Views from a Paris window   +  Serge Lutens

Spent more or less the whole day in Selfridges, so had time to keep revisiting the fragrance hall to sample several scents.
Halston, which I've read nothing about, was fairly prominently featured, so I gave it a sniff. Sadly I don't like it. There's something in it, which features in other fragrances, including Boss Orange and Lacoste Pink, that smells terrible on me. It creates a post-sunbed burnt smell on my skin. Not an odour that you'd be looking to replicate.
Balenciaga's Paris still has a large display, so I was sucked in and gave it another try. If you're a big fan of violets, this would probably be a winning scent. But violets aren't a favourite for me. And Paris fades extremely quickly. All in all I find it a truly underwhelming fragrance.
It's been a fairly unproductive week for me at the coalface of fragrance sniffing. Determined to find a Serge Lutens that I get on with, I've been giving Daim Blond a test. But no. Another disaster. As you'd expect from the range it's pretty woody. Resinous even. But the overall effect smells inky to me. I've never wondered if ink has a smell. But if it does, I'd guess that it smells like Daim Blond. This morning I doused my husband in it — determined to make it work. But he just smelt inky all morning. Another one crossed off the list.
Lastly (in this rant) I've tried BLV II. Somebody was kind enough to send me a sample. I wanted to love it. I tried it several times. But yet another disaster. I'm hoping to get back on the right fragrant track soon.