Miroir des Envies Thierry Mugler (Mirror Mirror Collection)

Desirability: Full bottle and a back up

Source: Fragrantica

Phoarrrrr! Christine Nagel is a sorceress and Miroir des Envies is her magic potion/drug.

A real shape-shifter it is too! One moment I smell divine white flowers and the next I smell buttered caramel popcorn or warm buttered toast or...oh never mind I just smell like gourmand heaven! I kid you not. I was having the shittiest upon shittiest day imaginable and this gem came in a parcel as part of a swap with a super duper generous fragrance friend. On the way to bed I decided to try this and it put an instant smile on my face (the first of the day too so you can imagine what extraordinary powers this has)! 

Source: lovethispic.com

Source: pinterest

I can't quite make up my mind if it's caramel buttery popcorn or buttered toast with syrup/honey that I smell as both keep popping up like a short movie on repeat in my head. 

Miror des Envies has been said to resemble Thierry Mugler's Alien and its flanker Taste of Fragrance Alien, but I have to strongly disagree (personal experience and opinion only of course, kudos to those who had fabulous experiences) as Taste of Fragrance Alien (ditto The One Desire by Dolce & Gabbana) had the most nauseous, synthetic-smelling caramel note that I couldn't scrub off fast enough. Needless to say that bottle got swapped away very quickly. Whereas the caramel in Miroir des Envies smells like real caramel and thankfully has no synthetic vibe to put me off. The buttered toast bit reminds me of Jeux de Peau but the Lutens does not have the alluring white flowers that float dreamily in waves, taking turns with the gourmand facet of Miroir des Envies to lull you into an olfactory bliss.  

Jasmine is obviously present but I also detect a delicate, slightly citrusy orange blossom in the floral bouquet. It might sound like a dubious combination-white flowers and buttered/caramel popcorn/toast but 1) neither the gourmand nor the white flowers dominate the scent but are seamlessly layered upon themselves creating an utterly addictive essence and 2) this has to be one of the most unique fragrances I've smelt in a while. Like I said...Phoarrrrrr! It knocks your socks off. Sillage is moderate and longevity is good. I will be guarding my bottle closely. 

P.S: This is possibly the first time I've smelt popcorn in a perfume. The note was lost on me in the pre-reformulated Miss Dior Cherie but I'm happy to report that I'm in the camp of perfumeheads who smell popcorn in Miroir des Envies! 

Fraaagola Saalaaata Hilde Soliani

Desirability: Decant

Source: Fragrantica

The listed notes mention salt and strawberries and I smell a candied version of strawberries (sweet but not agonisingly so, still it might appeal more to gourmand lovers) but salt...not quite a sprinkling of table salt however I am reminded of Garrett's Mix popcorn with the combination of Garrett's Savoury CheeseCorn and CaramelCrisp...so what I do get from Fraaagola Saalaaata is buttery salty sweetness. 

Projection is massive, so do be extremely careful when applying this, I accidentally sprayed one time too many and shortly after my family could smell it two floors below. It lasts and lasts and lasts...until you give your clothes a good washing. I slept in the same teeshirt and the scent carried over on to my bedsheets which meant I had lovely buttered strawberry smelling dreams for a few nights. 

Lann-Ael Lostmarch

Desirability: Decant

Source: parf.info

This smells like a mishmash of edible delights, none of which would make the Weight Watchers' menu.

Buttered popcorn of the no holds barred type. Real butter in generous amounts oozing over the piping hot popcorn. The mysterious note that was supposed to be present in the pre-reformulation Miss Dior Cherie but which eluded my best attempts to sniff it out. It's here! The food hallucinations shift to pancakes, waffles and french toast dripping with maple syrup and a hefty mound of butter balancing precariously on top. 

I smell breakfast cereal swimming in milk, not the healthy rabbit food lookalikes but more toward the colourful pebbles, you know the kind that's chock full of "nutritional" stuff. The milk smells like full fat milk that's heavy on cream going straight to your hips instead of bones and reminds me of the times I stayed with my sister in London back in the day when deliveries of milk in glass bottles were still widely available. So much more delicious than the stuff served in plastic-paper cartons. 

Lann-Ael. Total Comfort Food. Not just for breakfast. Actually Lann-Ael smells like I mixed Waffle Crisp, Corn Pops and Apple Jacks together.  Add the milk. Turn on the telly and get comfortable. Oh I almost forgot the popcorn for after! 

Snuggle worthy. As in everyone will want to snuggle you. Truly. You could get rich by selling Lann-Ael laced snuggles.