Sunday 2 January 2011

Oh dear, the holidays are almost over (and Magie Noire)

Like a few others, I'm due to start work again this week and I can't say that I am overflowing with motivation. I know that once I'm back for a couple of days it will feel like I was never away and all will be fine, but I've actually enjoyed this time off, not having had a break since September.

The shops are just crazy around Tunbridge Wells, where I live. Of course, these days the new year sales actually start on Boxing Day, and in some cases even before Christmas, but nevertheless the crowds are getting to me. I don't know where these people get the money to shop, but hey ho.

I popped into Boots today, which is a national chemist chain in the UK. They stock a surprisingly good and comprehensive variety of mainstream fragrances and I occasionally have a look at what they've got, in case I spot something out of the ordinary (which I haven't seen really, but one can hope). Interestingly, I notice Boots are carrying a larger line of Guerlain these days. About eighteen months or so ago they stocked Guerlain Homme and Insolence, no doubt a bid to attract a younger market, but today I also spotted Samsara and Mitsouko, of all things. Perhaps the larger Boots have always stocked these, I don't know, but I certainly haven't seen them before.

I tried Magie Noire by Lancome. Now I don't know much about the Lancome perfumes, but I did read a while back that Magie Noire has been reformulated and is nothing like previous incarnations. I'm 100% certain that what I tried today is the current stuff and actually I quite enjoyed it. I mean, it wasn't revelationary (is this a proper word?) but it smelled quite dark, for want of a better word, with a nice touch of light florals and even what I perceived as some incense. I certainly would wear it again. As I said, I have no idea what it smelled like previously, so would be interested in hearing from anyone who has tried the pre-reformulated juice.

5 comments:

  1. Michael, I'm with you - I actually like the recent formulation of Magie Noir. In the 80's, I owned the original formula, but my nose was not developed enough to appreciate it fully, I fear. Having virtually no memory whatsoever...I have forgotten the specific differences. However, I feel the current version is a bit more wearable. At least for me.

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  2. Thanks Josephine, glad to read that you enjoy it. I thought it was rather nice too.

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  3. I was - for that matter still am - a diehard devotee of the original formulation, and I can see that the current version is a bit more...shall we say, people-pleasing? than the original version. The Eighties' version of Magie Noire demanded a certain degree of stainless steel spine, to put it mildly!

    I'd wear them both, given half a chance, but there's just something about the width of those shoulders in the original that I love - or else, these thirty years later, I've finally become the kind of woman who can carry it off!

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  4. I have both. I wear both. I love the previous version...it's more...hmm, in a word..."animal-y." It's deeper and darker and develops with more depth.

    The modern somehow is...well, the same, but not as much of any aspect. A good entry point, as it were, and a perfectly satisfactory place to decide to stay and hang out with.

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  5. Thanks for the comments Tarleisio and ScentScelf. It's interesting to hear from both of you that have tried the two versions.

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