Wearing it, I am my best self - it is the way I ought to smell. It feels so much a part of me that I can't believe it isn't organic, essential. I feel a faint sense of outrage that, after all this time, I can't generate it myself. It should have saturated my skin. It should have soaked, by now, into my bones.
— Novelist Francesca Segal writes about her discontinued signature fragrance (Versace V/S) in Vogue's December Vogue: On The Scent.
Wonderful piece, and I do think many recognize this feeling of loss when a favourite perfume is discontinued. But for me a “wardrobe of fragrances” doesn’t exclude the idea of a signature scent. I love more than one, and I miss them and repurchase when I run out. It feels so natural, it’s like loving your friends for different reasons. If I want to discuss literature, I turn to one, if I want to talk men – there is another… But I need all of them, just not all at once.:) I cannot use the same scent for all seasons but I own fragrances that all have something of “me” in them… I also think that when a person wears the same bag and same fragrance for many many years it is probably not only about loyalty but also about not being particularly interested in either bags or fragrances…
Agree — think this is the best piece on fragrance I’ve read in a magazine in ages.
Really enjoyed this; thanks for pointed it out, Robin! It had me Googling to see if I could find some bargain Versace V/S… not sure if I would have sent it on to Ms. Segal or kept it for myself!
LOL…was sort of wondering if her article would help her locate a few more bottles!
LOL I googled it too.
It is a beautifully written article – and I like that it presents both sides of the debate without denigrating one or the other. Actually, I felt she may be giving a little too much credit to us promiscuous perfumistas; although it would be flattering to think that the inclination to change scent implies a secure sense of identity:)
I mean it could, or it could mean a total lack of a sense of identity, or it could have nothing at all to do with ones sense of self! And, like with all things, any generalization is probably untrue.
Sorry about the really OBVIOUS comments. I can be SO pedantic!
Hey, so can we
Lovely piece, thanks for the link. But is it true that Hermes has never d/c a perfume? Surely not.
They have done limited editions & let them go, which isn’t exactly the same. Doblis is gone — it was discontinued, then brought back as a limited edition, then let go. Can’t think of another offhand.
Love this from JC Ellena:
“Of course, maybe you indulge in some infidelities sometimes. But you can always come back. This is the way to respect a perfume.”
That’s how I see it, one needn’t choose between a signature and a wardrobe. I imagine a lot of people who recommended a fragrance wardrobe have themselves one or two faves to which they return.
Also, hated this:
“We all have a mythology of self, embracing the data that defines our tastes and therefore the bounds of ourselves. I love peaches; I hate liquorice… Plotting our affinities and predilections reassures us of our own solidity, our own dimensions. Between these facts am I, somewhere.”
Really, we’re in an age where Amazon, Netflix, Google can predict our affinities so if anything, defining ourselves by a matrix of preferences that we’ve held (past tense) seems a little silly. I will have none of that. I see my affinities as doorways to new discoveries.
I loved JCE’s quote too…that is how I would be w/ Diorissimo if they had not destroyed it. Supposedly — I am avoiding the latest edition.