My Current FAVE Perfume Combo

I may buy generics at the grocery store and get mad when drugstore makeup is more than $10 (meanwhile I buy $60 foundations and a $90 lipstick SMH), but when it comes to perfume, I LOVE a splurge. There’s something that pricier perfumes just do for my senses and aura—it’s like I can be wearing a $10 outfit and then it automatically gets upgraded to couture the second I put on my luxury scent.

I’ve already expressed my love for Guerlain Gourmand Coquin, but I got introduced to a combo that features the fragrance layered with Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris Oud Satin Mood via the homey ThisThatBeauty. One day we met up in the city and when I hugged her I was instantly in love with her scent and demanded she tell me right then and there what she had on. And here we are.

Guerlain Les Elixirs Charnels Gourmand Cocquin Eau de Parfum has top notes of black pepper, heart notes of rose, and base notes of rum and chocolate. It’s spicy, sweet, intoxicating—all of the things. I LOVE it on its own but when I layer with Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud Satin Mood which opens with notes of violet, Laotian oud, Bulgarian rose, and Turkish rose at the heart and base notes of vanilla and amber—it’s like my social status instantly gets a boost and I’m looking at you like “GET OFF MY LAWN!” (But I’ll be all chic and say it in French). This combo makes me feel free like Dominique Deveraux being all regal and poised and throwing ALL THE SHADE.

In other words, you can’t tell me NOTHING (© Kanye) when I’m wearing this. N-O-T-H-I-N-G.

Now getting both of these can be considered a big splurge and I received both for review consideration so I’ve been attempting to use them sparingly to stretch them out, but I’ve NOT been able to enforce chill so I’ve been wearing them every chance I get—even to bed. SMH. So I might as well get a perfume fund going for when these eventually run out—which hopefully won’t be for a while since these are really concentrated and last forever on the skin.

Official descriptions…

Guerlain Les Elixirs Charnels Gourmand Cocquin Eau de Parfum:

An irresistible desire to dive into one’s fantasies is born from a unique drop of perfume. Let your senses decide what kind of woman you wish to be tonight. The Carnal Elixirs highlight the pleasure of marvelously daring olfactory discoveries. Subtle, forbidden fragrances that delicately reveal the many facets of a woman.

Gourmand Cocquin – no game is off limits for this little darling who enjoys tying her willing victims up in her love from their heads down to their toes. With a penchant for sweet treats, her insatiable appetite indulges in every pleasure and naughty fantasy. Gourmand Coquin teases with a sprinkling of black peppercorns binding luscious chocolate. A dash of rum, spice and cocoa bean intoxicates the senses and then delights even further with rose and voluptuous vanilla.

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Paris Oud Satin Mood:

OUD satin mood, the latest introduction to our fabric inspired fragrance collection OUD mood, conveys the desire to bring a shimmering Orient to life. It is inspired by oud wood, a natural material that is amongst the rarest and most expensive in perfumery.

With your eyes closed, you can imagine flowing fabrics delicately draped over bare skin, caressed by intense and dazzling sunlight. You’ll want to wrap it around you, lose yourself in the depth of the moment and suspend time. OUD satin mood Transported by the finesse of the violet accord, oud wood from Laos curls on contact with the rose essence from Bulgaria and the rose absolute from Turkey before softening when it encounters the rich vanilla-scented amber accord.

Olfactive family: Oriental – woody – floral

P.S. Here’s what I do when faced with a pricy perfume purchase:
1. I never buy the first time I experience a scent.
2. I get as many samples as I can–they’re typically very generous with perfume samples at the pricier perfume counters.
3. I try to spray some of the scent on an item like my scarf—that way I get to smell it for a while and get an idea of how much I’ll like it.
4. If I’m STILL thinking about it after a week or so, I go get it.
5. I don’t spend a lot on every thing I own so I balance the price with something else in my budget—maybe I don’t go out for dinner a few times. Everyone’s budget is different and what we’re willing to spend more money on varies as well. I don’t need the latest designer bag or shoes, but I do NEED a perfume that makes me feel like I’m constantly being treated to an olfactory treat.

Price and where to buy: Guerlain Les Elixirs Charnels Gourmand Cocquin Eau de Parfum is $260 for at Nordstrom and other fine department stores. Maison Francis Kurkdjian Oud Satin Mood is $300 for 2.4 fl oz at Neiman Marcus and other fine department stores.

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