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Astier de Villatte Trois Parfums Historiques: Les Nuits ~ fragrance review

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A hot summer’s night in 1838 at…Nohant, the setting of…famous and decadent late-night parties where all of Paris’s intellectuals and artists throng: Alfred de Musset, Franz Liszt, Marie d’Agoult, Honoré de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert, Eugène Delacroix. Inveterate night owls, George Sand and her lover…Frédéric Chopin, stroll languorously through the gardens till dawn. The air is saturated by the opulent trail of the novelist’s sumptuous perfume. — Astier de Villatte

That’s the description of Les Nuits, one of three perfumes in Astier de Villatte’s new Trois Parfums Historiques collection; the other two are Le Dieu Bleu (representing Ancient Egypt) and Artaban (giving us a sniff of Ancient Rome). After a lifetime of MAJOR perfume mistakes (blind buys) and disappointments (blind buys), I was STILL ready to buy Les Nuits without smelling it first — could this fragrance bring me closer to one of my idols, George Sand? I’m a perfect example that “live and learn” is a hope, not a certainty…

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MCMC Zodiac Mist in Cancer ~ fragrance & home fragrance review

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I mentioned last year in a review of Eris Parfums’ Scorpio Rising that I’ve always been curious about the zodiac, so I’m ready to explore an astrology-fragrance connection now and then. Also last year, the Brooklyn-based indie perfume brand MCMC Fragrances (a longtime favorite of mine) released a collection of “all-natural home and body mists” designed to complement the characters of the zodiac. Okay, I thought, sign (ha!) me up.

As you may not be surprised to learn if we’ve been online buddies for a while, I’m a June baby (rose is “my” flower) and a Cancer (“the crab”), which translates into being emotionally sensitive and most comfortable in home-like spaces. Some Cancer-themed scents lean into Cancer’s “water” category by foregrounding aquatic notes and delicate white florals. MCMC takes a different approach… 

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Imaginary Authors In Love With Everything ~ fragrance review

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Written in 1982, this electrifying novel about sex, drugs, and decadence in pre-Miami Vice Florida follows a delinquent clique of teenage girls through nightclubs, roller discos, and seedy South Beach bars in search of anything to keep the party going.

That’s the “inspiration” behind In Love With Everything, the latest fragrance from indie brand Imaginary Authors. Like the other scents in the line, of course, it refers to an imaginary book by an imaginary author. This description of an “unflinchingly honest portrayal of strong, outspoken, resourceful young women whose sole motivation was to have a good time” evokes a female-centered version of Less Than Zero, ripe for a film adaptation directed by Sofia Coppola. Conversely, if there had been a literary source for the movie Foxes, it probably would have sounded a lot like this…

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5 perfumes: transitional autumn fragrances 2022

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I’m writing this review from my favorite beach or, more accurately, the beachside inn where I’m taking a short breather from the city and soaking up some of the last warm temperatures of the season. It’s been an unpredictable month or so, both in the weather forecast and in my day-to-day activities, and I needed this sunshiny break even more than I realized at first. I also brought along a few fragrances that I’ve been wearing regularly over the past few weeks, since they seem to bridge the various moods of this summer-into-autumn moment.

I bought the Lush Garden box of travel sprays back in August, and initially I was focused on Rose Jam and V, since I already love the Rose Jam shower gel and the discontinued (and similar to V!) Don’t Rain on My Parade shower gel. Lately, though, I’ve been gravitating towards Pansy…

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The splitmeet, episode 18

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orchid-thirds

The splitmeet (episode 18) is open for business. PLEASE read the instructions! For people who would like to chat in addition to, or instead of, splitting, there will be a poll along shortly.

Don’t know what a bottle split is, or you know but you’ve never tried it? See here.

Please note that the intention of the splitmeet is to split newly purchased bottles of perfume, not to sell decants of fragrances already in your collection! Anyone can join a split, but only people with current, active reader accounts may host splits. Update: in other words, you cannot host a split if you have never commented here before the day the splitmeet opens…

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