SPOTLIGHT: Fragrance Miniatures Part 3...

If you missed Part 1, it's available here, and Part 2, here...

Estée Lauder Beautiful, Eau de Parfum

This is what I call an "old fashioned" fragrance - I'm not particularly keen on it, which is why there's so much left in the bottle. I try it out every so often to see if my tastes have changed, but in 3 years, I'm still of the same opinion. Don't get me wrong, this is a lovely floral with no obvious vices (although it is very strong initially), it's just that it doesn't have enough standout characteristics or individuality for my liking. In my youth I was heavily into Avon perfumes (Topaz in particular), and this reminds me of a couple of the others they had in their range - pretty, but...ordinary. Released in 1986 I believe it used to be the fragrance of choice for brides, but to me it's dated. After a few hours on my skin, it does have a lovely soft musky and powdery base, but so many other perfumes do too...

Estée Lauder White Linen, Eau de Parfum

Now this is distinctive - one of the few fragrances out there that I can usually always identify when anyone wears it. Not that that happens very often these days - I remember smelling this everywhere in the late 70's and early 80's, but haven't caught a whiff of it probably for 10 years, except on myself. While I don't love it enough to purchase a larger bottle, I like it, and dab it on maybe twice a year, usually in the cooler months because it's quite potent. I find it very hard to describe, but would say an earthy powdery floral with a touch of spice - lol, that probably doesn't help, but I find any perfume that has a large percentage of aldehyde (as this does) very difficult to explain. Many fans describe this as smelling like freshly laundered sheets - sure it has a crispness to it, but my impression is more of something aged rather than just-washed. Elegant and classy, it tends to turn a bit sour on my skin after a few hours, but I just dab on a little more and that fixes it...

Lanvin Arpège, Eau de parfum

This is the momma of my signature scent (Arpège D'Eclat), and the only perfume I ever remember my paternal grandmother wearing - consequently it reminds me of her, and I always associate it with elderly women, can't help it. These days it is a little different compared with the original formula (created in 1927) but essentially it remains an aldehydic woody white floral. The bottle is beautifully elegant, stamped with a golden picture of a woman and daughter clutching hands. I actually bought this by mistake (thinking it was a miniature of the Eclat), but I love the look of it (and the memories) so much I can't bear to give it away, although I don't like it enough to wear it. Very pleasant at first, it turns all soapy on my skin and takes on an almost sour bubblegum-like character - in short it loses all it's elegance when combined with my particular chemistry. Some folks say it's similar to Chanel No.5, but I don't like that either...

Calvin Klein Eternity, Eau de parfum

Another oldie but a goody from CK - created in 1988, this smells like carnations to me, so if you're a fan of that particular flower, you'll truly love this. Delightfully fresh and creamy, it's tinged with some green notes over a base of powder and spice. A lovely mix, calming, and quietly feminine, the lily of the valley comes out after a few minutes, but not enough to take it into the over-sweet realm. The base is a soft musk with a tinge of sandalwood. I'd call this a "safe" fragrance, one that you could wear at any time of the night or day, any occasion, any season. It doesn't seem to fade either, even after many hours of wear.

Well that's the final installment of my miniatures - I did score some totally new-to-me fragrances around Christmas/New Year though, so I'll report on them once I've stopped just looking at them, and actually tried them out :-)

Take care of you,
kats xxx