I love the period between Thanksgiving and my birthday in January. There are: holiday feasts (at home and in restaurants), suspension of calorie counting, shopping sprees, Christmas trees. I (mostly) enjoy it all, but sometimes imagining is better than reality!
Feasts require lots of shopping, food prep, cooking, laundry/ironing (all those napkins, tablecloths), non-stop housecleaning (cobwebs! were there really that many spiders in my house last summer?!) There are always menu "hits" and "misses." In my house, our after-party breakfasts consist of critiquing the dishes served the night before and placing bright Post-it® notes in cookbooks next to recipes: "NO! NEVER AGAIN!" or "YES! But add more sumac." Restaurant fare is often distasteful, involving bland foods laden with too much fat, salt and sugar, accompanied by weak cocktails. After such meals, while looking at the bill, I often think: "I could have bought an Astier de Villatte candle...or two!...for that amount of money."
Though I treat holiday calories as phantoms, meaningless numbers, there's always the shock in February when I attempt to wear a pair of pants and realize I can't zip them up (usually until April).
The ONLY thing guaranteed to give me absolute joy during the holidays is my Christmas tree (a fresh silvertip fir); my trees are encrusted with lights and decorations — heirlooms or ornaments bought on travels (almost any small object can be made into an ornament).
When Robin Here at NST™ asked we contributors what we wanted to write as a year-end wrap-up (a 2018 'perfume in review' post, if you will), I felt I had little to say...and zero excitement at the prospect. I'm this year's NST Perfume Scrooge (though more grumpy posts may follow). Jessica has deemed herself the Perfume Grinch and Angie expressed enthusiasm for critiquing 2018, too. Angie, how about a "Cranky Christmas Perfume Roast Chez Angela?"
In 2018, many scents whose PR would have excited me in years gone by (those ingredients! backstories! bottles!) made me yawn and think: "whatEVER." I don't feel we're living in a golden age of perfume. The amount of perfume produced is astonishing (and impossible to sample) but it feels more like a perfume glut, not a boon. When I hear friends plan their fragrance purchases (non-stop buying of samples, monitoring of retailers, online and off, for sales and coupons, bidding on eBay bottles, arranging perfume splits and obtaining the decant supplies needed), I get drowsy and stressed at the same time. I reach for another glass of ice-cold Lillet, a big chunk of chocolate and turn up the volume on Cher's "Dancing Queen" album: Mamma mia, here I go again...my, my....
Recently I began to think seriously about the contents of my perfume bottles, the chemicals. When reading inserts on candles and perfumes, I feel 'dirty': "This product may cause an allergic skin reaction. Avoid contact with skin and eyes. The ingredients are toxic to aquatic life and have long-lasting environmental effects on plants and animals. Avoid release into the environment and do not let children touch. Dispose of residual contents and the container itself using local toxins disposal regulations." !!!!!!!!!!! And this stuff is on/in MY body and flowing down my shower drain. If this is IFRA compliance...what's the point? Pick your poison, I guess...past or present! (You all know a new IFRA amendment will be out soon, right?) I also worry about all the plastic associated with perfume...the caps! (Plastic is a huge issue with all scented products: shampoos, bath gels, creams and lotions, on and on.)
Sometimes, after a day of sampling fragrances that have been sent to me, I think: "Have I smelled it all?" Has perfume become a boring habit with repetitive aromas scenting my life? I certainly experienced pleasant, well-made, perfumes this year but don't remember one earth-shattering perfume moment.
Other 2018 perfume musings:
PR: the lists of bogus ingredients and perfume hyperbole is taxing on the nerves ("This ingredient has never been used in a perfume before!") I don't trust one word of PR from anyone. And though I'm glad perfumers are getting their due at long last, 95% of what perfumers say in interviews is annoying and strangely 'familiar' (could be the interviewer's fault). How many dozens of times have I read that a perfumer came to love fragrances because his/her bejeweled mother, drenched in Shalimar or Chanel No. 5, and wearing a DIOR or other couture gown, used to kiss them good-night right before she went to a grand ball and, thus, inspired their love of perfume? Dear ole Mum and her lingering Shalimar! Or what about Dad's collection of vintage "Austin Healeys, Jaguars and Mercedes" that led to the creation of a perfume? Such name dropping and 1980's-style "extravagance" is retrograde, embarrassing in 2018. Anyone else heard about the dissolving ocean floor?
Skyrocketing prices: Recently I've smelled perfumes selling for $250-500 that are no better quality-wise and no more inventive than what you'll find at Macy's. And people are buying. In fact, if you "created" a drab little collection of scents that didn't sell — redesign your webpage and quadruple your prices...you'll be a success! When I went to Barneys New York recently (to buy travel sprays of Frédéric Malle Eau de Magnolia and Music For A While), I witnessed a hilarious exchange. I swear it's true! A couple (man and woman) had brought in a bottle of Kai (which they both "adore!") but wanted something just like it at a "higher price point." They were taken very seriously by the sales person who went looking, earnestly, for Kai smell-alikes. I hope they found a $300 version of "Kai." Me? I was ignored since there was no other sales person in sight. I left without my travel sprays; Nordstrom will get that business in January.
How have I spent my 'perfume year?' Restocking old favorites that haven't been reformulated beyond recognition and enjoying the aromas of soaps and candles.
What did I buy this year...for the first time? Tom Ford Santal Blush, Ortigia Lime di Sicilia (on sale), Cinq Mondes Eau Egyptienne ($18), and the inexpensive Fragonard Verveine. My best buy? A big bottle of Hermès Eau de Néroli Doré in spring that I powered through all summer; it provided me with oodles of pleasure (and a mental boost whenever my mood went south). I never got tired of it. Honorable mentions (that I smelled and enjoyed this year but didn't buy) include: Ex Nihilo Vetiver Moloko, Nishane Karagoz, and the new Hiram Green Hyde (to be reviewed in January). My refill purchases: Acqua di Parma Colonia Intensa and Querelle by Pierre Guillaume (author of the eye-roll-inducing quote above about his father's vintage cars).
I admit to still having a perfume "to-buy" list...but many of the scents may be discontinued or reformulated before I "need" to buy them. As usual, my perfume bottle runneth over.
To all my jaded perfume kin...and newbies who are going bankrupt with excitement and discovery...and everyone in between, being a Perfume Scrooge does not mean I don't wish everyone a wonderful holiday season and great 2019!
Note: top and middle images via Wikimedia Commons (Grumpy Face) and FREEIMAGES (broken Christmas ornaments); bottom image also via Wikimedia Commons (Dior publicity image).
Is it wrong that I got a kick from your post? I am with you on so many of your points, particularly skyrocketing pricing and pr falderal! On the other hand, is it any consolation that I’m sure whatever damage to myself and our environment that come from my few little spritzes of perfume everyday is dwarfed by the poisons that lurk in our air, food, and water? Ah well, on we go…
Gi, I was hoping someone would get a kick! Ha!
I got a little shake recently when I overheard some pharmacists talking about topical prescriptions and how easily the medicine gets absorbed into the skin. It definitely made me give my perfumes the sideeye… but they bring me an awful lot of joy, and life is full of risks. I bought Eau Egyptienne this year too! I just got it. It’s lovely and I love it that they make a 25 ml bottle.
p.s. this might be my favorite ever illustration for a post
Regina, thanks!
Nice rant. I totally agree with the comments about inflated prices, the glut of boring unnecessary scents and the merciless steamroller of IFRA. Despite all that I had a very enjoyable perfume year. Made a few lovely discoveries and enjoyed a lot of old favourites.
Cazaubon: glad to hear it!
That story about Kai shows why perfumes are getting more and more expensive. There are other causes, of course, but a lot of people seem to regard scents as status symbols.
Glannys…that mindset about $$$$$ relating to quality always astounds me.
Thank you, Kevin! I agree with every point you made, and I sincerely appreciate that you had the guts to voice your opinions.
Wishing you a wonderful holiday season as well, a joyous 2019 and the happiest of birthdays.
Holly, thank you!!!
I feel for you. I am currently slathering myself in Malle samples–which appeal to me after too much apple ale? In vino veritas.
CobraRose: exactly!
Heh. It never occurred to me how much of a cliché that “perfumer origin story” (couture-laden mother reeking of Grand Dame perfume kisses child goodnight before heading out into an evening of Fitzgeraldian fabulousness) had become, until you pointed it out. It’s a charming memory, yes, but enough already.
As for me: I am done, entirely DONE, with celebrity-backed marketing campaigns for new launches. Give me a professional model, chosen for his/her unique look and trained ability in front of the camera, over a big-name celebrity whose vibe and aesthetic meshes with that of the fragrance about as well as oil and water. (And in the case of Johnny Depp for Dior, *lots* of oil.)
Subhuman: most celebrity endorsements “cheapen” the perfume for me…they don’t add anything positive or “chic.” Also sick of celebrities on fashion magazine covers all the time; thanks Anna Wintour. Thanks for adding to the ‘rant!’
Kevin what an honest and realistic post. I agree with you in many points and also think that a meal at home is the best option. Nice and simple.
Perfume… yes, getting dizzy and anxious with so many releases.
Enjoy life. Dance. Love.
Happy scented Xmas (with no plastic if possible!).
Gabriela: thank you!
I’m so glad to see a perfume person mention the chemicals/toxin issue… I have always been super dismissive of this issue, like totally. Thought it was so ridiculous. But now that I’m thinking about pregnancy, and reading about how endocrine disruptors can rubbish your egg quality… I am actually super concerned, and not wearing perfume for the last month or so. This is MAJOR in my life, I own probably 150 perfumes and absolutely adore them. I am very, very sad that such a large part of my pleasure in life is now poisoned for me, probably for good. And where I live, there’s zero natural perfumery availability. If only we didn’t totally overuse fragrance in functional products, maybe then the load on our bodies of a few spritzes every day or two wouldn’t be so bad? But as it stands, we have no information regarding how much and what perfume is in functional products, so it seems impossible to protect oneself without going full postal on ‘fragrance’ in any product at all. SIGH!
Lekkerruik: in a related issue, I’ve stopped using incense in the house since I worry about my cats’ little lungs and my own. Incense was a big part of my perfume enjoyment; now I burn it outside and get a waft every so often. And I’m sure candles have issues (just reading that insert!) I’ve started to get lots of pleasure from natural perfumes, too (and no doubt some of those ingredients can affect heart rate, blood pressure, who knows? OY!) And of course I live in a polluted city…can’t win.
My year was split evenly – with a trip to London and Paris in July, I was excited for the chance to actually shop (my local Nordstrom has a meh selection). After buying my treasures on the trip (none of them brand new, just things I didn’t have access to), I have mostly been ignoring everything new and happily enjoying my current collection. Taking a breather from the blogs and daily SOTD (although using Instagram to work on my photography skills while logging my SOTD for historical purposes.). Pointing my budget toward other things for a while. Because I will never ever use up what I have….
MMKinPA: I’m also set for life, and the next one too if I could access the perfumes.
Enjoyed your piece and feel the same at some points. Enjoy the holidays and your silver tip tree! They really show off ornaments well.
shellyw: Thanks. Happy that Seattle has LOTS of silvertips this season; buying the tree this Saturday.
Love the post, particularly the schlocky Shalimar story. How about this for a Shalimar grinch: my mother was extremely abusive and she wore Shalimar. I love the scent but can’t wear it because it reminds me of her. I’m fine now, but regret the fragrance association. My grandmother, whom I adored, brought be Bal a Versailles from a Paris when it came out. I wore it always until another scent memory interfered. Now I understand the reformulation is not as good.
Jks: oh, so sorry. I remember Bal a Versailles, even a decade ago, had been reformulated so can’t even imagine what it is today.
The idea of seeking out a perfume “like X, but at a higher price point,” has me torn between derisive laughter and sheer horror. There really are people with more money than sense — or taste.
Thanks for the well-placed rant, Kevin.
Sandman, it was really fun to witness…I’m sure SAs have great stories to tell. I should interview one.
YES. You really should.
Kevin, I am in complete agreement with your post. I have been a perfume lover for many decades dating back to when there were no computers and only several classic perfumes around. I was delighted when I bought my computer and found perfume groups (NST was the first one that I found). However, now on several other perfume lovers sites, people post beautiful photos of their newest perfume most often in beautiful settings where their bottle is the star. These people go to a lot of trouble to take these photos, but I started thinking it was all getting to be too much. Too many perfumes, too many descriptions, too high prices, etc. Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed reading them for the most part and now and then I participate but not every single day like some people. I wonder how they have so much time to do it when I am lucky if I get to post a response here and there. Sorry for the long response but your post hit a chord with me. Happy Holidays!
Filomena…thank you. I don’t have that sort of time, or energy!, these days either. Merry merry holidays to you.
Absolutely superb article, Kevin, thank you! Your customer experience (or lack thereof!) at Barney jumped out at me as I recently had the same nonsense at Hermes in Bond Street, where I had gone specifically to buy a new strap for my Cape Cod watch. Cue a rather strongly worded email from me to them…!
Carolyn, ha!
So nice to read your commonsense views on what has become of the perfume world! Perhaps it reflects the workd around us today, but in any case, your aura is refreshing. Thank you.
Karen b, thanks…I do think many of us are less patient, calm these days!
It’s not often I have the time to read a whole article but yours grabbed me and I had to read every word!
As a former S/A, I could write a book on experiences in the trenches, and how to be a good customer. There are 3 sides to every story, I always say. Please do interview one, Kevin.
I would like 2019 to be the year that it is illegal to title perfume articles in magazines “Sense and Sensibility”.
And just once in a blue moon, could we see a male fragrance ad model with his whole face shaved? Please!
A completely clean-faced fellow in a perfume ad? I’m pretty sure that would cause an instantaneous collapse of the entire fragrance industry! Or possibly a spontaneous alignment of the stars in the heavens. I’m never sure which.
Sandman: thank you so much for your agreement with me. At one point, I was going to boycott TV shows with unshaven men but then there’d be nothing to watch. I lived through the hairy hippy era so I’m hoping the pendulum will swing back to clean-shaven faces soon. After all, the bare midriff look finally disappeared.
Sorry, I meant “Scents and Sensibility”.
Celestia: good ones! Agree.
Although I’ve been a perfume Scrooge this year myself, I’ve gotten hours and hours of real pleasure from reading Now Smell This. For that I thank you, so much!
icingroses: that’s so KIND…thank you on behalf of us all here!