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Portia
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Hello Fellow Fumies,
At APJ we have a Saturday Question. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it’s 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 regularly and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them. The aim is to generate real conversation and connection even though we are scattered around the globe.
Over 100 responses I will draw a Scent Sample Pack (from my collection)
This week:
Vintage Sample Pack
- Van Clef & Arpels Pour Homme
- Miss Dior EdT
- Boucheron Trouble Legere
- Hermès Caleche
- Lancome Magie Noire EdT
Saturday Question: What Fragrance Do You Overspritz?
We all know how annoying an over spritzer in a crowded space can be. Headaches, nausea, inability to think rationally and grumpiness can ensue. Especially rude if they know they’ll be in close confines with others.
So, what fragrance do you feel NEEDS to be overspritzed? Maybe something you wear alone in your home to do the cleaning, on outside days in the garden, to wander the grocery store or any other place.
OK, if we are messing up here I do tend to overspritz quite lavishly for work. Being a Drag Queen requires an abundance of scent cloud and yes sometimes I even marinate in my perfumes for it. The thing is, I’m wafting past people mostly and rarely sit down with them for more than 5 minutes. As I know most of our players if I’m overwhelming someone will kindly chime in and I’ll know I’ve gone overboard. Then I’ll keep my distance.
My Answer:
Most obviously overspritzed in Boucheron Trouble. Somehow that little extra goes a LONG way and it does become a suffocating cloud. BUT that’s the way I love to smell it. Sometimes around the house I’lkl give myself 6 hefty blasts to my chest and wander around in a daze.
DIOR Mitzah is another one. Some days with the same amount of spritzes it just seems enormous. On those days it’s like the notes drop into my brain like bricks and I can smell every piece of the composition separately. Very intense but totally enjoyable.
Not the last by any means but one I do love to spritz for myself and wear at home of out grocery shopping in vintage Joy parfum overlaid with the EdT. I wear a LOT of it and feel like my fragrance is a siren song, luring unwary travellers to their graves. These are my two newest bottles that have only been sprayed to test for vintage realness. They PASS!
24 Gold by Scentstory. I just love it to death and don’t think it can be over sprayed. Never had any complaints! On the other hand, every time I use Womanity I accidentally over spray. It’s just too strong.
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HA! Womanity can be completely overwhelming M.
Yet still I adore it. Thank you for reminding me, I’ll get its out and give it a whirl.
Portia x
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I love to overspray Molinard Habanita. I adore this scent, and being in the midst of a huge scent cloud makes me happy. However, I am very light-handed when spraying this when I go to the office as I know my tolerance is not shared by others.
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Hey Kathleen,
Great overspritz choice. You’re right, Habanita can go VERY big. I bet your office colleagues are grateful, even though they don’t know.
Portia x
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Working on Use It Up this summer so am spritzing the last few mls of bottles. Up now is Orange Sanguine which maybe I should keep in the fridge.
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Orange Sanguine in the fridge is fantastic!!!
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Hi AnnieA,
So there are LOADS of overspritzed things at your place. Are you finding different nuance wirth extra application?
Portia xx
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For OS I was just hoping it would last longer. I do keep my overspritzing to the home front so it’s more that the perfume is more of a physical presence if that makes any sense.
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I probably overspray both Mitsouko and Shalimar. I love them both….
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Matty,
You are a perfumista after my own heart.
Portia xx
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Probably all of them…tend to overspray the milder, lighter ones that don’t stay with me long enough and the ones that I love the opening notes most. Never get enough of Feminite du Bois, Civet (slap my hand for that), Organza Indecence, Taj, Lolita Lempica among others.
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YAY! Marion I could swim in your sillage forever.
Portia xx
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I’m so timid with spraying! I really only spray a lot with the citrusy cologne type scents, or something I absolutely know will only last an hour otherwise. It’s a fine line between perfect and overwhelming with some perfumes and I’m too afraid to go there. Wimp.
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Ha, M!! You need to hang out with me more 😉
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Hi MMKinPA,
You know those housework days where you are vacuuming, clothes washing, cleaning, steaming, dusting etc? A hefty overspritz can make it all seem like a glamorous adventure. One of your bigger perfumes anyway, double your sprays. It’s FUN!! and a little bit naughty.
Portia xx
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Ok so the question for me should read “what fragrance DON’T you overspritz?” because I basically over do it on everything! But in my defense I have scent eating skin 🙂 I have gone as far as 20 sprays depending on what it is.
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YAY! Brigitte,
I KNEW you were a perfume WARRIOR!
Wish you lived around the corner. How much fun could be had?
Portia xx
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oh boy, P! we would be such a baaaaddddd influence on each other-LOL! xxoo
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HA! Oh yes. Though I need NO influence to be bad.
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Ha! Same here…I am bad without influence…although I would be a bad influence on you with food as well…that is another avenue where I enjoy “overdoing it”…..
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I want to … nah, I won’t call it “overspray” – spray the way I think my favorites should be worn almost all perfumes. But as I spend most of my time in a small office space with at least two co-workers not being fans of perfumes (in general), I tend to be cautious. And it spills over to my weekends. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I do not have to keep it this way when I’m not going to the office.
The only perfume that I always spray with abandon is OJ Ta’if – but only because I always wear it for special occasions, so with it I have a habit of covering myself all over.
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Now that I have my own office I can spray with reckless abandonment. I don’t miss the days when I shared an office with a perfume adverse co-worker who always berated me on my perfume choices (“you smell like an old lady”)
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That’s so cool that you have your own perfumed palace, sorry, office, lol!
As a side note: comparison with an old lady is such a stupid insult, but then again, it only means one thing: the perfume must be good 🙂
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yes, the perfume was good…it was all the vintage and current chypre she always complained about.
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I had complaints about my Paloma Picasso, Soir de Lune and Knowing, that was a bit upsetting.
Whatevs, I’ll wear them all anyway, just not in enclosed spaces.
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Those are gorgeous fragrances!!! I would love to be near you wearing any of those…ah well, to each his own.
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I couldn’t please everyone even if I wanted to (which I don’t).
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Ha sounds like my current office Perfume Grump. We now have doors to our offices so if he doesn’t like something he can Shut de Door.
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perfect solution!
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If that were directed at me I’d tell them “that’s because I AM an old lady, get over it”.
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Ha! as am I (an old lady, that is -LOL!)
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Hey Undina,
You have become habituated by the scent averse majority. What a bummer.
If you are going to go hell for leather with anything then OJ Ta’if seems like a good choice to me. YUM! Do you ever wear it fore no reason too?
Portia xx
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I wear my “special” perfumes only for special occasions but not because I think that they are too good for everyday use (I have more rare and/or expensive perfumes that I wear “just because”), but I do it rather because these “special” perfumes I reserve to accompany events that are meaningful for some reason. It doesn’t have to be a dress-up or even public occasion – as long as it is special in my head.
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I am not overspritzer because I tend to prefer my perfumes to be detectable to those only who are within my personal space. But I can def. see relatively overspritzing very light perfumes such as 4711 or maybe sometimes citrusy ones like eau sauvage vintage that may mellow down soon.
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Hi Fazal,
Nice to see you.
One thing I really love about this hobby of ours is that everyone has a different way of enjoying their fragrance. No right or wrong, it’s all about personal enjoyment. Makes me happy.
Portia xx
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You’re so right, Portia. We can spray perfumes, dab them, wear two (or more) at once, and all of those choices would be legit. Not for Perfume Grumps (c), of course.
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Exactly 🤣
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I once put on about 22 spritzes of Shalimar EDP, on a evening when I was alone. It helped me identify all the notes. And god help me-it didn’t seem like too ,such 🙂 And I once wore about six spritzes of Jardin Sur Le Nil-got huge complaint from chain smoking coworker. Go figure!
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O M G! 22 of Shalimar! Bow to the Goddess of Overspritz. I take that as a personal challenge and will do it next cleaning day.
Portia xx
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Then report back 😉
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Indeed. If I am still able
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It’s Shalimar, not a machine gun, I believe you’ll feel amazing 🙂 . Although I’d probably suffocate if I had to wear something uber-fruity (I won’t name names because those frags might actually smell perfect on someone else).
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LOL!!! Of course you will be able !!!!
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And it might make your cleaning more pleasurable
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I rarely overspritz, I think, but two summers ago I really went overboard with Un Jardin Sur Le Nil and it was such fun! We were staying at some friends’ lake house which had a huge screened porch and swinging porch “beds” hung from the ceiling. It was incredibly hot and humid, and I curled up on one of those swinging beds for HOURS with a good book. I love the opening of UJSLN so much that I just sprayed it on every hour, to enjoy it in the languid heat.
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What a fabulous way to spend a holiday OH,
I’m seriously jealous.
Portia xx
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It was SO relaxing! I love to travel to distant countries, but there is much to be said for taking a weekend in a peaceful setting nearby.
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Ooh, I love the idea of respraying the perfume to refresh the upper notes.
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It was great. I rarely think to do that, as I’m usually in my office, or rushing around doing errands or housework. It was so liberating to have nothing to do all day but read, spray a favorite scent, and drink cold beverages. I came back to life in the evening to help make dinner. Life is so different when one’s children are no longer little, although I do miss those days.
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Overspritz? What’s that anyway? Dunno 🤷♀️
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In my own defence, I have to say that I frequently have sinus problems which renders most fumes as mere wisps. 😀 My excuse and I’m sticking to it. (True though.)
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That’s a fair and reasonable reason Cassieflower.
100% behind you on this.
Portia x
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Like Portia I am also 100 percent behind you on this 😉
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I always overspritz Guerlain Spirituese Double Vanille 🙊 It gives me a feeling of comfort and it puts me in an easy going mood. I indulge in it, I won’t lie 😊
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Hey Amarah, I thought SDV was DCd but I saw it at DJs this week. THAT was a very happy moment here at APJ HQ!
Alphabet soup in this comment.
Portia xx
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Hi Honey. Overspritz? Does that mean when you leave people dead in your wake? I don’t do that. I do wear lot of spritzes of the Hermesessences though. And I always have an extra spritz of what ever on a Tuesday when I do the Cookie Run, as I am alone in the car. Otherwise I am mostly in my kitchen or the gym, and don’t wanna have a lot of anything on. I do take perfume with to the gym for after the shower though. I am never without, I just don’t drown myself in it. Maybe I should start. Love ya. xxxxxxx
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HA! The Dead In Your Wake Experience in your car. I still chuckle about it. You guys were literally airless for half a day.
Love you too.
Portia xx
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You guys are such enablers! I usually wear two spritzes of anything, the exceptions being Chant d’Aromes , Chanel No.5, Miss Dior (the chypre) and Shalimar but even with them, I press the bottle spray only 4 or 5 times. I’m going out tonight so maybe I’ll get a bit naughty with my SOTN.
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Well, I did my best: three spritzes of Feminite du bois (Lutens’s). I’m going to work on it some more 🙂
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You go!!!!
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Yep, rev it up, girl.
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Thanks, I will! I’m a quick learner 🙂
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For work, 2 -3 spritzes. That’s it. Today, I’m going to an outdoor concert so it will be loads of D.S. & Durga Debaser, with touch ups throughout the day.
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YUMMY! You smell fabulous Sunny Day!
Portia xx
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I overspray C.O. Bigelow Lemon 1999 and Vanlentino Gold 🙂
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Two or three spritzes is my usual, even for colognes and light scents. But i do like to go big with No. 5 edp. I most often wear it in the evening after a shower. At the end of a hot summer day, 6 or more spritzes of No. 5 feels refreshing and comforting too.
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Somehow it feels that there’s no such thing as too much Chanel No.5. I used to douse myself in vintage No.5 cologne.
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Agree! No. 5 cologne is wonderful. Too much is never enough.
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And it’s an excellent repellent. I remember one summer evening when I was wearing on a night out, mosquitoes weren’t interested in me at all!
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Fracas. I don’t get how she has been labeled a sillage bomb and even if she was, is there such a thing as too much beauty? I’ll go easy if I’m going outside of my house, but I pout about it. Also, OJ’s Ta’if is one that I’ll overspray too. I think I’m a bit anosmic to it so I spray it on head to toe. I’m considering buying one of the parfum concentrations to see if it helps.
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Hey there Lila,
Fracas is HUGE to begin with and then calms down considerably within the first hour on me so I can go crazy and not worry too much about skunking the surrounds.
Portia xx
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I appear to have overspritzed Guerlain Rosa Rossa. I have been for a meal at my sister’s house. her partner made a great show of sneezing and dabbing his eyes….saying that my perfume had set off his sinus/hay fever.. Ha Ha..
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Rose is supposed ro be allergy friendly, but obviously some base notes are more iffy for people who are allergic. I know of some people with lung disease who even react to shampoo such as various ones from Tigi.
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WOW! Isn’t that an Aqua Allegoria? I thought they wrote created to circumvent that very problem. You know, light and pretty?
Portia xx
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Yes it is Aqua Allegoria and it is light and pretty. He makes a great show of lots of things. He’d been in the garden all afternoon so I think his hay fever was caused by pollen. Nothing to do with my lovely perfume !!!! Next time I go to their house I might wear a heavy hitter !!!
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I was told off for having overspritzed Zoilogist Panda earlier this summer. But that was less than half an hour after application, so just tells me the top notes may seem harsh to some people.
I guess I have overspritzed MMM Untitled a couple of times before going to the office. Usually I only overspritz when alone or before going shopping. At such times I will not be in contact with others for any length of time.
Montale Blue Amber is a scent I conciously overspritzed, I enjoyed a large sample very much. That one could really fill the whole room with a scent cloud, so relaimg during winter.
in fact my co-workers discussed perfume the other day. Mist of them are in their late 30s. They agreed they don’t like it when their children come home from kindergarten smelling of the assistants’ perfume. And I can understand their thinking, no need to overwhelm young kids.
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Fair point about the kids, I guess.
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How much perfume do the assistants wear? Seriously. It’s not so transferable, is it? I’d have thought their fabric softener scents would be stronger.
Portia xx
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Portia, you know some of those sweet scents, like La vie est belle, they do sort of cling to clothing. And generally those who were not around in the late 70s and early 80s are not used to any scent leaving a trace. It’s strange to me what’s called loud these days. No wonder the original Opium has not survived and so many other perfumes are watered down versions of the original creations.
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That’s what surprises me most: people get offended by old-school chypres but La vie… and alike are acceptable. People!.
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I love those big scents of the 70s & 80s – my mum had the most amazing collection. She enjoyed them more than her jewelry!
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Overspritz? No such thing! I spray as much as I feel like. Pretty much all my Lutens, Shalimar, Guerlain, Chanel. Any and all rose scents. I do work in an office but I sit in a far away cubicle. None of the menfolk here wear anything 😦 nice. One other woman does wear lovely scents but we haven’t had much chance to chat perfumes (offtopic, sorry)
Live long, Spray on, APJers!
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I wouldn’t complain about your choice of perfumes, either!
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YAY Jyotsna!
You’re a girl after my own heart.
Have you thought to take a bunch of unloved samples to your colleague? That might get the chatter rolling.
Portia xx
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What a fabulous idea, Portia! Whee – so excited! I shall report back- in a SOTD thread!
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super question and loving all the answers! I think like the lovely Brigette, my skin has taken to absorbing anything I wear so most days I’m definitely more than 2-3 sprays. I do know I only need this amount of Florabotanica and it will last all day. Bond No9 Chinatown, for running Saturday morning errands can get spritzed rather heavily , and of late, Voleur de Roses gets a lot of extra sprays.
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Love Chinatown! That one definitely needs a heavy hand 😉
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Melanie, is Voleur de Roses fleeting or you simply are very fond of it? I haven’t worn it in the summer but it seems to have good longevity.
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Diana I’m really fond of it and if I spray lots I know it will last all day. Can’t say I’d choose to wear it in the summer heat – a summers night perhaps?
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Yeah, VdR doesn’t seem like a summer scent, patchouli might become overwhelming in the heat. On a rainy day, though, it’s going to smell so good.
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Hey Melanie,
Every time I see Voleur de Roses mentioned it makes me think of guy mate Scotty who wears it brilliantly. Beautiful fragrance.
Portia xx
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Scott has exquisite taste, that’s for sure!
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I don’t know if I overspritzed or not today.Guerlain Bergamot Calabria. I was just leaving the supermarket when a young lady stopped me and asked what perfume was I wearing. She had sniffed me when I passed her in one of the aisles.She said I smelt beautiful. We had a lovely chat about perfumes.She was young enough to be my grandaughter,so no Old Lady smell. Result !!!!
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Wow! that must have made your day! I love getting perfume compliments!!!
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@ Brigitte
It certainly did !!
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HA! Result indeed Matty.
Isn’t it nice when someone notices how good you smell?
Portia xx
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It certainly is. I enjoyed our little perfume chat as well. As i mentioned in my original comment she was young enough to be my grandaughter,and she still approached me, a much, much older lady to ask about my perfume.
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I just love this…I think the younger generation of perfumistas could learn quite a lot from us older folks 🙂 When my eldest first went away to university I sent her a long with a whole bunch of oddball niche samples (including Salome)…..she and her friends tested and explored all of them….and she came home with very little…meaning those youngsters liked enough of the oddball/niche/ non- mainstream scents to want to claim them for themselves (I told her to give anything away that someone might like/love because those poor college kids with their student loans are on shoestring budgets).
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I’ll bet the college girls had a ball spritzing and spraying. As you said they’re on a showstring so a little luxury will haave been greatly appreciated.My grandaughters are in their 20’s and 30’s….I try to spray a different perfume everyday. They will have a sniff and say “Oh Nana you smell lovely, what is it “
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I remember when I was studying and the SAs would give us minis rather than samples. It felt so luxurious to have 4 or 6ml of something and to be smelling fine at the disco.
Portia xx
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Matty it sounds like your grand daughters are also perfumistas 😀
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That was such a great thing to do, Brigitte! To try a perfume without an SA telling you some BS is truly priceless, I bet those kids will remember this for a very long time. I know I did: I can still remember the day when I first smellt Clinique’s Happy, I was overwhelmed. My biology teacher brought the bottle to school so that I could translate what was written on the box, and sprayed me with it. That was a moment of bliss! Of course, I bought it a few years later but the magic was gone, and yet, I can never forget the way I felt that day.
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Diana- that is an extraordinarily beautiful scent memory… made me happy your retelling of it😁
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@ Brigitte
They really are.In the past they have bought for me…Angel…Shalimar….Mitsouko…Chanel No 5…and others that I can’t remember for now.
Sometimes when they really like something and they can’t afford it I will buy them the perfume oil dupe from Perfume Parlour. They are equally thrilled with this little pressie.
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Wow! They have great taste and obviously know that you like the classics. I am always on the lookout for dupes myself… nothing wrong with saving some money.
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@Matty
Gorgeous perfumes!
I didn’t know about perfume parlour! Thanks!
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