On May 13, 2008 damselfly1213 said:
Thanks for this very thorough review. I was thinking I’d like “indolic orange flower” (though probably not $245 worth of like), and then I got to the “wet, rotting cardboard” part. I think I’m safe from it, too Beautiful bottles, though.

On May 13, 2008 AngelaS said:
You might have better luck with the orange flower! It doesn’t always settle well on me.

I like the bottles, too.

On May 13, 2008 ‘Manda said:
My husband chuckled when he read the portion about the “wet, rotting cardboard” (I call him my perfumistah.. haha) because we were just discussing how good wet cardboard smelled as we were putting out the recycling this morning!

So… I have a question for the group. I recently came to be the owner of a gift set of my favorite unisex scent that contained a sample of aftershave. My husband detests anything other than his favorite cologne, so he’s not going to use it. Can I use it? If so, how? Could it function as a sort of base for layering the scent? Am I crazy to be considering using it?

Thanks!

On May 13, 2008 damselfly1213 said:
I’ve never splashed on aftershave, but I don’t see why you couldn’t. I sneak spritzes of my hubby’s colognes (e.g., Guerlain Vetiver) and just wear them like I would perfume (I spray a little more lightly, though).

On May 13, 2008 NowSmellThis said:
Butting in to say that someone on MakeupAlley posted recently that they used men’s aftershave on their legs after shaving…might be an option.

On May 13, 2008 AngelaS said:
Why not use it? It might have a little more alcohol than the EdT (or maybe not, I don’t know) but I can’t think of a reason not to use it.

On May 13, 2008 Existentialist said:
I’ve used aftershave as fragrance (I’m a woman). My friend has a bottle of Obsession for Men aftershave, and it’s a great scent on a woman of a certain age. So I would not consider you crazy. My impression is that the aftershave does not last as long as a fragrance, that’s all. YMMV.

On May 13, 2008 AngelaS said:
More votes for aftershave!

On May 13, 2008 moon_grrl said:
Thanks for the review, Angela. My wallet is sighing with relief.

On May 13, 2008 AngelaS said:
I hear you. My “to buy someday” list is getting ridiculous.

On May 13, 2008 Existentialist said:
I’m in the minority in that these bottles don’t thrill me. I guess I prefer glass, or at least something more modern. But I get that she’s doing a vintage theme, and opaque ceramic is probably more protective of the juice.

On May 13, 2008 AngelaS said:
I like the bottles, but I know what you mean. They almost look like they’re meant to store nutmeg.

On May 13, 2008 monkeytoe said:
Thank you for the reviews. I won’t pull them off my to try list, but I am pushing them down a bit further.

On May 13, 2008 AngelaS said:
They’re definitely worth trying, and I’m glad I tried them. But I’m also glad I don’t need to rush out and buy them.

On May 13, 2008 carmencanada said:
You hit those right on the spot. I received samples from Catherine Fructus and was smelling them the other day, thinking of writing a review… Esprit de Cuir is totally Tabu, with a bit of a Habanita vibe tossed in. But what particularly struck me about your comment, that jibes with what I got from the scents, is that they have a vintage *feel* but without the old savoir-faire. Something about controlling the volume, you’re exactly right. There’s a density in them that doesn’t open up. I might want to give these more of a try on skin, and I suspect they’d work better in winter, but I’m still a little meh on them for now.

On May 13, 2008 AngelaS said:
Your description of density that doesn’t quite open up is a perfect way to describe them. I wonder if they’d open up if they were sprayed instead of dabbed? I’ll probably never find out, because I’m not intrigued enough to try, at this point. Still, I’ll keep the vials and try them from time to time. Who knows?

On May 14, 2008 Fleur said:
Thanks for that review! Long Lost Perfumes does a re-creation of the long-discontinued Crepe de Chine. It’s quite lovely, and heaven knows the price is right. I remember Crepe de Chine from the 1950s, and when someone told me about LLP a few years ago, I bit immediately and went through a good-sized bottle. My boyfriend at the time didn’t like it, but he’s history now and I may have to re-up at LLP. I really, *really* like those Auguste bottles, though….

On May 14, 2008 AngelaS said:
I have a little bottle of Crepe de Chine parfum that a friend snagged for me at an estate sale, but once it runs out I do want to try the LLP version.

I was glad I wasn’t wild for the Augustes, either. They sounded so appealing, but I think for that genre of scent I like the Grossmiths better.

Anyway, A., I’m glad I came across this review by chance. Some people were/are doing splits of the Augustes, and my heart started to beat fast (probably mainly because of the porcelain containers, which it’s not like I’d be getting if I bought a tiny decant anyway). I had already put these out of my mind because they’re just too expensive, but it still made me very happy to see that you’re of the opinion they’re not All That. I *am*, however, off to look up that Aedes Histoire de Chypre. Thanks.