Feeling a bit uninspired this morning, I asked the husband for a suggestion. 'The purple one', he said. Bubble Waffle by Zara was the first purple that crossed my sight, and it was not a disappointment!

It's a fun, sweet and mood-lifting fragrance! It's only an eau de toilette but its longevity is rather decent, although I could not resist topping myself up at midday. It's from the children line, but I think it works on grown ups as well, maybe not for work or more formal settings, it is seriously sweet.

I don't think it's trying to copy anything, not that I am aware of. Zara perfumes are quite good I have to say, I don't care for their clothes but their fragrance offering is consistently good. I have a few other ones that I find myself eagerly coming back to.

The only let down - which is absolutely on me, is that the bottle is purple and to me, purple screams taro/ube. There is none in Bubble Waffle. In fact there is a disturbing lack of taro/ube perfumes on the market. I've got 2 niche ones, namely Ube Malasada by Damask Haus and Froth by Piper and Perro, but that's about it really. I've seen another few from brands across the pond but I'm not really keen on giving my money to American companies anymore. Oh well.

After a rest day for my overworked nostrils, I wore Cornflower Delight by Pendora Scents/Paris Corner. Apologies, it's not on Parfumo (yet - I've submitted it for review).

This is meant to be a clone of Jo Malone's Oat & Cornflower. No idea how accurate it is. It's part of a collection that mimics some Jo Malones I believe.

This is a highly unusual perfume, unisex leaning feminine but it would not smell out of place on a man. It kind of smells like a dusty bakery at first, then it settles onto something more woody, spicy and slightly floral. I'd say it lasted about 6-7 hours on my skin, not the greatest staying power but enough to last through a work day.

I do like it, it's a nice break from my usual ultra-sweet gourmands. I'm also happy to report it doesn't have the trademark nauseating Paris Corner drydown!

Here he is. I really really dislike the name, because in French, liquid[e] brun means brown liquid and as you may imagine, it's not the most pleasant image that pops into my head when I think about those words. However it's a very nice scent, rather masculine but it works well on women too. Parfumo says it's unisex but I've seen a lot of websites advertising it as a man's perfume, don't let that put you off.

It's meant to be a clone of the popular Althair by Parfums de Marly, but again I can't comment as I've not had the pleasure to smell it. All I can say is that Liquid Brun is best suited for cold weather.

Performance-wise it is very decent, I went for 6 sprays on my skin at 9am and I could still catch some whiffs at 7pm, so about 10 hours longevity.

It's cheap, it smells good. 9/10 (-1 for the naff name)

Another day, another perfume.

One of the few OGs I have, Pure XS for Her is meant to have a distinctive popcorn note. I just can't smell it, which makes me rather jealous of those who do because I have a bit of a popcorn obsession.

Not sure if I went noseblind or what, but by midday I could not smell it anymore on my skin. I was careful not to overdo it this time, perhaps I have undersprayed? Longevity was definitely not impressive, about 5 hours or so.

Anyway, while it is very nice and feminine, it smells a little generic to me. It doesn't blow my mind like some other fragrances do. I have Zara's Hypnotic Vanilla and Orange Blossom and I'm pretty sure they smell very similar.

Obligatory Parfumo link

Better late than never, am I right!

Today I’m wearing Taskeen Lactea Divina (TLD) by Paris Corner. I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with this brand, some of their perfumes have this artificial drydown that borders on nauseating. But on occasion they put out some true gems. TLD is one of those gems, thankfully free of that cloying, synthetic note that plagues so many of their offerings.

It is touted as a homage to Blanche Bête by Liquides Imaginaires, I can’t speak to the fidelity of the clone, my purse is too small to justify these sorts of prices. This will be a recurring theme in my posts, I don't have hundreds of pounds to throw at scented liquids but I do have a big need to sniff so I buy affordable stuff, and I live to tell the tale!

Coming back to TLD, it smells to me like a warm, milky embrace with lots of delicate white flowers. A fellow enthusiast on Parfumo noted a whisper of coconut, and I’m inclined to agree, but it's not a tropical note, it's more of a powdery coconut that graces Matières Premières’ Vanilla Powder and its sisters, Khadlaj’s Fursan and Afnan’s Souvenir Blooming Bliss that I love all so much.

I sprayed myself with abandon this morning, and more than 12 hours after the fact, TLD vanished from my skin. However on fabric, it lingers as if freshly applied. The sillage is modest, neither intrusive nor attention-grabbing; no one remarked on it, let alone offered a compliment. Grumble grumble. Anyway.

Verdict: If you’re fortunate enough to stumble upon a decant or a reasonably priced bottle, and if you have a sweet ~~tooth~~ nose, it's well worth a try. In fact, I’d be happy to share a few milliliters from my own bottle, just send me a message. My aim isn’t to fuel mindless consumption, but to foster a community of honest, passionate fragrance lovers.

Thank you for reading and happy sniffing.

There's also a longer video on their channel, I thought that was quite neat.

In the borrowed (small amount of) words of Kevin Malone, why spend lot when dupes good?

Gone are the days of signature fragrances, just like Pokemon I want them all! Trouble is, I don't have the disposable income of a so-called influencer to spend on perfume.

Here are my personal favourites dupes repositories, I had good experiences with all of them (and I am not sponsored for this post):

-The Perfume People - UK based, cheap and cheerful. Very good range. Their Lush list is extensive!

-Perfume Parlour - love the variety on that one, can you believe they stock a dupe of Serge Lutens' Jeux de Peau?? They're UK-based too

-Divain - a Spanish company, I bought my first ever dupe from them and it's been a slippery slope ever since!

I'm sure there are many more, including Milton Lloyd, although I've never tried their dupes. Fragrantica people say they're good, ymmv.

Please feel free to share if you have any other UK/EU based recommendations!

Santé, prost, cheers, and Na zdraví!