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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:
Sample Pack
- Vintage Boucheron EdP
- Pour un Homme de Caron
- Arabian Wood by Tom Ford
- Russian Tea by Masque Milano
- Resina by Oliver & Co
Last Weeks Winner: Diana
eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with your address please
Saturday Question: What 5 Fragrances Can’t You Live Without?
OK, I KNOW! Of course there are 50 you can’t live without but let’s play within the parameters of the question. Yes? Which 5 fragrances mean so much to you in a variety of ways that you’d want them in your collection for all time. Maybe they aren’t the ones that get the most wear, but when you do it’s magic. These are the fragrances that define you. Wearing them is part of who you are, or even having them might be part of who you are.
My Answer:
Eau Absolue by Mona di Orio
The sheer, smooth, crystal clear resins of Eau Absolue are like getting a cool rounded pebble of beach glass and rubbing it against your cheek. I think Eau Absolue must react very differently with peoples skin to the way it does with mine. Most people think it’s a bore but it transports me to somewhere lovely every wear.
Mohur by Neela Vermeire Creations
No surprises here game. Mohair is my rose fragrance. Yes, I have dozens of others but Mohur fits like a glove. A big, voluptuous, jammy rose all spiced and resined up to 100% fabulous. When I spritz Mohur it’s like I’m entering another dimension. Sometimes when I give myself a few big spritzes I will lie down and enjoy the fragrant ride for an hour. Unbelievable.
Shalimar by Guerlain
Since my Mum and some of her friends wore Shalimar it has been sweeping its magical scent around me. While it is a regal and magnificent fragrance on its own my memories are what lifts it to the sublime. So many important moments in my own life have been fragranced with Shalimar too. It is the one perfume that works each and every time.
Ubar by Amouage
There is something wild and untamed about Ubar. It’s a big fragrance, chock full of all the stuff I like. There is even an original bottle here in my collection. Ugliest damn bottle you ever saw. I loved Ubar from the first time I sniffed it but it wasn’t until I wore it in India in the middle of summer while travelling through Rajasthan that it stepped up to eternal adoration.
Un Matin d’Orage Annick Goutal
Dewy spring flowers with myrrh and vanilla. A Stormy Morning is the name but Un Matin d’Orage is nothing like that to me. It’s the brightness of sunshine and the happiness of love. I rarely get it out but when it does get an outing I wonder why it’s not my signature.
Chergui
Fleurs d’Oranger
Chanel 19
Arpege
Paestum rose
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Classics! ❤
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I forgot Lyric Woman. Plus a few dozen more! Tough tough tough question!
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🙂
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I replaced Lyric with Rose 31 from Le Labo. Both are great though
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You’re cheating Jyotsna 😉 btw. lovely choice.
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Can’t answer this as yet, but Portia, I was so surprised to not see Miss Dior and Niki de Saint Phalle on your list!
Jyotsna, you’ve already gone over the five! Very difficult for those of you with good noses and big collections to narrow down, of course. Fleurs d’Oranger is one of my favourites, too. Big, oily, rich and gutsy, and I love it in summer or winter. It gives me confidence.
Congratulations, Diana!
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Sue- Hehe. I just hammered out five names. Then hit post.
Fleurs d’Oranger is delicious.
Now, I think a Tauer should be there— Une Rose Chypre. And what’s with all that rose — I’m a BWF girl!!
Congatulations, Diana- beautiful win (last Saturday’s scents)!
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Thank you, Jyotsna 🙂
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Hey Sue,
The list is just for now. I will change my mind too many times and add subtract, worry etc. I would be devastated to be without either of them. Let’s hope it never comes to that.
Portia xx
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Sue great choice. I forgot about it. It just last on my skin for forever
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Thank you, Sue!
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Tough but interesting question (and, of course, subject to the usual caveats that my answer now may change entirely in five days or five minutes…)
* Cuir de Russie. I love the old EDT, and I’m still eking out the bottle I bought in 2005. But the vintage extract I have is the one I’d save from the flames. It really is the cliche of the leather jacket I’ve worn so long that it feels like my skin. Only cooler, and with more stories.
* Rozy VdP. A newer love, but another perfect fit. More thorn than rose. Always reminds me to think, and think more. And then set things on fire.
* Mitzah. Easy comfort with a back draft of glamour.
* Miss Dior, vintage EDT. She’s never done me wrong.
* Aeon 001. I love vetivers, from the soapy green of Guerlain to the damp corrugated cardboard of Sycomore, but this one. Yeah. This one *sings* to me.
(if it was a list of eight: add Encens Mythique, MEM, and L’Heure Bleue.)
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so, no surprises *whatsoever* on my list, huh?
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MITZAH! I’d miss it if it wasn’t in my collection. For sure.
Portia xx
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Long may Mme. Mitzah remain in your collection, and within your reach! I am so glad I went with the mad urge to buy the giant vat of the stuff in Paris.
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Beautiful list….there are quite a few on there that I admire as well.
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How do I forget Aeon 001. Great list.
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I hate that there is so little of this stuff out in the world… I can only hope he decides to make some more one day.
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This is a really tough and interesting question. I think a year or two ago I would have been able to give a definitive answer. But after decades of perfume wearing, witnessing discontinuations, reformulations, over pricing and extreme over saturation in the market I am going to answer this one by saying NONE. I am trying to be of a mindset that I would not be devastated if I no longer had something that I really love perfume wise. I have been gifted so many lovely unknown fragrances by some extraordinarily generous perfume friends and I am endeavoring to just discover and enjoy the new (or unknown) fragrances that fortuitously cross my path. That being said, I still have bottles of Heaven and Nocturnes in my basement 🙂
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Oh and congrats Diana and P do not enter me in the draw 😉
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Thanks, Brigitte 🙂
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You’re getting cagey Mrs. M. Do Not Enter Me (in the draw) 😉
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HA! So you do have two at least that you’d rather not be without Brigitte. He He he.
Portia xx
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OK then well I will add two more that I am really enjoying at the moment….Reglisse Noire and First Cut…but I would like to think that even if I did not have these four in my collection I could find something else to truly LOVE in the future. Life ebbs and flows and so much is ephemeral that I think what is available, what suits me and what represents who I am is forever changing, if that makes any sense!!! Sorry, getting a bit too philosophical here, P!
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I get your point Brigitte. I also try not to let my life being influenced by fickle decisions of perfume houses but one has his favourites 😉
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Hmm. I can “live” without it, but a fragrance I hope always to have, which I have had in my possession for many years, is Chanel No. 22. I’ve always had the eau de toilette, now sadly discontinued, but I was able to buy a large bottle of that at a reasonable price, so I think I’m covered! I don’t wear it every day or even every week. And I’m open to the other versions, I just haven’t tried them yet.
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Wonderful choice OH,
I have a vintage bottle here and a modern EdT. Sadly my old extrait started giving me headaches and I had to move it on.
Portia xx
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That’s too bad about the extrait, P! I had 1/2 oz bottle of the extrait that I thunked many years ago, partly because I dropped it in the bathroom sink by accident!
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Have you tried the EDP version?
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no…I wore the edt way back in the 70s, 80s and 90s ..had that white canister that was refillable and then the extrait in the 90s. I tried the Exclusives EDT a few years ago and it seemed different (no incense and sweeter than what I remembered)…have never tried the EDP. Which version is your favorite?
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I had the same white refillable canister of EDT! The one I have now is the Exclusifs EDT. I have some of my vintage left, I’ll have to compare them on my wrists. Since my favorite aspects are the aldehydes and floral notes, it “reads” very similarly to me. I haven’t tried the extrait or EDP.
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How did you like the current version? I wore it in the same time period as you did and I’m wondering if it’s worth a new visit.
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marcella- I did not dislike it and it is no 22 to my nose but just slightly different…a bit more ambery? Sweeter? i also had some vintage 22 sent to me but as you know the top notes go off after so many years so naturally did not smell the same as when in pristine condition.
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I wore the edt in the 80’s. I loved it but always found it a little difficult and was never sure that it suited me. I have a strong feeling that being ‘of a certain age’ now, it would fit me to a T!
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Oy Vey! 5 for today would be:
Rive Gauche, Bal a Versailles, Boucheron, Parfum de Peau and Musc Ravageur.
Another difficult but engaging question thanks P
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MR yum..
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Oh yeah…….Musc Ravageur 😉
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You don’t like it, remember?😏
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I meant to say ‘oh yeah….Musc Ravageur. I forgot how vile that is’ Hope it’s safe now!
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I’m echoing the sentiments of both Old Herbaceous and Mrs. Marzipan to the extent that current trends in perfumery have left me feeling not a little cynical. I’m referring to exactly what has already been said: discontinuations, reformulations, oversaturation and usurious pricing practises. The ad copy accompanying the innane frequency of new releases is often crammed with farcical, absurd and juvenile claptrap. Lack of creativity, particularly in the mainstream sector, combined with the burgeoning use of ever more ludicrous notes in the niche category have frequently left me feeling both manipulated and jaded.
That being said, I will pick three perfumes that resonate with me for entirely different reasons.
Shalimar Extrait: both for the personal memories it triggers and for being a stellar reminder of times when perfumes were made with integrity and creativity and were intended to be used with fierce loyalty.
First Cut: for Ms. St. Clair’s bravery in starting an independently owned company in an industry dominated by wealthy multi-nationals and increasingly jaded consumers. Her fragrances are a wholly personal interpretation of her world. Her ethos is both genuine and generous. Here you will not see derivative perfumes churned out to make a quick buck. These are thoughtful fragrances created with love and care.
Carnal Flower: Hahaha! No earth-shattering revelations here. Just a bloody gorgeous fragrance. To me, it encompasses both the stellar uniqueness of old-school fragrances and the modernity and
audaciousness of the niche sector.
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Love Carnal Flower
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It’s a beauty, ain’t it 😉
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yes indeed
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Diane says thank you for your extraordinary compliment…you realize you need to get a bottle and support this indie perfumer, right? LOL!!!
all kidding aside, I love what you said and agree with everything 100 percent. I too can be cynical after so many years of being down this rabbit hole.
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I thoroughly understand and it was your comment and that ofvOld Herbaceous that helped me crystallize my thoughts. And yes! You can let Diane know I will indeed be ordering a bottle of First Cut. Much respect for that lady.
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Can you get your mitts on any Papillon Perfumery frags? They are created in old-school style. Rich and deep. And different.
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Cassie, I’ve been checking out their website regularly but they don’t ship outside UK 😦
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Ah dammit
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I’ve checked as well Neva. Surrender to Chance has decants. LuckyScent has samples and full bottles.
You go first 😈
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Marcella, when I calculate the shipping costs from USA and the possibility that I’ll have to pay customs duties – sorry but no.
BUT I’ve found that First in Fragrance from Germany also sells Papillon Perfumes and samples 🙂
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Honestly Neva, I hear you. Ordering from the US is painful for me as well. It’s the exchange rate on the Canadian dollar that really knocks it into the stratosphere.
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This is who makes Salome? Rather, is this who makes Salome? I think I’ve checked them out, but their scents do not seem to be widely available. Are there any you’ve tried and liked? This does seem worth investigating further.
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Yes, I’ve tried Salome, Anubis, Angelique and Tobacco Rose. They’re very well crafted. Longevity is fantastic too. I seem to reach for the Rose most often.
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They do sound impressive. I was reading about them last night. Trying not to be so bloody impulsive, so for now, I have refrained from ordering samples. Let’s see how long that lasts.
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Hey!! Did you have your fancy sleep-over, playing dress-up party yet????????? Have not heard!!!!!! Remember, sharing is caring!
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Ha, that was sooo last week. We had a fabulous evening and night. Great fun was had and I had the tired feet and legs the following day to prove it. I ended up wearing cocktail dress and Orris Noire.
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Very elegant! Glad it was fun you disco diva 💃🏻
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Oh yeah, got my old mug on the TV too, fame at last, haha.
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Really?? Are you some kind of a very important person? A véritable mover and shaker? Can you mail me your autograph? What would it be worth on the black market? Or eBay?
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It is another day , so I may name another 5, correct? Isn’t that how this game works;? Stash Petit et Mamas Samsara ANY iteration of Elizabeth Arden’s Green Tea and finally Bluebell.
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Portia!!! Saffy’s cheating! I’m telling on you Saffy! No fair!
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Oh a total vip. Especially when it comes to feeding the dog and vacuuming and washing up.
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Well, that’s very vip-ish behaviour in my books. Then again the paparazzi are not seeking me out.
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Nor me either, thankfully. Couldn’t cope with the intrusion. 😞
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Gahds.
Hermessence Poivre Samarcande
Hermessence Paprika Brasil
Profumum Roma Olibanum
Simone Andreoli Business Man
IUNX Eau Argentine
Let’s go with that for now.
I hope all’s well with you Portia
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oooo! another HUGE fan of Paprika Brasil!!!! you and I and Portia need to wear it at the same time.
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First congratulations to Diana.
Secondly, Portia it is hard. Specially my taste always change. It is very hard to frame it. If I have to put it then I would say-
-Terre d’Hermeś EDT ( just because I used it almost 300ml+ of it and I am not bored with it)
-Musiqa Oud ( Just love it. Very wearable and two spray is more than enough)
-Heritage by Guerlain ( The first one I fall in love with. After that I tried to explore more from the house and it is one of my favorite house now. And we all know they have some mind blowing stuff)
– Xerjoff Nio ( one of the best of the best out there for me. My most complimented scent. Every time I wear my mood elevates. Try it if you haven’t and thank me later after you get the complement/s lolll)
-Eau Sauvage Parfum ( This one gives me confidence for some weird reason. It really goes well with my skin)
There are plenty on my list and I haven’t touch the perfume oils. I am very keen to know what you guys think.
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I have minis of Terres and Eau Sauvage EDT so I will wear them eventually and chime in on APJ. Is the Parfum different from the EDT? I will have to test it at Sephora next time.
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I can’t remember. But for TDH they are different. I love EDT just because it is fresher than EDP.
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I just applied the TdH for the first time..it really is lovely…I could see this worn on both a man and a woman…and yes, I could see draining 300 ml too!!! It’s an easy go to kind of fragrance that just smells really good…versatile…
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Yes it is my go to scent..
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Love AS. I am a big fan of Amber
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Something is wrong here
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Thank you, Evan. Terre is beautiful, I get why it’s in your top 5.
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You are welcome
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Eau Sauvage – not necessarily among my top five perfumes but my bottle belonged to my daddy and I treasure it as a remembrance. I’d never give it away and I wear it sparsely.
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Neva I think that is the power of fragrance. It connects memories..
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Love the Eau Sauvage. My husband wore it when we first met. I always found it to be both classy and classic. Beautiful.
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I am glad you have a memory with it.
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Fun to read everyone’s wonderful choices, and difficult question which required some thought. So many fragrances I hope to never live without! But to answer the question.
Five fragrances I cannot live without:
Molinard Habanita
Chanel No 5
Chanel Coromandel
Chanel Bois des Iles
Papillon Salome
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I love the Chanels you’ve mentioned (I haven’t tried Coromandel, though but I will).
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If you love Chanel Diana, you must sample Coromandel!
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Will do 🙂
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I second this! i just recently tried it and it’s beautiful..so smooth and elegant.
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Love all of those, especially the Chanels. Have not tried Salome but based on your tastes I reckon it would work for me.
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Papillon Salome is on my top 5 I can’t live without, because it is a floral chypre like no other from modern times. It feels like vintage from last century, before the IFRA destroyed all the beloved masterpieces. Despite modern restrictions, Liz Moores is a master perfumer and this fragrance is blended so expertly in multi-layered vintage-style. If you mourn the loss of the classics, and enjoy animalic floral chypres, this is worth sampling. They dry down is stunning, and I truly couldn’t live without it.
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Yep! It’s on my list to try. Right up there, too.
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I totally agree👍🏼
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Habanita is nice. Yet to try Papillon. I heard so many great reviews about the line.
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I encourage you to try Papillon fragrances, Salome is my favorite.
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Gorgeous list. Dryad’s the only full bottle I have from Papillon–I love it, and look forward to seeing what it does in the cold. I wore it so much in the spring. I keep dithering between Salome and Anubis, though, for the richer ones from her range.
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Dryad and Anubis are lovely as well!
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Old Herbaceous just did a great review on Dryad on her blog.
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1. Perfumer’s Workshop Tea Rose
2. Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan
3. Santa Maria Novella Melograno
4. Caron anything but maybe French CanCan
5. YSL Opium
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Love AS. I am a big fan of amber..
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Melograno!!!! I doused myself in that one over the summer and then my son stole what was left of my bottle (I might just steal it back now that you reminded me)….I find it to be a soothing and comforting scent.
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Loved Opium in the 80’s and Caron is currently wheedling it’s way back into my heart. Loving Pour Un Homme.
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I did sniffed the very 1st Opium which comes in a dab bottle. It was utterly beautiful. I wish I have one.
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Fun question and even more fun to see everyone else’s picks!
For me, right now, I’d choose:
5. Eau des Merveilles (reliably gorgeous for almost any occasion)
4. Vetiver Tonka (really the same category for me as EdM
3. Chanel 19 (my first & longest love)
2. Mohur (when I want to feel sophisticated and sexy)
1. Shangri La (same reasons as Mohur)
There were a few more that I’d love to have on the list, but if there was a law that I could only have 5 perfumes or go to jail, these would do me just fine.
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I think Eau de Merveille is destined to become a classic. Beautiful, easy to wear and just right for almost all occasions.
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Wonderful choices Gigi.
Eau des Merveilles is SO GOOD!
Portia xx
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To me perfume is mostly about memories, old and new, but nothing tops my vintages from the eighties which remind me of my beautiful careless youth, so I go with:
Armani Giorgio Armani – first boyfriend from a foreign country,
Clinique Wrappings – first warm spring nights in the city, usually in March,
Eau Sauvage – my dad’s favourite perfume and my bottle that I’ve kept after he passed away,
Jil Sander III – when I thought I’d conquer the world during my twenties by appearing older than I was
EL Private Collection – reminding me of my classy, elegant and tender mother because she used to wear it.
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Perfumes’ ability to bring back our memories is one of the best things about them. Reading your commentaries to the five scents is almost like looking at Polaroid pictures, I’m touched.
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Thank you Diana ❤
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Beautiful list Neva and touching memories. Wrappings reminds me of winter in NYC…I believe it was first released around the holidays and this continues to be the case.
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I’ve found that out much later. To me it was always the perfect spring scent.
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Superb list 👌
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Thank you 🙂
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Lovely post Neva. Very touching.
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Thanks Marcella 🙂
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🙂
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vintage Eau Sauvage is brilliant, the current is brutally murdered, I would not even touch it and if the current version is what I would have smelled first, I would have been quite confused as to why eau sauvage is considered timeless.
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Beautiful Neva,
Fragrance as memory box. love it.
Portia xx
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Portia, thank you and please don’t include my name this week!
Here’s my list as I see it today: Shalimar, Miss Dior, Mitsouko, Chant d’Aromes and Chanel No.5 Eau Premiere. Eau Premiere, however, could get replaced by something leathery.
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yes you definitely need a leather in your list!
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Very classic collection. Nice!
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Interesting Diana!
Eau premier is something you don’t often see on these lists. Cool.
Portia xx
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Eau Premiere is both sparkling and powdery on me, it’s got that I Feel Pretty vibe. I’m wearing it today 🙂
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As Marcella said – a beautiful classic list.
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yes do get rid of the No 5 Eau Premier…. all the others are perfect.
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There is no perfume I could not live without, but my top five right this minute are:
PHI Rose de Kandahar
Or du Sérail
Bottega Veneta
Iris Nazarena
Dans Tes Bras
This list changes on a daily basis though.
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Bottega Venetta 💙💚💛💜
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Big yes for Dans Tes Bras!
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Phi URDK is great along with Incense Rose , URC & URV from the house. They all are sexy and great for a romantic night out on a cold night for me.
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They truly ARE sexy and definitely great in the cold weather!
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I could live with those 5 too TaraC.
Portia xx
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Iris Ganache
Chergui
Ambre Imperial
Coromandel
Divin Enfant
I have always said it is far easier to pick just one than it is to pick multiple.
I struggled.
Subject to change, except for IG.
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This list is YOU to a t, Sue Bee. Perfect.
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Thank you xx
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Coromandel is the first Chanel Exclusifs that I fell in love with. And it wasn’t the last, either 🙂
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Snap. Snap. Coromandel. But then I tried BR just recently.
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It took me a few years to come around to it, but when I did, I fell hard for it.
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It took me some time but I got there.
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The only full sized (200ml)bottle I have from LEDC line. I was tricked by SA. I sniffed the EDT and she asked me she has the EDP. I end up getting the EDP but I like the EDT over EDP.. story of my life..
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That stinks Evan :(.
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YAY! Nice to see Coromandel get a gong Sue.
YUMMY stuff,
Portia xx
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It sure is Portia, love it!
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For you ,Sue I’d not change a thing
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Tough. Like you all, my tastes change AND very little inspires me much these days. But, for today:
* Beige edt Chanel – pointless to argue other wise
* Petite Brise TRNP – diffused in Singapore’s heat with glory
* Declaration edt Cartier – superb, classy daily
* White Linen edp Estee Lauder – the only scent I feel I can legitimately adult in
* Jicky edp Guerlain – the ultimate comfort scent. I want to be a grandmother smelling of this. Staid, hug giving and grounded.
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Love your description of what Jicky conjures up for you. I was wearing Eau Guerlain frequently during the summer and my eldest daughter commented on it in the exact same way as you felt about Jicky. I said if I already smell comfortingly grandmotherly would you please pop out a kid so I can legitimize my status. I do not think she was amused. But…….I was 😂
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I am amused! Fair point, I say!
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Jicky is a big love..
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Declaration! Another interesting frag to be on the 5 Kate. Thanks for the reminder.
Portia xx
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Love seeing White Linen. It doesn’t get frequently mentioned and it is such a classic scent.
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Thanks, Ms B! It is a classic staple.
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High five for Declaration. A wonderful perfume!
Is the latest version of White Linen as good as the old one? I’ve used up several bottles during the eighties.
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I think White Linen, Paloma Picasso and Knowing have survived the reformulation the best. WL is still that crisp, airy, dry floral, but a wee bit less heady. Just a more wearable version. Whereas one spray would bowl me over, I can wear 3 now and totally enjoy all its nuances.
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Ah, The Beige. That so many of us missed. #regrets
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Sigh. Collective sigh… Stoopid me. 😕
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Loving to read everyone’s answers!
Those perfumes on my list changed the way I felt about myself; it wasn’t just loving the juice. Each one matched something inside me that I had not appreciated before. I don’t think the list will change over time. There will be new favourites but, perhaps, not many more MEs.
Chergui is staying at #1. I must sound like a broken record on these forums because my answer to everything is pretty much, yep, Chergui.😄
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I could quite easily make Chergui number one too.
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I know exactly what you mean: Shalimar pops up in my head whenever someone asks me what’s my favourite perfume ever. The other four are there to stay, as well (they’d better because I have backups 🙂 )!
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Diana- I adore Shalimar. My mum used to wear it. And if we ever have a thread on perfume memories, it’ll be on the list.
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Shalimar is one of those perfumes that are made for making great memories 🙂
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Great question Portia. Awesome answers too from everyone.
Today, right now I’m going say my list will be Montale Black Oud, Bond No9 Chinatown, Balenciaga Florabotanica, L’Art Al Oudh and NR For her EDT.
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I guessed there’d be a NR on your list! Fab choices.
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Black Aoud and Red Aoud were my first niche full bottle. Apparently there is Black Aoud Intense in the market. Do we really need an intense version ?
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Great cross section there Melanie! Really diverse.
Portia xx
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Chinatown xxoo
and the bottle is fantastic, right?
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Ah, very interesting question that is also very difficult, I mean just 5 🙂 Today, my answer would be
1. Original formula of Dior Homme
2. Vintage Givenchy Gentleman
3. Original formula of Helmut Lang Cuiron
4. Shiseido Feminite Du Bois (not Lutens’ but Shiseido’s version)
5. Original formula of Dior Eau Sauvage
some I really wanted to include but could not so as not to violate the rule are vintage opium, vintage kouros, Gucci No.3, and Shiseido Nombre Noir,
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Yeah Fazal,
It’s going to be hard to keep that stuff in your collection forever. It all gets harder to find and so much more expensive.
Portia xx
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I love vintages ergo I love your list.
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As soon as I saw the question, I knew Shalimar was going to be on your list Portia.
So here is mine. Ask me again next week and it will be different.
1. Hermès Eau d’Orange Verte
2. Creed Green Valley Tweed
3. Bentley for Men
4. Tom Ford Cafe Rose
5. There has to be one from my antique collection, and I will go with my original Jean Patou L’heure Attendue, the first serious vintage perfume that I bought. Sadly, a lot of it has been lost to evaporation, so I might not have it much longer.
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HA! Greg, you’ve known me for a long time. You get it.
Bummer about your vintage Patou. Use it up buddy.
Portia xx
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Chanel No.19 EDP
Guerlain Cuir Beluga
Bvlgari Black
Iris Silver Mist
Tauer Dark Passage
Ask me tomorrow and the answer will be different except the first two!
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Bulgaria Black! What a fragrance. You know I never reach for mine. Thanks for the reminder.
Portia xx
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no 19!!! Of course! 🙂
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I was seriously not expecting to see First Cut on so many lists. I really thought Gardener’s Glove was everyone else’s big love. Anyway, it’s firmly on my list as the first bottle in ages that I’ve almost drained in under a year.
Also on my list: Tropic of Capricorn, Azemour les Orangers, Indolis, Ambre Russe, and about 25 more that I’m not allowed to mention.
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I am utterly in the dark about First Cut. It regularly comes up here on APJ but I don’t know who it’s made by or anything about it MikasMinion.
Tropic of Capricorn and Ambre Russe are stellar!
Portia xx
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St. Clare Scents by Diane St.Clare. I knew her butter before I’d heard of the scents.
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Portia- I think you would love all three of her scents. She is a very small indie company…a one woman show and her style and philosophy reminds me a lot of Laurie Erickson’s (Sonoma Scent Studio). If you can get your hands on some samples I would love to see you review them!!!! You would definitely like First Cut with it’s hay , lavender and vanilla…..but as MikasMinion mentioned Gardner’s Glove is equally as good (it’s a leather but oh what a leather) as is Frost (smoky but also sweet to my nose). Diane is a farmer who also makes very high end artisanal butter. I am fairly certain that cookie queen knows of her butter 😉
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As soon as someone can mule these to me I will be trying them.
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I do. And the perfumes, although I have not tried them yet. 😀
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I will agree with you , MikasMinion, Gardner’s Love is equally as stunning…that tomato leaf note floors me! However, I know it has been reformulated so I haven’t gotten my nose on the newer version. Have you?
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My selection is, as Neva said above, chosen for mostly emotional reasons.
Opium, as a very young woman, playing at being all grown up and worldly-wise.
Fidji, I remember the very first sniff of this, in my friend ‘s house, her older sister’s Parfum, and it was instant love-affair which is still ongoing forty years later.
Magie Noire, hubby bought me my first bottle of this, chose it all by himself, I hadn’t even tested or known much about it before. It is now my suit of armour/superhero cape/getting shit done/taking no prisoners scent.
Anais Anais, the one my mother wore almost exclusively in the last twenty years of her life. She was like a fluffy cloud wafting around in this, and she wasn’t at all a ‘wafting’ person. I have a vintage bottle that I spray into the air occasionally just to have her back momentarily.
Coco Mademoiselle, my daughter bought my first bottle for either a Christmas or birthday present. She was still in school and working weekends and summer holidays. We had been shopping together and I had tested this and was raving about it for days afterwards. It was a very expensive purchase for her and I couldn’t quite believe it when I opened my pressie. For me it sums up her work ethic and thoughtfulness and I can still picture that day out shopping together.
So, these are all emotional tugs and snapshots, and an olfactory time-travelling machine.
Do you think I’m old sap?😂
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Coco Mademoiselle bought by your daughter. Sweet and bittersweet at the same time. Memories can be so gut-wrenching.
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Your Coco Mademoiselle story made my eyes tear up
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I love your reasons. And if that makes you (and I) old saps, then huzzah for sappiness!
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I love your fragrance memories! You summarized all that is beautiful about fragrance.
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Beautiful ❤ The first four perfumes on your list I can also relate to specific people or events in my life and they are all precious.
To number five I can only say: you're a lucky woman Cassie and you know it 🙂
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Now I’m not one for breaking the rules (just bending them), so honourable mention goes to JPG Fragile. I simply must have this in my collection. Just because I love it. No specific memories or emotions tied in with this.
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Not one for breaking the rules 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
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😈😈😈
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This is a hard one, i have a large collection and haven’t been into perfume for a long time so I don’t have the long term memories that many have. But if I had to choose 5 today:
Chergui
Sonoma scent Studio Champagne des Bois
Hiram Green Shangri La
Dune
Jungle l’Elephant
I suspect my list might be different in spring/summer – these are pretty heavy!
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Champagne de Bois is so beautiful.
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2 that I will have to live without soon because what I have is almost gone …. are Gobin Daude Seve Exquise and Guerlain Guet apens. But I would always have these if I could. the other 3 today would be Frederic Malle Angeliques sous la pluie, Guerlain Spiritueuse double vanille, and Origins ginger essence.
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I haven’t worn perfume for that long and so don’t have the memories to make me feel jaded or unhappy with what’s out there now. And I’ve decided not to go down the vintage route and become sad. 😢 But I also remember not *liking* a lot of what I smelled in the wild in my youth, so maybe I was made for these times! So five for which I already have backups, in no particular order and all would make me cry to be without:
Misia EDT
Dryad
I Miss Violet
L’Atessa
Bois D’Ascese
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L’Atessa is gorgeous.
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And it’s probably a good idea to not go down the vintage rabbit hole!!
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Yes saving myself money time and frustration, at least for now!
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That’s one heck of an impressive list for someone that has not been into perfumes for that long. You have some gorgeous stuff!
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Thank you!
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Such a hard thing to come up with. however I’ll try;
Jicky Eden Lou Lou Le Chasse Aux Papillon and Estee
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Beautiful choices, Saffy.
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I love your choices, especially Lou Lou and Estee 🙂
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Ha!!! I was just going to say the same exact thing!!!
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Scent twins, lalalalalalala 🙂
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Jicky and Loi Lou, I love both of them!
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❤️ Eden and Lou Lou.
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Vero Profumo. Kiki Extrait.
Hermès. Doblis.
Hermès. Cuir d’Ange.
Dior Mitzah.
Malle. Dries Van Noten.
My cooler weather 5. 😊
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Cookie queen is there a ‘theme’ with your chosen 5? I have never smelt any of the scents you have listed
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Hi Saffyishere. Probably cool weather staples. The Mitzah from Dior is a very new adiition as I have only just recently got hold of some. It’s a transluscent amber, and totally gorgeous. I have never been an amber person, most of them being so heavy, and sometimes bitter. The other four I have been wearing for years. Kiki is an exquisite lavender, even for those who hate lavender. Doblis (discontinued) is a make you weep leather, CdA also a leather and one of my top five frags ever, and Dries is saffron, sandalwood, patchouli, bergamot, clove ….. So yeah, I guess a warm. and leathery vibe is running throughout, except the Kiki, but that has ambergris in the base so ……. xxxx
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Just ordered some Kiki after reading your description. Portia sent me Pour Un Homme (which I have now ordered FB) in one of his fabulous PPP’s. It insited a lusting for all things lavender. Which joins the craving for all things tuberose. Quite a shift in my tastes which were primarily woody or woody pudding.
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Kiki. Must go back to that one. I love Mito and Onda and Naja. Wish I could have them all in every form!
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This is unbelievablly difficult to narrow down favorites but here goes! In no particular order — this list is fall/winter season (cool weather scents)
1. Ginestat Botrytis
2. Tabu by Dana
3. Penhaligon’s Lily & Spice
4. Guerlain Jicky (EdT.)
5. Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum
Summer/Spring
1. Fracas
2. Fidji (Guy Laroche)
3. Moschino Funny!
4. Ecco Bella Lemon Verbena
5. CdG Series 4 Peppermint
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Very difficult question because a few perfumes are still not in my collection.
So here goes based on FBs I own and main notes or styles I often crave:
Acqua Allegoria Pamplelune
Tauer Une Rose Chyprée
Chamade edp
Dior Ambre Nuit
Gelsomino Nobile Eau de Parfum
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