Here we are again, time to confess! Donatella Versace, Our Lady of Scented Extravagance,1 wants to know what you bought in the 2nd quarter (April, May and June) of 2010.
Update: the poll is now closed; thanks to everyone who participated!
My purchases? I spent money on perfume for the first time since third quarter 2009...
I bought small (5 ml) bottles of Sonoma Scent Studio Incense Pure and Vintage Rose. I also bought a sample of their Egyptian Musk lotion. Grand total, for this quarter and for the year so far: $48.
As always, report your purchases in the comments if you dare! And as always, we don't include samples or gifts, and you can count miniatures, decants and bottle-splits howsoever you like (I usually count them as half bottles).
1. Why does Donatella host (against her will, mind you) the damage polls? There is no real reason other than the picture of her perfume collection, which shows that she indulges regularly at the perfume counter. The image, by the way, is originally from Allure magazine and appears here courtesy of Blogdorf Goodman.
I’m so new to collecting that I purchased an alarming about of discount fragrances. ๐ I’ll probably slow down and save up for something nice now.
Do! But it took me a good long time to do that myself.
God, I am SO BROKE at the moment. Tough times. I have indulged in some sample vials though – Tubereuse Criminelle and a couple of Andy Tauers (reverie, le maroc, incense extreme). Bless TPC & Scent and Sensibility. xxx
I’m so sorry! What did you think of TC?
It is stunningly glorious. I got a 2.5ml vial, and I am waiting for a few special summer evenings to use it. I really, really love it and am wishing it would be introduced into the Export line next year – but I have a feeling it will be kept “Exclusif'” for a while to come……
Every year I wish for this or Iris Silver Mist, or possibly Rahat. But never!!
Guys, there are so many advantages living in the states for perfumistas. You have lots of web shops which sell perfumes at discounted prices. For us in Europe, either they do not ship overseas, or to just a few countries in Europe (not mine, of course) and then even if they do, the customs duties kill any savings we might have achieved. And in shops there are no discontinued lines, which we all love and cherish so much…. so, count your blessings…
Thanks DoryCubana! I actually live in London! But you’re right – The Perfumed Court at least sells decants and sometimes full bell jars of some of the inaccessible Lutens Exclusifs. So either way, for us Euros, we have to pay through the nose. I’m saving up for a nice bell-jar one day!
Oh, great! I travel to London often. I’d like to have someone in London with whom I can do some perfume shopping on a free afternoon (maybe just sniffing, not always buying) and share opinions. If you’d like that too, write to me at dorycubana at gmail dot com
Oh how I’ve dreaded this day!!! This was the WORST QUARTER EVER! But mostly because I hosted sooooo many splits.
I think maybe I should only list bottles that I purchased just for me, or at least mostly for me? That sounds so much more manageable…..and some are vintage and you all know that you have to nab those when you get the opportunity! and now …forgive me Donatella, for I have committed the following transgressions…
1. Chanel no19 vtg EdC
2. Chanel no19 vtg Edt
3. Micallef Rose Aoud
4. Micallef Aoud Gourmet
5. Micallef Note Vanillee
6. Donna Karan Gold Edp
7. Donna Karan Gold Edt
8. Odori Iris
9. Hilde Soliani Il Tuo Tulipano (back up bottle)
10. CSP THE vtg
11. CSP Vanille Abricot vtg
12. Vol de Nuit Edt vtg
13. Nahema Pdt vtg
14. Micallef Vanilla Aoud
15. Parure Edt vtg
16. DSH White Lilac
17. DSH Purple Lilac
18. Delrae Coup de Foudre -although I’ll probably split this one.
19. OJ Tiare –travel set
ok, ok….I checked the 10-15 bottle option….so I’m not a very good counter….
Daisy, I recently acquired a small bottle of vintage Chanel no 19 EdC also, and I love it! What do you think of it?
I never thought I’d like Chanel no19 —never even bothered to try it until a vintage split was going on and people were raving about it—got a small split—and Immediately needed MORE! I had heard that it was very much like Cristalle (which I hate) but I find it is a lot softer around the edges…but still a little vegetal. I don’t think it’s something for a “beginner” (even though I’m not very far from being a beginner) a year ago I don’t think I would have liked it at all but now I get it….of course my daughter liked it right away for it’s green-ness.
I am still one of those plebians who prefers the current No 19 edt to the vintage edt… it has too much veggie leather in it. Ironically, I prefer the vintage No 19 parfum though which has the most glorious opening a la Chamade. Crazy nose. You are right: not for the beginner! But I have just come to love Cristalle in the edp formula – wow! No “swamp water” in the edp but tons of citrus flowers and vetiver!
so no vintage Chanel no19 for you and no Shalimar for me….
we suffer so….. quick, let’s console ourselves with some amazing Chamade extrait…. ๐
Oh we’ve got some ST/EST-continuum info emerging here. I really can’t stand Shalimar. It makes me nauseated, literally. I think it’s the animalic base…civet…ugh. I like everything about it except that base. Of course, I have not sniffed the vintage. Only the current edt. But I absolutely swoon and waltz with my Chanel No. 19 vintage.
Must be a plebian too! Think Cristalle edp lovely; for your citrus flowers I get yellow-green rose, and I think the current No.19 edt is absolutely excellent: starts off as a fierce green rose floral like Cristalle with real class, and then softens to sweeter rose then to pink powder with a hint of orange then to orange then to delicate yellow rose. Blah blah blah. A wonderful progression.
Daisy – yes, always more Chamade!!!
MJR & Daisy – see I like Shalimar in small doses, mostly before bedtime in winter. It is one of my fav powder vanillas, but seriously the Fifi Chachnil compltely kicks its velvety tush!
And Seraph – more current 19 & Cristalle edp for us! Yeah! Plebians Unite!!!
See, and I find that so funny, because I usually scoff at the vintage chasers and don’t see much difference… but with No. 19, I think vintage is vastly superior.
MJR – Yes, Ann would probably be close to an EST for you as she and I are very close to being twins.
BOO – vintage Guerlain is vastly superior as well, but that’s my territory, dear EST, not yours! ๐
Actually, there’s a little area of intersection in that Venn diagram, since M and I are pretty close to twins, and initially I thought Ann and I were as well. Over time, it has become apparent that there is a little area of overlap, but a much bigger area where we disagree. I should see if I can nail it down to fragrance families. ๐
Yes, I agree. Especially since A and I also have some overlaps!
I like to think of you all as my scent sisters – close enough but not identical! And then there is Joe – he is my scent bro!
So did you actually get the Coup de Foudre? What did you think? I finally got a sample (it took a while to get into stores here) and was rather disappointed.
I did get it….they also sent me a sample so I spent a week or so dithering over whether I liked it well enough to open the box/bottle.
Finally I decided that I liked it well enough to at least keep a portion for myself and I’ll probably list it as a split once I finish with these VC&A bottles I’m splitting. The build up was so big that I expected to be knocked off my feet with the wondrous rosiness of it. So it was a little disappointing. But once I got over it not being the be-all and end-all of all rose perfumes (that’s Montale Highness Rose) I found it’s quite nice. Soft with a lemon spark. But something I’ll be satisfied with 10-15ml of in the end. It is better sprayed than dabbed—-were you able to get a spritz of it??
Daisy, mouth-watering list you have there. How does the Micallef Note Vanillee compare w/ Vanilla Aoud? Are you happy you own both?
of course you know that I’m a vanilla ho , right? So I need to have lots of yummy vanillas….that’s my disclaimer……
Note Vanillee is dessert vanilla –it is heavy, sweet, boozy but not quite as smoky as Guerlain SDV ….if you hate SDV , I suspect you wouldn’t like Note Vanillee….on the other hand if you lurve SDV you’ll probably lurve Note! Vanilla Aoud is less sweet, less foody, the oud is there but it’s not overwhelming -it gives a slight medicinal tone in the opening then almost immediately begins to soften to a leathery note. Vanilla Aoud is less “in your face” than Note Vanillee…..of course I’m happy to have them both (see vanilla ho reference above) if you’d like to drop me a note at Daisyloo82 at gmail dot com I can send you a couple delicious vanilla samples guaranteed to tempt your sweet tooth. (or would that be sweet nostril? can you even have a sweet nostril? it must be possible for I certainly have a sweet nostril!) ๐
Just lovely descriptions–thanks for giving me such a good comparison. Note Vanillee sounds like it’ll be too sweet for me (although this probably won’t stop me from ordering a sample now that it’s available from Luckyscent, which I like to fondly refer to as my dealer), but Aoud sounds more than promising. I’ll definitely be in touch because it sounds like me have much vanilla-related topics to discuss.
Was that really your worst quarter ever???
wellllll……I’m not fessing up to all the bottles I’ve bought to split up…. I made my first excel spreadsheet ever last week….I was almost sick when I added it up!
Gotcha. We won’t make you tell.
Just out of curiosity, Daisy – after recouping funds from the hosted splits, what was your $$$ talley?
You do *NOT* have to answer that Daisy!! ๐
you mean what my end out of pocket was? ….dangerous territory there Opera!
If I write it down…it becomes REAL!! plus, what if my CEO saw???? (and the top of his head exploded? that’s almost always bad)
And while I currently have 9 bottles splitting I have several others waiting….most of which I haven’t been reimbursed for yet so I’m not sure how to account for that. My total spending including all my splitting bottles (things I keep only about 10ml from) is…well…a lot….suffice to say the total is 4 figures and doesn’t start with a one….or even a two…. (le yikes!)
Only the top of his head would explode?
yes, well, it would be a horrible mess. ๐
thus the new “no-spend” rule….which lasted a week until I found a deal on a bit of Amber Narguile for J (it’s her fave winter scent and the first travel bottle is almost empty) ….but the rule is back in effect and I’m shooting for a bit longer this time ๐ I understand some persons are taking bets!
I have no idea who those persons might be…
uh-huh…right…..so how long did you pick? 2 weeks? 3? ha! maybe I’ll cave but keep it a secret……nah , it’s too much fun to spill my guts.
I completely get it.
Once again , color me green!
Oh Daisy – You DO beat all!!! Multiples of $$$$? Well, you’ve just made me feel better about starting my 3rd qtr shopping spree…
Ha! my enabling takes many forms! ๐
Waves of empathy flowing your way… no need to disclose anything else… ๐
OOh! If you split the Coup de Foudre, count me in! I wore my sample yesterday, and I’m loving it!
Hiya! Wherever did you find the CSP The? I’ve read Kevin loves it and am dying to try…
Hi Painter—I got mine from an ebay seller in Kuwait—so shipping is a bummer and the wait is ,well…long…….immediately sent a few mls to Kevin to test (since he’s the expert) and he pronounced it in perfect condition. It is a nice dark tea with a bit of a heavy sandalwood base. Cool stuff —I’d be happy to share a bit with you if you’d prefer to sample? (you know, before going hog-wild and ordering FBs)
Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb refillable set in May. after about 3months of trying to find it
and Thierry Mugler Alien refillable set like last week
my two favourite ever scents ๐
Thank you Daisy! You are making me feel so thrifty — while at the same time I long for almost everything on your list!!
I actually bought a Tutti Kiwi on eBay because of Robin’s article. Love to wear some basic Jean Paul Guerlain in summer! Annnnnnd that’s my only bottle of this quarter.
You were very well behaved then ๐
I paid off a student loan (yay!), which has severely limited my discretionary spending (boo). Nonetheless, I did manage to snag a bottle of Un Jardin Sur Le Nil on sale. And that was it for me.
Good for you! Now you can start taking all the money that would have been wasted on interest and use it for perfume. ๐
Oh, but what a nice feeling to pay off a loan!
and what a great reward for you loan paying off diligence! Personally, perfume rewards are my favorite kind!
Congrats on paying off a student loan! It makes me absolutely sick thinking about the number of people who never live to see the end of their student loan debt. Meanwhile, our public universities are being absolutely sullied… suffering budget cut after budget cut…. when will our country learn? ok stepping down from soapbox right now.
and it sure seems like all those student loan monies aren’t finding their way into Professor’s salaries either! Public school elementary teachers make more than people with PhDs! My daughter would be an absolutely amazing Art History Professor….but it’s so discouraging…so she’ll probably end up in law school. (good lord, please let there be a fancy smancy art museum who needs an attorney with an Art History background …amen…)
Ah, take heart: those Art HIstory degrees normally end up as something else. Not much use for knowing a lot about gorgeous art I’m afraid. My art history/archaeology degree dreams of being a curator globe trotting archaeologist landed me into the seat of a humble library director! Only a handful of my old friends with either Masters or PhD in Art History ended up with a career in it. Being visiting faculty gets old after a while…..
sorry, but so tru. My art history degree landed me nowhere. Too much politics in choosing museum curetors these days over here. But If I ever to be born again, I’d chose the same major to study. The only advantage of this degree: 15 years ago, it landed me a side job as tour leader and guide. so i got to travel. so wlaking around Europe’s capitals, I often stumbled upon the most glorious shop. Due to the fact I’m size 16, no designer fashion for me, but plenty of shoes and perfume bottles. All extras I earn on tours, go into my fragrance fund these days:
1 Q 2010:
1. Lumiere Noire pur homme by F. Kurkidjan for my dearest
2. Fire Island by Bond for me
3. Ombre Bleue by Brousseau
4. Champaca by OJ – thanks to your reviews guys
5. Ambra Nera by Ortigia
6. Eau de Pamplemousse Rose by Hermes
7. Bronze Goddess body oil by EL
8. discovery set by OJ
9. Ta’If by OJ – prize possesion and counting…. till some money left
thinking of Hiris by Hermes as the next one. Robin can you solve my dilemma: Is Hiris still being sold in shops or was this some kind of limited edition/discontinued? I cannot find it on any site aside from ebay or U.S. based web shops…. if anyone knows please let me know
If she loves Art History then she should do it. Cliche time: life is not a dress rehearsal / you only live once. And now short story time: Seraph was once a lawyer in a big commercial law firm in London and liked it and then found wine and loved it and followed that path and is as happy as a pig in mud. And probably makes as much money as when a trainee lawyer, but what price happiness and following your passion? Apologies for preachiness.
not just drinking wine, I’ll assume ๐
Nooooo! Don’t drink wine, just make it. Methylated spirits is much more satisfying. Of course.
Congratulations and cheering you on!
Haha, I don’t disagree with everything that has been said re: art history, law, professors-salaries, alternatives to the tenure track, etc. But Daisy, there are most certainly career options for those wishing to merge the fields of law & art history. Let’s talk!
all ideas are welcome —-she’s only 18 , just going into sophomore year—loves art history and history—-soaks it up like a sponge. But she’s totally aware that she prefers a comfortable lifestyle…and plans to be able to provide it for herself. (darn shortage of winning lottery tickets)
“comfortable lifestyle” = continuing the perfume obsession her mother started for her. ๐ We won’t tell Child Services, Daisy. ๐
whew! that’s a relief! ๐
It’s the same here in Australia with universities having funding cuts which leads to a whole host of problems which I won’t bore you with here other than to say it is a worry that talented young people will miss out on further education because they can’t afford it.
Re the Art History. My daughter started an architecture degree but after a year realised that Art History and Theory was her real love and changed her course. She is now doing a double degree in Languages and the aforementioned Art History with a view to working in galleries or museums, possibly overseas. Fingers crossed!
wouldn’t that be wonderful? Fancy (ie. well funded) gallery , world travel….I’m crossing my fingers for your daughter too! What she (and my daughter) need is to find somebig money foundation that owns a fan-tab-u-lous art collection that needs a couple of smart gals to manage it…..J is pretty good with French…what language did your daughter study? We’re thinking of taking up Italian.
Not sure if this will end up the right place but anyway…
Daisy, my daughter studies Advanced German and Beginner French at uni. She did a gap year in Germany and is pretty fluent and having learnt one foreign language is finding it easier to learn French. Not that they’re the same but there are some grammatical similarities I’m told. Anyway the thought of a gallery/museum that needs some clever young things to curate would be a dream come true!
wonderful dream but when realized, there is no money in it!!! been there, done that
sigh…..yeah, thus the law school plan.
I refrained from my shopping vices (perfume, handbags) to save for a vacation to Ireland. While there, I picked up a bottle of Inis cologne, an Irish perfumery. It’s delightful! And quite reasonable. I’m sampling a few other Irish perfumes from Burren Perfumery, so whatever I end up with will have to go the next quarterly poll.
How nice! My mom brought me a bottle of Inis back from Ireland. I like it a lot!
There are 2 versions of Inis – original blue bottle and a yellow bottle, which is warmer. As an FYI, QVC often sells it on St. Patricks Day. My mum passed this info along as she likes all the shopping on that day- she honours her Irish roots that way!
I was in the UK in May, so of course I had to go shopping. I bought two Serge Lutens sprays at Jenner’s in Edinburgh, Ambre Sultan and Santal Blanc (and got a bunch of samples). Then on a day trip to Paris a couple of weeks later I was at the SERGE LUTENS BOUTIQUE (yes, it deserves all caps) and bought bell jars of Fumerie Turque and Fourreau Noir (and got a bunch more samples, including five booklets of wax samples).
I also bought a whole slew of miniatures at the Gatwick duty-free on the way home, sets of Dior men’s scents, Kenzo, and Guerlain Aqua Allegoria. Don’t know if those count.
And then a few days ago in Halifax–goddamn, I get around–I was at Biscuit and bought a bottle of Aromarine’s vicious/delicious Mousse de Chene (Oakmoss) perfume oil.
Seriously, what the hell. I can’t even use up what I already have and I’m buying more? Crazy.
And I’m going back to New York again in late November, probably. God help me.
Pyramus, that’s all very cool, though. I long for a pilgrimage to the SL BOUTIQUE! Sounds like fun.
It is so beautiful in there, dark and hushed and holy, a chapel to Serge and his nose. If you go to Paris, you just have to go, even if you’re not a big Serge fan, just to experience it. I spent half an hour and it felt like minutes.
Your description makes me swoon with envy.
Ahhh how nice for you Pyramus.<3
“A chapel to Serge and his nose” – lovely phrase!
indeed ….and “pilgrimage”…lol
oooooooo —sounds like a very nice trip from the perfume shopping alone!! You did good! Generally I’m not a fan of SL fragrances…but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t LOVE to experience an SL boutique in Paris….all in all: I think you showed great restraint! Really, you came back with a lot of very nice goodies, but you didn’t lose your mind and fill an entire suitcase. so you deserve praise for that too ๐
The funny thing is that I sort of did fill a suitcase. We had read on some website that you could pack a whole week’s worth of clothing in one of those hard-sided suitcases that fits in the overhead compartment, so we did, brainlessly forgetting that we were pretty likely to, oh, I don’t know, BUY STUFF. Like clothing. And books. And scents. We actually had to buy a whole other suitcase–and it was a big one, like a duffel bag on wheels–a week into the trip.
The only thing that stopped me from going completely ape and spending a couple of thousand bucks, and I could have, wasn’t the credit-card bills on returning home, it was the thought of the duty I’d have to pay when going through customs, and having to enumerate and explicate and display everything I’d bought. I kept it under the $750 limit. But it was tough!
Ok….I gots a question….and it might be a stupid one but I’ve never been to Europe so I’ve got to ask……why can’t you buy several bottles of perfume (and some bubble wrap) pack them up and drop them off at the post? They’d take 10-14 days to get back home—you’d be back home and waiting by the mailbox with plenty of time. so now I’m sure some of you savvy world travelers will explain to me why that’s a bad idea….
Daisy, the reason I always schlep purchases back in my suitcase it that technically you need to be able to show the purchase when you’re at the airport claiming the VAT refund…and I always try to do this because you get about 10-12% of what you spent back. (VAT is around 17.5%, in the UK anyhow, but the stores always charge a “fee” so you don’t get the whole thing back.) I guess if you’ve spent over the US limit and have to pay duty on the amount over $900 or whatever it is when you return to the States (if you’re honest and fess up), at least you got your VAT refund on the whole so you still should come out ahead.
ahhhh, I forgot about the dreaded VAT —how I adore ordering online or over the phone! VAT exempt! good to be in the USA!
….for now. I keep hearing rumors that the VAT is headed this way….
what? what do you mean VAT headed this way? are we being annexed by the European Union?
Yes, Daisy! Gilty gave u a thorought answer. + custom duties upon arrival of the shipment unless you state on the package a friend’s home address as sender’s address and label it as a gift. even then they are allowed to decide whether to charge duties or not. That’s why the shop in airports and at the borders are called duty free shops…. plus there are limitations on how much fragrance you can bring into the country at one time (like 250 ml of EdT or 50 ml of pure perfume – plenty for ordinary people, often not enough for us!)
LOL no, not annexed… but I’ve heard lots of talk over the past few months about passing laws to impose a VAT here too.
sadly, I think imposing the VAT on internet orders from the US will seriously curtail orders from here—-so it’ll hurt sales, but ,of course it’s not the individual retailers who get to make the decision. bummer.
Hm, I think you misunderstand… it’s not international retailers who will impose it, but inside the US. They’re saying that raising income taxes isn’t enough to dent the deficit (hello, tax-evading rich people), so a VAT may be in the works here. If you google “US VAT”, a bunch of recent articles pop up.
I have a feeling that SL would just smell better in Paris anyway, lol.
only right up until it touched my skin….then BLERHGGG!
How exciting!! I’m living vicariously through you because I was supposed to go to Paris this year, but it looks like it will probably not happen until next year now. I’m not a huge SL fan, but would never pass up the chance to experience the SL boutique!
In Spain we don’t have discounts or outlets where buying cheap perfumes, so it’s difficult to be tempted by good offers.
I haven’t bought anything this year, just a few 1m samples on line.
This month is my birthday and maybe I will buy a new perfume, but I still don’t know which one ๐
Happy Birthday!
Have a wonderful birthday!
Thank you! ๐
Well, my birthday is in two weeks. I still have time to think the perfume I want.
Isa, what date? Mine is the 16th. Happy Birthday!
Mine is 17th! ๐
Happy birthday to you too!
I hope you/me receive some perfume as a gift.
Ah, the same day as my best friend from kindergarten AND one of my closest college friends. Good day. ๐
Hehehehehee…. I consider the whole month of July a good month! ๐
I can’t argue. My godfather and another close friend were born on the 13th, and mine’s the 28th.
Aside from rollerballs, small bottles and samples (all under $30) the only full-bottle purchase was Bobbi Brown Beach, which I justify for the simple fact I would’ve wasted the retail price just driving to the mall many times and smelling it. Also, I’d really been collecting a lot of heavy, complex fragrances, and nothing seemed to fit summer quite like Beach. Plus, my five-year-old put “five on it (allowance)” seriously, and enjoys wearing it, too.
Beach sounds like a fun one, Becca B!
Well, I was pretty good this quarter, with four bottle purchases. Early on, I bought two small bottles (I’m counting them as one) of Le Temps d’Une Fete and a bottle of Stephanie de Saint-Aignan Royal Palm. Then it was time for my retirement celebration (this is my first day of retirement, BTW!!!), so I indulged myself with two more: L’Artisan’s Nuit de Tubereuse (blind buy) and Cote d’Amour (my SotD!).
Of course, I’m not counting my lucky win in the recent L’Artisan contest. ๐
Congrats, H! Cote D’Amour is a gorgeous scent for the first day of freedom…
Congratulations, Haunani! Enjoy!
Two FB here: SIP Magazine St (pre-owned) and B#9 Eau de New York (discounter). Oh, and a big ol’ split of L’Artisan Havana Vanille and a clutch of samples. That is all, My Lady.
Oooh, a bottle of Royal Palm! That is such a nice scent. My sample has gotten a lot of use.
I just got a sample from H last night, and really liked it. I’ll have to try it a few more times to be sure, but this one might warrant a split.
Let me know if you decide you might like to do a split! ๐
You’re on the google group, right? That was sort of why I mentioned it. ๐
OH! I would def participate. Shoot me an e mail if you decide to host. ๐
Will do!
Can you tell me about Royal Palm? I’ve been wondering about this one for a while, but can’t find any reviews!
Congrats on your retirement H!!! Hope you have many fun hours enjoying fragrance and whatever else you may love to do!!
Thanks for the congrats, you guys! I’m excited! Springpansy, Royal Palm was created by Stephanie de Saint-Aignan to be the signature fragrance for a famous hotel in Mauritius called the Royal Palm. It is really lovely on me, from the slightly sweet grapefruit at the beginning to the gentle spice & woods drydown. I think it’s perfect for summer and would be great too in early fall. The cardamom really stands out, to my nose, and I love cardamom!
Definitely, the cardamom stands out. If anyone were looking for a cardamom-centric frag, this would be a good one to try. It reminded me a bit of orange spice tea, or spiced rum; a good comfort scent, but not heavy or gourmand.
Thanks so much! And congratulations to you on your retirement!
Thank you all very much for the good wishes! Carlos, I’m glad you liked the RP. Nozkoz, how exciting for you! The whole retirement transition has been a little tiring for me, emotionally and physically. I didn’t expect that, but I’m very happy. If you need some hand-holding when yours gets closer, just let me know. ๐
Thanks very much, Haunani – a wisely scented hand may be just the thing at some point!
Dang – I posted a thank-you to all of you in the wrong place. Just scroll up a few posts.
Well done, Haunani. That Royal Palm is intriguiging. I’m going to have to pick up a sample.
Congratulations to you on your retirement! You’ve chosen some lovely scents to usher in your new life ๐
Congrats Haunani! I really enjoyed the Royal Palm sample.
More congratulations on your retirement! Now you’ll have even more time to play with fragrances!
Congratulations on your retirement, Haunani! I’ll be reaching that milestone myself next year. It’s both exciting and scary at this point. I admire how you embrace the new and am trying to cultivate that outlook. Good thing I’ve still got a year to practice, though! ๐
Thank you! Please scroll up to see more response from me, posted in the wrong place.
A HUGE congratulations on your retirement, H.! I’m envious – I’ll be working until I’m 95. ๐
You may very well be in good company among us….
Yep, me too.
I don’t think I’ll be able to retire even then so I’ll just work until I’m dead.
Oh, it’s been a bad quarter for me. Only 4 full bottles, all discounted (4711, Jolie Madame, Hanae Mori Haute Couture & Ed Hardy Love & Luck), 2 small bottles (Eau de Givenchy & a Crabtree & Evelyn mini), and took part in 8 splits to total of a little over $200. Splits were:
PdE Yuzu Fou
CBIHP At the Beach 1966
CBIHP I am a Dandelion
Bond No. 9 Montauk
L’Artisan Jatamansi
Cristalle Eau Verte (wearing it today!)
Diorissimo vintage
Privet Bloom
Egads. Think it’s time to chill out a bit. Didn’t I say that last quarter? And I’m sure I’ll get some new lemmings from reading everyone’s lists!
Do you like the Haute Couture? I bought a bottle unsniffed and like it very much – it’s just pretty.
Hi Mals! I also bought it unsniffed and haven’t really given it a proper wearing yet. Just sniffing the bottle, it seemed a little too sweet for me, but I will have to give it a few tries before I decide!
Ooh, love that Jatamansi. And I need to try my Yuzu Fou sample โ I have a good feeling about that one.
The first time I tried Jatamansi, I thought it smelled a bit of shaving cream but haven’t noticed that on subsequent tries. Very refreshing, although I would like maybe a little more sweetness. The Yuzu Fou is fun bright citrus. It’s grapefruity and I’ve seen lots of reviews where people say it’s skanky or armpitty – I don’t get that luckily, but can see how it could turn that way!
I get shaving cream every time, but like it anyway. ๐
Ack – 6.5 bottles. I was drawn into a purchasing spiral back in early April by the brief parity with the US buck and the Euro suffering so badly. Now that things have returned to normal in the currency markets, and because Hubby is going into a financial fit with my maternity leave looming, I have vowed to buy no more. I’ve vowed this many times before, but I’ve also run out of room in my linen closet, and Hubby is watching my collection shelves suspiciously, so I think I’ll be okay this time. I got/spent (in CAD):
Etro Anice (super-cheap, $25 I think, old packaging)
Mauboussin for Her, original ($30, same online discounter)
Eau de Patou ($60, large splash bottle, last at local store)
Nicolai Pour Homme (back-up bottle, almost done my 30 mler)
Heeley Verveine (NOT cheap, but okay because of Euro, $95)
YSL Korous (bought at the liquidators, so $29)
Pierre Cardin Choc (30 mler, $30)
All good last purchases to make ๐
These are some great deals, Erin! What is the Anice like?
Like Good n Plenties. ๐ I just got a bottle too, though not quite as good a deal… $45. My 5 yr old has been begging for it, so I caved. I use this name on BN, MUA and the google group… look me up and I can send you sample.
It’s true, it’s like an airier, more powdery version of Good N’ Plenties. It has a bit of a floral facet in the heart, and that deceptive, quiet simplicity that many Etros have. They’re often quite linear, but they grow on you. I’m annoyed they’ve gone up in price so much since the new packaging, so I wildly searched around for a old, cheapie Messe de Minuit earlier this month, but no luck so far. And I swear I’m not going to buy anymore….. ๐
Well, you got some good deals! Love Anice and Mauboussin. What is the Nicolai Pour Homme like, Erin?
I know those are two you have, H. (Another case of our tastes being similar…) I often think I should swap and split more and then I can’t pass up deals! The Nicolai PH I’m a bit gushy about – I’ve written about it once or twice at NST. It’s a very “Lavender Plus” type fragrance with some interesting clashing top notes, some sweet, orchard-ish bits in the heart and a muskier drydown, so you don’t have to love lavender if you want to enjoy it. I find it very beautiful and melancholy, somewhat like Caron Third Man or Donna Karan Fuel For Men.
Hmmm…sounds like one I should try. I’ve learned to like lavender quite a bit. So far Caron Pour Un Homme and Lutens Gris Clair appeal to me most, though I need to revisit my Third Man sample.
Just two, not too bad- 50 ml bottle of Bond No 9 New Haarlem, and a $40 Prada refill I found at TJ Maxx. 28 La Pausa, I’m comin’ for you next…
Great find at TJ Maxx, congrats!
Ohhhhhh I have been wanting my ghost layday La Pausa for a while, she’s haunting isn’t she? so feeting but you know she’s there…mmmmmmmmmmm ๐
Fleeting I meant!!! aha
I was remarkably restrained this quarter, although that may have something to do with trying to find more space to store all these bottles!
Now that Ava Luxe is back to producing extraits, I bought two small bottles: No. 23 and Bois Exotique.
I got splits of Bois Naufrage (boo-hoo, I get no salt from this, nice fig though), Parfumerie Generale Gardenia Grand Soir, and Heeley Oranges and Lemons (really enjoying it this summer).
And I gave in a bought a full bottle of the lovely, delightful PdN Le Temps d’une Fete.
Nice picks ๐
I fell under the spell of PdN Le Temps dโune Fete as well, thanks to Angela’s review.
A lot of us fell for Le Temps. Yes, let’s blame that Angela! ๐
Ooh, more love for LtdF… that one would def. make my Top Three EVER.
OMG, this was a rather shocking quarter. Is there a 12-step group for outta control perfumistas?!
No, but it would probably be like a sex addiction group, where all you find is other people with your addiction to enable you. ๐
I know this is wrong on so many levels, but that feels like a tip ๐
LOL!!
I thought this was it…No?
Take a look at Daisy’s list and you’ll feel better ๐
that is exactly why I bit the bullet and bared my dirty perfume secrets for you guys—-people always seem so guilty over their spending until a few people who lack restraint/willpower (and sometimes even common sense: like me) show up and admit their transgressions. I was horrible this quarter! HORRIBLE! I thought the confessions would flow free & easy after mine. ๐
Daisy is my patron saint of splits and swaps – all hail Daisy!! My best swaps/splits this quarter came from her herd of lemmings!!
Hey Daisy — I do hear of you swapping like mad and hosting splits and whatnot. Is that over on makeup alley? I know there was talk of starting up a split page here, but never saw it take off.
You’re right — and it’s just like Miss Kitty said, all enabling each other.
Even if you count only purchases of 10ml or more, I’ve got Daisy beat. I’m too embarrassed to say by how much. I gave myself permission to deal with a stressful time with a little retail therapy in the perfume world. And it’s been nice. But still, excessive!
OK, now I feel guiltier *not* confessing, so here goes:
Tubereuse Criminelle (30 ml partial bell jar)
Yohji Homme 30ml
Nuit de Tubereuse (15ml split)
Apres L’Ondee (15 ml decant)
Etro Shaal Nur
CdG Lily
PG Yuzu ab Irato
L’Artisan Jatamansi
10ml Frederic Malle decants: Carnal Flower, Geranium Pour Monsier, Le Parfum de Therese, Vetiver Extraordinaire
5ml SSSs: Champagne de Bois, Incense Pure, Velvet Rose, Vintage Rose, Tabac Aurea
And also…Hermes Hermessences Discovery Set: Vetiver Tonka, Osmanth Yunan, Rose Ikebana, Vanile Galante
Oh honey, I’m proud you confessed, no need to feel guilty , your excessiveness does not bother me, I totally understand.
Very nice list BTW, I’m rather jealous! ๐
Tsetse, I like your choices!!!
Ha! See? confession is good for your soul! Nice list too!
—and splitting is like the best thing since sliced bread!!! it would take super human strength to pass up all the splits that are flying around the perfumista community!
No need to feel guilty! And you have exquisite taste! ๐
I have been very good this quarter. I only bought one FB (22.5ml) of Comptoir Sud Pacifique Aqua Motu. Oh, and a mini (8ml) bottle of Prada Infusion d’iris.
I was also lucky enough to swap for a FB of Infusion d’Iris ๐
You were very good! And I”m tempted to buy that small Aqua Motu myself.
I’m experimenting with living within my means, so I didn’t really buy much of anything for once. Of course, I think I said this the last time, and everyone chimed in about splits I had been a part of. But really, I think I’ve shown remarkable restraint. The only full bottle I bought (not counting anything found at Goodwill) was pre-reformulation Mitsouko, and then I think I went in on one or two splits, although I honestly don’t remember. (Again, I’m sure I’ll hear about it if I’m wrong.) Oh. Wait. Does the Black Afgano I ordered in March but just now shipped count? And I may have bought KM Peau de Peche and ELdO Vraie Blonde in April. Crap. Ok, so I’m not as frugal as I think I am.
I keep planning to experiment with living inside my means…
It’s over-rated. Even my father has been telling me to lighten up and live a little. Of course, he hasn’t seen my perfume collection lately… he’d be appalled, especially since he hates scent entirely. He’s a perfectly wonderful father otherwise, though. ๐
The thing I worry about in regard to living within my means is that if the market/dollar keep plunging, the money that I’m saving NOT buying perfume won’t be worth anything anyway! So I’d just as soon have those vintage bottles of Guerlain.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Well, let’s see now… decants: SSS Champagne de Bois, Heeley Iris Noir & VC&A Bois de Iris. Splits: LL Pour Femme, BK Rose Oud, Guerlain Tonka Imperiale. FB: Vintage Chanel no 19, vintage mini of Lalique, DSH Minuit, Ava Luxe Incense, Soivohle Lilacs & Heliotrope, Violets & Rainwater, Acoustic Flower, Daybreak Violin and earlier in the week I ordered Fig Amarette, Vanilla OTR & Atlas Cedar but haven’t received them yet [but since they’re paid for, I included them]. Please note – all of the FB were small [10 ml or less] sizes. I think that covers everything? I really should keep better track.
Oops:
Plus – a super bargain forn TJ’s – MJ Gardenia splash and vintage Guerlain LHB EdC from the ‘Bay.
What’s Vanilla OTR? (Vanilla on the Rocks? Vanilla on the Run? Vanilla Over the Rainbow??)
๐ I may be ignorant, but I’m having fun with it…
LOL Funny Mals! I have no idea what it stands for – I should ask Liz! It’s supposed to be a non-gourmand green vanilla. Piqued my curiosity.
off the record? like, an un-vanilla vanilla? green vanilla sounds interesting!
It does!
the un-vanilla vanilla? like 7-UP Vanilla? fizzy vanilla with lemon-lime….
Umm, I dunno, when you put it that way Daisy, that just sounds kinda weird. LOL
Yeah, like a 7-UP float…odd.
you’ve never had a 7-UP float?? I love ice cream so I’ve probably had every possible kind of soda over vanilla ice cream…. of course Vanilla on the Rocks kind of whet my appetite too…..apparently I’m exceptionally easy….(or hungry..)
Vanille OTR is interesting… it’s a bit soapy and I decided that it verges on smelling a bit shampoo-like, so I’m not sure I love it. Still, it’s very fresh and interesting.
I bought seven bottles this quarter:
1. Le Temps d”Une Fete
2. Ninfeo Mio
3. La Tulipe
4. Nuit de Tubereuse
5. Citizen Queen
6. VCR’s Muguet Blanc
7. Sogni del Mare
It looks pretty bad when I see it in black & white and now I realize why I have been so broke the past month–it all caught up to me.
During the third quarter, I will not be buying very much. I’ll probably treat myself to a bottle of perfume for my birthday in August, but not much else except for samples.
That list looks wonderful!
Ohhh, but you got some good stuff. Just wear it and enjoy, it’ll pay you back.
Mals, I am enjoying it. Most of them are summery fragrances and I have one for every day of the week!
I have been surprisingly well behaved this quarter. Only the new Burberry Sport (duty free impulse buy) and a teeny bottle of Sunflowers from a discount store. I’ve been looking for a summer holiday scent and can’t find anything creamy, salty, floral with no coconut – so yes, I’ve stooped to raiding the discount stores for something that my perfume snobbery has made me overlook! No score with the Sunflowers though…
You have been very good! Offhand cannot think of anything creamy/salty no coconut, but we’re having an open thread on Saturday so you should ask then.
Thanks Robin, I will !
I have asked the same question recently to my little circle of perfumistas, we tried them all one afternoon and I’ve noted them down neatly in the perfzume journal I started to keep Im April.
Acqua Motu by Comptoir sud Pacifique
Acqua di Sale by Profufum Roma
Fleur de sel by Miller Harris
Tireenico by Profumi del Forte – the best of them all, but also the costliest
That Tirrenico sound wonderful. I think Kevin may have reviewed that a while back.
This is my first confession, but I enjoy reading everyone else’s so much it’s only fair for me to contribute. I fully intended to stick to decants only this year (and keep to my $200 annual budget), but you only have to say the word “discontinued” to me to get me to cave. So this quarter, I broke down and bought three bottles of discontinued or vintage fragrances (my first bottles of the year). On the other hand, I have a lot of patience and determination, so I got some good deals:
Fendi Theorema for $43.00
Caron Parfum Sacre EDP for $52.00
Caron Bellodgia Extrait (1/4 oz) for $2.27 (not a typo)
I mean, really, how was I supposed to pass up those deals?
OMG! There’s NO WAY anyone could expect you to pass up deals like that! Your patience paid off big-time!
If you’d passed those up, you might never get over it! What steals… (I cannot believe that’s not a typo on the Bellodgia!)
Yes, all good choices and good prices too!
I think all i bought was Satellite Padparadscha and a bunch of samples.
Please R tell me what’s that like?
I have been wanting to try that , is it really tree sappy?
I love foresty , green smells.
No, its not really green at all. Its actually rather spicy, and i will probably save it for the cold weather months. I get a mostly pepper/clove combination right from the start, which mellows after about an hour, and it becomes much fresher and a little musky, yet still retains a spicy kick.
love Padparadscha! I get a soft woody note too—kind of like the inside of one of those wood chests the boys always make in wood shop but with the pepper, clove thing too —I have decant and someday I’ll probably end up with an FB. Kind of a cool bottle & cap too.
Also love Pasparadascha! Just got my decant from the Perfume Court. Would love a FB but just wish there was a 50ml bottle rather than the 100ml size. 100ml is just too much to get through…
It’s just too costly, when I have the money I am always buying 100 ml of any perfume. I’d buy less only if biger is not avaialble. I guess you all consider this as a waste of money, ha?
I should really try that one one of these days. I thought Ipanema was really fun (and blue!), but the other Satellite I tried was absolutely awful on me.
I think I should also include a major *SCORE* from Ebay. Michael Edwards Fragrances of the World 2006 edition for *$12.50*. Does a perfume book count? ๐
Whether it counts or not, it was certainly information worth sharing! I try to stay away from ebay, seeing as how I have impulse control issues, but now I may start looking for that… I’m sure this is a case of lightning not striking twice, though.
I ran into several impulse control issues on the bay this qtr, which is why I ended up with so many vintage items (didn’t even include the empty bottles I picked up there)….
Holy cats, yes! I’ve been eyeing that book on ebay, and that’s a capital B bargain.
YES! I want that book too!!! I never thought to look on ebay for it! Good idea!
You know, I was shocked that a bidding war never developed over it and that I got so lucky. ๐
11 Bottles:
Ferregamo F Black
Prada Infusion de Oranger (Super Cheap on the bay)
Prada Infusion de Tubereuse
Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Summer 2010 Edition
Gucci Sport (WHY???)
Memoire Liquide Encens Liquide
Thierry Mugler Sunessence
Chanel Allure Homme Edition Blanche
Tom Ford Private Blend Azure Lime
Natori
Paco Rabanne One Million (SUPER DEAL ON E BAY SUPER SYNTHETIC!!!)
Lost count of the decants, but def more than 10.
Laughing at the “WHY???”
That made me laugh, too!
I inevitably seem to forget about some major purchase when I total up for these polls, but I *think* I did pretty well this quarter:
Cinq Mondes Eau Egyptienne 15 ml, $25
Chanel No. 19 EDT mini, $15
Lolita Lempicka Fleur de Corail 50 ml, $19.99 (at Marshall’s)
Demeter My Melody cologne 5 ml, $6 (I think?)
How is that My Melody?
It smells like cookies and cardboard, in (to me) a good way!
Good! Can’t beat the price.
Nice stuff!
I had to compensate the meagre first quarter, so I splurged on full bottles of Vamp ร NY, Nuit de Tubรฉreuse, and a 30 ml bottle of Felanilla, those small ones are just too sweet… and the By Kilian discovery set might count too?
Nice score!
Where did you get your bottle of Vamp A NY? I was poking around on some sites, but couldn’t find it.
I was in France a month ago and sort of went crazy in a wonderful shop in Lyon ๐
(the SA loaded me with samples too, after I’d bought the 3 FBs I mentioned above). BTW it’s called “la mure favorite”, they do have a website, you can order on-line, no clue about mailing costs though
I’ve been a bad girl.
So here goes…I’m kind’ve scared to tell you all.
I spent over 400 on samples ,( not all at once!) and I get the 2.5 ml. cause I have to have the spray action.
With my new found knowledge of what I loved I then proceeded to buy –
Montale White Aoud
Montale Queen Roses
Montale Vanilla Absolu
(they had that sale in May at The Perfume Shoppe!)
Guerlain Vetiver
Teo Cabanel Alahine
Hermes Eau des Merveilles
Cuir de Lancome
vintage Parfum Sacre in EDT and EDP
(I love ReiRien!)
V.S.P’s Fir~ever Young
S.S.S. Voile de Violette and Champagne de Bois in 5 ml.
a mini of L.L. Fleur de Corail
and the only bottle I bought unsniffed which I regret so much is K.M. Loukham Eau de Poudree’ , God I could kick myself!
One tiny spray on my wrist and I knew it was a mistake.
I really wanted Une Rose Chypree
and it makes me so upset that I didn’t so now I’m trying to sell K.M. on fleabay but ..never again will I commit such a sin!
I don’t know why I want Turkish Delights on my skin but I do, this one was supposed to be lighter, fluffier?
I plan on getting U.R.C. very soon
cause I’m sick in the head for this stuff.
And for my candied rose fix I found that M.Micallef’s Rose Aoud was the way I should have gone so that’s next too but I’m vowing no more after that.
I’m serious guys, I’m not rich, I have four girls and I’m a stay @ home mama for crying out loud,
I’m trying to get out there but nothing yet.
I got yelled at yesterday cause my hubby was all “Where the hell is all the $$ going too?” Knowing full well that I have been a nutter online since the beginning of May.
And I ain’t a kept woman by any means, no house on the hill, no white picket fence, I just save any $ I can get a hold off, do odds and ends to have some play $$ but this is pretty intense.
Am I alone? Is there anybody that can relate?
So in the meantime I’m smellin good but jobless and a obsessed woman. I just totally confessed to some major sh*#! on here.
You probably think I’m insane.
I think so too.
But I love it.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest and into cyberspace.
Cheers!
Maybe it’s time to switch over to swapping?
What I meant was, with the wonderful collection you now have, you could have a lot of perfume fun without spending much money by swapping some decants from your bottles for decants of other fragrances. New perfume, fun packages in the mail, new perfume friends, etc. for minimal amounts of money!
I know what you meant and I am taking it to heart what you said.
I really need to get into all that for sure.
And thank you for saying my collection was wonderful ๐
I think so too.
I’ve been there, done that, faced the bills and gone “aaackk…” Now I don’t buy FB until I’ve lived with a decant for a while. It helps! A lot of times i enjoy the decant but realize i don’t need a full bottle. Kind of like actually having your cake and eating it too..
You’re not alone, and I can definitely relate. I work at a non-profit and have massive medical bills, so I really don’t have *any* spending money. I’ve built up some nasty credit card debt, but I’ve cut myself off from using it. Now I’m learning to pick and choose, but my first year of perfumista-hood really did me in.
Oh Miss Kitty, I heart you<3
I have medical bills looming too, I pay the minimum on them but there are so many..See I don't even have a credit card, just a check-debit card, if there's nothing in the bank , I can't do damage.
but still…..thank you so much for saying something to me.<3
yes I've always loved perfume but I gotta say this first year of fully exploring has been madness! Thrilling yes, but insane.;)
I feel reassured to think that maybe this is just a beginning perfumista phase!
According to Tania in Perfumes: The Guide that’s phase 5, the one before the last.
$400 on samples in one quarter doesn’t seem completely deranged to me, because honestly, how else are you going to find things you like? Better to buy a hundred samples (with the attendant thrill of having a hundred different new scents to try), love ten of them, and buy two or three full bottles than aimlessly buy and buy and buy full bottles that you’ll never get to the bottom (or even the halfway point) of.
Hear Hear!!
Yes Pyramus, it didn’t seem unreasonable at the time, I guess just putting it down on here seemed …I don’t know , a lil’ obsessive?
And I agree I will never buy FB again unless I know if I truly love it!
Lesson learned on that one for sure ๐
I look at FBs as an investement… am I crazy?
Not if you love the stuff. ๐
I don’t think there’s anyone here who would be judgemental of your obsessi… eerr, hobby! But I will say, if you’re feeling stressed over it and if it’s causing marital strife, then by all means try to slow down a bit. Many of us here will be happy to swap, or heck, just send you samples for the fun of it. Since I now know how to decant [Yay, me!], I would be happy to help [though I know I don’t have the most exciting collection around these parts]..
Really RD?
Thanks for offering , I have only 1 other PPP (perfume pen pal) and that’s LBV from hortus conclusus.
She offered me a sample and we striked up a friendship.
She’s great.
But the only one,as I didn’t know how to get involved in the sample swapping with other people so I’ve just been buying for myself in the meantime.
I haven’t reached the decanting stage of perfumistahood just yet.
If you really want too please go to my gravatar and you can reach me through my email.
I’d love to smell what you have to offer , I love perfumes of all kinds. And I would love to make a new PPP. ๐
I just realized you can’t reach me that way.
My email is zebra_cupcakes@yahoo.com
Hope to hear from you soon.
All the sample swapping I’ve done is from Makeup Alley – it’s loads of fun and you get to try lots of things (and maybe unload things you don’t want)! Maybe you can swap that unsniffed mistake and trade for something great (check other people’s wishlists for what you want to swap and see what they have to offer for swapping).
http://www.makeupalley.com
decanting/splitting is easy-peasy too—so you might want to consider not just the idea of swapping the KM for another bottle but what if you swapped 5 or 10ml at a time for other things? I’ve never swapped thru MUA but loads of people do—seems like there’s a bit of everything available over there!
I dunno , maybe I should do that Daisy?
But I really want Micallef’s Rose Aoud and was trying to make a lil’ of that $$ back so I could put it towards purchasing it…but it IS about 200 for a whoppin 100 ml.
OH! I’m confused! Now I don’t know what I want!
I want it all……;)
first, if you want an FB of Rose Aoud (and it’s glorious, so I don’t blame you a bit) don’t pay $200 !!! there are way better deals out there.
You could list your bottle of KM at scentsplits.wikidot dot com and see if you could sell it out right.
How?
Where?
What??
Are you talkin’ about fleabay? I’ve been hunting for it there, no go.
You mean MUA ? Scentsplits? I’ve trolled them both, I haven’t seen my precious Rose Aoud anywhere! ( whimper) although truthfully I’m not a member of those sites, I should probably remedy this ASAP huh?
Is anybody interested in KM Loukam Eau Poudree’?
It’s a week old and I only sprayed a TINY spritz. UNSNIFFED – mistake!
I want Rose Aoud.
I want Rose Aoud!
Daisy don’t go! Somebody help me , help me get Rosie ๐
Now you have me hella nervous, ‘It’s out there, for less??????’
on the Evil-bay just search Micallef rose aoud —and a tester bottle comes up for $119.99 with free ship. No cap, no box, and the ship time you can expect 3 to 4 weeks….but I’ve dealt with this guy a number of times and everything has been perfect.
Tamara – I would never criticize you and God bless you for your honesty, but (if you’re still reading comments) I just want to encourage you to take a deep breath and step back from ordering. Put together lists of what you don’t want that you have, lists of what you think you might want, look at what you have that you love, work on swapping (mua or scentsplits or here) or even step away from the computer for a bit. I find the longer i put it off, the more my perfume “shopping list” changes and I’m relieved that I waited/swapped first, etc. Hanging out here is so fun, but it does encourage all those “wants.” It’s a fun hobby, but can be too all-consuming if you let it. Best wishes to you!!
As I read what you wrote to me I know deep down you are right.
it’s just so very hard, truly difficult.
But I do feel the all consuming pull of it more than I would want.
Thank you for thinking to tell me what you thought.
I appreciate it, I will do my best. Take care SpringPansy!
<3<3 T
I just re – read what I wrote! Please don’t judge me on here, I’m scared of what you will think now. I’m a nerdo and love you guys, don’t be too harsh. I know it sounds crazy but I do care what you all think in a odd way, I do and I have such a problem with holding back( obviously!) in alot of ways, especially being truthful , to a fault.
You’re not crazy, at least not in a bad way! ๐ Just perfume-crazy.
Muuuahhh and hugs to you my dear ๐
XOXOXO
it’s an awfully good thing that the rest of us here aren’t perfume crazy at all….***wink, wink***
Fret not! OK, I’m too chicken to fully ‘fess up, but I confess to a really compulsive quarter. I refused dental xrays so I could get Carnal Flower. I don’t really regret it, either! Maybe you learned an “unsniffed” lesson, though? When I wish I hadn’t bought a FB, for whatever reason, it makes me feel bad about the whole habit, which is crazy.
Now there is some mania I can relate too! Thank you for saying so. See it’s stuff like that , when I cut down on a grocery bill, gas money, put away 40 here and there, I like to plot my next fix.
I count on it actually. ๐
And I say Hell to the yeah on Carnal Flower, that is some delicious jus!
We need our teeth but our noses need to be satisfied.
I just got two root canals last week and paying hefty , crazy bill for that . Dentists make bank my god! Actually I should be one then.
All I kept thinking was “I could buy so many more samples and maybe FB with that stupid $$!”
Hah! Now that you mention it…I just realized I turned down the xrays first (crying poverty, no less) and then bought the CF with the money I’d “saved”! Heck, I’ll worry about my teeth when they start hurting or falling out, and take care of my nose in the meantime ๐
I did my first split a month ago and realize I have enough FBs now that I might be able to get into the swapping game, too, w/decants and samples of my own. It seemed like a lot of effort at one point, just to learn and get into the swing of things, but I think I’ve come to love this so much it doesn’t seem like a big deal at all anymore — just a cheap opportunity for more lovely scents and little treats in the mail!
Well if your interested see my reply up above and get a hold of me, maybe we can play around, I would love to make more PPP, it’s fun and I enjoy it very much. ๐
Tamara, I think you’re ahead of some people here in that you only spend actual money and aren’t dragging yourself into debt. I very rarely charge a scent, and although I can go a bit nutty, I have to stop when there is no more money.
Thanks for saying so Tama<3 Yes it's much wiser to do it with cash only, were not in debt or owe huge statements,but reading back on what I opened myself up too,of course it's easy to judge on what I confessed. I'm happy with what I have and don't regret it. Us cash only perfumistas budget hard to get what we want:)
Take care sweety<3
~T
I’m a long way from being without sin, so no stone-casting from me!
Splits/swaps can be a great way of cutting down the spending and still having some really nice scents.
Thank you A, for not thinking ill of my spendiness ,
I’m going to do better now. I hope.
Yes I need to start with the splits and such huh?
I said 5-9 but let”s see what it was really like:
(All full bottles)
Jicky EDT
Jicky EDP (I didn’t ‘get’ Jicky until I obtained this bottle)
Mitsouko EDP – I wanted to see what all the fuss was about (it was love at first sniff)
Azzaro Pour Homme – Feeling nostalgic, I guess
Rive Gauche Pour Homme
Vetiver – Santa Maria Novello – A gift for a friend
Calyx – Another gift for a different friend
Fieno – Erbe
Kiehl’s Original Musk EDT
Eau de Cologne – Chanel
Pour Monsieur – Chanel
1000 – Jean Patou
Good Lord, I have to stop myself from recalling all the damage. It’s much better when I’m not forced to remember it all!
Gifts don’t count! Unless you’re counting on them to hate it and re-gift it back. ๐
Oh, ok…so I can scratch those two; they’re definitely not being re-gifted, as they were specifically requested!
Yes .
Thinking about and putting it on here is daunting!
I admire what you got BTW.
Thanks, Tamara. My faves of the bunch are the Eau de Cologne from Chanel (lightly mist all over before getting dressed and I get whiffs of it all day) and the Mitsouko EDP – it’s no marketing feat that this thing has been around since forever. It’s breathtakingly beautiful. But I must confess: I had the chance to buy the vintage version and passed it up because I wanted the new packaging. Can you imagine? Now, I feel like a doofus for passing it up.
OUCH!
Yes I have been feeling the pull of vintage very strongly, I bet it makes you sick that youd didn’t get it. I’m sorry , I tried to get a micro mini of vintage Bandit but when i went to click it was POOF! gone. I was sad about that.
But live and learn right?
I confess I haven’t tried the infamous Mitsouko (gasp!)
Is it really all that and a bag o’ chips?!
Well… depends. If you try it, I recommend you go for at least the edp. I keep trying Mitsy, and coming to the conclusion that she just doesn’t like me. I think it’s amazing, but I, um, (SHHH) don’t wanna wear it.
Mitsy can be a difficult lady for sure. I think the Edt is too sharp….but I love the Edp (current) although I tried it several times before it just suddenly smelled really good to me (that is so weird how you don’t get it and then suddenly you just do.) And the Extrait is verra verra nice. Because I fell in love with 2008 Mitsy—I’ve never gone and sniffed the vintage (I’m afraid it’ll ruin the current one for me) . Chasing vintage is a dangerous game.
Mitsy can be a difficult lady for sure. I think the Edt is too sharp….but I love the Edp (current) although I tried it several times before it just suddenly smelled really good to me (that is so weird how you don’t get it and then suddenly you just do.) And the Extrait is verra verra nice. Because I fell in love with 2008 Mitsy—I’ve never gone and sniffed the vintage (I’m afraid it’ll ruin the current one for me) . Chasing vintage is a dangerous game.
Still haven’t tried Mitsy….but ain’t that the truth about chasing vintage, D? Gosh, sometimes I start to break out in a cool sweat when I start going down that road… LOL
hmmmm…that’s strange…my previous comment appears to have split in the womb….
too true that, Mitali! It’s just best not to go there…especially if you are a spineless perfumista (as I clearly am) sniff it, love it, buy it….go broke! and what’s worse: you can track down a vintage bottle, scrape together the $$ to get it and then find the topnotes are all iccky or worse –it’s been tampered with or supplemented with perfumer’s alcohol….there’s so much risk involved even once you think you’ve finally found a bottle. Of course I think tampering is more of a problem with VERY vintage things than with stuff that is only 10-20 years old. That said, I picked up a couple of my favored vintage ladies this quarter because I already loved them…but now I’m actively avoiding getting involved with more.
No purchases for me this quarter (bar a couple of samples) but I do regret putting off buying a bottle of Bandit since it’s recently gone up in price. Ah, well.
Oh, that is too bad, sorry!
This would have been my BEST Quarter so far (if “BEST” means to you NO spending….), if I hadn’t suddenly fallen for Parfums de Nicolai. I’ve been insatiable this last month…..thank God most of her line is available in 30ml!!!!
I understand her “New York” is amazing. If that’s been one of your purchases, do tell….
Yes, plus the line is cheaper than many niche lines!
I counted decants / minis / splits as approx 1/2 bottle, so voted 10-15. Altogether, 400 ml of perfume for about $365 (ouch). FB or equivalent sized decants:
1. Etro Anice 100 ml $45
2. A Travers le Miroir 50 ml $67
3. Mugler Cologne 30 ml $16.50
4. Hermes Eau d’Orange Verte 30 ml $17.50
5. L’Artisan L’Eau de Jatamansi 30 ml $8.50
6. LeLong Pour Femme 24 ml $25
And smaller decants/minis:
7. Montale Sandflowers
8. Montale Soleil de Capri
9. Le Labo Fleur d’Oranger 27
10. KenzoAir
11. No. 19 vtg edt
12. A Travers le Miroir
13. Ananas Fizz
14. TDC Bergamote
15. TDC Bois d’Iris
16. Bel Respiro
17. Creed SMW
18. l’Eau de l’Artisan
19. IO Capri
20. MPG Baime.
Nice!
Thanks! ๐ This was the 4th quarter of my first “real” buying year, having spent the first year or so just testing lots of things, so I don’t feel too horrible. Now, if this continues *next* quarter, instead of the “filling in the gaps” I anticipate, someone will need to rein me in.
Ah, you are so analytical about your choices, you should feel really good about the ones you really really want. Any luck on finding that signature scent, or did that ship sale already, ๐ ! Just let me know if you need talked down, I’ll do my best!!
Ladies, let’s talk one another down!!
lovely list Boo. And really, it seems to me that you got a lot of very nice things for a very reasonable amount of $$. Just imagine the tab if all of those were FB’s !!!!
Of course, if my only option were FBs, I simply wouldn’t have bought more than a couple. ๐ But yes, this is much better!
Oops – I thought I replied to this, but it posted down below. I wanted to tell you:
Nice list Boo โ and great price on that Hermes EdOV.
That was courtesy of the fab split group. I’d be richer, but have far fewer options without them! ๐
love your list, boo!
We’re definitely on the ST side of the ST-EST spectrum. I sent your package out this afternoon, btw!
woohoo, thanks! i’ll keep an eye out for it – yay! ๐
Ok, I bought 2 for me
1) Liz Earle’s Botanical Essence No 1.
2) Montana pour homme (a 30ml small bottle of the 2001 reformulation)
I also bought Kylie Minogue’s Inverse as a gift.
July will be terrible though, as I have many friend’s birthdays coming and I love to give them perfume as gifts.. although nothing niche! ๐
But you do not have to count gifts!
kaos – how are you enjoying the Liz Earle? Since Robin’s review I’ve been very curious about this one. ๐
I like it very much.
It smells of Eau Sauvage at first spray, but a bit greener, and then it goes a different way, more chypre (this is from my point of view)
It reminds me of some “old lady” perfumes at some point, but fortunately old ladies with good taste, not powdery messes ๐
I am glad I bought it, and I think I will use it a lot once summer comes here in Buenos Aires (winter just started here).
As the kind people of Liz Earle sent a small sample along with my bill, I think I will postpone opening the actual bottle until then ๐
One trick I learned is that I do not count unopened bottles against my current 10 bottle limit ๐ I am about to finish a couple of bottles so I am making room for purchases in the States in my next visit in October hehehehe.
These threads are always so comforting!
I bought three used bottles:
Gucci Accenti
Un Jardin Sur Le Nil
Dior Dune
I didn’t exactly NEED any of them, but I’m happy with them all.
Aren’t they though?
I love them, I’m glad your happy with what you got.
I think the first year of perfumania is always the most expensive, so don’t beat yourself up Tamara! Just vow to “establish a base and pace yourself”, which a friend used to use as his golden rule … although he was actually referring to beer consumption!
Once I wrote it down, I was moderately bad for the quarter:
1. SL Chergui (online discounter)
2. Parfums DelRae Debut (so pretty!)
3. Robert Piquet Futur (discounter, and my! what a big bottle you have)
4. L’A Ananas Fizz
5. ELO Like This (SO WONDERFUL!)
6. Cabaret (discounter)
And I am toying with buying a FB of SL Chene or maybe Fem de Bois as a reward for having dropped 25 lbs …
Hey D, I’m going to try very hard to apply that rule.
It’s so difficult!
but yes I will try.
I just think what you’ve gotten is all worth it.
congrats on the weight loss!
Yes do it!
I always think of what I want when I run and work out, it’s so weird.:)
Be fit for my FB? Why not? <3<3<3<3
Well done on the weight loss. Im down about 20 pounds myself. You definitely shoudl reward yourself with something new to spray on that finely toned body. As a matter of fact, i believe there is a BOD spray called Really Ripped Abs that would be symbolic, but its not really a fragrance for perfumistas.
“I want your BOD…”
Ahahahahaha!
Those commercials are so cheesy ๐
And the bottles look like Windex containers.
Get the Chene AND the Fem cause it’s on Rei Rien for a decent price ๐
spray THAT on your new BOD ๐ <3<3<3
I’ve been…pretty good actually. Lots of samples and decants, but only 2 full bottles, both from Bourbon French in New Orleans, one of which was a replacement for a small bottle I’d nearly used up. (La Vie Nouvelle and Marguerite). Next quarter may be more dangerous, as I’m having some serious lemmings…
I wish I could go try some more BF scents in person, would love to see the shop.
Hi Everyone! What nice choices everyone has made! I was V V good in the first quarter so I let a little more loose in the second, but not so bad:
FBs:
Cristalle edp (2)
Parfum Sacre edp Intense (Caron)
Eden (Cacharel)
Eau Imperiale (Guerlain)
KenzoFlower La Cologne
1/2 empty vintage 1 oz. No 5 parfum (And can I brag about this one? This is actually *my* father’s day present, lol! B/C you can’t have a father without a mother!!! No, seriously, I did it for the bottle, which is likely from the 1930s or 40s – still has a GLASS stopper. For $13!!! Woo Hoo! It is almost really totally turned, but if I give it about 15-20 minutes it smells like pure heaven.)
Splits/Swaps:
Alahine (Teo Cabanel)
Rose Barbare (Guerlain)
Angelique Noire (Guerlain)
Ninfeo Mio (Goutal)
Rose 31 (Le Labo)
I love it. I bet you smell so good!
Thanks!
Nice list and what a lovely Chanel bottle you snagged! ๐
Yes, I didn’t realize how old the bottle was until I opened it up – I had a feeling from the shape of the stopper top when I was biddin gon it, but didn’t know until I saw it. It is fun having a bottle that maybe as much as 60 years old!! I love thinking about who had it, how she got it, etc. It’s fun.
ALAHIIIIIIIINE!
Alahine very quickly moved up to the top tier of my HG frags. I am patiently waiting for my birthday this fall to get a FB. It is just amazing – it makes my mouth water! I just want to dump it over my head and swoon around all day. Total fragrance love.
Alahine is a true love at first sniff<3<3<3
I'm very happy she's FB worthy.
To repeat Mals- "ALAHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was in my “off season perfume cabinet” for something the other day and came across Alahine… had to take the cap off and sniff (ooh, swoon!)… and then had to have a teeny spritz at bedtime. And the following night, too. Gosh, I love it.
Ann, that Alahine sounds EXCITING. Must try this one, too! You all are really tempting me today!
Alahine is really extraordinary. I only recently discovered it from a swap with both Mals and DAisy, lol! I am kind of at a loss to describe it b/c it is really well blended. It is sort of a mood for me: happy, sunny, juicy, exhuberant, even sexy. I don’t normally associate fragrance with feelings of being sexy, but this one is just so amazing. THere is this amazing rich oriental flower structure with lots of juicy jasmine and then this soft yet raspy woody incensy base – like a pair of rough hands. If I was starting all over again from scratch, Alahine would be one of the only fragrances I’d ever buy. Definitely an HG.
I’ve got a sample of that. You have all certainly built up my expectations! ๐
I recently obtained a bottle of Fath de Fath EdP , which I may have, *ahem* neglected to put on my list…..but it was cheap and the bottle is so darn cool!….so I sprayed some on and at first it’s a little fruity..and then I noticed that it REALLY reminded me of something else….and that something else??? Teo Cabanel Alahine!! The first thing I thought: I’ve got to point this out to Mals!
So interesting… FdF went all into the happy warm orange blossom vanilla oriental territory with Theorema or Organza Indecense… never would have thought about Alahine. But Daisy, you know my nose it nuts and I think it smells like that Moments…. all juicy jasmine aldehydes and raspy sexy woods.
Are you for reals???? I’ll have to try that then reaaal soon since Alahine is a wonderful, magical, swoon- worthy jus.
She has me actually looking forward to a long winter..(GASP!)
She made me say it.
SLAP!! snap yourself out of it girl!!! I just got me some warm summer sun….don’t start wishing winter on us! The winter scents will wait for you! ๐
Ann, we need to Chanel No. 5 very soon. You are on my “to-email” list! But I’m curious, how are you liking the Le Labo Rose 31? I’m thinking of getting a small split of this one.
Yes, we need to Five soon!!! I really think LL Rose 31 is neat stuff. Just imagine that light sweet rose that is in like Lyric for Women, Rose d’Homme, etc, but it opens with this amazing foody cumin (not skanky IMHO) and peppery notes. On me they subside in about 15 – 20 minutes and then leave hours of the rose. It is really neat stuff. I wish they sold it in smaller more affordable sizes! But it is always floating around splits here and there. I have about 5 mls from a swap.
Alahine really is beautiful and so cozy. I’m glad to see you managed to get a decant of Rose Barbare too.
Yes, I’m glad too! Just enough to keep the edge of wanting more off!!! RB is neck and neck with Noir Epices for my huge desire for a FB!!!
Bois des Iles 15ml parfum
Chanel N5 35 ml parfum
Vol de Nuit 30 ml parfum
Le De Givenchy 100 ml edt
And i don’t regret any of them ๐
But my most favourite is Vol de Nuit.
Great scents V! I’m thinking about treating myself to Chanel BdI for my b’day in August. We’ll see…
Hm…do birthday gifts to oneself count? What about if one helps one’s 5 yr old purchase a birthday gift? ๐ Mine is coming up too.
No they don’t.
๐
Ooooh, verrrry nice set! I heart VdN, too!
OOOOOOO congratulations on that Vol de Nuit parfum! What a luxurious scent! You, my dear, smell wonderful!!!
Great list, Veronika! Vol de Nuit (extrait) is probably my top HG scent.
This quarter tally:
Par Amour Toujours and Bvlgari Blv Notte – $20 (had a $25 gift cert) – unsniffed purchases at TJ Maxx – why oh why do I keep buying unsniffed? I like PAT, but Blv Notte is going into the swap pile…
Azuree – $35 – uh, anyone want this? Or it’s going back to Macy’s!
Cuir de Lancome – $20 – bargain price on FragranceX – another unsniffed – purchased it cause of all the rave, and I couldn’t pass up that deal – seems OK, but I haven’t given it a decent wearing yet.
Yves Rocher So Elixir – $23 – yes, folks, yet another unsniffed purchase – DUMB – it’s not bad, but I wouldn’t call it a favorite!
MJ Cucumber Splash – $20 – another TJ Maxx purchase that I couldn’t pass up, and yes, you guessed it, unsniffed – are you seeing a trend here? Have I learned my lesson yet? This is also an OK scent, but not CRAZY about it.
Attrape Coeur – less than $100 for 50ml decants – my lifesaver!!! This made it all worth it, though if I hadn’t purchased all of the unsniffed scents, this would have been FREE! How’s that for logic???
Purchased some samples and small decants as well – probably $50. All in all, about $280. Not too bad, though I did just receive a 100ml bottle of Nuit de Tubereuse that I’m pushing to next quarter cause it’s not showing up on my credit card til next month! That’s sure starting the quarter out with a bang at a whopping $155…yikes.
Yeah, thats a fair amount you seem to have wasted on unsniffed purchases.
Yeah, I suppose you could call it “wasted” though that sounds so horrible, doesn’t it? They weren’t all total fails, but looking at this makes me realize that a seemed bargain is not a bargain unless I really love the fragrance! Why keep purchasing bottles unsniffed just because the reviews were good and the bottles were cheap? Doesn’t mean I’ll like them!!! Plus, I have so many bottles of fragrances that I love now, why would I waste my time with scents that are only meh? Giving myself a lecture. ๐
No likey the Azuree eh? If I didn’t already have a bottle I’d take it off your hands, I think it smells great! ๐
Hmmm…thought I replied to this! Hopefully it didn’t end up on the bottom of the thread somewhere!
Anyway, to me, Azuree is a bit too close to Cuir, and not being a leather freak, I can’t see needing both bottles. But maybe it will grow on me. Suppose I should compare the two and see which I like better!
Hi Karin, I now full on loathe the unsniffed FB.
It leaves a very bad taste in my mouth (and nose)
At least you got one beautiful FB worth your while.
I already have Bronze Goddess so no need for Azuree.
I love Cuir de Lancome, it took me a min. but now I think it’s divine.
The drydown smells so delightful, I wear it to bed.
I can’t wait for winter to try it in the cold.
My mind is really twisted to think that a $20 unsniffed purchase isn’t that bad cause if I don’t end up liking the scent – I can always swap it or give it away or something. BUT those unsniffed purchases add up to what could have been a bottle of something I really want! Note to self – stop the madness! Guess I started this quarter off right with that bottle of Nuit de Tubereuse – an instant love from a sample. ๐
I keep doing that, too – “It’s only $20! How bad could it be?” only to realize later that now I have a full bottle of something I just Like, when I could have saved up and had at least a portion of something I Adore.
And you got your Tubey Night, too!
Oh, and Tamara, I bought the original Azuree, not Azuree Soleil. Azuree is one of EL’s older scents, created in 1969. It’s a strong leather – not a beach scent.
OH , I did not know that, thanks for tellin’ me.
Leather is just starting to creep up on me,
I never thought I’d enjoy it.
Never say never in this hobby. ๐
Well T – that’s one thing for sure I’ll decant for you . The Azuree.
Forgot! Bottle of Chanel No 19 EDT – $20 (had gift card). Total – 8 bottles!
Nice list Boo – and great price on that Hermes EdOV.
our lady of extravagance would be proud of me (or just the opposite)! I haven’t bought nary a thing! but some of the purchases listed above make me drool..
Good for you! Having now finally managed it twice in a row, I can say that it is a good feeling to do a zero-spending quarter.
oh yes, most definitely. but my fingers itch, I must confess.
I love reading about what everyone has purchased. I completely understand going overboard, and I’ve been right there with guilt about purchases. On the flip side, it’s fun to match the commenter and his/her list. You guys have fan-danged-tastic taste!
I was very good in the first quarter, while under embargo. Now that I’m on the loose, I went a bit nuts:
FB:
Chamade extrait 30mL (they threw in a Guerlain FB EdC free!!!)
Perfect Chypre
Minis/decants/splits:
Parfum de Therese
Iris Poudre
Bobbi Brown Bath (impulse mistake!)
My goal is to cut down to only 4 FB this year. . .and I’m following the letter of the goal, if not the spirit. Hope you all enjoy your perfume sniffing/collecting as much as I do. It’s a great hobby, and I’ve met so many neat people, and had such fun talking about this artform. Be well.
I love this whole hobby, obsession lust for perfume HS!
I look forward to reading NST and my other favorite fume blogs, it brightens my day, although it does fuel my desire for more.
I plan on only getting the two more FB that I want
and then that is it!!!
But I need to do reign in all of it, samples and decants too.
I do love it so.
Take care and be well too;)
Good score on the Chamade!!
I second the congratulations on the Chamade extrait…..Chamade is one of the few scents that I have in EVERY concentration! I know you’ll enjoy it, great score!
Tsetse – that is one of the great sentences of all time:
“I refused dental x-rays so I could get Carnal Flower”.
I LOVE IT!
I think it shows I have my priorities straight ๐
you do.
Yep, she does. ๐
The dental x-rays are cracking me up. Wondering what I could buy if I’d skipped all mine over the years…I have never yet learned anything I needed to know from a dental x-ray.
Can I just say that because of a dental x-ray I had some work done under anesthesia….because my heart rate was elevated while being knocked out dentist recommended I see my family doctor..who discovered I was severely anemic (closer to needing a transfusion than normal)…then spent the next 6 months getting iron infusions.
So I love dental x-rays!
Wow! good catch by the dentist! It’s good to know that your dentist is not only good at dentistry but is just generally on the ball! Several years ago during a routine yearly thing with my ob/gyn he asked for general family info and I mentioned that my dad had passed of a stroke and that my older brother had had a bypass (at 38!) based on that he ordered one extra blood test —and discovered that I have an uncommon clotting condition! Sent me to a hemotologist (a rather well known fellow) who put me on some things to keep my blood flowing nicely….it’s weird how a small piece of info in the hands of a smart practitioner can save your life. ๐
I bought the following FB’s:
1. Chanel 18
2. FK Aqua Universalis (back-up, lg size)
3. Bulgari Au The Blanc (back-up)
4. Prada Infusion d’Iris (back-up)
5. TF Black Violet
I had in my crazy head that I was cutting back on perfume buying this year. I guess not, but I am consoled by the fact that I didn’t pay full price for any of them. It’s funny how one can rationalize almost anything….
Where on earth did you find the Chanel or the FK on sale??
This is off-topic – but is it confirmed that Chanel has discontinued No. 5 Eau Premiere? If it’s true, that has to be the dopiest marketing decision ever!
Really???? Haven’t heard this so can’t confirm.
orly? that would be a shame, I will have to get a bottle, just to be sure
WTH? Really? I refuse to believe they would discontinue that beauty. It has to be a great seller for them. Although, come to think of it, I do see it at discounters occasionally. Say it ain’t so, Chanel!
That seems ridiculous. An SA at our dopey Macy’s said it is their best selling Chanel fragrance. Maybe they are just discontinuing that jumbo size, which would make sense.
I’ve been surprisingly good this quarter but I’ve also really lost track of time lately & haven’t had time to indulge as much time in perfume.
Chanel No 5 Eau de Parfum 50 ml
Balenciaga Paris Eau de Parfum 50 ml
Hermes Eau de Pamplemousse Rose 100 ml
Guerlain l’heure Bleue Eau de Toilette 50 ml
Santa Maria Novella Acqua di Colonia 100ml
This, of course, is not counting all the samples and decants I have acquired in recent months.
I feel like a new purchase may be creeping up, though.
Does Hermes Eau de Pamplemousse Rose last on you? I really liked it but it disappeared on my skin after 10 minutes. Eau de Gentiane Blanche is another story (but v. different to EdPR).
It, sadly, does not. I loved it when I bought it and then wore it and it was gone within a few minutes. My bottle came with a purse spray which I kept with me whenever I wore it, but I was respraying throughout the day in a futile effort to make it last longer. I haven’t worn it since the first week I bought it because of how quickly it fades and consider it to be a bit of a waste — I made the mistake of paying full price for it at Neiman Marcus.
It’s been an utter disappointment because it was to me a perfect summer fragrance.
Try spraying on your clothes.
Hey K, I got something you might want to try…if you would like send me your email at adelajuarez_3688@yahoo.com
Oh thank you!
I’ll send you over an email.
I actually purchased the bottle of the Caleche Fleurs De Mediterranee, base on your discription of it, I looked for it and fell for it in one second.
Klytaemnestra – I spritzed some Paris on last week at Barney’s and thought of you! It’s on my Possible Next Full Bottle list now, although I might hang tough and wait for it to show up at the online discounters …
Hey, my vtg mini of Paris is nice but not getting much wear… If you’d like to take it off my hands (probably for shipping costs), email me!
I think they’re talking about the *other* Paris. You’d think when there has already been a fragrance as memorable as YSL Paris, people (Balenciaga) would be hesitant to re-use the name. I have to say, without the house name in front, I automatically think YSL too.
Ah. THAT Paris.
It was such an impulse by for me, but whenever I do wear it I remember why I bought it without any reservation. Wore it for the first time in a few weeks yesterday and enjoyed the soft subtle whiff of violet throughout the day. I was tempted to wear it again today, especially since the weather’s been a bit cooler up in DC these past few days.
There are a lot fragrances I wish I bought from discounters — see the aforementioned Pamplemousse Rose — but Paris is one I’m glad I bought when I did.
I’ve been the model of Victorian self-restraint and thrift (plus I’m a perfume newbie just warming up):
FB Lanvin Arpege, bought unsniffed from online discounter. The powder overload made my nostrils sting at first sniff, but I’m saving it to wear during colder weather and I hope to appreciate it more then.
Mini Clinique Happy: I’m sure it smells lovely for some, but for me it makes a lovely air freshener.
Mini Gap Close: Not bad at all, but not great either. The small bottle should be nice for traveling.
I’ve also got about 20 samples and it’s a lot more fun right now to sniff around than to think about committing to a FB. But my birthday is coming soon… and I can’t stop thinking about the CdG Incense Series.
It’s funny because I’ve always thought that Happy smelled a lot like a perfumed Lysol spray. My sister used to wear it and it did not mesh well with her chemistry and so she smelled like household cleaner. However, I know that it’s a very popular fragrance so it must wear well on some people.
I smelled it again and I see what you mean ๐ It reminded me a bit of a hotel hallway around noon, after checkout, full of cleaning carts.
I think you should definitely give the arpege a second (or third, fourth..) chance, it’s worth it. is that a vintage bottle or a newish one?
It’s new — just a tester I bought from an online discounter.
At first sniff it was too clean and powdery for me to ever imagine liking, but I smelled it before I had read that the magic often starts when the top notes fade ๐
I stashed it away in the closet to take out during autumn… I do want to ‘get it,’ even if I end up never loving it on me, so I’m not giving up.
I knew this was coming up… tallied up on the ol’ Excel wksheet the other day. I’ve been *better* this quarter than previously – but would have been better off skipping most of these unsniffed thingies (exceptions Haute Couture, Malmaison and Turbulences).
4 FB:
Guerlain Chamade vtg edt, topnotes slightly off
Rochas Tocadilly 30ml, nice wallpaper scent (bought unsniffed)
Hanae Mori Haute Couture 50ml, the only bought-unsniffed one I really, really like
Backup 50ml bottle of the first (Calice Becker) Ines de la Fressange
6 decants/splits:
LeLong Pour Femme – love it
Leonard de Leonard – vtg fabbo love
Floris Malmaison – terrific stuff
DelRae Coup de Foudre – nice but a bit thin
Honore des Pres Vamp a NY – swoony wonderful
L’A Nuit de Tubereuse – which I’m still on the fence about
and my usual downfall, 7 minis:
AG Mandragore 15ml, which is right now in my teenager’s room, and I think I’m content to let it stay there.
Vtg YSL Paris – wow, this was some HUGE floral back in the day!
Vtg Nina Ricci Farouche, nice aldehydic floral
Vtg Revillon Turbulences, another nice aldehydic floral
Vtg Avon Cotillion, which my grandmother wore, and which I’d swear smells nicer than her bottle (I think hers had gone off and she kept wearing it)
DSH White Lilac – nice friendly lilac
Soivohle Lilacs & Heliotrope – incredibly, intensely floral thingy
All told, 260ml of stuff for $275. (Yes, I included shipping.)
LOL! …That’s so funny, my AG Mandragor bottle is also in my teenager’s room.
My daughter – she’s 15 – is SO SO picky about what she likes. Nothing sweet, nothing fruity, nothing chypre or oriental or heavy… what she likes is DK Gold, Prada Infusion d’Iris, and (apparently) the Mandragore.
She won’t wear makeup, either. Doesn’t want to appear to be too flirty.
Oh how sweet, my daughter’s are 16, 14, 12 and 6.
The older ones love perfume but also have discerning taste for which I’m grateful.
My 16 yr. old loves a made- up face but the 14 yr. old is like yours , she can go without and feel confident.
They are all lovely, none of them need it IMHO ha!
My teen is a guy, so the AG is one of his new favorites…for now, he does love that Shalimar though.
Hm, did I ever send you a sample of Miller et Bertaux #3? That’s my teen’s favorite, and it falls under none of the dreaded categories above. Just a sharp, green beauty.
Oh, you did (thanks!). Very nice stuff, perhaps a little citrusy for my taste, but I haven’t let Bookworm loose on it. It might be just her thing.
Yeah, as I get to know your taste, I wouldn’t think that would be your style. Pass it along to the teen.. M steals mine so often, I’ll probably need to split a new bottle sooner or later, lol.
Boo & Mals—both your girls might like Floris Cefiro —of the same ilk , yet less expensive by far.
Mals: I’m laughing that you say she doesn’t like anything sweet, but likes DK Gold — which I love, but find to be a pretty big floral.
I know, it’s funny – but it doesn’t read sweet on her, more like cold satiny petals. Very florist-case, not much amber.
Good job Mals, wish I had your restraint. ๐
Hmmm no Mandragore huh?
I wonder if my teenager daughters would like it then also?
I haven’t sniffed it yet.
Hey T If you want to sniff some just say so… don’t spend your $$ on samples..email me at adelajuarez_3688@yahoo.com I’ll send you some.
Wow really?
Thank you for the offer , I definately will! ๐
Mals – I think Farouche is just gorgeous aldehyde. Good score!
Such a cute bottle, too. Sadly, the top notes are wonky and I haven’t given it a real wearing… but I will, never fear.
Wow Mals – impressive! Yay for you! Of course, you must do research for your blog. ๐
You got a lot for your money. I need to try to get some Malmaison before it all disappears from the face of the earth.
Hi Mals, what’s the Ines de la fressange like?
It’s like… a bellini – all fizz and tangy peach – over some roses and jasmine and violet, with some nice sandalwood in the base, which is probably either a pleasant synthetic or the bright, almost piney, Australian stuff. Very very girly and pretty.
Thanks. Ines herself always seems both chic and cheeky …
Great description, Mals. It sounds gorgeous!
Looks like some very good buys, Mals!
I bought a 50ml bottle of Bond Chinatown which I’ve been wearing tons… yes even in the heat… I just dab on tiny bits, promise!
And a 2oz bottle of Bal a Versaille EdC which is still in the mail so I can’t comment on it’s skank yet lol
Allure magazine called Chinatown one of the top 5 sexiest perfumes.
Do you agree, do you feel the sexy? ๐
None of my sexies were on that list but to each his own.;)
I’ve wondered about Bal, let us know what you think.
I guess it depends… if it’s myself smelling good to me making me feel sexy- maybe. I have no idea if anyone thinks it smells sexy on me. I’ve gotten no comments LOL
Then allow me-
Bunny, you smell sexy, DAMN sexy! ๐
Love , T
Why, thank you! You’re not so bad yourself! ๐
Chanel Egoiste, which turned out to be my Holy Grail. An absolute favorite.
Caron Parfum Sacre, a huge bottle of. This was perhaps a mistake. Has this been reformulated? I adore the little mini I’ve had for years, but this bottle smells flatter and duller.
Jo Malone, White Jasmine and Mint. Nice to have in the hot weather.
Histoires de Parfum, 1826. A lovely patchouli fragrance, a small bottle of which I bought at a huge discount at the Takashimaya closedown.
Santa Maria Novella Acqua di Colonia. Also from the Takashimaya blowout.
Joy, extrait, vintage bottle of. I found this gem, a quarter full, at a flea market for a few dollars. I was worried it was counterfeit, or might have turned, but it’s amazing — rich, complex, delicious.
Joy, EDP. I bought this because I loved the vintage extrait so much, but it’s not nearly as nice.
I’m still a newbie, but this has been my spendiest quarter so far. But no regrets — well, except maybe the Sacre.
In response to the P.S. yes you should have gotten that beauty pre- reformulation or pre- mutation as I call it.
It’s a nasty , soapy sharp thing otherise( IMHO)
So sad .I’m sorry.
Thanks for your sympathies! Oh well. Live and learn.
JM White Jasmine & Mint really is a great hot weather scent. I’ve been wearing it a lot lately.
It really is nice in the hot weather — like a cool, sweet breath of air.
I love Parfum Sacre – it’s one of the first things I bought last year, in one of those big honkin’ ugly Caron polka-dot bottles (I have the edp) from some online discounter. I think I paid something like $40 for 100ml. Then I heard it had been changed, so I went and bought a Definitely Prereformulation bottle (black box, different shape), and tested – and they are THE SAME. And both are THE SAME as my sample from The Posh Peasant, the one that made me buy in the first place.
I can only assume at this point that the polka-dot purple box from the discounter may have been old stock, and all the PS I have is good old stuff. (Also, recently came across a split of the extrait and had to get some of that – and it is lovely, a richer and more peppery version of my standard bottle.)
So I’m really, really sorry that your bottle turned out so disappointing.
Mals , but I find the polka dot box version different from the fume EDT in the solid gold box
and the fume EDP in the black and gold box .
I feel it’s not the same at all.
But thats just my opinion.
Either way I’m also sorry she didn’t care for it and it’s not the same to her nose for it’s always upsetting when that happans.
Thanks for your condolences — it sounds like you lucked out with your purchase!
Excellent list, and congrats on the Joy extrait!
Sigh…the quarterly poll. Well, I’m ashamed to admit that I’m well into the over 15 bottle range. And I’ve participated in at least a dozen splits, I’m certain. I don’t regret any of my purchases (well except for a couple of pesky vintage chanel no. 5 parfums that I can’t get sniff because the stoppers are stuck – and no, the sellers did not inform me they were stuck beforehand, which I think is a bit shady, but oh well, they look nice!) Since I’m too lazy to go inventory the damage, here are some highlights from the top of head:
Chanel vintage no. 19 EDT (big honkin bottle!)
Chanel vintage no. 5 EDC
Chanel vintage no. 5 EDT
Chanel vintage no. 5 parfums (3 mini bottles, two of which won’t open arghhh!)
Thierry Mugler Cologne
Men’s Carons for cheap (Yatagan, Pour Un Homme, Troisieme Homme)
4711
L’AP Mimosa Pour Moi
L’AP The Pour Un Ete
L’AP Vanilia (score!)
Donna Karan Gold EDT
Cacharel Anais Anais
Floris Malmaison (recent FB score on evilbay !!)
Large splits (30ml or more):
L’AP Ananas Fizz (hosted this one)
Guerlain L’Heure Bleue EDC vintage
Chanel Bel Respiro (Thank you, you know who you are!)
Atelier Cologne Oolang Infini
Countless other smaller splits of which I can’t keep track. Le Sigh…
Very very nice MJR!
I like yo style, staring at your list makes wanna huff your yo neck and admire your dresser!
OOh, No. 19 – love that. (Last quarter, I snagged a vintage 50ml bottle of edt in that opaque silver case thing, and It. Is. Perfect. I felt so lucky.)
I got in on a split of Malmaison, and I think it’s really great – less floral than I had expected, but still somehow better than many other carnation scents I’ve tried (and I’ve tried a lot of them!), so lucky YOU.
Nice haul!
oh yes, the No. 19 and Floris are the stars of the quarter, for sure! When I get them out to wear I literally hug the bottles and do a little jig! ๐
Did you try the freezer or hairdryer tricks (on the Chanels)?
haha, well I sort of gave a half-hearted attempt at the freezer method – I got too impatient LOL and believe it or not, I don’t *own* a hair-dryer! I have good hair, what can I say? I’ll admit my hair does look better when I get it cut and she dries and flat-irons it. But what vanity I possess doesn’t extend to spending 30+ minutes styling my hair with tools ๐
Don’t revoke my perfumista card, but I think I’m more jealous of your hair than your vintage No. 19!
second the hair envy ๐
3rding the hair envy. I don’t dry mine either, but NOT because I have good hair!
I’ve had bad luck with frozen Chanels – those delicate little stoppers are so easy to break off. On the other hand, after an old vintage Guerlain mostly leaked out in the mail (the horror!), I’m willing to fiddle with allegedly frozen stoppers. I’ve generally have had good results putting bottles in the freezer for 15-30 minutes, or repeatedly. Good luck with the Chanels!
I just bought a vintage Chanel no. 5 extrait, and the stopper was stuck. Interestingly, in the box (the bottle came with both an inner and an outer box), there was a sheet with instructions for removing the stopper. It suggesting tapping the underside of the stopper with another glass object, going around on all sides evenly so as not to unstick it in only one spot. I tried it, holding the bottle upside-down with my thumb on the bottom of the bottle and my middle finger on the stopper (so it wouldn’t come out all at once and spill the perfume). I tapped on the underside of the stopper with another perfume bottle, going once around, and lo and behold–it worked! You might want to try this.
My husband used the “vibration” trick on my JP Moment Supreme with the dauber stick stopper. He just flicked his finger nail on the stopper a couple of times, and the thing slid right out. You should have seen me trying in vain to twist the darn thing open…
Beautiful list, M., but I can see why the stuff I sent you didn’t work – we aren’t really EST’s afterall. Much more overlap than not as I like/love almost everything on your list.
And I realize I’m saying YO. Thats how I talk sometimes ha ๐
Ha! ๐
It’s fun to see what everyone is buying. I’m happy with my purchases which totaled $212 thanks to eB*y, discounters and small bottle options.
FBs
Chanel Cristalle edp (I know you like the edt better, Robin, but the edp rocks my world)
Jacomo Silences (a great hot weather scent)
Madame Rochas
PdN Le Temps d’Une Fete (thanks to Angela’s review)
Hermessences Vetiver Tonka 15 ml travel size
Small splits:
Penhaligon’s Amaranthine
AG Ninfeo Mio
I went crazy in April buying samples. Fortunately that particular kind of fever has subsided!
Vetiver Tonka, great choice! I adore it. It’s so nice it comes in the 15 ml size.
I
need
to
try
this
soon.
I’ve been meaning too but haven’t gotten around to it yet.
And yes I love 15 and 30 ml options on perfumes too.
Yes, Vetiver Tonka is amazing. I’m surprised how much of it I’ve used already. The spray mechanism on that bottle is exceptional, btw.
I’m loving the Vetiver Tonka, too! Those 15ml in the discovery set are so awesome, so nice to have in that size. And I agree SuzyQ, that the spray mechanism on them is really good somehow, there’s something a little splashy about it, in a good way.
You know Suzy, I found out that Roberto Cavelli’s Oro reminds me very much of Amaranthine, I mean the similarities are striking.
And it can be had for a song.
Maybe that was just my skin but side by side I swear they were the same. A very pleasant discovery to say the least.
Oh, Tamara, thanks for the tip. I’ll check it out!
Isn’t Silences wonderful? When I tried it last fall, I thought it was “screechy.” This spring I found out how utterly wrong I was. I happen to be wearing it today.
And lovelovelovelove Le Temps d’une Fete.
Mals, I think you’re the one who got me curious about Silences. I got a sample and didn’t like it at first but something made me keep trying and then one day–poof–it was true love.
I wore Le Temps d’une Fete liberally sprayed from my brand new FB to my college commencement–in the blazing sun and under polyester robes. Yikes! It was awhile before I could wear it again–bad associations. For me, it’s better for the cooler days of spring.
agree, only for spring ๐
Yes, better when it’s cool. I don’t mind it for summer evenings, but only when the temps are under 75F.
ITA! LTdUF is really a cooler-spring weather fragrance….and for that, I think it is unparalleled in its beauty!
And now I’m getting very curious about Silences!
Well well well. Now I’ve got something to send to you! Shall I? Email me.
See what happens when I rush a package out the door? I could have spared a bit of my generous sample. I’m undecided, but haven’t had much time with it, either.
Have a feeling more people like the Cristalle EdP than the EdT ๐
Robin, Cristalle edt smells wonderful but it won’t stick to my skin. It just vanishes. The new Eau Verte smells artificial.
I bought more than usual this time around…
Eau de Rochas
Chinatown
Wazamba
Tilda Swinton Like This
Paestum Rose
and about a million samples, 5ml and 8ml decants.
I like your list!
and ‘about a million samples’ sums sh*# ! up in my neck of the woods too. I really only like to do 2.5 ml samples but it gets spendy doing so. I love decants<3
Thanks! I am a huge fan of decants too. There are so many fragrances that I want to spend some time with without making a FB commitment…fickle me!
Darn, you just reminded me that I still have not sampled Wazamba AND that Paestum Rose is still hanging out on my to-buy list. Will this affliction ever end?LOL ๐
Are you on Make-up Alley? I’d be happy to send you a “Wazamba” sample if there is a way to get your address. It is really worth trying.
hi pekefan, that’s very nice of you, thanks! i tried to order a sample from Aedes back in the winter and they were all sold out! are you pekefan on mua? or you could e-mail me at moonfleets at gmail dot com and i’ll give you my mua info there.
It’s not going to seem like it when I post what I bought – but this has actually been the least damaging quarter since the second quarter of last year. I also included everything that I acquired – which includes a couple of things that I got in swaps and one (full bottle of Citizen Queen) that I bought with the proceeds of selling off a blind buy that didn’t work out for me.
Coty Emeraude (vintage pdt) 30ml
Coty Emeraude (vintage edc) 75ml
Serge Lutens Mandarine Mandarin 10ml
Coty Emeraude (vintage pdt) 7.5ml
Coty Emeraude (vintage spray mist) 40ml
Juliette Has a Gun Citizen Queen 100ml
Tokyo Milk Honey and the Moon 30ml
L’Artisan La Chasse aux Papillons 20ml
Annick Goutal Mandragore Pourpre 10ml
Etat Libre d’Orange Like This 20ml
Guerlain Samsara (edt vintage) 20ml
Czech and Speak No. 88 30ml
Le Labo Aldehydes 44 30ml
Le Labo Iris 39 30ml
Amouage Lyric Woman 10ml
Bill Blass Nude 50ml
Chanel No. 22 20ml
Guerlain Voyage New York 10ml
Guerlain Voyage Tokyo 10ml
Guerlain Voyage Moscou 10ml
Hermes Hiris 10ml
Kilian Rose Oud 5ml
La Via del Profumo Balsamo della Mecca 5ml
Lorenzo Villoresi Donna 10ml
Ormonde Jayne Tolu 10ml
Thierry Mugler A*Men Pure Coffee 10ml
Chanel No. 19 (vintage edt) 20ml
I love it
I love it
I loveit
I loveit
<3
nice one ๐
you seem to kind of like Emeraude. i will blame you for trying this ๐
how is this nst-trendy Bill Blass Nude?
Oh, DON’T GO TO THE DRUGSTORE AND BUY IT!! You will be hideously disappointed. I love Emeraude, but just the vintage stuff. (My favorite is the parfum de toilette, it’s so smooth.)
I think I was alone, especially among those who like aldehydes, in not getting on with the BB Nude. There’s a “baby aspirin/Tang dust” thing in the top that just killlllled me. Otherwise, it’s very nice.
Aack – yes! Do not buy the new Emeraude at Walgreen’s – you will think that we’re all smoking crack to love it so. The reformulation is a crime against perfume – fortunately, the vintage stuff can be had for a good price on eBay and I agree with Mals that the pdt is the best formulation! Just be patient and you can snag it for under $20.
thanks Mals, only vintage I will try, and of course blame you for this ๐
NST-trendy – I like it. I sometimes wonder what the discounters must think after someone reviews an old, discontinued scent and we all flock to the discounters and snatch it up.
I haven’t worn the BB Nude that much (mostly because the weather is so hot here, that I tend to wear the heck out of my spring/summer scents), but I do really like it. I think that it’s classified as an aldehydic floral (or aldehyde-green)?, but it has a definite chypre, oakmossy thing going on for me. Of course, I could be completely wrong or my bottle is doing something different. ๐
I love wearing Nude to bed. It’s the perfect sleeping fragrance…yes, I mean *sleeping*! For other, ahem, bedroom activities there are other more suitable fragrances… ๐
hihihihi ๐
Like Citizen Queen or Epic Woman! Definite “sleeping” scents.
Yes, I also find it’s a good bed (sleep) scent, although better in cooler weather.
I sleep in the Nude, too (hee hee)
Ami, I like BB Nude so much I bought a back up bottle: I’ve got plenty. Email if you’d like me to send you a vial. smaakest at yahoo dot com
Suzy, you are a doll, thank you so much, but I live in hungary…
Aww, that’s too bad. I hope you get a chance to smell it. If you like it, it’s such a bargain.
You bought some Citizen Queen? I keep waffling over buying a bottle, but to be honest, since I mostly wear it for, um, seduction purposes, I’m not sure I need more than the decant I’ve got. Love it, though.
I did – and it’s about 80% your fault, lol. After you reviewed it, I pulled out my sample and fell in love with it. It taunted me for months and I finally pulled the trigger when BE had it for $85 for the 100ml bottle – plus, I had a code for 10% off and I had just sold my decant of Mon Precieux Nectar (which didn’t work for me and found a wonderful home) and my birthday was coming up.
Sadly, I haven’t been able to wear it too much recently with the hot weather – so it’s waiting for the fall. If you ever run out or decide that you need more, we could work something out since I doubt that I’ll ever go through the whole 100ml. I do like the nice, heavy bottle and the velvety round box that it came in – it’s nice to have a few fancy bottles amongst all the decant atomizers. ๐
work it baby, work it.
GREAT list. Need to try that CQ…
I am historyguru on MUA or you could email me a historyguru at hotmail dot com and I’ll hook you up with some CQ. ๐
Oh, thanks so much C! Hey I have a question, are you really a history guru? My partner’s a historian, I’m an art historian. We’re all about the history over here!!
sheesh, I’m going to send my daughter to live with you guys…..you can all watch movies and pause a million times to identify the art briefly glimpsed in the background and then you can have discussions about Visagoths, Vandals and “those damn invading Turks!” …..sigh, we watch a lot of the history channel around here. ๐
Yep bunch o’ nerds here. Oooo HC is good! But my favorite channel is Ovation. Do you get that? If you have cable it could be in 100s or 200s depending on which company you have service with.
Yes, I am – I have my degree in history and taught history for years and years and years. Now I teach computer (less grading), but history is still my first love. Funnily enough, both my dad and stepdad have degrees in history as well and neither of them “do” history as a job either. But we do have some great nerdy discussions!
Ovation?? never heard of it….but now I’ll see if it’s somewhere in the line up.
…and then when you decide you really like CQ, but maybe not enough for a FB, you can let me know. ๐
Love that List!!!
Oh wow! what a beautiful list! I love the way you smell!
i was oh so good. maybe because CFO told me to enjoy what I already have ๐ and also because i realized i prefer variety to full bottles….so only 5ml decants this Q, and my favourites are:
i Profumi di Firenze Incanto
Diorella
Institut Tres Bien A La Francaise
Byredo Parfums Tulipe
Ormonde Woman and Frangipani
The Beautiful Mind Series Vol 1 Intelligence & Fantasy-gosh, that is soooo cool
the funniest one is Creed Les Floralies Limited Edition 2008, it makes me laugh all the time, celery scent for a fortune, hehehe
the only one that is still sitting quite far from my taste is Attrape Coeur . i just don’t’ get it…
Ooh… don’t give up on Attrape Couer, just put it away until the weather cools down. It’s phenomenal during the winter – it’s so beautiful, it almost makes me think that I could be a signature scent girl for a few moments.
oh I see, tried it in the wrong season… thank you so much Cynthia, i will revisit her during winter ๐
LOL …..’for a few moments…’ ๐
Well, you know – as much as I love Attrape Couer, I can’t give up Mitsouko and No. 5 parfum for her. ๐ But there are certain scents that make me wish that I was a signature scent kind of gal – plus, I do like the *idea* of people associating a certain scent with me, but it is not to be. Of course, I know some signature scent people and associate their scent with them and it’s not always a good thing.
I used to be a signature scent girl….and the CEO has occasionally mentioned that he liked that…..but even for my dear CEO I simply cannot limit myself to one or two scents all the time! I would be bored or upset because I wasn’t wearing what my nose wanted that day….goodness, sometimes I wear 4 or 5 fragrances in the course of a single day!!!
If you do decide to revert to the signature scent type girl—you can send your entire collection to me ….for ….uh….”safe keeping”…yeah, that’s it….
If you acquired anyone else’s collection, the rest of you might have to sleep in the garage. I’m not sure if you can fit anymore perfume in your house.
Holy cow, no room in the garage either! ๐
I just a sample of Attrape Coeur and like it a lot – I can see it would be better in cooler weather, for sure. It’s pretty sweet.
and it was high time to buy some clothes…..
What…. Quarter’s finally over? Great, now I can start ordering again!
I had to sit on my hands the last few weeks waiting for the clock to tick by because I was really bad (though I can’t beat Daisy…) in April and May!
Here’s my list of acquisitions for this qtr:
FULL BOTTLES
1. AG Grand Amour – 1/2 Oz edp in the pretty gold sprayer bottle
2. Guerlain Cologne du 68
3. Hermes 24 Faubourg – 1/4 Oz (vint) perfume spray
4. Patou Moment Supreme 1/3 Oz (vint) perfume
5. Miller Harris Noix de Tubereuse – Edp 100ml
6. Montale Chypre Fruits – 100ml (which came with a 20ml Chypre Vanille GWP)
7. Ungaro Diva – 1/4 Oz (vint) Perfume spray & mini edp (counting as 1)
Decants, Minis, and Samples
1. Guerlain Tonka Imperiale (5ml decant courtesy of Ms Daisy)
2. Guerlain Attrape Coeur (5ml decant from TPC)
3. Patou 1000 edt (5 tiny mini bottles)
4. Various samples from Tauer, TPC, and LS
3. Guerlain Tonka Imp
Total Cost: $409.00
With the exception of the Montale, all FBs purchased via discounters and that unmentional auction site, so even though costly overall, I still got a few good buys.
Now onto accumulating damages for the 3rd qtr….
cool list, nice price, go ahead ๐
Hmmm… I probably should have included Tonka Imperiale on my list, too – but I don’t have it in my hot little hands yet, so it will go on next quarter’s damage. Isn’t it marvelous though?
It’s lovely – especially comforting at bedtime….
I’ll confess before looking at the comments…
I *think* I just got the one for hte entire quarter: Etro Anice at 1/4 price (old stock sale thingie). Well, and a decant of Bois d’Iris. But those don’t count. I was good!
You *were* good! That’s terrific!
Just realized that I did obfuscate the one purchase: a Shalimar parfum mini off Evilbay which never materialized. Gack. Which is why I forgot to add it, of course.
And I must say that the ridiculously warm weather is forcing me to sit on my hands lest I buy Pamplelune. I wants it.
Dare I say, I bought A LOT . Back up bottles as well as new.Naughty me ….it was Spring Fever or something like that………..
tell us more ๐
Yes, please do….
Most of these lists are drool-worthy. Even though I (sort of) behaved this quarter when I compare it to last quarter, it is still more than I should have. I blame the rabbit โฆ he pulled me into the โvintageโ hole, sigh.
FBs
Guerlain โ Vetiver EDT Edition Voyage 40 ml
CaronโAimez moi EDT 30ml
Ines de la FressangeโInes (Becker version) EDP 30ml
Caron โ La Nuit de Noel vtg parfum (1/3 full)
MyrurgiaโMaderas de Oriente Vtg colonia al extracto -ml not listed on bottle but Iโd guess at least 1 oz (also bought vintage perfumed soaps (3) of above for my aunt who used to wear this scent as a young lass)
CotyโLโAimant Vtg PDT 1.25 oz/ Vtg EDT 1.18 oz
4711 โ Vtg EDC 55cc bottle
CotyโEmeraude Vtg parfum .59 oz & .125 oz/ Vtg EDT 1.18 oz/ Vtg PDT 6.0 oz
CotyโMystery vintage fragrance in a beautiful Lalique stoppered bottle, ยฝ full, subsequently told it was very early Emeraude (circa 20s) smells delicious but I am not convinced it is Emeraude. (Smells fab, though).
Minis
Rochas — Eau de Rochas EDT
RaphaelโReplique Vtg parfum
Chanel No. 19โEDP
CotyโLโOrigan Vtg parfum
7 pc set of Guerlain mini masterpieces. Shalimar, Mitsouko, Samsara, Chamade, all parfum, Jardins de Bagatelle EDP, Eau de Cologne Imperiale, Eau de Guerlain EDT.
Total $422.00 including shipping. Oh dear, it looks so much worse in black and white and I havenโt even included the sample orders. I really need to behave next quarter. So many lemmings, though. Oy.
I’d say your list classifies as drool-worthy, too! ๐
Thank you, MJR ๐
Loooove your list, too!
Congrats Connie on a fine list. I just have discovered vintage Guerlain, Caron and Rochas, although I haven’t tried Chamade and Attrape and several others. I love everyone’s lists although to a girl like me, it just produces more yearnings and that isn’t always good. ๐
Hey Tamara, it’s true … the more I read those lists the more I want to acquire. As for the vintages … it is a slippery slope, my friend! But I’m enjoying the slide. Tee hee!
Me sliding deeper into oblivion-
my brown hair blowing around wildly, smile on my ecstatic face,
“Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!’ ๐
I bought that Guerlain set from Saks when it was issued in the late ’90s. It’s one of the best ones combination-wise. Most of today’s sets don’t have the perfumes.
And I just received it today! And you are absolutely right about the late 90s. According to that date calculator it is from 1997! Adorable little set, too!
I was good this quarter only 3 FBs purchased.
Amaranthine 50 ml YUM
AA Mandarine Basilic Great for 5 mins then not so great, I think basil doesn’t agree with me.
SJP Covet cheapo in a supermarket – NICE
I also traded store card points for No 5 Extrait so that doesn’t count. It is gorgeous and I am super happy.
Next Q I am craving Narciso Rodriguez for Her
I’ll take that Mandarine Basilic off your hands! I was surprised that I didn’t smell much basil in it at all and have been waffling on buying a bottle for a month or so. I’m jasouza9 on MUA – maybe we can swap something if you are interested!
Ooh, nice job on the extrait!
Which NR, the edt or the edp? I only recently found out they are two different scents. The Perfume Shrine has a good article about this topic. I like the edt the best.
I was very well behaved last quarter so felt the need to broaden my collection this quarter ;):
– Voyage d’Hermes
– Cuir de Lancome
– Gucci pour homme
– Etro Palais Jamais
I can truly say I love them all, maybe atm with a slight preference for Palais Jamais, since it was so unexpected. And a bargain!
Also add interesting minis of Sikkim (vintage I think), Blue de Courrege and Dior Homme.
Love Palais Jamais! It is unusual, and it’s what Un Jardin sur Nil should have smelled like, actually. ๐
Congrats on the Voyage d’Hermes. And I’ve been really curious about Palais Jamais lately because I’ve seen it pop up so often on discount sites. Also, Sikkim is one of my absolute favorites.
Interesting question, Robin, as many of mine were for investment or back-up purposes. However, here is my short list of what I bought for my own personal use:
3x 100ml Heritage EDT by Guerlain (vintage formulation)
30ml Philtre d’Amour EDT by Guerlain (sealed)
Arabie EDP by Serge Lutens (original formulation)
Arabie Fond de Parfum by Serge Lutens
Lui by Mazzolari
6ml Ajmal AA Mask Gazelle
6ml Black Ateeq by Agaraura
6ml Borneo Jewel by Agaraura
Noir Epices by Frederic Malle [but eventually gave away – smelt different to the store tester!]
Opus I by Amouage [purchased a few days ago ๐ ]
Various essential oils
What a wonderful list! Jealous of your 3 bottles of Heritage.
Hilary Duff – With Love
Guerlain – Cologne du 68
i got especially lucky with the Cologne, 100ml for 32 Euros! original, from the shop. fantastic green frag which is strangely, yet wonderfully warm and full bodied without being heavy.
also one of the few which really change on me, others tend to stay stagnant, meaning i only get the topnotes or zoom in directly onto the basenotes…
You did get lucky w/ the Guerlain!
This quarter I didn’t buy one bottle…I came close though…while in Nice, I fell in love with Evody’s Note de Luxe. Wanted to buy the bottle but when I went back, the store was closed!! I might look into having it shipped….
I did partake in a few small splits, being less than 10ml of:
Chasse aux Papillons
Premier Figue Extreme
Monyette Paris edp
l’Eau de l’Hermine
Chloe Fleur de Lavande
SIP l’Invisible
Not too bad after all……I think being pregnant has made me spendy, thankfully!
Take a look at TPC… the Evody line is part of their current big sale.
Thanks for the tip but sadly, they don’t carry Notes de Luxe ๐
Oh, too bad. ๐
Oooops! Typo! I mean lessssss spendy ๐
We figured it out! Sounds like you’re doing well?
Full bottles:
Vintage Lanvin Arpege
DK Gold
Chanel # 5
Chanel # 5 Eau Premiere
Caleche Fleurs De Mediterranee
OJ Frangipani
OJ Tiare
PdN Eau Turquise eau Fraiche
Odori Iris
OJ Champaca
Caleche edt
Kilian Rose Oud
Patou 1000 edt
Hermes Hiris
Minis:
Pure Parfum Fracas vintage
Caleche vintage
Vintage # 5
Equipage edt
Decants:
Iris Ganache
Rose Barbare
My Birthday is Tomorrow and I can’t make up my mind what bottle to get for my self.
Hey Happy early Birthday!<3 Another year on planet earth, definately a reason to celebrate!
Honey get whatever floats your boat, have wonderful day <3
Happy Birthday, Ajuarez!
Oh, I love this list! And now you get to purchase yourself a birthday bottle?! Decisions, decisions. You’ve made some great ones so far.
Thanks, I don’t feel it was too bad. some of the vintage bottles are for referance, and keepsakes.
It will be hard to top Kilian Rose Oud and OJ Champaca!
This has been a bad quarter (and I had been doing so well!)
1. small Le Temps une Fete (more thanks to Angela)
2. 10ml Guaiac (only $28 thanks to $20 garnethill coupon)…see how I justify!
3. Back to Black purse spray set (also enabled with a mom’s day gift card)
4. Tilda Swinton Like This
5. 50ml Amaranthine (good deal on the bay)
And I did some damage on decants- but I don’t have to count those! And I bought a set of travel sprays today that don’t count! And I REALLY want a bottle of Nuits de Tubeuruse- looking at August for that.
HV: Which Guaiac is that? Have you sampled Nuit de Tubereuse yet? I think it’s a very unusual scent; I think I love the quirkiness of it.
It is the lovely Red Flower Guaiac- Joe- a delight! I am not a huge fan perfume oils- but this one is gorgeous and the oil is apt (very natural)…I LOVE the NdT- I have gone through several ml of a 5ml decant and I just like it more and more. I think you will defintiely find it on my next poll (unless I can swindle my sweetheart into getting it for me!)
OK, here goes:
Full Bottles:
Vintage Coty Chypre
VIntage Arpege EdT
Vintage Chanel no. 5 extrait
Bois de Violette
Aimez Moi
OJ Woman
Attrape-Coeur
Minis, decants, splits: none
I seem to go in spurts–I only bought one bottle in all of 2009, although it was a large one–a 200 ml bottle of Bois des Iles Edt.
Oh, I might add that I bought NO bottles or samples in the first quarter of this year, so I guess I was making up the deficit.
Oh, not at all…for 6 months, that’s not bad at all.
I bought me a 1oz bottle of Circus, a 1.7oz of Hidden, a 1.7oz of Luscious Pink, 3.4oz testers of Love & Luck and Pink Sugar, another bottle of L’Imperatrice and a 2oz tester of SJP NYC. $200 bucks!!! I seriously need to stop!!! I only paid full price for L’Imperatrice so I dont feel that bad. : )
You did get a lot for your money!
It’s so odd to see you talk of these exact two right here as these are on my very recent list of samples to buy next.
I envied you had my lovely Rose Aoud:P
Good job, great taste!
Oops that thread was supposed to go to Daisy waaaaaaaay up there when she was talking about her M.Micallef vanillas, sorry. ๐
This quarter I made up for not buying much in the first quarter. Focusing on classics this time, I bought:
1 .Bandit extrait
2. Shalimar extrait
3 Balenciaga Le Dix extrait
4. Vero Profumo Rubj
5. Opium extrait
V that is some serious jus, good job!
I am falling for vintage too<3
Tamara, it seems like a lot of us are getting disillusioned with the glut of new releases, and are falling back on the familiar and vintage.
I’ve slowly been reading these posts over the past two days as I’ve had time, and I’ve noticed the same thing!
Oooh any Vero Promfumo is a treat!
Tama, Vero sent me samples of the new EDPs with my order. All three are wonderful!
Extraits are a good investment. Better to spend on those, if you love them, than on lots of mls of something cheaper. Like – it can be better to get a hard bound copy of one book than lots of softies … if you see what I mean.
Yes, it IS like booksโwhat will you reread and love forever vs. a quick read that goes straight into the giveaway bin
And – The bottles take up less shelf space!
Fun to read everyone’s purchases. I sort of forgot to keep track…which must be a bad sign! The FB I’m enjoying the most at the moment–after really being on the fence for a week–is Nuit de Tubereuse. When I finally wore it outside on a sweltering day it just sort of opened up and became amazing…and I “got” it. Also a FB of OJ Frangipani which I love and have drained half of already.
I am still working on getting the Tubereuse, but do love that OJ!
I purchased the following:
PdE Ambre Russe
SSS Incense Pure and Vintage Rose (17ml bottles)
plus a couple of decants including Bal a Versaille, Padparadascha and HdP 1740.
I also received for Mothers Day JM Tuberose.
So all in all not too bad $ wise as only the Ambre Russe was expensive! And my collection is looking better although it will be years before I am in Daisy’s league!
ahhhh i adore Ambre Russe. HG winter fragrance for me!
Me too. It’s on the list for this fall, for sure.
I’ve had my biggest quarter yet. Full bottles of:
Chanel No 5 parfum new (off ebay)
Chanel No. 5 parfum vintage (ditto)
Eau de Fleur de Magnolia
Ca Sent Beau
L’Interdit 2002 (came as a GWP with Ca Sent Beau)
And minis of:
Coco
Shalimar parfum – TWO (one and a back up)
Elle (a mistake on my part)
Private Collection
Organza
Tocade
L’Air du Temps parfum
Violetta di Parma (a mistake on my part)
Mitsouko (bought mainly for its lovely box)
Azuree
Ca Sent Beau (proved to be FB worthy)
SSS Jour Ensoleille (LOVE it, wearing today)
Because I’m very mean with my spending, many of these were rock bottom bargains, but this is still a huge quarter for me. I’ve also rediscovered an old favourite (Arpege), and given away half a bottle of vintage Eau Sauvage. So that stills my conscience somewhat.
The L’Interdit 2002 was a give-away at my local dept store. I know, I know, its nothing like the 1957 and 2007 editions, but I haven’t smelled those, and I really, really like what I smell of the 2002 iteration. It’s the easy, light hearted slightly sweet (but not bland) floral I was after. Granted that there is plenty of choice in that category, but I’m still happy with my L’Interdit, and hopefully my taste has reached the point where I’m quite happy to go with what I like, not the prevailing mood on the perfume blogosphere. I see accusations like ‘deplorable’ and ‘piss’ hurled at L’Interdit 2002. I do understand people’s horror when a loved fragrance gets redone, but if you can judge 2002 l”Interdit by itslef, it’s pretty good. And the bottle is lovely, not like that cold, frosty bottle that was used in 2007 ( and for Givenchy’s other ‘Mythiques” as well).
It’s nice to be able to be happy with the present and not have to look back, about your L’Interdit, that is.
So glad you like JE, I think it may be the loveliest of Laurie’s creations – in the category of “lovely” that is.
Thanks, JE is terrific, but doesn’t seem to get a lot of comment.
I like to think of it as a “best kept secret” – but now the secret may be out! If you add it on top of Champagne de Bois, it becomes even more incredible.
Oooh thanks!
Gosh, I was late to this thread to begin with but now it’s really late since I read ALL of the comments! I didn’t keep track this quarter since we’re doing some major remodeling here and it seemed more important to know when the plumber, electrican, etc. were all showing up.
FB purchases were 2 Sotto Voce (darn thing has been D/C so must have a spare and a spare, right?!)
Split of Micallef Note Vanillee
Not sure how to count a bottle of John Varvatos Artisan–purchased in the quarter but being returned this weekend. Tried the sample first but it didn’t last on either me or my son. Great bottle, though.
Also bought Cartier Declaration for my son (not a gift although had I wrapped it I could have claimed it was–must remember that next quarter).
Forgetting something but oh well!
If you returned it, then it doesn’t count, but you were good in any case!
Oh boy! I’m late late late to the party, my friends (hoping no one will notice my post, perhaps?). I didn’t realize we’d be doing this exactly on July 1, and I didn’t have access to the new handy-dandy spreadsheet that is supposed to keep me more honest and shock me into spending less (uh…?).
Once again, I’m mostly buying decants these days.
So here we go…
Total spent: ~$780
Total ml purchased: ~675
Avg price per ml: ~$1.16
Eau d’Italie Sienne L’Hiver – 10ml ($10.5)
Annick Goutal Grand Amour – 10ml ($8)
Annick Goutal Duel – 10ml ($8)
Le Labo Poivre 23 – 4ml ($20)
Creed Angelique Encens – 30ml ($68)
Le Labo Fleur d’Oranger – 10ml ($16)
Hermes Un Jardin apres la mousson – 30ml ($14.67)
Kenzo Air – 40ml ($21.16)
Guerlain Vega – 5ml ($14.25)
SMN Peau d’Espagne – 5ml ($5.5)
Guerlain L’Heure Bleue EdT – 10ml ($11.1)
Ormond Jayne Sampaquita – 5ml ($12.85)
Chanel No. 18 – 15ml ($15)
SMN Fieno – 10ml ($19.2)
Byredo La Tulipe – 5ml ($12)
Guerlain Samsara – 25ml ($10.25)
Micallef Jewel – 5ml ($22)
ELdO Tilda Swinton Like This – 25ml ($48.39)
Guerlain Chant d’Arรดmes – 40ml ($29.99)
Micallef Vanille-Mandarine – 5ml ($15.5)
CBIHP I am a Dandelion – 10ml ($10)
S. Maria Novella Melograno – 25ml ($20)
S. Maria Novella Acqua di Colonia – 20ml ($16)
Amouage Dia Man – 10ml ($33.12)
Eau d’Italie Eau d’Italie – 50ml ($44.5)
Guerlain Eau Imperiale – 45ml ($22)
Le Labo Iris 39 – 15ml ($20)
L’Artisan Nuit de Tubereuse – 10ml ($15)
CSP Thรฉ – 20ml ($7)
L’Artisan Vanilia – 30ml ($14)
Diptyque Oyedo – 10ml ($7)
CSP Vanille Abricot – 10ml ($7)
Eau d’Italie Au Lac – 5ml ($11)
Mona di Orio Oiro – 5ml ($17.55)
Crown Eau de Russe – 15ml ($25)
Caron Parfum Sacre extrait – 2ml ($9)
Etro Gomma – 10ml ($9.14)
Malle Vetiver Extraordinaire – 5ml ($11.43)
ELdO Putain des Palaces – 5ml ($9.12)
CdG Skai – 5ml ($6.22)
Lutens Vetiver Oriental – 5ml ($12.23)
L’Artisan Jatamansi – 30ml ($8.8)
L’Artisan Fou d’Absinthe – 10ml ($5.7)
Carthusia Io Capri – 10ml ($4.5)
Le Labo Jasmin 17 – 10ml ($19)
MPG Baime – 6ml ($7.1)
Keiko Mecheri Iris d’Argent – 5ml ($12)
Honore des Pres I Love Les Carottes – 5ml ($12.15)
My Q3 had better be lower, is all I’m saying.
Joe, your my kinda man<3
I agree! I don’t know what’s more alluring — the great scents, or the fact that you worked out the average price per milliliter…
I know!!! lol – that’s too funny.
That’s quite a list. Almost makes Daisy look moderate.
LOL. It’s a long list, but my spending is but a mere fraction of Daisy’s.
Cool —-thanks Joe , for making me look moderate !!
mwahahahahahahaha! ๐
Maybe it’s a tie? Daisy wins on $$$$ and Joe on the loooongest list.
Sounds right! Pretty impressive, Joe!
That’s why I like virtually hanging out with them. They both make me seem the model of restraint. ๐
Oh, now the REAL reason comes out for why you like chit-chatting with us! ๐
Well, there maybe a *few* other reasons… ๐
Hmmm…and to think I had been attempting to channel Joe’s Zen-like attitude earlier this quarter… This list does really demonstrate, though, how many great scents one can amass through splits for the price of just 2-5 FBs.
Hey Joe: I think I want to come and hang out with you for a while, lol!!! What a fantastic selection!! I don’t think I’ve smelled 95% of what you got there! If you’re gonna do it, do it right! Super! ๐
Sure, come hang out anytime. ๐
A few of us have decided that 5ml is the new Sample Size… and you’ll notice I have an awful lot of 5ml on my list, so really, I’ve acquired next to nothing. HA!
5ml is the new sample size – YES!
5 mls is really the perfect size to try something on. Yes, um, I’m a size 5. NOT, lol.
Joe – that’s an impressive list and totally proves that decants are the way to go!
Speaking of which – do you mind sharing your sources for buying decants? I only know of the website that Robin had posted some time ago but there are some things (like Chanel’s Exclusifs) that nobody’s selling.
In case Joe doesn’t come back to see your question, I’m going to say that I *think* many come from the Google group Scent-splits.
Yes, exactly, the Google group which should be searchable as “scent-splits” when in the “groups” area of the Google site.
Thank you both! I’ll check it out!
Joe, of your purchases, which few are your top favorites?
Rapp: I have a couple of categories.
Some were things I was already familiar with and either wanted more of or ran out of and wanted more: Iris 39, Chanel 18, Mousson, Chant d’Aromes (I had been wanting some vintage).
Others were fairly new to me and I’ve fallen in love with them:
– Le Labo Fleur d’Oranger
– SMN Peau d’Espagne
– SMN Melograno
– AG Grand Amour
– Amouage Dia Man
And I’m so glad I got a decant of FM Vetiver Extraordinaire: It’s definitely in the top 3 vetivers.
I need to try that vetiver – it’s a note I love. I’ve been wearing Guerlain’s Vetiver (vintage edc) in the heat we’ve been having here.
You have an impressive list.
HA, you did try to sneak in at the end!
Only a couple of current FBs, one of which was a small PdN Vie de Chateau (which is the new free, right?). On the other hand, I took up sniping this quarter and trained the cross-hairs on quite a number of vintage and discontinued scents. One fav win is Patou Colony in the loveliest pineapple-shaped bottle, with its gilded glass stopper shaped like pineapple leaves. Such a pretty bottle, and the perfume, though much evaporated, still smells great. And frankly a bargain compared with many of the haute niche perfumes.
On the downside, I discovered that a couple of vintage perfumes produce hives, such as Caron N’aimez Que Moi, which is a bit distressing. At least that saves me from trying to track down larger quantities, though. ๐
Some of the best things in life ARE free, though, namely a Vamp a NY sample courtesy of Grain de Musc and Honore de Pres. I hadn’t spent much time with natural scents before, and now I’m intrigued and want to also try HdP I <3 Carottes and Coco Love.
What the hell? You too???????????
I thought I was the only one ๐
So sad huh , especially if you just love the stuff.
I’m glad I just didn’t put them on my neck , around my face!
I hope you didn’t.
It really sucks.
Tamara, fortunately, I had just tested it on one wrist, and the hives went away soon after I washed it off. Shame, though – I was really enjoying that scent. Caron has not taken care with many of its reformulations, so the modern version is probably not an alternative. I’m just grateful that I’ve never had a reaction to vintage Guerlains! ๐
Perhaps just dab a bit on your clothing ,somewhere it won’t brush against your skin?
Thanks, Seattle Painter. Unfortunately, it’s quite dark, too – I even wonder if the irritant might not be a dye. I’ll probably just spend an evening with it on scent strips from time to time. A spritz on clothing does work wonders for many otherwise fleeting scents, though.
Oh, Donatella, you fabulously leathery, unintentionally androgynous, silicone-enhanced muppet-creature, here you go…
Full bottles:
Cartier XIIIieme Heure
FM Bigarade Concentree (split off some of it)
OJ Woman
Split portions, as best as Paypal and I can remember:
Floris Malmaison
Patou Colony
Patou Cocktail
LAP Ananas Fizz
Tauer Orange Star
Heeley St. Clements
ELd’O Like This
Del Rae Coup de Foudre
Guerlain Bois d’Armenie
And a fat sample order from TPC.
Total damages? Oh, I dunno… Let’s say 600 bucks or so. OK, maybe 700 with the samples. Ciao, cara mia!
After perusing Joe’s list, I’m not sure how Donatella’s accounting practices work — do we count scents paid for but not received in Q2? If so, add in a big honking split of SL Iris Silver Mist as well as itsy bitsy splits of Honore des Pres I Love les Carottes and Love Coco and Lubin Gin Fizz.
LOL, I added everything paid for before July 1, even though I haven’t received a couple of those split decants yet.
Likewise. It would get too confusing if I had to keep track of when I receive things, and I’d probably forget to note them at all, in the excitement of a new scent to play with.
There is one bottle pending shipping and one swap yet to receive, so they are getting pushed to 3rd Q. Until it is in my hot hands, it doesn’t count!
Yipes, late to the party!
I think I only went in on two or three splits – not sure when they happened:
CdG Artek Standard
Balsamo Della Mecca
ELd’O Like This
Full Bottles:
Pacifica French Lilac ($20)
CdG Red: Carnation ($75)
Jo Malone White Jasmine & Mint ($55)
Guerlain Apres l’Ondee ($107)
FB Deal:
45 ml of seemingly vintage-ish Eau de Joy edp ($24 on the bay, sealed, fantastico)
So, I think under $400 including the decants
Next up: Byredo La Tulipe and Amaranthigh!
How are you finding the Balsamo Della Mecca? It sounds so fascinating from reviews.
I’ve only spritzed it once and am not sure about it yet – kind of foody (not gourmand in a fragrance sense, but actually smelling like food). I need to try it again in the fall.
OOOooohh Amaranthigh is on my FBW list for later this year too!!
It’s on mine, too!
Maybe we need a little tri-split for this one?
Don’t you just love CDG’s Carnation? I enjoyed wearing it yesterday and it perked me right up. Great scent for gray Seattle summers! Spicy/sweet.
Have you tried Palisander? I think I like it best of the “Red” series…
I love the Carnation! SF has all these sunny chilly days it is perfect for. I think I spritzed the Palisander on paper but not skin – my Barney’s just got in the Reds so I’m sure I will be exploring.
Wow. I just realized I’ve been such a good girl. No purchases this quarter!
So maybe, I can splurge this quarter. Now lemme start with a bday gift for myself…
I didn’t buy a single bottle this quarter or last!! I haven’t even indulged in samples. This is because I am pregnant (first time) and everything is going into either saving up for when I finish work or the multitude of things you seem to need for a baby. I keep eyeing off my lovely old wicker washing basket thinking surely the baby could just sleep in that and then I could send away for some of the samples of my (now very long) list…
Ooh, congratulations! Hopefully you can squeeze in a teeny bottle of something. A happy mother equals a happy baby …
At the start of your comment I thought you were going to say that you smell things oddly now that you are pregnant. Imagine it – imagine a pregnant woman having a sudden desire for, and lashing out on, 100 mls of Opium or Angel or something, only to find after the baby comes that she hates the stuff. Ouch.
This little piggy went to market (or the online market anyway) and got no roast beef (probably because all the money was gone on the following)…
Bandit
Yatagan
3eme Homme
Cabaret (air freshener…whoops)
Yvresse
Shalimar edp
Heure Bleue edt
DK Gold edp
Black
Rochas Femme
Mitsouko edp (old packaging 30ml $24…quite smug)
And…er…there’s more coming…
Seems like Donna Karan Gold has popped on lots of lists today—maybe it’s always been popular and I never noticed because I hadn’t “discovered” its beauty yet? Or maybe I’m just noticing because it is on the Daisy-radar now….
When you list “Black” is that by Kilian Back to Black or Bvlgari Black or….?
That has been showing up a lot and I remember when I first smelled it I was very disappointed. Maybe it would be different now that my nose is more educated, but at the time my Donna Karan experience was primarily Black Cashmere – a tough one to top!
You deserve to be smug with that Mitsouko purchase…. (Totally green here!)
I bought none, but my mom brought me back three from a European trip: Mr Hulot’s Holiday (found in Stockholm, and this one was bought at my request), CDG Rhubarb (it was also on my list) and Gwen Stefani’s Sunshine Cuties in Music, I believe. And wouldn’t you know, all three of ’em good ones! Mr Hulot is clean but melancholy and dreamy, Rhubarb is zesty and sarcastic and Music is surprisingly lovely, synthetic-seeming, yes, but a charming musky-floral. I really enjoy it, to my shock! Almost a pity it’s just 10 ml. She also bought herself Floris China Rose (?), and now she hears it’s being discontinued! Bummer. But it’s easy to replace, a very simple non-jammy rose.
I LOVE the movie!
“Only” three full perfume bottles for me:
Success is a job in New York (Bond No. 9)
A*Men (Thierry Mugler)
A*Men Pure Malt (Thierry Mugler)
Isn’t it strange that I buy sweet gourmand fragrances in summer?
Dang! That Bond is a powerhouse. I kinda like it but I think I would have to actually wear it sub-zero weather. At night.
Shockingly enough, there was virtually no damage at all this quarter! Only a vintage 1/8 oz Weil Secret de Venus Antilope bath oil – teeny-tiny & cute. And some samples, which don’t count of course. I’m so proud of myself! Trying hard to use what I have, and not buy any new bottles till I lose at least one through attrition.
Nary a one: bought a fragrance for Mother’s Day but that doesn’t count! Sampled plenty new mass-market launches…though nearly all of them smell like shampoo! I understand that’s the new trend but they still conjure up a pretty scary image :-p
I did pretty well this month – only decants, splits and minis:
Jean Patou 1000 EDT
Jean Patou Joy extrait
Guerlain Cruel Gardenia
Chanel No. 5 extrait
Annick Goutal Heure Exquise
Hermes Elixir des Merveilles
On the strength of Kevin’s article:
Eau de Guerlain (which I have known & loved & needed again)
Du Coq
Imperiale
Eau de Fleurs de Cedrat
I’m trying very hard to go from sample to decant & only then to FB. We’ll see how that goes…. Sometimes I just want to spray with wild abandon. ๐
Beautiful list! I love that Heure Exquise!! And No 5….
Thanks Anne! I’m trying to figure out No. 5 — it’s never been a true love & I thought the extrait would send me over the moon (given what I’ve read here). It’s good… but I’m still not in love. I’m going to keep trying though. ๐
Well behaved, though I spent a lot on makeup and nail polish.
The new entries in my perfume cabinet are Ambre sultan, EL Bronze goddess eau fraiche and a wonderful bottle of Cuir de Lancome. But my wallet is trembling, since I’m waiting some payments to splurge on Vero Profumo Rubj and Kiki in extrait…
I bought one this quarter, Kelly Caleche edt. Then I got rid of two. So I’m actually -1.
Wow! Well, at least you’re ahead of the US economy.
Um, yeah….. Go me?
I think you deserve some sort of an award from either Donatella or Robin!
Saweet! I’d like a bottle of Dzongkha. ๐
LOL!
Late to the party, but only because I wanted to read what everyone else had already said!
After a year of frivolous spending in that mad dash to stockpile perfumes, I finally took the “Things I wish I’d known as a Newbie Perfumista” advice seriously.
This quarter I got a few decants, did two swaps, and bought tons of samples.
Full Bottle Damage Report:
PG Brulure de Rose
And that’s all!
I’ve decided that I’m only going to buy 1 FB per month (max), since, for me, shopping at the discounters translates to having 4-5 bottles of something good, rather than one bottle of something that I LOVE. It’s been working for a few months, so I’m hopeful that I’ve got the bug out of my system!
That became my strategy this year too – no more clusters of $20 purchases. I want to save that for a few really outstanding items!
I just made my $20 purchases splits. So they’re still something wonderful, just not FBs. ๐
I will admit that I’m not limiting my sample spending, and am turning a blind eye to splits—it’s those $20-$50 bargains that were really tearing up my perfume budget!
The great thing about those splits is, if they don’t work out for you, you can swap them! It’s guilt free indulgence : )
This is going to be my strategy going forward, too, I think. No more $20 bottles unless I plan on splitting them. Good thing I have never developed a TJMAXX habit! Although those 20% sales that a certain online discounter always always snag me!
I need to drive about 20 miles in either direction to get to a TJ Maxx and then they are pathetic. Not even worth it. Unles I see an amazing deal on ebay or one of the discounters, it’s a no go for me. I think a few strategic ebays or splits are good for $20, but only if it is something extraordinary!
I’ve bought into a couple splits, done a couple bottle swaps on MUA, and bought some D&G for Women, replenished my ounce of Fracas extrait which I found for an amazing price on top of a coupon, a backup of CSP’s Vanille Peach (it was a 3.4 ounce nearly full tester on Evilbay for a steal and I couldn’t pass it up), an ounce of L’Instant EdP for under $40 which I am loving more each time I wear it and a tester of M by Mariah Carey since the DH and I loved it in spite of how much we don’t love its namesake. So really not too bad overall save for the Fracas, which will last me for three or four years at least if the last bottle was any indication.
The next quarter? I’ve got at least four or five items I’d like to pick up, but their sum total is the average price of one niche line bottle on many discount sites and includes some absolute loves–Cuir de Lancome, Violetta di Parma, Cashmere Mist Luxe and Parfum Sacre–unless I’m suddenly unable to resist curiosity and spring for a tiny bit of the Parfum Sacre extrait. That is *so* tempting…
So overall, I was much better than my first quarter spending, and am trying to go the decant route because I have so many fbs already that decants work well for enjoying a frag and really deciding if I need to own more. Too bad I’ve fallen so hard for a couple pricy Guerlains this way. ๐
I am grateful for places like Luckyscent.
I wish I’d never heard of places like Luckyscent.
๐
Ahahah! You and me both ๐
It’s so easy to plunk 10 samples at a time into your cart, isn’t it?
I probably should have posted my spending first, and then read all of the comments. But I didn’t and it has taken me two days on and off to get here. But I’ve been a very good girl this qtr. as I only bought 3 FB’s:
SSS Cameo
Guerlain Jicky – 1 edp, 1 extrait
Also two decants: Guerlain Sous Le Vent and a vintage Jicky extrait.
And Robin – I think Donatella actually *likes* hosting the quarterly damage polls as she loves lording her massive collection over us. That is until someone’s *coughDaisy’scough* collection overtakes hers!
Rappleyea – So glad to see you got the Cameo, too. It’s got such a lovely setting for the rose and was love at first sniff for me last summer.
You do beat all with the 2 Jickys though. I’ll have to cave in and buy it someday. I’ve been nursing a 200ml bottle of edt tester in the aluminum can for about 8 years… How do the old and new Jickys compare?
I had a sample of some 1950’s Jicky, and of course this decant of some very old extrait, so I’m able to compare fairly accurately. Overall, I think Jicky has held up much better to reformulations than many of their other scents. My bottle of edp, which is new, might actually be my favorite of them all.
Rapple-I’ve only tried the extrait and Edt, how do you like the EDP and how does it compare to the extrait?
I love the edt for the lovely lavender notes, but I get much more skank (I’m ok with skank) with the extrait. Is the edp a nice combo of both??
You’re right – more skank, or at least a sort of dark, smoky note that I think you’d call skank. My skin seems to eat skank. Also, since the edp is a new (gold box with gold stripe) version, both the lavender and the rosemary are much more prominent. I get the lavender from the extrait, but not the more herbal rosemary.
Hi ๐
3 big bottles: Tous Touch, Midnight Poison, Rumeur 2 (Rose),