You gotta have friends, part 3

Divina of Fragrance Bouquet was kind enough to send me a grab bag of all sorts of different things to try, a grab bag that I will try to do justice to in the breadth and depth of her choices, varied and interesting as they are... Two were by Diptyque, best known as purveyors of house scents and candles here in the states. L'Eau Trois is a light juniperry little thing with a wonderful hint of dirt and a divine hint of musk, while Vinaigre starts off with a carbon-copy of apple cider vinegar before burning off to a pleasant woody scent. Neither are terribly long lasting or terribly dense but I really liked both of them; I can imagine that the Vinaigre especially as something that would be wonderfully refreshing on a hot day. Two were by Jean Louis Scherrer, one his eponymous women's fragrance which starts with a blast of dirrrty vetiver before settling into a delicious slightly minted bower of white flowers. There was also something called "Immense", which is immensely odd. The opening is just bizarre: a strange buzzy quality with a woodiness to it, like a fine wood pipe used to smoke crystal meth. Then it gets to a berry stage before settling into white pears and woods. The pear is done very well, it really smells like white pairs and vanilla. I don't need to, but you be my guest.. Armani Prive Bois D'Encense was included. It starts off soapy on me, before coming into a clean, churchy incense that gets stronger and more wonderful as time goes on. I like it a lot, but here in the states it's part of a 4 scent gift set that retails for an eye-popping $740. I like it, just not that much.. Etat Libre Charogne was in there as well. We all know that I find this house kind of puerile; I was not expecting to like a scent that was named "Carrion". Starting bubble-gum sweet it quickly loses it's Bazooka Joe opening and deepens into something wonderfully, disturbingly sexy. The rot? It's in there, a bare trace of that Human Existence accord, zinc, funeral bowers and incense from the service. I am shocked that I loved this; it's gorgeous, it's weird. It's gorgeously weird, and I think it has to be mine. The last two in the package were two by L. T. Piver. The lovely and wonderfully feminine Heliotrope, which combines that flower with sheer jasmine and a touch of Farnesiana's milky almond goodness, while Cuir de Russie starts off smelling like an ashtray- the best ashtray you could imagine. Cary Grant's ashtray. The one he shared with Randolph Scott when they were roommates. You want to move into that ashtray. It adds in orange peel, honey and spiced woods to a surprisingly refined leather for something that's described as "the leather smell of Cossack riding boots". It's refined, it's classic, it's old-school elegance and I think it has to come live with me very soon! Many, many thanks to the kind and lovely Divina for the generous package; I hope I did them half justice, and you've given me ideas as to what to send you in return!