February is a Boring Month and the Grey Market

I've always disliked February. It is such a boring month. Not much happening and it's always bitter cold here in Pennsylvania. I got a bit of cabin fever once or twice. It didn't snow much here but I felt run-down a few times.

During this boring month I had swapped, purchased and tested a bunch of fragrances. I've been taking my time with them instead of hastily reviewing them before taking it all in. I've learned a few things.

Those sample vials/phials aren't meant to be dumped on your hands and splashed on. Causes terrible rashes. That may sound like a huge 'duh' but sometimes you never know these things!

Speaking of rashes I got a bad one from some what I believe to be fake Creed Green Irish Tweed. It smelled watery and lacking. Most people have claimed that a fake Creed always smells off but I had nothing to compare the sample I had to. I got it from PerfumeBay which isn't all that great to begin with.

Another thing I learned is the grey market has touched nearly everything in the US. Maybe it's just me but I think it seems like stealing. Basically someone along the line of sellers takes a fragrance, scratches off its serial number and resells it at a discount. I had to return a few bottles I purchased because I didn't trust where they came from. I didn't claim they were fakes and I told them

I started Chandler Burr's book The Emperor of Scent last month and am still reading it. So far it's good. The perfume industry is full of crazy people. Really cutthroat. Most of the book is the science behind Luca Turin's ideas. Most isn't lost on me as I have studied chemistry to a good degree however the biology is somewhat lost on me when they talk of receptors and protein strings. Other than the science, really good book. It's in good humor, too. There's occasional swearing in it which I don't mind since it gives the book a human element to it.

As far as new fragrances that are awesome in my opinion that I've sampled from last month, I've like the entire line of Frank Los Angeles. Also the bottle of 1805 by Truffit & Hill is very pretty.