2024 is over, but not quite forgotten, not just yet. Donatella Versace, Our Lady of Scented Excess,1 has plenty on her mind but she wants to help you move into 2025 with a clean slate and a clean conscience. Do confess what you bought in the 4th quarter (October, November and December) of 2024; Donatella always forgives.
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.
My purchases...
....were a last minute save. After buying nothing in the first 3 quarters, I picked up two small decants in the last splitmeet: Imaginary Authors Dipped in Chocolate and Tauer Perfumes Heraud, $42. I am counting that as one bottle.
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.
Typical Me
Encens Mythique
Xocotl
POAL travel spray
3 of the four I got on sale
Encens Mythique is lovely…
What is Typical Me? I have never heard of it.
Liaisons dangereuses, typical me By Kilian
Oh – I have never noticed the Typical Me part of the name. That’s funny. It doesn’t seem like it goes with the Liaisons Dangereuses part of the name! Gorgeous fragrance though.
You are right, they don’t match at all
(Sooo exciting my first confession and more fragrance that I have purchased for myself in the previous decade).
Forgive me Donatella, Our Lady of Scented Excess for I have purchased:
Abel Laundry Day
Courreges L’Eau de Liesse
Jones Road Shower
Also do Discovery sets count?
Sotd: 4160 Tuesdays Doe in the Snow sample
I don’t think Donatella counts discovery sets, but we still want to hear about them! What did you get?
Lillyjo I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong because I’ve posted this 2x and it doesn’t show up. 🙏 3rd times a charm:
The Harmonist: Moon Glory (which will buy a bottle of when my coffret is gone), Sun Force, Yin Transformation, Hypnotizing Fire.
ABEL: Black Nori, Cyan, Green Cedar, Nurture, Pause.
Hi LesLiesse – what are your thoughts on Hypnotizing Fire?
Hi apsara, I haven’t tried it yet. I will wear it tomorrow and let you know.
Apsara, I’m wearing it today and it’s quite spicy. I think the cloves and pimento top notes are too much for me personally. The scent is designed to evoke a mellow seductive flame, so you may find it quite wonderful if you enjoy the spice notes. (Please excuse my lack of scent terminology in my take. )
I liked laundry day too but didn’t buy it. I tried Apartment recently but I thought it had the same drydown as another of their perfumes ( Black Anise) .
Janika, I haven’t tried Black Anise yet. I’ll put in each wrist, compare and jet you know.
Sorry Kanuka that your name got autocorrected.
You must be in love with that Eau de Liesse for sure.
lol, funny story. I’ve been on Duolingo learning French and came across the word Liesse which means jubilation, rapture, deep joy. A friend has a French mother and is fluent. When I mentioned learning this marvelous new word, she recommended it as my duo moniker adapted for my name Leslie and initials LSS. When I was checking liesse on Google I came across the perfume. Thank goodness I really liked it! Kinda terrible if I didn’t. So I’m LesLiesse on Duo and here.
Thank you for the explanation, it’s a great moniker. I grew up in Paris, French is my first language.
Coucou ma nouvelle amie! Enchantée Aurora!
Moi aussi, super😀
You can count discovery sets or not, as you please, IIRC. Same with decants.
2 for me
1. Chloe Nomade Nuit D’Eygpte
2. Chloe Rose’s de Chloe ( bought with points so perfume math free)
We’re house twin for Chloe.
I knew we would be!😀
roses de chloe is lovely
It will be great for spring!
Quite a few Chloe perfumes are made for Springtime, it seems.
I think I am going through a “pretty” perfume phase.
There’s nothing wrong with that!
I bought three:
Tom Ford Myrrhe Mystère
ELDO Story of Your Life
Rosine LeSnob 1: Gothic Rose
And I am enjoying them all so much that I have absolutely no regrets!
You’ve been much more restrained but I share your feeling, I’ve loved all my acquisitions.
Yay Gothic Rose!
Chanel Coromandel Extrait
Devotion travel spray.
And two decants from the last splitmeet, which I think was last quarter..?
Now on an unofficial No Buy. Sort of. Kind of. We’ll see. Maybe. 😉
Dang, I forgot to add LUSH Cinder spray!
Coromandel extrait is beautiful.
Something is tempting you, if you typed sorta, kinda, maybe!
le labo Gaic 10 – Yen pricing. 🙂
Jorum Studio Boswellia Scotia – sold it yesterday.
I don’t think you have to count it if you’ve already sold it!
Net net = 0 🤣
Only one, Hermes Voyage, but it was a Christmas gift, so it doesn’t count!
Yep, you bought nothing!
I think for the first time in years of confessing to Donatella, I have nothing to confess this quarter. However, I plan to go wild when I’m in Europe in April, so I hope Donatella is saving up lots of forgiveness for me!
I’ve been buying lots of samples, nothing has been a total love recently, but another package is on the way from Surrender to Chance…
It’s almost a requirement to perfume shop while traveling😉
Two bottles (and my only purchases in 2024):
– Bronze Goddess
– Masque Milano L’attesa
The first one was a gift from me to me after I ran my first half-marathon, and the second one I got on sale 50% off! I don’t have many iris centered perfumes in my collection so it’s a nice addition.
I also got Penhaligon’s Discovery Set, which I am sure Donatella won’t count 🙂 From that set I really liked The Favourite and Duchess Rose.
Everyone needs a bottle of Bronze Goddess 🙂
😁
The low-buy after holding on the first three quarters went out the window in this fourth quarter, here goes:
Givenchy Vintage Ysatis 100ml £35, it was such a good deal and had been on my list
Cacharel vintage Anaïs Anaïs, edp 30ml £16, I have the EDT which I adore having worn it since the age of sixteen but really wanted the rare EDP too
F. Malle Rose et Cuir 30ml £30 my first full bottle of FM
Jour d’Hermès parfum 50ml £40 I think the seller thought it was the EDP, I adore it
Léonard Eau de Balahé 90/100ml £15 an delicious old school vanilla
Crabtree&Evelyn Gardenia 50ml £28 I can’t resist a gardenia perfume
Hermès Elixir des Merveilles 100ml £55 and l’Ambre des Merveilles 100ml £40 free shipping on both, I had been wanting elixir for years but it’s quite popular and prices are usually not attractive, I knew the seller and when he offered to throw in L’Ambre for forty pounds I jumped on it, they’re new tester bottles
Chloe Rose Naturelle intense 100ml £45, on my list for a year and a half… No regret
Lush Flowers Barrow 100ml £28
L’Artisan Parfumeur Mandarina Corsica 100ml £72, also wanted it for years
L’Occitane Honey and Lemon 85/100ml £35 quite the unicorn as Jalapeno would say, it smells delicious
Guerlain AA Lavande Velours 125ml £55 you know, to complete my collection of the AA original line-up and because I love JP Guerlain and Mathilde Laurent
PdM Oriana 30ml £47.50, also wanted for a long time
Here and there I confessed to a few more purchases that I won’t repeat, it’s the combination of good deals and things wanted for a long time that did me in, I think.
I know I have said this before but Ysatis is the perfume that turned me into a perfumista. It’s wonderful and you of course got a great deal!
Oh, I hope you still love it, that it has no negative association, I got a mini from my aunt when it was first released, I already loved perfume, hadn’t had it since, and it still smells so fresh, classics in general keep so well, better ingedients which are fixatives no doubt.
My Aunt gave me my first Ysatis too! She brought it back from her to France. It took me years until I knew how to pronounce it. Lol. I do still love it!
I’m always amazed we have so much in common when it comes to perfume.
Great deals on those Hermès!
Elixir and L’Ambre des Merveilles are fantastic! As for Jour d’Hermès, I have a 30 ml bottle of the Eau de Parfum.
Thank you, I felt lucky that day😀, l’elixir and l’ambre are not very redundant I findbut they both have the Ellena magic touch.
I imagine Donatella would approve of your fantastic haul!
LAP Mandarina Corsica is great. I like to wear it to parties because it feels so sparkly 🌟
That’s a way to look at it😃. So glad you approve of Mandarina Corsica, sparkly is a great description.
You found some fabulous buys, enjoy it all 🌹
Thank you ringthing, now that I have published the purchases I feel less guilty, so you are absolutely right I will enjoy them, there were no fail but then except for one obscure vintage I had tried them before.
After seeing your list, I don’t feel so bad about mine! And besides, it’s a perfumista’s duty to give Perfume Unicorns a good home. 🤣🦄🦄
😃 Isn’t it just. You know, those older l’Occitane were so good.
Yay for Ysatis! It and Elix des Merveilles are the two I know on your list and they are both favorites and I think you got good deals!
Guerlain Encens Mythique ( at discounters)
Aqua Allegoria body oil (on sale)
Frederic Malle Cologne Bigarade lotion ( on sale)
I think i did well this semester.
What’s the Aqua Allegoria body oil?
I’ve been using the Bergamot body lotion for years, but don’t know about any oil, only the shower gel.
Encens Mythique is a great pickup. My 75 ml bottle of Encens Mythique d’Orient will last me a lifetime.
Very bad this quarter.
1. Replacement of Kai
2. BUB Shalimar MJ
3. Devotion-gave away
4. Gallivant Bukhara-gave away
5. AA Rosa Rossa
Or very good. Depending on how you look at it!
True.
So according to Perfumath (TM), you had a net of only 3 bottles this quarter.
Kai is really lovely!
I spent a total of $52 in Q4. What I got for my money was Two 9 ml bottles and One 30 ml bottle from Jo Malone. JM sent me a birthday offer to get a Free 30 ml bottle if I spent $50. So I got a 9 ml of Hinoki & Cedarwood and a 9 ml of Lime Basil & Mandarin and I got a Free 30 ml of Wood Sage & Sea Salt which retails for $86 and I paid nothing for since it was free.
The Hinoki & Cedarwood goes nicely in the evenings that I’m watching the show, Shōgun, which I just started watching. I tend to match fragrances with shows, movies, or books.
That’s a great deal!
Parfumerie Generale (oops I mean Pierre Guillaume) Louanges Profanes 50ml
Fzotic Lilac Brulee 9ml travel spray
Marissa Zappas Carnival of Souls 7.5ml travel spray
Marissa Zappas The Pink Bedroom Perfume Oil 9ml
Strange Invisible Perfumes Fair Verona vintage 50ml 90% full
YSL Nu EDP 50ml 75% full
Dolce & Gabbana Devotion 10ml travel spray
Lush Sticky Dates 20ml decant
Tauer Heraud 5ml decant
Chanel Comete 5ml decant
Chanel Bel Respiro 5ml decant
Chloe Atelier des Fleurs Iris 5ml decant
Too many things, but the PG had been on my list a long time. I’m not counting the Heraud decant because I’ll either swap it at next swap meet (or sooner if someone is interested now) or give it away because just sniffing the bottle irritated my nose so it’s not going on skin. I’m pretty happy with everything else though. I kinda wish I’d just bought a sample and not travel spray of Lilac Brulée. I’ve only worn it once, but I’m not sure it is something I need though I do like it.
It’s a lovely list, Louanges Profanes is wondrous, one of my two PG, Tauer is conveniently off my list with his love of ambroxan in everything but I bet you’ll be able to swap Heraud.
Can one of you elaborate on the Louanges Profanes please? Just curious what it smells like.
To me it’s an incense lily, the incense note is unique, not churchy and I hasten to say completely different from Passage d’Enfer which is more of a sheer soliflore although lovely. LP is a much more complex floral, richer, it has some sweetness but very elegant, in fact it’s one of my top five florals, it flies under the radar but I often list it in recommend me a perfume.
I’m curious if it was recently reformulated because the PG website doesn’t mention hawthorn in the note list but does mention patchouli. I didn’t ever remember seeing patchouli listed for it before. The box of the perfume I bought last quarter lists notes out but doesn’t include patchouli and does include hawthorn.
Thanks!
I think Aurora’s assessment lines up pretty close with my experience. I find the florals very heavy and there’s definite sweetness being supported by resinous notes. The PG website refers to it as “amber floral – balmy” and I agree with that. It’s not a thick amber though, more sheer.
Oh, like you I’m surprised at that description, never smelled patchouli in it, I bought it four or five years ago.
That should have said I find the florals very heady not heavy. Stupid autocorrect.
Thank you too!
You found a Perfume Unicorn with that bottle of YSL Nu! Is it the hockey puck?
Yes, the hockey puck! I already had a 30ml bottle but wanted a backup. I’m fact, I’d had a backup bottle (at a good price for a partial bottle) go missing in the mail years ago so this was my second attempt to acquire one. Thankfully, it worked out this time.
For the first time ever, none.
I came close to buying Barénia, but finally decided against.
However, I did buy some L’Occitane products on sale: soap, shower oil, scrub, and cream.
Excellent, it is good to buy nothing for a quarter and see what it feels like.
I did the same thing with Barenia.
Me too!
Excellent job!
I went to Paris this quarter, so I have confessions! 🙂 (I think I’ve already confessed them, tho.)
– PdN Gourmand Coffret with 3 15 mls (Macaron Bourbon, Pavlova, Saint Honoré). I’m counting these as 1.5 bottles.
– PdN L’eau Chic, 30 ml
Otherwise, my bags were heavy enough when we moved home, so I tried to keep my purchases in check. 🙂 I went to ELdO and tried Story of Your Life, but it didn’t work for me, so I stuck with PdN this time.
Excellent buys, and PdN not too spendy 🙂
We don’t mind seeing perfume buys mentioned more than once. 😉
I bought 9 samples, but since samples don’t count, I voted for Nary a one.
Tried 6 out of 9, while these three are still untried:
Matiere Premiere Bois d`Ebene
Etat Libre d`Orange Frustration
Ormonde Jayne Frangipani
Any full bottle worthy so far?
I don’t think I want another FB. Might get a decant of Serge Lutens La Fille Tour de Fer. Molinard Gingembre is nice but very fleeting – not entirely sure if it’s decant worthy.
Gotcha!
I took advantage of some Black Friday sales and got:
– Arquiste Almond Suede and L’Or de Louis
– Regime des Fleur Fleur Eclair
– Maitre Parfumer et Gantier Iris Bleu Gris
– Hiram Green Slow Dive
– Chantaille Le Wild (seems like it had been out of stock everywhere for years, such that I was convinced it was discontinued and tried to get my local Neiman Marcus to sell me their tester bottle. So I panic bought immediately when it was back in stock on their website)
– Miller Harris Soufflot (I had a bunch of MH points, so this one was perfume-math free)
Arquiste is always a good idea, I have the cousin of l’Or de Louis, Infanta en Flor, I preferred it slightly to the OG Fleur de Louis, l’Or de Louis was not yet available about twelve years ago.
“… sell me their tester bottle …” 🤣
I did the same thing at Nordstroms pre-2020, including an offer to buy an almost empty bottle of a discontinued tester.
Nice set of goodies you picked up!
My purchases along with several sample orders:
– 50 ml Pierre Guillaume Indochine 25 (the best cardamom, honey, woods you can imagine)
– 10 ml travel spray Burberry Goddess (I am surprised that I don’t see Burberry Goddess mentioned here. I find Goddess delightful. Yes, lots of vanilla, but it’s a beautiful vanilla and the lavender, ginger and cacao seem to temper it into something much more interesting for my nose. )
I think I’ve only tried Burberry Goddess Intense. It had too much lavender for me. I’m going to have to try the original now.
Yes, definitely the original. Let me know what you think!
I like Goddess too. I keep meaning to try the original and intense at the same time to compare them, but always forget when I’m at the mall
Yay – another fan!
Indochine sounds like it would work for this week’s CP, with the cardamom and woody notes.
I’m marveling at all the purchases and also at the fact there’s not much of any overlap among all of our many choices! Truly we are an all-encompassing world of scent lovers!
Yes – I love to read these. Vive la différence!
Hello, Fragrant Ones.
I confess to one. Some time ago, for reasons I cannot remember I picked up unsniffed and slammed through a small decant of Bottega Veneta Parco Palladiano V (Laura). And it haunted me. Spent several months searching regularly and finally landed a ginormous bottle at a “reasonable” price relative to the current market.
And here we are. All green and herbal. No regrets.
Oh yay, so glad you found one at a good price! Enjoy.
I only bought one item, but it was a biggie: the new Guerlain Flacon Sac, with two travel bottles of Angelique Noire to go with it.
Nice!!
I was so restrained for the first three quarters of the year, but went bonkers in the fourth.
I purchased:
Encens Mythique (BUB for me)
L’Heure Fougueuse (at a deep discount, I think it’s the old packaging)
La Fille tour de fer (blind bought a tester, very discounted)
Rauque (full price, no regrets!)
Hey, that’s not too bonkers!
You were far more restrained than I was. Well done!
I got 2 full bottles this quarter.
1. Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille Banane.
2. Parfums de Nicolia Number One Intense.
They were not horribly expensive and with the leftover bonus money, I wanted to have a little fun.
Welcome to the Vanille Banane club 🙂
Yay for having a bit of fun with your bonus!
One bottle, but it was a big purchase : Amouage Guidance 46. I really love it though this perfume is SO strong. But hey, on a cost-per-wear basis, the price may moderate a little, since 1-2 sprays does the job . Maybe Middle Eastern houses know how to pack a punch.
I am lining up my cold weather scents for this week. I wore SJP Stash today and now wearing Cocopink Triple Vanilla Dream for bed.
I read the article. I’m worried about our Donatella. How can Versace even Versace without her.
Agreed. It wouldn’t be the same.
i have been good and kust purchased ONE bottle,
a vintage Givenchy III at the flea market, according to the number it is from the 1995 …. i paid 20€ for a mearly full bottle!
and a decant of Bon Parfumeur Cedre Prune Confite Vanille, which reminds me a lot of SL Feminite du bois, maybe a bit less complex, but easy to wear.
Givenchy III is so beautiful. You found a treasure; congratulations!
Seconding Gail on your vintage GIII find!
I love hearing about those vintage bargain finds!
Thankfully, all at a discount…
Chanel 1932 (for a dear friend)
Chanel No. 22 (had to have a dose of spritzy aldehydes)
Musc Ravageur (a new version but still good)
EL vintage Knowing (I knew I had to have it)
PdE Equistrius (might show up in swapmeet – too much immortelle)
SL Fille en Aiguilles (loving every second of it)
I didn’t know Musc Ravageur have been reformulated 🤔
I got a sample recently, and I’m guessing now it’s a new version.
I am just guessing it’s been reformulated but it would be wonderful it it hadn’t been!
I didn’t know Musc Ravageur has been reformulated 🤔
I got a sample recently, and I’m guessing now it’s a new version.
Ooooh, thanks for the heads-up about Equistrius having immortelle in it. One potential lemming has been eliminated!
Great additions all around!
I had no internet connection yesterday so I am late! But the fourth quarter of 2024 brought me two bottles, both bought at 20% off at a Black Friday sale. I now have Hiram Green Arbole and Tryst to go with my Moon Bloom, Slow Dive, and Philtre. HG is a house that works well for me.
Let’s just say that I somewhat succeeded in my low-buy overall for all of 2024, applying discounts (% off, no shipping, GWP instead of free shipping, perfumath, etc.). Using the law of averages, I am middle of the pack every quarter. 😇
Among my purchases this quarter, not counting candles and soap:
– a bunch of 4160 Tuesdays stuff
– Filigree & Shadow Tell Me About the Forest set
– Fzotic Lilac Brûlée
– Imaginary Authors Dipped in Chocolate
– St. Clair Lisbon (still waiting for this one, the “postal” service be damned)
– Lorenzo Pazzaglia Van Py Rhum
Do you like the Fzotic Lilac Brulee?
I was sure tempted by St. Clair Lisbon but didn’t want to make an expensive blind buy. Please let us know what you think when it arrives!
I had to do some research to find out everything I bought in the last quarter of 2024. I kinda went a little nuts with the Black Friday goodies. And to put a punctuation mark on the quarter, my final purchase was on New Year’s Eve no less! Hopefully I remembered everything.
Here goes:
1. Vintage Samsara EdP, 7.5mL and vintage Samsara parfum, 2.0mL — $133.40
2. Prada Infusion de Oeillet EdP, 100mL and Happy Chopard Felicia Roses EdP, 10mL — $92.86
3. Fzotic POOF! EdP, 9mL plus Feu Secret EdP, 9mL and Vetiverissimo EdP, 9mL — $149.90
4. ELdO Fils de Dieu EdP, 50mL — $84.01
5. ELdO Rien EdP, 50mL — $76.99
Total for the quarter (holds breath) = $537.16. Hoo boy.
I am SO not adding up my yearly total. There’s a comma in it. 🙀
You got some great one’s!
Report back on the Chopard. I’ve been tempted by it more than once.
The travel size of the Chopard is absolutely adorable. The scent itself is a fruity, flirty pink rose perfume that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I have not tried it on skin yet, just paper.
Yikes, that second sentence. Need to stop posting and go to bed!!!
You got some great gems there! I’ve heard nice things about Prada Oeillet and the two ELdO, not to mention the Samsara.
Thank you tulipani! I lucked out with the Samsara EdP; the vintage smells just like the bottle I got around 2010-ish. So I don’t have to go chasing after more. However the vintage Samsara extrait is a different story.
ZOMG, it is gorgeous!!!
It’s a lovely list, I had found Infusion d’œillet very pretty when I tried it.
Thanks Aurora! The Infusion d’Oeillet is going to be lovely in the shoulder seasons (aka Spring and Fall). I’m thinking it doesn’t quite have enough oomph for Winter.
Given your experienced sniffer and love of Samsara, that extrait is a great addition to your collection. I love my micro-mini of it and yes, it is one of the greats.
Didn’t buy anything this quarter. I’m a perfumer and I don’t go through much fragrance since I can’t wear it most days. I did go to actual confession, which is a mercy that no baptized Christian should take lightly. Jesus cures the soul like nothing else.
Full bottles, second-hand/NOS:
Prada Candy – $15
Vintage Obsession cologne – $42
Vintage Obsession “Essense of Obsession” set, which had 50ml edp and four rollerballs of oils with the main notes of Obsession – $78
Full bottles, new:
Fumerie Turque – $327
L’Ombre des Merveilles (need to award one or two Enabler Badges on this one) – $39
La Dompteuse Encagee – really love this one – $60
I also picked up numerous minis, but I don’t think Donatella wants to be bothered with those little things.
Aside from the Serge Splurge, I kept to my goal of digging into the sample drawer.