Blind Buys for October 2019

Who else is brave enough to make "blind buys?" That is, fragrances purchased over the Internet based only on their descriptions and/or word of mouth. I do it a lot, and it is occasionally quite dangerous. So many times I've bought something and found it either quite unsuitable for my body chemistry and tastes, or it downright stinks. At that point, I bring it to work and leave it in the ladies' room for someone to take. I do try to buy scents that I'm pretty sure I like, though it's sometimes impossible to tell, and I always purchase them from a discounter like Fragrancenet.com or Fragrancex.com, so I'm not spending a ton of money.

This month, I was pretty successful. I purchased three scents from Fragrancenet, and am pretty happy with two of the three. I think I will keep the third one, at least for now, and give it a try now and again, but the other two are going right into my fall fragrance rotation.

Miller Harris Terre D'Iris
Lyn Harris
Calabrian Bergamot, Sicilian Bitter Orange, Valencia Orange, Florida Grapefruit, Spanish Rosemary, French Clary Sage, Tunisian Orange Blossom, Turkish Rose, Indonesian Patchouli, Tree Moss, French Fir Balsam, Iris Butter

There's a lot going on in this very unisex scent. The opening is very citrus-aromatic, rather sharp, with lots of bergamot and clary sage. The middle phase of the scent stays very green, with traces of the iris coming through. As it dries down, Terre d'Iris loses the citrus. It is replaced by patchouli, which retains some of the scent's initial sharpness. Eventually--and that is after some hours--the scent softens, but never into what I would call an iris scent. I have seen Terre d'Iris called a chypre, but the moss comes in so late in this fragrance's development, I am not sure that's accurate. At any rate, it doesn't strike me as a chypre, and I like it, so I'm not going to call it that.

Although I will probably wear Terre d'Iris in the fall, I think it would make a nice spring scent as well.

Van Cleef & Arpels Collection Extraordinaire Bois D'Iris
Emilie Coppermann
Sweet Notes, Frankincense, Iris, Driftwood, Vetiver, Ambergris, Labdanum, Myrrh, Vanilla

While also unisex, Bois d'Iris is much softer and warmer, a cozier iris, if you will. The opening has a custardy quality (what are those "sweet notes" exactly?) which goes quickly into a woody iris that's neither powdery nor dry. Sadly, I'm not getting the frankincense, because I think a smoky note would make this fragrance more interesting than it is, at least on my skin, but the myrrh and vanilla keep the scent sweet into the drydown. Bois d'Iris reminds me a lot of Odori Iris, which is among my favorites. I need to try them side by side once I unearth my cooler-weather fragrances. Overall, a very pleasant perfume for lovers of iris. Especially when one can snag a bottle for around $70 on Fragrancenet.com.

O De Lancome
Robert Gonnon
Bergamot, Lemon, Tangerine, Basil, Rosemary, Coriander, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Sandalwood, Vetiver, Oakmoss, Cistus, Labdanum

Now this one is definitely a chypre scent. And I'm not at all partial to chypres. Once the oakmoss kicks in, that's pretty much all I smell. I really wish the citrus notes shone more, because the chypre quality of this scent is almost oppressive to me. Still, it was worth trying, and who knows? My taste in fragrances changes from time to time. Maybe one day I'll get into chypres.

Or maybe not.

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Posted by theminx on Minxstinks