u/Treehorn8

Do Son is different than what I'm used to. I was afraid the tuberose and jasmine notes would be too heavy but the dry down is really nice and smooth. 💕

I love freshies. I especially love 90s-00s freshies because they're inexpensive and distinct, back when perfumes were not trying to smell like each other.

I've had the original A Drop d'Issey eau de parfum by Issey Miyake for a while now. If I didn't look up the release year (2021), I would have sworn that this was one of the house's early 2000s babies. I could not believe how cheap this was because it's amazing af! It's like taking a shower with a serum body wash followed by body cream from head to toe. I could not decide whether I loved or hated the breast implant look. Maybe I love it.

Everyone says it smells strongly of lilac and I was like, "No. It smells like bath products and that's it." Then I realized how stupid that sounded because I did not know what lilacs smell like partly because I was raised in the desert. So instead of finding and smelling the flower now that I no longer live in the desert, I got the Bath and Body Works candle version. I was today years old when I learned that the "lotion" scent that I liked was actually the lilac note.

A Drop has two flankers: Eau de Parfum Fraîche and Eau de Parfum Essentielle.

A Drop d'Issey Eau de Parfum Fraîche smells similar to the OG. The lilac note is still there but it is significantly toned down and it also smells like water. Specifically, it smells like if you were wearing the OG all morning but got caught in a rainstorm and high winds. But instead of looking like the sorry figure that you feel you are, Jamie Fraser a cute guy comes by and thinks that you look like a tragic heroine so he offers you his coat. The entire scene happens in the mountains. With a waterfall. In Scotland.

So yeah, that's what Fraîche smells like.

Is it redundant to own both? Kind of since they're very similar, it depends on whether you like rain more or lilac.

As for the Essentielle, let's just say I took a whiff, packed it up, and tossed it back to FedEx.

To conclude:

OG: 5/5

Fraîche: 4.5/5

Essentielle: Basement of a flooded abandoned Sephora/5

My goal was to find a versatile vanilla-forward fragrance that I can wear all year, which rules out anything that smells like sweet creamy milky baked goods. I thought the best options would be green or woody vanillas so I tried several based on some recommendations online. I already have a travel size of The 7 Virtues Vanilla Woods but I also wanted something fresher as an alternative.

Chloe Atelier des Fleurs Vanilla Planifolia

In the process of looking up Guerlain's Vanille Planifolia, I found Chloe's high-end line. The chic aesthetic pulled me in and the concept of single note fragrances comprising their luxury line was intruiging. Vanilla Planifolia opens very green, like fields of grass in the early morning. As it dries down, the vanilla is amplified until my skin smells like a blooming vanilla orchid. There's a touch of sweetness but it's not quite sugary. In spite of the vanilla note's intensity, the bright freshness lingers. It stays true to that profile, projecting for about three to four hours, until it fully fades about eight hours after application. I binge-watched the Hunger Games series and could still smell it.

Vanilla Planifolia is elegant and classically beautiful. It's a versatile scent that I would wear anywhere anytime and I definitely recommend this. Another hit by Quentin Bisch.

Fragonard Belle d'Amour

I'm a major Fragonard stan so I got excited after learning that they also had a green vanilla fragrance.

Belle d'Amour's first spray was pure angelica. It's floral, herbal and peppery. I did not love it at first sniff. I've never smelled anything with this note before and the sharp spiciness took me off guard that I almost sneezed. I was ready to pack it up and send it back but decided to wait a day. For some reason, I kept on coming back. It would tickle my nose each time but something about the angelica and vanilla blend was puzzling and irresistible. It hasn't even been a day and I love it already.

The dry down is a contrast to its opening as the angelica slowly fades into a milder scent. Fifteen to twenty minutes in, the scent has turned into a blend of green floral and slightly woody vanilla. Over the next hour, there is still an underlying hint of spice but it takes a backseat to the bright vanilla. On me, it projects strongly for a couple of hours or so before settling into a more personal bubble. Longevity is average for an edt, about five hours.

Belle d'Amour is very unlike Fragonard's women's collection, which are variations of light classic florals. Made by Daniela Andrier, some have noted the similarity of the dry down to her other more famous and expensive angelica+vanilla creation: Guerlain Angelique Noire. But since I've never tried AN, I won't be able to confirm.

Diptyque Eau Duelle eau de toilette

It's been a while but I once tried Eau Duelle edp. I liked the scent but was not impressed with the longevity considering the price. Eau Duelle edt's opening is a perfect balance of green and woody notes (Duality of Water indeed). The dry down is predominantly vanilla with an immaculate combination of bourbon and spices. It smells heavenly and I like it a lot more than the heavier edp. It could have easily been my favorite in this list because its dry well-blended scent is exactly what I'm looking for however, Eau Duelle suffers from the same issues as the edp -- it has practically no projection and is completely gone well before the two hour mark. I sprayed it on my wrist and I can't smell it unless it's two inches from my nose. Longevity alone usually does not bother me since I don't mind reapplying throughout the day. But considering the price of the perfume, I think it should last a lot longer than it did and project a tad bit more. I would go through a bottle so fast.

Fabrice Pellegrin also created one of my favorite Diptyque scents, L'Eau Papier, which lasts so much longer.

Lalique Le Parfum

The first time I tried it, I dismissed it as overly synthetic and overrated. I wondered why in the world did it have 700+ excellent reviews between Parfumo and Fragrantica. So I tried it again and... I was wrong.

I originally approached Le Parfum expecting a green-woody vanilla based on several "best vanilla perfumes" lists online but this is absolutely NOT it. It is also definitely not a gourmand. After retesting, I don't even consider it a true vanilla perfume. Rather, it's a complex oriental ambery perfume that happens to have vanilla as one of its prominent base notes.

The unique bay leaf combined with pink pepper provides a strong herbal and spice kick in combination with the sweet almond profile of heliotrope. It starts out very green and slowly dries down into a rich earthy vanilla and patchouli base. The result is an aromatic fragrance that I absolutely love. It's even better once it turns into a skin scent a couple of hours later when it becomes softer and more feminine. Longevity is about five hours, projection and sillage are moderate. If you do try this, don't just wear this once and walk away. Spend some time and immerse yourself.

Just like most of Lalique's classics, Le Parfum punches above its weight and I cannot believe how affordable it is for the quality. I love how Dominique Ropion creates luxe fragrances like Frédéric Malle Portrait of a Lady and Aphorismes, drops iconic designers like Mugler Alien and Lancome La Vie est Belle, and then turns around and comes up with underrated gems like Le Parfum and Cacharel Amor Amor that even people on a tight budget could afford. Also, the bottle looks like it just graduated from university with multiple degrees.

Library of Flowers True Vanilla

Library of Flowers is Margot Elena's small-batch artisan brand with fragranced products that focus on flowers and botanicals scents. Instead of getting the edp, I got the parfum crema, which is meant to be dabbed and gently rubbed on skin like a solid perfume. This one isn't really green but more like pure extract but creamy.

True Vanilla is a lovely scent that's pure vanilla orchid. There's no cakiness or unnecessarily frills, just a smooth simple fragrant vanilla. Sillage and projection are low due to it being a cream and it lasts about four hours on me. The layering possibilities are endless. Most skin scents are musky "your skin but better" fragrances and people forget that solid and cream perfumes exist. They stay close to the skin and and have a wider scent variety.

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I like all of them but Chloe Atelier des Fleurs Vanilla Planifolia wins the race overall. It was purposefully created as a single-note perfume but somehow managed to be layered and interesting.

Honorable Mention to Library of Flowers True Vanilla. I like wearing the parfum crema alone but it would also be an excellent base to provide a vanilla boost to all the other fragrances on this list and more.

He doesn't have reddit so I'm sharing for him. I'm more into fragrance than him and I've been encouraging him to explore more of the notes and profiles that he likes. This is the result of the past year.

https://imgur.com/a/XHS0jNh

• Versace Dylan Blue
• Dolce and Gabbana The One parfum
• Commodity Milk expressive
• Hermès Un Jardin en Méditerranée (we share this)
• Montblanc Starwalker
• Burberry Brit
• Davidoff Cool Water
• Issey Miyake L'eau d'Issey

His collection has grown a bit. He used to exclusively use aquatic freshies but he's been more into Méditerranée and Commodity Milk recently.

(I posted this is another sub, and thank you to the mods for for letting me share here.)

I'm fascinated with the older perfume houses in Grasse: Galimard, Molinard and Fragonard. Molinard was founded in 1849 and is the second oldest. I've tried eleven and now own three Fragonard scents, so it's Molinard's turn. Getting samples from this house is almost impossible where I live so I decided to risk a blind buy. I chose Thé Basilic because I don't own anything that smells like it and the notes reminded me of something/someone from home.

The glass bottle is pretty. It's clear with an illustration of a tea leaf and a basil leaf in violet ink at the back topped by a tall copper cap.

The opening was a mist of pure basil and mint. I felt like I was in a greenhouse full of sunlight, or in a garden just after planting herbs in the beginning of spring. A few minutes in, it smells a lot more like tea with a citrus twist, but the fresh basil scent never fully leaves. It sustains this scent before finally fading after around three to four hours.

On my skin, longevity is very short for an edp, projecting softly for one to two hours before turning into a skin scent. It wasn't surprising since most green scents I've tried don't last that long. This is not a skin scent although the scent bubble is personal. You won't fill the room but people in your immediate vicinity can smell you. In spite of its freshness, this isn't a weak scent--overspraying would be overwhelming to one's nose and it's not a good idea when it comes to herbal notes (trust me, I've tried) and more doesn't improve longevity.

I chose Thé Basilic because I hoped it would smell like my mother's favorite drink on quiet afternoons: green tea with a couple of mint and basil leaves topped with a squeeze of lemon or lime. Molinard's creation brought me back. It's a fragrance that exudes tranquility, and simply wearing it calms me.

I'm fascinated with the older perfume houses in Grasse: Galimard, Molinard and Fragonard. Molinard was founded in 1849 and is the second oldest. I've tried eleven and now own three Fragonard scents, so it's Molinard's turn. Getting samples from this house is almost impossible where I live so I decided to risk a blind buy. I chose Thé Basilic because I don't own anything that smells like it and the notes remind me of something from home.

The glass bottle is pretty. It's clear with an illustration of a tea leaf and a basil leaf in violet ink at the back topped by a tall copper cap.

The opening was a mist of pure basil and mint. I felt like I was in a greenhouse full of sunlight, or in a garden just after planting herbs in the beginning of spring. A few minutes in, it smells a lot more like tea with a citrus twist, but the fresh basil scent never fully leaves. It sustains this scent before finally fading after around three to four hours.

On my skin, longevity is very short for an edp, projecting softly for one to two hours before turning into a skin scent. It wasn't surprising since most green scents I've tried don't last that long. This is not a skin scent although the scent bubble is personal. You won't fill the room but people in your immediate vicinity can smell you. In spite of its freshness, this isn't a weak scent--overspraying would be very overwhelming to one's nose and it's not a good idea when it comes to herbal notes (trust me, I've tried) since more doesn't improve longevity.

I chose Thé Basilic because I hoped it would smell like my mother's favorite drink on quiet afternoons: green tea with a couple of mint and basil leaves topped with a squeeze of lemon or lime. Molinard's creation brought me back. It's a fragrance that exudes tranquility, and simply wearing it calms me.

I'm not sure if that was what they were trying to say but that's how I understood it. This was a $29 barely used perfume that I listed for $20 because I wanted to sell it quickly. $18 was my offer to likers and the absolute lowest I was willing to go.

I get it's frustrating to pay for expensive shipping fees but that's the cost of shopping online and buying from normal people who are not Amazon Prime. Even the retailer charges $5 shipping no matter how much your purchase is.

Edit: I misunderstood the message. Thank you for everyone's feedback.

I got the Exploration kit, which comes with all three scent spaces of Milk, Paper, Book, Gold and Juice. It also came with separate samples of Milk Orchid, Velvet and Ice(d). I thought it wasn't bad since the price of the kit could be redeemed for part of a 100ml bottle if you buy one.

Milk (-, expressive, +)

The expressive smells wonderful, no wonder it's so popular. So lactonic, creamy and sweet with a sharp dose of arrogance. It's unisexually dashing. My husband loves it and he ended up buying a bottle.

4.5/5

Milk Orchid (expressive)

This came as a sample gift and I'm glad it did because I am thoroughly amazed. I smell like I broke into Starbucks in the middle of the night and stole all their milk. It's like swimming in a flowing river of of milk, nuts and coconut heaven. It's even creamier and more lactonic than Milk. My wallet is in danger.

5!!!/5

Paper (-, expressive, +)

This smells a little like paper and dust in the wind. The latter mainly because it disappeared in seconds. Either all of the versions smell like bottled water or I'm badly anosmic to something in them.

??/5

Book+

I smell foul. And now I'm projecting like crazy and filling house so the "+" part is accurate. Thank god I didn't blind buy that "like new" travel size that they were selling for $7 in Mercari. Books smell good, mysterious and deep, not something that was stuck in the drain for a week. I won't try the other two.

-5/5

Gold (-, expressive , +)

I like this. I quite like this. Strangely, Gold+ is exactly like how I thought Book would smell like. It reminds me of those fancy bound books with gilded edges found in a rich divorce lawyer's office with millionaire clients. The expressive doesn't smell like books and it actually smells better than the bold but it reeks of upper middle class.

4.5/5

Juice (-, expressive, +)

It smells like expensive mixed fruit juice that the rich divorce lawyer's assistant would hand to the child of an acrimonious divorce. Not bad at all of you like fruity scents. If you like Angel Nova, you might like Juice.

4/5

Moss (-, expressive, +)

One sniff of this makes me think of grassy hills and leprechauns. Like the moss that covers fallen tree trunks by the creek. It's green as hell, very fresh, and also delicately floral. I actually like it. The expressive smells richer than the other two. I might consider getting this but I already have several green garden-like scents that fulfill all my green needs.

4/5

Velvet (expressive)

Velvet reminds me of a jazz bar: smoky and full of men in suits and women in velvet dresses listening to the smooth and rich notes of a trombone. It's not for me, but I like it nonetheless.

4/5

Ice(d) (expressive)

It smells very herbal. Like the time I pulled a bunch of weeds and planted various herbs in the garden. I like herbs in perfume when they add freshness like in Molinard Thé Basilic or Fragonard Eau du Bonheur, but I don't think it worked out well in Ice(d). Or maybe the combo of spearmint and eucalyptus just didn't do it for me.

2/5

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Smelling Diptyque L'Eau Papier awakened this obsession in me to smell anything paper, so I was really excited for Paper and Book. It's sad they didn't agree with me but it is what it is. I'm considering getting a travel size or decant of Gold+ because it actually smells like books (albeit the old money rich kind) or Milk Orchid because of its unique scent.

L'Eau Papier smells like textured handmade paper, an inkwell, a pen or brush, dozens of letters in an open wooden chest by a vintage desk, and a light breeze blowing through sheer white curtains in a sunlit room.

On some days, it reminds me of my mother teaching me lettering as a child. Or a stunning calligraphy scene from a Zhang Yimou film.

I thought Orpheon was the best Diptyque could ever produce until I first sprayed L'Eau Papier. I'm sure many feel the same because it is almost impossible to find in the gray market and I had to begrudgingly resort to buying retail. (The horror!) The soft, airy scent gives an impression that it would be fleeting on skin and it was a nice surprise to find that the opposite is true. I sprayed this at noon and it finally faded from my skin around 9 pm. It lasts even longer on clothes.

I was thinking of what to wear to a winery on a scorching hot summer afternoon, and I knew that it would make an already promising day even better. That's what fragrance should make us feel.

Diptyque is a popular house with an appealing branding and excellent marketing team. I've seen some comments about how everything they sell is blind buy safe, but I found it to be the opposite. Test and sample before you buy, folks.

When I sprayed Chergui for the first time, I didn't want to move. I want to do exactly what I'm doing now -- lounging on a brown recliner with a brown blanket over me wondering why this perfume is making me feel things. I don't know what hay, immortelle or Russian leather are supposed to smell like so I'll just describe it.

Chergui is spicy, like I'm a sitting beside a merchant of an ancient camel caravan loaded with expensive spices on the dry Silk Road. There's a weight and mystery to it, like being in a library full of leather-bound books in dark, wooden shelves. There's a fireplace so it's warm with a hint of smoke. It should smell heavy, but there's also a honeyed sweetness that cuts through.

If I was in a detective noir film, Chergui would be my faithful companion along with my trench coat. It would come with me to a safari, or start an adventure worthy of a book. It started loud and aggressive but the dry down was more subdued, like it completely changed me and I was always this woody, smoky, mysterious creature.

Excuse me while I go and do something dramatic.

I never used Aura Fragrances until a few weeks ago. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they sold decants of some fragrances. And they're massive. Here's a 15 ml travel spray of Narciso Rodriguez For Her EDP that I got for ~$15.

I wish they did it for all of their inventory.

BTW, this is amazing. I'm about 20 years late and now I want to try everything Narciso.

My heavier scents are stored right now and I'm focusing on my freshies for the hot weather. From the top:

• Dolly Parton Scent From Above

• Bvlgari Eau Parfumée au the Blanc

• Britney Spears Fantasy Did It Again Edition

• Fragonard L'air de Grasse

• Marc Jacobs Daisy

• Nina Ricci Nina

• Lanvin Éclat d'Arpège

• Issey Miyake A Drop d'Issey

• Library of Flowers Willow & Water parfum crema

• TokyoMilk Dead Sexy parfum crema

The parfum crema is used like a solid perfume.

What's yours?

I've always wanted a Library of Flowers perfume because the bottles look so dainty and pretty. The entire Margot Elena catalog is like that. I wanted a couple of solid perfumes and after splurging on Diptyque Orpheon, the next one had to be more affordable.

​

Library of Flowers' version is a cream formulation that has triple the scent of their EDPs. It's only $25 and you get a big 70g container. It looks enormous compared to Diptyque's tiny 3g tub. I got the Willow & Water scent and it arrived just before I left for the dentist so I dabbed a tiny bit on my hand for luck.

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12: 30 pm - The opening smells like greens and that scent when my mom chops plantains.

12:40 pm - The banana-ish note is gone.

01:00 pm - I sniffed my hand while signing papers. It smells like lotus. Maybe waterlilies too?

01:45 pm - I'm waiting for my prescription to be filled and my hand smells divine. It's become more floral but still very fresh and cool.

02:20 pm - I washed my hands. Oh well. There goes the perfume.

02:22 pm - IT IS STILL THERE.

03:07 pm - I'm typing this and sniffing my hand at the same time. It's more faint but it's there.

​

Willow & Water smells like Monet's waterlilies paintings. Watery, green, refreshing, floral, and lovely. It has (to me) the same vibe as Zara's Waterlily Tea Dress where the beginning seems a little shaky but dries down into a delicate feminine scent that smells like 🍃, 🪷, 🌊 and 💐.

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The creamy texture is different for a solid perfume but it makes it easier to blend on skin. I thought it would be weak and be more like a hand lotion but it's very concentrated and a little bit goes a long way. No, it doesn't project like an EDT, but that's not why you use a solid perfume. It's for when you want something close to your skin, but you and everyone who stands next to you know you smell good.

​

I am not going to look at the other scents.

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TOKYOMILK HAS THEM TOO!!!!

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Ok maybe but later.

Diptyque is a strange house for me. Either they're really bad or really good. Philosykos made me physically ill and I don't know what the hell is going on with Fleur de Peau smelling like a dusty wooden drawer. Eau de Sens smells like the floor cleaner in my old elementary school.

And then there's Orpheon, which smells so amazingly divine that it deserves its own category.

I just found out that they had solid perfumes and it sounded like a good idea for "I want the scent to be close to my skin" days. I normally don't buy expensive (to me) fragrances but I made an exception. Diptyque may have a polarizing DNA, but they sure have style because look at that lovely packaging. They also threw in a welcome gift -- a 5ml travel size L'eau Papier and I loved it, thankfully.

The not so good news is that they're discontinuing the solid perfumes so my husband ordered refills, which means he got a free L'eau Papier too! (And by he, I really mean me.) The container is so cute! It looks like it's ceramic and is heavier than it looks. I don't doubt that I'll find a way to repurpose it after my refills are gone.

Britney Spears Fantasy and its flankers have been mentioned here a lot. I'm new in the Fantasy scene and got my very first flanker (Did It Again Edition) a few days ago and fell immediately in love. It's fruity, sweet, and bright. Not creamy or cakey. It smells like sweet cherry and apple liqeuer drizzled over a rose in bloom.

I've smelled Candied Fantasy as well and it smells like a creamy strawberry birthday cake gourmand that would be perfect for winter.

What's your favorite Fantasy?