Thinking About Fragrance - Changing Tastes

One of the problems with collecting perfumes, at least for me, is that the newest additions to my vast collection are the ones I tend to wear most often. Each successive purchase usurps the position of the one before and eventually I stop wearing some fragrances altogether. Sometimes it's because I'm completely bored with it, but mostly it's because my tastes have evolved and that old scent that was once perfect is now not so much.

For instance, I'm loving my Maison Francis Kurkdjian Cologne Pour le Matin, with its lovely citrus and lavender notes (I also smell candied violet, even if it's not listed), and Chanel Cristalle Eau Verte, an amazing fresh green scent - both purchased in the late Spring. But the Ava Luxe Gardenia Musk, Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, and Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Herba Fresca that I adored in recent Summers have been largely ignored. This is partly because I have new loves, but also partly because I'm finding these scents too sweet to be refreshing enough in this hot weather. Another old favorite - Hermes Eau de Merveilles - is wonderfully salty and not at all perfume-y or sweet, so it finds its way into the rotation once every other week or so. But still not as often as in the past.

This week I'm trying to revive my interest in the old favorites by wearing a different one every day. On Monday I broke out the Light Blue; Tuesday was Gardenia Musk. Today is Chanel Beige. Unfortunately, I'm not thrilled by any of them.

Readers who are fragrance aficionados - do you find yourself falling into the same pattern as me, or are you pretty egalitarian in using your perfume collection?

Photo Credit: Corbis

Posted by theminx on Opalescentminx.com
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Thinking About Fragrance: Favorite Scents

I have far too many fragrances in my collection, which consists of full bottles, samples, and decants. Sometimes I even forget what I have until I stumble upon it. Take the other day, when I found a nearly-full bottle of Donna Karan Black Cashmere. I like that stuff - why don't I wear it more often?

That's a frequent thought.

Every once in a while, someone starts a "desert island" thread on the Perfume of Life forum. You know, "what 5 (or 10 or 20) fragrances would you want to have with you if you were stranded on a desert island?" I struggle with the answer, because my favorites change fairly often, and with the seasons. I'm the same way with food - I can't eat the same thing too often, because I tire of it. But after giving it considerable thought, here are some of my favorite scents - contenders at least for "desert island" fragrances (and always subject to change).

L'Artisan Parfumeur Safran Troublant
Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille
Hermes Hiris
Frapin 1270
Yves Rocher Iris Noir
Commes des Garcons Sweet Wood Coffee
Chanel No. 18
Bond No. 8 Andy Warhol Silver Factory
Etat Libre d'Orange Tilda Swinton Like This
Maison Francis Kurkdjian Cologne Pour le Matin

What are your current favorites?

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Thinking About Fragrance: Fragrance Organization

I have always been more mentally-organized than physically-organized, which is not a plus when it comes to storing my ever-changing perfume collection. Generally, come Fall, I rotate out the fragrances that I consider to be best worn in warm weather, and bring them out again once I feel completely tired of Winter and the spicy, woodsy scents I wear in cold weather. The scents in rotation live in a basket in the linen closet. Unfortunately, not all of them fit at any given time, so some of them are left in the big cardboard box in the storage room. When I do my seasonal swap, I always find a bottle that makes me think, "damn! I would have worn this had I remembered I had it!" (The perfumista equivalent of "I could had a V-8!")

Some scents, of course, are suitable for wearing all-year-round, and I keep them - in their original packaging - on a shelf in the linen closet. All are unisex, so I encourage Mr Minx to wear them as well. He's got a number of fragrances, but for the most part, he sticks to wearing Obsession for Men in cold weather, and Bath & Body Works Woodland in the Spring and Summer. (The latter has been discontinued, but I bought up a ton of it as soon as the news came out.)

I know some people store their fragrance collection in refrigerators, or in curio cabinets. I'd love to do that, but don't have the space. How do you store your fragrances?

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Thinking About Fragrance: Taste Evolution

I'm not sure exactly when I became a perfume aficionado. When I was a child, I knew which fragrances I did *not* like: Estée Lauder Youth Dew, Coty Emeraude, Prince Matchabelli Wind Song, Jean Naté, and just about anything else my mother wore; any of the Tinkerbell floral fragrances I received as a Christmas gift from a cousin; anything Avon except Sweet Honesty. None of those fragrances were "right" to my nose, and I still feel the same way about Youth Dew, a fragrance that I would call an "acquired taste." (I haven't smelled any of the others in decades).

At some point, a cousin gave me a bottle of Anne Klein Blazer, packaged with an address book. Looking back, I realize it was probably a gift-with-purchase item that she had no use for, but to me then it was something special: a real, grown-up perfume. It was somewhat sweet and fruity, if I remember correctly, and nothing like the scents I did not like. Blazer was probably too much for a kid to wear, but I wore it anyway, on "special occasions," and when I felt especially ballsy, to school.

Eventually I put together a small collection of typically safe and boring teenage scents that I wore through high school: Sweet Honesty. Heaven Scent. Love's Baby Soft. Chantilly. In those days, my mom and I were big fans of mail-order catalogs and one of our favorites was from a company that sold heavily-discounted beauty products and fragrances. Once in a while, the description of some perfume or another would intrigue us, and if it was cheap enough, we'd order it. Once I hit college age, my fragrance collection included Bakir and Cinnabar (both spicy orientals) and Maxims de Paris, a heady floral, all quite a bit different and far more sophisticated than my high school favorites.

So what happened? My tastes evolved. And they continue to evolve.

In my 20s and 30s, I was largely attracted to sweet scents, either gourmands--preferably with tons of vanilla--or ambers (Calvin Klein Obsession, Casmir, Thymes Filigree), with occasional forays into something spicy (Lagerfeld KL, Donna Karan Chaos). I was pretty sure I hated florals, particularly shrill old-fashioned ones like Chanel No. 5, and anything with rose. And then I discovered the Perfume of Life forum and a whole world of fragrances beyond the couple dozen available at the local department store.

After that came attendance at Sniffapalooza, a two-day, nose-exhausting, perfume-smelling extravaganza held twice a year in Manhattan. I knew there were lots of interesting things to smell in New York, but before Sniffa, I had only quickly visited the (admittedly quite large) fragrance department at Saks Fifth Avenue. I had no experience with niche fragrances until I visited Bergdorf Goodman, Takashimaya, Bendel's, Barney's, and the fabulous perfume boutique, Aedes de Venustas. Online, I found what I think of as the the mac daddy of niche fragrance purveyors, Lucky Scent.

Over the past four years, after sampling hundreds and hundreds of scents, my tastes have started to change. While I still appreciate a good vanilla (Guerlain's smoky Spiritueuse Double Vanille is my current favorite), I've realized that I do like floral scents, particularly those with osmanthus, peony, gardenia, and tuberose. And that there are many types of rose scents, some of which I like very much (Stella McCartney Stella, Lancome Mille et une Rose, Vivienne Westwood Anglomania). I'll even wear Chanel No. 5, as long as it's the less-aldehydic Eau Premiere. I've also found the joys of salty and savory dry scents (as long as they do not contain the aromachemical calone, which smells like artificial seaweed), like Hermes Eau de Merveilles, Santa Maria Novella Citta di Kyoto, and Hermes Hiris.

Now my collection of fragrances varies in number between 60 and 100, depending on my changing tastes and my most recent purge. Right now, I'm looking forward to an upcoming trip to New York where I plan to spend at least a couple of hours trying out the new fragrances from the past year or so. Maybe I'll add something old and familiar to my collection, or maybe I'll be struck by a completely new scent sensation that I simply must buy. In any case, I'll certainly enjoy the sensory overload.

Are you a fragrance aficionado? What types of fragrances do you favor - today?

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