Coty L'Aimant Creamy Skin Parfum - 15 ml

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Overall, L'Aimant intrigues me for its ability to avoid the trap of falling into pure powder after an hour or so, and many fragrances with notes such as this would do so. She pauses, fixes her regard on me: 'Oh of course, I knew all along this was a very male sort of a crime, didn't you? Then today Freddie has followed up his initial generosity with another pouch of perfumes in the post(! Attars I’m all for and have quite a few that smell every bit as good as rather heavy proced ‘exclusive’ perfumes, but I often wonder in these cases just who’s copying who? Make sure you can get vintage or failing that the 'creamy skin perfume' and layer both with body spray for lethal effect.

L'Aimant is very much like Topaze by Avon (which I wear and love) and I suppose similar to Chanel No. We lived all over the world, rarely living in the same place for more than a couple of years due to my fathers occupation, but I distinctly remember seeing this set and smelling them on the island of Madera, Portugal. I have the Creamy Skin Perfume and it is delicious ,eau de toilette not bad ,but not that good as skin perfume.

However, I decided to give it a try one day and although it is indeed a rather old fashioned fragrance, there is something very romantic and nostalgic about it.

Meanwhile, I contacted Freddie Albrighton of Smellythoughts - whom I managed to miss meeting at recent PLL events in London - and asked if he fancied hooking up afterwards for a sniffing session and/or a coffee.The Lucien Lelong is on the face of it absolutely not my thing - one of those fierce spicy orientals - the only modern equivalent of which I can think of being EL Spellbound. This is instead a more fruity floral with a sweet freshness that totally goes with youthful skin and younger fresh faces. And now I am really enjoying it, as I’m sitting in my kitchen armchair drinking hot cocoa, as a part of my getting ready for bed.

Given its history and pedigree I really want to love this one, but I can't make a decision about it. On the day, my preferred scent out of all the ones I tested has to be Nombre Noir, a dark aldehydic rose with osmanthus, though to my nose it read in a lighter register - a bit sherbety and springlike, with a vibe not unlike Guerlain Chamade or a powdery version of DelRae Debut. I find the history of this entangled with Chanel no 5 fascinating, being the history enthusiast I am. The soapy character in L'Aimant is additionally stronger, going toe-to-toe with the musk, and hints of something spicy.

I love them both, L'Aimant for daytime and more casual settings, No 5 for evenings and special occasions.