I have been giving a lot of thought recently to the rising cost of keeping myself in perfume. Truth be told, I don't really spend all that much. Much of my collection is made up of decants, and I think very hard before I buy a whole bottle of something new. I spend so much time testing new perfumes that I don't even wear my "regulars" as frequently as I would like, so why bother with more bottles that will just spoil before I manage to use them?
But all week I have been trying to decide whether I will buy the new Fleur d'Oranger from L'Artisan, which is said to be around $250 for 100 ml. Hardly the "costliest perfume in the world", but still, a fair hunk of change. I haven't even tried it on skin yet, so it is possible that I won't even like it, but if I do....
How much is too much? At what price point does perfume move from being a necessary luxury to being simply a waste of good money?
Note: image is Money by AMagill at flickr; some rights reserved.
Thanks for this provocative topic, Robin. I'm looking at a few very costly bottles here, and probably would not repurchase if I run out of the juice (and in any rotation at all, this will take a lifetime!)– but I agree, there is a limit to what I will pay for a bottle any more. My last huge splurges, Quelques Fleurs Royale, and Chinatown, would be the exception. I will always hope to replenish my supply of these. But more often lately, I am put off by huge price tags. I swapped to obtain some Susanne Langs, her prices are just plain silly. And I don't feel as caught up in the new-juice frenzies as I used to be.
I'm curious to hear other opinions today!
Robin, don't buy anything you haven't tested on your skin. Secondly, don't buy anything that you don't feel comfortable with, and obviously you are feeling discomfort at the prices. Whether shoes or juice, my two main addictions, looking back in regret ruins the experiences of wearing them. If you stay in your comfort range, money wise, that will never change, but if you stretch your budget, unless it's a HG, you may regret it. Forever. Trust me.
Personally, I would rather swap or buy a decant than an entire bottle I will probably never use up, no matter how much I wear it. And when you have so many others, using one entire bottle up is actually work! LOL I think the cost of perfumes is really getting ridiculous nowadays and won't pay the high asking prices…unless there is something I realy want…right now that is Serge Lutens Ambra Sultan, but I cannot justify an $89.00 purchase…I have so many other priorities. I am still looking to swap for this!
Obviously, I need to spellcheck!!! LOL
P, The nice thing about the Chinatown is that you can have your lovely bottle refilled, and you can buy an ounce at a time so you don't need to buy more than you need. I really appreciate that people on a budget can buy smaller amounts — kudos to Bond on that one! I do wish L'Artisan still made those cute little 15 ml bottles, although they probably wouldn't have released the FdO that way.
Anya, no worries there, in a million years I would not pay $250 for something I had not tried on skin. My limit on unsniffed is closer to $20, and even then I frequently regret it. Am just trying to figure out if ANY fragrance is worth $250…it isn't like I am a signature scent kind of person.
Well, there are lots of more important priorities than spelling, right?
So you are balking at $89 for a Serge Lutens…that makes this L'Artisan bottle for $250 seem insane, doesn't it?
Must you bring up this painful topic? LOL! I am actually just about to venture exploring in NYC, therefore it is quite ironic. $250 is a lot of money for a fragrance, no way around that. However, if it is something you truly like (and you already said that you do not spend that much on perfume, relying on decants, etc.), then it could be a nice way to treat yourself. Waste is subjective in this case. I think that $20 is a waste on a bottle of something I would never wear.
$250 or even $80 is too much if you don't love it enough to finish it up in a year. The only way to use things with such a high price tag is to use them as often as possible and extravagantly. I remember being a college student in Paris and spending half of the month's food budget on a bottle of Serge Lutens' Rose de Minuit, which had just come out, and doing the same two months later on Chamade. The first one, I used a lot and loved and was worth three weeks of subsisting on cheese crepes, the second one couldn't turn me into the Delphine Seyrig type person I wanted to be at the time. Expensive lesson.
I didn't buy Roses de The Fleurs Bulgares until Laurice Rahme started liquidating her Creed stock, and the amount I have will probably last me until my 60s, but at $150 for 8 oz., I think it's a good investment, because it's my fave daytime rose.
Hello R! After years of purchasing just because I “liked” something – I now only purchase perfumes after testing a few times and it has to be something I really love. However, as I live in this city full of temptations – I have made a few bad decisions over the years but I give these bottles to my mom or some close friends who love and wear them. That way I feel I did not “waste” money.
About your dilemma – well go for it if you test and love it. You know my thoughts on buying unsniffed. 😉
I agree with V that even $ 20 can be a waste if you never bother to wear it.
V, If you are shopping in NY today, you are obviously not able to answer this question objectively, LOL!!
Ack, on that basis, I couldn't buy anything. Have way too many bottles already to ever use any of them up in a year. Laughing, though, at the idea of being a poor college student in France subsisting on cheese crepes…how preferable in every way to the standard poor-college-student fare in the US, which in my day was Oodles of Noodles or Kraft Mac N Cheese.
R, oh, what a topic…*lol*! Personally, I cannot imagine to spend $250 on a bottle, no matter how much I like it, simply because I don´t have so much money. Anything that costs more than 140,- € isn´t affordable for me *sigh* 🙁
I´m also very tempted by Fleur d´Oranger & I hope to get hold of a decant 😉 But if I had enough money, I would probably buy it – after several skin-testings. You shouldn´t buy it unsniffed – no way! But ít´s better to buy something very expensive if you love it, than buy something cheaper if you don´t like to wear it afterwards – I agree with V!
I second PattyG's comment, “using one entire bottle up is actually work!” Nowadays I consider extra carefully about buying new bottles because it does seem like work when I have so many new samples and decants that entice me more than my full bottles. I feel guilty when I ignore them, knowing how much I paid. So the main issue for me is the reluctance of adding bottles to my collection as opposed to the price (although that's always a consideration). Ah, the trials of being a perfumista!
P.S. Just ordered a bottle of THC Divine Bergamote. You're to blame for sucking me in — LoL!
N, I cannot imagine what my collection would look like if I lived in Paris…
TJ Maxx is a great temptation at times, but the $20 bottles do add up. I am much more careful than I used to be, and really don't buy unsniffed very often. Can only think of 1 unsniffed bottle this year, and simply passed it on to someone else who loved it.
You are really sensible and I agree that TJ Maxx can have some great bargains (sad that there are none in Paris :(..)
Is there any way I can send you a sample if I can get hold of one – they usually send this invitatation when they launch a new perfume. Hope they will do the same and they give a sample.
Then you will know whether you like it enough to shell out 250 USD!
xoxo
oops – invitation! Brain not neutral today! 😉
S, I don't have so much money either…but have been pretty good this year & have not bought a bottle since June. So am feeling virtuous…which is dangerous when it comes to perfume shopping!
N, you are so sweet! But I will be able to try it at the L'Artisan boutique in NY, so was never considering buying unsniffed, just trying to decide what to do if I actually like it. I feel like I have to draw a line somewhere over how much I will pay for one bottle!
Now see, the Divine Bergamote to me is so reasonably priced in the estagnon. So easily shared, and you get 250 ml for $120. A veritable bargain in comparison 🙂
R, no bottle since June, wow! Congratulations! Well, then you could…maybe… at least test Fleur d´Oranger ;D Perhaps you don´t like it – you never know 😉 !
Moreoever, I have to agree with you: I´m also testing samples every other day & don´t wear my bottles as often as I should!
I hear ya. Lately, I just buy decants off eBay, and I'm considering auctioning off some decants of the huge ol' bottle of Tabac Blond extrait I insanely bought, which I know will take me centuries to finish. I'm just glad we have this funny sub-economy of barter and buying that goes on under the radar of the perfume companies. Although truthfully, they should be glad, since the thought that we can distribute the costs causes more of us to buy bottles than would.
That said, I am definitely, definitely buying another bottle of Cuir de Russie. That's one of the few bottles in which the level is always steadily, visibly going down. Some things are FBW; some things aren't.
In fact, I wish every house would accommodate our fickleness and sell little 15 ml travel sizes, like the Hermessences!
My problem is the fact that I am very fickle where fragrances are concerned. So unless I KNOW (and how can I really know?) that I will not tire of a full size bottle of something, I will try and retsrain myself from buying. The last bottle purchase was Daim Blond at $120, and I *think* I will love it forever and ever… OK…what was the question again, lol? Oh yes, how much is too much. I think I will pay over $200 only if I know blah blah (see above). I refuse to buy bottles of oils like Yosh etc. I don't really understand ois and the prices are beyond rediculous.
T, Swapping is a wonderful thing…I can't imagine what it was like to be a perfume fan before swap boards. And wholeheartedly second the props to Hermes. Everything should be available in 15 ml.
I become bored in WEEKS with a scent, even one I “love.” I'm finding the lead-up to a purchase (sighting the bottle, the advertisement, the NST review, procuring
the sample) more exciting than the PURCHASE.
I really can't deal with 100ml bottles either;
no way in the world I'll finish such a large
amount of scent. (I have expensive “room sprays”
thanks to this combo of boredom and excess quantity.)
I've gotten about 40 samples of scent since June…but like you have not bought an entire bottle of scent
since then. Variety, variety! 'Tis my call. You know sometimes after wearing a sample I like three times I am “done” with it…don't want to have a large amount of
it. WHAT'S HAPPENING TO ME! HAHAHA!
So it would be foolish indeed for me to spend a great deal of money on a bottle of perfume…I've set $120 as my limit. I've also FORCED myself to limit the perfume cabinet contents to 10 bottles of
50ml each at one time. This has cut down on
overall expenditures and made me feel less
guilty about my “habit.” In the olde days I would sometimes have 30, 40, 50 bottles at one time. Foolish.
K
Interesting that you should bring this up, R, because lately I have been feeling a bit “bored” with perfume. Yeah, there are a few things I'd like to test or even consider buying, but I already have so much, why not use what I have? And, with so many new releases each week, I feel overwhelmed to the point of sensory overload.
Guess this means that I will not buy any new perfumes unless and until I have had the opportunity to fully test them.
Hugs!
PBI Being poor in France is the worst possible situation: there are so many temptations; it's unbearable. I should know. One of the reasons why I left Paris for London was that there was nothing to buy here in 1979.
Wow, was Daim Blond that much? Ouch. I am not so fickle, really. Have never regretted anything other than things I bought unsniffed or silly things that tempted me in TJ Maxx because they were so cheap…am usually slow to buy anything more expensive.
Hi K. Agree, the chase is sometimes the best part (rather like some relationships). But I rarely get bored within weeks because I do have so many bottles. It might be weeks before I even wear something a second time.
$120 is a good limit. I might have to adopt it. Not adopting that “10 bottles at a time” thing though! No sirree. Not ready for that yet.
Before I joined the Fragrance Board, I had one bottle of perfume, now I have four, two of which were gifts from incredibly generous people. With those and numerous samples/decants, I have enough to last me a lifetime. I suppose I'm lucky that there are very few scents that I'm interested in and/or really like. I don't have enough money to spend on luxuries – too many other things to fork out on (like service charges, health insurance, etc.), unfortunately.
R, I went through a phase like that last year…couldn't think of anything new to want. But it passed, LOL! Right now I can think of at least 5 things I'd like to purchase. Not desperately, mind you, but if I had the cash.
The pace of new releases this fall is rather overwhelming. I am almost glad I am not closer to a perfume store.
J, in a way I have to agree. As a very poor college student, I toured most of the major European capitals, and actually had much less fun in Paris than elsewhere. My thought at the time was: I would love to come back here some day when I have tons of money…
Of course, I'm still waiting on that 😉
J, Must know: how many of the four bottles are SL? I always associate you with FdO and nothing else!
Hey, Robin, isn't that Monopoly money in your icon? I wish we could buy perfume with Monopoly money…
Oh! Anyway, any perfume price over $100 elicits little squeaking noises out of me and my conscience. While I was at Lafco last month I discovered Lorenzo Villoresi Musk **oil** which is quite divine. One of those “your skin but better” scents that could be worn anywhere at any time. The original price was $130, which I balked at. Worse, the regular Musk EDP (or EDT, can't recall) was simply not full bottle worthy, even for the lower price. Luckily our Sniffa group was given a surprise 20% discount, so I made the purchase and was happy.
The last time I spent almost $100 for perfume, it was on Passage d'Enfer, and that was when Barney's had that awesome GWP. And the time before that, I spent $100 on the larger bottle of Un Zest de Rose, which is one of my all-time favorite perfumes (and therefore worth the money).
BUT– More than $200? Yikes. I don't think I could do it. I've just discovered a *very* expensive wrinkle cream that actually *works* for me (I have a sample) and I don't think I can bring myself to by a full-size tube.
We suffer so.
Hi M, Well you know that question number one has to be: what is the wrinkle cream?
Passage d'Enfer is a perfect case in point. I adore it. Really. But my 15 ml bottle has lasted over a year now, so obviously, 15 ml is all I need. If Rosine would sell all their fragrances in 15 ml, I'd own most of them. If the L'Artisan FdO was a 15 ml, I'd guess it would be around $60, and I would probably buy it without blinking an eye if I liked it.
I was just thinking about my perfume collection. Before I joined MUA 2 1/2 years ago, I used to own just a handful of expensive bottles – L'Aritsans, L'Occitanes, and one Serge Lutens (Douce Amere). Then I discovered MUA, and though I started off swapping for decants regularly, I have done more full-bottle shopping than I care to think about.
The funny thing is that DH never, ever notices and/or compliments me on any scents I wear. No, wait… the other night he told me I smelled great, and he was referring to my Laura Mercier eye cream!!! I told him “I have thousands of dollars worth of great perfumes, and you're commenting on my face cream!?!?!” Then it hit me….. what have I done?!?!? I looked over at my fragrance shelf, teeming with Clive Christian (my most expensive scent at $250, but it was a self-purchased birthday present), Etros, Laura Tonatto, 10 Corso Como, Hermes, Nanadebary, etc, etc., and realized that I wasn't too off-target with that figure.
I just look at this as a healthy addiction. Hey, it could be drugs, alcohol, gambling, food, or something that could cause bodily harm. If I love a scent, I will think long and hard before purchasing. I tend to get obsessed with scents and rotate what I wear daily, depending on my mood, the weather, what I'm doing – work, yoga, going out somewhere nice. I will purchase it if I love it, and rationalize the price somehow (self-reward for doing quarterly employee taxes and saving on accountant's bill; gift for enduring annual gyno visit, etc). I don't buy expensive bottles that frequently, nor will I go into debt for a bottle of juice. It seems like $100-$150 bottles are the “norm” these days. I think bottles like SJP Lovely are 'bargains.”
Answer number one: Natura Bisse. It was one of my many, many Sniffa samples that I'm still trying to use up. I've been using it for only a few days. My wrinkles are still there, they're just flatter.
I like to buy fragrances in miniature sizes which, regrettably, seem to be only available in the mass-market type lines of fragrances.
Lovely is already hitting the discounters, so it is a bargain!
If my dh notices a new scent, and he rarely does, his only question is: how much does it cost? He knows better than to compliment something before finding that out. Sounds like I need to pick up some of your rationalization techniques, K! Hey, I did clean the bathroom today…
Thanks M, going to check out the Natura Bisse. Not that I have any actual wrinkles. Ha.
Cleaning bathroom = Fragrance purchase during Bergdorfs/Barneys/Neimans bonus days
RBI
Bonus? What bonus?
Great topic, R.
I think I tend to stick to the 70-150 price range. Less than that feels a little mass market, and more than that feels a little decadent. I did buy a Honeysuckle scent in Paris once at a health food store for less than 10 euros – it didn't matter that it was cheap because it was only available in Paris! (I can't find it anywhere anymore!)
Though I haven't done it, if I loved something I'd probably pay up to 300 for it. More than that is just too much, unless it's custom blended maybe. Even then it seems silly, and I'm not that interested in custom scents anyway. Though living in New York I routinely pay more than 300 for single items of clothing, so maybe it's just a matter of what I'm used to.
I feel like EVERYTHING these days is SO expensive! Most face creams are 100 dollars, many are now above 500. Designer shoes have gone from an average of 400 a few years ago to 700 these days (which I just cannot afford to pay). Every moderately priced cosmetics company (Lancome, Clinique, etc) now has a luxury series. I saw small candles at Williams Sonoma recently for 100 dollars each! I don't understand why this is happening, because isn't the economy supposed to be not that great? Maybe it's because the rich are only getting richer so there's an ever larger demand for luxury. It's a little depressing though, and buying into it (which I do) makes me feel like a materialistic slave to consumerism.
As for bottle sizes, I prefer a bigger bottle to a smaller bottle, not because I spray liberally but because I like the look of the bigger bottles! Somehow I associate lots of tiny bottles with being young and unsure of oneself, and the bigger bottles with being a sophisticated grownup. I don't know why.
ps – Who is this Laurice Rahme? I would gladly buy a couple 8.4 ounce bottles of Creed Tubereuse Indiana for $150 (that's 50% off)! Also, does anyone know why the Creed boutiques in New York have turned into Bond boutiques?! Are the two lines related somehow?
I think you never kick one habit without developing another – once I became a librarian, I stopped buying so many books, but I started buying an insane amount of perfumes. I like bargins, like anyone else: things that are discontinued, like Bvlgari Black, or some oldies like a few of Lauders, are “cheap yet quality” as my Indian friend would say. Otherwise, though, I'm spending a mint. My lawyer husband has nicely become my cash cow – he is horrified by the amount I'm spending, but I think he's strangely fascinated with my obsession and enjoys buying me presents and listening to me rapsodize about the notes. He has alsways enjoyed my nerdery, and this is just a new form. I'm not sure he'd be thrilled about $250 though….
LOL — I do not have to worry about the rest. I don't buy expensive shoes or clothes or makeup, and I make my own moisturizer.
Laurice Rahme used to be the US distributor for Creed. She has now started Bond no. 9 and is no longer with Creed, and they are still selling off what is left of their Creed stock. It might be worth calling Bond to see if they have the TI left, but last I was there, they were out of quite a few scents.
I used to buy books and CDs, and like you, have cut way back on those to feed my perfume spending. But my lawyer husband doesn't enjoy my nerdery so much, LOL…I am sure he wishes I would take up sports or something.
The 200-300 Euros price Hermes wanted for Doblis and the crazy prices for JAR makes the Serge Lutens Palais Royale line seem positively unpretentious. After you go to those places, you think, 95 Euros, what a deal! After not stocking up on Ambre Antique, the biggest perfume regret I have is not getting Guet-Apens when it was at Neiman's for about a year, and the sick thing is I don't have any desire to buy its current reincarnation (whatever it's called) at the Guerlain boutique if I had the opportunity and the Euros to do so (which I don't). I had this idealized version of Guet-Apens in my mind, from the few times I used to visit her, and now that she has been given a wardrobe makeover and a name change, I don't want her anymore. It's great for my Visa card.
Isn't that funny & true: SL seems like a bargain. The Doblis, happily, did not appeal to me at all, and so far I am immune to JAR, although I haven't tried the 2 that would be most likely to attract me.
Hey Mahhhhg!!! See my MUA post re:Neimans. Cute tote filled w/goodies w$85 purchase. The Barney's gift is w/$100 pr $125 purchase. I can't remember and it's bedtime, so the brain is dull…
oooh, how do you make the moisturizer? i used to like to put olive oil on my face in the winter but it would get in my hair and make it too oily, so i went back to buying manufactured creams. (also, despite my weakness for overpriced shoes and sweaters, i will not buy a cosmetic or treatment product for over $100, because i have tried everything and as you already know the more expensive ones are no better whatsoever, not even better smelling or prettier in many cases!)
im too poor to buy fragrances but I work at a fragrance site so either I get them very cheap or I just go to sephora and put on my favorite scent. I dont want to spend my money where I get it in the first place.
A, there used to be a great DIY skincare board, but I think it folded. My recipe is based on Sage Eye & Lip Balm, which is a fairly basic, thick cream, and I add aloe, hyaluronic acid, CoQ10, green tea and chamomile extracts, and a bit of Vitamin E. I mix up a new batch every week. For a long time I also made my own Vitamin C serum, but lately have been lazy and skipping that step. At night I use Green Cream, which is an OTC retinol treatment.
Lucky you, I wish I worked at a fragrance site! It must be great to be the first to try everything new…
i'm so impressed! that sounds amazing. can i ask where you get all the ingredients? (i'm tired of spending $80 on peter thomas roth vitmain c serum, but it does work…i've often thought i should just make my own but don't know how)
Send me an email at nowsmellthis at comcast dot net and I'll send you some links 🙂
Me too, R, me too! 🙂
Fleurs d'Oranger is still the scent I wear all the time, but I own three full bottles of other fragrances, namely Rumeur by Lanvin, which was my mother's favourite perfume (my bottle was a gift from a lovely MUAer, two years ago); Parfum Sacré, which I managed to get very cheaply from a nice French eBayer; and the relaunched Climat by Lancôme, which was an extraordinary present from the same person who showed such generosity towards me – and I believe towards you too – earlier this year.
There you are: I've revealed all. 🙂
I have only recently become addicted to perfume, and wow, this is a BIG one! It was alot easier and cheaper to be addicted to hair products, books, canaries, etc.
I don't think I'll ever have “enough” perfume, because there will always be something new out there, luring me in. Something unknown. I've already bought two bottles unsniffed, and don't like either. And yet, I'm already contemplating doing it again…(anyone have Olene??). What's' wrong with me??? I think it's that feeling of adventure and excitement when I'm getting something new and unsniffed, and I can't wait to see how it smells! I truly have the potential to go waaaay overboard, but so far I am not tempted to spend more than $100, because I know I'll never use up a whole bottle. I guess the grass always smells better on the other side–I'll want to keep trying new stuff, and more new stuff, and more and more and more…um, where do you guys swap your stuff? Is there any swapping at THIS site?? Seems like the perfect place!
Linda J.
J, that is a great collection. I must try the Climat before it disappears again.
It is an expensive hobby! I like Olene, but can't recommend ordering it unsniffed. I like the feeling of adventure too, but after several disastrous purchases, I'll settle for the excitement of getting a new sample. Why not do a sample order?
There are swap boards at all the major forums: basenotes, makeupalley, and Perfume of Life. I think POL doesn't let you swap until you have a certain number of posts, but at the other two you can jump right in.
You're right! I'll go to Luscious Cargo and buy a bottle of something else so I can get a sample of Olene!!!
(that's the twisted reasoning I keep getting caught up in! LOL)
Linda
i agree, i like olene but don't find it incredible. if you like sweet white florals it might work for you. i find it rather un-complex, somewhat like the demeter scents. i don't detect as much wisteria as i would have liked. (i've never really smelled a perfume that resembles real wisteria). to my nose olene is mostly narcissus, so if you like that, you might want to go for it.
i love white florals like jasmine and tuberose but find straight narcissus somewhat lacking in depth. (also, once while wearing olene i was told that it smelled like dirty diapers!)
I think I like it better than you do, A, although I've never bought a full bottle, and agree that it isn't terribly complex or “incredible”. I just love Diptyque…almost all of them, anyway.
Hmm. Dirty diapers is not the scent I had in mind! I'll definitely get a sample of this one before I take the plunge. I don't know if I like narcissus or not–I don't know what it smells like. I know I like white florals, at least some (la chasse, especially). White flowers with a sort of heavy sweetness work better on me. The light, fresh scents that smell SO wonderful on others just turn to sharp alcohol on me. I'm still trying to learn what I can actually wear and like.
I love the Diptyque packaging and am addicted to the candles, but don't know their scents as well as I'd like to…I've always thought the descriptions sound pretty amazing…must get samples!
Chirpster, I think I have the opposite problem! So many of the scents I love end up smelling too heavy on me. I know a girl who wears Fracas and it smells fruity on her – on me it smells very dark, very sweet, and very heavy.
I once read in a magazine that darker skin colors tend to make scents smell darker, but in this case it's not at all true since the girl who makes Fracas smell fruity is African American, while I am very pale. Strange, but then again magazines aren't the most trusted source of valid information…
ps-
R, I just received my decant of SL TC. You are right, it is pretty amazing…Like an expressionist painting of tuberoses! I love the way it exaggerates everything so artfully – the medicinal topnote of the flower becomes fumes, gas, acetone. Then it dries down to a sweet complex dark floral that I cannot stop sniffing! I even smell the grape bubblegum note that I've noticed in the flower as well. SL is a genius…
I also realized that if this hadn't been called “TC” I probably wouldn't have understood it, and possibly would have written it off as difficult and strange…I'm grateful to know the inspiration behind the scent, and am so curious to know more about other scents I haven't liked in the past…this is a truly eye-opening perfume.
pps-
I am obsessed with the top notes! As soon as the scent dries down I keep reapplying it and inhaling…I'm an addict!
This exact same thing happens to me with real tuberoses and gardenias as well – I cannot stop smelling them and end up carrying them around the house with me in a hypnotized state until finally my nostrils burn and my throat is sore and I have a headache…
I am so glad you like it, I think it is one of the most interesting scents from SL & Christopher Sheldrake. But hey, better watch out on the rate of reapplication, that is expensive stuff!
The good news is I've finally stopped reapplying! But I'm still addicted…When I sniff it straight from the decant vial, it smells so close to real tuberose it's amazing. I tell you, I can't stop! The drydown is less exciting to me than the top notes, it has an old-fashioned feel that I'm not sure about. But I'll wear it again tomorrow and probably think the opposite…I can never make up my mind about a scent at first!
By the way, do I have to go to Paris to get a bottle? And how much is it?
You have to either a) go to Paris or b) find someone overseas who will order it for you and then send it to you after it arrives or c) buy on ebay. I think the exclusives run around $120 for 2.5 oz (?)