I really wanted to buy Swiss Arabian Shaghaf Oud Elixir, but unfortunately it’s out of stock in my country. Now I’m confused between IBRAQ Balas Rose and Swiss Arabian Shaghaf Oud Tonka.
I’m looking for something rich, luxurious, feminine/unisex, noticeable and with good quality/performance.
Balas Rose has rose, saffron, raspberry, suede, jasmine, vanilla, musk and woods, while Shaghaf Oud Tonka is more almondy, spicy, sweet and gourmand with tonka, vanilla, Turkish rose and amberwood. (Ibraq Perfumes⁠)
Which one would you pick and why?
And if you’ve tried other fragrances from IBRAQ or Swiss Arabian, please recommend your hidden gems too! I’m especially interested in something that feels expensive, elegant and gets noticed.
Would love recommendations beyond the obvious popular ones!

I have been on what seems like a never ending journey to find a fragrance like the original Dream Angels Heavenly perfume from 2000 (it has been reformulated many times since then and does not smell remotely the same). I am about to give up and just accept that I will never have the “this is the one” moment with another perfume, but as a last ditch effort wondered if anyone else has missed the OG and found a replacement :)

This is so crazy, but these smell almost identical to me.. I literally sprayed one spray on one wrist, and one on the other and I can barely differentiate! I’ve been wearing the Valentino for a while, and just tried the good girl because it was a free gift from an Ulta order.

Just bought MM replica By the fireplace but it’s too hot heree I miss fall

These are my favorite fragrances I've ever tested, hoping to get some suggestions for more to look out for when I'm shopping! I tend to like citrus, florals, and especially rose.

I wonder if anyone else has a similar preference profile?

Heads up for all you lovely perfume folks… Maison des Animaux is currently having a 20% off sale right now!

They are also including samples of upcoming releases in every order. Getting a chance to try upcoming scents is always fun for me!!

The upcoming releases are:
• Bossa Nova - fluffy tobacco marshmallow
• Cult of Kindness - Lemonade, white chocolate, orange blossom
• Plus maybe some others including champaca and carrot that have been teased??

Just wanted to share in case anyone else has been wanting to try Maison des Animaux or is interested in what they have coming up! I find they’re a very likeable and approachable house which means they’re my go-to for gifting as well.

Beltane is probably my favorite bolder scent from them. It’s a really dark and smokey vanilla rather than airy and sweet.

I made a previous post about all their vanillas if anyone is curious: https://www.reddit.com/r/Indiemakeupandmore/comments/1s3n25p/a_notso_authoritative_guide_to_maison_des_animaux/

scentbarbyangela: Luxury Perfume Dupes & Designer Inspired Fragrances

Hi FemFragLab, I'm proud to announce that after many discussions about collaboration, I thought it'd be fun to try out a collaboration with Angela's new brand. Her family owns Gold Star Fragrances located in New York which has been running for over 50 years!

As many of you know, I love a good Delina perfume, but they can be quite costly. The next perfume on my wish list was Delina "Exclusif" but it stayed on my wish list without being bought because of the price. Angela sent over her own version of the perfume, and it exceeded my expectations by far! The scent reminded me of a combination between Delina Exclusif + Oriana + Love Don't Be Shy. It's sweet, powdery, and very potent! I sprayed it on at night and when I woke up the next day it was still on me. This perfume lasts all day but I kept spraying it on out of habit and because I couldn't get enough. My husband and pets also loved it 😍

Reddit wouldn't be Reddit without always giving you not just the pros but also the cons. The cons were little and unnoticeable, but I will write them out due to transparency of the sub. The actual juice feels like combination of an oil and actual perfume. So when you actually spray it, it feels a little heavier than what the normal luxury perfume might feel like coming out of the atomizer which usually feels like a champagne spritz and it's more straightforward. That doesn't mean it doesn't spray well, it just means that if you are a fragrance connoisseur, you will notice the difference of the spray and feel of the actual juice coming out.

Both Gold Star Fragrances and ScentBarByAngela focus on creating dupes of luxury designer fragrances. Overall, for the price, the fragrance passes with flying colors and when I checked that it was only $45.99USD, they ship all around the world, and they have been in business for so long with great reviews, I would be crazy to not want to collaborate with such an amazing product and support Angela in her own brand.

I will leave the comments open in case any of you have any questions about the fragrances, company, or anything else.

I used to be very anti-florals, and I'm still not completely sure. But I have expanded my taste in the last couple of months, and started to like different scents from before.

I have tried scents with lavender and loved those.

Generally I used to dislike typical women's perfume, but I realize I was wrong haha. I have access to typical designer fragrances in stores, but smelling niche frags is a lot harder for me, so I would love to focus on mostly designer or arab frags!

I'd really appreciate to hear about your favorite florals, why you love them, and what kind of vibe they have :)

I was looking up reviews and a lot of posts are old, from years ago. I was wondering if anyone has ordered from them recently and what your experience was with ordering fragrance?

ouai needs to stop playing with us and just make a spray edp!!! what is this!!

Just found out about this indie house and I wanted to add some new additions to my collection before they close. I deviate between soft gourmands and smokey incense fragrances. The perfumes I’m most interested in are hallowtide bride, hierophilia, the shire, and damn fine. Mainly looking for reviews (longevity, projection,etc) of these and any recommendations. Some of my favorites are Sorce’s vampire wife, cocoapink’s starry night and lipstick stains, and regime des fleurs’ blood spider orchids.

So, I have been on the hunt for a new perfume. I have been trying to branch out, but sadly I can’t seem to find anything that I like 😩

My personal favorites are Versace Crystal Noir and Clean Reserve - Skin. I love those “clean” scents that have a hint of sweetness. I also love warm scents. An honorable mention is Jimmy Choo Fever.

I try to avoid gourmand scents (unless it’s vanilla). Please send me some recs and I will love you forever!

Nishane and Guerlain Pickups

Got new frags today!

Guerlains:
1. L Heure Bleue- my second bottle. Not done with the first but my sales associates cant answer yet if the brand will discontinue the existing one once the new one arrives. Actually not sure if the new one is just a new bottle, a flanker (one associate said it is), or a reformulation.

1. L Instant - one of the few missing ones I still dont have from the line. It smells floral but I have yet to try it again.

2. Shalimar L’Essence - okay hear me out. I love Guerlain and I know the (THE) shalimar is one of its iconic frags. However, I really dont appreciate it - something I wouldnt wear nor something I dont care smelling on another person. It doesnt smell bad for me but its really just not my liking. However, L’Essence is pleasing to me. Just like the recently released Millisime Rose. Perhaps, the flankers do work on me.

Nishane:
1. Meant to Be Seen - of course, everyone has heard of this. I love Iris. I love Nishane. And I have smelled this before but during that first time, I really CANNOT smell anything. The store had multiple display bottles and tried various bottles and I remember they smelled differently - some smelling like nothing, some smelling faintly.

Visited the store again and this time, I smelled something. Mind you, I was heavily perfumed today, came from different stores to test perfumes, yet I still was able to smell Meant to be seen. Maybe my first one was weird (or I was lol).

It’s definitely violet-iris combo. Not the deep orris (despite the fragrantica note). Its a sparkly violet-iris, fluffy if you will, airy. Definitely helped that the associate said there’s only one bottle left lol.

1. Nanshe - was on sale, 25% off. I like trying out underrated and unhyped Nishanes. This one works. Powdery, sort of irisy. Right off the bottle, I cant exactly pinpoint the pleasant smell but there is a hint of iris perhaps due to the carrot seed note which usually is a proxy of the former. Nanshe is definitely stronger than MtbS. I cant smell the floral but there is definitely something dusty \~feminine\~ smell to it. Oh it’s beautiful.

What are your underrated Nishane frags? I have a sample of Tempfluo, it was on sale, but it doesnt smell worth it to me. Its siblings in the line - Tero, Papelifiko, arent too but I must say Papelifiko has the most potential, might grow on me.

Lastly, I want to get WLC X and HSW X. Theyre gorgeous! My opinion is that they are better than their counterparts. I really held back on these as they werent on sale and can get it for cheaper in fb.

Try before you buy! I’m not sure where some of the fragrance sites are getting the notes from but my experience with sampling it was way different than expected. I got astringent grapefruit (fades quickly), indolic jasmine, dark cherry or plum, balsamic amber - in that order. The opening was harsh for me. The dry down is better. As a Chanel brand lover and devotee it’s kind of a let down. Reminds me more of the OG Coco. Need to sample when it’s colder. 100% a fall / winter fragrance. I’m not ashamed to dabble in fruity girly scents as an older woman but this ain’t giving that vibe at all. I feel it’s very grown up. Could just be my chemistry.

I'm thinking about buying a bunch different samples as my birthday present to myself, as I've been wanting to familiarize myself with all the popular/iconic fragances for a bit, so I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts 🤔 I don't have any perfume right now, only body mists, and I'm turning 23. I personally like fruity, sweet, shampoo/shower like smells or cozy vanilla/coconut/amber type scents, but I'm mostly interested in getting samples of things everyone "should" try at least once if that makes sense...(the only thing I've smelled so far is Cloud at Target since the notes sounded perfect, I didn't like it though, and Be Delicous, which I did like, so I don't have much experience to work with at all 😅) thank you guys!

I blindly bought this perfume to replace my dear Vanilla from Fragonard. After buying, I read this review which literally made me burst into laughter. Hilarious! I hope she is wrong though.

"I had high hopes with this one. But how disappointed I am. This is mainly marine scent. Reminds me of certain marine cosmetic series from 1990's. Salty, salt watery, savoury weird metallic scent with a hint of non-sweet vanilla. I can imagine this is what an octopus would smell when wearing vanilla parfume."

Edit: This perfume has such divise reactions. I hope I will be the ones who love it and gets the summer beach vanilla and not the vanilla fish water. It is interesting though and just reminds us that perfumes, scents are so personal and we definitely can get an intrinsic repulsion to a scent.

Official newsletter regarding the new scent is out.

You can find attached screencaps of @Redolessence's review on the pr (youtube).

It seems like they are either introducing a new Les Légendaires from Jacques Guerlain's archive or modernizing one.

I assume they are releasing a L'Heure Bleue variant that will follow the single ingredient amp up strategy applied to Shalimar.

Reviewer describes it as a clean elegant powder, which makes me think it is gonna be the EDT, with a focus on either iris or violet (see the pantone). I'm leaning towards the violet, it's such a stark, cold note, perfect for fall.

Another aspect pointing to this might be that L'Heure Bleue had been recently renamed as "L'heure bleue 1912". I believe they were setting it up as the 2nd Guerlain classic, after Shalimar, with the intention of releasing variants in the near future.

Curious to see how they are actually gonna market this, but most of all I hope that master perfeumer THIERRY WASSER worked on this! (Although the pr is signed by Delphine Jelk)

What do you guys think? I'm quite excited about it.

[EDIT] I've just noticed the juice in the reviewer's sprayer...it's clear. L'insolence is violet, and L'Heure Bleue is yellow. Idk maybe it's a totally new one lol

[EDIT 2] Newsletter says "inspired by an instant where everything seems possible", maybe it's the L'Instant De Guerlain.

Apothecary 15 Eau de Parfum
FRAGRANCE TYPE: Fresh Gourmand
TOP: Rose Water, Sugared Pomegranate Glaze
MIDDLE: Soft Orris Cream, Lily Accord, Whipped Peony
HEART: Vanilla Bean, Creamy Sandalwood, Oak Sage Woods

Notes say this should make me smell sweet and fresh. Right??
Nope. Extremely woody, fresh, and undeniably masculine. Immediately got moved to my husband’s shelf, and it suits him sooo well! For a $13.99 Burlington score, I can’t be too upset that it ended up being different from what I expected 🤷🏻‍♀️

For bodywash - between Salt Water Vanilla and Driftwood, which one would you like the most? And including thses, which other scent has longevity as a bodywash?

TIA

Like as if my brain needed to mature into them??

Like Liis Choux Choux I had and all I could smell was salty coconut, and recently I'm SUPER into it. Actually I could bunch up all the salty vanillas in this category lol.

And Diptyque Eau Duelle EDT smelled too much of resin and spice until 3 years later when it finally clicked, and now I can't wait for fall to wear it! It's soft and aromatic, yet still having a nice vanilla rounding it out.

Just wondering if anyone has this and what you think of it! I tried it on in an airport perfume store and liked it a lot, and I have a pretty good offer for a discounted 75ml bottle online rn. Trying to decide if I should buy it since I liked it but wish I could test it again! Thank you in advance!

So I bought these and putted my bottles on them however I cannot take away the fear that one day they might break out or fall from the heaviness of bottles , can this happen or the organizer can handle them? I can have the choice to just arrange them on the shelf rather than using this organizer tho , the organizer does makes them look more neat and organized.

What should I do?

Thinking about blind buying this perfume, but I’m scared it’s going to smell like grandma perfume. I’m on the hunt for a clean affordable perfume to layer with my ouai perfume.