Cuthbert

Pure Malt? I have two bottles of that and a bottle of Pure Havane. And the original A*Men. I'd say I share your hobby.

How many bottles do you have now?

CanwllCorfe

Wow! Definitely didn't think I'd find anyone on here with the same interest haha. I sold a lot of my big bottles, but I still have 7. I've got more into samples and decants so I can have more variety. As far as that goes, I think around 120.

__________________
Your eyes were never yet let in to see the majesty and riches of the mind, but dwell in darkness; for your God is blind.

Cuthbert

Agreed, pleasantly surprised to see there is another fragrance enthusiast on here.

Do you buy samples or do you get them sent out by houses?

And what's the best one you've ever smelled out of interest? Don't think I have smelled anything better than Tea for Two by L'Artisan. Like sweet, smoky cinnamon . Pure Malt is probably the next I think. You seem much more knowledgeable than me though, I only took an interest about a year ago.

CanwllCorfe

A wee bit of both. I usually go to Luckyscent, but Hermes are VERY generous, so all of theirs I received after e-mailing them requests. I also get a lot from very kind people in the fragrance community. One exceptionally kind woman sent me 40 samples in one package. And as for the best? I definitely don't have a best, but I do have some favorites:

By Kilian Liaisons Dangereuses (fruity fruit)
Slumberhouse Pear & Olive (bright clean pear, contrasted with warm buttery olive oil)
Escentric Molecules Escentric 01 (deep soft warm woods and pepper)
Hermes Rose Ikebana (dewy rose paired with rhubarb)
Commes des Garcons Calamus (green leaves and grass)
Lostmarch Lann-Ael (creamy citrus and toasty grains)
Chanel Egoiste (fruity spicy woods and tobacco)
Dior Eau Noire (maple syrup, caramel, cinnamon)
Blood Concept O (leather and berries)
Mark Birley Charles Street (same as Blood Concept O, but berries are more prominent)
Hermes Ambre Narguile (apple pie french toast)
Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille (vanilla, cedar, booze)
Costume National 21 (jammy fruit, incense, sandalwood)
Serge Lutens Arabie (dried fruit, spices, resin)
Serge Lutens Jeux de Peau (toast and jam)
Profumum Ichnusa (fig, grass, light woods)
Korres Jasmine Pepper Gaiac Wood (pepper, passion fruit, white chocolate, wood)

__________________
Your eyes were never yet let in to see the majesty and riches of the mind, but dwell in darkness; for your God is blind.

Cuthbert

I'm assuming you're American? Hermes were wankers to me, didn't even reply to my email

Yeah I noticed that too, lots of people willing to send me stuff on Basenotes. Generous people.

Serge Lutens, interesting. Have you tried Chergui? I have wanted to try that for a while and they did send me three samples a year or so ago, but I gave them to my sister cos I didn't like them. Un Bois Vanille, Fluers d'Oranger and Louve. Actually I liked Louve, that was nice but too feminine for me.

CanwllCorfe

I am indeed. They send them to me from NYC, which is only about 90 miles away, so I guess I'm in a good location.

I have indeed tried Chergui. If you like cinnamon, you MAY like it. I thought it was weird though. It smelled like it should be deep and rich, and yet it felt papery thin. It was also really sweet. I don't mind sweet, especially considering that I'm a gourmand freak, but it felt like it was more sweet than it should be. Out of those I only tried Un Bois Vanille. I like vanilla, but I wasn't crazy about that one. It smelled oddly waxy.

__________________
Your eyes were never yet let in to see the majesty and riches of the mind, but dwell in darkness; for your God is blind.

Cuthbert

I asked Hermes Europe. US Hermes won't ship to me.

Surprised at that to be honest... from reviews it sounds like it's quite potent. Or do you mean the actual scent and not the projection?