At first, it didn't look like my quick pass through a neighborhood thrift store would yield much. I did find a 1950s Red Wing dinner plate with a lotus on it that matched plates I had at home, and I considered buying a bundle of satin-padded hangers in peach, pale yellow, and coral. But just as I was ready to leave, I saw a familiar bottle on a shelf next to a stack of bruised guest soaps. It was a full bottle of Keiko Mecheri Passiflora Eau de Parfum. I'd just seen bottles at Takashimaya in New York for $115. This one was $10. How the bottle made its way to Portland and ultimately to the thrift shop, I'll never know. A gift from a spurned lover? A sudden allergy to scent? Who cares? It's mine now.
The Keiko Mecheri website lists Passiflora's notes as passion fruit, floral notes, lychee, green mango, yellow fruits, and white musk. It says that Passiflora is "a perfume from a remote paradise island, an abundance of exotic notes, a zesty green and tangy touch comforted by crystalline musk" and adds that it is "mischievous, sparkling".
Yes, Passiflora is a fruity floral. Normally that would be enough for me to put it back on the shelf, even at the screaming deal that it was. So many fruity florals are loud and sticky, and end with a punch of patchouli or are laced with "ocean" notes or coconut. They smell like they should be served with paper umbrellas stuck in them at beachside bars. The worst of the fruity florals smell slightly synthetic, like berry-scented car air fresheners.
But, of course, this is a huge generalization. Some fruity florals are divine. For instance, I know the new Parfums MDCI Le Rivage des Syrtes is labeled an Oriental floral, but it smells like a fruity floral to me. While Passiflora doesn't have Le Rivage des Syrte's complexity, it isn't aimed at teenagers, either. (I'd love to hear about other fruity florals that you like that don't smell like Hawaiian Punch.)
To me, Passiflora smells like ripe peach skin, tart mango skin, and peppery vetiver served on a wooden plate. While it may not make the pantheon of classic perfumes, it smells more like Dorothy Lamour than Britney Spears. Passiflora is drier than it sounds, given its list of notes. The musk is barely noticeable. Passiflora is quieter than you might expect, too. I can spray it on both arms and my chest and not overwhelm. The downside of the scent's reticence is that it only lasts a few hours.
I'm looking forward to making a dent in the bottle this summer for barbecues, drinks in the backyard, and any time I feel like seeing friends and laughing. Passiflora is the perfect fragrance to wear with an old Liberty maxi dress with Polynesian goddesses walking around the hem (what good luck! I just happen to have one of these), and it would be a good substitute anytime you can't find a hibiscus to tuck behind an ear.
Keiko Mecheri Passiflora is $115 for 75 ml Eau de Parfum. For buying information, see Keiko Mecheri under Perfume Houses.
Angela, you are the Thrift Store Goddess! You manage to find the neatest stuff. Thrift-store prowls in economically depressed areas are never so much fun… sigh.
Passiflora does sound nice for a fun summer scent. And I love the “hibiscus behind the ear” reference. My new summer pick is PdN Just un Reve – I love, love the monoi, and I don’t find it too sweet.
Shopping thrift stores is hit or miss, it’s true, but there are a couple of good ones in my neighborhood, so I’m lucky.
I still haven’t tried Just un Reve, and you make it sound so good. I’m going to make an effort to get a sample.
Hi Angela. You’ve made this KM sound delicious — and what a thrift shop score! I swear I keep planning to start haunting my local antique malls and such looking for tiny bottles of vintage extrait this and that.
There really is such thing as a well-made fruity floral. I’m waiting on my MDCI shipment, but in the meantime I just got a small sample of that Péché Cardinal: I’ve only tried a small dab but it’s quite nice and complex.
Another that I was turned on to recently (thanks to our ineffable Daisy) is Montale Soleil de Capri. I just read that some people think it’s similar to Light Blue, which I don’t really know well enough to make a comparison. However, I LOVE this Montale — I keep saying that it smells like a creamy fruit dessert without being oversweetened. You should try it, even though it sounds as though you’ve already found just the thing for wearing to summer barbecues.
Never tried that Montale. Sounds nice Joe.
Soleil de Capri is alluring for the name alone! My local perfume shop has the Montales, so I’ll give it a sniff.
You never know what will turn up in a thrift store or antiques mall. In antiques malls, I think a lot of shoppers are looking for bottles, but otherwise people seem to pass over the perfume. Besides, there’s so much to look at: beautifully shaped coffee cups, old photographs of strangers around a Christmas tree, 1950s beaded necklaces….
Hi, Angela…WHAT local perfume shop in Portland has the Montales? People from Seattle heading south always ask me where to shop for perfume in Portland and all I have is “Saks!”
Why the amazing Perfume House, of course!
http://www.aromascope.com/wp/2007/07/31/the-pefume-house-a-love-story-part-1-the-fragrances/
Yep, that’s it.
Love that store!
Kevin, the Perfume House has started carrying them. (You’ve been there, right?) They have CdGs, Serge, L’Artisan, Bois 1920, Amouage, and some hard to find Goutals, too.
Thanks…it’s been YEARS since I’ve been in there…none of those were present last time! (I don’t know if their AC was on the fritz but the last time I was there it was about 100 degrees in that house and I almost fainted…and expected Cleopatra to walk out of the storage room with some of her old favs! HA!)
That’s hilarious! I bet Cleopatra would walk straight to the Goutals and grab a bottle of Myrrhe Ardente.
wow, I’m “ineffable” ….cool clearly a step up from my usual trouble making ditziness.
Love that word!
Awesome score Angela! Good for you. 🙂
Thanks! It really was lucky.
C: butting in to say I KNOW you are GREEN with envy!!!!
What an amazing bargain! I am a fruity-floral hater, but you’re right, they’re certainly not ALL horrible, and this one sounds lovely. Enjoyed the description of the Liberty maxi dress too — I know exactly what you’re talking about. 🙂
Hey, a sister maxi-dress appreciator! Not everyone would get it. I love hostess gowns, too, and a nicely-done caftan.
I lived in Hawaii the year I turned 13 (this was the ’80s) and a very tiny lady gave me her vintage maxi dresses to wear to school on Aloha Fridays. They were very cool! I still have a couple but of course I am like twice the size I was at 13. That’s where my maxi dress fondness began. And I’ve always loved the idea of a “hostess dress”!
Yes, let’s hear it for the days when people had special clothes for entertaining at home. Lounging pajamas, hostess gowns, evening slippers–I love them.
Visions of Auntie Mame. Only thing missing is a cigarette holder.
You got it, darlin’.
You mean “dahling”, right? 🙂
Your dress does sound wonderful!
Thanks, and “dahling” is perfect.
Serious SCORE, Angela. How DO you do it?? You’ve got the magic touch, woman! Send some of your secret powers my way; I sure could use a great summer scent for less than a tenth of the retail price.
Pure frugality and a love of looking at other people’s cast-offs is what does it. I wouldn’t have bought the scent at full price, but it sure is nice to have it.
You were sprinkled with perfumista fairy dust when you were born! It’s a good thing we’re in different cities, or we’d be duking it out at the thrift stores at least once a week, my dear. 🙂
True! Someday we’ll have to go thrifting together.
With boxing gloves on! 😉
OMG a fruity floral that is not synthetic! it screams my name, fruits, vetiver, woods. I know three secnts from Keiko Mecheri and they are all pretty different from eacht other and very nice. In Germany they are rare, so no way for a good deal.
It really was a lucky find. Other than Loukhoum, Peau de Peche, and the powdery leather one (names escapes me now), I don’t know the Mecheri line much.
Another KM I really want to try is Oliban.
Yet another I haven’t tried…
One of the very few fruity florals that I like and own is Ume by Keiko Mecheri. The fruit in it is persimmon, and the overall effect is kind of sweet & sour. It’s different from anything I’ve ever tried and very very nice.
I also have a mini of Mauboussin. To my nose, it’s dried fruit. Very polished and understated, no drippy juicy smell. Any other fans of this one?
That’s interesting about the KM Ume being persimmon, H, because ‘ume’ is a type of Japanese plum/apricot:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ume
I’m thinking I want to snag a tiny sample of that from you one of these days.
Hi Joe – That’s right! I have eaten those little plums – pickled – in the middle of rice balls. Popular Japanese snack. I think this fragrance actually does smell like those plums! I would love to share a sample with you.
Ume! I’ll have to try that one, too. Keiko Mecheri really does have an extensive line.
Angela – e-mail me if you’d like me to send a sample. I have a big ol’ bottle.
You are so nice to offer, thank you!
Every time this fruity floral question comes up I begin really, really thinking hard about my collection….a few score bottles, over 200 samples….I am always stumped about this fruity floral thing. I suppose you are right b/c I have no desire to smell like hi-c, room spray or cough syrup. It is the white whale of my perfume wardrobe. I do have a few fruity orientals, but I don’t want to get my hands slapped over posting them again.
I think the closest I can get to fruity floral that I enjoy wearing is Gianfranco Ferre “Ferre” from 2005 – the notes list light fruits like honeydew melon and pineapple. But I can seriously attest that it smells mostly like a very light iris-violet green-floral woody musk than anything that screams fruit salad. If the notes didn’t state those fruits in there, I’d never even smell them. And Les Mythiques L’Interdit, but only if the strawberry accord counts as a fruit. Most of my “fruit” fragrances revolve around orange blossom and hesperidic notes, and I don’t normally consider those fruity florals, but of those, I have a bunch!
I like florals with some fruit in them, too, that might not qualify strictly as “fruity florals”. A little black current can do nice things for a fragrance!
Right – a favorite of mine, recently discovered, is Neil Morris Hologram. It starts with bright and wonderful yuzu, and then moves to a luscious mix of black currant, violet and fig. Base notes are listed as “sea moss, amber, incense, and musk.” I tell you, I’m smitten with this fragrance, and I guess it is, in essence, a fruity floral.
Sounds terrific! I don’t know much about Neil Morris’s fragrances, but they sound intriguing.
I’ve been sampling quite a few of them lately — he sells very generous samples from the website, and I am struck by the diversity and quality of his fragrances. I’ve fallen hard for a select handful. 🙂
Angela, what great luck you have! I’m going to start shopping in thrift stores more often.
I’m not much of a fruity floral person, but I did recently buy an unsniffed mini of Badgley Mischka on ebay because it was cheap and glowingly reviewed by Turin and Sanchez. It’s a little too much for every day wear, but I like wearing it when I feeling like being a little different from my normal self.
I’m not wild about the Badgley Mischka, although I know lots of people like it. It’s such a powerhouse. But, as you point out, there’s something to be said for wearing a scent from time to time that’s different from what you normally wear.
Like AnnS above, I thought of Ferre ’05, with its pineapple and melon notes. I do detect them, at least in the top notes, and I like them! Nothing brackish and watery about the melon in that scent! But I agree with her in that the fruit notes give way to floral notes and a warm ambery base.
In my attempt to try more fruity florals I bought a bottle of Ferre Rose, a Francis Kurkdjian and Alexandra Jouet composition with
peach, mandarin, pomegranate and watermelon in the top notes, a heart of rose, freesia, Japanese gardenia, sweet orange blossom, hyacinth, and a base of cedar wood, amber, vanilla and sandal wood. And fruity it is! Well-composed, but I still can’t say it’s something that I would wear regularly.
I know what you mean. I know I’ll wear Passiflora over the summer, but it’s still not something I think of as “me”. I’ll have to try the Louis Feraud, though–you have such terrific taste that if you like it, I want to smell it!
Melisand61 – I can’t tell you how many times I looked at the Ferre Rose – esp. with it’s creators! – and hemmed and hawed over whether or not I should buy it unsniffed. I can find very little info on it on any of the blogs aside from its debut. Any further thoughs? It is rose as in “pink” or rose as in rose? Is it boring or nice?, etc etc…thanks!
wow! sounds nice! I wish I could find something at a thrift store other than shoulder-padded blouses 4 sizes too big 😛
Going by pictures in magazines it seems that maxi dresses are making a comeback. I guess I’ll have to retrieve the one my Mom made back in the 70s from the bowels of my closet. The new ones I’ve seen make the big orange and pink flowers on black of my Mom’s look downright demure lol
I think you’re right, they’re making a comeback. But the new maxi dresses I’ve seen look sloppy to me and are not the Anita Pallenberg chic that’s so terrific.
I dug out the dress and of course a bit too tight in the chest lol well, maybe for the best. I looked like a blonde version of Cher.
I think a lot of the styles out now have kind of a saggy look… harem pants anyone? Not into a baggy crotch myself lol
A blonde Cher! Fabulous!
I know what you mean about harem pants. Frankly, I don’t need a lot of extra fabric bagging around that area.
“barbecues, drinks in the backyard”…
You’re talking about Portland right? So that gives us what, 2 more months until then?
OK, seriously I hear the weather is supposed to be nice this weekend so bust out that maxi-dress, spray the KM with lusty abandon and get yourself a mai-tai baby 🙂
All right then, I count on you to be there! And don’t worry, I have a nice black and orange Hawaiian hostess gown in the closet that would look swell on you.
OK, bring it on! 🙂
70 degree weather here we come!
I can’t wait!
What a find! I haven’t tried that one but now I want to. One of my HGs is Keiko Mecheri’s Genie des Bois. As for fruity florals, I LOVE Acqua di Biella Janca. It’s how every fruity floral should be, I think-sheer and refreshing. And I’m not a fan of the genre in general.
Janca! I haven’t tried that one, but I love its name. “Genie des Bois” is a pretty great name, too. Janca goes on the list to try.
So true! I think one of the reasons I love GdB so much is the allure of the name.
Ooh, I’m a Genie des Bois fan too! Like Bois de Violette, but much prettier IMO.
I agree! I know some people think it’s a knock off, but frankly, I don’t care because I like it so much more 🙂
Same here!
Really? Better than Bois de Violette? It’s Definitely, with a capital “D” going on the list to try.
And another voice for GdB – I sampled both, and the BdV by SL is not at all that facetted and sparkling in its woods – if woods could be sparkling in a warm, fire-like way; I like GdB though it has nothing I usually like. It is very spicy and incens-y, very good lasting, and it turns warm and precious on me, very comforting. BdV suits me very well also, maybe even better, or let’s say I can put it better off.
I also know Passiflore from KM which is very soft and tender, elegant and sheer; and her Musc which is great and very well done, one of the best muscs I found yet with ETROs Musk.
Umé is also great, though not me – a sensual and feminine scent without heavy sweetness, rather comforting and flowery-sexy.
KM sells samples for a few $$ but unfortunately shipping costs 28$ to Europe so I did not make it to a lot of’em.
I can tell that I need to do a little more exploring of this line. Thanks for the preview!
Oy…I had my first scrubber/migraine/nausea-inducing experience today…and sadly from a very kind M-day gift from my father: DKNY Be Delicious Fresh Blossom. *shudders in horror* I tried, it made me ill. I have no issues at this point returning it. But thank God for my husband who took my advice and ordered me the OJ sample set! On the grounds of nice fruity-florals, I’d add my green tea fragrances that have fruit and floral notes, but are not gag-worthy, and the lovely OJ Osmanthus…I think I’m in love. The DKNY is going back tonight though. Is the Delicious Night any better or should I just get one of the ELs?
Too bad about the Be Delicious Fresh blossom, and FABULOUS about the OJ sample set! I’ve heard Delicious Night is better (and I vaguely remember fruit and patchouli, but could I be thinking of Ralph Lauren Love?) but there are so many good ELs, that if it were me, I’d go for one of them. How about Private Collection Amber Ylang or the Tuberose Gardenia? Or the plain old Private Collection (rich green chypre)? And don’t forget Youth Dew or Bronze Goddess. Lots of good choices.
Oh, no worries about the last two. BG and I are good friends after last summer (and my discovery of gardenias), and the Youth Dew Amber Nude and Youth Dew are the perfumes my grandmother wore all the time before she passed in February, so those will be in my rotation until they are discontinued (two weeks before she died, she gave me her bottle of YDAN…can’t wear it yet, but someday). I think the Azuree, PC or Cinnabar may be calling my name (and are in my price range…the PCTG and AY would be nice, but ouch!).
Azuree is another good one–I forgot about that. Have fun deciding.
I avoid all fragrance gift mistakes either by telling the person exactly what I want…or my favorite technique with my husband: telling him after I bought it that “You just gave me X for Mother’s Day…” It works really well, lol!! My husband has no idea what good fragrance taste he has! He gave me minis of Annick Goutal Grand Amour and Songes for Mothers day! I think, though, at this point he’s bought me fragrance presents for the next two years without even knowing it!! I’m trying to think if I can parlay some new fangled July 4th fragrance gift holiday for the new Estee Lauder PC JWM!!
Good luck with the 4th of July gift plan! It sounds like a good one.
Ann, I like your style! It’s what I do, too. My husband (and the cats and dog) got me my long-coveted Fleurs de Sel for Mother’s Day. How’s that for a score? And no human children even. 🙂
Perfect! Nothing says “mom” like fancy salt. (Just kidding–I love my fancy salt, too. I especially like Maldon sea salt because it’s flaky.)
Cute! But I’m paying attention, because I like fancy salt too. And salty fragrances!
Sadly, I thought you were actually talking about salt! Maybe I’d better push myself away from the table…
Fleurs de Sel – nice! It is one of my favorite and most distinct Miller Harris. I think it is the best salt fragrance b/c it never gets boring even to the drydown. If I were to go FB with her line, it would be the one. When I first tested it, it reminded me very much of being in Greece.
Ann, we seem to have some tastes in common, fragrance-wise!
Ann, I do that too! My husband hates to shop, even if I tell him *exactly* what I want… so it’s better for me to just buy my own gifts. I can usually get them on sale, too, so then everyone is happy.
He “gave” me PdR Rose d’Ete for our anniversary this year. (Coupon code for 10% off, yay me!)
Ooh ! I’ve resisted getting into the Rosine line b/c I am such a rose lover I’m afraid what it would do to my budget!! I’ve tested the limited edition “fraiche” from a few years ago and thought it was well done. So many roses, so little time….Anytime gifts are involved, my husband says, so what did I get you? And he hates to shop too. I suppose we have a reciporical deal anyway b/c he’s always buying books and such for himself.
I just love Portland! I have the best time every time I visit. I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of The Perfume House but it’s on the list for the next visit. Congrats on the score, all I ever see in the thrifts is Jean Nate!
Oh, you definitely must stop by the Perfume House. Don’t let the creepy 1960s facade scare you off–the inside is a regular treasure trove.
I lived in NW Portland for three years at the end of the 90s-early 00s. I had a love for fragrance then and wore a few steady scents, but certainly wasn’t nearly as interested as I am now. So, every time I think about every opportunity I had for *three years* to discover the Perfume House, I want to dope slap myself!!! It makes me want to cry for sure! At that time, the only good reason I had to go to Hawthorne was to see a movie at the Bagdad and drink some Ruby ale!! Sigh…Ruby Ale….
Well, it’s still here, and so is the airport, so come on back!
Having just given in and bought a small bottle of Calyx, I feel my fruity-floral needs for the summer are met. But you make me want to haunt thrift stores! Which I have been searching for anyway. They are thin on the ground here in the wilds of Long Island.
Good luck finding a few. Thrift stores can be tucked away in the strangest places: church basements, animal rescue shelters, orphanages, you name it.
Excellent thrift shop find. 🙂 I was excited a couple weeks ago…I found a little purse spray of Guerlain Mitsouko in a bin of perfumes and makeup. I paid 50 cents for it. I wasn’t in love with it at first, but I’m starting for fall for it. I hunted it down online and apparently it’s vintage. My 11 year old sister keeps sneaking squirts of it.
And I’m very much with you on the maxi dress. 🙂 I have a sage green one with a brown floral pattern that I plan to bust out just as soon as it gets a little warmer here.
Wow! What a terrific find! We must be soul sisters–thrift store perfume and maxi dresses.
Oh Angela! What a find! Im so excited for you~well done. I love finding treasures in places you would never imagine would exsist. Most times, the people at the second hand stores and such snatch up anything they think of value and slap it on Ebay. HEY~Maybe I need to swing by and pick up an application! Just kidding. Enjoy your new find. Take Care, Yvonne
I know what you mean about the ebay pickers. To me, that’s not sporting behavior. Part of the fun of shopping at a thrift store is putting something back that isn’t quite right for you, knowing that someone else will come along who will love it.
You know, it my dream to find something as cool as this in a thrift shop or countryside auction. I’ve been to a few country auctions, and the best are the household ones. Old people who have died, and their families clear out their entire house and auction everything off. I’ve found amazing furniture, incredible fur coats and vintage designer stuff. But that was before i became a perfumista. So I never noticed bottles of scent. Next time, my beady eyes shall be open……..I would love to happen upon an old vintage Jicky parfum or somethign similar……
Yes, keep those eyes open! I like house sales, too, partly because I’m so nosy about how people lived. I love to see what they stashed in their basements, how many sets of china they had, what books they kept.
Just chiming in again on this old thread to say that a house sale like that would just make me sad thinking about the actual person’s life, sold off bit by bit for perhaps next to nothing. I think thrift stores and antique malls make me feel that way a bit too, but at least there the belongings are divorced from their original context: someone’s *home* that is no more. Then again, I can think of how each little thing that’s sold off is bringing a ray of sunshine and joy into many different people’s lives, so there’s a lesson to be learned there about the ultimate in “recycling.” I’ll stop attempting to wax philosophical now.
Do you feel sad reading the NY Times obituaries, too?
Sometimes the people whose houses are open to estate sales did seem to have sad lives–a lot of times you find the trappings of age: walkers, seats in the bathtubs, etc. And it’s sad to remember that we’ll all get old (hopefully) and die. On the other hand, what amazing lives! You find fascinating books, souvenirs of exotic vacations, dishes on which hundreds of meals have been share.
Hey Angela! I’m here to announce that you’ve won an award! It’s the “Your Blog Is Fabulous” award and here are the rules just in case…
Upon receiving the award a blogger must:
– Pass the award on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post
– List 5 of the blogger’s fabulous addictions in the post
– Copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.
Instructions: Include the blogger that gave out the award and link it back to that blog. Then one needs to name and to post five additional winners (linking them to the post as well). Don’t forget to notify the fellow winners, either by emailing them or leaving a comment on their sites!
So in case you want to read about my post here it is:
http://tuileries.blogspot.com/2009/05/fabulous-award.html
Anyhow, have fun!
Albert, I’m honored to be tagged! I’ll hop over to your post to read about your “addictions” right away. Now Smell This has a policy about not participating in group memes, though, so I won’t be able to follow through. But it shouldn’t be too hard to see that one of my addictions is going to thrift stores and estate sales….