Barbara Bui Le Parfum- a discontinued gem [and a draw to celebrate a milestone]

I have JUST hit 500 followers on Twitter, and that has me pleased as punch, so I'd like to thank all of my loyal Twitter followers and blog readers by having a giveaway for a full bottle of an extraordinarily delicious (but discontinued) fragrance, Barbara Bui Le Parfum.

Barbara Bui is a fashion designer and her eponymous perfume was created by perfumer Ann Flipo. It is a soft, ultra dry vanilla-based incense fragrance similar to Atelier Cologne's Vanille Incensee. The major difference between the two scents is that Atelier Cologne's has a citrus top note that is pretty distinct when you compare them side-by-side.

notes: spices, incense, jasmine, white musk, sandalwood, heliotrope, cedar and amber

Barbara Bui is an EDP but wears more like an EDT-- I usually spray quite liberally to get the desired strength. At first I was a little annoyed that it wore so lightly, then I realized it was nice to have a thinner, airier sleep scent, or just something easy, cozy and light to spritz on before I run out the door. Not everything benefits from beastly sillage. This is an uncomplicated woody Oriental with dryness that is optimal for hot weather. For Oriental lovers that can't bear to give up that type of perfume in the summer months, Barbara Bui is ideal. It is the quintessential "refreshing Oriental". It is wildly enveloping in its powderiness, something I really appreciate about it.

I am having a random drawing for a 30ml bottle of Barbara Bui Le Parfum, so leave me a comment and tell me which discontinued perfume you would bring back if you had the power.

I'll go ahead and tell you mine: Penhaligon's Lily & Spice. It was very recently discontinued, which is unfortunate because there is no finer representation of lilies in a perfume. I'll be very sad to see it go.

The drawing will close this Friday, July 1st at 1pm Central US time, so make sure to leave your comment by then. Drawing is open to anyone, anywhere. Winner will be announced here on the blog on Friday afternoon and should claim their prize by emailing me their mailing address to:  eyelineronacat at gmail dot com


[Barbara Bui Le Parfum can still be found for good prices via Amazon.com third-party sellers, snap them up before they're gone! My bottle was purchased by me for my personal collection]
**UPDATE: they are super-scarce on Amazon as of right now [thanks for the heads-up, Jennifer], though it looks like a couple of 3oz bottles are still for sale. There are also some decent deals on eBay**

7/1/11: The draw is now closed. Please head over to THIS POST to find out who the winner is!