Get To Know Your Collection! Scent Task #1

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

Hi there Freaky Frag Collectors,

Here is the problem. I spend a LOT of time testing new fragrances, buy a 3-5ml decant, empty it, fall in love, buy the fragrance and have it sit there, a lot of the time still in its cellophane. This problem is compounded by the fact that when I am wearing fragrance for sheer pleasure I often grab the same tried and true spritz-and-forget fragrances that I know I love.

Melita, the head of a Facebook Frag Group called For Love Not Money: Fragrance Appreciation Group<<JUMP (that has a rule about NEVER mentioning prices, sales, bargains or other super lemming inducing propaganda that could make you spend), had a brilliant idea…….

Get To Know Your Collection! Scent Task #1

Here is what Melita’s FaceBook challenge asked:

~*~*~*GROUP TASK: Get to know your collection!*~*~*~

It occurs to me every now and then that I favour certain perfumes and put them on rather too easily, while ignoring others in my collection and not really getting to know them. Next week, starting Monday the 11th August, I want to rectify that and learn more about the perfumes I already have. You are encouraged to join me in the following task:

1. Choose 5 fragrances from your collection (bottles, samples) that you don’t wear much or that you don’t really know well.
2. From Monday to Friday next week, choose one fragrance to wear each day and write a short review/comment/summary of the fragrance and share it on the group timeline. This can take any form that you like: a love letter, a poem, a brief review, a list of notes, a keyword summary, a pictographic essay. Be creative!
3. Keep things brief – limit your comments to 150 words if you can!

So I chose to use bottles that I had bought, there are quite a few that don’t get worn much. Personally, I chose to do my wearing in the morning while around the house so I could really take notice and enjoy my fragrance, sometimes enjoying it so much I chose to wear the same scent for work that night.

Here is my week in fragrance.

 

Fire from Heaven CB I Hate Perfume FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Scent Task #1 Monday: Fire from Heaven by C B I Hate Perfume.
Sweet resinous woods with a faint acrid after burn incense char smell. I don’t know why I rarely wear this lovely, maybe it opens too cool for winter and doesn’t cross my mind at other times. Great story and an enjoyable ride

evocative perfumes Banner LogoPhoto Stolen Evocative Perfumes

Scent Task #1 Tuesday: Vanille Tonique by Evocative Perfumes
I grabbed out my bottle of Evocative Perfumes Vanille Tonique: It is a beautiful marriage between Vanille Absolument by L’Artisan and one of the Guerlains. Dryer and more ambery than the L’Artisan and more retro breathy than the current crop of Guerlain. Mark Evans (the perfumer) this is REALLY good stuff.

Excess Tokyo Milk Parfumarie Curiosite FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Scent Task #1 Wednesday: 28 Excess by Tokyo Milk
Chocolate Orange Cake dried out by Woods. A sweet but not sticky fragrance. Though I am fully fragrant after about 15 minutes Excess sinks into and melds with my skin changing to a patchouli bomb with sparkles of the other notes. The whole dries down to a sweet amber/patchouli cloud.

Amouage Gold pour Femme Amouage FragranticaPhoto Stolen Fragrantica

Scent Task #1 Thursday: Amouage Gold Extrait de Parfum
Sadly my Gold gets neglected for my Dia Extrait. This is only the second time I have used the Gold. WHOA!! One little spritz is BIG! Initial rush is awesome. I can see why the Dia gets more skin time, Gold is a powerful girl. I get cool incense, resins and cat right off early, so lovely, totally retro. The flowers are creating soft counterpoint harmonies to flesh out the rest. Very nice. Gold softens down considerably in the first hour and becomes a resinous, woodsy fragrance backed by cat. Noticeable but comfortable.

Photo Stolen Fragrantica

Scent Task #1 Friday: Vintage Caleche by Hermes
This is one of the bottles that I was given by Michael Edwards. I keep looking at it but haven’t given it a wear yet. Oh Em Gee! This has been kept perfectly and the fizzy citrus and white flower open is devastatingly beautiful. Sheerer and a touch more green than I remember but so fragrant and rich. This is opulence, the feeling of running your hand over very expensive leather and silk brocades. When the flowers fully arrive they are a bouquet, it takes a much better nose than mine to pick them and I think the oakmoss lays a smoothing veil over all. Later, the shiny patina of the resins and smooth undercurrent of woods comes in but they are soft and furry to fade.

AllSteele giveaway 1Photo Stolen AllSteele

Scent Task #1 GIVEAWAY

WHAT CAN YOU WIN?

This week we will have 1 Winner who will get:

1 x decanted spray sample of all 5 Scent Task Fragrances
P&H Anywhere in the world

HOW DO YOU WIN?

Open to everyone worldwide who follows AustralianPerfumeJunkies via eMail, WordPress, Bloglovin or RSS. Please leave how you follow in the comments to be eligible. I must be able to check that you follow so if you have an email address on your gravatar that’s different to your follow address then please email me so I know. Yes, you can start following to enter, in fact it’s encouraged.

You must tell me how you follow APJ

and

Tell me a fragrance that gets little or no love in your collection.

Extra Chance?
Tweet: APJ Facebook Scent Task GIVEAWAY http://wp.me/p3PURw-33H  

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Sunday 17th August 2014 10pm Australian EST and winners will be announced in a separate post.
Winners will be chosen by random.org
The winners will have till Thursday 21st August 2014 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or the prize will go to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

 

85 thoughts on “Get To Know Your Collection! Scent Task #1”

  1. I follow by email, and this post made me realize that I’ve only sprayed my full bottle of Monegal Ambra de Luna once. Must go look into that.

    Like

  2. DNEM, as I have way more samples than I need! However, this is a *great* idea and it’s fitting in very sweetly with my loosely-formed plan to start really wearing my decants instead of reaching automatically for the full bottles that are more familiar to me.

    Like

    • Hi there Mals86,
      How do these samples propagate so QUICKLY!! It becomes very hard to keep up.
      Portia xx

      Like

  3. That’s quite a nice stash there!
    And a question that evokes a bit of guilt…after all, we buy things we supposedly love. And I do, but why do I not reach for the vintage L’Heure Bleue more often? Not saving it for posterity or any nieces!
    I have just put it out on my dresser for tomorrow.
    Follow by email.

    Like

  5. I havent really worn L’Eau par Kenzo by Kenzo since summer not only because its more suited to the warmer months but because the floral notes are not really me (it was a gift)
    Following via bloglovin and email

    Like

    • I have a bottle of L’eau par Kenzo Amanda Gorton. It’s pretty and chilled. Perfect casual wear or for movies where you don’t want to skunk the surrounds.
      Maybe you should spray it forward it to someone who would like it.
      Portia xx

      Like

  6. Full bottle of Ubar. Hmmmm. Tomorrow for the wedding I am attending. Yep, that will wipe the bride out in one go! Don’t enter me obviously. But I’ll take the bottle of Caleche off your hands if you feel stuck with it.
    Bussi. xxx

    Like

    • Why not enter you in the draw? I think you’ll like a couple of these Val. I’m putting you in the hat darl.
      Portia xx

      Like

  7. I have quite the varied collection and do the same, reach over and over for the tried and true. I am going to accept the challenge and get creative every day! Kind of exciting to evoke memories by wearing different scents. Thanks for the opportunity 🙂 I follow bloglovin

    Like

  8. I follow by email. Since I have discovered niche fragrances, my once beloved Gucci Rush, Ralph Lauren Glamorous, and D&G Light Blue have been all shoved to the back of my little samples and decants.

    Like

  10. Love getting your emails! Thanks! So in honor of your challenge, I reached into the back of my perfume closet and pulled out Jo Malone’s French Lime Blossom. I can’t believe I forgot about this beauty! Thanks for the push.

    Like

    • Nice work Robert H,
      My memory of FLB is that it is quite pretty and refreshing? Is my memory correct?
      Portia xx

      Like

  11. Ohh – you have inspired me to wear my Gurelain Idyelle Duet today. I had forgotten how wonderful this is…

    I follow (faithfully) via email

    Like

  12. I follow by email. Just realized that it has been eons since I wore my Jo Malone Blue Agave and Cacao. Going to rectify that today!

    Like

    • TaraC,
      I have Blue Agave & Cacao in the bath oil. It is very nice and smells wonderful.
      Portia xx

      Like

  13. I follow by email. There are a few bottles I haven’t worn because buying without sampling just doesn’t work for me (Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds for example). Then there are the favorite ones that I’ve just been neglecting lately and need to be worn again(Chanel Bois des Iles).

    Like

    • ElizabethC,
      I have a Bois des Iles still in its CHANEL paper and ribbon. You’re not alone.
      Portia xx

      Like

  14. Swimming in a gazillion samples. I’m finding that some of them have evaporated and gone dry in the mean time. 😦
    One full bottle that doesn’t get enough wear time is my bell jar of Serge Lutens Bois Oriental. It’s a bell jar. It’s precious. I either have to go to Paris to replace it or pay a huge mark-up at Barney’s in New York City, because my local branch doesn’t carry the bell jars.
    Feeling like I really need to organize and downsize. Yes, I realize I’ve been saying this for ages.
    I follow APJ by email.

    Like

    • Hi there Tatiana,
      It’s hard to let them go. they are all milestones on your fragrant journey. I know the feeling.
      Portia xx

      Like

  15. Great topic, Portia. Really love it. The FB link is not working, unfortunately.

    I follow through mail and Fb.

    Mayda Bekkali Mon nom est rouge does not get much appreciation and I bought it in Paris especially. Great idea to use a different fragrance the whole week (month 😉

    Like

    • Hiya Esperanza,
      I wonder if the jump only works if you are a member. It works fine for me.
      Thanks though.
      Portia xx

      Like

  16. This is easy, because I was just thinking that although I really like NR Farouche, I seldom wear it.
    Follow you by email. Have a great weekend.

    Like

    • NR? Solanace. Narciso Rodriguez?
      No, I just looked it up. Nina Ricci. WOW! That looks like everything but the kitchen sink perfumery if I ever saw some.
      Portia xx

      Like

  17. One fragrance in my collection that gets little love is Majda Bekkali’s J’ai Fait un Reve. I shall wear it more often when the weather cools down!

    I follow by email.

    Like

  18. I follow you via bloglovin as NennaO 🙂
    My least fav one is Dolce Gabbanas Light blue. Have used it only for couple a times.

    Like

    • Hey there NennaO,
      Light Blue is so outrageously popular. You are probably wearing niche, most of which smells TOTALLY different.
      Portia xx

      Like

  19. There are so many neglected sample series in my wardrobe, but the first house that comes to mind is Parfumerie Generale.
    I will start tomorrow with Corps et Ame, I promise! 😉
    After that: Cedre Sandaraque, Bois Blond, Cadjmere and Felanilla.
    The most neglected bottle is probably Féminité du Bois by Lutens; I will squeeze it in as well!

    Great topic!

    I follow by email.

    Like

  20. Wonderful! I was doing this along with. you, and as I love and use all my bottles (else Out They Go!) I focused on decants I’d been overlooking.

    Three reasons for this: first I am unmoved by them, second they are similar but not so good as something I have a bottle of, third I love them and am loath to finish them because while I have the decant I don’t need the full bottle, right? it’s a little game I play.

    So far neglecting the decant has saved me from the lofty purchase price of the full bottle of Chypre Palatin. That was this week’s uncovered self-denial.

    Don’t enter me, I have far too many samples to ignore already!

    SM (!)

    Like

  21. I have quite a few perfumes that have not gotten the love they need. Some of them have been in storage at my sisters house because I couldn’t travel with them. They are Vera Wang for men and Chez Bond from Bond No 9. I follow APJ via email. Thanks for the draw!

    Like

  22. My poor old Champs-Elysees is getting the neglectful treatment, beaten by sparkly new niche perfumes and samples. ‘What about me-ee?’ it sings. I should make more of an effort when it’s summer. Follow by email!

    Like

  23. Hi Portia,
    I found a 100ml bottle of M. Micallef Vanille Cuir that I remember spraying only one time. I hear it deserves more consideration? Also, I love my Amouage Memoir Woman but rarely use it. Thanks for the challenge and the reminder! I follow by e-mail.
    Azar xx

    Like

    • WOW! 100ml of Vanille Cuir! I loved the Vanille Marine from that series, in fact I don’t know why there isn’t a bottle of it around here.
      Portia xx

      Like

  24. Hi Portia! I follow via email. Great idea for a piece! After sampling Le Labo’s Neroli and Rose fragrances I bought small decants because I liked them. And now they’re just sitting there. Not sure why except I keep reaching for other things I like even better…kind of sad I guess. Thanks for the draw. Several of those sound lovely!

    Like

    • I am usually a bit meh about the Le Labo stuff. The house leaves me lost a bit. Oh well. Can’t love everything.
      Portia xx

      Like

  25. Thanks for the giveaway. The NST SOTD polls and Community Scent Fridays had encouraged me to haul out more of my overflowing perfume bottles and samples. The one that hasn’t gotten much love for a very silly reason (a few spritzes left AND I have a back-up bottle) is Hermes Kelly Caleche EDP. I follow via Bloglovin’

    Like

    • Hi there Hajuusurui,
      Did you get it out and spritz? I have a lonesome 15ml of this too.
      Portia xx

      Like

  26. My “collection” isn’t really large enough for anything to get lost in, but I have recently experienced the pain of samples that have dried up, so I am going to make an effort to wear the samples and decants I really like more often.

    Now that I look, I see a mini of Alien Essence Absolue that I’ve only worn once. I follow with Bloglovin.

    Like

    • I was forgetting that I won something from APJ just a month ago. Is it rude to enter another contest so soon? Please advise. I don’t think I’ve read anything about the etiquette of blog giveaways, and usually winning too often is not an issue for me, to say the least. Feel free to remove my entry.

      Like

  27. i follow by email…my l’heure bleue gets the least love in my collection..i just never seem to be in quite the right mood for it the last year or so…

    Like

  28. I follow by email, and the perfume that gets the least love (quite undeservedly!) is probably Cristalle EDT…I think I have yet to quite come to terms with the galbanum 😦

    Like

  29. I follow via Bloglovin’ but frankly, usually actually use Feedly.
    I have a couple of things that I like and never wear because they just aren’t me. For some reason Agent Provocateur never gets any skin time but I loooove it. Think I’ll gift it to my mom. Also, I used to mix Jo Malone Red Roses with several of my citrus scents but have ignored it for far too long (and I have a huge bottle too). Think I will wear it tomorrow to see the Matisse exhibit, probably layered with some Eau d’Hadrien.

    Like

    • Hi there LizK,
      I love Red Roses. Interesting that you use it as a layerer. Jo Malone loves you to do that doesn’t it?
      Portia xx

      Like

  30. Inspired by your post, I wore Estee Lauder’s Pleasures. It was one of my earlier purchases, which I have neglected for a while. I now prefer darker and heavier perfumes so this one doesn’t get as much skin time. But it is such a good perfume – it radiates cleanliness and innocent beauty like no other.

    I follow by email. Thanks for the great giveaway and for reminding us to revisit our neglected bottles.

    Like

    • Hi there Puhfume,
      Pleasures is a fragrance that never even crossed my radar. I need to rectify that I think.
      Portia xx

      Like

  31. Oh the guilt, the guilt ….. but I feel so much better now knowing that other people also have bottles that have never even been opened. Inspired by the brilliant idea of “consciously coupling” with a forgotten fragrance I tore the cellophane off my Caroline Herrera Flore and had a good spritz. Wow, I had forgotten how powerful she is and so jasminey. I will have to give her a few more days out. And then pay attention to some of her poor neglected friends.

    Thank you for encouraging us to be kind to our perfumes!

    I follow you by email.

    Like

    • I have Flore too Jillie,
      OMG! She is ENORMOUS!! I’m glad you had a good time wearing her.
      Portia xx

      Like

  32. I haven’t worn Memoire Liquide Vacances once this summer, so I think I have to give that one some love before September. I follow via email and am tweeting this post too. Thanks!

    Like

  33. I follow by email and I neglect my Fracas. I used to be a bigger white floral fan than I am today, and now I just don’t really enjoy it. Though I do appreciate it, how could one not?

    Like

  34. Perfect timing! I always grab a big handful of samples to take travelling and I’m overseas right now! It’s a great way to shake things up and make some fragrant memories. Juliette has a Gun Lady Vengeance is the one I ignore though, it just doesn’t last on me. I follow on email and you absolutely rock 😉

    Like

    • Thanks Samantha,
      Interesting that a JHaG doesn’t last on you. I find their fragrances have the half life of uranium.
      Portia xx

      Like

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  36. Heya APJ,
    I like that a spotlight is being put on not something new to attain, but something we already have and don’t appreciate!
    My under appreciated fragrance is Halloween Man by J Del Pozo. It’s actually a great perfume; an opaque, sexy pumpkin pie gourmand. I’m not even sure why I don’t reach for it often, because I’m always happy to recommend it. Hmm!
    Following via email,
    S.

    Like

    • Hey there Scar,
      I love those bottles but have never tried one of the J Del Pozo scents. I am glad to read a recommendation.
      Portia xx

      Like

  37. Terrific task! I have to say that Bulgari Black has gotten very little love from me lately. I should rectify that. Thank you for the chance at a geveaway! I follow via wordpress!

    Like

    • Hey Hey Daisy,
      Bulgari Black sits unloved and unused here too. I will rectify that this week.
      Portia xx

      Like

  38. I have to say my Carnal Flower is not getting any love lately. I loved it when i first bought it but for some reason seem to have gone off it – i have no idea why. Maybe when the weather warms up i’ll have to see if I come back around to it.

    I follow by email.

    Like

  40. I tend to give preference to new samples and neglect all full bottles. Most things get some wear though, certainly no unopened items on my shelf. I had this plan of spending more time with my favourites this year but I’ve not gotten around to it yet. There is time yet 😉
    I follow by email

    Like

  41. Hi there, I follow by email. These perfumes sound wonderful. I have an old bottle of Kingdom by the late Alexander McQueen. I used to love wearing it out to dinner but I’ve not worn it in many years. Over the last few years I’ve veered sharply towards the naturals and have tried a decent selection from most of the well known natural perfumers from around the world and I have to say that it’s my preference but I am starting to think that some lovely niche brands may well be worth discovering. Thanks for the opportunity to enter this draw 🙂

    Like

  42. *Just* followed you by email.

    My BPALS get the least attention from me, and it’s not for any major reason, so it’s kinda pathetic. ; ] They are dabbers, not sprayers, so when hurrying I don’t grab for them, and then they are oils – so I’m not thrilled about potenially getting oil on me or my clothes. Sad, really.

    That said, I loved the smells of their Rappacini’s Garden collection – and will go put on some Black Hellebore right now.

    Like

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