Last week, we looked at unhappy fragrance purchases; this week, tell us the absolute best buy you ever made.
You can select your own criteria: it can be your best buy in terms of price, or just because the scent turned out to make you deliriously happy, or because it was very rare and hard to find, or whatever.
Mine: the bottles of Gobin Daudé Sous Le Buis and Sève Exquise that I got at Takashimaya in New York for $19 a pop (marked down from $140) back in 2005. I said at the time that "I doubt such a bargain will ever come my way again", and so far, that holds true.
Rumors that the Gobin Daudé line will be revived still crop up from time to time, but I've basically given up. If you have good news to share, do comment.
Note: the image is the advert for Paris Hilton's upcoming Fairy Dust, and of course it has nothing to do with this post. It just cracks me up.
“…of course it has nothing to do with this post.”
Wait….so, you don't think Fairy Dust is going to top your list of best purchases ever? 😀
Nice post!
High prices BUT great satisfaction: Montale Aoud rose petals because it never fails to make me happy, especially outside and in cold weather; Attrape-coeur because, ok, it costs a mortgage, but it's actually a lot of juice, it'll last forever and to me it's Paris in a bottle.
I can't forget my beloved Dzing!: 100ml was expensive but great investment as I love to spray it lavishly on scarves and clothes and it's the most calming and “resetting” scent I know.
Low prices AND great satisfaction: Nicolai Sacrebleu was a recent impulse buy at a very reasonable price (35€ for 30ml) and I think I really love it. Vanille tonka was also great value for money to me: these daysnothing compares to it as a “happy at home” scent: deliriously comforting, simple but never boring and with great sillage. Incensey, lemony and creamy. OK, I'm going to put some on tonight…
Never say never, LOL…
It's nice when you pay loads but find it worth it in the end, isn't it?
And have to say, for the zillionth time, props to Parfums de Nicolai for the reasonably priced 30 ml bottles!
All my Montales (so far), Patchouli Leaves, Ta'if Rose, Aoud Queen Rose, Aromatic Lime and Oriental Flowers. Why? Because they smell AMAZING from first spritz. Because they are unique, smell expensive and make me feel very girly and very special. Because they layer so well with each other and make lovely combinations. Because they last and last and last. Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Ohhhh baby!
Also, my small decant of Creed Fleur de The Rose Bulgare. Great introduction to a soliflore, reminded me not to hate rose and last and most importantly, it never fails to make me smile. Sometimes, even tho I'm wearing another scent, I'll sniff the bottle and grin like an idiot!
My almost-full bottle of Eclix. LOVELOVELOVE! And even my perfume-hating in-laws like it. Didn't get it for a steal; just thrilled that I found it at all.
I wish I had a couple Montales, but I'm too cheap 🙂
Glad you love yours!
Lucky, lucky you! I adore Eclix, wish I had a bottle.
VERY jealous of your FdO — lucky you!
One day, I'll put together a cunning plan and finally get my bell jar of Iris Silver Mist.
Yep, I was a day late and a dollar short on that exquisite bargain on the GDs at Tak. But then, about year or so later, a close friend gifted me with her practically unused bottle of Sous les Buis!
But maybe the best buy I ever made was paying around $50. for a bottle of Chaos from a darling MUA member AND finding the lotion to it at a local perfume shop. Not bad, considering the concerns I have read about the re-released Chaos.
Hugs!
Probably my bottle of Ambre Sultan: I had never been much interested in fragrance, because “perfume” equalled “headache” – I just don't support any aldehydes and only knew those “perfumey” scents my mother would wear (any Dior or Chanel, always in extrait, at that time). The export SL's opened a whole new world for me and got me hooked instantly, so I took every penny I had, poor collegel kid I was, and bought that bottle of AS, which I still have, btw.
Another great buy then was Chergui (of course my first stop on my first trip to Paris was the Salons Shiseido…), which to this day is kind of my signature scent, and I use it very rarely, to keep it special. BTW, this one was one of the reasons my hubby finally asked me for that first date… we're still together after almost 6 years, he's recently become a perfume addict too, and has great taste, so I got to double my collection for free. Talk of great return.
Oh, and then of course my bottle of Beyond Paradise Blue, which I bought online, unsniffed, for a ridiculous price and which has turned out to be my favourite summer scent. Sometimes I like something that's just pretty and easy to wear, there's something very comforting to unpretentious scents. Thinking of that, I might just be in the mood to get me some Secret Obsession after work tonight…
I'm no finance genius, that's for sure, but I really don't understand the huge price difference for Montales between Europe and US. In Paris the 50ml bottles (55€) are a bargain next to pretty everything niche.
Exactly the opposite is ehat happens with Piguet fragrances: in Italy a 100ml bottle of any of their edps (except Visa, which inexplicably is not distributed) costs 136€!!!
Sorry, “what” happens…
Once, in my late and very causal dressed twenties, I stepped in at my tobacconist, and on a side shelf, rather forlon and dusty, saw a box marked “Joy- Jean Patou”. I knew the name, and that it was a legend perfume world, and bought it in the same spirit a victorian hero would rescue a lady fallen in difficult times and objectionable company, out of pure and disinterested motives. I didn't expect to be able to wear it, I thought it was something like my mother's Guerlain and Diors, too dressed up and mature for me. It just didn't seem right to leave it there between the remainders of every cheap smelling stuff that had been a market flop in the last ten ys.
It was the greatest of surprises to smell it and find it was so incredibly easy and just well, right as right. It was eau de parfume, too. I've never been without a bottle since.
Hermes Jardin sur le Nil. I disliked it when I first tried it, then decided what the heck, I'll use up my sample…it's now one of my “go-to” scents.
Le Feu D'issey by Issey Miyake before its premature demise. so ahead of that insiped “i wear fragrance but shhh era of the 1990s” luckily i use it only for very special occasions , so i have a half bottle left.
At some point I got a mini of Habanita and had to have a fb. I quested long and hard for that one! (pre-internet) I kept it unopened for a long time thinking I no longer loved it for some reason but got it out again and am using it finally.
My best deal was a free bottle of Joy (edt but still works) – I mentioned to a co-worker that I liked it and she gave me a full bottle still in the box the next day. Ask and ye shall receive!
It has been a while but my best buy, in the sense of low price was 100ml Rochas Fleur d'Eau for 5 Euro. I was and still am a big fan of Rochas 🙂
E N V Y E N V Y E N V Y E N V Y E N V Y E N V Y
well my best buy goes a little bit strange: I bought at the Paris Airport “I love DIOR”, a LE, nice and girlish, but my friend did not like it so much. So I swapped it for a bottle of Annick Goutale (whatever it was, unsniffed of course!), which I did not like at all – it was a good buy though because the AG had 100ml. Then I swapped again 🙂 and got a lot of samples, and I got a rest of Chasse aux Papillons. This is now still my favourite, so the 35 euro spent on the Dior frag turned out to bring me my BIG LOVE.
I'd actually forgotten they were that cheap in Europe. Don't know why they're so much more here, except that everything seems to be so much more here 🙁
Hey, that's a serious deal on the Chaos. I still haven't smelled the new one, and might not. Now I'm hearing the Black Cashmere isn't the same either.
Is it? I'll have to see if I can find some.
What a nice story about Chergui, thanks for posting it!
The *best buy ever*: Ormonde Jayne sample pack. I've spent tons of money since on OJ, all with big, silly grin on my face. That sample pack is a gate-way drug. Another sample pack worth more than its weight in gold: Vero Profumo's. Again, I'll spend a fortune with Vero, too–but when revelations of the senses occur, they must be listened to.
Carnal Flower is also a best purchase. Yes, crazy expensive–but also perfect happiness. I would buy it again and again and again.
Best deal- a three pack of Hermessences-15ml sprays- Vetiver Tonka, Amber Narguile, and Poivre Piquant- for 66 bucks on the bay…and swapped away the Amber for 1/2 oz. of Vintage Diorling (glorious!)
Really loving and wearing the bottle I bought recently on my trip to Chicago- TDC Jasmine de Nuit-enchanting-(not cheap, but worth every penny) AND it just so happened that Barney's was giving away goodie bags with purchase (beautiful black/white floral makeup bags stuffed with samples (Frederic/Serge/full sized Nars ginger grapefruit body lotion/full size lip glosses)- made the deal very sweet!
I'd say my best buys tend to be the ones where I buy it, and then I start wearing it, and then I realize how much I LOVE it.
I'd say the two best purchases for me would be Calvin Klein Truth and Shiseido Basala. Both of them are very near the top of my favorite-fragrance list. I got truth at a random perfume store, and it was a tester bottle so I got it for like $32. The Shiseido I got at Epcot in Orlando, and it was like $45 for the big bottle, so that's not bad I guess. Both of these were amazing buys for me, and I loved them even more after I like actually wore them.
Best buy: I purchased a 1.7 spray of Magie Noire for $20.00 U.S., and got the second for $10.00. Found it in an outlet mall frag store.
Wow, wish I could be so lucky! My pocket book would thank me!
The day after I quit (or more accurately, ran away screaming from) the worst job of my life, I bought a refillable lay-down atomizer of Caron N'Aimez Que Moi. I have since had that bottle refilled twice, and it will always smell like new beginnings and better days to come.
What a nice story! 🙂
Oh yes that Dior LE I Love Dior, I have that one too and used only once or twice. Nice that you have such a great story attached to it.
Vintage Bois des Îles – very very expensive, but it's really marvelous; vintage Diorella – it was my first fragrance, and it returned to me at least! (after it “escaped” my hands a lot of times…); Bandit, of course 🙂 and… Insolence – this one i didn't like at first, but then something changed, and i bought it and use it almost every day (never boring. It's amazing, because i'm usually very “unfaithful”).
“at last”, sorry…
Speaking of Magie Noire, I may just have my best deal in the works as I write: someone's giving away a 3/4-full bottle of MN on my local Freecycle, so cross your fingers that she picks me!
My best buy ever was my second bottle of fumerie turque,I knew from the very first sniff that it worth a stocking up.
Fingers and toes crossed, good luck! And good to know there's another MN fan out there.
I'm pretty sure my best buy ever was a half-full 100ml of Timbuktu, which I bought UNSNIFFED on the bay for about $40. It's become as close to a holy grail as I'll ever get, but I'm sad because I'm running out and need to stumble upon some more good luck to replace it.
Was also quite thrilled recently to get the 100ml men's bottle of AG Mandragore for about $25, though I don't love that juice nearly as much.
I LOVE HABANITA. i have preinternet perfume 30 ml , which i mix a tiny drop with edt. oh its marvellous and so underrated. applause for his scent.
Oh how nice!! And do think everybody should have at least a little bit of Joy on hand, it's just so lovely.
Tama, both worthy “best buys”!
Hey, that worked out! Love La Chasse, don't hear it mentioned as often as I used to. Might go spray some on now.
You can still get the Glamouous online, if you're interested!
All great buys — and do think everyone should get that OJ sample pack.
Wow, that is amazing, esp. the swap for the Diorling!
I love it when that happens! And it happens to me all the time.
Great deals, congrats!
I adore those lay-down bottles at Caron — wish I had one! Nice that it marks the end of a job you detested.
Christmas shopping season 5 years ago, at Marshall's, I found 6 giftsets of Lanvin Arpége – 3.4 oz parfum, with a 4 oz. lotion – marked on clearance for $12 each. (I bought them all) My grandmother and Godmother both wore Arpége, and so it has a strong sentimental (scentimental? lol) association for me.
I've been thrilled to discover a whole bunch of new-to-me scents through this blog, and have a nice sample stash to show for it!
Hey, I'd love to have vintage Bois des Iles or Diorella, great finds! And you've reminded me I need to go find that new EdP version of Insolence.
Absolutely justifies a trip to Paris!
WOW — that is a great buy!
Hey, that is a deal! I somehow managed to get a 15 ml of Timbuktu, and for the life of me, can't remember where or how. I think I must have split a set with someone? And Mandragore for $25 — you are very, very lucky!
£7.50 for Le De is amazing! The rest are good deals too, and I wish I could find a half price bottle of AG Chevrefeuille.
Robin, please share that cunning plan with me. I SO want a bottle of ISM!
Joe, I think the men's Mandragore bottle would be worth $25 empty. That thing is gorgeous!
Hmmm. I'll have to say my favorite and Best buy would be the first True Star. It was the first fragrance I ever bought. I can't remember the price, but it lasts soooooo long and it smells soooo freakin good! That one is my favorite. I love it soo much I'm scared to wear it, lol!
Just this wednesday, I was in the city and picked up Patchouli patch and Tuberouse 100ml EDP for $49 Australian each! That is under $40US!! It was both a happy and sad moment as the reason these were on the sales table is because the store has chosen not to sell the l'Artisan range any more. This was the only place within about 1000 kilometres of me that sells it so this means that I won't get to sniff the range any more. I guess this will mean spending more on The Perfumed Court but what can you do?
I have to say, you would cringe at the prices charged in Australia. You can't buy hardly anything here so we are forced to order from overseas and shipping is rarely under $30US for the smallest package. Ah, the things we do for love!
HA — but wear it before it turns! It seems like everything I hoard ends up turning before I can use it up.
Holy Toledo!!! That reminds me of my other decent bargain — last year a store in London had some Lutens exports marked down 1/2 price, and a very kind person picked up 2 bottles for me. Still not as good as your buy though!
Wow, some folks have found great deals! I'm not a very patient bargain shopper, but like Vanessa I was lucky enough to “win” 30 ml. bottles of Kohdo Wood Day and Night online for a decent price.
I also believe my full bottle of Sonoma Scent Studio's Velvet Rose to be an excellent value. It is exquisite.
Sheer delirious happiness but fairly big bucks? For me, my Ecume de Rose and my Safran Troublant. They were SO worth it. Sigh…
Just con the next non perfumista friend you have to pick up a bottle on the next trip to Europe. I have two friends on their way home in the next few weeks that have both been asked to go to Montale and Serge Lutens and collect some scents for me. The other thing I do is I have a pen pal (via email) in Belgium who makes quite regular trips to France who also collects perfume for me. Connections are the key when, if, like me, you are too poor to travel but want access to everything.
I actually picked up a bottle of this from Ebay which had been sprayed a handful of times for under $50AUS. I remember smelling this when it was released and liking it but at the time, I was a poor student and couldn't splash out. Until I got my hands on it again, the lost oportunity was on my mind.
I too, picked up a 250ml refill but of Rose Pouvre for under $100 after shipping Australian. I reckon it is the same seller. This is a bargain when you consider that Mecca Cosmetica, the on line beauty and perfume seller in Australia, sells the 90ml bottle for $240.
I am jealous of the Lutens perfumes. They are so expensive here. I scour ebay for them and any time one comes up for a reasonable price, I snap it up.
no bell jar yet but one day I will 😀
There is a whole lot of good buys for me:
Really low prices: Pacifica's fig and malibu lemon, their soaps, lotions etc. At such prices that is a great, great line! Also bath and body works rainkissed leaves line: it really smells nice and NOT synthetic to me. L'occitane's stuff – cute scents, good prices.
Higher prices: Comme des Garcons sherbet series and energy lemon: cute 30 ml bottles at affordable (but not as low) prices. I really had a great summer using both of these scents. Dyptique Philosykos – because if I am in no mood for anything special this is just right. Fresh, simple, nice. Iris Nobile by Acqua di Parma – because I can never go wrong with this scent and it blooms on my skin like the most beautiful, iris perfume.
Also a real bargain:
Kenzo Jungle 100 ml bottle that I purchased for 35 dollars at this little store that had a going-out-of-business sale. Not only that a couple of sprays of this scent last for the whole day, but also I am never bored with it. This was one of the best investements ever made by me.
And of course my CdG peppermint solid that I also won on Ebay and I think I spent like 30 bucks on it. There is always plenty of solid perfume in a little, tiny jar… and it makes the EdT last longer. I think it was a good purchase.
Nearly a decade ago, I bought a bottle of MPG Ambre Precieux. I didn't get it for a bargain price: it was over $130, still the most I've ever paid for a single scent. But it's brought me unending joy; every time I smell it I fall in love with it again, and that's almost unheard-of, because I am fickle and promiscuous with scents. Everything about it is perfect: the box that suggests an old leather-bound book, the red quilted-glass bottle, and, obviously, the contents. If you balance out the cost of it with the pleasure it's given me, it's the biggest bargain in my (ridiculously large) collection, by a considerable margin.
Victoria by Victoria's Secret. I picked up 2 bottles 1/2 price when they were discontinuing it. Plus, I love it, and it has great memories.
Come to think of it, I'd be hard pressed to find a fragrance that I didn't consider 'the best buy ever.' I fall in love hard with scents and am monogamous for a while…until I stray.
Some of the posters did very well at bargain hunting. Congrats!
Most expensive? Hmmm…I can't even think in those terms. They are all pretty much in the same arena.
Thanks for the poll.
It was very expensive (Since live in Brazil and it costed me R$280, If I were to convert to US dollars it would be U$181 for 1.7 oz) ….but I love my “Un Jardin en Mediterranee”!
From everything I have smelled in my entire life this is what fits my personality the most!
It made me found out that I love the smell of figs(I just bough an Olive & Fig shampoo and conditioner) And I am looking forward to trying as much fig fragrances as I can….
Right now I am looking for a fig fragrance more feminine then this one….any suggestions?
🙂
It's hard to pin down JUST one – but I would have to say that buying my first bottle of Jean Patou Vacances when the scents in Ma Collection were reissued. I never fell in love with a perfume so fast! I bought it again and again, then it was gone forever…then I lucked out again last year. After watching in horror as bottles on Ebay climbed to $500 becuase of bottle collectors (shakes fist) I found my final bottle of it at my local boutique, just as I had twenty years before – they were selling it for the “real” price.
Cynthia, Guerlain's Agua Allegoria Figue-Iris is just a dream, and — relatively — inexpensive. Something magical happens when that green, musky-figgy note and that creamy-fresh orris root get together in the same bottle. I don't think it's hard to find. . .
My best buy so far? Hmm. Two bucks for a 75ml RL Turquoise on evilBay, and five bucks for 100mls of Balmain eau d'Ete (herbs, sandalwood, iris — quite lovely) at a discounters on the Sunshine Coast north of Vancouver, just in the middle of nowhere. I wore it all summer and bought a clutch of extra bottles for friends!!!
I'm looking for EdP too 🙂
Thank you so much for the suggestion!
I1ll be ordering it as soon as I can 🙂
OMG, is that true?
Do you know in what ways the new version differs from the original? I have an original unopened bottle of Black Cashmere, but I know they have a few of those left at a nearby departement store… do you think I should stock up seriously?
I dont know if I have a “Best Buy Ever”
One day at a kind of flea market, I reconized the classical Caron bottle for “Aimez moi” or “Tabac Blond” … no label on the bottle … no box for the bottle.
The bottle was sealed, the cristal was marked. I smell at the top … it was “Tabac Blond” at very strong concentration.
I begin the bargain with the vendor … it was hard … I obtain the bottle at 50 Euro.
At home, I rush on every Caron's book that I have … and the conclusion
was That the bottle is clearly from the twenties … what a vintage.
(the last clues were the shape of the bottle and the way the word Caron was written on the top)
I dont know if one day I will be able to open it … i am still searching the box for the bottle …
One of my best purchases for scent was Chinatown from Bond No. 9 and Amouage Jubilation 25. But Bryant Park by Bond No 9 was the most recent best buy because I had purchased two large bottles with the Pucci inspired design only to get a call from the SA in Saks that they were recalled due to the lawsuit by Pucci's peoples. As a result the bottles were pulled and the ante is up on that bottle woot woot!!!
I also loved my very old bottle of Bal a Versailles whose top notes would be equivalent to scratching your nails on a chalkboard but the dry down is awesome.
I'm still relatively new at perfume collecting, so I don't have any fantastic bargain stories yet; mostly I just have a fast-growing sample collection. However, lately I'd been coveting two Eau d'Italie fragrances (Paestum Rose & Sienne l'Hiver). I love rose but don't like it when it overpowers everything, and Paestum Rose is the only rose I've tried so far that didn't leave me smelling too much like a 16-year-old girl (okay, me at 16 when I loved rosewater) or someone tanked on red wine. So when I was in Munich a few weeks ago I thought I'd stop by Ludwig Beck to look for the Paestum Rose, since I haven't been able to find Eau d'Italie (like many lines) here in Vancouver or even in Seattle. Couldn't find it anywhere in the perfume section even though it was listed on the website — until I found that they were selling out of their Eau d'Italie stock on the bargain table for half price. Perhaps not the best bargain ever, but I was pretty happy to walk out with two scents I'd wanted for the price of one.
Wonder what that's worth on eBay now, LOL…
I'm not patient either! But congrats on your Kohdo Wood, and agree on the SSS.
That Kenzo Jungle was a real find, congrats! You've made lots of great choices.
Wow, that was an expensive bottle 10 years ago. Do you still have it, and is it still good?
I've no idea, just hearing rumors. I haven't smelled it. Sorry!
A large vintage bottle of Balmain Jolie Madame at a flea market for $15.00. And a half-ounce of vintage Bal a Versailles perfume, first-day intact, with the brocaded hard-shell box, on E-bay for $10.00 (thank heaven for the occasional naive seller!)
But I'm still searching for that perfumeista's Holy Grail — the estate-sale Mitsouko or Diorama or Apres d'Ondee perfume for $2.
Hey, you're lucky if all your purchases work out, good for you!
I'm pedant so I have to say this: Fleur de Thé Rose Bulgare is not a soliflore: the name means Tea Blossom Bulgarian Rose. Contrary to what an awful lot of people think, Creed did not introduce an English definite article in the middle of a French name (they're not Miller Harris, LOL!). Forgive me if you knew that. The accent on the 'e' is a problem with everyone except people with a French keyboard (or those who know that 'é' is done by holding ALT and typing 130 on the Number pad and can be bothered to do it).
I agree with you on the effect of that fragrance: it is the *only* rose scent I can stand (it has a bit of citrus too, which stops it from being cloying like most other rose scents). It's absolutely wonderful. 🙂
J, I don't understand why you say it isn't a soliflore though? It sure smells like a soliflore to me — that is, it's a fragrance meant to smell like one flower.
Wow, lucky you! I do wish they'd reissue the Ma Collection scents again.
Cynthia, Napa Valley Cielo is another possibility.
Oh, I was already thinking about this one!
I'm certainly going to order it
Many Thanks!
It was $135 in 1999, but that was in Canadian dollars, and the exchange rate was atrocious: the bottle probably cost $92 in U.S. funds (according to the historical exchange rate, which, yes, I just looked up). But it was worth it. I still have it, and the juice hasn't changed a bit, probably because I decant some from it (it has a screw-on sprayer, like the one-ounce Demeters) and leave the bottle itself alone (in its box, in a closed storage bin) most of the time. It's about a quarter full, and when it expires, I guess I'll have to buy another, won't I?
I will have to go look at MPG prices, I don't think of them as outrageously priced, but $92 10 years ago was more than many niche brands, no?
You've gotten a decent shelf-life out of it — I have so many perfumes that haven't made it 5 years.
What an amazing find, and a decent price, too! Good for you. I say open it!
Dear Miss O,
Nazrin from The Perfume Shoppe here in Vancouver is seriously considering bringing in the Eau d'Italie line, so when you're nearing the end of your bargain bottles — congratulations! — check in with her and you might be pleasantly surprised.
The new BP bottle wasn't nearly as nice — you lucked out!
Ockeghem, I'm green with jealousy, what a great buy! I'd take either of those at half price, in a minute.
If you find that Diorama or Apres L'Ondee for $2, or even for $20, don't even tell me — don't want to know, LOL…
This isnt my best buy ever but speaking of Eclix I actually got a 200ml tester refill of this so I have been trying hard not to bathe in the stuff.
My best buy would be Samsara 30ml for £4.99 (yes I've typed that right, 30ml for £4.99) and the one fragrance that always gets me in a good mood, Hiris, I got a 50ml in exchange for 2 boxes of Cadbury Roses and 2 bars of Fruit & Nut (apparently they are so hard to find it Switzerland)!
R, I've always wondered why you've never reviewed Samsara considering the amount of jasmine in it. I would love to read your review of it.
Hi Cynthia,
I wear Speziali Fiorentini Fig & Poppy, and it's lovely. It's a little softer & warmer with a touch of sparkle in the top notes. You can find it on-line for approx $38. It also comes in a full line of body products.
My best buy(s) have to be everything I have ordered from Laurie Erickson's Sonoma Scent Studio. They are just exquisite and very reasonably priced. So much so that I had to think twice beofre posting for fear that she would sell out of everything and her prices would go up. But then I remembered that this blog has been espousing her fabulous line and the readers here already know the line has huge fans. I just tried another sample and might as well just order FBs of the whole line ! '~)
My best deal this year was actually a surprise. I was visiting my mother in law – very distracted (and to be polite) I complimented how good she smelled. The next day she presented me with an “extra” bottle of her fragrance that she said was just laying around- a brand new bottle of Shalimar edp! I honestly didn't recognize it and am now delighted to have it. I'm not normally a Shalimar wearer, even though I like it.
My best bargains are the large decant purchase of Chanel 31 Rue Cambon and Terre d'Iris (Miller Harris). And a 30% off for a full size bottle of AG Heure Exquise.
My SSS purchases were also a good deal. I know what you mean about bringing it up….I am waiting for my sample of Winter Woods to see if I need to get another “bargain”!
mine is nothing extraordinary, but still, it was the first FB bought unsniffed and i love it for fall and winter- ferre-GFF donna, for 10eur, on ebay, of course
I swear I am not making this up: a 100mL Feminite du Bois at TJ Maxx for $14.99!!! purchased back in 2000
estee lauder collection privee tubereuse gardenia parfum spray
– by all means not cheap at all but it just makes me feel totally great!
origins shedonism – a cheapie but it's very monoi-like, layers well with other gardenia scents
lolita lempicka le premier parfum – in the beginning it seemed too sweet for me, but it grew on me because all the guys couldn't get enough of it!
hi robin, its been a looooong time since i commented… exams, dance exhibitions and all… how areyou doing inpreparation for the cold weather?
Wow! That's a great deal!
Can't recall any super-fantastic price deals, but I did have a very lucky discovery. Had asked the BF to buy me Mazzolari Alessandro, and he made a mistake and came home with Alessandro Dell'Acqua. I had never heard of it and I immediately loved it! Such a serendipitous discovery.
Cazaubon, Alessandro Dell'Acqua is one of my fave scents, it's so nice to see others discover it!
You traded chocolate for Hiris? Awesome!
I should do Samsara. Actually it's been so long since I've smelled Samsara that I can't remember if I like it. Oops!
Great Shalimar story!
Hey, good buy though!
I think I'd faint.
Hey, nice to see you — did you ever find anything wonderful from the Monday Mail?
My preparations for the cold weather, so far, involve nothing more than denial. I REALLY hate winter.
I have and enjoy both Philosykos and Cielo. Cielo is probably the more feminine of the two. It has a honeyed aspect.
Thanks for the tips, AussieBec. And we probably have special things we can only get in OUR countries with which to bribe our European pals. 🙂
Oh! I just tried Wood Violet and I think I really NEED a bottle. SO pretty!
Thank you!
I'll be adding it to my “must try” list!
I was thinking about trying premier figuier extreme aswell!
Haven't heard of this one!
will do a quick search and see if they can ship it to Brazil!!
Many thanks for the suggestion 🙂
Not strictly a purchase, but when a local beauty palace with lots of niche perfumes closed down a couple of years ago I found a lonely, nearly full tester of Shaal Nur, but no bottles for sale. I asked if there were any more bottles stowed away somewhere, but they were sold out. When I asked if I could buy the tester, the guy said no, sorry, they weren't allowed to sell testers; then he looked around furtively, grabbed a bag, put the tester in it and gave it to me.
I bought CdG Ouarzazate at 25% off at that sale, too, that was a happy purchase too..
I've always thought that the Thé bit refers to the specific kind of rose that is called tea rose, not actual tea flowers. They originally come from China and have a distinct fragrance that is different from the fragrance of Eurasian Damask roses, which Bulgarian rose extract is usually produced from – tea roses have a fresher, sharper kind of rose fragrance, said to be similar to the scent of fresh tea leaves, than the lush, rich scent of Damask roses.
well I'm wearing Betsey Johnson today and am thinking that's my new current favourite…it reminds me of last winter, especially leaving the house in the mornings…which isn't a particularly great memory but I've always liked it when a perfume takes u back!
Great story, and lucky mistake!
How sweet!!
No, the list of notes includes camelia sinensis. I'd still call it a soliflore — to me, a soliflore is not about the ingredients, but the smell, and FdTRB smells like a snapshot of a rose.
Leaving the house on a winter morning isn't my favorite memory either…glad you love the scent anyway!
Wood Violet is very pretty. I am also wanting a full bottle of Voile de Violette, which amazingly, layers beautifully with Rose Musc.
Whenever I'm in Victoria. B.C., I visit the antique stores. They know me now when I walk in the door. While I steel myself to only buy the bottles of one brand for my collection, sometimes, now that I know more about perfume bottles, it's very difficult not to buy some real bargains. I will forever regret not getting a Visa by Robert Piguet in its box which I suspect must have been an original from the late 40's. The bottle wasn't that exciting but it is extremely rare. The shop was closing out and everything was 50% off! I did get Shalimar talc in the Art Nouveau bottle from the 50's and a boxed, unopened vial of perfume for a song though. BUT—my best acquisition was an empty Parure bottle I immediately spied upon entering a store. ($25 C.) It was a steal!
A rose is a rose is a rose. '~)
Sounds reasonable to me, thrpschr AND Robin.
Viole de Violette is my next SSS purchase. I layered my sample with some of my diluted Turkish rose oil…nummy! I am sure the SSS Rose Musk would be nice also. Which is great because I just bought a FB of that one. Very similar to my sample of Les Parfums de Rosines, La Rose de Rosine. I tried my sample of Sienna Musk today…heavenly. I swear I got some smoke in there…just a touch, with musk, OMG!
Interesting about the layering – thanks. It's nice to talk with other fans of these fragrances – I think our numbers are growing as more and more discover how great they are! The Rose Musc and the Sienna Musk are heavenly, too. Sampled the Ambre Noir and though it's not “me”, I'm impressed!
Oh, your collection must be gorgeous! There are tons of antique stores in my town, I really should try harder to visit them once in awhile.
Yes, very sweet. 🙂
I don't suppose there was anything much they could do with the testers when they were closing the shop and the full bottles were sold off, unless someone on the staff wanted them, but still very, very kind.
i did try a bunch from the mail, ended up falling in love with one or two of them… despite the horrible reivews i've been reading about hermes un jardin apres la mousson, i love it! i've also found a way to make mugler cologne last longer (layer with fresh hesperides lotion), so i've bought a smaller bottle of that too.
lately i've been on a sugar kick, which RARELY happens to me, it's probably because of the cold weather and all that, and me needing comfort… so i've dug out the lolita lempicka (which i find is less nauseating and skanky than angel) and i've been stealing a few sprays of my mother's ambre sultan, which to me smells pretty edible (but not nauseating). hopefully this passes and i can get back to enjoying cool, crisp scents, but the weather is just so BLAH!
oh and also, i ended up scoring a bottle of l'ete en douce, and kenzo l'eaudeete (the green leaf bottle, not the yellow one), which i like very much also – thank you daddy and european department stores!
I am still in love with the bottle of Annick Goutal's Duel I bought this summer. It is not like anything else I wear. Usually I wear things that are relatively green or lightly floral; the deeper notes tend to fall right off my dry skin and I am invariably left with something powdery, which I can do without. So I wear scents without very deep notes. But Duel I loved on paper and I love on my skin and I love how it lasts. I love the smokey tea and the tomato and the leather I smell in it. And I bought it despite the fact that neither my brother nor my fiancé (my two favorite men!) really cared for the smell of it. It is just for me – and I love it and am still glad I bought it (at a very reasonable price from amazon, in fact!).
In fact now that you've reminded me of it I'm going to go decant a little of it into a glass spritzer I can carry with me this week. 🙂
Duel is such a great scent — congrats!
I think Mousson has had some good reviews too — I'd call it a “love it or hate it”!
Best buys for me are Guerlain's 'Chamade,' because it was one of the first 'proper' perfumes I sniffed and I still think of it, further into my olfactory education, as a 'perfect' perfume of its kind. Also three Frederic Malles : 'Le Parfum de Therese', 'Une Rose' and 'Iris Poudre'. Ok, they are all a little pricey, but these are holy grail scents which make me feel grateful to their creators. If I was never to smell another perfume, these three would suffice.
I regret to say I have never smelled Attrape Coeur and it has become such a craved after scent in my head I'm almost nervous to, lest it turn out to be a disappointment.
Then I'll admit that Attrape Coeur was just the same for me — waited so long that it let me down. Felt the same about Sous Le Vent. They're both in my purgatory basket waiting for me to try again with no expectations.
My perfume purchases work out for me, 🙂 not necessarily everything else. I won't buy unsniffed, without checking reviews on certain blogs…, and just plain forcing myself to wait. When I make a purchase, it is with great thought and trepidation.
I do enjoy the decants to test out a new scent, and usually, by the, I've lost the love. I found myself through the years wanting to purchase much more selectively, and also, to revisit scents of my earlier days.