Aparatchick — her blog handle — has been a Now Smell This reader since the beginning. “In 2005, I googled ‘perfume blog,’ and the only one I found was NST,” she says. Twelve years and more than a hundred bottles later, she’s still sampling new fragrances and making friends in the community.
Aparatchick is retired from the finance and accounting industry and lives in Florida. However, she grew up in the Pacific Northwest, and it was there she developed her love of rich, deep oriental fragrances — fragrances that don’t wear very well in humid Florida, a subject we’ll tackle in a minute.
Part of her affinity for orientals might be genetic: her grandmother wore Estée Lauder Youth Dew bath oil. Her mother was a flight attendant and more of a fragrance magpie, wearing everything from Chanel No. 5 and Guerlain Shalimar to whatever amazing bottles her coworkers brought home from European flights. “I wish I had paid more attention to what they were,” Aparatchick says with a wistfulness we can probably all relate to.
In the 1970s in junior high, Aparatchick fell in love with a set of drug store perfume solid compacts in “wood,” “grass” and “flowers.” Later, she moved on to Halston and Yves Saint Laurent Rive Gauche, among others. “I probably liked perfume more than my friends did,” she says, “but nothing compared to now.”
She’s never had a signature scent. She says she views perfume like clothing, and she doesn’t wear a uniform. She likes variety too much to tie herself to one fragrance or one style of dress.
When her husband’s job took them to Florida twenty years ago, Aparatchick had to figure out how to reconcile her love of oriental fragrances with a climate that favors tank tops and piña coladas. “You get to like citrus,” she says. “And fruity.” One fragrance category that straddles her love of rich scents with Florida’s heat is fig. Ava Luxe Fig Leaf, Jacomo No. 8 and Parfumerie Générale Jardins de Kerylos are three figs she especially likes, but she notes that the perfume world is loaded with good fig scents.
Incense is another good category for heat, she says. Smell Bent Never Never Land, Parfum d’Empire Wazamba and Comme des Garçons Avignon are favorites. A sheer gardenia is a good bet in heat, too.
Aparatchick stores her perfume in a bathroom cabinet which is dark “and as cool as it ever gets in this place.” She notes that it isn’t an ideal solution — the cabinet is too deep to allow her to see some of her collection, and bottles get lost. Out of sight, out of mind.
Lately, Aparatchick has been wearing and adoring Sonoma Scent Studio Bay Blossom* for its “loveliness,” and Tauer Perfumes L’Air du Désert Marocain is always on rotation. In fact, Laurie Erickson (Sonoma Scent Studio) and Andy Tauer are two of her favorite perfumers. When asked what her dream perfume would be, her first answer was that she’d love Tauer to make her a “boozy amber with a hint of pipe smoke.” She called back a few minutes later with another dream perfume. “If Laurie Erickson could make me a perfume that smelled like wet earth, decaying cedar, pine and honey, that would be heaven. I’d be three years old again, climbing around in my grandparents’ forest.”
* Ed. note: I have a feeling that should be Bee's Bliss, not Bay Blossom.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE to read the collection posts! Thank you Aparatchick, for letting us peek at yours…..
I’m so glad you enjoy them! Aparatchick is on vacation, so she probably won’t show up right away in the comments section.
I just love these posts! I also went to junior high during the 70s, and I believe Aparatchick is referring to the Coty Sweet Earth solid perfume compacts – they came in Flowers, Grasses and Woods. How I loved those – I haven’t thought of them in years. One of my first perfumes in junior high was Wicked Wahine – no idea if it’s still around. I also grew up in the PNW – but in a small town on the eastern side of Washington.
Thanks for the post and thanks to Aparatchick for sharing
That’s great that you remember the name and perfume house! “Wicked Wahine” completely cracks me up, too. It sounds like a cartoon character.
Mom and I wore Wicked Wahine too! We bought it on vacation in Hawaii.
Too bad those old family vacation photos don’t have a smell track!
Yes! Coty Sweet Earth. Good memory.
Love this! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome!
Lovely post and lovely collection, thanks!
But now I’m intrigued by the idea of a sheer gardenia. Is there such a thing, one that preserves the character of the flower? I associate gardenia perfumes with lushness and density. Maybe that Estee Lauder thing – PC Tuberose Gardenia? Haven’t smelled that in ages.
Maybe Aparatchick will chime in with a few examples when she gets internet access. I know what you mean, though. I wonder if Twilly would count as a sheer tuberose?
There’s the Aerin Gardenia Rattan, and Cartier Panthere.
I wonder if the VCA in the photo is Gardenia Petals, too?
Good suggestions, thanks!
Robin is correct – Panthiere is what I was thinking of. It is, as Robin said in her review, “gardenia-esque.”
I had the same RL Safali lay-down cut-glass bottle!!
I always loved them in the ads. They had that Out of Africa vibe.
Lovely!
Thanks for the look in
You’re welcome! There are more to come, so stay tuned.
I love the Inside the perfume cabinet of x series. Thanks for presenting this, Angela, and thanks to Apartachick for opening her perfume cabinet.
Maybe we can do a community project – Seen inside the perfume cabinet of NSTer X!
If only the comment thread could hold photos! I suppose we could do it on the Facebook page, though.
And, you’re welcome!
I think that hajusuuri means that on a specific Friday, NST members would all wear something from a “Seen Inside the Perfume Cabinet of NSTer X” (ie: from the photos of someone who was in one of this series)
Very cool Community Scent Project idea! I’d love to wear somethign from Apartachick’s pics!
Oh! Well, that makes a lot more sense–although I’d love a sort of project where everyone posted photos of their own collections!
That would be epic. Can you just imagine? That would the most popular perfume post EVER I think.
But yea, not sure how that would work.
Thanks, gville – what you said
Sorry I didn’t get it first time around!
Love these peeks into the collections of our fellow fumeheads! Thanks Angela!
I’m so glad you’re enjoying them!
Enjoyed this so much! I think a peek into another’s collection is always interesting. Plus I understand the struggle of orientals in Florida…????
I thought the idea of wearing incense was good! Incense can be so cool and damp.
Looooove this series. It’s my favorite part of NST now.
Apartachick – when you come back, I’m interested in hearing what part of Florida you are in. I just moved away from Florida (which holds my heart) and see many, many things in your collection that are perfect Florida frags– and I totally agree about fig perfumes, particularly Jardin de Kerylos! I can’t believe that I haven’t added that to my collection (yet!).
Thanks for sharing!!
I don’t think she has internet access right this minute, but I hope she appears soon to respond!
We’re on the east coast of Florida, so we do get a nice breeze in the summer – still hot and humid, though!
Is there any way to blow up the photos (or click to enlarge them in this series)? Or maybe list the frags in the posts?
I’m dying to know which VCA Collection Extraordinaire that is, and which Annick Goutal, and which Parfums de Nicolai.
I love the idea of listing the fragrances in the post, and for future Perfume Cabinet features, I’m going to try to do it! As for these photos, I’m afraid this is the best we have. Maybe Aparatchick will fill us in, though.
Oh boy, I second that dream perfume by Laurie Erickson! I, too, have been enjoying Bee’s Bliss all week. and she’s is one of my favorite perfumers as well… she and JCE reign at the top of my list. Thank you for this post – I LOVE the Perfume Cabinet series!
Doesn’t it sound great? A little moss wouldn’t go amiss in it, either.
Ooh, yes!!
My thought exactly!
Thanks Aparatchik and Angela! I also enjoyed this peek. Must be hard when your favorite perfume category doesn’t work in your climate.
I felt for her. I’d have the same problem, since I love my big old fragrances.
what a great post. It’s a little difficult to read for me because when I got home this afternoon I found my apartment had been broken into and about 75 bottles were stolen. I am devastated, none of my friends really understand, they just keep asking me why anyone would own that much perfume. Figured everyone hear would understand lol.
Oh, no — Cody, what a terrible thing to come home to. And the theft of so many bottles makes me wonder if the act was well planned.
Robin, Angela, and NST PTB, can the NST community ask Cody to post a “lost list” and send some decants to help ease the pain?
I’ll let Robin answer this. I’m not sure we’re set up to do that, but it’s a kind idea.
If Cody wants to post his/her email address here, sure, people are welcome to get in touch and offer decants!
I’m so sorry to hear this. I hope your insurance covers the stolen perfumes!
Yes! Excellent point.
That is really terrible Cody. I am shocked and so sorry to hear about it. I do not know what to say…
Cody, I’m so, so sorry. It must feel so scary and violating to have your home broken into…and then to lose some cherished perfumes too…
How awful! And bizarre. And scary. (Who knew that thieves were stealing used perfume now?) I hope the police are able to get to the bottom of it, and that you find peace about the situation soon. My old apartment was broken into once–thankfully, not while I was home–and it was terrible.
That is shocking. So sorry that happened to you.
The collection posts are my favorite!!! Love to hear what people have and why, it’s so interesting.
I’m glad you like them! They’re really fun to write, too. I love talking to other perfume lovers.