New year, clean slate! It's time for our first damage poll for 2013. Donatella Versace, Our Lady of Scented Abundance,1 wants to know what you bought in the 1st quarter (January, February and March) of 2013.
Update: the poll is now closed!
I made one purchase: the travel size (10 ml) of Marni, the one that comes with the creepy doll, which I've happily already misplaced. Total expenditure: $50.
As always, report your purchases in the comments if you dare! And as always, we don't include samples or gifts, and you can count miniatures, decants and bottle-splits howsoever you like (I usually count them as half bottles). Samples don't generally count at all, even though some of us spend considerable sums obtaining them.
1. Why does Donatella host (against her will, mind you) the damage polls? There is no real reason other than the picture of her perfume collection, which shows that she indulges regularly at the perfume counter. The image, by the way, is originally from Allure magazine and appears here courtesy of Blogdorf Goodman.
I only bought Bvlgari mon jasmin noir l’eau exquis. I’ll be buying very soon zara matin, maybe next month. Mid-year & holidays I’ll be buying dior j’adore cologn floral, hermes jour d’hermes & gucci flora eau fraich. In holiday I’ll be buying makeup collection from dior & guerlain ♥
Ain’t this woman the owner of versace house? if so, she’s making these polls to know how many people collect & buy fragrances & if they’re fragrances junkies or not as she has a business to increase I guess. She’s making fragrances for people to buy & sometimes to collect for the sake of the bottle but most of versace fragrances if not all has plain shape bottles, only one that is blonde I assume.
Actually Donatella has nothing to do with it bar having a big collection of non-Versace perfumes. Frankly they haven’t turned out anything good since Blonde and that was when Gianni was still alive.
You know, I just really looked at the photo. Nearly every shelf has the same sets of bottle shapes, in some cases (and not just the reflection) arranged in the same way. I wonder if this is truly Donatella’s collection or the bottles were brought in by the photographer or stylists, much the same way chronological volumes of law books are often used as a background prop to signify “serious” or “wealthy” library with “bound volumes” on tv.
Well, I read crazy stuff about wealthy people buying whole collections at a time, so it wouldn’t surprise me. But D only really struck me as a big white floral person, so to find out she wore stuff like Bois Violette, Iris Silver Mist or Encens et Lavande would be weird. Things like Tuberose Criminelle, Fleurs d’Oranger, Creed (she seems to have the mega flacons) Jasmal, Jasmine Imperatrice Eugenie or Tubereuse Indiana – no probs.
Carine, see the footnote above…I just use her picture because it amuses me. She has nothing to do with the poll.
My apologize then.
No worries!
I love how far speculation can take one from the relatively simple and benign truth! Something I have to keep reminding my over-analytical self.
OK, I was pretty good this quarter. In part because we did our tax returns and I realized I’ve got to spend even less than I was already spending.
Here’s my damage report:
-75mL Ineke’s Sweet William, bought on clearance at Anthropologie for $26!!
-100mL Atelier Cologne Vetiver Fatal, my Valentine’s gift to my husband (I count this since it’s staying in the household)
-three 1-dram minis from Dawn Spencer Hurwitz: Vert Pour Madame, Violetta di Murano, and Oeillets Rouges). Counting this as 1.5 bottles.
My husband got me 50mL of Tableau de Parfums Miriam for Valentine’s, which should perhaps be counted in the total given my “it’s all one household” budgeting philosophy, but I didn’t count it.
I also had really good luck in winning draws this quarter, plus swapping and I bought a few samples… trying not to buy samples these days though.
Nice list — you & your husband had a great Valentine’s Day!
That Sweet William is *really* nice, if not to my mind particularly carnationy… thanks bundles for the sample.
Probably my biggest spend in almost 10 yrs – seriously! I bought a tub of the FM Iris Poudre beurre exquis, the 75ml sizes of Bottega Veneta Eau Legere and Patou 1000 EDP, and a 100ml of Cartier Baiser Vole EDP. I had also bought a bottle of Datura Noir but ended up swapping it. Also bought minis of Chanel Gardenia and No.22 EDTs.
Oooh, have heard wonderful things about the FM creams, lucky you.
I just use it like solid perfume – a couple generous fingerfuls rubbed on my wrists last hours – so good value, I like to think! The texture and quality really is superb.
I can believe it, because the soaps are the best I’ve ever used. Congrats, that sounds wonderful.
With my yearly bonus, I treated myself to a tub of the body butter in Carnal Flower. Knowing that I’ll never own another jar of it, I use it VERY sparingly. It’s amazing stuff; the texture, the scent..it’s more than a little decadent.
Oh, that’s the one I’d want, probably.
Wait, what? Minis? Chanel? Gardenia and 22? Where? How don’t I know about these?
I got them from Surrender To Chance – they were boxed minis that I’m sure the owners got free when buying full size Exclusifs bottles. They only cost me around $10ish each, so bargain as far as I’m concerned.
I don’t think Chanel sells them, I think they’re just given away w/ purchases. Also check ebay though.
The 4 ml minis used to be what counted for LE samples! A couple of years ago they switched to the more standard carded 2ml sprays (in UK, at least). I’m sure they saved a ton as a result but, considering they make such a big fuss about the exclusivity and luxury factor, I thought is was a rubbish move. But, then, I might just be annoyed that I didn’t get a chance to collect the whole set
Thanks guys. @Abyss that’s really funny that the minis were their samples. I’ve seen some luxe brands do 4ml samples in those long vials, but somehow they don’t seem as covetable.
An SA recently sent me a carded 2ml Exclusif sample so we have those now in the US too.
This is the first time I got only one bottle in 3 months. Make that 4 months as I didn’t buy anything either in December.
I got a large ( 100ml) bottle of Amouage Gold. Probably one of my best perfume purchases ever. It was expensive but so worth it.
One of the “extras” I got was a box with 4 small Eau d’Impériale soaps. I love those nearly as much as my gold bottle.
Nice! Glad to hear they give “extras”
Well I didn’t know what else to call it.
I bought my Amouage at an actual shop and they were so generous with samples and things. They also gave me a small Guerlain candle, which is lovely, but I love my 4 small soaps even more, not as much as Gold but still.
Trying to find a picture of the doll I reread your review of the fragrance. I remember thinking after I had read it that you probably would get the scent. And so you did.
I’m an easy mark!
Exactly the same as you, Robin – 10ml + Dragula Marni set. Total spend £35. It arrived this morning so that’s SOTD too.
I’m actually sort of vaguely worried about where that doll is. Eeep.
hahaha, poor Bambolina. She looks super-creepy but I’m sure she’s got a lovely personality.
Ha, I am not so sure at all.
Just stay calm and make sure everything in the knife drawer is accounted for.
You guys are way more sensible than I–I’m totally hung up on how much I hate the doll, and haven’t ordered this just because I’m so loathe to feel like I’m spending any money on it. Totally silly, since the next option is to spend twice as much (or not have the perfume at all which is where inertia has left me.) I should just go for it, toss the doll into the Goodwill pile and never think about it again!
To be honest, I have no real strong feelings about the doll either way. It’s crazy ugly but that kind of cracks me up. I’d rather it weren’t included and the perfume was even cheaper but I’m just happy that they are doing 10 & 30 ml sizes at all.
So true about feeling grateful sizes–and I’d actually forgotten about the 30, as it’s not advertised at Saks here in the U.S… maybe when it comes in to wider release, that will be my solution!
*grateful for smaller sizes, ay with the typos!
Oh, do buy it and give the doll away!
It would be vastly more sensible! I hesitated also because in principle I’m not really in the market for incense perfume, but at this point I’m hoarding the last drops of my sample, so it’s just getting silly. Clearly there’s no question about whether I would use it!
If it makes you feel better, that doll has been with Marni for a while and was a thrift store find and not just a new invention for selling the perfume
Ha yes! I can’t quite articulate why but this does make me like the doll better! Thanks for the info.
Oh definitely get the Marni doll. You can stick it in a drawer, wait till it becomes a collectable and then sell on ebay for mucho dineros.
A *lockable* drawer.
Haha yes! (Even I might have nightmares about it??)
Maybe the owner of Marni doll will stay young and beautiful forever whilst the doll locked away in the drawer becomes old and hideous.
HA. The perfume portrait of Dorian Gray.
Would love to know if someone lost their job over the whole doll idea. I do, however, really love the factice I saw at Saks. That bottle looks great when it is cookie jar size.
Let’s see: I believe it’s just the one, a 50 ml bottle of Serge Lutens Santal Majascule for $112 (20% off!) Next quarter will be my biggest perfume purchase ever: a bottle of L’Heure Bleue parfum to celebrate my (still can’t quite believe it) graduation!!!
Yes! You must mark that milestone with an exquisite perfume purchase!
That is a GREAT idea for a graduation present–a really distinctive, adult treasure. Love it.
Congratulations on your graduation! You totally deserve that L’Heure Bleue.
Graduation, yay!!
An excellent choice for a single purchase! Also – Congratulations for your upcoming graduation!
What a wonderful graduation gift to yourself! Congrats!
Congrats Ari! You’re working hard to get that perfume and you deserve it!
Definitely a perfume is the way to celebrate graduation. I’m already contemplating mine and I don’t even graduate for another 2 years
I only got into perfume (fell down the rabbit hole?) this past few moths. So, my new 2 bottles (Diorissimo and Tea for Two – I was so lucky to find it) and 3 15 ml minis (a r coffret by L’Artisan at half the price) might be considered ok in other circumstances…but now it’s a spend of 180 euro that was not there last year! Not to mention my samples (around 35 euros for Q1.
But then again, I had to start somewhere, right?
Oh, nice start — you got lovely things.
Robin, thanks! I think Q2 may bring even nicer things, but my wallet will hate me. I’m trying to pace myself and sample a bit more – so I just keep adding to my online baskets and stopping there.
It is definitely worth pacing yourself — your tastes are sure to change as you go along.
Trixie, your first perfumes are WAY more impressive than mine were!
Congratulations on snagging Tea for Two- bottles are getting rarer and rarer.
Thanks! I know, it showed up in First in Fragrance one day and apparently I snatched the only bottle. It didn’t come cheap, though.
Ahhhhh, Tea for Two! I love that perfume so much. Congratulations!
I bought one FB and six decants.
Havana Vanille (Vanille Absolument) 100 ml–got a good price on line. This was one of my favorite winter perfumes this year.
Decants of:
Turtle Vetiver Back–I like Turtle Vetiver Front better. Will sell/swap this one.
Ciel d’Opale–I don’t like it, will be swapping/selling
Cuir de Nacre–I like it
Marni–love for spring
Pear + Olive–absolutely loved this one in the winter
Enchanted Forest–this will be great for spring
Thanks to swapping, I’ve gotten a lot of perfume for the cost of U.S. postage in the past six months.
Can’t believe I still haven’t bought Havana. And wish I’d bought it before they changed the name — VA is so dull.
You know, Parfum1 is still advertising it under the old name, along with a separate listing for VA, you might call to see if they actually have the old stock.
Not sure I’d buy an old bottle now though — don’t know enough about the potential shelf life. But thanks anyway!
Robin, I just finally caved on this one myself. I ordered a 1.7 oz. bottle (with the new name) from Amazon, of all places–at a *very* reasonable price–and got it in one day. Ahhhh, L’Artisan happiness!
Oh, congrats!!
I bought a decant of Amouage Interlude Woman the night I had to have my beloved cat put to sleep. It was definitely what I call a pity perfume purchase; I make a lot fewer of those now that I’m not working and that was the only money spent on perfume so far in 2013. I have been swapping like a crazy person, though, so I have acquired a lot of stuff that way. Thanks for hosting Swap Meet 2, Robin
Oh, so sorry about your kitty
I’m so sorry about your cat, and glad that you found a perfume to comfort you.
Sorry about the cat:( But hope you remember all the lovely time you had him/her:)
Sorry about your kitty.
Oh, I’m so sorry about your cat. Very legit perfume purchase, in my eyes.
Oh, I’m so sorry about your cat. Very legit perfume purchase, in my eyes.
I think mine were pretty reasonable: Ineke Poet’s Jasmine for $31 on sale at Anthro, and $78 for Ineke’s After My Own Heart ($95 less coupon, plus shipping). I did spend another $55 on supplies and postage to trade for some small decants in the swap, but I came out with 5ml each of Drôle de Rose, Briar Rose and Blackberry & Bay so all told this feels like a good amount of perfume for relatively low cost, and I should be set for supplies for a while. Best of all, if I squint (i.e. don’t look at spending on samples), it puts me right around $50/month which is the totally arbitrary number I’ve picked to try to allow for some perfume spending w/o lapsing into total fiscal irresponsibility. I hope Lady Donatella will bless this compromise!
Oops, typo: $45 on supplies and postage.
Always best to squint
Ooo, Blackberry and Bay! I have got to sample that one soon. Congrats on your wonderful purchases!
Ooh, do try it if you get a chance–I feel like it’s one of those that almost everyone is going to like.
Well, Robin…. I haven´t bought ANY bottles this quarter, not even for gifting…. and you know why? on April 29th I am turning 40 and I will self-gift me either one of Les Exclusifs, The Hermessences, an extra special trip to the US… or something like that… I haven´t made up my mind yet. But my credit cards, who began the year debt-free are going to work overtime this year!
Get ready Visa-Mastercard-AMEX! LOL
Happy early birthday! And do let us know what you decide,
Oh, happy happy birthday! You’re still a baby, LOL…
Do get something lovely.
I do not from where you hail, but I’d go for the trip, rather than the bottles. 0 birthdays require an indulgence in memorable fun! (Obviously, if you are from just a short car ride away, it would be a little different).
If you do splurge on scent, buy one which you will treasure forever.
One full bottle (L’Occitane Labdanum de Seville) and a 3×15 ml L’Artisan coffret (Timbuktu, Fou d’Absinthe and Coeur de Vetiver Sacre). Both purchases on half price sale in January :). I having a hard time appreciating the vetiver, but the rest have been in heavy rotation during the winter.
Yay for half price sales!
I’ve bought two bottles since January: Serendipitous for $40 since it seems to be discontinued and my daughter loves it, and a barely used bottle of Fifi extrait for $70. So not too awful, right? February was also a strangely lucky month for me and I won two (!!) free bottles that I ended up loving (The Maj by House of Matriarch and Tabac Citron by Providence Perfume Co.).
Not too awful at all, and congrats on the win!
Un Jardin Sur Le Nil
)
Jasmin et Cigarette
Baiser Vole Extrait
OJ Tiare
Cuir de Russie (2nd bottle
I feel a great sense of accomplishment looking at this list and also feel quite satiated fragrance-wise. I can’t think of anything else that I really want at the moment. I’m sure this feeling is not going to last very long.
LOL…then enjoy it while you can!
Lovely choices.
I had that feeling once. It lasted about 10 minutes.
This is probably the first time in a long time that I haven’t bought anything at all! And I even sold a few items, so I’m doing really well! I do see a bottle of JM Blackberry and Bay in my future and there are a few things I need to sniff, so my next mall trip may have some purchases.
I advocate for B&B!
Spent nothing this quarter–a generous NST soul gifted me with a mostly full bottle of Songes so that filled my urge for something new and I want to at least try all my random samples that I have at home before I purchase more samples
Oh, how nice!
I was bad this quarter! I spent a good bit of my bonus from work on new scents. Got full bottles of Amouage Ubar, Montale White Aoud, A Lab On Fire What We Do in Paris is Secret, By Killian Good Girl Gone Bad, Voyage d’Hermes Extrait, and Etat Libre d’Orange Dangerous Complicity. I’m putting myself on a buying freeze for a while!
Oh, and a purse size of Amouage Lyric. I’ve been so bad, but I LOVE my purchases!
That’s the trick…not everybody does.
True! I’ve had some purchases go horribly wrong, too. I hate when that happens!
wow, time flies by, and I didn’t buy anything (not even samples). I expect that my planned forays in newish scents (e.g. Malle-D.v.Noten, Marni, Bottega Veneta light) could become dangerous in the next weeks, and: why did puredistance send out an e-mal with their Spring “discounts”?
Discounts at Puredistance? Perks ears….
On the other hand, congratulations on such discipline, at least for the quarter!
well for puredistance that means e.g. +/- regular price for “Antonia” but with extras (samples of the other scents and leather packaging gimmicks)…but I do so like the scents that who knows?
Those are the 3 on my to-sniff list as well! I almost went in on a split of the FM but I have a no unsniffed decant rule and was good. For now!
I made my New Year’s resolution that I won’t buy a new perfume before my birthday which was in late February. And I kept my promise!
In first quarter of 2013 I bought one perfume and it was my birthday perfume – Carner Barcelona D600 for 135€.
Very well behaved!
Once again, I went a bit overboard:
* FBs/Partials
Amaranthine 50ml (on sale from Penhaligons)
Vintage Samsara pdt 1oz
Vintage Liu edt ~80ml spray cannister refill
Vintage No 5 perfume ~1/3 oz
* Minis & Decants
Enchanted Forest 5ml decant
Champs Elysees parfum 5ml mini
Deneuve Perfume ~2.5ml mini
Sample Pack of 15-2ml (from Parfums de Rosines counts as 1/2 bottle)
* Misc
Soaps from Caswell Massey & Samples from MiN NY
At a total expense of $463, I guess it’s not bad. I just wish I could be more restrained and not buy anything at all.
Oooooh! You got some great scents. And not too spendy.
Thanks Rappleyea. The Liu, especially has been on my wish list for a long time, so I decided to bite the bullet. Slightly off at the top but still gorgeous over all. Shortly following my purchase I noticed prices went up again, so I guess it was a good buy.
Nice vintage stuff. And I’m dying to find some Deneuve.
Emily – Deneuve is worth trying if you love green floral chypres. I’d be happy to send you a little sample of edt, which is not that different than the perfume.
Oh, that is so kind of you (and I swear I didn’t mean to fish for free sample offers)! My e-mail is transitionalobject at gmail dot com. And I do love me a good green floral chypre (cf. my tale of Tarantella woe in last weekend’s poll).
I am slightly jealous of the Amaranthine. I missed the sale and now they seem to have discontinued the smaller size. Enjoy your buys!
It does seem like a lot of companies are doing away with the smaller sizes. Pity, really. I dislike large bottles because they’re bulky and I’m not likely to use up the entire content so it’s also a waste.
3 full bottles:
L’Artisan Seville a l’Aube
Hermes Terre d’Hermes
Hanae Mori Butterfly
And lots and lots of sample packs!
Nice picks… I’ve jealous of your Seville, of course.
2 bottles:
L’Origan, from the Vermont Country Store with some chair cushions. Why is it called “Oregano” (or even “Marjoram”: they’re closely related and French doesn’t distinguish, at least according to my old Petit Larousse)?
The dogs bought me Drole de Rose for my birthday. The cats preferred to give me a dead mouse, which I accepted graciously because it was what they would have liked themselves.
My sister gave me a set of samples, including Korrigan, which my tortoiseshell cat knows is named for her. My sister’s cats say, “U haz puurfume cuz u r so stinky.”
Laughing at your cat!
Me too!
Laughing at your philosophical attitude to your cat’s gift!
Just laughing. Your post is a riot.
Cats are such practical creatures.
My damage for the quarter is:
50ml Bottega Veneta $100
9ml Lush The Smell of Freedom $19.95
Ineke Sweet William travel spray $25 at Anthropologie
I don’t remember if I bought the Ineke this quarter or last, but I’m adding it here anyway
and.. a 12.5ml travel spray of Hermes Elixir des Merveilles for a big whopping FREE courtesy of a very nice perfume fairy
Free is always good
I’m proud to say: not a one!
not even a backup Vol de Nuit bottle
not even a bottle of Hypnotic Poison, though it’s been haunting me for about a week
Good for you.
Zero purchases are becoming quite trendy. That should be a goal for me…. by 4th qtr, anyway. Baby steps and all.
Bottega Veneta
Briar Rose
Must de Cartier Clair de Jasmin
Daisy, black bottle
LOL “Daisy, black bottle” makes it sound so chic and rare.
Anyway, those are some good scents.
Hey, I try LOL.
I saw the poll and immediately started calculating . . . . . and was SHOCKED! Not one, just a couple of teeny decants. I think I’ve reached that stage of perfumistahood Robin that you once described as jaded. Nothing interests me. I hope it lasts a looooooong time. Long enough to pay out the Visa! On the upside, I now have so much (it’s obscene) that I haul out fragrances that have been dormant a year or more and it’s like getting something new. My latest rediscovery is my Amouage Ciel, it just goes with sunny weather and unlike Luca Turin I just adore it!
Congratulations on your ascent up the perfumista ladder!
My Visa is very jealous of your Visa right now. I’m glad you are rediscovering favorites, though. That seems like the opposite of jaded to me. A lot of fun and easy on the pocketbook!
I listed one bottle but in reality it was two decants:
15 mls. of L’Heure Defendue
15 mls. SSS Amber Noir
Total of about $80.
Not too bad
No, and it was zip, nada last qtr. and only one the qtr. before that. I have become a model of restraint.
One that I should look to to emulate….
Amber Noir is such a beauty.
I’m not a huge rose fan, but I do love Nahema in the summer. But that’s my only rose (other than as a supporting note in numerous perfumes) so I set off to find a rose – without musk! – for cooler weather. What a difficult task! So I think Amber Noir is it although AN is more of an amber with rose rather than a true rose. That’s okay with me. I’ve gotten more compliments wearing it than any other perfume in my wardrobe!
You know, Rapple – It took me a long time to find the rose in AN, then one day – voila! There it was. You’re right, though that it’s mostly about the amber.
I bought three bottles of DelRae during the Barney’s sale:Debut (a back-up), Panache and Mythique. Bottle number four is a Jean Patou Ma collection coffret from a dusty perfume shop. I haven’t opened a one of the Jean Patou bottles.
Oh, so envious of the Patou coffret! What a great find.
Lucky you — I tried but failed to get Panache before it sold out.
Envious that you got so many! They seemed to have flown out in an instant.
I have acquired 5 full bottles this quarter:
Lalique Hommage a L’Homme
Balenciaga Portos
Balenciaga Pour Homme (2 backup bottles)
Jean Paul Gaultier Le Male Terrible
Conveniently “forgot” about the Amouage Men’s Sampler that arrive just before the end of the quarter, but then, those aren’t full bottles, now are they!
I’ve been on an Amouage kick lately, absolutely LOVE the Epic Man and Memoir Man. Honour Man is nice but isn’t me.
I already have samples of Gold Man (ok), Reflection (ok), but totally LOVE LOVE LOVE Jubilation XXV.
That’s my favorite Amouage too.
On-sale, backup bottles of Bas de Soie and Midnight in Paris, and a bottle of Bill Blass Nude, which I might need to swap, as it didn’t work as well as I’d remembered…
I can imagine Nude “turning” on you. I have a mini of it, which seems to be plenty for my uses. Once in a while, it’s what I want, but mostly it seems a bit odd–too fizzy or a bit sour.
I have been sampling and sampling and sampling, no FBs allowed for months – I felt that being still relatively new to perfume, I needed the time to find out what I like. And it’s been fun, but enough is enough. I want some actual bottles. I have spent a fortune on samples and small decants and I feel ready for commitment.
So the embargo has lifted and I ordered 17 ml bottles of SSS Forest Walk an Wood Violet in the end of March (shipping constraints contributed to this, I might have started with FW only, but it is such a hassle now that I got two bottles, several travel sprays and samples all at once). AND I will be in Paris from Thursday, fully expecting to return with a bell jar, a bottle from Parfums de Nicolai and no doubt with something that isn’t on my list and will lead to bankruptcy.
I’m green with envy over your trip to Paris. Have a great time!
Ha yes agree that Paris plan sounds pretty perfect!
Had to buy Philosykos when I found one of the old bottles (I like them so much better than the new ones) on sale for 1/2 off! I’m a total sucker for huge discounts and/or “discontinued.” Besides that, there were decants: 10 mls of Angelique Noire, 10 mls of Un Fille de Berlin, and 30 mls of 31 Rue Cambon. Too lazy to do the math right now, but the decants were from splits.
So jealous, I was hoping to score one too but no such luck. Congrats, that’s a great buy!
I broke out the credit card for the first time in ages and bought a 50 ml bottle of L’artisan Vanille Absolument (aka: The Perfume Formerly Known as Havana Vanille). I thought about buying it when it was released a few years ago, but didn’t. When it showed up on sale for $48.00 recently, well … that’s nearly free, right? It sits next to PdN Vanille Tonka as my only vanilla perfumes.
Less than $50 IS nearly free! I love perfume math.
Congrats on your great purchase!
Three for me.
Cereus no.7($125/75ml)
Guerlain Vetiver($35/50ml)
Annick Goutal Eau du Sud($53/100ml)
Yay, Vetiver!
Five for me (I was bad this quarter again…):
Sisley Soir de Lune
Mitsouko EDP
Jean Louis Scherrer EDP (the original)
Jour D’Hermes
NV Mohur (finally!)
Congrats on the Soir de Lune – I’v been back and forth on it for a long time – its a beautiful chypre!
I know now you’ve got me on it too! Chypre’s challenging for me but I tried that guy again after you mentioned it and not only did I love it but the coat I was wearing that day smelled amazing for a week. Mmmmm so tempted…
C.H. if you know anyone passing through Heathrow I think the price for it there is meant to be very good!
Funny that you refer to it as a guy – once when I had it on (from a sample) my mom asked, ‘isn’t that for a man’?
I think it is masculine only in so far as it has this feeling of wealth, or power to it. Then again, perfumes don’t usually signify gender to me –
Ha oh now I’m embarrassed because I think I only called it a guy because it’s strong!! Yikes that is so sexist of me. No, I agree I don’t think it smells -masculine- at all although a big part of what I like about it is that it definitely doesn’t fall into the category of “girly” either (I guess also a fairly sexist term!) To me it feels very adult and compelling, not sweet or mild or light like so much of what’s currently marketed to women. Great stuff. Badass grown lady, let’s go with
(Meanwhile thanks so much for the Heathrow tip–that place is kinda crazy! I saw online that Blackberry & Bay is half the U.S. price!! I thought maybe it was some kind of aberration–very interesting that Soir de Lune is discounted too…)
Don’t stress, I didn’t take it that seriously!
Echoing others’ congrats on the Soir de Lune. Tried to get a sample at BG – all she could give me were shower gel samples.
How does it compare to Knowing or Paloma Picasso?
I’m not a big fan of Knowing and though I like PP I had to give my bottle away because it made me sneeze too much, lol.
If it helps at all, I don’t get any ‘bad girl’ vibe from SdL, just an ‘upper-class- entitled-holidays-on-the-greek-islands’ vibe.
Also I think its more laid back than ‘Knowing’ which strikes me as a but tight.
thanks, Merlin – I like your descriptions. Knowing does seem a bit tight, especially compared to something like Aromatics Elixir.
I look forward to trying my samples.
I love JLS and wore it, and it alone, for a long while. I always felt the Sisleys were very closely related to it. You have some nice scores!
JLS used to be considered Sisley Eau du Soir’s “poor relation” until the oakmoss crisis got out of hand and it became a hot collector’s item. I find the Sisley to be more lady-like while JLS is more assertive. 2 great green chypres.
I’m a little jealous of the people who ‘have just realised’ they haven’t bought anything, or have not bought many…
Restraint is not natural to me!
And, I’m a little jealous of all the people who have bought marvellous treasures.
I managed to restrict myself to one bottle this quarter. I got the 40ml Gaultier 2 for about $50 on a sale at a discount pharmacy. Ever since I bought Chergui in December I have been a lot more restrained because once I realised what a perfume COULD do for me, my entry criteria got tighter:)
Next quarter will be a bad one though because I am going to visit Lush – and – because I will be in that city for only a few days I will feel extra pressure to buy:/ Its that now or never thing that often gets me.
Also, I know someone going to Paris in June and I SO want Iris Silver Mist.
Ah, Merlin, restraint is not natural to me either. Congrats on your great buy, though! And don’t worry, all perfume brought from Paris is free (la la la, I don’t hear anything different).
I haven’t heard anything to the contrary either! Tra-la-la she hums-
And I’m envisioning those samples springing forth fully formed from the post box – just like little Greek gods:) I think those samples are justified just by way of inspiring such a wonderful image!
Haha! I’m glad you liked the metaphor. It helps me remain in denial!
One bottle at that price is kinda like not even making a purchase. I envy your restraint.
You have to get a bell jar if you have the chance.
Poodle, my restraint was very much assisted by wonderfully kind perfume fairies who sent me all kinds of exciting things to sniff! You know, a couple of Goutal samples, that kinda thing:)
Also, it may be nothing relative to the price of many niche perfumes, etc, but really, given my finances, it still bordered on irresponsible…
Yes, I must have the bell jar!
Never mind Goutal, I’m still in awe of Weekend, B.Michka, two Le Labos, Violet and Moss –
and someone particularly sweet treated me to a dose of arsenic – a seriously weird scent –
along with some tea!
Just want to say all of the above is very instructive, I’m glad to know about these important principles of perfume accounting.
A friend and I are going to buy the 40 ml Gaultier2 and split it – SO convenient, as it comes in two separable bottles! And I know which pharmacy, too… will be going there soon. I have a mini, but it’s almost exhausted.
I was not going to buy any more perfume for a while but Dischem had a 20% off fragrance day, 1st of March, I think. It seems they have it a few times a year. Last time was spring day and I went totally nuts – I only bought one bottle, but then kept returning after the 20% no longer came off and bought about 3 others! (Was very bad last quarter:) )
I originally thought it only came in boxes that contained two bottles, but mine is just a one 40ml…
I think I lived the dream last Monday: stomping around an antique mall, in the first case I looked in, two very small, beat up boxes from Dior. Closer examination showed that one was Miss Dior and the other Dioressence, both in parfum! Having been burned by empty bottles of Shalimar still in the box, I asked for the case to be opened and… both full! I snapped them up immediately. In four years of combing, my first treasure!
This quarter’s total: two bottles, $22.50 each.
Hope ya’ll have similar luck this next quarter.
Wonderful treasures! I love stories like this. Now you get to smell amazing AND ponder the alluring mystery of the lives the perfumes lived before they came to you.
Wowza! That’s amazing.
Incredible finds, well done!
Oh, wow! What a find!! Congratulations. I know you’ll love these two treasures.
WOW. just WOW! Congrats on your wonderful find!
Wow!!
So happy to see someone make such a great find – Congratulations!
Oh, dear, time for reckoning. I went a little crazy this quarter.
New full bottles:
Etat Libre Like This
Caron Nuit de Noel
Ungaro by Ungaro
Mostly full bottles from the antique store:
Faberge Tigress
Revlon Intimate
Lanvin Arpege (sadly this one had turned)
I’m not counting the eleventy billion samples I ordered this quarter because I prefer to think that they sprang forth fully formed from my mailbox and didn’t cost me a dime. Denial ain’t just a river…:)
Nice picks! (I’m currently wearing Like This, so am a little biased.) How are you liking Tigress?
I think Like This is a great scent to be biased for.
I really like the Tigress — to me it is just as warm, spicy, and lovely as Angela describes in her NST review. It *almost* makes me wish the cool weather would hang on a bit longer just so I could keep wearing it. But warmer weather will bring its own lovely perfumes!
Envious of you both, I haven’t gotten around to trying the ELdO line yet. Kind of dying to.
Everything about Tigress seems fabulous, from the ads to the juice. I’ve come close to pulling the trigger on a couple of older bottles on eBay. Glad you’re enjoying it!
Confession is good for the soul, right?
3 FBs:
L’Artisan Seville a l’Aube
L’Artisan La Chasse aux Papillons (the EDT as I don’t care for the EDP)
Marni, which came with a free 7mL travel size
Love them all. The orange blossom in Seville reminds me of home. La Chasse makes me smile because it is so pretty. Marni is easy-going and wearable. I justified the 50mL bottle of Marni because it doesn’t have great longevity, it’s only problem I think, and I may need repeat application. Next quarter, I think I may need 31 Rue Cambon, but will probably try a decant first to see how I like it over time.
Good idea with 31 Rue Cambon. I like it in theory because it is beautiful, but in practice I hardly seem to wear it. I’ve never upsized my decant to a FB. Money saved!
Its interesting how many perfumes this is true of!
Agree!
Most of my damage was done during my annual Crazy Indulgent Birthday Super Spurge in February. I bought myself L’Heure Fougueuse, over $150 of samples from SDC and a few small decants (Safran Troublant, Santal Majuscule and Nuit de Tubereuse). And last week I scored partial bottles of L’Eau D’Hiver and Musc Ravageur through a friend. Those were unplanned purchases, but such a good deal for fragrances that were on my decant/eventual full bottle wish list, that I couldn’t turn it down. I guess I spent around $500 in total this quarter. I’m going to try to not buy anything in the next quarter. However, if I stumble upon a bottle of Seville a L’Aube when I’m in Venice at the end of the month, I can’t be held responsible for what might happen.
Haha, yes Italy, there’s just no telling what might happen there!
Jealous – Venice is my favorite city in Italy. Enjoy, and nobody’s going to blame you for whatever may happen!
Well, I’m off to a rip-roaring start in 2013:
Decennial/Tauer Lys du Desert (FB, but partly covered by gift certificate)
YSL Y (big FB, but cheap)
Scherrer 2 (FB)
Scherrer (original) vintage parfum mini
DSH Mirabella and Vert Pour Madame (15 ml each, and on sale)
Caron Farnesiana vintage EDP (15 ml decant)
SSS Incense Pure (5 ml travel spray)
and rather more samples than usual, including a Providence Perfume Co. discovery set, a trio of nicely sized SSS fragrances (2.5 ml each of Cameo, Rose Volupte, and the eminently FB-worthy Nostalgie), and 0.5 ml vials of some vintage extraits (Narcisse Noir, Nuit de Noel, Jungle Gardenia).
Even though I’ve been more spendy than usual (okay, not THAT much more spendy than usual), I am still this close to springing for Tommi Sooni Tarantella, full price or no. And Une Fleur de Cassie. I don’t know why I keep postponing that purchase, and then turning around and blowing roughly the same amount of money on samples and cheaper FBs and whatnot.
What lovely scents! I love SSS, and I can tell I need to sample even more of their line. Especially Nostalgie! I do exactly the same thing regarding buying samples vs. investing in a FB. The thrill of the hunt is awfully hard to overcome sometimes. I hope you enjoy your first quarter purchases!
Oh, I already am enjoying them! The SSS line has been a terrific discovery — so glad I kept on trying more of Laurie’s scents even after the first couple didn’t work out. I couldn’t imagine life without Jour Ensoleille.
JE is lovely, makes me feel like a forest fairy queen. Which others (in addition to Incense Pure) do you enjoy ?
I’m also partial to Nostalgie, Fig Tree, Forest Walk, and Rose Volupte (which was unexpected, since I’m not a big rose person). And I have samples of Voile de Violette, Wood Violet, and Lieu de Reves that all smell lovely but haven’t yet gotten skin time.
You made some great purchases, Emily. Let me know about Mirabella when you get the chance. I was cleaning off my desk yesterday and found a sticky note that said, “Mirabella/Daisy”. I have no clue when she recommended it to me, but twice in two days has me curious!
Rapple, I’d be happy to send you a bit of Mirabella. It’s a gloriously dusky, animalic spiced-plum chypre. Reminds me a bit of Nostalgie, but with more patina (if that makes any sense).
Oh that would be wonderful! And I could reciprocate with Mecca Balsam. If you don’t still have my email, it is: rappleyea11 at yahoo dot com.
Excellent! I’d love to try Mecca Balsam. I’ll put your Mirabella in the mail by the end of the week.
Oh Rapple – did you actually buy the Mecca Balsam FB?
I caved and finally bought Musc Nomade but I have been wanting it for a while. The less necessary purchases were L’Occitane Eau des Baux and India Hicks Spider Lily – I like both but bought them more for use as room / linen sprays. I think I have been better this quarter than most others – of course, I am glad that samples do not count!
Oh, I like Eau Des Baux! I bought some for my younger brother, and it smells so nice on him.
I seem to be anosmic to Musc Nomade but I love Eau de Beaux! I also regard it as a thoroughly respectable amber, rather than a light-weight economical substitute. By the way, it also layers quite nicely with rose soliflores.
Oh, I love this tip! I’m also an Eau de Baux lover but would very happy to girly it up a bit–plus I have some rose solifores I find boring (we won’t name names). Perfect solution.
Do you guys know L’Occitane’s Eau des Quatre Voleurs? It is a gorgeous dad-like (well, mine loved it) manly scent, so of course they no longer sell it in my country
Was just thinking I hadn’t heard of that one. CH, I sometimes layer it with Tea Rose – the most high pitched perfume in existence!
Purchases so far this quarter – zero!! Actually, I don’t think I’ve made a full-bottle purchase since I was in high school and spent a whopping 40 USD on a bottle of Ralph by Ralph Lauren… I live on gifts (my family knows me well), decants and samples. Still mulling over my list of spring scents from the weekend post, though. It’s so much more economical to buy FBs, for one thing, and I spray enough/my perfume wardrobe is small enough to not worry about never using up 100ml of something.
If you re-purchase decants of the same scent over and over again, then I think it definitely makes sense to invest in a full bottle.
Very sage.
I bought 0 perfumes between January and March. But! Over the Easter weekend, my mother surprised me with a full bottle of the new Marni, plus the travel spray with creepy doll. I think it was her very generous way of thanking me for introducing her to the fragrance. Hey, I’ll take it!
P.S. Am I the only one who finds the creepy doll sort of hilarious? I mean, she is super creepy, but I’m rather fond of her. I’ve already anointed her as my perfume witch, and she’s currently watching over/fraternizing with the rest of my perfume collection.
Oh, if I had her, she would already have a name, identity and her own personal psychopathology! Magical powers is a relatively benign attribution:)
I like the way your mind works, Merlin.
You’re right, she needs a name. I’ll have to have a little think about that….
What a great gift! Go Mom!
I have no memory of a doll for this perfume. However, she really can not be any creepier than the Nicki Minage bottle.
Scroll down…
https://nstperfume.com/2013/01/29/marni-by-marni-perfume-review/
Thank you for the reference. I still think the Nickki Minaj bottle is creepier (especially when seen in person).
I have to agree with you.
I need to check out this doll. I haven’t even seen it and it sounds so creepy I totally want it.
I just checked out the Saks website and I need that doll. The blurb says the doll comes to life. That’s a bit concerning.
Yup, and Robin’s went walkabout :0
Yikes! It’s probably hiding out in a cupboard eating Robin’s chocolate!
Ha…she can have the chocolate, just so long as it’s nothing more serious than that.
Not surprised to hear that the perfume witch (potentially) comes to life. Off to hide my chocolate….
“it sounds so creepy I totally want it.” I heart this. LOL.
I, too, find it quite funny just how creepy she is.
Laughing so hard–ok, maybe this all completely reverses my opinion on the doll. I am pretty sure I DEFINITELY need a perfume guardian witch in my life.
Welcome to the club.
I bought a travel sized Poet’s Jasmine – $28
100ml Globe after shave balm – $40
50ml L’eau de l’Artisan – $57
So, $125. Not bad. (Not counting samples…)
I didn’t buy any bottles but have been sampling like mad… which means of course next quarter will be much less frugal.
Ha yes there seems to be a correlation! (What are you eying?)
I just want to say that imposing a spending freeze on myself did nothing other than prolong the inevitable. I made up for lost time as soon as I allowed myself to make a purchase. So, what did I buy…
I’m not sure if I got the Heeley Cardinal this quarter or last but I’ll put it in here anyway. Also bought:
Truth or Dare
Parfums di Nicolai Weekend
Guerlain Jardins de Bagatelle
ELDO coffret
I think there was one more but I can’t remember what it was and I’m too lazy to go look right now. So I think I spent about $400. Ouch.
On the bright side, I am happy with my purchases and that coffret has plenty of scents to play with. I think this quarter I may take the plunge and buy Rubj. If I do that will be my only purchase. I hope.
You have some great scents on that list! I love Heeley’s Cardinal, and can’t believe I wear both it and Avignon, but Cardinal is lighter and brighter to my nose. Very comforting and uplifting, and I know you’ve had some tough times.
The ELdO coffret sounds brilliant! So many neat scents to explore, and in a size that would hold me for ages. I probably should have done that rather than spring for a FB of any one of their scents. I’ll be curios to hear which Rubj you love, the extrait or the EdP. I adore the EdP, and wear it with abandon (cumin alert!), but others prefer the extrait. You smell fantastic, I can tell from your list! Be well.
Curious. Apparently can’t spell curious today, whilst abusing exclamation marks
I’ve got Avignon too. I agree that the Cardinal is brighter. I love them both. The ELDO set is fun. There are a few that I’m going to pass on to hubby because I think they will be fabulous on him. Some don’t last all that long on me so those may end up in the next swap but overall it’s really a nice little compilation of their perfumes.
The cumin in Rubj EDP was shocking the first time I tried it. It’s all I smelled. Hubby didn’t smell it though and he loved it on me. After I got over the initial shock of it I really liked it. Funny how that happens. I haven’t tried the extrait yet.
Well, you’ve just presented the other side of the argument against restraint! At least you are satisfied with your fund disbursement.
Love the looks of that ELDO coffret — congratulations! I’ve been enjoying a sample of Heeley Cardinal; at first I thought it was too similar to Avignon to justify a bottle of each, but the more I wear it, the more differences emerge. And it’s not like one needs THAT much justification for picking up another incense frag, if one is a bona-fide incense freak.
I love me some incense.
I haven’t smelled Cardinal – but wow – I can totally understand why you bought Weekend!
Lol. Weekend was a blind buy. I am so bad about doing that but if I do my homework it usually turns out okay. That one was a very nice surprise.
Two full bottles this time, and several minis. Full bottles were:
Aftelier Secret Garden 30 ml EdP
Amouage Dia Woman 100 ml EdP
Minis (1 dram each) of:
DSH La Vie en Rose
DSH American Beauty
DSH Jitterbug
Both FBs were things I have been wanting for quite a while, and the DSH dram bottles are so cute and so affordable that I have no regrets whatsoever. I also have succeeded in clearing out my wishlist. Right now, there is nothing I want that I do not have.
Congrats on that Dia!
50, I had shown such restraint by just getting one small sample of La Fille de Berlin, and then I read about your Amouage Dia steal in this weekend’s poll. I took the plunge too! Didn’t get my coveted BdI, but have 100ml of Dia on its way to my house.
Thanks a lot! No, I mean it…thanks a lot!
LoL!
And congratulations on your choice purchases!
Always happy to do my part to enable other perfumistas!
Oh, Jitterbug is one of my favorites. Hope you’re enjoying it! And I agree, those DSH drams are a wonderful option.
I’m really enjoying the Jitterbug. Right now, I am happy with my little dram bottle, but when that is gone, a FB is definitely in order.
I consistently atone in 1Q for the 4Q prior, so no new perfume for me.
I have a long list of things I *almost* bought this quarter; the double size bottle of Tuscan Leather at half price (!) was the most recent temptation. Talked myself out of it by reminding myself that it doesn’t really have a completely conceived composition, and altho the drydown goes floral and lovely that doesn’t happen for many hours later, and that I could probably find another more evocative leather (I like mine unsweetened), etc. Took a lot of mental talking out of it.
My memory (more faulty than ever) was that I was holding to my resolution of sticking to one bottle of perfume a month. Not!
In January I bought Hermes, Jour d’Hermes used; L’Ambre des Merveilles, 20% off, and Bill Blass Nude (unsniffed and regretted, though cheap). February brought a used bottle of Lutens, Daim Blond, a vintage bottle of Worth Dans la Nuit, and Parfumerie Generale, Brulure de Rose. March purchases were the BIG bottle of Azemour Les Orangers and Chanel Coromandel. Not to mention my birthday was in January, and I received assorted perfume from husband, daughters, and brother. All I can say in my defense is that it is already the second of April and I haven’t sprung for my April bottle(s)… yet!
You had a *great* quarter!
Well, I would’a had nuthin’, but that sea of enabling this weekend (jumping off the cliff) pushed me over the edge on Saturday, and I bought a bottle of Ubar. 50mL will last a lifetime, and $163 for an Amouage seems like a steal.
Makes you realize how skewed your perspective has become when that sounds like a frugal choice.
I’m still waiting for the damage poll where you say you finally bought the Malle coffret.
*NO IDEA* what you’re talking about!
I finally committed to a FB of Mitsouko edp which has given me so much pleasure. I dont why I kept on putting it off, silly me. And then the discount stores called out my name so:
Mitsouko 50 ml
Cartier Baiser Vole edp 100 ml (on extra clearance at marshalls, could not walk away!)
Calyx by Prescriptives 5 ml (tempting sale price again for a cheap thrill). Whew! Only around $110. Now im going to concentrate on samples on the next quarter to further my perfume education. I’m trying to pace myself as a perfume newbie.
You found Baiser Vole at the discount store? I’m going to have to go and see if mine has any. I do like that but it doesn’t last so I spray with abandon.
I finally committed to a FB of Mitsouko edp which has given me so much pleasure. I dont why I kept on putting it off, silly me. And then the discount stores called out my name so:
Mitsouko 50 ml
Cartier Baiser Vole edp 100 ml (on extra clearance at marshalls, could not walk away!)
Calyx by Prescriptives 5 ml (tempting sale price again for a cheap thrill). Whew! Only around $110. Now im going to concentrate on samples on the next quarter to further my perfume education. I’m trying to pace myself as a perfume newbie.
oops. too eager to share.
First quarter this year has been a slow one (for me anyway) compared to last year.
I bought 8 fb. Of those, 4 were back-up bottles that I found at an irresistible price. (100ml FB for less than $20 each)
The “new” fragrances were:
►Les fleurs du Mâle (100ml– $49.99)
►Batucada (L’Artisan Parfumeur) (50ml– $42.00)
►L’Eau de l”Artisan (50ml– $42.00)
►Coeur de Vétiver Sacré (50ml– $42.00)
I love Coeur de Vétiver Sacré, and I know that L’eau de l’Artisan will be a favorite this summer.
Oh! and one bottle of Prada Amber pour homme, but that one is a B-day gift for the SO
Bless me Donatella for I have sinned.
50 ml Cuir Ottoman
50 ml Guerlain Vetiver
50 ml Traversee du Bosphore (got it used, unsniffed, rookie mistake)
Partial bottle Vintage Samsara
5 ml decant Amouage Interlude Man
50 ml Pamplelune (V day gift)
Oh and I also got a 5 ml GWP mini in the mail today of Yves Rocher’s Neroli. It is really lovely. I’m thinking of getting a fb of it for summer but need to road test the sample for a few weeks first.
Oh, I’m glad to hear that YR Neroli is worth a sniff! I almost placed an order over the weekend just so I could get that mini — and I must say, the Neroli scent strip in the recent YR mailing did smell divine, as scent strips go.
I’ve been wearing it every day just to get a feel for it and I really like it. It has that tangy green Neroli that I just love. It’s not too sweet, and the dry down is a soft Neroli musk. Very nice.
I bought a TESTER of Amouage opus VI for a song, no box, and, thanks to this blog, zipped onto a website and got Amouage Dia for another discount. I saved…close to 200 dollars, so, I feel OK despite the incredible indulgence. I also got 3 bottles of Estee Lauder’s Youth Dew bath oil, which is just SO fun in the winter months, and a small bottle of 24, Fauhourg.
To make up for this karmically, I mailed off 8 bottles of perfume I have been neglecting, to other people, some as gifts and some to trade for smaller bottles and such. It’s a win-win!
That’s Faubourg….sheesh.
I like Fahorg better.
I’m jealous about your Opus VI score. Where does one get such discounts???
I was a frivolous spender yet again.
My proudest purchase? a bottle of vintage Coty Chypre parfum. Yes, the old stuff. Yes, expensive ($175). Yes, sadly, I can’t tell exactly how big the bottle is (at least 15ml, but possibly an ounce – it’s an oddly-shaped thing). Yes, it is gorgeous beyond gorgeous.
100ml Jacomo Silences eau de parfum Sublime, $70 (*for split, though I have been sidetracked with some personal issues and have not finished decanting it SORRY SORRY)
15ml decant of Enchanted Forest, 5ml each decants of Apres l’Ondee and Carnal Flower, since my original decants are very low, $55
5ml Victoria’s Secret Victoria parfum, $24
30ml Prince Matchabelli Potpourri, $10 (gorgeous carnation scent!)
5ml Houbigant Quelques Fleurs parfum vintage, $13
5ml decant of Fusion Sacree for her, $12
4ml mini vintage Chanel No. 19 edp (I am stocked up on the edt, but I love the edp as well – it’s just a different, rosier, animal), $22
$381, one of my worst quarters ever in terms of spending, and one of the best in terms of things that I love. (BONUS: I have discovered that clips of Tom Hardy’s acting can be viewed for free on Youtube. Which is a good thing, because I might otherwise be sorely tempted to buy a copy of everything he’s ever done. He hasn’t quite kicked Matthew MacFadyen off the top of my heap, but I think the two might be sharing the pedestal now.)
Congrats on all your finds, but particularly the Coty and 19! I’ve not had the opportunity to smell the Coty, but from what I’ve read, it’s akin to getting the Holy Grail of chypres.
Enjoy!
You know, I love the stuff, but I’m not a huge chypre fan in general. I think the Coty (which I had sampled from Surrender to Chance last year) is much softer than most people think of it as – it is definitely bold, but since time has passed the citrus notes are faded, and it is quite floral. Also, not as oakmossy as I had expected. I do very well with old Cotys in general; there is just something in there that makes me happy! It is not particularly bitter or green, and if you are a fan of, say, Bandit, I think you’d be disappointed in the Coty.
Aside from the Chypre to End (and begin) All Chypres, I’m intrigued by Prince Matchabelli Potpourri. Carnation is one of my darling notes, and I have built up this psychological complex around the idea that it’s unjustly scorned and neglected in contemporary perfumery. About how old is that bottle of Potpourri?
Oh, carnation is sadly neglected nowadays, I agree! It’s one of my favorite notes, or to be honest, I actually prefer a carnation FOCUS, as in a soliflore. The Potpourri is really quite wonderful, very layered and complex but smelling mostly like carnations with some ylang and woody vanilla in the base.
Since the restrictions on eugenol came about, I think it’s quite difficult to do a good carnation these days, and I doubt we’ll ever again see a good mainstream carnation scent. SIGH.
I had never heard of the PM Potpourri before, but the word “carnation” always attracts my attention. I read Octavian’s review of it, and it sounds marvelous. And only $10? Total score!!
I was SO pleased that it was good. And it really is delightful, very easy to wear – doesn’t feel ridiculously vintagey at all though by the packaging it must be 60s, possibly 50s.
This quarter I bought 10. That’s like HALF of last quarter and I thought I was being sooo good!
Nasomatto Nuda (being discontinued..)
Nasomatto Narcotic Venus (they were like, 25% off!)
Juicy Couture 30ml travel spray (this was a gift. It’s been banished to the third drawer..)
Seville a l’aube. The only one I paid full price for
MPG Tubereuse 100ml ($74)
Miller Harris L’air de Rein 100ml ($76)
Amouage Memoir woman 50ml ($150)
Profumi del Forte Roma Imperiale (this and Seville my favourites!)
Piguet Visa ($50ish) still deciding on this..
Jean Patou Sublime mini
Gucci edp 50ml $25
Not many samples, no decants. It was the sales that got me!
Oh, I went nuts this quarter. Note to self, unless on trip, need to sit out for second quarter:
PdE Eqistrius, 50 mL
)
Atelier Orange Sanguine, 200 mL
ELdO Antiheros, 50 mL (weirdly, sprayed has an off, cumin note I did not find in the 3 dabber samples I tried first and loved
PdN Petit Ange, 100 mL
AG Petale Noir, 50 mL
And many samples, which shall not be tallied, as it will make me faint.
That is all. I think.
Nice picks. You got cumin in Antiheros? I’m going to resniff. It’s mostly lavender to me. I’ve actually worn it to bed to help me sleep because it’s so lavender-y.
Okay….
Got the Hermessence gift set with four 15 ml bottles: Poivre Samarcande, Iris Ukiyoé, Vanille Galante, and Santal Massoïa. Counted this as four. I got this in Duty Free so it was somewhat cheaper.
L’Artisan was having their sale, so I got backup bottles of Vanille Absolument ($83) and Cœur de Vétiver Sacré ($60) 100 ml each, since they are both being discontinued.
Annick Goutal Nuit Étoilée, Myrrhe Ardente, and Mandragore, each 100 ml.
Frédéric Malle L’Eau d’Hiver and Dries Van Noten par Frédéric Malle, each 50 ml.
Serge Lutens Santal Majuscule, 50 ml
Amouage Memoir Man, 50 ml… 20% off.
The Etat Libre d’Orange Prestige Coffret, with the first 16 fragrances put out by the line at 10 ml each. I suppose I could have counted this as 16….. 20% off.
Lalique Hommage à l’Homme
The only ones I paid full price on were the Eau d’Hiver and the Serge. Even the Dries Van Noten I had a Barneys coupon… such things exist!
Been wearing my sample of Dries van Norten a lot this week. Such a lovely, easy-to-wear scent! And I bet it smells GREAT on a fella! (Good thing I don’t have a coupon–I’d probably follow your lead!)
Yeah, I’m usually not so quick to buy something new…. I’d prefer to give it a drive around the block at least….but it is nice.
It was a good (bad?) first quarter for me. A whole lot of bottles because I found out that they were discontinuing carrrying L’Artisan Perfumes in my country and all the bottles were 65% off. I got Mure et Musc Extreme, Traversee du Bosphore, Nuit De Tuberose, Safrant, Poivre Piquant, Piment Brulant, Tea for Two, L’ete en Douce, La Chasse Aux Pappillons Extreme, Fleur De Liane, Cote d’Amour. I have to say I bought backups for some because they were so cheap! The most expensive was for around 65 usd for 250 ml. of Cote d’Amour. The rest were for around 50 usd for 100 ml bottles. I also got Penhaligon’s Peoneve 100 ml because I had a 40 usd GC I already had to use.
Now, that’s what I call a haul. Congrats!
I would like to think I did Ok this quarter…
Frederic Malle coffret (it’s keeping me very busy, so not as much cash spent, yay!)
Marni purse spray with uber creepy doll
Ambre de Merveilles (gift)
Bulgari Eau de Thé Rouge for $30 @Marshall’s… there were a bunch of Creeds, but I walked away (I am still stunned that I did)
That being said, I’ll be travelling next week, and Duty Free will be calling my name!
Shoot, forgot to include a small bottle of Stella…
I’m really thinking I need Marni just for the creepy doll.
Jealous of the Malle coffret too.
I keep thinking I didn’t buy much until I start counting. My best purchase was a Amouage Dia Parfum that a friend brought back from Dubai. It’s divine. (And 50-Roses… I haven’t forgotten!)
I also got a bottle L’Heure de Nuit – my very first Guerlain Bee Bottle, and the FM Iris Poudre travel set and SL Vanille de Bois which got me the Barney’s GWP during their Beauty Event.
Add to that a handful of decants and I’m quite happy!
Of course, I forgot to add a mini of Ruffles (Oscar de la Renta), Eau Arpege, and a few other vintage finds from an estate sale. Woot! I used to wear Ruffles and I’d delighted to have found some. I’m still on the lookout so I can spray with abandon.
Three sample orders and three FBs: 24 Faubourg, Courreges Emprinite, and NR for Her.
None of it was outrageously expensive. The biggest spend was the 24 Faubourg, about $65 for 30 ml EDP. And I’m pleased at having paid $49 for 30mls of NR for Her EDT. The 30ml bottles are getting hard to find; maybe that size has been d/c.
Verdict: much less spent this quarter than last quarter, but could do better!
I spent way too much this quarter:
Montale Highness Rose 50ml
FM Une Rose 100ml
Amouage Lyric parfum 50ml
Can you tell I’m on a rose kick LOL?
Some of us are ALWAYS on the lookout for a good rose.
I went a little crazy this quarter but ended up with several bottles I really wanted: Lyric Man, Lyric lotion, Memoir Woman, Eau d’Italie Paestum Rose, SL Fille en Berlin, Micallef Nasreen, Laboissierre Carnation and Violet, Dior Mitzah, RM Cuirelle, Agent Provocateur, AG Duel, Le Labo Rose 31 lotion, Byredo Rose Noir lotion, TF Neroli Portofino body oil. My favorite purchase was a lovely perfumista friend’s l’Arte di Gucci. I have been on a rose kick lately!
You bought some fabulous stuff. Cuirelle is lovely.
Okay …Fessing up now..
Jan-Mar(counting Shipping &tax)
Ineke Sweet William FB @ $30
Patou EnJoy mini +shower gel & lotion box set $13.78
Kenzo Jungle L’Elephant (half bottle) $13
Ted Lapidus Silk Way $13.94
PM Or Noir $4.77
VS So In Love $13.50
VintageBalmain Jolie Madame $16.77
Moubousin Historie L’Eau Amethyste $11.39
Balmain Minis (Ivorie,Vent Vert, EBONIE!!!!,and Msr. Balmain)$9.50set
Fendi Asja (0.68 oz size) $14.99
Cynthia Rowley (self named)gift set $9.90
CRowley for Avon Petal $10.80
C&E lotion &gel set Nantucket Briar & Summer Hill $5.39
OscarDeLa Renta Espirit De Oscar Rollerball $5.39
TM Angel edt $43.20
I also chipped in to extend my Sephora GC and got Boyfriend by Kate Walsh .15 ml.Spent hmm$25ish???
Birthday was 3/4 so I got a GC and got the Minis Sampler set DKNY PURE drop of verbena(my choice for FB and was out of stock-got Dior Addict -new reformulation-instead),set also had Coach Poppy Flower and a Clean (nasty stuff IMO),and Jennifer Anniston (too VIOLET),and D&G Lt.Blue (smells like LOUD rubbing alchohol in the drydown ick).
So about $210+ ish not TOO bad overall .About as bad as if I bought a Starbucks coffee every single day for three months.
Rationalizing….
forgot about the other two giftsets Fancy Nights and I Fancy You .Each was $9.99 —-so $10.89 with tax.times two.Makes the total about $230 ish…
Change my vote I count 17 bottles (counting the Balmain minis as 1 ) and not counting the BDay minis (as I think most will be given away anyway )
I got 7 ml bottles of Lush’s Furze and Devil’s Nightcap, thanks to my lovely boyfriend who insisted I buy some at the launch, in spite of a slim wallet situation, and then my big score, at a store which is discontinuing their L’Artisan stock: 15 ml of Ete en Douce (heavenly!!), 100 ml of Timbuktu (WOW!) and 100 ml of Navegar (nice enough) – all almost full! I just wish the Ete en Douce had also been a 100 ml, because though I bought it unsniffed, it is my favourite of these three.
What a wonderful haul – and your boyfriend DOES sound lovely:)
Lete en douce is one of my favorites. It’ my “no perfume” perfume…the one I wear when we’re not supposed to wear scent. Don’t tell anyone my secret!
Congrats on your haul!
I have not heard of this scent, but I sometimes wear perfumes “for my nose only.” What is this like?
I think it’s a very light, soapy orange blossom.
1 bottle of LAP Safran Troublant (that I have worn obsessively) and a small decant of PdE Musc Tonkin – and that is it! Blimey, I may finally be slowing down – hurrah!
I got two bottles, one of which was a terre d’hermes 100ml gift set with an extra $15ml travel bottle and aftershave for less than $50 USD, which if I remember the rules correctly, means it was really free.
I bought Versace Blonde in extrait, Rochas Absolu Intense and Mont Blanc Femme Individuelle, all on special or from an online discounter. Total damage about 70 EUR, could be worse! This is the money I would not be spending on a shrink later, well at least this is my justification for any luxury shopping budget.
Also got a gift of J’Adore Absolu, which I thought was so much better then the original nowadays.
I’m LIKE your justification, Mitzi – a shrink would cost a LOT more than perfume!
I’ve been very quiet with my perfume purchases for a while, but this beginning of year was quite spendy for me:
2 backup export bottles of Douce amère
1 backup old bottle of Caron Aimez-moi
1 Vero Profumo Mito edp
1 Hermès Vanille galante
1 Delrae Amoureuse
1 Delrae Bois de paradis
1 Delrae Emotionnelle
The latest three having been forever on my to buy list, the trigger being pulled by Angela’s article on to buy lists with subsequent fear of discontinuation
I forgot two non planned purchases, so this makes a total of 10 bottles. Ouch:
1 Christian Lacroix (this is a memory lane buy: it was my signature perfume for years before the whole perfumaniac thing exploded)
1 Balenciaga Michelle (found in an old perfume shop that was going out of business)
Yikes! Total for this quarter almost doubled from last. About $600. How did that happen? And the killer is that the majority of it was purchased unsniffed…and many were not successes. Ouch. When will I learn?
Bottles:
Le Cherche Midi Nantucket, Cashmere Noir, Eau d’Hiver – bargain at $55 for three 3.4oz bottles, but do I like them???
Agonist Liquid Crystal refill – dislike – $106
Decants:
Vetiver Tonka – LOVE
Lumiere Blanche – LOVE
Unknown Pleasures – not great
Marni – not me
Fusion Sacree pour Elle – good
Chanel No 5 parfum – LOVE
Vol de Nuit extrait – had to have some
Minis
Sideris, Exultat, Cinabre, and Burlesque travel sprays – like 2 out of the 4
Hermessence travel set – had to get Vetiver Tonka and Santal Massoia!
Samples form Luckyscent and Robert Piguet.
All in all, not a great quarter for me! Need to stop purchasing unsniffed…
I don’t feel so bad now – you spent more than I did!
Have been sitting on the fence about whether to buy a 100ml bottle of Rose d’Amour for $50. It wasn’t included in my Rosine sample pack. Maybe I should sample first, even at that price….
I had high hopes for Unknown Pleasures because it sounded great on paper. I guess I’ll sample that one and not blind buy. I may blind buy Marni just to get that creepy doll.
I am pleased with my 1st quarter acquisitions:
5ml decant 1932
50ml Jour d’Hermes
50ml Azemour les Oranges (that I had a $50 bday giftcard for so it was mostly free!)
this is a lot more than I have been buying lately- so I need to behave…
I had meant to do a little perfume sniffing today – go to Nordstrom Rack to check out Bvgari Black and get a few samples of NR perfumes at Sephora. My Wednesday job is near those shops. But a client had a psychotic episode and slashed my leather coat. I had to go straight home. I’m still very shaken and don’t think I will be going to that part of town again for awhile.
That incident with the client sounds really scary and quite upsetting; so glad you are safe at home now. Hope there are lots of loved ones around you to give you warm hugs and sympathy.
Thanks so much for your support. Your comment makes me tear up again. The person who lost it yesterday is someone I’ve been trying to mentor for the last three years. On top of feeling scared out of my wits, I feel so very sad for my client and the extreme fear and suffering he is going through right now. The incident has motivated his caseworkers to get him psychiatric help asap so I guess it’s a very good thing in a way. I came home and hugged my husband and ate a ton of chocolate.
This is my first quarter having only bought 1 bottle! Maybe I’m slowing down after my initial perfumista craziness… let’s hope so!
SSS Champagne de Bois 30ml
And what a great solo choice! CdB is one of the best.
I finally took the plunge and bought some perfumes I’ve wanted for some time: puredistance I, a vintage Guerlain Liu (awesome bottle), vintage Donna Karan Black Cashmere, and vintage Paco Rabanne Calandre parfum (great stuff). I’ve always wanted Kenzo 7:15 am in Bali for the name, and I actually do think it will be great for summer. Also got a backup bottle of Jil Sander Woman III, which is a HUGE fav, and now I can wear it as often as I like.
Ooooh…. did you get one of those black extrait bottles of Liu? I don’t think I’ll ever get to smell the extrait, but I’m perfectly happy with my edt.
Late to the party but maybe it’s a good thing and I can pretty much skate by without much notice….all I can say is that creepy Marni doll made me do it. I’m with Poodle…the more I impose a limit on myself, the more I end up spending. I knew this quarter would be B.A.D. when I bought 2 FB Guerlains within the first two weeks of the year. Here goes:
Atelier Cologne 5 x 30 mLs – Rose Anonyme, Sous le Toit de Paris (2), Vetiver Fatale, Mistral Patchouli
CDG Kyoto 50 mLs (I think — I’m too lazy to go look)
Diptyque – Volutes EDP 100 mLs (yes, Farouche, I caved in)
FM – Iris Poudre (100 mLs and Travel Spray Set 3 x 10 mLs)
Guerlain 3 x 75 mLs – SDV, Gourmand Coquin, Iris Ganache
L’Artisan – Bois Farine (50 mLs), Safran Troublant (100 mLs)
Creepy Marni Doll who happened to have her very own Travel Spray – 10 mLs
Nasomatto – Duro Extrait 30 mLNeela Vermeire Creations – Discovery Set 3 x 10 mLs
Ramon Monegal – Impossible Iris 50 mLs
Slumberhouse – Pear + Olive 30 mLs
SL – Un Bois Vanille 50 mLSSS – To Dream (17 mLs), Forest Walk (17 mLs), Fig Tree (5 mLs)
Decants:
Amouage Jubilation XXV
Arquiste Anima Dulcis and Boutennaire No. 7
Bond No. 9 Silver Factory
FM Carnal Flower
Guerlain Tonka Imperiale, Mythique Incens d’Orient
Puredistance M
I’m probably forgetting something….
Ha! I knew you would
That’s quite a nice group of perfumes you’ve got there, not surprisingly some of my favorites.
Hajusuuri, that’s an extremely enviable effort for the 1st quarter!
I suspect (and hope) that mine would’ve looked rather similar if I werent saving to go to Turkey next month. Except the Guerlains. I’d have to make that a trip to Paris for them I think..