I know you're late for your next parade.

My birthday is this week and I already got my first present, which was a Fresh Sugar Kisses Mini-Lip Duo from Sephora as part of my membership. Yes, I'm counting that. I love going and getting my free gift, and no, I don't care that it's a trap to get me into the store in the first place. You know what I say to that? "Pop, pop!" FN1.

I also bought myself the Caron sampler pack at Luckyscent, and a few other things I'll be telling you about soon. I'm thinking about getting one of the London Blooms LEs from Jo Malone, so I'll probably have something about those up this week.  I stopped at a counter last week and I can't stop thinking about the Peony & Moss one...

Yesterday at work one of my fellow cubemonkeys brought in a T-Pain mike which autotunes your voice for our boss to use during the staff meeting since she can't talk loud enough for everyone to hear. I don't know what was weirder: that he did it, or that she proceeded to use it. But I digress...

The tulip heads are struggling to emerge on the Hill, despite us having some ice and snow the last couple of days. For the last twelve years, I've known Spring was on the verge of arrival by watching for those tulip shoots. I don't know what I'll be watching this time next year, but I do have a list of scents I will be wearing into the hope of seasonal renewal.

Newly added to the list? Providence Perfumes Co. Hindu Honeysuckle is described as being "From India With Love... Revered for its lush aroma, honeysuckle symbolizes generosity and kindness. Notes of sweet Indian Jasmine Sambac meld with green vetivert, musk ambrette, rose and coriander. Crisp bergamot belies the sweetness of honeysuckle."

Hindu Honeysuckle is a terrific Spring scent. Not overly sweet, this is a nice rich floral scent. It's almost...lemony at the open on me, surprisingly light and cirtusy for the musk base. It's not at all creamy like some of the other honeysuckles I've tried and there is nothing foodie sweet about it. Instead it is reminds me of the feeling of playing on your back against the warm ground as crystalline sunlight falls through the tender leaves of newly budding trees across your face. What I like most is the tartness; it manages to be lemony floral without smelling like astringent or cleaner. I think for me what saves it is the heavy warmth of the musk. A truly fine warmer weather scent, somehow delicate and still strong. Sillage is low to moderate on me, and the longevity was fantastic! I could still smell it on my skin eight hours later.

Available direct from the perfumer, you can get 1oz (33 ml) for $115.00 or a 6ml travel atomizer for $26.00. Samples also available and recommended. 3.5 of 5 nods.

~ ~ ~

Another surprising spring scent? slumberhouse Sana. I was thinking of it just last weekend when I was driving around the Oregon Coast in the freezing rain and loving every minute of it.

If you’ve ever listened to Rachel’s “Selenography” while driving through the crushingly scenic roads that wind through the woods along the Oregon coast late at night you’ll have an idea of the things that inspired Sana. Absolutely gender neutral (though I like to imagine the right woman wearing this), Sana is an atmospheric perfume that revolves around a chord of tagetes syrup, fir balsam and suede. Behind this is an ethereal smattering of magnolia, thorns, honey, red raspberry leaf absolute and sweet birch.

The open smells strong of a medicinal sticky wood resin and dry pencil shavings.  There's something else almost peppery.  I didn't get an honey, really, but a lot of thorns and birch and a little bit of magnolia.  The red raspberry leaf, if you get any, should come in as this faint sweet highlight.  At least it did for me and only when I was mentally looking for it.  It is a strange and lovely scent, but not traditionally oceanic or beachy at all.  Keep that in mind when you try it.  Still, for me it reminds of the cold wet Spring of woods of coastal Oregon, which was strange and lovely. Low sillage on me, Sana wore close to the skin for 4-6 hours.  3 of 5 nods.

Sana is available here 30ml for $75.00. Samples also available.

What are you smelling for spring my lovelies? Has any warmth hit your climes yet? What do you think I should get for my birthday?

"Time.
Thought I'd make friends with time.
Thought we'd be flying.
Maybe not this time.
Baker, baker, baking a cake.
Make me a day; make me whole again."
~ "Baker, Baker," Tori Amos

__________________
FN1. Is anyone else really excited Community returns to NBC on March 15?

Six seasons and a movie!

I've been had and I've been held with the ghosts at bay...

Dear reader,

Some weird, wild stuff has been happening here on Planet Diana lately. Sorry I've been so delinquent in updating you about it, but I'm rounding out week eight of being sick, and about to head back to the doctor for yet another round of tests and pills. I'm starting to feel like subject zero for a weird super bug, so I hope you'll forgive me for being so absentee. Also, if I become a zombie, please kill me before I can infect others. You have my permission.

Weird, Wild Thing Numero Uno

Should I buy perfume? Books?
More bookshelves for both?

A benefactor of mysterious motives has gifted some money to me. Free and clear, no strings attached dinero. This money is not enough to say, pay off my student loans or change my life or anything, but it's enough that I am no longer sweating a potential cross-country move and thinking about saving up to buy a house in the next few years instead of a decade from now. It also creates a weird opportunity most perfumistas fantasize about that never really comes true: the opportunity to buy some truly and ridiculously expensive perfume if I want, or an EPIC amount of decants, samples, smaller bottles, whathaveyou. FN1.

The mind virtually boggles at the opportunity. I mean, who among us hasn't played, "What would I buy if I could by anything?" But this is real now. (Well, it will be when the check shows up later this week.) So what do I do, my dearies? Do I buy all the things on my "to be purchased" list? Do I buy a passel of samples to try lots of stuff I've never tried? Do I hit The Perfume Court with an epic order of decants? Do I set up a twelve month perfume budget?

I'm overwhelmed, honestly. The idea makes my consumer impulse sensors go Blue Screen of Death due to major system fault error. I'm sure I will ultimately do some multi-month combo of bottles/samples/decants in combination with sales and discounts and such (again, not a fool), but I wanted to ask you all: what would you do if you were me? What are you surprised I've never reviewed? What would you absolutely recommend trying? Hit me with your best shot.

One thing is for damned sure. I am finally going to feel brave enough to walk into The Perfume House which I have never done for fear that I would completely lose my mind and buy everything I saw, financially crippling me for decades to come.

Weird, Wild Thing Numero Dos

This is how I've felt for two months...

I have been sick forever. Okay, maybe not forever, but it feels like forever. Eight full weeks is a ridiculous amount of time to be sick. At this point, I'm on the verge of giving up on Western meds. Anyone have any homeopathic/naturopathic recommendations for viral head cold followed by bacterial bronchitis followed by return of viral head cold with remnants of bronchitis threatening to become pneumonia? Seriously. Home remedies from your great aunt the voodoo queen are welcome and will be seriously considered. I'm desperate.

This, by the way, is why I've been so scarce with new reviews. I haven't been able to properly smell for any consistent period of time for almost two months. I think of it as a special kind of torture. I have been trying things intermittently, though, so expect some reviews next week based on the handful of days I have been able to smell things.

Weird, Wild Thing Numero Tres

Foggy mornings --
 so inspiring!

I am currently waiting for my panel of eight readers to return their comments and edits on my book. Following one more round of edits based on their feedback which I hope to finish by end of February at the latest, it will be time to go a searching for an agent. I'm not really sure how I feel about setting myself for an intense year of rejection. It makes me feel like I should probably surround myself with a lot of nice perfume. (*Cough* Excuses! *Cough*)

Despite having written this blog for four years now, I never knew how much I would enjoy creating my own characters and worlds. I've done a lot of short fiction, but novel writing is so much better. Even if only my friends ever read my work, the joy I get out of the act of doing it is well worth the effort. People talk about feeling called to do things all the time, and I didn't really get it. I thought it meant doing something that came naturally to you, something you were good at. I didn't realize it was the act of engaging in work that inspires you, makes you happy, rewards you with a kind of inner light. Long form story telling is that thing for me. I am so grateful I didn't go my whole life without finding it.

_______________
FN1. I'm no idiot; I'm adding 99% of it to my current meager savings in pursuit of homeownership. But even David thinks I should buy some perfume. He actually suggested it. Because El Hubs is awesomesauce.

It's definitely not a Nashville party...

A New Year's Resolution to Shop List


I mostly shy away from New Year's resolutions, but this was one opportunity I couldn't resist. A few weeks ago, Rebella at Confessions of a Perfume Nerd posted her wishlist for the holiday season. With the year ending, I thought I'd post a hopeful "To Be Purchased In 2010" commitment list, which I am hoping to make come true as soon as I take the bar in February and find a job.

1. Andy Tauer L'air du desert marocain
2. CB I Hate Perfume M#3 November
3. Costume National 21
4. DSH The Vert
5. Guerlain L'Heure Bleue
6. Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille
7. INeKE After My Own Heart
8. INeKE Evening Edged in Gold
9. L'Artisan Dzongkha
10. L'Artisan L'Eau de Jatamansi
11. L'Artisan Timbuktu
12. L'Artisan Vert Violette
13. Montale Vanille Absolu
14. Serge Lutens Bois de Violette
15. TDC Sublime Balkiss
16. Guerlain Shalimar
17. Leslie Blodgett Bare Skin
18. Bond No. 9 Andy Warhol Silver Factory
19. Keiko Mecheri Iris d’Argent

Yes, I realize that's more than 1 bottle a month, but really, some of these choices are rather inexpensive and I'm sure if I shop around and check for swaps and... Okay, yes. I basically just committed myself to spending what will like be at least two grand on perfume next year after samples and impulse buys. Just don't tell my student loan people and everything will be fine...

What about you, dear readers? What purchases do you plan on making to kick off a new decade of scent? What scents combination do you long to discover for yourself?

I'm out for the evening. See you on the flipside, readers. And welcome 2010. We all pray you'll be better than the last decade.

"So I put my hands up.
They’re playing my song,
and the butterflies fly away.
I'm nodding my head like yeah...
I'm moving my hips like yeah...
And I got my hands up.
They’re playing my song.
I know I'm gonna be okay.
Yeah, it's a party in the USA!"
- "Party in the USA," Miley Cyrus

Samples: The Addiction

The Sample Box

"You are an obsession. I cannot sleep.
I am your possession, unopened at your feet.
There's no balance; no equality.
Be still I will not accept defeat."
- "Obsession," Animotion

There are stages to perfumista development. I have been trapped in Stage 4, also known as "Full Blown Perfume Mania" for well over a year. I'm not honestly sure I'm ever getting out since the idea of "paring down" my collection seems just totally antithetical to collecting perfume. I mean, I have a bottle of one perfume that I bought unsniffed, sprayed ONE TIME, and summarily hated, and I still can't bring myself to give it away. Nope. Still sitting there in the back of my perfume cubby, because "WHAT IF I CHANGE MY MIND LATER!?!?!" My nose is so new that some things I didn't like when I first started but that everyone loves I'm still waiting to find affection for, though at this point even I will admit that there are things I wait 6 months on, try a second time, and no, still do not enjoy them and probably never will.

My samples collection is suffering because of this. I just hang on to everything, even the stuff I actually put in a baggie labeled "NO! -- give these away" in part because I'd hate to give anyone scents I can't wholeheartedly endorse. (Though I realize that (a) this means I'm sitting on someone's favorite when they could be enjoying it, and (b) this is the number one way to heartbreak for a true perfume lover because someone out there is going to reject one of your favorites pretty forcefully eventually, and that will just kill you.)

The First One's Free: Sample Shopping

Untrue, unfaithful, that was you.
Every other day there was someone new.
Untrue, unfaithful, that was you.
Why was I a fool to fall in love with you?
"Untrue Unfaithful (That Was You)," Nita Rossi

I started out with sample jars, then moved onto the box pictured above. I've now outgrown it, and I'm desperately trying to figure out what storage system to move to next. The straw that broke the already full sample box's back was my discovery of the super cheap samples over at Rei Rien, which conveniently also provides samples of more mainstream department store scents that, quite frankly, I have a tendency to overlook. This baggie full, plus a couple more, cost me a measly $22, but was WAY MORE than would fit into that box. Plus, every time I order from Beautyhabit they send me a generous helping of samples (which is aided by the fact that I am always moved from "contemplating a purchase" or "Where is my credit card!?!" by one of their frequent "get a bazillion samples with purchase" offers), which has helped fill the box. Though, okay, yes, I admit that EVERY FREAKING MONTH that email from Luckyscent featuring 6-9 new samples in a "pack" usually gets me excited to order, and then there's that scent I've really wanted to try that everyone else is already reviewing and Oh look! they have it over at The Perfumed Court now....

And then there are the packs from independent perfumers. I just see it as doing my part to help America in this time of economic crisis by buying sample packs direct from independent perfumers. You know, supporting small businesses, stimulating the economy, etc. You get the picture.

Okay, who am I kidding? I love sample shopping. I never have a lot of money, but I can somehow always justify spending a few bucks on samples. It's the perfect set up. All of the beauty. None of the commitment.

I'm a perfume trollop. Untrue, unfaithful. No signature scent for me -- no way. I can't commitment to one scent for an entire day anymore. I accept it. Moving on...

Admitting You've Got a Problem Is the First Step

"They'll name a city after us,
and later say it's all our fault.
Then they'll give us a talking to
because they've got years of experience.
And it's contagious!
And it's contagious!
- "Us," Regina Spektor

After I got in deep (good bye tiny sample jars, hello giant box) I struggled to figure out what to do with my samples that I wanted to carry with me during the day. Then David found this Disney tin abandoned during closing two springs ago and brought it home for me. At the time I was carrying samples around in little velvet baggies in my purse, but got nervous about them getting beat up or lost. The little tin seemed perfect. It was the right size for 2-3 baggies worth and let me decide on the fly what to wear or sample. I even put some folded up 3x5 note cards in it so I could take notes wherever I was if I needed to, as well as a couple of empty 1ml vials in case I was in a store and could convince an employee to allow me to take a sample of something I found. This seemed like a great idea to me. This plus a few small sprayers of things I loved already stashed in my car and my desk at work in case I managed to forget to spritz up before I left the house and I thought I had a pretty good system set up.

I knew that my perfume love was starting to get weird when several of my California coworkers commented that needing to carry samples around in a little tin looked like I was carrying crack vials. When I jokingly said that perfume was kind of my drug and I had a little bit of an addiction, they would carefully eye the little pile of samples scattered across my desk and say, "Ummmm. Oooookay."

No joke.

This is how you know your hobby has crossed the line from "cute" or "interesting" into "weird." I don't have one sample of a vanilla scent with me; I have five. I need to be able to compare them! On the fly! Wherever the mood strikes me! People tell me I smell great, and I'm now at the stage where I have to say things like, "Oh! This is a limited edition, you can't buy it anymore," or "Oh, this is great isn't it? But it's kind of pricey... How pricey? Umm...$300 a bottle?" or, and this is the worst yet, "Yeah, I love it, too, but they only sell it in Tokyo." (Yeah, thanks for that, Le Labo. That won't get you a crazy look *at all*.)

Yes. Mania, you hath possessed me. I love you. Never let me go. (Especially because at this point, you're starting to scare away other potential occupiers of my time, like new friends. If you left me, I might find myself very lonely.)

Let the Enabling Commence!


Today I received my first enabling gift since Angela got me hooked two years ago. No matter how many times I tell my friends I really want perfume for my graduation/birthday/holiday gifts, they are all too scared to try to buy me any now, even when I provide a list of pre-approved purchases. They're afraid they'll buy something I already have or, worse, something I won't like. They don't seem to understand that the unloved eventually becomes the swappable or that I am crazy enough to do things like buy myself that second bottle of Annick Goutal Songes (as though anyone ever needed more than one bottle of Songes) because it was just so cheap and what if my first one broke/was confiscated by security/got stolen/ was attacked by a pack of wild, perfume-hating dogs!?!

So THANK YOU STAR for bravely going where other gift-giving friends fear to tread and for enabling my insanity. Today in the mail I received a package containing the "Sephora favorites" sampler that comes not only with samples, but a coupon I can trade in for a full bottle of my favorite of the group. Bliss! Exhilaration! A package that soothes the savage obsessive collector type within me, satiating my need to find a way to acquire more samples for at least another month.

And the best part? It came with a cute little clutch, that was filled with -- yes you guessed it, more samples! Face wash samples, eye shadow samples, and EVEN MORE PERFUME SAMPLES! Because what do you give to an addict? More enabling addictive materials! Because that's what a junkie can never get enough of! Another fix!

Yes, my friends, this is a great holiday gift day here in the household. David doesn't have to sweat when my will breaks and I order another round of samples -- they're already here.

"I will have you; yes, I will have you.
I will find a way and I will have you.
Like a butterfly, a wild butterfly,
I will collect you and capture you."
- "Obsession," Animotion

Recommended Reading & Shopping: Holiday Edition

As a young woman, I never had much interest in fashion, much to the chagrin of my brother, who I'd affectionately call a label whore. As I've gotten older, though, I've become less interested in fashion as a statement -- in my case, a statement of nonconformity -- and more in fashion as an art form. Gaining weight in America today means having an increasingly difficult time finding clothes that even fit me, much less that look nice or qualify as art. The development has increased my interest in finding flattering and artful clothing that can look good on people bigger than a size 2.

Part of my interest extends to reading fashion blogs, like style rookie, and also following The New York Times The Moment. I was excited to see Hermes Eau de Pamplemousse Rose show up in Gift Guide Bonus Round. I have not yet tried a grapefruit rose, but I'd love to. Another site I've found to salavate over is Osmoz because it has an easy interface allowing you to look at lots of incredibly beautiful perfume bottles in one place. I also really enjoyed Chandler Burr's piece, "Dude You're So...Citrusy!," recommending men's scents, which included a lot of pretty bottle pix as well. There were more than a bottles on the Burr list I'd love to own. Maybe for Christmas...

Speaking of the holidays, if you're anything like me, you'ere probably already thinking about the shopping you need to do. Sample packs make great stocking stuffers, especially for those who already wear a fragrance but may not realize all the lovely options available to them. A young man who enjoys Old Spice Sport, a teenage girl who is only just beginning to explore scent, or any woman who enjoys scent and could also try new things. In addition to the INeKE sample set, which I can never say enough good things about, there are a lot of other independent perfumers who offer sample packages that would make a great little gift.

Possets Parfum has really affordable sample packs that allow you to choose what goes into them, which is great because you can customize the packs to the giftee. Ayala Moriel makes quality scents, and you can get a nice sample of two as stocking stuffers for very good prices. There's also a very nice sample set available. Rich Hippie, purveyor of organic and wildcrafted scents for the hippie-types in your life, has affordable samples and scents that are well worth your time. smell bent also has great prices on scents and with samples at only $3.75, you can buy several for your secret santa giftee without breaking the bank.

DSH Perfumes has wonderful sample packs, some of which are made up of scents that replicate the perfumes made for Kings and Queens of old. They also have some very nice collection boxes. Aftelier Perfumes has not just lovely perfumes, but perfume solids in antique containers, perfumed teas, and lots of other high quality, handcrafted items. So keep these items in mind when you are searching for a gift for that person on your list who has everything, because my bet is, they don't have some of this, and their lives would be richer for experiencing them.

Last but not least, let me point your attention to three great interviews over at The Scented Salamander with Mandy Aftel of Aftelier Perfumes, Ineke Ruhland of INeKE, and Liz Zorn of Soivhole, all three of which make beautiful scents I have personally tried and enjoyed.

Images from Heremes, INeKE, smell bent, and Aftelier Perfumes.

The sweetly scented life

Ever since I came back to Portland, I feel like I'm playing a constant game of catch-up. I cannot figure out if this is because I have no job and feel like I need one so I have an underlying low-level anxiety just brewing around in there, making me feel behind, or if life in Portland is just way busier. I am only just now getting some very overdue samples in the mail to Ines, for which I apologize wholeheartedly. I am hoping that the inclusion of a couple of extra samples will help make it up to her.

Now that Halloween is once again behind us (but not the delicious leftovers from our party -- yum!), I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. With that in mind, I'd like to point out that Perfume Shrine is doing a nice series of Christmas gift suggestions, and if you want to send me something because, I don't know, you've got that kind of money, the LE Annick Goutal bottles are nice. Also, I wouldn't balk at a bottle of any of the INeKE scents or anything made by Tauer Perfumes. Just in case you were wondering.

In other news, Perfume Shrine has a review on INeKE's Field Notes from Paris that is just as glowing as mine. So let that be yet another recommendation for you -- INeKE is definitely worth checking out, and is more than affordable, so you really have no excuse not to.

And while I'm on a roll with the recommendations, let me recommend Angela's piece on feminine scents for men, because I, too, would love to meet a man in a well made suit wearing Patou Joy, or at least see the cute guy with the short hair cut, clean shaven face, and wearing a sports coat with jeans in the college cafeteria (rare at my alma mater) try something slightly more daring than Old Spice Sports. Sometimes I think if I won the lottery I'd just wander around the world with a huge bag of perfumes in tow, spritzing everyone with the scents they should be wearing. But then, it would be just like some creative prosecutor with allergies to charge with me assault. Alas, alack, the world thus continues far less scented than it should be.

Recommended viewing, reading, a note on shopping....

"Let us turn our thoughts today to Martin Luther King,
and recognize that there are ties between us.
All men and women living on the Earth,
ties of hope and love.
Sister and brotherhood
that we are bound together
in our desire to see the world
become a place in which our children
can grow free and strong..."

Basenotes is doing a random give away for subscribers to their youtube video feed. I've embedded the video below, but I recommend going to youtuvbe proper so you can enter the draw!



Also, I have added several new blogs to the blogroll, including SmellyBlog, Vetivresse: Nosing Around in Scent, Wine & Style , and Tea, Sympathy, and Perfume, as well as a great new shopping opportunity, Rei Rien. Like others, I'm wondering how I missed this site for so long and look forward to receiving my shipment of samples. It's surprisingly hard for me to find places to get samples of mainstream fragrances, so I really appreciate Rei Rien.

Also, in recommended viewing, may I point you to this testimony from April from Philip Spooner? Spooner, 86, spoke out in favor of marriage equality during hearings in Maine on gay marriage Apr. 22, but the remarks are no less timely for being six months old. The World War II vet, and father of four, says he didn't fight in World War II for his gay son to be treated as a second class citizen. When a member of the Greatest Generation talks about the sacrifices he and others made so that we could all share in equal rights, rights we currently deny to our fellow citizens, I think it says something profound about the civil rights fight going on in America today. November is historically a month spent thinking about elections and rights and voting. In that spirit, let our thoughts turn to Martin Luther King and the distance that still remains before us as we work to realize his dream of one America, a dream still being denied to too many people in too many ways.



"We are bound together
by the task that stands before us
and the road that lies ahead.
We are bound and we are bound.
There is a feeling like the clenching of a fist.
There is a hunger in the center of the chest.
There is a passage through the darkness and the mist,
and though the body sleeps the heart will never rest..."
- "Shed a Little Light," James Taylor

Hey Mr. Postman, look and see....

"There must be some word today
from my boyfriend, so far away.
Please Mister Postman, look and see
if there's a letter, a letter for me..."

Today was a very good day, mail-wise.

I got a big package of my mail from David, who is still in Portland, containing some medication I needed, my Fall Fashion edition of Elle magazine, a sweet little alumni magazine featuring full page pictures of current students I know and far flung cohort friends I miss dearly, and a bunch of random mail.

Also, my bottle of Téo Cabanel Oha arrived today from Greece! I love mail just generally, but getting mail with fancy international stamps on it is extra special. (Though my students do frequently wonder why I am constantly getting sweet smelling packages from Europe marked "Fragile" all over them!)

The seller had wrapped it like a gift, too. A little gift to me for surving here in SoCal for two months as of tomorrow. It seems like so much longer, especially since, without a visit from my sister and the regular companionship of a dear friend from college who lives about a 45 minute drive away, I would be sweltering out here in the desert all alone.

Pictures included for your entertainment.

"...deliver the letter,
the sooner the better...
- "Please Mr. Postman," The Marvelettes

Recommended Buying

While I get samples from many different places, I’d like to take a moment to highlight some of these places for those readers out there who want to begin trying some perfumes but don’t know where to start. While you can get good sample deals on EBay sometimes, or beg them off your local department store salesperson if you are incredibly lucky, here are some places where a budding perfumista can be sure to get exactly what one might be after. While lots of places offer samples for sale or gift with purchase, I’m choosing to highlight a few I’ve had a lot of success with.

Lucky Scent sells samples of just about everything they carry, and their page lets you sort by type or search by note, so if already know you like “vanilla” or “rose” or “iris,” you can get a bunch of different samples that share a note you already know you like. It’s a good way to get started.

Beauty Habit is really pretty generous with their samples with purchase, but their new Try Before You Buy program is really quite something.

The Perfumed Court is a cheap and easy way to get started, particularly through sample sets. Also, this is a great place to get educated about perfume, because some of the grand dames of the perfume blogging world run this site, and they love to help. (For an example, see this page on fragrance families. Also a great place to sample vintage perfumes you might not otherwise get a sniff at.

You can also frequently get samples directly from the perfumer. Here’s a short list of independent perfumers who I think are worth a try and who provide sampling opportunities: INeKE, CB I Hate Perfume has 2mls of the perfume absolutes, Bond No. 9 offers 7ml sprayers and sample boxes, DSH Perfumes has sample packs for sale, Aftelier Perfumes sample packs of three, Artemisia Natural Perfumers sample packs, Sarah Horowitz Parfums individual samples, Roxana Illuminated Perfumes, and last, but never least, Tauer Perfumes has individual samples.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Addendum: I wanted to add a mention of the Sephora gift sets, which allow you to get samples of multiple fragrances at a discount. I particularly like the scent samplers which provide several samples as well as a gift certificate for a full bottle of the scent from the sampler set you like best.

Gulp!

BeautyHabit sent me a super sweet Valentine's present - a 20% off card! And with that, my graduation gift purchase is now complete.

As I have previously mentioned, I am graduating from Law School in a few months. As a gift to myself I decided a few months ago that I really wanted a bottle of L'Artisan's Iris Pallida. Exorbitantly expensive, yes, but as I wrote in my previous review of it, I think it might be the most beautiful thing I've had on my body. So faced with saving 20%, my graduation only three months away, and a promotion that would give me an additional 15ml bottle of either Tea for Two or Dzonghka (my choice) as a gift with purchase, I couldn't resist. So tonight, I spent $236 on a dingle bottle. As a student. With loans. Who makes ~$1000 a month. And this is after I bought a bottle of Ave Luxe Wild Blackberry Musk a little over a month ago and a bottle of Kai EDP two weeks ago.

I think it's safe to say that I am a full fledge perfumista at this point.

And now I'll get back to forcing three beautiful boys to watch "Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist" with me. And just like Liz Phair, "I want all that stupid bullshit, like letters and sodas." And someone bought me a soda today, just like I wanted. Turned out to be a decent Valentine's after all.