Sometimes the world of perfume baffles me. Or more specifically, MY perfume world baffles me. All of a sudden I have developed a pressing urge to wear rose perfumes again. It's not as if I was avoiding them previously, but as spring starts to reach its fecund and lush zenith, roses just seem to smell appropriate to me. I know a lot of people when thinking of spring think of galbanum, lily of the valley and so on, but roses, particularly when combining green sappiness and more complex sweeter notes, smell just right.
Today I wore Malle's Portrait of a Lady and Amouage's Lyric Man. As I wear the Malle more often, I am learning to appreciate it a bit more, although it is by no means my favourite rose perfume and indeed, Malle's Une Rose is in my opinion the better one in the line. Still, as the weather warms up it is smelling more complex and lush on my skin, as opposed to the more shrill feel that I got in mid-Winter.
Lyric Man is a perfume I have been wearing for a long time now, but always from a vial. Today I sprayed it for the first time and I was flabbergasted how different it smells and develops applied this way. It is still recognisably the Lyric Man I know, but somehow spraying brings out subtleties that dabbing hasn't, at least for me. Whichever method is used, one thing is for sure - Lyric packs a floral punch that is seldom found in men's perfumery, but Amouage is not shy of incorporating florals into its men's perfumes. Mind you, it still doesn't smell feminine. There is a lot of incense and musk in Lyric Man too and it is a very good perfume.
I've realised that a lot of my perfume experience comes by way of sampling and in turn by way of sample vial. I wonder how much I am missing out on the perfumes I try in this way? Having said that, it's still better than trying nothing at all, or spending my life savings on bigger decants or full bottles.
What is your take on spraying versus dabbing? Do you think there is a significant difference between the two?
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