A reprise of a 2010 poll, by request: tell us about your guilty (perfume) pleasures, that is, fragrances you love even though you (or others?) think maybe you shouldn’t. Another way of stating it might be “the perfumes you don’t usually admit you own”.
Note: image is Wisteria [cropped] by delgaudm at flickr; some rights reserved.
I’ve a few guilty fragrant pleasures. I also refer to them as my Cheap & Cheerful Collection:
1) Stetson (the original for men; lovely aldehydes, woods, a interesting cola angle, floral and spice. I almost want to put on a disguise when I go pick this up at CVS!)
2) Kiehl’s Musk Oil – a comfy skin scent
3) Azzaro Pour Homme – aromatic bliss
4) Versace L’Homme – Citrus, ginger, jasmine, basil. Dead sexy and I can usually get a 3.4 for $22 bucks.
5) Gendarme – Verbena, jasmine, thyme, musk and a little bit of leather. Yes, undeniably soapy but not in an off-putting way. Makes people lean in closer….really.
Very interested in reading the guilty pleasures of others here.
Nice list! Gosh, what happened to Gendarme, anyway — seems like years since they’ve done anything new. Or else I’ve just missed it.
Thanks Robin! Yes, Gerdarme is a rather quiet outfit. I think their last releases were Gendarme Sky (never tried it), a Gendarme edp, and Gendarme V (imagine the original with some vetiver and tonka bean). But in the last 7 or 8 years, nothing.
My guilty pleasure is using drugstore deodorants.
I cannot afford (or have easy access) to the deodorant versions of my favourite perfumes, so I end up using cheap drugstore deodorants for everyday use. Like Adidas Dynamic Pulse and Axe Twist.
The one I miss the most is Adidas Urban Spice. It smelled great and cost a penny… How I miss you!!
Gosh, I have never paid for a “department store” deodorant, and now I wonder how many people do!
I wonder if this may be more of a European indulgence. I remember picking up a couple of perfumed deodorants once in the Frankfurt Airport duty free. One was Kenzo Air or L’Eau, and the other was Elizabeth Arden Red Door. It seemed like a good way to have a secret touch of perfume at work. Also, the deodorant versions of designer scents cost less than the corresponding perfume.
Nowadays, I use deodorants for sensitive skin. I do like the initial grapefruit-vanila scent from Lavanila natural deodorant, which I heard about at The Non-Blond (one more reason I totally owe Gaia).
When I worked in fragrance retail, it was interesting to see who would purchase the deodorants. It’s a much more common ancillary product in men’s lines. There are definitely men who come into Macy’s just to purchase the deodorant, often men who… how to say this… perceive themselves to be sexy. LOL
With women’s fragrances, deodorants aren’t as common except in the biggest sellers like Light Blue. However, evidently Cashmere Mist is a big seller for whatever reason; I think it’s a comfort scent for many? It was definitely one of the biggest selling ancillary products at my Macy’s. And, we’d even get special displays to display the Cashmere Mist deodorant on and be asked to push it as an add-on with other purchases.
But yes, I sense that deodorant as an ancillary product may be more common/popular in Europe.
Interesting. You see a lot of Dior scents as deodorants on eBay, even tho’ I think the deodorant products have long been d/c. Or maybe not? I never see them in Australia and have often wondered. Thanks for the discussion.
I’ve always lived in Europe. I don’t know anyone who spends money on expensive deodorants. Maybe in more exalted circles than my own and my friends. Actually, I have been in some wealthy women’s bathrooms when visiting and never seen anything but ordinary deodorants on their shelves.
When my dad passed away I brought all his deodorants with me and a few of his perfumes.
I am still using Cartier Pasha and Declaration. They have lasted a long time and they are very faithful to the corresponding perfume.
Funny, a lot of people complain about cumin reminding them of BO, and the deodorant for Declaration has cumin.
Thanks guys! Now I know. And still laughing about Declaration — I do admire Declaration, but yes, it smells just like man sweat on me.
I don’t quite understand what these products are. Are they like eau de cologne versions of the EDT, or are they even lighter? Do they contain anything to counteract natural body odour, or just act like light perfumes? I remember using inexpensive aerosols of this sort when I was a teen, but now I use an anti-perspirant (which I assume has deoderising properties as well, and sometimes a very light fragrance too) and then spritz myself with proper EDT or EDP.
They’re just scented deodorants, sometimes in spray form, sometimes in solid form, same as any deodorants but scented with perfume.
I’m not sure I have any truly guilty pleasures. I own MJ Bang, which was one of my first perfume enthusiasms. Now, with my greater experience, I never turn to it. So, maybe I’m a little embarrassed.
Actually, my biggest source of guilt is admitting to new people that I have “a little perfume habit.” I had a friend over to hang out, and she wanted to see my perfume cabinet. The wide eyes and “Oh, my goodness, Marjorie!” expressed how unusual this little hobby can be!
Oh, I like Bang!
I like Bang, too!
I like Bang too. I recently visited my nephew at college and he showed me his growing collection of frags. Bang was among them and is apparently one of his favorites. He was nice enough to take his aunts and mom touring & shopping around town so as a thank you I bought him Terre d’Hermes. He reports that he really likes it. I’ll definitely be encouraging this interest in perfume!
Wow, I hope one day I have a nephew who takes me on a shopping tour! And what a lovely thank you, I bet he’ll only grow to appreciate TdH more and more.
Oh, how I hear you regarding embarassment over “my little perfume habit.”
I love Bang! too, but I can also see why it was not a big seller and now you can find it at a hefty discount at TJM, which is where I scored two deodorant sticks for less than $5 each. This is the only fragrance deodorant I own.
Regarding other guilty pleasures, I own a few scents marketed for women although I am male: Vol de Nuit, Lalique Perles, Bandit, White Patchouli. Went to Saks yesterday and bought Bottega Veneta, this one doesn’t seem feminine to me at all. I admit it isn’t the most masculine thing I own, but it is sublime and just overall lovely to wear.
It is interesting that you mention “women’s” scents that you wear as a man. That is one of the reasons I was drawn to Bang. It seemed like a more unisex men’s scent that I could wear and feel daring, but not like I was in drag.
Agree, BV does not seem at all feminine to me, either.
Personally I agree with those who feel that most real perfume is beyond M or F. Of course, there are some that are either so sweet they seem girly or so dense or rough that they seem macho, but the balance of greatness tends to be unisex. I wear a number of masculines, especially Guerlain Vetiver and the AGs that are nominally masculine. I guess her tendency to issue many of them in both feminine and masculine bottles illustrates this point.
I don’t believe in feeling guilty about pleasure, so I have none. SOTD is Tubereuse Criminelle. It’s been a typical grey day and somehow TC lifts the mood.
An excellent perspective!
Haha, lovely perspective
Here, here! Yes to no guilt.
Elizabeth Taylor Black Pearls, Avon Imari and some pretty old versions of various vintage frag’s: Aphrodisia, Woodhue, Flambeau, Tigress, Charlie (parfum!), Toujours Moi, Chantilly, etc.
Yes, people admire some of them but I have the idea that practically no one actually wears them.
Someone must be wearing them because they are still being sold for the most part. Smelling good doesn’t have to cost a fortune.
Whoa, did not know that Charlie was available in parfum format! I’ve been this close to blind-buying Black Pearls (mostly because of Angela’s fantastic review here on NST).
Oooh Black Pearls is a fave from way back. On me, it’s a musky mild oriental accented with soft white flowers and fruits (a hint of melon and/or peach) and I’ve honestly never smelled anything like it. And it wears beautifully in the summer if you use a light touch. I’d be sad if it were ever discontinued.
It sounds gorgeous! If it’s at all in danger of being discontinued, maybe I should check it out sooner rather than later …
I did bind-bluy Black Peals because of Angela’s review, but it was a whole whopping $12 at Winners. Definitely worth the tiny risk, because it’s lovely. Reminds me a bit of Black Orchid in feel, except Black Orchid goes sour on my skin.
Vintage Toujours Moi is gorgeous!
My latest guilty pleasure is K.P’s Purr & Meow – the fact that the bottles are so cute does not lessen the shame! An old secret favourite is Loulou. Only recently a friend said ‘I thought you might be wearing something trashy like Loulou but I didn’t say so in case I offended you!’ But I agree the reaction you get from folk when they see a cupboard with 200++ perfumes in it is indeed a bit embarrassing.
I don’t know…a great kitsch bottle goes a long way with me
I adore the bottles! Haven’t sniffed the new one yet.
My scent of today is 1969 by Histoires de Parfums. It’s the one from the discovery set I ordered and it was delivered this week. 1969 makes me feel chocolate yummy today!
I’m not sure if I have any guilty pleasure, at least in the field of perfume. Or maybe my perfume fascination is a guilty pleasure itself? When someone asks me what I wear, I always answer and don’t hide it.
But I have this different guilty pleasure – tea. We have a wonderful tea shop in my town and I have like +40 different kinds, blends and flavours
I have a bit of a tea problem too. I never even liked tea before so I don’t know how it happened but now if I see an interesting blend I am helpless and have to buy and try. I know I probably have more than I could need but I love having some tasty things to pick from.
In my case there was tea before perfume. Maybe all those different tea aromas guided me to the perfume world. And you’re right, having a choice is great – I can pick tea according to my moods
Hi, Lucas – you smell great today! 1969 is my favorite HdP, and a perfect as a tribute to the era.
Hi Nozknoz, good to see you
Thank you very much! My favourite from the line is 1725 (one of my discovery sets I ordered was full of it, I just poured the camples into a bigger atomiser) but while wearing 1969 today I felt great (I may consider doing here the same thing I did with 1725)
Ah, 1725 is one of the masculines, Casanova. It sounds good, too!
It smells great! The bursting bergamot and grapefruit opening, followed my a warmth of lavender, finished with an almond vanilla accord that lasts through the whole day.
Great to see you love HdP 1725, it is one of my favourites of the line. My most loved of the HdP’s is 1740. They have a lovely amber as well. ( Ambre 114) another great love is 1876 ( the Mata Hari one). Luca Turin describes it as one of the best masculine roses.
On tea: don’t get me started. I own loads of different kinds of tea. Plain and flavoured. I have friends in Poland, and I know how popular it is overthere.
Oh yes, 1725 Casanova is great. And, hey, what a coincidence – I’m wearing 1740 Marquis de Sade today! Still have to tr Ambre 114 and Mata Hari.
As you have some friends here I don’t have to tell you that we are mad about tea.
Oh, yes, the teas. I have an entire cupboard that’s nothing but teas and spices. I have no real room for other dry goods, in fact, and not much for dishes!
Currently I’m brewing a pu-erh blend with hibiscus and rose petals and dehydrated strawberry bits…
Same here, one full cupboard of teas and some coffees of my mum. Gosh, this tea you mentioned sounds delicious!
It is a nice one, you can get three to four infusions out of it, which is always nice .
Yup, mine also give me about 2 or 3 brews, I don’t like doing more from the same leaves as it get’s weaker.
Hi Lucas! I believe you’ve got a lot of company on here with your tea obsession, chocolate as well. We’re a decadent bunch! Hope you’re having a great weekend.
Hi rappleyea! I’m happy that there are more of us. As the time flows we find out more and more common interests. I wonder what other things we have in common.
Thank you, I’m having a great weekend and I also have a whole free week as we have some national celebration days of Polish constitution anniversary. I hope you have a good weekend too!
I have a truly sick amount of tea. BUT, I always use it before it goes bad, which is more than I can say for the perfume.
Same here! I always offer some of my teas to our guests and they’re always delighted.
Oh, R, I meant to ask you: have you seen the new Mariage Frères Lily-of-the-Valley-perfumed green (or white) tea? It’s really intriguing.
Yes, and was tempted to buy! Gorgeous tin. But so far have not bought — will wait and see if I can find some reviews first.
Hi Lucas! We spoke once before about tea. It really is a guilty pleasure for me too, and like you and Kate, my kitchen cupboards are bulging with packs; I am ashamed to say that my husband said that there were over 60 at the last count (I deliberately don’t check what I have)! My favourite is a German Christmas tea with spices, rose, apple and marzipan – sheer heaven. Still, there are worse things to collect. The only trouble is, as Robin points out, that I have too much to drink before it gets stale. Must drink more ………
I remember! Wasn’t that about some teas from Tea Pigs? I searched for them, but with no results. I also have a lot of tea, but my mum also is a tea lover, so we manage to use it before it goes out of date. And we always offer our teas when we have guests!
My go-to frag last summer was a guilty pleasure. Lovely, by SJP. It was the smell track of a wonderful week at the Cape, and as close as any Walgreens.
I decided to pick up some of the favorites from my youth this week. So far I have scored Sortilege, My Sin, and one I had completely forgotten about – and I loved it. Farouche. I bet it hadn’t crossed my mind in 20 years. That was a bit disconcerting, like forgetting an old friend.
Hi juicejones, I’ve always loved Farouche, also Capricci. Remember that one?
Farouche, I do remember Capricci! My Farouche arrived in today’s mail, and it smells great. The My Sin arrived also, but is barely venial at this point. Its color was good, but arrived DOA. The same with the Sortilege. I guess the lesson here is that we all get old. I have a big reunion coming up and was strolling down my olfactory memory lane. I hope these musty, old brown bottles are not a metaphor for me! My aunt always had a bottle of Capricci. Thank you for taking me back to thinking of her and lazy Sundays at her house:
juicejones, I have had good luck with My Sin and other classic Lanvins, generally, although it must be said that every vintage purchase is a gamble. Some perfumes don’t smell as good as I remember, and I’m never sure if it’s the bottle, or if my frame of reference has shifted after smelling the likes of Amouage. An old dog can enjoy new perfume!
Nozknoz, I like your theory. Woof! And a high five.
Oh but Lovely is very highly regarded! No need for guilt there, not that anyone should feel guilty about any fragrance if they love it and have not forced their children into penury to buy it. And Lovely is never going to do that. I’m fond of it too.
Annemarie, I was not clear. Lovely is lovely! My guilt is due to the money and time I spend buying and trying when I have a scent that hits the spot, is reasonable, and easy to attain. Now that I have admitted that, will I change my behavior? Not a chance! It is I and not SJP who should take the hit here. She is one of the few celebs I feel has earned her seat. Mea culpa.
Yes, I like her too. Some of her other fragrances were regrettable. I’m thinking especially of that New York thing.
Yes, even the packaging was questionable. Perhaps it was a legal obligation she needed to fulfill. I work with a girl who loves it. It smells like a million others to me. No better than a dryer sheet. I think I romanticize some of the oldies because they had depth.
Fresh Brown Sugar. Not complex at all, just smells good. I wore it yesterday! And guilty more for the name than anything else is Ed Hardy Love & Luck. Yves Rocher Vanille & Coconut and lots of Pacificas (Tibetan Mountain Temple, Indian Coconut and Lotus Garden).
I *love* Tibetan Mountain Temple, and Brown Sugar is nice too. Fresh and Pacifica make good stuff, especially considering the price points.
I love Pacifica too, and the only thing I feel guilty about is that I’ve gone on kind of a bender with their stuff lately. I tried on a bunch of scents at Whole Foods earlier this week and spent the rest of the day compulsively sniffing my right shoulder, which was where I managed to fit Tibetan Mountain Temple.
It’s so easy to wind up on Pacifica benders (see also: Tokyo Milk benders) — and there was that recent 20% off sale sitewide. My latest Pacifica bender yielded a bottle of Mediterranean Fig, which has been in heavy rotation over the past couple of weeks.
Emily! Where did you get Pacifica Mediterranean Fig? Their website doesn’t have it when I last looked a week ago.
Oh no! I actually ordered it from their website a few weeks ago (or whenever the 20% off sale was). I do hope it returns — I seem to have a knack for falling in love with Pacifica scents that disappear soon afterward (I’m looking at you, Egyptian Bergamot Rose).
Though I have heard that Pacifica’s inventory tends to come and go, so perhaps they’re just temporarily out of stock?
Oh, yes! I love my Tibetan Mountain Temple body butter, and also the French Lilac and Malibu Lemon Blossom fragrances.
Tibetan Mountain Temple and Blood Orange are my favorites of the Pacificas I’ve tried.
Speaking of Fresh, I feel like I lose a few brain cells every time I wear Cannabis Santal, but it’s so worth it.
I wore a full botte of Giorgio, many times under full Brazilian heat. It was the 80’s, I was really young, but still…
I remember Giorgio!
I miss the 80s: those were the days when perfume was PERFUME!
The 80’s ruled. For my part, I’m a girl from the 80’s. I might not wear Giorgio to work today – I used to wear it to work on a physics lab back then, an absolutely masculine environment, from all places! But I still like my perfumes to have a strong personality, though. I go to work wearing l’Heure Bleue, the Black Giorgio Armani or Jean Patou Subime, if not Shalimar. And I will always despise this acquatic ozonic airy crap…
I don’t own it yet, but I want to get Guerlain My Insolence. To me it smells like those conversation heart candies you get around Valentines Day. Hey, I wonder if you guys could help me out with another guilty pleasure of mine. Or maybe I should say guilty desire. Can anyone recommend a sweet lemon scent for the hot summer days coming up? Something reminicent of lemonade, with juicy, fresh squeezed lemon being the most dominant note. Thanks!
For a fizzy, sugared citrus (but lime rather than lemon) I would recommend Diptyque Oyedo.
Otherwise things like AG Eau d’Hadrien, Chanel Eau de Cologne Guerlain Eau de Guerlain, Fleurs de Cedrat and Cologne Impreriale come to mind although they are not necessarily all that sweet.
Fresh Sugar (NOT THE LEMON SUGAR) is a VERY good lemonade scent. Highly recommended!
Oh My Insolence is another one of my guilty pleasures. I don’t advertise much the fact that I own a small bottle.
It is just so not me, but somehow it works
Aqualina Tweety is a lemonade scent -I got a bottle for around $10 at a discounter.
This is with a special dedication to you, Nozknoz. Sorry for the lenghth, but I was unable to write a shorter review for you.
Dior Eau Sauvage
Eau Sauvage right after application opens with an exquisite lemon note. But it’s not an artificial lemon. It’s round, yellow, juicy with a slightly noticeable bitterness of its peel. This is a very sparkling and prominent lemon. Few seconds later lemon is joined by a bergamot. Combination of these two make this initial burst unforgettable. While testing, those top notes reminded me of Chanel Pour Monsieur opening, but in PM it quickly disappears. Around 3 or 4 minutes after applying this citrus sensation get’s toned down a little. It’s obvious that lemon is still around, but the fragrance just gained some warmth and depth. I believe its thanks to oakmoss my nose seems to recognize. There’s also a basil vibe present now, but it’s not that easy for me to extract it from what I smell. It’s perfectly covered by lemon, bergamot and oakmoss (I think it is oakmoss.) Or maybe is it also a vetiver which warms up this composition. I’m not so sure as for my nose vetiver is a very nasty note. Many vetiver perfume just make me feel uncomfortable, but I don’t get this feeling while wearing Eau Sauvage. This makes me happy – I feel I’ll be able to wear some vetiver hidden in this eau de toilette.
20 minutes since I started testing. Citruses are still there but there’s no doubt they’re slowly going away. At this particular moment I think I trace some fruit notes and rosemary is also present in this stage. Sniffing my wrist from time to time gives me a feeling of a slightly powdered flower. That would be jasmine. Very nice aroma, doesn’t give me a headache.
Three hours later the fragrance is still present, not so hard to detect on the hand, but I guess other people might not notice it. It smells like lemon with a lot of spices, though they’re not intensive. Rather well combined spices – coriander and caraway.
Four hours since application some musk and amber are detectable, at some moments a flowery note is slightly enjoyable, but it’s hard for me to say if it’s rose or carnation. After 5 hours I have to pull my hand really close to my nose to smell anything from Eau Sauvage. I think 5 hours is a so-so medium longevity result, but as long as it effuses its aroma, it’s perfectly enjoyable.
Dior Eau Sauvage Extreme
Comparing to the original Dior Eau Sauvage the first thing that is obvious is – “where are the lemons and bergamots? Oh, there they are!” The pure citrus opening has been lowered to the minimum, or maybe I should rather say – there’s no pure citrus top note in Sauvage Extreme. Right from the beginning you get to smell toned down lemon with a fair dose of basil which makes this scent warmer. Lavender also plays its role in this stage, creating a calm vibe. Then nice, aromatic patchouli joins other top note companions. When I smelled my hand after 30 minutes it smelled a little green, probably because of the aldehydes and I also noticed an ethereal woody aroma –I suppose it was a cedar note. Since now Eau Sauvage Extreme seems to be rather linear. Lemony notes are almost gone, but you get quite a lot of basil, cedar, still some patchouli. Neither musk nor amber nor jasmine are noticeable. They hide behind other notes. This extreme version lasts definitely longer. When I wore it last Saturday it accompanied me for more than 8 hours, though the last hours were only noticeable while holding my wrist in front of the nose.
Both Eau Sauvage and Sauvage Extreme have a sandalwood note listed, but I don’t get it in any of these two perfumes. In this sandalwood case Chanel Allure Edition Blanche would win as it has a really good sandalwood note next to the creamy citrus one.
So speaking quick, last few words of comparision. They’re both perfectly crafted, the content of ingredients itself is almost the same. Main difference are proportions of those ingredients. Eau Sauvage Extreme focuses on this warmer and greener attitude while Eau Sauvage has those precious citrusy lemon & bergamot that are the lead actors in this composition. Now I have a real problem. I first tried Sauvage Extreme and I really like it, but now, after reviewing Eau Sauvage I also really like it. I guess there’s no choice for me but to get both Eau Sauvage and Sauvage Extreme (oh, I don’t have money for that, will think about buying them with some time period between one bottle and another one) Oh my, and remember, there’s still Allure Blanche on my waiting list.
Lucasai, have you tried Diorella? There’s a lot of similarity between it and Eau Sauvage so I think that you might like it as well. It’s marketed at women but Edmond Roudnitska reportedly considered it to be his greatest creation and wore nothing else. The current version is not quite as good as it was even a couple of years ago but it’s still better than some other Dior re-formulations.
I’ve heard that Diorella is a sister to Eau Sauvage, but truly, I’ve never tested it myself. Might want to try it when there will be a possibility soon.
Definitely give it a go next time you get a chance. It’s a great scent that’s classic and completely unisex.
Will have a look around for it!
Diorella is absolutely worth a sniff, but – just to play devil’s advocate – I don’t find it unisex at all. A sister scent to Eau Sauvage, absolutely, but to my nose it definitely skews more feminine and lush than the drier, more brisk Eau Sauvage. (I also find Diorella a little stuffy and dated compared to Eau Sauvage, which somehow hasn’t aged a day.) Your mileage may vary, of course.
Lucas, you have made my day! (And it was already a great day to begin with, starting off with a special 4-hour seminar with a Taiji Grand Master from China.) I hope you enjoyed the comparative testing as much as I’ve enjoyed your analysis – I hadn’t thought about the importance of the herbs before. Now I’m really interested to try ESX. Huge thanks for these very special reviews!
I’m wearing Diorella because it’s a cool spring day with freshly green trees and grass, and a touch of marine air that sometimes rolls in all the way from the coast. Diorella is Eau Sauvage ripened with melon, tremendously yummy but still fresh because of that wonderful lemon, herbs and oak moss. I know you’ll enjoy the comparison when you get the chance.
I’m so very happy that I could write them for you! I had so much fun comparing Eau Sauvage and Eau Sauvage Extreme and then putting everything into some good words. I’m glad that I encouraged you to try ESX – it’s totally worth it! I’d be tremendously happy to write some more reviews for you and others in the future. To say more, writing this kind of made me think about starting a perfume related blog.
Abyss also has just mentioned Diorella, I’ll check it out when I happen to visit some perfume shop next time. Thank you for giving me this inspiring opportunity of reviewing!
my new guilty pleasur is Angel taste of perfume, I really cannot wear the original and What We Do In Paris Is A Secret- actually, I find both very sophisticated but usually I don’t wear sweet perfume. Sometimes I enjoy Gucci Rush, well, I guess I am not going very far into guilty territory
You really aren’t — those are all great scents, and perfectly respectable!
Haven’t tried the others yet, but Gucci Rush is a classic!
No guilty pleasures but a question:
Anyone know how to “reclaim” a used travel atomizer. I received a nice one, and pretty large, as a GWP that a SA filled with a fragrance she thought I’d like. I didn’t. I’d like to use it for something else, but will the scent linger from the disliked one (which is of pretty good quality and holds up on fabric – no ghost scent here)? Do I use alcohol or something? Anyone with experience in this area, advice is appreciated.
Also along these lines … is a bulb atomizer harder to “reclaim”? I saw a good small sized (~30 ml) one the other week but am worried that it can not accommodate refilling with a perfume other than the one I start out with.
People here seem very knowledgeable about this kind of stuff. Sorry to go off topic.
I, as chemist would recommend you to clean it with an alcohol, preferably the cleaner, laboratory ones, but this might be hard to get, but vodka would also should do it. After cleaning it with an alcohol, let it try by itself. If it still holds some traces of the scent, boil it with a hot water – literally. Not only pour a hot water inside, but let the glass bottle boil with the water in a smaller pot. If this can’t help then I don’t know what can.
Is “cleaner, laboratory alcohol” = ethanol? any diff between that and isopropanol as a solvent?
Thanks for the insights.
ethanol would be better.
Ah, and of course boiling applies only to glass or metal travel atomizers.
I have not had good luck with reclaiming atomizers. Assuming that the atomizer body is either glass or metal, you can try it. The glass and metals parts should be able to be cleaned with alcohol and/or boiling water, as Lucasai says, although I have sometimes had experiences with glass holding scent even after extended boiling. The bigger problem is that the spray mechanism itself usually has some plastic parts, and plastic is nearly impossible to deodorize. If it is really a very nice atomizer, and you are willing to work at it, you could try filling the atomizer completely full with alcohol and letting it sit for several weeks. If you can find a new spray mechanism that will fit the atomizer body, you can swap it out for the old one, which only leaves the problem of cleaning the glass vessel. Generally, it is best not to try to repurpose an atomizer, but to use a new one for each different scent.
Bulb atomizers are horrible. The scent often evaporates through the porous bulb, causing you to lose all your precious perfume. I had this happen to me, so I speak from experience. They seldom work very well either. I have had several of them (before I knew better) and they inevitably seem to break in short order.
Yikes! My thought was to transfer some EDP from a larger bottle into a smaller bulb bottle for the aesthetics and to preserve the original fragrance left in the original bottle, maybe just an amount to use for six months or so. But maybe this is a bad idea if the seal is so bad with the bulb. Sigh.
Thanks for the advice about the travel atomizer. Next time if they try to hook me up with more perfume when I get a travel sprayer I’ll say no thanks!
Bonbori, you are in luck, as someone asked this question in the Ask Martha column of Martha Stewart Living this month. The answer given is to fill the bottle halfway with rubbing alcohol, “which will chemically break down” any traces of the previous perfume. Reassemble the atomizer, shake it for about 20 seconds and then spritz the alcohol about 20 times. Pour out the remainder. Use an alcohol-dampened cotton swab to cleanse the threads on the neck of the bottle and the cap, and around the pinhole where the perfume comes out. Then let it air-dry for about 10 minutes.
Although I normally bow down to Martha as the arbiter of how to do everything perfectly, I am sceptical about the idea that denatured alcohol will break down perfume, since it so often fails to remove “scrubbers” from my skin. I guess you could try it, though, and see if the atomizer still seems to have any scent.
Good point about the scrubbers. I will look for the Martha article, thank you all so much. Let’s see how motivated I am for this project!
Get ready to revoke my perfumista card, because I’m happily willing to admit that I like Queen Latifah’s perfume. It’s a gourmand oriental and cheap. That’s not what puts it in the “guilty pleasure” column, though. THAT would be the bottle, which is hideously ugly.
I will defend you on your liking Queen. I got a sample from Sephora and I think it’s nice too.
I seem to remember that Queen got decent reviews on some perfume blogs (perhaps even this one!) when it first came out.
(BTW, didn’t mean for that to sound like NST is programmatically anti-celebuscent or stingy with praise! It’s still kind of early out here in California, at least for me on a Saturday.)
I have a bottle of Queen! I like it very much.
i like the queen latifah perfume too! perhaps even more of a guilty pleasure because i am a guy?
Yep. Good scent, trashy bottle.
Guilty pleasure is Cashmere Mist. I also use the antiperspirant, which is from a department store an expensive. But it works and doesn’t smell of locker room or sharp chemicals.
I, too, need help – someone just gave me a travel set of By Kilian Beyond Love. One sniff did not enchant. Almost afraid to try it. What to do? Usual SOTD is Luctor et Emergo or Opus 1.
If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again? Sometimes a different day, time of the month, temperature, etc., can affect how you smell a scent. I’d wait and try again before you totally give up. Then if you still aren’t feeling it you can set it aside for a swap of try to find a new home for it. I tried a By Killian sample of, what was it, ummm, Liasons Dangeruses (?) and all I could think of was deodorant panty liner. Start to finish that was it. Don’t need to drop $200 to get that scent. Good for my purse but kind of sad because I really had high hopes for it.
Sounds very disappointing! Beyond Love wasn’t at that level, fortunately. I’ll try again next week. Thanks, Poodle.
I’d be interested in swapping something for it, if you decide it’s not for you! I love Beyond Love. If you want to take me up on it, email me at elisagabbert at gmail dot com.
Sounds intriguing. Thanks!
I love Beyond Love in the summer, Ann, so I’d recommend trying it again in warmer weather. Of course, it may be that this just isn’t the tuberose for you and you can pass it on. Hope it works out!
Thanks, will try again before making any decisions.
funny – I wrote about Cashmere Mist deodorant above. You’re definitely not alone on that one!
I do feel guilty when I buy it – three times what the drugstore varieties cost. I’ll have to try Lavanille.
I have tons of guilty pleasures. Mostly of the cheap kind. Love’s Baby Soft, Lady Stetson, Vanilla Fields and LouLou. I also have a hard time passing by any really steeply discounted fragrances at TJ Maxx and have come home with my share of bargain bin treats like Cabaret, Cabotine Gold, and Tea Rose. I suppose I should own up to liking some of the sillage monsters of the past like Poison, Giorgio, Obsession, and Angel too.
I really like Cabaret, and didn’t LouLou get five stars in the Guide? And Cabaret got four, for that matter.
Love’s Baby Soft was the very first perfume I ever owned — I think it was in my Christmas stocking one year when I was about 8. I sniffed it again a while ago, and I’m not sure I could wear it just because of the related memories (it was a kind of turbulent time in my family). But the lemon and jasmine versions were tempting!
I’ll have to check what Luca rated them again. I just know that I never thought of them as being “fine fragrances” especially when they’re marked down so much.
BTW, your post inspired me to look for the lemon and/or jasmine versions of Baby Soft when I was at CVS today. Naturally, they only had the original and the “rainforest” versions. Bummer.
I think the jasmine and the lemon are easier to find around Christmas time. That’s when I’ve seen them but I always wait until after Christmas to try and get them at half off and they are always gone before I get them.
Wow, waiting for Baby Soft to go on sale demonstrates a truly impressive commitment to perfume thrift
I am ashamed of that but I can’t help it. I love a sale. So much so that my husband even gets mad at me for it. When I actually pay full price for something he practically celebrates.
I don’t actually feel guilty about any perfumes I like — I figure if I like them, they must be good on some level.
But some of the stuff I enjoy that doesn’t have 100% perfumista/indie/niche/vintage cred includes: Hanae Mori Butterfly, Pink Sugar Sensual, Juicy Couture, pretty much all forms of Angel and A*men, CK Be, and Tea Rose. I wouldn’t kick Chanel Chance out of bed either. I like trash sometimes.
HM Butterfly was my first real perfume love — I drained at least a bottle and a half within a couple of years. It’s far to sweet for me anymore, but I do think it’s well done — there’s more to it than first meets the nose, so to speak.
I can’t think of anything that I’m embarrassed to admit that I own or like. I do have a bottle of Hiris which – according to some reviews at least
– could indicate a massive lapse in taste but I like it just fine and it serves a specific purpose in my collection so it doesn’t bother me
Oh, I LOVE Hiris, and although I agree with LT on about 90% of his reviews, we totally part company on this one. In fact, I wore it yesterday!
Hiris rocks.
Ah, I see I’m in good company here
i LOVE hiris! had no idea it was frowned upon.
Oh, it is not generally frowned upon, it just got a bad review in the Turin/Sanchez book.
That book makes me crazy sometimes. At first I put a lot of weight into what they said but now I realize that I like what I like and they like what they like and there are times that we completely disagree. A few of their high rated scents smell nasty to me and no matter how many times I try to find the beauty they do, I just can’t.
good point. i think fragrance is an art form that’s as subjective as it gets. not to mention, if there was a book called ‘songs – the guide’ or ‘paintings – the guide’ no one would agree on those either!
just ordered the book. excited!
Jennifer Lopez Glow is not on display in my wardrobe, but i must admit I kind of like it
Even after all these years, it’s still one of the better celeb scents ever made.
Shhh! I do too. Embarrassing. My shame is so great that I don’t even own a bottle, but will sneakily take a squirt if I’m passing through a department store perfume section.
It ain’t sophisticated, and garners me no hipster points, but there’s something comfortingly clean about it. When I feel grubby and damp from dashing about in the cold rain and traffic here in London, Glow can be incredibly cheering. It’s an uncomplicated sort of pleasure, isn’t it?
Exactly
I’ve already ‘fessed up to some of my loves in my replies to others’ comments, but I’ve saved the worst for last.
Amarige.
I don’t wear it as often as I once did (and yes, I always spritzed lightly when I was leaving the house — I think), but despite my ever-increasing perfumista enlightenment, I still find it kind of enjoyable in that outdated, loud-tuberose-from-hell kind of way.
Ohhh me too! But only ever in the tiniest amounts. I don’t know what it is about this perfume, I’ve been totally adverse to tuberose in nearly every other form (with the recent exception of Carnal Flower), and Amariage isn’t exactly a “Beginner’s Tuberose.”
For me, at least, the tuberose in Amarige is weirdly synthetic (it’s hard to explain, because I’m sure my other tuberose scents aren’t chock-full of natural goodness). Perhaps that’s not the best way to describe it, but that note *does* seem really different from my other tuberose scents.
Pacifica Island Vanilla is getting a lot of play lately which is surprising – I almost never wear the same scent twice in a row. I feel like I have to rotate constantly to justify my ever growing collection.
My guilty pleasure is an incense called “money”. Its supposed to attract it which makes me feel silly burning it but it smells floral-oriental, a bit sweet and not like any incense I ever tried.
If it works, let me know!
I picked up Lancome Poeme in the summer of 2002 when I was living in Italy. It reminds me of the beach, and of meeting my husband that summer – I keep it around for the memories, even though I don’t wear it anymore. Maybe LT is right and it stinks, but somehow it didn’t repel DH!
That’s so sweet! I’d keep it around too.
I am more likely to feel guilty about expensive perfumes than bargains, because they ultimately evoke this nagging self-doubt: does that beautiful bottle really smell that amazing, or have I been fooled by the snob appeal?
Really good point! I’ve eyed my niche bottles suspciously more than a few times and wondered, “would I still own you if not for the hype?”
My guilty pleasures are often from Bath and Body Works… I’m kind of a BBW junkie. Lately, I’ve been enjoying Butterfly Flower, Bali Mango, and Apricot Vanilla, although I have many other faves from there.
Celeb scents are also guilty pleasures for me in some cases… I like Harajuku Lovers Lil G and Music in the summer, and Jennifer Lopez’s Deseo.
I have bottles of G (original) and Deseo as well!
I’d like to try Deseo – despite the cheese factor, JLo generally seems to put forth some good scents!
Also, Robin, I always love the photos you pick, but this is the first time I’ve looked at one of them and realized, “I’ve been there!” Those are the beautiful old wisteria vines along the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. There are also some very beautiful ones at the National History Museum. The scent is wonderful, too, of course, and they may be blooming right now, so it’s a perfect choice.
Yes they are! I recognized them too, that’s why I picked it. All the wisteria was in bloom up here in PA this week, so assume it has already bloomed down there.
I’m not sure if these are guilty pleasures or cheap thrills, but I’ve been using Bath & Body Works Dark Kiss (smells like berries and woods) and Philosophy Sugar Chick (supposed to smell like marshmallow Easter chicks but smells like lemon and sugar) shower gels as shampoos. My hair smells so good after using them!
Oh, must look for the sugar chick!
It’s a good one! I was given a small bottle as part of a gift set, but I plan to buy a large-size one when this one is finished.
One of my guilty pleasures is Elizabeth Arden’s Eau Fraiche. I think it has been discontinued. I remember whan I was a teenager the line used to be called Body Basics (?) and then it resurfaced as Eau Fraiche. A perfume friend sent me a bottle this last Christmas. It made me very happy!
I don’t know that one, but how nice that you found it again!
I have a deep, abiding love for coconut notes, and given how much fragrance people seem to HATE coconut, I suppose that makes me feel a bit guilty, and gauche. I love, love, love Aloha Tiare by Comptoir Sud Pacifique in the summer, and wear it quite liberally. There. I said it.
I also adore Karma by Lush – it’s so sunny and brisk, it makes me feel happy whenever I wear it.
But I suppose what I feel the most guilty about is that I occasionally get a whiff of someone wearing something that smells like what I remember Exclamation by Coty smelling like, and I…. like it? *hides head in shame*
I also love coconut! Thanks for the rec.
You’re quite welcome
But be warned, it’s SWEET.
I remember Exclamation! I liked that too. I remember my mom taking me to the dances and I’d make her stop at CVS first so I could run and and get some gum or mints and spray on some “really nice perfume” which usually was something like Exclamation, Scoundrel, or Night Blooming Jasmine.
Ha! That made me laugh. We must have gone to school around the same time, because it was BIG when I was in Grade 6. I can’t help associating it with LA Gear shoes and Teen Magazine. God. I remember owning a bottle of Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth, which, to me, was “really nice”. LOL!
I like coconut too! But you’re right, it does seem to be frowned upon in some circles.
Well, there. I feel vindicated now
You know, I really wanted LesNez Turtle Vetiver Front JUST for that lone coconut note – but they’re all sold out at Luckyscent! Boo!!!
‘make a statement without saying a word’ !
Exactly!
No bottles I own immediately come to mind but I am in the habit of complimenting my sister’s perfume only to discover she is wearing J.Lo After Dark (or some variant.. it comes in a heinous metallic bottle), Britany Spears Fantasy, or Guess Seduce or some such, and am filled with a deep sense of perfumista shame. Hey–they smell good on her!
Btw, Robin, I notice you have refrained from including your own…heh heh. Care to share?
Oh, I love tons of fragrances that don’t have any claims to great artistic merit. Body Time Egyptian Musk. Kai. BBW Lime Coconut Verbena. Demeter Gingerale & Demeter Condensed Milk. Serendipitous. Old Spice (although actually I think it does have claims to great artistic merit, even though it’s now made for pennies). And I’m sure there are more I’m not thinking of right now!
Condensed milk – the real stuff, not the perfume – is probably my biggest guilty pleasure, although I haven’t indulged in ages. I have memories of my mother, aunts, grandmother and great grandmother sitting around my great grandmother’s kitchen table, each with her own spoon, and passing the can around.
I LOVE that memory, and it’s not even mine! I’m smiling from ear to ear just reading it. Good old condensed milk.
Thai iced tea w/ sweetened condensed milk is one of my favorite things in the world.
Mmmm YEAH! When I was a Peace Corps Volunteer, I would occasionally dip pieces of heavy white bread into the can and call that dinner.
And, of course, most dulce de leche is simply caramelized sweetened condensed milk. I also love Peruvian alfajores, which are sandwich cookies filled with dulce de leche, and the cookies are like flat versions of those Swedish wedding cookies – flakey, not very sweet, with a touch of anise.
Those cookies sound to die for!
Sometimes my grandmother would caramelize the condensed milk, but the old fashioned way – boiling the can in a pot of water for something like three hours! It could be dangerous if the water wasn’t kept covering the can.
Kai – it smells so good I forget all about art!
Kai is actually a favorite of mine. Should I be embarrassed? Haha.
agree. it’s like a fresh gardenia bud. if it weren’t so popular i’d probably wear it all the time! for now i just use the bubble bath
My guilty secret is Revlon Fire and Ice-the red boxed version and lately Angel eau de toilette-although I cant wear the original im enjoying the Comets version.
The Angel EDT comet bottle is beautiful, though.
The bottle is cute but sadly I dont have one- I found a very cheap 40ml refill that I have been decanting into an atomiser. I can’t justify spending heaps when I have so many bottles I could & should be using up.
Lush bath bombs and solid bubble bath bars. I love the scents, so I’ll buy them and then store them in a box because I optimistically keep hoping that I’ll end up in an apartment with a claw foot tub or deep soaking tub instead of the usual apartment tubs where the water goes down as soon as a body goes in…
Hi Goddessrena, search for ‘better bath deep water bath’ which is a simple plastic cover for the overflow valve in the tub. Should fit many models, costs about 8 dollars and I got mine from amazon.
It let’s me fill my tub about 2-3 inches higher which makes a big difference.
Second this rec. and Amazon is where I bought mine.
Amazon – if they had apartments (only a matter of time, no doubt!) I would just live there!
Thank you. It is fabulous to know that I won’t necessarily have to lug them with me for my next move in Aug. (An out of state move so I’m looking forward to decluttering)
I get myself Lush’s Butterball every Christmas to put in my stocking (one of the perks of being the mom), and I love how it smells.
Okay, I enjoy Aquolina Pink Sugar….vanilla with cotton candy–I just love it! I also enjoy Profumum Aqua E Zucchero.
Packed my perfumes today-holy cow do I have way too much. I mailed my Aunt 2 boxes of my cast offs.
Hope your aunt will love them!
A bit of embarrassment over the rather full wardrobe is something with which I’m familiar, though I tell myself it took me a long time to accumulate the items and is also where I keep my candles, bath/body goodies etc. So that sort of eases the blush, and it isn’t completely full because of my really OCD organization system that simply won’t let me mix compartments contents/fragrance categories etc.
And it is a lot of fun to let my youngest help me choose what to wear (this morning, he wanted Angel edt which went on the wrists, a spritz of Beyonce Heat Rush on my belly and VS Rapture on the back of my neck since it’s one of Mr. Ab. Scent’s favorites.) I had to reign him in when he reached for the VW Boudoir, though, because the layering was already quite tricky and I was running out of places far from each other. But I do love hovering over my collection to decide what to wear each morning. It’s one of life’s little pleasures during an often rather stressful day.
As is obvious above, I have lots of guilty pleasure/often not well received perfumes. There’s several Angel and Angel Innocent flankers in there, some celeb scents like Heat Rush, Halle, Lovely Liquid Satin (love that one for bedtime), Curious, JLo’s Live Luxe, a couple BS Fantasy flankers though the original didn’t grab me, I also proudly display the almost complete Harajuku Lovers collection, too.
They’re just so cute and most of them smell pretty nice even if the scent only lasts for 20 minutes or so.
Probably the biggest guilty pleasure would be my collection of Escada LE summer flankers going all the way back to Tropical Punch or Sexy Graffiti, which ever came first. They’re fun, easy to wear and just feel perfect on days when I’m in a relaxed and easy going mood.
Finally, my love of sillage bombs that might not be appreciated by those around me is a bit of aguilty pleasure. I’ve never been the tiny spray on the wrist or throat kind of girl, and I don’t like a fragrance to fade too quickly. So I have a few frags that go all day and that seem to be rather polarizing that I just love like Kingdom edp, Fracas extrait, Obsession for women, Angel of course, Jessica Simpson Fancy, Agent Provocateur, Pink Sugar, Rochas Femme (both edt and edp because the edt has that huge dose of cumin and etp reminds of Mitsouko but fruitier/richer), Mitsouko and Paestumm Rose. I wear them carefully, but even then I’m sure they don’t go unnoticed and aren’t all necessarily Mr. Ab. Scent’s favorites, so some are just kept for my private enjoyment.
Fracas and Femme are on my desert-island list. No need to apologize for either of those!
Awww… I loved hearing about your son picking out your perfume. So sweet. A little perfumisto in the making.
Fun reading! I enjoy Body Shop’s White Musk and its variations, and SJP’s Lovely, and a lot of Philosphy scents – pretty common, but truly enjoyable and relaxing as well. Good scents don’t need to be expensive or rare!
There are several Philosophy fragrances I like and they have small sizes in most of them, so I’m sure I’ll be getting one soon.
First guilty pleasure: I think this poll was my idea. Second guilty pleasure: Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum. I’m too embarrassed ever to wear this outside the house because it is so sweet and powdery and candy like, but I find the smell so deeply comforting. I love wearing it to bed. Third guilty pleasure: all my decants, some purchased, others received in swaps, all neatly organized in bamboo boxes. There are so many of them that it makes me feel like I’m a little crazy! But it brings me great pleasure to know that I have a little bit of so many great fragrances.
Do you have a favourite sized decant? I have a neat row of 8 ml decants on my dressing table at the moment and find that an ideal size for fragrances I like a lot but don’t adore, or can’t afford as FBs.
I like that size too. I’m hesitant to get any more b/c a bunch seemed to evaporate quickly…. or I actually used them up …. but more likely I left the caps off and didn’t keep them upright.
Then thanks, & sorry I am too disorganized to keep track of who suggested what!
SI, I believe you are right and also think there have been multiple requests for this topic over the last few months. After all, most of us have a few guilty pleasures that we need to confess, and this is where we come for absolution, and to find out if there are any guilty pleasures that we have overlooked. Thanks for suggesting it – spring is the ideal time for both catharsis and cavorting!
My guilty pleasure is Couture Couture by Juicy Couture and Very Hollywood Michael Kors, I bought them when I was only 21. I will be giving those bottles to my younger sisters, I know they will enjoy them. A lot has changed in the last 3 years, I just celebrated by 24th birthday recently. My father bought me Thierry Mugler Alien for my birthday!
Some of my Non-Guilty Pleasures include:
So Pretty de Cartier
Bvlgari Jasmin Noir
Estee Lauder Sensuous
Stella McCartney Stella
Happy belated birthday!
Halle, the first scent by Halle Berry and Love’s Soft Jasmine (which lasts all of 15 minutes on me) — available at all fine Wal-Marts.
This one is pretty bad, but I’m guessing I have company. I get a secret little thrill when I catch a cold (which happens rarely for me), because then I have an excuse to get out the magic blue jar of Vick’s VapoRub. Gosh, I love that stuff!
Love it!!!!
That’s the smell of eucalyptus oil – nothing to be embarrassed about there!
Oh, me too! I think I have some sort of Pavlovian response to Vicks because I have such strong memories of my Mum gently rubbing it into my back and chest when I was a kiddo. Whenever I get sick as an adult, I put some on and immediately feel comforted. Also, when I’m congested, that eucalyptus oil is the only damn thing I CAN smell, which is kind of a bonus, right?
Agree – there’s something magic about the color of the bottle and the translucent depths of its contents, as well as that rich odor! And Chanterais is right, it does also take one back to that time of complete love and protection. Glad you mentioned VVR, Haunani!
Me too.
Sixth-ing this
So that makes me….. seventh? The smell of Vicks makes me feel safe and loved.
I am so enjoying reading all of these guilty pleasures!
My guilty pleasures include:
Cover Girl Navy
Lovely
A positively ancient bottle of Heaven Scent
BBW Moonlight Path- do they still make that one?
Calvin Klein Obsession- sometimes I need to WAFT
Giorgio Red – same with the wafting
And, worst of all,…..current Emeraude. I know, the shame! At first I wanted to cry when I sniffed it, as it is a shadow of my vintage bottle, but it turns out that some days are the shadow is fine. Jeans and tshirt days that don’t warrant the gorgeous vintage stuff get a blast of the, at least to me, recognisable Emeraude. Also the staying power is not great so it makes it easy to change SOTD/SOTE.
Have a great weekend all!
Late to the party late this weekend. Guilty pleasure: just wearing any perfume to work. We have no rule about it –yet. Whenever someone sneezes around me I worry that it’s because of me. If I get a compliment on my fragrance I worry that I’m wearing too much.
This a perfumista dilemma, isn’t it?
I have enough separation from others that I don’t have to worry about causing any actual harm to anyone who might be allergic or drawing much attention, but I usually do wear only small amounts and less sultry scents. One thing I enjoy is to carry samples in my purse so that when I’m working on something at my desk, I can dab some on the back of one hand to sniff and contemplate relatively discreetly. I’ve only gotten caught once – by a colleague to whom I’d given some samples, so that was OK.
Oh god, totally hear you on this one. I first started getting into perfume while I was in law school, and I believe, in retrospect, that I put on quite a lot. Every few weeks, all the law students would get an email from the department commanding us to stop wearing perfume, and I would sink deep into my seat in shame, feeling as if I was the one responsible. I didn’t stop wearing perfume, though. Which is horrible of me. Where I work now, no one has said anything, and one of the guys I work with smells pretty strongly of cologne (or something?) every day, so thankfully I don’t have to worry about it… yet.
My number one guilty pleasure is EL Youth Dew – and a long-time BBW classic, Moonlight Path, which I prefer to its dupe Chanel No. 5.
I love Youth Dew, but it smells like cola on me.
LOVE Youth Dew, though I’ve never felt guilty about it! Which is good, because I believe I own every type of Youth Dew–scented product in existence. That’d be a lot of guilt.
No guilt over Youth Dew – it was one of my first perfumes and still a classic!
Nautica My Voyage
EL Emerald Dream
G of the Sea
EL White Linen Breeze
I wish I had that G of the Sea!
I own and love a couple of el cheapo head-shop rollerball fragrances– Auric Blends Egyptian Goddess, Kuumba Made Black Coconut, Nabiru Nubian Musk. You can leave these on the floor of your car for decades, and they’ll smell as great as ever when you get around to dredging them back up.
I like that Auric Blends too, but like the Body Time version better. Egyptian Musk is great to have around in any case.
i feel most comfortable and most like ‘myself’ when i wear fragrances that smell like ‘me’ (buttery tuberoses). when i stray and wear a fresh lilac or a lemony rose, i feel strange and, yes, almost guilty. like i’m betraying my own identity! that said, i am dying to smell heeley bubblegum chic. i have a feeling i’m going to secretly love it. maybe it can be a room spray!
OK, I’ll confess that I buy the kids’ version of a certain fluoride mouthwash for its bubblegum flavor, which I adore!
My favourite guilty pleasure used to be Escada’s Rockin’Rio. I have gone off it though. I now use CSP Vanille Abricot or Vanille Cannelle to satisfy cravings for toothachingly sweet scents.
In this case I’ll confess that I tracked down on ebay one of the early LE summer Escadas, Summer in Provence – the one with poppies and caning on the box, and a strawberry colored bottle. Every other fruity floral is a flanker to this one!
I, too, like me some CSP in the summer. I didn’t know they had Vanille Cannelle – that sounds kind of delicious!
oh. just remembered. my ultimate guilty pleasure and i’ll always love it. the body shop dewberry. in fact, now that i’ve remembered how much i used to love it i’m going to search and see if its still made! i need some!
Dewberry was a big hit for Body Shop, and my mother loved it (there were very few scents she liked). It was discontinued for awhile, but is now back on their website.
i am getting a ‘zero results found for dewberry’ on the body shop US website. i better try ebay…
i agree with others, there’s lots of things i like that i actually think are too sweet but i keep them around to sniff every so often: amarige, chloe narcisse, jardins du bagatelle, poison. oh the 80s!
I also love the spicy woody scents of the 1980s, like the Jil Sanders.
Guilty pleasure… owning and using a few room/body spray. Voluspa (many Voluspa…) and Skeem Cypress Bark.
Also I don’t usually like to admit to the number of FB that I own…
Axe Dark Temptation. (Yes, THAT Axe.) It’s chocolate and musk for tweens, and I’d never wear the toxic body spray, but the shower gel smells utterly mouthwatering, the deodorant is fab, and I use both without an ounce of shame. The scent isn’t an artistic triumph on any level, but in the realm of brain-dead nose candy, it’s brilliant.
I love cooking spices and extracts. I’ve put split vanilla beans in sachet bags in my drawers, and whenever I make cake or cookies that use vanilla extract, I dab a little on my wrists or inside my elbows. Same with orange extract — for some reason, it smells fresh and juicy, Lemon not so much.
I used what was left over in a small bottle of mint extract to mix up a refreshing spray — 2/3 distilled water, 1/3 plain vodka, great as a skin refresher on a hot evening, as a linen spray, and a quick spritz will take the wrinkles out of clothing. Nice room spray as well.
My least expensive ETP is a US$12.00 bottle of Lilli Pulitzer “Squeeze” that I found on closeout at TJMaxx and bought on total impulse — love love love the fresh citrus, alas it doesn’t last more than an hour, but it’s a refreshing burst any time of day. Also love the sculpted square look of the bottle in the bath — it’s bright and happy and goes with the decor really well.
I love the discounted fragrances. If they don’t last I can think of them more like a body spray and don’t feel bad about spraying frequently and draining the bottle in no time.
Hot Couture, Armani Code and Mania,
Hypnotic Poison, Alien Sunessence, the Dior Addict crap, Lola and Daisy, Lolita Lempicka, and finally CHANEL #5! Ouch
Forgot Paco Rabbane anything!!
Joy, Gucci most everything, and yuck FLOWERBOMBS AND ALL THE FLANKS!
Mine would be the scent of Imperial Leather soap, by Cussons.
I find it comforting, very manly, and somehow, it is my basis for a good leather scent. It is not widely available in Manila but thanks to my aunt from London, we still get our regular supply.
definitley Angel !
I love the smell of petrol too!
Love the smell of gasoline and Vicks. Shoe polish, too.
I’m not overly guilty about any of my pleasures because I’ve found that there’s almost always a layer of perfumistaness beyond the one looking down on you, and it finds the “gauche” scent brilliant in a recherche way. That’s certainly true of the mainstream department-store and designer stuff, with Chandler Burr loving Light Blue and Glow, and Turin and Sanchez approving of Rush, Juicy Couture, and even Lady Stetson. Still, when everyone seems to dismiss a scent as as insipid and too dull even for slumming, one can feel defensive. I’m less chary of admitting I like cheap, trashy Jessica Simpson Fancy than much pricier “boring fruity florals” like Gucci Flora, Flowerbomb, and YSL Parisienne, and that I absolutely adore the NEW Lanvin Rumeur. And it seems cooler to admit still loving Jean Nate and Love’s Baby Soft than that I sometimes dab on some of my vintage Vanderbilt or Ciara.