Another year, another bottle (or two or three or five)...it's time for our first damage poll for 2014. Donatella Versace, Our Lady of Scented Abundance,1 wants to know what you bought in the 1st quarter (January, February and March) of 2014.
Update: the poll is now closed!
My purchases...
I bought two roll-ons by Love + Toast ($21) and a 30 ml bottle of Cartier La Panthère ($72), bringing my first quarter total to $93. I'm sorry to say I will probably get more wear out of the cheap roll-ons.
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 acquired 4 bottles – 1 from the January give-away: mid-vintage Quartz. Got a bottle of vintage Coriandre via ebay (so delicious!), 100 ml Coeur de Vetiver Sacre from a discounter, and Vetivert Cologne from Hove in New Orleans. Total spent was about $100 – no bad for 4 bottles…
Not bad at all, and jealous of your vintage Coriandre
Okay, well. I’ve never done this before! But I was so insane that I really do need to confess. So, um. Well. In my defense, I must say I hadn’t bought anything for almost six months. But. It’s still rather. You know what, let’s just go to the list:
Prada Infusion d’Iris EDP 1.7 oz, lotion 1.7 oz — $0 / 4,000 Chase points
Chanel Coco EDT 1.7 oz, Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere 1.35 oz, Atelier Cologne Grande Neroli 1 oz — $208.82 (Sephora’s blasted triple event) (I was quite convinced this would set me through the summer at least.)
Ginestet Botrytis 3.4 oz — $101
[At this point I vowed not to buy anything more until April.]
Sweet Anthem Margaret Oil 10 ml — $25
Estee Lauder Sensous 1 oz — $18.85
[At this point I vowed again. What follows are two of the most intensely emotional purchases I have ever made.]
Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Eau Fraiche Skinscent 3.4 oz — $65.72
Mary Greenwell Lemon 1.7 oz — $80 (It was SNOWING and it was ALMOST APRIL and I couldn’t TAKE IT anymore and Parfums1 sent me a coupon code and I honestly don’t even remember hitting “buy.”)
Not counting the lotion, that’s nine bottles, for a grand total of… $499.39. BRB, plotzing.
Snowing -> that’s the worst. It was weather that made me buy La Panthere.
Robin, I do think Panthere was the best of all the newer things I tried at Neiman Marcus a few weeks ago, and that’s not even counting the great bottle. True, it’s low key, but it’s not like anything else, either.
I would agree with that…not like everything else. Still don’t love it, & would way rather have Baiser Vole.
Luckily I’m pleased with Lemon. And it’s finally looking springy out! Meanwhile, I tried La Panthere and immediately put my sample away to try more seriously in the summer — I wonder if you’ll like it better in the heat?
This may be one of the funniest, but most heartfelt confessions I’ve ever read on here!
Ha, I am glad you enjoyed! I guess I have to laugh just to keep from crying….
Ditto!
Girl, Parfum1 gets me with that stupid coupon every time. I am weak.
That’s hilarious, Poodle! I concur.
Seriously. There are times that I let it expire and I’m so proud of myself for not buying anything and then comes the email…” your discount has been extended for a few more days…”. Oh, they’ve given me a few more days. I feel so special. *clicks buy*.
Too funny! I can totally related to “don’t even remember hitting “buy.””
“Couldn’t take it anymore” – oh, BEEN THERE.
I love Botrytis, good price on that too.
1 bottle for me – 50ml of Tam Dao in the old style bottle and an absolute steal at £14!
Coincidentally, it’s also my SOTD. Good, wearable stuff.
Amazing deal on an amazing scent. And the old bottles were so much prettier.
This is a historic moment. I didn’t buy any perfume this quarter. My purchases of the last 2013 quarter more than make up for it. It does feel liberating though.
Good for you!
In January-March quarter the only perfume I bought was Serge Lutens Fourreau Noir in Le Vaporisateur Tout Noir for my birthday.
But I’m right about to make my new purchase. Time to buy one of the Esxence discoveries
Good for you!
Lucas – love your post about Esxence on Chemist in a Bottle! I’m looking forward to the upcoming reviews, too.
Thank you dear!
Got minis of what seems to be vintage Opium and also Organza Indecence. Unfortunately, learned that when you buy those you should open them in the store to make sure they are full. The OI was not. Also bought Atelier Silver Iris during NM gwp. Loving it. The same discount perfume store, which carries lots of hard-to-find stuff, has a bottle of what I think was older Diorissimo in a pink box. Didn’t look hard enough to see if it said “Christian Dior” on the box or just “Dior.” Seriously thinking about going back to see. I have a mini of the older stuff, and once the kind of sour top notes are gone, it is radiant.
Oh, too bad about the OI! That’s a shame.
Both my old bottles of Diorissimo (both gifts!) are fabulous.
Close to $600 this quarter, although about $200 was spent on samples and minis (including more vintage Bois des Iles extrait) to help me cope with the endless winter–New things! Lots of little packages in my mailbox! Ooh! The rest of the things I bought were Felanilla, Seattle Chocolate, Milk of Flowers, Santal Exotique, and partial bottles of Champagne EDT and Costume National 21. Think I’ve figured out why I seem to be a mostly broke grad student…..
Yeah. The endless winter was expensive. I didn’t do so bad on perfume, but bought plenty of other stuff to compensate.
After two years of buying nothing more than a few decants, I went crazy this 1st quarter and bought five (5!) bottles, although two were splits. It was the proverbial lure of GREAT DEALS!!
Krazy Krizia – $15.00 @ Parfums1! That’s less than free for a great, discontinued oriental.
Guerlain Secret Intentions – $29.00 I blame M. Guerlain for this one as he had a great write up of a couple of lesser known Guerlains on his blog. I really like this (P. S. Robin, this is the Guerlain for you – very green, no Guerlinade)
Guerlain vtg. Vol de Nuit parfum – 1/2 bottle $150.00. One of the splits. This was one of those cute tester cubes of Guerlain. The juice was that beautiful dark amber of the pre-reform stuff. How could I not?!?
Shalimar vintage/older edt – $19.00 Again, less than free.
Shalimar vintage edc – $36.00 – The other split. I blame the two Shalimar purchases on one of my swap buddies. Shalimar was one of the few Guerlains that I didn’t love and wear, but she sent me some vintage edc and I realized that I *do* love Shalimar, just without the sweet, heavy Guerlinade base.
Total for the qtr. = $249.00
Yikes! And I just got home from an expensive haircut (a new guy).
You got lots of less than free bottles
Yeah, I remember Secret Intentions! Very nice but not my favorite Guerlain ever.
Do you have a favorite Guerlain?? Most are orientals, which I know isn’t your thing. Philtre d’Amour or Vetiver Pour Elle might be my guesses.
Shalimar in extrait is fabulous, but don’t feel called upon to wear it often, just like to have a few drops now & again. I wish I’d bought Shalimar Eau Legere when it was still around.
Eau de Guerlain — one of my all time summer favorites. Avoiding smelling newer bottles since IFRA restrictions on oakmoss, but Kevin tells me it’s still ok.
Guerlain Vetiver — one of my all time favorite vetivers. I wear it quite a bit. Never liked Vetiver Pour Elle much.
Jicky — don’t wear it often, but really like Jicky, both in extrait & EdT.
Apres L’Ondee — seriously one of the most beautiful perfumes ever made
If I had to pick a favorite, this might be it.
Cologne du 68: still don’t think it’s a fabulous scent, but it’s one of my “no brainer” scents, I do wear it quite a bit.
Plus, own a handful of Aqua Allegorias, but wouldn’t claim any of them are genius.
So we really do overlap! I agree about Apres L’Ondee although I don’t own a bottle. I’ve got a bottle of Cologne du 68 on my ebay watch list. Something about it reminds me of the old Dana Ambush which I wore in jr. high!
It is very hard to find a *perfect* evil scent twin
Great deals, especially on vintage, are my nemesis. On the other hand, these are things you can always resell at the price you bought them for, right?
“Discontinued”, “Reformulated”, “Limited Edition” – those words get me every time! I probably can re-sell, but honestly, I’m really happy with them and have enjoyed wearing them. I have been weeding out and selling bottles that I haven’t been wearing – I think that was my justification for spending the money.
Great list… Vintage shalimar really is good stuff.
Confession is good for the soul: I think my total is 4 FB. YSL Paris Premieres Roses, Lolita Lempicka (original), Sartorial, and a tiny bottle of Honeymania 15mL.
I laguh looking at this, because we had the post about discouraging each other from perfume purchases, and I caved and bought it with a 20% off coupoun. I love it
Be well, and may we all enjoy our fragrant indulgences. Life’s too short to beat ourselves up for these things. Enjoy. Spritz liberally!
You are reminding me that I need at least a big decant of Sartorial.
Oh, absolutely: confess, then don’t beat yourself up over it!
Those Paris LE flankers are really nice. I have Pont des Amours, but I think they’re all pretty.
Whoops! Make that 5 bottles. I was really going nuts–I realized after reading Mal’s confession, that I’d also purchased an 11 mL bottle of Centennial from Siovohle, which I love. It was on sale, $38 and with free shipping was a steal. I love finding a bargain on something that I dearly wish to acquire. Be well.
I bought less than usual but still more than I thought.
The big splurges were Michael Edwards’s book Perfume Legends and FINALLY a truly old but (relatively) reasonably priced Secret of Venus Zibeline. I’ve been searching off and on for SdVZ since 2009 but wasn’t willing to pay $400-$500. It really does bring sexy back. Also bought a bunch of decants, notably Roja Dove Diaghilev and a few older perfumes such as VCA First. Did Grandiflora come out this quarter, or last? I have to admit I spent >$600, either way.
I don’t think you have to include the book! But you do have to include whatever vintage scents it makes you buy
I forgot all about my trip to the Santa Maria Novella boutique at Friendship Heights, so it averages out!
I’ve been eyeing the book for years really! Ever since I read about it here… I don’t have many books about perfume, and the few I have have gotten a lot of love; but still I hesitate…the price…
sometimes ignorance is bliss!
Are you happy with it? Is it worth it? I would hate to get too many lemmings of discontinued fragrances!
Yet, I am tempted…
Zazie, the perfume legends in this book are ones like Jicky, Ma Griffe, Paloma Picasso, Dune, and Angel, that are not completely unattainable, rather than insanely tantalizing unicorns like Iris Gris or Nombre Noir. It has wonderful photos, background on the house and historical context, the perfume itself and the design of the bottle. I have many of the perfumes described, so it’s a way to enjoy them even more. It’s worth watching for a good price.
I’m starting the think that the best way to get a lot of bang for my buck is to await opportunities to buy vintage perfume. I’ve had some good luck, which I also attribute to being a bit assertive, as I’ve discovered two different perfume shops with old stock that will sell me, and, in some cases, give me their old testers. This quarter:
1. 1980s Guerlain Chamade PDT tester $70
2. 1990 Vent Vert tester (partial) $20
The quality of older perfume is generally so much better…
I’m usually so much happier with my vintage purchases! What great deals, and the shops are probably equally happy to have made these sales.
Yes, the shops are very happy to sell their testers. Most people don’t realize that the shops have to pay for their testers and when they have a tester for a discontinued perfume it is useless to them. So they’re very happy to get what they paid for it back, and often they’ll be happy to get ANYTHING, especially if it’s a partial bottle. So if you find a Mom & Pop type perfume shop, ask about old testers!
I did not realize they had to pay for testers. Thanks for this great tip!
Depends on the brand. Quite a few niche brands provide free testers. These are NOT supposed to be sold, but it’s been known to happen. Can’t hurt to ask!
Chamade pdt. Swoon. It is one of my favorite spring perfumes.
So I actually acquired quite a lot of perfume this quarter, but I didn’t buy most of it myself, thanks to various birthday, “thanks for doing me that big favor!” and “I thought of you on my trip!” gifts. (All this time, all I need was a shopping-friendly hobby and I could have been getting presents instead of just a card??)
My own tab:
$39 – 3x15ml coffret of Mechant Loup, Timbuktu, Fou d’Absinthe (FragranceNet!)
$24 – Lubin Idole edp decant
$8 – Crepe de Chine vintage partial bottle
So $71, well under budget (…less so if one counted samples, decanting supplies and swap postage–good thing we don’t!)
Wow, great price on the L’Artisan coffret. Tempted, even though I’m not out of Timbuktu.
Same, actually–I have the small Timbuktu bottle from Sephora, still mostly full. But I figured that even if I ignore the Timbuktu and imagine I found Mechant Loup and Fou d’Absinthe in 15ml for $19.50 each, I would have still felt like I was getting a deal!
Exactly.
Oh dear! That time again
I bought 11 100ml FB this time.
I did go through a Duty Free shop in January, so I HAD to splurge there… and discount store (on-line or brick&mortar)are soooo irresistible.
My finds include:
►Chanel Pour Monsieur Concentré-a 1st loves
►Egoiste – to replace my almost-empty bottle,
►L’eau des Baux
►Cuir Mauresque- been on a leather kick lately
►Messe de Minuit- had been on to-buy list 4ever
►Vent Vert- well… summer is coming.
►CdG Black
►Bvlgary Black- back up bottle #4
►Amouage Silver
►Givenchy Xeryus Rouge
►Quorum Silver
I’m just running out of storage for all my babies!
Wow, nice list!
This quarter wasn’t too bad, actually
Hermes 24 Faubourg EDP 50 ml
Arquiste Alexandre 50 ml
PdE Cuir Ottoman 50 ml- I’m very glad I managed to buy one of the last 50 ml bottles, don’t need 100 ml of any perfume!
Yep, very sorry PdE is getting rid of the 50 ml. Shame.
Just two small purchases: a bottle of Pacifica Persian Rose and a small spray of SmellBent Prairie Nymph.
Persian Rose ultimately turned out a wee bit soapy, and the Nymph is wildly, WILDLY honeyed. I have a bit of a problem with fragrances that lean cloying, so the Nymph and I won’t be hanging out. That’s ok, she’s hanging with her buddy, the 3.3 oz bottle of Rosine Rose d’Ete, having a good giggle.
I adore Rose d’Ete.
I used to; it reminded of my Pat Austin rose. I don’t know why we’ve drifted. I hang on, hoping the love will rekindle. I spray, we’re good for maybe 20 minutes, and then it starts getting so….awkward.
I’m glad to know someone is still getting plenty of love!
I tend to wear it just in the summer, though. It’s really too light for any other time.
I freakin’ love Prairie Nymph! It makes me so happy in the summer.
I was good this quarter (I think, it seems like it has been Jan, Feb and March for much longer than 3 months). Mostly replacement bottles, taking advantage of the online discounters and 20% off coupons:
Dzing – panic attack that L’Artisan will soon only offer it sporadically.
Dzonghka – the bottle that got me through this winter
Guerlain Mandarin Basilic – I love smelling like an orange. But this one makes me hungry for things like marble cake.
Guerlain Herba Fresca – one spritz of this makes me feel the way I do after having my teeth cleaned and I am 100% MINTY FRESH.
Right? I’m absolutely positive Christmas was about two years ago.
Yes!
I got my SIL (the one that doesn’t like perfume) a mini of Herba Fresca once, and surprise! she likes it. Mentioned it to me last week… so of course I just bought her a bottle for her next birthday.
Ooh, big win! Love it when you can convert a non-believer
I lucked out at an estate sale with a lot of old perfumes. Plenty of interesting stuff, including some that had turned beyond use. the big find was an unopened box of 70s Diorling and a mostly full bottle of Dior Dior that has only some damaged top notes. I haven’t had the courage to open the Diorling yet in case it has gone round the bend.
Great find!! Good luck with the Diorling!
OHHHHHH DIORLING.
I got in on a split of the old stuff, and it’s really lovely – I certainly hope yours is in good shape.
Third “Ohhh Diorling”!!
Fourth. Gosh.
Not a bad quarter, 2 vintage purchases on ebay: Diorissimo (bid on a 1.6 oz edt spray–the seller made a mistake on the listing, and I wound up with a huge, sealed 3.4 oz bottle!) Think it was $68. Also RL Safari for about $15, which I’ve not tested yet.
Then when Nordstrom had triple points, I went in and made myself a bunch of samples. My store doesn’t have a robust frag dept, so mostly mainstream stuff. I quite liked L’Ambre des Merveilles, and paid full retail after I’d tested it a few times. Realize I’ll probably only wear it for another month or so–strikes me as one that’ll go on the back burner till fall. That was $111. Less than $200 this time.
Wow congrats on the Diorissimo. Heavenly.
Sealed, no less! Amazing.
I came away scott free this quarter! BUT I did buy 2 expensive soaps and one expensive candle so I can’t really be too smug. Plus this weekend I am going to New Orleans and plan on checking out Hove Parfume in the French Quarter. They have a delightful sampler pack option on their website. And you get to pick the samples! I already see that in the very near future LOL
Oh, I think you can be smug
About par for the course for me: 3 bottles, 3 5ml decants, 4 minis. $207.
Olympic Orchids Ballets Rouges
Soivohle Centennial (a backup, because I love it, and Liz is not guaranteeing continued production of her scents, according to her blog)
Prince Matchabelli Cachet, a $6 ebay nostalgia purchase (smelling it again, I realize why my mother bought it for me when I was a teen – she preferred the prim vetiver-musk focus to my BWF KL Chloe)
Decants of vtg Diorling, DelRae Wit, and Memoir W extrait
Minis including Smell Bent Florist Fridge, Carven Vert et Blanc, TF Black Violet, and Azzaro 9.
Wit hasn’t gotten here yet, but it is absolutely divine. So beautiful.
Ohh Azzaro 9, such a great scent.
It’s nice! The topnotes have gone a bit strange, but such a rich 80s floral.
Eeeek! I saw your post and remembered I bought a tiny bottle of Centennial, too, in Siovohle’s sale. Love that stuff. Now I have to go addend my earlier confession
Yeah.. so I told myself I wasn’t going to buy much stuff this quarter, but that obviously didn’t last more than about a week. I got:
1. ELdO Putain de Palaces – $80
2. Guerlain Derby (lightly used bottle) – $140 (I’ve since decanted what I wanted out of it and swapped it for a bottle of AG Sables)
3. Guerlain L’Heure Bleue – 1/4oz. vintage extrait – $50
4. Weil Zibeline – vintage mini – $50 (now swapped)
5. Roja Dove Enigma Pour Homme – 5ml decant (split) – $19
6. FM Musc Ravageur – 10ml travel spray (split) – $42
7. Lady Gaga Fame – 30ml – $12 (at Ross)
Wow, lovely list. Hysterical to me for some reason that Fame is $12.
Yeah. I almost bought a bottle of it for that very reason! I kinda want to keep it in the box as a novelty. . .
I perfume pals! I bought a FB, the first in about nine months:
Parfumerie Generale Bois Naufrage. UPS just delivered it!
I’ve wanted BN for three years but because I already owned a FB of Philosykos I kept reasoning I didn’t need another fig perfume. That’s good logic, right? But every time I got out my little sample vial to try it again I felt transported and immensely happy. BN is a fig, true, but it also smells of air and salt water sprays coming off the ocean. The dry down is beautiful, kind of sweet–maybe it’s the neroli oil. No regrets. Fig is my friend.
Glad you treated yourself, and now i’m wondering if I need to try Bois Naufrage again!
If you need some let me know. I’ve got plenty! Yippee!
Amouage Lyric 4x 10 ml Travel Spray for Eur 97 and Jil Sander Sunrise for Eur 27.
Those Amouage travel spray sets are so pretty!
Three buys:
* two vanille absolument (aka Havana vanille) bottles (a 50 and 100 ml), thank you discontinuations!!grmpf!
* Mona di Orio Tubereuse
I’ve worn these almost daily since my purchase, so I feel stupidly happy!!! I hate expensive perfume regrets, so all is well this quarter.
However my “want to buy” list is so long, it scares me. Plus I smelled some amazing stuff recently (parfums de rosine has extraits now, even if not listed on the website, and the two I smelled were absolutely wonderful), that might make me a rose convert…which is scary. Budget wise I mean. But I suppose I can resist roses. Can I?
Jealous of your Havana Vanille. And seconding the grmpf.
I paid full price for Korres Kings & Queens’ King Solomon and for Comptoir Sud Pacifiques Amour de Cacoa 50mls.
The following I got at discounters: Piguet’s Oud, Caron’s Pour un Homme, Aramis Calligraphy Rose, Hermes Concentre d’orange Verte.
So, if I bought over e-bay on the last day of March and will not receive until April – can I stick it in my next confession? Pleeeeeeeeeze?
LOL — but of course!
Whew! (sweats). The Hermes I found while traveling: a shop in Lesvos is discontinuing the colognes and had a tester of this one on the shelf but no new one. I asked if I could buy the tester and they got me a new tester out the draw and gave it to me half price. I’v wanted it for a while but the usual price is too high, so I was very happy:)
(Forgot that I also paid full price for Bahai – from Frau Tonis in Berlin. Only sold in Berlin – so lovely scent and good souvenir.) There is very little to no niche sold on South African e-bay sites, so, being in Europe, I took the opportunity of arranging a few e-bay deals. This way I don’t have to worry about inordinate customs charges:)
Oh, nice deal!
Went easy this quarter..
Diptyque Philosykos – 75ml’s at sample sale ($50)
Bottega Veneta – 2 mini’s; 7ml each ($20)
31 Rue Cambon – decant
Tauer PHI – decant
(and of course samples galore!)
Philosykos!! True love.
You know at first it was too sweet for me, but I came back to it and decided I really had to have it. It’s gorgeous. This is actually the EDP and I love it even more than the EDT.
Very happy
The EDP is less milky sweet than the EDT (to my nose). It is more woody.
Nice price on the Philosykos.
1. 50ml Chanel No 19.
2. 50ml Fracas
3. 30ml Bottega Veneta.
Going to give the Fracas to my daughter in law – its a bit overpowering for me…..but the Chanel is perfect for this rather lovely spring that we’re having here in the UK.
Plus lots of samples the last of which for this quarter should arrive tomorrow from Les Senteurs – Amouage Jubilation 25, Honour and Ubar plus Carnal Flower….yummmmm:)))
Fracas is a lot of flowers
Two bottles this quarter:
Most proud of my Ebay find of Jean Patou Moment Supreme. Usually I try to stay away from vintage, but rereading Angela’s lovely piece on vintage must tries, I did a quick search and found a bottle sold for charity in Finland, just “next door” from me :).
It really is gorgeous stuff, almost like a caress. Anyone got any tips on deciding the age? The concentration is “parfum-cologne”.
My other bottle was yet another Ebay find: 50 ml FM Iris Poudre. My favourite iris and perfect for early spring!
Love Iris Poudre. It’s so fluffy.
You might try looking at vintage ads for Jean Patou perfumes on ebay in order to get an idea of the age. I love those Jean Patous!
Good advice! Thanks!
I was pretty good. I bought a split of Dzing! for $43 (loooved the split meet Robin). And I know samples don’t generally count, but this is my first quarter buying any, so I feel like I should throw it in. $20 for the full line of Atelier Cologne samples and $10 for PdN samples from Surrender to Chance (plus decanting supplies, which enabled me to go hog wild during the swap meet, the spoils of which will keep me busy for a long time).
Glad it worked out!
Thanks to now having affordable health care and not having to squirrel away every penny in fear of some potentially bankrupting future medical catastrophe, I’m contributing to the economy like never before:
• PG Cadjmere 18 purchased in person at The Scent Bar
• L’Occitane Pivoine Flora rollerball bought spur of the moment
• SL Bois de Violette won on ebay
… and I have plans to shop again soon, in store, paying full retail!
Wow! Great story. I’m so envious that you can shop at The Scent Bar. In person. Congrats on the BdV score!
Nice!
BdV is the best possible way to celebrate, Quarry!
Full Bottles
1.Tocca Colette
2.Si Lolita Lolita Lempicka
3.Sula Stiletto Musk
4.Perfumer’s Workshop Tea Rose
Rollerballs
1.Love and Toast Juniper Gin
2.Soap and Suds Leather
3.Auric Blends Sandalwood
Nice to see people are still buying Tea Rose
Seven but sold at least ten, so, it evens out:).
You came out ahead!
Just two small purchases–a 10 ml decant of Oriza L. Legrand Chypre Mousse ($23.40) from the splitmeet, and a 9 ml spray of Lush Tuca Tuca ($12.95) for a grand total of $36.35 plus whatever the proportionate amount of tax and shipping was on the Tuca Tuca. By far my cheapest quarter yet.
How is the Chypre Mousse??
(and should have said congrats on cheapest quarter yet!)
It is certainly unusual. I can’t say I have smelled anything else quite like it. It is quite bitter, and I would say veers more masculine. I am not sure whether I like it or not, I need to test it more. Unfortunately, right now I have a really bad case of allergies (sky-high pollen counts here), so my sniffer is not working very well.
So sorry….I don’t have allergies but my son is halfway through his 5 year (!) course of allergy shots.
I know I’ll forget some but I am not going upstairs to look at the ones I’m forgetting. I wasn’t going to buy anything this quarter. Instead, it started out really awful and I was depressed and went on a bender.
Cape Heartache
Vanille Tonka
Diva
Jour Ensolleille
Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia
La Fin du Monde
Fame (in my defense this was $8 on clearance)
And only 3 were blind buys which is good for me.
But you got good stuff! At least you came out the other side with something to show for it…
True. I’m happy with them all. No regrets.
Oh, Pacifica Waikiki Pikake too. I got the body cream as well.
I’d like to try more from Pacifica. I love the Mediterranean Fig, which I recently layered with a sandalwood solid…was a nice combo.
Hey, and someone else paid $13 for the Fame, so you made out.
I saw that. It’s not even worth the $8 really.
I’m a hopeless bargain hunter…
SJP Lovely. $25ish. Blind buy – still not sure about it.
Balenciaga Paris. 20 ml bottle, $20 at TJ Maxx.
Chanel Cristalle, EdP, FB at an estate sale, $30.
Guerlain Samsara, same estate sale, FB, $7.50.
Grand total….$82.50
Smart.
at least about some things.
Hey, I’d buy another bottle of B. Paris, if I found it on discount! I mostly use it now as a room spray, but I really like it for that purpose!
Great buys! I’m jealous of that Samsara FB find!
Three bottles this quarter, but only back-up bottles or replacements–nothing new! I got Traversee du Bosphore, after the talk of discontinuation/limited release, Cuir de Lancome, after feeling like it was too good to never have more of and I’d be super-bummed if it became hard to find and expensive, and a new bottle of Bronze Goddess, since I’ve just about drained my first one.
Total, $231. Not bad!
Speaking of hard to find and expensive, a perfumista frenemy sent a link to an unused bottle of my beloved Attrape Coeur on ebay for $500. . . I want you all to note its absence from the list! It took restraint. And admitting to my weakness with Mr. Spicebomb, who looked at me askance for even considering it!
Oops. Make that 4 bottles. I found an oldish 30 mL bottle of Shalimar at Goodwill last week–$18 added to the damage.
$500 — holy cow!
Jealous of your Traversee.
Yeah–I can’t really imagine spending $500 on any one bottle of perfume, but on the other hand. . . not sure I’ll ever get my hands on my very own bottle of Attrape Coeur any other way!
And thank you–I have a smaller bottle that I’m half through, so I decided it was ok to commit to the back-up!
Very wise to get the Cuir de Lancome. The price is definitely going up- can’t believe I got my bottle for $35 only 2 years ago.
Yeah–I feel pretty good about it. It is too pretty and not yet expensive, so I don’t see a down side. (Other than the notion that I might be starting down the slippery slope of hoarding. . . )
Drat!! Mr. Spicebomb, come on! You’re supposed to encourage these things!!
I don’t mind having a little balance!
I’ll sell you my refrigerator for less than that – it seems to be manufacturing the stuff! I found yet another decant. But I agree, your restraint is admirable!
Ha! Yes, your fridge seems to be a nearly magical source of AC! If it kept giving out decants, I’d be tempted to buy it off of you! (OOooh! Like one of those fridges that has an ice cube and water dispenser. . . cold running Attrape Coeur!)
I was pretty low-key this quarter with only four full bottles.
D.S. and Durga’s/Hylnds Spirit of the Glen, 50 ml — $180
Phaedon Grisens, 100 ml — $60
CB I Hate Perfume Burning Leaves, 100 ml — $80
Aedes de Venustas Iris Nazarena, 100 ml — $245
That’s it!
Oh, nice list! I keep meaning to buy Burning Leaves.
Congratulations on your Spirit of the Glen — great stuff! and nice to see that I am not the only one who got a FB of Hylnds this quarter
My is Isle Ryder and I LOVE it.
Interesting purchases! And conservative for you;)
No full bottles, but I did place a sizable decant order in January. I got small spray vials of L’Artisan Batucada, L’Artisan Ananas Fizz, Annick Goutal Quel Amour, Annick Goutal Vanille Exquise, Pacifica Mexican Cocoa, L’Ambre des Merveilles, and Laura Mercier Ambre Vanille. The total damage was around $50, and fortunately I liked all but the Annick Goutals. My mom fell in love with Quel Amour though, so that decant has already found a new home
What a great list for the money, congrats!
I have no excuses although since I had been confessing here and there (C.H. can vouch for me), my penance should be lighter. While I was bad this quarter, I was way worse last year and that should also be taken into consideration. I also worked really hard during the Freebiemeet, the Splitmeet and the Swapmeet so I think I get brownie points for overachieving. Oh, and anything bought during a birthday month don’t require any forgiveness.
Here’s my list this quarter. Note: Anything that was bought for split purposes or what I got through splits are not counted in the FB section. With 1 exception, anything less than 30mLs also don’t count as a FB.
FB:
Annick Goutal Vanille Exquise – 100mL
Atelier Cologne Cedrat Enivrant – 30mL
Chanel Bois des Iles Extrait – 15mL
Guerlain Shanghai – 100mL
Jo Malone Red Roses – 100mL
Lancome Cuir de Lancome – 50mL
L’AP Safran Troublan – 100mL (back-up bottle)
Nez a Nez Figues & Garcons – 100mL
Prada Oeillet No.2 – 30mL
Serge Lutens Bois et Fruits – 50mL
Serge Lutens Chergui – 50mL
VC&A Rose Velours – 75mL
Perfume Accessories:
By Kilian Snake Atomizer (Good Girl Gone Bad – not me, the perfume I chose for it)
Decants/Splits/Traver Sprays:
Amouage Tribute Attar
Chanel No. 19 (vintage)
Guerlain Cuir Beluga
Le Labo Gaiac 10
LM Hard Leather
Masque Milano Montecristo
OJ Travel Sprays (2 each of Tiare, Frangipani and Ta’if)
Oriza Legrand Chypre Mousse
Profumo Abdes Salam – a whole bunch
Providence Samarinda
Roja Dove Enigma
Serge Lutens Chergui – I participated in someone else’s split and fell in love
Tauer Discovery Set Reverie Au Jardin
Tom Ford Oud Wood
VC&A Bois d’ Iris
Confession…it’s good for the soul
Wow. That’s some quarter you had there. You smell amazing!
I love the idea of a birthday month! And here I thought I was creative extending it to a birthday week (or two…)
It’s true! Hajusuuri has been the portrait of piety in this regard
Fabulous!
Bought my first full Serge Lutens bottle (Fleurs d’Oranger)
Swapped for two other bottles via the Swapmeet.
Let’s not talk about just how many decants I managed to acquire one way or another. My excuse is that the vast majority of them were 5ml or less.
Under 5 ml they don’t even count as decants, say I…
I spent more than I planned, but some were just unavoidable purchases.
100 ml Amouage Memoir via a travel in friend thru Dubai. -$100 less than US prices, so it was a good deal.
MDCI Enlevement au Serail ( partial, but mostly full) plus a decant. I swooned when my decant arrived and was able to locate a bottle. Good stuff!
Chanel #5 EDT with Ulta points, so about $20.
Prada Candy with more Ulta points, so another $20
Terry de Gunzberg travel refills of Lumiere d’epices and Ombré Mercure ($130 for both) mainly to qualify for the Barneys GWP. Blind buys each of these.
FM iris poudre body creme (love!)
My bottle of Slumberhouse Zahd showed up as well, but since I paid for it last quarter, it doesn’t really count, right?
Handful of decants including Mito and Onda in the new Voile de parfum concentration as well as a few 1ml Amouage attars from splits.
Lush Imogen Rose which I love as a bedtime scent. I picked up the 9ml size and went back for a bottle… and the solid. Is that bad?
This year I’m keeping a perfume diary. Imogen Rose was a surprise “winner for most wearings” in January. Enlevement won March!
Adore Memoir.
And it’s very nice to have a cheapie you like for bedtime, isn’t it?
I’ll remember your Zahd at the next swapmeet :-)…that’s the one that “got away” from me
Just one, and my first one in ten months! Etat Libre d’Orange La Fin du Monde for $63 with a Parfum1 code. ELdO may be one of the last bastions of reasonable pricing in niche perfumery.
Wow, that is some amazing restraint!!
What’s going on over at L’Artisan? I’m not happy to have read in the comments here that they’re discontinuing Havana Vanille, and that Dzing and Bosphore will be limited now
I remember chatting to an SA at L’Artisan who told me their Musc was the bestseller before he added, “I guess people like to smell like nothing.” Do they? Too depressing to think about… better not to think 
On to happier news: It’s been a modest quarter because I’ve got some expenses coming up that come with moving into and furnishing a new house. Though as the years go by, I get more and more selective anyways and don’t often splurge on FBs unless something leaves me absolutely stunned. So I got:
Diptyque L’Ombre dans L’Eau, 100 ml — my first ever light, pretty floral, if it can be called that.
Diptyque Tam Dao, 100 ml — there are moments when I think this one may be a bit too sweet, but only moments.
Mona di Orio Vanille, mini — words can’t describe this one.
Diptyque EDTs or EDP? I find Tam Dao just a little too dry!
I got both Diptyques in EDT… I didn’t even sample the EDP versions to compare, because both purchases were made during whirlwind Christmas shopping with family
Not too bad this quarter! Fortunately I don’t need to count the bottle of Tam Dao EDP received for my birthday in January.
Otherwise, I bought three bottles: Demeter Gin & Tonic (very inexpensive), Caron Parfum Sacre (bought at online discounter), and Juliette Has a Gun Vengeance Extreme ($$$ and bought on a recent vacation to Miami Beach). VE is perfect for South Beach, but I’m not sure how it will fly in New England!
*Gres Cabaret $20 -horrible!
*Ambre de Merveilles $100 (c coupon at the Bay) -cozy
*Ensens Mythique $300 – worth every penny
I did get a bottle of Erotique for Valentine’s Day, but I think it may be my last bottle for awhile.
Our medical insurance went up so much I don’t think there’s even a term for it…went from 125 a month, 5 dollar co-pay, 5 dollar for prescriptions to 150 dollars per VISIT, $150 for prescriptions and a twelve THOUSAND dollar deductible! We never had a deductible before! But hey, they proudly told me I get free birth control ( I am 50 years old and had a hysterectomy last year) and no charge for pregnancy “terminations” ( Did I mention I have no uterus?) Meanwhile, my blood pressure meds and potassium, which keep me ALIVE, are 150 each. Per month, and I need to see the doctor each month to get my potassium monitored, so 150 for that visit and God knows how much for the lab.
Thankfully, I have enough perfume to last me several years, but I was so wanting the di Orio Violet Fumee and Iris Nazarena.
Okay, Pity Party over!
Any chance of changing health insurance? Or are they all just as bad?
I had excellent healthcare, but because it didn’t have maternity care ( my choice, because I didn’t NEED maternity coverage), it was deemed subpar by the government and cancelled.
Sounds like you’re subsidizing others to make babies. That is quite a hefty increase. I’m sorry it happened to you.
I sympathize. My asthma medicine is up to $190.
Eeek I haven’t answered this post before but I bought:
Tubereuse Criminelle and MKK with my Xmas money and I got a good deal on both at one of the local parfumeries, although I’m going to sell MKK – it’s not a love at all!
Alahine that I bought in the old bottle that was around half price on a french website called beauteeprivee – really love this one.
A small bottle of Amande Persanne by Roget & Gallet – great handbag size for day spritzes. Very fleeting though. They don’t even call it perfume or EDT – fragrant water or something like that.
Fourreau Noir in the black spray vaporisateur. You get 2 x 30ml and it looks really lovely, feels sleek and is great to use. I think I prefer that format to the bell jars as it is really practical. Iris Silver Mist, Feminite du Bois and Ambre Sultan are also available in this format (well they are in France and the UK – not sure about the US). Plus I could use a Liberty discount voucher on that one.
Coromandel from Gatwick duty free and it was also for (quite) a good price for the Les Exclusives range. It was tax free and they gave a 5 pound discount as well which made it a lot cheaper than when I bought No 22 the last time I was in London for my Xmas present as this time there was a 30 pound difference.
A sampler pack from L’Artisan Parfumeur for half price from their website.
The Ormonde Jayne sampler when they had a special price after Xmas.
I also made my first Surrender to Chance purchase which I was really excited to receive so I could try Vero’s Rubj, Kiki and Onda. I love them all. And I ordered some Parfumerie Generale samples which are all amazing.
I really hate paying full price for perfume! So I have to say I’m always looking around for a good deal before I buy anything. Probably won’t be buying much in the next couple of months though. Making this list made me realise I’d spent more than I thought. Not sure if I feel guilty though because I had waited quite a while to get most of these.
I bought a bunch of samples, but no full bottles.
Vent Vert, Vanille Absolument, and G of the Sea (Marshall’s special for the bottle).
My total this quarter is 7 bottles.
Encre Noir – total love
Ysl Cinema – cuddly creamy delight
partial bottle of vintage Samsara – beautiful drydown
Muse by Rochas – good quiet work scent.
Green Tea and Honeysuckle by EA – it was 6.00 at Marshalls.
Mini of Cartier Declaration Essence – this bottle is disappearing so swiftly I will have to look for a big bottle.
Decant of Phaedon Tabac Rouge – will need a full bottle of this when my ship comes in.
Is this thread still open? I hadn’t seen it. In fact, apart from samples, I’ve only bought one FB of Grand Néroli for 70€. So I’ve been good, I think.
Absolutely nuttin’. I was laid off from my job at the beginning of the year, and declared a moratorium on perfume purchases. Can’t remember the last thing I bought in 2013. I had a couple of perfumes in mind that I was saving for, but they will be put off till sometime in the future. Anyway, I have plenty of perfume to keep me busy for the foreseeable future!
I have purchased a total of 5 bottles of perfume so far for 2014. Some of them are perfumes I had never worn before and others are favorites.
I bought a gift set box of Victoria’s Secret “Bombshell” during their semi-annual sale for $40.00.
I bought a bottle of Tom Ford’s “Santal Blush” for $210.00.
I bought a bottle of Elie Saab’s “Intense” for $100.00.
My signature scent Jo Malone “Nectarine Blossom and Honey” for $110.00.
Aerin Lauder gift minis (all of her new fragrances) $90.00
To me, perfume is like having panties; you can never have too many. LoL!