I had said in my 6th Blogiversary post that I’d like to start doing a feature where I revisit perfumes to see if my “eaupinions” have changed. I said I wasn’t afraid to eat crow…and I’m not.
In November, I revisited some spicy scents that I’ve previously reviewed. So on this Thanksgiving let’s see if I’m going to eat any crow…
Costume National Homme review published September 17th, 2011.
Initial Thoughts – I called it “chai and peach pie” and wore the heck out of it in 2011/2012.
Now Thoughts – It is completely possible to burn oneself out when it comes to perfumes. I think I wore this so much that I know can’t even think about it. It starts out as that lovely cardamom, spicy peach pie with a dry cedar. And then it’s buttered rum and woods. Everything about it is just as good as I remember, but I guess I’m tired of it. I think I just burnt myself out with this one.
Conclusion – I still really like how Costume National Smells. It’s warm and comforting. However, I’m just sick of it. I think I burnt myself out with this one. I’m keeping my bottle around, in case I come back around to it. I’ve had this same experience with ambers in the past. I wore them all the time. Couldn’t stand wearing them anymore. Waited three years and started wearing them again. Maybe that will happen to me with this one?
DSH Perfumes Mahjoun EDP review published December 9th, 2009.
Initial Thoughts – Ugh, I hate my reviews from this era. Anyway, I said this was a honey amber that I said “this fragrance really does embody that Silent Film obsession with ‘exotic’, ‘sensual’ and ‘forbidden’ Bedouin culture”.
Now Thoughts – Perhaps I’m just not feeling this right now. The honey is reading more to my nose like maple syrup (my nemesis). It’s that mix of beeswax/honey with sweet, dried fruits and spices. It comes across like maple syrup candies…and Moroccan food. This is really sweet, spicy and foody. It smells like spice markets. It’s like Dior Eau Noire turned up to 11. I don’t do well with scents like this.
Conclusion – After five years, I’d still describe Mahjoun about the same. Like this foody and sweet “Silent Film obsession with Bedouin culture”. It’s an ooey, gooey spicy scent. But, I’m not feeling this one…at all. I can’t shake the maple syrup association and that makes this one unpleasant for me to wear. This is a weird one because I’m really “eat crow” in what I said about it, just my feelings toward it.
Juliette Has a Gun Midnight Oud EDP review published July 27th, 2011.
Initial Thoughts – I really loved this rose/leather/oud.
Now Thoughts – After reviewing, I bought a decant. I used it up and then bought a full-size bottle. Midnight Oud may not have the most innovative theme or note list but for this theme, it’s good. It’s a leather rose with patchouli. Out of the entire line I think Midnight Oud is the best. And for the nouveau rose/oud theme, I think this is one of the best.
Conclusion – I still really like this one after reviewing it over three years ago. I do wear it a lot since I like rose/patchouli. It’s also one of my “going out” sort of fragrances. Midnight Oud may be good but the line has irked me. I still can’t forgive them for stuff like Not A Perfume.
Lolita Lempicka Si Lolita EDP review published April 25th, 2011.
Initial Thoughts – I said it was a sweet and spicy fragrance. It was mainly pink pepper, gingerbread and heliotrope on me: sweet and spicy.
Now Thoughts – I ended up buying a small bottle of this after reviewing it. It’s all pink pepper and citrus with some cedar. After a few wears, it hit me that this is basically a take on Old Spice. Except this one has some florals. I don’t know if I like it more or less now that I associate it with a traditionally masculine fragrance… Even though I own a bottle, I rarely wear it.
Conclusion – Si Lolita is surprisingly butchy. And I’ve decided that I like it more because of that. I should wear it more.
L’Artisan Parfumeur Fou d’Absinthe EDP on September 15th, 2010
Initial Thoughts – I actually really liked this one once I let go of the “absinthe” and realized it was a really great evergreen fragrance. It reminded me of pine forests in Georgia/Northern Florida.
Now Thoughts – Going into it this go around, I can completely let go of the “absinthe” name and copy from the perfume house. Maybe it’s the time of year of sampling, but Fou d’Absinthe is so Christmas-y in the best way possible. It’s cool evergreens and warm spices. There’s a fruitiness occuring from pepper and blackcurrant. The blackcurrant makes me think even more of winter as it’s a “cure all” beverage for this time of year. It dries down to warm woods.
Conclusion – I feel this one of those misunderstood/overlooked perfumes from L’Artisan. It’s one of my favorite forest or “Christmas tree” scents. I remember that now.
In November, I did eat some crow. (I tend to do that every month). I do think that all of these are good perfumes, but my frequency of wear of these has changed. Some I like more, some I like less and others, well, I need to pull them out and wear them more!
If you’ve tried any of these, what do you think of them? Also, have you ever experienced “fragrance burnout” with a particular fragrance or note? I definitely have with amber in the past and apparently with Costume National Homme now.
AND FINALLY – I hope all my US readers are having a happy Thanksgiving! I’m thankful for another year of connecting with you guys and all of your readership 🙂
*Crow from pngimg.com. Costume National image from Basenotes, DSH Perfumes from DSH Perfumes, Juliette Has a Gun Midnight Oud from Luckyscent, Lolita Lempicka Si Lolita from Fragrantica and L’Artisan Parfumeur Fou d’Absinthe from L’Artisan.
I love these posts – it’s so great to that everyone’s tastes change and there really is no right or wrong or best or worst opinion. 🙂
To see* that
We must be on the same wavelength today because I didn’t even catch that!
This is one of the reasons why I love talking about perfume. There is not best/worst or right/wrong! I love to read about other people’s experiences or thoughts on a perfume. We all have different backgrounds and experiences and we bring that “to the table” every single time we discuss perfume.
Another thing with these posts, I know we all get a little crazy somewhere in the hobby and buy a lot that we don’t end up wearing. This is a good way for me to determine if I should hold onto something or not 🙂
That’s a good measure. I’m really new at this hobby, so I don’t actually own very much perfume right now (just gobs of samples and 3 bottles – 2 I bought a long time ago and one I won but sadly I don’t really like it). BUT! I’m sure that in the future I’ll be in that same predicament and I will definitely employ this tactic!
Oh yeah – I forgot to mention I wore Fou d’Absinthe today because of this post! It really is kind of evergreen. I didn’t get as much of the fruitiness off my skin, so it veers a bit masculine for my tastes, but I definitely appreciated it more than I did on my first go round with it!
Honestly, it’s a bit out of my comfort zone to wear. I’d say the woods are “masculine”. However, I love smelling this one on others. It’s one that I end up recommending to guys looking for something different yet still “traditionally masculine”. It’s also one that smells so good on fabrics like coat collars 🙂
Early in, I wish I bought more samples and less full-size bottles! I really need to go through my collection. It needs to be more mobile 🙂
hey, thank YOU!
(i probably shouldn’t say the notes i am sick of. *laugh*)
i love we have similar yet different enough taste to be engaging and educational.
much light to you, frink, & the hubby!
Thank you so much for reading and commenting 🙂 It really makes me feel not so crazy writing about scents and throwing it out there into cyberspace!
I love hearing all the different responses to scent.
I just spritzed myself with Fou d’Absinthe after reading your post. I had overly enthusiastically bought a bottle and had passed it onto my husband who likes woody scents in the really, really rare times that he wears scent. (I wish I had been a bit more restrained early on in my perfume collecting, too.) I do get more of the anise scent than the evergreen, at least so far. Still not me, but it’s a good reminder to buy multiple samples before committing to a full bottle.
I wish someone gave me that reminder early on. If you can’t use up an entire sample of it, it’s probably not something worth buying a FB of…oh, well. Live and learn, right?
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