Saturday 2 June 2012

Il Profvmo Nuda: A Birthday Bottle In Its (Almost) Birthday Suit!

I wasn't expecting any gifts of perfume for my birthday this week, just as I didn't expect any at Christmas. Most of my friends and family are bemused at my 70+ strong full bottle collection, and don't think I should be encouraged to acquire any more - or not until there have been significant advances in cryogenics - and they are of course right. So thank goodness for enablers, I say! My Queen of Enablers down the years has been the very generous Lovethescents, who this year sent me a nearly full bottle of Il Profvmo Nuda for my birthday.

Nuda is a fragrance I sniffed for the first time last summer with Olfactoria in Vienna, when I described it as "a 'cold cream' skin scent – like a more refined version of Clinique Simply crossed with a de-floraled Dior New Look 1947, if that makes any sense at all to anyone".

Then in April this year I came across Nuda by chance again in Stuttgart, managing to resist the half price bottle on sale in Mußler Beauty. Not long after that trip to Germany, as I was still toying with the idea of buying the bargain bottle by mail order, Lovethescents dropped me a line, urging me not to bother because Nuda was "horrible". I can't locate the original email, but that was the general gist.

I remember thinking at the time that that was an odd remark, as it was Lovethescents who had originally alerted me to this scent and who was also a big fan - or so I thought. I chose to disregard her apparent volte-face, for having tested Nuda twice myself I was pretty sure I liked it well enough. It ticks that box of an easy to wear, calming, silky soft skin scent. And now with the benefit of hindsight I can see that this was merely a cunning ruse on my friend's part to stop me buying a bottle myself, as she had presumably already snagged it for me. : - )

Yes, notwithstanding the fictitious bad press which had preceded its arrival, my "naked joy" was unalloyed as I unwrapped the parcel to find the super securely-taped bottle of Nuda inside. I have stringent wrapping standards myself, as regular readers know - Diana of Feminine Things recently paid tribute to the quality of my bubble wrapping of a large bottle of Marc Jacobs I sent her. And I have previously devoted entire posts to the subject of packing materials, including the all-important electrical tape which plays such a key role in pre-empting perfume leakage en route.

Yes, I may have high personal standards when it comes to tape, but Lovethescents exceeded them all with this impressive triangular construction in a cheery shade of yellow. It reminded me of those Unidentified Large Industrial Objects - at the more obscure end of the "abnormal load" spectrum - which are transported on equally abnormally wide vehicles, lashed securely in place with a scaffolding of radiating ropes.

Or there again, it has a bit of a look of a maypole about it, for example on young Sydney's cake below.



Photo of maypole cake from blog.craftyribbons.typepad.com, other photos my own



10 comments:

Olfactoria's Travels said...

Lovely! How nice that you finally have a bottle of Nuda. I think it suits you perfectly!
Now you really must make your wishes regarding your birthday decant known to me, since I would have sent you lots of Nuda in the case of non-declaration. ;)

Vanessa said...

Hi Olfactoria,

Thanks again for the kind offer of a birthday decant, the choosing of which I was mulling over only this afternoon. Have a guest over from Germany this weekend - the procurer of my original Elie Saab samples no less(!) - but will be in touch shortly!

Tara said...

What a lovely birthday gift. A silky soft skin scent sounds great. Enjoyed Lovethescents tactic to put you off buying it too!

Undina said...

Your friend is brave! What if she has inadvertently averted you from Nuda? :)

I loved that electric tape gift wrap! Both festive and functional. Enjoy your birthday bottle!

Vanessa said...

Hi tara,

Nuda is just the ticket at the moment - calm and soothing and so easy to wear.

And yes, Lovethescents is a bit of a wag, isn't she!

Vanessa said...

Hi Undina,

I agree that it was a bold step on Lovethescents' part, but luckily she didn't poison my mind and I was able to enjoy my gift without any re-acclimatising myself (like Birgit with Pamplelune recently! : - ) ).

And the tape edifice is impressive for sure.

lovethescents said...

Dearest Veeee, you have me in TEARS! I'm so glad you're happy as it brings me the most joy to bring a little olfactorial pleasure to my friends, as you know. I'm also so glad you didn't get that bottle for yourself. Can you believe the panic I was in??

I do love this fragrance. It is exactly as you describe: silky soft and easy to wear.

Lots of love to you, my fumie friend <3

Vanessa said...

Hi lovethescents,

You are indeed a major bringer of olfactorial pleasure in my life, that's for sure. : - )

And I can well imagine that your panic drove you to desperate remedies to put me off buying a bottle of Nuda. Which worked like a charm!

Suzanne said...

Happy belated birthday, Vanessa! Is your friend lovethescents the lady pictured in the Maypole cake photo?

Clever the way she surprised you! Even though you had already decided you liked Nuda, I can see how a friend telling you not to buy it, that's it horrible, would make you suspend your purchase.

Vanessa said...

Hi Suzanne,

Ah no - good question, but that is a random image I found in Google that looked rather like the trussed up bottle, I thought!

And yes, I could so easily have wobbled in my views on Nuda in the light of this phony warning, but luckily my liking for it prevailed!