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Friday scent of the day 10/16

Posted by Robin on 16 October 2020 361 Comments

It's Back to the Beginning Friday! Our community project for today: revisit a fragrance you tried in your early days as a perfumista. Thanks go to springpansy for the suggestion!

What fragrance did you pick? As always, do chime in with your scent of the day even if you’re not participating in the community project.

I'm in Olivia Giacobetti's Passage d'Enfer for L'Artisan Parfumeur. It was in a very early sample order, and was my first purchase from the brand.

Reminder: on 10/23, wear a floriental, if you have one.

And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2020, where I'll try (but frequently fail) to always have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.

Note: top image is Autumnal Light [cropped] by Miguel Virkkunen Carvalho at flickr; some rights reserved.

Filed Under: poll
Tagged With: friday community project, sotd

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361 Comments

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  1. meredifay says:
    16 October 2020 at 10:01 am

    I loved perfume even as child, but in college, I bought one of those 5 pack gift minis of Guerlain perfumes they used to put out, little miniature bottles (which I kick myself now, for not keeping…). In this set, there was Shalimar, and Jardins de Bagatelle, and two others I do not remember, and Mitsouko. I didn’t really enjoy the Shalimar, and I loved the Jardins de Bagatelle, and the Mitsouko I thought was weird, so I put some on. And the next day I put on some more. And the next day I put on some more, and I realized that this complex fragrance was in a class by itself, and I wanted to find out more about it – why was this smell so fascinating, compared to the ones that smelled not so good, or just pretty? So today, I have put on a few precious drops of my vintage Mitsouko parfum in a dabber, and topped it off with a generous spray of my recentish (2014ish?) EDP Mitsouko. I wave my hands around and smell fabulous, if I do say so myself… :-) Perfume is an art like no other….

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    • meredifay says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:03 am

      Love the photo, Robin, by the way! You find the best images….

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      • Robin says:
        16 October 2020 at 11:02 am

        :-)

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    • PriscillaE says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:08 am

      Mitsouko is my top desert island scent, although I only have the current version. I love the edt, not so much the edp.

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      • meredifay says:
        16 October 2020 at 11:41 am

        I have never done a direct comparison of the various concentrations…please do elaborate!

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        • PriscillaE says:
          16 October 2020 at 11:59 am

          To me, the edp seems dulled, somehow. I’m not enough of a perfumista to be able to specify why, but the edt seems to have more spark and character than the edp. You must realize however that I only have decants of the edp, and a full bottle of the edt. Maybe that makes a difference. Both versions are the current formulation.

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          • meredifay says:
            16 October 2020 at 12:12 pm

            Interesting. Not sure I have sniffed the current EDT at all . I will look for it. Thanks.

    • Portia says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:08 am

      LOVE Mitsouko Meredifay! You smell fabulous.
      Portia xx

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    • springpansy says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:12 am

      What a fun story – thanks for that. What do you think about your 2014 Mitsouko – still good or is vintage the only way to go?

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      • springpansy says:
        16 October 2020 at 10:14 am

        And for me, vintage means way back!

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        • meredifay says:
          16 October 2020 at 11:15 am

          2014 Mitsouko is fine, I wear it regularly and enjoy it. When I put a drop of the decades old Mitsouko on, the newer one is obviously a pale version in comparison, but this is the case with most perfumes that have been kept in production for many many years. If you have a chance to acquire vintage, always go for it, but as these things go, Guerlain has done a good job of maintaining the essential spirit of Mitsouko through so many iterations, and I think it is good idea to keep these things going by buying a new bottle of the classic fragrances when it strikes your fancy. Just a thought.

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          • springpansy says:
            16 October 2020 at 11:59 am

            Thank you – I’m always interested in opinions about this.

        • meredifay says:
          16 October 2020 at 12:27 pm

          I have dreams of going to some out of the way estate sale and finding cases of old fragrances that have been stored in a cellar since the Depression, forgotten and unwanted. I offer them money but they say, No no take them away! Good riddance to frivolous things. I agree and take them all away! :-)

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          • springpansy says:
            16 October 2020 at 1:49 pm

            Love it. It’s possible, right? Maybe?

    • Nancyleandros says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:23 am

      Oh, we are scent twins! Mitsouko is so loverly.

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      • meredifay says:
        16 October 2020 at 1:51 pm

        yes it is, isn’t it?

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    • Dawn says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:44 am

      Mitsouko is awesome!

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      • meredifay says:
        16 October 2020 at 1:52 pm

        As are the people who wear it…

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 1:20 pm

      Was Samsara one of them?

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      • meredifay says:
        16 October 2020 at 1:43 pm

        No that was long before Samsara’s time. Early ’70’s, just to clearly date myself. :-) Envisioning the bottles, maybe the other two were colognes of some sort. Not sure what Guerlains were up and coming back then…

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 5:55 pm

      Cool, another house twin!

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  2. pyramus says:
    16 October 2020 at 10:04 am

    I must have bought Krizia Uomo not too long after its launch in 1984, just as my interest in perfume was exploding, and it remains one of maybe half a dozen bottles I ever finished. I don’t know what attracted me to it, because it’s *deeply* strange, a mix of herbs and flowers and tree resins that has the basic shape of an eighties men’s scent but is positively unearthly, unlike anything else I know. (Though it’s still available, I imagine it’s been reformulated into irrelevance though you never know: I never did buy another bottle because I’m coasting on about twenty vintage samples.)

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    • Robin says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:04 am

      I never smelled it! But there used to be more strange men’s fragrances — now they all seem to smell the same.

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      • pyramus says:
        16 October 2020 at 12:22 pm

        It’s true! Bel Ami and Coriolanus and Yatagan and Rocabar and DKNY for Men, to pull just five at random from my memory, were extremely peculiar and fascinating, and now all men’s scents just seem to come from the same Calone-contaminated vat. What a pity.

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        • Robin says:
          16 October 2020 at 6:27 pm

          And Versace The Dreamer, and Old Spice for that matter! And M7, which smells like everything now but at the time…

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          • Old Herbaceous says:
            16 October 2020 at 7:56 pm

            Old Spice! A classic.

    • SmokeyToes says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:30 am

      Ohhh, I remember Krizia Uomo! I loved that one! I adore strange ducky scents, you smell wonderful. :grin:

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    • Calypso says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:58 pm

      That reminds me that one of my earliest fancy perfumes was K de Krizia, probably around that same time. They had the most beautiful and romantic ads in magazines done in black and white, which definitely enticed me into buying it. One ad showed a beautiful pre-Raphaelite girl with a kitten. I cut it out and kept it for years.

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      • lillyjo says:
        16 October 2020 at 11:13 pm

        K de Krizia is one of my first perfume loves. Gorgeous.

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  3. PriscillaE says:
    16 October 2020 at 10:05 am

    I’m not doing the CP, since I’m wearing a new to me fragrance from Smell Bent. I got this full bottle in June, at the half price sale, and it was an unsniffed purchase. Apparently Smell Bent was selling some discontinued fragrances and prototypes. This one is called Ice Queen, and on the bottle it mentions 13 years. Is that when it was last produced? I don’t know, but I really like it. There is definitely vanilla, and the web site said something about winter fruit.

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    • Lisa D says:
      16 October 2020 at 2:26 pm

      Smell Bent is fun! I like quite a few of their scents. My favorite, though, is Incensed Short Fuse. Appropriate for me in so many ways.

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      • AngelaB says:
        16 October 2020 at 7:36 pm

        Here here!!

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  4. Portia says:
    16 October 2020 at 10:07 am

    Hi there NST crew,
    I doused myself in lashings of 24 Faubourg by Hermès today. It was a favourite early on in my deep perfumista adventure but before I found the scentbloggosphere online. Its white floral with all the trimmings is so lavish and glamorous without being confrontationally bold. Though I did push the envelope today and felt over fragrant on the bus. It is a wonder and so full of happy memories, tonight we made some more for a friends birthday.
    Portia x

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    • tiffanie says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:48 am

      24F is glorious! White floral with all the trimmings sums it up perfectly. :) You made that bus smell like heaven.

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      • Portia says:
        16 October 2020 at 6:50 pm

        Hey Tiffanie,
        Thanks, yeah, our buses are notoriously less than lovely to breathe.
        Portia xx

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 5:55 pm

      24F is a great pick for a very special occasion!

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      • Portia says:
        16 October 2020 at 6:50 pm

        Hi Jalapeno,
        It does seem to elevate any adventure.
        Portia xx

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:39 pm

      You smell elegant, Portia!

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      • Portia says:
        17 October 2020 at 4:40 am

        Thanks Hajusuuri.
        XX

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    • Old Herbaceous says:
      17 October 2020 at 9:02 am

      Ooooh, gorgeous!

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      • Portia says:
        17 October 2020 at 6:58 pm

        Heya OH, it really was.
        Portia xx

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  5. Glannys says:
    16 October 2020 at 10:13 am

    SL Chergui, from the bottle I bought 7-8 years ago as a budding perfumista.

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    • Portia says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:26 am

      This is going to be so much fun. Loads of our faves will snap! I love Chergui too Glannys,
      Portia xx

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    • springpansy says:
      16 October 2020 at 1:48 pm

      Joining you in Chergui today.

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  6. monkeytoe says:
    16 October 2020 at 10:13 am

    I can’t remember which was my first Diptyque, L’Eau Trois or Eau Lente. I flipped a coin and am in Eau Lente from an old bottle. It still smells great like gingerbread and incense.

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    • Robin says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:04 am

      They were both great scents — wish I’d bought them both.

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    • SmokeyToes says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:32 am

      I have a vintage bottle of L’Eau Trois – it’s beautiful in the summer heat, and strangely also wonderful during the December Holidays.

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  7. sistine says:
    16 October 2020 at 10:15 am

    I started getting into perfume in 2003 when I started reading the MUA fragrance board. Of course, I was a grad student and so I was too poor to actually buy any of the perfumes I read about. I did make a sample order from Beauty Habit (remember their gorgeous print catalog?) and fell in love with Bois d’Iris from The Different Company. It took me until April 2020 but I finally bought a full bottle, which I happily sprayed from today.

    Robin, you smell great and I love today’s photo!!!

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    • Nancyleandros says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:43 am

      I’d forgotten about that Beautyhabit catalog! They were gorgeous, like a Sears catalog for big girls.

      I’ve been perusing the kids toys catalog from Amazon that came yesterday, for the grands. What’s old is new again, I guess!

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    • Robin says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:05 am

      Thank you! And I remember that catalog well.

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  8. Nancyleandros says:
    16 October 2020 at 10:19 am

    Good morning! It’s rainy and cool here, perfect weather for my cp pick: Mitsouko. I lurked awhile on this blog, and others, so after reading multiple posts on the wonders of Mitsouko, I blind bought it, and on Amazon, no less. It certainly wasn’t available for sniffing at any counters nearby.

    I also blind bought Providence Perfume Company Divine, which is lovely to my nose now, but was too intense for me at first.

    Other early loves: Cuir Beluga, La Fille de Berlin, Voyage EDT, BOE, Encre Noir, Ambre 114.

    What a great idea for a cp! It’s been so fun reading all of the entries this week. ?

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    • Portia says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:28 am

      Totally agree Nancyleandros, excellent idea for a CP.
      OOOH! Cuir Beluga, La Fille de Berlin and Ambre 114 are all loves of mine too. Soap!
      Portia xx

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      • Nancyleandros says:
        16 October 2020 at 10:38 am

        Are those soapy on you? Wow, I’ll have to try them again and look for the bubbles. ?

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      • Nancyleandros says:
        16 October 2020 at 10:40 am

        Oops, did you mean “snap”? Hahaaa!

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        • Portia says:
          16 October 2020 at 6:48 pm

          HA! I meant SNAP! Damn autocorrect!

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 5:52 pm

      Hiya, house twin!

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  9. perfumelover67 says:
    16 October 2020 at 10:38 am

    In Armani Code for Women from a bottle a bought to my mother in 2007 for her birthday. It is sitting there almost unused, but once in a while I spray on it and I still like it. I remember that I fell in love with the bottle when I first saw it.

    Happy Friday, everyone!

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    • Nancyleandros says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:44 am

      I have one of those pretty bottles, too.

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      • perfumelover67 says:
        16 October 2020 at 5:41 pm

        They are lovely!

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 5:51 pm

      I have that perfume, too! But not when it first came out.

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      • perfumelover67 says:
        16 October 2020 at 5:54 pm

        I have not tried the current formulation, so not sure how much has changed. But the old one smells pretty.

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  10. JadainGA says:
    16 October 2020 at 10:41 am

    Happy FriYAY Y’all!

    It’s taken me YEARS to figure out the perfumes that I really love the most. My collection has changed a lot as things come and go!

    One of the first perfumes that I bought for myself at least 10 years ago was SJP Lovely, and I continue to really enjoy it. So today I’m in SJP Lovely Sheer, which is a lighter version that the Perfume Grinch has never complained about so far…. hee hee With the masks on, I can get away with a bit more the last few months! :)

    Have a great weekend everyone! Hoping for a nice fall weekend so I can do some yardwork and veggie gardening!

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    • SmokeyToes says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:19 am

      SJP is a gorgeous perfume! And the beautiful dry narcissus note – gorgeous…

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    • johanob says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:32 am

      So pretty.It really is LOVELY.

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    • tannina says:
      16 October 2020 at 2:01 pm

      I have Lovely Sheer and like it for summer. Bought it on holidays in London, nice memories

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    • Baby Dumpling says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:04 pm

      Lovely is absolutely great.

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    • Portia says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:52 pm

      Lovely is one of the few perfumes I can pick as people waft by me. What a sensational beauty it is.
      Portia xx

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    • Old Herbaceous says:
      16 October 2020 at 8:13 pm

      I just love the idea of The Perfume Grinch! I don’t want to have one in my house, but I find it very funny!

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      • JadainGA says:
        16 October 2020 at 11:54 pm

        This Grinch is at the office! LOL. We’ve worked together for 20 years though, so I’ve figured out pretty much what works around him….?

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  11. farouche says:
    16 October 2020 at 10:46 am

    Wearing of course Farouche, which was my signature scent in the seventies and brought me down the rabbit hole around 2008 when I tried to relocate it. First I bought The Guide, then searched for it online which lead me to eBay listings and to NST!

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    • SmokeyToes says:
      16 October 2020 at 2:36 pm

      You smell wonderful!
      Have you read Gaia the Non-Blonde’s review of Farouche? It’s a lovely review (see below).

      http://www.thenonblonde.com/2009/08/nina-ricci-farouche-lost-perfumes.html#.X4noBVl7mKc

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      • farouche says:
        16 October 2020 at 9:37 pm

        Oh, thank you, Smokey Toes! I miss Gaia’s voice in the perfume community ?.

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        • SmokeyToes says:
          16 October 2020 at 11:15 pm

          Me too. I still feel her loss.

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    • Portia says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:53 pm

      I wonder how many of us came to the net looking for a lost love and fell into this magical addiction?
      Portia xx

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  12. tiffanie says:
    16 October 2020 at 10:54 am

    SotD = Cologne du 68

    Cd68 was an early perfume discovery that worked instantly for me. I can’t remember if I bought a sample from STC, or if I bought a bottle blind from an online discounter after reading a few reviews that gave me a good feeling. Either way, I’ve never regretted it. I guess I’m a Guerlain girl at heart.

    Today should be the last day of hot weather in my area, if we’re lucky it will be the end of high temperatures until next May or so. Hope everyone has a fabulously fragrant Friday. :)

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    • pixel says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:26 pm

      Ohh yes, it would be wonderful if this is the last heat wave this fall.

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:36 pm

      I won a bottle of this from BdJ!

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  13. sistine says:
    16 October 2020 at 11:07 am

    My fingers are crossed that you get the weather you want!

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  14. Barqs says:
    16 October 2020 at 11:16 am

    A few years back, when I started reading NST, I read your review for Hermes Hiris and ordered a decant. Then I ordered another decant. I finally bought a bottle while shopping one day, and I have loved this beautiful scent every time I wear it.

    I am wearing it today while listening to the soundtrack to Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride and drinking a cup of jasmine tea.

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    • johanob says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:30 am

      Love Hiris,you smell fabulous!

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    • Robin says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:28 pm

      I am going to buy another 15 ml soon…my original bottle turned, sadly, and I think I’ve heard here that it’s been reformulated? But I have to have at least a little Hiris.

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    • tiffanie says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:31 pm

      Yes to Hiris! So beautiful, I love it too :)

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  15. Kelly Red says:
    16 October 2020 at 11:26 am

    My grandmother was French. Very French. I was the oldest grandchild. When I turned 16 my grandmother decided I now needed a grown up scent. She picked Je Reviens, the wonderful original formulation. She bought me a bottle of real perfume, I still have the deep blue bottle. I wore it exclusively for almost 2 decades. She did the same thing for my two younger cousins when they became 16. I remember one was Shalimar, I don’t know the other, but it was very floral. My youngest cousin was very much a girly girl. Grandma did remarkably well choosing scents for another person, we each wore her choice for many years and I still like it. I have a small amount left of the “good” Je Reviens, so today I used a dab. Grandma would be proud.

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    • johanob says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:31 am

      Love your association with Je Reviens!
      Of the few things I kept after my Mom passed away,her perfumes are what I treasure the most.
      XO

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      • apsara says:
        16 October 2020 at 1:03 pm

        that’s so sweet johanob.
        I have a very dear friend who lost her mom way too young.
        When I gave her away at her wedding 10 years ago, we sprayed her mothers bottle of Aromatics Elixir on her blue silk handkerchief and bow around her bouquet. It was a very special moment of the day.

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        • johanob says:
          16 October 2020 at 1:19 pm

          That was a wonderful gesture!
          My Mom’s “church handkerchiefs” all still smell of her in Madame Rochas,Jean Patou Joy,Moon Drops,Anais Anais and my favorite that she wore,Coty Analitza.
          ?

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          • apsara says:
            16 October 2020 at 2:28 pm

            Ohhh my mom loved Halston and Shalimar.
            I have one of her hankies too.

    • SmokeyToes says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:33 am

      Oh, such a lovely memory! Can your Grandmother please adopt me??
      And yes, your Grandmother would be quite pleased!

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    • Desirae says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:34 am

      This is a lovely memory.

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    • farouche says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:34 am

      What a lovely story. Thanks for sharing!

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    • madtowngirl says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:30 pm

      Oh I love this story!

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    • springpansy says:
      16 October 2020 at 2:02 pm

      Ah – this is a wonderful story, KellyRed! I think I began wearing Je Reviens at 16 as well and wore it almost exclusively as well through high school, college and after (late 70s, early 80s). I didn’t have a French grandmother and my mom rarely wore perfume – and when she did it was Elizabeth Arden Blue Grass. But I discovered Je Reviens in high school when a very cool and beautiful senior girl said it was “her” fragrance. I fell in love with it.

      In fact, Je Reviens was my true intro to the vast world of fragrance via MakeupAlley as the reason I joined back in 2004 was to discover what happened to it – why could I no longer find it? It seems so naive now, but I never thought about perfumes being discontinued or reformulated back then. I was excited when it was brought back but it was not the same and I finally found a vintage bottle and bought it.

      So happy to see another big fan.

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    • tannina says:
      16 October 2020 at 2:05 pm

      What a lovely memory

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    • Laila says:
      16 October 2020 at 3:54 pm

      Lovely memory and count me as another fan of vintage Je Reviens.. I have it in various formulations but treasure most the tiny flat blue bottle of pure perfume my MIL brought me back from a trip years ago, which began my love of this fragrance.

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      • springpansy says:
        16 October 2020 at 4:59 pm

        Yes – the tiny flat blue bottle! ♥

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  16. johanob says:
    16 October 2020 at 11:29 am

    Crazy hot weather today,so I am not participating in the cp.I would have worn JPG Le Male,or Clavin Klein Eternity or Be,those were my first three “adult” perfumes!.
    Instead just light spritzes of the cooling “Personal Space” by a local brand named AmzLoves.She makes a marshmallow scented body lotion as well,which is AWESOME.
    HAPPY FRIDAY GOODSMELLAS!!
    XO

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    • lillyjo says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:42 am

      Lol Goodsmellas! How did I not think of this!?

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      • johanob says:
        16 October 2020 at 12:39 pm

        Haha.It got stuck in my brain from a youtube review by somebody.
        Happy Friday!
        ?✌?

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      • Jalapeno says:
        16 October 2020 at 5:49 pm

        That word NEEDS to be said in Joe Pesci’s voice!

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        • AngelaB says:
          17 October 2020 at 1:54 am

          Ha!! So perfect.

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    • Lovestosmellgood says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:54 am

      Happy Friday love

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      • johanob says:
        16 October 2020 at 12:39 pm

        Ciao Bella!
        ?✌?

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    • Nancyleandros says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:35 pm

      Have a lovely weekend, johanob! ?

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      • johanob says:
        16 October 2020 at 12:40 pm

        Thank you Nancy,same to you!?✌?

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    • johanob says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:43 pm

      Today the song “Where is my mind” is very very appropriate…
      Corrections galore!!:
      Calvin Klein.
      ESCAPE for men,not Eternity.We had a wonderful apothecary selling perfumes when I was at college,this was where I first encountered Calvin Klein perfumes.Escape and my first of many bottles of CK be was bought there.
      Good memories.
      ?

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      • lillyjo says:
        16 October 2020 at 1:05 pm

        I hated the womens Escape but always thought the men’s version was really sexy smelling.
        I didn’t know Where is my mind? Was a song. I just thought it was something I say every day?

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        • johanob says:
          16 October 2020 at 1:20 pm

          Haha.
          The Pixies,from the 90’s (I think??)

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          • Jalapeno says:
            16 October 2020 at 5:48 pm

            Some of their songs are definitely from the 1990’s!

      • Gail says:
        16 October 2020 at 7:34 pm

        Smelling fab, johano!

        I bought my hubby a bottle of Escape years ago, and just put a dab on since you reminded me as it’s still in my house! He doesn’t wear scent of any kind, so I guess it’s all mine. Wish I still had that bottle of Farenheit that I gave him.

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    • springpansy says:
      16 October 2020 at 2:04 pm

      I have CK Be and still love it, also.

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      • johanob says:
        16 October 2020 at 3:37 pm

        When Le Male happened I did not care for any other fragrance for YEARS…!!!Lol.
        I should revisit CK be.

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:35 pm

      Mmmm, marshmallow ?

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  17. Desirae says:
    16 October 2020 at 11:33 am

    Today I am wearing Shalimar, the one that started it all.

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    • Lovestosmellgood says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:54 am

      You can come sit next to me..

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    • Portia says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:48 pm

      What a wonderful place to start Desirae, Shalimar is so heavenly.
      Portia x

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  18. ockeghem says:
    16 October 2020 at 11:33 am

    Today I’m in Bulgari Black, a scent I bought in my early perfumista days. Yesterday I was in Feu d’Issey. Wednesday was Iris Silver Mist. When I first started really getting into perfume I wanted to try every supposedly “weird” scent I could! I’d done a lot of polite or mainstream fragrances through my teens and 20s and wanted to get out of that rut.

    I do still love this one, and find it not remotely weird (but I also don’t get a strong rubber note from this one on me, which disappointed me at first), but it’s a great fall perfume for a rainy, cool day.

    Off to what has become my everyday in the last two months — three-hour meetings back to back on a project that’s being rammed through way too quickly for its own good. It’s been a long week (but a short one here as Monday was a holiday) as my kid caught a cold last weekend, and we can’t send her to school until she stops coughing, so she’s been home all week. Thankfully the COVID testing was easy to get and returned (negative) results within 24 hours. I have a bad feeling that we’ll be seeing the COVID testers every few weeks this year, as colds and the flu go around at school and in sports. A couple of colleagues at work have already been through this rigamarole last week, for the flu.

    But…yay for the (almost) weekend!

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    • springpansy says:
      16 October 2020 at 2:05 pm

      Black is a great one – I did find it very weird at first, but not anymore. Happy to own one of the hockey puck bottles.

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    • SmokeyToes says:
      16 October 2020 at 2:39 pm

      I love Black! I remember being part of a perfume focus group back in the day.
      Seeing everyone’s faces as they reacted to it was hilarious. And of course, me being the odd-ball scent-lover, loved it instantly.

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      • ockeghem says:
        16 October 2020 at 2:44 pm

        Oooh — now that’s a focus group I’d like to have been behind the glass for. :D

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        • SmokeyToes says:
          16 October 2020 at 11:17 pm

          It really was funny to see people’s reactions.
          And what I wouldn’t give to see their reaction to Secretions Magnifique!

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    • Eschmeling says:
      16 October 2020 at 4:02 pm

      TWINS!!

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    • Robin says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:30 pm

      Hope your daughter is better soon!

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  19. floragal says:
    16 October 2020 at 11:41 am

    Wearing Philosykos today, definitely an early love for me. I bought my first bottle at a Diptyque sample sale (sniff, sniff) years ago and plan to always have this one around. It’s also a year-round scent for me as I like it fall, spring, you name it.

    Snacking on a snapdragon apple with a mug of hot water, honey & lemon.

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    • pixel says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:22 pm

      Scent twins!

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    • Robin says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:31 pm

      It was the 2nd or 3rd bottle I bought :-)

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  20. AnnieA says:
    16 October 2020 at 11:43 am

    Wearing my first blind buy, or at least my first successful blind buy: Cuir de Lancome. Really glad I bought a back up-bottle, possibly my first one and when it’s gone it’s gone.

    Passage d’Enfer has an early-perfumista meaning to me, if a sadly negative one: it was my first scrubber. I felt like I was indeed going to hell, in a moldy car festooned with those cheap, pine-shaped car deoderizers.

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    • springpansy says:
      16 October 2020 at 2:06 pm

      Haha – that was my experience of Passage as well way back. I’d like to re-try now – but that first impression was very negative. And I was so shocked as so many people loved it.

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    • Robin says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:31 pm

      TWO of you! That’s so funny.

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    • MissGoldsmith says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:52 pm

      Love Cuir de Lancôme! Wore that at some point yesterday.

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  21. Dawn says:
    16 October 2020 at 11:50 am

    Not doing the CP today but have a dab of Theorema on. Woke up in Eau Premiere. Not looking forward to going to work today but I have tomorrow and Sunday off. Made an Ulta order last night and now Bath and Body Works has a candle sale but I am going to wait until Candle Day and use up more of my candles.

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    • Robin says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:36 pm

      You smell great Dawn! Hope work goes quickly.

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  22. Lovestosmellgood says:
    16 October 2020 at 11:51 am

    Back to the beginning… Cristalle!

    ☔️ weather

    Black pants and a short sleeve tan cashmere sweater, red lippy and my Burberry trench from a thrift ?

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    • madtowngirl says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:28 pm

      You look and smell classy!

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    • johanob says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:46 pm

      Your outfit sounds fabulous,send a pic!!(I’m in a knit-material top and navy swimshorts with flamingoes on it…lol)
      Love Cristalle,you smell on point my friend!
      XO

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    • SmokeyToes says:
      16 October 2020 at 2:40 pm

      You smell marvelous! Cristalle is gorgeous!

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    • Robin says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:36 pm

      YUM. That was the 2nd or 3rd perfume I ever bought, but pre-perfumista days.

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  23. foxbins says:
    16 October 2020 at 12:00 pm

    I was a serial “signature scent” person until 2013, when I read “Coming To My Senses.” Then I found The Guide, and bought a lot of samples from STC in order to smell all the 4 and 5 star perfumes. Today I’m wearing one of my first bottle purchases, Songes. It’s still wonderful.

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    • madtowngirl says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:25 pm

      I was a serial signature scent person too until about 2015 when I really started reading perfume blogs. I was actually looking for a new signature scent but one thing led to another and well….you know how it goes.?

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      • tannina says:
        16 October 2020 at 2:22 pm

        This is me too, but it was 2018..until that time I wore Opium, Murasaki, Jil Sander Woman II, CK One, Eternity, Eau d Issey, Eau de Charlotte, Petite Chérie…. in chronological order.

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        • madtowngirl says:
          16 October 2020 at 3:43 pm

          Opium! Such a great perfume.

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      • ockeghem says:
        16 October 2020 at 2:51 pm

        Same here! I got sick of Acqua di Gio (which was my signature scent for probably more than a decade) around 2008, and then fell down the rabbit hole!

        Oh, my signature scents…probably best left in the past. :D Primo (what I could afford in high school), also in high school Liz Claiborne that someone gave me (probably because of the bottle). Then Poison in university because I thought it made me more grown-up, then Jil Sander and then Acqua di Gio.

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        • madtowngirl says:
          16 October 2020 at 3:42 pm

          I went through a bottle of Liz Claiborne along the way too, triangle yellow bottle right? And my roomie wore Poison in college too, I still love it!

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          • hajusuuri says:
            16 October 2020 at 10:30 pm

            My Liz Claiborne was red, yellow and blue piping around the triangle.

          • AngelaB says:
            17 October 2020 at 1:47 am

            Yes! Had it, loved it! 2 bottles worth and Oh that yellow! I have never found a freesia perfume I have liked since

          • ockeghem says:
            17 October 2020 at 6:47 pm

            My Liz Claiborne bottle was red — I think just straight red. That triangle was fun!

            I should go back and try Poison — I really haven’t worn it since university.

      • AngelaB says:
        17 October 2020 at 1:49 am

        Me too MadtownGirl!
        For me it was also an escape from a terminal cancer diagnosis for my mother.
        It really got me through some tough spots. And now my collection has surged.

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    • Old Herbaceous says:
      17 October 2020 at 9:20 am

      That’s me too, and it looks like several others here as well! I was working on a screenplay (for a class) about a perfumer and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t writing something stupid about an industry of which I knew very little, so I got Chandler Burr’s “The Perfect Scent.” Then I got “Perfumes: The A-Z Guide.” And down the rabbit-hole I went! Then I broke my shoulder and was stuck at home for a whole summer, unable to even leave my house for several weeks and sleeping in a special motorized chair in my dining room, while a work adversary dismantled my unit and a fragile out-of-state parent’s health declined while I couldn’t visit. Learning more about fragrances got me through that very difficult time.

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  24. lillyjo says:
    16 October 2020 at 12:06 pm

    Today I am revisiting TM Over the Musk. I think this is the perfume that made me think, how will I get more once my sample is gone? Hajusuuri to the rescue by offering a split! My first one, which made me feel like a true perfumista, lol. I’m down to my last few sprays and hoarding now, as I love it just as much. It reminds me of coty wild musk but better, way better.
    The national weather service came out with the winter outlook today. Looks like it will be cold and snowy in the Midwest this year ?

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    • madtowngirl says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:23 pm

      Our forecast for today was completely wrong. It was supposed to be cloudy and chance of rain and snow, but it’s beautiful and sunny. I’ll take it!?
      You smell great! I got my first split from hajusuuri too, and it also made me feel like a real perfumista, lol.

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      • lillyjo says:
        16 October 2020 at 1:11 pm

        Last winter my weather station predicted the worst winter since 2014 ( aka the winter from %$#!) And we ended up under average in snowfall. I don’t know why I even read the predictions. I still will, of course. Lol

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      • hajusuuri says:
        16 October 2020 at 3:22 pm

        Yay for splits! Which one was it?

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        • madtowngirl says:
          16 October 2020 at 3:38 pm

          Yay for splits, and yay for hajusuuri!?? It was Vanille 44, must dig it out and wear it soon!

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          • hajusuuri says:
            16 October 2020 at 10:28 pm

            Woo hoo! One of my loves!

    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 3:21 pm

      Woo hoo. I think this was a 3rd or 4th Splitmeet offering.

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 5:47 pm

      Any plans for another decant of Over The Musk?

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      • lillyjo says:
        16 October 2020 at 9:16 pm

        No, not right now. I’m ok savoring my drops for now. Maybe next year.

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  25. yasmina says:
    16 October 2020 at 12:07 pm

    I have always wore perfume but what sparked an interest in perfume as a hobby and brought me to this blog is LADM by Andy Tauer

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    • madtowngirl says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:20 pm

      Yum, that one was in one of my first sample sets from luckyscent. How is your mini holding up? I know pl67 and I have had evaporation issues.

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      • yasmina says:
        16 October 2020 at 3:13 pm

        When I saw your evaporation story I rushed to check mine and its in good shape. I wonder why some bottles evaporate and others don’t!

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        • madtowngirl says:
          16 October 2020 at 3:34 pm

          Oh good! Yeah, that’s so weird. I’ve had it with several decants, but this was a first from the manufacturer.?‍♀️

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    • ockeghem says:
      16 October 2020 at 2:52 pm

      Yeah, I can see that one converting just about anyone! One of my favourites!

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      • yasmina says:
        16 October 2020 at 3:13 pm

        It’s SO good, isn’t it

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 5:45 pm

      LAdDM is gorgeous!

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  26. pixel says:
    16 October 2020 at 12:13 pm

    Friday already! Well I really meant to participate in the CP all week, but it’s been a strange week. We’ve been under a red flag (fire) warning since Wednesday, power shutoff Weds/Thurs, and a heat warning (temps in the 90s) yesterday and today. Thurs AM we were outside on our deck watching a fire in the canyon below our house from 3 am to 6 am. The fire guys stopped it at half an acre, whew, but I was sure a zombie all day. And this morning we’re in the smoke again, from the fires in the Sierras.

    Anyway. My CP plan was to wear the first perfumes I bought when I fell down the rabbit hole 6 years ago. They were:
    1. Diptyque Philosykos
    2. Donna Karan Black Cashmere
    3. CBIHP Ambrosius
    4. Teo Cabanel Meloe
    5. Fendi Theorema

    So I’ll pick Philosykos for today. Happy Friday everyone!

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    • madtowngirl says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:18 pm

      Happy Friday! Stay safe, pixel! Those fires sound awfully close.?

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      • pixel says:
        16 October 2020 at 12:24 pm

        Thanks! The fire Thurs AM was definitely too close for comfort.

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    • springpansy says:
      16 October 2020 at 2:08 pm

      Happy Friday – you smell wonderful. I hope for relief from those fires very soon for all of you! So stressful.

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    • ockeghem says:
      16 October 2020 at 2:52 pm

      So many fires! Wishing for relief for you soon.

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    • Robin says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:38 pm

      Wow, Pixel. I am wishing you a very peaceful weekend.

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    • Old Herbaceous says:
      17 October 2020 at 9:21 am

      Yike, that sounds so alarming. I hope the fires subside soon, and stay away from your home and loved ones!

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  27. madtowngirl says:
    16 October 2020 at 12:16 pm

    Casmir!
    This was my third signature scent. Lauren was high school-and I wish I had some vintage because I would have worn that today- Obsession was college, and Casmir was immediately post college because it came out the same year that I graduated. I know I’ve mentioned it before, but this is the only perfume I’ve ever bought after smelling one of those scent strips they put inside of magazines. I loved it instantly and bought a bottle at Dayton’s department store (a subsidiary of Marshall Fields, rip Marshall Fields?). At some point I got a gift set, probably for Christmas, which included a mini and a jar of body “silk”- both of which is still have! An ultra generous NSTer sent me a big bottle a while back, so I am set for life!

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    • lillyjo says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:19 pm

      I recently saw the body lotion on fragrance net and wondered if it could have held up (assuming it was old stock) you smell wonderful!

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      • madtowngirl says:
        16 October 2020 at 12:36 pm

        Thanks! Yeah, I wonder. The body silk has turned kind of orange, but still smells great.

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 5:44 pm

      I think Casmir was one of my lucky perfume picks in the late 1990’s or early 2000’s. I have no idea how old the bottle I have is now.

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      • madtowngirl says:
        17 October 2020 at 7:15 am

        Good stuff!?

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    • Kelly Red says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:16 pm

      Dayton’s! Do you live in the cities? I worked for years at JBHudsons.
      First as a bridal consultant, eventually as an assistant giftware buyer.
      I loved the downtown Dayton’s store and wandered the perfume and cosmetics floor.
      I spent my first real paycheck on a Max Mara coat from the Oval Room and I still wear it.

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      • madtowngirl says:
        17 October 2020 at 7:14 am

        No, but my mom grew up there and my aunt and gramma lived in Stillwater while I was growing up. We spent many weekends in the cities and Maplewood and Rosedale are the malls I spent the most time at. I went to college a couple of hours south of the cities (LaCrosse) and they had a Dayton’s in the mall there too, that’s where I got my Casmir.?
        How ironic you were a bridal consultant! I got my wedding dress at The Wedding Shoppe in St Paul- Grand Avenue.

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  28. allo says:
    16 October 2020 at 12:24 pm

    Hi, I have enjoyed this site for a long time and I have learned so much from you all – you have inspired untold amounts of perfume smelling and buying!). This year, I have found particular comfort in reading the daily polls and I decided, if not 2020, when would I jump in and join you? I have loved perfume since my mother wore Miss Dior from the iconic houndstooth bottle in the early 60’s. As an adult I discovered fragrance through L’Artisan Parfumeur and the since discontinued Santal. Now I’m enjoying learning more about Guerlain fragrances, and wishing, like many of you, that I had more vintage versions to try. Looking forward to more reading, smelling and posting.

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    • pixel says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:26 pm

      Welcome!!

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      • allo says:
        16 October 2020 at 12:30 pm

        Thank you!

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    • johanob says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:47 pm

      Welcome to fabulous NST!

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    • springpansy says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:48 pm

      So glad you joined in the fun!

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    • lillyjo says:
      16 October 2020 at 1:00 pm

      Welcome!

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    • sistine says:
      16 October 2020 at 1:23 pm

      Hello, and welcome! It’s nice to meet you.

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 1:30 pm

      Welcome allo!

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    • tannina says:
      16 October 2020 at 2:26 pm

      You are in good company, welcome

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    • Laila says:
      16 October 2020 at 3:58 pm

      Welcome! That houndstooth bottle of Miss Dior was one I wore back then and still love and wear today.

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 5:42 pm

      Hello there!

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    • perfumelover67 says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:02 pm

      Welcome!

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    • AngelaB says:
      17 October 2020 at 1:40 am

      Waving Hi! ? Welcome.

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    • Old Herbaceous says:
      17 October 2020 at 9:24 am

      Hi! Glad to meet you, and read your comments!

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  29. InkyFeathers says:
    16 October 2020 at 12:32 pm

    The first perfume I can really remember knowing the name of and the first I saved up to buy, and got on my honeymoon trip, Penhaligon’s Violetta. My mother had gotten some of their scented treasury books, I read and reread the Language of Flowers a lot as a kid/teen, always burying my nose in the endpapers to try and smell Violetta. It’s the one that started me learning about perfume. It’s the one I reach for when I want to feel really proper and put together.

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    • Eschmeling says:
      16 October 2020 at 4:05 pm

      That book sounds neat!

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      • Robin says:
        16 October 2020 at 6:39 pm

        2nd! I had never heard of those InkyFeathers.

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        • InkyFeathers says:
          16 October 2020 at 8:38 pm

          They were a whole series put out by Penhaligon’s in the 1990(s?)of poetry and prose with lovely prints of paintings. Edited by Sheila Pickles, who was in charge of the company at the time, I think. Each book was scented with one of their perfumes. I ended up getting copies of my own and getting my mom more off eBay, and book sights. I used them as centerpieces at my wedding reception. They mean a lot to me. You can still find them at the book depository ,Amazon and eBay I think. My favorites were The Language of Flowers, Grand Tour, and Victorian Posy, but they covered a variety of subjects.

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          • Robin says:
            17 October 2020 at 1:24 pm

            Thanks, I will take a peek!

    • therabbitsflower says:
      17 October 2020 at 1:09 pm

      Oh, I have that book! I found it at a used book store a few years ago, and it’s been sitting on my bookshelf unread. I had only flipped through it, not read it yet. I just picked it off the shelf and smelled inside but nope, there’s no more perfume smell, of course. It’s a very charming book, and I’ll keep it out to read a few pages here and there. How cool to have had this scented book as a kid.

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      • InkyFeathers says:
        17 October 2020 at 5:47 pm

        It definitely made a lasting impression to see that a book could be scented. I don’t think Violetta lasted long on it, though. Lol. I occasionally “reapply” on the endpapers of the copy I have. ?

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  30. Colognissimo says:
    16 October 2020 at 12:33 pm

    My fragrance for today’s CP is Sables by Annick Goutal: Even if I only bought it much later, I think it was the first fragrance I decided to actively seek out after I had read about it online.

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    • Robin says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:39 pm

      And a good choice!

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  31. lucasai says:
    16 October 2020 at 12:34 pm

    My back to basics perfume is Prada Amber Pour Homme.
    The very 1st fragrance I bought with my own money that I earned.

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    • Robin says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:29 pm

      Nice!! And you smell great.

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    • Portia says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:50 pm

      Hey Lucasai,
      Still smells fabulous too. We spritzed our wedding invitations with it.
      Portia xx

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  32. SmokeyToes says:
    16 October 2020 at 12:47 pm

    Happy FriYaY all! My SOTD, my first scent love, and the first scent I ever purchased for myself in the beginning of my perfume journey (back in 1979) is Alyssa Ashley’s Musk Oil. I loved it’s clean powdery beauty, soft musk, iris, powder, and a touch of sweetness.
    I remember trying it on our local Pharmacy, it was instant love. My grandmother and I were running errands, I was elated that she also loved it.
    She was also a lover of perfumes and scented body products, at the time, I believe her perfume faves were Estee Lauder scents, Estee and Private Collection. Perhaps it’s because AA Musk smells like a cousin to Estee is the reason she loved it? IDK, they do smell similar to me. The downside, was that my parents had a rule, no perfume or makeup until I was 15 – but together, my perfumista Grandmother and I hatched a plan and my love of perfume was born.
    I’m fortunate that I have a few of Grandmother’s perfume bottles to treasure.

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 5:42 pm

      You do have some treasures in those old perfume bottles. ?

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    • Robin says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:30 pm

      That’s a lovely story!

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  33. springpansy says:
    16 October 2020 at 12:47 pm

    I’ve loved fragrance for a long time – really since high school back in the mid-70s. So I could have chosen my vintage Je Reviens or Obsession Sheer (in memory of the original Obsession I wore and used up) or even Tresor for the 90s. But I went with one of the first bottles I bought after I fell down the rabbit hole of niche perfumes: Chergui. I found it strange and wonderful and exotic. Later I sold it (why?????), but I have a decant from a kind NST perfumista that I enjoy greatly.

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    • springpansy says:
      16 October 2020 at 12:50 pm

      This was a fun poll for me (thanks for choosing it, Robin) because for me, perfume is not only about how it smells right now, but all the memories that become associated with specific fragrances as well. So thanks, everyone for playing along!

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      • SmokeyToes says:
        16 October 2020 at 1:19 pm

        This has been a fun poll Springpansy, thanks!

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      • Portia says:
        16 October 2020 at 7:51 pm

        SO is about all the history we have in a scent SpringPansy. LOVED this event.
        Portia xx

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    • Robin says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:31 pm

      So why did you sell it — did you think you were bored with it? Decided for a time that you didn’t like it?

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      • springpansy says:
        17 October 2020 at 2:59 pm

        It was kind of a newbie panic – I didn’t have a big perfume budget and was fairly new to niche. I started panicking that I had bought this bottle which took the whole budget for a while and did I really love it that much, etc, etc when there was still so much I wanted to try and so much learning to be done. I wish I’d held onto it now, but oh well.

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:23 pm

      I had a small sample of Chergui and tried it sparingly and hated it because it smelled like bug spray. Finally, in an effort to thunk the sample (way before thunking was a thing), I went for broke and sprayed the rest and wow, I fell in love. More is more!

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      • springpansy says:
        17 October 2020 at 3:00 pm

        Funny how that happens!

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  34. thegoddessrena says:
    16 October 2020 at 1:02 pm

    Chinatown from a travel spray that is at least 12 years old. Still smells fabulous on me

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    • apsara says:
      16 October 2020 at 1:04 pm

      amen, sistah!!

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    • Lisa D says:
      16 October 2020 at 2:31 pm

      Ooh, that’s a good one.

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  35. Aurora says:
    16 October 2020 at 1:02 pm

    In my First niche purchase, Au Pays de la Fleur d’Oranger Néroli Blanc, I still adore its almost medicinal ob so very fragrant and natural smelling, much more than the intense version which is quite different, very sweet, smelled boring to me.

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    • Merlin says:
      16 October 2020 at 4:36 pm

      I have the Intense version and I agree that it’s too sweet…

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      • Aurora says:
        17 October 2020 at 5:00 am

        I was surprised that there could be so much difference between the two. Also the EDC was lovely but it’s not on their website anymore.

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 5:41 pm

      I haven’t been lucky enough to smell orange blossoms yet, but I have come across lemon blossoms and grapefruit blossoms. Love them both!

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      • Aurora says:
        17 October 2020 at 2:47 pm

        All citrus blossoms must be divine, smelled lemon too but never grapefruit.

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  36. apsara says:
    16 October 2020 at 1:07 pm

    My first love. Joy in 1973. still have the empty bottle.
    My next loves – Opium, cinnabar, Fidji, Ysatis, the big ones from the 80s.
    A break in the 90s
    My serious toe dip – Chinatown. the rest is history!! Today is Saffran Troublant from when L’artisan still had their jewel box stores.

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    • springpansy says:
      16 October 2020 at 1:24 pm

      Love it – “my life in perfume”…

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      • SmokeyToes says:
        16 October 2020 at 2:41 pm

        Yep, exactly!
        And aspara, I do admire your choices. I love Cinnabar, such a gorgeous spicy beauty.

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    • baronessa says:
      16 October 2020 at 3:47 pm

      Yes to Ysatis! I wonder if I would like it still….?

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    • Omega says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:44 pm

      Mmm Opium and Cinnabar:)

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    • Portia says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:52 pm

      Hey Apsara,
      Do you keep all your empties?
      Portia x

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:16 pm

      Yep, there was such a boutique at Henri Bendel’s!

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    • therabbitsflower says:
      17 October 2020 at 1:40 pm

      I’m so glad I was able to briefly visit the Chicago L’Artisan store on a trip in 2006 before it closed. A lovely shop indeed.

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  37. perfumelover67 says:
    16 October 2020 at 1:07 pm

    For bacon lovers:

    https://www.google.com/amp/s/nypost.com/2020/10/15/bacon-scented-face-masks-hormel-foods-is-giving-them-away/amp/

    As much as I love bacon, I will not be able to be smelling it for hours… ?

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 3:06 pm

      Is it April Fools? This gave me the ickies ?

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      • perfumelover67 says:
        16 October 2020 at 6:05 pm

        It is an awful idea!

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    • springpansy says:
      16 October 2020 at 3:22 pm

      No thanks!

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      • perfumelover67 says:
        16 October 2020 at 6:06 pm

        Dito!

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    • lillyjo says:
      16 October 2020 at 4:42 pm

      Yuk! Does it make your skin greasy?

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      • perfumelover67 says:
        16 October 2020 at 6:05 pm

        LOL! ?

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      • Nancyleandros says:
        16 October 2020 at 9:53 pm

        Hey, wring it out and fry an egg.

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        • lillyjo says:
          16 October 2020 at 11:04 pm

          No!! ?

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 5:39 pm

      Ewwwwwwwwwwwww. NOPE!

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      • perfumelover67 says:
        16 October 2020 at 6:07 pm

        Nope, nope and nope!

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    • Portia says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:53 pm

      This sounds kinda borderline fab and awful PL67. I can’t decide if I’d adore it or ….
      Portia x

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      • perfumelover67 says:
        16 October 2020 at 8:32 pm

        I know…..

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  38. irisjasmine says:
    16 October 2020 at 1:17 pm

    I should be wearing Shanghai Lily, the first “fancy” sample I just had to have a bottle of, but I felt like a dap of Une Rose Chypre today and have no regrets; it feels perfect for the weather.

    I love reading all of your stories.

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:15 pm

      Is this the Tauer one? If yes, you smell mighty fine!

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      • MissGoldsmith says:
        16 October 2020 at 11:06 pm

        I second the motion!

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  39. Ede97005 says:
    16 October 2020 at 1:19 pm

    Friday!

    1) Am in Back to Black from a decant – missed the challenge for this week! :-( But it’s perfect on this bright chilly morning.

    2) I have been doing some KonMari and re arrangement upstairs and am selecting paint colors. It’s harder work than I imagined!

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 3:19 pm

      I was a Marie Kondo fail ??‍♀️.

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      • Ede97005 says:
        16 October 2020 at 5:57 pm

        with those amazing perfumes I am happy you were a ‘fail’! For me, it’s all the flotsam that has some how snuck in since moving in!

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        • hajusuuri says:
          16 October 2020 at 10:14 pm

          LOL. I need to get rid of a lot!

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  40. Lisa D says:
    16 October 2020 at 2:36 pm

    If I was to go back to the beginning, I’d have to have some vintage Opium. I do not, so I’m opting for going back to the beginning of the “niche” period, which morphed into a wider appreciation for anything that smells unusual or interesting, which morphed into an obsession with anything that smells good on me, with a very broad interpretation of the term “good.” SOTD is Luten’s Chypre Rouge, from a relatively vintage bottle.

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    • Calypso says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:09 pm

      I like that one too, and think it’s underrated.

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  41. tannina says:
    16 October 2020 at 2:37 pm

    I chose a scent that I bought as a decant and had to have a bottle. I loved Felanilla after the first sniff and finally got a used bottle. One of the few iris perfumes I really like. But I love it for the saffron

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    • Portia says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:55 pm

      OOOOH! I love Felanilla too Tannina. Haven’t worn it in ages, thanks for the reminder.
      Portia x

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:13 pm

      I love Felanilla!

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    • AngelaB says:
      17 October 2020 at 1:29 am

      I want Felanilla!

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  42. Gaynor says:
    16 October 2020 at 2:46 pm

    I’m not going quite back to the beginning, but I am repeating an experience from 2014. I did a class where I made my own perfume, and I’ve been saying to myself for years that I should do it again – and today, I am. And to make it even more special, it was my birthday last week and my beloved is paying for the class as a present. I hope I can create a perfume worthy of the occasion :)
    So, I’m perfume free so far.

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    • yasmina says:
      16 October 2020 at 3:14 pm

      That sounds like a fun birthday gift!

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    • Eschmeling says:
      16 October 2020 at 4:07 pm

      have fun and happy birthday!

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 5:38 pm

      Happy Scented Birthday for sure! Let us know how this session goes.

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    • perfumelover67 says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:08 pm

      Happy Belated Birthday! Have fun!

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    • lillyjo says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:51 pm

      Happy belated Birthday!

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    • Calypso says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:10 pm

      Oooh, tell us how it goes!

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    • Gail says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:39 pm

      Happy Belated Birthday! And enjoy your class, how fun!

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:12 pm

      Belated Happy Birthday! Curious to know what you ended up concocting!

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    • Old Herbaceous says:
      17 October 2020 at 9:41 am

      Happy birthday! What a lovely gift! Have a wonderful time.

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  43. Amateur Dilettante says:
    16 October 2020 at 3:14 pm

    Hi! Been a while since I’ve commented, but I have been reading comments. I started a new job in August and it was a bit frantic for a while.
    I am back to the beginning in my first full bottle, Azureé. I smell like citrus rinds and saddles (or so I imagine, it’s been ages since I’ve smelled anything to do with horses). I hope today is good to you all! I’ll have to read later.

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    • springpansy says:
      16 October 2020 at 3:21 pm

      Oh, nice choice!

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    • stinker_kit says:
      16 October 2020 at 3:40 pm

      One of my favorites! You smell divine!

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    • lillyjo says:
      16 October 2020 at 4:39 pm

      I was thinking of you this morning! Nice to see you post ?

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      • Amateur Dilettante says:
        16 October 2020 at 11:08 pm

        Hi lillyjo!

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 5:38 pm

      The “old” bottle shape of Azuree is so cool. It matches the perfume perfectly.

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      • Amateur Dilettante says:
        16 October 2020 at 11:09 pm

        It is! One perfume boat I didn’t miss! See hajusuuri’s post re: Dark Passage

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    • perfumelover67 says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:09 pm

      Nice to see you again!

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      • Amateur Dilettante says:
        16 October 2020 at 11:09 pm

        Hi perfumelover67!

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    • Portia says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:56 pm

      Has the frantic calmed down for you?
      Portia x

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      • Amateur Dilettante says:
        16 October 2020 at 11:12 pm

        It has, for now! Accounting firm and just got through the personal tax deadline for those who filed for extensions. Which seemed to be mostly everyone.
        I would gladly sit by you on the bus! 24 Rue Faubourg is fantastic!

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        • Portia says:
          17 October 2020 at 4:43 am

          If only you were in Sydney or I where you are.
          Portia xx

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  44. hajusuuri says:
    16 October 2020 at 3:17 pm

    SOTD = Andy Tauer Dark Passage

    From his Kickstarter campaign, part of pairing an indie film with an indie perfume in 2012. I took a plunge into the rabbit hole in 2011 and before you know it, I participated in this campaign even though I was not familiar with Kickstarter not with indie. And the rest is history as they say.

    Tobacco, patchouli, birch tar ?

    https://www.instagram.com/p/CGaXZI_BSB3/?igshid=ujia34ntaljw

    I also could have chosen Prada Infusion d’Iris Absolue, the first perfume where I asked the SA for the largest bottle available.

    Friday could not have come any sooner!

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 3:18 pm

      I meant to ask who here likes Gucci Bloom?

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      • irisjasmine says:
        16 October 2020 at 3:25 pm

        I do. It’s a nice, wearable white floral. The flankers make me chuckle, though, because apart from the green one, they all smell pretty much the same.

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        • hajusuuri says:
          16 October 2020 at 9:59 pm

          I never got into it so who knows why I got one of the relatively recent flankers Gucci Bloom Love Homme. I will need to revisit it. Currently , I am keeping it because of the flat green bottle.

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          • irisjasmine says:
            16 October 2020 at 10:14 pm

            I think you have Gucci Guilty Love Homme? I can’t find a men’s flanker to Bloom. That is a cool bottle, though!

        • hajusuuri says:
          17 October 2020 at 12:25 am

          You are absolutely right!

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      • stinker_kit says:
        16 October 2020 at 3:39 pm

        I really like Gucci Bloom! I spray my pillow with it too! I find white florals relaxing.

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        • hajusuuri says:
          16 October 2020 at 10:00 pm

          Wow, I have to take a break from fragrance at night, other than the occasional spritz of LUSH body spray (on my body).

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      • lillyjo says:
        16 October 2020 at 4:41 pm

        I like Gucci Bloom. I also agree the flankers all smell similar. I haven’t tried the newest one yet.

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        • hajusuuri says:
          16 October 2020 at 10:01 pm

          Is Homme Love in the green bottle what you’re thinking of? Gucci Bloom seems to be birthing flankers like siblings born 3 months apart to the same mother ?.

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          • lillyjo says:
            16 October 2020 at 11:00 pm

            I don’t know what the newest one is called, but it’s in a mustard yellow colored bottle.

        • hajusuuri says:
          17 October 2020 at 12:24 am

          I just realized Based in irisjasmine’s comment above that the green bottle Homme Love is Gucci Guilty!

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      • Jalapeno says:
        16 October 2020 at 5:36 pm

        I think Gucci Bloom is travel spray worthy! Yes, that could come off as facetious, but if I have the option to get that size in a perfume, that is my preferred one.

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        • hajusuuri says:
          16 October 2020 at 10:06 pm

          You may be able to — Sephora has all sorts of options. Sephora holiday discounts coming up ?

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          • Jalapeno says:
            16 October 2020 at 10:43 pm

            Trying to keep my “eyes on the prize” for Wrappings this year! It didn’t happen last year…

      • Merlin says:
        17 October 2020 at 6:45 am

        I like the original Bloom – and more than its two fiori flankers. I don’t think I’v tried the new one in the mustard bottle. And the bottles for the Guilty Love are SO pretty! The woman’s is like rose quartz and the men’s like jade. Unfortunately I wasn’t taken by the smell of either…

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    • meredifay says:
      16 October 2020 at 3:45 pm

      The largest bottle available! LOL! That’s the spirit!

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      • hajusuuri says:
        16 October 2020 at 10:09 pm

        “Back then” there were more choices!

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    • Portia says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:57 pm

      Hey Hajusuuri!
      I love Dark Passage. Every time I wear it they name makes me laugh. So naughty!
      Also, love Gucci Bloom and have one of the flankers Acqua di Fiori.
      Portia xx

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      • hajusuuri says:
        16 October 2020 at 10:10 pm

        Hey Portia, absolutely NAUGHTY! I should look into this Acqua di Fiori!

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        • Portia says:
          17 October 2020 at 4:44 am

          Its a salty fresh version. It was so unexpected and stylishly done I fell madly. It gets quite a bit of wear here.
          Portia xx

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    • farouche says:
      16 October 2020 at 9:54 pm

      Ooh, I like Infusion d’Iris Absolue, too and remember purchasing my bottle while visiting my daughter in Minneapolis. I think of that trip every time I wear the perfume ?

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      • hajusuuri says:
        16 October 2020 at 10:11 pm

        Hooray for wonderful perfume associations!

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    • Amateur Dilettante says:
      16 October 2020 at 11:17 pm

      Man I feel like Dark Passage was “the one that got away”. Or one of the ones anyway.
      Never tried Gucci Bloom, but I love me some white florals. I’ll have to try it next time I’m out and about, but then that feels like it will be never, and are there even testers anymore?

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      • hajusuuri says:
        17 October 2020 at 12:23 am

        I may only have been to Sephora once when the malls opened up and I don’t have a recollection of what the perfume protocols were … likely because I was nervous about being in a smallish store ??‍♀️

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  45. MMKinPA says:
    16 October 2020 at 3:17 pm

    Goutal Vanille Exquise. I started my journey somewhat obsessed with vanilla. This was the first bottle I bought online. Will probably be the first full bottle that I empty as well.

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    • Portia says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:58 pm

      Good to see you MMKinPA!
      You’re smelling YUM!
      Portia xx

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  46. SheriG says:
    16 October 2020 at 3:30 pm

    I’m in an early favorite, Bottega Veneta Eau Légère. Unlike yesterday’s revisit of Dior Homme (which apparently doesn’t suit me anymore), BV is still delightful – in fact, I like it so much that I created a little place of honor for it on the perfume shelf, to make up for having neglected it for years. Hopefully it will forgive me. ?

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 5:35 pm

      Your post yesterday is reminding me that I should give some of my old favorites a sniff, and see if we still get along. I know that my tastes have shifted in the past few years…

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 9:55 pm

      I would put away Dior Homme for some time and then bring it out again. Also, if you haven’t worn it for a while, perhaps you got some of the oxidized part?

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  47. Laila says:
    16 October 2020 at 4:04 pm

    Today’s cp was a bit of a challenge for me, since I have always loved fragrance and I can’t remember a ‘pre-perfumista’ time. So wondering how one defined the term ‘perfumista,’ I searched and found this delightful 2007 NST post from Angela on ‘Becoming a perfumista’ I just had to share with all of you:
    https://nstperfume.com/2007/10/19/becoming-a-perfumista/

    I decided to focus on that stage of my perfumistahood that began with the explosion of fragrance information that happened upon the advent of the Internet. I remember that Serge Lutens and his fragrances and the ‘salon’ itself were talked about frequently at that time, and so I opted to wear his Rahat Loukoum today. I still treasure the beautiful packet of wax samples I received in 2003 directly from Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido and will never forget the wonderful experience I had there on my one and only subsequent trip to Paris. After much testing, this beautiful Turkish delight scent in the classic bell jar came home with me. I use it sparingly and treasure the memories it brings each time I wear it.

    We’re in full fall color here in Illinois but the leaves are already beginning to fall so every moment this weekend will be special. Happy weekend to all!

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    • Calypso says:
      16 October 2020 at 7:13 pm

      Wow, that’s a neat story and a somewhat unusual scent choice. I miss autumn leaves so much, but today my friends up in Northern Michigan and Minnesota posted pictures of the first snow. No thanks!

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  48. Eschmeling says:
    16 October 2020 at 4:11 pm

    Bulgari Black. I read the guide and probably bought it partially because it was cheap on Amazon….the bottle has been mostly sitting in my drawer unused, but I still like it. No weird rubber notes here. However, I’ve used this once with students and they did NOT like it.
    If I got back to the very beginning, it would have to be a bottle of Calyx, but that bottle is long gone and when I smelled it once at Ulta’s, I recoiled in horror :)!

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    • Merlin says:
      16 October 2020 at 4:57 pm

      I think this perfume is meant to turn quite quickly so the tester might have been bad. Just a possibility!

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      • Jalapeno says:
        16 October 2020 at 5:57 pm

        Calyx definitely was reformulated when Clinique took it over.

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  49. Merlin says:
    16 October 2020 at 4:56 pm

    This morning I was wearing Ourzazate which was my first niche fragrance. I’v been thinking about it for a while as a comment on NST pointed out that it’s supposed to represent one of the great faiths (in CDG’s 5-incense collection). For someone else it represented John Lennon’s song ‘Give Peace a Chance’. And for me? I have always found this spicey scent inspiring – as if it could give me the impetus to cross dry lands and seas for some greater purpose. Only…today what it really brought to mind is the exclusive, pretentious shop where I bought it. They stocked mostly impractical designer wear – avant garde, etc. This morning this scent smelled like a highly artificial, overly exclusive, stylized riff on a foreign culture. ??? This is most certainly NOT my final word on it as I’m sure I’ll feel more positive when I am in a better mood :D

    So right now – I’m in Encre Noire edt. This was the first scent I took a hairpin turn on: I smelled it several times just to remember the AWFUL bitterness. And then…started finding it addictive and well…10 years down the line and I ADORE vetiver.

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 9:49 pm

      Someone gave me a decant of Encre Noir. I like it!

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      • Merlin says:
        17 October 2020 at 3:55 am

        Might be worth the purchase as it seems available in many discounters and has a great bottle: A heavy square of black glass. I think I like the flankers too – the sports one and the extreme. I haven’t done side by sides because I don’t think I need more than one version though :)

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  50. Gail says:
    16 October 2020 at 4:59 pm

    I think I was born with a perfume bottle in my hand, having loved many scented things all my life. I haven’t gone back to the beginning but i’m wearing a couple sprays of Ivoire, a cherished bottle of mine.

    One of the first bottles that I remember buying for myself was Lancome Magie Noire. I wish I still had it, and all the other bottles I got rid of before I moved out of the house!

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 5:34 pm

      Aw, that’s a shame about those long lost perfumes!

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      • Gail says:
        16 October 2020 at 7:42 pm

        Yeah it sure is. Cinnabar comes to mind for sure.

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    • lillyjo says:
      16 October 2020 at 9:11 pm

      I wish I had mine too. Plus so many that I should have bought but didn’t. Like Magie Noire!

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      • Gail says:
        16 October 2020 at 11:23 pm

        Where’s my time machine? lol..

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  51. Jalapeno says:
    16 October 2020 at 5:14 pm

    Like some others here have posted, I have always liked perfumes. I remember sharing bottles of Charlie with my mom waaaaaaaaaay back when. And I went thru multiple bottles of “Loves Baby Soft” in junior high school. Then I purchased a bottle of Ivoire de Balmain in the late 1980’s after reading about it in Cosmopolitan. But I was not a perfumista then.

    I had some lucky perfume picks in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. (CK Contradiction, CK Truth, and a couple bottles of Cacharel Noa.) I had a small perfume wardrobe by then, so I had moved past the idea of a signature scent. But perfume was mostly a special occasion accessory. Again, not a perfumista.

    I finally became a perfumista in 2009, when, after a difficult year, I immersed myself in perfume blogs. All these strange names and acronyms. What is a split? You can buy perfume samples? There is a name for all of this? WOW… mind blown. So many things I wanted to smell based on vivid and compelling descriptions. And down the rabbit hole I went. I’ve called myself a perfumista for 11 years now.

    SOTD = Guerlain Samsara EdT. This is one of my very first blind buys. I had wanted to smell it, but never seemed to find it in any of the easy-to-get to malls or department stores in my area. So I bit the bullet and ordered it from Sephora when they carried it. TBH, it wasn’t love at first sniff for me. But eventually I grew to like, then enjoy Samsara. It ended up being the first Guerlain I ever “clicked” with.

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    • lillyjo says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:50 pm

      ?and they call her Charlie?

      On a seperate note.. did you see what David Crosby said about Eddie Van Halen?!

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      • Jalapeno says:
        16 October 2020 at 7:24 pm

        No, I didn’t! Off to the Internets to check out that story…

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      • Jalapeno says:
        16 October 2020 at 7:54 pm

        Sheesh. To quote Bugs Bunny: “What a maroon!” ?

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        • lillyjo says:
          16 October 2020 at 9:09 pm

          Totally!

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        • AngelaB says:
          17 October 2020 at 1:19 am

          ?good one!

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      • AngelaB says:
        17 October 2020 at 1:21 am

        Oh boy do I remember that one. (I hear the tune in my head as I read this.)

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 9:47 pm

      I love reading about your perfumista journey! Do you think it was the sandalwood you had to get used to?

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      • Jalapeno says:
        16 October 2020 at 10:04 pm

        No, I think it was the floral notes. I remember getting a rather noticeable narcissus note in Samsara, which no one seems to mention.

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    • Merlin says:
      17 October 2020 at 3:59 am

      I do think Samsara is one of the most immediately appealing of the classical Guerlains. I think I needed repeated exposure to the others to get used to, and start appreciating, them. But I agree there is ALSO something a little challenging about Samsara. (Narcissus may well be the problematic note for me too).

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  52. Baby Dumpling says:
    16 October 2020 at 5:58 pm

    I’m not a perfumista, but I have pomegranate noir, which is the first non drugstore or designer perfume I tried. It’s good and menthol smelling. Mixed with green tea Elizabeth Arden deodorant. Working nice.

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    • Merlin says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:35 pm

      That’s a pretty monumental choice for a non-perfumista! Fruity, tart, dry and powdery… I’ve been sniffing for years but this one still stares me down ?

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    • Omega says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:43 pm

      Lol, not a perfumista…..

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      • Merlin says:
        16 October 2020 at 7:01 pm

        Acceptance is the first step ?

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      • Baby Dumpling says:
        18 October 2020 at 12:08 am

        I just realized I have four Omnias. I don’t know how it happened, but I do. It is basic stuffs, and cheap in the interwebs. Not too perfumo at all. But I did wear Secretions Magnifique and thought it was pretty good. I don’t smell all the awful things others do, just smells like the dressing room in a strip club to me.

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  53. Old Herbaceous says:
    16 October 2020 at 6:21 pm

    Spent the day wearing Hermes’ Un Jardin Sur Le Nil, since it was a star of Chandler Burr’s book “The Perfect Scent”, which is what “scent” me down this rabbit-hole! I have always loved fragrances, and my own early good ones were Diorissimo and Chanel No. 22, but I stuck with them and a few additions like Shisheido Zen 2000 and Pure White Linen for years. Then I read the book … and then I discovered “Perfumes: The Guide”, then I found fragrance blogs like this one, then I started blogging myself as an aficionado, not an expert, and here we are.

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    • Portia says:
      16 October 2020 at 8:00 pm

      I did not know this about you OH! What a fabulous rabbit hole story. You always had perfumista taste though.
      Portia x

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      • Old Herbaceous says:
        17 October 2020 at 9:54 am

        lol, I was raised by a mother whose signature scent was Chanel No. 5 and who later flirted with Opium, Poison, Norell, and I think Cinnabar. Actually, how I got into No. 22 was that I was buying some No. 5 EDT for my mom when I was in my 20s (see my blog post “My Mother’s Last Perfume”), and the sales lady asked if I had any Chanel myself. I didn’t. So she asked what I liked, I said Diorissimo, and she said I might like No. 22 because it also had lots of flowers, including some LOTV but more white roses. Tried it, loved it, bought it! I still have a bit left in that original EDT sprayer, and a LOT left in a very large bottle I bought in recent years.

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        • Portia says:
          17 October 2020 at 7:00 pm

          CLEVER SA. I would never have made the Diorissimo to No 22 crossover. It was your lucky frag day OH.
          Portia xx

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    • stinker_kit says:
      16 October 2020 at 8:05 pm

      Still my favorite Hermès! It was really The Guide that opened the perfume universe up for me too!

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  54. Omega says:
    16 October 2020 at 6:42 pm

    Chiming in late and not in sync with Gucci Memoire..at least I smell lovely lol.

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    • lillyjo says:
      16 October 2020 at 6:47 pm

      Indeed you do!

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    • stinker_kit says:
      16 October 2020 at 8:08 pm

      I think it is very appropriate! You smell great!

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 8:14 pm

      Gorgeous bottle for that one, too!

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    • Merlin says:
      17 October 2020 at 4:01 am

      Agree with others – I really like this scent, bottle and name of this one!

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    • Old Herbaceous says:
      17 October 2020 at 9:55 am

      Yes, you do smell lovely! That’s a good one.

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  55. Calypso says:
    16 October 2020 at 7:25 pm

    My choice for today was L’Artisan Figuier Extreme. I own a large bottle that I probably bought in the early 2000’s at Neiman Marcus where I was gradually becoming friends with one of the SA’s. She took her time and let me sample many things and I acquired a pretty broad selection from that line. One time she was impressed when I brought my friend Pierre there, a visiting French professor, and he helped me sample. On that visit I acquired Mechant Loup. “Buy the big one!” he commanded, lol. It’s really helpful to make some kind of trusted advisor in your perfume journey. Another woman at a more boutiques place in Houston helped me immeasurably and was endlessly patient in letting me try things and making up little samples. Fig was one of the first notes I sampled via the little packages from The Perfumed Court and it’s still a favorite of mine. And the Extreme is still my favorite fig perfume.

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    • stinker_kit says:
      16 October 2020 at 8:07 pm

      I have recently fallen in love with L’Artisan perfumes. The one that did it for me is Passage D’Enfer. I shall have to get my nose on this one too!

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  56. stinker_kit says:
    16 October 2020 at 8:26 pm

    My parents brought me back a bottle of L’Heure Bleue when they went to Paris in the late 1970s. I was 15. I remember wearing Coriandre and Emeraude and Tabu which I am certain I purchased at the drugstore. I played around with Poison in college and then the original Oscar and I made a bottle of Borghesa Il Bacio last almost 10 years, I had small children and no perfume budget. I found a hardcover copy of Perfumes The Guide in the bargain section for $5. Yes, the original first edition with the beautiful blue bottle on the cover. A perfumista was born. So, here is the peculiar thing. My first purchase at a perfume counter was Givenchy Pi, a scent I still wear and enjoy. It has one star in The Guide, dismissed as a sweet nothing. I took the introduction of the book quite to heart. Wear what you love! I found this wonderful blog shortly thereafter. Wearing many squirts of Pi today for the CP.

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    • hajusuuri says:
      16 October 2020 at 9:44 pm

      Nice! Are your parents into fragrance as well?

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      • stinker_kit says:
        16 October 2020 at 11:10 pm

        My Father died wh

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        • stinker_kit says:
          16 October 2020 at 11:13 pm

          Let me try again. My Father died when I was 20 but he always rocked Old Spice! My Mom wore Opium and Obsession but my Stepdad has a really sensitive nose so she sticks with her lovely soaps and lightly scented lotions.

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          • hajusuuri says:
            17 October 2020 at 12:21 am

            So sorry about that – he was young and you were so young too. Good memories though it seems. Hugs to you.

          • Old Herbaceous says:
            17 October 2020 at 10:00 am

            That’s a big loss at a young age. Old Spice — the ultimate “dad scent”, in a good way.

  57. AngelaB says:
    16 October 2020 at 9:57 pm

    Wearing Copal Azur today because it’s lovely and I have missed the calming incense.
    I found this one early in my perfume infatuation. It is still a top five.
    Generally dreamy desire:
    I wish I could own a full vintage bottle of L’Air d’Temps EDT. It was my mother’s favorite.

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    • Jalapeno says:
      16 October 2020 at 10:09 pm

      I’d love smelling that on a guy walking past!

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      • AngelaB says:
        17 October 2020 at 1:16 am

        Oh, that sounds dreamy.

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  58. MissGoldsmith says:
    17 October 2020 at 12:35 am

    As a young teenager I had some very mature fragrances (No. 19, Shalimar, Samsara) but I didn’t fall down the rabbit hole until nearly 30 years later. What sent me tumbling down last year was a random decision to walk into an Atelier Cologne shop. They had very nice windows. I didn’t fall in love with any of their scents that day, but the visit piqued my interest in smells. My first FB after that was Bergamote 22. I’ve since acquired new bottles of No. 19, Shalimar and Samsara.

    Didn’t play the CP today, though. Started the day in Bottega Veneta and now some Ambre Sultan.

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  59. MossyBerry says:
    17 October 2020 at 6:31 am

    So many great stories and comments – really interesting, everyone! A special shout-out to the Je Reviens fans, but I chose Avon Timeless. When I began to read the blogs and lurk around on Fragrantica and Basenotes, not only did Timeless get a lot of love as a cheapy, but it has so MANY notes, that it pointed me to all sorts of other perfumes. Today, my three sprays of a recent bottle lasted all day at work. Later, I topped off the drydown down with a spray or so of SSS Nostalgie, and I felt a perfumed happiness as I settled down for a relaxing Friday night.

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  60. Old Herbaceous says:
    17 October 2020 at 9:59 am

    What fun to read everyone’s “origin stories”!

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