An overdue repeat of a poll we did in 2010 and 2012: tell us about your guilty (perfume) pleasures, that is, fragrances you love even though you (or others?) think maybe you shouldn’t.
Another way of stating it might be “the perfumes you don’t usually admit you own”.
Note: image is cherry blossom [cropped] by Albert at flickr; some rights reserved.
Tabu ! I love it !
Reminds me of Aunt Evelyn, I just won’t replicate the Chesterfields that gave it a smoky facet. RIP Aunt Evelyn.
I still wear this fragrance and particularly enjoy it in powder form.
Love Tabu! I think I got my bottle at Goodwill. Pretty sure it’s the recent, cheaper formulation. And I *still* love it. 🙂
I use the Tabu powder and lotion after a bath in the evening sometimes.
I love Tabu too!
Love Tabu and Ambush! too. A modern fave is Va Va Voom–cost about $5 a gallon!
Tabu was the first perfume I ever bought for myself, at the age of about 11 way back in the late ’60s. I had to be really careful about when I wore it, as my mother would just about explode if she smelt it on me, she considered it most unsuitable but I loved it.
Heh, perfumes you usually don’t admit you own. I feel like my second bottle of the Burberry Brit summer flanker is def my most disavowed bottle 🙂 One wallpaper scent, ok, but the backup… That said, I’m happy to look back in my email and see I only paid $16 for it, so, it could have been worse.
The Versace Versense and the Chloe Intense bottles I also own aren’t exactly perfumista bait either, but like the Burberry, Versense is at least a pleasant wallpaper scent that I do wear sometimes, and I love the Chloe bottle with the black ribbon, so, here we are!
Yeah. Sometimes I feel like I need to be careful with whom I discuss the whole back-up bottle thing.
I have more backup bottles than most people have regular fragrances in rotation. I would not admit this anywhere but on a perfume forum….
I recently got a backup bottle of Boyfriend, as it is discontinued, paid too much for it.
That is great perfume tho!
I am a shameless lover of fragrance! I get so excited when I find inexpensive bottles that smell like a million bucks. I find it the worst kind of snobbery to instantly dismiss things based on price or brand. The only real exception to this is when we all discover through extensive research, ahem, that a certain brand just does not work with our chemistry. I shall not even mention these since I do not want to be a perfume buzz kill. So if you open the drawers on my perfume dresser, you will discover Bvlgari Black sitting next to Chanel No. 5 and a little tiny bottle of vintage Le Dix next to a bottle of Halston Z-14. You get my drift…..
I love cheap stuff that smells good too. I think we all can relate to certain brands just not working for us. I’ve got a few myself.
What I see when people say they’re embarrassed to admit they’re wearing something on the scent of the day polls is that it’s not about price or brand, but about wearing something that they feel that most perfumistas think is not a good fragrance.
I understand. Thank you for the clarification. So guilty pleasure is loving what others might not like. Like my penchant for grape Kool Aid notes and plastic baby doll head notes! Viva La Juicy being an example of the former and Alien an example of the latter.
Gosh, I feel the same way. Although a lot of my perfumes are a bit on the pricey side, I adore the ones that I pay mere pennies for and smell fantastic.
They are with me too! Le Dix, Bulgari Black, Z-14, Chanel nr 5… quietly waiting for their moment
Every December, I wear a little Ange ou Demon Le Secret, because it was my first bottle of perfume and it makes me happy. I don’t feel guilty, but I know it doesn’t earn me any perfumista points, either!
I mostly reserve my sheepishness for non-perfumistas who *just don’t get it!* We were discussing the definition of drug abuse and dependence in my health class this week, and the kids were pretty sure that I qualified as “dependent” on perfume.
*Are you willing to go out of your way to get it?
*Have you tried unsuccessfully to cut back?
*Do you experience withdrawl?
*Do you continue using it, even when there are negative consequences?
At least I can’t say I’ve developed a tolerance. I’m not up to 12 sprays a day or anything! 😀
LOL! Hilarious! People say the same about me and my Sims-playing. XD
Guilty as charged!
Knowing that you’re addicted to perfume, wouldn’t it be ironic if the kids pooled their money and got you a bottle of perfume for your wedding gift? Come to think of it, has anyone ever seen a wedding gift registry that included perfume???
I think I am falling squarely on the NO registry side of the equation. I don’t need more stuff at the moment. I filled my house pretty successfully on my own 4-5 years ago, and none of those things need replacing at the moment. I’m trying to figure out how to politely ask for contributions to help pay for a trip instead. (Which maybe isn’t asking for perfume directly, but if I get my way, we’ll head over to Italy and you know some sniffing will occur!)
Try Envelope Registry “the gift registry for the modern couple” People are pretty used to giving wedding money that way now, it worked nicely for us last year 🙂
You choose what “items” you want to feature on your registry including trips and experiences. At the end you get a chunk of money in your account, and a nice helpful list of who gave what for thank you notes later.
Just sharing my recent positive experience – plenty of options out there!
Marjorie Rose, the New York Times had an article recently about couples setting up wedding registries to pay for a trip rather than for things. I’ll see if I can find it and post the link later if I do. In any case, the idea would seem to be sound.
Here it is:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/10/travel/trips-not-toasters-wedding-registries-for-travel-lovers.html
Interesting, thanks!
Good to know it is a trend, at least, so that I don’t have to feel too weird about it. I’d like to think if one words it well enough, it sounds like giving towards an experience rather than just asking grandma for cash. 🙂
Turns out many people love gifting newlyweds, even if they’ve already set up house 🙂
Hello. My name is poodle and I’m a perfume addict.
HELLO, POODLE. (said in chorus)
Excellent!
When my niece was married last year, she included a printed card in with the invitations stating that she and her fiance did not want any wedding gifts as they had already set up home and did not need anything, but if guests felt able to contribute something to their “Honeymoon Fund”, that would be most appreciated.
This was meant for Marjorie Rose, above, sorry.
I used to love le secret! And actually, it wasn’t rated that poorly by Victoria at BDJ. 🙂
Always good to have validation. 🙂
I have no guilty pleasures, especially since the only opinion that matters when it comes to my perfume is mine.
I think I’m with you. 🙂
I like this sentiment!
Two thumbs way up!
Utterly with you in this opinion. The only guilty pleasure I feel is finding that I need/want another perfume and acting on it, and even then, the pleasure outweighs the guilt by about ten to one.
I ‘Amen’ this sentiment!
I am with you too!
Yes!!!
AMEN HALLELUJAH!!!!!!
Hmmm..I don’t know about this one.
I think about this poll in another way, like I have a hard time when someone says “you smell good what is that” and I don’t want to admit that its Amouage Journey, because I am embarrassed to admit that I actually spent that much on a bottle of perfume if they decide to go home and look it up. And thats not my only bottle from a ridiculous over priced house. I have a hard time when we have guests over, and I am serving a tea and have to tell them that its Mariage Freres for the same reason.. These are my guilty pleasures
I did buy Fragonards Iris perfume recently, which is cheap compared to some bottles I own..and I am really loving. And I go the soap too.
Yes. A regular checker at my grocery store has commented on my fragrance. She especially likes OJ Ta’if. She asked me where she could get some because she liked it so much. “Well, you have to order it from London, and the shipping is like $30. . .” :-/
I understand what you mean Marjorie! Believe me..
I had a similar experience with a taxi driver in Miami asking me what I was wearing and it was O.J. Woman. I just said something I had bought while I was in London. It did seem odd though.
Yes, I feel a bit sheepish sometimes when I tell people what I’m wearing. Sometimes I just say it’s an obscure French/Italian perfume that’s not available in the US to discourage them from inquiring further, as most people would think it crazy to spend that much for perfume.
This is my modus operandi when someone asks! Be vague, very vague.
So this is really interesting because yesterday I flew home from Detroit and even though I ordered TF Tuscan Leather -15% at Sephora the day before, I headed for the Tom Ford store like the sad moth to the flame I am.
I bought White Suede.
Nothing good is ever written about this, but I loved it in just a few moments. And the SA honored the Sephora pricing!
I still loved it after finally getting home, peeling off clothes, getting laundry done, and I kept thinking oh no, how will I explain this to my olfactory friends?
There you have it.
Wow..I never tried White Suede, maybe I should give it a go? What is it like?
Well, it smells like wearing a beloved old suede jacket, but it’s not powdery at all on me. Plus I bought a lipstick.
I try to be really vague as well..
What a great thing for the Ford store to do!
Nice in a way that isn’t nice to my American Express, Deva!
I have to say that Tom Ford SAs at various department stores tend to be the best, really nice, really open with samples, and really patient. I think they are responsible for my current level of perfume addiction. I only own one Tom Ford — Neroli Portofino, which I love — but I always want to stick up for TF when people are upset about the pricing etc etc. Unlike Chanel, which is expensive *and* the SAs are the worst. (Although I do own two of the exclusives now.)
I agree with you on White Suede. No one ever say anything good about it but I really like it
Journey is worth it! I was wearing Fragonard Belle de Nuit this morning which maybe fits the category of guilty pleasure. It is really nice, we bought it in the Fragonard museum in Grasse, a bit of a copy of J’adore (which I don’t own but fits this category I think?).
My husband’s favourite fragrance is Fragonard Homme Elegant, and it maybe mine on him as well. It is just always right, cardamon, incense, iris, patchouli, vetiver. I would recommend it to any man. He was asked the other day by a waitress very shyly what he was wearing! Now that rarely happens in the Netherlands with a woman, let alone a man.
I wore Belle de Nuit last night..
I love Holland by the way, I went once and really enjoyed it. We have family that lives there and last year we took our 6 month old, it was so easy to get around by train and by bus.. I also fell in love with the Rituals store..and I am happy the NYC as not one , but two!
Holland has a lot on offer, I live in the part where there are a lot of forests which is fantastic, but for real perfume sniffing I have to go to Amsterdam.
My husband told me yesterday that Rituals does much better in other countries than in the Netherlands. I think there is still something quite puritan (for lack of a better word) in how the Dutch spend their money (not!) and time (zealously!). Glad to read NYC has two Ritual shops.
While I was there I spent a lot of money on cheese, dutch style crepes, croissants, and spreads to put on bread
Fragonard Homme Elegant sounds rather nice…it seems my tolerance for more masculine scents is getting higher.
It is!
I have this problem with people judging me for overspending on tea, coffee, oils, salt, etc. It’s especially bad because I’m a grad student, and so are most of my friends, so their threshold for a reasonable amount of money to spend on 100 g tea is rather low.
I would just ignore that attitude. You only live onces – and if you chose to spend your money on fragrances, chocolates, tea or coffee – well it is your choice 🙂
You know, this is true. It is your choice. Assuming that you have the disposable income, it’s fine to spend it on perfume and the good groceries.
But if you’re spending money on nonessentials – and I say this as someone who lived frugally for at least a decade (very few new clothes, no meals out, saw a movie once a year, wore no perfume and only the very basic of drugstore makeup) – AND you are not saving money in your emergency fund AND/OR not paying off debt, it might be wiser to limit your indulgences.
#wordofcaution
Ditto. If your basic expenses are covered and you have budget room, why not enjoy life while you have this time? Also, treats are extremely helpful for getting through long,dogged programs. It’s for your health!
I do this too–feel weird telling people what perfume I’m wearing. Even though I might get something for a good price, saying that I’m wearing Hermes or Dior or whatever just sounds so conspicuously consumptive.
Can I just confess right here that sometimes I give some vague answer because I have NO IDEA how to pronounce the name of what I’m wearing? Signed, Chagrined
😀 That is me too..
I remember not knowing how to say Eau de Merveilles..I was so embarrassed. Now I have it down.
There was a discussion awhile back on how to pronounce Alahine..
In my mind, it’s ala-hiney, which is so WRONG, I know, but I can’t help it. It’s stuck. Maybe forever ????
I cannot pronounce anything! Even when I hear the correct pronunciation, I go right on saying perfume names all wrong 🙂
I’m right there with you. I should be banned from wearing anything with a French name.
It’s the weirdest thing when you realize for the first time that the way you’ve been pronouncing something in your head is ALL WRONG. There’s no way to change it though!
True!
My perfume life is only lived online although friends and family know it’s my “thing”. Therefore I can’t pronounce anything either. My standard response to “what are you wearing” is “some fancy French perfume I can’t pronounce”.
Hahaha, I always start by saying “well I don’t speak French, so….” And then I usually find that the SA isn’t 100% sure how to pronounce it either. ????
I have and enjoy some cheapies like Pink Sugar, Natori and Escada summer scents. But I don’t mind telling people what I’m wearing.
Today is my birthday so I am wearing my gift from the DH, MDCI Les Indes Galantes. 🙂
Happy Birthday T !!
I’m enjoying the Meringa. 🙂
Happy birthday!!
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday!!!
Happy happy birthday to you!
Happy birthday! I hope you have an amazing weekend!
Happy birthday to you!!
Have a great birthday!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday!!
Happy Birthday..what made your SOTD so special to wear it on your most special day? I have never smelled that one. Hope you are doing something wonderful
Happy Birthday!
Happy Fragrant Birthday, my dear!
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday!! How do you like MDCI – we were considering a split but decided to pass based on a review from Kafka
Many happy returns! ( but not perfume returns, obviously)
Happy birthday!
Enjoy your day–Happy Birthday!
Oh, happy birthday!
Happy birthday! Hope you’re having a wonderful day!
HUZZAH! Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday, cazaubon!
Wishing you a great day, and lots of lovely smells! 😀
Happy belated birthday ????
One of my favorite spring and summer scents is Yardley’s Royal English Daisy, but I have to admit that I don’t post my SOTD when I wear it.
you should! I want to know more about Yardley..
Don’t be embarrassed! I’ve grown to quite like Yardley’s Eau! De London.
Please don’t be embarrassed. I tried some of the Yardley scents in Disney Epcot last year. They were very pretty. I liked the Daisy and Diamond scents. I almost bought one of them, but I had already bought one of them, but it was my last day of the trip, and I didn’t feel like carrying it around with me all day.
I’m going again next month, and I plan to visit the gift shop that sells Yardley.
I agree with everyone else — not worth being ashamed to admit a Yardley on the SOTD. For one thing, many people are thrilled to hear about anything decent that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg! Plus when nobody admits to their reasonably priced fragrances, outsiders get the impression that all any of us wear are expensive niche fragrances, which I know is not at all true.
Robin, this is so true. When I first started reading here, I felt a little intimidated. I had never heard of so many perfumes! But, I kept reading and saw how nice everyone is, and realized how much I could learn. I have learned a lot. I now feel comfortable with whatever my SOTD is, because it is the love of fragrance that we all have in common. I have truly been enriched by this community.
It’s hard to break into any group, but I do think the people here are nicer than anywhere 🙂
No guilty perfume that I can think of for me, but I bought Dior Sauvage for my husband and I do like it… (I know, I know… I should hand in my perfumista card!)
SOTD is Stella by Stella McCartney. My bottle is probably around 5 years old, and down to two thirds. I’m toying with the idea of buying a backup since I read some people saying the newer version isn’t as good as it used to. Anyone tried it? Also, I see on Fragrancenet their listings are marked as “new packaging” except for one:
http://www.fragrancenet.com/perfume/stella-mccartney/stella-mccartney/eau-de-parfum#211034
Do you guys think that means that the unbowed bottle is from an older version?
I would not assume that based on what it says there…I’d email them and ask.
Does Stella have a pretty good shelf life? Because if your bottle is only 2/3 full after 5 years, and you buy another older bottle, it could be another 10 years before you open it. I’d be worried it would spoil by then.
I don’t know about the shelf life. That’s why I am hesitating. If it spoils before I open it, that would be quite pointless, wouldn’t it? And who knows, maybe they’ll relaunch a new and even better version!
Really hard to say! Some perfumes improve with age, some get way worse.
You smell great! I love Stella, and I’ve been debating new-vs-backup bottles, too.
Continuing yesterday’s trend of Lagerfeld Sun Moon Stars layered w/ L’Occitane Cade, today I’m wearing Tauer Lonesome Rider with just a tap on each wrist of Turkish attar-of-roses. Yipi-ki-yay.
Discovery: above combo smells amazing after you get Kerrygold butter on your hands. New genre (or perhaps actually ancient?): butter-based fragrances.
Ick. I hate the smell of butter.
Sorry! 🙂 I really love it– not a massive amount, of course, but just a trace.
I love L’Occitane-I love their older Vanilla perfume and Orange leaf fragrances.
Yum! I love their men’s fragrances– their old Eau des Quatre Voleurs is a summer staple for me.
I actually ended up buying a Cade shower gel last night so my husband & I can decide whether we like it enough to spring for the perfume.
I’m wearing by Killian Rose Oud today, and I’d be embarrassed to tell any non-perfumista how much I spent on it. I still can hardly believe it myself. Among perfumistas, I guess my guilty pleasure is my bottle of Vanille Banane, which is trashy fun for me. And I used to have a bottle of Love’s Baby Soft, which I owned (and enjoyed) for old-time’s sake.
I just love Rose Oud!
Yes +1 for Rose oud. I went with a decant for that one, but it is on a FB list (a long list)
Just read on Perfume Shrine that there might be another no 5 flanker and I’m wary of the rumor and if it’s true, what is it going to smell like. Eau Premier was good but it’s not Shalimar where you could get away with a million flankers. Perfume is my guilty pleasure but I don’t have a single perfume where I could name as a guilty pleasure.
I have seen that rumor in enough places now to assume it is true.
And I would say the opposite — Chanel no. 5 could get away with MORE flankers than Shalimar, but Chanel is too smart to go that route 😉
Too right, Chanel is too smart. They expertly play the exclusivity game.
Scarcity, whether real or perceived, attracts attention and stokes desire, like a crush who too often seems unavailable.
I’m happy to hear there will be a No. 5 flanker someday soon. It seems like it is a long time in coming. Whether it is wonderful or awful it will cause a ripple in the fragrance pool. 😉
Hmm . . . maybe do a reverse poll next time:
‘Which niche/expensive/overhyped perfume do you regret buying?’
😀
Going by brand, the only politically incorrect perfume I own is Truth by Calvin Klein . . . because it’s Calvin Klein. It’s one of my favourites, though.
That is coming up as a Friday project!
I like Truth too, there’s a bottle in my perfume drawer at work. You may be even happier to know that Luca Turin likes it too!
I love it too! My favorite CK, though I did wear CKOne back in the day, too… I still wear CDG Play Black before workouts sometimes which reminds me a lot of CKOne. I got a huge bottle of Truthon Ebay a few years ago, but unfortunately will never get through the whole thing. It’s a shame to think of all of our collective marvelous perfume going bad or never getting used up!! I’m a light sprayer, too, which doesn’t help.
I have Calvin Klein Truth, CK One and Reveal. I wear them all…..
Love Reveal, gets complimented too. In the fall when the air gets chillier…so good.
But yeah, CK gets side eye for sure. That’s cool, I’ll be over here smelling marvelous 🙂
I think the only sheepishness I would have would be if I had to admit to a non-perfumista just how many different perfumes I own.
Yeah, this one. Which, in my version, includes explaining the dozens of tiny samples and decants swapped around.
I have to agree! I now have a special box just for samples & decants (in addition to the FB drawer). Does anyone put away (hide) their scents when certain visitors come around??
Well, perfumes are supposed to be stored away from the light, right? I don’t consider it hiding, I consider it preservation 😉
I managed to put all of my samples in Basenotes and my boyfriend feels vindicated in his opinion that I have turned into a nutjob. (“Turned into?” I counter. I feel this is not a bait-and-switch-type situation.)
So. Last night I watched a fabulous rendition of Macbeth. The Scottish isle went from a brooding misty miasma to a raging inferno of treason and despair. All this AND Michael Fassbender too! Shirtless! Emerging from a freezing loch after unsuccessfully trying to cleanse his soul- in all his dripping water and muscular hairy chested glory. Oh my!
Wait. Forgot all about perfume there for just a moment. ????
My SOTD is my beloved Onda VdE from my teensy-weensy decant.
If only Fassbender could get a whiff of me now!
Fassbender is going to play Harry Hole in a film version of Jo Nesbo’s The Snowman, and that is just such a perfect casting that I’m already drooling in anticipation.
Good to know. I will keep my eyes peeled for it. That series has been on my radar for a while, but I just haven’t gotten around to purchasing. Must rectify that. I will read them and envision Fassbender….????
It’s s great series!
If only!
Hey, I dream BIG!
I LOVE Fassbender. LOVE him!!
Catch him in Jane Eyre. When Mr. Rochester begs Jane to stay, despite knowing his terrible secret, let me just say that I would have STAYED! HA HA 🙂
Gosh wasn’t that adaptation great? I remember thinking I’d be happy to watch Fassbender and Wasikowska for another two hours. (Incidentally, for anyone else who liked it, I also recommend Fukunaga’s first feature, Sin Nombre, which has a different setting but otherwise really a lot in common with Jane Eyre–a love story; a bildungsroman; an interest in the perspectives of young women; a journey; a willingness to turn an unblinking eye on pretty terrible violence.)
He also did season one of True Detective, which I absolutely loved. Dark, violent, and twisted- a visual Southern Gothic treat for your eyes. Pretty sure Faulkner et al would have approved of that series.
Yes, I did see him in that but for some reason he didn’t have the same impact on me as in Macbeth. Might be because it’s one of my favorite Shakespearean tragedies. Was he ever shirtless in Jane Eyre? That might have something to do with it too…????
LOL!! You might want to catch him in Shame! Shirtless and more….
(Although it is a REALLY dark movie, hard for me to watch in some parts!) His movie Hunger is also good, but terribly depressing! 🙂
Ha, remember George Clooney’s Golden Globes comments about him in Shame?!? ???? But the dark/difficult is why I’ve avoided it myself.
He looks great in Frank, though some of his facial features look a bit frozen…maybe too much polyfiller?
Embarrassed to admit I had to google Michael Fassbender but now that I did I can say I won’t forget him anytime soon. He’s a tall drink of water isn’t he? My, my, my.
Or, to quote George Takei, “Ohh myyyyy!” Haha, I can imagine to googling him.
Poodle, so happy your day was enriched by giving him the once over! T-Rex says “hello” to little Stella ????
Stella says to send her love to T-Rex.
That is a BRILLIANT movie. It was in very limited release and just came to Amazon Prime. Cotillard is also VERY brilliant. Okay, I think I know what I am doing Sunday night!
Yes, Fassbender is very handsome (started off as a model) but the man knows how to give his all to a performance.
All true! Amazing performances all around, stunning cinematography, foreboding music! I think Shakespeare himself would approve. It may even surpass my most favorite rendition of Richard III with Ian McKellen in the title role, set in the ominous Third Reich era.
Has anyone ever seen anything with Fassbender where he didn’t get at least shirtless at least once? Not that I’m complaining, of course – I’ve watched them all! :)))
Really looking forward to the new Macbeth!!!
Revlon’s Fire N’ Ice, Avon’s Extraordinary, and Bethany Mota. Sugar bombs all, though the Extraordinary does have the benefit of genuine top/heart/drydown notes. Once–in a hyperactive mood–I layered all three together. You could have bounced me down the street, I was so excitable. I haven’t been brave enough to repeat the experience. 😀
I have a bottle of Revlon Absolutely Fabulous, and it is! !! 😉
Guilty pleasures… Live Colorfully by Kate Spade. This scent Gets showered w/ compliments; light, floral, a little tropical w/ a subtle amber & musk base waiting at the end. Plus, doesn’t turn sour like 99% of tropi-florals do on my skin. Other GP- Jessica Simpson Fancy Nights. Still baffled how that one got released by Coty & under that name. Love it in small doses. Lastly; Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue. It turns uber-masculine on my skin, sharp. I don’t care. That first half hour is worth it. Makes me smile. Until my head plays Luca Turin’s words from The Guide about Lt. Blue, “If you hate fragrance, you’re probably in your 4th bottle.” Ouch.
Love you anyway, Light Blue and Luca. 🙂
Oh cool, I have a friend who has a bottle of that Kate Spade too, but I’ve never actually smelled it. Glad it has some fans!
Definitely worth a try! Mine is in rollerball form so as to minimize the guilt, lol.
Ha, luckily I am too forgetful to remember what Luca Turin says about Hiris every time I spray it on 🙂
Pish-posh, Luca. Hiris is lovely. His backhanded complement in that review re: Giacobetti’s work w/ L’Artisan is so…. Luca. He’s no fan of my Prada favs either- Infusion d’Iris and Amber. Every time I reach for that little rectangular bottle of patchouli-mossy bliss, his “dense as lead” comment leaps to the surface. We could go on, couldn’t we. But will save it for the next low-star Friday. : )
Love this community, Robin. Thanks so much for you and all who keep it up, and keep it up so fabulously!
My first thought on spraying Light Blue from a tester was that it was one of the most thoroughly pleasant scents I had ever encountered. Granted, it is not earthshaking, but I really don’t see how anyone could hate it.
Agree! The apple-cedar opening in Light Blue is so fabulous. Whenever I see a tester I spritz it into the air or onto paper to take a sniff.
I wish I could wear it more but there is something in the base that goes muddy on my skin. It smells fab on so many people. I should look for the lotion and see how it compares.
I remember wanting to love it so much – it was so great on paper but definitely pine-sol on my skin. But hey, it’s lovely!
That quote about Light Blue made me laugh out loud. Interestingly enough, I’m not a fan, yet I finished my Light Blue travel spray in record time. Of course, that was years ago, when I actually drained scents…
I have a bunch of unchallenging/slightly generic/non-perfumista perfumes that I enjoy. The most obvious being my old bottle of the original 212, but also including several melon/calone bombs and some light fruity florals meant for the young crowd such as Oiseau Papillon and Woman in Yellow. Things, basically, that I’ve picked up in Anthropologie on sale over the years. I plan to add MiuMiu to the list too, as soon as I hunt down a discount bottle.
Today I’m wearing Epic and admit that like a few others, I would hate to try to explain owning several Amouages to a stranger.
I forgot to add my For Strange Women French Oakmoss and Winter Kitty. They are both lovely comforting naturals but the Oakmoss is a really basic thing that I rarely mention because it’s just lavender-Violet oakmoss. I certainly don’t feel ashamed to wear them but just don’t gush about them much.
Those names alone make me want to try them! Goodness, do I love anything with a kitty in it.
Oh, I have Winter Kitty too! Love it.
Weird story: Years before I was a rabid perfume consumer I dated this guy who was completely anosmic. No sense of smell at all! Nevertheless, he got me CH 212 as a gift and I loved it. It was this pretty pink colour and came in an ice cube (not the dirty mauve/rose pink it now seems to be).
Apparently the sales assistant told him it was really nice 😀
My most guilty pleasure is Elizabeth Taylor’s Black Pearl…. I’m even hanging my head here now in shame admitting this….
No head-hanging allowed here. If you love it, that’s all that matters! ???? Bet you rock the Black Pearl!
Hey, I’m a proud owner of a $9.99 bottle of Queen. I refuse to hang my head and you should refuse, too. Enjoy what you love and to hell with the cost, the branding, or any of that nonsense ????
I have the same $9.99 bottle of Queen from Marshall’s!
Bottle Twins!!
Triplets! Best $10 buy evah!
I don’t have the perfume (though that may change next time I come across it) but I have a tub of the body butter that I really like.
Sweetgrass, I was looking at that BB online when I was tracking down her other perfume, Queen of Hearts. I bet it’s fantastic. ????
You’re not alone! I also own a bottle of Black Pearls. No shame!
That is a very lovely scent and kinda hard to find! Good one!
Hey, I’ve got a bottle of Black Pearl too! It’s nice ambery-peachy stuff.
I love this fragrance. No shame in wearing it!
I think Black Pearls is rather nice. I prefer it over White Diamonds.
My guilty pleasure is draining .5 ml or even (greedy gasp!) 1 ml dab samples all in one go. Sometimes I have a fancy fragrance and I could eke it out in tiny dabs pressing my wrist to nose, or I could use it all up in one glorious application and be damned. It depends on the perfume of course. But sometimes I just can’t get any traction from a tiny fragrance sample, and with heady indifference I use it all.
I do that too. I figure if I do buy a FB, I am going to use it by wearing it, not just dabbing a tiny drop on one writs, so I can only evaluate it by wearing it the same way. Usually, I do try a tiny dab first, once or twice, just to make sure I don’t hate it. Once I determine that it is not a scrubber, I usually will drain the rest of the vial in one wearing.
Can I ask how the logistics of this work? Do you just pour the sample out? I’m ashamed to admit that I can’t figure out how to wear any substantial amount of a sample (meaning that even samples I wear occasionally can end up lasting a year or more).
Yes. To apply it to a wrist, I place my wrist over the open top of the sample vial, then flip my wrist (with the sample vial held in place) over and back. To apply to my chest/collarbone/cleavage area, I place the top edge of the vial against the skin, then tip the vial to pour the perfume out. I don’t necessarily use it all; for a really intense perfume with a lot of sillage, I might only use a couple of drops. For a very light scent, however, a 0.7 ml vial might get used all at once. I jsut don’t feel I can get enough out of a sample vial with that little dabber thing.
I try to make a circle with the dabber like pushed up against my wrist, but even when I make really big circles I can barely use maybe 1/4 of the sample. Sometimes trails pour out and run down my arm but i feel like that may not be the most efficient way to try something. I wish I had more tiny atomizers because I feel like you could probably use more of the sample more effectively that way, but it’s money spent on atomizers instead of perfume…
I do it exactly the same way and for the same exact reason.
I should really do this. It’s far less shameful than finding out a sample has evaporated before you’ve had the chance to really wear it!
I decant dab samples into the little 2 ml sprayers I got from China, and then I spray between 1.6 and 2ml in one go. (If there’s some left over, I respray later). I have yet to encounter a perfume that needed less on my skin, but I have a small number of 1ml samples of very expensive stuff which will put that to the test.
No shame in the perfume game! I wear what I like! Perfume is a no-judgment zone in my world! 🙂 Whether it’s a sample of $275 Amouage, or a $7 bottle of BBW Waikiki Beach Coconut, it’s all fair game…..
SOTD: Memoir Woman. Oooooh. Good stuff. Enjoying this sample and will miss it when it’s gone. At this price point, it shall not be replaced! 🙂
Have a good weekend Y’all!!
One of these days I will organize a Memoir split!
DO it!
I know. I really should quit hoarding my samples so then I’ll have no choice 🙂
A little goes a long way, but I do not regret my very own FB purchase of this one.
I should have snagged while it was on FragranceNet, but yeah the 5ml or so I’ve got has lasted a really long time…
maybe keep an alert for fragrancenet return or partial ebay bottle?
I’ve seen Memoir in the travel set on Fragnet too. It’s quite a lot cheaper than a bottle.
Beautyspin.com has a good price for several Amouage perfumes.
Following Jada’s rationale, if it’s all good, then we should average out the price of whatever’s in our collection. We were just lucky to get some of them at a lower price. 🙂
Probably Escada Rockin’ Rio, which I loved in my pre-perfumista days. I was so thrilled when they re-released it, but it smells so much less juicy and vibrant than I remember. Can anyone comment on whether it’s my memory or the juice that’s at fault?
I remember that one but I haven’t smelled the new one so I have no idea if it’s the same or not. Maybe you’ve smelled so many better perfumes the Rockin’ Rio just doesn’t cut it anymore.
I guess I have no perfume shame, because I’ll admit to wearing whatever I’m wearing that day.
I’ll wear Shalimar one day, and follow it with Bath & Body Works PS I Love You the next day.
I’m like a lot of others who wrote today about telling non-perfume people how many scents I own, when they ask. It is a little embarrassing sometimes. Then I remember that I did not ask any of them for a penny to buy any of my fragrances.
Exactly! If you aren’t helping to pay for whatever it is, then you have no right to tell me what to buy.
HA! That is true..
So I guess the only person I shouldn’t tell is my partner :D!
I have hung on to my bottle of Avon Imari Seduction because sometimes you need a dose of purple. Most of my other guilty pleasures are minis or travel sprays, but I have quite a few from the days before I discovered interesting perfume
SOTD: Vanille Absolument. Snowing here!
Also looking for suggestions for my 12 year old son. He is starting to be interested in wearing something and I have informed him that Axe body spray will not cross our threshold. We stopped by Sephora and of course he was least offended by the sporty, aquatic things. Hubby doesn’t usually wear anything so no help there. Any good ideas for something that he can spray a couple of times without suffocating anyone? I am fun to loan him my Bvlgari Black for tonight’s Cotillion dance lesson, will see how that goes.
How about the Royall fragrances? Favorite used to be Royall Lyme, though I imagine it’s not as fab as it used to be. Type in “Royall fragrances” on Amazon, and you’ll see some options.
My grandfather used to wear Royall Lyme, and it was *lovely*. But that was back in the day.
I’ll send you a pack of Pour Homme stuff 🙂
My youngest son (he’s 16 now but started wearing perfume when he was 13 or so) loves Guerlain Homme, Terre de Hermes, and Bvlgari Black – he also wears vetivers like Guerlain Vetiver and Encre Noir. All available for good or at least decent prices at the online discounters.
Thanks for the suggestions! I will drag him to Sephora again and try a few more. I’d be happy to buy him a couple of bottles if it keeps the Axe at bay!
Any classic eau de cologne would be a great introduction. Also the Kenzos.
I don’t have many niche perfumes, but I am still learning. Like many of you I have mainstream purchases along side a few premium brands.
I do find that sometimes we can get a little obsessed with brands and the exclusivity of certain perfumes. You know what, I don’t care as long as it makes me feel good, I’ll wear it.
Today I wore Diptyque Vetyverio, and this evening, Clinique Happy, and it does exactly that, it is so uplifting and fresh.
However that said, I am enjoying the OJ sampler set acquired from the last swap meet.
Any favorites from the OJ sample set?
I’m not sure I have any truly guilty pleasures, but I do enjoy some simple cheapies that I never see mentioned on the blogs… I have several of the Elizabeth Arden Green Tea variants. Like Green Tea Exotic (which is black tea, actually) the best.
Suggested topic for a future lazy weekend poll: when you do a swap, what are the fragrances you own that are most commonly asked for? I am amused that folks almost always ask for the same frags from my list.
I like some of the Green Tea variants too (Green Tea Honeysuckle is really nice). I don’t think I’ve seen Green Tea Exotic but your description of it as a black tea scent makes me want to find some. I haven’t been in TJ Maxx or Marshall’s in a while, come to think of it…
I like the Honeysuckle one too 🙂
I’m glad you mentioned enjoying the Green Tea scents. I walked past a spring-time display of half a dozen of them last week thinking that since I liked but didn’t love the original I should skip the rest. I’m heading back to the mall soon to give them all a test. 🙂
I loved Green Tea! Reading this makes me wish I had kept a little.
So I’ve been wearing Dior Gris Montaigne the past couple of days because I find it both beautiful and oddly comforting. I’d worried about its lasting power with someone here a few weeks back, but its been standing up lately. I looked it up on-line to check the notes as I educate my nose, only to see it bashed here and there, with varying levels of ferocity. So a Dior becomes a guilty pleasure? It’s sweeter than what I usually wear, and not difficult, which is just what I’ve needed. It almost makes me swear off reading reviews, or at least certain ones. But then I wonder, why let them make me feel embarrassed by what I like, which the amazingly do? Thoughts on this?
I should add that there was also love for Gris Montaigne. Bois de Jasmin has a very nice review. And I should just learn to trust my nose!
Such a central question of perfume love–maybe love of anything? (Have you read Elif Batuman’s The Possessed? She has such a nice meditation on the question of, does studying and reading and immersing yourself in learning about something risk diminishing the enjoyment of it?) As for reviews, I do think at certain stages it can be useful to hold off reading them in order to make more space for your own reactions to things–I don’t know how long you’ve been into perfume, but I feel like in early stages, it’s really only natural that third-party opinions would have relatively more weight, just because one doesn’t have a big repertoire of countervailing opinions yet!
All that said, Persolaise, Bois de Jasmin and Perfume Posse all seem to have reviewed GM favorably, so maybe it’s simply a matter of–nothing’s going to be loved by everyone!
I’ll have to look for the book. I am an academic, and there are things I like to enjoy without knowing too much about them. I’ve only worn perfume for about ten years and it’s only become obsessive for the past year. It has become important for me because it takes me out of my head – or at least the non-nose part of my head. I read reviews mostly for ideas of things to try and I’ve learned a lot this way. As with anything, you find people whose tastes are close to yours and yet also push you a bit. And I don’t mind hearing disagreement, really, especially someone like Turin who is funny and despite how knowledgable he is, doesn’t demand to be taken too seriously. It’s the occasional moralizing dislike one sometimes comes across that bothers me, I think. This is pleasure, after all, right?
Ah, yes I am willing to make Elif’s book a blanket recommendation to all academics! In addition to being so smart and compelling, it’s also very funny–she writes about her experience in CompLit at Stanford, and I’ve never seen anyone capture the absurdities of graduate school so well as she does 🙂
Meanwhile, yes I don’t have much interest in the perfume police either–I’m with you that so much of the appeal of fragrance is in what a lift it is, and I can’t imagine why anyone would want to diminish that for others. The only caveat I might give is that the more I smell, the more sympathy I have for those who are genuinely concerned the art form is being diminished, and who wind up being very sharply critical of some recent offerings as a consequence. Even in view of some important exceptions, I do think there’s an argument to be made that across the industry, prices are trending upward while overall quality is going down, and I can understand the sense that that will only change if we resist it: clearly we can’t count on, say, Givenchy to maintain quality control out of the goodness of its heart. But it is tough balance to strike; I’m honestly not sure how one makes that critique without taking away from people who might be enjoying a fragrance now. I def have had my enjoyment of a perfume blunted by a scathing review of a reformulation, or a very unfavorable comparison to an older, no-longer-available fragrance, and that’s really a bummer.
Ah that makes sense. The price explosion does seem nuts and I can see the need for critical resistance. I also get the sense the IFRA restrictions were meant more to increase profits for the big labs than to protect consumers. So I will now read negativity as addressed the industry, not me!
And I’ll feel sad occasionally about things I’ll likely never get to smell. But there is so much to enjoy still. I just liberally sprayed Pichola, which inevitably costs too much, but smells so good!
Yes agree on all! I do think a good amount of the criticism really is intended for the industry (IFRA, where do we even start!) rather than any one person’s particular taste. And at the same time, I’m totally with you that the exceptions to negatives trends are so numerous that I personally have more than enough wonderful perfume to enjoy! This prompted me to go count: more than half my bottles are creations of the last ten years, and 90% from the last 20 years. So I definitely don’t want to suggest there’s nothing valuable going on in contemporary perfume, only that I’m troubled by the many less-good trends–for instance I do sort of weep to think of the difference between what I would have encountered if I’d walked up to the average department store fragrance counter 50 years ago versus what one finds today. (Precious, precious vintage Diorissimo!!) But I suppose inevitably there will be some disagreements about which is the good contemporary perfumery and which deserves rebuke!
I think Gris Montaigne is beautiful! The notes read like my greatest scent hits: bergamot, rose, patchouli, amber, cedar, sandalwood and oakmoss. I was gifted gallons of it by a very generous NSTer, but if I hadn’t I would have been sorely tempted to go in on a split at the next splitmeet. On me, it is very fleeting. And so like other favorite fleeting scents, I reapply without hesitation.
I have a largish decant, but feel like there will be more in my future!
Yip, sometimes I wish I could go back to the time before I thought of perfumes as being ‘good’ or ‘not good’. That faraway time when the smell either appealed or didn’t!
You still can! It’s not too late. In fact, I think all perfume lovers have those perfumes in our collections that we’ve been told we shouldn’t love, yet we still do.
I am a huge Gris Montaigne fan! It doesn’t get much love, but that’s ok. If you like it, that’s enough, right?
Hmm, I think my secret shame is more likely some classics I bought unsniffed and find I don’t greatly care for them. None very expensive, thank goodness. I’m waiting to see if they are better in warm weather; if not, the Autumn freebiemeet will be the place to go if you live in Europe and always wanted a bunch of Caron and John Varvatos stuff for free. I’ll be throwing in Baldessarini, Grès, and Romeo Gigli stuff if they also fail the Summer test, but I don’t feel guilty about them because they were just a punt that I always knew could be rubbish.
Oh, and my other secret shame is that I counted this morning and have just over 330 samples, every one acquired in the past 6 months and very few free. Add in minis, decants and FBs and I could wear a different scent every day for more than a year. What the blithering flip am I doing?! :^O
I had the same experience with some ‘classics,’ or perhaps even more shameful–with some 5 star rated scents I bought blind after reading The Guide. They say no one is more blind than a recent convert… With deep conviction I purchased Tocade, Badgley Mischka, Missoni, Tommy Girl….and others. Looking back, I don’t know what I was thinking. Luca and Tania would be the first to tell you their opinions are thoughtful, based on years of experience, and completely subjective!
You’re doing the same thing the rest of us crazies do 😉
I think my guilty pleasure is parallel to yours, Koenigsberg, but different–it’s that I don’t buy samples, only full bottles. I know all the sensible arguments about trying before buying, but I find that having anything sent from abroad to A-NZ is just boring–so expensive and time-consuming that I wilt at the thought that I might love a sample, then have to do it All Over Again to buy the bottle. If I feel guilt at all in connection with perfume, it’s because I don’t wait until I’m overseas so I can try things out. Actually, I just raised this point with the dear one over breakfast, and he looked mildly horrified. He said that if I bought perfumes only when I’m overseas, we’d need dedicated baggage for it….so, I rush in. I’ve had some disappointments: Wit, slightly, but that’s a problem with anosmia, but I’ve also some glories: Fate, anyone? Tom Ford Noir? Guilt is a very equivocal term when it comes to my perfume habit, I think.
I understand that to mean that your dear one is offering to have some customised luggage made for your future perfume collecting. A splendid idea! :^)
I’ll put this useful interpretation to him, and report back on what happens next…he’s befuddled but tolerant when it comes to my little habit, so he would quite probably accept a dedicated suitcase. The person who wouldn’t would be the customs officer at re-entry. We have a dreary law that limits overseas purchases to some ridiculously small amount like $700 before they attract duty. I quite possibly break it every time I come back to A-NZ…
My perfume list is on a spreadsheet. I am up to 450 items (mostly samples and minis) so I need even longer than you to wear them all. now that I have them logged, I’m writing comments on each after wearing so that I can give them away at the next opportunity.
I’m building a spreadsheet as I sample. I’ll won’t add all the unsampled stuff (until I have something much more important to procrastinate about, anyway. If I ever have to write a book or do 6 years back taxes, I’m sure I’ll end up cataloging perfumes instead).
I have a bunch of perfumes I loved in the 80s-90s. I still love them and even perceive them in the same way I did back then, as a single experience, without distinguishing notes. They are eternity, l’eau d’issey, probably a couple more I don’t recall at the moment. A lot of trash is said about them now, so probably I would feel sheepish if I cared
I still like the smell of CKOne!
I do, too! My older daughter used to wear it, and I’ve kept her half-full bottle in her room for an occasional spritz.
I went through a few bottles of CKone when it first came out. It was so different from the heavy scents that I had worn for years. I remember that I was walking through Filenes and saw a display that said it was a unisex scent. It was very intriguing to me at the time. I have no idea what it smells like now but I loved it at that time.
I love Rose Musc almost as much as I do Mohur Extrait… :-). Wearing Rose Muscle today.. it’s a good perfume to wear to the grocery store, since it can overwhelm almost anything else and I don’t care what the other shoppers think…. OMG, do you see what spellchcker did there? I am leaving it for everyone to have a giggle over…
Rose Muscle 😀 just fell from my chair 😉
Isn’t autocorrect fabulous sometimes?
Absolutely
Someone should do a Rose Muscle!
Yeah, why not?
Hey, listen while you guys are hanging out, can you find out if Rose Muscle is dating anyone right now, and maybe pass along my number? 😉
🙂
I’m going to re-name Nahema “Rose Muscle” and wear it with ripped jeans and my red boots!
I like Rose Musc more than Mohur Extrait, so there!
Ah, I figured I could depend upon you all to run with that, and you did not disappoint!
My guilty pleasure perfume would be a neroli water bought at local herb shop. It’s no particular brand, I just like to wear it when it’s really hot and I think even a lightest scent might be too much. That’s when a splash of this water is perfect.
By the way, yesterday I blind bought a bottle of Prada Purple Rain from Olfactories collection. Hope I will love it.
Sotd is another Prada, Infusion d’Homme.
No need to feel guilty about the neroli water. Floral waters are a classic choice and so useful for those really hot days.
True
This must be the first blind buy for you, Lucas! I think we’re in Mercury retrograde!
Not first, but there were not many on my perfumista road. But it’s Prada and it’s iris so… you know! 😉
The bags those Olfactories bottles come in are so beautiful, I can’t blame you.
I think mine will be without as it was much cheaper than boutique price
I refuse to be shamed for having opinions! Thus I have a bottle of Burberry the Beat. Granted, I got it years ago as a present, long before I learned about niche fragrances and start thinking more about my scents than “Does this smell pleasant?” However, I do not need to justify myself.
I also, as someone who did her most formative growing up in the ’00s, listen to Britney Spears, and would listen to *NSYNC if they still made music.
If trashy beach novelists were capable of forming decent sentences, I’d read those novels, too. I claim all of these things with pride and feel no guilt over my taste.
Yes! !!
I own plenty of stuff that might be considered embarrassing on the perfume blogs but my feeling is if it smells good, wear it. I’ve got Tabu, Love’s Baby Soft, a bunch of Avon fragrances, on the low end of the spectrum. I’ve also got some expensive ones that I wouldn’t want to tell people the price of but it’s my money to spend as I wish so there’s no guilt there either.
Guess what? I thought things would settle down a bit after having to put Mel to sleep a few weeks ago but I jinxed myself it seems. I have another sick dog. We have had a bad two weeks to the point where Stanley was unable to walk and not eating. It was awful. The short story is its good I know my dogs and my long list of symptoms pointed the vet in the right direction and we got the right tests done and we have a diagnosis. Remember I had a dog with Cushing’s disease? Well, now I have one with the exact opposite, Addison’s disease.
He’s not back to his old self but his condition is improving since he got his first injection and some daily dosing of prednisone. I’ve spent a fortune at the vet, my chances of getting to Sniffa are now slim to none which depresses me, and my no buy has been thrown out the window because I need retail therapy.
SOTD is Unknown Pleasures.
Sorry to read it. At least Addison should be manageable. Let me know if I can provide some sample therapy!
I still owe you some samples which I hope to get to maybe today.
I’m sorry to hear about your animal troubles, but I’m glad Stanley is doing better.
Oh Poodle! At least you found out what’s wrong a d there’s a treatment for it!
Yeah, all things considered, we have a diagnosis and it is treatable more so than some of the other things I’ve been dealing with here so I’m happy about that.
Poodle, I’m so sorry! Hope things smooth out for you soon.
So sorry, Poodle.
Oh I’m so sorry about the sick pup.
So sorry about Stanley. Hope the treatment for him goes well. ❤️
Thanks everyone. He’s still not as perky as I’d like but he is a lot better than he was a week ago. His performance enhancing drugs appear to be helping.
Oh, so sorry! But glad you got a quick diagnosis and can begin treatment for him quickly. You definitely deserve some scent therapy.
Sending healing vibes to Stanley
I’m so sorry 🙁 I hope Stanley gets better quickly!
I feel a flash of guilt whenever I enjoy a Penhaligon’s scent. They’re not very interesting and they’re over-priced, so I wonder if I’m really just enjoying the pretensions.
Anyway, I’m in Vaara today. I thought I’d take the week to give my rose perfumes some air (any excuse, honestly!). Rosewater, citrus, and tea-y carrot seeds.
I think the lovely Penhaligon’s bottles are a very legit pleasure even if I too mostly don’t find the fragrances interesting. In any case, if it assuages your guilt, note that they’re often available at substantial price reductions, via online discounters! 🙂
Yes, I feel NO guilt about enjoying the bottles and, well, frankly I’ve never liked anything enough to purchase a full bottle (I have a set of minis that I got on deep discount). So my guilt is really just a twinge.
Although, I’ve never tried Elixir and I really enjoy and admire Giacobetti’s work, so my distance and disdain might be challenged if I ever do encounter that one.
Confession: even as a Giacobetti superfan, I don’t like Elixir! So maybe you’ll escape with your view of Penhaligon’s intact 🙂
Whereas Elixir is the only Penhaligon’s I’d really like to own! But have not smelled a new bottle since it came out, don’t know how it has held up through IFRA.
Even not liking Elixir, I can see that–I did find it more substantial than a lot of the others I’ve tried from the line. (And I own a bottle of Lavandula! but I never wear it. Sigh.)
This helps me strategize my perfume-trying, so thanks! 😉
That’s too bad about the Penhaligon’s, I’d been hoping that Endymion might fit my coffee-lavender craving! I might still try it, just on the off chance that it’s a standout from the rest of the line.
For a coffee ‘n lavender hit try get some Dior Eau Noire (off course you need to like immortelle…)
Thanks, Merlin! It went straight to my to-test list 🙂
I’m a fan of Penhaligon’s. However, I felt their longevity didn’t justify the price. But since they’ve hit the online discounters, I’ve bought four (hehehe.) And I’m a happy camper! Elixir is my fav, Juniper Sling comes in second.
Today I am wearing Viktoria Minya Hedonist Rose. This is not my guilty pleasure, as it’s a lovely light rose perfume and the bottle and packaging are so very beautiful. I don’t need to be guilty about wearing this one.
I will admit, though, to liking a couple of scents that other perfumistas might never consider wearing. One is Debbie Gibson Electric Youth. It’s fruity and it’s hard to pick out any particular flowers in the floral part of it. I noticed an online discounter had some recently and was happy to buy a small bottle and have been happily enjoying it. Another one (purchased for a very low price at a drug store) is Jean Arthes Green Tea Cherry Blossom. The spray mechanism is cheap and the top of it pops off often. The juice is candy pink colored. But it does have a powdery tobacco note that is really nice.
Oh my gosh, Electric Youth! Not only did I own some, but I distinctly remember the scent obviously wafting around the arena at a Debbie Gibson concert!
I talked myself out of blind buying Hedonist Rose several times when Luckyscent had it on sale. I’m almost afraid to see if they still have it. I like my roses light and sparkling and think I would probably love it but I don’t NEED it. I have a very long wishlist of things I’ve actually tried.
I am embarrassed to admit but my guilty pleasure if Flowerbomb. I have drained a full bottle in no time a couple of years ago, together with the body oil. Now I just limit myself to the samples of it and a couple of minis.
Don’t be embarrassed. You smell gorgeous. When I think back to when that fragrance hit the market, there really was nothing like it. Sweeter, less citrus, more tea than Coco Mademoiselle, more complex than Aquolina Pink Sugar, less patchouli-laden than Angel, with a very lovely rose in its foundation. Some fragrances get a bad wrap by user-overuse- Flowerbomb seems like a victim of such circumstance. Have a tiny bottle, now amber yellow with age, in the back of my storage closet. Every once in a while, I pull it out, spritz, and think, Dang! Why don’t I wear this more often? Big complement-getter as well- at least in my neck of the woods. : )
Agreed on the Flowerbomb! It’s a crowd-pleaser and scrumptious in its own way. My tiny little minis have turned from age now, but it was delicious while it lasted, and suited my needs just fine at the time.
Yes, Flowerbomb! In the same vein in my collection as Miss Dior Cherie, LPRN – there is something in them that I crave every so often. It’s almost like not smelling like myself.
In a similar way, J’Adore. I realize that I haven’t worn it in a while and I love it. I have vintage, current, L’absolu, l’Or, Voile (don’t really like that one) and I guess I stopped wearing it because it doesn’t find much love on the blogs. I moved on to so many other scents. Because of this topic, I’m going to try both of these this week and lose the ‘tude!
I always sniff Flowerbomb when I am in an airport! It makes me laugh for some reason, which is much needed while traveling.
Joining the masses on Flowerbomb … although I’m not sure why we all feel it’s a guilty pleasure. (To be clear, I DO feel a little bit guilty about loving it so much.) I’ve been trying to lose the ‘tude (along with Princess Tonk) for some time, to no avail. It doesn’t help that one of my coworkers, who has questionable taste in many areas, wears Flowerbomb a lot. Sigh.
I love Flowerbomb! Always will????
Continuing the Sophia Grojsman theme, my SOTD is a few dabs of Sun Moon Stars from my sister’s old mini. I think the top notes were a bit damaged…
Guilty pleasures? I usually have a BBW Moonlight Path fragrance mist on hand. And Victoria’s Secret Very Sexy, which got a 1-star rating and a verdict of “sour metallic” in the Guide. Well, I don’t get sour or metallic, and I love it on myself, dangit!
BBW Moonlight Path is actually a very nice floral aldehyde, and I love floral aldehydes. Sort of a poor perfumista’s Chanel no. 5. I don’t wear it as a perfume, but I do have the room spray as well as bath products.
I agree on Moonlight Path. The body products actually blend very nicely with No. 5.
Ah, good to know.
Hmm, I don’t get aldehyde from it…so far as I can tell. It’s very powdery on me, and I love the lavender/violet notes. I use the mist because it’s light and great for spritzing shirts and linens. The shower gel’s great, too.
PS.
Oh, how could I forget!? I have to own up: Obsession! (It goes very powdery on me.) Just one spritz.
You’ve just reminded me that I own a bottle of Victoria’s Secret Dream Angels Heavenly Flowers. I’m pretty sure nobody has even bothered to review this absurd peony and fruit flanker. You have nothing to be ashamed of 😉
????
I’m not exactly sure how to articulate my feelings about Very Sexy, but I *will* say that I own the body spray, lotion, and a mini EDP 🙂
Excellent!
I have a small bottle of Very Sexy that was given to me and I don’t think it’s that bad at all. I also bought Bombshell in the body mist because that scent is supposedly good at repelling mosquitos.
I don’t think it’s bad either; I think it smells really good (just linear)! Somehow I doubt ‘insect repellent’ is what they were aiming for with Bombshell! ????
A guilty pleasure for me would be wearing a perfume from a company that i discovered had bad politics, a bad employment or environmental record, or discriminated against a certain group. So, a couple of months back there was the Guerlain heavy handedness ( over use of the name ) that put me off supporting that house. At the moment I have problems with Lush because some of the way their women’s products cost significantly more than the men’s despite the ingredients being the same…so I would think twice about buying from them.. I find little ( or big) things like this niggle at me and taint my ability to wear a scent…In the way that buying caged hen eggs or palm oil would.
Slept badly last night as we had a ruru …morepork ( native owl) outside. It was a) noisy and b) i had to get up to try and see it as it is very exciting (didn’t see it). Will wear Lale again.
Hope you saw the update — the Guerlain / Monsieur Guerlain thing had NOTHING to do with his use of the name, and he took his own blog down, they never had anything to do with it.
They did file complaints that took down his social media accounts, but they also helped him get them restored — all they meant to do was suppress information about upcoming releases. Anyway, his blog is back and so is his facebook account.
Oh interesting. Thanks for this précis, it was hard to keep up with the debate about it.
Interesting and thanks! ‘Jumping to the wrong conclusions and taking the moral high ground ‘ could well be another of my guilty secrets!!
Ah there is nothing secret about my guilt here!
Good to know and interesting that this has been less visible than the initial story – or perhaps I just missed it.
Agree – heard lots on the original, but never heard of this development 😀
Regarding a moral stance on perfume – I think that would restrict one to a very small group of brands. Although the US has so many indie perfumers, this may not be a problem there.
As far as I know, Lush and Crabtree&Evelyn are among the few that don’t do animal testing…
Body Shop doesn’t do animal testing, but they are now owned by a company which does.
Any brand which sells in China, does test on animals as it is otherwise illegal there.
The first story, with lots of jumping to conclusions before any facts were presented, was widely reported on blogs and social media. The real story — Monsieur Guerlain finally posted it quietly on Facebook after everything was settled, and that was not reported at all anyplace that I saw. It is most unfortunate.
We are asked to remove material about upcoming releases all the time. I consider it part of the territory and hate to see it used as grounds to stir up animosity towards a brand.
My guilty pleasures are some duplicates made by a company named D&P. These are cheap duplicates of known perfumes and they are available in some european cities i think, my friend sends them to me from Turkey. My favorite is the Aromatics Elixir one, i prefer actually this one to the original, it is lighter. I also have Coco, j’adore duplicates that are great and now I am curious about the Obsession.
My guilty pleasure is that Turkish lemon scented stuff that they give you on bus rides there. Not great, but such a pick-me-up!
I know what you are talking about. It is the Pereja cologne. I sometimes buy it here in Montreal in a turkish market.
Let’s see. My Tresor lotion for one. Since no one else seems to like Tresor anymore.
Shalini for another. I didn’t buy the fancy bottle, but it’s still way more than I should have spent. However, I love it. It would just be difficult to explain why I would spend that kind of money on a fragrance to anyone outside this forum.
I don’t feel guilty about much else – other than having a few bottles that I shouldn’t have bought as they didn’t work out. But the swap and freebiemeets here are helping me with those!
Before I truly got into fragrance as “a thing,” I would buy and happily wear things that, to my nose today, aren’t up to snuff – Lanvin Eclat d’Arpege, Hanai Mori Butterfly, Bvlgari Amethyste, Cool Water Woman, etc…
And it’s not that I’m embarrassed about them. They are a part of my fragrance journey and, who knows, without them as gateway scents? Maybe I wouldn’t be wearing Dzing! and Mito these days.
Long story long, this morning, before I ever pulled up this website, I saw that it was raining outside and wanted something comforting.
Hanai Mori Butterfly FTW. Unabashedly.
*Hanae Mori
I like Hanae Mori.
I just bough the HM pure perfume because it was so discounted. I figured it would be better than the EDT or the EDP. Boy was I wrong. Can either of you tell me which version of this scent is best? I think it was reformulated since the last time I sniffed it.
I have plain old EDT.
Hmm. I sampled the parfum from… TPC maybe? couple of years ago, can’t remember… and I liked it, but I don’t know if there was a refo. My daughter has about a squillion of the edt spray samples, and every now and then I steal one.
I like it, too, though my impression has always been that I’m in the minority. Vanilla/berry notes tend to be something people either love or hate.
But, yeah, it’s comforting and warm and it’s lasted all day on me today, in the rain, in the garden, and even through giving my toddler a bath. That can’t be beat.
Well, I always feel a bit sheepish about my bottle of Philosophy Falling in Love. It was the first bottle of perfume I ever bought for myself, way back when, and I still think it smells thoroughly good, if thoroughly simple, and find it very gladdening. To me it’s a very true, sun-warmed blackberry scent, without the cloying artificiality of most fruity/berry scents, and it reminds me of summertime, of the teeny cabin I lived in up in the mountains when I bought it, of taking Mason jars of gin and tonic down to the river to skinny dip. 🙂
Wonderful memories. I still like Falling in Love as well and you have good reasons!
That was one of my favorites when it first came out. My all time embarrassing favorite from back in the day was VS Vanilla Lace. I got TONS of compliments when I wore that back in the 90’s. I layered the shower gel, lotion, and body spray and boy! it used to be SO GOOD! But the lotion discolored everything! I was at work one day and a physician ask me if I had carotonemia! But I didn’t care- LOVED IT!
That is a glorious story! Thanks for the smile.
Gosh, you make it sound really good. I will have to keep an eye out for a bottle to sniff! Philosophy is one of the few drugstore+ beauty brands I can usually find in stores around town.
You know I have a certain affection for Philosophy Amazing Grace–I was on an airplane once where the bathroom was stocked with AG soap and lotion, and gosh was I thrilled to have something cut through the awful airplane smell! I try it on occasionally when I see it–haven’t ended up buying any but I keep wanting to recreate just how good it smelled to me in that moment!
Gosh, that sounds like a rather nicer airplane than the type I’m generally on! I like the Amazing Grace shower gel — that soapy cleanness works really well as, well, soap! I brought a wee bottle to the hospital to shower with after my son was born (but then felt too trashed to take a shower while I was there).
Oh that’s so smart–yes the soaply clean quality would make for a perfect soap, I had never put that together! Too funny. But as for the airplane, I promise that what made the appearance of these Philosophy products so welcome was that it was otherwise decidedly not a nicer air travel experience!! 🙂
I don’t really have any guilty pleasures, although I feeling a little sheepish admitting to wearing”Bollywood or Bust”, sheerly from the name.
In Vetiver Pour Elle on a beautifully sunny day. Going on a date with Bachelor #3 from the dating site, whose only glaringly obvious flaw so far is a stated dislike of perfume. I am lightly spritzing, but I am going to work through each and every perfume in my collection, darn it.
Hope you have great time!
Good luck, and how could anyone dislike VPE?
Maybe he likes _a_ perfume. He hasn’t smelled all of them. Yet.
Good luck!
Good luck! He may not know what he’s talking about.
My husband almost didn’t get a second date when he told me he didn’t like cats, and this morning I watched him carry Doolittle around and babble about her cute little pink toes and spotted tummy.
I love to hear conversion stories!
I have to admit I still wear Light Blue on occasion (its left over from when I didn’t know better and brings back happy memories), and I recently bought an adorable little bottle of La Petite Robe Noir Couture that I enjoyed the heck out of this winter.
Today I am wearing Joy EDT – what a fabulously indolic jasmine note!
I adored the original version of LPRN! I lost it on a trip and by then it had been reformulated. I was so sad.
I never feel bad in any way for liking anything cheap or mainstream, in fact I always rejoice when it happens – a lot of the time I wear Chanel exclusifs or Tom Ford or Arquiste (or even Jo Malone) and I don’t want to seem like a boring perfume snob. I don’t think I am, my taste is very ecclectic, but I do often gravitate towards polished perfumes and stylish branding. Being a boring bottle snob is a much bigger fear for me than being cheap or unrefined.
Ah this. I have battling fears of being a perfume snob and being boring — the two don’t always play well with each other. I am going to embrace everyone’s insouciance and love what I love!
I don’t think anyone’s likely to think you boring or a snob; your taste just matches the fact you *are* polished and stylish!! I, on the other hand, have tastes that gravitate to the polished when that’s the last thing anyone would describe me as! ???? C’est la vie.
My guilty pleasures are music, not necessarily perfumes (if fact, I seem to be a very biased perfume snob, upon reflection!). But my bad music? Hoo boy! I’ll proclaim it though. I was in the record store today (got a 2xLP remix set of Tori Amos’s Jackie’s Strength for $2! Mostly for the cover of her made up by Kevyn Aucoin.) and bonded with the salesgirl over Enya. Loud and proud!
Also just tried an Italian dessert wine that smelled so close to My Sin I was shocked. I’ll be wearing that next time my sommelier is in.
A wine that smells like My Sin sounds really interesting. I’m curious to know what it was.
http://www.malvira.com/pagine/eng/vini_mavira/vini_bianchi_white_wines/renesium.lasso
So delicious!
I should add: my sommelier is not sure how easy this will be to find retail.
Thanks!
Ha! I secretly download not-so-great or bad music onto my phone or listen to it through Spotify. My person is a world champion music snob, so I have to sneak the Nashville soundtrack by him and listen on my own.
My boyfriend is veeeeery snobby about music. He’ll turn of some of my music in the car! So I try to always have some of his favorites on hand.
I don’t generally feel much guilt about liking what I like, especially perfume-wise. I enjoy finding things that are inexpensive that I like. It makes me feel like I’m some kind of bargain hunting genius 😀 . I also don’t really like the idea of feeling that one shouldn’t like something that one enjoys, though I’m not immune myself. There can be a certain defiant glee in loving a perfume that didn’t get much love in the community. For example, I love me some Mahora, and I do get the sense that it wasn’t much loved in its short lifetime. Maybe thought of as a bit vulgar/trashy? I won’t call it a guilty pleasure because I feel no guilt about it.
And in honor of today’s poll I’m wearing Lady Gaga Fame. I bought it on a whim at Ross for $10 or so, and while I don’t super love it, I can’t really say I dislike it, and I’m enjoying it more than I remembered doing.
I love Mahora!!! When I read Luca’s scathing review I wanted to stick out my tongue at The Guide. So I bought a backup bottle.
Ahhh, guilt, the gift that keeps on giving.
It’s SO fascinating to read these comments. Thanks to those who reminded me I liked Love’s Baby Soft as a girl. SO pink! I need to get a new bottle just for the simple happiness I’ll get from looking at it. If it smells nice too then that’s a double win.
Inexpensive guilty pleasure – PW Tea Rose – how can something that smells perfectly like a Rose be so inexpensive? It’s maddening . . . but not really. It would sell for much more in another bottle with another label. Ahem.
Can’t wear it because it’s old guilty pleasure – Oscar by Oscar de la Renta – I laugh at my 20-something self wearing it day after day without caring if anyone was bothered. Recently I couldn’t resist buying an inexpensive and decades-old bottle just so I could sniff it from time to time. I should wear it more often.
Newbie guilty pleasure – Jour d’Hermes – I loved it when I tried it right after it was released. I had recently rekindled my interest in fragrance, so I was sad when it seemed like Jour was given the heave-ho by many who tried it. I thought, “Oh NO, I don’t know anything about what’s good or bad.” I still love Jour d’Hermes, and I am wearing it today.
My mom has worn Oscar (as one of her scents) as long as I can remember. It smells great on her year-round.
I’m glad Oscar still gets some love. I tried a tester at a department store recently, and it was bad, really heart-breakingly awful. I think it was stale from sitting near the hot lights in the display case for who knows how many months or years. I need to seek out a fresh bottle to test the next time I visit the shopping mall and department stores. 🙂
Do try again! My mom’s gotten a new travel spray and FB recently, and they all smell as I remember it (and she doesn’t seem to notice any change either).
I’ve seen many perfumistas comment that they wear and love Jour d’Hermes tiffanie. I think it’s more that it’s not the newest scent anymore and we’re a fickle lot. ????
I really think that’s the truth. I was just thinking about how there used to be a lot more conversation about Ineke, but it’s been a while since those came out and discussion has substantially quieted.
(For the record, I think Jour is very good perfume–the Absolu happens to be more my style personally, but I’ve recommend the original to several friends who were looking for an elegant floral.)
Have you tried the gardenia Jour d’Hermes? I can’t find it here but am curious about it.
FWIW, I have tried it and it did not make a very lasting impression on me. But then, I’m not a huge gardenia fan anyway so I may not be the best judge.
Jour is apparently doing VERY well for Hermes and as kind of a snob I think it’s wonderful. Ive drained my bottle!
I think it’s JCE’s style itselfas polarizing, not necessarily Jour’s charms.
I like Tea Rose, too, although it has such a long half-life and atomic strength, I’ve found it works better as a room spray–for the next room over–rather than as a personal fragrance. But catching a whiff of it is pleasant!
I use Tea Rose the same way. It is almost too powerful on skin but smells wonderful at a distance.
I also love Jour d’Hermes, fwiw. Love every single stage of its development. Sometimes nothing else will do! 🙂
I have a huge bottle of Tea Rose! I do think it smells a lot more like rose than a gazillion more expensive rose perfumes. On the other hand, it is a little on the shrill side. Great on sheets 🙂
I have some Henri Bendel scents that I like in the summer, especially the Pink Grapefruit and Vetiver, which is so CRISP it is best worn when it is the trip H threat…hazy, hot and humid.
By the way, my husband commented this morning (as I had him sniff Ostara on my arm) that he thought what I put on yesterday was wonderful. He could lightly smell it throughout the apartment. It took me a minute, then I remembered it was the SG creation Nude.
It’s hard to beat Nude in terms of great-smelling good sillage.
Hmmm….so many. Well not guilty exactly. I just feel a bit sheepish about posting on the days that I wear them. I have high-low taste and like a range of scents from fruity florals to chypre’s. I have several perfumes that don’t get much love including Kate Walsh Boyfriend, Jimmy Choo (love me some patch), Chanel Beige (large decant), Moulin Rouge, Lipstick Rose (small decant), L’Instant and Alaia Paris ( the latter two were both gifts from a wonderful friend). Alaia got nice reviews on some blogs and not so much on others. I find it very pretty and wearable. Also, Vanille Violet by Lawrence Dumont, an inexpensive powdery violet vanilla scent that I like to wear for sleep.
I wore a new sample of Florist’s Fridge by smell bent today because Mals said it was good and it was! Thanks Mals!
Boyfriend is really good, it reminds of the discontinued Organza Indecency. I like it a lot, though the bottle is silly
I have a vintage partial bottle of OI from the Bay too! They are very similar? ????
Well, similar enough to really like Boyfriend for me ????
Fat fingers, the “?” was a typing error.
FWIW, I found them pretty unrelated, so YMMV.
I think your nose is better than mine. I do find Boyfriend and OI somewhat similar. Also, I have allergies almost year round so I’m sure that affects my impressions.
Or I’m just unreasonable and arbitrary! 🙂 I confess I’m not an OI fan, and I wonder if that skews my impression–maybe OI fans tend to like Boyfriend but liking Boyfriend doesn’t guarantee you’ll like OI?
Or maybe the OI I have has gone off a bit?
I had a bottle of OI that one day just completely turned…was quite a shock to me, at that time I did not know anything about perfumes and just assumed they lasted forever. And, of course, it got discontinued in the meanwhile…I did not know perfumes could be discontinued either, or just did not think about it.
Isn’t it a shame about the bottle?! Such good perfume in such dumb packaging.
The bottle doesn’t bother me because I keep my perfumes in their boxes and in a cabinet. I think this scent was marketed to a younger demographic.
I think you’re totally right that age really shaped–and maybe, hampered–how Boyfriend was marketed. I feel like the scent is pretty adult and sophisticated, and definitely the attached celebrity is a grown-up, but I wonder if they felt like even so, celebrity scents could only be marketed to the teen crowd. It’s too bad, I wonder if it would have stuck around longer if they’d pitched it at a different audience, esp one more in line with the product they were actually selling.
Is Boyfriend discontinued too?
So I hear, alas!
Ooh, I should have confessed my general affection for fruity perfume, very much including fruity-florals.
I like florals too. I think that for most people there are probably at least a few scents in every category that they will like. Fox example, I am not crazy about Vetiver and I am very allergic to it. However, when it’s well blended into a scent and not a major player, I have found that it can really enhance a perfume. I really appreciate Sycamore and Encre Noir but I can’t wear either.
Which fruity perfumes do you like?
Oh I’m so glad you asked–how much time do you have?? 😉 Probably my two favorites are Blackberry & Bay and Bombay Bling, but I also love vintage J’Adore, the ur-fruity-floral! I also like vintage Tresor, which has both fruit and flowers even if it’s denser than the platonic fruity-floral ideal. And then I like a lot of fig perfumes, Jardin en Med, Wild Fig & Cassis, Fico di Amalfi. L’Ombre dans l’eau is arguably a fruity floral; I def think of the Amazing Grace we were just mentioning as a fruity floral, even though I guess it’s advertised as floral citrus; Ineke Scarlet Larkspur, Rosine Rose d’Ete. The new Hermes Rose Amazone. Champs-Elysee which I know means I’m probably giving Guerlain diehards a heart attack 🙂 I didn’t wind up loving it in the end, but something about Especially Escada did initially appeal to me… whew, it’s good to get this off my chest 😉
Your list is impressive and fun! I only know three of your favs, Scarlet Larkspur, I gave Ineke’s floral curiosities sampler to a few of my nieces as gifts – a big hit. Also Jardin Un Med. and Tresor, which I have ‘t smelled in years.
Are the figs you like more about sweet fruit or green leaves and unripe milkiness? I do not know any of the figs on your list ????. As far as figs go, my recent discovery is Debaser by DS and Durga, love it.
Petunia–it’s my firm belief that one should get as much fun as possible from fruit perfumes! 🙂 Def do try the Jo Malones, I think they do a nice job with fruit in perfume–Pomegranate Noir qualifies too. If you like mangoes, Bombay Bling is just smashing. The Rosine’s really good too. Some of the others are maybe a little iffier, but I enjoy them 🙂
Natalya–all of the ones I mentioned are pretty sweet fruity, but I also like the other fig style, especially Philosykos, and I feel like there’s a recent Kiehl’s that nice too. I’ll have to keep an eye out for the DS & Durga!
CH-I love Philosykos too, I find Debaser is in the same vein, but I think of Philosykos as more elegant, and of Debaser as more boisterous and fun. Another one I have is Neela Vermeire Ashoka. I have three in broadly same style, I guess it means I like fig 🙂
I am glad to see another Jimmy Choo fan, I love it, especially in the winter. The lotion is very good too,. The smell is the same, plus moisturizing.
I have the lotion too lillyjo. While JC comes on strong, it doesn’t last. I’ve found it really helps extend it’s lasting time.
SOTD = Guerlain Cuir Beluga
Guilty pleasures
– I decant perfumes (extraits to be more precise) that are meant to be dabbed into atomizers so I can spray away in a cloud of goodness.
– When discovery packs or individual samples come in dab vials, I almost always buy multiples so that I can empty them into atomizers.
– Swapping and giving freebies – these are guilty pleasures only from the standpoint that my family does not know the extent of how far down I’ve fallen into the rabbit hole. My nephew helps me with some chores, including shredding stuff. He came across PayPal mailing label receipts and asked if I sold things on eBay (I have on occasion but the receipts were from swaps and freebies); I gave him a vague answer.
I have often thought of decanting my Bois des Iles parfum into a sprayer. It just doesn’t last long enough dabbed which is why I always layer it with the EDT. It’s a good idea.
<3 <3 <3 to all of this 🙂
I love atomizers so much more than dabbing! Best decision I’ve made in this regard was decanting some Iris Silver Mist into one. Sadly all the atomizers I’ve used crap out rather quickly. Any preference there?
For samples, I use 3mL glass atomizers with natural/clear sprays from SKS bottles. I just ordered and received 3mL glass atomizers with black sprays from Bestbottles. For decanting more special perfumes, I use Nordstrom travel sprays that come in many different colors.
Hate dabbing and have just started doing your number 2! Obtaining multiple dabbers and putting them in an atomizer. I also put Boxeuses and ISM in a spray for maximum coverage.
One thing I do like is a roller ball for sleep. That way I can lavishly apply to my outer and inner wrist and hand so that I smell it without gassing my bed partner.
I have the exact same bell jars (+ De Profundis and Fourreau Noir) and they get sprayed too! No bed-time perfumes for me — I need some space to recharge my batteries.
I have wondered if or when I’ll get nose fatigue! I often don’t have much of anything on as I work at home in the morning, but I’ve found that the right thing really helps me sleep and I have fewer bad dreams.
“I gave him a vague answer” ????????
Azuree. The first perfume I fell in love with–I may not have found any I love more.
The only reason I feel a bit guilty wearing Azuree is that I imagine everyone thinks I’m a smoker!
In an interview with More magazine (April 2016), actress Susan Sarandon discusses wearing fragrance to create a character:
“Every time I do a film, I get a scent for my character. For Sister Helen [in Dead Man Walking] it was Jean Naté, because she definitely would have been wearing that perfume, and for Doris Duke [in the HBO film Bernard and Doris] it was Bond No. 9 New Haarlem perfume, because she went to Harlem a lot and it was a very sexy smell. But for daily use, I like Acqua di Colonia Eva, by Santa Maria Novella, because it has the same name as my daughter.”
Do you remember the film Atlantic City…and the lemon juice scenes? That was a good film. I like the way perfume can draw out character. The problem is knowing which character you are playing on any given day.
Exactly! 🙂
Yes she’s killing the fish smell from her job. Such a good detail.
Oh nice! I remember liking Eva the one time I smelled it.
Guilt? Nah. Well, occasionally about dollars spent. I don’t think I get asked about perfumes I’m wearing often enough to be have anyone suspect their cost.
BTW, the special about Gloria Vanderbilt (with Anderson Cooper) is on HBO tonight, not CNN as I noted earlier. 9 pm Eastern.
Enjoy the weekend, all.
Thanks for the heads up, SicilianaNC. I don’t even know why I subscribe to HBO! I had to look all over for the channel. It was well-timed with the New York Times Book Review on the book by he Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt The Rainbow Comes and Goes?
Did you catch what was said about the crayon / childish drawings in several segments of the show?
Oohh i have many guilty pleasures!
I was almost ashamed of my crush on the new tacky version of Roberto Cavalli until Kafkaesque admitted she loved it, then I even bought a full bottle 🙂 It’s delightfully bronzed skinned Euro trash in head to toe animal print!
And Versace Crystal Noir. And I just bought a discounted bottle of Micheal Kors Luminous White Gold- and actually told the SA it was for a gift!!! lol!!
Perthgirl, I really like Crystal Noir too. I don’t wear it often, but when I do, I sort of stretch my back so I’m a couple of millimetres taller, I paint my lips with something scarlet and organise myself some cleavage… it makes wonder about getting something in an animal print, but I fear that Dakkie and Izzy would think I am insensitive…it’s not a complicated or sophisticated perfume, but that’s really kinda nice sometimes.
Afterthought: so, I just had a little spritz of CN, ‘cos my expensive morning perfume has politely bowed itself into non-existence. I wanted something this afternoon to counteract what autumn is up to out there: a smiling sky turned into a cold grey day, and then, out of pure badness, some pointless city rain joined the party.. CN is perfect for the mean weather. It’s loud and noticeable, but such FUN, like a friend who has three drinks too many and then gets everyone in the restaurant up and dancing and saying they can’t remember when they last had such a good time. tyank you for reminding me of it, Perthgirl.
Our weather here is finally deciding to be autumn too- except that it’s 29° and raining. My perfume choice was in a similar vein- Manoumalia. CN could well fill the same role with it’s loud tropical vibe.
I love Crystal Noir! I like to pretend sometimes that I am this sultry, care-free presence
I loved reading everyone’s guilty pleasures while trying to think of my own. It turns out that I don’t really think I have any guilty pleasure scents. What I DO have is the compulsive and shameful tendency to seek out fragrances places where the fragrances really don’t have much business being good OR good quality. For example, the grocery store, souvenir shops, and clothing stores (though the J.Crew+Arquiste collaboration was a fantastic exception to the rule). It’s driven by my dream of finding an inexpensive gem that I can actually sample in person, but has mostly just caused disappointment.
No guilty pleasures here as well: unless my choice physically affects somebody around me, if I like perfume I do not care what others think about it and I won’t try to hide my “likes.” What I am guilty of is actually hiding some of my “dislikes”: I do not share my thoughts about some indie perfumes because I do not want to harm them in any way.
My admission of guilt is above and I have nothing else to add at this time. Any further questions may be addressed to my legal team.
SOTD over the weekend:
Yesterday I started pre-shower with the remnants of Creed “Silver Mountain Water”, and after showering with what was meant to be the main scent, Montale’s “Bois Fruité”. This was almost extravagantly useless, so later I switched to Arquiste Nanban.
Today I had Hermès “Rose Ikébana” before showering, and now I’m packing for the week ahead wearing Histoire des Parfums “Rosam”. This rose oud has started out nicely enough, although now I think of it, it reminds me of Czech & Speake’s “Dark Rose”, which I tired of before finishing a FB. Let’s see how it lasts and develops. As part of packing I’ve chosen 6 other perfumes to give a full week of roses.
Next week is my last week in my London-based contract. Up next, a 2-week holiday break and then the search for the next contract – business as usual for us freelancers! :^)
Your lifestyle sounds so exciting but it must be exhausting too. I’m such a homebody so your lifestyle is the polar opposite of how I live.
I really enjoy reading your posts. Particularly this week. I love rose scents and can’t wait to see what you come up with. Enjoy your time off.
Thanks Petunia. I actually lead a completely blameless and dull life, which from time to time makes me question myself.
For example, I’m handing over now to a permanent replacement in Poland, and when he was over in London 2 weeks ago we went into the centre one evening. Took the tube to Westminster, so we came out directly opposite Big Ben, and walked him all the way up Whitehall past the ministries and Whitehall Palace to Trafalgar Square, then up bookshop-and-theatre-lined Charing Cross Road and through Soho Square to eat at a very stylish dim sum place on Berwick Street, and finished with another walk up Great Portland Street past the old 1930s BBC building and Gerogian crescents at Regents Park and back to Euston. But my point is this – I’ve been working in London 6 months and a bit, and this was one of only 3 evenings I went into the centre and certainly the one where I saw most sights. I meet some friends in more outlying places occasionally, and otherwise it’s been working in an office in Canary Wharf (high rise business district built in the 1980s in the old docklands), eating at chain restaurants, and sleeping in business hotels all in a half-mile radius. It’s fine, but it’s not glamorous in the least.
My dream is to live and work in somewhere with better weather and a better work-life balance, but in Europe the places with work are in the cold cloudy north and the places with warm sunshine and better lifestyles are in the economically crisis-ridden South.
I’m interested to see how I get on with rose perfumes. I like the smell of roses, and I like rose in cookery, but I’m not sure how I’ll get on with the juice and am curious to find out. :^)
It still sounds glamorous to me. I live in a small rural town where the largest building is the elementary school. I have a 20 minute commute to work each day with views of cows, horses and even a few lamas. There are also many beautiful historic (by US standards) New England homes here. I do enjoy the city but I am a country girl at heart.
Perhaps when you retire one day, you can find a lovely warm place to live.
Petunia, your surroundings seem ideal to me. There is something about bucolic vistas that calms my heart and eases my mind. I have no clue why as I was raised in suburban Chicago. When I was 5 we flew to Ireland to visit with my grandparents on the farm in the southwest. As we flew into Shannon airport, I looked out the window at undulating green fields necklaced with stone fences and populated by sheep, cows, and horses. I felt as if I was finally in familiar territory! I had no preconceived notions as I was only 5 and my father NEVER talked about his childhood or Ireland. Place has a powerful pull for some of us????
You make Ireland sound so lovely. I hope to see it for myself one day.
I bet you would have a menagerie of pets if you had land. ????
We yearn for what we can’t have. I grew up in the West of Ireland, an hour or so north of Shannon where Deva flew in. The network of green fields and grey stone walls – well, that is marvellous when you’re 8 or 10 and able to wander freely and play in the woods and streams. But when you hit your teens and want some life, there is none to be found. I had my fill of those green fields and then some; I never want to live in the countryside again. Of course, the Universe just laughed and gave me a partner who loves all that rural nonsense. :^)
Koenigsberg, I understand how you feel but I live in a small state so the city is only about 35 minutes away.
Deva, New England has it’s positives and negatives just like every other area. I sure get tired of driving in the snow during the winter. Although our winter this year was relatively mild, it won’t let go. It has already snowed twice this April and killed my daffies.
Stunningly gorgeous weekend for many reasons, one of them being SL Cuir Mauresque, a decant of which was included in a swap package by a lovely NSTer.
Hope the weekend was enjoyed by all. ????
Ahh, you smell divine!
Very late to post as usual.
Guilty pleasure: a tub of Avon Sweet Honesty hand cream. No idea why I love this but looking for another.
Question for the community: about to splurge on Lyric. 50 or 100 ml? Either seems extreme but for an extra $40 I will never need to fret about running out. EdP or extrait, (in which case question above is resolved)?
Happy Sunday.
The price difference is very small, so if you live in the continental US you will likely find you can swap away a few “unwanted” 10 or 15ml decants of Lyric and get some more rare goodies back. So long as they are worth more than $40 to you, you’ve justified the purchase. :^)
I think it depends at least partly on how much perfume you already have. I decided on the 4x10ml travel spray set of Lyric (and Epic). More $/ml, but less expensive overall, and its unlikely I’ll use it up in my lifetime considering my 100+ bottles and umpteen samples/decants.
I did the same thing with Memoir, Bastet. And for the same reasons.
I have a relatively small collection of FBs by NST standards, which gives me a decent reason to go all-out on this. But I love the idea of the travel set, Bastet.
Wait, Sweet Honesty comes in hand cream form?! SH was my first perfume as a child and I’ve always loved it. Off to indulge in a cheap thrill. You get an enabler pin (a gaudy Avon one with bells and little birds or perhaps an iridescent squirrel).
Also, I went for the larger sizes on my Amouages so I wouldn’t hoard them and I’m glad I did.
Ooh, my first enabler pin. Yay!
SOTD = Nomenclature iri_del
A lovely perfumista included a sample in a swap package. My first thought upon application was – this smells familiar! It is a spicier peppery version of Naomi Goodsir Iris Cendre. If I were bolder, I might be able to achieve this effect by layering Iris Silver Mist, Jo Malone Birch & Black Pepper and a smidgen of Prada Infusion d’Iris Absolue. iri_del stayed close to skin and had been playing peek-a-boo with me for the past five hours and will probably continue to do so for the next few hours. I could go for a decant of iri_del although I wouldn’t mind splitting a FB and keeping the unusual bottle.
You have just given me a layering idea. Don’t have all the ingredients you mention, but I’ll get back to you all the same 😉
Sounds like fun!
Checking in later than usual this weekend. Yesterday’ scent was Hermes 24 Faubourg – sunshine in a bottle to match a lovely, sunny early spring day. Today it’s cloudy and cool, and I’m wallowing in Alahiiiine to make a day of household chores more bearable.
Scents I like that Perfumistas rarely mention (at least not in a positive way):
Paul Smith Rose: I haven’t worn it in a while because there are only a few mls left in my 30ml bottle, and perhaps a rose soliflore is no longer my thing. It’s still one of my favourite rose scents though.
Gaultier 2: For some obscure reason this smells ever so slightly like Fanta Grape to me. I’m reading now that it’s either discontinued or reformulated 🙁 Sniffed the bottle and still LOVE it!
Halston Cologne: The one with a wonky bottle, orange coloured juice and a white rubber cap. This is the first ‘chypre’ I ever got my head around. At the time I found Mitsouko appalling but was in love with the way some critics described it. I got some of that sense of gold ripe peach from Halston Cologne.
Halston! That brings back some great memories. I haven’t sniffed it in ages; has it survived reformulation?
I bought mine 6 or 7 years ago and like it very much, but I haven’t smelled any earlier versions!
Now, I’m dying to find some vintage Halston. Lemming created…
Yes! I wore the pants off Halston in the 70’s. ????
My mother had Halston. I remember steeling sprays from her bottle. She didn’t mind. ????
Thierry Mugler Angel. Yes, Angel. I wore it when it first came out, then went through different phases of fragrance before falling into the rabbit hole. Now I wear lots of other perfumes, but Angel will always be in rotation.
I have a small but refillable bottle, and I admit I’ve not refilled it in a while…but still, I love it.
Robin, fun reading this weekend’s poll. Who cares what those snobby critics say anyway! ????
I’m glad it was fun!