Sunday scent of the day - Tom Ford Grey Vetiver

Do you ever wear a perfume that smells perfectly decent, has a good following and reputation and should tick all the boxes, but ultimately never does? 

Well that is my experience with Tom Ford's Grey Vetiver. I wore it today and like the other times I've worn it, it smells fine. However, it is forgettable on my skin because it just doesn't do anything. It doesn't offend, it doesn't excite, it isn't different enough to stand out. That's perfectly fine of course. Not all perfumes need to stand out that much. Sometimes its great just to wear something that becomes part of your skin and just hums along. To me though, that seems the antithesis of what Tom Ford is meant to be (or maybe not - perhaps I've got the wrong end of the stick with regards to Tom Ford). In fact, almost all the perfumes I've smelled from the Tom Ford line (admittedly I haven't tried many from his more exclusive range) have a similar effect on me - nice, but almost forgettable. Perhaps I am being harsh, but the only one that I can actually 'smell' in my head thinking about it is Black Orchid.

I'm a Tom Ford winner

Now, I'm not sure what you are thinking, but the title of this post does not mean that I've embraced Tom Ford as a Dale-Carnegie type guru. All it means is that I have won a coffret of Tom Ford mainstream samples, pictured here. These are a fairly generous size, 4ml each. The only one not included is Grey Vetiver, so what  I have are Black Orchid, Black Orchid Voile de Fleur, Tom Ford for Men, Tom Ford for Men Intense and White Patchouli. One of our local department stores, Fenwick, was offering this as part of their Beauty Week promotions and on a whim I entered the free draw. I do a lot of this these days; I'm such an opportunist. I've tried these all before, as they are readily available here in the UK, but I thought 4ml of each would be a nice thing to have. One thing that strikes me writing this is how difficult it is to find the Tom Ford Private Blend perfumes here. I assume one of the major London stores carries the line, possibly Harrods or Selfridges, but I'm not sure. If any of you know, please let me know.

So not really a major perfume review today, but I was quite chuffed at winning this. I hardly ever win anything. Although I did win a round of cheddar cheese once. It came in the post wrapped in its big old cheesy bandage. I must have been the only entrant.... Have a good week everyone.

Image credit: punmirls.com

Plague or perfume?

Guess what folks? I is a sick puppy. I started getting some severe stabbing pain in my ribs on Wednesday and shortness of breath. At first I thought I'd pulled a muscle between the ribs, but after seeing the doctor I have ben diagnosed with pleurisy! Yikes, this sounds like TB or the plague no? Well, in actual fact pleurisy is an infection and inflammation of the fluid and lining of the lungs. The pain, which feels like being stabbed in the ribs, is caused by the friction of the rubbing of the two membranes or linings. Believe me, not nice. So now I am on a course of strong antibiotics and have been ordered to take plenty of rest and painkillers too. The weirdest thing is that nothing preceded this and I am perfectly healthy (I think). If it hasn't cleared up by Monday I might need to have a chest x-ray and a blood test.

On a brighter note, I've finally ordered some samples from Sonoma Scent Studio in California and I eagerly await them. Dammit, why aren't they here already? I haven't been doing much ordering recently, due to budget constraints, but for some reason sales associates at my local department stores have been flinging samples my way, but a lot of them are duplications of what I already have. I should say no thank you, but I appear to have a compulsive need to collect samples! This week I was given all the Tom Ford masculines (not the private blends), Aqua Di Parma, VC&A Oriens, Dior Miss Cheri, some of the Pradas and I'm sure there's more.

I haven't done a lot of testing the last few days for obvious reasons, but I did try Uncle Serge's Douce Amere and Tom Ford Black Orchid. I like Douce Amere and there are rumours that this is to be discontinued, which is a shame, because it is a well-crafted scent, with absinthe, anise and a nice herby kick. I think it's perfect for a spring day as it is quite refreshing. Black Orchid is interesting. Although a feminine scent, I found it quite wearable for a man, with a very interesting opening. Its quite floral, and the opening packs a punch, but the dry down is smooth and lovely.

I had a look in my wife's closet the other day (as one does, ha ha) and found a couple of perfumes I forgot she had. One is Poeme by Lancome and the other is Volupte by Oscar De La Renta. I might just give them a go, although I suspect they will be too much for me to wear in public, but that won't be a problem considering my current condition. All I need to get now is a bell to wear around my neck, or is that a millstone!

Have a good weekend y'all.