My favorite fragrance being taken off of shelves may not seem like the end of the world, and I guess it’s not. But it’s the end of one world, a world that I built for myself. Beauty and fragrance are so much more than presentation for others. It’s a love letter to ourselves, a map of how we move through the world. It draws the lines of the person we want to become until we fill them in.
— Tynan Sinks on the loss of Bryredo 1996. Read more in What’s Lost When Your Favorite Fragrance Is Discontinued? at Vogue.
The idea of my favorite fragrances being discontinued used to fill me with dread and send me on a backup-buying spree Just In Case, but in reality I suspect my mourning period would be brief. There are more than enough perfumes I love to fill any void, and many more potential faves I haven’t experienced yet. I actually feel worse when an iconic perfume I might not necessarily adore but respect gets axed or reformulated beyond recognition. It feels like the ceiling being lowered, somehow, or gilt being tarnished. I feel for the longtime fans of those fragrances (especially if they’re women of the “signature scent” generation, if you know what I mean).
For some reason I have come to appreciate that there are perfumes I miss and can’t have. I have too many already, maybe that is it.
I know what you mean about the reformulations. I wish they’d just discontinued Miss Dior years ago.