Purgative urge prompts radical reorg and cologne clear out!

There are thematic groupings in this madness

Nearly two weeks have passed since my unreview of Salome, during which time I have found myself possessed by a post-project decluttering demon - well, a general housework demon to be exact. The catalyst for this uncharacteristic bout of domesticity may have been the arrival (and subsequent upcycling) of a blanket box / Ottoman that I got for an absolute snip in a local secondhand shop. My overflow wool stash has now been relocated from under the bed into its cavernous depths, freeing up a great deal of floor space, and simultaneously unleashing my inner tidying genie.

So it was that I spent the next two days systematically demolishing the ironing mountain (which dated back to July!), followed by a mammoth hoe-athon in the borders of the back garden. You can see a lot more earth now and considerably less ground cover, which to the untrained eye seemed mostly to comprise assorted 'weed-like entities'. Then the next two days were spent throwing away old toiletries and medicaments, ruthlessly editing my wardrobe, and sorting through the rest my perfume collection, specifically the bottles and samples that hadn't already been subject to a 'reorg' (to annexe the management term beloved of big corporates) and allocated a compartment in the wooden tray-cum-drawer insert I got from the same shop as the Ottoman.

In a kind of high speed triage exercise I tested dozens of different scents (shoulders, elbows and knees were all pressed into service in addition to the high traffic areas of wrists and forearms), and figured out what I wanted to keep - and what albatrosses I wanted to put up for sale. Well, not necessarily for sale, even. Anything that I did not pay money for (all the vintage section, basically), I am offering for free - I would just ask that you cover the cost of postage and don't re-sell it, as if anyone would! If your vintage acquisition is a) in good nick and b) you like it, feel free to make a discretionary donation to a charity near you (cancer and cats would be my top two themes, but I don't wish to be prescriptive on this point!). Otherwise pass it along to somebody else or throw it away.

The quality aspect will hopefully only be a potential issue with the vintage scents, not all of which I am familiar with, so it is hard to tell how they have evolved since they were new - which is anything up to 40 years ago! That said, I have tested them all and did not recoil once, except when smelling a couple of very retro, spicy animalic numbers that may date back to the 70s or 80s. But I would almost certainly have recoiled back then too. ;) So yes, with the vintage category a degree of mutation goes with the territory - but that will be for the recipient to determine.

NB Hypothetically, in extreme cases of new owner recoil I would be happy to refund postage paid. ;)

There are even two categories of silver atomiser - shiny and matt!

I shan't put prices on the non-vintage scents which - with one exception - I did buy myself, but if you are interested in any, drop me a line and I will work something out, including postage to wherever you are. I don't mind posting to North America, but it is a bit fraught to ship there as you know, and requires a degree of subterfuge and creative customs labelling, a challenge for which I am well up, as Churchill might have said.

And be assured that all the perfumes will all be going VERY CHEAP. Anything from a few quid each for the minis - or less veering to free if they are not full - to maybe £35 for the Creed, which is half full at a guess, and more in the realms of £10 - £30 for anything else, except the Lidl perfume, which only cost £3.99 new, hehe.

NICHE AND DESIGNER PERFUMES

Front row:

Dita Von Teese by Dita Von Teese (nowt wrong with the scent, but the bottle has stability issues!) - SOLD

Second row (L to R): 

The Cotswold Perfumery Company Ruby - SOLD
Cloon Keen Atelier Castana (nutty jasmine scent) - SOLD
Boucheron B
Jo Malone Kohdo Wood Day Lotus Blossom and Water Lily

Third row (L to R):

Roja Dove Urban Retreat Reverie (aromatic citrus scent with notes of bergamot and lavender - discontinued!) - SOLD
Creed Love in Black - SOLD
DKNY Cashmere Mist - SOLD
Lostmarc'h L'eau de l'Hermine (sad associations with Max Rat...)
L'Eau par Kenzo l'Eau Indigo pour Femme

Back row:

Lidl Suddenly Madame Glamour (BNIB!) ;)

NICHE AND DESIGNER MINIS

Front row (L to R): 

Bvlgari Omnia Green Jade
M Micallef Hiver (teeny bit left)
M Micallef Royal Vintage
Lanvin Arpege - SOLD
Chloe by Chloe
Burberry Woman

Centre row (L to R):

Clinique Simply
Sarah Jessica Parker Covet (very sweet bottle!)
Guerlain Champs Elysees (can't be bothered with accents, sorry)

Back row (curving round L to R):

Marc Jacobs Daisy (another sweet bottle!)
Burberry The Beat
Hermes Cologne Verte (slight wobbly top alert!) - SOLD
Etro Vicolo Fiori (some people were keen to explore the Etro line?) - SOLD
Guerlain Jardins de Bagatelle (stonking white floral) - SOLD
Versace Crystal Noir

VINTAGE BOTTLES AND MINIS

Here the concept of rows goes somewhat out of the window...

Front row (L to R): 

Myurgia Maja perfume (review by The Non-Blonde here, in which the link to Ramon Monegal is also mentioned)
Goya Gardenia - REHOMED
Madame Rochas (was 'Brand Old in Box' when I got it! And we are talking very old indeed...)
4711 Cologne
Second Sense 1 cologne (evil spicy oriental) - REHOMED

Back row-ish (L to R):

Coty L'Aimant (70s version - I am keeping the 80s purse spray)
Houbigant Chantilly (lemon meringue number - think poor man's MCDI Promesse de l'Aube)
Royal Copenhagen mini (may suit men, or Danish nationals)
Houbigant Chantilly in a boxed set with talcum powder - also 'Brand Old in Box' till I broached it! - REHOMED
Lentheric Elle Bouquet
Lentheric Mystique (another evil spicy oriental)
Nina Ricci L'Air du Temps (yet another BOIB)

NICHE BAG OF HELL / INDIFFERENCE - REHOMED

Oh, I also have this large bag of (I think mostly niche) samples to give away. I had a similar one of designer scents, which has been rehomed already with a friend's son's girlfriend - a much easier set to place, in fairness.

Don't ask me what's in it!

So there you go...I am not expecting a stampede, but there are one or two things that might appeal to specific people if they see this post. I also have minuscule amounts of Joy Parfum and 'unspecified other vintage format' of Joy which Odiferess might be interested in, for example (not pictured).

Am very happy to describe in more detail any scents people might be curious about - or they can readily be googled, except Second Sense 1, which I can't even tell you who it's by. You are clearly meant to use your Sixth Sense to figure that out. It's a monster, I can say that...Makes Salome look like a pussycat.

PS Speaking of 'rehoming' and 'pussycats', I am currently actively looking for a kitten to be the next 'xxxx Bonkers'. I am especially drawn to 'semi-long haired tabbies with a lot of white and that very defined Kohl-like look around the eye', which sadly is not a recognised search term on any of the rescue centre or classified ad websites. So if you are in the UK and see anyone offering kittens broadly answering to that description, please let me know! FYI, the three attributes I am looking for overall are 'fluffy, loving and independent'. I don't think that's a big ask - why, I like to think of myself as 'loving and independent', though at my age, 'fluffy' might be a bit of a stretch.