Comments on: Now Smell This

By: Euphoric, indeed » Manolo for the Big Girl!

Euphoric, indeed » Manolo for the Big Girl! — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 13:04:50 +0000

[...] Francesca is nothing if not adventurous, and after being inspired by two recent posts by the ever powerful (if sometimes preposterous!) Plumcake, she went out and tested different [...]

By: Margo

Margo — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 00:43:55 +0000

I would love to hear how you tie an Hermes scarf so tht it looks decent on a thick, short neck. My parents went to Paris and brought one back for me, and everytime I try to wear it I look like I’m trying to conceal a neck brace. Help!

By: dangermouse

dangermouse — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 23:26:49 +0000

Thanks for the info, Style Spy! What a bummer that Ebay put a stop to *that* (of all the things…) :(

By: K

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 18:10:34 +0000

The Perfumed Court has got to be my favorite new website. Thank you so much for introducing us to it! I’ve spent all morning poking around it, something I’m sure my boss won’t appreciate too much, but I’m just enamored! :D

By: kimocean

kimocean — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 06:44:34 +0000

Plumcake,
Love this post (as I do all of yours!) and I have a suggestion for you. If you want to try some amazing and unique fragrances I highly recommend BPAL (Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab). Beth Moriarty has an amazing talent for blending perfume oils. They’re comple, all natural and mostly vegan (except for some occasional honey notes) and the site is a treasure trove of gorgeous art, poetry, and lush perfume descriptions. Her scents are complex, incredibly varied and generally gorgeous. You won’t find anyone else smelling like you do and you’ll be sure to garner complements from anyone who gets close enough to smell your sillage.

There’s also an amazing online forum bpal.org that has reviews, discussion, swaps and a market for sales for decants and bottles that don’t work for you. The community is warm and welcoming and most interestingly in my opinion, it’s a community of over 5,000 women with incredibly diverse opinions and experiences.

I started looking there to find a signature scent, but I’ve found a whole wardrobe of scents that work on my skin and let me smell sweet, strong, sexy, soft, clean, dirty or some combination thereof! It’s almost as much fun as having a great wardrobe of clothes. And perfume ALWAYS fits!

By: Style Spy

Style Spy — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 04:45:26 +0000

No, you simply cannot buy decants of perfume on eBay anymore, because eBay, though riddled with counterfeit goods, saw fit to bow to the pressure of a couple of companies who are so bonded to their perfumes that they threw giant hissy fits until eBay removed all the shops run by perfectly legitimate sellers who were doing nothing illegal, unethical, or even distasteful. Believe me, it is not cost-effective to counterfeit 5 mls of perfume.

I’m with you, dangermouse. Any designer item sold by the truckload on eBay is more than likely fake. And since the prices aren’t any lower than at a boutique, why deprive yourself of the pleasure of Hermes customer service?

BTW, the tiny vials are actually samples, not decants. A decant will usually be between 5 and 10 mls, which is 1/6 to 1/3 ounce, and is going to set you back more than 4 bucks, how much depending on the ‘fume.

Are any of the samples you took home still speaking to you, Ms. P?

By: kalamari

kalamari — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:48:20 +0000

For a moment I thought you were referring to this StyleSpy http://stylespy.instyle.com/stylespy_blog/ hmmm…

By: dangermouse

dangermouse — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 03:00:13 +0000

Is the “cannot” in “you cannot buy decanted perfume on eBay” a “shouldn’t”? Because I’ve bought my beloved Chergui decanted on Ebay – and, although I was extremely skeptical, my purchase turned out to be legit.

As for the Hermés scarves on Ebay, however, I remain a skeptic.

By: the unfashionista

the unfashionista — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 02:43:20 +0000

I hear that Sephora has sampler packs of purfume that comes with a gift card for a full sized bottle of the scent – might be a good gift for the frangrance seeker in your life.

By: OCCaliAKA

OCCaliAKA — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 01:37:45 +0000

I can feel the Hermes love. I got my first couple of Hermes in 2005, one secondhand and one at the boutique. Last Christmas, I got one, Les Pipoines (peonies) at Neiman Marcus. They are babied and brought out for impact.