GENDER BENDER

Okay you may not be aware that I am a little into perfume. HA! By now I guess you know that I am a total perfume whore. I'm also a makeup whore, but not an actual whore, so that's a good thing right?

I watched Katie Puckrik's fall fragrance recommendations video, and because I am easily influenced I ordered a few samples from The Perfumed Court. I ordered a little tiny sample vial of Amouage Memoir Woman, a small sample Juliet Has a Gun's Lady Vengeance, a small sample of Lolita Lempicka by Lolita Lempicka, a small sample of Egoiste by Chanel, and a 5 ml spray bottle of Chanel's Cuir de Russie which I have written about before and absolutely love.

Amouage Memoir Woman has way too much STUFF to make me happy. Here's the list: mandarin, cardamom, absinthe, pink pepper, pepper, clove, white flowers, rose, jasmine, wood, frankincense, styrax, oakmoss, castoreum, leather, labdanum, fenugreek, and musk. GOOD LORD. Comes across as sort of sharp and blaring and dry instead of close and warm and cozy which I prefer. I should probably try it again when it is warmer and see how I feel about it.

Lady Vengeance is too much rose and the dry-down is kinda boring. (And I love rose- I wear Stella at least 4 days a week- although it is more of a toned down rose than this and generally just really easy to wear). It's not bad at all, but there are better things out there. Actually, this is so simple that it might smell great layered with something else... hmmmm... possibilities!

Lolita Lempicka is great. It is a really odd fragrance that smells like violets and licorice, and while some people might think that sounds pretty gross, it is actually pretty awesome. The notes are ivy leaves, licorice flower, anise seed, amarena cherry, violets, iris, vanilla, praline, tonka bean, vetiver and musk. This stuff is SWEET. It is a very unique perfume and I love how it smells but I don't think I'd wear it out much because it is so obvious. I don't want somebody smelling me and instantly knowing what it is I'm wearing. I'd like my perfume to be a little more mysterious than that. (But ohhhh that bottle is amazing. I had to post a picture of it. Do you just want to stare into it like a crystal ball?)

Egoiste. Why do I bother buying anything other than Chanel? Katie Puckrik said that for girls who like Coco Mademoiselle, they would probably enjoy Egoiste too. WELL. She was sure right about that. I got it, tried it on, loved it, and then started reading about it and discovered it's one of those fragrances marketed to men. HA! it just goes to show that the whole gender thing does not apply to perfume at all.

Egoiste is warm and spicy on me- and even better than Cuir de Russie (it's got less of that leathery animalistic edge to it- which is also pretty damn good when you're in the mood for it). Egoiste has a lot in common with my other favorite Chanel- Bois de Iles. When I first spray it on it's a little sharp, and I guess that's the tangerine and lavender, but then it dries down and I smell coriander and rose and sandalwood. YUM. Notes include: tangerine, lavender, rose, coriander, Bourbon vanilla, sandalwood, rosewood and ambrette seed.

The best part about this order was that two of my bottles were mixed up- I got a smaller bottle of Cuir de Russie and 5 ml of Egoiste, which at first I was pissed about but turned out to be a really happy accident. I pretty much want to bath in Egoiste. Especially now that the weather is getting cold and it's time for warm cozy "come closer" scents.