Low-cost Oud: something that's worth it?

A partially Off-Topic post, since it is not about vintage perfumes, but in this Christmas atmosphere could be useful. 

How is Oud fashionable in these days ? A lot, and perhaps too much...

Christmas 2013...

Here you can see what happened during Christmas when perfumes have poor sales.
Overwhelmed with heavy discounts (prices in Euros)

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?

Thought of the Day (26th Nov 2013)

"When I started my interest in perfumes, I remember people said: 'Guerlain? Ah, these Guerlain scents, today.... are not as good as they used to be'. Well, this happened in 1975.
Today, a perfume by Guerlain dated 'year 1975' could be considered as liquid gold".
(Luca Turin)

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"Quando cominciai ad interessarmi di profumi, ricordo molto bene che si diceva: Guerlain? Eh, i suoi profumi non sono più buoni, come quelli di una volta....
Era il 1975. Oggi, un profumo di Guerlain del 1975 è da considerarsi oro liquido." (Luca Turin)

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 ?

Keep your Eyes closed.

Try an experiment: in a crowded and noisy room, try to listen to the person in front of you, keeping your eyes open, and then keeping your eyes closed. Is there any difference ?
Of course: you get the impression to hear better.

OPIUM: Vintage Bottles Parade.

"It will be the Greatest, and

we will call it Opium"  

(Yves Saint Laurent, 1976)

A show trying to identify Opium bottles through the years.
(Warning: for more infos about YSL batch-numbers and codes, see here )

OPIUM 
date launch: year 1977.
Status: still in production. 
1977- 1986: Bottles and boxes with "Yves Saint Laurent, Paris" label style
1986- 1993: Bottles and boxes with "YSL Parfums Corp." and/or "N.Y, Paris" label
1993- 1999: Bottles and boxes with "Sanofi" label. (Sanofi Era started in 1993, ended in 1999)
1999- 2007: Bottles and boxes with "YSL Parfums" and "Neuilly" label ( PPR-GUCCI Era)
(since 2004: 4-digits i.e. 1 number + 3 letters batch code)
(since 2005: long list of "ingredients" printed on boxes)
2008- 2011: Bottles and boxes with generic "YSL" label (without the word "Parfums") AND the "B.R.I" (l'Oreal). label
since 2011: Bottles and boxes with "YSL Beaute" label
(Warning: during transition periods, box and labels were mixed up, and used incorrectly)

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 .

"OPIUM by YSL". Year 2013, 11 batches blind-test.

OPIUM by Yves Saint Laurent. 
the Agony and the Ecstasy of every fragrance-enthusiast.

The history of the "reformulations" involving Opium started many years ago -probably in the mid-80s- but only since 2008-2009 it began a serious -very serious- question.
Reformulations since 2008-2009 were one of the most hot and.discussed topics, and you can find dozens of articles over the Net about it. All contributors, however, agree on a fact: Opium is no longer the same scent than before, opulent, rich and magnificent, a real symbol of a Golden Era.
The aspect we want to explore, however, is an alleged "Year 2013 Reformulation" that - according to some people- made Opium coming back to its ancient days and former glory. True or false?

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.

"Raiders": new Facebook page + Twitter

November 14th, 2013

A new Facebook "Community" webpage for Vintage Perfumes Lovers.
 https://www.facebook.com/raidersofthelostscent?fref=ts

A Twitter account for easy following (note "Raider" instead of "Raiders"):
http://twitter.com/RaiderLostScent

"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.

Previously we recognized, batch-by-batch, year-by-year:
-GUERLAIN perfumes ( here )
-YVES SAINT LAURENT perfumes ( here )
-CHRISTIAN  DIOR perfumes  ( here )
-ARMANI Perfumes ( here ) 
-CHANEL ( here )
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).