Quantifying the amount of a perfume.

Quantifying perfume inside bottles: a practical method.
You bought a perfume or a tester in a non-sealed bottle, or an "used" one.
Or you bought online a perfume sold as "new" and "mint", and you want to check it.
Is the perfume you bought really "new"? Or, if it's "used", how much perfume does it remain in the bottle?

Guerlain LIDGE: reformulated? A 5-samples blind test.

L' Instant De Guerlain Extreme pour Homme (i.e. LIDGE), is the "Eau de Parfum
 version" of L'Instant de Guerlain (LIDG), two men's fragrances contending the "Trophy of Rivalry" with "Dior Homme" highly-acclaimed twins. But let's face it, both Dior and Guerlain are excellent, and none is better than the other.
What we want to investigate about, however, is the (alleged) "LIDGE reformulation", which (allegedly) took place at an unspecified time, around 2011 or 2012. True or false ?

The Art of (Vintage) Layering

" Layering " is the action of "putting layers" (or stratifying) on top of something else.
In perfumery we speak about "layering" when we want to achieve new effects or even "create" new perfumes, simply applying a perfume, and then another just over the previous different scent.
You can "layer perfumes" by adding some sweet to harsh, dry scents, resulting with (theoretically) infinite combinations.
But "Layering" is an amazing resource for another reason, namely to "simulate" , with excellent results, vintage perfumes. How it works? It 's quite easy .

The Art of Progressive Smelling

Does a simple way to study the evolution of a fragrance exist?
Of course it exists, and it does not require any special equipment but the perfume, a clock and some patience.
The technique of "Progressive Smelling" involves spraying perfume at different times and in different places....but smelling it at the same time.

"DIOR HOMME" : 9-batches blind test

For the DIOR HOMME INTENSE tests see here
For the batch-numbers code ("Christian Dior"), see here
For the "Year 2014" update, see here.


Dior Homme, the Eau de Toilette launched in 2005, had a lot of controversies similarly to its bigger brother EdP "Homme Intense", because of a "reformulation" that took place during previous years (as in the "Intense" version) and sparked speculations of all kinds (and hoarding, and obviously price increases).
In this article, an analysis of the alleged differences between the various years of "Dior Homme" will occur, using a total of NINE different bottles from 2005 up to 2013.

How to recognize BVLGARI Perfumes

HOW TO RECOGNIZE BVLGARI PERFUMES.

Now we will consider another House: Bulgari

CERRUTI pour FEMME (1987)

from Parfumo.net

Year: 1987

Top notes: coriander, bergamot, plum; 

Middle notes: carnation, jasmine, ylang-ylang, tuberose, rose, honey; 

Base notes: vetiver, musk, sandalwood, oakmoss, cedar, vanille.

Longevity: at least 7 hrs. Sillage: very high.

Rating: 9.5/10

ABSTRACT Sadly discontinued -and very hard to find now at decent prices- it was considered by connoisseurs as a luxury alternative for Dior's Poison (1985); but at the same time it was considered -by detractors- only as an elegant "spin-off" from Clandestine (by Guy Laroche, 1986) 

In any case, luxury and elegance were qualities typical of "Cerruti pour Femme" (1987).

Thought for the Day.

"Today, in 2013, there are more people writing about perfume than about wine. That is shocking. It's become a sort of minor industry."   (Luca Turin)

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"Oggi, nel 2013, c'è in giro più gente che scrive a proposito di profumi di quanta ve ne sia a scrivere sui vini. E' una cosa incredibile; sta diventando una sorta di professione." 
(Luca Turin)

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How to recognize GIORGIO ARMANI perfumes.

HOW TO RECOGNIZE ARMANI PERFUMES
Previously we considered how to recognize, batch-by-batch, year-by-year:

-GUERLAIN perfumes ( here )

-YVES SAINT LAURENT perfumes ( here )

-CHRISTIAN DIOR  perfumes  ( here )

-VAN CLEEF et ARPELS perfumes ( here )

-CHANEL perfumes ( here )

-BVLGARI perfumes ( here )

-HERMES perfumes ( here )
-VERSACE perfumes ( here )

now we'll consider another great House: Giorgio Armani Parfums.

From Splash to Spray.

At the end of the Fifties the first spray bottles appeared, gas-powered, ( called "atomiseur", or "gas-propellant sprays") , but the real success of this innovative system arrived only in the Eighties, with the advent of "natural spray" system, which did not involve artificial gases, prohibited by law.

Since the Eighties “splash” bottles experienced a gradual decline, until disappearing -almost completely- at the end of the Nineties. In 2000s splash bottles were very rare, except for the aftershaves, and now virtually extinct, except for special cases (usually limited edition bottles).