Not long ago I was talking to the owner of a vintage clothing store. I asked her to be on the lookout for old bottles of perfume (hey, an enterprising gal is a gal with an lifetime supply of Fabergé Tigress). She told me she finds lots of perfume at estate sales, "But you wouldn't want it. It's old. It's nasty," she said and wrinkled her nose.
Yikes! How many bottles of Jean Patou Joy or vintage Worth Je Reviens had she left behind? She might have passed up some of the perfume because she's not used to smelling a powerhouse vintage perfume, but she probably figured that anything old is likely to have spoiled. It's time to nip these kinds of heartaches in the bud and lay out a few of the biggest misconceptions about perfume:
1. Perfume goes bad over time. Perfume can sour, but it's usually sunlight and heat that destroy it, not time. Put a bottle of your favorite, brand new perfume on the dashboard of the car for a few weeks in summer and keep another bottle in its box in a drawer and you'll learn this lesson firsthand. It doesn't matter how expensive, or cheap, the perfume was. (In my perfume cupboard is a 40-year-old bottle of Dana Tabu that smells fresh as a daisy — that is, if Tabu could ever smell even remotely like a daisy.)
That said, some perfume does change over time — even when stored in the best of conditions — and it doesn't always change for the best. Annick Goutal Petite Chérie is famous for losing its delicate edge in a matter of months. But, vintage Guerlain Mitsouko deepens with the years.
Also, sometimes when a fragrance's more finicky top notes have turned, the rest of it may be as healthy as ever. I have an old bottle of Chanel No. 5 that smells past its prime for about three minutes and heavenly afterward.
2. There's men's cologne and ladies' perfume, and that's the whole story. This one makes me laugh. I bet more women buy Guerlain Vetiver, Annick Goutal Eau d'Hadrien, and Bvlgari Black than do men. Besides assertive fougères — and some women won't shy away from those, either — women can successfully poach nearly every masculine scent. When sales associates ask men at the women's fragrance counter what sort of woman they're buying for, confident men know to say, "Tall, dark, and handsome" as they reach for the Piguet Bandit.
3. Perfume shouldn't change on your skin. Wrong! Although some fragrances are more linear than others, a well crafted perfume is like a musical sonata. It will evolve over time, and different aspects of the scent will come out. The more masterful the composition, the more pleasing and natural — or, better yet, unexpected but satisfying — are the scent's transitions. Noticing and enjoying the ride is a big part of the pleasure of perfume, I think. It is also a skill that develops as you experience more perfume and really pay attention to it.
4. Extrait is stronger than Eau de Toilette. Extrait (or Parfum) is certainly more concentrated than Eau de Toilette, but often smells gentler on skin and has less sillage than Eau de Toilette. The alcohol in Eau de Toilette gives fragrance loft. Plus, when using Eau de Toilette, most people apply more than they do of Extrait. Try a dab of Guerlain Shalimar on one wrist and a spray of the Eau de Toilette on the other, and you'll see what I mean.
5. The different concentrations of a fragrance (Extrait, Eau de Toilette, etc) are just the same fragrance diluted to varying degrees. This one is sometimes true but often not true at all. Guerlain, for instance, is famous for emphasizing different aspects of a composition depending on its form. Jicky is a famous example — you could almost do a personality profile on people who prefer the Eau de Toilette compared with those who only wear the Parfum. Patou Joy and Chanel No. 5 also smell distinctly different in their various forms.
I know I'm missing other perfume misconceptions (expensive perfume is always better than cheap perfume, for example), but I'll stop here. If you've encountered some perfume misconceptions you'd like to share with us, please chime in.
Note: image via Parfum de Pub.
Nice list, Angela. I like number 2.
Also, to me, one of the biggest misconceptions of all: “You get what you pay for.”
Not that I’m saying a $19.99 drugstore bottle is as “good” as MDCI (though if it rocks your world, more power to you). However, at a certain point, something that’s $5 per ml isn’t necessarily any more earthshaking than a perfume that’s $1 per ml. And thank goodness for that.
Such an excellent point! It’s hard to look beyond marketing and packaging (and the associated price point) to see the real fragrance, sometimes. But paying a lot doesn’t mean you necessarily have a fabulous scent.
I liked #2, as well. I remember going shopping with a (female) friend, and I really wanted some Fendi thing for men, but couldn’t remember what it was called. The SA kept saying, “When HE wore, what did it smell like?” or “Did HE tell you what it was called?” Keep in mind, this is long after I had said I wanted it for me. I think we made her uncomfortable, which makes me happy even just thinking about it now.
You’d think she would have listened to you! Hey, it’s her commission…
I second the “you get what you pay for” point here. Once I got into perfume, I spent the first six months feeling sort of sad about the cheap stuff I’d always worn. Now I know better, and my Origins Ginger with a Twist (which I wore at my wedding and will always be special to me) is sitting right next to the fancy box holding my L’Artisan Iris Pallida (law school graduation present to myself). Ha!
Now you’re making me wonder what they’d be like layered. Good be good, actually.
One of the biggest misconceptions I hear frequently is that there is some kind of age range for any particular fragrance. Or that anything other than very fruity scents are “Old Lady” or “Grandma” perfumes meant only for “Mature” women.
Sadly, a lot of women and men I know are limiting their fragrance choices because they are wary of anything that is established because they associate it with “old”.
I’m sure there are others, and I’ll probably post again when I think of them. But the Old Lady misconception is what steams me the most…
That’s a good one! Cristalle, for instance, smells really youthful to me, but lots of people might overlook it because it’s an old Chanel.
I’m quite young and have just fallen for the old Guerlain classics and such. I had dinner with my mother yesterday, actually, while I was wearing Vol de Nuit in extrait. The conversation went something like this:
Mother: You stink!
Me: I smell amazing.
Mother: You smell like my grandmother’s house.
Me: It’s Vol de Nuit. It’s classic Guerlain.
Mother: So why are you wearing it?
Me: Because it smells amazing.
Mother: But it smells so old!
Me: It is old. But it still smells good.
Mother: Why do you want to smell like a grandmother?
She didn’t get it, needless to say.
LOL! That sounded a little like “Who’s on First?”
Totally Abbott and Costello!
I say you smell amazing! And I laugh to think that last year I wore some of my VdN perfume to an volunteer event crowded with older ladies. I figured no one would say a word – and no one did, but that’s probably a coincidence. I think I smelled fantastic!
But I must hang my head too – I spend a lot of time figuring out what “family friendly” fragrances to wear when I make visits. The love of fragrances can be a challenge for people who could care less! I try and pick ones my family will like. But I am sorely tempted at times to wear my pre-reformulation Joy when I see my mom. She never cared for it and let a bottle wither away on top her dresser for about 25 years…. I would indeed feel vindicated if she said she likes it. Otherwise, out of about 50+ bottles, the only one I can’t get away with normally is No 5 perfume with my husband.
Ha! That could be my mother!
You have an open-minded husband–terrific! But yes, I know what it’s like to suspect that others might not “get” how beautiful your perfume is.
She must have had a classy grandma, that’s all I can say. (I adore Vol de Nuit in parfum. It’s one of my favorites.)
Me too-it’s one of my faves! Hubby loves it too.
It just drives me crazy when someone remarks about the old lady scents. There are certain scents (Youth Dew, Aromatics Elixir, VdN, Mitsuoko, Shalimar etc.) that are considered “OL” scents but I get compliments on them.
I do, too! Even better, I love them.
Are you my long lost sister? That is classic ‘my mom’! I told her I was lusting after five gallon bucket of Shalimar. She said Why? You know the rest of that story….!
My girlfriend has made the ‘old smelling’ comment a time or two. my response is “Old people wear this because it smelled so great on them when they were young, that they statyed loyal to it for the rest of their life.”
Nice come back!
Yes, great come back. I remember reading a customer review of Youth Dew in which the wrtier said that she had worked once at a fragrance counter and became intrigued at the number of white haired elderly women who would turn up, sometimes in wheel chairs, to buy their Youth Dew. Imagine, this reviewer said, what adventurous, classy women these must have been when they wore Youth Dew as young women in the 1950s.
That’s a marvelous story. Each of those women has stories to tell, I’m sure. Wouldn’t you love to hear them?
I work near a EL counter and love hearing the women’s stories of how they discovered Youth Dew or Private Collection etc…
I think that YD review was on Makeup Alley. It’s a nice one. I love reading about people’s perfume memories and associations. It’s wonderful how eloquent people can be.
But I have to say that Basenotes and MA brings out the worst as well as the best. Youth Dew, according one review I saw once, smells ‘like old rotting corpses’ – as if the writer is deeply familiar with the smell of old rotting corpses. Can’t say I am, but whatever they smell like, I’m sure it’s nothing like Youth Dew.
You just feel like saying to these people – ‘You too, one day, will be old.’
Those same people probably have a hard time appreciating good cheese, too. Poor things.
I love this post! Very informative – thank you 🙂
You’re welcome!
Great list Angela! I’ll be very interested to read what others add. I have a question regarding #3 – do you find that many of the newer scents don’t have the same dramatic evolution over time that the classics do?
I’ve heard that many of the newer scents are designed to smell their best right away, on the scent card, to snag the consumer’s interest. That might well be true. There are some great new fragrances, though, with lots of evolution–but I’m thinking more niche than department store.
I’d love to see your list! I’ve been sampling my brains out lately (niche only, not dept. store) and even the ones I really, really like seem to lack the evolution of say, Vol de Nuit parfum. But maybe I’ve set the bar too high.
There are so many fragrances out there, that unless you’re richer than Bill Gates you might as well set the bar sky high. On that note, try a few Amouages and some of the Hermessences.
One of my favorite “evolving” fragrances is Delrae Amoureuse.
That is the perfume of someone who definitely stars in the movie version of her life.
The Delrae samples were in my mailbox when I got home yesterday, Black Cat!
Angela – and that’s my goal: to be the star in my own life!
Another myth I hear often is: Spray your perfume in the air and walk through it. MYTH MYTH, I say, what do you say?
Fragrance really opens up on warm skin, and a cotton dress isn’t exactly warm skin. But I like the drama of spraying in the air!
You can always do both. 🙂 (Maybe this is why windows are thrown open whenever I’m in the room…do I overdo?)
No, of course not. Sometimes we just like fragrance to be really BIG.
Yes!
Daisy, I so agree with you. I not only want to smell nice to others but I also want to be able to enjoy what l am wearing. So perhaps I go a little heavy…especially when I know it has to last several hours.
As long as people aren’t jumping out those windows, I say you’re fine.
True! But if you want your carpet to smell good……. spraying into the air is perfect!
Sure beats some of that stuff they sell at the supermarket to put on the rug!
Unless you don’t mind using your Le Labo as a VERY expensive room spray, I would never do that. Also, it’s hard enough for me to get any lasting power as it is when I drench my neck and collar, so I can’t imagine how fleeting a scent would be if I just walked through a very fine mist of it.
Amen! I think that people who spray in the air are wasting their fragrance. A close application of fragrance is best too, and I always prefer to dab especially rich fragrances to have more control over where then end up and how much. It is more personal and intimate anyway, esp. as you say around the neck and collar. Unless you are really interested in your carpet and floor getting in on the action.
You’re so right–some fragrances I can only imagine dabbing.
Carpet and floor– I’m laughing because it’s true! In related action, just today I spilled a good dollop of a decant of Plus que Jamais on my pillowcase. Fragrant dreams. . .
It would take me weeks to work up to washing that pillowcase.
The only perfumes I spray in the air are things I want to get rid of. I have been known to use my rejects are room spray. Pacifica Waikiki Pikake smelled like mothballs on me, but my house smells fantastic.
I think some of the Demeters make a great room spray. I love Vanilla Cake Batter…but I don’t want to smell like it myself.
As for application….I try to avoid getting a lot of fragrance on my clothing because some things will stain. I usually make the perfume of the day selection/application in undies only…..and since my collection is kept in a cabinet in my computer room—I would strongly recommend that no one traispe past that bank of windows early in the day—you’ll see more than you ever wanted to!
Oh Daisy! As long as you aren’t doing the banana dance too!!
I put mine on before clothes as well. My mom recently had trouble with Juicy Couture Viva la Juicy staining a t-shirt.
Frankly, Ann, I just love the fact that your mom was wearing Viva la Juicy.
i do this too if i get a really good deal on 100ml size. i know ill tire of the scent after 50 ml, but cant pass up the DEAL!!! ill spray the rest to freshen my apt.
Sometimes I spray silk lampshades to diffuse the scent. It’s nice.
Miss Kitty V.! I do the same thing. If one of my perfumes is a little off or if I really don’t want to wear it any longer, I use it as a home fragrance spray. It beats spending extra money on home fragrances (which to me seem to last just about 3 minutes) plus the fragrance doesn’t get wasted. If I really start to dislike something, I give it to someone else who I know can’t really afford to buy perfume…and every time I have done that, the person is truly grateful and loves the fragrance!
You are a great friend!
I did that with my Serge Lutens Fleurs d’Orange for a while, because it was too much sweeeeeeetness on my skin. But then I realized a better thing to do was to “smell it forward” to a friend who loves orange blossoms.
“Smell it forward”–great concept, great term.
love that “smell it forward”. I’ve done that just these last few days with friends at work, with some scents i’ve decided just aren’t me (ralph lauren romance, calvin klein escape & euphoria, vera wang princess to name a few). The recipients were very happy & as i say, my perfume obsession makes everybody happy 🙂
It’s definitely good karma!
I agree. You get more bang for your buck by applying it straight to skin.
I’d avoid the walk-thru method — get the alcohol in your hair and you’ll just dry it out.
Great post, as usual, Angela!
Good point! My curls are dry enough as it is.
Off topic but Suzanne, is that a Dachshund on vacation on your avatar? LOVE IT!!
Ah, yes…relaxing w/a Mai Tai. I had a pair of elderly female standard dachsies, who were masters of relaxation! Thanks!
Dachshunds are nearly feline in their ability to relax. We often note our Rudy’s resemblance to a melted dog.
I do that, I spray perfume in the air and walk right through it. But I do it after my shower and before I put on my clothes. The perfume gets in my face, my hair, my arms, plus I spry on my pulses. I love to walk into a cloud of perfume 🙂
I suppose if you’re walking into it nude–or nearly nude–that would make all the difference.
Yes, iff you want a hint of perfume before going to bed, then it is fine. I cannot sleep with too much perfume or perfume on my pillow.
And it is sexier to smell a bit then letting him press his lips on your neck and: Yuck! You taste of perfume!
So true. As good as it smells, perfume doesn’t taste very good.
It certainly depends on the fragrance. But in general I find a fine spritz in the air applies just enough scent to both skin and clothing to scent a limited “personal space” this enables those permited within that area to enjoy your choice and those without … let’s call them co-workers or maybe just the general public…to live their lives in ignorance of your profound good taste. However certain scents just beg to be dabbed and I don’t see any reason why both methods can’t be employed if the scent calls for it and I’m “in a mood”. lol
I like your attitude–flexible and individual!
Joe I agree with you 100%. Lasting power is my number one concern.
I agree with you. Although sometimes it’s nice when they wear off fast so you can switch to something else!
Angela,
I love your posts and I am going to direct all of my friends from facebook here.
I thank you for helping to rid the world of silly myths. Myths that hold people back from crossing the aisle for themselves. Myths that allow gorgeous bottles of scent to go un-cherished.
XO
You are so nice! Thank you.
I’d cry oceans if anyone tried to take away my masculines.
I’ve heard this perfume ‘urban legend’ over and over again – that the correct “European” way to perfume is immediately after you step out of the shower/bath and spray, spray, spray while your skin is still damp. Air dry, then dress.
Any thoughts on this? I’m too impatient to stand around nude (Oops, I said the sue word) while waiting to dry off.
I would think a lot of it would evaporate along with the moisture on your body. I put my fragrances on after I’ve dressed, because I like the scent to cling to my clothes so that after it’s worn off of me, it still lingers on the fabric. But what do I know?
That sounds smart to me.
Again Miss Kitty V., I agree with you. If the fragrances gets into your clothing, the lasting power is greater.
Rumeur smells GREAT on my winter coats and scarves. I spray everything in my coat closet and Rumeur smells like it *ought* to smell on skin (no nail polish note!).
Waah! Rumeur is horrible on me!
Chanel said you should have a signature scent so you can always pick out your coat among others.
I generally spray on my pulse points, and then on my stomach so that it hits my shirt too. I’ve noticed that Chanel Chance smells completely different to me on skin and on fabric, so that way, I get both. It’s more warm and spicy on skin, but bright and elegant on fabric. Divine either way. 🙂 As for my vintage Mitsouko, I’m firmly rationing that. It’s never even seen fabric. Ha! Body sprays like the Sonia Kashuk I have hanging around (highly recommended and available at Target, last time I checked) are sprayed everywhere on everything and anything that happens to be in my way. It all just depends.
Sometimes it’s nice just to be able to spray with abandon! A body spray is great for that.
Oh that’s clearly an urban legend… Europeans don’t bathe, everyone knows that! 😉 (*Completely* joking, lest anyone try to be offended; my husband is from Europe and he practically lives in the bath.)
You’d think that putting scent on a body that just came out of a hot shower would evaporate faster, if the skin temperature is really higher. On the other hand, maybe the (false?) logic is that you want the scent to stay in pores that were opened in the hot shower. Hm.
Getting scent in pores doesn’t sound good, though. It sounds like it could be an irritant.
Its second time I hear this non-sense and it makes me laugh hahaha 🙂
Ahh, there is a floating myth that the testers of perfumes at the shops are higher concentration and sillage is stronger to cheat the customers in buying. But when the poor customer buys a perfume is not that good at all.
I’m sure that one’s a myth. But hey, testers go for a song on the internet!
Another myth! lol But lucky for us tester-wearers, it’s not true at all.
Good save!
I’ve been to Italy quite a lot of times and I’ve always thought that was a total myth. Where do these things come from? Supposedly from years ago, when not just in Europe but also in America, people took baths and washed their hair only once a week. It was like a Friday or Saturday night ritual from what I’ve read.
That had to be a long time ago, that’s for sure. Maybe WWII?
WWII? Are you kidding!? My grandmother (87) still says, “I’ve never washed my hair every day in all my life.” She still washes it weekly — certainly a holdover from when ladies had intricate lacquered hairdos. And I seem to remember in the 70s we weren’t showering every day… maybe 3-4 times a week in “cool” weather? But yeah, bathing once a week, I don’t know — maybe that was quite some time ago.
But she smells all right, right?
Oh yes, she showers daily. LOL. I just need to figure out how to get her to get some use out of her older bottles of White Shoulders and No. 5 when I visit back east annually. 😉
Not all that long ago, folks. As late as the seventies, many, many ladies had their hair done–professionally, at a salon–once a week, and would leave the style in for the week, touching it up every day. Some still do. Washing hair every day started become very common only in the mid-seventies, I would guess because a lot of younger women had exercise regimens, and their hair got sweaty in a way that their mothers’ hair did not. And a lot of people only took a full bath once a week, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t wash; they washed with a washcloth and a sinkful of water. How soon we forget!
Maybe it was a shampoo marketing conspiracy! (always fun to think of the conspiracy angle)
I don’t know. I’d say toweling off first would be a good idea. Of course, while your skin is wet you could slather on unscented lotion, let it sink in, then put on fragrance. I bet it would last a long time that way.
Yes indeed, I do that and it does work.
That’s my routine – dry, lotion, fragrance.
I used to spray perfume on my neck area and just below and on pulse points, but I stopped that when I realized that my skin was going discoloured, I assume the ingrediants in the perfume reacting with the sun. Now I tend to spray on my clothes. Sometimes I like to walk through a mist, because its seems kind of fun. I hope everyone is careful anyway with summer coming up in the southern hemisphere, to perhaps not spray on naked sking where the sun is going to shine!
Angela – nice post! I like your comments on No1. I recently and amazingly stumbled across about 5 ml of very vintage Chamade perfume. The opening is so much like the current, but either the age or the original formula make it deeper, almost smokey, more complex. It is glorious!
And I suppose this gets me to No 4 – where I can also say that the Chamade perfume does not project as much as the edt, though overall it is stronger and richer. I find this to be true about most of my perfume – just a few bottles, but they are closer to the body and sometimes less synthetic smelling to the nose.
I also completely agree about #5, for instance with Joy – I didn’t care for it until I tried the edp. Now I see why it is fantastic! The same for No 5 – the edt and edp never worked for me in the drydown, but the parfum is so beautiful and it really holds itself together.
Chamade extrait was my birthday present to myself last year and I love it! And I’ll try not to hurt its feelings by lemming after that vintage! Now you’ve made me want to sample #5 in extrait, something I’ve never done.
I held out too long to test the No 5 perfume. I like the opening of both the edt and edp of No 5, but it always seems to fall apart for me in the drydown, esp. the edp, and get thin and sour. The No 5 perfume just seems to hold itself together longer – that gorgeous opening. And then the drydown is a very smooth warm sandalwood. The florals for me are so well blended in the middle. I enjoy it very much, and it lasts for hours. I only wear it about once a month but it is the only frag that I have that I wear only for myself. And congrats on the Chamade extrait! It is really the most beautiful perfume ever. Period. I am very biased, lol!! I bought mine last year for my holiday present to myself, though I had just bought the edt. I liked it so much I didn’t want to wait!!
Same experience for me: never really liked the lesser concentrations and thought them too powdery. Extrait is gorgeous, vintage extrait even lovelier.
Hey, if you hold onto it long enough, it will be vintage!
Great point! I like your thinking!!
Chamade really is fabulous. You make the vintage sound even better!
I like No. 5 in EdP and parfum better, too, although I know lots of people prefer the EdT. But that just goes to show how they differ.
Chanel No. 5 has always held fascination for me since I was a young girl. I always loved it but only wore it before going to bed. Never would wear it out and about. Now that I’m older it’s still a fragrance that I’m drawn too–one of the ones (and there are several others) that seem addictive–I feel the need to keep refreshing it. I actually wore it out last week to a small blues club where, even though it is tiny place with no delineated dance floor, people tend to dance in groups, alone or in couples because you just can’t help yourself when a great band is playing. That day, several people (men and women) asked me what perfume I was wearing (I could no longer smell it)–and this was at the end of the last set). One young woman said I smelled like beautiful roses. I told her it was Chanel No. 5. It was odd because usually I wear niche fragrances that even if someone asks me what I’m wearing, they look at me like I have two heads because they’ve never heard of it!
I love your jazz story! I can only imagine how nice you smelled. I love good jazz and used to go to a now no longer existing jazz club in Portland OR a lot when I lived there. It just sounds so cool. Chanel No 5, a perfect Manhattan, and some cool jazz. …
I think we could have a very fun night out together!
I would want to join you! I love Jazz.
I got all excited when I saw the words “existing jazz club” and “Portland Or.” Then I read it all the way through. 🙁 I want a good jazz club!
Miss Kitty – It *used* to be the Blue Note on like NW Burnside and 3rd? 4th? — near the Gates in Old Town. Really cool stuff with super high pressed tin ceiling, long wooden bar, pool tables…. It is now a gentlemen’s club. Like Portland needs another one of them! And the other was Jazz de Opus also down there in Old Town, and I also believe it is long gone…. ….
You must have smelled terrific! Great story.
Two related ones I’ve heard a number of times, often from SAs: “You should spray/dab perfume on your pulse points and rub it in,” advice which vies with “You should never rub in perfume because it will bruise the molecules,” the latter being a particular hoot.
Another one I got from a SA, who watched in horror as I tested perfume on the nape of my neck: “You should never put perfume on your neck or under your hair, because the oils in your skin alter how it’s supposed to smell.” Did he think I should spray it on my hankie, to avoid all possible skin oils?
I rub occasionally to speed along top notes I don’t care for. And I like to dab stronger orientals – it helps to keep them under control. I suppose dabbing is mild rubbing? I think somewhere months ago there was a post with content that debunked the “crushing” of molecules. None of us can operate at the atomic level during application, lol!
I guess the friction from rubbing it could speed it along, as you say, from the heat.
That’s hilarious! You’d have to have a darn greasy neck.
Hey, I like putting perfume under my hair! Most fragrances seem extra long-lasting if dabbed or sprayed at the back of the neck under shoulder-length or longer hair. My clothes also seem to hold fragrances longer than my skin alone.
I’ve never tried that spot. I’ll have to do it right away.
Every time you shake your head you get a fresh waft of scent. . .
That sounds wonderful!
These are all great. Re: #3, my mother once bought a bottle of carnation-scented perfume, only to discover that it smelled like old onions when she wore it. She gave it to me when we discovered that I could wear it unscathed. 😉
Good score!
Hi Anita – I get some extra milleage out of a few of my fav fleeting Goutal’s when I apply them near the base of my hairline behind my ears. It makes them stick really well!
what a strange coincidence- i wrote a blog entry yesterday that includes my personal experience with #4 & #5. i haven’t posted it yet, though. (now having second thoughts…lol)
Don’t you think perfume application (where and how it is sprayed) is a matter of style and preference, as opposed to hard rules?
Except that rubbing your wrists won’t “bruise” anything but it will make the topnotes dissipate sooner.
Thanks for the list.
I’m sure it is. I like to put fragrance between my breasts, for instance, because it floats straight up to my nose. I also like to put it behind my knees because I almost exclusively wear dresses, and the scent rises and moves nicely with my skirts.
Angela -I like to put fragrance in my cleavage too, because it does just waft straight up to the nose! I’m not doing it b/c it is “sexy” I promise! My husband would hardly notice…unless it was the eau de bacon we are always discussing!
Which goes right back to the question of who you wear fragrance for. Clearly, we wear it for ourselves!
Yes, and we should apply it wherever it pleases us–except down our throats!
I agree!
I’m a cleavage applicator too – I love having scent waft up all day!
“Cleavage applicator”–good term!
I can’t believe this — I’ve had a small box of fragrances sitting on a shelf for several years. I’ve been meaning to throw them out since I was sure they weren’t any good any longer and I’d stopped wearing fragrance for a few years, but liked the bottles, so never got around to trashing them. After reading #1, I pulled out some Caleche edp that probably dates to around 1988, and it still smells great! There’s also 1/2 oz of Bal a Versaille parfum, and although I don’t really remember what it’s supposed to smell like, it also seems to smell pretty good. There are another 6-7 bottles I’ll need to sniff later. Thanks for the heads up! Of course, I think my tastes in fragrances have changed quite a bit but I’m sure I can figure out something to do with these…
Lucky you! I’m so glad you tried them. They sound like great perfumes, too.
Good grief, Cecilia! Don’t ever throw that stuff in the garbage! Either sell it on ebay or find a message board for fragrance hounds who would LOVE to have it — or if those are too much work just donate it to a local thrift store or something and eventually they’ll find their way into the hands of someone who’d love to have them.
Hmm.. I’ll bet that there are several people on this blog alone who would be happy to take anything that you don’t like anymore off your hands, lol. But Joe is right, you could certainly sell it or swap it for something that you do like.
Yep, if that Caleche no longer thrills you, I’d be happy to take it off your hands! I’m still kicking myself for getting rid of my ’80s bottle of that lovely stuff…
Ceciliat! Bal a Versailles in Extrait!! OMG GIrl, I’d take that off your hands in a second!
Re. No.3: wasn’t Giorgio one of the first linear fragrances? It created a stir because of that, not just because it was so ‘loud’. French fragrances traditionally ‘evolve’ over a period of time.
I wouldn’t be surprised. To tell the truth, I can’t even describe what Giorgio smells like, because all I remember is an olfactory baseball bat. Even looking at the box gives me the shivers.
yeah, that Giorgio, the one in the yellow and white striped box, should be called flowerbomb!! I have had two bottles of that because my husband thinks its the best scent ever, and its like WOW!! Sorry, I can’t think of better descriptions than, wow, flowerbomb…. once I had it on probably too heavily sprayed and a salesgirl at this department store I always go to actually recoiled. Actually I don’t think I ever heavily sprayed Giorgio, you only NEED one spray to be effective!
I should add that I’ve been complimented when I’ve worn Giorgio (beverly hills)
It’s a pretty powerful one, for sure! I admit, though, that it’s been a long time since I’ve tried it on my skin.
Another fragrance myth (one actually mentioned on this site before) is that synthetically-derived ingredients are always of lesser quality than “naturally” derived. Not always true. Sometimes development is more expensive (but also more humane or environmentally responsible) than extracting from nature and can render a more fascinating interpretation of a scent.
Another: That the quality of a fragrance depends soley upon the rarity or quality of ingredients. This has great influence over the impression of luxury a scent conveys, but in the same way you don’t pay for a painting based upon how expensive or “high quality” the paints used to create it were, a fragrance’s real value often comes from the creativity and quality of the artistic composition–not simply the quality of its ingredients. However; I suspect some people would entirely disagree with me on that. Especially people who dig soliflores or simpler blends dependent upon the purity of a singular ingredient.
Both excellent points! I think the “rarity” myth is why we see so many fragrances purporting to contain Venezuelan orchids or something like that.
Angela, I so enjoyed this article. I look forward to seeing part 2 of your tips.
Mario
Thank you! I’m not sure I have a part 2 yet, but you never know…
Wow, I was just thinking about #2 because I spilled a few scant drops of Fracas on me last night and it still smell great on me after 12 hours–on me it’s almost like how I might smell after using those scented quality soaps from Asia. Oh yeah, while we are on misconceptions try these: certain fragrances suit just blonds, red heads or brunettes, or there’s a good girl / bad girl fragrance. I’m always amused by the fact the prototype of Fracas tooks only 6 minutes to make because Germaine Cellier put tuberose into a draft of L’Air du Temps and the carnation morphed from an ingenue into something else altogether. All too interesting because Fracas and L’Air du Temps are not exactly marketed as having different personalities–ultimately it all depends on the chemistry of the person’s skin (L’Air du Temps smells terrible on me, for instance–but I only have the current formulation :-p).
Oops! That’s “Fracas and L’Air du Temps are marketed as having different personalities”…
I had never heard that story about Fracas. Thank you!
I heard the story from an interview with Jean Guichard–that’s how I got the 6 minute blurb. And I accepted the story because he has been with Givaudan for so long now it’s almost impossible to imagine at least the education division without him 🙂
Oh, Albert, you should write a book about perfume. Not about the scents themselves so much, but about creativity as it relates to scent and the people behind perfume. I’d read it in a second!
I second that Albert-Can! I *always* enjoy reading your very knowledgeable comments here and on other blogs. They are always appreciated.
Aww, Angela and Rappleyea both of you are beyond kind (wish you could see me blushing as I type this comment). Honestly I consider myself far less eloquent than Angela and other wonderful fellow bloggers so I’m just doing all I can. And thanks to Angela for writing this article or I would have completely forgotten about that little blurb on Fracas vs. L’Air du Temps.
Great point about hair color, and about good girl/bad girl fragrances. Now I’m tempted to segregate my perfume into a good girl shelf and a bad girl shelf.
I don’t like that fragrance type thing either, esp. the good girl/bad girl thing (boys too). I mean seriously if you wake up in some house that is not yours after a great night and put on whatever you find in the bathroom be it Old Spice, Speed Stick, Tea Rose, or Pour Monsieur, I think that is more risque than some out of the box “sexy” marketing.
Though I will concede that fragrances do have the power to boost confidence significantly, so if a frag gives you more confidence, and we all know that confidence is sexy, then I say: spray away!
…I sense there’s a good story there…
My sense of decorum prevents me from sharing good stories here! But I will say that Irish Spring is my least fav soap I would find in a man’s bathroom. … The only yowza type comment I got was once when I was wearing Bal a Versailles. But it was a yowza moment anyway, and total coincidence. I could have been wearing pickle juice and I doubt it would have mattered.
You mean you could have been wearing, say, Speed Stick? (That cracks me up.)
I’ll plead the fifth!
I like the Speed Stick addition to the list.
That cracks me up, too! Speed Stick!
It may crack you both up, but that is some nasty stuff. I’d almost rather smell of BO than of that.
So maybe it should be Speed-to-the-shower-to-wash-it-off-Stick.
HA! Angela you are so funny that I turn your reply into satirical e-cards on my blog Les Tuileries–I mentioned you and linking my post back to this piece. I hope it’s okay.
I now work at estate sales and have visited many this past year and she’s right, some perfumes are not to my taste; I’ve passed up two or three bottles of Joy because Joy is not me, to put it nicely. But I got my first bottle of My Sin at an estate sale, along with some samples of Oscar de la Renta which are to die for. And a lot of other things.
I think that estate sale perfume can actually be better sometimes. The time concentrates the scent, making it denser. My stupid bottle of My Sin extrait that wouldn’t open doesn’t smell anything like the bottle I procured open. So I’ve got to figure out how to best concentrate it in a reasonable time frame.
You do realize that the screaming sound you hear is me wailing over you passing up Joy, don’t you?
And me screaming along with you!
I didn’t think a fifth-full bottle would be worth that much to anybody; I see now I underestimated my fellow perfumistas. Next time I’ll pick it up and sell it off.
Next time you should pick it up and email the NST grapevine, more like it!!!
I think there is a place in the Basenotes community where they post “just seen here” type things. One person’s treasure is another’s discard! Joy can be a difficult fragrance to wear, even for those of us who like it!
A dream come true! To be first in line for estate sale fragrances!
Angela, the perfume myth that jacks my jaw is “coffee beans refresh your nose”. The last thing I want to do when focusing on and trying to memorize different scents at the store is to huff up coffee beans. It ruins me for smelling anything else. It’s like trying to enjoy a glass of wine after brushing my teeth!
So true! The best thing for refreshing is time, space and fresh air! That is one of the resons I prefer getting my samples at home – you can live with them for a while and figure the fragrance out. Like for instance, JHAG Lady Vengeance, to see how it is different from Voleur de Roses, Stella & Bryant Park, etc. 😉
Gosh, now I feel like dabbing all of those on.
A chemist friend told me that green apple actually does the trick. But who the hell carries a green apple around with them while fragrance sampling?
I’ve heard the old saying “buy wine with apples, sell wine with bread”, meaning that apples clarify the wine’s taste. It sounds like the same is true with perfume.
A better question is how many of us are going to *start* carrying around a green apple when we go on sniffing trips?
Light Blue has green apple in it. Interesting.
Great point! What is it about all those dirty brandy glasses full of dried out coffee beans? If you need to refresh your nose, breath a few times through your sweater. Or come back later.
I read somewhere that the best way to ‘clear the palate’, i.e, ‘nose’ in-between smelling fragrances is to sniff the crook of one’s arm (as long as one hasn’t sprayed perfume there already). Smelling one’s own clean skin does the trick.
That sounds similar to smelling your own sweater, and it makes a lot more sense than coffee beans.
I was in Penhaligon the other day, wading through their rather stodgy range, and the sales assistant offered me water instead of coffee beans to smell. She said it was far more effective at cleansing whatever it is that it’s supposed to cleanse. I can’t say that it worked particularly well.
Perhaps after 20mins of sniffing strong perfumes I wasn’t in the best state to detect the subtle olfactory effects of clear water. In fact. by that time my poor nose may have been beyond revival even by a whole barrel of freshly roasted beans…
It sounds like you would have needed water AND a neti pot to flush out your nasal passages (an ugly visual, that). But the important question is, did you end up buying anything?
A terrific list, Angela, and so true! I’ll add the notion that perfume is only for special occasions — there were some great comments on this subject in a recent post on Serge Lutens, who said he only wears fragrance a few times a year, when he goes out for the evening. I hate that mindset of saving everything nice for an “occasion” (not that SL was necessarily doing that, but still)… Like people who keep plastic slipcovers on their furniture all the time, as if they’re waiting for the pope to visit to finally uncover their precious settee. C’mon, live a little!
I couldn’t agree more! Fragrance (and couches) should be enjoyed whenever the mood strikes–and for me that’s several times a day.
A guy I see sometimes has cozies on everything he owns – drives me nuts. lol
Yep–use it up, enjoy it, wear it out, I say. The pleasure of using something and really enjoying it far surpasses the pleasure of keeping it.
Hi Angela,
Great post! Very enjoyable! I totally agree with item #5, there are many scents that I love only in EDT formulation (Shalimar, Cristalle, and Chanel No 5). Others, I’ll only wear the Extrait (Jicky or Coco).
I agree! It’s fun to figure it all out, too.
Hi Angela, thank you for clearing the “perfume goes bad” myth.
I was not sure about that; I keep my babies in a dark shelf.
The last years I had very few bottles so I used them in time, because I use a lot and I do not care (did not suffocate anyone yet:-).
Now what do you think: in my dept. store there is a bottle of GIO/Giorgio Armani which has been discontinued&you hardly can’t get. It must be at least 2years old now. I loved exactly this kind of sharp aldehydes it has; I did not find something similar until now.
Should I go for it? Or could it get bad few weeks after opening? The bottel has 100ml and it is 80 Euro *sigh*.
If it’s still in the box, it should be just fine. Will they let you return it if it turns out that it has gone bad?
I will ask. I think it was the bottle only… hm. Not good then.
Dear Angela
I don’t comment very frequently but I must say I love love love your writting and the images you convey, sometimes I’ll go through old articles and read them all over again because they are just so beautiful.
I think if I ever saw you in the street I might just have to bat my eyelashes at you.
love.
Thank you so much! I’m going to quit responding to comments for the morning so that I can luxuriate in that very kind remark.
“If you can smell it on yourself, you’re wearing too much.” If you can’t smell it on yourself, what’s the point?
Ha! Excellent point!
Yes indeed – smelling something on yourself MAY mean you have put too much on, but not necessarily by any means. I have a related myth I heard at the weekend from a friend’s mother: “If you cannot smell perfume on yourself it means it suits you.” OR it may just mean you have lightly sprayed – I am pretty sure I am an under-applicator here, but not everything I can’t smell do I like!
That’s a crazy one. I think it’s true that some scents have the ability to blend with your body and become a delicious skin scent, but all that means is that it’s a skin scent.
Hmm… not sure about that: I can hardly smell Tubéreuse Criminelle on me. I am a light applier, but still. Would you call it a skin scent? What about Femme by Rochas? I could never smell it either on me.
PS. Other people can smell TC when I wear it (they have to get a bit close, but they can detect it). Same with Femme. It’s just me – when it’s on my skin.
Fascinating! And they’re both fairly assertive scents. And different from each other. You have mystery skin!
Yes, very good point!
How about—Niche scents are better than mainstream scents because they really care about the artistry, or mainstream scents are better than niche scents because they are good enough to make it to the public scene (someone actually said this to me).
To me, niche scents seem more complex than mainstream. But then, I like mainstream scents because I can sample them easily and I don’t always want complex.
There is a certain amount of snobbery concerning niche scents, and anyone who doesn’t believe this is delusional. Lord, I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve seen someone apologizing for liking a certain mainstream scent. But then again, I have been guilty of apologizing and rationalizing my liking of YSL Babydoll.
I think some companies totally capitalize on the niche scene and charge and arm and a leg for mediocre fragrances.
I like Baby Doll, too! The bottle is fabulous, and the scent is all juicy goodness.
Angela, I am so desperate to try a bottle of vintage ANYTHING! I have NEVER smelled a vintage perfume, ever. I can’t afford to buy samples from the TPC, and I found a bottle of vintage Tabac Blond on Ebay once and it went for about £150!! I don’t have that kind of moolah at this particular stage in my life. So an estate sale is my only hope. More than anything, I am dying to try vintage Tabac Blond and Bandit, both in extrait. I’d also love to try vintage Jicky, or any Guerlain for that matter………
One of the beauties of vintage perfume is that when you find it at an estate sale or rummage sale or thrift store, it’s so often inexpensive. I’ve never bought perfume on ebay. Keep your eyes open, and you’re sure to find something!
This is my synopsis of the above comments:
When I first began my fragrance career, it was the summer of 1994 and I was to sell Oscar de la Renta, Volupte, 360, and Opium. I was amazed at how many “older ladies” could not live without their “Oscar”! A friend had given me a gift set and I knew I didn’t like it but decided to wear it on a date. He said he was sorry but he had to tell me I smelled awful. I replied that I knew it, it was Oscar.
Then I began to sell makeup too in 1995 and I learned how afraid women are of bright red lipstick, intense colours or anything that has glitter. They all seemed to want the natural look. I prefer unnatural myself. Why pay for makeup you can’t even see? Are they also afraid of intense fragrances like Oscar and Opium? Some are not!
I am 59 now and I still wash my hair every day. If I don’t , the oil slick is about 2 1/2 inches from the roots. So not everyone is dry.
Regarding the comment about spraying one’s coat with one’s signature perfume in order to distinguish it from the others in the cloak room: are all the coats identical Burberry trenchcoats? Surely people who buy Chanel No. 5 can afford a coat that is a unique. Or are we so blotto at the end of an evening that we have to sniff out our coats because we can’t see straight?
I agree that perfume that appears to have gone off when first spritzed can improve with the heart and base notes so we musn’t be too quick to turn it into a room spray.
Roja Dove advises to put perfume on one’s collarbone because there are fewer oils than behind the ear to change the scent and it will waft up to one’s nose and you’ll be getting your money’s worth!
Great synopsis of comments! First, let me say that your gravatar is lovely.
I love your comments about the “natural” look in makeup and about the coats! (I laughed out loud at “blotto”). And the next time I dab any perfume it is definitely going on my collar bone. Thanks!