Today's poll was suggested by reader Annonose: how did you develop a strong interest in perfume?
My story is short. I had stopped wearing fragrance for a number of years after my son was born, but was an avid reader of the skincare board at MakeupAlley. One day it occurred to me that it would be nice to wear perfume again, so I wandered over the fragrance board to see what was new & interesting. Before you knew it, I had made my first sample order (thank you, Aedes!) and I was hooked.
You?
Note: image via Amouage.
The comments for this article were not properly imported when we moved domains in 3/09, so I’ve copied them below in several large chunks. There were originally 298 comments.
Here they are:
On February 13, 2009 occhineri said:
I’ve always liked perfume, but stopped wearing it for a while because my first husband hated it. Luckily, my current one doesn’t mind it, so I started dabbling again. When my daughter was born, my sense of smell changed drastically & everything smelled terrible. A friend suggested AG Eau de Charlotte, and that changed everything. I started reading the blogs & going on MUA and now have a full-fledged habit.
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
And do you still like Charlotte? It’s always interesting to find if the “first love” gets discarded. My first niche buy was Parfums de Nicolai Balle de Match, and it’s still a summer favorite of mine.
On February 13, 2009 occhineri said:
I’ve definitely outgrown Charlotte, though it was perfect at the time. I’ve had many more loves since then!
On February 13, 2009 lovethescents said:
I got my first bottle when I turned 12; it was Cacharel’s Anais Anais. I’ve been wearing perfume ever since but always stuck with just one. Then I started searching the net for reviews and stumbled upon this lovely site, a little over a year ago. I noticed the Luckyscent ad and thought, I can order samples?!! It’s been downhill, or uphill rather, ever since 🙂
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Yeah, isn’t amazing how the ability to get samples in the mail changes everything? Turns it into a “doable” hobby.
On February 13, 2009 AnnS said:
I can say with all honestly that I never really had a hobby where I collected anything my whole life, even though I’ve always had a modest bunch of regular bottles. But once the decanters/samples thing became avaible, it changed everything! I’ve always felt free from collector madness, but now I’m hooked. I’ve had to develop some very serious guidelines for myself to keep in check. But it is a wonderful thing to have access to all the samples, especially the rare & vintage. What a learning experience!
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Yes, it it were not for that, I think the number of “perfumistas” would be much, much lower. Don’t understand at all why more mainstream lines aren’t finding good ways to distribute samples online.
On February 13, 2009 Zoe said:
That would be your fault, dear R. 😀
Nah. That just was the spark in the proverbial oil keg. Looking back, I’ve always had a weird “thing” for perfumes, from playing with old Anaïs Anaïs mini’s to begging samples off SA’s at a young age, but I never found anything that was satisfactorily “me”.
Discovering the world of niche was both wonderful and horrendous (for the old wallet), and now I feel I finally have the vocabulary to describe what I’ve always meant. Such a relief. Like finally gaining some fluency in another language and not receiving, say, stamps every time you ask for toilet paper in a store.
The wonderful boards and blogs have firmly sealed my fate, I’m afraid. I don’t think I’d have the stamina to be a lone eccentric, but a lone eccentric backed by virtual masses of more eccentrics… sign me up.
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Your last point is very true for me too…part of it is a social thing. It wouldn’t be any fun w/o anyone to talk about perfume with.
On February 13, 2009 peanut said:
I wore a single scent in my teens, twenties, thirties, though it changed periodically. Then I stopped wearing fragrance for about 10 years. Recently, someone else at work smelled good, and I thought, “I wonder why I gave up perfume?” Thus began the present fascination, about 2 1/2 years ago. It began as a self-directed learning project – what can I learn that I don’t know about fragrances – that, naturally, had to be experienced to be appreciated. I’m still appreciating, $$$ ka-ching, ka-ching
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
LOL — yes, then there’s the $ factor…
On February 13, 2009 kaos.geo said:
My love of perfume started in my youth as my father and mother always wore fine fragrances (Dior mostly) and Dad travelled a lot. The gift we expected was a surprise perfume from the duty free shop! 🙂
My story is similar, as I also wore a single scent and changed periodically until 3 or 4 years ago.
I started participating on Basenotes, and then reading Marlen’s reviews, I ended up on the He Said She Said reviews here at NST.
Then by participating here I started valuing much more the diversity of fragrances. The posts challenged me to revisit things I haven’t liked at first, look for long forgotten “lost loves”, or to try new things.
In a way it developed as my love for wine, albeit 5 years later.
You start by sticking to the safe bets, and then you wander and discover that there are more choices than you thought available.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Basenotes has had several mentions now…they must be responsible for many, many addicts!
On February 16, 2009 mybeautyblog said:
$$$ ka ching: NST cost me a lot, if I look in my drawer I know why I did not go on vacation last year!
But every morning when I smell at my bottles to select “the one” for the day – I feel really happy.
Is it a day for seduction? I take SL A la Nuit.
Do I feel sleepy? Wake me up with some Un Jardin sur le Nil.
Is it a comforting sunday? Take Chasse aux Papillons and relax.
At the end of the day – thank you NST but also the communitiy here for sharing this passion.
On February 16, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Thank you for the kind words 🙂
On February 13, 2009 bergere said:
I have always loved the idea of having a signature scent, since my foremothers did. My mother’s was L’Air du Temps or Rive Gauche, my grandmother’s was Muguet du Bois or Chanel no. 5, and my great-grandmother’s was Tabu. I never really lucked onto my own signature scent until very recently, however, which may be why I continued searching. When I was a teenager, starting to experiment with perfume, I was not really enchanted with the options–Charlie, Jontue, and the like, so the only thing I wore was Love’s Fresh Lemon. When I could afford to move up out of drugstore perfumes, the eighties were in full swing, and a lot of those really big scents gave me a headache. I tried some more in the nineties, when I shopped with a friend who was into makeup. Only a few things caught my fancy, but there were some really fun perfume promotions I remember from those years. Living in Boston, we would go downtown for lunch near Filene’s and Jordan’s; to promote Casmir by Chopard, Filene’s had exotically-dressed women riding elephants processing down the street; for Phantom, a guy dressed as the Phantom of the Opera ran around on the rooftops flinging red roses (with samples!) at women on the sidewalks below. But what really made it possible for me to hear about and try new perfumes was the internet. It has been online groups such as yours that have provided the guidance for me to try what I might like and avoid what I might hate. Unfortunately, I still don’t have one signature scent–I’ve got quite a few.
On February 13, 2009 Tama said:
Wow – I’ve never experienced that kind of perfume promotion! What fun!
I don’t find it unfortunate at all that you have several “signature” scents. I find that whole signature thing to be overrated. I mean, you don’t wear the same dress every day. My idea about signature scents is so people can smell your hankie when you are dead and say, “oh, she always smelled like this, oh how I miss her”. I would rather people be constantly surprised by my aromas while I am still alive!
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Wow, women riding elephants!! Amazing, never saw anything like that here for a perfume.
On February 13, 2009 ahsu said:
I thought I hated all perfumes b/c the mainstream offerings were on the whole so bad and all the same. Then while visiting my in-laws for Thanksgiving I showed some interest in the Mimosa Por Moi my sister-in-law had just bought for herself from Bergdorf’s. She gifted me some at Xmas, I trotted down to Bergdorf to sniff around for myself, ended up exchanging Mimosa Por Moi for Dzing!, and haven’t looked back since. Dzing was my gateway drug.
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
And a very worthy gateway drug indeed…you have adventurous taste!
On February 14, 2009 AussieBec said:
I love Dzing! but I it smells almost the same as Blvgari Black on me. Does anyone else find this?
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Some similar notes, but not the same on me, no. Black is arguably easier to wear, maybe?
On February 16, 2009 AussieBec said:
I actually don’t have any problems with either of these fragrances and can’t really understand when people find them a little strange. Perhaps I am missing out on some of the strangemess due to my habit of spraying on hair rather than skin. Maybe perfumes develop more like on fabric when sprayed in hair. I reckon I need to research this!
On February 16, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Interesting. I spray in my hair sometimes, but usually to make something last longer.
On February 17, 2009 AussieBec said:
It really does last longer but it may not unfold the same. One day, when I can make the time, I will need to test this further.
On February 13, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
My mother and very rich aunt bathed in perfume every single day and went to the hairdresser at 6 a.m. daily, except week-ends. Both were in the best dressed list always. They felt naked without their perfume sets, even while gardening. The last one my Mom had was Bal a Versailles. My aunt´s perfume was always a French perfume I cant remember now (perhaps discontinued). She was crazy over French perfumes and had special appointments with store managers so she could sniff undisturbed. This privilege was later extended to us, her nieces.
The funny this, all of us the nieces, dont have the same taste in perfume, just like she and my Mom never had the same taste, but they were the closest of friends in the perfume hobby.
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
What a nice story!
On February 14, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
Oh I need to add….. My aunt who stayed longer in the Best Dressed List than my Mom (because Mom got sickly and had to stay at home as she grew older), wore perfume because she said that she wasnt tall physically, but when she wears her signature French scent (that could wipe out civilizations including terrorists because it smelled amazing and hypnotic on her), she felt 10 feet tall based on what people say. When she wears perfume, they dont even notice she is only 5 feet 4. That perfume made her the center of the party ALWAYS. And everyone adored her perfume and looked up to her….. thought she was a very tall lady, until she died when her daughter told everyone she is only 5 feet 4 inches. People couldnt believe it!
She always advised everyone to wear a perfume to complete the look – because you must feed not only the sense of sight but the sense of smell of people around you in order to impress. She was SOOOOOOOO right. Well, she was always part of fashion history 🙂
On February 14, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
By the way, who exaclty is “Now Smell This´´ as a blogger… is it Kevin or Robin or what ? LOL I dont even know who I am writing too ! LOL !!!!!!!!!!!
On February 14, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
It is Robin, and it is set up this way because when I started the blog I was the only author 🙂
On February 14, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
Okay Robin… Have a nice day and thanks for the many wonderful pieces of advice. I deeply appreciate them :))
On February 15, 2009 Patty said:
I like the way your aunt thought! I resolve to have the same philosophy.
On February 15, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
She was a very beautiful woman. And she was identified by her perfume always. When she enters a room, all eyes turn towards her. She had a very imposing presence.
On February 13, 2009 Holly said:
I remember that I was always sniffing perfume bottles when I was a child, but my fragrance obsession really started about the same time as I began to appreciate wine. I was learning to recognize and savor the notes in wine (instead of gulping down a mouthful thoughtlessly) and I started to see the correlation between the art of wine and the art of perfume. If you take some time to examine what you are experiencing (be it food, wine, art or perfume) a whole new world opens up.
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
And chocolate! Don’t forget chocolate…same as perfume and wine…
On February 14, 2009 Erin T said:
People always ask me: “Why perfume?” The level of my interest in it is so perplexing to people. And like every obsession, it’s hard to describe how it works or how it started. The “beginning” always seems benign and doesn’t seem to account for the depth of your obsession. But I do think that in retrospect you always remember, as you do, Holly, sniffing things. People always say to me: “Well, were you always interested in smells? As a child?” I used to say “Not particularly”, but when I thought about it, I realized I always smelled bottles and bath products and coffee cans and fragrant teas, etc. My mom was always having to dig me out of the spice cabinet (and, later, my Dad dig me out of the liquor cabinet 🙂
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Interesting. I really can’t remember at all if I was interested in smells as a child. When I was older & started to cook, I loved collecting odd & obscure spices though, and was quite happy just to open the tins & smell…
On February 13, 2009 Patty said:
The idea of perfume, and of having a signature fragrance, always fascinated me. For a long time, though, I was afraid of perfume because of bad experiences with it. I’d find a fragrance I loved, wear it for a while, and it would either start smelling “off” on my skin or I’d grow so sick of it I couldn’t stand it anymore. And this is just in a matter of months, not years, of wearing it. Even just testing most perfumes would lead to me looking for the nearest sink to scrub them off. I’d pretty much sworn off perfume when I tested Crabtree & Evelyn’s Wisteria body lotion a couple of years ago. I couldn’t stop smelling myself, and eventually bought the lotion and EDT. Even then, I didn’t wear it every day, for fear of it going “off” on me again. Last spring, after reading the article about the Sniffapalooza event in the New York Times, I found this and other blogs, read “The Emperor of Scent” and “Perfumes: The Guide”, decided to be daring and started to experiment. I’m very picky about what I test (referring to the reviews here & in Basenotes), and if I think I like something I’ll test it several times before purchasing. However, my nose is becoming much more discerning (and I’m becoming more adventurous) and I have found several fragrances that I enjoy and will wear in rotation. And I love this blog, thanks for helping me develop this new pleasure in life!
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
So what was the first perfume you bought *after* the C&E Wisteria?
(and thanks for the nice compliment)
On February 15, 2009 Patty said:
It was Bellodgia. I’ve always had a sentimental (scentimental? LOL) attachment to carnations – they’re my birth flower (January), and I remember when the flowers actually smelled as they were supposed to. I’d been hoping for years to find that fragrance again. Learning that Bellodgia was carnation, I actually ordered it unsniffed! My daring paid off – I love it and find it a wonderful comfort scent. It’s also the fragrance I’ve gotten the most compliments on.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Ah, risky choice, great that it worked for you!
On February 13, 2009 Rivercat said:
My family lived overseas when I was little so we spent a lot of time in airport duty free shops. I loved looking at all the bottles, and my mom pointed out the classics like Chanel No 5 and Shalimar, and the pricey ones like Joy. As a teenager I loved Chanel No 5, Anais Anais, Cachet and Babe :D, but stopped wearing scent much in my 20s except for special occasions, mostly No 5 and Caron Nocturnes. A few years ago I started to get back into it, though I can’t remember why exactly. Now I’m obsessed 🙂
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Babe! I keep forgetting about Babe, need to look up those old commercials on YouTube…
On February 13, 2009 JFISH said:
My mother was an Avon lady in the late 1970’s when I was in pre-school and kindergarten. I was amazed how many different ways I could combine the samples, men’s and women’s to create interesting or atrocious combinations. I also would notice how different my mom’s scent would be depending if she had been out at a place where there were smokers present, or if she had been dancing. I told her this at the age of five. SHe was floored. On our next visit to the Nordstrom store downtown Seattle she had me help her choose a fragrance for her. I dont remember what it was now but I am suspicious it was either Nina Ricci’s LAire du Temps before the formula was ruined, or a Givenchy . My dad loved it. So as a present on my next birthday I graduated from Wild Country to Azzaro Pour Homme.
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
I was always jealous of kids who had Avon moms…all that fun stuff to play with! We used to fight over the teensy mini lipsticks 🙂
On February 13, 2009 boojum said:
I remember those mini lipsticks! No idea where I would have come by them, but oh were they fun!
On February 13, 2009 Regina said:
I was always a one-perfume kind of gal, and I’d discovered this site a few years ago while looking for a “signature” scent. But once I found my perfume, I stopped reading. Until just recently. I’ve always thought that truffles were the sexiest smell in the world, and in November it occurred to me to see if there were any perfumes that had truffle notes. I remembered NST, and visited, and googled “truffle”, and made a list, and found out how I could get samples by mail, and… well, you know how it goes from there. A few months later I have a set of mini-drawers in my fridge labeled alphabetically by perfume house, two spreadsheets and a word document to keep track of all I’ve tried and want to try, TWO copies of Luca/Turin (one to keep nice at work and one to dog-ear and read in the bathtub, natch, and how could I resist when the hardcover is only $6.99 at amazon right now)… and the concept of a “signature scent” has been replaced by a “wardrobe” of decants that cost more than all the clothes I’ve bought this year. (I’m a thrift store shopper, guys, don’t worry.) I think I’m coming to the end of the initial rush of profligate spending and wild time-wasting… but honestly having this daily beauty in my life is really worth it.
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Blame it on the truffles, LOL…and cracking up that you have 2 copies of PTG. That is serious addiction!
On February 13, 2009 AnnS said:
My strong interest in perfumes came in large part b/c when I was a “tween” I was very tall (6’) with big feet. That excluded me from a lot of fun clothes and shoes shopping – there weren’t a lot of tall and specialty shoe shops like Nordstrom around when I was a kid! Fragrance was a natural way for me to develop my sense of style and project the kind of sophisticated fashion-imagination I had. Maybe I couldn’t wear really cool clothes or shoes, but I could sure smell like people in fashion! I would spend a lot of time browsing the fragrance area in department stores while my Mom & sisters shopped. My early lemmings were Tea Rose, Jardins de Bagatelle (Guerlain), and Je Reviens (Worth). I still remember circling the frag counter over and over, and trying to be a cool and aloof 13 year old while the SA’s tolerated me. The first bottle of fragrance I ever bought with my allowance money was Tea Rose (the small “rose bud” bottle). I begged my mom for the money to buy the JdB talc, and I still have the bottle which is now older than I’d like to admit. Fragrance still remains a crucial part to my sense of fashion, and is often a way for me to and experience different culture, just as food or wine. Otherwise, I think I am just a smell oriented person, and was always *very* curious about bottles of perfumes on the dressers of my mom, female relatives, friends, etc. A bottle of perfume is inherently a very curious and special thing.
On February 13, 2009 Abigail said:
And I’m short 5’4″ (aka petite) and always wished I were tall!
The grass is always greener…
and, as you said, a bottle of perfume does always seem a curious and special thing…
On February 13, 2009 Regina said:
… but perfume, as this story so wonderfully illustrates, is one size fits all! 🙂
On February 13, 2009 Abigail said:
You are correct – our tall/short scenario definitely proves her point – that perfume is one size fits all!
On February 13, 2009 AnnS said:
And I found again that using frags to lift my spirits was a great way to distract myself from the fact that none of my clothes or shoes fit for a while after baby !
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
I still remember my first bottle of Tea Rose — it seemed so sophisticated!
On February 14, 2009 Jen DF said:
Ann, I’m 6′ tall, too, and growing up I had the same problems buying clothes. I actually wore boys jeans for most of my teenage years. Now that I’m an adult and Banana Republic and JCrew sell 36″ inseam pants, I’m finally a happy woman! I like what you say about using fragrance to develop your sense of style.
On February 13, 2009 Abigail said:
As a little girl, I was always fascinated by “grown up” stuff like make-up, jewelry and perfume. Perfume was the most fascinating – I recall staring at magazine ads and tearing them out to keep. This is especially unusual because no one in my immediate family wore perfume let alone loved it. Nobody. I must have had the perfume gene is all I can think! I began saving babysitting earnings at age 13 to buy my own bottles. I started with Diva, Perfumer’s Wkshop Tea Rose, LouLou, Poison, White LInen and most of the loud 80’s scents.
It wasn’t until the late 90’s that I began to really collect. When the number of bottles hit 25 or so I knew I had a problem! (Or a hobby I should say).
My first niche line was Diptyque. I loved Philosykos. When I found luckyscent, Aedes and beautyhabit it was over! Then came TPC and things really snowballed 🙂 but it in a wonderful way of course. Being able to sample all these obscure and rare perfumes has been so much fun.
I found NST, PerfumePosse, Bois de Jasmine, the Non-Blonde and many others about 3 years ago and it’s had an *enormous* impact on my perfume hobby – I love being in the know about new fragrances and reading others comments/insights this way. The blog community is fantastic – and it is such an enabling device. I would have gotten bored by now without the perfume bloggers and the feeling that I wasn’t the only perfume-freak out here.
The Guide was an enjoyable read last year. I still reference it and love comparing my opinions with theirs.
Robin, do you have any idea – or can you guess – at how many perfumistas there are – perhaps by your daily hits? I’ve been wondering lately if this phenomena is bigger than I thought or perhaps growing because of the blogs and POL / MUA / basenotes, etc.
For the most part – being a perfume junkie still feels weird. The people I know in ‘real life’ aren’t interested in fragrance and I don’t talk about it much (if at all). I do feel like we’re an oddball underground society – which has it’s own appeal for sure! 🙂
On February 13, 2009 AnnS said:
Hey, if you were a Trekkie no one would think anything of it….If you collected comic books, handbags, teaspoons, wine, first editions, etc…no big deal. I know what you mean though – it is not a commonly recognized hobby. But it is wonderful to have a “community” of similarly interested folks. It is a very beautiful and personal hobby for sure! When we all start trading rare bottles in the alleyway, then we are keeping up with all the other collectors out there. (I guess ebay counts as a weird alleyway!)
On February 13, 2009 Abigail said:
I am a Trekkie – and that seems like yet another “weird” interest!!
Let’s see – I garden and grow orchids – those are “acceptable” hobbies so I do have some normal one’s! LOL 😉
On February 13, 2009 AnnS said:
Now I’m just wondering what frag Jean Luc Picard would wear, 😉
On February 13, 2009 Abigail said:
I have pondered that very question myself – and I’m still wondering!!
The Next Generation is by far my favorite Star Trek series.
Knowing he loved earl grey tea and had a flair for music, history and drama I imagine Jean Luc would smell divine. I’ve just never been brave enough to guess or just pick one – perhaps I like the mystery…
I love Patrick Stewart 🙂
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Abigail, you can’t tell anything by the number of hits I get. Much of our traffic is people coming in on google searches for specfic perfumes — they are probably not “perfumistas” so much as people who are shopping & looking for information. I have about 2500 subscribers to my RSS feed, but that doesn’t mean much either, esp. because I would guess the perfume niche tends to be somewhat less technologically inclined that some other subject niches (I remember once posting something about the feed & was surprised by how many emails I got from people who didn’t understand what I was talking about).
So no idea! But would think between all the blogs & forums, it’s a pretty big group.
On February 14, 2009 Zoe said:
Well, when I’m looking for a review on a specific perfume I often still Google it rather than doing a search on each individual blog – so I guess there’s some overlap between the Googlers and the regulars, too! And don’t discount the ones who arrive by Google and never leave… 🙂
On February 14, 2009 Rachels_musings said:
That would be me. 🙂
I was looking for some reviews on Burberry fragrances because I was (and still am) a huge fan of Alan Alda and somewhere in one of his books, he mentions wearing a Burberry coat until it almost fell apart and that piqued my curiousity about Burberry. How exactly it transitioned into wanting to check out the perfume, I’m not sure…maybe it’s because it was the only Burberry thing I could potentially afford. 🙂 I probably would’ve just bought the fragrance and never bothered about anything else, except that by accident I bought the original Burberry for Women instead of the London, so I had to look up a whole new set of reviews, and one thing led to another and, well….I’m still here, more than a year later. My lack of cash (I’m a poor college student) somewhat hampers my habit, but I still love sampling and dragging my sister to the fragrance counters with me (another perfumista in the making!). I knew I had a real problem when I ended up in tears because I spilled my sample of POTL Luctor et Emergo all over my roomate’s desk. My family sort of raises their eyebrows at my rather strange hobby, but they put up with me well enough, and I think I’m slowly pulling my mom in with me. 🙂
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
I honestly think it’s better in the beginning to be forced to stick with a budget…keeps you from making so many mistakes.
And sorry about your POTL! Does the desk still smell?
On February 15, 2009 Rachels_musings said:
That’s probably true…There’s plenty of perfumes I’ve wanted to buy full bottles of that would probably just be collecting dust. Although I really have to get my hands an a large decant of L’Artisan’s Tea for Two. Love that stuff, and that’s been my favorite of the line, so far, with Passage d’Enfer a close second.
Unfortunately the desk doesn’t still smell. It’s laminate, I think, and I was furiously trying to save some, so most of it got on my hands. I smelled really good for a while…My roomate wasn’t crazy about it though. She’s more of a Light Blue girl, which is all right. Light Blue I can deal with. Love Spell…not so much.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Hope you’ll get your hands on some Tea For 2 then…and do wish L’Artisan still did those lovely 15 ml bottles they used to make! We’d all have an easier time of it.
On February 14, 2009 AussieBec said:
I have always found that when discussing perfume with new people, there is about 25% who have never really been introduced to perfume in a serious way but could very easily be hooked. I have to say that, like any junkie, I love to get others hooked. About 73% seem to see perfume as just another accessory that is selected by whatever is new or being pushed by their favourite celeb. Then, there are the other 2% who are hooked. Of my two closest friends, one has only a slight interest whereas the other has that manic glint in her eyes that tells me that it is only a matter of time before I bring her over to the dark side! With the friend who only wears a perfume as an acessory, I have slowly but surely tried to introduce her to slightly more sophisticated perfumes. I get her a new perfume gift every occasion and she has started to enjoy receiving them but will never be tempted to cross over. Oh well, one out of two isn’t too bad!
Chunk #2:
On February 13, 2009 Existentialist said:
Like most things that I become passionate about, my interest in perfume bubbled up out of my unconscious. I distinctly recall sitting at my desk a couple years ago and thinking, out of the blue, what about perfume? In the sense that I did not know anything about it, and here is the internet waiting for me to look into it. What triggered that, I do not know. I have no recollection of family wearing fragrance, but occasionally one of the older Guerlains will spark a memory of my paternal grandmother, sadly long deceased, who I think must have worn some of them.
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
LOL — good thing you didn’t think “hey, what about designer handbags?” — you’d be much worse off.
On February 14, 2009 Existentialist said:
Good point. I’m not sure I could justify that… no sampling.
On February 13, 2009 Lora said:
I was always intrigued by the notion of a signature scent, but never could find what I was looking for at department stores (the only place I ever thought to look). Then, just last spring, I was very pregnant with my second child, hot, miserable, and wanting to do something nice for myself for Mother’s Day. So, I googled “best summer fragrances” and discovered this whole online world of scent. I started reading, and discovered the world of niche scents and samples-by-mail, and am now solidly hooked. Perfume is everything I always wanted wine to be for me – I tried for a while to read about wine, taste the nuances described, etc. While I love a good glass of wine, I just want to drink it. With perfume, I want to smell it, read about it, think about it, compare them to each other, and generally happily obsess.
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Curious — what did you buy that Mother’s Day?
On February 15, 2009 Lora said:
I bought Cristalle. Love it. 🙂
On February 16, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
I do too!
On February 13, 2009 GuerlainGirl said:
I know this is off-topic, but I must tell someone that I just found an Annick Goutal Ambre candle at TJ Maxx on the clearance shelf for $16. Poor little thing, I just had to give it a safe home!
As for getting started, it happened for me just last April. I had been wearing the same scent from one big bottle — with my Scottish genetics dictating that I finish one bottle before I start another. But, I realized that I didn’t like the scent any more! I thought I’d poke around on the internet and read up on how best to choose a new scent.
Now, I’ve got a drawer full of lovely, lovely samples and bottles and decants and soaps and candles…
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Score!! Lucky you. Maybe I should hit TJ Maxx tomorrow.
On February 14, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
GuerlainGirl, I TOTALLY ENVY you !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Alas, I can never find cheap stores here in Europe.
If you guys know of European discounters or sellers of decants, PLEASE PLEASE DO LET ME KNOW because my perfume hobby is breaking my monthly budget :)) When I buy perfumes, I forget that there is global recession. I just know that cash is king ! LOL !!!!!!!!!!
On February 14, 2009 AussieBec said:
Hey, I will swap with you! Access in Australia is absolutely pitiful and shipping from Europe or America is phenomenal. I also have the sad situation where a trip, nay, pilgrimmage, to France would be extrordinarily expensive and that is not budgeting in the spending money that I would need once there! I am jealous of people in Europe.
On February 14, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
AussieBec, we might lose money from costly postage :))
But you can email me if you wish pdefensor at yahoo dot com
On February 15, 2009 AussieBec said:
Hi, where about it Europe are you? I would love to live in Europe. In Australia, you get almost all the mainstream scents but very little niche. It is worse in Adelaide, where I am, as there isn’t even a Chanel boutique or Hermes. Oh well, I guess we have to manage with what we have got.
On February 15, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
Due to work and family, I travel back and forth Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy. But I order from the same perfume supplier that has a website.
On February 16, 2009 AussieBec said:
I am jealous! I love to travel but it so very far from everyone else over here. With ordering perfume, there is ionly one website with niche perfume in Australia so I have to order from America. My last order cost $50 us and I resent paying it when that money could be better used to buy perfume.
On February 16, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
LOL………… travelling can be very stressful especially when flight is delayed for hours due to a terrorist threat. SIGH.
On February 17, 2009 AussieBec said:
That is a sign of the times! On my last trip overseas, I came back with my carryon totally chockers full of perfume and there wasn’t a hint of trouble but now I would probably have it all confiscated. My brother is going to Sydney next month so I had better give him cash and send him to the Chanel boutique. Any suggestions what would be a great first Exclusifs purchase?
On February 14, 2009 Misa said:
This is why those of us who shop at TJ Maxx are so hooked. It’s a variable schedule of reinforcement, just like Vegas : one day, nothing, the next day, a big bottle of Gucci II lotion for, like, $3, and then nothing again. That’s why we are hooked and our behavior of shopping there is so strong!
On February 13, 2009 Jill said:
What a great question! I love reading everyone’s stories. I’ve always been into perfume — even when my age was in the single digits and my mom bought me Avon bottles of it in the shape of cats and deer and snowmen. I actually can’t think of a time in my life where I stopped wearing perfume completely — well, yes I can, it was when I was sick with chronic mono and probably didn’t wear perfume for two months. However, I was the type of person who had maybe three or four bottles of perfume on the dresser — now it’s accumulated to an uncountable number. I have only discovered niche perfumes in the past several years, though, and I have eBay sellers to thank (or blame) for that — some of them sent along some excellent, more “niche” samples with more mainstream scents I had purchased and I was off and running. And that led me to perfume blogs, though I am not a frequent poster. I believe my first full-bottle niche purchase was Lutens’ Douce Amere.
On February 13, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
I wish Avon would do that again — those were so fun! I’d take Douce Amere in a little snowman, LOL…
On February 14, 2009 Jill said:
LOL … Douce Amere in a little snowman, or deer, would be very cute! There’s an idea for a home business … “we will decant your favorite niche perfume into a vintage Avon bottle.” 🙂
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
LOL — I’d buy!
On February 13, 2009 NUTZ FOR FRAGRANCE said:
I always loved fragrance as far back as I could remember. As an adult I probably 5 or 6 bottles that I used and when one or two was running out, I would buy the newest thing out there. Not until two years ago at the age of 55!! (yikes!) did I start reading and delving and just becoming fascinated. Now, with probably 60 bottles in my arsenal, I have 10 that I reach for often and the others were just bottles I read about and had to experience. Funny, but one person’s obsession, could easily be another’s turnoff! I find fragrance like food, if you don’t like it or WON’T wear it, stay clear of that person!!
On February 14, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Feeling bad for your 50 ignored bottles, LOL….and I probably have even more!
On February 13, 2009 Tama said:
Nice poll!
I don’t know when my perfume interest started – it seems like it has been with me always. My Mom had a bottle of Joy, I remember, and I think my father liked fragrance, too. I remember having Avon’s To a Wild Rose, pretty early on, and bought myself Heaven Sent and Ambush as a young teen. I was gifted Chanel 5 as a teenager, and was gifted with fragrance almost every year – my Dad was good at selecting smellies for me.
My first “adult” purchase was in my late teens, I think, and was l’Heure Bleue. I have always worn scent, sometimes more than others, and sometimes I go for scented lotions more than perfumes and have a shelf full. I remember having a fit searching out the Parfums Isabell line because they were so new and different and cool, and practically forcing myself to like one of them. I still have it, actually.
My discovery of this blog and sampling programs made me really wake up to the world out there, and now I am sunk for good. I hope to God my next job isn’t “fragrance-free”! I am fortunate in that my Mom understands perfume love, and I share my finds with her.
On February 14, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Hey, impressive “first adult” purchase!
On February 14, 2009 Tama said:
I got a new bottle of it for Christmas – so far it is the only one I have been able to return to, but still have some oldies to revisit!
On February 13, 2009 Fuddy Duddy 101 said:
I had 3 “signature fragrances” that were wardrobe staples on my dresser – Chanel No 5 in very small doses to wear to work, Chloe for hanging out and Magie Noire for evening and special occasions. And honestly I had no clue how many other offerings were available. I had made my selections eons ago (obviously) and I was “done” with perfume shopping! But then finally years and years later, total boredom had set in. So I started looking to try a new fragrance. I went to the counter at Macy’s and when I told the SA at Lancome I wanted to try something other than my Magie Noir, she almost had a heart attack! Well nothing appealed to me at Lancome and I was very intimidated by the Chanel counter and didn’t want to pay a lot for something I wouldnt like 24 hours later…so I decided to do some research on the net and voila! Here I am…I have been lurking for quite some time and have only started posting recently. I feel like I know you all but I just realized you all dont know me! so Hello! 🙂
On February 13, 2009 Fuddy Duddy 101 said:
and yes I am totally addicted to perfume now! 🙂
On February 13, 2009 Abigail said:
You made a good choice, albeit long ago, with Magie Noir. I love that one!
On February 13, 2009 Fuddy Duddy 101 said:
thanks Abigail – it will always be my fave I think because its hubby’s fave too – LOL!
But I blame all of you for making me fall in love with perfume! 😉
On February 14, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
Oh talk about Magie Noire. I used to spray it all over my body and they could smell me at the back row of the library while I am entering the door. YET, everyone really liked it on me ! LOL I saw it again in a department store last month here in Europe.
On February 14, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Fuddy Duddy, welcome to perfume addiction!
On February 14, 2009 SFLizbeth said:
One of my first true fragrance loves was Magie Noir. I was introduced to it by a family friend who worked at the Lancome counter at Maas Brothers (defunct dept store).
She was this sophisticated, exotic creature, in her 50s with hazel eyes and blonde hair. I began working at the store in the 11th grade, and one day, she gave me a makeover (I only wore Bonnie Bell lip gloss at the time). When finished, she told me no makeover was complete until the fragrance was applied. Hence, my love of Magie Noir was born.
On February 13, 2009 SFLizbeth said:
I’ve worn fragrance all of my life and always remember loving it. It started when I was little, my father had a beautiful garden, and there were several rose and lilac bushes and hyacinth near my bedroom window. I remember he would tend to his flower beds, opera playing in the background, and the lovely intermingled scents wafting through my window.
I think my family knew I had inherited the family love of scent. My first fragrant gift was a bottle of Violetta by Penhaglions, given to me by my grandmother while we were on holiday in England. My next gift was from a boy, it was Chanel No 5 and I was 14. It was Christmas, and I remember the scent of No 5, mixed with the fresh pine scent of holiday boughs and Mince Meat Pie baking in the oven. The following summer, Cinnabar was my birthday gift from an uncle.
It’s strange, but my memories of the women in my family are tied to fragrance too, my mother’s Arpege, my Aunt’s Oscar de la Renta, my grandmother’s Mitsuoko…. I can’t think of them without the memory of their personal fragrance coming to mind as well.
Amazing that a single spritz will bring them to me, instantly.
On February 13, 2009 AnnS said:
Your memories are so beautiful! I remember the antique roses my granny kept, and her teaching me how to eat honeysuckle nectar….Its amazing how much scent can impact memories.
On February 14, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
SF LIzbeth, you mentioned your tender age…. I cant believe this, but my little girl of 6 years old wears Coco Mademoiselle and Armani Code.. When she wears it, it smells hypnotic. When I wear it, I get a headache. We told her its not good to wear perfumes for old people daily, but she does immediately upon reaching home from school 🙂 Then on weekends, she feels so beautiful when she wears it all day… 🙂
On February 14, 2009 SFLizbeth said:
Wow, yep that was me. I was trying my mom’s Arpege, and then I tried my grandmother’s Mitsuoko, a few eyebrows were raised at the dinner table and I got a stern lecture about wearing “adult” scents…..
On February 15, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
So true about Arpege… lots of daughters stole that from their Moms !
On February 14, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
What a sweet gift from your grandmother! Actually, sounds like your family gave lots of great fragrance gifts. There was not so much perfume-wearing in my family.
On February 15, 2009 SFLizbeth said:
To this day, when I smell Violetta I remember how lucky I was to have a great relationship with her.
On February 13, 2009 j.lunatic said:
For more than a decade (!) I wore Tea Rose. I still like it, but frankly I was in a rut. Then 1) I read “Perfumes: The Guide” and 2) realized I couldn’t smell my Tea Rose anymore because I had become so accustomed to it.
(I would like to apologize to everyone who came within sniffing range of me during the late stage of my Tea Rose phase. I was applying it so absent-mindedly that I didn’t realize I was spraying it on so heavily.)
This past year money has been so tight that I can’t even bring myself to buy samples/decants, but just sniffing around in department stores and Sephora has given me a new FBW-everyday scent (Anais Anais). And WHEN I get some money, buying myself a bottle of Timbuktu is right up there with buying a better car and paying off my mortgage.
On February 13, 2009 lilydale said:
Your Tea Rose story reminded of my own late-stage Paris phase… I realized it was time to move on from that one when a boy in high school sent me a semi-anonymous note reading, “Impulse turns me ON”!
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
LOL!!
On February 14, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
LOL — I am pretty sure I wore WAY too much Coriandre many, many years ago. I should apologize too.
Hope you’ll get some Timbuktu 🙂
On February 14, 2009 SFLizbeth said:
I know I did, but I love Coriandre…
On February 13, 2009 lilydale said:
Honestly, I think I’ve always been interested in perfume. My mother wasn’t into feminine fripperies, but she did wear Diorissimo on special occasions, and my ex-flapper grandmother always smelled fabulous (in a dangerous, Bandit-style way, not a cozy, lavender-scented grandma way!). I was always trying to make my own perfume as a kid (yes, enfleurage and all), but the real turning point was a sample of Magie Noire that I was handed while strolling through Saks in NYC with my mother. Not exactly appropriate for a 9-year-old, but I thought it was oh so chic!
I think I started buying perfume at around age 14: first Diorissimo, then White Linen, then on to Paris, Calèche, and Chanel No. 5. I delved deeper in my late teens, with Joy, Cocktail, Vacances, and Orchidée Blanche, but somehow in my early 20s I decided that Diorissimo, my first love, was my HG, and that was that until some time in 2005, when I Googled something perfume-related (I wish I could remember what!), up came NST, and the rest is very expensive history.
My biggest regret, however, is that I no longer have my perfume collection (or my generous-parent-supplemented budget!) from 20 years ago…
On February 13, 2009 AnnS said:
lilydale! I wish I were as clever as you to have picked up or even known about Orchidee Blanc before it was dis’cd! I am very sorry for you that you lost your collection. I gave away a lot of frags that I wished I hadn’t before I was ready to really wear them, specifically some Chanel No 5 and a bottle of Rive Gauche that I bought while I was in France. I’d smelled it on another woman and it was divine. I couldn’t ever really pull it off at 22….I wish I’d just kept them in a drawer now.
On February 13, 2009 lilydale said:
I know, it’s like wishing you still had some piece of clothing you’d given away, but worse! The weird thing is, I don’t remember what the heck I did with those bottles… I have moved about a bazillion times, including a couple of international moves, and I may have jettisoned them then, thinking that I’d never need anything more than Diorissimo again — foolish girl! I’d particularly like to try Cocktail and the old-school Calèche again.
I remember smelling Rive Gauche on a friend back in the 80s, and it smelled wonderful, but I’ve tried it recently and not felt quite as enthusiastic. Do you know if it’s yet another victim of reformulation?
On February 14, 2009 AnnS said:
From what I’ve read in “The Guide” as well as on-line, I think that it has been reformulated. But it is still supposed to be very good. I’ve often thought about getting a bottle again, but I think I would buy a sample first. My memory may be playing tricks on me b/c I can’t remember why I couldn’t make it work, even though age was a factor. I’d hate to buy it again and still not like it. I do know that it smells awesome if it works!…It is easy to find on-line, and you may still be able to get an original formula bottle from a fragrance specialist shop who would know, etc.
On February 14, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Lilydale — what I’d give to have back the perfumes I threw away years ago! My Diorissimo used to “turn” every few years and I’d toss the rest & buy another bottle. Would kill to have all those lovely houndstooth bottles back.
On February 13, 2009 rosarita said:
I’ve always loved perfume, but only had a bottle or two onhand. I sought treatment for depression in the late 90s, and in recovery, I found I had quit doing lots of things I love, including wearing perfume. Over time, I made it a project to try to connect w/my 5 physical senses everyday, conciously making myself be in the moment. (It was during the time that aromatherapy was becoming mainstream and I had lavender candles everywhere). I began to wear Coco again. And then I picked up an issue of Allure magazine that interviewed some independent perfumers and Robin of NST. I lurked and read all the blogs NST linked to, and ordered samples and tried out perfumes as often as I could. Then I found fishbone on ebay, and the MUA frag board, and I learned how to swap. Now reading and sniffing are such bright spots in the day. Thanks, everyone. 🙂
On February 13, 2009 AnnS said:
Fragrance is such an interesting & fun way to indulge and cheer up! Coco’s been one of my long time standards – so warm and spicy! These days through winter I’m enjoying the “sunny” nature of Chanel No 5 eau Premier and some of my greens like Chamade. There is also nothing like putting on a favorite frag and PJ’s…or a killer outfit!
On February 13, 2009 Tama said:
I know! I have been out of work for a while and wear sweats almost every day, but I always wear something great (today is l’Air du Desert Marocain)! Gives me hope when I smell good.
On February 13, 2009 lilydale said:
Oh my gosh, L’Air has been my secret weapon through these doldrums of poverty and unemployment! It’s a combination of security blanket, force field, and magic carpet to transport me somewhere far, far away…
On February 14, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Rosarita, interesting…when I am depressed, I stop listening to music and have to “make” myself start doing it again.
On February 13, 2009 joe805 said:
Phase 1: I probably started buying late in high school and then for 3-4 years; seemed like I wore just a bit of cologne almost every day. I remember owning at one time or another Drakkar, Polo, YSL Jazz, Grey Flannel, Armani, Kouros, & Tuscany.
Phase 2: Through my late 20s and early 30s I didn’t really wear scent very much, but owned Tommy Men, Gap Grass, C&E Extract of Lime, & Acqua di Gio, all of which I wore now and then without thinking much about them.
Phase 3: Started this current perfumania about 3 years ago. I randomly came across a guy’s blog entry about how he was looking to replace a grapefruit scent he liked and how in the process he ended up discovering Un Jardin sur le Nil as his signature scent. His post included a link to the Ellena/Nil story in the New Yorker. I started trying to reserch available grapefruit scents because that sounded really good to me and I thought I might like to try some — within no time I discovered some of the blogs including NST, and also The Perfumed Court. It didn’t take very long for me to order a handful of samples…. and a full-fledged obsession/compulsion was born!
On February 14, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
See…it’s the samples that does it for everyone! I really do wonder how much of the common tilt towards niche among perfume fiends is due to the fact that you can get the samples so much easier.
On February 14, 2009 joe805 said:
Sure. If I were confined to what I could buy locally, there’s no way I’d be so interested in this. I also never really liked the experience of fragrance shopping in person (hovering SAs), even though I have a Nordies, Saks, and Sephora in my town. Online shopping really is an amazing (and evil!) development.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Agree…if I could, I’d never go near another fragrance counter again!
On February 13, 2009 divinemama said:
I can relate to at least part of everyone’s story so far.
My first memory was as a small child I noticed a beautiful crystal perfume bottle on my great grandmothers vanity. I asked her about it and she said that I could have it when she was gone. Sadly, I never did get that bottle. It was sold in an estate sale before my mother knew what had happened. I can’t remember what it was, but I imagine it was Shalimar.
My other great grandmother loved to give us Avon stuff for Christmas and of course, many were novelty perfume bottles. I think my favorite was one that had caps on both ends and when you opened the ‘wrong’ cap there was a sticker that directed you to the other end. So silly.
Jumping ahead to college, a co-worker wore some Anais Anais and I asked her what she was wearing. Then I bought some for myself, and I remember her being mad at me for wearing ‘her’ scent. :~) Still, I wore it until the bottle ran out.
I tried other mainstream scents, but everything seemed to give me a headache. It was the 80s after all. So I sort of gave up perfume.
Then I discovered Annick Goutal!!! I bought many of the scents and played around with blending them. I wish I had thought to just layer them on my skin. I still have those early experiments and some of them smell great.
During that time I had started exploring aromatherapy. I had raised 3 babies by then and had a desire to smell something other than poopie diapers. Also I wondered if certain oils could help ease some of my autistic son’s behavioral issues. I still put lavender and other oils in his bath every day.
I moved on to making my own essential oil perfume blends and exclusively wore those until this last summer. I opened a Nordstrom card account and decided to invest in another bottle of Annick Goutal Rose Absolute…which led to trying Chanel and Patou…which led to looking up information on the internet about perfume and finding Now Smell This. I think it was the easily accessed and fascinating reviews that got me hooked. Like others I discovered the wonderful world of samples, decants and the joys of niche.
So in about 8 months I have become a full blown perfumista and scent has become an even more integral and enriching part of my daily life.
Thanks everyone! :~)
On February 13, 2009 hotlanta linda said:
Hey!! Do you own the ltd Rose Absolue w/ deep pink bow at the neck? Tom Crutchfield at Bergdorf Goodman has 2 left -1-800-558-1855 (YT is a Goutal guru!)
On February 14, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Oh, what a shame about your grandmother’s bottle! Too bad you don’t know what it was.
And do the oils help your son, do you think?
On February 13, 2009 delfina said:
I always wore perfume since I was a teenager and during my late twenties/early thirties I wore Christian Lacroix, the shell-shaped one, with a dramatic sense of it being my signature scent. It was very difficult to find, at least here in Italy, but two years ago the thing got more and more difficult , so I finally gave up and thought about finding something new. I was thrilled, but at the same time, when I entered department stores (“serious” perfume shops really used to scare me, so I dared enter one of them only after some time), I felt lost, didn’t know where to start, what to smell, everything smelled the same and too “perfumey” to my poorly trained nose. Then I began searching the internet to find reviews and I found your site and many others and my life changed, I mean it, completely.
I began thinking “why just one?!” and found out there was a whole new world of scents, a whole new world of language to talk about it and here I am, with fifty or so bottles in my perfume cabinet, in my second year as a maniac, with an empty wallet but happier.
My first buy as a perfumista was Bond 9 Chinatown, which I still consider a very pricey scent, but at the time it was for me something absolutely unconceivable, total madness, science-fiction. Then a second and much cheaper one arrived, Versace The dreamer, with the idea of alternating 2 very different scents, and then all barriers were broken, I had my first Serge (Douce amère) and from then on there was always something new to read, sniff or buy…
OK, that was a long account, now I feel lighter, like I was leaving some AA meeting.
On February 14, 2009 Daisy said:
PA–Perfumistas Anonymous Hi Delfina!
I guess this would be the NST Chapter…..it’d be a pretty big meeting….only problem is we’re all ENABLERS!
On February 14, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
LOL at “like I was leaving some AA meeting” — actually, I think many people find alcohol addiction easier to understand than perfume…
Chunk #3:
On February 13, 2009 TwoPeasInAPod said:
Genetics. My mother and grandmother were both cosmetics and fragrance junkies. Always a collection of bottles to sample & sniff. I was so glad to inherit some of my grandmother’s “collection” when she passed. My cousin and I split it up, amiably, if you can believe it!
On February 14, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
How nice — what was in her collection, anything fabulous?
On February 16, 2009 TwoPeasInAPod said:
Yes, indeed! Bal a Versailles, Halston, Magie Noire, Chanel No. 5, Shalimar, O de Lancome, L’air du temps, EL Aliage, Cinnabar, White Linen, Estee, Arpege, My Sin, Revlon Ciara, Coriandre, and Calyx.
I cannot for the life of me remember what my cousin got! I’ll have to ask her. It’s funny that we didn’t fight over a single one, though.
On February 16, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Wow, she really was a perfume collector! And all of those are probably better in vintage — except maybe the Calyx. I don’t have good luck w/ the shelf life of Calyx.
On February 13, 2009 Jared D said:
For me it was The Guide. I suppose I’ve always been interested in things that smell good, mostly essential oils and such. But I saw The Guide in Borders back in the summer and kept walking by it, picking it up, but now purchasing it. I finally broke down and bought it, and that was it. My perfumania simply exploded and I’ve been hooked ever since. I have to guess that it was a latent interest that just never got any of my attention, but once it did, kaboom! I marvel at how, in just a few short months, this little part of my life has expanded. Thanks to LT and TS!
On February 14, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
I’ll bet PTG started LOTS of people on this hobby!
On February 13, 2009 hotlanta linda said:
smile! my mom and her mom DID NOT WEAR SCENT! That my grandmother`s friend Marguaret did was salvation.She started sending an empty mini once in a while w/ grandmother. Marg sent more minis – full – when she found I loved them.Many were from her every-other-year vacations to Paris! Yes, I`ve every one!!(mom remains disgusted about this, even today)SO WHAT!!!! Life is to enjoy – this scented part is wonderful!!!
On February 14, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
How nice, you must have a great mini collection!
On February 13, 2009 mals86 said:
Great poll idea… I’ve been enjoying everyone’s stories.
I always liked perfume; my grandmother (who lived with us) was an Avon addict and a bottle collector — the gaudier the better, both in bottles and scents. My mom was devoted to No. 5, which she hoarded and used in tiny amounts. Because money was short, my fragrances were always, always drugstore buys. My other grandmother gave me a bottle of Chloe, which I liked but didn’t love… as a teen, I longed for Coty’s Muguet de Bois and Emeraude. A friend gave me Diane von Furstenburg Tatiana — boy, I loved that! I wore other forgettable drugstore scents until shortly after my third child was born. While buying new (um, bigger) undies at Victoria’s Secret, I ran across Pink and found that it reminded me of my favorite flower: peonies. BOnus: hubby loves it.
So now it’s 8 years later and my bottle of Pink (the 1 oz, all I could afford!) is seriously depleted… and I’m bored with it anyway… While looking for a small bottle of Coco Mlle for my sister’s Christmas present, I ran across several fragrance blogs, including this one, and lurked for three months before posting. Of course, the discovery of SAMPLES changed my life. And thank goodness for eBay.
My sample collection numbers 58. Just bought my first two Budding Perfumista FBs: Diorissimo and Vintage Gardenia. Also now own decants/minis of Theorema, Petite Cherie, No. 19, Eau Premiere, Apres l’Ondee, Organza Indecence, Daisy (yeah, yeah, go sneer somewhere else), Mitsouko, Jardin sur le Nil, Michael Kors, Bois des Iles, SSS Velvet Rose, Bulgari Black, and Shalimar Light. On my FB list for when my bank account recovers: DSH Oeillets Rouges and Femininite’ de Bois. I adore having as many choices of scent as I have pairs of shoes… (um, maybe I’d better not buy any more shoes…)
And it’s so exciting to read other people’s reviews. Thanks to everyone who reviews, or posts, and extra thanks to our lovely hostess Robin!
On February 14, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Hey, you’ve built up a very nice collection! And always happy to find somebody else that loves Diorissimo 🙂
On February 15, 2009 RusticDove said:
Oh wow – I remember DVF’s Tatiana and also her Vulcan d’Amour.
On February 15, 2009 rrazzell on MUA (was Robin) said:
Oh, memory lane! I LIVED in Tatiana in 1980!!
On February 15, 2009 SFLizbeth said:
Me too! I wore it too, and often!
On February 13, 2009 Aparatchik said:
I think I’ve mentioned this before, but my mother was a stewardess in the 1950’s. After she quit (she got married and in those days that meant you “retired”), her airline friends on the transatlantic routes would bring her perfume back from their European trips. She had probably 20 or 30 bottles that all smelled wonderfully exotic and rare to me as a child (and since we lived in the back of beyond, they were exotic and rare!). She was always very generous about letting me us her perfume – it must have been funny to have a five year old running around in Mitsouko!
I stopped wearing perfume in the late 80’s when I couldn’t find anything I liked. I went through a long period of wearing solifores, and it wasn’t until I stumbled across a column by Chandler Burr in the NY Times that mentioned perfume blogs that I started to be interested in finding something more interesting to wear. You all have been my downfall! 🙂 but what a pleasant fall it’s been.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
How cool — do you remember any of the fragrance names?
On February 15, 2009 Aparatchik said:
She had the usual suspects – Shalimar & Mitsouko – but large number of the now discontinued Guerlains (Fleur de Feu and Atuana are two I remember) & Patous. And something, I’ve never known what, in a tiny metal bottle. I’ve always wondered what that was. All I remember is that I couldn’t read the label because it was in French and that it smelled what I thought of as “bitter.”
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Wow, imagine if you could have those bottles again! Even an empty Fleur de Feu on ebay would finance your current collecting habits!
On February 17, 2009 hotlanta linda said:
Possibly a Paco Rabanne scent in the metal mini! any words on this bottle?
On February 13, 2009 persikoflicka said:
I don’t really qualify for this poll because I have only a newly budded curiosity and a long sniff-mileage to go before calling it a strong interest….
However; when I was a toddler my mum used to wear YSL rive gauche for parties, and ever since, I’ve associated that blue/silver/black striped bottle with festivities. I didn’t LOVE the smell (a bit OTT for a 4 year old!) but I adored the glamourous look of my mother in her sparkly 1980’s lurex dresses and grey pumps…
My first perfume was a mini-sampler of Anaïs Anaïs and incidentally, we were born the same year 🙂
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
And do you like the smell of Rive Gauche now?
On February 14, 2009 merenguehips said:
There was a link to this webpage on the AOL site; I began reading and became intrigued. My husband’s aunt had given me some Bvlgari scented towels a few weeks before, one The Vert and one Black. I was afraid to try the Black for fear it would be ultra-masculine, but after reading about it here, finally worked up the nerve to try it…and it was love at first sniff. Now, I use Black as a gateway perfume for testing friends and family members’ probabilities of becoming perfumistas as well. Thanks so much for providing a view into this lost art. Hopefully, there will be a mainstream revival before long.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
How nice to have Black as your gateway perfume! And I knew about the The Vert towelettes but didn’t even know they came in Black — those would be nice to have.
On February 14, 2009 jonr951 said:
i have my aunt to thank for my addiction. i actually should be giving her my bills. because of her, i now have 38 fragrances and have spend probably close to $500 and im only 18! it was about 6 years ago when i has giving her a hello hug and my nose caught a whiff of what she was wearing. now it may not have impressed you robin but boy did Lolita Lempicka impress me! it was so lovely and delicious that i just needed a bottle myself! i had never been interested in perfume because my mother had worn cashmere mist for yrs and i never liked it! it was too old lady for her and it simply did nothing for me. but once i discovered lolita i began to broaden my mind in fragrances. sweet, creamy. and woody. it was just perfect for me and its still an all time fav. now im hooked on everything from black orchid to fantasy. covet to anything, and i mean anything from hermes! i pretty much like/love everything but cashmere mist! its still horrifying to me. lol!
On February 14, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
Jonr, Lolita Lempicka had the same effect on me ! I had to get a bottle though I know I wont be wearing it daily… :)) For me it is a feel good perfume.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
No, I agree LL is delicious — it’s really a great scent, & so is the men’s version.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
And ps, good luck getting her to pay your bills 😉
On February 14, 2009 AussieBec said:
I don’t really know what started my perfume mania. It feels like it has always been a part of me. I have always had an extremely strong sense of smell and would run around smelling everything. I loved the old fashioned carnations in the garden, the smell of the leather sofa and freshly mown lawn. I guess full blown perfume mania kicked in once I earned money of my own. To this day, I have no other vices besides perfume and spend every spare cent on it and I do not regret it. If I am feeling sad or having a bad day, I will go to my perfume cabinets and open them up. The gorgeous aroma of hundreds of perfumes and the pine of the cabinets always makes me smile.
On February 14, 2009 AnnS said:
When I think of all the $$ I spent on martinis and manhattans in my 20’s, well, I’d gladly have traded every penny for fragrance now. I’ve happily given up going to bars, Starbucks, pastries, fancy shoes, etc etc, all for fragrance. And I think it is a much better situation!
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
NO other vices at all?? I am jealous!
On February 15, 2009 SFLizbeth said:
Me too, I have a weak spot for hand made Italian shoes…. it’s terrible.
On February 17, 2009 AussieBec said:
I can’t fit into Italian shoes as the last is too narrow. I do have a few pairs of El Naturalistas, which are handmade Spanish shoes. I need CUSTOM made but all I have to do is think about how much perfume I could get for a pair of shoes and I no longer desire said shoes.
On February 17, 2009 SFLizbeth said:
AussieBec, have you tried Fiorintini & Baker’s boots? They are sized larger than regular lasts, and I can fit into a 41.
On February 17, 2009 AussieBec said:
No vices, unless you could a miild chocolate addiction. Still, this isn’t that costly. I don’t smoke, drink, or party. I LOVE shoes but since I have ginormous clodhoppers, I can’t really fit into anything decent so this really limits my spending in this direction. I do like designer handbags also, but there really is only so many you can have so am happy with my seasons old Chloe Paddington. Can’t you just tell I am a single professional with no children!?!?
On February 17, 2009 SFLizbeth said:
God I can so relate, size 11’s here……. there’s no shopping at Payless for me, I have to drop good cash so my pups aren’t barkin’ at day’s end….
On February 14, 2009 Gblue said:
My family has always been really into perfume. Saturday nights have always smelled to me of Coco (Mum) and Samsara (Aunt), because we would collect my Aunt from her house, Mum would wear Coco, and we’d head out to ‘the club’ (basically a members only pub, where the kids would play pool and drink too much fizzy all night), where all the women smelled of amazing fragrances. Our hairdresser was always there too, and she is just as bad as ‘us’ for perfume!
When I was 16, Mum got me a part-time job for the big Chemist chain here, and after my 3 month review (just before the holidays) I asked if I could work on the perfume counter. I turned out to be quite good at getting scents to fit people, and I’m still doing that job (albeit full-time) now. Working with perfume all the time kinda makes you “want” everything. I also wanted to know everything that we don’t sell, so when someone comes in and says “do you know ____?” I could answer, and direct them to it – they wouldn’t be leaving me with something they didn’t really want. Then I found Basenotes and I haven’t been the same since.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Does it make you want everything? I would think it would be like working in an ice-cream parlor, and eventually you couldn’t stand the sight of the stuff!
On February 14, 2009 thrpschr said:
My mother let me help her pick out new fragrances for her as a kid – I loved that, and when I was around twelve she took me shopping for my own first perfume. I still know her taste in perfumes very well, and can pick out fragrances that she would like.
On February 14, 2009 Kayliana said:
Wow! I guess this was a very popular thread! Well for me, my signature scent was discontinued so I had to look for another. I was on a mission to find the best vanilla perfume in the world. Sadly, 8 years later and $1000’s of dollars poorer I have tried everything from the Guerlain’s to the Caron’s down to everything at Luckyscent and Aedes but have still have not found it. I enjoy reading these sites but frankly I’m exhausted! It’s like I have a crack problem, I have to smell everything new and nowadays there’s just too much new! It is trully a viscious cycle.
As a mother of two and a new small buisness owner I really no longer have the time or resources to engage in this habit anymore. So next paycheck I have decided to buy a whole line of un-sniffed vanilla that alot of people swear by. My plan is to give all my old fragrances to my mother and just use these for 1 year, to sort of wean myself. Yep, cold turkey… just like rehab!! Drastic times call for drastic measures!!
I look forward to this smelling good just to smell good thing returning to me. I mean, that’s all it’s really designed to do right??!!
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Congrats on your new business, and I do wish you luck — hope you’ll find that perfect vanilla!
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Thrpschr, and what was your first perfume?
On February 14, 2009 Elizabeth said:
I was an exchange student in Berlin. One day, I wandered into a Douglas to try something I had read about in a magazine. InStyle suggested Miss Dior as a perfume for shy types, which I certainly was/am. I found it, tried it, and was astounded. I had never smelled anything like it before. All the women in my family wore heavy orientals and white florals, so a green chypre was new and exciting to me. I went through three bottle of it during my time in Berlin. I googled “Miss Dior” to find out more about it, stumbled across a little site called Basenotes, and the rest is history. 🙂
On February 14, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
The people in Douglas always give me samples. :))
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
What a great way to discover a great scent!
On February 14, 2009 Jen DF said:
I’ve always loved smelling things. When I was 2 years old, I tried drinking my mother’s perfume (I guess my reasoning was that if it smelled good, it must taste good, too). When I was 11 or 12, I had a bottle of Exclamation, as well as a bottle of Oscar de la Renta that my mom didn’t want anymore. Having perfume made me feel grown up and I loved the way they looked on my dresser.
In college, I was always buying essential oils at like jasmine, sandalwood, and patchouli. I didn’t become serious about perfume, though, until a year ago. My husband read a NY Times article about Penhaligon’s Bluebell and decided to buy me a bottle for my birthday. I loved it and immediately went online to read the article. That got me wondering what else I might read online about perfume. A google search brought me to NST and I got hooked. For some reason, reading about perfume is so satisfying, and all of you NST folks write beautifully. I’m now slowly building up a collection of samples and have bought a couple of bottles in the last year (L’Eau de L’Artisan and Chinatown).
So thanks, NST, for helping me develop my interest in the wonderful world of perfume!
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Hey, sweet husband you’ve got there! I hope he doesn’t mind that you got “hooked” as a result 🙂
On February 14, 2009 sunsetsong said:
I have always worn perfume as an adult and have NST to thank for the burgeoning number of bottles and samples!
As a child I had an irrational fear of perfume believing one spritz would last literally forever, and I had no wish to smell of Avon “Unforgettable” for the rest of my life. Got over this as a teenager and loved Helena Rubinstein Apple Blossom and Diorissimo (duty free purchases on school trips). My mother’s favourites are also now in my collection – No 5 and Nahema. Wearing Azuree today – wouldn’t have known about this without NST so thanks!
On February 14, 2009 vanessa said:
Basically, I started out one afternoon in January 2008 idly googling three perfumes a friend used to wear a lot – and which I didn’t much care for – to see whether they shared any common notes (they did!). By the end of a week I had filled three Lever Arch files with print outs from Osmoz and blog sites, filed by fragrance family.
The next step was to acquire samples to check out the things which had caught my interest during this intensive research phase. This began on a small scale, but the floodgates quickly opened and my collection now runs into the several hundreds, a year on.
As the intellectual pastime gained a physical dimension, it was as though a whole new world of sensory pleasure was opening up, with apparently limitless variation. I now feel that the therapeutic and escapist value of fragrance is immense, which is something I had never recognised or experienced in my previous 30 years of random and indifferent usage of the stuff!
For until this “rose to Damascene experience”, I was the sorry owner of one rancid bottle of EL Intuition – rancid because I kept it on a bright bathroom windowsill for 7 years!
On February 14, 2009 Haunani said:
Hey, Vanessa! We must have been typing our responses at the same time. Love your story. Aren’t we lucky to live in the age of the WWW, having friends around the world to share our passions with?
On February 14, 2009 Haunani said:
Um, I mean “with which to share our passions.” Oh well, passion trumps grammar any old day. 😉
On February 14, 2009 vanessa said:
Hi Haunani – thanks are definitely due to Daphne!
I have just spent the evening with the same friend whose taste in generously applied elevator clearers first prompted my hobby, and I am delighted to report that by hanging out with me and dabbling in my collection, she has discovered about 20 new scents, both niche and designer. I was grateful to this friend before for the negative trigger that led to my hobby, and now it is a bonus that her horizons have also expanded to embrace new styles of perfume I would never have imagined her liking a year ago!
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Vanessa, how funny that you started out by looking for what you *didn’t* like!
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Sunsetsong, that’s so funny — and imagine if one spritz DID last forever!
On February 14, 2009 Haunani said:
It’s been great fun reading all these stories. At about this time last year, I was in a bit of a rut. Though I’d always liked sniffing at the perfume counters and maintaining a collection of 5-10 bottles, I was pretty much limiting myself to Boucheron, Allure, and Stella.
Then came my search for a particular note, which set me rolling down the slippery slope (grin)! Last February, a friend gave me a blooming Daphne plant. Daphne, for me, is the most captivating floral scent on the planet. If you haven’t smelled it, I urge you to get yourself to a nursery!
So I set out to search for a fragrance with this flower, ran across this delightful blog and the BN community, and now here I am happily gamboling on that slippery slope with the rest of you. And my Daphne is again in bloom. Isn’t life fun?
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
And have you found a great Daphne perfume?
On February 15, 2009 Haunani said:
No! I bought and enjoy Flora Napa Valley Cielo, which begins with a daphne-ish note. I also learned that Laboissier and Demeter have daphne fragrances, but I never did try them (if anyone thinks I should, please let me know!).
The pretty Lalique Flora Bella has daphne listed, and I got some of that, mostly because it’s by Bertrand Duchaufour. I also just now found another on your blog, MaxMara Kashmina Touch, but it didn’t sound promising as a daphne fragrance.
So I guess you could say I gave it up!
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
I have smelled the Demeter, it’s pretty but not a serious perfume, more like a quick little “smell memory”.
On February 15, 2009 lilydale said:
Daphne is divine! My mother loved fragrant flowers, so we had daphne, vibernum, night-scented stock, mignonette, and countless others. Unfortunately, I think I killed her daphne bush by picking some of its flowers (probably for one of my childhood perfume experiments); supposedly it’s very susceptible to infection, so take good care of yours.
On February 14, 2009 RusticDove said:
I come by my appreciation for perfume naturally, a genetic thing I inherited from my mother. She always had great taste in perfume. When I was a little girl, we lived in Bermuda for a while and she was thrilled to be able to purchase fine French perfumes inexpensively. She wore scents like – Nuit de Noel [in the fabulous black bottle and shagreen box], Le Galion Soertilege [I recently found a vintage crystal bottle, almost full, for her], and so on. She also wore L’air du Temps, Fidji, Bal a Versailles, Bellodgia, Molinard de Molinard, several different Guerlain scents, etc. – so I had a very good role model. I also acquired quite an appreciation for the beautiful bottles. My first boyfriend, when I was only 13, gave me a bottle of Chanel no. 5 which was way too sopisticated for me of course – but I was thrilled. Some of my early favorites were Muguet de Bois, Fidji, Chloe, and my first signature scent – late 80’s/early 90’s was Calyx. I once read a quote by some designer, I forget who, who pontificated “Never trust a woman who wears many different perfumes instead of just one signature scent” – something like that, and that statement really irked me! There are times when I do have a favorite that I stick with for a while, but I always end up craving something new. My mom also taught me the art of making potpourri [for which I grow many of my own herbs and flowers as well as using the scented oils and fixatives] and I also enjoy incense. Wow – this certainly became long winded – sorry! But thank you for this topic. It put me in a very nostalgic, lovely mood on this Valentine’s Day.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
I made potpourri exactly once…good for you for not only making it but growing your own materials!
And glad you enjoyed the poll — it’s been really fun to read all the comments.
On February 15, 2009 Tama said:
I wouldn’t trust a designer who wouldn’t trust a woman with no signature scent! Hmph.
On February 16, 2009 RusticDove said:
Exactly!
On February 14, 2009 sarah said:
I went to selfridges when I was 15 and got given samples of Cristobal and Vivienne Westwood Boudoir and loved them both. I got them as presents over a year later. 3 and a half years after that curious came out and I just loved the bottle/ packaging… everything! that’s when i started to buy more than I needed lol and with so many releases there’s been something to take my fancy ever since!
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
There certainly isn’t any lack of new things to want 🙂
On February 14, 2009 Bethy said:
Hmm, I didn’t grow up being terribly interested in perfumes. Spent too much time with my nose in a book that I wasn’t much in the physical world (As an adult I realized some perfumes could smell like old books!) It wasn’t until I was 21 and I moved to France that I really started paying attention. My friend was looking for a new perfume and I went along with her and tried things. The SAs were so helpful and informed and I really like people like that. Once they explained some things to look for and what to pay attention to as the perfume developed I was hooked. My first purchase was J’Adore. I don’t really find it interesting anymore but it was a nice part of my introduction.
During my poor student phase I couldn’t afford much of anything but now that that is finally finished I could indulge a little. For me it always starts with education- either from people or from books. So I have perfume sellers and authors like Turin to thank for a lot of fun (and luckily no overwhelming need to own, at least not in any hurry. I’ve managed to keep the collection down to 5 bottles and a handful of samples. It’s good to be poor. 🙂 )
On February 14, 2009 rrazzell on MUA (was Robin) said:
Happy Valentines Day, everyone!
From the time I was a kid I had my little nose in everything — my mum’s jar of vanilla beans, the daffodils on my teacher’s desk in the springtime, the intoxicating scent of a good felt pen — and I remember some kiddy bath bubbles that drove me CRAZY with excitement whenever the tub was running and they were thrown into the water. I mean, I couldn’t wait until the next bath, which was pretty weird for a grubby tomboy of six or seven.
For Christmas one year, my dad gave me a set of miniature French perfumes — I mentioned these on Angela’s thread recently — including Shocking, Le De and Le Dix, and I was absolutely hypnotized by them. The idea of exotic women in a far-off country dabbing on these potent, dizzyingly-rich and feminine potions: it was magic. My mother wore Arpege when she went out, and I longed to be all grown-up and have a woman’s glamourous life. That’s what fragrance symbolized for me.
My first boyfriend gave me White Shoulders in a gold atomizer when I was 16, and I felt like the most cherished girl in the universe. These were the seventies, when you could buy a quarter ounce of l’Heure Bleue extrait for $60. I did! To this day, Je Reviens — pre-reformulation extrait — brings a nostalgic tear to my eye. I think it is liquid heaven.
The eighties were a blur of Poison and Amazone and Bakir, Femme and Ivoire and Niki de St. Phalle, and then for some reason I stopped buying fragrance. That drought ended when a friend’s sister walked into the room in 1992 wearing Angel. I would walk over hot coals rather than wear it now, but at the time it was earth-shaking, ground-breaking.
That opened the floodgates to a world of mainstream scents. How I found NST, I don’t remember — I think it was through Perfume Emporium , which got me looking at MUA, which got me Googling some unfamiliar niche names, which led to my current hopeless state of flat-broke perfumista-ness. Nancy Hirshbein from Fishbone was my on-line drug dealer, and I love her to this day. When she left the business and I was forced to go “out on the street” and start swapping to feed my habit, I got some financial relief and made a whole slew of dear friends.
I think — thank heavens! — I’ve slowed down a bit in recent months as I’ve come to realize that no single fragrance will change my life, make me younger, stop my hot flashes, find me a man, make my hair thicker, etcetera. (At one time, I think I really believed there was an HG scent out there that would!)
But if you’ve found a scent that does all that, PLEASE let me know!! 😀
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
It’s really interesting today how many people remember their first perfume gifts…I wish I remembered mine! I do remember the perfumes I had when I was young, but not where they came from. Pretty sure Coriandre was the first “real” (not drugstore) perfume I bought for myself.
On February 15, 2009 Tama said:
Yay, another l’Heure Bleue teenager!
My Dad gave me a stack of minis one Christmas, each one wrapped in tiny gift wrap, then stacked up into one. It was awesome – I still have some of them. Dali, Amarige, Ysatis – one was Maxim’s of Paris and I need to revisit that, because I remember liking that one and I no longer have it..
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Bethy, how nice to have fallen in love with perfume in France…
On February 15, 2009 Bethy said:
I think it’s easy to fall in love with things in France, especially things for the senses (food, wine, perfume, good underwear) because it’s regarded as quite healthy to pay attention to your senses and enjoy them.
On February 14, 2009 mbanderson61 said:
Wow, hot topic! I remember playing with the few fragrances that my mother owned when I was little. L’air du Temps and L’Interdits come to mind, but I believe she also had No 5. In my early to mid teens we wore head shop oils, but in my later teens and early twenties I wore Anais Anais, Cinnabar, Opium, Ciara and Must de Cartier. There were others too! I was pretty fascinated by scent. Once I seriously entered a career in my late twenties though, I wore less fragrance, probably because the powerhouse types that I wore seemed so inappropriate for work!
I didn’t seriously re-explore this love again until my early forties. One day, I was in a little boutique and I saw the IPdF line. I started sniffing and my love of niche fragrances was ignited. A year later, I found Luckyscent. Then I found the blogs and boards and I rediscovered classics and vintages….. I started seriously collecting very slowly, but oh my, has the pace picked up over the past two years!
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Your pace picked up at the same time the prices did, unfortunately!
On February 14, 2009 Jen R said:
I have always been interested in scents and perfume, for as long as I can remember–and I’m 55 now.
One of my earliest memories is smelling and smelling my grandmother’s midnight blue bottle of Evening In Paris. For a small girl in rural Louisiana, that seemed like the height of sophistication. I also discovered I loved the smell of paregoric, a (then) over counter medicine that was actually tincture of opium! It had a lovely licorice scent, I did drink some to see what it tasted like once, luckily not enough to damage me but did I catch what for. Didn’t poop for a couple of days either afterwards.
My mom was an Avon lady for a while in the early 60’s and did I ever luck out with all those samples! She was stingy with the tiny lipsticks because I was only 10, but I got all the perfume I wanted.
I’ve never had a signature scent because I love so many. I recall orbiting the fragrance counters in department stores as a child and spraying myself till I was truly obnoxious. As a young teen I was given some of the original Ambush and I’m sure I was a bit lavish in my application but I was thrilled with it. I’d love to smell that original frag again to see what I think of it now.
I’ll agree that today’s ready availability of samples and decants really makes widening your fragrance vocabulary much easier, and less expensive, than it used to be. Along the way I got into essential oils and aromatherapy (although I know a lot about it, I’m still a bit agnostic about the dogma of aromatherapy. We can’t deny that nice smells make us feel better, though, can we?)
The hospital where I’m a nurse uses a lot of complementary modalities and I’m in charge of the aromatherapy program there. THAT’s a lot of fun!
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Another child of an Avon lady, neat! And double neat of being in charge of the aromatherapy program, that must be really fun. Do the patients love it?
On February 16, 2009 Jen R said:
Yes, they do. Peppermint is really great for dealing with nausea, our OB unit uses a “labor blend” and lots of lavender, housekeeping uses grapefruit oil in water in a spray bottle to finish off their room cleaning, etc etc. We also do an oshiburi (hot towel) service in the early morning for the night shift going off and it includes the EO of choice. The staff loves it too!
On February 16, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Wow, that’s really great, thanks for sharing all that! So many hospitals smell bad — love the idea of the grapefruit oil.
Chunk #4:
On February 14, 2009 lemonprint said:
I think like a lot of the respondents, I always liked perfume too. As someone else said, no matter what size you are, you can buy perfume – plus it seemed delightfully girly to me. My mother never wore perfume but my grandmother did, and she was my role model in all things feminine (she once told me “Every woman should have leopard print underwear.” !) From my first drugstore purchase of Love’s Baby Soft, I knew that this was something I could like for myself, whether or not anyone else liked it. I also knew my taste was a bit pedestrian :-). I liked Avon perfumes when I could try them (I remember one bottle with the goddess Diana on it that really influenced my whole creative life) but otherwise didn’t know how to find anything else I liked, and didn’t want to wear my grandmother’s Giorgio (even if I could have afforded it.)
I’ve bought the occasional bottle of this or that over the years, including essential oils, but I never thought of myself as a perfume lover until the last few years. I’m still kicking myself for not buying a bottle of floral perfume I sniffed in a truck stop in Provence in France. I felt at the time I should buy something in Paris – but now I realize, why not buy what I like? Who am I trying to impress? I want “quality” perfumes, but I get to determine what “quality” is. Something rich and beautiful is good enough, and if I enjoy it, I really don’t have to please anyone else with it (though I am careful with my scents as not everyone around me likes scent. I love putting on a perfume at work and enjoying it and having it wear off by the time I get home – it’s all for ME!)
This blog is giving me more information about what to try. I didn’t know I could buy samples and it’s made my interest in perfumes explode. I’ve bought my first bottle of something I would never have bought when I was younger because of reading this blog and reading The Guide (I bought a bottle of Duel and I still love it and it’s like NOTHING else I own). A couple of times a week I’ll try a new sample, and I enjoy writing about my own little impressions in my blog, and it’s a better pick-me-up in the afternoons than eating chocolate, which is another big vice with me. 🙂 I have a few bottles I’m making Plans to buy, and happy to keep looking for more, but it’s hard to even settle on a few FBs to buy when there’s always new samples to try! What a wonderful and relatively inexpensive sensual pleasure! And I appreciate the great writers of NowSmellThis for ongoing interesting reports from the world of yummy smelly things.
On February 14, 2009 rrazzell on MUA (was Robin) said:
I totally forgot to mention —
I was a wine critic, writer and judge for 18 years and had to give it up when I started developing migraines!
Fragrance filled the void. I do the same thing with scents as I used to do with wines: I sample them, savour them, analyse them, evaluate them, and describe them. And I love them more than I ever loved wines. They are more of an art form; they’re more creative, expressive, complex and fascinating!!!!!
Can’t believe I forgot the most important catalyst for my fragrance OBSESSION. 😀
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
I wonder why wine gave you migraines but perfume doesn’t? I do know some people get terrible migraines from perfume.
On February 15, 2009 Daisy said:
I think many American wines contain nitrites and sulfites which often trigger headaches. I’m sensitive to them and don’t drink wine either.
On February 15, 2009 rrazzell on MUA (was Robin) said:
Naturally-occuring histamines (red wines) and sulfites (white wines) are the culprits, together with some kind of $%^#$! new sensitivity to both. Ah, well — a hundred dollar bottle of wine lasts an evening, while a hundred dollar bottle of fragrance can last years. If I hadn’t needed to give up wine and find a new passion, I might never have found Now Smell This and this lovely community of friends.
On February 16, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Thanks — didn’t know!
On February 16, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
Daisy,
American wine gives me headaches. French, German, and Italian dont. I hate espeically, California wine. Its too strong for me, though I drink all sorts of wine.
On February 16, 2009 Daisy said:
one of my friends, who is really into wines and used to live in Germany told me that European wines don’t have the nitrites and sulfites in them. She’s always trying to get me to try European wines….like I really need ANOTHER expensive habit, sheesh!
maybe I should try to get her to try all my perfumes samples!
On February 17, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
If you need to impress guests—- serve cake and the BEST German Riesling. It is their famous white wine which is unlike other white wines, a bit sweet and so much better than champagne ! I dont like champagne, but give me Riesling ANY TIME OF THE DAY !!! :))) AND a very good one need not be pricey.
It ALWAYS impresses even the haughtiest guest. French and Italian guests always love it.
But choose a REAL German Riesling and not a Riesling grown in another country because it wouldnt taste the same, due to the weather and soil conditions.
On February 17, 2009 mybeautyblog said:
Yes, a sparkling Riesling Sekt is even more gorgious than champagne! More nose, flowers and fruits, unless you have a really good chmpagane from a certain year. But this is unaffordable… I worked for an organic vine-yard at a fair, they make really good wines, I learned a lot there!
Since then I learned a bit about smells and taste – I use that for my perfume hobby of course, I am a “nosey” person – do you say that?
Someone who smells on everything and is good on it?
On February 17, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
I dont know the reason for this…. but when I smell wine, I know if it is good or not. When I smell perfume for the first 2 minutes, I know if I will like it on my body or not or if it will still change in the drydown. Whats the reason for this connection between wine and fragrance ?
On February 17, 2009 mybeautyblog said:
Well, the smell for sure- there would be no good or bad wine without the smell. Imagine wine that tatses like dark cocolate, ash (cold one from a cigar) red fruits and so on… Or white wine that smells like pear, linden, honey, a burst of honeysuckle…
I drink wine only occasionally because it has to be a good one. I can write poems on them if they are really good, as well as scents. And I am really a foodie… That’s what I spend most money on!
In German it is called Lbenesmittel – that means literally life-means. That says it all, or?
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
“Every woman should have leopard print underwear” — awesome! Now I feel like my life is lacking though, LOL…
On February 18, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
My husband likes my fuschsia, bright lemon yellow, purple, apple green underwear and lots of sheer black. Good Lord my lingerie bills are always by the hundreds of euros. And I have pretty corsets from Paris as well as well as laced ribbon panties at the butt for him to pull.
On February 14, 2009 wristwaft said:
I read “The Perfect Scent.” When Chandler Burr described Juicy Couture as the “smell of our bodies in heaven” I WAS HOOKED. I ran to my nearest perfume counter and spritzed away. I couldn’t stop sniffing my wrist, and having others sniff it too. This is what I’ll smell like in heaven, I informed all who cared. The writing of perfume experts is what lures me in. It’s like poetry in 3D.
On February 15, 2009 Haunani said:
Wristwaft, that is the best username I have seen on a fragrance forum! 🙂
On February 15, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
I have to agree with Wristwaft that poetry about perfumes DO help in convincing buyers.
On February 15, 2009 vanessa said:
Yes, like the review I read of Apres L’Ondee, very early on in my hobby, which described it as “mercury trickling down bathroom walls”. That was a major catalyst in showing me the power of perfume to evoke emotion.
On February 16, 2009 Zoe said:
I love poetic perfume reviews, too. They are a joy to read AND help me find a vocabulary for what I’m smelling. I read once that the Armani fragrances all shared a typical “brushed steel” note. SO spot on! Another Chandler Burr-ism that was, I believe.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
“The smell of our bodies in heaven” – that’s a great line, I’d forgotten it!
On February 14, 2009 DianaWR said:
I had the fortune of meeting Angela in real life right around the same time I decided to buy myself a nice bottle of perfume for my thirtieth birthday. That was a little less than a year ago, and I haven’t slowed yet.
On February 14, 2009 bloombynight said:
I seem to remember wearing White Shoulders [yuck] back in the day, as well as Charlie, Blue Grass, Anais Anais and Muguet de Bois. I then turned to musk and sandalwood oil, and Super Estee. [which smelled sooo sexy to me!] Next I wore Poison, and shortly after, wore Chanel 5 for a few years. Then I layered the no. 5 with the Poison [!] and got many compliments. This was around 1991. A boy at university passed me a note praising how i smelled ‘so yummy and delicious orange-y marshmallow-y!’ Soon I returned to no. 5 alone for eons!
It’s only in the last 2 years that I tried Jean Paul Gaultier ete [summer] and this opened the floodgates. It was an SA who encouraged me to change as I exclaimed that I only wore no. 5. Now I wear Lovely, AmorAmor, Ralph Hot, Beige, Fantasy, as well as many lovely lotions. Afterwards my daughters told me how glad they were that I changed cuz they had never liked no. 5. One said it was an old lady smell! hmmmph….
Isn’t it funny that daughters and mothers can have totally different likes in scents? You would think they would be similar?
[maybe that could be another poll? ]
Love this blog, i’ve learned sooo much! thanks! xoxox
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Bloombynight, I kind of like that mothers & daughters have different taste though, don’t you? I mean, it’s nice to wear something that every teenager isn’t wearing, and vice versa.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Diana, how nice — what did you end up buying?
On February 16, 2009 DianaWR said:
Goutal Songes, which was entirely different from anything else I had considered before Angela got involved, but was just perfect because it reminds me of summers spent along the Gulf with my grandmother, who is gone now, but was my favorite person in the world growing up. I also quickly bought a bottle of Dzing!, which continues to be in my top five most frequently worn fragrances.
Ironically I didn’t end up buying a single thing I was considering prior to Angela’s intervention. Burberry The Beat, the new Chloe, and CK Euphoria could not hold a candle to 100% Love, Songes, and Dzing!
On February 16, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
It does sound like an intervention, LOL…and you got some great perfumes.
On February 15, 2009 pikake said:
Mother loved perfume-I have always been into it-discovered POL-then MUA-then I was done for!
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
That would do it 😉
On February 15, 2009 kizzers said:
My Mum (a Chanel No5 snob) brought me up on the idea that cheap perfume was worn by dirty girls to cover up the fact that they didn’t wash!
I think she meant well 😉
I had my first real lemming when I was 9 or 10. All my friends had a little Avon Daisy perfume solid – which smelled so great! I can still smell it now 18 years on…I begged and begged for it but never got it, thanks to Mum, and my heart still aches for it a little 🙁
As my own little girl grew up and became more aware of my perfumes (utterly random mainstream stuff – DKNY Be Delicious, Issey Miyake, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Girl – to name but a few), I decided to try and find ‘The One’ that she would associate with me, and give her some kind of ‘constant’, if you know what I mean?
About 100 trial and error FB’s later, Google led me here, and the journey began!
My current squeeze is Monyette Paris (though I’m anxiously awaiting my next batch of 20 decants from TPC and Luckyscent). The hunger never stops, does it?
Oh, and the last time I spoke to my Darling Mother (about 5 years ago), she was wearing CK Obsession. Go figure!
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Oh, what a shame you can’t get that Daisy solid now! (although you COULD get a Marc Jacobs Daisy solid)
Enjoy your next batch of samples/decants — 20 should keep you busy 🙂
On February 15, 2009 giveitomespicey said:
I was surfing the net a few months ago and came across this blog. I was drawn in and it has been down hill for my bank account ever since.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
I apologize to your bank account!
On February 15, 2009 Daisy said:
What a fabulous poll! I’ve had such a great time reading all the stories…tomorrow I won’t remember whose story was whose there have been so many…but the images will stay with me: the little girl with her nose in everything, father’s flower gardens, grandma’s crystal perfume decanter that ended up sold at the estate sale (that made me so sad) (sniff) ….anyhow, Thanks Robin for another great one.
I was also another “nose in everything” sort of girl. My dad always had these outrageous flower beds with a “planned jumble” of the best smelling things. I loved being out there with him, pulling weeds, picking flowers, jamming my face right into the mess of them (can’t believe I didn’t suffer from multiple bee stings!) Sweet floral perfumes always make me remember my dad.
I remember my Great Aunt always smelled so good….she had the most amazing collection of “fancy” bottles on her dressing table, they were a mesmerizing mosaic of shapes and colors…I have no idea what any of them were but her entire room had a lovely smell to it–something soft and powdery and huggable–I’m sure it was the mixture since now when I open a package of many sample vials I get a waft of scent that always brings Aunt Blanche’s smiling face to mind.
My own mother never wore scent, couln’t stand it, always said it made her head ache—but she had a bottle of Muguet des Bois ( must have been a gift) Over several years I’m sure half the bottle evaporated just from all the times I would open it to sniff and sniff. By the time I was about 10 I had stashed away enough birthday money to buy myself the tiniest bottle of Chanel no5–boy was my mom mad that I would “waste” my stash on perfume!! But I cherished that small bottle!
By the time I reached college I had added Rive Gauche to the line up (I had that artist thing going on) and then Ralph Lauren “Lauren” and Liz Claiborne…by now my addiction was being fed pretty regularly so I was content. Good things began to accumulate in the fridge: Eternity, Eddie Bauer Balance, Hiris, 24 Faubourg, Prada Id’I, etc and samples….oh the samples. I’ve given away non-favorites to unsuspecting, yet deserving friends (my family simply will not allow me the entire refridgerator) …..and then I was googling perfume reviews looking for something new and fabulous to try……and I found an interesting site: NowSmellThis….hmmmm how very very very cool!!!! Amid my searching I found (ohmigod, my heartrate picks up a bit here) places where you can buy niche perfume samples galore!!! A slippery slope indeed! It’s like the Luge!!!! Everyone at NST is the absolute best (even if I still don’t “get” some things that you all think are great) I stop here everyday to see what’s being talked about —and add a bunch of stuff to my lists—my “interest” in perfume has blossomed into full blown “step back or you might get hurt” addiction –my credit cards reflect this –but don’t worry, my hubby doesn’t know where any of you live….lol
By the way I hadn’t thought of my mother’s bottle of Muguet des Bois in probably thirty years (she probably still has it, somewhere)—yesterday I went online and bought a bottle, don’t know if I’ll wear it…but I’ll sure spend some time sniffing it. thanks. : )
On February 15, 2009 Daisy said:
holy cow! I didn’t realize until I posted how extremely LONG my story got…..I apologize to anyone who fell asleep while reading it and hurt themselves by landing face down on their computer keyboard! *blushing*
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Hey, no worries, there are lots of long stories on this poll!
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
You mean you’ll give something away if it doesn’t fit in the refrigerator?? Wow! My family wouldn’t give me a square inch in the refrigerator, I”m sure!
Muguet des Bois — probably smelled much better then than it does now, but it’s still a lovely lily of the valley, bet you’ll enjoy it even if you don’t adore it.
On February 15, 2009 Daisy said:
Yes, I have a number of times….but then I’ve also had some times (mostly since finding NST) when I kind of wish I had them to sniff again….of course I don’t need 100ml for that (I know, I know, I fall in love with a fragrance and buy the big bottle….then I decide it was more of a temporary thing …I’ll refrain from saying what that makes me!)
Lucky me, our fridge has really nice big door shelves with a nice clear basket so all bottles are secure……I’ve been encroaching on the next door shelf down too…..and I should probably admit that we have a second fridge in the garage for silly stuff…like food. ; )
On February 15, 2009 Filomena said:
I think my first love of perfume began when I was six years old. I remember picking up my mother’s bottle of “Evening in Paris” and smelling it and feeling like I had been transported to some other place. Then when I was about 20, I bought L’Interdit which I wore for a long time, followed by Chanel No. 19 and No. 5. The rest is history…I have never actually counted my full bottles of fragrance, but I know that I have well over 100. I don’t wear all of them, but every moment of every day I wear fragrance. In the morning when I am deciding what to wear to work clothing-wise, I also consider what fragrance I want to be surrounded with that day. Each fragrance I wear conjures up a different memory and feeling.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
EiP was such a lovely bottle, too…I can see being transported by that experience.
On February 16, 2009 Tama said:
You know, Vermont Country store offers Evening in Paris, and judging by the testimonials they did a good job with it. Would be interesting to see.
On February 15, 2009 capillary said:
These stories are fascinating. I always did have an interest in perfume, mostly, like everyone else, fuelled by the smells emanating from my mother. She has worn no. 19 and Tiffany EDP for as long as I can remember – although only for special occasions – so when I was little I associated them with my mother leaving to go out for dinner and not having any goodnight cuddles. Bad associations! But when I was about 15 I realised that they actually smelled kind of wonderful, and indelibly of her. (I could never wear either of them.)
I was determined to smell good, but different, so I went out in search of very light, transparent florals. I had extremely conservative taste and couldn’t stand anything powdery or “unclean”. My mother came to the rescue by insisting upon buying her own bottles of whatever I wore – very sweet stuff like Marc Jacobs and Lulu Guiness – and so I promptly went off them and had to find something that she wouldn’t like(!) I landed upon Chanel no. 5 at around the age of 20, whose history I liked, and thus began my initation into classic perfumery. This was cemented by a trip to the Roja Dove boutique in Harrods and a googling of the obscure brands they stocked led to NST… Since I’m still a student, my purchases are very limited: perhaps that’s part of the appeal.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
What a funny circle…your mothers perfumes, then her liking YOUR perfumes, and you having to go find some she wouldn’t like! And still, you ended up with a classic.
On February 16, 2009 capillary said:
Thankfully I’m in the process of restoring my mother to the fabulous Chanel and Tiffany and Rive Gauche options with assiduous compliments – not so much because I’m worried that she’ll steal mine anymore, as that they smell much better than whatever I used to wear. Only she won’t wear them in summer, so I need to find her something wonderful for the heat. Suggestions for a summer no. 19, anyone? I thought of Cristalle, but I suspect it’s not sweet or soft enough.
On February 16, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Gosh, but I think of the No. 19 EdT as a summer scent…
Maybe Guerlain No. 68?
On February 15, 2009 memechoses said:
my grandmother always smelled “funny’. so at 5 yrs old we went to B Altman’s and she told me I could pick out any fragrance for her. She wore Youth Dew. I chose what we would consider the original formulation of Femme by Rochas by Edmond Roudnitska. soon , my mom, aunts and older cousins asked me to pick out their scents too. I was like this idiot savant at age 5. Today, I realize its a gift, I can smell someone’s skin and within 10 minutes find the right fragrance. Great at parties or when I am in Sephora and am bored and walk up to people who are about to buy.
On February 15, 2009 Daisy said:
Go shopping with me, please. : )
On February 15, 2009 lilydale said:
That’s an amazing talent — kind of a perfume psychic! I’m utterly intrigued… Do you match “dry” fragrances with sweet skin, and vice versa? And can you analyze your own skin?
On February 17, 2009 memechoses said:
its interesting, women are much more difficult because we are more complex creatures, we have tons of hormones and they fluctuate as we age , during our cycle, etc. but mostly people have a certain variation on scent -clean, salty, milky, bitter, spicy green— diet and different ethnic backgrounds play a big part. yes, i am a fruity chypre… orris rising 🙂 moon in milk
On February 18, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
Memechoses, I am enjoying your posts sooo much ! Can you suggest something for me please ? I am a lawyer in Europe who doesnt like loud floral scents (they disturb me at work) and I would like to have a perfume that I can wear to work- not loud but a bit intriguing. What would that be ? Can you suggest ? No problem with the budget. 🙂
On February 18, 2009 mybeautyblog said:
La Haie en Fleurie! I think Jasmin is sex. And this one is a kind, innocent one – at the beginning, or let’s say you might think it is innocent, but it isn’t…
On February 18, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
I take your word ! Okay I will order it now. No problem if it doesnt work for me, my daughter always wants my perfumes, but I like to try new ones always. :)) Thank you !!!
On February 18, 2009 Daisy said:
Polarbear– I don’t know about prices in Germany or shipping costs but I can tell you that the best place to get L’Artisan (at least from here in the USA) is a lovely place called Theperfumeshoppe.com —-they are lovely people and their prices on many niche lines are about 15 to 22% less than the price here (in the US) —might be worth looking into.
On February 18, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
OK, thanks 🙂
On February 18, 2009 mybeautyblog said:
Well, good luck 😉 I have already SLs A la Nuit, otherwise I would go for it… Very nice, but Jasmin is so “sex” to me I cannot take it for daily wear unless it is paired with something sportive/green like the Diptyque one. Let me know if you like it!
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Ah, but can you sniff someone’s skin and find the right 150 fragrances, LOL…because I don’t want 1.
On February 17, 2009 memechoses said:
Robin, you do not want to shop with me. The last person , a casual aquaintancebought 3 fragrances and spent near 800.00. and i hit each one . bang. bang. bang, And she was a perfumista of little faith, who wore incensey oud fragrances that turned her creamy powder skin sou—, she now owns heure exquise edp, Clive Christian X, SL Douce Amere and says Bertrand WHO?
On February 18, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
You rock !!! :))
On February 15, 2009 Celestia said:
When I was in grade 2, I convinced my parents to buy me a set of miniatures. I took them to school with a piece of red acetate fabric. I proceeded to pour the perfumes onto it and eventually the dye stained the desk’s laquered surface forever!
My Mother’s very wealthy friend would come to visit when I was in university, and as she bent over to kiss me, I could smell her expensive perfume. I guess it could have been Joy. This was about the time I owned a tiny faux petit point-covered solid of Here’s My Heart by Avon. Boyfriend loved it. He had an excellent sense of smell and used to buy me 3 Angel products at a go, way back in the day. He’s gone now but I knew him for almost 31 years!
My Dad used to wear Hai Karate and Brut probably due to the ads and the fact that there wasn’t much else available back then. He always wore fragrance and my Mom used Evening In Paris. By the time I was working for a fragrance house, my Mom soon passed away but I was able to supply my Dad with some really good fragrances until he went. I think that because they were from Europe, perfuming was so important to them, even when they were poor.
It wasn’t until I was 44 that I began to work in cosmetics and fragrance but my interest in perfume began early in this career and grew to the point where I became the accredited fragrance specialist for my brand. And now I’m 58!!!
I came upon NST through a brochure from The Fragrance Foundation and it is my daily go-to. I have always appreciated the wit and intelligence of both the writers and the contributors and, above all, the classiness of this site.
I am an art historian so while the juice is the most important part of a fragrance, to me the bottles are also of note because of their aesthetic and historical value. I have a lot of bottles from one house, a few from others, and use fragrance daily. I have access to a friend’s extensive perfume bottle book library so I’m constantly digging up new knowledge.
Is this an obsession/addiction/hobby? Yes, yes, yes! I’m sure that “lay” people would never dream of all the aspects of perfume that can be discussed: the juice, bottle, name, packaging, ads, categories, etc. ad infinitum.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
What a nice story — you really did start young. What’s the single fragrance you’ve worn the longest?
On February 16, 2009 capillary said:
Oh I’m jealous – I’m majoring in art history myself. May I ask what you do?
On February 16, 2009 Celestia said:
I was afraid someone might ask! While the possibilites for employment in art history are scarce, an education stays with you forever, along with your degree. You know how to do research and are more sensitive to the aesthetic aspects of all the things around you. I found perfume as an intellectual discipline later in life but am completely immersed in it. I suppose one could write for a magazine or teach but sometimes we need to use our background in other ways.
I am semi-retired now but still have my nose in the business by giving lengthy lectures about the entrancing history of my company. I set up my perfume bottles as a museum in dept. stores and have an assisstant who shows photos from books and distributes test strips to the audience to help me out. This enhancement of the fragrances’ background brings them alive and inevitably leads to sales!
The perfume I have used the longest is difficult to pin down due to changes in my taste, discontinuations, and new releases. I suppose Alliage and Jessica McLintock are the most enduring but they are not readily available in Canada so when I run out it might be a while before replenishment.
On February 16, 2009 SFLizbeth said:
Capillary,
I know a few art history majors, who have enjoyed wonderful careers as librarians and archivists. It’s a wonderful dual-career choice!
On February 15, 2009 silversheep said:
that would be a shoutout to you robin. i have always liked perfume, owned many and could identify many more on others, but didnt know there was anything beyond what you find in nordie’s and sephora. i was out shopping with friends and i smelled TM alien. i was like “what is in this stuff? its so bizarre” and i googled it and stumbled upon NST. i started reading archived reviews and its been a slippery slope ever since.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
That’s funny that you ended up here because something smelled odd, LOL…but glad you did!
On February 15, 2009 OperaFan said:
I’m always late to the party it seems. I just wanted to get my comment in but am looking forward to reading everyone’s.
Mine started as a child seeing a bottle of Chanel #5 perfume always kept in its box in my mother’s medicine cabinet. Decades later when I told her why I became a collector (small time mind you) of perfume bottles with ground glass stoppers which I viewed as small works of art, she gave her bottle to me – still about 1/4 full. Back to the topic, I’ve always had an interest in smells – soaps and other vanity products – and FOOD! In my early teens, we lived next door to an Avon lady who was always happy to show me her collection of scents. In highschool, scents like Halston, Sweet Honesty, Tatiana and Chloe were popular among classmates and teachers. My first “serious” encounter was with VC&A’s First, which remains a favorite among a handful of others, but the first acquisition I think was a bottle of the 1987 Nina body lotion that came with a purse spray (in 1988), then the Romance with Guerlain and AG started in the mid 1990’s….. Sweet memories! As one who can never choose one dish when ordering from a menu, it wasn’t hard to become a lover and owner of many scents. Thanks to this blog, I am ordering and trying out lots and lots of samples.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
And does the Chanel still smell wonderful?? Some day when I’ve more time I’d like to collect old perfume bottles.
On February 16, 2009 OperaFan said:
It doesn’t smell as fresh as I might have expected. I just like to look at it. Certainly, I’ve never encountered the modern version of the perfume, only edc and edp so it’s hard to compare. The bottle’s been in storage since I moved here 3 years ago so I’ll have to unpack it and check again. I also have an old rectangular bottle of Arpege perfume extrait (hardly used) that I picked up at an antique store about 10 years ago (less than $20 as I recall), known as a sister scent to No. 5, and it smells much closer to the more recent version of No 5 than mom’s perfume does.
I used to attend church near a popular NYC flea market, my earliest acquisitions were from there. Thank you, Robin, for firing up my love of fragrances again after many years of “complacency”….
On February 16, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
It’s almost certainly made with different materials than the modern version (as would be the Arpege). That’s really nice to have even if you don’t wear it.
And thank you for the kind words!
On February 15, 2009 platinum15 said:
When I moved away to university, I had nearly no money, and times were tough. But I bought myself a bottle of Antaeus. I figured that I needed one thing in my life that was just a frivolous indulgence.
It was selected probably more because it was Chanel than because of the way it smells. But I was hooked. The rich patchouli, sandalwood labdanum mix had me wanting more.
…and 100 different bottles later, I am still hooked.
On February 15, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
You were smarter than me…back in those days, I would have blown the Antaeus money on drinks. Which perhaps explains why I cannot remember what I wore in college! I can remember what I wore in jr. high, and high school, and after college, but if I bothered w/ scent at all in college I’ve entirely forgotten.
On February 16, 2009 mybeautyblog said:
I grew up in Romania during communism, and I tell you you would not find any perfume then!
Still, even as a small kid I went to my mom’s cupboard started spritzing her musc deodorant, the only thing she had. I used also her only lipstick with six, playing big lady.
My first scent was DUNE (gift) and then AMARIGE, I used to wear them as signature scents for a few years, then Polo Sport Woman and some others. While my mom never used perfume or make-up, I turned in a fanatic – also because our family always lacked money for these extras.
Luxury in any shape, if food, wine or perfume or silk&cashmere gets me going around these days still!
After they changed the formula of AMARIGE, discontinued another scent, I started searching something apropriate for me. Of course I did not go to a niche perfumery, that is something I do afford once a year – if.
But samples I can afford, so I started smelling, sampling, smelling, you know the story, and I started swapping on the internet.
And then – in a swapping packgage filled with thousand samples there was a rest of Chasse aux Papillons. It was like coming home… since then my idea about perfume changed completely.
I do not have many scents, but my appreciation has grown. I admit I still do not have a big budget, but I learned to allow myself the kind of luxury I need. I buy lesser things, but then it is a cashmere sweater, and I learned to wear it, not to save anything for special occasions like I learned from home.
Perfume I use every day, and I would say it is my only hobby. It is mostly enough for me to smell, to collect the positive feelings a real good perfume would give you; if I would have more money to spend on, I would not need more.
On February 16, 2009 vanessa said:
Hi mybeautyblog – my decanting kit is on the way! Will catch up with you soon on that.
If I had time, the market researcher in me would like to go back over all these replies and classify them formally. What does strike me is that I am in a minority in that my perfume interest came at me totally out of the blue. Prior to that day last January, I might have worn my EL Intuition 7 times in as many years, not even noticing latterly that it had gone off. The contrast between my life long indifference to scent and my rampant interest today is stark!
On February 16, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
How interesting…no perfume at all?? Not even the Russian brands?
On February 17, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
Now Smell This, she is right. No perfumes there before.
There was even a time when people rushed to buy necessities as soon as it arrived in stores.
On February 17, 2009 mybeautyblog said:
Yes, we talk about toothpaste and toilet paper… Soap and deodorant were hatdly to get, only on the black market, stuff like Rexona and Lux.
My best friends mum had a lot of stuff, but perfume – nope.
My mom had to turn 63 until she received her first perfume (extrait) – from me of course, it is her beloved No.5. And she uses it this time! No saving stuff any more!
It is strange that my mom got interested in cosmetics and scents after her menopause, since then she uses lipstick, make-up and perfume, and cremes and body-lotions she never touched before!
On February 17, 2009 Daisy said:
But it sounds like she is enjoying all those goodies now so that is a really nice thing. I’m glad that things are better for her now than when she was young. I can’t even imagine how horrible it would be to have to worry about obtaining necessities on the black market! You both must be smart and strong to have come through it all so well.
On February 17, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Yes, don’t know what I was talking about — I should have known that. Hard to imagine when you’ve grown up in the US.
On February 16, 2009 HDS1963 said:
I started getting interested in fragrances in my early teens I think.
I always was enchanted by the fragrance concessions in department stores. The bottles were like an Aladdin’s cave to me.
Then in my later teens I started working part time in a department store. I got talking to the girls on the concessions because they were always the prettiest and developed a fascination for fragrance then, trying samples, learning about the development of scents.
My early favourites were things like Pierre Cardin pour homme and Cacharel pour homme, both of which still feature in my scent wardrobe today.
My interest continued but not to the degree it has in the last few years where I have become drawn into the the point of it being an active hobby.
I now have in the region of a 100 bottles in their own storage area and countless samples of others which may or may not make it to the bottle status.
What I find interesting is how threatened many women feel by a straight man who knows more about fragrance than they do. Shame that. Why can’t a straight guy know about the subject without it being viewed as suspect? They don’t mind the fact that I smell great though.
The fascination with department stores and airport lounges continues though…
On February 16, 2009 Hollyc said:
I became entranced with perfume as a very young child, when my mother would spritz one of her cashmere sweaters with her perfume and let me take it to bed as a “blankie” She used to wear Arpege, No. 5, Youth Dew, Estee. .. and I used to drift off happily. Also too, my father used to come home at Christmas time and take me down to his office in the house to “help wrap mommy’s presents” which were always the most gorgeous Estee Lauder boxes in gold, turquoise, red, etc. I was entranced and have remained so. The glamour and mystique never fails to fascinate me and perfume, for that matter scents of any type, have the most power to transport me to any time of my life, in which they were a part. Potent and evocative . . . .
On February 16, 2009 Jen R said:
Well this straight woman would love to have a fragrance conversation with you. My wonderful husband views my scent addiction with bemusement. Interestingly, he is almost anosmic due to repeated sinus infections, but he CAN smell woody/resinous fragrances and likes them. He also loves florals, especially our tropicals like plumera and pikake, but can’t smell them.
Sorry you’ve been held suspect, you just haven’t met the right women . . .
On February 16, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
HDS, gosh, I think I’d be impressed by a straight guy who knew about perfume. To some extent, I think most people think a serious interest in perfume is just plain weird…no matter who it is. I don’t talk about my interest in perfume with very many people outside the internet.
On February 17, 2009 SFLizbeth said:
That’s the reaction I get, they just don’t get it.
And interesting to note that many fragrance lovers might also be foodies? Being a foodie is much easier for folks to relate to.
On February 17, 2009 platinum15 said:
Yeah! especially if you are the one doing the cooking and they get to enjoy it…
On February 17, 2009 SFLizbeth said:
Exactly! I get a list of requests every Holiday season for various goodies. And it’s gone in 15 minutes!
On February 20, 2009 HDS1963 said:
Funny you should say that about fragrance lovers being foodies as well. I most certainly am!
In all my relationships I have been the main cook – simply because the women involved have all had to admit I was the better cook – which was particularly hard for my second wife who thought herself a good cook.
Interestingly, I cook by smell more than taste and can tell what herb blends will work in a dish by smell alone. I can also tell when cooking what herbs are needed to balance a flavour by smell alone.
Hardly any wonder I love fragrance then I think!
My next girlfriend would ideally be into fragrance and football (the English kind), but I fear such an angel is hard to come by.
On February 20, 2009 PolarBear2 said:
I am an antique and perfume collector, used to play European football for women as well as swim, know all the big league football teams, and watch the World Cup always. I am a gourmet chef as well as a woman with 2 postgraduate degrees with honors. Find someone like me ! :)) Unfortunately, another football fan and a man who graduated summa cum laude married me immediately.
On February 18, 2009 RusticDove said:
Wow, golly gee, this topic elicited like, a gazillion responses! Being pretty new here, I was wondering if this was a record breaker?
On February 18, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Pretty sure this is the record breaker:
http://nowsmellthis.blogharbor.com/blog/_archives/2009/2/4/4081268.html
On March 6, 2009 Oana said:
I always liked perfume. At certain point I got bored with perfumes on shelve and I wanted something “different”. Occasionally I found a forum about perfumes in my native language where I’ve read about niche houses, selective lines and the curiosity started to kill me. I had to try everything. The more I tried, the more I liked the sensations, memories it brings. I bought couple of books, spent days reading nowsmellthis (thanks! I found so much of useful information) and trying the perfumes. Now the standard and understanding of the perfume has changed completely. I am giving away my old perfumes and getting new ones that I like. Currently I own 166 perfumes. Hahaha.. Madness. I hope to give away about 40 perfumes 🙂 No comment how my husband reacts to fuller and fuller shelves 🙂
On March 7, 2009 NowSmellThis said:
Hey, your collection is bigger than mine!