A twist on a poll we did in 2011: let's say you're going to get three fragrances for free. Name your picks...
1. The first fragrance has to be a regular perfume that you could easily buy online — nothing ultra-rare or vintage or so exclusive you'd have to travel somewhere to buy it. What is your pick?
2. The second fragrance is a vintage (possibly but not necessarily discontinued) perfume that you're going to find at a garage sale, in perfect condition, for $5. What is your pick?
3. The third fragrance can be either an ultra-rare / exclusive / hard to find perfume, OR, a custom perfume made just for you by the perfumer of your choice. What is your pick?
Note: top image is Rose et bleu [cropped] by Frédérique Voisin-Demery at flickr; some rights reserved.
Wow. First for a change.
1. Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum
2. Chanel no 5 EDC vintage
3. Another one of the Lengling perfumes, but would have to be able to retry them to decide which.
Can attest that the no 5 edc is worth it. Got a sealed splash bottle, and periodically transfer a few mls into an atomizer–a couple of sprays lasts forever. Go for it!
I think it will have to happen by pure serendipity. I have a close-to-FB of EDP that I do love and it will take me forever to use.
I would pick:
1. Kenzo Amour
2. Parfums de Rosine (the old one!) Nuit de Chine
3. Vero Profumo Rozy – the extrait version
Yes! Rozy extrait. Good answer. I may have to copy it 😉
Totally with you on the Rozy. The Viole is amazing too. I’d love to have both, which is insane.
SOTD: lashings and lashings of Penhaligon’s Vaara, both because there’s no point to applying it sparingly and because the top of my splash mini has broken so I have to dash it on while I can.
What a challenge! Okay, here are my picks:
1. Papillon Salomé. I can’t quite justify a bottle, but gosh, I really want a bottle! We’ll see what happens around Christmas.
2. Tabac Blond, OG formulation.
3. This one is too hard.
Oh, an original Caron is a great idea for #2. Still kicking myself for not buying Alpona while I still could, but TB is the better choice.
Oh, well, you made someone else happy by refraining.
Nice way to look at it!
Without a lot of thought:
1. Bois des Iles extrait
2. Original Shiseido Femininite du Bois
3. No idea… For some reason I keep thinking of just going through archives of Caron or Guerlain….
No scent yet. But I’m hoping my husband will be wearing Eau de Rhubarb Eclate, which is still wrapped as his birthday gift…. I’ll have him open it after I shower and make him eggs, bacon and hash browns. He’s been glued to the Tour so had to wait till the stage ended…. Then maybe a movie, since it is too hot to do much else….
Happy Birthday to your husband!
Very nice gift 😉
Hey, it’s my husband’s birthday today too! Please make him breakfast too, LOL…
Happy birthday to him!! would have been happy to share my labors. It was tasty!
Is either of you married to Daniel Radcliffe, by chance? Like everyone born in the late ’80s or early ’90s, I was in love with him fifteen years ago thanks to the Harry Potter movies, and somehow in the back of my brain, I still remember that his birthday is 23 July. (Creepy, huh?)
Ssh! They are both married to Daniel Radcliffe Koyel, but neither of them knows about the other.
LOL! I think I would have noticed the movie earnings…
1. Swan Princess
2.Hartnell White Shoulders
3.Custom scent from Soivohle or DSH Perfumes
The first would be The Different Company Bois d’Iris; the second would be a full bottle of original-formula Aliage; and the third (echoing ajellyfish a bit) would be Tabac Blond, very vintage, in the “lotion” formulation. Testing Corsica Furiosa this morning and loving it!
I totally get the Aliage… One of my favorites.
Love your #1. I smelled it years ago and didn’t think much of it. Then a lovely nst’er sent me a gargantuan box of samples, and I was able to try the BdI again. It is just lovely!
1) A coffet with some Hermès Colognes, I’m allowed 4 of those I think. I would pick Eau de Gentiane Blanche, Eau de Narcisse Bleue, Eau de Rhubarbe Ecarlate and Eau de Néroli Doré.
2) Either Diorella extrait de parfum, Coty Chypre, Rochas Femme or Iris Gris
3) Guerlain Songe d’un Bois d’Eté, or one of the Collection Prestige by Nina Ricci or just Rubj in extrait de parfum.
Ah, good thinking on #1.
1. Montale Aoud Leather
2. Silly, but Love’s Musky Jasmine! I would love to get my hands on the original. I can still smell it in my mind 34 yrs later ????
3. Custom fragrance by Dominique Ropion would be a dream
I too am not going to overthink it:
Could go out and buy: Beige extrait (backup), or maybe a bottle of Dia;
Vintage: Dioressimo, oh, in the amphora bottle while I’m at it;
No longer around/made to order: a slightly tweaked version of Penhaligon Lily and Spice. I dithered and now it’s gone…
Hey, almost twin. My number 1 and number 2 would be the same as yours, but I don’t think I know enough to make an intelligent choice for number 3. Love reading everyone’s choices, and I’m making “sniff lists” of everything.
My first thought:
1. Prada Infusion d’Iris absolue, back up bottle
2. Chanel No 22 extrait
3. Memo Italian Leather (not rare but expensive)
On second thought I might change #3 to Rozy voile d’extrait, thanks to Elizabeth’s list.
Love Prada Infusion d’Iris Absolue and Memo Italian Leather ♥
1) Dzing! (I’m going to buy it when it’s no longer hotter than the surface of the sun.)
2) Lavendar Palm by Tom Ford Private Blend (My SOTD, actually)
3) I would love to smell Andy Tauer’s take on a coffee and cigarettes fragrance.
Question for anyone in western Canada – is there anywhere in Calgary to sniff the Chanel exclusifs?
Dzing! will be a great way to welcome cooler weather. (Although I’ve tried it a few times in the heat and it’s nice! But it’s not terribly animalic on me anyway.)
I like your Tauer idea, too.
Hey, I don’t know for sure about Calgary but in Vancouver the Exclusifs are at Holt Renfrew so if there is one there, it would likely have them.
Good idea on the Tauer, want to do a split 😉 ?
Absolutely!
Which ones do you want to try? I got a couple of duplicate samples when I bought my bottle of Beige and I could send them to you from Ontario.
That’s so sweet! I don’t know if it’s practical however – I live in South Carolina and will be visiting my family in Calgary next week. I wanted to smell Boy, 31 Rue Cambon and Coromandel for the first time and Cuir de Russie again (to see if it’s a must buy).
I do have Coromandel, so if you can’t find it in Calgary, I will send it to you in South Carolina if you want. (I’ll hide it in a nice birthday card or something.) I thought I had Cuir de Russie too, but I can’t find it. I asked for 31 Rue Cambon and Bel Respiro but they didn’t have either one. As I recall, there is a little Holt’s in Calgary, right?
Yes, just checked, there is and it isn’t that little. There is also a Nordstrom’s and it says it has a Chanel “boutique”, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Exclusifs. Good luck and let me know if you want me to send you the Coromandel. (I LOVE it).
Holt Renfrew in Calgary has a Chanel boutique 🙂 Happy sniffing.
Just checked this perfume shopping guide, updated in April and it says that Holt Renfrew has the exclusifs:
http://your-perfume-guide.com/calgary/
PS this site has the info for a number of cities in Canada and the US as well as cities around the world.
Thanks all! I’ll let you know how the sniffing mission goes.
Top of the head:
1. no 19 in extrait
2. Guerlain Vol de Nuit
3. Xerjoff Irisss
Already changing my mind 😉
Nooooo – I love your choices!
1. Can I cheat and say Iris Ukiyoe? You can buy it online…!
2. I’m going to say Vol de Nuit, ideally parfum. I don’t have any now and it makes me sad.
3. I can’t think of anything super rare that I want, so I’ll say that amazing Japanese ceramic bottle of Mitsouko. If it came with parfum I’d probably splurge for it.
How about you Robin?
1. CdG Stephen Jones, or maybe DelRae Wit
2. Vintage Joy in extrait!
3. I would get a custom jasmine perfume, maybe from Via del Profumo, maybe from Hiram Green.
And meant to say — nice pick for #3, I would love to have that bottle.
Good call on the CdG. I forget how much I love that one, and how is maybe $40 more than I would like to spend. Though it’s kind of a steal in 2016.
It’s so true that it’s kind of a steal now, but my willingness to spend money on perfume has gone down at the same time as prices have gone up! So it’s even farther out of my reach now.
I realized it’s about the same as the SL exports but since those have hit discounters my willingness to pay full price for them is much lower.
Fun poll, but also such a tease!
1. Bois des Iles Extrait
2. A 1956 bottle of Diorissimo, in it’s original box and all
3. I wouldn’t mind a custom creation by Mandy Aftel. On my bucket list to visit her shop and see her create a custom made scent for me.
SOTD is L`Eau Ambree.
Scent of the day will be L’Artisan Thé pour un Été. It’s going to be hot today.
1. Chanel Les Exclusifs Eau de Cologne
2. Harder, as I don’t tend toward vintage. Maybe the original Worth Je Reviens?
3. Issey Miyake Le Feu d’Issey – can I put a d/c fragrance here? It does qualify as hard to find…
OR #3 – I would LOVE to have Pierre Guillaume create a custom fragrance for me – he was very close with Bois Blond.
Then Le Feu d’Issey should be your garage sale find, and the PG custom is then #3 🙂
Yes! I guess I didn’t read very carefully!
1. Les Voiles Depliees Vanilla. I plan to buy it anyway, and money issue is the only thing that is holding me back. Getting it for free would be nice.
2. Either Chanel No. 5 extrait or Shalimar extrait.
3. While reading Perfumes, the A-Z Guide, I found out that you can order a custom-made perfume (by AbdesSalaam Attar) via profumo.it. I like the idea. They ask to choose 7 “scents” for the “primary accord” for your perfume. I would pick lavender, mint, juniper, lemon, vanilla, frankincense and myrrh.
Your scents sound fresh and delicious!
Even new Shalimar extrait is heaven! I found a new bottle at an antique store and have been greatly enjoying it this summer. It was more than $5 though. 🙂
1. A big bottle of Misia. I have a small one, but it’s going down and I’m scared they are going to change it.
2. Vintage Jicky.
3. If it’s super hard to find, I haven’t smelled it, so how to know? I’d love to see what Hiram Green would do with rose though.
Hiram Green also had a really nice carnation in his previous line — hoping he will do another for his current line!
I want to get a big bottle of 31rC for the same reason. ;(
Eight hours later:
1. Thorn and Bloom Bird of Paradise
2. Vintage Mitsouko
3. A life time supply of Bergamoss in the liquid form.
Funny poll, let me hop in with my answers
1. Prada Infusion de Mimosa (even though I haven’t tried it yet)
2. Guerlain Apres l’Ondee (a lot of it!)
3. Custom made fragrance by Daniela Roche-Andrier
Courtesy of our very own Holly I can wear Chanel Boy today and oh my gosh – I’m getting really fond of it quickly. Might see a bottle in my future.
You’re such a Prada fan boy, I’d love to see what fragrance Daniela would create for you. I mean–I’d love to smell that baby! It would be amazing!
She should have made Prada Candy Man long ago – with a base of Prada Candy, enhanced by tobacco, leather and rum
1. Manoumalia. Not too common, but I think you can just buy it on the internet, whenever.
2. Kenzo UFO or Diorling, is that the leather one? Oh, I’ll be quite open about this one… as an inveterate thrifter, I’ll be open to what the vintage forces put my way.
3. SL Chene or Le Labo Vanille. Again, I’m open. 😉
Ah, I love a fun fantasy poll…
1. Parfum de Therese
2. Vol de Nuit
3. Olivia Giacobetti whips me up a batch of Eau de Fleuriste; I am also cool with it if L’Artisan finds an old bottle on a shelf and just sends it my way.
Same with that VdN. I still enjoy the new one but it is a bit less harmonious.
1/ I’d love for a bottle of Hiram Green Dilettante to drop in my lap. I haven’t tried it yet but since I love everything from the house so far so very much, it seems like a safe wish.
2/ would love to find a pristine bottle of Vintage Evening in Paris to give to my sister. This is the first perfume she remembers and reminds her of our Grandma.
3/ I’ll go with my theme and ask for a bespoke Iris-based fragrance from Hiram Green.
Oh, dreaming is fun.
Oh iris from Hiram Green. That’s what I should have said!
Hey, nothing wrong with rose! Now I want an iris/rose from Hiram!
1/ Chanel No 19 in extrait.
2/ Shiseido Feminité du Bois or the original Karl Lagerfeld in fan bottle. Or, come think of it, vintage Coco in extrait. Could I have all three?
3/ I’d like a custom-made green non-shampooey jasmine with a long-lasting sandalwood base thank you very much.
Your custom made jasmine is not too far from mine…I’d add some incense.
These polls are so much fun to participate in!!
1. The first fragrance would be a bottle of Le Gallon’s Snob. I have been saying for years that I wanted a bottle of this. This would be the perfect time to take advantage of this opportunity.
2. The second fragrance for me would be Leiber by Judith Leiber. I’m sure somewhere in someone’s possession there lies a bottle that isn’t getting the love it deserves. I’m willing to take it off of their hands.
3. The third fragrance for me would be the limited – edition Peony and Moss by Jo Malone. This fragrance is no longer in production. I have found a few bottles on Amazon and Ebay, but the asking prices are an obscene amount that I can’t afford. If I were able to score a bottle of this, I would be ecstatic.
Oh gosh, Peony & Moss was such a pretty scent. I used up my sample.
I know. I miss it so much. 🙁
1. Histoires de Parfums 1740 Marquis de Sade. (Actually, what’s holding me back?)
2. Either Guerlain Philtre d’Amour or old-skool Bandit.
3. I’d go for a custom perfume by Liz Zorn, featuring all animalic notes– just a big beast in a bottle.
Well, this is fun!
1. Next on my to-buy list is MFK Lumiere Noire pour femme, but I might want to snap up a bottle of Chanel 1932 instead. Not sure.
2. Coty Chypre extrait, and NOT the 1980s rereleased version – the old stuff. Though I’d take vintage Jolie Madame extrait as a substitute.
3. A custom fragrance created for me by Francis Kurkdjian.
1. Or maybe Wit. All three are On The List.
Any, yes, Jolie Madame. Perfect.
You’re like me. I love MFK fragrances. I almost put his fragrances down, but I put down Le Gallon instead. I would have put Amyris Femme and/or APOM down. He creates some great stuff!
Think I mentioned here that I splurged on a bottle of the A la Rose shower cream. It makes the bathroom smell rosy ALL DAY.
1. Tom Ford Azur Lime
2. Michael Kors Island (At risk of sounding like a smart aleck, may I gently point out that $5 is not free?)
3. Bouquet de Faunes, for the bottle
A custom-made extrait that’s a marine/aquatic
HA, but you are only partly right. $5 is not free, but also, in perfumista math $100 is the new free. So in perfumista terms it’s less than free 😉
Glad we cleared that up.
😀
Ha, ha, ha, Robin. Okay, you win! Upon reflection, I realized that you have to pay something at a garage sale, unless the owner gives it away.
1. Prada Purple Rain. Or, or, or …
2. Madini’s Henna, circa 1985, in a vintage ornate Moroccan bottle found in their shop in Tangiers .
3. A custom iris scent by Via del Profumo (created while I’m in Italy) or Hiram Green ( created while I’m in the Netherlands) , which I will share with Robin (location of her choice) in exchange for some of her jasmine. 🙂
I love your #3 🙂
You fell for Prada Purple Rain my dear?
Sure did!
Always happy to share!
Oooh la la.
1) Kiehl’s musk edt
2) Carven or Givenchy Vetiver
3) If I could afford it, Dominique Ropion would be my go-to guy for a custom scent. Discovering so many of the fragrances I’ve admired over the years were signed by him, that was an easy choice for me.
sayitisntso – your #1 was the last FB purchase I made.
Would be happy to send you some
email is t f k 3 1 (delete spaces) in the land of yahhhhhhhdawtcom
that should be yahhhhoooooodawtcaum 🙂
The perfume community is so kind. Thank you but when I learned that the 3.4 ounce bottle of the musk edt was being discontinued, I snapped up 4 of them (it helped that I had a friend who worked for Kiehl’s at the time)! And I still have 2.5 bottles! 🙂
Isn’t it a fantastic scent? Enjoy.
Morning, everyone. This poll is so much fun! It’s the perfume equivalent of the what-would-you-do if-you-won-Lottery? game. So.
1. I’d pootle out for coffee and pick up a bottle of Boy and Olfactive Studio Panorama, and if I were not utterly exhausted by carrying two bottles of perfume around, I might also buy a new bottle of Bois des Iles extract. Oh, is that three? Yes, I’m greedy. I’ll talk to Donatella about my problem, OK?
2. I think I’d like to find a bottle of the original Fidji–that was a gorgeous scent before they fiddled with it. I’d be very happy to re-visit Vivre, too. The Friday project reminded me how much I liked it forty-odd years ago. Forty! Crikey!
3. This is a hard one, because most of the “pure” smells I love in nature would have to be interpreted, and then they wouldn’t be pure any longer. I dug the dear man in the ribs, and asked him what sort of perfume he thinks represents me, and he said,”Porridge”, but it turns out, to my relief, that he was thinking of breakfast–he’s flying to Whanganui to visit his mother today. I think maybe I would ask Jean Claude Ellena to make me my own gourmand, something that smells like peach cobbler, Anzac biscuits and Bakewell tart over a base of very boozy fruitcake. I want lots of good brandy and sweet spices in the base. These are very solid smells: wouldn’t in be fun to see how JCE would treat them in his Impressionist style?
Is it very weird that I would love to smell that porridge perfume? Your boozy cobbler perfume sounds delightful too.
But could porridge be a perfume? Might it not be, I don’t know, rather a depressed smell? Kind of flat and sensible? On the other hand, it would be such good fun to get a range of perfumers to interpret it, ….a new Chanel Exclusif, Porridge Eau de Parfum, with iris and a hint of rosy red berries? Dior Porrisimo, with all sorts of delicate flowers, perhaps? Over at L’Occitane, they could do it with honey and lavender, maybe. And what would Bertrand Duchaufour make of a porridge note?
I always add toasted nuts to my porridge – a pecan or walnut base note might be lovely. Or it could be horrible.
For some reason, I’m thinking CdG could do a porridge line, akin to the incense series: oatmeal, congee, risotto (does this count?), ogi, kheer.
Just give it a French name and all will be well. All the perfumistas will be queueing up for “Avoines Sauvages”, you see if they don’t. It’s quite a naughty little number. :^)
“Porrisimo” almost made coffee come out my nose. 🙂
That custom JCE sounds fabulous.
Micallef Rose Extreme, or perhaps Mona’s Violet Fumee?
Caron Voux de Noel
And I would adore Victoire Gobin Daude to make something for me alone! A green, rosy jasmine… a cool jasminey iris? A floral spicy tobacco…….oh to dream!
Oh, Victoria Gobin Daude! Perfect.
Gobin Daude – GREAT choice! I wish she’d come back.
Ha! 1. Cuir de Russie 2. Casaque, big bottle, 3. Way too hard for this hot a day.
Ahh, this one is easy!
1. Guet-Apens
2. Attrape Coeur
3. Royal Extract
????
P.S.
I broke the rules because I’m feeling a bit defiant today. ????
Saw what you did there, Laura!
LOL. Clever! 😉
1 Hiram Green Shangri-La or Chanel CdR Extrait
2 Vintage Madam Jolie. I can smell the leather and violets from here.
3 A bottle of Knightsbridge. I even paid full retail, had it sent to a UK friend who forwarded it, but it is MIA after 7 weeks, so I assume it is gone
Oh no! The Knightsbridge perfume sounds divine. I hope it shows up when you least expect it.
So sorry about your loss!!
Greetings! I hope my post finds you all well and smelling marvelous. I am going to deviate from the Lazy Weekend Poll and after consideration and review of the Top 10 Fragrances for Summer lists here and other perfume blogs I felt compelled to have a list of my own. First, I want to thank all the contributors for coming up with their lists. I think writing about perfume and smelling and thinking and translating an olfactive language to a written one is quite difficult. Thank you all for continuing to do so. My list is financially modest and most items not found in your neighborhood can be easily and affordabley obtained on the Internet. Body Shop Pink Grapefruit shower gel and body butter, an incredibly realistic and mouth watering grapefruit. Layer it with your favorite grapefruit perfume, mine is Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Pamplune. Even better, the Body Shop products are at your local TJ Maxx or Marshall’s. Also to be found there are Bliss Bergamot and Vanilla body wash and body butter, fabulous on it’s own but great paired with your favorite vanilla fragrance. I think the Sage and Lemon is refreshing and gives you a citrus lift without any harshness. I wear two Insect Repellents that are so pleasing I often do not wear anything else, especially on days when I will be in the garden. All Terrain Herbal Armor with citronella, peppermint, cedar, lemongrass and geranium smells wonderful and really works. I also like Bugs at Bay, which contains Texas Cedarwood and Lemon Eucalyptus in a base of extra virgin olive oil. Believe me, you smell good enough to eat but not to a mosquito! Both of these products are at my local Wholefoods but can also be found online. Pino Sylvestre Pino(1955) a bracing, classic Italian fougere with notes of juniper, lemon and bergamot. I go through a bottle every summer. So refreshing and fleeting, the perfect after shower or bath spritz. Big White Florals just sing in the heat. I am particularly fond of Oscar de la Renta Esprit d’Oscar, Annick Goutal Songes EDT and EDP and the queen of camphorous jasmines, Lush Lust. All these layer beautifully over Manoi oil. I like Yves Rocher and their Lagoon Hair and Body Wash, Tiare flowers crushed in coconut oil, my goodness, I step out my front door wreathed in heavenly flowers. What is more summertime than that?
Thanks for this – especially the bug repellant tips! My sister is a martyr to mosquitos.
Hi, Kit. Nice list. It reminds me I need to branch out into bath/body products. (Andrea)
Good exercise!
1. The gallon bottle of En Passant.
2. The gallon bottle of Malmaison.
3. A bottle of original Mitsouko, in original bottle and packaging.
Bonus-sorry, I can’t stop!
4. A nice bottle of the Harrod’s exclusive version of Attract Coeur, by what ever name they are calling it now..Royal Extract or something like that? 🙂
I can imagine going through a gallon of En Passant! I love it but I need to reapply every 3 hours.
Attrape Coeur. Stupid spellcheck. I was so busy getting second word right, I missed the error in the first word. 🙂
1. L’Artisan Traversee a Bospore.
2. Jo Malone Rosewater and vanilla. OR L’Artisan Framboise tralalaa
3. I would love if the boys of Le Labo could do a peach/almond/rose scent for me.
I would love to smell that Le Labo scent!
Me too!
Ditto!
Your avatar is ADORABLE – is he/she yours?
1) One of the CSPs at BeautyHabit, something appropriate for this oppressive summer (plus cheap/cheerful).
2) Patou’s 1000–every vintage version I’ve tried so far has a bit of that nail polish remover opening. Would love to find any strength in pristine condition.
3) Believe I saw some time ago that Alahine was once available in extrait–would love to get my nose around some of that.
If I could get a bespoke frag, I’d bring Edmond Roudnitska back to life and commission an airy tuberose.
Fun!
1. Marni by Marni- probably my most worn perfume ever, along with Coco.
2. Narcisse Noir by Caron- in the lovely flower-topped Baccarat bottle!
3. Carnation by Mona di Orio- just beautiful, and I cannot seem to find it!
That Narcisse Noir bottle was just SO gorgeous. Sometimes I’m tempted to buy an empty one on ebay.
1) Rossy de Palma Eau de Protection by ELdO.
2) Nombre Noir, a full ounce of extrait, if such a size ever existed. If not, a half ounce, which I know was marketed. Because then I can share a few precious millilitres and still have enough for myself forever.
3) I want to split the difference and have Sophia Grojsman perfectly reproduce for me her Lancôme Trésor as it was when it was first launched. Parfum, please. Quite a lot of it.
Can I join you for number 3? And while she is busy, she could do me both Paris and Champagne.
1. Tom Ford Noir de Noir
2. I would love to have vintage Diorissimo
3. Hmmm… Probably L’Eau de Kasaneka by Menard
This was fun!
1. Waaaaay too difficult. Maybe Hermès Epice Marine, or Idole de Lubin, or 10 Corso Como, or SL Feminité du Bois, or Miss Dior Original Extrait, or or or.
2. Shiseido Feminité du Bois (like a couple others). Or maybe YSL Champagne.
3. NVC Mohur Extrait!!!
Thanks for the fun poll 🙂 Instead of working on my stupid paper today, I went around to shops collecting my birthday surprises, sniffing perfumes, and spending money on silk sleepwear. Quite an agreeable day, I must admit. I smell of Yves Rocher monoï oil and Lush Happy Happy Joy Joy (a bright, strong neroli that goes really really well with the monoï oil!). I also put on about ten sprays of l’AP Piment Brûlant, but my skin seems to have gobbled that up straightaway.
Happy (belated?) Birthday.
Nah, not yet! Thanks though 🙂 My birthday isn’t for another week (JUST ONE WEEK AHHHH). Yesterday is just when I had time to pick up the birthday treats offered to me by the shops with which I have cards.
1. A regular perfume that you could easily buy online:
Calé “Mistero” I think – it’s gorgeous but too similar to other things I have to justify it at the moment, but if it suddenly were free…
2. A vintage perfume that you’re going to find at a garage sale:
I’ve been enjoying dipping in and out of Barbara Herman’s book “Scent & Subversion”, currently in the 1930s. I’m choosing Caron’s “Alpona”, with a slightly regretful backwards glance at Guerlain’s “Vol de Nuit”.
3. An ultra-rare / exclusive / hard to find perfume, OR, a custom perfume made just for you.
I think a bespoke Sultan Pasha attar would do nicely, something with resins and incense and woods, with unexpected flowers or herbs to surprise me. :^)
Oooo, fun!
1. The big bottle of Frederic Malle Vetiver Extraordinaire
2. Guerlain Djedi (have never even smelled it but I think I’d love it)
3. Hmmm, this one’s harder… Oh! Roja Dove Diaghilev! (haven’t smelled it either, but… I know I’d love it, and… it’s free) 🙂
I just tried Diaghilev for the first time this week. It smelled to me like the love child of Mitsouko and Jubliation 25, fruited than both. Quite beautiful, but a little too sweet for my taste(not that I was planning to buy it). Nuclear longevity!
Totally with you on 2 and 3. I have decants of Diaghilev, which are realistically all I’ll ever use, but it would keep better in the bottle, wouldn’t it? 😉
1. Chanel Sycomore
2. Chanel Bois des iles vintage extrait
3. CD La Colle Noire, difficult to get in Canada, even though I haven’t tried it I am very curious about this one.
1. Just done that: Rochas Tocade, in the old packaging.
2. 100mls of Balenciaga Le Dix.
3. This is a bit hard. Maybe what I’d like is a session (led by a handsome perfumer) taking me through a big bunch of iris perfumes, classic and modern, so that I can compare. I don’t think I’d want one custom made, just the chance to sniff and discuss them, perhaps take home one of them. See, modest requirements!
Very reasonable.
Yes to your #2 – Le Dix is gorgeous.
2nd that. I’ll take it in extrait.
1. Not a perfume, but I want Annick Goutal Songes body oil. I don’t know why I haven’t bought any yet. (Yes I do, huge petsitting/kennel bill from my vacation.)
2. Crabtree & Evelyn Extract of Mysore Sandalwood.
3. I’d like Alberto Morillas to make me a custom perfume, something like Panthere with lots more jasmine, sandalwood, and civet.
Welcome home! How was your trip? I’m dying to hear about it, I just booked a trip to Svalbard and Iceland for next June.
1. De Bachmakov: I really love this fragrance but can’t afford it.
2. Vintage Le De EDT from the late seventies. It smelled like lounging on fluffy clouds in sunshine would feel – sophisticated comfort.
3. J-C Ellena!!!! A transparent frangipani fragrance with no white musk.
If JCE says no, I would really like a bottle of Geoffrey Beene Red. I’ve been looking for it for years. I loved it!!!!
Oh man it’s hot. Not sure my brain is up to ‘thinking’ at the moment. Doing chores today, and intermittently picking up the binocs to peer at the wildfire south of Carmel… it’s a long way off (50 miles) but quite visible. Very impressive after dark last night. Could see the DC10 doing retardant drops this morning. Yikes.
Ok perfume. Right.
1. Eric Buterbaugh Apollo Hyacinth. In that gorgeous bottle.
2. A giant vat of YSL Champagne Parfum, enough to last a lifetime.
3. I’d take a custom perfume by Rodrigo Flores-Roux, thanks. Something with vetiver… spices… what else… poof! Sorry, brain went on strike.
Oh geez, fingers crossed that it’s well contained and that it doesn’t get any closer.
Love your number two!
1. If it was affordable & readily available, and I wanted it, wouldn’t I already have it? (Perfumista Philosophy 101)
2. I’d love a bottle of original Ma Griffe.
3. If something isn’t readily available where I can sample it repeatedly, I don’t go out of my way to smell it – that’s just torture. Can’t think of anything in this category.
We are moved into our house, surrounded by boxes and paper, but happy. Of course I came down with bronchitis the minute we closed.
Sweetwater, how is your house hunt going?
Have a great weekend, all!
Congratulations! And get better soon!
Thanks, Koyel.
Its been a busy week, but now I’m on holiday! Going to Norway next week and trying to decide which samples to pack 🙂
1 the Hermessence set I’m planning to buy
2 Parfum Sacre in extrait
3 I like the idea of a bespoke perfume, ideally by Olivia Giacobetti for example a long lasting Passage d’Enfer.
Ooh, great questions!
1. Tobacco Rose (Papillon).
2. a bottle of old old L’Heure Bleue, the Extrait.
3. a rose-iris-violet lipsticky suede. Here’s the rub: natural-smelling. You know, like that suede lipstick plant. Should be a doddle for Hiram Green.
Love your #3 😀
1. Dior Homme
2. Eau Sauvage
3. Bois Noir
SOTD Jersey
I’m really enjoying all the posts (so much easier than making my own picks, too!).
But here goes:
1. SL Bois de Violette in bell jar
2. Tapping the way-back machine, Charles of the Ritz Light Perfume.
3. One of the JAR carnation-y perfumes. I’ve never smelled any of them; maybe one day…
1. A FB of Santal Massoia, my SOTD (I have a couple of 15 mls but increasingly love it so would be nice to have a hoard).
2. Either a 1940s/ 50s bottle of L’Air du Temps or Crabtree & Evelyn Extract of Mysore Sandalwood (as already suggested by Foxbins.
3. Something by Sonona Scent Studios – they always sound great and completely unavailable here. Cocoa Sandalwood perhaps? Or Astier de Villatte Grand Chalet. I think I could try/ buy it if I got it together to go to Liberty, but I never have and it’s not available online.
I have gone back to lurking for a while (vacations, then overwhelmed by samples, etc) but this fun poll makes me want to participate (albeit late to the party!)
1. Two choices: if you let me take back the 50 ml bottle of Eau de Magnolia I bought yesterday (eeeeek! Still can’t believe the price here in Canada!), I’ll get the 100 ml one. Otherwise, a big bottle of Rose Ikebana will do!
2. Diorissimo, of course!
3. Guerlain Le Muguet 2014… So pretty and smells amazing, but so expensive. Although I could also go for the (equally expensive) Mitsouko ceramic bottle.
1. LM Scandinavian Crime
2. Vintage Dior Poison Esprit de Parfum
3. A custom-made perfume by Guerlain
1) Dita Von Teese by Dita Von Teeese since my decant is almost done.
2) Guerlain Chamade Parfum in that pretty heart-shaped stopper bottle.
3) Parfums de Nicolai L’Temps d’une Fete which is now impossible to find 🙁 Fell in love too late.
Or, for #3, the original version of Roja Nuwa.
I almost went with the same as your for #3…or something created by Nicolai that is similar.
You can still order Le temps dune fete by email at Parfums de Nicolai. I have just received my bottle and soooo happy!
Thanks for that info!
Late to the party it it’s Sunday.
1. I would have to go with Amouage Epic Woman. I have two bottles but I want the travel spray.
2. Deneuve, it’s so freaking expensive online it’s unreal.
3. Iris Silver Mist or a bottle of Irisss. I love my iris in perfume very much.
Already answered poll, so just sharing what I’m wearing this morning. Base of Demeter Vetiver with Demeter Black Ginger on top. I’m wanting to layer the Vetiver with other things, so suggestions welcome!
1) jeez, I’ve had Hermés 24, Fauborg EdP on my buy list forever, and still haven’t bought it! I’m constantly wondering why I haven’t bought it yet and still — I haven’t bought it! Come fall, I’m sure I will.
2) VTG Guerlain Vol de Nuit in the fabulous Art Deco bottle. I don’t even know what it smells like (still!), but the bottle is more important hehe.
3) Jacques Fath Iris Gris still sealed! I want to be the envy of all the perfumistas.
1. Maai, by Bogue. A kick ASS perfume. A little loud, but so am I.
2. I find my own very first bottle of vintage 1974 Caron’s Infini, my first grown up perfume. I have bought vintage, and I still can’t get that high I got when I was 14. I can remember its scent, but it’s nowhere, now. Like a ghost.
3. My fantasy: I’m in Yemen, pre-modern times. And an ancient, kindly, sparkly eyed Bedu is a master perfumer of yore, and women travel from far away for his custom scents, of rose, oud, frankincense, and other fantastical notes that I have never experienced. The bottle looks like a genie’s bottle, with a cork. Not only do I get a whiff when I uncork it, but a genie who grants me 3 wishes…
Your number 3 is an EXCELLENT dream!
I’m hiring you to design my bespoke perfume, assuming fantasy included.
I’ll do it!
Hmmm…..let’s see….
1.) Tom Ford Orchid Soleil
2.) Vintage L’Heure Bleue Extrait
3.) A bespoke iris/rose perfume by Olivia Giacobetti
Morning, NST. Monday. Uggghhh. This afternoon I have to chair a Graduating Year Review panel (tedium to the power of 1,000) and because it involves industry people and outside academics. I’m pottering off to work wearing really quite a corporate little outfit black dress and an actual tailored blazer. With lapels! It’s all unwontedly formal. However, I cannot bear to concede everything to properness, so my perfume is Maharinih, delicious and warm, a sort of a pale red smell, if there’s such a thing. It’s perfect for this cold day, but it’s slightly more oriented to the bedroom than the boardroom….and look at me, not caring a single tiny bit about that! My thanks, and an enabler pin, go to Gaynor for my SOTD: she sent me the sample, I fell in love, and a bottle of this beauty will be mine by the end of August, thanks to an obliging team member who’s attending a conference in L.A.soon and professed a willingness to visit Scent Bar. Ah, the silly, innocent child! I predict another perfumista will be born!
1, d’Orsay Tilleul
2. An unopened full bottle of Nombre Noir would be nice! (slight understatement:)
3. A custommade twist of Ormonde Jaynes Champaca with a little more prominent basmati rice note.
I’m playing awfully late this weekend because my father-in-law, who is a doctor and KNOWS BETTER, got too dehydrated and overheated after an exhausting work week and ended up in the ER with a bloody gash on his head from passing out in the garage. He is fine and has been pumped full of fluids and thoroughly chastised, but my SIL is travelling for work and was convinced that everyone was downplaying his condition so she drove us crazy via phone and we didn’t get home until after midnight.
Anyway, my choices would be:
1. Heure Fougueuse, because I keep talking myself out of buying a bottle but probably spend more keeping myself in decants. I grabbed my decant yesterday on the way to the hospital instead of No. 5 and it worked quite well as a keep-it-together comfort scent.
2. In Evelyn Rose vintage enough? It’s discontinued or reformulated into a disaster so I’m gonna count it anyway, but it would be for my mom so in this fantasy garage sale world there is a two for $5 deal going on and a big unopened bottle of Kingdom sitting right next to it.
3. A huge vat of Sultan Pasha’s Pure Incense. Like, really, really huge. A gallon jar would do fine. None of this 3ml for two-hundred bucks stuff (though it is worth it), and no waiting patiently while its dispatched from across the pond either. I’m tired and want instant gratification 😉
That must hae been so stressful, and I’m so glad it did not turn out worse! Wishing him a quick recovery.
Under the circumstances, you should have anything you want, in any quantity you want, IMMEDIATELY! let me make that happen for you….
A quick catch-up on SOTDs for the last few days:
Friday: Waters + Wild “Tuberose and Frankincense”. All natural, certified organic scent; I just got a 2ml sample as it was my least favourite of the 3 they do. It did OK in the heat actually, but it will likely suit other NST folk better than it suits me.
Saturday: L’Artisan “Dzongkha”. You know, it was perfectly nice and all that, but on me has the usual AP performance: feeble, feeble, feeble.
Today: Masque Milano “Russian Tea”. I liked the complexity of the scent but again it just doesn’t perform well on my skin, and besides my FB collection is growing alarmingly with things I like better than this. By which I mean both “I think I need to set the bar higher for future FBs” and “Russian Tea doesn’t make the cut against my current threshold”.
I expected to like Russian Tea but found I like Montecristo best. It gets harder and harder to find perfumes that make the cut against one’s collection, doesn’t it?
If anyone wants to give me free perfume, I won’t ask for three. I’d be very happy with just one bottle of Roja Dove Diaghilev. 😉
Wait, I might also need a sample set of Thierry Wasser’s early Guerlain reconstructions.
I think I read on Monsieur Guerlain that you can sniff them on scent strips in the flagship store in Paris, but they won’t let you try them on skin.
Well, if you insist, a pristine bottle of Guerlain Djedi, Hermes Doblis, or a Gobin Daude would be dandy. 🙂
Really? They expect you to buy without trying it on skin? That’s just silly. And elitist, probably.
They’re not for sale – it’s a historical project:
http://www.monsieurguerlain.com/2015/09/vintages.html
I read this site every day, but I am not as well scented as some of you so here goes,
#1 the original Dior Homme, when it was first released.
#2 If I could get a cheap bottle of L’feau Dissey in a boot sale I’d be happy. It reminds me of when I got together with my wife.
#3. Difficult. I like a lot of fragrances and houses. I’d do like most things by MFK and Daniel Andrier, so we’ll see what happens if thry ever happen they mix it up.
Is your avatar your puppy? Is he/she a Cavalier King Charles?
1. Parfums DelRae Wit or Serge Luten Silver Iris Mist
2. Vintage Shalimar extrait
3. Tom Ford (not YSL) M7
Ha-ha! I think I get to claim “last”! It’s pretty late Sunday evening and I’m worn out with reading Hamilton right now so here goes…
1. Providence Rose Boheme
2. very vintage Worth Je Reviens extrait
3. a bespoke scent by Roja Dove
Stay cool you all!
Lucky last?
1. Atelier special set, 200mls of Trefle Pur with the extra 30ml bottle containing Ambre Nue with the blue leather cover.
2. The el cheapo Mary Quant Splash Cologne, worn by my mum during summer holidays when I was a kid and redolant of warmth, freedom and adventure in my scent memory.
3. A scent combining apricot-coloured climbing roses, freshly cut grass, tonka bean and ruminant manure by Linda Pilkington
Super wish this would come true, had to join in!
1) Balmain Vent Vert. I don’t mind the new version, I stockpile this.
2) My Holy Grail perfume, Hermes Doblis vintage in that lovely bottle and box.
3) Custom scent by my idol JCE. Just meeting him would be a dream and I will request as much Galbanum as he can put in.
Oh how fun!
1. Manoumalia. I’ve been wanting it since it came out, but it’s slightly above my price limit, and I don’t love it quite enough to justify the money at the moment.
2. I don’t have any vintage loves, but I would love to smell the Aprés L’ondée parfum.
3. I’m always looking for a scent that transports me to vacations on Crete. Herbs, fig, intoxicating jasmine and salty ocean, done just right. Christopher Brosius perhaps?