Friday roundup

The perfume sections of department stores in my part of the world are in a state of frenzy, trying to get rid of the old stock, a hangover from Christmas time, including many unwanted box sets. It's the usual suspects in many cases, although I did see a mini-set of Estee Lauder Men's fragrances on sale, marked down from £32 to £16. I'm curious to try Lauder Man, which is one of the four in the set, but honesty, the rest don't interest me at all, and I'm not convinced I want to pay £16 for what will essentially be 5ml of juice.

I did smell one of the Estee Lauder Private Collection fragrances, Tuberose and Gardenia, and it is a lovely, pretty thing. I might check this one out again in the spring. I also smelled Cinnabar for the first time, and I actually think it smells good. A lot of people seem to deride it, saying it is another, slightly inferior Opium and Coco clone. It may be, I don't really know, but I've certainly smelled a lot worse.

It's been a good week for me, perfume-wise. I haven't tried anything new, but like last week, I have revisited some of my older samples, including Andy Tauer's Incense Rose, Incense Extreme, Lonestar Memories and L'Air du Desert Au Marocain, Black Tourmaline by Olivier Durbano, some Middle Eastern musk oils and a newcomer to my sample collection, Vintage Patchouly by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz. More to come in another review on that one.

I'm definitely ready for another sample order. I can feel that credit card calling my name and I'm hoping to try some new and exciting stuff. I've read some good reviews of Xerjoff, despite their high price tag.

I find, like Josephine over at NotesfromJosephine, that I am really drawn to incense at the moment, for some reason. I can wear incense perfumes at any time of year - it's possibly my favourite genre - but I feel the urge even more so right now.

New releases are still few and far between in my neck of the woods. I think shops are still trying to get rid of older merchandise before getting in the new stuff, although the new Jimmy Choo is sure to be here soon. Cynical me - I can't say I'm holding my breath in anticipation...

Have a good weekend all.