Do you have a “signature scent”? I am currently perfume shopping, online & “blind” – that is, scent un-sniffed. That means I have only three things to go on, memory, online reviews &, probably the most unpredictable of clues, the perfume bottle.
I have no perfume at all at the moment. I was given “Red Door” for Christmas by the Mother in Law – she was under this misguided impression that I liked it & wanted to smell like a nursing home. I did try it, hoping perhaps that it would go through some sort of magnificent metamorphosis on my skin, but to no avail. I smelt just as I assumed I would smell, like I was on my way to bingo after stopping off at the Doctor to whinge about my latest ailment & how my grown up children never call me.
I used to have a signature scent – I guess simply be default of not having one since I could still claim it; Hypnotic Poison by Christian Dior. It was the first proper perfume I ever had, given to my for Valentines Day when my darling was still romantic. I cringed at the bottle – to me it’s not at all pretty, & was unsure of the strong heady smell upon opening, but on my skin… wow. I felt like a beautiful Disney Villain. An enchantress. It’s an amazing scent & I replaced that bottle many times before venturing over (probably due to economy or opportunity) to Anna Sui – apparently so forgettable that I couldn’t even venture a description for you now. Then, somehow, I wound up in the world of niche perfume oils by way of The Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.
With scents inspired by Alice in Wonderland, Halloween & generally Gothic themes, BPAL is not your usual perfume. I was, as I am prone to get, obsessed for a while, with obtaining tiny little “imps” of oil – 1ml vials that could cost anywhere from $2 re-sold to… well, to prices I will not tell you I was willing to pay. Just when I was at my most BPAL obsessed, I became pregnant with Punk & with the change in hormones came either a change in my skin chemistry or the way I smelt the oils because suddenly I could barely stand any of it. In an impulsive fit, similar to the one that saw me get rid of my beloved collection of Frankie magazines, I sold off most of my BPAL & resigned myself to smelling of nothing but deodorant & baby puke for the rest of my days.
But now, I have a hankering from some pretty scents. I want something fun to wear out when I’m in Sydney with my besties for my Birthday dinner & I want something light for the days soon approaching when the sun is out & the air is warm & I certainly want some Hypnotic Poison, if I can find it cheap enough, so I am trawling online resources like basenotes.net for reviews of scents & decanters like The Perfumed Court & The Posh Peasant for samples of things that sound intriguing. I must have a sample of Bvlgari Black – I can simply not get my head around a scent involving rubber & still smelling good.
…& I *may* have already ordered something purely for the bottle. Even if it smells terrible – these are TOO cute to pass up.
My husband is allergic to me if i wear perfume, argh, so i've gone almost 20 years barely wearing anything. Estee Lauder gives me a headache, such a shame, they are such prety scents. My sister is YSL Paris, that is divine, she is a ballerina, mother of 3 & still perfection, even smells good & i'm glad she's my sister so she doesn't find it weird (after forever) when i sniff her. I know, weird, it's family!!
ReplyDeleteAfter years of zero gifts for birthdays or Christmas from my MIL, she gave me Chanel No. 5, now that is stunning, even if i was like 22 - i had married her son, i had ruined her life, enough said but by GOD i earned that bottle of Chanel. That was the first & only gift ever, as she died of breast cancer a year later when i was pregnant with my first child.
Good luck & FYI my husband is not allergic to men's after shave & has quite the collection with Bulgari Aqua (delicious) & Gucci Sport (sexy) in his range, i should just wear them, give the mums at the school gate a giggle. He leaves them at home as he can't wear them to war (enemy can smell you, no kidding). Clearly we do not have a great relationship with cologne or perfume, Love Posie
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ReplyDeleteWell, I used to love Red Door but now I am not sure that I will ever wear it again....
ReplyDelete...joking...but next time I am at a department store I will have to check it out to see if I immediately lose bladder control.
I have worn Eternity by Calvin Klein since my wedding day 16 years ago. My only problem with a single scent is that you lose its impact if you wear it every day.
Maybe I could alternate with Red Door... ;)
I don't wear any perfume (as I am apparently allergic to many of them) but I do long to find something that smells nice that I could actually wear without getting a headache! Good luck:) Cyndy
ReplyDeleteI have worn Chanel Chance almost every day for about 7 years - I love it! Floral and lovely. When I feel like something fresh and summery, I wear White Linen by Estee Lauder. Have fun!
ReplyDeleteFor years my favourite perfume has been an essential oil called Heaven, made by SunSpirit - it smells like heaven on other people and like dirt on me!
ReplyDeleteIf I close my eyes and smell it from the bottle it's soft & light, fun & pink.
I purposely took a bottle of it with me on a trip to Melbourne with the intention of visiting Kleins, to see if they could explain why I couldn't wear it and recommend something I could use which would replicate the smell I was after.
After a long day of trialling numerous perfumes we narrowed it down to 3 and I eventually chose 'Juliette Has a Gun - Citizen Queen' by Romano Ricci.
I've worn it everyday for 2yrs and will be needing a new bottle soon. Which I can order on-line thankfully.
My all time favourite and the one I only wear is Samsara by Guerlain, I've been wearing it for over 10years now does that mean I should try something new for a change? You've reminded me I don't have much left I neeed some more:) Have fun choosing some pretty smelling perfume to wear out.
ReplyDeleteI don't wear perfume as it gives me a terrible headache. When I was young I would ignore the headache just so I could smell pretty and I wore a Chanel perfume, Cristalle I think?? But then I lived in the states at the time and could actually afford it then. These days the only perfume I like is a lavendar Eau de Toilette but I don't dare wear it as it really is a granny scent. But then, perhaps it's now old enough to be proper vintage....hmmm.
ReplyDeleteMy sister and I both wear Daisy by Marc Jacobs. I also really like but haven't gotten around to buying Flower Bomb by Viktor & Rolf. It smells amazing!!!
ReplyDeleteI did a post a month or so back about how my bureau looks like the perfume counter at Macy's. I have to sniff every single perfume sample in each and every fashion mag I encounter and if it passes the hubby test, sometimes I'll grab it up. My two "go to" ones right now since it's Summer time here has been Vera Wang's signature scent and Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea. Worth a sniffing!
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