Categories
Getting Started Travel

Government Assessing Fees for Perfume Shipment

I won a bottle of perfume from O’driu (Eva Kant is quite wonderful by the way) and it was shipped to me via Federal Express. Three weeks later, I noticed a $20 charge on my checking account from Federal Express. I called Fed Ex and was referred to their Duty and Tax department and was told that I was responsible for all taxes and fees. I asked who gave them permission to charge my checking account – they said they looked up the recipient address, found my account and charged the credit card on file (I do have a FedEx account but was unaware they were allowed to make charges that I didn’t authorize.) I then asked how the $20 was calculated and was told that since it was a low dollar amount that there was no duty (as I expected.) The $20 fee was for special handling by the federal government.

Just a heads up for everyone to be very wary when ordering and receiving items from overseas. You have absolutely no recourse nor way to dispute these kind of charges.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Houbigant Fougere Royal Fragrance Review

houbigant-fougere-royale
* The bottle looks all elegant and refined, but on first spray, it’s an intense bang of lavender and bergamot. 

* It starts off smelling like a regular men’s cologne, nothing special, but just wait because it gets better or worse depending on your mood.

* On good days, I get a spicy floral mix which dries down to an earthy amber.

* On bad days, it’s an evil caustic vetiver that borders on chemical waste.  It then fades into a dirty, musky patchouli with a bit of skunk (in a  bad way).

Summary:  So, I’ve worn this nearly 20 times while testing it in the hope of trying to discern what triggers the different scent journeys.  I simply can’t predict which way it will go when I wear it.  When it’s good, it’s really amazing.  When it’s bad, it puts me in such a bad mood that I feel like torturing unicorns.  This is an update of a classic fougere that pretty much defined the category.  I’ve never smelled the original, so I can’t compare.  All I know is that you should test this several times before you consider buying it. Longevity is good at more than 10 hours either way it goes (either a blessing or a curse). Although a little strong at first, it is office-friendly.

Other opinions:

Now Smell This
The Non-Blonde
That Smell
Persolaise
What Men Should Smell Like

Houbigant fragrances are available through Lucky Scent and Neiman Marcus.

Disclaimer: Bottle given to me as a gift from a friend – no disclaimer needed. Image courtesy of Lucky Scent.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Royal Apothic Terra Firma EDP Fragrance Review

royal-apothic-terra-firma

An aggressive mix of orange and lemon with light flowers makes the top.

It’s quite powerful and smells very close to industrial cleanser.

Citrus fades away as the flowers come through.  It’s like a generic mix of flowers – none of them really stand out.

It goes a little sour and then dries down to musty woods.

Summary:  Honestly, I don’t like this as a skin scent.  It doesn’t wear well on me and smells very artificial.  However, I randomly sprayed and it’s much nicer as a room fragrance.  On my skin, it reminds me of harsh abrasive cleanser.  Sprayed in the air on  surfaces, it is citrus, flowers, and wood.  While I tested the EDP (which has great longevity), I noticed on the website that they have an “Interior Perfume” version, which would be their way of calling it a room spray.  One good thing to point out, the packaging is top notch across the board which makes it look much more expensive than the $30 price range.

Royal Apothic fragrances are available through Royal Apothic Website.

Disclaimer: Sample provided by publicist for review. Image courtesy of Amazon.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Majda Bekkali Fusion Sacree – Lui Fragrance Review

majda-bekkali-fusion-sacree

* The beginning punch is manly sweet.  Citrus and lavender, like a traditional man’s cologne sweetened with a strong, boozy rum note.

* The rum grows stronger as the citrus quickly fades.

* While not projecting strongly, this scent does have presence and makes itself known.

* The rum note is joined by a sweet candied tuberose, similar to Vamp A NY.

* The base is a snuggly mix of caramel, vanilla, and woods.

Summary.  This is a gorgeous scent which is sold as a masculine but could easily be worn by women. Something about this scent makes me smile every time I spray it on – it’s sweet but not overly sweet. There is a depth to it that encompasses you.  Longevity is excellent at 12 hours, and it’s office safe, as long as you spray it on at least 30 minutes before you go to work.  This is a scent that was a love at first sniff, so I pretty much bought it after a quick smell at Sens Unique in Paris.  The girls there know me and directed me to it.  The girls really know me – at least based on how perfectly this scent works for me.

Other opinions:

Perfume Niche
Ca Fleure Bon

Majda Bekkali fragrances are available through Lucky Scent and Min New York.

Disclaimer: Bottle purchased by me – no disclaimer needed. Image courtesy of Lucky Scent.

Notable Scents – Page 17 – A DJ Ron Blog
Categories
Getting Started Travel

Government Assessing Fees for Perfume Shipment

I won a bottle of perfume from O’driu (Eva Kant is quite wonderful by the way) and it was shipped to me via Federal Express. Three weeks later, I noticed a $20 charge on my checking account from Federal Express. I called Fed Ex and was referred to their Duty and Tax department and was told that I was responsible for all taxes and fees. I asked who gave them permission to charge my checking account – they said they looked up the recipient address, found my account and charged the credit card on file (I do have a FedEx account but was unaware they were allowed to make charges that I didn’t authorize.) I then asked how the $20 was calculated and was told that since it was a low dollar amount that there was no duty (as I expected.) The $20 fee was for special handling by the federal government.

Just a heads up for everyone to be very wary when ordering and receiving items from overseas. You have absolutely no recourse nor way to dispute these kind of charges.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Houbigant Fougere Royal Fragrance Review

houbigant-fougere-royale
* The bottle looks all elegant and refined, but on first spray, it’s an intense bang of lavender and bergamot. 

* It starts off smelling like a regular men’s cologne, nothing special, but just wait because it gets better or worse depending on your mood.

* On good days, I get a spicy floral mix which dries down to an earthy amber.

* On bad days, it’s an evil caustic vetiver that borders on chemical waste.  It then fades into a dirty, musky patchouli with a bit of skunk (in a  bad way).

Summary:  So, I’ve worn this nearly 20 times while testing it in the hope of trying to discern what triggers the different scent journeys.  I simply can’t predict which way it will go when I wear it.  When it’s good, it’s really amazing.  When it’s bad, it puts me in such a bad mood that I feel like torturing unicorns.  This is an update of a classic fougere that pretty much defined the category.  I’ve never smelled the original, so I can’t compare.  All I know is that you should test this several times before you consider buying it. Longevity is good at more than 10 hours either way it goes (either a blessing or a curse). Although a little strong at first, it is office-friendly.

Other opinions:

Now Smell This
The Non-Blonde
That Smell
Persolaise
What Men Should Smell Like

Houbigant fragrances are available through Lucky Scent and Neiman Marcus.

Disclaimer: Bottle given to me as a gift from a friend – no disclaimer needed. Image courtesy of Lucky Scent.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Royal Apothic Terra Firma EDP Fragrance Review

royal-apothic-terra-firma

An aggressive mix of orange and lemon with light flowers makes the top.

It’s quite powerful and smells very close to industrial cleanser.

Citrus fades away as the flowers come through.  It’s like a generic mix of flowers – none of them really stand out.

It goes a little sour and then dries down to musty woods.

Summary:  Honestly, I don’t like this as a skin scent.  It doesn’t wear well on me and smells very artificial.  However, I randomly sprayed and it’s much nicer as a room fragrance.  On my skin, it reminds me of harsh abrasive cleanser.  Sprayed in the air on  surfaces, it is citrus, flowers, and wood.  While I tested the EDP (which has great longevity), I noticed on the website that they have an “Interior Perfume” version, which would be their way of calling it a room spray.  One good thing to point out, the packaging is top notch across the board which makes it look much more expensive than the $30 price range.

Royal Apothic fragrances are available through Royal Apothic Website.

Disclaimer: Sample provided by publicist for review. Image courtesy of Amazon.

Categories
Fragrance Reviews

Majda Bekkali Fusion Sacree – Lui Fragrance Review

majda-bekkali-fusion-sacree

* The beginning punch is manly sweet.  Citrus and lavender, like a traditional man’s cologne sweetened with a strong, boozy rum note.

* The rum grows stronger as the citrus quickly fades.

* While not projecting strongly, this scent does have presence and makes itself known.

* The rum note is joined by a sweet candied tuberose, similar to Vamp A NY.

* The base is a snuggly mix of caramel, vanilla, and woods.

Summary.  This is a gorgeous scent which is sold as a masculine but could easily be worn by women. Something about this scent makes me smile every time I spray it on – it’s sweet but not overly sweet. There is a depth to it that encompasses you.  Longevity is excellent at 12 hours, and it’s office safe, as long as you spray it on at least 30 minutes before you go to work.  This is a scent that was a love at first sniff, so I pretty much bought it after a quick smell at Sens Unique in Paris.  The girls there know me and directed me to it.  The girls really know me – at least based on how perfectly this scent works for me.

Other opinions:

Perfume Niche
Ca Fleure Bon

Majda Bekkali fragrances are available through Lucky Scent and Min New York.

Disclaimer: Bottle purchased by me – no disclaimer needed. Image courtesy of Lucky Scent.