Perfume / Cologne

i think i'm going back to Gaultier 2 for nighttime, and clinique Happy for day.

I wear essential oils for the most part--usually something with vanilla in it (sandalwood vanilla, lavender vanilla, etc.) For some reason, if I don't have a touch of vanilla in my scent, it fades too quickly.

I'd like start wearing an essential oil or two, but I can never pick.

Chanel's Coco and No. 19 are my favorites. I guess I like to smell like whore.

In hot weather, I've done Clarins' Elysium (sadly discontinued), Alfred Sung's Pure (ditto, I think), and Carolina Herrera's 212. Think I'd like to get my hands on some Elysium again. Can't do the Chanels when it is hot out.

You know, re weather, I was just thinking; I don't really think about perfume in the winter, more about soaps and lotions. Perfume is def a spring/warm weather pursuit for me, and I think I'll come back and take some ideas from this thread in the spring. :)

I totally think about perfume in the winter. What else does an atheist want with frankincense oil?

Also from the department of HOORAY, they brought back Donna Karan Chaos.

i think about it in the winter too. it's hard to justify smelling like wood any other time, and spring is for dirt and flowers and green. i honestly usually spare summer because i am terrified of bees.

My winter routine is: Prada lotion or cocoa butter, frankincense oil or Chaos or Comme des Garcons Avignon. Bees don't usually trouble me in the summer because I don't wear big floral fragrances. I will also go for anything with cedar oil in it when wearing wool because it's the only thing moths hate that smells good.

I don't wear colognes or perfume to work generally. I think I am too PC on this level, I don't want to offend anyone with allergies or oversensitive olfactory senses. What I wear off the clock: In the pricey category: Chanel 19 (a green scent) & 5 warmer sweet; Boucheron (warm sweet with some spice). Drugstore cheap: Love's babysoft mist (kinda baby powder with a little floral). Have worn it since I was a teenager <a VERY long time ago>!

I have never been bothered by bees attracted to perfume, but maybe it's because I am not in the bees environment too often.

I really like the ideas of cedar oil - it smells nice and earthy with the added benefit of no moths! Great idea!

Oh wait I do have a bottle of Chanel No. 5 but tbh it was a press freebie, scent of it gets on everything and not in a good way.

I'm still a Guerlain fan got L'heure bleue, Chamade, Mitsouko, Nahema, Apres le ondee, chant des aromes, Jicky, Shalimar, mouchoir de monsieur, petit guerlain, vol de nuit plus a few aqua allegoria lighter scents and some of the modern ones that i've got as presents. Have branched out a bit with Feminite du bois by Serge Lutens, Bandit and Fracas by Robert Piguet, Ivorie and Jolie Madam by Balmain, Femme, tocade and madame rochas by Rochas and a couple of Sonia Rykiel scents. Fancy trying Cuir de Russie by Chanel but I think it's only available in Chanel boutiques for ££££££££££.

I have waaaaaaaaaaaaay too much perfume.

cedar oil sounds really good. i'm going to try that.

l'occitane green tea, l'occitane green tea with jasmine and l'occitane bergamot tea.

i suppose i just like smelling like tea but i ALWAYS get compliments on these fragrances when i wear them.

I used to really like Jean Paul Gaultier, but I was wearing it today and it just reminded me of Faygo grape soda or rock n rye.

jessica simpson has a perfume called 'fancy nights' which I think is an awesome name. if the insert in vogue is accurate it smells like getting mugged by grandma.

L'Artisan Parfumeur have a sale on at the moment as they're discontinuing some of their bottles / fragrances. Tea For Two is a real bargain at £25 / $57 for 50ml.

I've been watching the BBC4 documentary series on fragrances and it seems to have triggered my inner perfume geek.

i have grown to love gaultier le male!

I love Frédéric Malle Bigerade Concentrée and wear it pretty much every day

i worry sometimes that i'm just completely indiscriminate when it comes to scents, because I love so many. There are some that I dislike, even hate, but I really just love the whole concept of perfume, and there are so many wonderful smells in the world.

SERGE LUTENS MUSCS KOUBLAI KHAN!

I am curious about Frédéric Malle. A woman came into my store the other week wearing Portrait of a Lady, and it smelled so lovely.

I am also curious about the various perfumes from Etat Libre d'Orange (although not Sécrétions Magnifiques, that sounds horrible) but I am slightly intimidated about going into to the store that stocks it.

I really like Etat Libre d'Orange.

I don't know if it's the same in the US, but some of the online stores that stock it will sell you twenty samples and let you get a discount, to the value of the samples, if you buy a full bottle.

I have Encens et Bubblegum (which is self-explanatory) and Rien (which is quite a bold, powdery leather). A lot of their fragrances are more interesting in theory than in practice so the sample route is a good one to go down.

In my experience, some of the stores that stock their stuff really don't like the brand for some reason.

Serge Lutens is also great, of course.

Sample set: http://www.escentual.com/etat-libre-dorange/elo_025/

I miss my days of wearing cologne. My main scent was a really cheap one: OP Juice!

http://100mililitros.com/store/images/P/OP-Juice-M500.jpg

The bottle had a weird rubber outer covering that made it feel like a sex toy, but if you accidentally dropped it on the ground it wouldn't break. However, that little tab on the nozzle would always break off, so I'd have to depress it with a key or a pen cap or something. Went through three bottles of the stuff in the early 2000s. Smelled like cucumbers, bergamot, with a hint of cardamom? A really good fresh springtime/summertime scent. My wife hated it and said it smelled synthetic. I don't believe her, but I don't wear it anymore either.

i worry sometimes that i'm just completely indiscriminate when it comes to scents, because I love so many. There are some that I dislike, even hate, but I really just love the whole concept of perfume, and there are so many wonderful smells in the world.

― 1 P.3. Eternal (roxymuzak), Wednesday, August 21, 2013 6:54 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark

AGREE!! a million times agree. i think i only generally dislike fruity scents but grapefruit notes are usually ok. lemon sometimes. i love most non-noxious smells.

I am curious about Frédéric Malle

At Barney's they have those smelly tubes you can dunk your head into and really get into those scents. To be honest I'm not a big fan of most Frédéric Malle but the Bigerade is really, really special. Orange peel.

I also like the alcohol-free Le Labo, I forget what it's called, but it's good for kids, like, designed for your baby. I've three times given it as gifts to the parents of my godkids/nieces and they've loved it.

I met a guy in 2005 and he was wearing a really intensely beautiful cologne, it was really intense. It converted me from the "wearing cologne is vain" to the "wearing cologne is a treat for yourself and those around you". I tried to smell-remember the scent he was wearing because I was too shy to ask him what it was. Years later, I found it-- Creed "Silver Mountain Water"-- designed for Grace Kelly, I think?-- smells like honeysuckle (but I'm told it's actually black currant). Apparently Bowie is famous for wearing it. I have a small bottle but I'm rarely in a situation where it is called for, it's pretty flamboyant.

Creed stuff is all really good but prohibitively expensive :( I treat myself every few years when I'm in London. I like Millesme and Vetiver.

oh, that sounds amazing. bowie tidbit doesn't hurt. i want to smell it!

how far are we from smellovision, as a culture

I wear Floris "Eau de Santal"...haven't spent much time smelling around, but most non-luxury men's fragrances smell like a teenager's shower gel ime so I'm happy with the one I have.

Also nervous of getting super into fragrances because ££££.

It is such big business, too! If ever I make that hit record the first thing I'm gonna do is design and market a scent

There are lots of good non-luxe scents around that can be picked up really cheaply at discount places. Bulgari Black is lovely and i think i paid about £15 for a bottle a couple of years ago.

You can also get great mid-range ones(Comme des Garcons, Etat Libre d'Orange, Miller Harris, Guerlin, etc) without paying astronomical prices.

The Luca Turin / Tania Sanchez guide is a good starting point for suggestions.

whatever happened to the nose who posted here? was that person for real?

Oh many I love perfumes but my love have been stifled upon obtaining a sneezy spouse.

feel like the time is right for me to start enjoying a good basic scent. i'm really cheap though. wonder if there's anything ok under 50 bucks.

Oh yes, definitely! Do you have some idea of what you like/don't like?

there needs to be a Shazam for perfume! sometimes i smell something so good and want to know what it is without asking, or i don't know who to ask. also sometimes i smell someone that smells terrible and i want to be sure to avoid their perfume at all costs.

has anyone tried scents that purposely smell like bodily fluids like Secretions Magnifiques? from a customer review:

THE SCENT: It's fear sweat. Hot, semi-sour, salty, and immediately recognizable from human evolution. I'm frightened to ask how they achieved this! It's also sickness, something sick and hot and possibly dead nearby. Blood? Maybe in the saltiness, maybe the sour tang has a pinch of blood too but mostly it's the smell of fear to me. In less emotionally-linked terms about an hour later, it does smell like LOW TIDE FISHINESS/SALT + MILK left in the sun to spoil.

i don't want to smell like bloody jizz btw i'm just intrigued by the idea of conceptual art fragrance. i wish you could get a box of a bunch of little samples of them like the harry potter jellybeans.

yeaaaahhh nope

favorite perfume ever is Lolita Lempicka

too cheap to buy a new bottle at the moment so I googled around for similar-smelling perfumes and bizarrely found out that the consensus was on Jessica Simpson's 'Fancy' now discontinued & available at every Ross/TJMaxx for like $10. It's not perfect, but it's pretty close. Has nowhere near the staying power though. Lolita Lempicka, it was good for the whole day if you put it on in the morning

funnest thing is ppl saying ooh you smell good and telling them I'm wearing some Chicken of the Sea Jessica Simp perfume :D

You used to be able to get a box of little samples from Etat Libre d'Orange! A lot of places would credit the cost against a full bottle so they were effectively free. I'm not sure if they still do that, or whether Secretions Magnifiques is still one of them, but it's worth checking. It doesn't smell great, tbh, but a lot of their other ones are very good.

Lolita Lempicka is terrific too. I need to get another bottle of that.

i have asked strangers what scent they are wearing. mixed results.

i don't usually like fragrances, but i've been wearing tokyo milk's gin and rosewater. it's young, fresh, and not too heavy, as long as i apply it with a bit of restraint.

After a 18 months on it and I'm still addicted to it I guess I'm Philosykos for life now. I don't think I'll ever get tired of it. It's damn expensive but then the last bottle of the parfum, which is manlier I think than the toilette, did last me 8 months or so, so.... It's a bit of a hit shelling out the cash when you do need to though.

http://www.diptyqueparis.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/523x768/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/p/h/philosykos_resize.jpg

It is a little sad to be with someone who sneezes at every perfume I own/love.

Fragrance also an absolute no-no at new gig.

Missing u, fancy smells.