
A traditional aftershave scent it has a minty undertone. It's very pleasant and I love that the packaging looks like a hip flask.
4/5
Calvin Klein Man
A traditionally masculine scent it has notes of liqourice. There is nothing particularly unpleasant about this cologne but it, again, does not suit my tastes.
3.5/5
Intimately Beckham
A fresh and light scent, it is warm and smells like a nice bath.
4/5
Celebrity Scents.
Halle by Halle Berry
A sweet and citrussy scent which is light and fresh with powdery notes this was a real surprise and show-stopper. I have never owned any celebrity perfumes of my own but my sister receives them on a regular basis from friends. I'm so impressed by the quality and lovely coppery packaging. My mother uses another two scents by Halle Berry and both are also pretty - clearly the celebrity to smell like.
4.5/5
Christina Aguilera Inspire
A light, powdery daytime scent, it is very traditional and harmless. Not much to say for or against this one.
3.5/5
Kate Moss Velvet Hour
Light but kind of musky and very subtle - again I was pleasantly surprised.
4/5
Curious by Britney Spears
Floral and sweet it is unremarkable and unoffensive.
3/5
Earliest Scents.
Anna Sui Sui Love
This is one of the first perfumes I ever used and was more grown-up than I remember. It is sweet with a hint of musk and is diverse - it could easily be worn during day or night.
4/5
Anna Sui Secret Wish
It is very sweet and floral with something dark underneath it all. I can't believe I forgot how delicious this is. It's going back into regular use.
4.5/5
Touch of Pink by Lacoste
Powdery, light and sweet this perfume was a favourite for a long time. I couldn't believe how much of this perfume we actually had left - 4 bottles which were almost full.
4/5
Dunhill Desire
Dark and musky but still not particularly strong - it didn't leave much of an impression.
3.5/5
Very Irresistible by Givenchy
A very traditional scent which is, for me, slightly pongy and doesn't smell expensive. Not a fan.
3/5
So...wild?
This scent really surprised me. It's a drugstore/pharmacy brand unlike all the others which are high end and yet it was surprisingly nice and quite subtle. It's also lasted very well as I must have been in my early teens when a girl in my class gave it to me. However, this sweet scent is somewhat unremarkable and doesn't last on the skin well despite being strong at first.
3/5
Touch of Sun by Lacoste
Very fruity, uncomplicated and pleasing.
4/5
Discovered Unused Perfumes.
Polly Mixture by Ted Baker
I think Anna got this as a gift at some point and I want to steal it! Sweet and very floral, it's just lovely.
4.5/5
Beautiful by Estee Lauder
No idea where this came from but, frankly, it can go back there. It's pongy, old-fashioned and unremarkable.
2.5/5
Andy Warhol
Again, the origins of this is a mystery but it has always intrigued me. I guess some part of me knew it'd be horrible and, so, I'd never tried it before today. What a disappointment! And it's packaged so awesomely. Pongy, unremarkable and cheap-smelling.
2.5/5
The packaging is cool though.
Clinique Happy Heart
Along with a gift set of Touch of Pink I found one of Happy Heart. Powdery and sweet, it is very pleasant indeed.
4/5
Samples.
Roses de Chloe
Must. Have. This is one of three samples I found among all our perfumes and I LOVE IT. Flowery and sweet it is rather traditional but ever so lovely.
4.5/5
Down Town by Calvin Klein
Citrussy and powdery and just enough of everything.
4/5
Versace cologne
I guess it's just called Versace? No other name on the bottle. It's so cute, non? Musky and traditional but just right.
4/5
My Currents and All-Time Favourites.
Armani Code, Lacoste and Daisy have remained constant favourites over the years which I return to again and again. New loves are Amore Mio Forever and L'Occitane's Cherry Blossom. I'll get around to doing a full review of both at some point.
So, there you have it, analysis of a crapload of perfumes! Hopefully, this will help inform you in buying perfume as a gift or give you ideas for a new scent to try.
And, as a bonus, I have a giveaway for y'all, my dear lovely readers - A Closer by Halle Berry set with perfume, body lotion and shower gel. All you have to do is be a follower of the blog, like me on
facebook and comment below. Competition will close at midnight on Sunday the 12th of January. It's that simple. Good luck! x
