Donatella, Our Lady of Fragranced Forgiveness,1 is now officially a Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and she's had a chance to rest after the Pride Party she threw in June at The Standard NYC. She's ready and willing to hear the confessions of her flock, so please tell her what you bought in the 2nd quarter (April, May and June) of 2024.
Note that if you have javascript disabled, you won't be able to vote in the poll, but you can still record your purchases in the comments.
Me: same old, sorry Donatella! I bought nothing, or at least, nothing scented that Donatella cares about (I will have a few confessions for the "What's In Your Shower" poll, coming up in a few weeks).
As always, report your purchases in the comments if you dare! And as always, we don't include samples or gifts, and you can count miniatures, decants and bottle-splits howsoever you like (I usually count them as half bottles). Samples don't generally count at all, even though some of us spend considerable sums obtaining them.
1. Why does Donatella host (against her will, mind you) the damage polls? There is no real reason other than the picture of her perfume collection, which shows that she indulges regularly at the perfume counter. The image, by the way, is originally from Allure magazine and appears here courtesy of Blogdorf Goodman.
So in my defense-there was a bottle of Muguet Porcelaine which cost about $140 from a discount site. I love it, had the $$, and now I’m just waiting for it to get here. It’s a tester and I’m hoping it has its lovely green leather cap-I love that particular shade of green:)
I got a couple 15 mL size bottles of Muguet Porcelain in a Hermessence compose your own set which I bought from the Hermes website back in September of last year. It is a lovely spring delicate green forward lily of the valley fragrance to me.
I love your description, Tea Thyme. I couldn’t put my feelings into word, so thank you š There’s a huge patch of lily of the valley at my place-which was my mom’s before. She planted it. I had done a lot of yard work-and after I removed piles of old leaves in the spring it all started to sprout. I had no idea it was there, and it was so beautiful, and the smell was just beyond! This fragrance reminds me of uncovering that section of gardening.
How wonderful!
What a great memory!
I loooove Muguet Porcelaine! So sad it was discontinued. I bought a back-up myself this spring. I would pick this over a certain legendary lily-of-the-valley, if I’m being candid….
I shopped a lot during this quarter because i travelled to Italy and to Paris.
I am afraid to even count!!
In Italy I got Viole Nere, SMN Iris and Rosa, The Merchant of Venice Tuberosa.
In Paris I got Iris Silver Mist and Celine peau nue ( travel spray) and when i returned home i ordered The Merchant of Venice Rosa Moceniga. I love them all , i donāt think i will shop for perfumes for a while.
I know you are the only ones who understand!!
I’m hoping to try SMN Iris when I’m there in October. Looking forward to that trip! Mr. Ockeghem is, as well, as he was just there for research for two weeks and both Rome and Florence were teeming with tourists (and temperatures were sweltering). October / November is a much nicer time to go.
I really love Iris, i would describe it as a soapy clean iris. October sounds amazing to visit!!
And i recommend visiting a Merchant of Venice store, sooo beautiful!!
This sounds so good. I don’t know if you can buy it in the United States. I can never find it.
I bet those fragrances will remind you of your trip-you bought some really beautiful things. Haven’t tried the SMN iris, but the SL is amazing.
Really, do souvenirs count?
Donatella would be horrified if you visited fabulous overseas cities and didn’t buy perfume!
Particularly overseas Italian cities!
Souvenirs might not count, or only be 1/2 bottle. Not sure of the Perfumath there.
I got myself:
Amouage Material
Amouage Honour 43
Guerlain Florabloom Forte
Lancome LVEB L’Extrait bubs X 2
Lancome Idole Nectar (blind purchase because of the popcorn note, not expecting much though tbh. Lancome, pls surprise me)
YSL Opium Over Red
Zoologist Rabbit (thoughts coming soon)
You got quite a few too. Now I don’t feel so bad.
Honour 43 was a nice one but not exactly for me. But a nice pick for a purchase.
The only thing that I bought was the travel spray set of Neela Vermeire Pichola. The price of $96 on Luckyscent was more up my alley.
Love Pichola!
Just the one: Habit Rouge Le Parfum.
It was the only fragrance I had on my wishlist. I was tempted by some deals (L’Homme IdĆ©al gift set at 30% off! Colonia Futura at 50% off!), but I managed to resist.
And as if as a reward for my restraint, I got Habit Rouge Le Parfum at an unexpected discount: in addition to a voucher that I had been saving and a fortuitous flash sale (only 10%, but still), when it first appeared on shelves near me, it was mispriced ā 20 ā¬ cheaper! So all in all, I saved about 40 ā¬.
The only thing I’m considering getting now is a second bottle of Habit Rouge Rouge PrivĆ© before it disappears from the shelves.
Would you have serious perfume angst if you didn’t get that BUB of Habit Rouge Rouge Prive?
Good question!
My current bottle is still 99% full. I love the scent but wear the Eau de Toilette far more often. That may be because I have almost 500 ml of the latter, so I can apply liberally while I’m much more sparing with Rouge PrivĆ©.
Perhaps having a backup would remove the mental block that prevents me from using Rouge PrivĆ© more often since it’s a limited edition.
Or at least that’s what I’m trying to convince myself, perhaps!
Nothing for me. I was gifted a bottle of Box of Eels extrait and some SMN rosewater, but gifts don’t count, right?
Oh, this just made me remember the BoE extrait I boughtā¦š¬
I love the extrait and Eau de Rose too. Enjoy!!
Nope, gifts don’t count as per Lady Donatella!
At first I thought I didnāt buy any and I finally virtuously say that I abstained. But alas I then remembered I bought two in a really good twenty percent off Blue Mercury sale plus Rakuten cash back at the beginning of April, which I am not sorry about.
What did you choose to buy, Tea Thyme?
Do candles count? If so, Iām guilty. If Iāve bought any perfume, a full sized bottle or a travel spray, I have conveniently forgotten. š
Addendum: Conveniently forgot about the very essspensive BoE extrait I bought. I guess Donatella wonāt shun me after all.
extrait takes up hardly any room-so no doesn’t count š
I like your logic! š
Where were you able to find the BoE extrait, pray tell?
Gah, it was at a major department store but I canāt remember which one. Someone here mentioned it was still available and I called the store (in NYC) and snapped up a bottle. I want to say it was Saks but wouldnāt bet my life on itā¦easy enough to give them a call to see if they have any in stock if youāre in the market for a bottle. š
Nary one!
Money mostly went on a laptop, two mini UPS (one dead, one still alive), one big UPS + big battery (for the gas boiler), a powerbank for a laptop and a battery powered lamp/flashlight.
It is just not the right time, Donatella.
I’d love a new laptop-and I am hoping for better things for you and your country.
Even Donatella knows you needed all of those things.
Preparing for a trip to the Netherlands, I added a bunch of Parfumerie GĆ©nĆ©rale samples, which wasn’t great for my wallet ultimately.
I got
PG Indochine
PG Drama Nuui
and Divine Spirituelle.
The last one was bought in their shop in Lyon. I had wanted the extrait, but that has been discontinued.
I also got a few candles.
Indochine is lovely! If I had an endless supply of money and space, I would sample every single perfume in this line, then buy many full bottles. Enjoy your new acquisitions!
I agree, Indochine is great!
I need to put this on my sample list.
I bought a bottle of Hilde Soliani Orgasmo and a bottle of Arquiste Flor y Canto, and have no regrets! Because I had also purchased a discovery set from Arquiste, at $40, I was able to take that price off the cost of the FB and so it turned out to be not too extravagant.
What would be extravagant would be doing this again with a different discovery set and a NEW FB of something else, possibly Nanban!
I bought one of their candles and really like it-what’s the scent like, Calypso?
I have not tried their candles. I must look for them next time. Which one are you asking about? I’m not sure.
I’m doing some creative counting
Bal Ć Versailles vintage parfum de toilette 58ml Ā£51.75 free shipping
Dior Dolce Vita 100ml Ā£65 + a free half full 50ml so I’m set for life and they are both proper vintage splash bottles I’m counting as half as it is a replacement for my almost empty one
Below a series of small bottles of EDP and extraits that I count as 3 bottles
Caron vintage Fleurs de Rocaille 15ml Ā£28
EL Private Collection parfum 13ml Ā£20 free shipping
The Cotswold Perfumery English Rose extrait 14ml Ā£8.99 I already have the edt and it’s a lovely pink rose scent and British
Sideris edp 15ml Ā£20
Charles Revson Ciara parfum 14ml Ā£18
Boucheron Jaipur extrait 20/30ml Ā£35 this one is so beautiful I already have the edt but extrait is on another level
Houbigant PrĆ©sence 15ml Ā£15
Yves Rocher Cantata 30ml Ā£28.99 free shipping
Cantata and Fleurs de Rocailles are extraits.
It’s always a good day when you find a vintage BaV for a reasonable price.
Isn’t it, I already had vintage EDT and the PDT is a lovely white porcelaine bottle with the same retro picture we all know.
Swooning over you Jaipur. I bet it’s gorgeous.
Thank you Lillyjo, I’ve already worn it twice at night and woke up smelling still. I realized I had no extrait from Sophia Grojsman and I wanted at least one. My little PrĆ©sence extrait is also very good. From now on I will focus more on parfums versions, 15ml doesn’t take much space although the problem is the presentation boxes are very bulky, my Ciara extrait is quite over the top.
I’ve always loved Ciara.
Wow, you had a bunch of bargains!
For some reason people are not very interested in 15ml bottles, I think it’s a perfect size.
Taking a break from budget projections (yes, I see the irony in this) to confess.
Two days after I declared a no-buy for the quarter I landed lovely little bottles of vintage Diorissimo parfum and No 19 parfum for astonishingly good prices. No regrets. They were almost, but once international shipping factored in, not quite free in perfume math.
A month or so passed and I had to rescue from the thrift shop bottle of the cheapie Solinotes Pomelo for a couple of bucks, so pretty much free.
And then this past Sunday, same thrift shop, I picked up a travel spray of Zoologist Civet with about 20% full for 50 cents. Definitely free.
Plus a sealed Atelier Cologne sample set.
It seems quite possible one of you is donating to my local thrift shop… Come clean!
SotD: vintage No 19 parfum
p.s. freebie alert:
Zoologist Civet is some of it powerful stuff with phenomenal lasting power. And, sadly, decidedly not “me.” So feel free to DM me via my username link if you want me to send it your way.
I never find perfume at the thrift stores here.
I’ve had remarkably good luck here.
Ooooooooh, I bet that No. 19 parfum is gorgeous.
I am afraid I went a little crazy this quarter.
Frederic Malle Iris Poudre
Glossier You
Rogue Derviche
4 Zaras-though I gave away or got rid of two of them. I guess it still counts as buying themš Leather Jardin and Fleur de Patchouli I loved, but I didn’t end up liking Livre Blance or Fashionably London.
Grand total was $429.59.
Surely you can claim a tax break for perfume philanthropy?
I think so tooš
At least the Zaras were inexpensive! š¤
Yes. That is very true.
Not doing great on my low buy this quarter, though my trip to Italy was a bit of an extenuating circumstance. I have been selling of a few of my back-up bottles, so I consider it a partial wash.
1x Bois de Paradis by Parfums DelRae
1x Sale Marino Wienerblut
1x Onda Voile de Parfum by Vero Parfumo
1x Beige parfum by Chanel
1x 15ml Oud 27 by Le Labos
1x L’Ether d’IUNX by IUNX
Was really aiming for a tidy 5 but someone posted that IUNX and I couldn’t resist. It hasn’t actually arrived yet, so does it count?
The Oud was a bit of a spontaneous purchase but it makes me laugh (smells a bit like a pool toy) and I heard it was being discontinued.
The Wienerblut is so so lovely. I need to find some samples on the rest of the line.
Absolutely, overseas travel makes perfume shopping compulsory!
Right? I only planned on two but that Beige extrait!
Beige was my wedding perfume. Enjoy!
Fabulous! I only had the EdT, but the parfum is so lovely. It was almost my sister-in-law’s wedding perfume but she end up picking Jour d’Hermes for budgetary reasons.
Well done getting the Beige extrait! That could very well end up being a Perfume Unicorn.
I am glad to have it but I hope they keep making it! š¢
I don’t have much to confess this quarter, my only FB purchase was Ungaro Diva, at a very reasonable price.
However, I have acquired some bottles, a gift from the very kind and generous Kanuka, and I’m particularly enamoured with Daphne from CdG. I’d heard of it, but never focused on it – well, that was an oversight, Daphne is fabulous!
Yay for finding something fabulous! I honestly can’t remember if they’re still making Daphne.
They are but unfortunately, they don’t export it to the US.
Thanks allo!
Holy smoke. I went on quite the tear this quarter. It’s gonna be scary when I total things up. My vague goal of a Low Buy this year has been utterly blown out of the water. Donatella ought to be pleased with this haul, though.
1. Zara Parfait d’Orchidee, 100mL — $60.08
2. Zara Fleur de Patchouli, 100mL — $49.56
3. Prada Candy EdP, 30mL — 54.60
4. Chanel No. 19 Poudre EdP, 100mL — $185.81
5. Zara Leather Jardin, 100mL — $49.56
6. Estee Lauder Legacy Estee travel spray, 4mL — $18.00
7. Estee Lauder Legacy White Linen travel spray, 4mL — $18.00
8. Hermes Eau de Merveilles Bleue EdT, 30mL — $77.55
Total for the quarter (gulp) = $513.16. YIKES!
Chanel really is going crazy with their pricing this year.
And that Chanel price was at a discounter in an outlet mall here. Decided that I didn’t want to pay shipping for something.
Don’t beat yourself up just renew the resolution for next quarter, it will even out and enjoy your perfumes. Like Lillyjo I am struck by the Chanel prices.
Rather surprised at the spending spree I went on. This quarter will be easier to manage, though.
I’ve spent the perfume $$$$$$ on something else. HA! š¤£
You got some great ones. I have a question regarding the Chanel purchase. The regular Chanel No 19 was too green on me, but I am curious what the Poudre version is like. Is this also very green?
IIRC, No. 19 Poudre wasn’t as green as the OG No. 19. And floral notes were more noticeable.
But I don’t find No. 19 to be terribly green. My reference for really green would be Wrappings, or Niki de Saint Phalle.
Hope this helps!
Yes, it does. Thank you.
You got some great stuff, Jalapeno! Enjoy your bottles!
Thanks Gail!
I was mostly good, except a bottle of Xocolat from Fueguia
I am saving my pennies for fall when a Shalimar flanker comes out
Thanks for reminding me about the upcoming flanker!
I can hardly wait for the flanker. My guess is in a few months it will be here!
I bought nothing this quarter. Zip, zilch, nada.
I know, I can’t believe it either.
Good for you! I need to have your restraint.
Three bottles this quarter:
Byredo Mojave Ghost EDP 50 ml
Ormonde Jayne Woman EDP 50 ml
Ormonde Jayne Taif EDP 50 ml
The OJ:s because I discovered they had changed the EDP:s to parfum and increased the bottle sizes to 80 ml, so I wanted to pick up some of the old versions before they were goneā¦
These are great ones!
Let me seeā¦.
30ml Maison Crivelli Iris Malikhan
10mlx4 Kayali Vacay in a bottle set
75ml Chanel Comete
I almost think that was it for this quarter!āš»
There was a bottle of Xerjoff Irisss 50ml edp,but Iām thinking that was way back in February?š¤·š¼āāļøš¤·š¼āāļøš¤£
I remember when you got that one. It seems like a really long time ago. Lol.
There’s Perfume math and now Perfume Time. Lol.
I like Perfume Time!Haha!
šš for Perfume Time!
Isn’t the Iris Malikhan pretty? It’s more of a cool weather perfume for me, so will be wearing it later in the year.
Yes,itās perfect for our current cooler weather!Maison Crivelli have some very interesting perfumes.
I think so! I have a little bit left from an NST split, and Iād seriously consider repurchasing.
Another Buyer of Beige here, along with an Eau des Merveilles gift set, oh, and that crazy cat incense burner I am really enjoying.
Those are great ones!
Yay, Beige!
I’m not sure if you saw my comment, but I’d love to hear what incense you got with your fab new burner!
It was Hollywood, but will also be using up some Shoyeido incense as well, as it’s so much more fun to burn incense these days. A friend will be coming over just to see it, oh and drink cocktails.
Nice! I haven’t bought Hollywood, but I’m curious enough.
Hope you have a fabulous time.
I bought three things but swapped away the travel spray so that’s a net of two. And Anubis has been on my list for a long time. I’d actually bought a partial bottle from sometime a few years ago, but it was either stolen or lost in the mail. So glad I finally have it! I found a decent deal from someone in Canada on eBay.
Papillon Anubis 50ml bottle
Prada Infusion d’Ylang 10ml travel spray
Hermes Eau de Mandarine Ambree Eau de Cologne 100ml
So glad you got your Anubis after the long wait!
Anubis is a great one. I had a sample that came uncorked in my pants and they smelled great through the rest of the year.
That soundsā¦terrifically funny. It probably wasnāt at the time. š
I bought
1. Chloe Lumineuse 50ml
2. Lancome LVEB Crystal Soliel 50ml.
The Lancome was perfume math free from being on clearance and I had a coupon and I did a return of another item. Lol.
I am happy with both purchases.
You had your eye on that Chloe for a while, didn’t you?
I have. When a tester showed up at a good price I grabbed it.
Yay for your Chloe, such a good brand, I bet they’re both happy perfumes like you wanted.
Zero. Saving for the fall, when I will be within walking distance of a good department-store fragrance counter AND of Cloon Keen. We may also manage to visit the Burren Perfumery this time.
I am starting to plan which scents I want to decant into travel sprays to take with me.
Also, peripheral travel question: do any of you have the Monos hard-sided ātrunkā suitcase? It is currently on sale and is a spinner, which I have come to prefer over rollaboards ā which is what my current giant suitcase is. Comments about durability and overall satisfaction are welcome! (I am packing for four months, both professional and casual/hiking clothes and gear.)
I do not have the trunk, but I have the monos spinners in medium and large and LOVE them. They do scuff, which does not bother me in the least but bothers some people. They are very lightweight, roll really well, and I love the clamshell design with covers on both sides, plus if you unzip the covers the medium fits inside the large for storage. I have had them a few years and the zippers and handles are holding up well.
Also if, like me, you want to wheel it around with your personal item on top (I use a large tech backpack with a luggage passthru) the hardshell design is perfect. My old suitcase got tippy when I put my heavy packpack on top.
At some point I will buy the carry on, but my Eagle Creek carry ons have not given out yet, and I do hear the handles on the carry ons can “jam” if you fill the suitcase too much, which is NOT a problem I’ve had with the larger sizes (or seen reported…seems to be just a problem with the carry on).
I should have said though…I don’t have the hybrids, and the trunk is the hybrid material. I have regular polycarbonate. I would think the hybrid was better, but couldn’t say from experience.
My only bottle purchase is No 5 L’Eau and it is a partial bottle I found online. I could round up to a full bottle if I add in the decant of Montale Intense Cafe I bought. And that’s it! All I want now are a few samples.
I was good and only had 1 bottle purchased. It was the Zara Livre Blanc by Olivia Giacobetti. How could I resist?
Those Zara perfumes are awfully tempting, aren’t they?
They sure are! Easy to go down that rabbit hole.
Whoops! Almost missed Donatella this quarter. Here’s my confession, better late than never. I bought…
1. Tom Ford Vanille Fatale. Ah I remember the days when I didn’t like vanilla scents. I got over that.
2. PdN Une Fleur en Mai. Hmm not loving it.
3. Chanel No 19 parfum. FOMO
4. Chanel No 5 parfum. More FOMO
And I divested myself 1 FB, so that’s a net 3, although I could discount the Chanel parfums as minis since the bottles are small though the price is not. Pretty restrained overall.
I bought 3 items. Unusual for me, all unsniffed which didnāt turn out so well.
Thomas Kosmala #4 AprĆ©s lāAmour
Zara (Vetiverich)
Zara (Flower Please)
The sum total is about $150. The Thomas Kosmala is so strong it may be unwearable. Of the 2 Zara, I like the vetiver one but it somehow gives me a headache. And the (Flower Please) will very likely be re-homed because I get dentist office vibes from it.
So lesson learned. Buying samples is well worth it. Better to deliberate a year on a bottle of Byredo and be happy with the purchase in the end.