I thought I knew Chanel No. 5, and I thought it wasn’t for me. No. 5 was too uptight with her whistling aldehydes. It was a little, well, banal. And on top of that, not particularly pretty. In 2007, I posted a tepid review.
Wow, was I ever a dummy. Last summer, I bought a bottle of vintage No. 5 Extrait at an antiques mall, and my perceptions whipsawed. I just invested in a big bottle of the Eau de Toilette. No. 5 isn’t uptight — it’s warm and welcoming. As for banal, are soft, clean cotton bed sheets banal? How about a room’s warmth on a December day, or a napping cat? To me, No. 5 is similar in that it feels both unpretentious and comforting.
Once I went to a cocktail party in a neighborhood fancy enough that I wondered if my pickup truck would get towed. A mutual friend introduced me to the hostess, saying that I wrote about perfume, and the hostess responded by listing off the four or five fragrances she owned. She wrapped it up by saying that her favorite perfume — the sexiest in her arsenal — was “the Chanel.” Once I figured out that she didn’t mean Coco, I started thinking about the glamorous reputation No. 5 has. To me, though, it’s much less Marilyn Monroe sleeping in the buff than it is the lovely, soothing second grade teacher on whom the kids have a crush.
No. 5 isn’t about fashion, either. I don't think the fragrance smells like 1921, the year it launched, but it doesn’t smell like today, either. No. 5 is smooth and graceful, with occasional tendrils of jasmine or ylang ylang-washed rose coming forward then retracting into the fragrance’s satiny body. Between that and No. 5’s delicate sandalwood-vetiver-musk base weaves an old-fashioned hint of straw soaked in dry Vouvray that steers the fragrance away from Grace Kelly’s icy elegance and closer to Alice Faye’s alluring but slightly maternal warmth. Either way, it's still packs a hint of old movie.
So, why did my take on No. 5 flip? I’d say it might be that I’ve had more experience with perfume, but No. 5 isn’t a difficult fragrance, really. Maybe my taste has changed, and I welcome something more feminine now. Or, it could be that I simply have a broader understanding of beauty.
Whatever it is, I’m grateful. It’s a good reminder not to write things off too hastily. Some frogs really do becomes princes.
How about you? Have you ever done a complete 180 on a fragrance?
Thanks for the interesting article! It took me a long time to warm up to No. 5 as well. I started with Eau Premier and found that I was wearing it more than I had expected, and then eventually ended up purchasing No. 5 parfum and later the EDT (I like to layer the two). I just ordered a bottle of the EDP with a gift card I received for xmas to round out my collection.
Maybe its the aldehydes? Many other classics (e.g. Joy, Mitsouko, Shalimar and even Chanel No. 19) were love at first sniff for me, but I really had to make an effort with No. 5. So glad I did.
Eau Premier also led to me appreciating No. 5, but in a different way. After a long period of thinking No. 5 was “nice but not me” I decided to give Eau Premier a try. I liked it, but the entire time I was testing it I kept thinking “this is nice, but not quite right….” Finally I realized that I wanted it to be the original.
I also think it might be the aldehydes–I used to associate them strongly with inexpensive soap and recoiled from them in perfumes.
I bet Eau Premiere is the gateway to No. 5 in a lot of cases.
Perfume that smells too much like soap can be rough for me, too, although it’s often orange blossom fragrances that do me in.
Eau Premiere was my gateway too. I’d wanted to like the original for a long time but couldn’t get past the aldehydes until Eau Premiere. Eventually it all came together.
Eau Premiere is so lovely in and of itself that it’s a terrific gateway or terrific on its own. (Although I’d rather wear No. 5 EdT now!)
The thing is, I never had too much of a problem with aldehydes–although that’s generally a good guess for avoiding No. 5. It all felt a bit “meh” to me for years. Then–snap!–I can’t get enough of it.
After the recent Paris terror attacks there was a Chanel week on the MUA fragrance board and I fell back in love with No.5 after a long absence. I have an older bottle of the edt, to me it smells like high quality soap, in a very good way.
I couldn’t wrap my head around Dior Hypnotic Poison when it first came out. It was way sweeter than I liked, and too powdery, yet irresistible. My daughter was a preteen then and I spent a lot of time at the mall, always smelling HP at the LS Ayres perfume counter. Eventually I fell in love and bought a bottle but it took a while.
I’m glad you rediscovered No. 5! It’s nice to have an old friend back.
That’s so funny about Hypnotic Poison. I have a little bit of a love/hate relationship with it. It’s delicious, then overwhelming, then delicious, then annoying…etc.
Absolutely. When I got my sample of ELdO’s Rien in 2008 (?), I remember laughing out loud and shaking my head in outrage, and showing it to someone else. “SMELL this. Can you believe they bottled rubbing alcohol, and are selling it as fragrance?” I asked. The 180° came later in the day when I realized I’d never smelled anything like this, and I’d been hasty. Two bottles and two gift purchases for friends later, I still think it is the most monumental thing to come onto the market in perhaps 20 years. In fact, many of those early ELdO’s whisper through a lot of niche company’s fragrances now, and even mass-market frags. Definitely glad I gave it more thought and time.
Rien always cracked me up since it is so much *not* “rien”!
Best perfume name ever! (And a firm favourite)
I agree!
Angela, my whole perfume life I have been trying to wear number 5. This past year I almost purchased the edp. I find it lovely, just not me yet. I’m curious why you chose the edt? I have not smelled that version, and wonder how it is different from the edp?
When I was meh about No. 5, I liked the EdP better than the EdT. It felt more focused on the part of No. 5 I liked–deep and lush. When I came around to No. 5 as a whole, suddenly I wanted the slightly oxidized straw bit that smells more vintage than the EdP to me.
Maybe No. 5 will “flip” for you, and maybe not, but it’s worth giving a try a few times a year, just in case.
Thank you. I will try the edt next time I get the chance.
Good luck!
No matter how many fragrances I have , I revert back to Chanel No 5 EDT in particular. I have worn No 5 for 27 years now .
I remember No 5 EDT and the bath oil in the 1990s ( it came in a white plastic screw top bottle with a gold band and similar white and gold packaging. ) That bath oil … its smell is INGRAINED in my olfactory memory forever. Divine …a capful was all that was needed …the entire house wafted of No 5 EDT . And from that olfactory memory I can tell you No 5 EDT is really not the same as before. BUT it is still wonderful . Still my No 1.
Musc Ravageur was a perfume that caused much inner confusion for me. I bought and subsequently sold my bottles ,twice over. I re bought MR again and now I am hanging on to it.
MR disgusted me but also intrigued me .Now I love it….sparingly… LOL !
Wow, now I long for No. 5 bath oil! That sounds absolutely wonderful.
I can only imagine how good vintage No 5 bath oil would smell! I have some of the bath oil they released about 3 years ago, and it is lovely – smells like the same scent exactly of the Sensual Elixir they discontinued. It is very potent too.
Seriously, I’m going to need to hunt this down. My very first introduction to Chanel was a bottle of No. 22 bath oil I bought when I was 13 or 14. Loved it.
Angela – i saw one on Etsy yesterday !!! …just do a search for it. However the last bottle I had ( it was opened ) I hoarded it till 2009 ( LOL!!) and when I opened it … sadly it was off …
The one of Etsy is sealed . Good luck !
I truly wish everyone who is new to No 5 knew the smell of it before the the IFRA changes .
I used to call it The Golden Ratio . So perfect …
Diana Vreeland said …” Noone has gone beyond No 5 ”
In it’s pre IFRA days … I believe this was true .
As soon as I finish up here with comments, I’m off to check it out–thanks!
TYPO – the house wafted of the No 5 bath oil which was v v close to no 5 EDT.
Also when I go to ” Perfume Heaven ‘ I hope it smells of vintage No5 EDT …
I hope your perfume heaven has room for me, because I’ll be making my pitch at the pearly gates to be let in!
Lots of room Angela !!!!! LOL
I have bought No.5 before and it’s okay. I am one of those people who will try something a few times in hopes that my senses will change its mind. Chanel fragrances are tricky. They all have a little something that puts them in a class all by themselves.
I agree with you in that the classic Chanels have their own thing going on, and not everyone is going to jive with it. But keeping trying that No.5! Maybe, like me, after 10 years of sampling, it will click one day. Or not!
I wrote after yesterday’s Best of 2015 post that No 5 EDT has been slowly ruined for me because of a toxic work colleague. It’s very sad.
I keep trying to like Shalimar – any form – but I can’t do it. It’s the vanilla. Most vanilla heavy fragrances don’t appeal to me because vanilla acts like a blanket to me which smothers other notes. That said, there is a delicious touch of vanilla in No 5 EDP which is well-balanced with the other notes. I still like and can wear the EDP thankfully, although oddly, it does not last well on me. Makes a good evening or bedtime fragrance though.
I’m sorry about No. 5 EdT being ruined for you! That’s so wrong–as if someone defaced the Mona Lisa.
Vanilla is a tough one. Shalimar’s civet-y skank and lemon help keep it in check for me, but I know what you mean.
I came to love Shalimar by learning to love Jicky Extrait first, and then trying vintage Shalimar Extrait. Now I can’t believe I ever didn’t love Shalimar.
(And have nothing to add on Chanel No. 5, which I have not come around to yet. Angie gives me hope I guess)
Keep trying, and who knows? (This is the philosophy I’m applying to Mitsouko.)
Lol, I still can’t do Mitsouko either! But I keep trying, too. There’s a reason No 5, Shalimar, etc. are classics. I want to understand them.
I like Mitsouko well enough, I guess, but its brilliance hasn’t made itself known to me. I know it will eventually! I’ll keep at it.
I love Mitsouko but after 20 years I s t i l l can’t smell the peach. Speaking of notes; some I get, some I don’t. Rose, Vanilla, Oakmoss, Galbanum, Orris: I understand you. But amber? What is it? A kind of Ruby Tuesday I suppose.
Amber can be shimmery, salty ambergris or sweet and almost vanilla-like, and still the notes might just say “amber.” Tricky!
That’s a rough backdoor to take! I think I came to love Jicky through Shalimar.
I appreciate and admire No.5 but don’t wear it very much, possibly because I have so much to choose from that my hand passes over it, and possibly because I seem to have ring-fenced it as an “occasion” perfume. For instance, I have a male friend whom my husband cordially loathes, so if I want to catch up with my friend, I meet him in a restaurant instead of inviting him round for dinner. That’s a time I will wear No.5 — it feels like neutral ground, if you see what I mean. After your great review, Angela, I think I’ll try it with jeans and a white shirt, and see about claiming it for my own.
I have had the 180 degree experience with two genres of perfume: woods and gourmands. I love them now, but until a couple of years ago, just didn’t get them at all. I think that your comment about forming a wider notion of beauty is perceptive indeed, because that’s what seemed to happen with me. I must have suddenly grown past some unrealised rule, or matured, or something. Dunno, but it happened, and I’m glad!
First, let me say how much I adore “cordially loathes.” As soon as I read it, a few acquaintances came to mind.
There’s something to be said for having an occasion perfume set aside, even if it’s not so different than the un-occasion perfumes.
Nice post Angela! I’ve been wearing different versions of No 5 a lot the past few weeks during a particularly stressful time at work. It’s a go-to scent, but I also think there is something about the sparkling aldehydes that goes with winter holidays – maybe an antidote to lush orientals and cinnamony frags I would normally wear during the holidays. I like your comparison to Vouvray! As I note above, Eau Premiere was my gateway, and it is so gorgeous in it’s own right. But it still took me a long time to work up to seriously big aldehydes. Other fragrances like Montale Powder Flowers, Piguet Baghari, Givenchy L’Interdit, Kenzo Flower, etc etc, were key in putting an understanding of powders and aldehydes into my head. (And I’ve been thinking recently that I’m not wearing Baghari enough!) Eventually I totally came to appreciate No 5. I think my fav version of it is a toss up between vintage extrait and any version of the edt. I can also say that I have about 5 different used bottles of vintage No 5 from different decades, and they all smell just a little bit different. One bottle in particular is amazing with the sandalwood in the base. I’m not sure exactly when it’s from, but it’s only the 1/4 oz bottle – so tiny and cute! – and the box for it is exactly the same size, not bigger and puffed up like how it is for many years for the 1/4 oz size. Anyway, I think there is something incredibly modern still about No 5, even though it is classy and elegant. Occasionally I’ll smell it on another woman and I love the sillage.
I can’t help but think of you now when I think of No. 5! I know how much you like it. That sandalwood-y extrait sounds divine.
Well that is a very nice thing to say! I always think of you when I wear my vintage Eau de Joy. What is it, I think you called Joy a kind of elegant earth mama?
I love the description “elegant earth mama.” Did I write that? (I swear I can barely remember one review to another.)
I agree with you on winter being the best time for aldehydes! Especially really cold-crisp days when there’s little humidity in the air, they just sparkle.
On that note, I think I’ll wear some Amouage Gold today and sparkle away…
I have always had Chanel No. 5 in my arsenal of perfumes. Every time I wear it, I am brought back in time to my younger years. It is also the perfume I wear most when I go to sleep. There is just something about No. 5 that uplifts me.
I think a lot of people don’t realize how cozy No. 5 is. They think of it as some sort of femme fatale. To me, it’s a great bedtime fragrance.
Mmm– I think that Marilyn Munroe has a lot to do with popular perceptions of No. 5, and because of its image, everyone’s mother might wear it and no one’s daughter. I just pottered out for a walk and found myself– how do these things happen?– at the Chanel counter at S&C, and there, reduced by 25%, was a bottle of the No. 5 hair mist. It’s slightly oily and I have to say, utterly gorgeous. Maybe I’ll pootle back after lunch….
No. 5 hair mist! I didn’t even know there was such a thing! It sounds fabulous. Definitely pootle yourself in its direction!
I have a real problem with Chanels. I always feel underdressed and overweight while wearing them. They are too smooth, too perfect, too flawless. I like a few quirks in my perfume (and in many other things for that matter).
That being said I do really love Cuir de Russie, Cristalle, Pour Monsieur, Eau Première and Sycomore, and I first fell for No.5 and No.22 after trying them in extrait de parfum, than all that beauty makes sense. I still prefer Amouage Gold though, which in spite of all of it’s refinement, still carries a smidge of something slightly trashy amidst all the opulence. Perfect choice for doing the most mundane of tasks.
I love it that you wear Amouage Gold for “mundane” tasks! I also love that you get a hint of trash in it.
This is a wonderful take on No. 5! Somehow the little change in perspective from seeing it as sexy/glam to seeing it as comforting/easy is so helpful.
I think that change in perception really helped me, too.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to really know if Marilyn liked it for the same reasons most of us do: elegant relaxed comfort. And just the fact that she did wear it made it sexy because of the idea of her nakedness? Maybe it was a comfort scent to her too.
I thought about that, too. I mean, Marilyn basically said it was a bedtime scent, which for me says comfort scent. Most of the rest of the world thought of a naked Marilyn and had a different reaction, I guess.
I have always loved No 5. It is the ultimate comfort scent. It is so essentially pleasing to me in every aspect that I cannot imagine not having it to wear. Shalimar and I struggled. I have come to adore her in vintage EDC.
The vintage Guerlain EdCs are terrific. It’s my preferred version of Mitsouko. too.
I never neccesarily had a problem with No.5,it’s always just been-for me anyway-that it was around me too much.a Teacher…a close friend…some family members…they all wore No.5 endlessly which made me kinda sick of smelling it.It took me quite a while during the last 5 years of becoming a fully fledged perfumista,to appreciate it for what it is,and also,for how it smells ON ME.I don’t wear it often but when I do IT IS AMAZING.Lol.Funny quirk of me around No.5:I always wear blue jeans/white T-shirt and my most lived in Nikes when I wear it.It makes me feel like I’m wearing a Dior cutthroat suit with a flamboyant Etro shirt.And that to me is the beauty of No.5
I can imagine being turned off it if you had it everywhere when you grew up. But it sounds like it really suits you! I’m glad you rediscovered it.
Yay! I adore No. 5 and it is definitely in my top 5 perfumes I will always need. I used up a huge bottle in high school and liked it but I don’t think I really “got it” until my sweetheart bought me the extrait a few years ago. (I had asked him for it- he didn’t go rogue). I think my only word for it is lovely. It is just lovely and it is never the wrong thing to put on- it goes with a suit, a sweater, a cocktail dress, you name it. I also have the Edt (not the EdP- I tend to agree with Luca (or Turin?) that it is not quite as wonderful as the others. Two perfumes that I came to love that just didn’t click at first- Osmanthe Yunnan and Iris Silver Mist. Now they are both stunning to me- and I just scratch my head at not getting them before!
Iris Silver Mist could be kind of overwhelming to someone who hasn’t smelled a lot of iris! I completely understand. And I understand adoring it now.
L’Heure Bleue. It was my gold standard for hatred when I first tried it.
But you like it now, right?
Hi Angela! Like many here Eau Premiere was my gateway to No 5. I now have the edt and extrait (and EP.) I seem to like the Chanel aesthetic in general, more than, say, Guerlain. And I’ve always liked aldehydes. Still, who knows why appreciation can be so slow sometimes? As in art and music, exposing yourself repeatedly to the classics is important if you want to experience the richness of creativity at its finest.
Chanel No. 5 has been a good example of that for me!
Welcome to the club, Mon Angel! ???????? now if we can just get you and Mitsy to have a good sit down and get to know each other!!!! I have adored, Simply EXULTED in the smell of No. 5 from first sniff. Never have we had a falling out or a disagreement, we have been madly in love from Square One! Now, me and Miss Dior Cherie have had a tumultuous relationship! The first incarnation of it was so shockingly hideous at the time that I was repulsed and put off by it from the initial smell… Then it was reformulated and became something altogether different and not really much better… Then it was reformulated…. AGAIN into what we now know as simply Miss Dior. And I love it, but here’s where it gets tricky… I now long for that original Candied Strawberry Caramel Popcorn sickly sweet Disasterama of a magnificent schlockfest that was the original formula… Something finally just clicked and I… GET IT! It was the precursor to all these sticky sweet fruitchouli frags and it was the big bad ass boss bitch of them all! It was proud of what it was and unapologetic… The new formula is still a tacky delicious flaming hot mess, But a gorgeous one, yet I still want a bottle of that old juice just because it was so audacious!!!
By the way, I have also finally come round to the Love-In that surrounds Fendi Theorema! Again, I “GET IT!!” Now and wonder what the hell it was that I didn’t get before!?
Love this article, Ms. Angela! MWAH! ????
There must be a way you can get one of the original Miss Dior Cherie bottles! It sounds like you understand her in a way that demands you have some around to smell from time to time. I’ll keep my eyes open for one. You never know.
In the meantime, Happy New Year!
I owned and enjoyed the original MDC, enough to wish I had a bottle. Though I completely agree with Luca Turin when he said (I’m paraphrasing) that it smells like a teenage babysitter, even if you had a PhD. I’d add that it smells like the secretary, even if you’re the boss.
I should add he gave it four stars.
Smart and trashy at the same time is a delicate balance, but great when it works! Prada Candy goes there, too, and maybe Coco Mademoiselle.
I had an art teacher in high school who wore the EdP. I was just starting to become interested on perfume and knew very little about no 5. One day she had us all draw an empty no 5 bottle, one placed on the center of each table. It turned out her husband buys her a bottle every year for Christmas. She was probably in her 60’s, had long white hair, and glasses that she’d use to push back her hair. If she was talking to someone and you called her name, she would seem like she hadn’t heard you until about a minute later–her head would whip up and look in your direction. She smelled so heavenly, wrapped in a golden aura.
Unfortunately I hate it on me. Parfum, EdP, EdT…. They remind me (dare I breathe it) certain lavatory products when I wear them. I do thoroughly love Eau Premiere though, enough to have bought the original 125ml bottle. I’m running low, too….
Thanks for a lovely story – I remember a teacher at school in the late 60’s who wore Youth Dew and she left a heavenly trail down the corridors as she wafted past……I HAD to go and buy some and could only afford the bath oil….thick and brown in an oblong bottle with a gold label. Now I realise it was the BEST! Oh happy memories! As for no5….its a classic and I buy and wear it throughout all the years. 180 degree turn for me was Diorella in about 1972 when I first tried it I hated it but couldn’t stop sniffing my wrist – blah blah and then it clicked and I fell in love with it….the vintage version now of course. A lot of the Lutens are a bit like that – esp Iris Silver Mist which I just could not understand and then I received a sample and was blown away by its beauty and other-worldliness.
I have a bottle of Youth Dew bath oil, too, and I prefer it to the EdP. I love the bottle’s gold foil label, too.
I can definitely imagine Diorella befuddling someone for years, even, until it suddenly makes sense. But when it does, it’s magical.
What a great description! I can see your teacher now, and I love the detail about how she paused before acknowledging you. But I weep at “certain lavatory products”!
I did the full 180 on No 5. For years I’d get a spray from a tester every now and then, see if it still smelled like stagnant fridge-water and I still hated it. But then this year for some reason it clicked, and now it’s one of my most-worn perfumes.
We’re on the same schedule!
Great read, thank you, Angela. My late Mum (she died in 1987) wore both Chanel No. 5 & Joy for as long as I can remember – loved them both on her but they just don’t work on me. I did wear No. 19 in my early 20s, however, but haven’t smelled it for many years.
It’s so nice when a fragrance reminds you of someone you loved.
I think this can often be chalked up to age (the wearer’s, not the perfume’s.) I agree that No 5 doesn’t immediately register as the scent of a bygone era the way that some do. I find a lot of fragrances of that time – and later decades as well – just smell foreign and off-putting to my 21st century nose.
That said, I wouldn’t call it “modern” or a scent for a young woman. I certainly didn’t want to smell like that in my 20s or 30s – not because I associated it with older women, but because it was totally out of tune with my self-perception.
Not exactly a 180 in the terms you’ve put it in, but along similar lines, there are fragrances from my childhood and teen years that I either wore but felt uncomfortable and out of place in (Poison, Fendi) or wouldn’t have dreamed of wearing (Opium, Oscar de la Renta, No 5) that suit me like a second skin now that I’m a ‘woman of a certain age.’
So that might have something to do with it. There are sometimes scents that we don’t connect with or actively dislike because of where we are in our lives. Then time passes and everything syncs up so that it fits exactly who you are, where you are, and your perception of your place in the world.
And just for fun: my most distinct memory of Chanel No 5 comes from being at a Greyhound station when I was 10 or 11 years old. I went to use the bathroom and found a perfume vending machine in there! I hadn’t seen one before (or since.) To use it, you’d stand in front of the wall-mounted machine, plug in a coin, and depress the lever for the fragrance of your choice to spray out. I desperately wanted to use it but didn’t have any change, so I stood there and smelled the Chanel No 5 dispenser until my mom came and dragged me out of the bathroom!
You bring up a good point about being ready for a scent, just as a person can be at last ready for a particular work of literature or music. Maybe No. 5 takes time to be comfortable with. I love your story about the bus depot perfume machine! I can see it so clearly in my mind. Fabulous.
You said what I was thinking so well. The reason I have struggled with number 5, isn’t because of the way it smells, because I like it very much. It is because I am not yet the person to be wearing it. I might just make it my lucky 2016 scent, to see what happens. I really believe in the power of Fragrance, and I hope this all makes sense.
It makes perfect sense. I hope 2016 is your lucky year–No. 5 and other!
Waited a month to read this post and the comments so that I could line up multiple No. 5’s for exploration first. Finally was ready to read and learned a few things. Thank you to everyone.
Over a year ago, or perhaps two, when I fell down the fragrance rabbit hole, No. 5 was one of my first stops. I did several 180s with No. 5 over a month’s time, finally ending with a sad “it’s not for me.” But last summer I found myself craving it. After playing with different versions over the past few days, I’ve come back to find each one of them is special. It’s finally the right time for a complete 180.
At the moment I’m happiest with No. 5 EdP, sometimes with a spritz of Eau de Cologne. Divine comfort. I hope it lasts.
Isn’t it crazy? A person would think that No. 5 is fairly straightforward, but for such a relatively easy-to-grasp fragrance, it took a while to work its witchery on me. I’m glad I’m not the only one!
Hi Angela,
Did you buy your No.edt online? May I ask which one?
I would like to get one.
I love No.5 but its aud184 at shops.
Thks!
What a great review!
I bought mine at a department store, so I can’t help you there. It’s quite a bit less expensive than niche perfumes–at least it is where I live.
Thanks, Angela, I will have to spend the aud184, its a gorgeous perfume.
I really like Rive Gauche as well, but its not quite Chanel No.5….
Especially these days. Rive Gauche simply isn’t what it used to be…
Yes, Rive G was my first ever perfume, a friend of mine went overseas and got me one, we just finished Uni then, 1989…
I used it for every day for every occasion, work, dinner parties, clubbing, dates etc etc..
I finished the whole 75ml in 6 months……
and never bought another till 2 months ago…
The essence is still there but it lacks the soul…..
Which I find sadly in most perfumes these days….
Like another of my fav, Poison….
I still really love the new Opium and Cinnabar…
At least Poison and Opium still ring true!
What’s your fav, Angela?
One that you would take to Venus?
I’ve tried a million times to pin down a favorite perfume, but it’s a moving target. Honestly. One minute I can’t live without one, then the next it’s another.