The usual open thread routine: talk about anything you like — what perfume you’re wearing today, the best perfumes of the 2000s, the first fragrance you'll buy in 2010, whatever.
Or, ask a question about fragrance, then see if anyone else has asked a question that you can answer.
And of course, wishing everyone a very Happy New Year and a peaceful, well-scented 2010!
Note: image is new year by *Sally M* at flickr; some rights reserved.
Superstition has it that whatever you do on New Year's Day sets the tone for the year to come. It follows, then, that the perfume you wear tonight, New Year's Eve, will officially be the first perfume of the year as long as it persists through midnight. Now that's some pressure. Choose something too obvious — say, Beckham Signature for Her — and you might have a year without mystery. Choose something too complex and engulfing — for instance Frédéric Malle Une Fleur de Cassie — and you risk being misunderstood or even alienating for the entire year. Have you thought about which perfume you'll reach for tonight?
Before selecting a fragrance that just might set the year's agenda, maybe we should step back and look at some common goals for the year to come.
If your top goal for 2009 is to lose weight and get in shape, perhaps wearing a big, gourmand fragrance is not a good idea. Smelling of rich vanilla and almonds first thing the new year might lead to twelve months of taunting by delicious aromas. On the other hand, a sexy, taut vetiver like Chanel Sycomore might be just the ticket for getting you back to your fighting weight…
I posted my perfume wishes for the coming year in 2006 and 2007, and looking back, I'm surprised at how many have come true. Of course, many of them haven't. My first wish for the coming year is simple but wildly unlikely: less product. Way less product.
The world doesn't need several new perfumes to launch every day, that much is obvious. Multi-scent luxury collections aren't special when a new one appears every few months. New “niche” lines whose fragrances don't offer any meaningful alternative to what is already on the market are just plain annoying…
I was just looking over last year’s perfume wishes and realizing how few had come to pass…oh well! Hope springs eternal, so here are a few wishes for this coming year:
I hope that at least a few of the Les Exclusifs de Chanel are fabulous, but not all of them: I can’t afford to buy six new Chanel perfumes. I am hanging my hopes on 28 La Pausa, Bel Respiro and 31 Rue Cambon; if those 3 are good, I’ll be very happy indeed.
I feel pretty much the same about the upcoming Tom Ford Private Blend Collection. May a few of them be wonderful and the rest just ok…
Way back in March, I discovered 100% Love by S-Perfume, and was immediately captivated by the unusual combination of rose, chocolate, incense and fruit. At the time, I said I would love to see an Eau de Parfum version with a bit more depth and staying power. Lo and behold, the new, more concentrated strength will be released in time for Valentine's Day, complete with a spiffy hot pink leather case.
Then earlier this week, I had my little rant about the difficulty of obtaining samples, and discovered via a comment that Sephora is giving up those nasty foam samples and returning to glass vials — spray vials, no less. What more could one ask for?
Well, of course, I can think of a few things. Just in case the perfume gods are feeling benevolent again…