The other night I stood in front of my perfume cabinet in frustration. I couldn't find room for a newly purchased bottle of Revlon Intimate. In the leather and chypre area where ideally I'd store it, I couldn't squeeze out a square inch without precipitating a domino-like tumble of decants. But what was this? My beloved bottle of L'Artisan Dzing! languished in a corner. How long had it been since I'd worn it? Six months? A year?
On a neighboring shelf I turned flat bottles sideways to try to create enough of a footprint for the Intimate. In reorienting Ungaro Diva and Paloma Picasso Paloma Eau de Toilette (why did I need both the Paloma Eau de Toilette and the Eau de Parfum when I hadn't worn either in ages?) I knocked over a bottle of Jean Patou Chaldée, which thankfully hadn't broken. That got me thinking of the wonderful Patou Ma Collection fragrances I'd squirreled away the shelf above. It's the perfect season for Adieu Sagesse. Sure enough, the Patous were lined up like soldiers: Cocktail, Divine Folie, Que Sais-Je, Normandie, Vacances, and Colony. All fragrances I love and have utterly neglected. And I still didn't have a place for the Intimate.
This was ridiculous. Way in the back of one shelf was a bottle of vintage Christian Dior Diorling I'd once sworn I'd sell a kidney to have, but I'd only worn it maybe twice in the past year. Guerlain Vol de Nuit parfum, a fragrance that sets me right when I'm cranky, hadn't been touched in months. (No smarty pants comments on crankiness, please.) And my gorgeous globe bottle of vintage Je Reviens! Totally forgotten.
What had happened? In my lust after new releases, I had forgotten perfume I truly loved. Even sadder, most of the new perfume I was so eager to try didn't move me. Still, I plowed through sample after sample, swapping for decants of promising fragrances, chasing some new perfume thrill. Also, I still had a glut of bottles I'd bought in my first years of perfume mania. Most of them I liked all right but wasn't wild for. Meanwhile, some of the best fragrances in the world collected dust in my cabinet.
I don't have the money to spend on a lot of new perfume, and I apparently don't have the space, either. Plus, having wonderful things and not using them feels wrong. I found an empty box and loaded it with the perfumes I doubted I'd wear much, if at all, over the coming year. In went Fleurs de Rocailles, the Paloma Eau de Toilette, some vintage Bourjois fragrances, Keiko Mecheri Passiflora, and about a dozen more bottles. They'll be in the basement for a while, and — who knows? — I may add a few more, and even, just maybe, part with them eventually.
My perfume cabinet is a little roomier now, and I've moved some old favorites up to the front so I won't forget them. Today, samples of Amouage Memoir and the new Vero Profumo Eaux de Parfum sit temptingly on my vanity. But I'm wearing Dzing!.
Have a look at your perfume collection. What great perfume have you neglected lately? Put some on and remember those old friends. It feels good. There's always time to make new friends later.
OH, the ear worm! I was a brownie scout, lol. I’m currently going through this same process with my clothes, my children’s clothes, their toys, my “stuff”… really, we have too much of nearly everything except the most important thing: time. So I’m weeding through the former, hoping to gain more of the latter. Perfume will certainly be among the victims, but I’m sure I can find happier homes for them. Most surprising case of neglect? Amouage Lyric, which I had to have… but hardly wear because it’s “special” (and horribly expensive).
You know how we react to “special” around here, don’t you? Mmm hmmm.
Besides, since you’re a one-spritz girl, think how much longer that Lyric will last you!
You got it. Every day is special.
Absolutely! Joe is 100% correct….enjoy your favorites whenever you want—special occasions may never come. Besides, while a bottle of Lyric might be horribly expensive….a split is completely reasonable
I was a brownie, too! But I was kicked out by the troop leader, can you believe that? She told my mother I talked back too much.
Go get that Lyric and spritz some on!
I was kicked out by MY mother…she didn’t want to have to drive.
At least we emerged from our Brownie “incidents” relatively unscathed.
unscathed? UNSCATHED??? we had to make jellow with those nasty grated carrots in it….and then she wanted us to EAT it. uh-huh, no more Brownies after that! Unscathed, indeed!
I don’t have any bad Brownie food memories, but there was that awful incident at the pumpkin patch…
see? trapped in the nightmare of forced shredded carrot /gelatins….I wasn’t even able to spell Jell-O correctly! (the trauma haunts me even now)
a pumpkin patch incident?? oh do tell……they always have those little Pygmy Goats that try to eat your clothing….they target the small, the weak, the distracted….and the next thing you know you’re being inexorably dragged thru the rails of the pen with half your windbreaker down their evil gullet. more trauma…..
Now I’m just happy to be alive!
All I remember is a nature hike/scavenger hunt involving strawberry bubble gum as the fixative for the “finds”.
Oh I’d be more than happy to help you with your Lyric Woman problem.
Hey boojum! I too was a brownie.
Just reaquainted myself with Coty Wild Musk Oil. Sometimes you need to go back to help you move forward.
That’s so funny– I just had the same thing happen the other day with Dzing! I ended up wearing it, but wasn’t in the mood. So now it will be another year before I bust it out again. I’m also having problems with not having enough space, and with not realizing that I’m forgetting about some favorites. The box in the basement idea is a good one. I was just going to give the cast-offs to a friend, but maybe putting them into hibernation for a while is a better idea. One thing’s for sure: I’ve got at least eight new bottles coming my way, so I’ll have to do something!
Oh the horrible–and delightful!–dilemmas we have with perfume.
Yes, I like the idea of keeping the bottles “on ice” so to speak until I’m really convinced I can live without them.
Miss Kitty – Saw your “buy list” on the shopping post. My, you’re off to quite a start for the 4th qtr damage tally!
It’s embarrassing. I’m like a kid in a candy store. Actually, a child would have more restraint, and at least some shame.
I don’t know about the “box in the basement” idea. After my dad died and my mom decided to move, I had to clean out their basement. The pile of those boxes started about 6 feet from the wall and some had been there over 40 years.
Oh well, something for your heirs to discover. Either they’ll treasure what you left behind or wonder what in the world you were thinking when you decided to keep it.
Yikes! What a chore. I hope everything went all right. Your story makes me more determined to weed things out.
Oh, I just love going to our family house and digging through the generations of stuff that no one wants to deal with; it puts me in a peaceful, happy place.
I bet people would hire you to help out with their stuff. You could make a career of it!
I hate the thought of going through it, but it sort of makes me sad and very, very anxious. However, I also don’t think moving rarely-used bottles to the basement is a good idea. I believe (er… theoretically) in that idea of “if you don’t touch it in two years, don’t keep it.”
Are you going to fetch that KM Passiflore from the depths some day, Angela?
The basement is my “holding zone” until I’ve figured out what to do since I’m too afraid to let the bottles go right away! Baby steps, you know. That said, I probably am ready to let the Passiflora go. I’d probably reach for Eau Exotique or Amaranthine first.
Rick, I recently had the identical experience, causing me to vow, solemnly, to weed out my own possessions and save my children the angst (and back pain). I wish I had my mother back so I could ask her what was so special about some of the stranger things I came across. Sadly, I ended up sending six truckloads, literally, to Good Will . . . but on a happier note, I did find a box of mom’s perfumes that she had apparently stashed away for “safekeeping” or perhaps for special occasions. She LOVED perfume and my earliest memories of her involve being tucked in at night and smelling whatever she had spritzed on for bedtime. So . . . while I encourage weeding stuff out, there is something to be said for having someone discover your beloved scents after you’re gone.
I’m glad you found her perfume! Yet I’m sad she didn’t get the chance to wear them all, too. At least you can wear them and remember her.
My collection was out of control. As soon as I had that elusive fragrance, I didn’t care as much about it. It occurred to me that this was not a good thing, and a habit I might want to break. It was very hard indeed, and I don’t always succeed. But I did gather the fragrances I no longer wore and took them to a battered women’s shelter. It made us all happier. I allow myself decants until I am sure I love it enough. Well, except for Dyptique’s Vanilla Duel, which I bought a whole bottle of because I loved the sample. I’m a bit more in control, although I can’t wear the same fragrance two days in a row.
I’ve actually been better in the past few years about not buying as many bottles or decants than I used to be, but still, I’m not using the fragrances I love nearly enough! A women’s shelter is a great idea.
I haven’t got nearly enough perfumes for a cabinet. they go under my bed but one or two of them had been forgotten over the past year they had had been shoved so far under. Moschino hippy fizz and Paul Smith floral, goodness KNOWS why I got them, I don’t even like them, but occassionally I wear hippy fizz in spring. but floral I just use to spray round the house, it smells like a quality airfreshener ha.
they’re both 30ml and there’s about half left of each so I can’t give them away as presents. does anybody want them???? lol
Be careful what you say–you just might get more offers than you know!
I didn’t think I’d get any tbh! but they are rare now or maybe even discontinued. but I kind of want to keep hippy fizz now, it brightens me up on a spring day if I’m grouchy
but I do want to get rid of floral.
I remember why I bought them now. they were on offer round about Christmas I bought them on impulse. :/ I should stop doing that.
I’d love both or either. I’m student, so anything new is a real treat for me.
yesyes take them!!
here’s my email adress: owen.bom93@hotmail.co.uk
and are you in the UK?
I think you should get another cabinet, maybe a smaller one just for old favorites. Maybe you could make a commitment to wear an old favorite once or twice a week. Shot I’m still new enough and cautious enough with perfumania that I’ve only got one of those giant Christmas cookie tins filled. Also thanks for the recs for classics on your Arpege review. I also thought of Bandit, Chanel no. 22, Fracas, vintg. Femme, and vintg. Bal a Versailles.
It starts cookie-tin sized. Just sayin’.
And quickly progresses from there to…………………………
… Donatella’s cabinet.
How I love Donatella’s cabinet. When I look at my collection and feel bad, I think of Donatella’s proud gesture toward her massive perfume cabinet and feel much better.
I should have added that I’m slightly envious of it.
Yes, she’s proud, and why shouldn’t she be?
Or Daisy’s cabinet(s)!
At the rate Daisy’s collection is growing, I’m not sure how long before she’ll need another cabinet…
My scent collection is a bit scary. That and the CEO’s head shaking inspired me to finally do something about it this past Spring. All told, I’ve got the top shelf of my armoire (12 inches by 24 inches, and it’s FULL), and a storage shed out back with one shelf (5 ft x 18 inches deep) dedicated to perfume and beauty products…..
I have decided to work on finishing already opened bottles, getting reacquainted with much-loved perfumes I haven’t worn in a while, no purchases of new scents unless I have tried it a minimum of three times.
So far, I’ve been really good! But Q4 is here…. and Christmas is right around the corner.
Good work on appreciating what you already own! Still, I understand the siren song of the new scent. I’m just SURE I need a bottle of Rubj EdP. Big sigh.
Daisy probably needs to add on a new room! LOL!
oh! look what I missed! ….umm, three cabinets is all that will fit in this room ….and I’ve been forbidden to expand beyond either doorway….although there is the shelf where I keep extra tins of altoids and printer supplies….hmmmm….
I love your secondary cabinet idea! I’m not sure where I’d put it, but if I had one I could pull out my favorites and commit them to regular rotation.
Love the fragrances you thought of, too.
Get rid of some clothes and free up a drawer.
Mighty tempting…
Places for fragrances you don’t need right now: in the cedar chest, in the linen closet, in the thing under the bed with the extra sheets for the guest room, in the sweater drawer. OK, so you’ll need a road map, but the sheets and towel benefit from being stored with perfume. I hate to admit this, but I took a bunch of samples I didn’t like, poured them over cotton balls in a shot glass and put them behind the couch to keep the cats out of that space as well as enhance the air in the room. Sounds awful, but was a lot better than Fabreze!
All clever suggestions! One reader once suggested pouring samples over raw rice in a small cup to scent a room, and it works.
Oh Angela, you make us all hang our heads in shame! How true it is. As I’m sitting here contemplating between samples of the new Shalimar Ode a la Vanille (delicious, btw for those interested) and Attrape Coeur to decide which I “need” more… Yet, in my perfume cabinet sits an old, unopened vintage bottle of L’Heure Bleu perfume acquired over 10 years ago from an antique store that I’m still too anal to open. I have a bottle of the edp purchased just prior to finding the perfume that should have been emptied by now and sits languishing, begging for attention. Then there’s the Chamade (the edt was once my signature) edp that I worked so hard to find again and it, too deserves more attention. Soon after acquiring the L’HB perfume, I had picked up another sealed, unopened bottle of vintage Joy perfume that I didn’t open until this past summer – nevermind that I have a bottle of the edp that I use “sparingly” just once in a blue moon – what was I waiting for? Then there’s my remaining 30ml of AG Heure Exquise edp, the big 4oz refill bottle was once my prized acquisition. They really should get more love than they do. In chasing after the new and unattainables, it’s so easy to forget all the wonderful treasures we already have. If I were to stop reading the blogs today, I’d still be set for life!
You open that LHB parfum or I will find you in New Jersey in December!
That’s right, you’ve got my heart racing with that mention of vintage L’HB sitting around for ten years. Please open!
Lots of hearts are racing, I’m sure!
Uh oh. It’s the perfume mafia coming to get you!
I know – This is scary! Maybe confession is not always good for the soul? The bottle looked so beautiful with the knot over it I just didn’t have the heart to open. Besides, the stopper has a bit of wiggle room and sometimes I can catch a slight whiff of the perfume that had dried near the opening over the years…
I actually thought of waiting till my 50th Bday to open the Joy, but caved in this year. Still a fewyears to go fot the “golden” number so the “devil may care” attitude may catch up on me with the L’HB and I WILL open it after all.
I also have a (dare I say – unopened?) vintage bottle of Shalimar on loan to my M-I-L who used to wear it and Chanel #5 exclusively. It sits on her dresser as decoration because my F-I-L won’t let her wear fragrances anymore.
You’re torturing us!
Operafan, my mother has a bottle of Joy parfum that she was given by her father 30 years ago and which she had not opened for sentimental reasons. By crude manipulation, insufferable nagging and brutal coercian I managed to persuade her to open it. It may be that my nose is still an amateur, but it did not smell all that wonderful to me. Its smell was quite muted and it did not last very long on my skin. (note: I did only use a drop). She says it is not as good as it used to be – so either her memory of it was over-embellished or, it has lost some of its power…In other words, if you really love the scent, squeeze all the enjoyment you can from it now!
A cautionary tale if there ever was one!
Plus, Joy is one of those parfums that goes bad shortly after it’s been exposed to air. Use it, and use it up fast!
Hmmmm… maybe I should have kept the Joy sealed and opened the L’HB instead? Miss Kitty, where were you when I was trying to decide between the 2?
Sorry, OF.
And it could just be my bottle, and my bottle alone that this happened to. It actually wasn’t until I decanted a decent amount of it that it suddenly turned brown. So maybe the moral of the story *is* to use it sparingly and rarely?
Thanks for your advice, Merlin. I’m so sorry to hear that your mother’s Joy had had some deterioration. Fortunately, mine (which I was told was of ’60-70s vintage) still smells divine, so I won’t hesitate to use it more while it lasts!
OperaFan, this one was probably bought in the late 70s or very early 80s. Also, I’m wondering if I put enough on when I tried it. I used the stick to put some on… Now I’v just held the bottle opening against my skin and upturned it and there may be some difference. Also, this is a bit unusual but perfumes I was exposed to when I was very young now smell very outdated to me. Paris and Opium, for instance. Whereas some perfumes from the same period, which I dont think I smelt then, like Coco, dont smell dated at all to me. I don’t recall the name Lady Rochas from when I was young but the scent of that DEFINITELY smelt aged to me…Someone may have worn it without me seeing the bottle. Sorry for the shpiel but the point may be just that I am a terrible judge!
OperaFan, what fabulous treasures! I know it’s hard when there are limited editions and discontinued fragrances to be had, but what wonderful fragrances you have stashed away.
Vintage L’HB? Ohhh I bet that is yummy stuff!!
That new Shalimar is gorgeous! And the bottle too!
Isn’t the vanilla blend just gorgeous?
Bergdorf’s had the 50ml tester out and I was free to play. Had to beg for a little sample with my purchase and am wearing it today. 10 hours and I can still pick up the vanilla on my wrist….
That bottle felt nice in the hand, too!
Maybe a Christmas present from the CEO….
Hello, I’m a sometime-poster over at the Posse and am de-lurking here. Was reading some of the comments about the new Shalimar Ode a la Vanille. Any idea on where to try it, get a sample, etc.? I never could swing Shalimar but this sounds like something that might work for me. Thanks!
BTW, Angela, lovely, thought-provoking post, as always. After seeing that everyone else is somewhat in the same boat as me, I don’t feel quite so guilty. “Embarrassment of riches,” as someone mentioned, is oh so true. You guys have inspired me to take a morning and start sorting my stuff (mostly samples and decants) into “like” and “love” camps and acting accordingly. And pulling out my fall/winter faves (Theorema, Organza Indecence, Chanel Coromandel, Chergui and vintage Must de Cartiers) and enjoying them while there’s still life left in them. Thanks!
Welcome! Any friend of the Posse is a friend of mine. I don’t know where to get samples, but hopefully someone will pipe up. I’m hankering for a sample myself.
I love even reading the names of your perfumes!
Actually, I have a small decant of that Shalimar Vanille that should be arriving any day now… sounds so good to me. This should make up for my jokingly disparaging remarks about Shalimar on this thread.
Joe,
The new edition still retains the Shalimar mustiness till the late drydown, but there’s less of it and the new vanillas makes it brighter – but not as bright as Eau Legere.
Well, DANG. I loved the brightness of the EL.
I so relate to this, Angela … it pains me when I realize just how very little I’ve worn some of my favorite perfumes in the past year! I love the idea of putting my non-favorites somewhere else. The ones I adore are hidden in the herd!
Get a few of the old favorites out! It feels so good to wear them again.
Angela- you are so right! What fragrance friend therapy can do for one’s soul!
It’s such a nice reminder, too, of why I like perfume.
Oh, Angela! You are speaking my language… fluently!
This has been very on my mind lately, and I’ve really made a conscious effort to ratchet down my acquisition of splits and swaps. Like you, I own so many wonderful things — either bottles or decants — that I have hardly worn in the last six to twelve months! Sure, part of that is a seasonal thing and some of these beauties will get some love in the cooler weather, but much of it is just a function of having too much. Embarrassement of riches is an understatement.
I too haven’t worn Dzing! in quite some time… and I’m afraid part of that belies the fact that I just don’t truly love it the way I thought I might. But I also haven’t worn my decants of Lyric Man or Lyric Woman in a long time; nor Dans tes Bras or Invasions Barbares. This must be corrected!
I’m taking steps though… I’m looking deeper onto the shelf and into the older boxes of decants more often recently. I sniffed Epic Woman last weekend and I am making a date with her in the near future. Today I’m wearing the Geranium pour Monsieur that I was so incredibly eager to acquire about a year ago, yet have let languish. I love reuniting with these old “friends” … it’s just like meeting up for coffee with a bestie from high school or college and feeling as if hardly any time has passed and you know and love each other the way you always have. Keep the old, indeed!
Hurray! Keep up the good work! (How nice it is just to hear the names of those fragrances.)
You bring up a good point, though: absence makes the heart (and nose) grow fonder. Maybe because you forget about them for so long, they’re that much more appealing when you do get around to wearing them. One of the reasons I’m glad that I have such a huge frangrance wardrobe is because I don’t ever have a day where I think, “I don’t have anything to wear that fits my mood.” It’s nice to have backups… a LOT of backups.
So true! There are plenty of days when I may not know what to wear, but I always have a perfume that fits the mood.
What’s really sick is that there are rare days when — even with all the scents around — I’m totally undecided as to what to wear. I still always leave the house with something on though.
Those are the days I skip it and look forward to testing something when I get home. Or, if I’m feeling bold (or the few coworkers who sit anywhere near me are all going to be out), I’ll grab some samples and do the testing at work.
Maybe too many choices makes it more difficult rather than easier sometimes.
That’s definitely the case for me… thus the desire to weed out the mistakes and casual likes.
SO TRUE! The more scents I try the more I realise that Bandit, Tabac Blond and OJ Woman really are my favourites, no matter what I may smell today or in the future! I’m really, really realising that I MUST NOT purchase new perfumes just because I like them! Because there are LOADS that I like. I’m being very ruthless and keeping samples, and letting TIME dictate which ones will best stand its test!! Great article! xx
Impeccable taste – Bandit, TB, and OJW.
Agreed!
Ooooh, thank you! Lovely to receive such a nice compliment! You must have impeccable taste yourself in order to recognise MY impeccable taste!
We’re a mutual admiration society!
We must be scent twins! Those are three of my very favorites.
Yes, we definitely are scent twins. Based on your reviews and articles, we tend towards ‘skank’!!
Hmm, although, I tend to think of you as an almost EST, and while I haven’t tried Tabac Blond, I do love Bandit and OJW… so once again, I’ll have to find a pattern of where we intersect.
It’s a complex equation, no doubt. Maybe we intersect best on seasonal fragrances?
You gals with the under loved Dzing! can just send it my way.
I’ve been lusting after it for more than a year but making do with samples. My collection is not nearly as large as most of you since I’m a newbie with a small budget but I’ll swap samples or decants if I have something you’d like.
I would happily send you a decant. Click my name above for my contact/email info.
And if you don’t get enough from Joe, I am happy to share a decant with you, as well.
I’ve got more than enough to share. Just message me at MUA.
Oh, I’m definitely correcting my Dzing underappreciation! I hope you get your own bottle soon and use every drop.
I really enjoyed this, as usual. Thank goodness I am the oldest of SEVEN girls (there’s one boy in there). If an unused bottle gives me guilt, I give it away to a lucky sister! And now I have a daughter; she’ll have a lot of perfume to play with one day.
I hope they see fit to pass a few goodies your way, too! You are a generous sister.
Mechant Loup and Gucci eau de parfum are two that I have to wear with the cooler weather arriving.
Angela, if you have time could you please comment on the difference between the Paloma EDT and EDP? Is it merely strength or did they re-work the structure? The EDP is all oakmoss and leather on me, I’m curious about the EDT. TIA!
To me, the EdT (now discontinued, I think) is greener and less mossy, but still definitely Paloma. As usual, I need to wear the EdP more often–I can’t think of the last time I wore it.
I can’t say I relate to this very much, being a newbie with just a couple bottles on my dresser
I’ve had perfumes that I’ve liked, and others that I remember fondly because I’ve worn them at specific times of my life and now they make me feel sentimental when I smell them. But there’s been very few that I’ve loved, and fewer still (perhaps Santal Blanc, maybe Shalimar) that I think I could love for years to come.
I get excited sometimes trying a new perfume and I often swear I must have a full bottle of it. But I always make myself wear that perfume for several days in a row, at least, until I’m sure it’s just not the novelty that makes it beautiful and exciting.. Then I try a couple more samples and see if I’m still thinking about the first one that I swore I loved.
Reading the comments of more experienced perfumistas reminds me to slow down and make sure I really love something before I buy it. I’ve sniffed quite a few perfumes over the past few months, but there’s still tons of unexplored territory that I don’t want to settle now for something that I just think is great. If I’ve learned anything from sampling SL, it’s that genius in perfume IS possible and worth taking your time and searching.
You have to feel with a new perfume that it’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship
You are so smart to live with a perfume a while before committing to a bottle! I’m not anywhere as bad as I was, but I bought far too many bottles of scents I liked because they were a good price and not because I truly loved them.
I’m someone who likes to sample/sniff as much as possible but who hates having a huge collection so I only buy few full bottles. I own 12 FBs right now with only 3 or 4 more on the wish list which is probably relatively tame by perfumista standards.
Despite this, I still find it quite easy to constantly chase after the next new thing and forget to enjoy what I already have which is stupid since I have bottles of stuff that I truly adore. So recently I’ve been making conscious effort to reach for the bottles more and spend my days blissfully inhaling things like 31 Rue Cambon, Cuir De Russie, Bandit and Lyric. Every day is a special occasion this way
That is a very tame collection by my standards! I really admire your approach, though, and your resolve to enjoy the perfume you have.
Abyss – I need to aspire towards your attitude, as (I’m sure) many of us would like to.
A wonderful post, Angela!
I recently did the “seasonal swap” of my fragrances, putting the light summery things away in my bedside cabinet, while the current-season stuff moved to the hatbox on the dresser. (Yes, yes, they’re away from the light!) I realized that I’d let a few of my favorites languish – particularly the vintage lovelies like L’Origan parfum and Je Reviens – and I’d need to remedy that soon.
The swap does force me to actually handle bottles and is a good reminder of what I’ve got on hand. My decant/bottle buying has slowed considerably, even if I do still have a weakness for vintage minis from ebay, and I think that must be a good thing.
Wore Aimez-Moi today, as a matter of fact, and it was one of my early purchases that I’d been neglecting.
Jolie Madame parfum! Must wear that in the fall, too.
Yes!
Mmm…! I just got a bottle of vintage Jolie Madame, and I’m loving it. (And apparently everyone around me is, too. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments.) Mals, you have the vintage, too, right? I need to compare it to the current incarnation, but I feel like they’re a lot different.
What I have of JM is three small bottles of vintage parfum, of differing ages/sizes, and a large bottle of more recent-but-not current edt.
I do a seasonal switch in my closet, and I always end up sending things off with friends or to Goodwill that way, and I can see how the seasonal switch with perfume would keep me in touch with my collection, too.
Love the hatbox idea!
I just did that too. Once I get caught up a bit on the house, I do plan to start weeding through my decants to decide which were mistakes, and send them along to happier homes. A large part of my trouble, of course, is that Scent Glue skin; every day, I have to choose between wearing something and testing something. I simply cannot do both.
That does make it rough. If you can wear a few perfumes a day it helps satisfy the urge to try new things while still wearing old ones.
This ALMOST makes my scent devouring skin seem like an advantage…
It has its advantages!
One of the advantages is the number of perfumes that I don’t need to buy because, although amazing, are just too short-lived on me…
Ahhhh, vintage Je Revien (in the lovely round globe bottle no less). I had that exact one years ago but mine had stars on it. The empty bottle is now tucked into my lingerie drawer. I have one last bottle of vintage perfume which I dab out once and awhile. I do not like to new version at all!!
Mine has stars on it, too. I love it. I’m crazy for not wearing it more often!
Je Reviens! Every Christmas I want to give this to my mother. It was her honeymoon perfume in 1963. She politely accepts the newer versions I’ve been able to procure. The “globe” bottle and that blue glow inside are just inimitable!
I swear the perfume itself glows on skin. At least the vintage version does.
Very timely post, I was looking at my perfume drawers in my cabinet yesterday trying to count the bottle of things I “loved” vs. “liked” and I wasn’t too happy with the outcome.
As someone else mentioned, if I stopped now I’d be fine for the rest of my life.
I am not that compelled by most of the newer releases since I’ve been sucked into the world of vintage treasures. I also got a bottle of Revlon Intimate (LOVE!!!) based on your review, and now there is no hope for me, LOL!
I’m glad the Intimate works for you!
Has anyone else noticed that the price for a bottle of Intimate on ebay has skyrocketed? I don’t think it’s a coincidence.
Wow! The power.
I made myself a promise that I wouldn’t buy vintage blind unless it was under a certain price point.
That way if it was bad or I truly hated it I would only be calculating how many McDonald’s Happy Meals it cost me!
That is the only way to buy vintage on eBay! I don’t spend more than I could stand to lose if whatever-it-is is a total bust.
That said, I did blow $33 on a slightly-used 1 oz bottle of No. 5 parfum – it looked old, but I didn’t realize HOW old until I got it. It is gorgeous.
And $36 on a slightly-used 1 oz bottle of L’Heure Bleue parfum. Which, sadly, I don’t wear all that much – turns out that it goes too pastry-like in cold weather and the only time I totally dig it is about August.
Other than that, though, “always under $20 (and preferably under $10)” is the rule…
Fabulous deals!
$33 for a 1 oz bottle of No. 5?? That would be crazy cheap if it was even EdT or EdP. Yowza. The other day I was contemplating a $135 bottle of the parfum. This certainly puts it on perspective.
Oh, ha, that was you who got *my* bottle of No 5!?! Well, I hope you enjoy it! There is always another one coming down the pike…. The old No 5 is just tremendous!
That sounds like a smart rule.
Ha, ha – that’s really true! I compared current prices to comps and made a mental note to try again in a few weeks, LOL!
Should we report Angie to the SEC for manipulation of the fragrance markets?
Except that I don’t profit from it!
I’ve recently gone through a similar experience; I decided, after the last damage poll, that I needed a true inventory of my perfumes since:
1. I’m running out of room in my cabinet (and don’t want to buy another one!)!, and,
2. Choosing in the morning is harder when you don’t know what you have!
I found out that I have 115 choices confronting me each morning, which is more than enough.
Rehab Step one: Decant myself reasonable portions of favorites, like Eau Premiere into a 10mL atomizer, and swap the rest away for other small decants.
Rehab Step two: no more full bottles! I’m swapping what I’ve got for the things I want, and splits are filling in the gray areas.
It’s working out well so far: I’ve got 4 swaps going for things I really want, all at the cost of shipping, and the bottles are small enough that I won’t have to boot any of my loves!
Good thinking! I admit, though, that I love looking at bottles. Decants have saved my wallet many a time, but a full bottle is a beautiful thing.
Especially those Amouage bottles!
Yes, darn it.
Some of them are true art! I do aspire to Donatella cabinets, but that’s a LOOONG way off
Dee: You think 10ml is a reasonable portion of a favorite? Make it 25 and then swap the rest away.
Joe, I have so many favorites!
I like your plan, Dee. I may need to print this out and tape it to my perfume cabinet. I’ve actually been able to make myself let go of a few things once I made a small decant for myself. I have a lot of “just for reference” bottles, which is kind of absurd.
Reference perfumes are so useful! But full bottles? Bad kitty!
Maybe we should consider forming a “Perfumaholics Anonymous” group somewhere down the road and discuss our strategic plans and hold eachother to it.
…or just get together and swap decants! Ha
Uh, I mean, offer support.
Spoken like a true addict! I’ll bring my decanting supplies.
Yes, well, that too!
Oh Angela, you are so singing my song! I know all about the not enough room left in the cabinet. I just e mailed Joe today how I may need to rent another apt just for my “FUME” things. Let’s see, some of my neglected….Jubilation XXV, DZING, Clive Christian X,1872 and #1, Silver Factory, and countless others. I’m sure I will get these back into rotation once it starts getting colder out.
Such great perfumes to neglect! You must get them out for use soon!
I live in a tiny house, but every once in a while I think of co-opting my office for a dressing room, complete with a wall o’ perfume.
Well I live in a tiny NYC Studio apt…just ONE big room.
I feel your pain!
And you should see his collection. I think he really does need a whole other home to store them all.
Neglecting Amouage AND Clive Christians? Those are some expensive orphan children!
Wise words, Angela!
Coincidentally, I was trying to decide what to wear this morning from among dozens of samples when my tiny box of older vintage Emeraude caught my eye. Now I’m thanking Christopher Columbus for the time to appreciate this lovely old perfume. It’s not quite the Osmotheque version, but still a delight. Those samples can wait!
Great choice for the day!
Vintage Emeraude is the best. And that’s not an exaggeration. It’s one of my Desert Island Top Five. (I actually own enough of it to last me a lifetime spent on a deserted isle, too!)
I have a darling little bottle and love it too.
Someone, Ann, I think, sent me a sample of vtg Emeraude. With all the recent comments, I nearly put some on yesterday while I was sorting my untested samples into warm weather and cold weather piles… but I have a terrible cold and didn’t dare put a vintage sample to waste. Another day…
Miss Kitty, Emeraude was one of the Osmothèque scent strips I got to sniff a couple weeks ago (now I can die happy :-)). I just kept wanting to ask, what makes these classic scents smell so wonderful? But no matter how much one hears or reads about the ingredients, the science and the art, there’s still something something beyond explanation. Glad I’ve got my little bottle of Emeraude.
I know! I think some of it is purely style, too.
The best of Art Nouveau and Art Deco for the nose!
Oh, Angela… my heart literally went pitter patter when I opened up NST and saw that picture. For years and years and years and ….. Je Reviens parfum was my HG. My uncle was the one who sent me my first bottle of the extrait when I was all of 12 and I fell head over heels for it. And I always received tons of compliments on it. I haven’t chased the vintage and like most other great scents of the past, it’s a shadow of its former self.
Anyway, great post! Not having more of anything than I can use and appreciate has been a life philosophy of mine for many years. Thankfully, as much as I love perfume, and love to sample the new stuff, I haven’t let the bottles and decants get past a workable number. Good for you for paring down and really enjoying your collection.
You’ve shown remarkable restraint (and wisdom!). We’ll see if I can follow your example.
I love this site and avidly read each e-mail as it arrives. I’ve never posted but felt I needed too about the love of “vintage” bottles of perfume on this site. I work in the fragrance industry (no, I won’t say where!) and we keep all of our samples in a commercial refrigerator. They are evaluated at a year and always thrown out after 2 years. Fragrance oils change over time and there is no way a 30 year old fragrance (or even 5 year old fragrance) is going to smell as it did when it was made. There’s nothing wrong with them if you still like them, but if you like a fragrance when you buy it I say wear it and enjoy it as much as possible because it’s not likely to smell the same when you go back to it.
I fear that sounded snarky which I didn’t mean at all. I can’t tell you how much I loooove this site. Angela – your writing is amazing!! Maybe a book deal in your future?
It didn’t sound snarky to me. I’m so glad you like the site, too! I’m trying to get a book deal for a mystery novel I wrote, in fact, but we’ll see how that goes.
I don’t think you sounded snarky at all . I got the message you were sending: Cherish what you have now as it may not be there tomorrow. Good wisdom!
Not snarky
Great advice!
Not snarky at all! I appreciate the information, and am glad you de-lurked! Please keep commenting – I love “insider” information.
I’m sure old bottles don’t smell like they did when they were new, but until (1) some great old perfumes I love that aren’t made anymore magically reappear; or (2) they stop reformulating some old beauties beyond recognition, I’ll keep hunting down select vintage perfumes.
That said, you’re so right! There’s nothing as heartbreaking as opening a cherished bottle of perfume to find out it’s turned! Yet another reason to use up what we have and know we love.
I’v heard so much contradictory advice on refrigeration. I finally settled on the cool, dark place being best. I once heard that very cold could even damage the fragrance so I’m confused again…
Also, the turning might be for the good rather than the bad with some frags – so a perfume industry would have to chuck it out to keep the scents consistent whereas someone else could treasure it?
I’ve had mixed experiences with old fragrances. Some really do seem to get more interesting, and some go “off” too quickly, almost to the point that you can actually buy them new and they already smell less than fresh.
Different aroma-chemicals probably need different temperatures to stay stable so…things could probably get quite complicated!
That makes a lot of sense to me.
Nice article,Angela
My problem is that I just bought a big cabinet and now my perfume collection seems so bare,I have plenty of room,yet this morning I was eyeing my beloved bottle of Jasmine de Nuit which I haven’t worn in at least six months…mmm what does that tell me?
I guess that’s always another possible solution for me: buy a bigger cabinet! Probably not the wisest solution in my case, though.
Hello fumies!
Angela, why is it we pine away and plot and scheme (or is that just me??) to get what we want and then when it’s here, all we want to do is treasure it? It feels like it’s wasting it to use it but I know that’s absurd. As my collection grows so does my wish list, it just doesn’t wanna stop..I keep thinking just one more..now just one more. teehee.
Now I desire FB of OJ Woman and Tolu and Sak’s new version of Diorama, a smaller Cuir de Russie and I can’t stop myself-another bottle of vtg. MIss Dior! Decants won’t do, I love them but FB of my favorites are my weakness. It’s soo bad. Gazing at them in the evenings before bed makes me look silly but I do it.
One thing is for sure, my daughters will inherit many lovely perfumes someday to remember their mama by.
Passing on the love of scent is a gift I’m happy to share……when I’m dead !!!!
AHA. jkjkjk
LOL! You gave me a good laugh!
I know! We need to use them. Every day is worth it. We need to use it all: the crystal glasses, the “good” towels, the fancy underwear.
I love your perfume selections. I tried Diorama in Paris and decided since I have an ounce of Jubilation 25, which has a similar feel to me but which I like better, I didn’t need the Diorama, too (I’m saying this just in case you have a decant of J25 around anywhere.)
“Lets use up that truffle oil before it goes bad- I be it would be terrific on tater- tots.” – Angela, Perfume and the Lavish Hand
Darn, you’re good! I barely remember that. I can attest, though, that truffle oil *is* good on tater tots.
Brilliant!
Really Angela? I will have a decant of Jubilation 25 soon but I am a Dior girl and love those bottles.Not to mention so much less $!
I’m curious to know how they are similar, would you mind giving me a nose up doll? I know Amouage beats all, ends all but I still love Dior in all it’s (old school) glory.
I, too, love love love the old Diors, so I’m very sympathetic. Diorama smelled to me like a fruit-tinged floral with skanky, cuminy undertones, which to me is a lot like Jub 25, only Jub 25 smells of higher quality, with better materials. I only wish I could have smelled Diorama in the old days. I haven’t smelled them side by side, though, and I’d love to know what you think.
Ha! I recently went through my undies drawer and got rid of all but a few pairs of B-list undies (for “those” days) and replaced them all with fancy fun ones. Much more sassiness every day.
You know Tamara- I’d want to be buried with mine!
Now that’s just greedy.
Dolly2 they wouldn’t do it, they are already keepin tabs’ on who gets what! aha.
Tamara, I think what you’ve described is a common experience to collectors no matter what they collect. I take some comfort in that idea at any rate!
Angela – It must be something in the air! I was just thinking about this over the weekend when I made a sample of Baghari for a new fragrance friend. It got all over my hands which I wiped on my arms and neck. I was dazzled for many hours after that thinking how darned good I smelled. And I’ve not worn Baghari in about one year. It is sadly overlooked by my other beauties. It is a bit formal, but still, I manage to wear other big fragrances why not Baghari? I’ve not worn my Vol de Nuit in a long time either. So many gorgeous fragranges, so little time or skin. All my classic beauties make it hard for me to love the new stuff, although occasionally something rises to the top.
Maybe it *is* in the air! Vol de Nuit and Baghari are so wonderful, too.
The leaves are starting turn, the air is dry, and I rediscovered my vintage Antilope.
I bet you could turn that into a stellar haiku with a little work. Nice.
Has anyone tried the new Antilope? I saw it on Parfum 1, but was afraid to try it.
I’ve wondered the same thing.
Yikes… I thought you told me the sample you sent me WAS the current one. Glad I didn’t order.
Maybe that was Bandit, the other MKV-induced lemming…
This is weird, E: it *was* the current formulation, but now there’s a new one. I don’t know. I can’t keep up. My bottle is huge, so if you want some i can send you more.
Aw, nice post, Angela. I have been doing the same thing lately. I’ve recently become a poor college student again so I’m forced by circumstances to limit my purchases of new things. I have to wear what I already have. I have a box on the floor next to the dresser of the stuff that won’t fit, and lo and behold I pulled out the Bal a Versailles yesterday and wore it. Glorious. It’s been rewarding staying within my collection, and even yesterday I got to find the point in Bal’s development where it becomes PdN’s Maharanih. I love learning new things about my old favorites, and every time I pull out a rarely worn gem, I ask the same question: Why don’t I wear this more?
I’m sure we all ask ourselves that very question Jared.
You’ve inspired me to pull out my Bal a Versailles! Another one I love but rarely wear.
Oh, I can completely relate. I tend to hoard things that are difficult to acquire, much like the Patou collection you speak of. I have several Vacances minis and FB of Que Sais-Je which are collecting dust. I actually put on some Vacances yesterday as I was feeling a little stressed out and it certainly helped me unwind
Most of my neglected fragrances are decants that are also difficult to come by like the obscure Kama by Farmacia SS Annunziata. Love it so much but am afraid to use it up! Silly….it’ll probably turn or start evaporating like that large Chergui decant whose juice is starting to look like what should be in a spittoon
Use them! I’ll tell you what, I’ll use my last few, precious drops of Lanvin Scandal right this minute–wait as I go get it–and there it is. Six glorious sprays and finito. Now the little vial goes in the underwear drawer. There, now you can surely use a little of yours.
Wow, I smell like a piece of heaven.
What a lovely image
I have to admit I had a temporary rash from it. But it faded quickly, and I still smell divine.
Oh no! I *hate* it when that happens!
Vacances! Ooh, Vacances! Beautiful stuff – wear it and love it, live while we’re still living!
You’re right!
You’re right, Mals, I really should be wearing this more often! Not to mention the glamorous Que Sais-Je
Had to laugh at the Chergui – my Chene sample did that but now I wonder if I would like it as much if it was fresh – lol.
Im fairly sure the only vintage fragrance I own is a number of different strength Chanel no5’s-all aquired many many moons ago when It was my favourite and now never worn. I also have a few drops of Worth, Dans La Nuit in a Lalique blue bottle, very like the photo. It has a stopper and Im not brave enough to open it as it has been an ornament and not a perfume for years so must smell rancid!
Oh, you’ve got to open it! Is it a blue bottle? Maybe it’s kept out enough light to stay good. You’ve got to try!
Angela- The jist of the article that I’m getting is about vintage fragrance and I adore you for that. Question though. I finished reading Luca Turin and Tania Sanchez’s book and have you ever tried LouLou or Eden by Cacharel? LouLou is one of the greats, according to LT and he describes it as a jasmine oriental.
I love reading their book, but every time Luca Turin raves about a fragrance I know I’ll probably loathe it. – TommyGirl? – Tocade? – Caldy Island Lavender?
Yes. They even liked Lady Stetson. I myself could not stand Tommy Girl. What suprised me was that they didn’t include my old standby of Coty Wild Musk. I only like the oil. And for pure seventies enjoyment, they forgot Enjoli. Who could forget that commercial?
I can’t fry bacon (“fry it up in a pan”) without singing the Enjoli song!
HEY. I really like That Slut Tocade…
Oops, that sounded snarky rather than simply my standing up for ma gal Tocade…
You like what you like. And as I note down below, you hate what you hate (Eden and LouLou, for example, in my case).
I had pretty much no interest in perfume before picking up the guide and now its a total obsession! It has taken over a year but I’m at the point where I can respect the expert opinion without thinking my nose is a retard when I hate the 5 star perfumes. My first love, Bulgari Black scored highly, but many of my subsequent loves only made a 3 stars. Also, I sometimes do think there may be politics at work, or they may just have blind-sights. For instance Sisley’s Soir de Lune is remarkable and its review on Bois de Jasmine really does it justice. Luca gave it a one. Also I know Jardine: apres la moussou (sorry about spelling) has received very mixed reviews – Chandler Burr from New York Times reviled it, as did Turin, but to me its incredibly delicate, atmospheric and delicate at once.
Our Miss Kitty is a Loulou fan, if I remember right. It’s a whopping, rich, almost edible perfume, but I like it a lot. I don’t have a bottle, but I wouldn’t say no to one (I should slap my hand! No more new perfume for a while for me!). I haven’t tried Eden for years, but I’m curious.
I had a flashback to 1981 when I saw the ad for LouLou in either Vogue or Harper’s Bazaar. They were very minimalistic in the advertisement of their fragrances( ie- no big production munbers)
I must confess, it crosses my mind too!
I fell in love with Eden last spring after I tested it at the Perfume House. It was all super warm balmy green and patchouli. I will admit sometimes when I wear it, it becomes very “thick” and I don’t always enjoy it. It is one of those less is more fragrances that needs a lot of space. It also makes me think of spring in Portland now, so that’s a good thing. I am certain that 3.4 oz bottle will last me the rest of my life unless I start parsing it out to the curious….
Might depend on your taste, too – I’m not a jasmine fan, and that “raspy” thing he’s talking about? HATE that. In fact, I always hated LouLou.
Eden was all Shaving Cream Gone Wrong on me. Which surprised the heck out of me, because I love greenies and expected to love it. (If I can dig up my sample, you can have the evil thing…)
I bought a small bottle of Lou Lou blind based on that five star rave review–and for me, it’s a scrubber. Too sweet by far (and I like some other sweeties!) and just wrong, wrong, wrong on my skin. I’m a newbie too–just started seriously sniffing at the beginning of the summer, and after a couple of months of binge buying, realized this weekend that:
a) a rave review is no guarantee I’ll like it (Lou Lou, I’m looking at you!)
b) a bad review is no guarantee I won’t like it (hello Givenchy Pi, you smell lovely to me!)
c) blind buying is the passing lane to the poor house
d) and I want to spend more time with the stuff I’ve already acquired
…so this post hit home, though I’ve got nowhere near as lovely collections as it sounds like you gals do! Still, I think I’ll learn from you pros and spend some time getting to know the “friends” I’ve got…though that will have to include the pals on their way from fragrancenet and that bottle of Dior Eau Noir I made my friend Beth pick up for me on her trip to Paris last week! (yup, I’ve got it bad!)
It sounds like you learned some vital lessons in an astonishingly short time. (Dior Eau Noire is fabulous, too.)
It is the very same blue bottle- 30mls with about 5mls left. I think it was given to me in the early 80’s It has gone a dark amber colour and it hasnt been kept in ideal conditions to keep it smelling nice. Im not brave enough to open it.
All that air in there probably doesn’t help keep it fresh, either. Oh well.
Angela, your recent posts have caused me to revisit some of the vintage bottles I bought for a song when I first succumbed to this scented mania.
I remember trying them and thinking “Well, I probably will never learn to appreciate this perfume.”
Today I tried some vintage Aphrodesia, and later on, it was a case of “what IS that delightful smell?”
I am getting better at smelling perfume on other people and even in some cases identifying it or at least its resemblance to ones I know.
I asked a cashier today what she was wearing and she nearly jumped. “I didn’t think anyone could smell it–we are not supposed to wear perfume to work here.” She looked around guiltily as though management would be pulling her into containment and detox immediately. I had to explain my perfume habit to her so she would relax. Her perfume smelled like Theorema Esprit D’Ete, but she said it was Queen Latifah.
I shall wear extra perfume next time I shop there, maybe something demure like Youth Dew, or Tabu, or that Aphrodesia.
Hi! Now you’ve got me thinking I need to sniff Queen Latifah. I’m glad you noticed and appreciated it on the cashier.
I was thinking of buying a fridge to house my perfumes. Does anyone know the best storage temperature? Plus, I wish I could love Dzing! Lord knows I keep buying samples and trying, but it just smells like burning car tires on me. Money saved I guess.
PekeFan: There are wayyyyyyy too many amazing perfumes out there to “keep trying.” Seriously. (Not that I don’t “keep trying” to see something to love in Shalimar and Vol de Nuit. **ducks**)
Joe’s right (although he’s clearly demented for not loving Shalimar and, especially, Vol de Nuit). Forget about burning rubber and spread the love elsewhere! Besides, that leaves more Dzing for me.
Now why would you call a man who *doesn’t* love the hauntingly beautiful Vol de Nuit, yet admits to dancing around in Hello Kitty, demented?!?
Joe – this just seals it – we are Evil Scent Twins!
Really? I thought we had plenty overlap for sure. I really wanted to love VdN… and I don’t dislike it, I’m just sort of indifferent to its alleged charms.
What kind of dancing does a person do to Hello Kitty? I’ll have to ponder that one for a while.
Lies, Angela. Lies. I have never smelled Hello Kitty perfume.
Can I see this on YouTube somewhere?
I think Daisy has the video.
I once loved Shalimar, but the last bottle I bought made me smell like vomit after about 10 minutes. Perhaps it was off?
No, that sounds right. [[[[ kidding ]]]]
you are incoriggible ;-0
Let’s hope it was off!
I don’t know the best storage temperature, but I know some perfume lovers have bought wine coolers to store their perfume in.
A wine cooler…hmmm… you’ve got me thinking. Thanks.
Maybe a wine fridge?
The Osmothèque in Versailles keeps theirs sheltered from daylight in a neutral gas (argon) at 12 degrees centigrade.
That’s some good info.
I think I prefer the wine cooler… wine and perfume, two of my favorite things!
I used to think that about using wine coolers to store perfume, but wine coolers also keep a humidity level that may not be particularly friendly for long-term perfume storage.
Is there something wrong with me that I saw “tires” and said, “Ooh, wish Dzing! smelled like tires to me”? (I do get Virtual Circus out of that – sawdust, cotton candy, salty peanuts, animal hair and dung… I mean, utterly fascinating, but not sure I want to actually wear it.
Bvlgari Black is definitely very new-bicycle-tire to me, and I love that.
Yes, I get tires from that, too. But I smell it in Dzing!, too.
Where Black is just a nice tea scent on me (just the teensiest bit smoky), and Dzing! is about the same, with just a bit of rubber in the open. Some day, I’d love to meet up with some of you who get all these crazy things, and see if it’s my nose or my skin that’s defective.
Not “defective”! You know that. Still, it would be fun to try things on a bunch of us and compare side by side.
Smokeytoes and I tried on Jicky side-by-side and on her it was how I wanted it to smell on me and on me it is swamp water. She and I do that sometimes – you should have smelled how Tom Ford Oud differed on us! Equally great and completely different.
I knew that had to be true! I want to do some kind of smell-a-thon and compare scents on different skin and write about it.
Surely we can make a plan for that! A weekend of sharing scents and decanting and swapping, and tons of on skin comparisons. Now to just find a hotel that we can all fit in, who would let us use their banquet room for the festivities. :-).
I’m with E here: Black is just a fuzzy tea and amber fragrance. Now Dzing is another matter. I don’t care for the tar & rubber.
Your post has brought 2 things to mind:
1. Has anyone ever thought about a rotational system to wear all your perfumes?
I usually choose my perfume by mood, and that is based on what I see, so naturally I forget about what is tucked away. The scary thing is, I could probably go a year and a half with out wearing the same thing twice (samples included of course).
Sugesstions for a system?
2. Darn it! Now I can’t remember the second thing.
I know there have been readers who talked about rotating perfumes on a system. I think I’d feel constrained by that, but I do love the idea of making sure I don’t forget about any of them.
I’m so glad I’m not the only one who forgets things!
I hesitate to mention it…. but you can always track and plot on a spreadsheet….
I think a fair number of people actually do track their perfume collections, if not their actual use, on spreadsheets.
Indeed. Updating my spreadsheet recently reminded me of everything I have, and then subsequently I wore more of it. Perhaps this will be my “rotation” plan?
I really don’t have that many (the spreadsheet says otherwise, but most of them are samples, so I think it lies lies lies,) but I get faddish and wear something for weeks and then forget the rest. 2008 was the winter of Donna Karan Gold – now wearing it feels like going backward, even though I’ve hoarded that stuff so much it would take me decades to use it all.
And that’s a related problem – if I really love something I feel like I need a “backup bottle” (especially if it’s discontinued or rare!). This is both expensive and space-using. Right now I’m trying to justify buying a “backup bottle” of vintage Ubar – and I don’t really know when, if ever, I’d use up ONE! I just hate the idea of never being able to get back to something i desperately loved. But I’m trying to keep USING my perfume. I really don’t want to just sit on a pile of precious bottles.
I don’t, do I? No, I’m sure I don’t.
And there you have neatly expressed the eternal dilemma.
You even track samples on your spreadsheet? Wow! I admire your dedication.
maybe linking a random number generator to your database — to provide a daily suggestion!
Well, Spring’s arrival Downunder caused me to do a big reorganisation – or maybe its in the planets (after reading that so many are in organisation mode!) – I finally took just about everything out and put it back in seasons. The more I get into it, the more seasonal I become…
It has really honed my appreciation…and I just LOVE taking a note, lets say Lily , and amping it up through different moods as the day goes on, say start with a spritz of current Diosissimo edt, then later a hit of Heeley’s Ophelia, then maybe Un Lys (which brings the pollinating insects around in the daytime at the moment!), then finish with vintage Diorissimo extrait.
Today which actually started up at the horse paddock with the farrier, has been violets morphing into rose (I’m up to vintage Paris), but the rose will probably get the flick for something strange like PdG Stephen Jones…
Reading things like this just warms me through! You’re my kind of gal.
Winifrieda! Sounds like we both live on the same continent! It would be nice to be in touch with a local perfumista. Splits, sale-news and other possibilities come to mind ( : My email is merlynn.edelstein@gmail.com
I tried a rotational system once. I divided my perfumes into groups of 5 or 6, making sure each group contained a variety of types (perhaps a chypre, an aldehyde, and oriental, and so forth), and decided to wear one group exclusively for a month. The beginning of the next month I would go to the next group, and so on. On any given day, I could wear any perfume from that month’s group. It was a little constraining, but it also had the advantage of reducing the indecision in the morning. It is much easier to choose one of 5 or 6 items than one of 50 or so. Part of the reason I did this was to help me decide whether the neglected perfumes were merely being overlooked or if they needed to go. BTW, I do not currently do this. I followed this system for several months, but stopped when I developed a series of respiratory infections which kept my sense of smell (and most of the the rest of me) screwed up for about a year.
That’s an interesting system I haven’t heard before! It sounds effective.
I hope you’re past the illness now. It would be so horrible not to be able to smell, not to mention everything else that might have been happening.
That’s a good system, Dixie. When I feel the need to be cosy, I’ll dab on some CdG’s Red Carnation in the winter. Warms the cockles of my heart.
Hee! Hee! I love that expression, Dolly! “Cockles of my heart”! L’Heure Bleu is my comfort scent….I think I’ll put some on now….
This post really hits home for me as I find myself smack dab in the middle of a split buying frenzy! I find that I hardly take time to enjoy each one before the next arrives. And the next. And the one after that. I have discovered a few new loves but I hesitate to invest in FBs when I hate the scent attention span of a gnat!
I know the feeling! It’s so hard to remember the perfume will still be around (most likely) when you’re ready for it.
Unfortunately, the perfumes aren’t always around later. Part of the problem for me is that several times I have fallen head over heels in love with a perfume just before it was discontinued. Once I decide that it is true love, I need to buy the bottle *immediately* to prevent losing it forever. Fortunately, I can usually tell if the perfume is truly HG material. What I need is more control when it comes to things I merely like a whole lot rather than love. There are so many things I like, it will always be possible to find another.
You make a really good point. When you’ve had the experience of having loved then lost to discontinuation, it really does make you quicker to buy. And you’re so right, too, about being able to distinguish between “really like” and “love” and keep the buying on the “love” side. If I did that, and if I passed along the fragrances I merely really liked, I’d have plenty more room in my perfume cabinet.
It really hurts to have loved a perfume and lost it.
Sounds sappy, but true.
We need to get Merle Haggard working on a song for it.
Hi Angela, I’m late to the party. I enjoyed your post and all the subsequent comments. Your acquisitions of Goodwill finds and vintage perfumes is a pleasure to read about. We get to share in your experiences. So, see, it’s kind of like your _duty_ to find, buy and write, right!?
My collection is not large yet so nothing gets overlooked for long (except samples). I keep passing over Philosykos–why or why, I ask myself when I finally do wear it.
I use that excuse all the time! I tell myself since I write about perfume, it is perfectly natural–even desirable–that I have enough to float the Queen Mary. And, of course, I don’t even count bottles that cost less than $5.
Inspiring post and comments! This evening I got out my vintage Arpege, which I definitely need to wear more often – lovely, graceful, relaxing scent. Surprisingly, I’m catching a whiff of Caron Third Man in the drydown – no wonder LT recommends it as a masculine!
I should get out my old Arpege, too. Yet another gem I love but forget about.
I’ve been on such an OJ Woman kick lately that pretty much everything else is languishing — Bandit, L’Air du Desert Marocain, CdG 2 Woman, etc. etc. And that forest of decants? Domino effect every single freakin’ day… I really do have to get my act together and start swapping (sorting through all my samples and decants will happen RIGHT after I organize 5 years’ worth of digital photos, polish the silver candlesticks, and make an entire set of cloth napkins).
But I’ll share some hard-won wisdom: If you decide something’s no longer “you,” make yourself a good-sized decant before you give it away *just* in case — I could weep over the Orchidee Blanche, Cocktail, Diorissimo extrait, etc. that I chucked out in my foolish youth!
Good advice! You’ve got to at *least* keep reference samples
OJ Woman is such a strange and beautiful scent that I can imagine not being able to wear anything else for a while.
You’re so right about the decant rule! I probably should pull 5 ml decants of things from the basement once it’s their time to go. Orchidée Blanche–heartbreak.
10 ml!! Just in case…
I couldn’t help thinking that maybe a parallel could be drawn to life – instead of enjoying what we have, we are always on the hunt for new thrills, forgetting the obvious joys, n’est-ce pas?
ok, this is the place where I stop being sapient and OT.
I completely feel your pain; I have a little more than 50 FB and just recently I have found out, that the ones I used to love and cherish are now back in the drawer, forgotten (and sad), insetad I am always on the hunt for more and new and I discovered, that some of the stuff I have I simply don’t like and probably never ever will. I guess they will have to go…
I think your parallel to life is right on the money. Wouldn’t it be so much nicer to feel grateful and satisfied with the life we have rather than dissatisfied because of what we don’t have?
I feel I neglect a lot of my perfumes. I tend to find a new scent that I absolutely become enamoured with and neglect all others for days or weeks, but I do always returning to those tried and true fragrances. Right now all are being forsaken for Epic Woman.
I know that in some situations it’s because I associate a particular fragrance with a time or memory and if it wasn’t an entirely pleasant one, I tend to avoid the fragrance for a long, long period which makes the memory unfortunately all the more vibrant when I do return to it. Rose Essentielle was a whim purchase a year ago and I promptly caught the plague shortly thereafter so I will forever associate it with being bed-ridden for about four days and so I just watch my bottle sit. Nuit de Noel has been sitting untouched since last December because I feel it to be a strictly holiday season scent and I know there about at least 10 others I rarely give any thought to.
Associating a fragrance with a bad time or unpleasant person can taint it for good sometimes. Fortunately, we can always reach for the good time fragrances, too!
Before I went on the read the comments, I leaped up and gave myself a liberal dose of l’Heure Bleue. I realize that I don’t wear it much because i Never quite know how it is going to behave. When I was a teen, a bottle of l’Heure Bleue was my first adult perfume purchase. I have no idea what happened to that bottle but I loved it so, and asked for a bottle a couple of Christmases ago. But, sometimes when I wear it, it does that medicine cabinet thing, which is fine, but not what I really want from it. Of course, tonight it is absolute perfection. So I think it kind of scares me. Vowing now to wear it more.
Perfume for me is kind of like jewelry – I have some phenomenal jewelry pieces just like I have phenomenal perfume, but sometimes I just want to wear the cheap hoops I got at Claire’s over the one-of-a-kind art earrings. And I will wear those cheap hoops for days before putting on the “good stuff” again. I’m perfectly happy regardless. Sometimes I will forget about something I have, but isn’t that kind of fun then when you find it? Like getting a gift.
As usual, a thought-and-discussion-provoking article! And I smell terrific!
Isn’t it weird how some fragrances, as much as you love them, can be scary? Just today I decided to wear Jubilation 25 during the day. Its cumin note can terrify, yet exhilarate, me. Today it was all perfectly blended and sat divinely on my skin. In fact now, over 12 hours later, it still puts on a good show.