Fragrance of the Moment: Samsara edt by Guerlain
I have spritzed on some Guerlain Samsara in eau de toilette as I find the sandalwood in it encourages mental focus. I love the edt concentration, it is subtler than the edp. Right now I am wondering why I even bother to wear any other summer scents as Samsara is top-notch. The scent is sensual but not so much as to take your mind off productive activity. I was recently given a mini of the pure parfum concentration and will try it next time.
What are you wearing now?
One of my perfume friends used to call me a guerly-guerl, ha, ha! I love Guerlain, but not all of their fragrances. Unfortunately, Samsara is not one of them, because it just seems to overpower all sense of smell. On the right person with the right body chemistry, it smells divine.
Today I am wearing Boucheron Jaipur Safir. A dear perfume friend sent me a generous decant of it after I indicated that I would like to try it. It really is lovely, even lovelier than the original Boucheron in my humble opinion.
Hugs!
Dear Mimi-
I remember awaiting the release of this, and I actually called the folks in Somers, NY to order it before it was on the market.
I loved it, but I think I burned out with overuse...
Like Vi, I generally adore Guerlains, although some of the output has disappointed in past years, being too trendy or commercially-minded to really hold my interest....
I want to wear perfumes because I can't HELP myself, because they express part of my personae,because they sing Lorelei-type siren songs of seduction, NOT because it's the mode...
SCREW the mode!!!
Today, as you probably know, it's tough here in Boston- so I'm wearing Zeste de Rose, all lemony,tealike fraicheur.
I hope all goes well with your book-
Please tell us more about it, and that lovely portrait of feminine pulchritude...
R,
I tried the parfum and I am sticking with the edt which smells more complex to my nose and lighter too.
I like Jaipur.
Chaya,
It was indeed beastly hot in the Boston area at some point but towards the end of the afternoon things improved. I hope it cooled down for you too.
My book is an academic book in the social sciences. This is all I'm going to say for now:)
Maybe I'll give you some clues regarding the portrait instead of saying outright who she is. She is French.
Salut, Mimi (if I may be so familiar?)
Today I've been wearing *mainly* Voile d'Ambre. Although it's ONLY by Yves Rocher - and I only have it in the "try me size, so far - but I'm off to France next Monday! - there's sthg about it... Once the not-terribly-alluring top note has disappeared, there's a lovely caramel note, to my nose. Although it's been about 98 here in my corner of NC today - with much higher heat indices; and although one isn't "supposed" to wear that sort of thing in extreme heat - not to mention the fact that I'm sure it's really terribly common in 'igh clarss perfume circles to admit to liking caramel - I LOVE the smell of it! I only hope I've not offended anyone else with its pretty minimal (in the heat) sillage.
I’ve also been tinkering with various samples from Patty: Chergui, Bois des Îles, Lonestar Memories, and some lighter stuff like Fleur d’Oranger and La Chasse aux Papillons. That’s a lot for a pretty uninitiated nose to take in!
I used to adore Un Air de Samsara - which I just discovered is discontinued, btw. However, I unfortunately find that the original Samsara doesn’t work on me very well; and I have to be in exactly the right frame of mind to wear Un Air nowadays. Mind you, I find that about a lot of stuff: I have to be in the right mindset, clothing, be meeting the right people; the weather has to suit it... Uff – perimenopause, huh?
Sorry, running off at the fingers as usual!
Tommasina
Salut Tommasina (not at all!)
I'm waiting for the fall season to retry Voile d'Ambre. It's a light amber so I think it's ok in the heat but I'm curious to see if it will smell more"season-appropriate" when the weather cools down.
If you like caramel you could go to Agatha and test their caramel fragrance while in France. Also Crème Brûlée by Laurence Dumont.
I'd like to try un air de samsara at some point. I personally like Samsara edt b/c I think it smells intemporal. It's also one of the best matches for my skin chemistry.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful suggestions of other perfumes I might like. I’m actually not big into gourmand smells – although I rather like vanilla from time to time; there’s just sthg about the way Vd’A dries down on me that I find intriguing (if that’s not too pompous a word to use for a ‘little’ fragrance) and just comforting. I've been dabbing some on the backs of my hands at bed time, and it's nice to get whiffs of that ambery-caramel when I wake briefly in the night.
Btw, I’d be more than happy to send you some of my “Un Air de Samsara”; however, as I don’t have any specialist equipment and I’m not sure how it’s done, I’d need you to instruct me!
Right now I am wearing Samsara --which is why I stopped at this post to comment. I am very lucky that all scents work well with my 'chemistry' and I do love to collect as many Guerlains as possible-- I find that Guerlain sillage gets all of the comments out in the real world--men ask and women ask, and they often write down the name of the fragrance so they'll remember it when they get to the shops--I have to do the same--because when I get to the perfume counter I forget everything and want to smell everything.