Saturday Question: What Do You Wear To Travel?

/ australianperfumejunkiescom

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Portia

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Hello Fellow Fumies,

Every Saturday we have a Question, an idea purloined from Olfactoria’s Travels. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it is a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

Over 100 responses I will draw a $10 Surrender To Chance Gift Card.
Over 200 responses I will draw a $20 Surrender To Chance Gift Card.
Comment purposefully on yours or anothers comment & you’ll have a chance, random.org will draw on Friday.

Last Weeks Winner:

eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with the eMail you’d like me to send your Gift Card to.

Saturday Question:

What Do You Wear To Travel?

It’s an old conundrum for me. I’m never quite sure what is the best option and usually either madly overpack or go in the opposite direction and leave myself without any choice at all. There is the flying scent, daytime scent, evenings, dressed up, casual, something to impress and something for comfort. Really that is just scratching the surface too.

Here is my current Scent Box, ready for travel and adventures.

Recently I have twice packed my scent box that goes in my checked baggage and left it on my desk. This leaves me with only the couple I carry onboard and if I’m very lucky a couple I’ve stashed in my wetpack.

My Answer:

Flying: This is the hardest one for me. I have a few favourites for flying but the number one for ease and comfort is The Different Company Oriental Lounge. Unlike many oriental fragrances it is sheer and light but still manages to smell great and lasts for even the longest flight. Even though I’m a crumpled and rumpled mess I smell fresh and warm, totally huggable.

On my one and only ever First Class trip I was showering in the Bangkok Thai First Class Lounge but had left my glasses outside with Michael. I grabbed a decant at random and triple spritzed. It was Mugler A*Men. I was ridiculously fragrant through the whole journey. Thank goodness I was in first and not Economy, the close quarters could have killed someone.
On the way back I dropped my bottle of The Different Company Oriental Lounge in the same bathroom. HA! Very dramatic, but the place smelled fabulous.

Daytime: My favourite ever travelling fragrance for days is vintage Miss Dior parfum. It fits every situation and smells completely different to anything else I smell on people the world over. I know I bang on about it endlessly but it is seriously the best choice for me.

A very close second are Jacomo Silences PdT and Niki de Saint Phalle. These dry green chypres are also poles apart from what the world is wearing so without being freaky my scent stands heard and shoulders above the rest of humanity.

Nights: Amouage Ubar is the winner here. I don’t always take it with me but when I do it gets worn almost every evening. It is easily my favourite Amouage fragrance and it works in the heat or cool.

One that I try to take every time is Guerlain Mitsouko EdT. When I think comfort crossed with haughty grandeur Mitsouko wins hands down. I also have so much, bought every time I see a bargain, that I love the chance to get it out and use it up. No matter where I am or what is happening Mitsouko fits the bill and smells bloody terrific.

My Saturday Question to you is:

What Do You Wear To Travel?

 

 

65 thoughts on “Saturday Question: What Do You Wear To Travel?”

  1. Hi Portia,

    No matter what I take, I end up regretting my choices. So, I buy a travel set at the airport and swallow my feelings. That way, I try new things, end up with crowd pleasers and I don’t have to stress with packing big bottles and organising decants.

    Kate xx

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    • OH NOOO, Really Kate,
      Regretting choices, why?
      Love buying a travel set though, I often come away with a couple too.
      Portia xx

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      • I get sick of the same scent after a few days. Discovery sets and unused sample sizes have the problem of being unknown (hence, possibly unliked), associated with the trip and I have to spend energy getting to know them. And there is nothing worse than the wrong scent for a place. Jakarta in 1999 with a bottle of Shiseido’s Fem du Bois is a recipe for nausea. But it was all I had on me at the time. It was a long few weeks….

        It is easier to grab a mini pack of something ok; like Chloe, Lancome mix or Elie Saab type scents. They also make cute gifts for hotel staff when I leave. I bargained my way across Russia in 1992 using mini Estee Lauder and Dior scents.

        As for the flight itself, always a spritz of something at duty free that I’ve been dying to try.

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        • I gift perfume to hotel and all sorts of staff as well. Often it’s the Aftelier mini parfums, they come in a handy three pack and everyone loves them.
          Portia xx

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  2. Margot Elena rollerball bottles. Last time I went anywhere I brought some from the love + toast line. They are unique enough for me to not get bored and cheap enough that if they leaked or broke I wouldn’t be heartbroken.

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  3. My favourite perfume for flying (not that I fly much!) is Osmanthe Yunnan. It’s so light and and refreshing, I never have to worry about overspraying and it’s soothing when I’m stressed out.

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    • Great choice Morrigan,
      Perfect fit. I have a 15ml of this that sometimes travels with me too.
      Portia xx

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    • This used to be my favourite for flying too, for the same reasons. Then my sister fell in love with it, so I gave her my bottle. Maybe time to replace it.

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  4. Hi Portia,

    Your choices for travelling are great!
    For me it depends on my mood of the day. Still there are some that pop up when I hear the word travelling, like Penhaligon’s Amyris and Mecheri’s Les Zazous. Both are comfortable and clean feeling perfumes.
    Oh, and Guerlain Metalys…! Such a comfort when the travel may be exhausting.
    Then again, I’m a bit like Kate, I may regret my choice. (Hey! what about Kurkdjian’s Oud?!)
    What to bring as decants for the period will change every time. I like the fact that you have a box ready to take with you, but I could never do that. I guess I’m fickle where perfume is concerned… *rolling eyes at myself*

    Happy weekend, everyone!!

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    • Hey Fanny,
      Comfort is so important on a long journey, I agree.
      I also take a moisturiser, put the tiniest bit in my palm, wet my hands with water and rub water and moisturiser on my face. It keeps me looking plumped and fresh through the trip. I usually use a hand moisturiser, it works.
      Portia xx

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  5. I don’t want to take with me full bottles, so I take decants and some samples I want to try. Many of them don’t come back home.

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  6. In the last couple of years my travel has been limited to beach trips, for which I have my Bronze Goddess travel sprays. For short trips (carryon only) I select a few samples from my large collection.

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  7. I am such a wooz when spraying before a flight…what if it’s too much/offensive/they are allergic etc…but Cuir Beluga is calming for me so that goes round my neck.
    I take lots of decants but still get bored with them and crave the ones I left at home!
    Attention span of a gnat.

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  8. Great question! If I remember to, I take a discovery set with me when I travel. The scents are already neatly packed in a box, they’re a good size, I get plenty of variety; and having one maker’s set with me for a week actually does educate me about that brand.

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  9. I always being some Vallee Des Rois, and incense, maybe one from Sonoma Scent Studio, Chanel 5 l’eau, something citrusy like one of the Allegorias, and then maybe a heavy hitter like Salome, or Alahine.

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  10. The last real vacation I took was in 1997…I really don’t do much traveling…but if I did I would probably grab a whole bunch of samples and test them out…

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    • WOW CM,
      You don’t like travel, haven’t had time or opportunity? Part of me wishes I didn’t have this insatiable wanderlust but it’s a part of me.
      Portia xx

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      • Traveled extensively in my youth and early adulthood…then marriage and kids and expenses got in the way! Travel for five AND paying for college just isn’t in the budget these days!

        and honestly, now that I am older I enjoy hibernating in my home whenever I can 🙂

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  11. I don’t get the opportunity to travel much…but when I do, I wear Origins ginger essence for day and have a decant of Music ravageur for evening.

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  12. Hi!
    I love your travel box. It is amazing!
    If I ‘m going to the beach I wear Bronze Goddes. I like Aqua Allegoria Herba Fresca for flights and then I will just take a lot of samples and use them during the vacation!

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    • Get there Fadua,
      Thanks, they are a few of the splits I’ve gone in lately. That’s why mostly they are newish.
      Another Bronze Goddess vote. YUM!
      Do you ever fall madly in love with a frag while you’re sampling on holidays?
      Portia xx

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  13. It really depends where I’m going, and why. A work trip is going to be different from an adventure.

    The latter needing safer scents for daytime–or sometimes a polite but fierce dose of armour–but also the nope-i’m-still-me smells for after stressful meetings, marking my territory in hotel rooms, and for claiming the little slivers of my own time.

    Adventures and holidays are a whole other beast. Though I nearly always take a range of fragrances, not wanting to over-anticipate moods and experiences, there’s nearly always one that just ends up being *right* for the place and the time. So, for example, Bapteme du Feu will always remind me of a very happy week in Venice in the rain, and Breath of God of Seoul and the perfect celadon greens of ancient Korean ceramics.

    I think I need to replace my Osmanthus Yunnan for flights, though, as I no longer have any, and it was pretty much perfect.

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    • Hey Crikey,
      The Koreans are the forgotten instigators of so much. Having travelled with Jin extensively through Korea now it’s very interesting to find out that so much of what we take to be other countries culture has been adopted from the Korean originators. Isn’t that celadon unbelievable?
      Portia xx

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      • It’s somewhere I would love to go back to and see more of. We just had a ten day visit in Seoul, while my sister was living there. Barely enough to scratch the surface of even that one city. It was truly fascinating though. I feel incredibly fortunate to have been. A place of such rapid change, and such deep history too.

        It was at the Samsung leeong museum that I went from thinking “yawn: ceramics” to wanting to see and learn as much as I could about that tradition of work. Mind blowing beauty. (Also, what a collection of modern and contemporary work! Wow!)

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        • Yeah, they guerrilla trap you into interest. Once you’re bitten by the Korean taste its never leaves, as much of the Asian world has known for centuries.
          Portia xx

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  14. I always semi-panic when traveling, fearful that the one scent I wantwantwant when I arrive won’t be one I packed. As I contemplate this years Christmas travel, I know I’ll need something light for long drives with my perfume-phobic hubby (Bourbon French Cameo Noir? Definitely Chanel 1932, which is always perfect) and something more substantial for evenings -maybe Lady Vengeance. I prefer deviants or samples for travel easier to pack and more variety.

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    • Ha Ha Ha MaggieCat,
      I prefer deviants too.
      Do you ever wear parfum concentrations on drives? They last and last but stay much closer to the skin.
      Portia xx

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  15. The only constant is that I always take way more perfume than any sane person would need on a trip of any length. Travel size or decants, sample sets and whatever back ups are in my bag already, it’s as if without fifteen to twenty choices I would die.

    This summer faves were travel sprays of the Vilhelm line – Purple Fig especially – and the Trudon discovery set. I bought a full bottle of Bruma and have been wearing it like crazy at home too. II will likely follow shortly. Also the very generous Anatole LeBreton discovery set. And three travel sprays from Thorn and Bloom: Indigo, Rose something, and the fabulous Limestone.

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    • Yay for too much perfume on a trip. Last summer I traveled by car for a beach vacation. I had enough space to pack anything I wanted for clothes and gear including a ridiculous number of perfumes. I brought more scents than I could wear during the week-long trip even wearing more than one a day. It felt fabulously decadent. I will do it again.

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  16. My travels are on hold for a while. I may take different fragrances on travel in the future, depending on where I am going and what may be the local customs about wearing perfume (wearing lutens MKK may not be very wise to wear in public in Japan or Korea 😀 ) but there is one fragrance I may always take with me (at least most of the time) because its name is the most suitable among my collection for travels. It is Joop Nightflight. I just love this name as I always imagine it wearing while being at the airport at night before boarding a flight. Luckily it is also a relatively safe wear, being along the lines of Cool Water.

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    • Funny you should mention MKK Fazal,
      It’s one of Jin’s fave travel scents. In the weirdest places I will get a huge whiff of Jin the goaty sex magnet, very amusing.
      Portia xx

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      • lolzzz. Jin is from Korea so this is a surprising choice. I hear Koreans and Japanese prefer the lightest, cleanest fragrances. Even Japanese designers such as Issey Miyake followed this philosophy, at least in their earliest releases.

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        • Jin is an aberration. Hairy, thickset and very Aussie. Though he spent his first 30 years in Korea it’s astounding how much Aussie he has added.
          Portia x

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    • Hey Saffyishere,
      No, we only reached 53 comments last week. I’m hoping we can beat that this week and give some prize money.
      Portia xx

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  18. For the actual flight I usually wear something fresh and light, something really inoffensive. My go to would be Rance Eau de Noblesse, although I’ve also worn Hermes Un Jardin Apres le Mousson. For travelling however, I think about the weather of my destination and what my plans are likely to include and try and narrow it down to 10 – 15 fragrances to pack 🙂

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  19. I only travel for business, it seems. My syrict rule for the last few years is to wear ONLY L’Occitane Citrus Verbena on the plane. When squished as tinned fish for hours, especially in small jets, I think the best impression to leave is light and fresh. I abhor having someone’s elbow in my ribs enough as it is, then to suffer something strong for the distance can be quite unbearable. In any case, when there at meetings and conferences my go-to she who means business scent is Jo Malone Lime Basil Mandarin.

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    • Hey there VerbenaLuvvr,
      L’Occitane Citrus Verbena is excellent. Great price point for something so lovely too.
      Good thinking.
      Portia xx

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  20. I like to wear something light when I travel, like Jo Malone’s Peony & Blush Suede and/or Wood Sage & Sea Salt, and take along my more distinctive scents like Valentino Donna for when I’m not in close quarters with others! I’ve finally found a refillable atomiser that doesn’t leak, so I can take along a range of choices without fear of bottle breakage or unnecessarily adding to baggage weight.

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  21. I like to wear the same fragrance every time I travel, Green Tea by Elizabeth Arden. I love how it is light, refreshing and how it keeps me calm and relaxed during my flight. During my holiday I do take one single decant so I can wear during the entire trip. I choose just one fragrance so I can have memories associated with my trip when I smell it in future. A few months ago I travelled and wore Le Labo Rose 31, the year before that was Arquiste The Architects Club 🙂

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    • Very interesting idea Amarah,
      I love the idea of wearing Green Tea to travel. Refreshing, light and buoyant.
      Portia xx

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  22. For traveling, specifically on a flight, I usually wear Chanel No. 19 EDP. In my toiletries case, I always have Chanel No. 5 EDT (in the black, twist up travel spray) and a decant of Chanel No. 19 EDP. I also bring Hermes Eau de Merveilles Bleue. / Chanel No. 19 L’Eau, both in the very cute 30-35 mL bottles if there is room in my luggage. I add others, e.g. Atelier Cologne Cedrat Enivrant and Sous le Toit de Paris, if I am going away for an extended period or will be in hot weather.

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  23. Decants of Elixer des Merveilles and Vetiver Pour Elle and samples to use up and change up. I try to make at least one perfume purchase per trip.

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  24. Hi, Partia darling,

    Traveling now. Short trip to visit my Dad on the US east coast. I just brought a few samples—NV Ashoka, Aedes de Venustas edp, Papillon Anubis, Dusita Melodie d’Amour and also a sample of Bruno Fazzolari’s soon-to-be-released next perfume. I’d packed a single bottle of Habit Rouge but changed my mind at the last minute.

    jtd

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  25. Ooooh, I wish I were on vacation. 🙂

    I most often choose cologne-ish scents for travel. Minis of Eau des Merveilles and Jour d’Hermes are at the top of my packing list. A sample set from Atelier Colognes is another easy choice. I’ve taken full bottles of No. 5 EdP and Terracotta Le Parfum on several trips by car when there is no worry about luggage handling and size.

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  26. Long distance flying; Eau de Givenchy – interesting but not OTT. Then Givenchy III if destination is cool weather. Back up warmer weather scent decade Vent Vert by Balmain. all decanted into atomiser sprays. Roll on 5ml of Caleche and Mitsouko to get around airline liquids restrictions.

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  27. I usually just throw what ever samples I have lying around into my toiletries bag. I also have a stash of special samples (amouage, chanel etc) so I will usually put one or two of those in for special occasions. If I am going for beachy/summer trip I usually throw in my bottle of tommy girl – it is light and fresh for hot summer days and I can carry it around in my beach bag for a quick spritz without worrying if i break it or loose it etc.

    I have an atomizer that I sometimes fill up if I have something I really want to take with me but I feel like it leaks a bit over time so I havent been using it much lately.

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    • Hey Bec,
      Tommy Girl was my BFF Kath’s scent for over a decade. I love it. great holiday spritz.
      Portia xx

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  28. Hello gorgeous.

    Love what you have! So organised!!!

    What I take to holiday depends on where I go. My last trip to Asia i had two full 50ml of ELdOs and a few travel sprays (Jub 25, Prada Amber pour homme and Rose Anonyme). I know it’s quite limiting…

    I recently got some decanting stuff from an amazing person (XOXOXO) so I might bring some other stuff with me for my next trip… as well as my new Bronze Goddess Eau Fraiche travel spray. YAY!

    On flying I tend to top up from duty free but strangely enough they either never last or my sense of smell is affected… this include Tuscan Leather which normally last for hours on my skin. (I know I could be stinking out the whole cabin without even knowing).

    XXX… T

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    • HA! Yeah, our noses dry out which means we can’t smell so well. A/C does that. It’s part of the reason feeding us is so difficult.

      Bronze Goddess Eau Fraiche travel spray!! Woo Hoo!
      Portia xx

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