Here’s one story: a woman I once worked with heard about my love of perfume and said, “I’ve always wanted to find a signature perfume. Will you help me?” I brought her handfuls of samples, talked passionately about Guerlain and Serge and Dior, and accompanied her to the perfume counter at Nordstrom. She was determined to find a perfume she liked, but somehow I knew she just didn’t get it. Her comments about the perfume she tried were along the lines of “this smells pretty”, “I can tell this is quality” (this polite comment was about Caron Narcisse Noir parfum, which I should have been smart enough to keep from a scent neophyte), and “I don’t know, nothing seems right.” The stories, the nuances, the power of perfume were lost on her. I think she ended up with a bottle of Sarah Jessica Parker Lovely.
Here’s another story: a year later, a coworker said that she wanted to buy a bottle of perfume for her birthday and couldn’t decide between the new Chloe, Calvin Klein Euphoria, and another perfume I’ve forgotten now. I told her she might want to try real scent rather than just sniffing the fragrance strips in magazines, and I brought her a few samples. Since I’d been burned before, I kept the selection small: some L’Artisan Parfumeur Dzing!, Annick Goutal Songes, and Jean Patou Joy. Over the next few months this woman plunged headlong into perfume. She told me how Songes reminded her of her grandmother’s garden, and she bought a bottle to wear when the evenings are warm. When she took a vacation to Disneyland, she passed up the mouse ears and bought Chanel Coco Mademoiselle as a souvenir instead. One morning she even trotted excitedly into my office and said, “I’ve tried my first scrubber!”
Lots of people like perfume, but only a few people really love it. My theory is that people who love perfume tend also to love food and art more than the average person. Perfume lovers adore a story, too, and see their lives as movies in which they’re the star. I also think a perfume lover has a hint of the nerd. Perfume lovers want to try all sorts of perfumes, categorize them by nose or note, and love to talk about them. Is there such a thing as a sensualist geek? If so, lots of perfume lovers qualify.
As an example, someone who merely likes perfume might enjoy a light application of Dior Diorissimo, calling it “fresh and spring-like”. On the other hand, when someone who loves perfume wears Diorissimo she thinks of Christian Dior’s coffin piled high with lilies of the valley. She thinks of perfumer Edmond Roudnitska tending his transplanted lilies of the valley as he slowly pieced together the perfume’s formula. She’ll reach for Champagne over a gin and tonic when she’s wearing it (gin and tonics are so much better with Frédéric Malle Angéliques Sous La Pluie) and might even have a cotton dressing gown sprigged with flowers that she likes to wear on Diorissimo mornings.
If you’re reading this, chances are that you love — not just like — perfume. Why do you think that is? What makes us different from people content with a bottle or two of Christmas present perfume?
a lover’s impressions
vol de nuit; antoine de saint exupery flying over the sahara in the 1930s in darkness. the english patient.
jaipur- butantan by ottorino respighi, adn everything soft, stealthy and deceptively languid that teh music evokes
roma- crisp easily broken green-stemmed weeds in the dark and leaf-litter deep lowest part of the garden. a luxurious excess of trampling adn crushing. spilled sap
kingdom- vagina, carrion flower, bjork homogenic
diorissimo- glaciers in the distance glittering, as described in heidi’s children
l’eau d’issey- something that looks like an icicle, but is a stalagtite, frozen in time, not coldness
shalimar- the rubber dust of the blackest tires
kashaya- cascades of monstrous glass hibiscuses in all teh colours of fruit
casmir- an antiqarian bookshop in the late afternoon with sun shining into it under a black storm cloud. a grey-haired, androgynous woman with a lightness and intelligence about her, wearing an ochre leather belt, steps out onto the wet street.
coriandre- a forgotten section in a wood in czekiya with many tiny pale flowers on fine-leafed shrubs, dry in the summer heat. a confused city man rides past on an ancient bicycle
24 faubourg, jontue- 18C france, versailles, and murcof’s versailles sessions. power, debauchery. single resonant cello/bass note.
joy- the sadness of camellias that have bruised and sunk inside their bowl, in the ceremonial absolute quiet of an old lady’s unused dining room
laguna- lightness, sun and air, anticipation, sandstone under foot or hand, the future beckoning
Bravo! I don’t know what else to say. I love, especially, the description of Shalimar.
Angela, I just stumbled across your article now. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!!! You managed to convey the puzzlement and frustration of trying to bridge that gap between you, the perfume lover, and them, the perfume likers. I never really “saw” the distinction with such clarity before.
I am, like all of us here (because what perfume liker would search for a blog about perfume?) a perfume lover. Right from the beginning. Full stop. I remember burying my whole head in our honeysuckle bush in California — and getting stung by a couple of indignant bees for my efforts — and wanting to fill my lungs and hold my breath so I could “own” the scent, so it could become me, or I could become it, or we could be fused somehow. Strange only to perfume likers; lovers, I’m sure, have their own early childhood memories of falling in love with scent and knowing how important that sense of smell is to our sense of being alive and connected with all things beautiful.
So glad I found this (perhaps I had read it before, and it sounds fresh again), and I look forward to reading all the comments.
Robin, it really sounds like scent has spoken to you as long as you remember. How marvelous! I have honeysuckle growing out back, and now I’m inspired to crash my way through the roses and dahlias growing in front of it to smell its wonderful fragrance.
My deepest, darkest childhood secret was that I actually ate a gardenia from a neighbor’s bush because I couldn’t get enough of the wonderful fragrance by just smelling it, rather, I wanted to incorporate it into my being. I don’t remember doing it more than once, probably because I didn’t end up smelling like a Gardenia. But it worried me even then, at the age of eight or nine, that there might be something wrong with me that I had such a powerful response to fragrance. I don’t eat flowers anymore but I’d go without food before I’d scrimp on my beloved fragrances.
Marvelous! I love it that you were so enthralled. Gardenia petals are actually edible, too–I know someone who flavors custards and sorbets with them. Maybe you should eat more flowers!
Note: the comments for this article were not properly exported/imported when we moved to the new domain in 3/09, so I’ve copied them below in two large chunks:
On June 26, 2008 sjas1962 said:
YES! YES! YES!
That really is a perfect description of people who love scent. And if there wasn’t such a thing as a sensualist geek before, there certainly is now and I wear my geekdom proudly.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
Hurray! I’m a geek, too, and proud of it.
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On June 26, 2008 vanessa said:
Picking up on the sensualist aspect of this debate, I chanced upon this factoid about a particular type of salmon. I have mentioned on previous threads that my other half is anosmic, and thinks that most perfumes smell of “craft shop”, though he made an exception for La Pausa today, pronouncing it “clean” and “not like fly spray”. Notwithstanding this much more upbeat response, I wonder if I should be worried….
“Anosmic male kokanee salmon have been shown to be less vigorous and persistent in their courtship than nonanosmic males, suggesting that either a female pheromone and/or high levels of hormone are necessary to maintain full reproductive behavior in male salmon.”
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
You’ve opened up the possibility for a slew of horrible puns, but I’m going to resist the temptation…
I think a man who is able to notice that La Pausa and fly spray smell different is a man with potential. Maybe a little scent work on your side will reap *lots* of benefits.
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On June 27, 2008 vanessa said:
Haha! And I thought it was us Brits who were supposed to be the masters of understatement!
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On January 23, 2009 perfumanica said:
not just EVERYONE gets to enjoy the great good-fortune of being a perfume-sensualist-Geek.
so, cheers! good to the last drop – of perfume, that is, lol 😉
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On June 26, 2008 rosarita said:
Yeah, I think scensualist geek is perfect. There is such enjoyment in satisfying the senses after all, and yet I know there are people who don’t care and are fine with that. Maybe science will discover a *pleasure* gene that perfume lovers have – don’t we all love food and art and music, too? These things are such life-enhancers!
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
A pleasure gene! Now that’s an idea. If there’s a pleasure gene, I know I have it in spades. I want my coffee mug to have a certain weight, I love the feel of old cotton muslin sheets, and I’m loving the spritz of Joy EdT I’m wearing today.
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On June 26, 2008 dissed said:
The mug is almost as important as the coffee.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
I hear you.
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On June 26, 2008 orangeblossom said:
Right on! I’ve always wondered about my total worship of sensual experiences, and how pushing it to new levels and understanding the process is so ingrained… instinctual, like I’m just wired to live life like that. It has made my experience of life so rich with so many moments of rapture, though I’ve never been able to commit to a regular-paying job because the 9-5 demands sucked out all my precious moments of sensual discovery. So I paint. There must be a gene.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
I used to be worried that I valued beauty too much (not expensive things, not traditional beauty, but just the beauty of the way things are) and should be worrying about world hunger, disease, etc. But, as a friend said once, there is “piety” in beauty, too.
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On June 26, 2008 Lavanya said:
I completely agree with your friend..My grandfather (who in his day, resigned from a 9-5 job to paint and write) calls himself a spiritual hedonist..That *is* quite apt!
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
I think I’d like your grandfather.
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On January 23, 2009 perfumanica said:
ah………..finally! truly a Kindred-Spirit exists.
I feel like I have discovered Lost Atlantis in this place : fellow-artisans and Olafactory-Sensualists to boot, lol isn’t it grand now?!
fully enjoyed your comment, by the way.
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On June 26, 2008 damselfly1213 said:
A nerdy, geeky sensualist? You’ve been spying on me, haven’t you? LOL – good post.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
I wonder who the sensualist nerd patron saint is? I’ll have to look into it.
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On June 26, 2008 deweyeyed said:
Oh, nerd that I am, I looked it up. The patron saints for perfumers and perfumeries are Mary Magdalen and Nicholas of Myra. There aren’t any for perfume enjoyers. The problem with saints is that, well, by definition they’re sufferers – and we perfumistas only suffer when we’re dealt a scrubber. We’d be the ones, when tied to a stake, wondering what kind of kindling was being used and if it would be aromatic. (Put some cedar chips in there, please!)
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
S, you’re great! Who the heck is Nicholas of Myra? I’ll have to look that one up right away. You’re right in that perfume lovers don’t suffer much–unless, of course, you count some of the new rules in office buildings forbidding perfume.
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On June 27, 2008 Lydeelol said:
It looks like Nicholas of Myra is Santa Claus. How fitting!
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Completely fitting!
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On January 11, 2009 CB said:
Isn’t it interesting that offices are forbidding perfume, you can’t even smoke cigars in bars or pubs in many places in America, party-poopers complain about the scents we love to wear in the strangest places-cabs!-Imagine that!-and yet, perfume sales are at a true high point, even in this economy- I am writing this in Jan 2009- just found this area of the blogs- and most Americans smell like hell, anyway, due to their bad diets and who knows what sorts of laundry detergents and shampoos they use.
I like it- Geeky Sensualists! It’s great!
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On January 11, 2009 AngelaS said:
Now if only people would pay attention to scent–not just love it or hate it on principle, but really pay attention–a lot would change.
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On June 26, 2008 Julien said:
As someone with a love for fragrance, I rarely leave the house without it. On the rare occessions that I do, I don’t quite feel like myself.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
I know just how you feel. Every once in a while I forget to put on perfume and I feel lost all day.
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On June 26, 2008 Virginia said:
I think people who love perfume are really sensitive to scents–any scent. For instance, I get the slightest hint of something that I don’t like, I can’t concentrate. I’m focused on getting away from that smell. Sometimes I will say to my husband, “I don’t like the way it smells in this store, (car or whatever).” He usually just looks at me like he doesn’t smell anything at all.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
I know what you mean. Some people smell funny, too, and I don’t like to spend time too close to them.
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On June 27, 2008 SFLizbeth said:
Same here, I always pick up scents and am very sensitive to anything. If I don’t like the way a store/restaurant smells, I have to leave. My hubby doesn’t pick any of that up at all.
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On June 26, 2008 Tim said:
Is there another degree between “like” and “love?” I definitely have something beyond just a casual interest, but I will never achieve the level of attending an event like Sniffapalooza or starting my own blog. I have thought about learning how to become a natural perfumer, but as time goes by I just don’t think I have the talent to shape. For someone who has loved scents since childhood (and actively have worn them for 20 years), you’d think I’d have achieved a point where I can meaningfully discuss or review what I like and what I don’t like about scents. I read things here and posts on sites like Basenotes, and I still feel way out of my element.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
I don’t know–I think that you feel wary at all shows that you, in fact, do love perfume because you have so much respect for it.
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On June 27, 2008 Shaie said:
Tim, I’m the same as you. More than a passing interest, but when I read the reviews on here, while I can agree and relate, realize that I will probably never achieve that level of knowledge and understanding.
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Maybe you’re lucky! Although if you read perfume blogs, you’re already halfway there.
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On June 26, 2008 Lavanya said:
You said it Angela! There is something about sensory experiences and how every person seems to experience the same thing so differently, that is fascinating.
I LOVE perfume (though i recently went tthrough a phase where i looked for ‘easy’ perfumes that were just pretty- ‘cos I was tired and didnt want to think about it. So I think I also ‘get’ the other viewpoint though that phase didnt last that long.)
It *is* wonderful to discover a fellow perfume lover- My mom- I knew she liked perfume, but I didnt know she actually was/could be a perfume lover till on my last visit to india I made her smell Andy tauer’s L’Air Desert du Morocain(sorry if I spelt that wrong) and she closed her eyes and just said mmmm…I was thrilled. Thats when she sheepishly told me that she never made a big deal of her love of perfume as she couldnt really afford to buy much. I was so excited, as I LOVE buying scented stuff for my mom. Then ofcourse I had to make her sniff all the samples that i’d taken.
I actually feel almost the same love for food- so you are so right about that too!
I could go on..but I’ll stop..lol
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
That’s so great that you share your love of perfume with your mom!
Sometimes I like easy scents, too. But I think that the whole fact that we like smell enough to care whether that day’s choice is easy or hard or something inbetween, and how it fits with that day’s mood, shows that we love perfume.
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On June 26, 2008 Nam said:
You should have her try FM Une Rose too. I’ve found that Indians tend to love it, because the dry down smells sort of like rose incense (I’m Indian too btw).
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
It’s one of my favorite roses, and I second Nam’s recommendation.
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On June 26, 2008 Lavanya said:
you know what- FM Une Rose has been on my to-try list for some time now- I love dark/woody/spicy roses- though loving roses doesn’t come naturally to me..lol (I tend to love tuberose/white flowers- but dark, winey roses- oh yes!). Thank you for the rec!!
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
I hope you like it!
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On June 27, 2008 Nam said:
I’m actually a white floral/jasmine/tuberose enthusiast as well, but oh my god FM Une Rose knocked my socks off. Added bonus: the drydown smells exactly like the rose incense my mother burns in the kitchen. I love love love it, and actually, so did my mom.
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On June 27, 2008 Lavanya said:
Does it smell at all like any of the other oriental roses out there- have you tried Andy Tauer’s Incense Rose? I end up having completely Indian associations with so many of his perfumes- this one smelt/reminded me of supari (the rose flavored kind), in a good way- but because of this association i find the perfume difficult to wear..:)
I definitely must buy a sample/decant of Une Rose – it sounds lovely (AMAZE is another rose perfume I need to try)
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
It smells more earthy than incense-y on my skin, but it probably varies depending on your chemistry.
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On June 27, 2008 Nam said:
Actually, FM Une Rose reminds me more of Fresh Cannabis Rose than Incense Rose… the Tauer fragrances tend to have more of a supari quality about them than Une Rose does… Une Rose has more of a smokey quality than an incense one perse. It’s definitely worth a sniff (and one of my personal favorites).
I actually find the Tauer fragrances difficult to wear too, because they smell so heavily Indian. In comparison, Une Rose is positively light (although not by other perfume standards).
One thing to note about Une Rose: it makes me a little sleepy the same way inhaling agarbatti smoke does (the rose scented kind).
Do you live in the NYC area? I’m actually planning to buy the 3 pack of 10ml sprays, and am looking for someone to share them with (they’re obscenely expensive). A 10ml spray might be a good way to try it out.
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On June 26, 2008 Erin T said:
Interesting comment, Nam! I have had a number of people compliment me on wearing Une Rose and have noticed they are all Indian. (Or appear Indian, anyway. I suppose some of them could be Pakastani or North African or West Indian.) As my best (Indian) friend says: “Brown people just have fabulous taste” 🙂
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
E, you’re the one I have to thank for introducing me to Une Rose. It’s a wonderful rose.
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On June 26, 2008 hollyb said:
I’ve been a dedicated lurker until now, but this post really hit home. I love pleasure of the senses, but I also love to categorize and dissect the experiences, I always thought it was the Capricorn in me. As for people who love perfume vs. people who like it, I love perfume and I live in the sticks but I troll the web and spend way to much money on niche perfumes, my sister lives in France and wears Euphoria, go figure.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
You’ve got to get that sister sending you home some Serge!
I wonder how perfume lovers are spread among the astrological signs? Maybe I’ll ask Robin if she’d want to do a poll someday.
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On June 26, 2008 Lavanya said:
Oh that would be sooo much fun (the poll i mean)- I am a taurus ( I know a LOT of Taureans who LOVE food – not just eating but the whole sensory experience of it. I am thinking that that might extend to perfume?..)
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
It seems like it would. Aphrodite and Taurus are linked, right? Sounds like perfume to me.
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On June 26, 2008 hollyb said:
My Mom just went to visit, so I sent her with a long list. I’ll see what she comes home with. My mom is a diehard Jo Malone fan and for mother’s day I gave her En Passant, and now she’s in love, its all about baby steps. I’ll have to work on my sister next.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
Good work!
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On December 14, 2008 itsjoan said:
Re: Astro My
A perfume lover, my Venus is on the cusp of Aries/Taurus; my daughter-in-law is a dyed in the wool typical Taurus…and my son has several Taurean placements…..and has always been into scent unike his Cancerean bro…….
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On December 14, 2008 AngelaS said:
More evidence linking astrology to love of perfume…
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On June 26, 2008 platinum15 said:
What makes us different from people content with a bottle or two of Christmas present perfume?
I’ve always believed that it was a question of one side of the brain as opposed to the other.
My mother, father, brother, and unfortunately my other half, are the kind of people who get their thrill in life from the size of their saving account–having all bills payed on time–living “within their means”.
On the other hand, I have loaded entire credit cards (at 21% interest) to buy a single painting that I could not live without, or to redecorate the livingroom, not to talk about the hundreds of bottles from Chanel, Dior, Serge, and all.
I love perfumes, EDT, colognes, perfumed creams, scented candles. They can’t see the point of it all.
They love cars, I don’t see the point of owning a car.
They are from a different planet from us. That’s fine.
Of course, we perfume lovers are right and they are wrong…
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
You sound like my kind of person. I’m terrified of debt, but I’d spend my last dollar on a farm fresh egg and then spend an hour finding the most brilliant way to cook and eat it, even if it meant a dollar less of heating oil.
I’d love to see that painting!
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On June 26, 2008 ScentScelf said:
Oh, I believe there’s a common profile. Certainly true of me. One need only look back at my infatuation with gardening (ongoing, but has in the past included daily journaling of weather, growth, and other observations), or bar-chef-ing (you should see what those geeks do with lists of attributes for genres of liquors and their niche representatives), or vintage jewelry, or office supplies….
(Did someone ask “why office supplies?” Oh, my…there are blogs just on PENCILS, for heaven’s sake. Weight, feel, stroke…if you haven’t gotten into it, you might want to take up a writing instrument obsession. Er, interest.)
Gardening is now more into my regular routine, without copious note taking or constant reading/researching. (Taking the Master Gardener series helped.) I imagine that someday, my approach to fragrance may similarly mellow. I may simply peruse my fragrance wardrobe, automatically knowing families/interplay/what works well in what weather/what suits a certain mood or objective/etc. But since I am early on in my fragrance learning curve, I am full out Sensualist Nerd right now.
Guess you could say I’m still in the “top notes” of my fragrant explorations, while gardening is well into the dry-down, with base notes that will linger for decades. 🙂
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On June 26, 2008 Lavanya said:
Scentself- I completely identify with your love of office supplies- I love handmade notebooks, diaries and just reams of paper waiting to be written on..:)
(I can’t seem to stop myself from commenting today- usually I lurk)
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
I get scentself’s love of cocktails and costume jewelry, too. Give me a martini and a Miriam Haskell necklace and I can’t be happier.
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On June 27, 2008 ScentScelf said:
Lavanya and AngelaS are my first invited guest to a cocktail party featuring the opportunity to doodle with your favorite writing instrument on handmade or parchment, while smelling the flowers in the garden and the scents on our selves. Oh, and some of us will be wearing Haskell, or Hattie Carnegie, or some other costume jewelry.
🙂 See, it’s fun to come out of hiding!
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Excellent!
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On June 26, 2008 ScentScelf said:
Oh, I believe there’s a common profile. Certainly true of me. One need only look back at my infatuation with gardening (ongoing, but has in the past included daily journaling of weather, growth, and other observations), or bar-chef-ing (you should see what those geeks do with lists of attributes for genres of liquors and their niche representatives), or vintage jewelry, or office supplies….
(Did someone ask “why office supplies?” Oh, my…there are blogs just on PENCILS, for heaven’s sake. Weight, feel, stroke…if you haven’t gotten into it, you might want to take up a writing instrument obsession. Er, interest.)
Gardening is now more into my regular routine, without copious note taking or constant reading/researching. (Taking the Master Gardener series helped.) I imagine that someday, my approach to fragrance may similarly mellow. I may simply peruse my fragrance wardrobe, automatically knowing families/interplay/what works well in what weather/what suits a certain mood or objective/etc. But since I am early on in my fragrance learning curve, I am full out Sensualist Nerd right now.
Guess you could say I’m still in the “top notes” of my fragrant explorations, while gardening is well into the dry-down, with base notes that will linger for decades. 🙂
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
I bet lots of perfume lovers are gardeners, too.( I know these days I’m enjoying a bank of Bourbon roses I planted in front of my house.) The scent-beauty connection there is so strong.
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On June 26, 2008 vanessa said:
What a great thread! I am that soldier too, but only as of very recently – 29th January to be exact. My perfume mania or sensual geekiness hit me like a bolt out of the blue – having previously owned just a few perfumes in my life, which I hardly ever wore – on that day I had a sort of Road to Damascus experience – or should that be a Rose to Damascene experience (but in my case, with iris)? Within a week, I had filled two Lever Arch files with print outs from Osmoz of examples of perfumes in each fragrance family, and was reading blogs avidly and studying the cvs of noses. And while my geeky, cerebral, research side was being given a work out (for I am a researcher by profession), I was also entering a new world of sensory pleasure that had totally passed me by. I am only sorry that I have lost 30 years! So I don’t think I have the gene, if there is a gene, or if I do, it has taken its time making itself known. For me this has been more like how people describe love at first sight or a religious conversion. I have not experienced either of those, but being smitten by a love of perfume must come close!
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
Your gene has been activated!
Just think how good a workout your brain is getting now, too, with the nose-grey matter connection. Have fun! There are so many fabulous iris scents out there.
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On June 27, 2008 ScentScelf said:
Vanessa! We share a common time frame. It was February when I got my first fragrance sample collection…and Strange Invisible Perfumes “Black Rosette” was a totally blammo experience. Weird, but completely captivated me. And I, too, quickly found…and even preferred?…iris. Then I found leathers I liked (who knew?), and confirmed an old oriental liking–a throwback to days of yore when I occasionally wore perfume, followed by a long spell with nothing but shower gel scent or aromatherapy blends.
I know something in me completely shifted, because for a long time there were a select few fragrances that didn’t immediately set off headache warnings. Who knows…I used to not like to watch documentaries, too. 😉
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On June 28, 2008 vanessa said:
How funny! Maybe there was a strange aligment of Planet Perfume at that time (which incidentally is a shop in Brussels Midi train station). You have got me curious about Black Rosette now – I shall have to put it on my next sample order, along with FM Une Rose, which has come up a lot lately. I too came from an “oriental background” (which is probably overstating it, given how uninterested I was in perfume in my youth!) and have just discovered leather – Chanel Cuir de Russie notably, though I don’t get on with Kelly Caleche. I do hope you haven’t missed out on as many lost decades of perfume enjoyment as I have!
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On June 26, 2008 VickiK said:
Imagination?
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
Yes!! I think you’re right. Imagination seems to be the key to curiosity, empathy, and the ability to appreciate what we see (and smell).
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On June 26, 2008 monkeytoe said:
People who like perfume want to smell nice; people who love perfume want to smell everything. I value every scrubber for what it has taught me about my nose and scent. Tell me something is unwearable and I will want to learn to love it and wear it. I think foodies and art-lovers are the same way. Give me that durian or natto and let me decide if it tastes good. Let me decide for myself whether this artist is a sham or no.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
So, not just imagination but also an independent streak. A perfume lover doesn’t just go along with the crowd, but wants to know on her own.
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On June 26, 2008 AussieBec said:
I go so far to say that for a true perfume lover, there is no such thing as a scrubber. Although there are some scents that I will never truly love, I will still wear almost anything and appreciate it. An example is Bandit. I don’t really love tuberose but do like and appreciate it’s unique smell. I agree that every scent is a lesson that brings you closer to your perfume holy grail.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
You’re pretty lucky, and maybe tolerant, if you haven’t encountered at least one stinker of a perfume that just wouldn’t die on your skin. But I definitely agree that every scent is still worth a sniff.
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On June 27, 2008 ScentScelf said:
AussieBec, I have to include scrubbers, and the power to scrub, in my experience. While I might be able to appreciate what a certain scent has to offer, either in olfactory or original experience, I still might need to get it the #*$%! off my skin! 🙂
Just like there are artworks I can appreciate for what they are, or even acknowledge their beauty…but wouldn’t want to live with. (Okay, most of those I wouldn’t SCRUB, but I still reserve the right to do so without being kicked off the perfume bus…)
BTW, funny…I like–and wear without scrubbing–Bandit! 😉
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On June 27, 2008 AussieBec said:
Yeah, I know I am weird in not really finding any perfume a scrubber but it is amazing how many times I will wear a perfume and not really love it for ages and then suddenly, for no apparant reason, find that I love it. I guess that I am not just a perfume lover but an obsessive addict! (If I told you the size of my collection you probably wouldn’t believe me!)
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On June 28, 2008 AngelaS said:
I feel like I’ve had a few scrubbers for sure, but many, many times–as you say–I’ve gone back to a perfume and loved it after finding it so so before. In fact, it just happened to me today with Fumerie Turque!
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On June 27, 2008 Lavanya said:
“People who like perfume want to smell nice; people who love perfume want to smell everything.”
I think that is sooo true!!!!
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On June 26, 2008 megank4 said:
Hmm, can one be a perfume lover but not be able to pick out different notes? I think that people who have just one or two signature scents don’t really love perfume.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
Of course! Picking out notes isn’t easy, except for the big ones, like rose or gardenia. It’s the loving to smell (and to smell good) that makes a person a perfume lover, I think.
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On June 26, 2008 NUTZ FOR FRAGRANCE said:
You are correct about one thing fo sure; people who LOVE perfume are definitely more passionate about art, food and other things of beauty and joy. Perfume just rounds it all out. The cherry on the top! It expresses who you are (on any particular day) like a pair of earring would or a jewelry item worn in a different way than the creator intended. Perfume is part of the world of expression……….and some people have it, and some people dont! (and never will!!!!!!)
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
I agree. We’re so lucky to be special (and in my case, so self-congratulatory!) The cherry on top for sure.
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On June 26, 2008 violetnoir said:
I don’t know if I can compare someone who merely likes perfume, to someone who loves and dreams (yes, I dream) about perfume. Most of my family and close friends, save one or two, are not perfume lovers in the way that I am.
However, I have developed some observations about perfume lovers over the years. Would you like to read them? Well, here goes:
They tend to be well educated;
They are meticulous about their hygiene;
They love to read books;
They love all types of culture, not just art;
They are articulate;
They love to eat good food and usually enjoy a good wine or bottle of champagne (the champagne part would be me!!);
They write quite well (note the wonderful blogs and reviews on MUA and other perfume sites);
They are all searching for that HG of perfume;
They love to talk and dream about perfume;
Paris is usually their destination of choice, but a beautifully stocked perfume counter can take it’s place while they save up for the trip! :):)
Hugs!
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
Fabulous list, R! I love the articulate bit–you definitely fit the mold.
Do you think perfume lovers tend to love animals, too? I know I adore my pets.
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On June 26, 2008 violetnoir said:
Now that I think about it…yes!! I adore animals, and have been begging my dh for another “baby.”
Unfortunately, he does not share my enthusiasm, although our poodle baby is definitely a Daddy’s girl.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
My grandparents used to have a poodle. I actually considered him a sort of “uncle”. Smartest dog I ever knew.
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On June 26, 2008 helenviolette said:
Hmmm, we just might be twins! I have always told my husband the only kind of dog I want is a standard or toy poodle! He will not agree and argues for a bull terrier…So the only pet we have is Snakey my son’s beatiful red and black (non-venomous) snake…
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On June 26, 2008 violetnoir said:
Our precious is a miniature poodle, and she is the focal point of our family life.
But to be honest, I love all dogs. We settled on a poodle, and a miniature at that, because certain-beloved-people-in-my-household-whose-names-will-not-be-revealed, did not want a dog that sheds, was too “small” or too “big.” :):)
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On June 26, 2008 AussieBec said:
There must be a link between perfume and animal lovers! I remember Kevin (I am pretty sure) talking about his pug and I too LOVE animals. I have a little fluffy west highland/Shiz zhu and a big tough looking softy American Staffy. They both have their own personal perfumes from a range created especially for pups!
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
They sound like adorable dogs! And let’s not forget about cats, too…
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On June 27, 2008 Haunani said:
Fun thread! I find pleasure in just looking at my cats. They are so beautiful! Another example of sensual-geekiness, maybe. I also love to bury my nose in their fur. Mmm…
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Cats smell like heaven itself, and I remember some quote from Brancusi where when asked what art he’d take if his studio were burning, he said he’d take his cats.
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On June 27, 2008 Haunani said:
I love that!
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On June 27, 2008 Haunani said:
Sorry! This was meant to be a reply to Angela’s post with the quote about art & cats.
On June 28, 2008 AngelaS said:
I hope I got the quote right…
On June 27, 2008 AussieBec said:
I have one of those too! She is a Tonkinese and completely adorable.
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On June 27, 2008 AussieBec said:
I have one of those too! She is a Tonkinese and completely adorable.
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On June 26, 2008 helenviolette said:
Wow,VN! You are like Chloe the psychic! (says the J.D.w/ a BA in English- who loves books, art, wine, CHAMPAGNE!, chocolate, food…)
Great Post Angela and although I have always LOVED perfume, it was once only a passing love and I did not used to fiendishly pusue unsmelled fragrances. I had maybe 12 bottles six months ago (that number has almost doubled since I got keyed into this blog and fell head over heels for my longtime love. Must.Slow.Down.)
Cheers to all the perfume lovers!
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On June 26, 2008 violetnoir said:
Yes, cheers to all of us perfumistas!
Thank you for your kind words. I love you screen name…hmmm…wonder why? heh, heh… 🙂
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
You two ARE twins!
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On June 26, 2008 violetnoir said:
I know! I know!
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On June 26, 2008 helenviolette said:
Thanks! The violette is actulally in homage to my lovely daughter…(one thing I happen to love more than perfume)…
😉
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
Twelve bottles seems like a lot, and yet 24 bottles is so few! It’s a crazy obsession, enjoy it.
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On June 26, 2008 Nam said:
Can we add “they listen to NPR” on that list? I do religiously.
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On June 26, 2008 violetnoir said:
So do I…religiously!
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
Me too! I’m listening right now, in fact.
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On June 27, 2008 helenviolette said:
Count me into the NPR religion!
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On August 10, 2008 dagmar said:
Count me in as an NPR listener as well. Also, I have that same thing about mugs and cups! I think my mother-in-law thought I was crazy because when we were at her house all she had were these crummy chippy old mugs, badly designed with cheesy corporate logos on them and I simply could not drink my Russian Breakfast tea out of them, until I found a simple big white cup with a blue sailboat on it… Okay, I’ll admit I’m impossible…
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On August 10, 2008 AngelaS said:
I hear you loud and strong. A good cup is one of the keys to a good cup of coffee.
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On June 26, 2008 Celestia said:
Fabulous list by violetnoir. It’s very complimentary if I add the appropriate checkmarks. Definitely add a love of dogs (animals) to the list! What about being obsessed with fashion too? As an art historian, the shape of the bottles and their history is fascinating to me. I dream of opening my own perfume bottle museum in my fair city. My parents came from Budapest and always appreciated a spritz of fine French perfume. There must be a gene!
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
I’d love to visit your museum–I hope you do open it!
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On June 26, 2008 perfumeaddict said:
violetnoir
I just read your comment after I posted and OMG you are so right about your list. I am so relating to everything you wrote!!! I cannot wait to visit Grasse when the US dollar is stronger!!! hehehehehe
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On June 27, 2008 ScentScelf said:
Uh-oh. My nails often need extra hygienic attention in the summer…which they don’t always get…because of the gardening…I think maybe some artists also show colors that don’t come from a polish bottle…
But I’m clean! I really am clean!! And I wash my hands frequently…shall we refine the list over a flight of champagne? 😉
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
I could probably use a haircut and a pedicure, myself.
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On June 30, 2008 maggiecat said:
You have described me perfectly – better than most who know and love me could! And it’s given me such joy to know there are others out there like me….
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On June 30, 2008 AngelaS said:
That’s the beauty of the internet. Instead of being isolated, sprinkled all over the world, we’re all touching one point here.
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On June 30, 2008 vanessa said:
Would you happen to know how big the Nowsmellthis community is – are there 30 of us, 50, more? I realise that not all perfume petrolheads necessarily read blogs, but it would still be an interesting yardstick. My anosmic partner (who surpassed himself today in a sniff test by being able to correctly assign the notes “orange” and “rose” to Jo Malone Orange Blossom Cologne and Creed’s Fleur de The Rose Bulgare, albeit aided by the pretty high odds), thinks there are very few of us. And before I told him about perfume blogs, he was convinced there was just me.
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On June 30, 2008 NowSmellThis said:
Vanessa, we get between 10 and 11,000 unique visitors a day. But that is not the same as “community” — I have no idea how many are “regulars” or are even people who seriously care about perfume — many are presumably just looking for information about a specific scent. And the pool of people who comment is obviously rather small.
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On June 30, 2008 vanessa said:
I guess I was wondering about the proportion of frequent visitors, who I appreciate aren’t trackable, and who, as you say, make up a wider pool than those who comment. The sales of LT’s book might give another window on the matter (if you assume the industry professionals who would buy it are also perfume lovers, which is not entirely a given.)
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On June 30, 2008 AngelaS said:
If I had to wager, I’d say there are fewer of us than monster truck enthusiasts and orchid breeders, but more than miniature schnauzer owners (not very helpful, I know).
But 11,000 unique visitors a day is pretty impressive!
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On January 11, 2009 CB said:
I have to agree to everything on your list! Anyone up for a group trip to Paris?
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On January 11, 2009 AngelaS said:
Count me in!
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On June 26, 2008 IngestedKitten said:
Well I’m a geeky hedonist through and through, so I love the image you’ve created. I think scent is wonderful for how glorious (or challenging!) it smells but also for meaning my head can be filled with even more random facts!
Plus its a geekiness that doesn’t turn people off you (you wouldn’t believe how many people apparently don’t want to know about the founding of the NHS, which small train stations got axed in the 60s, or why Data in Star Trek is almost allegorical. Pah!), nor does it make you fat like my greatest hedonistgeek thing(most people can feign interest in what kind of cocoa bean the chocolate is from).
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
I can get pretty geeky about the line of a 1957 dress or the best gin for the dollar, so I relate completely.
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On June 26, 2008 vanessa said:
Aha – another correlation – I too am a gin geek. Currently drinking one called Whitley Neill (distilled in London, inspired by Suth Efrica, with an unusual mix of botanicals – aka “gin notes”?). I also like champagne, have a part time writing career, and wash on a reasonably frequent basis. And if my standards ever slipped, there is of course a historical precedent for perfume to pick up the slack. : )
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
We all seem like a lost tribe. Maybe there really is a perfume loving gene, and it links to writing, dogs, and gin…
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On June 26, 2008 Erin T said:
Ah, let us not forget scotch!
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Forget scotch? Impossible!
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On June 27, 2008 ScentScelf said:
I have been for a while thinking about a pairing list that matches scent to beverage…either straight or mixed…spent a fair amount of time in the late spring imagining which of those ethereal scents (En Passant, Apres les Ondee) went with this fabulous elderberry liquer (St. Germain) perhaps made up with Champagne as a kind of kir…
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
A worthy past time, in my opinion.
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On June 26, 2008 lareinarumbera said:
that is soooo true.
i loved opium at age 16 when my friends were loving this hot pink escada thing. sadly, orientals were suffocating, but that didn’t stop me from loving them!
on another scent related update: i tried some of the recommendations from the monday mail two weeks back, and now i’m all confused about which scent to purchase… i think i may give l’eau de cartier concentree another chance, if only i could get a sample bigger than the two sprays the SA will give me!
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
You can order larger samples and decants from online stores like The Perfumed Court (and others), too. Just remember that a lot of the fun is in the search…
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On June 26, 2008 Nam said:
Hmm I’ve always noticed the food and art thing too. I’m a Jamie Oliver obsessed classically trained soprano. It was just a matter of time before I fell in love with perfume too.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
It really does sound like it couldn’t have happened any other way!
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On June 26, 2008 Third Shift said:
I just love smells, not necessarily in a perfume bottle. Bakeries in the morning, the smell of bread, of sugar. Outside a dryer vent on a cold day, fabric softener, moistness. The dogs, when the greyhound first came home, I thought he stank, but now I love to nuzzle and the stink says “I’m home, and all is right with the world.” Mr. Third Shift’s woodshop, the wood shavings, the polyurethane, the wood burn when he’s been cutting wood. Fresh paper reams, fountain pen ink, how about the smell of newly sharpened No. 2 pencils right before a test? new leather of a new purse, the meaty smell of a pressed grilled cheese (better be some good cheese, not the American), the yeasty winey smell when you press your face right into an aged Iberian ham, my mother’s old and broken sandalwood fan. I don’t want to wear any of this smell, though. I don’t think I even want it captured in a bottle, but I like them all.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
Yes yes yes and yes. Your comment is practically a poem.. And you’re really lucky to be married to a handy guy.
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On June 26, 2008 AussieBec said:
I know just what you mean. Many a time have I been ridiculed for smelling things not deemed the sort of things that one smells! Pretty much any product that I buy will be get a smell before I will purchase it. Once I was laughed at for smelling lawn clippings but dried grass smells delicious! Probably the funniest thing I smelled was my cat’s cat litter. (unused of course!) It is made of lucerne and smells absolutely gorgeous.
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Dried grass smells great! More power to you.
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On August 10, 2008 dagmar said:
This is not a plug, but that’s why I love Dior’s Dune so much, because (to me) it smells exactly like dried grass. Gorgeous.
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On August 10, 2008 AngelaS said:
It’s been so long since I’ve tried Dune–I’ll have to look it up soon.
And chunk #2:
On June 26, 2008 perfumeaddict said:
Hi all I read this blog at work and home everyday like a religion. It is the only place where I know there are people like myself who absolutely love scents. I cannot refuse to buy perfume, candles, home fragrance even my laundry care must be carely selected. Even though I set a limit of one splurge a month I am yet to adhere to that rule hence I have an extensive collection. You are so correct about perfume lovers appreciation for art etc. I am a minimalist with geometric and andy warhol type inspired coloring for my decor. I am obsessed with gardening where I have lots of flowers that are scented and color coordinated with hues of every spectrum from the rainbow. None of my friends can understand why do I describe my scents according to chypre, fougere etc and why do I talk about top notes versus base note. I really wished we all could meet and talk about our passion while sampling teas, coffees, chocolate…. sigh…..
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
That does sound really nice. From the comments here, some of us probably have comfortable houses for entertaining and are pretty good cooks! We could have a big dinner party.
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On June 26, 2008 Eric said:
I’ll bring the dessert! =D
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
You’re on!
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On June 26, 2008 clarestella said:
It is really interesting reading all these comments. I pretty much fit the profile Violet Noir posted but have never been to Paris. I have always had an acute sense of smell – I was the family sour milk tester. I could always tell if something was even slightly “off.” In recent years I have had an autoimmune disease which has severely impacted my sense of taste (I have virtually no saliva) and it has been a huge loss. Food means little to me anymore but I love smelling things. Gasoline, fresh cut grass, the air after it rains. newly milled lumber, vanilla anything, Johnson’s baby powder – the list goes on and on. People look at me like I’m crazy when I mention putting on perfume before I go to bed but it’s an important bedtime ritual. If I forget to put on perfume before work, I feel unsettled all day. I think many of us have a hint (or more than a hint) of OCD. When we love something, we delve into it with passion and want to own more and more of whatever it is. Before I got into perfume so much, I was buying oodles of makeup and making all my own greeting cards. I have enought paper/pens/stamps to fill a warehouse. I don’t smoke or drink so figure I have every right to indulge my hobbies/interests. Life is short so we may as well enjoy it.
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On June 26, 2008 AngelaS said:
Well, first let me say: get yourself to Paris! If for no other reason than to smell perfume. I’ll expect your postcard from the Eiffel Tower soon.
It sounds like smell is really a gift for you, and that’s so wonderful.
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On June 27, 2008 vanessa said:
I have just had the good fortune to spend a week in Paris for work. I quickly lost track of whether I was over there to conduct a survey into trends in the European automotive market or a survey of French perfumery retailing, as I managed to visit about 15 shops, typically coming up from the Metro a few stops early on my way back from a work appointment in the suburbs. Luckily everywhere was open till 8pm. Being a perfume lover in Paris must be like being a Catholic in Rome!
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Lucky you! Now I’m wondering who the Pope of the perfume world is.
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On June 27, 2008 vanessa said:
LT? Hmm, hard to work out the hierarchy. Maybe LT is a self-appointed Pope, and perhaps somebody needed to put themselve up for the job. Then I’d have the eminent noses like JCE and Polge as bishops, while Chandler Burr and other distinguished perfumistas like you and Robin and Kevin et al would be senior altar boys and girls. And I would come to mass religiously (as it were) and to confession, where I would own up to all my impulsive full bottle purchases. And there would be a lot of incense at the services, obviously. Parfum Sacre, notably.
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Senior altar girl! I love it.
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On June 26, 2008 jolene said:
It’s a really great comparison between those who love perfume, and other fine things! I love theater (I have a theater blog), wine, and good (not always expensive) food – and I am just beginning to explore the world of perfumes.
A friend took me perfume shopping at the outlets, because he wanted to pick out something for himself, and a gift to his cousin. I started throwing stuff I liked to him – EL Tuberose Gardenia (he recoiled visibly from this one), TM Angel (sorry, I like this one! :), DK Cashmere mist, and even the more palatable SJP Covet, all of which he hated. He ended up picking Lanvin’s Rumeur for his cousin, which I didn’t like esp after smelling it on my arm after two minutes. For himself, he smelled everything from Guerlain Vetiver to Grey Flannel, none of which he liked, so he went back to his regular, which is Kenneth Cole Reaction. Frustrating.
I think people who only “like” perfume also tend to be a bit “safe”, not risk takers. This is my experience.
Great post!
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
It’s so true that loving fragrance takes the time and open mind to get used to different smells and to appreciate them. If you smell something once, think “yuck” and dismiss it for good, you’re not ready one bit to love perfume.
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On June 27, 2008 Nam said:
He recoiled visibly from EL Tuberose Gardenia!! Shocking! That’s my temporary signature scent (we all know it’s impossible to have a permanent one).
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
I like the concept of “temporary signature scent”!
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On June 26, 2008 Eric said:
Beautiful article!
This is exactly the difference I notice each time I go perfume shopping with a friend. I’ll pick apart the four I’ve sampled, trowing out notes, discussing others of the brand, the other perfumes of which they remind me, anything I might have read up on them. My friend picks up Ed Hardy (or the newest fruity floral) and sprays it liberally, despite the fact that she put some other on only hours ago. =o “It’s nice; it smells yummy.” =o 2x
It’s frustrating, sometimes, not having that mirrored back. It’s like, back in school, when we’d read a good book or look at a gorgeous painting: everyone glazed over it’s depth, it’s subject, why it works. It was either “Nice” or “HOMG, you actually read it/ What happened? I was passing notes.”
I’m a guy and I play around a lot with “fragrances for women” (the ratio of them to cologne in my collection is, like, 5:1) and Caron Narcisse Noir is just one of those I can’t imagine getting away with, no matter how much I love it. And I’m really anxious to try Diorissimo but I doubt I’d get away with it either.
I fwwl your frustration, too, when it comes to finding someone a perfume when they’re not really invested in it. My mother loves citrus and was heartbroken when she realized Light Blue only lasted an hour on her. So I keep piling samples on her vanity, but she hasn’t tried any of them. Dx
(And, um, what is that ad for? =P)
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On June 26, 2008 jtc said:
Hi, Eric —
I’m a guy who plays around with a lot of “fragrances for women” too, and am often thinking about “what I can get away with.” Playing that edge in itself is interesting, exciting, and fun, because it’s an opportunity to really ponder what is it about a particular scent that makes it socially acceptable as “masculine” or “feminine.” Thinking that through teaches me a lot about what we assume makes a man or a woman in our culture, and the process itself has its own rewards. I’ve also learned a lot when confronted with a fragrance that strikes me as “too feminine to get away with in public,” thinking about what singular notes I could add (like, by layering) that would shift the balance towards unisex. Which shows that there is also a certain enjoyment the perfume geek gets out of lifting up the hood, and trying to figure out how the motor runs (if you’ll excuse the stereotypically masculine metaphor).
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
I love your comment and would really like to see a whole essay on it. As a woman, it’s pretty easy for me to wear masculine fragrances. It’s so accepted these days. But playing with the masculine/feminine boundaries and thinking about what those boundaries are is really intriguing.
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On June 29, 2008 Eric said:
Oh, good! I’m not the only one. xD I don’t really have the know-how (or resources) to customize the perfumes I like. It does sound like fun to layer (and I understand; poking stereotypes is half the fun) but my attempts in the past are usually noxious. Maybe I’ll just learn to wear them as they are. I mean, as I mentioned, most of my collection would scare most men half to death with their… “girliness.” I might as well go all the way, huh?
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
I completely think you could pull off Narcisse Noir! Only make sure you try the perfume and not the EdT, which is so much more narcisse-y. The perfume has a divine civet depth that feels really unisex to me. Diorissimo might be more of a challenge in public, but it would be nice privately.
Hopefully you’ll meet some other perfume lovers soon so you can stay up late talking about good sandalwood, the pros and cons of aldehydic florals, etc.
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On June 29, 2008 Eric said:
I’ll certainly try to get my hands on NN in perfume; I’ve not really seen it around, either where I shop or any of the online places I know. And Diorissimo just sounds lovely; I love lilies. Ironic, because my close friend is quite allergic to lilies and I’d end up killing her with it. It, if I liked it enough to purchase, would most likely end up being a private scent anyway.
That’s my hope, too. This blog certainly is close, though. =D
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On June 29, 2008 AngelaS said:
NN extrait isn’t super easy to get, but it’s out there at online discounters, if it turns out you love it.
Diorissimo is lily of the valley rather than lily, so it’s a little more delicate–although it’s never worth asphyxiating a good friend!
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Eric, whoops, one more thing: I’m not sure what the ad is for. Robin chooses them, and I always adore the images she chooses.
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On June 26, 2008 kaos.geo said:
It is late and I am about to go to sleep, so I am not reading the previous 90 something comments before mine.
But yes… sensualist geek it is.
You nailed it.
Kind regards.
P.
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Thank you! Sleep well, darling Sensualist Geek.
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On June 26, 2008 joe805 said:
I really don’t know why. I’ve always been into art and went to art school for awhile– I can get into the beauty and craft of a glass bottle *almost* as much as the scent itself. I’m very much a “foodie” who loves to read about ingredients, tastes, preparation. I was into a serious winetasting phase for a time. I love gardening and botany (on a layman’s level), so the science and culture of the raw materials is fascinating. I probably had owned 7 or 8 different colognes by the time I was 25, but then lost the perfume bug only to throw myself into it in a big way a little over a year and half ago. I consider myself to have really eclectic tastes and a passion for things international, which also plays into the love of perfume somehow.
Great piece! I haven’t read the other comments yet but I’m really looking forward to them.
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
It’s the gene. It really must be. I bet you (and I) were born with a sensitivity to and thirst for beauty, and we fed it until it graduated from the Vache Qui Rit cheese to raw milk morbier and from Nancy Drew to Nabokov.
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On June 27, 2008 vanessa said:
That’s funny you mention cheese – I have just been speaking to Farah back channel and said to her that I thought Ralph Lauren Romance Eau Fraiche exemplified everything that is wrong with modern perfumery – there is a hard edged, artificial quality to it, which I likened to the difference between Danish Blue and Roquefort! (I used to work in a cheese shop, btw…)
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Now you’re making me hungry….
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On June 27, 2008 joe805 said:
The thing is that the foodie in me can appreciate a Grilled Velveeta & Tomato Sandwich on a melamine plate as well as a nice plate of Garrotxa, Idiazabal, and Mahon served up on glazed Spanish ceramicware. There’s a time and place for just about everything.
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Absolutely. There’s nothing like a fried bologna sandwich when the urge calls.
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On June 27, 2008 SFLizbeth said:
Fried PB & J as well, believe it or not it’s pretty good!
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Oh, I believe it.
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On June 26, 2008 Abigail said:
Angela, you nailed it!
This article is Scentsational (sorry, I couldn’t help myself, I’m a geek, right?)
I’m putting a link to this piece on my site.
Thanks for posting a thoroughly enjoyable and personally satisfying read 🙂
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
You’re welcome! (And a little pleasurable groan at the pun.)
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On June 26, 2008 jtc said:
Hi, Angela —
what a fantastic article, and a subject I’ve been thinking a lot about recently. I have always been interested (some would say obsessed) with music, art, and food, and recently have been tipped over the edge into full-fledged olfactory obsession. I have recently been trying to resolve this with a spiritual inclination that recognizes that all these cravings and desires for material things are just attachments to things that are transient. An ascetic might say, then, that a spiritual seeker should turn away from these petty preoccupations. On the other hand, a spiritual hedonist might counter that recognizing and enjoying these transient pleasures for what they are (beautiful, impermanent things) can be a spiritual practice too — a way of seeing the Divine in all things.
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
I say that if there’s a god, she gave us our senses, and to ignore them is sacrilege. Beauty is easy and often free (just look at the deep blue of a summer sky) and to pass it by is to thumb one’s nose at god. That’s what I think, anyway. But I’ve never really got the whole ascetic thing.
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On June 27, 2008 assorted_raisins said:
Wonderful article! I come from a family of women who like to smell good but I’m the only one obsessed. My mother is a “liker” as she will try a sample and forget to smell it on her skin! My sister has a very sensitive nose but will dismiss anything un-citrus/fruity as “old lady”.
I love to drink in scents like summer evenings, burning leaves, old hallways, basmati rice, linden trees. Violetnoir’s post is on I’m a bit of a gardner and love to eat, have a ton of books, love to write, and get geeky about my vintage cookbooks and the journals i use. Scents are thoughts and mood, like the breath of our souls. they capture an aura, and we can see the story behind the art. They are creative…
…but are they frugal too?
I may be a strange breed as I am both perfumista and frugalista,
but it sure is fun to find a niche scent 75% off when you can!
(okay, I spluge too!)
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
“Frugalista”–now that’s a new one for me, and very intriguing. I do think that something is worth what you pay for it if you enjoy every single drop, and there’s nothing like a budget to make a person hone in on what is really important to her.
I can smell everything you list, and it’s wonderful.
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On June 27, 2008 Deedee said:
I usually lurk only as well but I read this blog and all the others religiously. I love this article – I love perfumes and smells in general! I don’t know a lot about perfumers and stuff but I have always been sensitive with smells from a very early age. When I was younger and more sensitive I would get an automatic gag reaction and even throw up when confronted with a bad smell. I’ve learnt to control the gag reflex as I grow older. But on the other hand, when I like the smell, it would completely transport me. I live in South East Asia and there are so many smells here that are just beautiful.. the spice market, jasmine from the Indian temples, incense and joss sticks from the Chinese prayer altars, the heady attars from the Muslim men coming back from Friday prayers. As someone who loves perfume (but doesn’t quite qualify as a perfumenista maybe..) I also like what some of my friends classify as “difficult” perfumes and “strange” smells, like burning rubber, newly cured leather and even wet dogs! Hahaha!
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
It sounds like you really love scent, and if that’s not being a perfumista, what is? Thanks for commenting!
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On June 27, 2008 HDS1963 said:
I totally agree with the thrust of this article.
I think people into perfume have to be by their very nature, sensual creatures. To appreciate the nuances of fragrance is to have an appreciation of subtelty and fine change.
I love fragrance. I also love fine wine and can smell the different notes in the bouquet, can perceive different fruits on the palette and relish the aftertaste.
Moreover I love cooking too and delight in fresh herbs and making ingredients work together, which I also use smell a great deal for.
Furthermore I would also proffer as a suggestion that those who like fragrance are more sensual in the bedroom department too, enjoying the delicacy of touch and the time taken to deliver the exquisite – or maybe that’s just me 😉 ….
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Well well well, HDS….I’ll drink to that!
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On June 27, 2008 pearlbailey said:
I attended a lecture tonight on “giftedness”. It made me supspect that quite a few of the fellow perfume lovers I’ve met are gifted. Having a special interest that you take ALL THE WAY, that you research and “obsess” about, is a common trait of gifted people: people that are exceptional learners or exceptionally talented in some way. Highly verbal abilities (the great writers on the blogs!) creative and artistic talents are common in the gifted. It’s marginalized in many cultures, but the creation and enjoyment of perfume is an ART, isn’t it?
As others have said above, we value beauty, apparently many of us enjoy food, wine, music, literature, other creative pursuits, right? People who LOVE perfume are indeed different.
So, why do we learn to keep quiet about our passionate interest in this particular creative art: in perfume? Well…..any “unusual” interest, pursued passionately, often seems weird to those who don’t THINK like us . (I could go on about neuropsychology, and bell curves, myths of “elitism”, and how poorly understood giftedness is, but I’ll refrain…) Then when the affinity is about perfume? Your sense of smell? Something so “frivolous”?
Blogs like this are fantastic! We can feed our need to research & learn EVERYTHING. We can seek the company of those with similar abilities & interests. We can accept and celebrate our passion for this field. (Accept our “geekdom” …so funny!)
BTW: I’m also learning that some gifted people have deficits in the executive functions of the brain, where we prioritize, organize, plan, manage time, manage transitions. Helps me understand why it’s past 3 AM; I have to work tomorrow, and still I’m up late pondering this!
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On June 27, 2008 Nam said:
Haha, this is definitely an obsession. Here I am, waiting for the stock markets to open so that I can begin trading… and instead of doing 5 minutes of extra research, I’m reading about perfume. Sigh.
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
That’s quite a manifesto! I like it.
I hope you get time for a nap today.
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On June 27, 2008 ScentScelf said:
pearlbailey, if you’ve attended a lecture on giftedness, you may have come across some of the work of Dabrowski. This whole thread has echoed of his theories on over-excitabilities…this is totally a Sensuous OE, probably with a big underlayer of Imaginative.
Notice how many times people refer to their lurking and how certain comments made them de-lurk? People learn to hide their “gifts” all the time…funny thing is, they are not nearly as alone in the larger population as they might feel.
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On June 27, 2008 Mamabear said:
I almost fainted dead away when I read your comment about Diorissimo and the dressing gown. I have a lovely vintage cotton wrapper that I wear on Diorissimo mornings….those are the mornings when I’m blissfully alone in the house, on the front porch, drinking coffee from a china cup and wearing my pale blue Diorissimo wrapper. I admit that I don’t connect Diorissimo and coffins, even M. Dior’s, but I do envision a pale green and white summer dress, with a snappy white hat with a black grograin ribbon…and always gloves. I love summer gloves. Diorissimo was made for summer gloves…
Perfume lovers are not about the perfume – we’re about the experience of the perfume.
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Perfect! I love the sound of your Diorissimo morning, and of course I have my own cotton dressing gown from the 1930s that is perfect on a warm morning with D.
I think you are so right about pefume also being about the experience of perfume.
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On June 27, 2008 Vetiver53 said:
Ok…as a recovering alcoholic (18 years sober) I am somewhat shy, sometimes prone to mood swings, and always seeking pleasure and beauty. I also paint watercolors and make French pastry. Fragrances provide me with the mood enhancement I need! Addicted to fragrance I guess.
The right scent can give me a huge mental boost. I am interested in all kinds of scents–they make my world more interesting.
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
You sound like a natural born artist.
What could be better than French pastries and perfume?
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On June 27, 2008 Patty said:
Sensualist geek! I like that. Perfume lovers are probably also into wine, and maybe microbrew beers, exotic coffees and teas…
On the other hand, I happen to be wearing Diorissimo today, and the thought of lilies of the valley piled on a coffin creeped me out…
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On June 27, 2008 vanessa said:
I am ashamed to admit (something for the confessional next time – ref the papal tangent higher up this thread) that I stole a lily off Dante’s tomb in Ravenna in the late 70’s. In my defence I was a callow backpacker at the time, but it was still indefensible. I doubt very much that I even wanted to smell it.
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
As a senior altar girl, I say your punishment is to write about the experience so that the beauty you took from people who visited the grave over the next few days while the lily was in bloom is replaced and boosted by the beauty you make.
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On June 27, 2008 vanessa said:
That would be a fitting punishment indeed – somewhat bedevilled though by the historic nature of the crime. Why, some of the passers-by from that week in ’78 are very likely “pushing up lilies” themselves now!
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Actually, I can imagine taking a lily from Dante’s grave, too. There’s something almost irresistibly romantic about it–especially when you’re 19. And in the spirit of true confessions, I took a prayer candle from the church at the Avignon papal palace when I was about that age.
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
True, it is creepy, but it’s also true, you know. Supposedly Dior was superstitious, and he loved lilies of the valley, so when he died they strew lilies of the valley over his coffin.
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On June 27, 2008 StephanieS said:
I definitely consider myself someone who loves perfume; among friends and family I have by far the most interest in fragrance. However, parts of this post did not ring true with me and the statements sounded a bit pretentious.
Isn’t it nice to just enjoy perfume without having to dissect it? to just experience the overall character of the scent without harking back to something as far removed as lilies on a designer’s coffin? I know that is not what I’m thinking about when I wear a fragrance that I love.
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
I’m glad you love perfume the way you do–with my pretension or without it.
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On June 27, 2008 SFLizbeth said:
Yes! Absolutely, I’m a fragrance, food, wine and sensualist geek who loves dark chocolate and red wines.
Food isn’t as enjoyable if it isn’t the whole experience, taste, texture, appearance, etc….. I need that saturation of the senses. I notice the art I enjoy is of the dark variety, such as Dali, or El Greco (His Crucifixion is my favorite)
Angela, what a lovely article, and so true!
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
You make me want to go to the library and take home a book of El Greco paintings!
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On June 27, 2008 Mikeperez23 said:
Lovely post – as always Angela.
I am going to start inserting ‘sensualist geek’ into as many sentences as possible. 🙂
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Thank you!
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On June 27, 2008 3xasif said:
beautifully written, thank you!
and yes i am a perfume geek/lover!
places like nowsmellthis and mua have reassured me that i am not alone!
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On June 27, 2008 AngelaS said:
Me too!
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On June 28, 2008 persikoflicka said:
I am clearly a newbie and belong to the first group but I love food and cooking, I paint (watercolours mainly), my record collection is huge, not to mention the bookcases are overflowing….Maybe the perfume lover is much more “niched” and nuanced with words?
I like SJPs Lovely (and own a bottle) but I’m not good at describing scents; I’d ramble on about how I love apples and how my grandmother had such lovely roses in her garden and how the first day of fall (usually round the turn of August- September) is crisp and the sky turns a different shade of blue… But this wouldn’t explain anything about the scent, or would it? It’s easier for me to say “rose, apple and something tingly-fresh”. I can’t speak Fragrancia yet. Some day maybe…
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On June 28, 2008 AngelaS said:
I like Lovely, too–I hope I didn’t sound like I was putting it down.
Maybe, as you say, the perfume lover is likely to be appreciate all sorts of art, and not just words or food. I love your description of an early fall day, too.
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On June 28, 2008 cinnamon8 said:
Im so glad i’ve found this blog! LOL…
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On June 28, 2008 AngelaS said:
Thank you! I’m glad you’ve found it, too.
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On June 29, 2008 Anna_P said:
I’m a frequent reader/lurker and this post hit home for me as well. I definitely agree that people who love scent also enjoy the other previously mentioned forms of art as well. I’m a cook for a living and work in a restaurant, so my passion for cooking and how I earn my living by day pays for my perfume habit by night *lol*
Despite the fact that I still consider myself a newbie, somehow I’ve already amassed a sizeable collection that is frightening me by how rapidly it’s growing. Just this weekend while left to my own devices as the boyfriend is away, I’ve already ordered 5 samples from the L’Artisan site and bought a lot of Prada Infusion D’Iris and Kelly Caleche samples. At least they weren’t full bottles, right? I’m trying to follow the advice in the Things I Wish I’d Known as a Newbie Perfumista article. I take solace in the fact that there are people with far more expensive interests. At least I’m not into drugs (although I guess you could argue perfume is somewhat of a drug because it has the ability to alter my mood at least anyway, not to mention the high of scoring the latest purchase, especially if it was a bargain), cars, or eating exclusively in fine dining restaurants and collecting vintage wines/liquers like a few of my other food afficionadoes.
Suffice it to say, I don’t just love perfume, I need therapy. And I’ve only just started exploring more classics and niche lines, yikes!
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On June 29, 2008 AngelaS said:
It’s crazy how perfume can grab and person by the throat (or should I say nose?). Samples are a smart way to go. Enjoy the ride!
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On June 30, 2008 SFLizbeth said:
But i’ts interesting to note, that many of the same growing conditions for wine, are much the same for perfume. Soil, sun, dirt composition & acidity, etc… That’s the fascinating part for me involving fragrance and the science of…
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On June 30, 2008 AngelaS said:
Interesting! Of course, so much of perfume is synthetic.
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On June 29, 2008 AlbertCAN said:
It’s interesting that you’ve mentioned the difference between ‘like’ and ‘love’ because it’s the same thing in classical music–it’s amazing how some aficionado will not venture between the general repetoire…(sorry, just had to work that in…I always think perfumery is my second love of my life when classical music proves to be too high maintenance).
Then again I don’t know if I’m that great of a parfumisto (yes, I am a guy and the right parfums works great on me…espeically Chanel No. 19 and Guerlain Mitsouko). I mean, I don’t have access to that many niche brand (the vice of living in Vancouver…we get niche brands but not that many). But mind you the ones I know I DO KNOW. Once I am interested in a brand I study all I can–the styles, the notes, the noses et al. I am not ready to get into decant just yet (the delivery costs and the storage issues) but I suppose it’s better to be a bit narrow and deep for now…
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On June 29, 2008 AlbertCAN said:
Oh…and it’s “beyond the general repetoire”. I was going to say something else but my brain short-circuited (yet again) for a moment there.
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On June 29, 2008 AngelaS said:
I can definitely see where classical music could spawn crowds of sensualist geeks.
Have you tried swapping samples? It’s a great way to get to know a lot of fragrances without having to be rich as Bill Gates.
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On June 30, 2008 SFLizbeth said:
But is one considered a sensualist if they love all things Wagner vs. the romance composers?
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On June 30, 2008 AngelaS said:
Oh, I think so. There’s lots of passion in Wagner.
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On June 30, 2008 SFLizbeth said:
It’d be interesting to think, what kind of fragrance would Wagner wear? Or Dvorak, Bellini & Strauss?
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On June 30, 2008 AngelaS said:
A great conversation for a late night after dinner…
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On June 29, 2008 ay said:
i’d consider myself as a perfume lover too, but i think that everybody loves it in a different way.
some people just like the overall impression of fragrances. (like the taste of wine)…and others may want to go deeper into details (i.e. the composition of the different notes)
the ones who love perfume will definitely have a special moment in which they realized that they really adore it and not only take it as a accessoire.
the day that i realized that i do not only love perfume, but also need psychological therapy 🙂
…. before i went to bed, i sprayed a little bit of perfume on my wrist…. i couldn’t sleep until i smelled the drydown….that cost me several hours….
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On June 29, 2008 AngelaS said:
That’s funny! I hope you were able to sleep in…
Maybe some perfume lovers are geeks that need to know everything about a scent, while others are just purely sensualists.
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On June 29, 2008 eshellmoyer said:
I wouldn’t classify myself as a full-fledged perfumista by any means, but I do love perfume and smells in general. I sometimes just assume that everyone is like that.
One day at Sephora I was helped by some overenthusiastic young men who gave me two full vials of Le Jardin sur Le Nil, and I was so excited for my mom to come to town so that I could give her one of the vials. When she finally came to visit I held the vial out for her to try and she sniffed the nozzle. She didn’t even spray it. Then she said, “That’s very pretty.” I was flabbergasted, but on the plus side I now have two vials of Le Nil, which I like, but at the moment don’t love enough to purchase a full bottle. My mom’s a lady who loves food, music and art, so I assumed that she would enjoy perfume too, but I guess not. I think it might stem from the fact that you have to eat to live, music is part of daily life, and you have to put something on your walls, so it might as well be pretty, but she sees perfume as entirely a luxury object. Or maybe she was just worried that Le Nil would clash with her favorite Old Spice deodorant.
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On June 29, 2008 AngelaS said:
Old Spice deodorant! And that didn’t tip you off? (Just kidding.)
All the vials of Le Nil you have the better.
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On July 9, 2008 Monterey Male said:
This thread is one of the most interesting I’ve read on this blog. I think I could “hang out” with all the “posters”. What fascinating people they must be!
A few thoughts on loving perfume:
To love perfume (really to love smells,odors,aromas) is to live in the world leading with your navel and not your brain. Exhilarating and fulfilling. I remember age 4 smelling all the flowers on the grounds where I grew up. And then there was this GARDENIA! I think this was my first altered state of consciousness. I picked it, ran home and asked my mother what it was. She told me and that sealed my fate. I have been seeking that “holy grail” since then. The smell of rotting bananas on the creosote docks in the sun in Tampa. The smell of a T-bone on a grill, mown grass, a horse stable, dried leaves, the sea, my baby daughter’s head. These fill me with happiness and make me glad to be alive.
The flowers that affect me: peonies, iris, gallardia but maybe my favorite smell is No5 powder on my wife when she comes to bed. Then, I know, all’s well in the world and I sleep.
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On July 9, 2008 SFLizbeth said:
Monterey Male, what a lovely post!
I lived in Sarasota for many years, I’m sure you can also appreciate the smell of the coming rain mixed with oakmoss, (and the impending electrical storms too).
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On July 9, 2008 Monterey Male said:
It was in Sarasota where I grew up on a place that is now Whitaker gateway Park. Yes, the damp smell of the trees and the brown water (tannin) in the creeks. Only in the deep South. Weren’t those storms spectacular?
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On July 9, 2008 AngelaS said:
M, it sounds like you’re a natural perfume lover, and you describe it so well!
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On October 20, 2008 Lynnj said:
I’m so pleased I’ve found this blog. There’s no-one IRL with whom I can share this passion.
How can I explain why Mitsouko makes me feel like the world’s best business woman? And I do try not to scorn those who say ‘Ange ou Demon – don’t you just wear that in the evening?’…
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On October 20, 2008 AngelaS said:
I’m glad you’ve found the blog, too! It is really nice to connect with other people who don’t think you’re crazy or yawn when you talk about perfume.
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On October 30, 2008 sangkae said:
Yes, yes, yes. A nerd…a sensualist geek…that’s me! I can spend hours sniffing perfumes, to see how they develops on my skin, or to detect the top, middle through the base notes. I know I look weird having my arm sticking to my nose (after spritzing a few bottles at Serge counter) during the visit to the crowded shopping malls but I just don’t care. Now I even build up my own ‘perfumer’s organ’ filled with flower tinctures, essential oils, absolutes and aroma chemicals. I do enjoy experimenting with these materials, a pleasure of blending my own scents, just like cooking my favorite dishes…yes, I love food and I love art. When thinking of Diorissmo, I imagine a young lady in flowing chiffon picking the little white bells in the green, lush garden. I picture this as if it is an impressionist’s garden. Scents capture great moments in life, evoke the imagination and become the sources of inspiration. That’s why I can’t part with all my beloved perfumes.
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On October 30, 2008 AngelaS said:
A true perfume lover!
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On December 14, 2008 itsjoan said:
At age 66, I came late in life to this burgeoning love affair with scent…stumbling blindly into love via this column while researching a very simple formulation used by my grandmother and aunts.
When attacked by a headaches they would splash 4711 onto hankies to wipe their pained brows….
And it is “love”…..some scents capture our souls and we just can’t get enough of their essence. Others are rejected forthwith like unsuitable suitors. and others richly enable us to relive an entire period of our lives just by recalling which scent we were wearing at the time….like Sinatra singing “When I was 17….”
I had a wonderful conversation with my daughter-in-law recently……both recalling various scents we’d worn…..some in common; both wearing our first introduction to scent–“White Shoulders”-.in high school.
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On December 14, 2008 AngelaS said:
What a wonderful thing to rediscover! Perfume can definitely bring back many memories and feelings.
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On January 5, 2009 misdim said:
Well, that’s the nice part of being a lover of parfumes. Once you love perfumes you love smells and you also hate smells, and that can be quite haunting and transform your life in a hell sometimes. I lile food but I hate houses smelling of food, certain places I can’t visit anymore after bad smell memories. A happy day could turn into a hell if a certain smell disturbed me. I had to avoid a colleague at high school because he had a personal smell which I couldn’t stay and I prejudiced him with an altogether bad impression of him. A nice lunch at home on the terasse on a warm spring day with my love was a catastrophe after we ordered pizza which smelled bad of shrimps though was not with shrimps (normally I don’t have anything against them). Since looking for daycare for my children we got to a place with two nice ladies but their home smelled like something old and not clean, though it looked clean. My husband loved it but I couldn’t send my children to that place.
Yes, there are these people who like not love perfumes but at least they can’t be bothered. It stinks sometimes for them, too, but that doesn’t change their mood, crash their day.
And always looking for that smell which will make me feel happy, nostalgic, powerfull or whatsoever. That’s haunting, too. I read about a certain perfume go and check it and I’m thrilled or dissapointed. Always after smells.
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On January 5, 2009 AngelaS said:
It sounds like you are unusually sensitive to smell, and that it’s both a blessing and a curse! I hope you find many beautiful smells, and not many off-putting ones, in the years to come.
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On January 21, 2009 Stich said:
A perfect description of the types.
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On January 21, 2009 AngelaS said:
Thank you!
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On January 23, 2009 ValentinaOreh said:
I COMPLETELY AGREE!! I have many scents and am also sooo tactile…if something smells good or feels good…I tend to buy it..and I love rich vibrant colors..more so than those that surround me. In the midst of an intent conversation, I would exclaim at the sight or smell of a butterfly or, um the sky:) And I have a tendency of walking up to strangers to touch their clothing if it looks like it feels good…AND providing a report on whether I was actually right:) A long time ago, a friend said I was very focused on aesthetics and I was highly offended b/c I consideredm myself such a braniac…but I’ve come to embrace and enjoy my sensual nature…and btw, I quit my job at an investment bank to teach dance so, um, stop spying on me!!:)
Thank you for this article…am not alone:)
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On January 23, 2009 AngelaS said:
Congratulations on the jump from banking to dance! I’ve struggled, too, with my love of the “frivolous”, then realized that it’s deeply important, too. And, hey, you can be a brainiac AND a sensualist!
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On January 23, 2009 SFLizbeth said:
I second that!
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On March 14, 2009 Jared D said:
Sorry for the late arrival on this article, but after having read all of the comments, I had to express how enjoyable it’s been reading the responses! I love how there is a certain “type” of person evolving here in regards to the perfume lover. I’m also gleefully surprised at how well I fit into this type. I’ve been immersed in the world of the arts basically my whole life, having begun playing the piano at about age 4 (I’m 29 now). The comments about the gifted person apply to me as well, which I have to say is ego-boosting, but I’ve been treated as such my whole life, too. Being a psychologist and astrologer, the concept of types and patterns delights me, and I’m glad to see some comment on this here. I’d love to find some general rule that would supply the answer, some construction of soul that one would be able to look at an say, ah yes, there it is! This person will display such and such traits, including a love of perfumery! In the end I think we all, as lovers, have a certain pattern/complex active in our souls, and I take great joy in seeing the many facets of that pattern unfold through the many artistic means available! We all seem to have been touched by Aphrodite, haven’t we? Why this should be so is an epic question to ponder, but ultimately I think it comes down to each of us determining what that means for our individual stories. How lovely to see our individual stories intersecting at such a crossroads as this!
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On March 14, 2009 AngelaS said:
What a thoughtful and well expressed comment! A love of fragrance seems to go hand in hand with a love of beauty, which translates into a love of art, as you say. I think you’re right: we’ve been touched by the hand of Aphrodite.
You know what…. i had the same first experience with a friend who replied similiarly to how you described. Also, she finally ended up with a bottle of Sarah Jessica Parker’s Lovely too. haha its so uncanny!
Hmm. I guess “Lovely” deserves it’s name! Maybe someday, once she’s comfortable, she’ll branch out. Or not. I don’t think my friend ever did.
I can peg a person who likes perfume and person who loves it simply by the way they react to it. I love perfume, love it so much that it’s an addiction. I’m adventurous. Buy classic, timeless fragrances unsniffed, seek out niche’ fragrances, am always looking for a perfume that captures a moment, an era and a feel.
I recently bought a bottle of Caron’s Nuit de Noel unsniffed because of imagining myself walking through the streets of NW Washington, DC in fox fur on a Christmas night. You can imagine how lovely this fragrance was for me the following weekend while walking with my fiance’ through the falling snow being brilliantly illuminated by street lamps.
I wear Shalimar because it captures the art deco idea of adventure and the sensuality of the East. Santa Maria Novella Melograno because it’s like an Italian location film circa 1960. Chanel No 22 for it’s elegance, mystery and images of couture. I want to have a connection with a begone era or ideal and wearing a fragrance that embodies it has become the most effective way.
Many fragrance consultants at Nordstrom or Sephora don’t quite grasp this concept always trying to peddle off ‘safe’ & ‘pretty’ fragrances while discrediting my adoration of classic perfumes. I’m a twenty-something professional, stylish & independent. Apparently, I’m not supposed to be wearing fragrances that have grossly been mis-termed ‘old lady scents’.
I rarely will recommend a fragrance I love to others because I am well-aware of the fact they simply aren’t typical. They aren’t ‘fresh’ for the ‘modern’ or ‘fun’ woman. They’re dark, sensual, sometimes harbouring a strangeness. I’ll recommend a safer, softer perfume by Guerlain over my preferred fragrances, a newer Chanel and rarely anything by SMN explaining that the perfume house is not for everyone.
The last friend I recommended these ‘safer’ fragrances to — Guerlain’s Aqua Allegoria line, Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle — ended up buying a bottle of Viva la Juicy so my expertise would have been lost of her from the start because she’s not someone who loves perfumes. She likes a pretty fragrance without having any true idea of what she’s looking for and settles for whatever is popular and usually a bit boring.
You’re in a safe world to express your views on perfume at Now Smell This! I know just what you mean–both about feeling perfume, and about interacting with others who don’t quite understand, even if they think they do. Take comfort in knowing that a lot of us understand…and I love the image you evoke with Nuit de Noel. It’s the perfect partner to fox fur and snow!
Help me! My perfume vocabulary includes only “sweet, fresh, love it and unbearable.” I could not distinguish notes to notes, I’ll try to buy a perfumer kit, but I’m not in the US, and invest more on new perfumes.
I read your articles, very helpful, thanks for that.
I don’t know any shortcuts to perfume love, really. But the journey–all the sampling and pondering and resampling–is very enjoyable, so that’s o.k.! I suggest joining Makeupalley (google it) and getting started swapping samples. Try things, come to whatever thoughts you may, then give yourself room to change your mind later. Also, there are lots of “perfumista tips” articles on this blog that are very helpful. Just search for perfumista tips in the search bar and limit results to NST and you should land on some good ones. Have fun!
Hello Angela,
Your words ring true on this! We are a strange and beautiful breed, us perfumistas. Can I share a story about yesterday with you? I went to my lil’ brothers home yesterday for a BBQ. He is leaving for Ft. Riley in Kansas on Wed. so it was a goin away party. I wore E.L. Tuberose Gardenia, it’s clear , floral presence helped me feel pulled togther when inside I was anything but. I love my lil’ brother. He will deployed to Iraq soon and I will miss him and my sister in law so much. When he hugged me , he breathed in my neck and said “Mmmm you smell so sweet Tam, you always do.” and looked upon me with his green eyes and I felt loved.
On the way to his house as I was driving with my mama, we ended up talkin’ about my papa, who I am estranged from. He lives in a adult nursing home and I never visit him even though my mama does every week. ” He always wants me to bring him cologne, he asks for it all the time.” I felt my heart soften. “What does he wear? I didn’t know he liked anything .” She said ” I forget what he asks for but do you know you got this “thing’ from him? I never was the one who loved fragrance, he was. I couldn’t compete and didn’t want too. His choices were too strong.” I asked ” Did he wear them for you?” And she replied “No! He loved to smell himself. It didn’t matter what I thought.”
It left me feelin a lil’ bereft at the thought that he sits in a wheelchair and longs to smell like the manly colognes of his healthy youth . It has made me want to bring him something to wear. Maybe I will actually talk to him to see what he would like. Maybe the love of fragrance will bring me peace about my feelings towards him…
How wonderful to discover something in common like that! It’s such a touching story. I hope fragrance will help you reconnect on some level, if that’s what you want.
I wonder if there is a common theme among most true perfume lovers? Some greater percentage of a specific 3 zodiac signs, people born on a Sunday afternoon…etc. Personnally, I am a Pisces….no big shock there I can get swept off into another world from fragrances.
Good question! It would be fun someday to compile a survey. In the meantime, all I’ve noticed is that most–but definitely not all–of the commenters on the blog are women.
Okay, now I have to find a bottle of Caron’s Nuit de Noel! 🙂
I love Shalimar – it’s the one perfume that I use use regularly (sadly, not the parfum, although I just ordered a 1.5ml sample of it online), and I love Chanel No. 5 (need to get that one someday, too). It’s amazing how scent can take a person back in time so much more vividly than sound or sight can – when I lived in Florida, we had night-blooming jasmine and gardenias planted along the back porch, and either of those scents now will take me back to that time (although I’ve yet to find a gardenia perfume that smelled exactly like them, and most florals make me sneeze). The smell of Tabu automatically reminds me of my grandmother, and there’s a perfume I have actually turned around in malls and followed before, but never known what it was – I found out once and was shocked, but then forgot again – all I remember is that it was old, and was made by one of the make-up counters in the mall. I figured out what it was when they had it offered in a solid compact for an anniversary thing and I smelled it then.
A commenter WAY up there wrote: “People look at me like I’m crazy when I mention putting on perfume before I go to bed but it’s an important bedtime ritual. If I forget to put on perfume before work, I feel unsettled all day. I think many of us have a hint (or more than a hint) of OCD. When we love something, we delve into it with passion and want to own more and more of whatever it is. Before I got into perfume so much, I was buying oodles of makeup and making all my own greeting cards. I have enought paper/pens/stamps to fill a warehouse. I don’t smoke or drink so figure I have every right to indulge my hobbies/interests. Life is short so we may as well enjoy it.”
That is SO me! I have a 23×11 room on the back of the house I’m renting that is just being used as an art studio, and it’s not big enough. I delve into my hobbies with a passion. They do last for years, too, so that’s a good thing… I’m actually thinking of finally getting rid of the supplies for some of the older ones, though.
I have several 5mL bottles of perfume from BPAL that I love (10 total, but some of them weren’t available as imps and I bought them based on name and theory alone, and, well… they didn’t work on me – I love more than half of them, though) and take with me to work in case I have a bad day, and occasionally wear to sleep. Unfortunately, my two favorites (13 and Huesos de Santo) were limited editions, so once they are gone, I am out of luck. I guess they are “temporary signatures.” 🙂
I don’t know that I will ever know quite as much about perfume as others who read this blog (I lurk and don’t even read TOO often – when I do I tend to spend a lot that day) (like today), as my brain seems more focused on color than scent, but I do definitely LOVE my perfumes and want to build up a good “wardrobe” of scents that fit me. Not that I’ll turn down the ones that just smell yummy, like all the gourmands out there… mmmm… oh, dear, it’s a good thing I already placed my orders.
Oh – I’m a Cancer. 🙂
I think it’s not so much about knowing about perfume, but about enjoying it! It sounds like you definitely qualify as someone who loves perfume.
Wow angela, thank you.!! you posting a great article. Not everyone likes perfumes because the expensive price. But when people try it, they become love it. It happened to me. Just imagine world without fragrance, it just like living without the music.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Oh dear!
I really DO come late to a party.
I have just found this site and am so happy to find others feel as I do about perfume. You see, I thought I was weird as no one, other than mother (we all know how prejudiced they can be), seemed to understand how I felt about sensual delights.
For me, this started with my mother who, at a young age, told me that no matter what your circumstances, it is most important to always have one small luxury you love. Perfume was a way to temporarily escape any troubles, and it was a small, but necessary thing. I also used to escape each spring, when the first lilacs and lillies of the valley bloomed in our backyard. I would run down in the morning before anyone was awake, stand in the middle of the backyard, close my eyes, breathe in deeply, spin around (and promptly fall down!). I would lie there absorbing the scent in the cool of the morning before the sun hit the blooms. I loved that early freshness. It is one of my favourite memories.
When I became old enough, my favourite thing was to walk, on my daily sojourn to and from work, through department stores to catch the varied scents of all the different houses on display. But sadly, somwhere in the nineties I think, I began to feel assaulted by some scents. The SA’s would spray their offering on you whether you wanted it or not. Hence “Poison” became just that to me. I know it is probably a wonderful perfume but I just cannot even bring myself to read about it, much less smell it again.
I wondered about my “weirdness” most when one day, myself and a few friends had hiked through the woods, redolent with a cedar type smell, crushing mosses under our feet, the scents wafting up and mixing with the old leaves friom the previous fall, the hint of a “mushroomy” smell in the background, and arrived at the top. We walked to the edge of the cliff and found the beautiful panorama of waters and woods below us. I breathed the cool air in deeply, wondered inside about the incredible beauty and promptly exclaimed “We live on such an amazingly beautiful world!” I turned to look at them, they looked at as if I had lost my mind. It was then I had that moment of clarity that told me – they don’t “get” it. Needless to say, I learned to keep my thoughts to myself.
Alas! Somewhere along the line, I lost my sense of smell… A horribly sad day for me! For a few years, I could not smell very much at all, not even food :(. But happily, this has all changed this year! My world has been set back on its correct axis and I get to rediscover the power of perfume all over again! Oh, how I have missed it. I welcome the florals, orientals and woods back in my life again.
I look forward to this exploration, and these blogs and sites are so welcome! Thank goodness for technology.
Welcome! I’m glad you’ve found us. The internet is amazing at linking people with obscure interests, and I know I take a lot of comfort in perfume blogs.
I can’t imagine losing my sense of smell! I’m so glad you have yours back.
I love perfume, and then I love reading about it, and then I love perfume even more. I’m a musician, and fragrance is like music, a necessary ordering of , then succumbing to experience.
Loved 5_10Hz’s descriptions, esp Shalimar.
I love your comparison of perfume to music! I’ll be thinking of that all evening.
Hi everyone,
Another late comer here – only just found this site… I love it!
I’m a sales psychologist and I’m always looking for ways to influence and impress others using fragrances… whilst not ‘selling out’ on my own tastes of fragrance.
I do this little thing: I wear what I think is suitable for others on the front, but in the back of my neck I spray what I wish…
My theory is that first impressions are important and unfortunately too many people out there are just too boring and scent-challenged to appreciate what I appreciate… it might even offend them !
And though I would like to turn a blind eye to that and just wear what I want, I don’t because I realise the importance of being ‘let in’ first.
But once I’m in… and I’ve established that rapport and we’ve got something… I’ll give them an insight into who I really am.
I’ve actually had people stop me as I walk away and ask what I’m wearing. As I walk away !
I’m Egyptian, though I’ve always lived in the UK, so I appreciate musky oud smells… sometimes I rub a 3rd scent on my palms. I do this because once, when I was rubbing my nose I smelled the most ravishing yet deep and warm smell ever and it came without warning 🙂 I didn’t know where it came from.
Then my nose itched again and I rubbed it… and realised that the smell was coming from my hands. I sat there for a good 20 mins trying to figure out how my hands could smell so good and realised that it was that old man whose hand I shook an hour ago.
So I guess, what I’m trying to say is… you can sometimes gift others an experience of something that they would never have had… I personally loved it.
Maybe an undercover strategy for when you try to share your love of perfume with others.
I read how my other friends above cross over to other senses – be it audio (music) or visual (imagining a story) etc. and that’s very explainable in psychology… it’s synesthesia – where the senses cross.
Many artists have it… visual, music and scent artists – and it brings so much more to the experience.
I’m glad I found this site 🙂
Welcome! I’m glad you found the site, too.
You’re so right about choosing scent conservatively when you first meet someone. I guess perfume, like clothing or language, reveals a lot and can potentially push someone away. But, as you say, once you’ve forged a connection it can be a good way to deepen that connection.
Keep reading! You have four and a half years of entries to peruse, if you’d like.
You sound like me! I make my husband laugh and he calls me the bloodhound because I will hug him and then say, have you been at your mothers today?
He will say, “Yes,how did you know? and I will tell him that I can smell her soap on his hands. He just can’t believe it.
I like your story about the old man and shaking his hand. I have also had the opposite happen to me though when I bought a carton of milk at the store and the man ringing the sale had an atrocious( to me anyway ) cologne on and it got on the carton and I couldn’t stand it.
Glad to hear from other scent sensitive people like you!
Another late comer! I love this post, I’ve observed this myself but I’ve never put it so succinctly into words myself. I’ve often felt that my family for example doesn’t really get my obsession with perfume- I try out a new sample and come rushing “Smell this, smell this, what do you think?” and they go ” Well it’s quite nice” or “A bit strong?”
Like Sugarplum above fragrance is like music for me. Actually I think it’s the same thing in the way that most people like music but not everyone LOVE music in the “can’t live without it” way.
Would be interesting to put a Perfume Lover and a perfume-liker in a PET-scan or fMRI or something, let them smell Mitsouko and see what lights up in the brain !
Wow, you’re so right about the MRI or CAT scan or whatever it is that shows parts of the brain lighting up as they’re stimulated. I’m surprised no one has done this yet!
I know this is an old post, Lover here, Pisces. I know this is an old post but any thought on nature vs nurture on being a lover vs a liker? I first fell head over heels headswimmingly in love with perfume at age 8 via my mothers Rive Gauche. I still own love and wear it. She loved and appreciated this and I always received perfume( fabulously age inappropriate to boot) for holidays and birthdays or just because. On Christmas the year I was twelve she bought me Opium! I’m pretty sure I would have found perfume later simply but how do I know. I always thought this was a big part in my love of perfumery.
Based on my belief in this, I also believe I am creating one. I have an old soul twelve year old daughter who finds the majority of her favorites in everything from days gone by. At twelve last week she commented to me, one of the things I love about the older( my vintage collection) perfumes is that they smell different on you than me! The newer ones at the mall smell the same on everyone She figured out the new stabilizers in mass market scents. I swelled with pride. Her current favorite of the moment (excluding those irreplaceable vintage corners of bottles we reserve for occasions, is Knowing. One squirt only. She completely understands restraint. She told me making a good perfume is so much like making good art or music. Shouldn’t have anything to do with making money.(did I mention she’s an old soul) I’m pretty sure she stands alone in a sea of fruity florals and clean linen. She wants to get started in creating scents, and has asked for an is getting a( grown up)kit for the holidays.
So, maybe the love of perfume is genetic? Sounds like a good theory to me! It certainly sounds like your daughter has inherited your love of perfume. I’d love to see how she develops as a perfumista as she gets older–it should be fun to watch.
I just had to register and comment on this, you see, as much as I’d love to be a perfume lover, I have to admit that I fall into the category of perfume likers. Why is that, when I do love, not merely like, perfumes; and I enjoy reading reviews and even “perfumista” blogs; and I am NOT merely content to own a few bottles? I understand the depth of fragrances and their power; the language of fragrances absolutely enthralls me, which is why I always return to read descriptions of perfumes written by true lovers, yet I cannot be one of them, because I do not have the skill of detecting and identifying notes; or of articulating any kind of response to any of the aspects of a perfume. I’m the woman who says “this perfume is so pretty”, but I DO love perfumes.
There you go–you say it yourself at the end of your comment, you ARE a perfume lover! You sure sound like one to me, at least. I’m lousy at identifying notes, but I still count myself a perfume lover. Maybe you’re just not a perfume geek. But a perfume lover, yes!
Thank you for your words and for choosing Diorissimo to express yourself: I guess I am a lover, even if I don’t match drinks with it!
🙂
You’re welcome!
Wow! Delighted to see people still post here.
Now do I like fragrance or do I love it? Hard to say. There are notes I can pick up and notes I can’t, as you dear Angela know very well from my comments. Sometimes I go with the fragrance rather than the parfumeur, and am not shy to display irreverence if a fragrance disagrees with me. I won’t take abuse from neither mass-market muppets expecting me to “fit in” nor from snobbish perfumistas wrinkling their nose at my choice of a fabulous perfume that just happens to be mass market.
For me fragrances are attached to people, places and moments. People change, and so should their fragrance choices. Places change, and so does the atmosphere and the right scent. Moments change too, or our memory of them does, and so nothing is more elusive than “l’air de temps” even though the eponymous fragrance remains the same.
Very occasionally I am asked to help a friend select a fragrance. Those who have done so still wear my recommendation regardless whether it was made yesterday, last year or five years ago. It’s part of them now. I have lost count of the times I’ve been asked to work in a fragrance store, but i love the freedom of my scented soul – and my real job.
Am in the process of writing a scented story – stay tuned.
Still, not sure whether I like perfume or I love it. Perfume is a powerful weapon. It can be a friend and an enemy. It is, however, not a god, and thank God for that! 🙂
You really nail it when you talk about how fragrance connects to memories, emotions, time, and more. I suppose there are people who can look at fragrance in a vacuum and experience it solely on its construction and notes, but I’m not that person.
Can’t wait to see your scented story!
Is there a record for longest comment thread on a blog post? I think you broke it!
I found this article after visiting the perfume counter last night and trying the Bond collection for the first time ever. The assortment had me quickly hooked. I have a whole perfume cabinet of collected favorites. I usually prefer oils because they are so soft and smooth on the nasal passages, but there are a number of fine parfums and eaus out there that I love for their ease too. I am definitely a scent geek, but a sensualist of every sort as well. I remember getting out of a car with a friend on a spring day and stepping into some really soft bluish grass and having to take off a heel to put my toes in it. She laughed at me and said I was a very sensual person. I said I just had to “try” the grass because it reminded me of a patch of grass that grew in the yard at my childhood home and I used to do the same thing with my toes.
It is so interesting to see the chord that this article struck with so many people and how passionate they are about scent. My dad’s side of the family are all like this. The first thing that my dad and I will do with anything is to pick it up and smell it. Pencil erasers,newly printed brochures and books, fabric, my cats head, the dirt in a potted plant after it has been watered, one of my favorite smells is a sidewalk after rain or the smell of wetted slate. It is so instinctive for me to do this that I have to be careful at work because I don’t want to look weird when I smell things out of the blue! I have a million different ways to describe the scents of things and I get puzzled looks from people. I have to be careful though at the perfume counter because some of my descriptions come out sounding less than classy and it makes me look like a philistine to the perfume counter snobs. I described one perfume as having a note that smelled like Dr. Pepper the other day and the lady gave me a look of mild horror. Well, I’m sorry but it does! So I had to defend my nose reputation by throwing in that it also smelled of melons;) What I didn’t try to explain to her as a defense was that like wine and grapes, perfume scents will share a chemically similar structure to things we are familiar with. Which is why nitrate gas smells like bananas, and why a fine ruby port will smell like coconuts and pineapple without having had those things added to it. The chemical compounds in the grapes and the oak barrel create the impression of myriad things. I guess I must give my scent geekiness much more credence than I thought.
As for favorites, I really love Armani Jade, and it’s also one that gets me the most compliments, it must mix well with my skin. But my number one all-time favorite is actually a ” hippie” oil called Krishna Musk. It has a sweet depth to it that reminds me of wood mold or wet earth in forest floors. It is so soft and enchanting.
So last night at the perfume counter was my last stop in shopping, I was parched and starving after traversing 3 floors of the Mall of America, ready to collapse, you know that feeling when you are so hungry that you feel like a ghost of yourself. The lady at the counter offered for me to spray some on before I left ( it was the New York Oud) and I kept smelling my wrist as I drove home, in total ecstasy and I realized I had forgotten all about being hungry and had a smile back on my face. What a testament to the power of scent ! No wonder the perfume counter is near the door . . . .
A true scent lover! Thank you for sharing these terrific stories.
There’s a little piece of genius in this story!! I enjoyed!! 🙂
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I’m a person who loves perfume, and smells in general.
Green, earthy, woody smells attract me, which sometimes take people by surprise because I am a delicate 97 lbs on a good day. Certain florals I adore, but they have to be rich, deep, or striking.
I’ve found a great many favorites in Serge Lutens, as he creates exquisite woods which are more spiritual in personality than character. Gris Clair has that beautiful, hot, stinging heat of a fast desert wind whipping through dark mountains. During the autumn, when the Santa Ana winds blow, the air carries that same delicious heat and crispness. I am also madly in love with Clair de Musc, and Bois de Musc, and could write a book on them.
Eau de Lierre is another favorite of mine. I’ve always searched for that delicate, spicy aroma of moss and spring storms but wasn’t having much luck. This captured that in one bottle – the low lavender gray clouds, humid wind, sparkling showers, long walks under glittering trees and through dewy lawns.
I’m seeking out cypress based scents now. When I was little I loved snapping twigs off the cypress bushes around my house and just drinking in the salty sweet, myrrh like bitterness. Cypress trees tower above the cliffs of the sea, and their mysterious scent mixes with the salt of the ocean, the metallic gray of the fog, until it literally mixes in with your own skin.
I can’t get enough of neroli, vetiver, pine, and true salty ocean scents. But there is something about green woods and enveloping musks which calms my restless soul. You can see I am a perfumista, but I love that about myself!
Not only are you a perfumista, but you’re a poet! You made me wild to smell everything you described.