It's Fools Rush In Friday! Our community project for today: wear a perfume you bought within 5 minutes of smelling it. Bonus points if you ended up loving it! If you've never done anything so foolish, then wear the fragrance you bought the soonest after trying it.
As always, do chime in with your scent of the day even if you’re not participating in the community project.
I'm wearing The Body Shop Honeymania. I could not resist the crazy low sale price — $7! — on the day I smelled it, but it was an utter waste of money since today is probably the second time I've worn it in the 2 years since I bought it. No extra points for me.
Reminder: next Friday, 21 August, wear a scent by French niche brand Parfums de Nicolaï, if you have one. If you don't, wear a perfume by another brand that you think deserves more attention than it gets.
And for those of you who like to plan ahead, see Scent of the day ~ Friday community projects 2015, where I'll try to always have the next five or six weeks mapped out in advance.
Note: top image is Honey Bee Macro via Karunakar Rayker at flickr; some rights reserved.
SOTD is ELDO Like This. This is the fastest I have ever gone from first smell to buying a perfume; less than 2 hours. Normally, I have to agonize about it for months, but I had The Enabler Husband helping.
Oh, and I do love it!
If you love it and the bills are all paid, perfume is a lovely indulgence, isn’t it? The way I see it, there are certainly worse ways to spend your money!
Exactly!!! ????
Like This is very cool!
Love Like This! Having an enabler husband must be fun 😉
I am very lucky, I have to say…!
Twins.
????
Is that the same as Tilda Swinton Like This?
Yes; sorry, I should have used the full name!
Sniff bottle–wonderful
Sniff on paper–wonderful
Spray on skin–perfect
While this sequence describes the scents that I fell in love with instantaneously (Milk of Flowers, Iris Ganache, Desarmant, Jardins d’Armide), heart and finances don’t always align so I am wearing the scent that I purchased the quickest. I sprayed on some Terracotta Le Parfum last summer, had lunch, then returned and bought 2 of the last 10 bottles available in the country from Saks (shipped from a different store). I don’t regret having a lifetime supply because it’s such a great scent on me. (Have we done a back-up bottle day yet? Something that you have a back-up of or would want a back-up of?)
Yes. I have multiples of a few things:
Vintage Guerlain Vetiver (too many to mention without embarrassment)
Cuir de Lancome (same)
Vintage Eau d’Hadrien (edt and edp)
I keep them all in their original boxes and refrigerated (I have large veggie bins). But I have been thinking about a mini fridge to move them into!
I’d love to have a back up of all the ones you mentioned too!! Such excellent fragrances!! (I do have my mind set on the same for Guerlain Vetiver although I’ll wear the current too, and also the CdL!)
I wish I bought a back up bottle of one of my impulse buys Shalimar ode a la vanille
AnnS, if you’re looking for another bottle of CdL, check out beautyspin.com . Just acquired a bottle there for $29.00 and it arrived in perfect condition. For the moment, it’s still in stock.
Where did you buy your vintage Eau d’Hadrien?
I bought out the stock of a tiny shop in north Jersey. An AG follower for many years, I could easily identify it as vintage from the packaging (vintage boxes have the brand name in cursive on the front and no breakdown of ingredients on the back – just alcohol, parfum and water) – and quickly took it all off their hands!
Thanks for this. Looking for some myself.
Vetiver is my scent today because I ordered a FB within minutes of trying it for the first time. No regrets! Though now I wish a had backups because this bottle is getting a lot of love this summer…
I bought Terracotta at time of first spritz too.. and Jardins d’Armide is on to-buy/would have bought already if A$/US$ better. Need to try MoF and Desarmant..
A backup bottle day would be great!
I have backup bottles of Oscar de la Renta Esprit d’Oscar, J De Pozo In Black, Shalimar Initial, and Bath & Bodyworks P.S. I Love You.
The last three I mentioned were purchased when I found out they were discontinued. The first one (Esprit d’Oscar), I’m not sure if it has been discontinued, but I don’t see it anymore in the department stores around here. So I bought a backup bottle online.
I didn’t know Shalimar Initial is discontinued. That is my fools rush in scent for today. Oh my goodness
Shalimar Parfum Initial I tested along with the contemporary Shalimar. I was chagrined to prefer the Initial. I bought a bottle and the lotion and this fragrance enabled me to actually seek out vintage Shalimar and discover that I love it! I have Shalimar EDT from the 1970s that is just gorgeous. I find the opening of the modern formula a hot mess. Shalimar PI is gateway Shalimar! Do not despair, I am still seeing the Initial at the discounters for reasonable prices.
Most of my backups are the classic Guerlains (including Vetiver). I also have multiples of older Caron Parfum Sacre and En Avion, AG Heure Exquise and Eau d’Hadrien, Jil Sander Woman III, Hermes Caleche and Amazon, and probably others. Usually it happens because I see a bottle on ebay that’s older than the one I have, or a different concentration. There’s no real risk of running out of anything at this point.
Heh, there is something about Guerlain.
Love your bottle-paper-skin test. I am a devoted bottle and cap sniffer. If I don’t like a fragrance from the first sniff, I’m probably not going to try it on paper or skin.
Cuir de Lancome today. My latest fragrance obsession. Darn, I smell good! 🙂
I think CdL is the fragrance that broadcasts, most successfully of all fragrances I’ve ever smelled, the elegance that it purports to represent. It is really outstanding stuff.
I could not has said it better myself. Regardless of what I’m wearing, one spritz (ok, three) and I instantly feel put together. It definitely smells of ‘good breeding’ and elegance. Best blind buy ever.
It’s my best blind buy too … And then I got a backup cause it’s so great!
Ditto that 🙂
CdL is beautiful stuff. I bought my first bottle online, blind… and then had to fiddle for a good ten minutes with the cap/spritzer to get it to work when it arrived.
But within ten minutes I was back online buying another bottle. It really is elegant, but in a soft and comfortable way.
mals86, if the caps is still wobbly, it’s because the collar covering the crimped neck is lodged in the cap. Take pencil (using the end with the eraser) and gently pull it out to remove it. Once removed, you can then push the collar down over the crimp (again, gently) by hand. I did this for mine and the collar hasn’t moved since.
Oh, I did manage to fix it within a few minutes. Sorry, didn’t clarify before.
Oh! So that’s the fix! I’ve owned my bottle for years and not known. Fixed now. 🙂 Thanks.
I’m wearing PdN’s Eau d’Ete eau fraiche, which I purchased almost immediately after I smelled it. Always have loved it; it’s a summer and early fall staple.
Great pick!
Wow Robin, $7 isn’t bad for an impulse perfume buy! My Fools Rush In mistake was to the tune of $100 plus and cost my husband an afternoon of rushing around the mall with a toddler on Christmas Eve to find it. I had gotten one of those unmarked Nordstrom samples with a purchase. I sprayed it on and proclaimed it the best perfume ever, which led to my poor husband rushing around trying to figure out what it was. It turned out to be Narciso Rodriguez Musc Intense, or something, and I fell out of love with it a week or two after Christmas and haven’t worn it since. I’m not even wearing it today, it’s just too musky and kind of drives me crazy. Now I sample for a few weeks before I even think about buying. And I try to leave my poor husband out of it!
Ha…but I’m sure I’ve spent that much on an impulse buy too! Honeymania was just the one I conveniently remembered.
But how sweet is your husband??? Mine would not have rushed around the mall figuring that out, I promise you.
He is sweet, and he definitely got points for that, despite my short lived love affair with the perfume.
Yes, this is very cute indeed. My husband is awesome and my best friend, but he would be totally whining during such an enterprise…
Hello Everyone!
I wanted to post early because in addition to Fools Rush In Day, today is my
Birthday, the same age as that famous pop star’s in two days. C’mon Vogue!
SOTD is Alexander McQueen (RIP) Kingdom, a wonderful spicy oriental perfume that never achieved the best-seller status that it deserves.
In frag shorthand, it is Guerlain’s Samsara with a HUGE dose of sweaty cumin (probably its downfall) and myrrh. Jasmine, sandalwood and rose are present and it is truly a gender-neutral/unisex (the kiss of death in marketing speak) scent.
Bought it at Saks Fifth Avenue in 2003 on Friday March 14. The reason I remember is because it wasn’t supposed to be on sale until AMQ’s birthday which was 3-17-03.
SFA had called and left a message on Thursday that they had it in stock and I went the next day. No small feat as traffic on City Line Avenue is always horrendous. When I went, the Escada SA ambushed me and insisted that they didn’t stock Kingdom, and she had never heard of it. Would I like to try Escada Pour Homme?
After much fussing and raised voices (really, this is a true story!) I purchased Kingdom five minutes after spraying on my skin. I DO love it, and wish department store scents in 2015 would be as adventurous as this.
Long story short – too late for THAT! – Alexander, Jim Beam and I will be having a menage a trois later today. CIAO!!!
Happy Birthday!
Bear – love your story! Happy birthday too. My younger sister used to wear Samsara back in the late 80s/early 90s. I’ve always liked it better on other people. Cheers & best wishes! Great story – I’ve been diverted by a good SA, but not for a very long time. My greatest diversion SA story was at Marshall Fields in Columbus in the mid 90s. I went in wanting a bottle of Guerlain Jardins de Bagatelle and walked out with Boucheron.
Now that is a diversion!
Happy Birthday!! Have fun with Jim and Alexander 😉
Happy Birthday Bear! I love Kingdom, sweatiness an’ all. You smell great 🙂
Great story, and hope it is a great birthday!
Happy Birthday, Bear!!
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday, Bear!
Happy birthday! Thanks for the fun story, enjoy your day!!
Happy birthday, Bear! You smell amazing! Way to nab the gilded beauty of Kingdom despite the SA. I hope you thoroughly enjoy your day, and have joy in the new year to come.
Happy birthday, you witty funny Bear.
Happy birthday!
Happy Birthday, Bear! Wishing you a wonderful scented year ahead.
Good day for a birthday, have a happy one!
Happy Birthday!
A big bear hug to you on your birthday, Mr Bear!
Happy Birthday!
Happy Birthday!
Awesome story, and happy birthday to you!
Thank you Everyone for all the birthday wishes! I hope the joy and good will is visited on Everyone tenfold!! ( yes I make up my own capitalization and punctuation rules LOL )
Cheers! 😉 Bear 🙂
Rock on, Bear!
Happy Bithday!
I meant birthday but if you have a bithday then I hope that’s great too. What the heck is up with my autocorrect?
Happy Birthday, wish we could all be there! (Pretend we are 🙂
Happy birthday, and gazillions more of them, Bear. I hope everything sparkles for you all day long. Actually, I should frame that in the past tense, I suppose: I hope your day was golden. This thing about being ahead is getting tedious!
Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday!
Thanks to all well-wishers! I had a great birthday, and wish good health, wealth and wisdom to all! May all YOUR birthdays be happy!
Bear 🙂
I have been wearing Fools Rush in all week-
In Shalimar Initial today- it was love in a New York minute.
Nice 🙂
This was a challenge for me b/c I rarely buy in person anymore. However, SOTD today is Chanel No 5 edt. I’d always thought I didn’t like it, until I was at a Chanel counter a while ago – last year? I was attempting to scam the SA out of the display bottle of the Sensual Elixir that had been discontinued. It was a failure and I just kind of reached over while I was talking her up and sprayed myself with the edt. Up until that point I’d always thought I really didn’t like the edt (preferring the Eau Premiere and extrait). Holy Cow! It was instant head smacking love. I walked out with a bottle of the edt, and now I think I like it best of all the No 5s.
🙂
Most of my impulse buys have been online and unsniffed. So much easier to be impulsive late at night at my computer …
Why wouldn’t she let you have the sample bottle! What a waste!
I think they get in trouble for that actually – no way to ring it in the computer if it doesn’t exist anymore, right? Too bad. I think I just confused her.
My SOTD is Vamp à New York which I bought within about 5 minutes of sniffing it. Spraying it on today made me realise that I’m halfway through my bottle.
I’ve layered it over my favourite body oil Lierac 2 Fleurs Blanches. Another on the spur of the moment buy. They go well together.
Love that one. Wore it to work yesterday. It lasts well on me and now I’m craving a bottle.
And I am contemplating the carrots…they sure got to me!
Love les Carottes is great, do try Love Coco, my least favourite of the 3, but it’s such an interesting savoury rendition of coconut.
I really like Vamp in the summer… found by trial and error that it seems in fabulously bad taste to me in spring and autumn. I don’t know why, unless it just sort of reminds me of trashy beach reads and tropical drinks. Thoroughly enjoyable, unless I’m wearing business clothes and then I just feel silly in it.
I wear it all year round, but tuberose heavy fragrances are so gorgeous in the heat of summer.
I don’t buy much perfume in person these days either, it’s usually a case of get a decant/sample, fall in love, then buy a bottle online before sample/decant is even remotely emptied!
I did however buy Chinatown in Istanbul after one quick sniff to confirm my thinking that I would love it. I would normally have waited again for an online (cheaper) purchase, but there was a free travel spray added, and I wanted to wear it! 🙂
Still love it!
Impossible to regret Chinatown 🙂
Perfume makes a great souvenir! I have good memories when I spray on perfume that I got on a special trip or vacation. Buying online is convenient and often a better deal, but I don’t get experience memories that make me smile when I spray 🙂
Agree – this is why I cherish my little solid of Hove tea olive!
Tea olive, eh? Is that what it smells like? Sounds so interesting.
I think tea olive is another name for osmanthus?
Great to know, thank you! I wonder if there’s a connection between the olive and the apricot as small fruits with large pits….
Ooh how lovely!
I love that photo, Robin! I purchased my SOTD — Sudanese Coconut & Vanilla by Inesscents — within five minutes of smelling it at Whole Foods and it cost about $12. It smells like black coconut and vanilla and it’s a high quality version of a hippie/college student/health food store classic 🙂 I don’t think that something this inexpensive belongs in the Fool Rush In category, though 🙂
The last time I wore it, when my husband hugged me “hello” after work, his hug lasted a lot longer and he murmured “Hey there, Sweet Smeller,” which is what he calls me when he really likes my perfume 🙂
I will have to see if my WF has that one!
I’m off topic today, although I do own a fair number of quick buys, especially from my travels. But I’m on holiday and only have a few bottles with me plus samples, so I’m wearing Atkinsons Love in Idleness. I didn’t even know I had it in my bag, but it seemed fitting for an sunny, idle afternoon with a book and a cup of tea.
What are you reading?
I’m reading Lawrence Freedman’s Strategy: A History, a huge tome on military, political and business strategy from a historic perspective. It’s very, very interesting and blindingly intelligent, but I need to read it bit by bit. So I’m in fact debating whether to switch to H is for Hawk or Ferrante’s My Brilliant Friend or something lighter altogether. I actually want to read Flannery O’Connor’s short stories (I’ve been into Southern Gothic lately, for some reason), but my Amazon account isn’t working properly, so must wait.
Freedman’s Strategy and Love in Idleness – you are a woman of many parts, Annikky!
As I’m sure is everybody else here 🙂 But yes, it’s fair to say that my interests are… varied. And I sincerely recommend Freedman, in case you haven’t read it! Love in Idleness less so, although I like the name…
Ooh start Ferrante and then discuss it with me!! 🙂
I haven’t forgotten that you liked it! I will get to it, I promise 🙂
No one like Flannery! She is the bomb dignity of the warped human character! Another Southern Gothic gem is “A Confederacy of Dunces.”‘ It takes place in New Orleans and is outrageously funny and twisted. I read the first paragraph in the store, put down 3 other books I was planning on buying, and got this beauty by Toole. It’s a wonderful ride:)
Thanks for the recommendation! I just finished my first McCullers (also short stories) and liked that as well.
Loved Confederacy of Dunces. For other Southern Gothic, how about anything by William Faulkner?
Another goody in the “Southern Gothic” genre is poet/author Fred Chappell. He employes magical realism, which is primarily seen in Central/South American lit a lá Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Chappell’s writing is seamless and fluid and I highly recommend exploring his works too. This is my favorite genre and I could go on for eons, but I’ll restrain myself 😉
Jo Malone Wood Sage & Sea Salt for me. Sniffed it at Nordie’s and voila! instant impulse buy. I don’t wear it often because of the eensy half-life, but today is a bit of a “beachy” day here (cool and misty, and might even rain – finally!) so I’m pretending I’m at the coast.
I was very tempted to buy Wood Sage & Sea Salt minutes after smelling it, and the only reason I didn’t go through with it was because I was attending a conference later that forbids any scented products (we actually had to sign a contract about it when we registered!). You smell fantastic and beachy!
Like many here, I usually buy online. The exception seems to be Lutens. I bought Un Fille de Berlin within five minutes of sampling at Barneys, and bought bell jars of Cuir Mauresque and Chergui in Paris after testing and walking around the gardens for about 20 minutes. Wearing Fille de Berlin today and it’s my quickest emptying bottle, so I’d say it was a huge success.
I’m wearing Flower by Kenzo, which feels almost like cheating since what I bought within five minutes was a purse spray from Sephora (low-risk). However, I bought a full-size bottle not long after and years later, I do still love it!
I’m wearing Bath & Bodyworks White Tea & Ginger. I bought it when I was on my vacation at the beach last month. I wanted to replace the bodywash I had been using at my parents’ condo, since there was only a little bit left in the bottle.
My husband and I got into the routine of waking up before everyone else in the condo (12 people), and heading for breakfast at the local mall. After tea and a scone, I went into Bath & Bodyworks to buy a new bottle of bodywash, and I noticed White Tea & Ginger on a clearance shelf. I had never smelled this scent before, and it is very pleasant. I ended up buying the body lotion and body mist, both within 5 minutes because my husband was waiting patiently for me outside the store.
Its a very nice scent for the heat, but I wouldn’t call it a love. I have worn it a few times in the past month though.
I like the WT&G body products.
There are a bunch of scents that I bought after only trying them once (Terracotta, even though it was out of stock for a year between the one time I tried it and when I purchased it) or resolved to buy immediately after sampling (PHI), but I think the only scent I actually bought within minutes of smelling it was Bronze Goddess. Do I love it? No. But I like it, and I’m glad it’s in my collection.
As I mentioned somewhere above, I didn’t bother to sample Cuir de Lancome before buying a bottle online, but I decided within minutes of first spraying it that I needed another bottle. Thank goodness I bought a second, because that first bottle is about 40% full now, and CdL is discontinued.
However, today I’m wearing Ferre 20, which I bought in a little shop in Rome a few moments after testing it. I knew I was going to buy something when I went in; I wanted something you couldn’t find easily in the US and something easy to wear, and Ferre 20 hit both those marks. It’s not a great perfume, being sort of a fruity-floral-woody thing that feels like Iris Poudre after she invested badly, lost her family money and had to work at Sephora to pay the bills. But it is comfortable and pretty and my husband likes it. I still wear it.
What an inspired description of Ferre 20!
Comfortable, pretty and a little down at the heels… LOL!
Never smelled it, but love the description. 🙂
Today I’m wearing Philosophy’s Tea Leaf, because I didn’t want to wear another citrus. I cannot participate in our Friday theme because I live in a tiny RURAL East Texas town, with no access to anyplace to smell perfume, other than our local Walmart, which had scratch and sniff on the some of the bottles of celebrity scents. Unfortunately, ours was one of the five or six Walmarts that was closed suddenly in April, so I don’t even have scratch and sniff. I buy most of my scents as minis or decants or samples, based on reviews, comments from the lovely people here on NST, and the Guide.
Wow, multiple Walmarts closing in Texas? The drop in oil revenue must be causing more pain than the Republican pundits let on….
Actually it is multiple nationwide closings. This was a big story when it happened in April. Apparently stores that needed some major repairs were all closed down on one day in April, with no warning either to the employees, the customers, or the cities in which they were located. I know our Walmart is supposed to reopen on Black Friday, in November, but I don’t know if that is when they are all supposed to reopen or not. Our small, rural town and county are experiencing a big loss of sales tax revenue.
Girl, you deserve care packages. I’m packing up to move from New Mexico to North Carolina (should leave next Friday). Would you like the samples I have on hand? If so, email me: andreadeveto at gee em ecks (gmx) you know the rest.
In Espanola, businesses close due to the crime rate. We’re always expecting our Walmart to close any day.
I’m not really an impulse purchaser (more of an over-thinker!), but I’m wearing something that I tried once and knew I had to own: Bulgari Black. I smell like bicycle tires, in the best way possible.
YES! Bicycle tires. That’s what I get out of it, bicycle tires and ice cream. I am always surprised when someone says they find it sexy, because the scent memories that Black awakens in my mind are so associated with childhood. (I’m not saying you’re wrong if you find it sexy, just saying that I have a quite different interpretation.)
Geez, really more than I’d like to admit! Today I’ve gone with Iris Ukiyoe. I ended up with this one when there was a typo on the Hermes site where the 4×15 of the Hermessences was priced at about 1/2 of the regular price. I ran over to the Hermes boutique at lunchtime since I’d been dreaming of Ambre Narguile and Vetiver Tonka and chose this one to “fill out the set” in a hurry, with only a cursory sniff. Turns out I tired of Ambre Narguile quickly and this gets much more wear.
Someone included a sample of Iris Ukiyoe in a sample swap, so I have this sitting around. I have sniffed it a couple times, and gotten not much, but I think I will put it on and see how it goes this weekend…
Lucky choice! Iris Ukiyoe isn’t the most talked about Hermessence, but it’s my fav, too.
Usually I try to test drive something for a month or so these days, but I did cave and buy JHAG Romantina after only wearing it two or three times from a sample vial. It’s one of those effortlessly pretty and easy perfumes, but the drydown has this slightly animal musk going on that just takes it to the next level.
At the moment I’m mostly wearing Mysore Sandal Soap, which I purchased unsniffed, so that sorta counts. AG Eau d’Hadrien later, in anticipation of going sniffing even later in the day. Such a busy schedule.
PSA #1: Smell Bent is offering 25% of St Tropez Dispenser thru the end of the month.
PSA #2: Dior Mitzah IS BACK! From their website. But only in gallon drums. ( = 8.5 oz jug) What is WRONG with these people, I ask?? Why can’t they sell La Collection Privee scents in reasonable sizes? Hmm I’m thinking this is a candidate for the next splitmeet….
8.5 oz is really a terrifying amount of liquid. Even if a scent were inexpensive, I wouldn’t want that much of anything at one time.
I’m the proud owner of a gallon drum of Mitzah. I can never have too much of that one but yeah, if it’s not a true love then over 8oz is a bit excessive for the average person. I would think perfume companies would like smaller bottles just for the reason that people would need to replenish their supplies sooner thereby generating more sales.
If it’s not reformulated and crazy I would definitely be into that split.
I was in SF, and went to the wrong address to find Tigerlily Perfumery. The nice shopkeeper at the indie jewelry store was wearing Bruno Fazzolari’s Jimmy. I walked back down the street, armed with better directions, and purchased it on the spot. Also accidentally walked into a book signing with Mandy Aftel, so it is a great memory. Love the violet, ylang-yang, (pear to my nose) and sandalwood scent.
I’m wearing it as I wing my way to a new adventure in VEGAS. Wish me luck, guys ;D
What a delightful little misadventure!
AWESOME.
I have a sample of this patiently awaiting skin time. I love Lampblack and also like Au Dela and Montserrat. Very impressed with the perfumes by this artist.
Luck seems to find you, dear. Have fun!
I was in New York about a year ago – had to visit The Aedes shop. I fully intended purchasing something that I had sampled and was on my list, but I sprayed on Sa Majeste La Rose and it was so perfect for the weather that day and I immediately bought it. No regrets!
Balmain Vent Vert, current. You all said it was sharp. I believed it, because, of course, naturals, but then Perfume Fairy sent me a big sample, and I totally fell in love. Ordered it, which is always amouagey in my country because of craaazy taxes, but after the second or third wear it happened. Super sharp. Totally artificial. I want galbanum, not air freshner. Can´t wear it. Nice hefty bottle, I´ll give it that – not that it matters.
I was surprised to not like Vent Vert either, when I usually love galbanum florals. It was Not Nice – maybe just not nice to ME, but I did not enjoy. I had purchased one of the old extrait minis in the squarish brown bottles with the label across a corner, same packaging as the Jolie Madame extraits that I so adore… but Nope. Just No.
The perfume I bought 5 minutes after smelling is SL Une Voix Noire at Palais Royal. Since I was visiting and didn’t have much time, I had do decide quickly. I am not regretting it, but I prefer to take my time when deciding.
I bought Seville a l’Aube 5 minutes after noticing it was way on sale….does that count? I am so far away from anywhere, I get samples and buy all my fragrance on line….so today, I am comparing Seville a l’Aube and Memo Granada, which I quite like – it is a more flowery OB, compared to the resiny OB of Seville, and I am surprised to say that it is holding it own against my favorite! I might have to get at least a decant of this….or a bottle. I love the Memo bottles…
I came very close to buying Granada when I was in Germany, and am a little sorry I didn’t…same with Histoire’s Hemmingway…and Jovoy’s Psychedelique… Sometimes I over-think and sometimes I’m just too impulsive. Oh well!
I remember it as lighter and brighter than Seville, which I also like 🙂
SOTD is Molinard Habanita extrait. Although I had read about it, I had never tried it before standing in front of it at Molinard’s showroom the one time I was in Nice. I loved the box, the bottle, and, most of all, the scent. (Plus, who knew when I’d be in Nice again and I needed a souvenir.)
Gotta get a souvenir. 🙂
Okay, this is halfa**ed but this is before I joined E-Bay. I am wearing vintage Bal. When I smelled the vintage PdT, I fell in love and rushed out and got the biggest decant that TPC had to offer and the parfum version. Now that I have joined E-Bay, I have 6 bottles of the PdT of varying sizes and most of them at least 3/4 full and 4 bottles of the EDC. Yeah, I am that nuts over it. I was thinking of wearing Chanel no 19 EDP today (that was my other one for the challenge).
Love your enthusiasm.
Cristalle Eau Verte, bought it almost instantly after sniffing it last Spring in Spain. I have worn it a lot this summer, no regrets.
I am pretty firm with myself about sampling several times before buying if something is expensive, so my choice is a cheap one! I found a bunch of vintage minis at an antique store for $2 and bought the ones I had heard of… and, at the last minute, Clandestine by Guy Laroche, 100% just because of the name. I actually ended up liking it! It is a slightly boozy honey plum situation, nothing earth-shattering but a lot of fun. Bonus, the bottle sort of looks like to me someone holding a trench coat closed because they are about to flash you. *clandestine*
What a great description!
Don’t feel bad about your Honeymania purchase, Robin. I got caught up in that too; it turned out to be less Honeymania and more Lightly Floral Boredom. 🙁
My great Fools Rush In triumph, however, is Andy Tauer’s L’air du Desert Marocain. Sniffed the sample, walked over to the phone, ordered. That was back in 2005? 2006? and it is still my precious.
Heh, love this L’Addm story! (Especially since I am still dithering on this one…)
Exactly…they could have done so much better.
Today I am wearing Timbuktu which was not love at first sniff but something I kept going back to and is now a part of my little wardrobe. One successful quick buy for me is L’ Artisan’s Dzing!, such a lovely weirdo and I can’t imagine being without it. On the other hand, I don’t wear Séville à l’aube as much as a I thought I would because the beeswax note can be too much for me sometimes. Wait, it’s L’ Artisan Day isn’t it?
I just tried Timbuktu for the first time last night. Holy WOW! I think I might be in love. The wood, the leather, the smoke, the incense, the vetiver, the everything, always shifting. I will test a couple more times, but then I think I’ll have to buy some. NOT that I need another vetiver based scent, oh no…
Don’t you just love how it shifts? It never ceases to fascinate me how some fragrances can evolve. I’ve come to appreciate Timbuktu very much and I find it to be a very peaceful and relaxing fragrance.
I tend to make up my mind very quickly about perfumes. Usually it’s yes, no, or meh within a few minutes, so I have a number that I purchased almost immediately. Today I’m wearing CdG Kyoto, but I also could have worn EL Tuberose Gardenia, L’Heure Bleue (from 35 years ago, smelled it and fell in love) or Guerlain Pamplelune. Fortunately, I still love all my immediate buys. It’s the ones I purchase after being swayed by reviews that I tend to regret later, though I buy much less than I did when I first started out.
I was also very quick to purchase L’air du Desert Marocain after first sniffing it. Another one for me is Parfums de Rosine Rose d’Ete, and since it’s going to be 90 degrees here today and super humid, I went with Rose d’Ete. I do love it. (I’m a big fan of the Rosines.)
In one of life’s richly ironic moments, I purchased Guerlain Aqua Allegoria PampleLune, this was after the grapefruit themed entry here and I had called pamplemousse, trampling mooses. Oh the shame, the disrespect! This delectable little perfume was wafted under my nose on the smelling strip for less then 10 seconds and I said I will take it! I had a powerful Pavlovian response to this fragrance and I still do and I still love it.
I think the only bottle I’ve got that really fits this description is from before the mania struck–the first real bottle I ever purchased for myself was Light Blue, sniffed on a blotter in the store at some point in college and then ordered online immediately thereafter. Alas, it turned out to smell dreadful on my skin (not a bad bottle, smells fine on paper, just, goes completely sour on me), so I won’t be wearing it today 🙂
(In any case SOTD for me is Blackberry & Bay which may well be the antithesis of today’s theme–I resisted its appeal for a while, convinced I did not want to wear fruity perfume…I was mistaken 🙂 )
Light Blue smells terrible on me. Disgustingly terrible. On my friend though, it is very pretty. It fits her personality better too.
Oh I’m so interested to hear I’m not the only one! Yes, it truly smells foul on me, not just that it’s not my favorite–like spoiled milk. Weird, I would love to know what chemical rxn is producing that smell…
I don’t have any such stories, so instead I’m wearing my latest blind buy, Prada Infusion d’Iris Absolue. Love it.
Oh I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s short on examples of this! It’s funny, because I def have blind buys too… but if I’ve gotten a chance to sniff something once, I def want to sniff it a bunch more times before I commit.
SOTD for me is Amouage Ubar Woman. It’s a bit on the sweet side, a little too much for me.
Easy poll, as I recently bought Skive by Canoe Goods unsniffed after reading the rave review by Luca Turin. I also googled it, found several other rave reviews, and learned that Skive was the 2015 winner of the Art and Olfaction Award in the Independent Category. A final deciding factor was the relatively high price of a sample in comparison with the 7.5-ml bottle, so I went straight for the bottle.
I love leathers, and Skive is a wonderful, smoky leather perfume. It also comes in a beautiful and functional leather wrap. Total win!
Taking a break from online life!Sotd LIKE THIS.I like this.Keep smelling fabulous peeps I’ll see you around sometime soon.
Enjoy your break (but do come back!).
M/mink (Byredo) was my foolish purchase. I tricked myself into buying it when I was in Sydney years ago. It was in a smart boutique ….way before Byredo was in NZ….and I sprayed it and instantly disliked it. I then persuaded myself that it was an intellectual challenge and that not all perfumes had to appeal to the heart/senses and that it was the concept behind the perfume that was intriguing. I figured it was like Bulgaria Black …something that would be ‘good for me’ to jolt me out of my comfort zone. It was so expensive but the assistant was so smug and patronising that I let my ego get the better of me and handed over my money. I wore it miserably for a few months and then gave it to the Salvation Army op shop. I felt such a failure.
Bravo to you for at least trying to wear that. It was a total scrubber for me. Don’t feel like a failure. We all get caught up in the hype once in a while.
Thanks. It certainly taught me not to be such an insecure perfume snob. Now I just buy what I like. Best cheap impulse buy: Furze.
Bravo you for admitting! Anyway, live and learn.
Someone else who overthinks stuff 🙂
I’v bought perfumes I’v been slightly ambivalent about thinking I will overcome the element I am resistant to. Only I remain ambivalent!
Hee hee…reminds me of when I was young and frequently tried to read novels in their original language rather than in translation…suffering for your art!
I’ve so enjoyed reading all of your lovely stories. 🙂
My Fools Rush In scent is Anais Anais Premier Delice from the Madrid airport! I had already purchased Narciso on my trip to Spain, but it was tucked away in my checked luggage. We were delayed by an hour, so I went wandering and found Premier Delice in the duty free. Something about the initial blast of pear-chocolate revitalized me. I felt vindicated, too, when I saw that Victoria at Bois de Jasmin thought it was a fun gourmand scent!
Today is the perfect day to wear it again because I’m hosting a friendly grad student meet-and-greet at a pub, and this scent is so cheerful.
For those who haven’t smelled it, I find it to be NOTHING like Anais Anais, haha.
Kiss Me Tender from Parfums de Nicolaï today.
I really enjoy this heliotrope-centric, slightly gourmand scent. It looks like it’s been totally replaced by the newish “Kiss Me Intense,” which I haven’t tried. I hope the formula of that one isn’t too different. If anyone sees this and has opinions, please chime in!
I haven’t tried KMTI, but love the original. You smell great.
Oh, actually, now I look, I have KMI, not KMT. I’ve never compared them so I’m not sure that my opinion is going to be much use to you, but I love this scent, and sometimes when I’m feeling happy and hard-working, nothing else will do. I find it sweet with mimosa, alyssum and caramelised brown sugar, and cut with something slightly fresh, dunno know what. It’s enveloping but never heavy; warming but not overpowering: a useful perfume for jeans and a black hoodie or a pin-striped pencil skirt (yep, I still wear those from time to time!). For something so insistently feminine, it’s surprisingly discreet, staying reasonably close to my body. About the only time I would never choose to wear it would be to a funeral, out to dinner (though I’d happily wear it to summer barbecue), or to one of Those Meetings when I have to at least give the illusion of being A Serious Woman. This is probably not remotely helpful: sorry. I feel surprisingly diffident about offering my opinion.
Posting kind of late today…….but better late than never!
Happy Friday Everyone! My SOTD is Santal Blush by Tom Ford! I found out about this fragrance by accident. I told one of my friends years ago that I was going to NM to pick up a few things. She was curious about a TF fragrance that came out and asked me if I could bring her a sample back. I thought she wanted Santal Blush, but it turned out she had asked for something else. (Can’t remember what she wanted still to this day). Needless to say, I tried it and swooned! I went back to Neiman’s the next weekend and bought a FB. Been a huge fan ever since. 🙂
I generally agonise for months over purchases, I think I have an over-developed dread of buyer’s remorse. I buy most things online, because they are not available in NZ, but I’ve never bought anything online that I haven’t tried in a decant first. I’ve tried lots of things based on recommendations here, some I love, some less so, and I’ve come to realise that our tastes and noses are all unique!
That said, my two impulse buys were when I was travelling – no chance to take my time, and another few hundred dollars of top of all the other costs of the trip are worth it to avoid the regret of not buying. Maybe that’s a bit over-developed as well!
So I bought Rose Alexandrie on a trip to Australia, after walking round the shop for half an hour sniffing a spray on my wrist. It’s lovely, but doesn’t last – one thing you definitely can’t assess in a short time. The other, and I love it, was the new Sortilège in Paris – my chances of getting back there any time soon are slim, and it hasn’t turned up online in the US yet (hard to find places outside of the US that post to NZ).
Gaynor, I do exactly the same when I’m travelling. I say to myself, that I won’t be back that way soon, or maybe ever, and I buy full bottles, so in a sense, all my perfume purchases overseas fit into the Fools Rush In category. I’ve scored some beauties that way, though: PdN Sacrebleu, Kiss Me Tender, Le Temps d’un Fete; Divine by Divine; some of the Amouage oldies-but-goodies; 31 Rue Cambon. I shop fast and decisively, and if I end up regretting anything, I give it away when I get back home. It sounds wildly extravagant–well, it IS wildly extravagant– but this is my considered response to the perfume dearth that is a factor of living here in this little green country clinging to the bottom of the worlds I far from almost everywhere. My only travel rule is that I don’t buy anything I could easily get in A-NZ. So: no guilt, few regrets, lots and lots of pleasure, both from the perfumes themselves and the memories associated with tracking them down.
Our shopping habits are clearly formed in geographic isolation! I have bottles of many of the ones you list, and Divine has been on try list for a while.
Oh, post your private email and we can talk about a way I can get a sample of Divine to you. You’re in Wellington, I think? surely we won’t have probs sending stuff within the country?
BTW, we’re retiring to Whanganui –soon, soon, can’t be too soon for me!– so I will make a point of checking out that local perfumer you mentioned. The dear one tells that Wellington is a mere hop and skip down the road from Whanganui. He’d know: it’s his home town.
When I win lotto I will shout you two to a perfume world tour…wouldn’t it be fun?
Oh, fabulous! And right back atcha! I often plan what I’ll do if I win Lotto, but since I hardly buy tickets, it’s all idle daydreaming.
I don’t buy them either…but that’s a mere formality
I had to think about this one, as I do usually do a bit of testing and/or buy online. But then after I looked around through my perfume drawer, I remembered my last trip to L’Occitane. They had some light cologn-y Eaus for 50% off, so I bought one as I was in need of some retail therapy and can rarely turn down a half off sale. So my SOTD is L’Occitane Eau Spontanee and it’s nice enough, but definitely not love. I have a lot of lemon-y citrus summer fragrances and this one is more “pink”, so at least it’s something a little different.
And I almost succumbed to Honeymania last time I was in Marshall’s. I spritzed it on and had it in my hand to purchase, but then it started getting really grating and not honey-ish at all. Glad I didn’t buy it, but $7 isn’t too bad as regrets go.
Bois d’Armenie, which I purchased a sample of a year ago, and am still contemplating a FB purchase. The opposite of fools rush in? Something this expensive still feels foolish. Another good candidate for a split!
Like thegoddessrena, I bought a bottle of Terracotta Le Parfum faster than I thought possible. I hem and haw and ponder before most purchases but not this one. And I have a back up bottle in the fridge.
There is something wonderful in the way Terracotta blooms then quiets down so gracefully. I love it when I get a hit of vanilla and flowers long after I thought the fragrance was gone, sometimes the even the next day.
Wearing Sisley Eau du Soir, purchased quickly after sniffing at The Cos Bar in Santa Fe, and still love it. A tad strong for the heat, but a nice change. Also got Acqua di Parma Blue Mediterraneo Bergamotto di Calabria (whew!), another favorite, but recently worn.
On the flip side, I bought several Ateliers there, and later decided I didn’t like the way they developed over time on my skin. So, already having a decent collection, I’m not as quick to purchase now.
Good morning, gorgeously scented friends. I love your stories and reflections, but, sadly, I know very few of your perfumes. Lots more additions to my “To Try” list for my next trip to TOH (the other hemisphere), thank you.
I admitted to my most egregious FRI behaviour yesterday, so today’s effort is mild. When I was in the States in 2012, I found a bottle of Bill Blass perfume for $8.23. I didn’t even realise, innocent abroad that I am, that I was in what I’ve now come to understand as a perfume discount shop. Anyway, I bought the perfume, and it’s perfectly nice, but that’s not my FRI story. Because I liked that perfume, when I saw Angela’s review of Bill Blass Nude, I just decided to buy it too. Had no idea whether I would like it as much as she did; didn’t care. Found it online and bought a FB, and wonderful to relate, I love it! I’m not wearing it today (not even out of bed, actually) but I might just, in honour of impulses that have happy endings.
Impulses with happy endings are the best! 🙂
In pain today..what’s new? Groin mainly..it stinks..it’s like if I am not laying down with my legs straight…the pain comes. But my ankle is trashed from either being misaligned or laying on it so much in that same position. This is feeling really hopeless…I am thinking to check out a chiropractor or a pt lady I saw before the evil one to see if there is like horrible misalignment…everything feels so out of place and torn up. I will probably have to get that painful hip mri done..when I asked rude doctor about it..I told him I was concerned about the pain with mri…he said, ‘forget about the pain’. What?
Commando…perfume is really becoming less of a love.
Omega, I’ve seen many doctors and many of them have been rude, cold, emotionless, weird, etc. My pain management doctor actually told me that I did not know what real pain was because I had never given birth. No offense to anyone who has given birth, but I don’t think that the excruciating pain of labor pain lasts for months, does it? He was a weird, hyper, totally flippant guy who INTERROGATED me as I lay on the exam table in horrible pain. Eventually, I started sobbing and crying and cried out “I’m not lying to you!” That shocked him back into reality and he backed off.
I’m so sorry that the injection for the MRI is supposed to be so painful. The results of the MRI could really help you out in terms of a diagnosis and ideas for future treatment. However, I think that going to a chiropractor could harm you physically. They might be friendlier than most doctors, but much of what they do is not evidence-based.
Very gentle (((hug)),
Kindcrow
Ya..I am on the fence about the chiropractor. Perhaps your pain dr. didn’t know pain. So sorry about that experience. Some are out of touch. My husband was very upset at him…and wanted to ask him to apologize how he treated me.
I am finally getting some elevating pillows soon…I shouldn’t have waited so long..I have been using a giant stuffed lion that husband gave me a while back…poor guy has been flattened some from being my pillow. It worked while it lasted.
Thanks for the hugs, hugs back
I’m very sorry about the heartless thing that doctor said to you. It feels horrible when a supposed caretaker is so insensitive.
I’m so glad that you will be getting those pillows! They will hopefully work much better than the stuffed lion.
I didn’t really have anything that strictly fit the challenge today because I tend to go in two modes: totally blind or try at least once and maybe buy months later. So I decided to wear a blind buy that worked out well: L de Lolita Lempicka.
Well, I’m not only story-less, I was scentless most of the day, too. I was in a such a rush to get to an appointment after my morning spin and shower, I completely forgot. However, I have really enjoyed everyone else’s fab knee jerk purchases!
While I was bombing around town, I stopped in a local NM to get a spritz of something and happened across the MFK travel sized scent options. What I really loved was the travel cases! Just head over heels for the Zinc one- very urban chic! APLS is a dirty love of mine and it would be just smashing in that case! It has a magnetized lid which just about had me reaching into my purse, but I resisted. It was hard though…
http://www.neimanmarcus.com/Maison-Francis-Kurkdjian-Globe-Trotter-Zinc-Travel-Case/prod170260166/p.prod
I followed your link, just to see what I could see. I couldn’t see the price– a pop-up immediately told me the NM wouldn’t ship to A-NZ. That’s cool. I can wait. I completely understand the temptation to buy, Deva. If it will give you joy, you should get it.
Afterthought: does this count towards my first enabler pin?
Yes! You’re pinned.
Oooh! This is a milestone!
Some unfortunate fine print: “fragrance sold separately.”
Oh, I asked about that right away! You can only buy 3 packs of the travel sprays too, so they get you coming and going! He does offer a very snappy set of 10 different scent to fit in the travel case, but I was afraid to ask about the cost of that….
I’ve heard of that ten pack, and not even wanted to know the price either. 😉
Ha! You have advanced to Super Enabler status!
I think it would make me happy, but then I think the Malle travel case and 3 travel size perfumes would make me even happier, so that’s what I’m holding out for.
Plus I think Frederic Malle is sexier than MFK, not that that should make a difference in the product, but…;)
That is cool – would not mind a zinc trend at all.
I wore Ligea La Sirena today by Carthusia. Not really a blind buy. I bought a large decant some time ago based on a you tube review. I loved it from first sniff and recently purchased a bottle. The only reason that I hesitated was that I already own Shalimar and thought they were too similar. La Sirena has an awesome lavender note that is really prominent on my skin in the hot weather. Now, after a bath, I am wearing YR Manoi oil. This was a cheapie blind purchase that I really like.
Late to the party because it was a crazy day at work…but I was (and still am, Lord, that longevity…) wearing Angel. I’d read so much about it, hadn’t tried it. Then I picked up a 25mL bottle at an estate sale, sniffed, decided I had to have it, and turned out to really like it a lot, as long as I wear it in small doses. That 25mL will last me for life.
Now that is a big change from your standard summer rotation. I say you get extra points for such a dramatic shift. 🙂
Posting really late for this thread. Checking in from sunny Stockholm! I participated in the community project by wearing Chanel No.19 EDP which I bought earlier this year. It was love at first sniff and I think my credit card was out in less than 3 minutes after that first sniff!
Regarding my perfume reward, I have actually exceeded 175,000 steps so yes I will be rewarding myself with a ridiculously priced perfume with a budget around $600 :-). It is still a “secret” since I haven’t yet decided on THE ONE. My next next goal was going to be 200,000 steps but since I’ll probably reach that tomorrow, my long shot goal will be 250,000 steps, with the reward TBD (maybe 2 bottles!).
Have a great weekend and coming week! I’ll check in again either from Berlin or Copenhagen!
Wow! Sounds like a fantastic trip. I’m kind of on pins and needles wondering which scents you are going to reward yourself with…:)
So, I’m even later than the late ones, but still wanted to put in the only scent I remember trying and buying within hours. It was L’Occitane’s Ambre 🙂 Lately it also fills my yellow floral needs!
To qualify – the only scent I tried and buyer within hours when I COULD have returned another day to buy. There have been things bought on the spot because I couldn’t return…
Yesterday I sampled Laura Tonatto Amir and thought maybe it smelled like Etro Messe de Minuit, which I’m wearing today. Yes, it does. MdM is a bit sweeter and definitely smoother and more refined; Amir has some notes with a hard edge that make it seem more masculine to me, and it’s a strong fragrance. I prefer MdM, personally, but can see why Kevin liked Amir.
https://freebox.it.com/2010/09/22/laura-tonatto-amir-fragrance-review/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Now I’m curious to try the other LT that Kevin reviewed, Eleonora Duse.
https://freebox.it.com/2010/06/10/laura-tonatto-eleonora-duse-fragrance-review/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Has anyone else tried Eleonora Duse?