Like a few others, I'm due to start work again this week and I can't say that I am overflowing with motivation. I know that once I'm back for a couple of days it will feel like I was never away and all will be fine, but I've actually enjoyed this time off, not having had a break since September.
The shops are just crazy around Tunbridge Wells, where I live. Of course, these days the new year sales actually start on Boxing Day, and in some cases even before Christmas, but nevertheless the crowds are getting to me. I don't know where these people get the money to shop, but hey ho.
I popped into Boots today, which is a national chemist chain in the UK. They stock a surprisingly good and comprehensive variety of mainstream fragrances and I occasionally have a look at what they've got, in case I spot something out of the ordinary (which I haven't seen really, but one can hope). Interestingly, I notice Boots are carrying a larger line of Guerlain these days. About eighteen months or so ago they stocked Guerlain Homme and Insolence, no doubt a bid to attract a younger market, but today I also spotted Samsara and Mitsouko, of all things. Perhaps the larger Boots have always stocked these, I don't know, but I certainly haven't seen them before.
I tried Magie Noire by Lancome. Now I don't know much about the Lancome perfumes, but I did read a while back that Magie Noire has been reformulated and is nothing like previous incarnations. I'm 100% certain that what I tried today is the current stuff and actually I quite enjoyed it. I mean, it wasn't revelationary (is this a proper word?) but it smelled quite dark, for want of a better word, with a nice touch of light florals and even what I perceived as some incense. I certainly would wear it again. As I said, I have no idea what it smelled like previously, so would be interested in hearing from anyone who has tried the pre-reformulated juice.
Michael, I'm with you - I actually like the recent formulation of Magie Noir. In the 80's, I owned the original formula, but my nose was not developed enough to appreciate it fully, I fear. Having virtually no memory whatsoever...I have forgotten the specific differences. However, I feel the current version is a bit more wearable. At least for me.
ReplyDeleteThanks Josephine, glad to read that you enjoy it. I thought it was rather nice too.
ReplyDeleteI was - for that matter still am - a diehard devotee of the original formulation, and I can see that the current version is a bit more...shall we say, people-pleasing? than the original version. The Eighties' version of Magie Noire demanded a certain degree of stainless steel spine, to put it mildly!
ReplyDeleteI'd wear them both, given half a chance, but there's just something about the width of those shoulders in the original that I love - or else, these thirty years later, I've finally become the kind of woman who can carry it off!
I have both. I wear both. I love the previous version...it's more...hmm, in a word..."animal-y." It's deeper and darker and develops with more depth.
ReplyDeleteThe modern somehow is...well, the same, but not as much of any aspect. A good entry point, as it were, and a perfectly satisfactory place to decide to stay and hang out with.
Thanks for the comments Tarleisio and ScentScelf. It's interesting to hear from both of you that have tried the two versions.
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