First there were too many mainstream perfumes, and too many of them smelled like each other. Niche, of course, was the answer for many perfumistas: find a smaller perfume house that wasn't after the worldwide domination of the prestige (department store) fragrance market, and perhaps they'd be making something a little more unusual, and perhaps they'd even be making a reasonable investment in the raw materials since they didn't need to spend millions on advertising. When I started getting interested in perfume in late 2003, being a "niche snob" was a viable option if you were tired of the same old thing.
Then the niche market exploded, and eventually there were too many niche perfumes and too many of them smelled like each other — or worse, smelled pretty much like the generic fragrances you could already find in the prestige market. And of course, the niche fragrances cost more, and it was harder to try them without spending money on samples. By 2007, when I wrote a little rant about the 800 perfumes that were expected to launch that year, the world of niche was already getting a little out of hand. Today, in 2011, at times it seems downright absurd.
Anyone hoping that the world financial crisis would provide a corrective can, I think, pretty much give up hope on that score by now. It looks like this is the new world of perfume: 1000+ new fragrances a year, most of them flankers or mindless copies of things we already had too much of, and even venerable niche firms chasing new markets with variations on "shower clean". Nearly every mainstream brand of any magnitude has its own "exclusive" (read: expensive and hard to find) range. Every third niche perfume features the note du jour (please, no more oud!) or is made by the perfumer du jour (Bertand Duchaufour, and ok, I'll admit I don't mind that so much).
What's a perfumista to do? At one time the blogs could maybe help you weed through the morass, now it's hard to even keep track of all the fragrance blogs, to say nothing of the perfume talk on Twitter and Facebook. Having any kind of handle on the 'conversation', something that was vaguely possible a few years ago, is now out of the question, assuming you'd like to maintain any sort of life outside of perfume.
If you hoped I was going to end my rant with an answer, I am very sorry to tell you how wrong you are — it's just a rant, nothing more. I need to rant about the number of new perfumes every so often, or I go crazy. I promise not to do it again for a couple more years.
Here are some poll questions in case you'd like to rant too.
1. How long have you been a perfumista, if you are a perfumista?
2. Are you a niche snob? And what do you think about the state of things in the fragrance industry?
3. Tell us about a wonderful fragrance blog that hasn't gotten enough attention.
4. What's the last perfume you absolutely swooned over?
Note: image is .Just One Drop. by .sandhu at flickr; some rights reserved.
There’s a life outside perfume? Oh, yeah – that pesky work thing. Sigh. I’ve been a perfumista for years now, though I didn’t know the term or that there were others like me until blogs such as this began to appear. I enjoy niche scents but don’t demand them, and I prefer to be able to sample before buying anyway. There are some good mainstream scents out there, I think – my criteria are simply that I 1) like the scent and 2) my husband doesn’t hate it. My latest swoon – I’m wearing it today – is Ilaria from Indiescents (a very swoon-worthy jasmine blend which garners compliments when I wear it).
LOL…and there’s the cooking too, and the housework, and the running of errands. But yeah, it’s mostly perfume.
I was just thinking today: “how do any of us get anything done? ” It’s gotten so it takes HOURS everyday just to make the rounds to see what’s on the blogs or chat a little with the different perfume groups!
I don’t know about you all , but my house is getting to be a mess. 🙁
Too funny, Daisy! My house “is” a mess, but I can’t blame
it on perfume, just on my packrat tendencies …
Maggie, I like your cornerstone criteria: that I 1) like the scent and 2) my husband doesn’t hate it.
I’m surprised you don’t have more frequent rants. It’s completely mad out there. LOL!
I am currently not wearing perfume at all. I couldn’t afford to buy another bottle of Tubéreuse Criminelle last year and got depressed. I sniff the odd sample from time to time, that’s all.
1) I’ve loved perfume since I was very small, probably since the age of five, when I saw my first bottle of Soir de Paris on one of my mother’s friends’ piano. It smelled wonderful.
2) Not really. One of my favourite scents is Coty Wild Musk. But I detest most of the fragrances I catch a whiff of when I walk through department stores.
3) Apart from yours, I stopped reading fragrance blogs regularly long ago.
4) Can’t think of any. Sorry.
I really, really thought that the number of perfume launches would go back down. It’s been a disappointment. Perfume is a more enjoyable hobby when the number is around 500, I think.
I am so sorry you haven’t any TC! I hope some comes your way.
Robin: Good fragrances are like a needle in a smelly haystack for sure. I was just thinking something vaguely similar to your rant over the weekend. I was testing my very expensive 5 ml decant of Xerjoff Richwood, and I was going insane trying to figure out what it smelled like. It smells EXACTLY like something I already have or have smelled. Then it finally dawned on me, in kind of a jokes on me way. After 5 minutes the uber expensivo Richwood smells nearly identical to the far drydown of the much less expensive Fragonard Grain de Soleil, and fairly close to the very pretty waxy vanilla of Organza Indecense. So, just to be clear, I am pissed about all this super expensive niche stuff. I’m not mad about niche houses or artisan houses per se, as everyone has the right to express themselves, etc. BUT I am super mad that people are just copying or making better versions of fragrances that already exist and just charging a lot more. Now my rant is over.
1. I’ve had lots of fragrances my whole life, and up to about 25 when I went crazy perfumista about 2007, triggered by the desperate search online for No 5 Eau Premier…which invariably led me to NST.
2. Are you a niche snob? NO And what do you think about the state of things in the fragrance industry? It is a joke of excessive and poorly executed production. Too much pasta being thrown at walls. The good stuff getting drowned out by all the noise.
3. Tell us about a wonderful fragrance blog that hasn’t gotten enough attention. I love Nathan Branch’s blog, which isn’t just about fragrance, but is about the beauty industry as a whole. Excellent writing and it covers a lot of the ills and beauties of that insane world.
4. What’s the last perfume you absolutely swooned over? Mona di Orio Jabu. I’d trade half my collection for one full bottle of this stuff.
You know, re: the Richwood, at least twice in the past few months I’ve read about someone on the creative direction side of things (I think one was Christopher Chong of Amouage, but wouldn’t swear to it) who said they didn’t make it a point to smell other fragrances, in fact they avoided it, and I thought Huh. Then how do you know you’re doing anything different?? Anything that matters?? But even for people TRYING to smell things, I think it’s hard. In other words, I think it would be easy enough to end up with a near dupe of something else almost without trying. I am not trying to stand up for Xerjoff, or anybody, just saying that I think it’s quite easily done, and would bet more than once companies have been surprised to discover what their new perfumes smell like!
I am going to totally butcher this, but somewhere, someone said something like real style is the product of a genius, and the rest is just talented people copying that original vision. (Please anyone feel free to correct me if you know the real quote.)
It is indeed very likely that there would be fragrances created that smell like other fragrances. What bothers me is the guise of exclusivity and the faux costliness of the fragrance. It makes the creator seem lazy and derivative if they haven’t tried to check. Who is the real master of their craft? Or are they just liquid widget makers. All of us can spend time checking seriously for fun and research on the blogs, what’s wrong with them? Are their computers broken? No one lives in a bubble.
If it were visual arts or music, people would be all over someone who just copied and had no visionary style. But I suppose it is a symptom of modern fashion – all the shops have things that look the same – that’s how they compete. It is the khaki pants conundrum – who cares who made it, I’ll buy them all. It makes me appreciate even more the carefulness in fragrance production from houses like Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, Tauer Perfumes and Sonoma Scent Studio. Occasionally one of the big houses hits the mark of genius, but not so often. Less items per year and more quality control.
I totally agree, anyone living in a bubble has made a serious choice. The top creative minds may have little interest in combing through every corner of the internet, but hello, that’s what interns are for.
Ann, you are my new hero —-everything you said: ditto, perzactly, right on! and Amen.
The enabler and the hero. Sounds like a winning combination to me!
Hi ANNS,
It is like I wrote this myself!! Today I’m covered in Musc by Mona di Orio. I am a perfumista since 2008 and it sometimes takes hours to read all blogs. I am also a big fan of Nathan and through his blog also a big fan of Andy Tauer. 800 new perfume releases every year is crazy. What can we do to stop it? I don’t know.
I don’t think we can do much to stop it. Others have pointed out that the mass market of overproduction isn’t directed to us crazy perfume nuts. 800 is amazing though – it makes me think of how wasteful the whole enterprise is, when only a handful will be made for more than 2 or 3 years. Nice to meet you!! I need to test more of the Mona di Orio line.
1) I’ve enjoyed fragrances my whole life. I declared myself a “perfumist-o” in 2005ish (I remember the post you did a few years back trying to find an adequate title for the “mens” that collect perfume). My first “blind purchase” (before I even knew what that term meant) was Montale’s Black Aoud!!! a tough fragrance for me to understand as a newbie.
2) Not at ALL. When I find a fragrance that I love – I could care less if it is Vintage, Old School, Niche, Department Store, Designer, Indie, or “knock-off”….I want to wear what I like. It seems to me that labeling myself a Niche Snob would limit my choices.
3) I always like Brian and Abigail’s posts at “I Smell, Therefore I Am” – they tend to write about memories and personal histories and how they intertwine with fragrance…..to me that’s what it is all about.
4) I know I’m in the minority here, but I adored Malles’ POAL from the moment I tested it….in fact I’m wearing it today!
Your rant is understandable….there is a lot out there – but there is also a lot of television shows I will never see, books I will never get the chance to read, movies I’ll never go to, dance concerts I’ll miss, Art Gallery Openings I can’t fit in, etc. I try not to let the over-saturation boggle my mind too much.
I have given up and use perfumista for both sexes. I know not everybody likes it!
To me it is a different kettle of fish, sort of. There can be too many books for my comfort (I had to stop subscribing to book reviews, it was making me nuts) but there can’t be too many books, that is, more books don’t necessarily harm the book industry, in fact, you could argue that increased selection is good for everyone and attracts more readers. But I think too many perfumes harms the perfume industry. My probably erroneous reasoning:
1. Perfumes are different from music & books in that you can’t try them over the internet, and reading reviews, while helpful, can only tell you just so much. So you have to try them, but it’s hard to try them. There is nothing like a library for perfume, or like the various websites where you can listen to a snippet from a song
2. Perfume spoils when you don’t use it up, so your average consumer is not going to buy more than they can use relatively soon (perfumistas, obviously, ignore this, which is why I have a cabinet of spoiled perfume)
3. So, your average consumer needs to try the perfume in person, and is only going to buy 0-2 a year, yet they’re confronted with a overwhelming number of perfumes, many of which look and sound and smell similar, and many of which even have confusingly similar names. And they have to try them someplace horrid, like Macy’s beauty counter, ugh. It’s a turn off. It’s easier to give up and find some nice smelling lotion.
As a librarian, I harbor a great fantasy that there could be fragrance libraries everywhere, like we have public libraries. Just imagine having a card and going to check out new scents and old classics. Sigh* But you are right – fragrance is a consumable. Perfume is a type of ephemera that is hard to collect and transmit.
Wouldn’t that be awesome?? A real Osmotheque, for everyone, at any time.
Yes!
Now working there would be a dream job, for sure!!
This is my fantasy as well, but not just a library, a sort Exploratorium of Smells, where people could spend an afternoon learning to be good smellers, finding out what they like, exploring chemistry and blending, and so on and so forth. Pretty sure this is not what Chandler Burr has in mind for his Museum of Art and Design tenure, lol…
That’s a grand idea! an exploratorium of smells…
I really wish you could do this for me and people like me who are trying to learn more about fragrance! I had a bad experience today that emphasized the need for such a library! It’s a little off topic, but I’d like to share my experience as I do think it relates to one of the bigger issues with so many perfumes to choose between–newbies like me really don’t have an easy “in” to the industry!
Now, maybe I’m missing some nuance of perfume culture, and please tell me if I inadvertently made a faux-pas; however, I was quite surprised at the service I received this afternoon! I am visiting friends in Minnesota, and I made a special trip out to a recommended perfume shop. I went mostly to sniff Bond no. 9, which is a line I had no previous experience, and it seemed convenient to sniff them all in one place.
So, I went about sniffing. This shop was set up with little glass cups with gauze, pre-scented with each fragrance. I didn’t have to spritz anything, and I wasn’t going to ask for samples. However, when the owner saw that I was mostly there to sniff (and taking a few notes), she very politely asked me to leave!
Now, I would understand if I was spraying everything, willy-nilly, and loudly claiming to be there just for pre-online purchase research, but I wasn’t! Did I miss something? I couldn’t see how I was doing any harm, and the truth is that I really prefer to purchase from shops rather than online. So maybe I wasn’t gonna buy today, but a positive experience would certainly increase my chances of returning or making recommendations to friends.
So I left, feeling baffled and angry.
So, related to Robin’s entry, I’d comment that with even more fragrance than ever, it seems that the world of perfume is not consistently open to new members. Thankfully, this has been a unique experience. And yet, I’d appreciate any insights that might help me avoid such a situation in the future. It certainly wasn’t my intention to take advantage of the shop. But how can anyone sell such a personal product without letting people shop around?
Meh. Sorry, I guess I’m still feeling hurt by the whole thing. Please someone comment and give me either reassurance or polite advice on how to shop in a more appropriate manner! : /
Marjorie: You were treated very badly. The shop person had no right to assume anything about you without asking. A good SA relationship makes more sales than anything. An uninformed purchase makes for unhappy returns. You are in/around Portland OR right? Go to the Perfume House and you’ll see what good sniffing service is.
I work in a fragrance store myself, and I’d agree – the service provided to you was terrible, and on behalf of my industry, I apologise.
I have no problem with people coming in just to sniff, just to see what’s around, etc., as long as they are polite and forthcoming. The people who walk in just to spray on the favourite they can’t afford and storm straight back out the door without so much as a “hello” I find quite rude, as do the ones that snap “JUST LOOKING!” in my face if I even walk near them. The ones who say “Oh, I was really just thinking of having a sniff around if that’s okay, but I’ll give you a shout if I need anything?” – hell, they can stay as long as they like, I’d probably make them a coffee if they asked.
I am shocked by your experience, Marjorie! I am now baffled with the same questions you are now: how to avoid such situations in future? what was the reasoning behind her behavior? ugh.
If you would like to go to The House of Perfumes, drop me a line at write2warum (I have a g-mail account), I have a couple of days in April when I’m in Portland.
Majorie you poor dear. 🙁 How rude! I am miffed for you!
I cannot believe you were treated so badly….. don’t be discouraged, keep searching. I hate that you are afraid to venture now.
Holy toledo. What on earth was the name of that shop? I want to be sure never to recommend it to anyone else.
HOLY COW! I have never heard of such horrible treatment! So their policy is that if you are not planning to make a purchase, you are not allowed to be in the store???? And who’s to say that the next bottle you sniffed you might have fallen for and bought a 100ml on the spot!
Way to go! Kick potential customers out of your shop! I think we need to know the name of this shop so that we can a) boycott them and b) warn other perfumistas who might pass by there, how people are treated within their doors!
Thanks, all, for the words of support! I haven’t ventured into too many “perfume houses,” and I didn’t know if I’d broken some rule. Anyway, I was being polite by refraining to give out their names, but since you asked. . .La Petite Parfumerie in Excelsior, MN. 🙁
Oh Marjorie, so very sorry this happened to you! It’s absolutely inexcusable! In cases like these, I say we “vote with our feet” and don’t patronize this type of place. There are plenty of places to spend our money where we’re made to feel welcome.
What an embarrassing experience! Don’t worry about breaking rules. It’s a shop. As long as you were wearing a shirt, shoes and not stealing, then you weren’t breaking any rules.
Oh my goodness, Marjorie! I didn’t read to the end of this comment string and just saw this! Ugggh! How horrid! Others have have already said it, but let me add to the chorus of “How dare they’s!”. No, you did nothing wrong, and broke no unwritten laws of “sniffing”. While various lines vary in their willingness to hand out samples, I’ve never had any behave in the manner you described. I’ve always been treated courteously. In fact, the best service I’ve had was at the Guerlain and Chanel counters in Saks in Boca Raton. They were nice to begin with, but when I started on how much I loved the history of the lines and what I liked about them, they loaded me with samples.
You ran into a perfume sink of heathenism. A pox on them!
Marjorie, when I read your tale I felt physically shocked. I am so sorry you were treated that way. No one deserves that.
Go visit Tracey at the Perfume House, and she’ll treat you like a Queen! 🙂
Hi Marjorie Rose, what a crappy experience to have and my sympathies are with you completely – I hate bad customer service.
It must be quite common though, I’ve also had a negative experience with a shop here in Australia which is a real shame because I would much prefer to purchase fragrances locally. Oh well, just looks like we have to shop were our custom is appreciated and cultivated and eventually we perfumistas always return the favour!
Marjorie Rose – what a terrible experience. I agree that ‘voting with your pocketbook’ is the way to go, but it only works if they know. Write the store owner (was it the person who helped you??) a letter letting them know about your experience and why you won’t be back.
You could go all ‘Pretty Woman’ on them and include a snapshot of your perfume collection and/or let them know your typical spending allowance and tell them they lost out on all future potential sales. Anyone who sells perfume should know that it’s a try before you buy industry. I’m appalled at the service level and think you oughta let them know what they missed out on. If it’s a small business they may mend their ways. If they keep it up, they’ll go out of business.
Thanks for sharing!
Found their website: http://www.lapetiteparfumerie.com/
Voted “Best Beauty Boutique” by Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine? How??? Marjorie, your experience makes me want to drive straight up there, dressed to the nines, flashing money and credit cards, piling up bottle after expensive bottle as if to purchase and then tell them “Too bad. If you’d treated Marjorie with more respect, you’d have yourself a huge sale. Rest assured, you’ve just allienated a huge, lucrative community.”
The home page of this website just makes me sick. Those laughing blonde women at the bottom of the page and the “Maison fondee en 2002” at the top just make me want to vomit.
I have avoided that shop based on its location… and this confirms I was spot on. Thanks for sparing me the drive!
There is no ‘polite’ way to ask a customer to leave the store, your experience sounds absolutely unfair. Somebody should direct them to this website and all these comments, I think we all agree you deserve a big apology
They have a listing on Yelp and now have their second review. I have never reviewed a place I hadn’t actually visited, but thought this warranted it. I also linked back to this entry (so if that was a booboo, let me know and I’ll edit it out) so anyone can read your account first hand.
Would they be classified by LC or Dewey? Added entries and the abstract description? I’m afraid you’ve just created my dream job!
Perfumista Librarian!
Perfumista Librarian indeed! I always wonder how I can justify getting the Micheal Edwards database for the library without raising a few eyebrows. Someday I’ll sneak it in!! I think Dewey would be better – it has more flexibility. The LC number category (whatever it would be) would all be the same at the beginning – the numbers would be very long indeed to parse them all out. We could devise all kinds of interesting ways to class with Dewey. Now I have a puzzle to work out in my head when I am bored! I think the Michael Edwards site is fun though and one of these days I’d love to get my hands on his book. We could start using his classification structures and go from there. No point reinventing the wheel!
I love I Smell Therefore I Am, too. Great blog.
“Your rant is understandable….there is a lot out there – but there is also a lot of television shows I will never see, books I will never get the chance to read, movies I’ll never go to, dance concerts I’ll miss, Art Gallery Openings I can’t fit in, etc. I try not to let the over-saturation boggle my mind too much.”
I agree!
I get a weird Lysol note in POAL, which kills it for me. I wonder if this has happened to anyone else?
Robin, I love a good rant. Especially one that’s warranted.
1) Am I perfumista? Or is that perfumisto? 🙂 I don’t t know but I will say that I don’t feel quite like myself if I leave the house and haven’t spritzed on a little something. I feel a little off-kilter without it.
2) Am I a niche snob? No, I don’t believe I am; there are lots of cheap and cheerful scents to be had so I know you don’t have spend a lot of money to get a great fragrance. However, I will acknowledge the allure of scoring a bottle of something that is a) so rare that you’re not likely to know many people who have it or 2) spending a kazillion dollars on By Kilian or some other such thing, because most people simply won’t dare pony up that amount of cash.
3) Fragrance blog? NST is the only fragrance site I visit on a regular (read: daily) basis. Really, it’s bookmarked, along with the NY Times. From time to time, I will also poke around Basenotes or Osmoz.
4) Last perfume that made me swoon? Vintage Guerlain Vetiver does that to me. I managed to scoop up 4 bottles while traveling last year and each time I put it on, the heart rate quickens a bit and I can’t believe that something so wonderful is no longer being produced. The juice that Guerlain replaced it with is a pale watercolor imposter. 🙁
4 bottles, lucky you! How old are they?
Robin, according to the packaging, they’re all from 1995 or so – they’re all gift sets with a 1.7 ounce edt and an all over shampoo. Scary to think that they can be considered ‘vintage’ but the formula is clearly different from the version Guerlain sells today. The vintage is not nearly as dry, is more complex and goes on forever. The vetiver of old is actually ‘sweeter’ if that makes any sense…but not in a gourmand way. When I apply in the morning, I can easily detect it on my skin 12 hours later…or longer. Stuff will even outlast a shower. It was genius.
Thanks so much! I love my 2005/6 bottle, but someone sent me some vintage once and it was even nicer — I don’t know how old it was though. And I wonder how much it changed between 2005 and 2011.
1) What’s a perfumista? I’ve been wearing scent since I was 12 and it was Canoe. Crazily collecting? Since about 1990.
2) No niche snob, but over the last few years going to the dept. stores has been more of a headache than it is worth. There are worthy and unworthy scents in both niche and mainstream and even drugstore, but you have to be a vigilant detective to find them.
3) a lil ole blog called NOW SMELL THIS, which leads to…….
4) UBAR UBAR UBAR. My favourite scent discovery of last year and Robin, I purchased a sample because of your review and for that I say, Thank you! I crave this edp sometimes and that hasn’t happened in quite a while.
How nice!
I still consider the original Ubar tops on my list of “ones that got away”. Can’t believe I never bought it when I could.
YES!!! A quadruple Ubar Ubarissimo. I just got my FB (yowsa) and don’t regret it. It’s just so beautiful. Glad to hear someone else loves it, too. Now, Gold I couldn’t handle, too big for me, but Ubar is just divine. Thanks, Bear!
I love Ubar too, and feel lucky to have snagged a mini. I was never going to be able to justify the price of a FB. Actually, I find it so potent that my 7.5 ml mini should last a good long while. I have perfume eating skin, and tend to apply (and reapply) lavishly, but with Ubar, a couple of drops are plenty. It’s strong stuff, but gorgeous!
Robin,
Rants are healthy, IMO.
Shouldn’t be reading about perfume at work, which probably means I’m a perfumista. Since my 5 year old sister and I mixed my mother’s perfumes to create out own concoction (and ruined the finish on a mahogany dresser) I’ve been hooked.
I am a niche snob, mainly because the department store perfumes from big houses smell like chemicals. Ugh. Hence my belief that the industry is on the wrong track, and sadly the niche houses are following – spare me from vanilla, oud etc.
I mostly read your blog and Perfume Smellin’ Posse, prefer NST.
The last scent that made me swoon: Luctor et Emergo. Can’t get enough of that or Ubar. Nothing else comes close. Now if only there was a lily of the valley or bigarade for summer that didn’t smell like petrochemicals and heavy metals ….
Thanks!
Ann
How cool — I never hear about Luctor et Emergo any more, and it was once top of the cult fragrances!
Beautiful photo – and looking at it, I’m feeling your longing for simplicity, Robin.
I spent a couple of days on my recent vacation sniffing things at several Duty Free shops (I hardly ever have the opportunity of going out and sniffing things, as my local shopping scene is pretty darn lame), and YES, everything smells like everything else. It’s frustrating. It’s especially frustrating when I order niche samples and find that *they* remind me of other fragrances.
Regarding the questions for discussion:
1) My fumey history: loved it as a kid, was traumatized by some of the Big Scents Worn Big in the 80s, went on a self-imposed fragrance diet when I got married (due to finances), made do with occasional cheapie scented body products for about 15 years… got sucked back into good smells with Bath & Body Works’ Velvet Tuberose, about 4 years ago… then wound up here, while looking for info about the fragrance my sister had requested as a Christmas gift (Coco Mlle). A Whole New World opened up in front of me, and it coincided with the return of Things I Wanted to Do, like beginning to write again.
And I just gave notice at my part-time accounting job today. I’ll be giving that up to work on my writing full-time, beginning in about three weeks.
2) niche snob? Nope. (At least, I didn’t *think* so, but just this week someone who wound up at my blog looking for a fragrance that smells like 1980s Prell told me that all the fragrances I’d listed as smelling like soap were too expensive for her. So maybe I’m wrong.) I still wear drugstore stuff, if it’s made well. The last full bottle I bought was mainstream, too. What’s interesting me, increasingly, is independent perfumeries like DSH and Sonoma Scent Studio. Wait, is Tauer niche? I think of it as being bigger than the other two, but perhaps I’m wrong about that too.
3) I love reading blogs. I’ve discovered at least half a dozen recently that I really must add to my blogroll, and I’m not going to list them all here, because that leaves somebody out – but I just totally dig reading about peoples *lives* through scent.
4) Last scent that made me swoon? Mary Greenwell Plum. Love it. Could wear it the rest of my life. Feels both excitingly modern and comfortingly familiar at the same time.
Mals – Congrats on the job change! Woo-hoo! Good luck with your writing. It sounds like an exciting time. And 80s Prell – wonderful! I knew a guy in high school that would go nuts over any girl who used Prell shampoo. Regular shampoos used to smell so much better – now they all smell like synthetic fruit chem crap.
And Prell came in a tube, or was Prell the one with the pearl dropped into the bottle in the commercial? Did Prell come in a tube? Flashbacks…flashbacks..
I only vaguely remember Prell – my mother was pretty determined to buy us Basic Toiletries. (She bought all my bras until I was 18, too, and they were the ugliest things ever: white, polyester, not a scrap of lace. Probably that was on purpose.)
But if anybody actually KNOWS of a fragrance that smells like Prell, for God’s sake tell me so I can put this poor Prell-smell-seeking woman out of her misery!
I think, the closest I can imagine to Prell, which had a wonderful green freshness to it, would be the fragrance Eden. But it’s probably not really as close as I imagine. A lot of Goutals have that wonderful green freshness. How about Eau de Camille or Eau de Charlotte? I always get them confused, but one of them is green shampoo-y.
Yes! Prell did come in a tube! A little later on, there was a commercial for Prell with a pearl dropped into a bottle to show how”rich” the formula was. So maybe Prell was offered in both tube and bottle form for a little while…Sorry, I know this is a little OT, but it was such a strong recollection for me.
I’d forgotten it, but yes Prell in a tube was great. Great memory, bathing in a nice big mid-century bathtub. Big enough for a girl to stretch out in, and float her own toy navy.
HUGE flashback – into the ’70s. Yes, I’m – cough, old (-er).
Oh, huge huge congrats, that’s just wonderful!!
I think of Tauer & DSH & SSS as “indie niche” — basically, people who are making their own perfumes, which is rare — but I also try to avoid getting too worried about the terminology.
Yeah, the terminology itself is confusing, isn’t it? But I do love much of what those three put out; the passion seems apparent in all the creations, as opposed to the “Hm, we need a fresh fruity floral for the Asian market” mindset.
I am excited about the novel project – thanks.
I tend to label Tauer, DSH & SSS, etc. as “artisans” in my own mind, whereas nice but gimmicky brands like Le Labo and ELd’O I think of more as “niche”. For me, it’s all about the mission statement and press releases: the less contrived and verbose, the more I think it’s artisinal. The more pretentious and out there are “niche”. 😛
I understand the idea of “artisans”, but it’s more of a value judgment, maybe? Indie niche covers anyone who makes and distributes their own stuff, even if they suck at it 😉
Yup, that’s just my own humble opinion. ha!
Congrats! I’m envious. It was always my plan to get married, stay home and raise the kids, then write once they were in school. Alas, a suitable man never came along. Humbug. I’ll settle for cheering you on!
Helen Hunt (as Carol in As Good as it Gets): Ma, I just want a normal boyfriend.
Mother: We all do, dear, we all do.
Normal is not a prerequisite; just responsible. 😀
Oooooh!!!!! YOU QUIT!!!! Good for you. 🙂
I’ll add my congratulations, Mals – and best of luck to you!
Mals , Congratulations on your upcoming concentration on writing! I’m so glad this is becoming a reality for you….they’re gonna miss you at the shop!
Congratulations, lady — very happy for you! Looking forward to reading more of your great writing.
Congratulations!
Just wanted to chime in on the congratulations. Enjoy your writing life!
Mals, I’m afraid I left people out of my list – I should have done what you did!
I’ve become a little jaded myself, I’m sorry to say. I agree that too many disappointments have come my way too. I get all excited about a new release from a range I’m “sure to love”, think Dior’s Couturier Collection, only to be let down….think Milly la Foret. Although, New Look is gorgeous.
I have been a perfumista for a little over 3 years. I tend to be a bit of a niche snob, unfortunately.
Wonderful blog aside from NST? Bonkers About Perfume is great!
The last frag I swooned over…..hmmmmm….Guerlain’s 180 Ans de Creations 🙂
I have not even tried the new Diors! I think that is the nice thing about getting a little jaded — you don’t feel like the world will end if you don’t smell everything right away.
Going off-topic for a moment, I must say how much I love your gravatr, Lovethescents. A beautiful little image.
1). I’ve always been interested in perfume, but went through a multi-year phase where it didn’t matter too much to me. It’s only been in the past year that I’ve become unnaturally drawn to scent (and bought 50+ bottles, lots of samples, am on a first name basis with Scent Bar, and have done many swaps on MUA). I’m feeling my interest subside, and a frankly relieved.
2). I think I may be a niche snob. But I’m not limited to niche, there are several department store offerings that I adore – however, they came to market many years ago. I can’t say that I love any recent department store offerings.
3). I check out I Smell Therefore I Am a couple times a week and a couple of well-known other sites.
4). I’m half-way through a bottle of PG’s Cadjmere in less than two months! Completely lovely and very wearable. My last swoon was maybe Carillon pour Ange, but I hardly wear it. For me, there may not be any relationship between swoon and wearability.
Intesting point on the Swoon vs. Wearability… MFK Lumiere Noire pour elle makes me swoon, but it’s limited to Hot Date Nights, and there just ain’t enough of that in my life. (Funny enough, I wore Carillon pour un Ange today: two drops.)
Mals – 2 drops is all you need!
I think one of the side effects of blogging, maybe, is emphasizing swoon over wearability.
So true! But of course, I can wear what I want at home.
That may be, but it’s akin to having a closet full of beautiful ballgowns and nothing to wear to work. Or going out with inappropriate men – they may make you swoon, but they probably won’t be around to catch you as you fall 🙂
Great point re: swoon vs. wearability. I swooned over Guerlain’s 180 Ans, but ended up not wearing it and traded it away.
that worked out great for me though. 🙂
It actually worked out pretty great for me too! :<3
Please, rant away. The perfume Powers That Be should listen up.
I’ve been a perfumista since 2007. In some ways I feel like I’ve missed the party; there are so many things I’d love to smell that are long gone from counters (Coty Chypre) or are poor copies of their former selves (Diorella). I really don’t have the time, energy, or money to track down reasonable amounts of vintage and hard-to-find perfumes (Apres L’Ondee).
Meanwhile, going to perfume counter is increasingly impossible. Browsing the classics just isn’t fun with ladies follow you around pushing you to try on the latest thing (Acqua di Gioia). And the latest things clearly burn through their budget during the first 5-15 minutes. I want the pretty smell for the entire day, people.
So I guess I’m a niche snob by default, though research is still required. And ordering samples online gets kind of expensive when in pursuit of, say, the perfect iris.
Blogdorf Goodman is currently doing 40 Days and 40 Nights of Fragrance Notes, to which I owe my gorgeous new sample of I Profumi di Firenze Violetta di Bosco (it’s like the girly little sister of 31 Rue Cambon, love).
Otherwise I’ve spent the last year swooning over Les Nez The Unicorn Spell and Estee Lauder Private Collection Jasmine White Moss, neither of which cleaned out my wallet. My mom, who isn’t a perfumista but happily tries all my castoff samples, has been wearing Calyx and Estee Lauder Beyond Paradise since they came out.
Oh, but probably everybody things they missed the party, whenever they started…because we all perceive everything as moving downhill, right?
(And always love the BG 40 days, no matter what the topic!)
Last perfume I swooned over? Olympic Orchid’s A Midsummer Day’s Dream. A summer fig, the fruit ripe, but unpicked. Genius.
$25 for a 15 ml bottle. One is on its way to me to replace a sample I got in a $20 sample set. AMDD has restored my faith. Check it out: http://www.orchidscents.com/productinfo.aspx?productid=MSDD-02 (Not affiliated, but many thanks to dee for introducing me to this line.)
I bookmarked their website a few weeks ago; thanks for the reminder to go back there and poke around.
Interesting line and a good find. Are they considered niche, micro-niche or indie? 😉
I got a sample pack of 4 of their scents and they are different and memorable, clearly making what they want to make, the very definition of “niche”, well what it used to be. So I see myself going this direction. As niche gets more and more hollowed out as a concept I will seek out the indie perfumers, the small local artisanal producers.
Ha! Indie I would say. But whatever, Ellen has vision, commitment and talent. Yay!
Thank you, had not heard of that line at all!
Anne-Marie, I’m so glad you mentioned A Midsummer’s Day Dream! It really is something special, like the artisan house it came from 🙂
Very soon I will pull the trigger on a small bottle of Javanica… Yum!
Oh yes, lemme get out my sample to remind myself. Lovely!
1. I have only been into perfume since late last year. I have to agree with Aleta, the way the talk goes on around here I feel like I missed a golden age or something. I’ve sniffed everything the counter had to offer now (literally, I drive the sales associate and Macy’s bonkers), and have trouble (gasp) getting enough samples I want to try together to make an order worth the shipping.
2. I wouldn’t say I’m a niche snob (LOVE EL Bronze Goddess) but I do see a lot more scents that appeal to me in the niche category; non-traditional notes that appeal greatly to me (like ELd’O Like This) and not the same acidic ‘perfume’ smell I tend to get from 99% of what is at the counters. Don’t even get me started on celebrity scents! The only one I have liked is SKP Covet.
3. Besides NST, I only read Sorcery of Scent. I love his descriptive reviews. I’ve tried to lurk on the Perfume Board at Makeup Alley, but it seems like a tough crowd to break into. I’ll bee going down thru the list of replies to pick up more ideas!
4. Xerjoff Dhajala. I won three free samples from Xerjoff and this one is the surprise favorite! I also tried Irissss and Shingl. I thought Shingl I would love, but it has the dreaded ‘note of death’ in it; a note/accord I have yet to identify that makes everything smell like flowery death on me. Its in YSL Parisienne and Guerlain My Insoulence. Any idea guys??
My guess is violet.
Thanks! That’s what I was thinking, but Shingl does not list violet as a note (though of course the list isn’t always complete). I’ll just have to stay away from the stinky bugger from now on.
halimeade: I also felt like I’d missed a party when I began this seriously in 2007, even though I’d always loved perfumes. It’s only natural – we’re all jumping on a carousel that stops for nothing, lol. It took me about 2 years to get through what I thought was the best I could muster testing vintage and classic fragrances. And a few truly enchanted me, and the others just got put in the storage box. Such a fun learning experience! It is still relatively easy to find vintage and classic fragrances to sniff though the Perfumed Court and also well planned swaps.
And I felt the same in 2006. There are ways in which I DID miss the boat, but then, there are ways I missed the boat by being born in 1970 instead of 1950 or 1920 for goodness sakes. Plenty of beauty left out there to smell…
Re: Makeupalley, it has ALWAYS seemed like that. It certainly seemed like that to me back in 2003. Trust me, eventually you can just jump in, and if you keep talking, people get to know you. Once I got started I was surprised at how forbidding I thought it was.
I can’t find the MUA comment you are responding to, but get the jist of what might have been said. I quit a couple of months ago because it’s so clique-y. I felt like I was right back in high school – except high school was far more enjoyable. Nonetheless, I did come across some very nice and generous swappers.
Thanks for producing such an excellent, well-written, informative, and entertaining blog!
I’ve chased nice smells since I was a wee child. I never was much into Barbie, but I did beg my parents for the Barbie Perfume Maker. Of course the juices were vile but I loved them. I also loved the smell of Tinkerbell nail polish and the original Strawberry Shortcake doll. I’d like to think my tastes have become slightly more sophisticated, but olfactory memory is a powerful thing! At any rate I started reading and learning more about fragrance 3-4 years ago.
I’m not a niche snob (see above re Barbie, Tinkerbell, and Strawberry Shortcake). My own collection spans the spectrum. But I do like to support perfumers who strive for uniqueness and use high quality materials. I find that today’s niche is tomorrow’s mainstream, and today’s mainstream finds ways to create niche mystique (Hermes L’Hermessences, Chanel Les Exclusifs, etc.) Or maybe they’re just charging more.
I read NST every day.
Like others before me, I am swooning over Ubar. FBW? Early yet to tell.
So glad to see so many mentions of Ubar!
I’ve been a perfumista for maybe 3 years now, ever since I learned there are others like me, and they share their obsession on blogs like this one!
I haven’t gotten into niche fragrances very much, simply because there are so many classics out there to sniff my way through (and I’m still working on it). It doesn’t really matter if a ‘fume is mainstream or niche, mass market or high-end, just that it appeals to me. That said, I’m venturing out to try some niche perfumers (Sonoma Scent Studios, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz).
I agree that there are way too many launches out there, and that they all seem to follow a particular trend (oud, fruity-floral, fruitchouli), monkey see, monkey do. What’s the point? Even the most dedicated perfume lover is going to get nose fatigue after awhile. But maybe they aren’t selling to us, but to those who are just looking for the latest thing, may buy it once or twice, then move on to something else.
I’ve been enjoying olenska, who writes the blog Parfumieren.
The last perfume I swooned over and had to buy: Montaigne by Caron.
I love Montaigne, esp. in the early spring. The narcissus and warm woodsy base are perfect!
Hey, all these years later, I am still working on the classics too!
I’m still sniffing classics too. Worthy place to spend our time.
I do love a good rant, Robin. Rant away!
I guess I’ve been seriously wearing scent since the mid 1980s, and have really, really been into it–in the sense of looking for rarities, reading intensely about it, studying notes, things like that–since the early nineties.
I was a niche snob for a while, but now even the niche lines have grown more mainstream–I couldn’t be bothered with L’Artisan any more, CSP is mostly trash, and I can’t tell you how disappointed I was with Serge Lutens’ shower-fresh Eau–so now I’m a vintage snob. Since hardly anybody is making anything really astounding any more, I’m taking comfort in the past, when, let’s face it, they really knew how to make fragrances. Some of this might be misplaced nostalgia, since a lot of the vintage things I have are from the eighties, but it’s just a fact that, for the various reasons we all know too well, vintage Parfum d’Hermes from 1984 is better in every imaginable way than the newer formulation.
I don’t even remember the last scent that made my eyes roll back into my head. Maybe I’m just getting jaded. I really liked Space.NK.Man, but it was kind of a copy of Rocabar. Some of the Ormonde Jaynes are pretty great.
And The Different Company Pure Virgin! That was a sort of last straw for me…I assume now they’re ALL going to copy Serge’s L’Eau idea, which of course you can hardly say was his idea to begin with except that hey, nobody expected him to do it. Vintage snob may well be the way to go, but ack, not a cheap way to go!
Heck, I like Eau. It may not be the most complicated in the world, but I like the way it smells; I like the sheernes which can exist at a subliminal level, a plus for business wear.
I have no quarrel with anyone liking it, and for all I know, TDC’s upcoming Pure Virgin will be a masterpiece. Still, the fact that these sorts of brands are making “shower clean” perfumes is a sign of the (economic) times.
Thanks for the rant, Robin. I’m with you all the way. I feel like my desire to smell new perfume is inversely related to the number of new releases. It’s overwhelming! So then I tell myself I’ll stick to new niche releases, but that’s become ridiculous, too. So now I look forward to new work by a few of the tried-and-true houses and wait for the word in the blogosphere to excite me about something enough to want to try it. I’m saving a lot of money on perfume, at least.
I’m a really spotty perfume blog reader. I keep up with NST of course and regularly stop by Grain de Musc, the Non-Blonde, and Perfume Posse (I adore March, who doesn’t?). I like Bela’s blog a lot . Oh, and Katie Puckrick. I’ve been turned off by a few blogs by what I feel is unneccessary personal snark, but that’s just me. For the most part, the perfume blogs are filled with terrific passion and kindness.
The last new perfume that swept me off my feet was Irisss. Right now I’m wearing D&G By for Woman, sadly discontinued, and I think it’s a total marvel of clean, warm sensuality.
Oh yes, how could I forget about Katie Puckrick’s blog? Love it! I wish she did more videos…
Her Secretions Magnifique video is a classic!
I want to branch out more in my blog reading, but I’m also VERY overwhelmed by choice in that arena. I think that maybe for me, it is like perfume is for you: the more blogs I discover, the less I read any of them. And I also very much dislike unnecessary personal snark.
I like Katie’s blog very much and her videos are a lot of fun. I’m not sure what you mean by personal snark, but one of my pet blog peeves are posts that go on and on and on forever – seemingly without direction or a thought about outline. Brian at I Smell Therefore I Am is a fantastic writer, I never skim his pieces. Other sites I skim like crazy trying to get to the “meat” of the piece. I also like Muse in Wooden Shoes. This is more of a personal diary of what she’s wearing, the weather, what’s going on in her life. But her entries are not too personal, and don’t cross into TMI territory, and they are short. I also visit Waft from time to time, but I feel that she’s more interested in vintage frags. NST is one site I visit every day!
Oh Irisss…this reminds me of the things i didn’t know I was missing!
I’m giving myself a good talking-to about it at the moment (e.g., I could buy up several partial bell jars of ISM for the price!!). Its a good thing its coming into Autumn Downunder…but assuming I haven’t shaken off the obsession by Spring, I’ll probably be a goner…
Hi Angela, I would agree that no-one really likes unnecessary snark, but personally I can kind of see the relevance of necessary snark. Brian, from I Smell Therefore I Am, for example, has written a few ‘controversial’ posts recently but I respect his courage, honesty and ability to ‘call it as he see’s it.’. It’s refreshing to see an individual take a firm position on an issue and in many cases just state quite plainly what some of us may feel/think but never have the guts to actually say. As an avid reader of fragrance blogs, I appreciate this kind of ‘snark’ and feel that in some ways it’s necessary. I think sometimes it’s important that someone asks the questions and/or highlights some issues that others are afraid to ask or raise. And a good dose of humor about it all doesn’t go astray either!
1) I’ve always loved perfume, but there was a beginning for my “perfumista” life (you know, tracking down scents, following blogs, sampling, lemming): 2007 (or was it 2008?). Discovering the Internet life of perfumes fueled my interest. I am getting a bit tired now, but maybe just because I found some true loves, so my quest has lowered its pace.
2) Going directly from mainstream to niche, it took me quite some time to approach the classics. I’ve bought only few bottles these years of sampling: 80% are Guerlain and Chanel old ladies, bought in this last year, 15% niche, 5% mainstream. My regretted purchases: all my “other”, many of my niche. So I am a “classic” snob!
But I do have a few niche houses or perfumers that I follow and care for, while the rest just doesn’t get my attention.
3) hum… I’ll skip this one.
4) I didn’t have high expectations for Love and Tears but I really liked it. But if you’re talking about swoooon, with many “o”s of delight, my latest involved a fortuitous christmas encounter with vintage Mitsouko edt.
2010 has been a very lucky year for me, fragrance-wise. I discovered, fell in love, and bought, a couple of juices that really suit me perfectly. I am wearing my Shalimar right now, also a 2010 discovery, and it just makes me insanely happy! You know, when you smell your wrist and smile?
I do know that well, it is why I am still blogging despite being so jaded! And Shalimar is quite worthy of it 🙂
Isn’t vintage Mitsouko wonderful! I wore it for YEARS until they reformulated all of the deep fruity richness out of it. Now it’s a dry shell of its former self, IMHO, and I haven’t found anything to replace it.
1. I’ve loved smells for as long as I can remember. Even though I now spend an inordinate amount of time (ok, and money) on this hobby, though, I’m not knowledgeable enough/don’t have a good enough nose to consider myself a perfumista. Just a hedonist. 🙂
2. Am I a niche snob? I guess that depends on your definition. My taste has evolved beyond typical dept store dreck, and yes, niche houses are often the answer… but it’s all about what I like, and if that comes from Chanel or it comes from CK or RL or Andy Tauer, I don’t care. I like what I like. I do think they need to slow down, though. Any time something becomes impossible/nearly impossible to keep up with, I get discouraged and drop it altogether. And frankly, I own enough perfume at this point that I could do just that.
3. Yours is the first I found, and the only one I need. And to be honest, that helps narrow the field for me, too. Sure, I miss out on some things… but I keep my sanity. Sort of.
4. I’m not really a swooner. More of a measured appreciator. As such… I’ll have to give this one some thought.
Hedonist is good. Sometimes I think glutton would work for me. I am also turning back to my collection when I get weary with tracking the new releases. I have plenty that doesn’t get enough skin time.
Yeah, glutton probably covers me too.
Heh. That works too.
“Shower-clean scents”.
If someone wants to smell shower-clean, then why bother putting anything on at all? Why not just let your soap do the trick?
Robin, this is your ‘field’, you can rant as much as you want! 🙂
1) Been a wannabe perfumista for a long time; in all actuality, since being a perfumista includes extensive niche nowledge, only as long as I’ve been reading this blog.
2) Not a niche snob (Jovan White Musk is still at the top of my list), but I think it’s come down to competition and getting one’s name out there for the designers in the industry; a viable way to do that is introducing more perfumes. Prestige, you know?
3) Don’t know any others.
4) Lovely by SJP and With Love by H. Duff. Yes, celebuscents are every perfumista’s nightmare, but I just thought they both stood out and deserved a spot in my collection.
Plus, you know, how many notes are out there to experiment with anyway? A finite number, I would guess, which means there’s only so many combinations that one could come up with. They know this, but they just want to keep putting their name on things.
I start to feel that way too…like there are only so many combinations of existing notes!
Exactly.
Luca Turin’s theory (if I remember correctly from his Smithsonian lecture last fall) is that Proctor & Gamble is going to make a killing through fragrance in the next few years—their bath and laundry soaps smell far better than most of the “clean” fragrances on the market.
You are right, Aleta: LT said (or rather TS said that he had said), that the mainstream perfumes were getting cheaper and cheaper and the functional fragrances were getting better and better and that the two lines on the graph would soon cross and the functional fragrances would smell a lot better than perfume. She said he particularly liked spring mountain Tide, or something like that.
That was one of my favorite lines from the seminar!
It’s a frightening concept, actually.
That’s very funny, and likely pretty true. When something from Macy’s smells as good as some air freshener from CVS, there is indeed a problem!
So a bunch of us were at that seminar! It would have been great to meet you! In my own would-be blog (ahem; you can count the entries on your fingers) I wrote about it.
Which reminds me–I’m really impressed with all the perfume bloggers who mange to write daily, even weekly,
Yes, it would have been nice to meet more of the participants, especially NST regulars. I guess my only tiny disappointment with that wonderful seminar was that there was so little time for discussion and follow-up conversations.
I understand your rant!
and my answers
1) Well, what does perfumista really mean? I’ve just always wanted to smell “different”, since I was 13 (and that was, ahem, some years ago)
2) oh yes, for the same reason as 1)
3) I have several on my blog roll (not all daily), one seldomly mentioned, even if it also has English translations, is “beragmotto e benzoino”
4) absolue pour le soir, I think it’s ging to be the first FB of the year
Perfumista doesn’t really have a specific definition that I know of, just someone who is “into” perfume, I guess.
Perfume has helped me through big changes of the past two years: becoming a mother, giving up my career, and moving overseas and back. I have spent hours dreaming of perfumes while rocking my little girl in the dark. It’s also a way to occupy myself while I wash up yet more dishes, raising a dishgloved hand to my nose to sniff my arm and consider! (I love to cook, but hate dishes.) I miss the camaraderie and discussions and opinions encountered at work, so I comment and read comments on perfume blogs. Selling our apartment in my beloved Boston at a loss and trying to settle in Germany was tough. Reading about perfume, trying samples, and buying bottles were my escape and reward. Then, just when I was settled in Germany, my husband’s career brought us to small town PA, another big change for a city girl like me. So I am again turning to perfume as an escape and reward. I need the beauty! I am not a niche snob, but I already sorely miss the selection at department stores and perfume shops in Hamburg. Browsing the high-end perfumes was a favorite past-time. Now I have to order samples; it’s not the same. Anyway, I think Rive Gauche is even more beautiful than Amouage Gold, for example. And I don’t care about the number of mass-market perfumes. There are so many beautiful ones, I don’t have enough days to enjoy them all. I do find that most of my favorites are from the 90’s and early 2000’s, though, kind of a peak period in perfume creativity. To end this long comment, I have a short list of perfume blogs that I think are worth my time: here, Bois de Jasmin, Grain de Musc, Perfume Posse, The Non-Blonde, and if my mood can tolerate the snarkiness, Katie Puckrick. Now, this La Myrrhe I’m trying really reminds me of children’s bubble-blowing soap. Not at all what I expected!
I always loved perfumes, but my perfumista-hood also correlated with my time as a new mother. It was sensory therapy and a way to feel glamorous at the same time! And fragrance always fit, lol, unlike my favorite clothes. It was easier than jewelry that my girl could grab, etc. I’m in the Pocono boonies in PA too. Things get better once real spring comes around in April. Good luck with the baby!
YES to the fragrance always fit. Exactly.
Not only do they always fit, you don’t have to worry about work-appropriate perfumes! I don’t even know where Pocono is I’m afraid, must look it up.
NE Pennsylvania right north of I 80 near NJ. I’d miss it too except I live here now. We just got 8.5 inches of snow!!!
Ceelouise, it is, at least, a portable hobby — although still easier in a big city. But when I started, I used to go to NY regularly to smell what I couldn’t smell easily from home, now, I never bother.
Do you mean you prefer to order samples, or are you really that disillusioned by all the new releases that you don’t bother to sniff? I really miss setting out for a walk downtown and a few spritzes of something wonderful as a pick-me-up.
I meant more that there used to be so many things that you couldn’t get samples of at all — if you wanted to smell them, you had to go smell them where they were! Now, there are VERY few things you can’t get samples of. So I no longer feel I must make a trip.
But also true that now that there are so many things that I can’t possibly smell them all anyway, I let more of them go 🙂
I just got into the perfume world a few months ago, but when I was reorganizing my closets etc. (in advance of house repairs) I noted that I had seemed to have collected a fairly large bunch of bottles over the years. I vaguely remembered, oh yeah, that was a college trip to France, when I though it would be cool to bring back perfume, oh yeah, that was me starting my career, thinking I should have a signature scent, and others I had no memory of how they ended up in my hands at all.
Certainly, some of the writing in the NY Times describing frangrance as a new art form with new elements (i.e., new chemicals from the scent industry labs) to be developed intrigued me. Plus I went to a Sniffapoolooza on the theory (which proved correct) that people united by a singular obsession tend to be diverse and interesting.
I suspect the growth in perfuministas shows other people have similar stories, a mild interest, fed by increased groups of people writing about it. People share their “little” interest and, because of the discussion, interest compounds.
Ironically, this is occurring while the actual scope of the art, (or at least some ingredients is being restricted). Capitalism will push its way through and create markets, when possible. Fragrances are still relatively low priced and so allow people to indulge in luxuries from brands they otherwise could barely dream of. (Even a special collection Hermes full bottle is less than the tenth of the price of a scarf or bag).
Capitalism may however, be advancing farther than the art (and if Robin is any judge, advancing beyond even devotee’s interests). Even niches have a hard time being original, and I suspect that one reason certain notes become the “thing” is that the fragrance manufacturers (you know, those companies in Jersey with actual chemists) come up with a new synthetic scent and then everyone tries to work with it. (Just like Pantonne comes up with a color scheme for each season and then everyone from interior paint companies to Swarovski to couture clothing lines fall into production. The abundance of fruity florals, particularily in lower price lines, probably derives from budge. I suspect fruity scents are cheap .Even the niche “artists”, are subject to these price issues and keep an eye on someone else’s hits.
Maybe perfume bloggers are ultimately more interesting than most perfumes.
Your final comment is a brilliant observation, Dilana!
Dilana, I think you’re absolutely right: new aromachemicals launch new trends. That’s esp. true when they’re cheaper replacements for once-expensive materials, like oud.
I was the black sheep of the economics department in school, but it seems that the education has stuck with the way I view the world.
Well said. And of course we are all very interesting! You should go read Nathan Branch’s blog, which has a lot of well written critique on the fashion and beauty industry. Given your thoughtful comments, the site may be of interest to you.
I think your observation about the mild interest then fueled into a full blown hobby by the encounters with groups of like-minded people in blogs or forums is right on! I can see my own story sharing the same pattern.
Rant on, sister!
1. Got my first bottle of perfume at age 6, my first “fine fragrance” at 14 (Diorella), quietly backed away from the perfume counter during the 80s, sidled back in sometime around 1994, became full-fledged, card-carrying perfumista with the advent of the interwebs.
2. Not a niche snob. I have BBW sitting next to a couple of bottles not released in the US and a whole bunch of everything else in between. The state of the industry? Gah! The “note of the year” bandwagon, the “exclusive to City X” releases, the overwrought promotion, the endless derivative new releases: enough!
I’ve become much more interested in what the indies are doing (“indie” defined as those perfumers who are pretty much on their own). Sonoma Scent Studios, Andy Tauer, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, Ava Luxe, Liz Zorn, Smell Bent, DS & Durga, CBIHP, and probably many others I can’t think of at this moment seem to be making the perfumes they want to make, guided by their own philosophies, tastes, and desires.
3. NST is my first stop every day, but I really enjoy Muse in Wooden Shoes for its very personal take on fragrance and its excellent writing.
4. Mary Greenwell Plum. Mals and I are in complete agreement on this. And SSS Incense Pure.
I love Muse in Wooden Shoes! The life as lived through the lens of fragrance is so wonderful…
Ya’ll are sweet, thanks!
Just got a sample of the Mary Greenwell as an extra and had never heard of it or the line. Did Mals do a review? Will have to check…
I did review Plum back in December, I think. Still loving it. Have drained a 5ml decant (and I rarely do that sort of thing so fast…).
Yes, an excellent and enthusiastic review, saw it yesterday, thanks!
And while I’m here, glad to add my congrats to your writing venture. I made that decision awhile ago–had to scrape by on all sorts of freelance stuff for a long time, but it paid off.
I am the only one left who has not smelled Plum!
No, dear, I’m right behind you. But I have a sample winging its way to me soon from a kind fellow perfumista. Shoot me your address and I’ll be glad to share some of mine with you when it comes in, if you’d like.
Don’t worry, I haven’t either, R. Gonna track some down some day…
No, you are not alone. I’ve never smelled it either. But where can we get samples in the USA?
And I forgot to mention http://1000scents.blogspot.com/ I always enjoy reading it.
I’ve added quite a few blogs to my list thanks to this poll!
I’ve heard such good things about that blog but despite numerous attempts, I can never get it to load properly and let me read it. Anyone else have this problem or any ideas what’s wrong? Thanks!
I have problems with it most days. When it works, it’s worth reading; I just never know when that’s going to happen.
Great topic!
1. Am I a perfumista? I guess so even if I don’t own hundreds of bottles (it’s hard though to be that disciplined). However I read constantly about perfume and sample what comes my way.
2. Yeah, definitely! Besides niche scents I own several Chanel and Hermes but these are from the exclusive lines which to me are niche. Has there been anything remarkable issued by the mainstream brands recently? Not really…
3. I like the Non-Blonde which has a very eclectic approach towards fragrances.
4. There hasn’t been anything in a long time – until Panache came along. This is a beautifully crafted perfume, very elegant yet completely modern. Why, oh why does it have to be so damn expensive?
Ditto. I wish Panache was $80. I think Debut used to be around that price, although that was probably some time ago now.
1) I am a perfumista, I have been for a long time. I remember buying and receiving fragrance from about the age of 12 or 13. I’m always on the lookout for something new to smell!
2) Am I a niche snob? Hard to say, but for the most part, no. Some of favorite frags are niche, some are mainstream. I am also somewhat limited by my wallet at this particular stage in my life. But I am glad to have found a forum where niche brands are discussed, sometimes I feel the need for something unique that no one else has heard of!
3) I have read other perfume blogs, just can’t remember any names right now.
4) The last perfume I swooned over was SSS Champagne de Bois, which I discovered here! Happy, happy!
I am limited by my wallet too, and I think it’s just as well.
I don’t consider myself a perfumista, since I stink at so many of the criteria (e.g. I rarely know what the notes are). I’ve always loved perfume but didn’t really pay it the kind of obsessive attention it now gets from me – that started about 3 years ago, via your blog and then the Posse. As far as dept. v. niche. I don’t care where it comes from (Pluto? a cave in Uttar Pradesh?)…like Bela with CWM, one of my faves is Coty Sand and Sable!
The most gasp-worthy perfume in recent time is Roja Dove’s Diaghilev, which I learned of courtesy of WAFT by Carol. Robin….omg! If I start about that one this comment will be 15 feet long!
Great post, btw. I’m in total agreement with your rant! Permission to Rant At Any Time!
xo
But hey, there are no criteria for being a perfumista! If there are, I probably wouldn’t pass either.
Drat, I was planning on ignoring the Roja Dove. And it was LE, wasn’t it? So now I’ll have to ignore it.
It’s at Harrods right now but there’s some loose talk that it may go into wider distribution… 😀
xo
Great post, Robin! I hear you on the overwhelming number of releases. Over the past few years, blogs and PTG really helped to explode my perfume exploration, and also helped me to focus on well-made scents rather than dreck. Sure, some of it’s a matter of opinion, but I had to have some way to pare down the massive offerings. Now there’s so much that I don’t even bother to look at or test. I focus more now on individual perfumers, houses, and genres. It’s still too much, though!
1. I’ve been a perfumista forever.
2. No. Not a niche snob. In fact, many of the niche houses really turn me off. But there are others that I love.
3. I enjoy Scented Salamander. Not a lot of social interaction on the site, but great resource for industry news.
4. Swoon is a strong word! I think there’s really only one scent I actually swoon over and could wear every day for the rest of my life – Attrape Coeur! But there are plenty of runners up. Latest one I fell for – Chanel No. 18.
Interesting that you say that…I do think more & more niche houses turn me off too. Maybe more than mainstream houses do.
I like Marie-Helene’s blog as well!
You and I are of the same mindset today, Robin. I just came back from a stroll through the mall with my friend (too cold to walk outside) and sampled several fragrances I’d been meaning to try only to be not only disappointed but just plain disgusted (e.g. Rhianna’s new one: gag!). I even tried Lancome’s Tresor again for the first time in years and was agast at the bugspray waify nothingness that this, formerly voloptuous fragrance, is now.
1. Perfumista probably since about 1994. Perfume collector since I was a child. (I have my mom’s small empty bottles of Diorella from the ’60s that still smell divine.)
2. I am definitely not a niche snob. lol Although my non-perfumista friends would probably beg to differ since I turn my nose up at the majority of the stuff out there. But I am always thrilled to find a cheap little gem at a drugstore. That happens less and less these days. Most of the time I’m thrilled to find a 1oz Annick Goutal variety online for for $35 and free shipping.
As far as the industry goes, well, I knew I was disgusted but I didn’t realize how much so until I examined my interests of late. Without even realizing it, I’ve pretty much been shopping for older gems – such as the YSL Paris flankers, vintages of Coty & Guerlain, any original Fendi and Kenzos. I’m becoming a Vintage snob!
3. Last swoonworthy frag. Hmmm. Actually, would probably have to have been the new Natori I bought back December. But again, mostly because of the vintage vibe. Beautifully done fragrance, though.
4. I, too, am having trouble with the plethora of fragrance blogs out there. I wanted to start my own, but I”m kind of thinking “what’s the point?” when *I’m* already overwhelmed. I’ve been working on a few entries and, as I stated in #2, they’re all about vintage fragrances and sense-memory. So maybe I’ll just make my blog about vintage fragrances.
I used to get so much joy and pleasure out of fragrance. I still do to a certain extent, but now because of the overwhelming market it becomes more of a chore and a job, and I’ve got enough of that. I still buy decants but I’m much more choosey now instead of just buying 1mls of all the latest offerings. I pay close attention to all the notes and usually get larger decants of the tried and true. Trying to make sure I don’t destroy one of my few lasting diversions.
I’d come read your vintage blog. 🙂
Awww, thanks mals! 🙂
I ought to get some vintage Tresor. I think by the time I smelled it, it must have already been pretty well ruined.
Am I wrong, or is there only 1 blog about vintage scent at the moment? That’s not such a crowded field.
At least two, I think – Yesterday’s Perfume and Vintage Perfume Vault, both fun & informative reads. There may be more…
Thanks, I missed one.
Thanks for the encouragement from both of you. I will let you know if – no, when- I get my own blog up and going.
the flooding of new perfumes is surely fuelled by the beauty editors of magazines who constantly demand the word NEW and are obsessed by the need to uncover a new fragrance before anyone else. The perfume companies who depend on their publicity ultimately are playing to those same editors by feeling they need to create something new every few months. that is one reason why i admire Ormonde Jayne so much by sticking to its guns and its near perfect repertoire of just 12 scents. Linda Pilkington the ownder has said she is not going to create a new fragrance this year as she wants to just concentrate on what she has. so wise!
Untitled by Margiella made me swoon the first time & then not the second but very nearly!
Gosh, I don’t see it that way at all…perfume coverage in magazines is minimal at best, and hasn’t changed over the last 5-6 years or so while this growth has taken place.
I forgot Perfume Shrine is great & so is Bonkers About Perfume and so is Mrs Trefusis Takes a Taxi
Never heard of Mrs. T, but what a cool name! I want that to be a novel or a movie, too.
Ditto! Great name.
1) I came to the perfumista world late, but have been a willing student! When my day is at its worst, the scent of perfume lifts my spirit and helps me focus on what is beautiful.
2) I’m not a niche snob, but have more because there is less diversity in mainline perfumes as well as more attention on the independent(ish) houses. However, two of my favorites are by Estee Lauder (Sensuous Noir) and Hermes (Eau Claire des Merveilles).
3) I enjoy the Non-Blonde’s perfume reviews and it’s great fun to follow her love affair with make up! (I’m still looking for the makeup that makes me look 10 years younger and pounds lighter…)
4) I still love Amouage the best. My Ubar was stolen (along with Memoir) and so I’m asking my DH for an Ubar replacement – only thing on my birthday/holiday combined list! Thank goodness we figured it out before Lyric and Epic were gone…. I could never have afforded replacements!
I’m aghast at your story–your Ubar, and others, Lyric, etc., were STOLEN?? How did this happen? Someone at your house party go to your restroom and swipe it? Man. I have such a thing about thievery; it makes me so angry, but this one, stealing perfume, I have never heard such a thing. Well, I hope Hell has a special Ring of Torture for those who steal scents. I hope Karma gives Ubar back to you. It’s just such a treasure. My condolences.
Oh, I lost that thread–Memoir was stolen, but not Lyric. Phew. I’m still steaming over this.
2 Amouages stolen! I am so very sorry, that’s simply horrible.
Formerly trusted friends who stayed at our house while we were gone. Luckily, she didn’t know which were the best or she would have made a couple of substitutes (eg Lyric). Counting my blessings on that. I started out with the Amouage fragrances, so I’m missing Ubar like an old friend. But it could have been worse – Epic, Lyric & Mitsouko!
That’s just terrible.
My hat is tipped to you, my dear, for all the dreck that you have to investigate, smell, even look at before deciding it is not worth your time!
I became a perfume addict several years ago and bought way too many FB when I should have gotten samples or minis. I haven’t pursued much niche, more vintage and men’s fragrances from the 70’s and 80’s that I can give to my husband and wear myself.
A few months ago our youngest, now 3 yrs, was diagnosed with PDD (we knew there were problems from birth, just not how many) and that changed my perspective on disposable income and how much time I was willing to spend on blogs and the pursuit of perfume knowledge.
This blog is the only one I now read on a regular basis.
Do you know why I come back, every day?
It isn’t just the wonderfully witty writing, the fabulous inclusiveness of all the commentators or the quirkiness of the subject matter. It is the honest humanity of the perspective you give us on the subject of perfume, be it positive or negative. If you want to write a column titled “WTF is up with perfume?” every week, I would read it.
Thanks for being here, you provide needed break from my everyday world and I hope you know what a pleasure it is to visit.
Yes! I am so grateful to feel welcome and feel privileged to get to “listen in” to so many educated, thoughtful, witty and kind folk! Well said!
That is so kind, thank you!! And ‘WTF is up with perfume’ absolutely cracked me up — that could be the regular Friday counterpart to the Monday Mail. LOL!
I am so sorry about your youngest. That must be tough, and very time consuming. Having any sort of family difficulty always helps, in a funny way, to really crystallize what matters and what doesn’t.
Hi Ruth. what does PDD stand for?
PDD stands for Pervasive Developmental Disorders – its a grouping of five disorders characterized by delays in the development of multiple basic functions including socialization and communication. The five disorders are Autism, Rett syndrome, Asperger syndrome, Pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) and Child Disintegrative Disorder (CDD).
We were referred see the autism specialist April 1st and she just started special ed preschool in January on her third birthday, so we are getting help that we need.
Thanks Ruth. I did google it to check. You most definitely have ur hands full. I have two kids with different learning issues from one end of the spectrum to the either….ADHD and dyspraxia! We have an adorable kid in our community with aspergers that my daughter has been visiting once a week for the past 4 years . She was part of a group called the friendship circle which place different teenage kids with kids who had special needs! you should investigate…cause it was really good for the little guy to have one on one with somebody who loved him and wasnt a therapist or family…I believe in the States, there is so much help for this. In hong kong, we battle with this! BTW NST is also a great outlet for me!
Great post/poll, Robin! It sounds like a lot of us are overwhelmed.
1. I’ve paid attention to perfume since my teen years, but I’m only three years into The Insanity.
2. I am a niche snob, I guess, because most of my favorites are niche. I wish the fragrance industry would focus more on quality and a lot less on quantity.
3. Blog-reading takes a lot of time, and I read several sporadically. NST is the only one I check every day. However, I’ve recently fallen hard for Scentscelf’s Notes from the Ledge. I love the way it gets my mind spinning.
4. My last big swoon was Jolie Madame. A friend sent me samples of both current and vintage, and OH MY but that fragrance is ME! 🙂
And so which Jolie Madame are you chasing after, new or old??
I am one of the few that hasn’t yet caught the vintage bug, I think. Most perfumes I give up if they get reformulated too badly. Except Diorissimo, which I would kill to find in vintage.
I liked both, but the newest version suits me just fine! I did find a mini of a vintage formulation, and I love it too. Mostly, I’m with you – I don’t want to get on the vintage merry-go-round.
Oh good, that makes life easier.
Ditto, for the most part. I would love to hoard a vat of vintage No. 19 edt, though, and I did have to chase a single bottle of vintage Safari, only bc it was my sig scent for so many years. Had it been terribly expensive, I wouldn’t have bothered, though.
1. If the word perfumista means, as I have seen it defined, “someone who cares deeply about perfume”, then I suppose I have been a perfumista since the age of four or five. That is about how old I was when I was first able to unscrew the caps from my mother’s perfume bottles and sniff the contents. I was fascinated by the variety of different smells and loved to compare them. I remember noticing that Chanel no. 5 and Arpege smelled “similar but different”. I knew there was some sort of common thread between those two, although it was years before I learned that the common thread is aldehydes. One of my favorite Christmas gifts of all time was the bottle of Coty Muguet des Bois that I got from my great-aunt when I was about 10. It was my first “real” pefume, and I have been building my collection ever since.
2. Not exactly. I don’t automatically dismiss a fragrance because it is mainstream or cheap, although it is rare these days for me to really be impressed by a new mainstream release. Most new mainstream feminines are fruity florals, and aside from the fact that most of them smell alike to me, I just have never cared for that scent type. Also, I only just got internet access about a year ago, and it has opened up opportunities for me to sample and buy things that I otherwise would have no access to. Consequently, I have been exploring a lot of the niche and indie stuff. Looking over my list, everything I have bought in the last year has been either niche/indie or vintage.
As for the state of the perfume industry, of course there are too many new releases, but what can anyone do? If all the perfume houses scaled back their rate of releases by half to three-quarters, it would probably benefit the industry as a whole. I would expect the result would be that sales would stay about the same, while costs would go down (fewer advertising campaigns needed, lower development costs, etc.). Flat sales – lower costs = greater profits. Unfortunately, for it to work, everyone would have to follow suit. If only a few houses cut back on releases, they would probably make less money, as their offerings would get buried in all the noise. It reminds me of the Prisoner’s Dilemma (a well-known game theory problem) in that by each participant (or perfume house in this case) acting in his own best interest, the overall result is to the detriment of them all.
3. Yesterday’s perfume is a wonderful blog for fans of vintage perfume. I have discovered several vintage gems from the reviews on this site.
4. SSS Champagne de Bois. It actually happened the second time I tested it. This is one of the most beautiful things I have ever smelled. Unfortunately, I discovered it just before the cart buttons went down, and I had to wait until last week to order a FB. I just arrived yesterday, and I will definitely be wearing the heck out of it now before the weather gets too beastly hot.
Seconding that on Yesterday’s Perfume. It’s a winner.
Yep! I’ve spent very little time there, but it was very useful time, anyway.
Actually, Roses – you may find CdB very summer-friendly, as sandalwood fragrances tend to be. Enjoy!
Yes, very much a prisoner’s dilemma, exactly!
Ranting is good. I am glad I am not alone in the aggravated overwhelm! NST is basically it for me. I’ve been interested in perfume since before high school. Definitely not a niche snob. My most recent swoon: Eau Duelle.
Looks like we are not alone at all 😉
1) I’ve loved scents since childhood, but spent my youth thinking that one had to commit to a signature scent, which meant that I didn’t “sniff around” much once I’d found something I loved. About four years ago I fell down the rabbit hole of online perfumista communities while trying to track down a discontinued love. I’ve never tried to experience everything, though, but use blogs etc to guide me in my sampling.
2) If something smells wonderful I don’t care about its provenance, but darn it, I’m in danger of becoming a vintage snob. And when I do find something modern to love it gets discontinued! How I wish the good things would stay in production. (I’d really like to limit my exposure to *bay).
3) I’ve shortened my perfume blog list to NST, the Posse, and Grain de Musc, all well-known I believe.
4) My sampling pace is slow enough that I’m not at all jaded by scents themselves, although the number of launches and the attendant hype have inflicted information overload. The scents that have thrilled me most over the past few years are probably laughably familiar, even over-exposed, to most perfumistas. Examples: FM Iris Poudre and Chanel no 19, both of which I discovered about a year ago. But as I’m looking for beauty, not novelty, who cares if they’re new to no one but me?
Yes, to beauty over novelty!
Vintage is getting lots of play in the comments today…interesting.
Rant on, Robin!
1. I like 50_Roses’s definition of “perfumista.” That places the beginning at my first bottle of (original, Yardely) Oh! de London. I’ve always been more attentive to perfumes than most people I know. The internet has helped me to find the like-minded fragrant ones out there, and it’s certainly fed the perfumista fire.
2. I’m not a niche snob (and doesn’t niche become harder and harder to define?). I do like many niche frags, though.
I think there are way too many perfumes released, at too rapid a pace. I like to slow down and have some time to anticipate, hope, desire the new stuff. It isn’t just mainstream either. I’m finding that many of the indie perfumers have awfully long lists of fragrances. One thing I love about Antonia’s Flowers (for example) , is that the line is focused. It has a distinct signature.
3.NST is my go-to. I have lots more on my blog roll. It is difficult to check in regularly, but when I do, I seem to click on Grain de Musc first.
4. I’ve been catching up on my samples, including a brand new line, and some older stuff I never got around to. No swooning yet. My last swoon was Chanel No. 5 Eau première. Before that- Tiempe passate. Before that – Chergui. Before that…Ormonde Womans?
YES on the long lists of fragrances at some indie houses. It does make it hard.
Hi Robin,
Just want to tell you that I feel your pain and your disappointment in the state of things. As a much newer “wannabe perfumista” I feel overwhelmed too but in a very different way than you do. I do so much enjoy your blog on a daily basis and I don’t like thinking of you as being upset. I hope a new scent comes along for you very quickly that just rocks your world entirely and puts a smile back on your face!
1. How long have you been a perfumista, if you are a perfumista?
I have been a “wannabe” for almost 2 years now. I consider myself a perfumista in training.
2. Are you a niche snob? And what do you think about the state of things in the fragrance industry?
a) Not a niche snob, haven’t even tried most of the niche companies other than SSS and one sample from Parfum Del Rae – hence the “wannabe”. Still trying out my very, very carefully selected dept store ones like Bvlgari, Chanel, EL, FM, Givenchy, Guerlain, Hermes & Prada so far.
b) I was most unhappy with the moratorium on certain fragrance ingredients and all the re-formulations of my old favorites. I am totally overwhelmed with the amount of perfume that is available. I found this shocking at first and really had to come up with a game plan to research and make very careful decisions of how I was going to obtain the “scent of my dreams”. Of course, I have discovered that I have many, many dream scents and dreams…LOL!
3. Tell us about a wonderful fragrance blog that hasn’t gotten enough attention.
This is the only blog I read every day. The others listed on your links I read from time to time.
4. What’s the last perfume you absolutely swooned over?
I swooned over FM’s Carnal Flower, Iris Poudre & En Passant and Chanel’s 31 Rue Cambon when I first got them and I am still swooning over them a year or so later. I just think they are all to die for and when I wear them I am totally happy, happy, happy!
I am still at heart, an old fashioned girl, just a fuddy-duddy! 😉
Oh yes it is upsetting when you get on to the sites and find an adored fumie/writer is obviously getting the pip about the whole thing! My delight in the blogs is immense, and I would grieve to lose my favorites….
I do not think you have to have tried anything in particular to be a perfumista…it is a state of mind and a level of interest, that’s all!
I was just having this talk with my hubby earlier today! That is, about the masses of releases, and now, it seems like there’s a flood of super-limited edition exclusives that are coming out, on top of all the “regular” new releases.
1. How long have you been a perfumista, if you are a perfumista?
mmm, well, I’ve been obsessed with smell since childhood, and had my own bottle(s) of perfume since that first bottle of Love’s Baby Soft—a long time ago! But I didn’t know about, or join, the online community until 2009. That was when I began aggressively “collecting” as well! 🙂
2. Are you a niche snob? And what do you think about the state of things in the fragrance industry?
Nope! Although most of my actual bottles are niche (or artisan) I remain hopeful that prestige will continue to put out a good one every now and then. The market is flooded, and probably will continue to be—when it crashes, I’m confident that the worthy juices will survive!
3. Tell us about a wonderful fragrance blog that hasn’t gotten enough attention.
I love and read so many blogs—I feel a great sense of community within the small blogs… for bigger blogs, I rely on NST, PST, and Bois de Jasmin, and for smaller blogs—there are so many that I keep up with! I’ll pick the one I find the most underrated: Scentless Sensibilities. The authoress has a real gift for writing, and she transports you with her beautiful reviews.
4. What’s the last perfume you absolutely swooned over?
Memoir Woman! I never thought I’d pay for an Amouage, but have since eaten my words. Totally swoon-worthy, and totally wearable.
Yay! I second Memoir! It’s my most recent swoon, too! I am planning (post vacation) to save for a FB. . .
Yes, indeed, ladies, I concur — Memoir is some seriously good stuff!!
Enjoy!!
I have given up on the market crashing. Not going to happen so long as there are new places to sell…which there will be for a long time yet.
1. Only a year. I’ve mentioned this in a couple of other places, but growing up I was very awkward and insecure, and the fact I couldn’t find perfumes that smelled good on me just seemed to confirm that perfume was only for beautiful woman. Last year I went looking again, stumbled on the internet, and everything changed. Turns out that I CAN smell fabulous, thank you very much. Who knew perfume could be therapy?
I still don’t know if I can call myself a true perfumista, as I don’t have the time to frequent the online forums, I’m totally out of the loop on splits, living in Calgary means no perfume buddies, and I have only a small budget for sampling and purchasing that I firmly stick to. (However, I did finally get myself a gravatar ;))
Howzabout dubbing me that rare and elusive breed rarely seen, “The Frugal Perfumista”? Fortunately, I do have insane luck with winning giveaways. As of Saturday, I’ve won 10 lovely things this last year.
2. No, I wouldn’t call myself a niche snob, because I love me a cheap thrill, but I could almost be considered an “indie snob.” Case in point: I finally got to smell Lutens Bois de Violette, and found myself thinking, “Smells like SSS’s Wood Violet, which is far more reasonable.” Seriously.
On the flip side, my nose has definitely changed this last year. I resniffed D&G’s The One a month ago, and was astonished at how awful I found it. A year ago, I almost bought it as my signature fragrance.
3. None that haven’t been mentioned yet really, except I also have Laurie Erickson and Dawn Spencer Hurwitz in my Google Reader. It’s enjoyable to get the perfumer’s perspective. And I love that Victoria is blogging regularly again.
4. Ormonde Jayne Woman. Wow! I’ve been waiting to sample this line for months. The only thing is, I’m not getting the woody, mysterious, foresty thing I keep hearing about. On my it’s soft, fresh, floral and GORGEOUS. I’m seriously wondering if maybe my sample got filled with something else by accident, which I’m sure I’ll discover as I work my way through the line. Anyway, whatever is in that sample, I’m BUYING.
I got the same florals from OJ Woman, Dionne. Not dark and forest-y on me at all!
Dionne, concerning Bois de Violette/Wood Violet, I had the same impression, only I had tried (and bought) BdV before I ever smelled Wood Violet. My first impression of WV was “that smells just like Bois de Violette!” I’ve tested them side-by-side a couple more times, and while they are not dead ringers–BdV is more cedary and a little drier–they are quite close.
Good assessment. I’ve sniffed both side by side as well and they are very close! I think because I smelled SL Bois de Violette first (and loved it) I prefer it. But you’re right – it’s drier and has more cedar.
You sure sound like a true perfumista to me!
I’ll add my vote to the “rant on!” contingent!
1) I remember really loving perfume (particularly my great-grandmother’s violet perfume that was in a little porcelain flask with violets painted on it,) when I was very small, but then, around the time I turned 12 or 13, I started getting terrible migraines, that were often preceeded by (okay, and still are) an awful smell like ozone, rubber and burning citrus. Trying to figure out what was triggering them kept me away from a lot of things, perfume was one of them. By the time I had figured out what tended to set them off for me, my major approach to scent was a shrug. I didn’t have time or the money for it. I guess I’m saying that I’m not really a perfumista.
2) I’m not a niche snob, I don’t think. For one thing…well, I’m cheap. Period. I dont’ really see the need to spend hundreds of dollars a year on samples looking for something divine. I’m quite happy with my cheap thrills.
That said, all of my cheap thrills are currently from Smell Bent.
3) As far as fragrance blogs, the first one I found was Perfume Posse, which led me to Perfume Smellin’ Things, which led me here. I don’t remember what perfume it was I had looked up, but I do remember…that I never bought it. This blog is the one I stick with though, NST is my go-to for queries, though I do still check PP and PST for second and third opinions. NST though, I visit several times a day some days. I think what keeps me coming back so often is the mix of entries, the perfume, the food, the “others”…
4) I don’t swoon, if I can help it. The last time I swooned, I think I probably had the flu. I’m just past that dreaded week that I spend smelling like bacon no matter what I put on, so I’m very happy to be wearing perfume again (seems like forever when you’re not able to, doesn’t it?) today.
Not asked, but info volunteered…I keep two sets of perfume. I don’t have air conditioning at home and keep my refrigerator…well, too cold, since everything tends to freeze. Which means I’d have to be terribly clueless to keep anything in it that couldn’t take it. My Smell Bent’s are here in my office, where the temp stays pretty level year round (my current favorite combination is Incensed oil + 2 sprays of Violet Tendencies) and at home I have several of the Pacifica solids that I wear at night and on the weekends (last night was the Mediterranean Fig with the Avalon Juniper.)
Okay, reading over that, maybe I am a little bit of a snob.
Also, nothing rouses my contempt so much as an endless stream of flanker after flanker after flanker after pointless freaking flanker (212, I’m looking at you!)
You’re smart to keep at the office. I have a lot of spoiled perfume.
Oh dear. I hope the rant made you feel better! Got to get all the bad air out… 😉 Totally understand everything you say and can’t disagree with any of it, but I feel relatively shielded from the problem because I just ignore loads of stuff and don’t feel any compunction at all to keep up. I’m sure I’m missing many gems, but such is life. Doubly grateful to you for trying.
1) I am sure enough a perfumista and have been since around 2008 when I realized I finally understood all the acronyms being employed on the blogs.
2) I am a little snobby–I definitely avoid drugstore stuff, and I like department store frags pre-screened. Much more likely to blind test niche stuff. I think the perfume industry has been committing slow suicide by bad business model, isolated corporate culture, and basic paranoia for a long time now.
3) Hum. I don’t venture away from my standard blogs very often (NST, PST, BdJ, GdM, PP–look it’s a perfumista test!) but I’ve enjoyed Pere y Pierre and I love Aimee’s take on things over on Mossyloomings.
4) The last perfume that made me swoon was totally unexpected: L’Artisan Fleur de Narcisse. Yes, one of the ridiculous harvest perfumes in the wooden boxes. Hadn’t tried it until last summer, but I managed to get a sample when begging one for Nuit de Tubereuse and was just blown away by it–the perfect honey/hay/fall sunshine scent for me. Haunted the boards until I found someone selling theirs for a reasonable price…
And coming back to add all the blogs I forgot that I read (denial anyone?)–Muse in Wooden Shoes, Olfactoria, Bittergrace (not just for the occasional one line perfume reviews), and others I’m sure I’m still forgetting…
Alyssa, glad to see another fan of Pere de Pierre!
And thanks for getting the name right, Erin. *blush* I love that image they use in their title banner, too.
Oh, it always makes me feel better! I am probably nowhere near as jaded as I seem.
1. I got really interested in perfume about two years ago now. Before that I didn’t think I liked perfume, but I decided I wanted to find a bottle of something nice that would make me feel more pretty and glamorous. I looked online to find out what my “one bottle’ should be, started reading blogs and Basenotes.net, and the rest is history! Now it’s a huge hobby for me — I try to smell anything I can get my hands, and have a wardrobe of samples, minis, and bottles that makes me very happy.
2. I am not at all a niche snob. If anything, I find the prices and the chi-chi air around some of the houses offputting. However, I really love a lot of the niche scents I’ve smelled. I also like a lot of really cheap scents from houses like Balmain and Gres. I don’t really care who makes my perfume, as long as it smells good and I don’t need to rob a bank to buy it.
3. I visit a lot of frgrance blogs, but the one I really love is this one — informed, thoughtful, funny, and not mean-spirited. Many of the bloggers seem either too fanciful or too ready to sneer at “the masses” who dare to buy tacky scents. I think there’s a big difference between not being a fan of Victoria’s Secret perfumes, and looking down on the people who do like them …
I do like Perfume Smellin’ Things a lot, and I have a great love for Tangled Up in L’Heure Bleue, but she almost never updates: http://tangledupinlheurebleue.blogspot.com/
4. The last perfume I swooned over …. probably Lyric Woman. WOW, is that beautiful! Although sometimes I wear something I already own but have been neglecting, and am blown away all over again. That happened today with Fendi Theorema
Yes, yes, yes on the Theorema! Every time I wear it, I’m shocked that it’s not in production when it’s miles & away better than 75% of what is one the market, and it isn’t weird or hard to wear or anything else. Just lovely.
I think i am becoming more and more of a snob. my nose has just become more refined and realized that most of the mass market stuff is rubbish. a few years ago i would have thought only idiots would buy a $100 bottle of cologne. now i am an idiot too.
🙂
Robin, your rant was comforting to me. I totally agree, it’s all too much!!
1. Well, it was in 2006 that I discovered perfume blogs and started racking up the niche samples.
2. I’m not a niche snob, as I really enjoy a good mainstream fragrance or cheap thrill, but I do currently think there’s way too much of everything and I wish it would all slow down! (Not just in the perfume world but everywhere. Like that will ever happen.)
3. I don’t know, as I only read this one and PST (see above, it’s all too much!)
4. I think it was Nuit de Tubereuse, though I’m now finding it hard to wear (a bit headache-inducing).
Glad it was comforting to someone! Ranting makes me feel guilty.
Love the rant! Rant more often is what I would suggest.
1) I have been seriously into perfume for about 3 years. I have always loved perfume and up until 3 years ago I would have around 4 to 5 bottles.
2) I don’t think I am a niche snob, but I do seem to have a preference for a few niche houses. Divine, Goutal and Nicolaï spring to mind. But I also really like a few mainstream offerings. The only fragrances I seem to avoid are celebrity scents.
3) I read this blog and BoisdeJasmin most regularly. I am so glad she is posting again! I occasionally read some of the French blogs like Poivrebleu. It’s nice to get another perspective.
4) Vamp à New York. From the reviews I knew I would like it, and I did. It was my first fragrance purchase this year. It always brings a smile to my face.
All of that Honore des Pres trio brought a smile to my face…they are the sorts of things that keep me blogging.
It seems like with most things creatively speaking, I am always a breath away from being indie chic but instead am mostly a copycat. I am just getting around to buying the ubiquitous chambray shirt. And apparently this rant solidifies it, with perfume I am no different.
I just got into perfume after my third baby was born, about a year ago. Before that, I had absolutely no money to buy something as decadent as perfume. A better job for my husband and I’m back in business!
I am not a niche snob, but I do tend to like their weirdness more than dept. stores. I love Dzing! for that reason and also de Bachmakov- I have NEVER smelled either in a mall. I do love EL’s Bronze Goddess though and I like that you don’t have to sell your soul to get samples whereas there is something really annoying about dropping 50 bucks at luckyscent just for the opportunity to smell some things. Bah.
NST is the only one that has captured my attention for the long haul. I think it’s the fonts (j/k).
The last perfume I about fell over with love and devotion for is Ormonde Jayne’s Fragipani. I am asking for it for my birthday (The big 3-0!) in June but really don’t see that I can wait that long- I get phantom whiffs of it, I am positively obsessed.
Oh, I hope you get a bottle, and happy birthday in advance!
This is so strange, I didn’t even like Frangipani all that much, but I took my sample on travel and started to get phantom whiffs of it as well! I am much closer to a bottle than I’ve ever been… but not quite there yet, no.
Some great comments here tonight. And I love me a good rant once in a while, so thank you Robin!
I have always been a perfumista, since my sister and I were little girls and went around the house, combining lotions and scented things in small jars to create our own “perfume”. I really began collecting perfumes in a big way a few years ago–mostly vintage, but I’ll try anything.
I hope that I am not any kind of snob, though I do think that the odds are better that niche and “indie” lines will have something I can love and/or respect. I also love “natural perfumery”, aromatherapy, well made (read sustainable, eco-friendly, hand-made) soaps, candles, etc. Quality matters more than price or packaging. It is impossible to keep up with the burgeoning output of the fragrance industry and unfortunately, it is going the way of the music industry. In other words: crass commercial excess; hyped celebrity-worship; mass-produced and disposable, forgettable, non-recyclable, shallow-minded emphasis on form over content…not to put too fine a point on it. 😉 Look at the packaging on all of the cosmetics and fragrances we own–is any of it recyclable? What will we do with all of this *stuff*?
I like I Smell Therefore I Am, ChickenFreak’s Obsession, and The Perfume Chronicles (Wordsmith), to name but a few.
The latest *swoonable* perfume for me is DSH Dirty Rose.
I love the name Dirty Rose!
Well, I live in regional Australia, and work in the only speciality fragrance store in my town, so I’ll be frank and say that the niche market isn’t huge out here in the sticks. I’m a city girl at heart, only living out here for uni and my partner, so I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to Sydney where things are “happening” a bit more.
I don’t know if I’d call myself a “perfumista”, but I do have a passion for fragrance and for my work, and have done so since I got the job (before the store even opened – I’ve been there since day dot) a year and a half ago. I’m a perfumista by comparison, I guess, to the average in this town.
I definitely wouldn’t call myself a “niche snob”; as I said, access to the niche market is pretty limited. The company I work for has a range of exclusive fragrances (a lot of smaller Spanish brands, some Singaporean, etc.) that love, but that’s about as close as we get. I get the feeling, though, that these brands are much more widely sold and much more popular overseas, so I highly doubt they slot into the “niche” category.
I completely agree with the general consensus here, in sum saying that the fragrance industry is getting a bit too big for its own good. So many companies are just whirling out the same thing again and again (don’t get me started on celebrity fragrances – a huge thing with the women who live in regional Aust. – who release the same old dull fruity floral that bores me to tears), I don’t think they’re putting enough thought into their markets, and I think they’re of the impression they can charge whatever they like and people will pay, which is slowly starting to change as I can see.
I don’t get the opportunity to really look at a lot of fragrance blogs – this is the only one I subscribe to, I love the regular updates straight to my inbox, and it actually forwards me information the company doesn’t so I pass any blogs on upcoming fragrances, relaunches etc. on to my boss (if we’re not stocking it, the company thinks we don’t need to know about it, which is incredibly frustrating when eight customers come in looking for the newly launched Fragrance X and you have no idea what they’re talking about). I also, obviously, follow my company on Twitter and keep up with their Facebook, and also Libertine Perfumes. That’s about all I have time for between actual work, study and a few winks of sleep now and then.
The last fragrance I absolutely swooned over (please don’t shoot me) was Dance With Givenchy. I vaguely remember reading that we weren’t huge fans of Very Irresistible here on NST, and neither was I at first, but it grew on me and then Dance With Givenchy came out and now they’re neck and neck for me. However, the chances of me actually buying either of them are slim – even with the staff discount, I’m a university student living out of home (800km away from family in fact) so fragrances aren’t really in the budget. I’ll just have to drop heavy hints around the house and hope beyond hope for my birthday (my partner says he’s now bought me “enough” perfume to last me a lifetime, so he’s never buying any for me again – fingers crossed he’s kidding).
Oi oi oi Sheree!!!
I’m a perfumista who has spent my whole life basically apart form a few years at uni, in the Oz bush! The years of the treks to Sydney just to hit the perfume counters at DJs, and was it Grace Bros, now Myers, have been left behind by the power of the Net!
I still have sniffathons when I get there but as we all know the nose wears out quite quickly…
I’m a little too scared to shop online as yet – I’ve had a bit of a fascination with Michael Kors (loved Island and my old boss bought me a bottle which I cherish), and really want to try Very Hollywood, but unfortunately our store doesn’t have the rights to stock it and I can’t find it anywhere locally. I very much considered buying a sample online, but could only see two outcomes: a) I hate it, had have wasted precious $$, or b) I love it, which makes me depressed I can’t spend the big $$ on a full bottle. Damned if you do…
Congrats for lasting in the Aust. bush so long!! I’m not even in the “bush” per se, just a long way away from the bustling metropolis, and that’s far enough for me. Can’t wait to get back to Sydney… sigh. Two more years of my degree, and I’m outta here.
Promise not to shoot you, and hope a bottle falls in your lap!
Me too!! 🙂 Thank you. It’s such a tease to work all day with the bottles just sitting there, too. I really start to think “Hey, if I just gave up food for a couple of weeks, I could afford that…”
As I was reading your post, Robin, I wished I had become a perfumista earlier and had experienced the life with 500 or less new releases a year, and a life when niche was small and secretive.
I’ve never known any other life than the one of now, 1000+ new perfumes, almost all brands almost equally available, sample sites abound, perfume blogs abound, forums well developed and populated with well informed people. I still don’t know for sure how to orient myself in this world, especially given the fact that I did not smell most classics.
It is a lot of work, indeed. Perfume takes a lot of life right now. But it is very interesting and rewarding, and as long as I have no illusions that I can sniff everything, I am willing to keep sniffing and learning.
1) Since October 2009.
2) I guess I am. Some brands that interest me can be found in the dept stores, but most are niche. If anyone believes that I am missing out, holler and tell me what I should try 😉
3) I like a new one called “This blog really stinks”
4) I am actually quite embarrassed to admit it, since it is a classic scent loved by many, but only recently I tried Chanel Egoiste and… yes! I need more of this. A swoon that made me run to ebay and order was vintage #22 EDC. So my two last swoons were with Chanels.
xoxo, Warum. 🙂
That’s true, I enjoy it!
500 was doable. I would so love to see things go back to that number. Ain’t gonna happen.
Well, I guess for me even if things will go back to that number, there’s still all classics, and vintages vs reformulations that I don’t know about and am not familiar with…
I refuse to know it all, though, to make sure that the pefume smelling does not become a chore. I have a bad record of creating exciting hobbies into dragging chores and then leaving them at all. So, this time around and with this hobby I know a little more about the pace I feel comfortable with, and if I cannot cover everything at that pace — so be it. Something’s gotta give. There are certain things that I don’t seek out but smell them once they fall in my lap. 1) celebrity scents (with the exception of Like This which did fall in my lap and I will need a decant of it for Fall), 2) vintages (with the exception of #22 EDC — keeping fingers crossed that my ebay purchase smells as good as the sample I tried), 3) regular dept store offerings (exceptions are around too, sure).
It’s cracking me up how looooong these posts are. Ask us to talk about perfume and away we gooooo!!!!! 🙂
Heheheheee….. then this isn’t a “lazy” poll! 😉
Nice post Robin!
1. I’ve probably been a Perfumista since early childhood, but I’ve been a serious ‘hunter’ since 2004. I stumbled across the blogs around 2007 and its been a blissful downward spiral since then.
2. I hope I’m not a niche snob, but I suspect I really am! I’ll draw the line at chasing vintage or super-rare/expensive stuff though. There are far too many new releases from both mainstream and niche, so I rely on a few select blogs to sort the wheat from the chaff. If something’s getting a lot of love then I’ll go track it down.
3. I catch up on the Non Blonde about once a month or so, and have recently started reading Notes from Josephine.
4. Creed Tubereuse Indiana, and Robert Piguet Visa
I try very hard not to be a niche snob, but I suspect I’m one at heart too.
1. I’m a new perfumista, freshly scrubbed and innocent. 🙂
2. I am too new to have too many views, but I do hate the celebuscent deal (and did prior to becoming a perfumista). Seems some people buy anything assocoated with a celebrity – I don’t get it. The flankers-of-flankers situation seems bizarre to me, as does the scramble to use the note du jour (though that happens in makeup all of the time, too).
3. I’m going to plug my own, which is new (like me). Tge angle is to follow along with a new perfumista while I learn about the industry. I have a beauty blog, too, that I’ve written for 3 years, so when I became addicted to perfume, writing about it was a natural extension. http://thisblogreallystinksperfume.blogspot.com
4. My newest swoon: Andy Tauer’s Une Rose Chypree. All that and a bag of chips.
Ps: forgot to say I have around 30 perfume blogs in my Google Reader, and I read each one when they post. I love reading Persolaise, Notes from Josephine, Muse in Wooden Shoes, EauMG, Bonkers About Perfume, WAFT, Olfactoria’s Travels, From Top to Bottom… Er… All of them!
Adding you as we speak girl!
I am feeling you are very young which personally gives me great delight; I believe we are born as perfumistas just as we have individual talents for art, music, science, maths…
lol. I turned 40 earlier this month.
i’m young at heart? or an immature writer…?
Love hearing about all these new blogs! My own habits are very set, but I’m really glad to know the community is expanding and that there are new things to explore when I have the time.
Yours is new to me. I look forward to checking it out!
looking forward to yours too Jen!
Jen, I love your blog! 🙂
xoxo 🙂
Gah! I forgot to mention yours, which I read greedily!
just followed you – I didn’t realise you had one! d’oh!
You should change your profile to link to your perfume blog!
1. How long have you been a perfumista, if you are a perfumista?
I’ve been hot and heavy with the sickness for over a year but have always loved perfume and smelling good.
2. Are you a niche snob? And what do you think about the state of things in the fragrance industry? I am a niche snob. I am over mainstream but if it delights my senses I will want to wear it.
But for the most part, it’s boring and synthetic smelling.
I think the fragrance industry is making TONS of $ and alot of it is mine. I hate how crazy expensive stuff is and I hate hype but if it’s lovely then I’m doomed cause I will want it anyway. Damn them.
3. Tell us about a wonderful fragrance blog that hasn’t gotten enough attention. Muse in wooden shoes, I Smell therefore I am,Yesterday’s Perfume,OlfactaRama,Parfumieren,The Non -Blonde and I miss Tangled up in L’Heure Bleue too..
4. What’s the last perfume you absolutely swooned over?
Une Rose Chypree. My Holy Grail. OJ Woman is wonderful too.
I love this blog too. it was the first and still one of the best!<3
Wanted to add I love vintage and indie perfumes as well! SWOOOON.! :*
“I think the fragrance industry is making TONS of $ and alot of it is mine” — ha, so true!
I agree with so much of what you’re saying Robin, although I don’t really concern myself too much with trying most of what comes out – I need to finish trying all the samples in my “to sample” bin first, then work on sampling older stuff that is on my wishlist!
1. How long have you been a perfumista, if you are a perfumista?
Since high school, I’ve always had 2 or 3 perfumes at a time, department store or BBW type stuff. About 2 years ago, I found NST and have gone a bit crazy with it since then.
2. Are you a niche snob? And what do you think about the state of things in the fragrance industry?
Definitely not. 2 of my favorites are JLo’s Deseo and Ed Hardy Love & Luck. There is way too much junk out there now, but I don’t concern myself with most of it – me being annoyed isn’t changing anything!
3. Tell us about a wonderful fragrance blog that hasn’t gotten enough attention.
I read the Posse and PST, which are pretty well known here. I also enjoy reading Mals over at museinwoodenshoes, Olfactoria’s Travels, and I Smell Therefore I am.
4. What’s the last perfume you absolutely swooned over?
I finally got a sample of Chene and just love it. I was inspired by Angela’s mention of it here in her Lodge Chic column –
“My Chêne performed admirably — and, it turned out, suitably, since the Lodge’s fireplaces were being relined and were boarded up. The only smell of roaring fire came from my cleavage.” And I’m so happy I was able to swap for a decant of it!
Yay for Chene, that is such a wonderful scent.
I love this post; call it a rant if you want to, but it just seems real imo.
I don’t really consider myself a perfumista at this point. I love the stuff, no question, but the intense rush, fevered searches, keeping notebooks full of notes…….that’s over, and it’s for the best. When I first started that phase, it was about 2006, and Parfumerie Generale fragrances were about $75 at Luckyscent. You could get perfume samples & decants from a variety of sellers on ebay. It didn’t cost $15 to try a 1ml sample of one new scent. MUA was a fun place to trade samples and scents and discuss new releases at length and with rapture. I adored the four blogs I followed faithfully. I still read the same four blogs, but in all honesty, I skim. I went on a year long swap break on MUA and have only started again since I’m now addicted to nail polish (way cheaper and easier to find than perfume.) Pulling back allows me to enjoy what I have more. The last perfume that made me swoon was dabbing on a little vintage Shalimar extrait after a really terrible day – it was better than a strong whiskey & soda and a hot bath. NST is my first and favorite blog of all; I’ve learned so much from all of you.
You are not the first person I’ve talked to who has switched from perfume to nail polish! I guess it’s cheaper, but I’m too lazy to do my nails, LOL…
I wouldn’t really consider myself a perfumista, although I’m a bit of a niche snob. As a college student right now I don’t have the time or the funds to really harbor the true perfumista passion, and I am different from many of you on here in that I’m mostly looking for the perfect scents to WEAR, as opposed to APPRECIATE a truly incredible or interesting fragrance. For me, I actually wish the niche market made more of a distinction between “art” pieces and “wearable” pieces (much like fashion has ready-to-wear vs. haute couture shows), since I think it would alienate less people.
Anyway, I’m one of the few lucky ones, since I’m looking for very strict fragrances: beautiful, interesting, simple, comforting, vanillas. This means for every 1000 launches or so, I’m interested in 1. I think the key to the mega launch madness is to hone in on scents you’d actually be interested in wearing, then treating everything else as fun samplers, should the opportunity come along. As for mainstream, I honestly rarely even bother anymore. The exception is maybe a new Prada launch, and I also have a soft spot for YSL Paris so I like to sniff the new springtime variations.
I like the idea of being a niche snob without being a perfumista … seems more efficient, LOL…
What a terrific post. You and I have already chewed on this one, but: I gave up. I simply can’t keep up with all the releases, and by that I mean, all the “niche” releases. I think I did a pretty good job of staying on top of the new niche stuff even three years ago. Now? Forget it.
Swooooooooooon? Bosphore. Enough to buy a bottle? Jubilation 25.
Hey, Bosphore was mine too. Great minds, & all that.
I am in a sort of reverse mode, now: I’m proud of the fact that I skip some “important” releases altogether, and sometimes whole brands.
Hi Robin and everyone! Great, great topic and so much insight. And sometimes a good rant is good for the soul, letting off steam and all that.
1. Always loved perfume since elementary school and stayed up on the new releases through the years but have been really “rabid” about it since 2007-08. Now it seems as if it consumes a good chunk of my life.
2. Not a niche snob as I find that lovely scents pop up all over, but I do tend to avoid a celebrity scent unless I hear great things about it. And I don’t feel the need to rush right over to Macy’s to smell the latest thing in the mainstream world, but if I’m nearby, I will.
3. I love this blog and Perfume Posse, where I have guest-posted a few times, but one I also adore is Suzanne’s over at www. eiderdownpress dot com. She writes so evocatively but is also very funny. She could write from the phone book and I would enjoy it. And Mals over at Muse in Wooden Shoes is quite delightful as well.
4. Recent swoon-worthy scents include Carnal Flower, Clive Christian C for Women, Amouage Memoir Woman, and one hovering on the edge of “Swoon Lake”: SL’s Jeux de Peau (am still in the early stages; too soon to tell if I’ll topple in).
It is very good for the soul; I felt much better today.
Yeh I’m the same as everybody…we are like souls here…
I do sometimes think that the expensive stuff IS better tho’, and some niche lines are just fantastic – where would we be without Lutens, Malle, L Artisan, Parf Generale, Histories, Etro, Delrae….even if some are reincarnating lost beauties.
My recent quest has been to snag love it or hate it landmarks like Amariage. My missed years were the late 80’s, 90’s and early 2000’s…I was in a huddle with young child + Mitsouko and L’Heure Bleue, which sort of had me smugly satisfied that I didn’t have to bother with ‘fume any more, cos I had smelled them all and found them wanting. Now I’m backtracking those years quite a bit, just looking out for used very cheap bottles quietly as they come up on *bay.
The best thing iI did was buy an edition of Michael Edwards “Fragrances of the World”. And Luca’s book too of course…and I sometimes use it to identify the most derided like Amariage!!
To hop onto the screen and find one of these huge discussions is a real joy, I read every word.
I’m a voracious and fast reader, and spend an hour or two every day I’m not up at my bush block ‘off the grid’ on the blogs and ‘research’ on Basenotes and Makeup Alley. I love going ‘hunting’, tracking after something that has taken my interest, and following til its driven to ground with a sample, decant, or bottle!
1. I’ve been interested in perfume since my father gave me my first bottle at the age of nine (Coty Muguet de Bois) – about two thousand years ago. I’ve been sampling since 2003.
2. I am not a niche snob. In fact, I think that most niche fragrances are overrated. I try to ignore the fragrance industry. I also ignore flankers for the most part. What a waste of perfectly good rubbing alcohol.
3. Now Smell This doesn’t get anywhere near the attention it deserves! Reading NST is my daily “me time” away from the craziness. I only occasionally read other blogs, usually when I go searching for a fragrance review that hasn’t yet been covered here.
4. Swooned over… I’d have to say Nuit de Tubereuse, and before that Paestum Rose. I’ve liked many fragrances, but no swooning. Bertrand Duchaufour must have an addictive secret ingredient. It’s official – I’m his b_tch.
I’m looking forward to the new Hermes Jardin.
I forgot! I swooned hugely over Un Jardin Apres La Mousson!
I enjoy ranting from time to time, and I don’t mind (and often enjoy) hearing or reading other folks’ rants. Some wonderful insights here, in fact, so I’ll just toss in my 2 (or 4.5 scents).
1. How long? In terms of blogging, since the Fall of 2008 when I discovered NST with the rest as history. In terms of seriously discriminating and collecting, sometime mid-1990s, when I became acquainted with Guerlain and Annick Goutal – at around the same time and I didn’t even know what niche was. In general – always. It helps to have been living next door to an Avon lady in my early teens!
2a. Niche snob? Well, yes – but really, it was always about not wanting to smell like everybody else so I just tried to avoid mass-marketed fragrances and looked for the high-end, more “exclusive” lines.
2b. State of things? Sad – when everything begins to smell like everything else. As stated repeatedly here – especially when niche starts to smell like mass market.
3. Wonderful fragrance blog? It’s so nice to see so many fantastic writers who just happen to be lovers of good perfumes. I don’t know that the ones I favor don’t get the deserved attention, I just enjoy them and wish I had more time to read. I also particularly like Nathan’s and Brian & Abigail’s blogs, Gaia’s and Octavian’s, and those of perfumers who discuss their crafts and lend additional insights into the world of perfume making including raw materials, styles, and history.
4. What’s the last perfume you absolutely swooned over? Perhaps this shows my conservatism, but I was recently lucky enough to try a sample of Pure Distance Antonia. It wasn’t trying to break new grounds, but rather, Annie Buzantian was just intent on making a very beautiful and elegantly feminine perfume, and I simply adore it!
A hefty “word” to your entire post, Robin. And a weary sigh.
1. Yes, since the summer of ’09.
2. Sadly, I have yet to dip my toe into niche – haven’t gotten around to ordering any samples, and the full-bottle price tags still make me gulp. But I will.
As for the fragrance industry in general: Again, no knowledge of niche to inform my opinion on the subject, but the state of most mainstream perfumes these days (reformulations, “me-too” scents, shameless cash cows, the dearth of creativity and/or willingness to take risks, etc.) makes me want to give up the whole damn hobby and get into, I don’t know, knitting. They don’t reformulate yarn.
3. I Smell Therefore I Am is filled with some fabulous wittery and rants. I think it gets a decent amount of attention, but not a ton.
4. You know, I’ve never had that “swoon at first sniff” moment. Ever. The most enthusiasm I’ll conjure up at the point of sniff (or purchase) is, “Ooh, nice!” It’s only later on, when I’ve given the scent a few proper wearings and sniffed it at length, that I fall head over heels, if I do at all. So, my most recent “head over heels in love, if not exactly swoon” scent (man, am I pedantic) was Bulgari Black. All it took was one full wearing for one day to be convinced that a bottle of Black shall forever be in my fragrance wardrobe until the end of my days, or until it’s discontinued. *Makes sign of the cross*
Ha! The mills may not “reformulate” yarn, but they do push fads, discontinue classics, add flankers and copycats. . . but they don’t put out 500 identical new releases a year, much less 1000. And there’s a thriving indie and niche scene, supported by the internet, not to mention all the do-it-yourself types who spin and dye their own yarns. So some resemblance to the scent scene, but lacking an evil empire like LVMH, I’m glad to say.
Hah, can you tell I know nothing about knitting? I guess these things aren’t exclusive to the perfume world after all.
1. I’ve been a perfume lover all of my life, with grandmothers who wore Shalimar and other wonderful scents, but my own more knowledgeable acquisitions began in around 2005.
2. Yes I am definitely a niche snob. Most fragrances available in department stores are simply too sweet or simple. I can detect a difference in quality, they smell more chemical and “cheap.”
3. I’m not a regular blog reader, but I feel like saying that Perfume Shrine, while often informative, is incredibly badly written. I long to correct grammatical and spelling errors every time I read it. Very pretentious.
4. The latest absolutely gorgeous perfume I have smelled is Grossmith’s Hasu-No-Hana. Try a sample from Luckyscent, you will not be sorry. It is just breathtakingly beautiful. Very expensive, but might be worth it. Seriously, I put it up there with other of my absolute favorites like Delrae Amoureuse and Amouage Jubilation. Just almost too beautiful to take in.
I hesitate to criticize perfume blogs, but…I’m with you on Perfume Shrine. Good information and analysis buried under piles of purple pretension. Actually, Scented Salamander is even worse. (Hey, I guess I don’t hesitate that much.)
I have been a perfumista for well over 10 years. I don’t have access to niche lines so I cannot comment on them. If I was really blown away by a fragrance, I’d be tempted to buy it and that’s a rare thing because I have so many already. Givenchy III is probably the last one I loved enough to make me want to drink the stuff.
I’m glad that Subhuman and Calypso said what I had been biting my tongue over. So I will gently, very gently, say that Perfume Shrine has so many typos, and grammatical and spelling errors that I cannot read it. It hurts! Too bad because there is tons of information, beautiful pictures, and I’m sure, good intentions. It would benefit from an editor, especially one well-versed in perfume and whose first language is English.
Monsieur Guerlain, Sorcery of Scent and 1000 Fragrances ( for some reason I find myself able to forgive his very few and slight errors) are my favourites but NST is the grand-dame of them all. The many outstanding features are: the English is perfect, the site looks clean and doesn’t veer off the topic. It’s my go-to and daily pleasure. Thank you, Robin, for providing this, and to all your wonderful contributing writers and commenters.
Love your rant and all the great comments it has generated, Robin!
1. I’ve always loved perfume, and I’ve gotten seriously into sampling and collecting over the last three years, thanks to a) The Guide and b) moving back to the US and having easy access to samples, blogs and ebay via the internet.
2. Total niche and vintage snob, due to the dearth of (virtually) anything interesting in the mainstream. Horrified and appalled by what IFRA is doing to the art. But aside from IFRA, I think what’s happening in the perfume industry is just one aspect of more fundamental economic problems characterized by too much PR money flogging too little substance in so many areas (including politics, for that matter).
3. I usually read NST, Perfume Posse, The Non-Blond and Grain de Musc every day. I try to catch up with Octavian’s 1000 Fragrances once a week and wish I had more time to study and reflect on it. Some of his posts have such deep insights they give me goosebumps. Also enjoy Katie Puckrik and Muse in Wooden Shoes. Periodically I troll through a lot of other blogs that I find via the blog rolls on my primary favs or when I google reviews on a specific perfume. I could spend weeks reading them.
4. Technically, true swooning last occurred at the Smithsonian seminar when I had a chance to sniff recreations of vintage treasures like Emeraude, Chypre, Fruit Defendu and Iris Gris from the Osmotheque. The most recent catnip scent I tried is S-Perfume’s 100% Love – it’s like the best possible chocolate raspberry truffle but a real perfume, not just a food smell. Before that, the Calice Becker BK Ouds and Liaisons Dangereuses, Via del Profumo Mecca Balsam and the Legendary Fragrances Iris Gris recreation. Various Duchaufours are ultra special, as well, but swoon isn’t the right word – they are more like extraordinary insights for the nose.
“…too much PR money flogging too little substance in so many areas…”
Wow, Nozknoz, that should be cross-stitched and hung on a wall! Well said. 🙂
Agree completely. You said it well, Nozknoz.
I have been wearing perfume since I was a very young girl-raiding mums perfume (if my memory is correct she caught on and put it all up in a very high cupboard) I always considered myself a Perfumista but after finding this site, a few years ago, Im not sure that I am now.
Im not a niche snob-I dont have a lot of access to niche perfumes-luckily!
The last perfume I swooned over was Balenciaga Paris-I may have to purchase it!
Nowadays I think finding a good fragrance on the prestige market a talent. The smells are so “uncreative”. Better, the creators are so “uncreative” and bought by the trademarks and the numbers of consumption. It’s hard to find a natural born artist that makes art for the art.
The last fragrance that take out my breath: M7 by YSL. The first time i smelled it I didn’t like, but it stayed hidden in my mind. After my sense of smell got old and I gave a second chance, oh, it was a great rediscovery.
1. I have been a perfumista for 3 glorious months. I am currently housing my samples in a tea box. It’s filling up fast.
2. No time for niche snobbery …yet. Too many classics to try. I hope not to become caught up in the avalanche of new perfume releases by sticking to fragrance notes and families I know I like. Reading reviews on these well-established blogs, as well as on MUA and basenotes, helps me decide what is worth my sampling time and what is not.
3. I’ll shamelessly plug my own shiny new blog, Squarebear Smells: http://www.squarebear.net
Who knew that so many people were already writing about the joys of fragrance? I think it’s wonderful.
I regularly read NST, Perfume Smellin’ Things, Bois de Jasmin, and I Smell Therefore I Am.
4. Bois des Îles. Mmm.
Thanks, squarebear! I’ve no time to read tonight, but I like the look of your blog and will check back.
Wow, marathon post!
1. I’m not yet a perfumista – only getting started. However I’ve been interested in aromatherapy for many years and have a nice collection of essential oils.
2. Definitely not a niche snob as I’ve started at the arse end – celebrity perfumes (shock horror!). Why? They are readily available at reduced prices.
3. I am hooked on NST and with inspiration and knowledge from this great blog and its followers it won’t take me long to move on.
4. Not swooning but I really like Glow After Dark by J.Lo and haven’t yet worked out why.
1. Since I was very small. My mother is a perfuminsta so I believe the trait was carried over. I associate Cinnabar, Shalimar and White Shoulders with the early 80’s because of my mother. I love perfume because it always evokes memories.
2. No! I love it all. I do believe it has gone way overboard. So many perfumes smell the same just packaged n a different bottle and with a different name. The flankers annoy me.
3. This blog only! I have been reading NST almost everyday since 08. This is my first comment!
4. Luctor et Emergo and Jo Malone Blue Agava and Cacao
Hey Robin – I have loved scent since I was 8 years old!
Yep, I agree that there are tooooooo many launches – the head spins!The niche stuff was so exciting when I started heavily into researching scent over a year ago, but I will smell anything.
Re: blogs, I really admire and rely on the big blogs for their information and history (thank you for this!!!) – I’m a big fan of Elena/PerfumeShrine. The other blogs I read often are Bonkers about Perfume, Katie Puckrick, Perfumieren, From Top to Bottom, Notes from the Ledge, Notes from Josephine, Chickenfreak, Mals’ blog, Ines’ All I Am – A Redhead, Confessions of a Perfume Nerd, WAFT, EauMG, Olfactarama, Scent of the Day, Scent Less Scensibilities, For the Love of Perfume, My Perfumed Life, Suzanne’s blog, Olfactoria Travels, Rendolent of Spices….and I really miss Left Coast Nose. I like the smaller blogs because there is a great feeling of community and relationship – you really get to know the people personally, and I like that.
Right now I’m digging cologne waters!
and Eyeliner on a Cat!
Great post/rant. It seems lately everything mainstream smells the same. I am on serious fruity/floral overload! And the only real player in town is a Dillard’s. But the drugstores and big box stores do have a pretty good selection of perfumes and fragrances. (just not what I really want to wear)
I live in Central Texas and if I want to smell different scents, I have to travel up to the Dallas/Ft Worth Metroplex. But between spending time with friends and family doesn’t usually leave me a lot of time to roam Neiman Marcus. Speaking of NM.. NM was the place to go for a huge selection of goodies to sniff. The perfume selection was mind boggling. But due to a very busy schedual with kids and family, I wasn’t able to play there for years.. When I finally did, I was shocked and saddened when I did venture over there. Not only was the makeup selection serioiusly weeded out, so were the walls of perfume.
I was still able to sniff some wonderful things that I would never be able to in my neck of the woods. But it really was a realization of an era gone by. Hopefully the Dallas Neiman Marcus will still have more offerings.
And sadly I do not have loads of play monies to order everything that I *think* would smell wonderful without actually seeing and touching and doing an ‘in person’ test.
Lately in a sea of fruity florals, I find myself gravitating back to tried and true scents. I am longing for a bottle of Paris and Cristalle, and Obsession (mens colonge) I am over my Philosophy phase and the ‘barely there’ scents. I still love Falling in Love, and even tried Trish’s #9 but both fade on me quickly. And I am really enjoying my Tresor again.
Now onto the poll.
How long have I been a perfumista? Well many many years. I blame my Mom! It all started with 2 bottles of Skinny Dip when I was 5. I thought I was all that rocking the Straberry Skinny dip! Been hooked on fragrances ever since.
Am I a niche snob? No. Prolly because of finances and being unable to really get my hands on some. Plus I think everything is worthy of a sniff. You just never know what might speak to you. And every once in a while, a mass market perfume is a winner!
The state of the industry? Lacking originality! Or maybe an oxy moron? Kinda like me, I am over the fruity floral, yet cannot resist anything Escada puts out LOL!
Fragrance blogs. I am such a newbie with fragrance blogs. The few I have checked out I felt so out of my league. I love this blog, everyone is welcoming and we all just love fragrances. High end to low end they are all good. Plus I have learned so much from reading here and reading all the comments. Thank you gang!
If I had to pick out one right now.. it would be Blogdorf Goodman. They are doing their annual 40 days and 40 nights series on perfume notes. I have really enjoyed reading it this year. (last year was skin care)
The last perfume I have swooned over. Anything Atelier! Also surprising the new Armani Gaio.
I enjoy all of the perfumes that I currently own, but it has been a long time since I have had a true “JoElla” scent. So I am on the hunt. Hopefully I can find one again.
Oh dear Blog mistress, we eagerly await whatever rants, pearls of wisdom, reviews and witicisms you wish to bestow upon us. 😉 In other words: we love you!
1. How long have you been a perfumista, if you are a perfumista?
Since my uncle sent me a bottle of Worth’s Je Reviens (in extrait!) from France when I was all of twelve years old. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I had ever smelled – and to this day that scent has garnered more compliments from men of all ages than all of my other fragrances combined. SInce then, I’ve always kept a small collection of say 10 to 12 bottles, but since discovering perfume blogs in ’06 (I think), that number has increased dramatically.
2. Are you a niche snob? And what do you think about the state of things in the fragrance industry?
I’m a vintage snob, although there are exceptions, mainly because I think real jasmine smells better than hedione. But that’s just me. As to the state of the industry, Nozknoz above stated it eloquently – too many PR dollars chasing too little substance. Amen!
3. Tell us about a wonderful fragrance blog that hasn’t gotten enough attention.
In addition to NST (which I consider my home), I read about half a dozen other perfume blogs regularly, most of them very well known already. But the one that maybe doesn’t get quite the deserved attention, in my opinion, is WAFTbyCarol. Carol does a lot of sniffing, has a good nose, and I love her witty, succinct style.
4. What’s the last perfume you absolutely swooned over?
Absolute THUD swoon = SSS Champagne de Bois. I still swoon every time I put it on. To a lesser extent, the new Diaghilev.
Rapp – when I was a young girl in the early 80s, there was Je Reviens at our small local department store (along with some other Guerlains, etc.) I remember being totally enchanted by Je Reviens and I really really wanted a bottle. It seemed so elegant, so wonderful, so not “American”. (I had early European living fantasies, lol!) I still wish I’d been able to get a bottle then, but as a regular 12/13 year old, I didn’t have any money to spend on something like that, and my mom told me No. I can see why – a bit elegant and spendy for us at the time.
My skin punishes a lot of the niches! Good on fabric, bad on me! So, many niche lines ultimately disappoint me. I’m talking about you, Nasomatto, Maison Francis Kurkjian, Juliette Has a Gun! I could go on and on with the list; all these just fall apart on my skin. I blame bad chemistry, not as in between me and the perfume but as in a lack of the chemistry know-how that the larger firms usually have because of their size, library of in-house aromachemicals, and the amount of years they’ve been at it. A good perfume often takes more than good art direction or good raw materials because it has to exist over a duration of time. Of course, big firms screw you over by using cheap bases and diluting so called EDPs, but with Estee Lauder, Chanel, Guerlain, Dior, you get what you get, and they generally don’t put out fragrances that disintegrate into hot messes after a few short hours.
I do sample niches but most are fails. And if I find a line I like, like By Killian or Serge, it’s my go-to house! Am still waiting for a new swoon …
Maybe because I grew up in the countyside and had a good sense of smell; since childhood and playing with my mothers perfumes that had slowly gone off in the afternoon sunshine I have loved fragrance. Being a snob of any kind even niche doesn’t appeal; but brands seem to copy each other so relentlessly that sometimes niche is the only place to find new and intriging smells. NowSmellThis is about the best blog around, but I also love ‘Indieperfumes’ for the good writing and visuals. My latest swoon is Xerjoff’s Esquel. I am intriqued with the resinous quality and the brief appearance of chypre that morphs into a gourmand lavender.
Dora, I’m glad you mentioned Indie Perfumes, which I also really appreciate.
I think it’s not just you, Robin. You must feel flooded with new releases from your position trying to keep track of things and post news for this blog. But I think even the person on the street feels that there’s a new perfume every week (if there’s 1000 releases a year, then there are almost 20 new perfumes a week!) and they have a hard time differentiating too. If anything, it’s perhaps even more surprising to them that some of us care a lot about perfumes. While those of us who care a lot could also well do with a lot fewer releases.
I’m not a niche snob but I am a price snob. I’m always curious about what “more expensive” smells like. That doesn’t mean my collection doesn’t include a Rebel Rose from mark.com or a rose oil from Brooklyn (I have both – and I’m not even that into rose). But in terms of what I want to bother to smell, I am more interested in the development with better ingredients and better artistry, and I’m more inclined to seek out an Amouage than a department store perfume that sells for a third of the price.
I’ve always loved perfume but I went a little crazy in 2008 and something flipped my switch and now I’m almost insane about it. (I think it was starting to shop for it – I encountered a Creed I adored in a well-curated shop in Aspen, and started looking for more perfumes in better stores. I also became curious about some classic perfumes, and started to shop for those on eBay.)
I only read four or five perfume blogs and as far as I’m concerned NST is “the paper of record”. I come here to look for reviews first whenever I’m considering buying anything, or if I want to figure out what I just scored in a thrift shop! Most perfume blogs I’ve seen are just perfume diaries, or self-congratulation. I love the Non-Blonde’s reviews, but she drives me crazy constantly reviewing vintage, out-of-production scents. I can only do so much eBaying. I second (at least, haven’t read all the comments) someone else’s mention of Nathan Branch’s blog; but then I’m very interested in the economics of luxury production. PerfumePosse can be a ton of fun but it’s often pretty random. I should go look at the other comments now and see what other great blogs I’m missing!
And I think the last perfume I swooned over was my precious Opus I. I knew as soon as I sniffed it that I was a goner. I’ve spent a lot of time and money since then on other scents – but that was a SWOON of the first magnitude.
1. Yeah. I’m about a Level 3 Perfumista. I have a spreadsheet. I follow notes and noses. I have a special storage area. I do it in fits and starts. I had about a 6 year hiatus so I have a great deal to catch up on.
2. Yeah, I’m a big niche snob. I have made pilgrimages to Palais Royale in Paris for SL bell jars, Frederick Malle, LAP. I have found more variety and interest in niche stuff. I also don’t have easy access to a good ‘fume variety in store to test, so I really on good websites with samples. Too many flankers has really annoyed me in trying mainstream products. Plus, I do have recurring bad memories of trying to run the perfume spritzing gauntlet at Nordstrom’s. Soured me forever on department store shopping.
I have fantasies about Paris ‘fume shopping trips.
3. Please bring back Victoire Gobin-Daude’ or at least get her back as someone’s nose.
4. Swooned over Parfums MDCI Peche Cardinal. Swooning also over my Memo Inle samples.
Everyone should have a rant from time to time! Just go for it! I think the number of mainstream new releases is mad, but will continue as perfume is so hugely profitable.
I am perfumista and was delighted to discover NST back in 2008.where I lurked for a long while.
Kicked myself since for not holding onto every single bottle I ever bought – Diorella and No 19 in the 70s – along with Aqua Manda and patchouli oil, Dune and Magie Noire in the 80s (ok there was also Body Shop Dewberry and Fuzzy Peach in there), Eau D’Hadrien and Cristalle in the 90s, and an explosion of fragrance in the 00s.
I am not a niche snob see some of my faves above and I love Yardley English Lavender and a lot of L’Occitanes. However my lemming for the Chanel Exclusifs is reaching a crescendo and I know I will give in and buy the smaller bottle of 31 Rue Cambon unsniffed on some payday coming soon. Thanks to the blogs I am a big big fan of Laurie Erickson and after I have bought my Exclusif I will hopefully grow my own SSS library.
I read NST every day, less often Bois De Jasmin, Grain De Musc Muses in Wooden Shoes, and Katie Puckrik makes me laugh.
My most recent swoon was over Shalimar Ode a La Vanille and I bought the FB there and then. Formerly a Shalimar hater this was a surprise swoon.
1. How long have you been a perfumista, if you are a perfumista? – I’m relatively new – only about a year. I thought I had to have 1 or 2 signature scents and, while I tried a lot of different scents, didn’t really love (or like) most of what I found in the department stores. So I sniffed and didn’t buy much. A perfumista friend told me about this site and, (after reading the blog and the comments) I made the realization that it was OK to wear a different perfume everyday and that I can like all kinds of different scents – althought I tend to prefer fresh & green over the “fruity floral” that proliferates the mall stores. [y’all are a bunch of enablers! Thanks for that!]
2. Are you a niche snob? Yes – probably, but only because the mainstream lines haven’t really excited me and don’t coax me out of my $ like the niche brands seem to do. I don’t like fruity patooti and I don’t want to smell like everyone else. I was wearing JLo (or was SJP Lovely?) for a while – until the Exec Assistant wafted by. Haven’t worn it since. But I do love a few mainstreamers: Chanel No.5, BBW Lemon Vanilla (from last summer – I hope they make a perfume out of it!), the classic coty white musk, and a few other gems from EL. I love Prada’s Infusion d’Iris and L’Ambree, and I like most of the Lolita Lempicka line, too.
2b. And what do you think about the state of things in the fragrance industry? Like many others here, I feel like I arrived too late in the game and missed out on “the greats”. Also, with so many niche houses, there’s no way to ever catch up. Reading the blog helps figure out what might be good to smell and I would never have discovered POTL, Dzing! Boxeuses, L’Eau d’Hiver, or Ormande Jayne Woman without everyone’s input. It irks me that I don’t love what’s in the mall stores and most of the new releases are not interesting. Loved the latest Gucci gold bottle and like the juice… but it didn’t seem original enough to buy. Like This, on the other hand, was interesting.
3. Tell us about a wonderful fragrance blog that hasn’t gotten enough attention. NST! Keep ranting away Robin! Thanks for sharing your opinion without spiteful snarkyness. Everyone is so…. nice here!
4. What’s the last perfume you absolutely swooned over?
The last one – Ormonde Jayne Woman. I am buying a bottle! Chanel #19 & Safron Troublant & Chanel No5 Eau Premiere were recent swooners, too.
1. How long have you been a perfumista, if you are a perfumista?
I guess all my life, but I came out of the closet after reading this blog! 🙂 about 2005-06
2. Are you a niche snob? And what do you think about the state of things in the fragrance industry?
No niche snobbiness here. The fragrance industry is, as you’ve said, repeating itself ad nauseam. Still from time to time some new thing comes along…1 or 2 out of 1000 per year unfortunately
3. Tell us about a wonderful fragrance blog that hasn’t gotten enough attention.
Cannot comment here, I only read this and a facebook perfumistas group, I like octavian’s, but I feel intimidated sometimes by how sophisticated, educated and affluent all those who post there seem to be. I feel like cinderella on her work apron, peeking at the palace. So I only lurk there.
4. What’s the last perfume you absolutely swooned over?
Barney’s Route du The. It was my las FB purchase. If you buy it new, it smells like generic air freshener, but after it begins to develop (at least in my skin) it gets a bit “skankier” in a way I cannot express in words. I love it.
Hi all,
I’m so way late to this poll but here goes….
1. How long have you been a perfumista? I’ve been a perfumista for about 29 years- I always got into my mom’s/aunt’s/grandmother’s scent collection, the deal was sealed when my first boyfriend gave me Chanel no 5 when I was 14. It was made worse when I actually worked in the industry-I would have worked for free, that’s how much fun I had.
2. Are you a niche snob? And what do you think about the state of things in the fragrance industry? No-I’ll wear anything that smells good, don’t care if it’s drugstore or niche, if I like it then so be it… What do I think of the fragrance industry? I’m really disappointed in the state of the industry, esp. with companies like LVMH who consume other smaller companies and discontinue historically important scents, like they are irrevelant and have no history. Another disappointment is perfumers like Killian Hennessey, who charges an exhorbatant amount of money for his scents and they are ok, but groundbreaking (IMHO).
3. Tell us about a wonderful fragrance blog that hasn’t gotten enough attention. Nathan Branch’s blog
4. What’s the last perfume you absolutely swooned over? Tauer perfumes Carillion pour un Ange-so beautiful it haunts me… really.