u/Appropriate-Group738

I moved into a new apartment on Wednesday, July 1st, so I had my Vela order routed towards there and was due to arrive on July 1st. It ended up coming early on Tuesday, so I called the apartment complex and let them know that a package was delivered to my front door. One of the employees kindly walked to my apartment door on the second floor and confirmed that my package was there but because of maintenance work and general privacy policy, he couldn’t move the package into the apartment. He said the complex is pretty enclosed and doesn’t have issues with package thieves so I don’t need to worry. When I got there on Wednesday, my package was nowhere to be found. I called the leasing office to make sure it wasn’t taken there and they confirmed that it wasn’t. I tried to file a claim with UPS but because it was marked as delivered with “proof” it’s not eligible. I’m pretty sure I can see the package in the pic but it’s so unclear and ridiculous. So I immediately contacted Vela customer service to see if they can send a replacement and have heard nothing back.

Alhamdulillah the contents were not from my other order of the Vela Tropics collection, which contained some sold out items and can’t be replaced. The delayed shipping was actually a blessing in disguise because I could be present for that one, but the stolen package had like $250 worth of jerseys because modals overstimulate me a lot in the hotter climate that I moved to. Thankfully all of those items are still in stock and will hopefully remain in stock until Vela sees my email. The crazy thing is I am not in an area with a lot of Muslims and I genuinely don’t know what they plan on doing with the package. I checked local Facebook marketplace and Poshmark to see if someone tried selling them but no avail. Just a crappy situation all around :( but alhamdulillah, things could always be worse.

I used to absolutely love her content, especially when I found out she was Lebanese years back. But when myself and so many other people in her comments started asking her for MONTHS to talk about the situation in Libnan she literally just ignored us and reported our comments. Now, she’s there right now capitalizing on our country while not saying a single thing to advocate for it. People are even telling her that specifying “Northern Lebanon” without mentioning the death and devastation in the South is incredibly disrespectful and tone deaf. She even liked some divisive bs comment which I think is now deleted about how Muslims aren’t “indigenous” to the area like Christians are or some bs. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to see someone promoting the beauty of the architecture, churches, food, nature, etc., but not when it comes from someone who’s been completely silent. Not talking about Gaza years back was bad enough, but now it’s literally her OWN PEOPLE and she still hasn’t said a word.

Jayme, you being a Christian from the North doesn’t exclude you from the cause for liberation. If one of us is under attack then we all are. Use your platform and speak up or stop capitalizing on Libnan!

While I think this drop is a far improvement from last in terms of creativity and execution, I’m still not seeing that og Vela wow factor. I think I’ll get mango and maybe orchid.

My Venba and Sephora packages arrived at the same time today so double serotonin boost! Escapade Gourmande and True Love’s Cake were blind buys, Bianco Latte and Crystal Saffron Extrait were not.

I’m so glad that Venba has a flexible return policy, because EG was a huge disappointment. Rather than the rich crème brûlée goodness that everyone and their mom raved about, I got barely-there vanilla play doh.

True Love’s Cake was gorgeous and vibrant upon first spray, but very quickly dried down to a lactonic skin scent then pretty much disappeared entirely. It smells nice, but not the performance or profile I was looking for.

Bianco Latte is a beast, “fluffy” is the best word I can use to describe it. Crystal Saffron Extrait, also a beast, is a warm and spicy saffron bomb. It truly smells like quality, like all of the rest of the Matiere Premiere lineup. I can’t wait to receive my Encens Suave.

Long story short, make sure your blind buys are returnable!!

Update: meeting went phenomenally, thank you everyone for the advice and encouragement! The final verdict was one spritz of Delina La Rosée☺️

Hi loves! In a few hours, I have a meeting with the program coordinator for one of my dream PhD programs to discuss my application and set me up for success for when the cycle officially opens. It's not an official interview or anything like that, and she seems really open and friendly, but I still want to make the best possible impression nonetheless because she has a lot of influence over admissions decisions.

I'm aiming for something feminine, but nothing that could be interpreted as too sweet or childish. As such, l've mostly eliminated the vanillas and gourmands. I was thinking Valaya, Roses and White Musk, or even Angel Dust? I probably won’t do IDKW because it doesn’t have enough personality to feel like “me” by itself. No matter what I choose, I will barely apply a couple of spritzes under my clothes so as to not potentially offend.

l've attached a pic of everything I have on hand so please feel free to help me choose! Also, if anyone has been in my boat, I would greatly appreciate any advice or good vibes. The decision to pursue this path has been a rather daunting one and I’m a bit of an untraditional student so I need all the courage that I can get!

Options:

Gissah Hudson Valley
Kayali Freedom Santal Musk
Kayali Sweet Diamond Pink Pepper
Kayali Capri in a Bottle
Marc Antoine Ganymede Extrait
Matiere Premiere Vanilla Powder
Dries Van Noten Soie Malaquais
Memo Odéon
Parfums de Marly Valaya
Parfums de Marly Delina La Rosée
Jimmy Choo I Want Choo with Love
Fragrance du Bois Sirène Privée
Kheir Beirut Baklava
Kheir Slow Sip
Kheir Guilty Pleasures
Jo Malone Roses and White Musk
House of Oud Dates Delight
House of Oud Bon Bon Pop
Ibrahim Alqurashi Musk Alshams
Miu Miu Miutine
Summer Fridays Sunlit Vanilla
Replica When the Rain Stops
Fine’ry Fireside Vanille
Paris Corner Marshmallow Blush
Lattafa Angham
Henry Rose Dark is Night
Henry Rose Flora Carnivora
DS&Durga I Don’t Know What
Fugazzi Angel Dust

Temporarily moved with only my Kayali Sweet Diamond Pink Pepper, Gissah Hudson Valley, and Dries Van Noten Soie Malaquais, and here is my collection a few months later after quite a few new acquisitions. I’ve kept the boxes to make transporting them back home less of a headache, but fitting them on my display will certainly be annoying.

I don’t know what my taste is anymore; I love everything from Fine’ry to Fragrance du Bois, from fresh to fire pit.

Also included my husband’s collection for funsies, some of which I also wear. I’m lucky to have a man that trusts my taste completely. He casually wore the Interlude 53 to Costco the other day, bless him😂

If any of you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know!! I’ll also include my Fragrantica page in case anyone wants to compare tastes and such.

Pictured from oldest to newest:

Kayali Sweet Diamond Pink Pepper
Gissah Hudson Valley
Dries Van Noten Soie Malaquais
Matiere Premiere Vanilla Powder Extrait
Jimmy Choo I Want Choo With Love
Gisou Wild Rose
EOS Fresh and Cozy
Fine’ry Fireside Vanille
Lattafa Angham
Kerastase Le Parfum
Fragrance Du Bois Sirène Privee
Marc Antoine Ganymede Extrait
Kayali Freedom Musk Santal
Summer Fridays Sunlit Vanilla
Saltair Saltwater Vanilla
Memo Odéon
Parfums de Marley Valaya
Parfums de Marley Delina La Rosee
Jo Malone Rose and White Musk
Replica When the Rain Stops
Kheir Beirut Baklava
Kheir Slow Sip
Kheir Guilty Pleasures
Ibrahim Alqurashi Musk Alshams
House of Oud Dates Delight
House of Oud Bonbon Pop
Athena Golden Vanilla
Athena Amber Hours
Athena Petal Bloom
Ellis Brooklyn Peaches
Ellis Brooklyn Vanilla Sin
Henry Rose Dark is Night
Henry Rose Flora Carnivora
Paris Corner Marshmallow Blush
Kayali Capri in a Bottle
Miu Miu Miutine
DS & Durga I Don’t Know What

Husband’s collection because what the heck:

Oud Kashmiri
Lattafa Hayati
YSL Myslf
Lattafa Raghba Wood Intense
Versace Dylan Blue
Versace Eros Flame
Dior Sauvage
Amouage Interlude 53
Matiere Premiere Santal Austral
Replica By the Fireplace