It’s getting ridiculous. There’s no way to keep up with all the new perfume hitting the market. I’ve heard different numbers, but certainly well over a thousand fragrances will launch this year. As someone who reviews perfume, I feel a responsibility to keep somewhat up to date with major releases, at least. Yet even I’ve thrown in the towel. Whole perfume lines spring up and fold before I even get around to trying them.
None of us can stem the tide, so how do we ride it successfully? How do we figure out which perfumes are worth sampling and which can be passed over?
I’d love to hear how you decide what, in this ocean of new perfume, you try. Here’s what I do:
Prioritize new releases from the houses I know I like. Easy. Most anything new from Serge Lutens, Guerlain (with exceptions), Frédéric Malle, Hermès, Ormonde Jayne, L’Artisan Parfumeur (although releasing a bunch of Mon Numéro fragrances at once wasn’t nice), Amouage, Tauer Perfumes, Annick Goutal, and a few other lines gets attention.
By the same token, I instantly dismiss most flankers and celebrity perfumes. Why would I waste time finding the latest juice from Antonio Banderas?1 Similarly, if a celebrity announces in her press materials that she normally doesn’t like perfume, but she likes this one anyway, she won’t be seeing any of my money.
Sadly, I often end up overlooking some of the niche houses I suspect I’d really like. For example, readers rave about Sonoma Scent Studio all the time. At least once a month I tell myself I’m going to order some samples, but I never do. After all, there's so much else I haven't smelled, where do I even start?
Pay attention to the opinions of other perfume lovers. Read perfume blogs long enough, and you start to get to know those among the writers and commenters who share your taste. If I notice one of my scent twins giving the thumbs up to something, I make a note of it. Most of you I only know by your NST handles, but I have an idea of what your perfume collections contain, so I’ve dreamed up “scent portraits” that let me gauge by your enthusiasm what I should try.
Depend on the kindness of strangers. I don’t swap a lot, but when I do one of the things I enjoy most is getting to try whatever bonus samples are tossed in. Those wicked little samples have led me down a few heartbreaking paths (vintage Amouage Ubar — summer in a bottle, way difficult to track down) and a few easier to satisfy (that would be you, Parfums de Nicolaï Eau Exotique).
Plus, since I write here, a few samples come my way that might not to come to other people. You might think being a perfume blogger means being suffocated in swag. I can’t speak for other perfume writers, but in my case it is definitely not so. The vast majority of perfume samples I get by virtue of writing about perfume are re-routes from Robin who has asked if I want to review something. For instance, last week’s review of the new Mona di Orio Les Nombres d’Or was based on samples Robin diverted to me. (Now Smell This’s sample policy is here.)
Am I missing some good fragrances? Undoubtedly, but I don’t know what else to do. I know there are some drugstore gems I’ve passed over, or terrific department store offerings I’ve overlooked, because in the morass of new releases it’s harder than ever for one to stand out. Most of all, I hope you all will keep sharing the names of your newest discoveries. Ultimately, word of mouth trumps all the magazine ads and press releases the perfume industry throws out there.
How do you figure out what’s worth smelling out there?
Note: top image is Samples-of-By-Kilian [cropped] by skypeale at flickr; some rights reserved.
1. Now that I’ve said that, I’ll undoubtedly fall head over heels for Antonio Banderas Swarthy B-Lister or whatever his latest is called.
I used to order samples like crazy based on reviews, but after too many disappointments and too much $$$, I stopped that. Like most others here, I have enough perfume to last me through the next couple of lives anyway, so now I just wait to see what the Universe, in the guise of kind perfumista friends, sends me. While that means I’m usually ridiculously behind as far as current releases, eventually I smell enough to never run out of lemmings.
Every once in a while I go into a sampling binge due to lemmings created by a hoard of positive reviews.
These days, just like Rappleya – I’m blessed with swap partners that are happy to share their discoveries, so those binges have become less frequent and less severe on the budget.
I’m telling you, swap partners are the best!
I know what you mean–so many perfumes sound so good by their notes, then they just don’t hit the spot. I do a lot of relying on fate, too.
Lol, I’m doing a similar sort of thing. I don’t have the $$ to spend up big on fragrance with my current work/study balance, so I take the hippie approach: “If it comes to me, it’s meant to be”. Of course, I take mental note of the reviews I see (“Oooh, that sounds nice”, “Blegh, don’t think I’ll bother”, etc.), but my time and dollars are precious so I stumble across them as they come. The compounding issue is that I’m relatively new to the world of fragrance (have only been working in it for a couple of years), so there’s a huge backlog of classics to work through as well.
The classics are so worth smelling, but it’s amazing how hard it can be to get a hold of some of them! Good luck with your work, studies, and sniffing.
Cheers! 🙂
“Similarly, if a celebrity announces in her press materials that she normally doesn’t like perfume, but she likes this one anyway, she won’t be seeing any of my money.”
Amen. Every time a celeb has stated this, I’ve almost always hated whatever concoction he/she stamps his/her name on (“Eva” by Eva Longoria being one of the rare exceptions and even then mostly b/c the boyfriend likes it). If someone doesn’t like most perfumes, then whatever they come up with will almost be always something completely inoffensive and utterly devoid of creativity and personality.
you got that right!
For one thing someone who doesn’t like perfume and I (who lurves perfume with a passion ) very likely don’t have much in common taste-wise. So what they are saying to every person who does like perfume is “you probably will not like this…..”
I tend to assume they’re just boring (the scent not the celebrity. . . well, actually. . . ).
ha! yep.
Some “clean” pale lily thing with a musky drydown.
Exactly! Like if someone says, “I don’t like cheese, but I like this” you can count on it being American singles in plastic wrap.
It also reminds me of my least-favourite pickup line: “I don’t usually like brunettes”, or whatever bit they want to point out, but are graciously willing to overlook.
Ay yi yi. That is the worst come-on I’ve ever heard.
and that is where you say “..and I usually don’t like a**holes…..oh wait, I never like a**holes.” and walk away….
that’s not harsh , is it?
Not too harsh at all. Right on the money.
Angela, love your comment about cheese in plastic wrap. I am really particular about several things: perfume, coffee, wine and cheese! I got called down twice last week at work from my boss because of my fragrance–and it wasn’t something really strong, more powdery than a blast–it was Profumum’s Soavissima. He said it was offensive and strong and advised me not to wear it again to work. The next day I did not wear it, but wore just a light spray of Bronze Goddess Soleil. He called me down for wearing the same perfume two days in a row after he had already chastised me. I told him I wasn’t wearing anything remotely close to the previous day’s fragrance, but he didn’t buy it and said my whole office was permeating with the “smell”. Meanwhile, the girl in the next office wears her signature scent of Dolce & Gabanna Light Blue each and every day and night of her life and I can smell it even in my office. And yet he is not offended by it. Go figure.
As for suggestions as to how to choose which perfumes to review when there are so many fragrances to sample, I would go by your present theory. That is what I do. albeit on a much smaller basis than you do. I agree that I am intrigued by some of the scents others talk about on this blog. but like you, I don’t even have enough time to even write on this blog, let alone test 1,000 new fragrances for the upcoming season. As much as I love perfumes, 1,000 new perfumes is utterly ridiculous even in good times, let alone a recession (or worse in my lowly opinion). Speaking for myself only, I would prefer 10 new spectacular fragrances from perfumeries with whom I am familiar, than 1,000 total. I’ll take quality over quantity every day–at least in most things! However you decide to do the testings, I’m sure it will be done in good taste and be of interest to all.
Thanks!
Phylis
Having my boss tell me to stop wearing that “offensive” perfume–that’s my worst nightmare! I’m sorry your coworkers are so danged sensitive to fragrance. It sounds like, except Light Blue, they reject perfume altogether.
But hey, they can’t stop you from enjoying a glass of wine and a wedge of gorgeous cheese. I’ll think of you the next time I do the same.
Oh Filomena, I’m so sorry you have to work in that environment. I cannot even begin to understand what it must be like to be hauled up before your boss to be told off like a naughty schoolchild because they don’t like your scent. If your office stank of BO then I could see his point, but even then, there’s room for tact. Thankfully, in my workplace we don’t have that problem. The one rule we have on appearance is no bare shoulders, which if just fine by me, and as I work in the arts and theatre sector make-up and fragrance are pretty much expected. In fact I discovered one of my favourite fragrances through one of my colleagues. Sorry to go a bit off topic here, but I just had to commiserate.
Oh and can I ask you what you think of the Bronze Goddess Soleil? I tried it recently, but I don’t think it’s for me, probably because I just adore the original Bronze Goddess, and I think it’s hard to improve on perfection imho. The only way they could do that is if they made it in an edp.
We have a medical supply room in my office that needs to be cleaned thoroughly every month. You should hear the complaining and whining about the scent of every product we have used in there. If they don’t like the smell of something clean it makes me wonder what there homes look like. Or smell like for that matter.
We also have a few women whose personal hygiene has a whole lot to be desired. When I can smell your dirty hair from 6 feet away, that’s a problem. Yet no one has the nerve to say anything to them. But if someone’s perfume is considered too strong I’m sure they would speak right up. I would much rather be overwhelmed by the scent of perfume instead of the scent of bad breath and dirty hair and everything else. One day someone did mention my fragrance and I asked them if they would prefer me to smell like ‘Carla’. They said that on second thought I smelled wonderful.
Precisely. I KNOW they just do it for a quick buck but I still can’t help wondering where the arrogance comes from to believe that they could offer something worth sniffing let alone paying for.
But, hey, if nothing else, it’s a good tool for screening things out, right 😀
We can use all the tools like that we can get.
Yeah, all I hear is disrespect when a celebrity who supposedly doesn’t like perfume releases a fragrance.
My main deciding factors are proximity and generosity. In other words, if I can easily get to a counter to try the new offering or if the company are willing to send me a sample then I’ll try the fragrance sooner. Otherwise, if it sounds nice then it goes on To Try list and I’ll try it if/when I eventually get a chance.
I hate paying for samples so I only do it very occasionally and I hate it even more if the company expects me to jump through hoops to get hold of their precious juice. Can only try it in Department Store X? No samples but I can order a bottle over the phone? Exclusive to Ulan Bator? Too bad, I’m not playing. There are plenty other new releases and old classics out there to distract me.
The worst is when you walk into a dept store, they’ve got bottles and bottles and huge displays of [insert latest juice here], but no 1.5 ml sample vials. If you bring your own sample vial to take a few shots with you to try it for a few days? I get strange/dirty looks from the fragrance clerks at best, and at worst, a manager asked me to leave the store and for some reason could not grasp at why I found it unreasonable to take a piddly 1 ml vial that I was happy to fill myself. Of course… I also live in the Midwest where the highest end dept store available is a Dillards…
great way to treat an obviously interested in the product potential customer. sheesh!
I’m so glad Nordstrom figured it out.
Me too – mine often just has a vat of vials on the counter to grab. Makes it so much easier. Now they just need labels and pens. Right.
If you’re serious about perfume, it’s so much easier to decide whether or not you like something if you can at least sample it. Nordstrom figured that out!
Perfume counter staff and their tactics are a whole separate topic. My favourite one is when they look me in the eye and lie (“Estee Lauder doesn’t make samples”) or tell me that I’M wrong because I know something that they don’t about a company’s products.
I should add that thankfully they are not all like that. Some are perfectly friendly, enthusiastic, helpful and occasionally even knowledgeable.
Yes, and they get my business every time!
Sometimes I get kind of embarrassed when it turns out I know more about upcoming releases than the person behind the counter. I know they’re looking at me, thinking, “You must be some kind of perfume maniac.” And they’re right.
I feel like most of my department store sniffs go that way! I DO feel embarrassed, and a bit like a poser, to be honest, since I still feel SO NEW to scent! But when a SA can’t go off script or is unable to discuss a fragrance with me, it really is awkward! I always wonder if it’s how carpenters feel at Home Depot.
Good point about Home Depot!
Heh heh, I know exactly how you feel. I was in Macy’s about 3 weeks ago perusing and noticed they had “Queen of Hearts” by Queen Latifah. I asked the girl behind the counter (who didn’t look old enough to buy the wine coolers she had been discussing with her co-worker) if I could get a sample spritz. She squirted some on a tester strip, took a whiff herself and got this look of revulsion on her face before handing it to me. I had her spray my arm instead and waited a bit to see what it was like and she was just waiting to see what I thought of it.
I, of course, was delighted and shocked at how, on my weird skin, it smelled very similar to Shalimar (before the final dry down) and even said so. She promptly asked, “What’s Shalimar?”
My response? “How long have you worked the fragrance counter?”
“2 Months.”
Let’s just say that both she and her co-worker got a crash course in fragrance names, brands, and theory over the next 25 minutes. Last time I went in, the other girl had started wearing the original, “Queen.”
I can definitely identify with that. In fact I was sniffing the new No19 a few days ago and the SA kept going on about how it was so different because they added vetiver. Erm….I know what vetiver smells like (Chanel’s very own Sycomore is a lovely example. And Guerlain counter is yards away) and this ain’t it. Besides, the original No19 already has vetiver anyway…but, yeah, I just nodded and left as soon as I could.
I am not bragging (not that it’s anything to brag about), but I ALWAYS know more than the SA’s of every department store I’ve test fragrance, including Bergdorf’s. So I say that these type of SA’s are the ones who are lacking in knowledge, not is!
“Estee Lauder doesn’t make samples?!”
You’ve got to be kidding me. I’ve never been told that about Estee products, or any for that matter by a fragrance clerk, but if someone did, I believe I would have a hard time laughing in their face, before noting their name and time and reporting them to a manager for blatantly lying to a customer.
About a week ago I went to this interview to work in one of the few shops (and definitely the largest) to stock niche brands in South Africa. Given my perfume knowledge (thanks NST) I was hired immediately. I was fitted out with the uniform and invited to a company dinner. Then today, a week later I was phoned to say there is no space for me on the schedule. I don’t know what politics went on in the interim.
Congratulations on getting hired! But what a shame about deciding they couldn’t hire you. I wonder if they’re having budget troubles? In any case, I love it that you wowed them with your perfume knowledge.
Oh, I’m sorry that things didn’t quite work out. Their loss, it sounds like you would have been brilliant in that job!
Maybe budget trouble, maybe someone didn’t like me or maybe the wrong person was threatened by the amount I knew! Guess I’ll never know.
I wonder what happened….possibly it’s budgetary and has nothing to do with you….I can’t imagine that they just didn’t want you for the spot—you sound PERFECTLY suited for it !! That’s all very disappointing! and aggravating!
Perhaps “no space for me on the schedule,” simply means at the moment and that perhaps later? Sorry, I am the eternal optimist!
I’m quite terrified of being “that” counter girl. Luckily, I’d say at least 60% of customers are either a) happy with the extent of my product knowledge in that it exceeds their own, or b) understanding of the fact that with over 1000 new releases (only a miniscule fraction of which are carried by the company I work for) I can’t “know it all”. I make an effort to be extremely polite, and search as hard as I can to find the answer for them (in the event I can’t, I direct them to others who might have an answer – e.g., this blog).
That said, there are the other customers who either a) are wrong (e.g., asking for a fragrance that I am 100% unequivocally certain we don’t stock, insisting that we do – often it’s a fragrance I’m seeking myself), or b) get their hackles up when I utter the phrase “I don’t know”, even if they don’t know themselves (e.g., they ask when the “newest Jennifer Lopez fragrance” is being released in Australia, I have no idea and neither do they, but they’re not happy even with my best guesstimation). You win some, you lose some.
We perfume freaks are such a small portion of the perfume-wearing public, most SAs probably don’t have to deal with us much. It sounds like you do an admirable job–one any of us love taking advantage of!
I’m jealous – you have a DILLARD’S??
(There’s always somebody who has it worse…)
hahahahahaha ….really–I thought of you when she said that!!! I thought “at least you have Dillards….poor Mals has NO PLACE!”
That’s me. I’m happy when I find vintage mass market at the Kmart over here, like old discontinued Fendi, older Shalimar edc, Anais Anais… bargain White Diamonds…. 😉
Hey, those are finds no matter where you get them!
Hey, I do have a KMart… half-hour’s drive, that’s not ridiculous…
I occasionally bring my own sample vials, too, when I suspect there won’t be samples to give away, and it takes a lot of explaining and wheedling sometimes to get a few squirts.
Being extremely biased here, I’d like to emphasise that it’s not always the individual’s fault. Personally, I don’t really see a problem with a customer (especially a regular) filling a measly 1.5mL vial, but I’m pretty sure the Higher-Ups would and, tbh, I really need my job! 🙂 I’m more than happy for customers to spray directly onto the skin using our tester bottles, on several occasions if that’s what they need (and that’s something that can usually be slipped by the Management), or if we are provided with samples I pass them out wherever/whenever I can.
Yes, I totally understand you needing your job! The managers probably don’t understand like you (and I) do that perfume is not like lipstick. You can’t just give it a quick sniff and make a decision–unless that decision is a firm “no.” I feel guilty so often, too, for telling the SA that I really need to wear the sample around for a day or two, but I’ll be back if it works.
Well, if you come across a SA like me, no need to feel guilty 🙂 I’ve had some regulars come in first thing in the morning for three or four (even seven!) days to spray the one fragrance to see how it goes over a couple of days/tries. Doesn’t bother me in the slightest! Just happy to have a customer find something they love and keep coming back to 🙂
So true. There are plenty of “exclusive” scents that are easier to stumble across, whether by design or accident.
I have to say, who does Guerlain think they are not to give out samples? Seems to me I can get samples of just about anything (Dior has made me samples as has EL, Chanel has packaged samples as does Malle, L’Artisan, Byredo, etc.), but not Guerlain. Wait, BG in NYC does make samples. Saks in BH does not. Saks in NYC does not. Rant over.
Samples can be so tricky to come by. That’s why I usually carry some empty sample vials and then end up begging.
I won’t specify which store, but sometimes it depends on which SA is or is not there. I’ve been to a Guerlain’s where the SA was happy to make me generous fragrance samples as long as the counter manager was not around…. So you just need to know who to ask and when.
Those personal relationships do matter.
Hahaha, exactly! (I read this after posting my comment above) I know this is naughty of me, but I’m more than happy to bend the rules for someone who comes in regularly and is polite than someone who blows in once in a blue moon and expects the red carpet treatment. If they needed a few squirts into their own bottle, and I was working by myself, I MIGHT be persuaded (there’d have to be a guarantee that they wouldn’t be blabbing, and also the amount ‘donated’ would have to be pretty small). At the end of the day, I want to make returning customers happy, and I think the company could, if it came to it, be made to understand that this is the best practice business-wise.
I bet your customers love you! They probably tell all their friends to come see you, too.
I hear you! I’m in Canada and have to wait seemingly forever for scents to get here – a lot of fragrances are exclusive to Holt’s which is inconvenient but even worse is that a lot of them aren’t even carried there either and I too hate to have to buy samples.
I don’t really try to keep up any more, either. It’s just too overwhelming. I read a bunch of fragrance blogs and make mental notes of what might be interesting: then, when I’m travelling, I check out those things and see what clicks (always trying to get samples from the salespeople, of course). I occasionally sniff the department-store releases, expecting to be disappointed.
My one exception and standby is Serge Lutens; I’ll try anything he puts out. After a few recent misfires (Serge Noire, L’eau, and Bas de Soie) he has heartened me with the ravishing Jeux de Peau; I expect great things from the upcoming Vitriol d’Oeillet and will probably sample it, and the exclusive-line De Profundis, next year in Paris.
Report back about de Profundis! I’m wild to know what that one is like.
Serge is the one I will always try too!!!
I pay close attention to fragrance notes, descriptions, and reviews. I only tend to like very particular scents, so if it’s vanilla, soft, skin scent, or gourmand, I’m faaaaaar more likely to sniff it. If there’s a new fresh green fragrance or loud white flower concoction, on the other hand, I really have no interest. I also have no problem waiting for reviews to come in–I have no passion for being one of the first to smell something that sounds promising, so usually I’ll also go out of my way to try something getting raves, like, for instance, Like This or Jeax de Peau.
Valentine, I’m in complete agreement! I am drawn to certain notes again and again. AND as I learn the ones I haven’t liked, I don’t feel any concern for skipping new scents unsniffed if they are dominantly those notes. I make a list of those fragrances that seem to just have overwhelming appeal amongst perfumistas, and I figure at a minimum, I can learn from sampling them, even if I decide they’re not for me.
Sometimes it’s nice to have had the experience of a scent, even if you know you’d never wear it.
It’s so much easier to sample when you really know what you like!
ha ha, ‘large white flower concoction’ that’s exactly the one for me, then.
Angela, I follow your exact rules … if it’s from one of my favorite houses (Hermes, Chanel, SL, a few others), I make an effort to track it down and give it a sniff. More than anything, I rely on the wit and wisdom of my fellow NSTers! The descriptions, insights and comparisons I read every day have proven to be the best possible guide.
Swarthy B-Lister – excellent!
I rely a lot of you guys, too!
Angela: Thoughtful or strategic planning is the only way to go. It’s like studying any art (fine arts, music, sculpture, architecture, etc.): there is no way any one person can know it all, see it all, etc. You kind of just have to pick your favorite lines or style or whatever you decide is your favorite or most intellectually stimulating route, and go from there.
What are you really trying to accomplish anyway? Sensual explorations or exhaustive knowledge? The scale will tip in one direction for sure. You really just have to trust your instinct and go from there. My list of to-try and to-buy are increasingly short. And I am more picky how I spend my money now too. Something has to be pretty extraordinary to curl my toes. Since I never really know when that’s going to happen, I try to be patient with sampling. It’s pretty easy to eliminate the rest, and I’m always happy to be surprised by something good.
All things kind of being equal: how do you cope with shoes? You can’t try on or own every pair that comes out each year from Payless to Nordstrom, from sneakers to pumps. I’m sure you don’t worry about shoes. But you’d sure get excited if you saw some gorgeous vintage pair in a shop that just might fit you, right?
Thanks for the reminder – I need to shop for new shoes & sandals…
Hey, and you can dab on a little Attrape Coeur to do it! I’m happy to say that I found the vial!!!
LOL! I’ve been saying I need shoes (and I really do *need*, not just want!) forever, but it always ends up being another bottle of perfume! Or a few months ago, it was a Kindle…. Guess shoes just aren’t a priority for me.
How do you like the kindle?
I got it only because my little 2 bedroom condo was totally overrun with books, and thinking that while it would help the space dilemma, it would never replace “real” books. Well… I fell head over heels for the little thing, and now want all of my favorites and the classics on it! It is NOT like reading on an iPad or computer. It actually looks like paper and ink on the screen.
So many people love their kindles. I detest Amazon for their lousy privacy policies (I’m constantly deleting their cookies and flash cookies), but I do like the concept of an e-reader.
I LOVE my kindle! I was really skeptical at first, but took the plunge when the kindle 1 was on sale with an ‘Oprah’ discount (I’ve since upgraded twice and still love it!). It took a bit of getting used to as I found that I was more enamoured with the techology and would breeze through pages without really reading/remembering what I was reading (more like ‘seeing’ the words). So, I chose another book, a lighter more engaging book, and made the font size smaller so I would spend more time on a page. After a few “pages” I lost myself in the novel and the technology became secondhand. It’s easy on the eyes, works outside (in a ziplock baggie on a raft in the pool) and is easy to learn (my aging mom/technophobe loves hers, too!).
I also love that I can also read on my iPad or iphone (in lines at the grocery) or on my pc (book on one side, work stuff on the other but don’t tell my boss!). There’s a sync feature that keeps your place across the different platforms, so if you read a bit on your kindle, then your iPad, it will “update” your place when you go back to the kindle. Marvelous! Best of all – it will read plain txt (and pdf and a few others)files, so anything you can save as txt, you can drag onto the device and read – great for long MSWord documents. Amazon will “convert” almost any file to kindle format for you, but you can do it yourself if you’re tech savvy and get a (free) program like calibre. (unprotected files, of course). There’s a LOT of free reading to be had if you know where to look!
And if you’re really savvy and have time, you can scan your hard copy books and save them off as txt or word or pdf, or use the calibre program so that you’ll have those handy as well! I keep meaning to do this someday.
If you wear a bit of Dzing! while reading, you kinda get that old book smell 🙂
Great information, CM. Thanks! 🙂
Gosh, CM, you make it sound great! I know I’ll have to get an e-reader someday (dang that Amazon) but right now I’m gunning for an ipad.
I’m so excited that you got a kindle!!! Isn’t it wonderful to have 100’s of books right there at your fingertips? and yes, I still have stacks and stacks of paperbacks in my closet….if they fell over on me, I’d be killed. But I love my kindle. 🙂
oh, I also have a Nook…..that way I can get just about ANY book because it’ll be formatted for one or the other. Some weeks I favor the Kindle….some weeks the Nook….handy little devices.
It IS wonderful, but it is becoming as expensive as perfume! 🙁
ha! I just slip on my croc sandals and settle down at the computer for a little online perfume shopping……who needs real shoes??!
Crocs!! The horror! Although I do have to admit I saw a really nice pair of croc mary janes the other day.
hahahaha crocs! the horror!
honest….these aren’t what you are expecting…they’re black with two skinny straps that criss-cross on the top. NOT those things that look like fat clogs made of bright blue or pink hunks of swiss cheese!
(or the most vomitrocious of all: the barbie pink blocks of swiss cheese with FUR lining…several crimes against nature are involved in those charmers)
Agh!! Those fur-lined crocs sound too heinous to be real! I need to erase that visual pollution from my mind with the vision of a beauteous 1930s silk charmeuse, bias cut night gown. There. Much better.
I don’t wear crocs b/c I have big feet (a byproduct of being very tall). Crocs make my feet look so huge and not a good look. If I had size 7 feet and could wear flower polka dot crocs, I probably would.
love those crocs too! but will definatel prefer the silk, bias cut nightgown!!!
Not I! I don’t even bother with something like Crocs or slippers once I get home from work – it’s barefoot for me (but then I’m in Ky. and everyone knows we don’t wear shoes! 😉 )
Barefoot in the summer is wonderful.
alas…I cannot go bare foot anymore….even on carpeted floors my feet will start to hurt (on wood or ceramic tile I’m in agony in no time!) I have 5 or 6 pairs of croc sandals scattered about the house. the squishy soles seem to save my feet and of course they are easy to clean —and since I spend so much time in the garden that ‘s a real plus….and I do have size 7 feet…..by virtue of being only 5’4″ (or really 5’3 1/2″ but don’t mess with my fantasy….)
Ms. Daisy – you really must try the soft footbed birkenstocks! They are pure delight for the tootsies! Even more comfy than the originals and lots of cute styles these days. I’m not affiliated with birks or this vendor, but birkenstock express often has great deals and lots of styles to choose from.
thanks! I’ll check them out….my tootsies used to be tough and all terrain ….now they are wimpy and sensitive and prone to heel pain….they demand comfort at all times!
Now see what you’ve started with the mentioning of shoes?
The beauty of shoes is at least you can look at a photo and know if they have even the remotest chance of pleasing you. With perfume notes, it’s so much more difficult!
Now I crave a pair of 1940s platform sandals….
Ah, 1940s platform sandals…swoon (:
If only the dogs weren’t size 9s. 9 narrow, true, but still too large for most of the 1940s sandals.
Angela – Love this line:
“…if a celebrity announces in her press materials that she normally doesn’t like perfume, but she likes this one anyway, she won’t be seeing any of my money…”
I had a respectable collection to start with, but like most here, my ever-growing collection was a direct result of stumbling upon and voracious reading of blog reviews and comments. For example: SSS was a choice made specifically based on many of AnnS’ comments about the rose fragrances (as well as the sweet person that is Laurie Erickson). From there I went on to research other bloggers’ comments, then visited the SSS site. The affordability factor also comes into play and determine whether or not I purchase bottles or decants or additional samples.
Oh, and btw – your Jubilation 25 writeup had me both in stiches as well as created one of my biggest lemmings! Sadly, that one I can only afford to purchase samples and – thankfully, it’s so potent that I won’t need more than samples to keep me satisfied. 🙂
Oh, I know! damn that snake! But , Angela was right….Jub25 is a hard one for a new perfumista…..but once your nostrils have logged a few miles…. ahhhh twue wuv
Oh – it wasn’t hard for me to fall for at all and that article was among the earliest ones I read. Think it all has to do with what you love in the first place.
My first impression of Jubilation 25 was an opening that resembled VC&A’s First, and a development and settling into Rochas Femme (1989). I even tried to re-create it using that combination – and came pretty close, too!
… And, yes indeed – Damn that snake!
as soon as I discovered perfume Beyond the Department Store….one of the very first sets of samples I ordered was Amouage…when I tuned in it’s what everyone was ohhh ing and ahhh ing about …..I really didn’t get it. …any of them. Of course I began sniffing like crazy having discovered Luckyscent and the new TPC almost simultaneously….plus a few very generous & experienced perfumistas sent me “the motherload” of random samples…..I learned fast. After a few months I went back and revisited those “very unusual Amouages” and the rest is history!
Just a little dab will do ya’ for the Jub 25. Oh but I love it!
Oh yes, affordability is another factor I forgot to include! Thanks for bringing it up.
I read blogs a lot…if it weren’t for diligent writers like yourself I would be up a creek. It’s thanks to NST, the Posse, Grain de Musc, etc that I am able to navigate, so I thank you! I’m sending the love!
Thank you! Don’t forget to let us know your favorites, too!
I don’t feel any need to keep up at all. I have so many things at home that need sampling and wearing, that I’m not too concerned unless there is a ton of buzz about something online. I don’t like paying for samples so I mostly try what I can find in my local stores. I’ll make a trip to the fancy mall every few months to check out Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus and Hermes and get as many samples and sniffs as I can. Unfortunately, there are lots of lines that I’d love to try that aren’t in these stores (Malle, Bond, Lutens, L’Artisan is no longer at my NM, etc.)
With time, I have figured out which bloggers and which commenters have similar tastes, so I can decide what is really interesting to me. I keep my wishlist on MUA, so when I do decide to buy (or swap), I know what I’m looking for.
I should be following your lead and not trying anything new until I’ve exhausted the samples I already have, but I’m so easily led astray.
Due to information overload in general, my philosophy has become a trust that I will somehow be guided to what I’m meant to discover! I try fewer and fewer perfumes, it seems, and I keep revisiting the old favorites. I do feel, though, that right about now I’d love to discover something new that really knocks me off my feet. 🙂
Yes! Until you posted I had forgotten that most if not all of my signature scents [I’m a serial monogamist] have inexplicably drawn me to them. Some even contained notes that normally I avoid.
Perfume magic!
The good old mystical approach! I lapse to that from time to time, too. If I need to smell it, it will come.
I don’t really try to keep up. I might seek a new release if:
A) it’s from a company i know and trust
B) the ingredients fall into my usual favorites
C) the bottle is absolutely great
D) somehow it just screams my name
E) it’s available near me. I’m done ordering things.
I’d rather discover/rediscover older releases at my local discounter. To me, that’s the “new niche”.
You raise such a good point. There are so many classics I haven’t really explored. Why, it was only about a month ago that I tried Equipage (and loved it).
I find I’m in the Prioritize by House camp. Though, not without a few reservations….Some houses like Chanel and Guerlain , have a “range” of offerings–they are trying to keep one foot in mainstream and the other inching into the exclusive…you have to keep an eye them!
It’s been so long since a department store/mainstream scent wowed me that for the most part ; I ignore t hem. Particularly celebrity scents… the whole “I’m famous so I automatically know about fragrance” thing just annoys me from the get-go so it’s super easy to drop all those right off the list. Houses that have never had a scent that appealed to me….I don’t expect them to suddenly do a complete turnaround and wow me (mostly designer fragrances) …so I ignore them as well…and there’s a lot of them. But even houses I am generally eager to sniff their new releases can betray my trust in a deluge of fragrances that just confuse me…..and btw, giving them numbers instead of names just adds to the insult! (looking at you L’Artisan!)
I guess it comes down to ignore, ignore, then pick and choose. I know I am probably missing some great things along the way…but after a while I’ll catch up with the blogs and reviews…so maybe I’ll catch it then. If not, well, there’s next year’s 1000 plus releases to worry about…
RE missing something great – well, if it’s really that great it should be around in 5 years and I’ll get to it then, lol. Besides, my nose is always changing! I was totally disappointed in the Xerjoff samples I had. And then I just fell in love with Amouage Memoir Woman! Who would ever think? And now I wonder if I need to go back and revisit Ubar that I didn’t care for??? Urgh. See this is part of the problem – nose development and changing tastes make it more complicated too. The smelly target is always moving.
and that’s exactly why it’s so hard for me to get rid of my bazillions of samples!! Things I didn’t care for ….then I revisit and think “my gosh, how did I not love this?? I need a bottle STAT! ” really, it happens just like that.
I’ve definitely had that happen!
Like me and Attrape Coeur!
The Smelly Target is Always Moving. My new motto, thank you!
🙂
I’m in the “Let the Empress Entice Me” camp! 😉
yes….and I have some samples to send you too…..
Ruh Roh… 😀
Very similar to my approach! I hadn’t even thought about next year’s avalanche of new releases….
I get even more annoyed by the the whole “I’m famous so I automatically know about politics, solutions to world hunger medical research.” Remember when Barbara Streisand announced that she had a staff to study issues and prepare breifings for her (usually composed of newspaper clippings) so Barbara could then expound on political issues. Well I can read a newspaper, without someone clipping the “important” pieces for me.
At least by licensing a fragrance, all they are trying to do is bring a supposed demographic to the scent. I do get annoyed when the celeb claims to have been closely involved in the development of the scent.
Am I supposed to believe that, someone who has spent months developing an accent, learning to dance, (or perhaps just spending months in a gym and at a plastic surgeon) to prepare for a role and thenworked15 hours a day on a film, followed by some long days of mass interviews, somehow also spent several years studying chemistry and botany and otherwise learning to become a nose?
As for how I keep up on fragrances, I don’t like to order samples- when you add in mailing costs, they get to be pretty expensive. I do read blogs, hats off to you writers who provide such fine descriptions of the hardest sense to describe. I am lucky to live near NYC (although the train fare is higher than the mailing costs for samples) and do go to Sniffapooloza. That’s a real opportunity to collect samples and sniff just about everything.
With NY and Sniffapalooza at your fingertips, you are totally set on being able to try whatever catches your fancy. I’m jealous!
Mainly MakeupAlley’s Fragrance Board and this blog are the resources that inform me of new releases. I would not consider any celebrity fragrances because for me to wear a fragrance I have to be captivated by the whole package – the scent is #1 of course but also the name, bottle, house and entire aura – and celebrity scents and most flankers reek of lack of innovation and just wanting to make a quick buck. My interest is piqued when there is a launch by a house from which I’ve worn fragrances in the past, and I always sample several times before considering buying a full bottle. I agree, the number of releases has become utterly ridiculous and for years now I’ve been turned off because there can’t possibly be a lot of effort put into most of them. I’ve learned to be satisfied with my small collection. I’m a signature scent gal; but always willing to explore what’s new if it seems worth the effort.
You’re so smart to do repeated sampling before caving to a bottle. I’ve wasted a fair amount of money on bottles I rarely wear.
I’ve finally learned from my mistakes!
And I still haven’t!
Same here. For some reason, a full-size bottle appeals to me much more than a sample vial with hard-to-read labeling, hence I’ve been too quick to say “I love this and must have a full bottle!”
Oh, I know. So many bottles are so pretty in and of themselves, too.
Love this topic Angela !
I generally steer clear of any celebrity or mass market scents, unless one gets a little buzz going on the blogs.
Sometimes a cute bottle will catch my eye in a department store and I’ll go have a sniff, and other times I get such a strong craving for something “new” that I just have to go sniff everything on every shelf in every store available until I either find the one that hits the spot, or I get bored and grouchy trying.
My tastes have diversified so much over the last 3 years that my perfume world has opened up to a whole new range of notes I’d never have considered in the past. This has mostly been driven by reading these blogs and sampling or browsing online stores – so for me, there’s still a vast ocean of undiscovered classics out there, and that makes me happy.
I guess the trend for our desire to smell unique and different to everyone else is what’s been driving the niche industry for so long, and now it’s in this unsustainable frenzy of new release after new release.
Eventually, we’ll all get round to thinking that wearing the timeless classics will be the next ‘unique and different’, and the new releases will slow down – more quality than quantity. Who knows?! We can only hope…
🙂
Yes, people will ask, “What is that wild and innovative fragrance you’re wearing?” And you’ll reply, “Chanel No. 5, darlings.”
It’s happened to me!
Living proof!
I mostly decide by this blog, familiar houses, price, and availability. I try not to sample things I have no hope of affording or that I will never be able to get again. It’s funny though, as I write this the is an ad for Luckyscent at the top that reads: “unique scents… for those in the know.” Damnit, I no longer feel qualified to shop there…
Really, the fact that you even know about Luckyscent means you already are in the know!
I totally agree with you Angela–she is already in the know, like it or not.
We could have the occasional “what have you tried that no one else has dared?” post. I too love trying surprise samples even if my nose almost always says “no thanks”.
Great idea! I bet Secretions Magnifiques gets mentioned.
I’m still enticed by notes, not houses – at least most of the time. I still try to explore the two indie houses I’ve done some digging through (SSS and DSH), but I’m not willing yet to branch out into other indies. I keep hearing how great Mandy Aftel’s things are, but at the moment I just can’t manage another spendy, high-%-natural indie line. You guys enjoy, okay? I’ll enjoy vicariously.
Wait, is Tauer an indie? If it is, add that house to the list I keep up with.
Aaaaaanyway, I notice that I’ve missed testing several of the last Serges, with only Vitriol d’Oeillet attracting me, and that on the basis of the notes. Jeux de Peau did not grab me, but Vitriol has me salivating…
And I’m still into investigating classics and vintage, because I like that sort of thing.
Which notes are the ones that grab you?
I am pretty much always intrigued by tuberose, BWFs in general, rose of all varieties from fresh to dark, floral chypres, and spices. The mention of galbanum always perks me up.
Classic colognes, citruses, and gourmands, and iris don’t usually interest me. Orange blossom as a focus can be a dealbreaker. Leather, tobacco, and incense I tend to prefer as accents. There are exceptions, of course, but there’s my back-of-the-mind criteria!
Vetiver’s another turnoff for me, though I don’t mind it as an accent. It is odd, though – I noticed that some of my very favorites fit into the “I don’t usually like [this note] but I love it in this composition” category. For example, I’m not into leather, vetiver, or iris – but I love No. 19! I think I’d even say that it’s my favorite iris scent, and also my favorite vetiver scent. But it’s not *about* the iris or the vetiver.
I’m not an automatic amber fan, either, but I absolutely love Alahine.
I love it when a fragrance I “shouldn’t” like turns into a love.
You like glamorous fragrances! You must have been a starlet in another life.
Wait. I thought I was in *this* life… but if I’m not, I guess that explains why people keep expecting me to clean the bathroom around here.
😉
Yeah, I like the “perfumey” ones. Glamour. And aldehydes, I forgot those.
Oh yes, Tauer counts as indie. I have been thoroughly exploring Tauer because the sample sets are inexpensive and shipping is not a problem. As a number of people have said, availability and affordability are key filtering mechanisms when sampling new stuff. Tauer’s stuff is not cheap but it’s not stupidly expensive either, and he makes it EASY for you to sample. Gotta love that.
I have not got to DSH yet. But she is getting higher and higher on the list!
Cant really afford Aftel.
DSH is overwhelming to me, so many fragrances! It makes it hard to know where to stick your foot in.
The notes lists help… even as weird as the DSH website is, there is a search function that I use to find, say, tea fragrances. Or leather ones, if that floats your boat.
DSH and SSS are the two indie houses I follow too, mostly thanks to the small bottle option that makes them affordable to me (there are some fabulous fragrances to be found there too of course). I have been thinking about branching out and exploring some of the Soivohle/Liz Zorn now since she offers 5ml and 11ml bottles in some of her fragrances. Oh and Parfums de Nicolai offers smaller bottles as well.
So I guess the availability of smaller bottles is one of my criteria. I like to have a lot of choices in my fragrance wardrobe and I see large bottles as wasteful and an unnecessary expense.
Small bottles and decants are lifesavers, agreed!
and speaking of the generosity of perfume friends sending little goodies that entice…..Carlos! omg! Amouage Honor woman!
I’m really enjoying this!!! (you’re a troublemaker for sure!)
I’m glad to see you getting a little of your own medicine!
Angela, agreed! I was going to say Daisy is more guilty than anyone!
hee hee
yeah, well… saying that just makes me …want to send you more samples! muwahahahahahahaha! *additional evil laughter*
It hurts so good!
Don’t hate me because I spread JOY! 😉
Wow – how did Carlos get his hands on a sample? A couple of weeks ago, the BG SA (obviously not an Amouage expert) had no idea what I was talking about when I asked about it….
not sure….but he might have won them at a blog drawing…or someone else won them and sent them to him….he said I was the 3rd person to have the Honour woman sample! It’s nice! floral, daytime scent, nothing heavy sultry or mysterious going on here…it sort of dribbled on my arm around noon….I’m still smelling it almost 12 hours later. That’s one thing you can say for Amouage–they don’t make them no wimpy fragrances!
Sigh…looks like I”m going to need a bottle…..
I don’t even try to keep up. About a year ago I did Kevin’s famous calculation of how long my perfume supply will last. Since I’ve added more to the collection since then, I know that it will easily outlast me, so I’m enjoying sampling from what I already have.
Nowadays, something really has to grab my attention for me to consider sampling it. That “something” usually starts with a list of notes. You say there’s fig involved? Okay, then! Tea? Sign me up! Big White Flowers? Yummy! Tobacco? Yes sir! Booze? Where can I buy it? Tobacco and booze and BWF? Where’s that damn credit card!
Houses? Not so much. I seem to be pretty hit and miss with a lot of houses. The only one that almost always works for me is Parfum de Nicolai. Haven’t had a scrubber there yet.
And of course, word of mouth gets my attention. A good review here (especially if combined with good reviews from PST or Posse) will make me perk up. And if a certain someone (you know who you are) raves – raves! – about something, I’m likely to try it if it contains anything on my list of notes. That’s how I found SSS Tabac Aurea (Angela, start there!) , PdN Le Temps d’une Fete, and Mary Greenwell Plum. All of which I love fiercely.
I’m too afraid to try Kevin’s calculations. You’re brave!
Yeah, I’m scared – I think I would have to live to be about 368.
You and me both.
omg….I’m going to need more moisturizer…..
I’ll start laying in enough support hose for both of us…
368 ….those better be some industrial strength support hose! (and they’ll need to come up to my chin!! )
Thank you, both, for that LOVELY (or should I say LURVLEY?) image! ROTFL!!!!
Look at this way, since you have way more fragrance than you could ever use up, you might as well fully enjoy what you have.
Feeling miserable in the morning; why not spray a tiny bit on for your pre-shower dog walk?. Sure, you’ll wear something else after you shower, but you know what- you have too much fragrance to use up anyway?
That “white musk” sample which was sent as a enclosure for a full bottle which doesn;t thrill you- , why not put a small drop or two in your had wash? You’ll never chose it instead of your “good” perfumes anyway.
I totally subscribe to that theory. Spray a little on a lampshade! Spray some on the inside of your coat!
I inadvertently over-sprayed my just before entering a News Year Party. It smelled richly of tuberose all winter.
Hey, could definitely be a lot worse.
Angela, clearly, we are of a mind. I’ve (almost) given up on feeling guilty about all the doubtless excellent houses/perfumers I’m neglecting. I like to take my time with a fragrance, at least three or four full days with nothing else on, before I write about it. And I do like to save at least a couple of days a week to wear stuff I love. Otherwise, I’d forget why I got into perfume in the first place: for the sheer beauty and pleasure of it.
Its impossible to smell, listen to or read everything. I think a book reviewer should be well read and someone who reviews music should have a reasonable amount of knowledge. I think its ludicrous to expect a reviewer of any kind to have tried everything in the relevant domain.
It’s impossible to keep up with everything! It really is.
Yes–I sometimes get resentful if I don’t have time to wear the perfume I love. That’s one of the reasons I like to intersperse perfume reviews with posts like this one.
And the ‘meta-reflection’ is just as interesting as the actual reviews!
Thank you! I hope it is.
I enjoy these commentaries too….for one thing, it lets me know I’m not suffering alone! It’s good to know that it’s a common condition to feel overwhelmed by all the releases and sometimes feel a little lost when things get mentioned and I have no idea what this new thing is (there’s TOO many new things!) …and frustrated over the “group releases” ….Honestly…I think its the “group releases” that bug me the most!
I agree! I don’t understand why one company has to release a whole armload of fragrances at once.
Angela, I’ll happily read whatever you write!
Thank you!
Agree with Merlin: I love these “meta-reflection” posts as much as the reviews – that’s what makes a NST so much fun!
I’m glad you like them.
I definitely enjoy these posts as much as if not more than the perfume reviews. Just so you know….
That’s encouraging–thanks!
Agree with Merlin, Nozknoz and Rappleyea!
I forgot to add in my earlier post, I also refuse to even sample limited editions. Wouldn’t want to fall in love and be unable to replenish my supply. I feel limited editions are gimmicky and disrespectful to the consumer. I like to commit to my fragrances for the long term!
I’ve heard people say they won’t sample discontinued fragrances for the same reason. But what if it’s really wonderful? Is it better to have loved and lost?
If I can get a bottle of something discontinued or limited, I’m fine. I don’t like getting samples of things completely unavailable, though, because I am too prone to go questing.
Oh yeah. Questing can be heartbreaking and/or costly.
yep….when someone splits one of those really rare things and the portions available are one or two mls (for some huge price) I just take a few steps back….don’t even want to sniff it. Don’t want my heart broke, don’t want to be driven to the impossible quest….nope.
not going there!
Highness Rose anyone? 🙂
LoL!
Oh, exactly! If you can catch the fragrance JUST after it’s been discontinued, and stocks have been dumped on the market – well, it’s time to stock up. When I first nabbed a bottle of Shalimar Light, it wasn’t all that expensive. Two years later, it’s unfindable and ridiculously priced.
add Theorema and L’Arte di Gucci to the list…
I haven`t given it much thought.. but out of the top of my head I would say, that after the fragrance itself, I consider these other things.
1) Brand: there are brands I don´t like at all, I don´t like their image, style, message, so I’ll skip on the frags. Yes, I am a bit of a snob.. but it doesn´t have to be a top brand or niche or exclusive, I just like some and not others. This narrows it down a lot.
2) Perfumer: sometimes I look forward to releases by certain perfumers. This is not an elimination factor, just something that captures my attention more.
3) Price: if it is a dollar per ml, I might go for it.. even a bit more. 2 dollars x ml is (usually) a no-no
4) availability: if I have to jump through hoops to get it, forget it. I can always ask a friend who travels to bring something extra special for me.. but near-impossible-to-get is a turnoff
You don’t sound like a snob–you’re just being prudent. When there are so many new releases, you’ve got to have a strategy.
I don’t think you sound like a snob either. It sounds to me as though you have set priorities and a strategy….that’s a good thing. I wish I was better at that than I am.
I like your plan – it’s what I’ve been moving toward.
I agree that it’s getting too much to handle. I wish all houses would take 3-5 years off from new releases and let us catch up on all the sampling. When people have hundreds of options, many get overwhelmed and begin to lose interest. I know they have to make money, but they might be hurting themselves instead.
I agree. With so many new perfumes jostling for attention, they all suffer.
Especially true when one house releases 10 new things at one time! Even when it’s a house I favor….they are still forcing me to pick and chose one or two. Whereas if they released those same 10 over the course of a year–I’d be much much more likely to sniff them all.
I think a comparison to books is useful. Of course I don’t try to read every book out there, but I am greatly reassured to realize that I will never run out of great things to read, that there will always be more. So why not think about perfumes the same way? There will always be wonderful new fragrances to smell–I will never run out. And I do seek out perfumes by favorite noses and/or houses the same way I seek out books by favorite authors, and I do seek out certain notes (I will try every carnation I can get my hands on) just as I seek out books on certain topics (I love magical realism). Sometimes people lend me books they love (or send me perfume samples) and sometimes I find books that people leave on the street (though that has never happened with perfume).
That would be nice, wouldn’t it?
I like that approach! It makes the whole thing seem less urgent.
The new release fervour just suits retail far too well and I try to stay clear of it. Really though, the reason I don’t get caught up is because even mainstream new releases take about a year to reach South Africa.
A mixed blessing, for sure, but I do see the upside.
Unfortunately, there is no public library for perfume and they cost a great deal more.
A perfume library! Now there’s an idea.
Wonderful and thought-provoking as always, Angela!
I go about things in a pretty convoluted, haphazard way. Sometimes something will just sound so darn good I have to actually go about finding a sample or go and sniff, but usually things just kind of spark my consciousness or appear in my nose-range or show up in a bag in the mail. I have some great swap-pals who seem to be on the cutting edge of new stuff (like sending me a sample of the new Chanel 19 Poudre before it’s even OUT) as well as having collections different from mine. I’ve also been fairly lucky with some blog draws (although even though I tried a zillion times I never did get a sample of Zeta!) and found fragrances I may not have otherwise bothered with. I think half of it is Kismet, honestly.
Swapping is a great way to try new and good things. It sounds like you have some great swap partners, too. How do you like the No. 19 Poudre?
Seeing this late, but I like it very much so far! I am not a 19 devotee, so can’t really compare, but I could see wanting some, for sure.
Yes, tell us! How is that no19 Poudre?
I live on the kindness of Nordstrom and Sephora samples; if I can’t easily get a sample or two for free, chances are I don’t have the time or money to get through the courting phase before deciding whether to settle down with a bottle (though The Perfumed Court is always there for the occasional hard-to-find bizarre or classic eaux). I focus on how happy I am with Estee Lauder, Chanel, Hermes, and Guerlain instead of the Serge Lutens, Frederick Malle, Ormond Jayne, and Tauer I’m missing out on.
Then again, I’m not a blogger; I only have myself to think about. You all here at NST, the Perfume Posse, Bois de Jasmin, et al have your work cut out for you and I very much appreciate your efforts to keep us all informed!
I do love those samples, too. So many new releases just rush past me like so much white noise. Even when I do try something new, often I can barely remember it and leave with a vague tag like “fruity-musky.”
Can you imagine the public putting up with a celebrity who made statements such as, “I don’t like jazz music, but I decided to put out this album of clarinet solos of Coltrane tunes,” or “I hate clothes, but I want you to buy this line of blouses and pants that I am endorsing,” or “I’m allergic to doll collectors so buy my line of limited edition porcelain dolls of Orkney Islands?” The utter gall!
Your examples are hilarious! I suppose the perfume remark *supposedly* works because enough people don’t actually like perfume. So the celebrity can say, I’m like you, I don’t like perfume, either, but even I think this one is terrific. In the end, as you point out, it’s insulting, even to the perfumer who made the fragrance.
Even worse- and there are musicians who have done just about this. “I never really was into (musical genre X)* but I am putting out an album of it anyway.
* Christmas music, country, “standards”, and duets seem to be the main money makers which attract casual crossovers looking for big sales.
Totally do not try to keep up with everything. For one thing, I also love to explore vintage and save $$$ and skin for that. It does torture me a bit, if I think about it, that I could be missing the most wonderful perfume in the world, the next Iris Gris – I try NOT to think about it!
Like others, if I love a perfume, I’ll seek out other perfumes from the same house or nose. A great review on the blogs I read regularly will generally tempt me, as will commenters whose tastes I admire.
Another major influence is The Guide – that led me to key houses, noses, and even vintage scents that they mentioned. I still haven’t sampled everything they loved yet.
Also, if something is available from Luckyscent, then I’m ten times as likely to try it. I hate figuring out the individual perfumers’ websites, so it takes me a long time to get around to them, no matter how much everyone raves. For example, I only ordered Tabac Aurea when it became available though Indie Scents.
I’ve received some fabulous samples from kind perfume lovers (HUGE THANKS WONDERFUL PEOPLE!), but work is too intense for me to keep up my end, so I can’t really dive into swapping until I retire.
Hopefully all that delicious perfume will relieve some of the stress from work!
Swapping can take serious time. I gave it up, too.
But how are you getting on with Tabac Aurea?? I am not really a big fan of tobacco or amber, and I probably wouldn’t have tried it according to my usual “am I interested?” criteria, but Daisy sent me a weeny bit and it just blew my little mind. (Smells just like my HS boyfriend, actually… whoa.)
I LOVE Tabac Aurea! It doesn’t really remind me of tobacco, per se. I find it similar to Mecca Balsam, which I also adore. MB has more beeswax, or something like that. Love both – need back-up bottles.
I stumbled on NST a couple of years ago looking for a review of Gucci Flora. Now I have a whole new world of niche houses and timeless classics (sadly labeled by many as “old lady”) opened up for me (I am finally a Shalimar convert, though my 9-year-old son immediately took a liking to it after smelling it on me). I started out by getting samples of things everyone raved about, but am trying to pay attention now to the suggestions of folks who seem to have similar tastes to me. While I CAN drive from the ‘burbs down into Dallas to try the exclusive lines, it is very time-consuming. I would love to see a few more reviews of mainstream perfumes, which are more accessible to most of us.
I’m glad NST is a help! Robin is really good about doing reviews of mainstream fragrances. And–drumroll please–in August we’ll have what is becoming the annual Drugstore Week. Yep, cheap thrills every day that week.
Oh I’m looking forward to that! I loved the series you did on mall scents.
Oh good! So far I have lined up Navy, White Shoulders, and Chantilly. Two spots are still open. I’m contemplating English Leather and Sand & Sable.
Oh – I love Chantilly. My mom had given me an old bottle of hers when I was a girl and I used to play wear it. I have a bottle of it still – it was one of the only fragrances I was able to stomach when I was pregnant a few years ago. It’s still a nice amber aldehyde powder, thin though it has become. It kind of reminds me of the Givenchy Les Mythiques L’Interdit, though without that strawberry note. I ca’t wait for the review. Let me know if you need any….
I’m in good shape, thanks!
I got a wee bottle of Sand & Sable lately – it’s pretty cool.
That’s wonderful news. My bank account doesn’t let me explore too many niche lines (unless they show up used on ebay) and so I’m stuck with mainstream. I’m very happy to hear that there will be more reviews of things that are easily accessible.
Oh yeah, these babies are cheap. Some of them I’ve already bought were $6 for two bottles.
Yay, cheap thrills! I love those reviews.
Oh good!
Cheap is good! I love when I can satisfy my urge for something new without having to use the credit card.
Yay! I love Drugstore Week!
Angela, your way to think makes total sense, but I like to smell flankers. A small number of them superes the original ones and impress me, being a “bettered son”. Exemples (for my taste): The One Gentleman, Bvlgari Soir, XS Black, A* Men family, Obsession Night for Men, Dior Homme Intense and Cologne…
I’m with you. I’ve discovered many flankers that I’ve enjoyed as much in not more than the original, Estee Lauder “Pleasures Bloom,” and Thierry Mugler “Angel la Rose,” coming first to mind.
I used to avoid all flankers but I’ve discovered that often they can “correct” what might have been unappealing in the original fare that I might not have liked, or can add a new dimension to one i already loved.
Thanks for the recommendations! Between you two those are some good starts for trying flankers.
I’m curious about Angel flankers and creating courage to use Angel. Rose is always welcome! A* Men lacks some fruit notes and that tar note irritates me.
I know! I’m probably missing some great perfumes by turning my nose up at flankers.
Sometimes a flanker can be like a second chance. 😉
hahaha, stupid boy!!!! I made a neologism (not to say a mistake): “superes”= I mean “overcomes”. Sorry!
It makes reading that more interesting!
Bit late for this, but I enjoyed all your comments. I fully agree that you need some kind of flexible rules to manage through the perfume jungle, mine are quite snobbish I guess – stick to niche or exclusive lines, but try anything with tuberose, vetiver, incense, “skank”, dark roses, iris with a twist… I guess I seriously became a perfumista when I started ordering / paying for samples, something other human beings don’t understand. You people (and a few other bloggers) are the main source of information for those orders, so thanks!
Sticking to niche is another way to cut down on the perfume releases, but even niche releases are overwhelming! I guess sorting by niche then by note helps.
I’m ever on the quest to smell *everything* and feel like I am so late to the party, but there’s no way to keep up with the new, smell all the current, and find all the vintage lovelies. It’s a bit disheartening to those of us new in the game.
Thanks to a few generous perfumista friends (yes, you Daisy! 🙂 I’ve been introduced to fabulous scents and my nose it getting better and I understand more of what I love and what I don’t. If it has tuberose as a “main” note, I’ll probably run screaming for the hills – but I will keep sniffing those that cross my path hoping to find the magic. If a scent is described as fresh light green powder etc. then I’m sure to fall in lemming (Chanel #19 Poudre, that means you!)
These go on my :try me: list which satisfies the craving that I won’t forget about it. And life goes on until the next batch of releases or reviews and then those go on my list as well. About once a quarter or so, I place an order for samples (usually TPC) for those that keep popping up on my list and I fall in lurve with one or two of them. If I had unlimited resources, I’d order bottles and bottles, but now I have a long FB list as well – so I don’t forget about them! I’m still discovering houses and now know which houses will be probablly be successful on me (LAP, Malle, etc.) and which houses will not (AG). But I have to try them all, don’t I? On the list it goes!
I’m now at the point of searching for specific scent profiles to fill a hole in my FB collection. A few months ago it was powdery, then recently citrusy, and now it’s tropical fruit & coconuty.
But I haven’t forgotten about any of those amouages. You are on my list!
That all sounds so familiar! Don’t give up on the tuberose, though. You might go crazy some summer night and try it and it will be divine.
Its probably been said already, but some of the things i consider when deciding what to sample:
1. The price of a full bottle. I will never pay for a bottle of of something like Xerjoff, so i will never sample anything from this line.
2. Availability. The choice is made for me if i cant find the product being sold anywhere.
3. What i currently own. If i already have a spicy oriental in my collection, i probably wont sample anything in this genre until i need to replace it.
You’re strict! I suppose it’s smart, though. I like to smell things I know I’ll never own just to know what they’re like, even if it’s heartbreaking.
I go by houses, mostly ( PdN, AG, Malle, LAP). Spend more time sniffing niche than mainstream, although that is not a conscious decision. I tend to avoid the überpricey lines like Xerjoff etc. Although I have been wanting to order a sample set from Parfums MDCI. I tend to focus on European houses, so mostly French ones. Having perfume shipped to me from the States is just too expensive.
And I read blogs. If two separate reviews of the same scent are exceedingly complimentary I will try to sniff it.
The Guide was helpful in making me discover a couple of mainstream classics like White Linen, Calyx, Dior Homme, DK Gold and Aromatics Elixir. The AE is one of my all time favourites.
I have yet to smell a celebrity fragrance. Although I have ordered a sample of Like This.
I love the cheese analogy. Proper cheese stinks!
The nice thing about the MDCI sample set is that the samples are large enough to be proper decants. So it’s almost like you’re actually buying perfume and not just samples.
I love Like This! Not everyone does, but it’s interesting enough to be worth smelling, I think.
Which is why I want that sample set so badly. Problem is I can’t make up my mind which 5 I would most like to try. Through the 2010 swap on the Posse I got a decant of Invasion Barbare which is stunning, but the others sound wonderful as well.
Make sure Enlevement au serail is part of it.
I will, especially since rereading your review of it!
Peche Cardinale is great, too. Enlevement is fab.
I don’t even attempt to keep up with new perfume releases. I’m still slowly sniffing my way through the classics! Every once in a while something new will pique my interest and I’ll add it to the “to try” list for future reference. I filter out celebrity scents, those marketed to teens, lines that are too exclusive, too high end, or limited editions. I figure, why fall in love with something that I can’t find, can’t afford, or will disappear on me? That narrows the field somewhat. I’ve also pretty much ignored niche lines, which seem to be here today, gone tomorrow. The exception is Sonoma Scent Studio (which you really MUST try, Angela! Laurie’s fragrances are high quality and reasonable in price). I do acquire samples of some of the new releases when I attend Sniffapalooza.
If you go to sniffing events, you probably do get to try some wonderful fragrances.
I know, I know about SSS! I need to get on the ball about that.
The fragrances aren’t necessarily wonderful, but at least I get to find out what people have been talking about. For example, at Sniffa in April I sampled Hermes’ Un Jardin sur le Toit, Balenciaga Paris, Annick Goutal Mimosa, Tom Ford Neroli Portofino, and a couple of new ones from Kurkdjian. None of them inspired love, some just inspired a ho-hum. That’s just my opinion. The sheer number of samples I came home with was overwhelming though, and evidence that far too much product is being released for people to keep up with.
In a way, it must be a relief not to be blown away by many of the fragrances. A gal’s budget can only stand so much.
Thanks for this advice. I have been feeling overwhelmed. I have always liked and worn scent, but just recently was given a copy of the Turin book, and found this blog. My friend, a fine artist, has been crafting some unusual scents, and I bought some from her. In my search for bottles to keep them in (on ebay), I came across a Le Clairac Kismaju 1936 bottle that seemed to me to be the perfect expression of Art Deco of that time. Somehow, I managed to win it (spending more than I ever would have dreamed on an empty bottle!). I started trying to find out more about the fragrance, and found your 2008 post about a 1937 magazine you bought that contained an ad for this perfume. I would love to see the ad! If you could post sometime that would be great. Thanks for your interesting articles, I have enjoyed all I have read so far.
Probably the best I could do is send you a photo. Why don’t you send me an email and I’ll see what I can do? Angela at nstperfumes dot com.
I’ve been a part of this wonderful hobby for about two years now, but I still feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface.
Part of the reason for that is I’m working with a limited budget – I’ve set aside $30 a month for sampling, thus far I’ve never purchased unsniffed, and I have a strict buy-a-decant-before-a-bottle policy I’ve only broken a few times (eg. OJ Woman – Mother’s Day, Black Cashmere – last birthday, Silences – why decant when the bottle is so reasonable and the scent so stunning?).
Working at such a slow sampling pace has its advantages, though. I get the chance to really take each new fragrance for an extended test run but can still wear my loves on a regular basis. Even at this slow rate, I’ve still amassed what seems like a LOT of samples over the last two years.
The downside of being so careful is that I wouldn’t make a great swapper – I really love all the decants and bottles I own, and I’ve learned to keep samples I don’t love because this schnoz of mine keeps changing its mind as my tastes develop. (The fact that I live in Canada and don’t have the time to develop online relationships at MUA or BN contributes to my out-of-the-swapping-loop status.)
So how do I choose what to smell? 1) Can I get samples easily and are they reasonable? 2) Would I be able to afford a full bottle? 3) Does this line have a reasonable number of fragrances to sample? (If there are a ridiculous number of scents that would consume MONTHS of my budget…. nah, not interested.)
Some months I’ll focus on a line (May was Chanel Les Exclusifs), other months on a particular note (this summer I was determined to find a green that worked on me, and thus far I’ve found several). I depend a lot on my favorite blogs in guiding my decision on what to try.
p.s. Angela, add my voice to those who recommend you give SSS a try.
You’ve thought out a great plan for yourself. I especially like your idea of exploring particular lines at a time.
Another kick in the pants to explore SSS! I need to do it.
I love your headline for this post and have thoroughly enjoyed reading all the comments. My strategy for ‘surfing the tidal wave’ has actually been to focus my attention on celebrity perfumes.
Good! Someone needs to be doing it. I hope you chime in from time to time with the celeb scents you really like.
Y’know, this may not be a strategy, but I’m just glad that it’s not quite fall/winter yet. The number of new releases that happens right before the Christmas shopping season quite literally gives me “perfume anxiety” as I rush to try all the new ones, with multiple trips to my local Sephora, trying to find the diamonds in the rough… 😉
That IS a lot of pressure! Those fragrances will still be around after the holidays, though, so please don’t get too rushed.
Today I have all the Tauer fragrances (samples)except Lonestar memories. Last week I received a beautiful discovery set with 12 samples of Ormonde Jayne!!!! and I own all the “Ineke” samples in a box. But you are so right about the many many new releases. For me, living in Holland, there are many fragrances not available. So the internet is my access to perfume news and the perfume blogs ( Andy Tauer, every day, Now smell this: every day. Being a perfume addict is a very nice distraction next to a full time job. One life is not enough for all the new releases.
Sorry for the late reply! I don’t know how I missed your comment. By now you’ve probably sampled all those wonderful Ormonde Jaynes and maybe chosen a few favorites.