Saturday Question: Best Perfume Names?

/ AustralianPerfumeJunkies

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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 Secret Scent Sample Pack (from my collection)

Last Weeks Winner:

eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with your address please

Saturday Question: Best Perfume Names?

SO MANY amazing names for the scents we wear. From the simple to the sublime and ridiculous. Some are long, short, crazy, meaningful, over the top and others are zippy, attention grabbing, exotic, creative, thought provoking, impossible to say or descriptive. What are your favourites? What makes you take notice (or cringe)? What makes you want to tell your friends what you’re wearing? Is the name important at all?

My Answer:

OK, for me the name should be easy to say, simple to remember and hopefully not stupid or douche-y. An evocative name that falls easily off the tongue and inspires interest. Some good ones include: YSL Opium and Rive Gauche, DIOR Granville, Escale a Portofino and Miss Dior, Gucci Bloom, Envy and Guilty are all stellar. I like Special For Gentlemen by Le Galion, Slowdive by Hiram Green, Black Saffron by Byredo, Patou Joy and Exultat by Maris Candida Gentile.

I think my favourite name of them all is Shalimar by Guerlain.

Named for the famed Lahore Mughal garden created for Shah Jahan, who also had the Taj Mahal built in honour of his favourite wife. Shalimar Bagh was built in the 1640s and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and major Pakistan tourist destination. When I spray Shalimar all of the names history runs through my wearing of it and I often think about my time in India visiting the relics of past rule.

 

Just as an addition. One perfume I never bought because the name seemed so dumb and I would have hated being asked what it was: I Love My Man by Dear Rose. If it had have been even a slightly better name I would definitely own a bottle and probably a back up.

My Saturday Question to you is:

What are the Best Perfume Names?

149 thoughts on “Saturday Question: Best Perfume Names?”

  1. Uninhibited by Cher. The first of the celebrity fragrances and still one of the best! Said so much about her and the juice in the bottle.

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  2. I like Imaginary Authors Memoirs of a Trespasser, Ava Luxe Love’s True Bluish Light, Robert Piguet Bandit, Byredo Mojave Ghost, and the Zoologists animal name concept (Civet Squid and Bee) off the top of my head. On the flip side I get annoyed when I have a difficult time with French, Arabic, other languages I sadly have no tongue for, and made up things I have have no idea how to pronounce.

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    • I like Mojave Ghost as a name. Always seemed mysterious and evocative to me, and I lived near the Mojave Desert for a while. OTOH, the Santa Ana winds coming across the Mojave kicked off a fire that destroyed half the county when I lived there, so it doesn’t evoke the best memories for me.

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  3. Guerlain L’Heure Bleue and Gucci Tears of Iris, which I don’t own but just the name is making me consider the purchase of a full bottle, which is beautiful.

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      • The notes sound gorgeous but a full bottle is pricey! Boucheron’s Iris de Syracuse has been compared to it…we both like that one and it is much more affordable albeit does not have as evocative of a name 😉

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        • The reviews are pretty mixed. Some people say it is carroty earthy, powdery like FM Iris Poudre. Others say it is sweet, chocolatey with patchouli very prominent and no hint of the flower or root at all. Very confusing. I don’t think many reviews will follow considering the price. I hope to be able to sample it at some point, because I am not so sure about a blind buy any more. Too expensive for such a risk.

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  4. DUMP ( Doctored Up Mistral Patchouli)
    Poo Poo Pi Doo ( which I have yet to smell)
    Heaven
    What Would Love Do?
    Lieu de Reves

    I am sure I could think of a million more but I will stop there 😬

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  5. 5th Avenue because it smells like I’d like to imagine the real place does.
    Paris by both Yves St Laurent and Balenciaga for the same reason as 5th Avenue. I know they’re mainstream but they’re all I can afford these days ☺

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      • Glam? I don’t really know. It’s my daily go to, floral, light, long lasting, hopefully inoffensive… I have been complimented on it on occasion, “you smell nice”, “what perfume is that?” It’s what I tell my son to buy me for Xmas 😉
        Carolyn x

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    • Those are both beautiful fragrances, Carolyn! Thanks for reminding us that mainstream still has much to offer. Not to burst your bubble but 5th Avenue smells of vehicle exhaust and public cans full of garbage. Not as glamorous as one would think LOL 🤣 😂 Manhattan is a cacophony of odd noises and smells…total sensory overload 🙃🙃

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      • You didn’t burst my bubble Brigitte, it’s my imagination running wild, scampering barefoot among spring flowers in Central Park! LOL I’ve never been there and probably will never leave Australia but perfume and imagination can take me anywhere 😉
        Carolyn

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  6. I like single word names, easy to pronounce and ones where you don’t have to answer smugly, “TheSexiest Scent in the World” when asked.

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    • Ha ha! That reminds me. I used to wear a fragrance called Marbert Man and always secretly hoped someone WOULD ask me what I was wearing 😂.

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    • Hey Matty,
      I LOVE saying Mitsouko too. It’s a great name, well enough known that quite a few people then have a story about someone who wore, wears or themselves in it. It seems to be the glamour of the chattier peeps.
      Portia xx

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  8. My favorite perfume name to say is Givenchy Ysatis! With the French pronunciation of Givenchy and stretching out the Yyyyyy-Sat-iiiissssss! It sounds so deluxe lol!
    I also love the name Baghari and agree with Portia that the name Shalimar has so much history to the name.
    Speaking of names, how does one correctly say the house name Amouage? I say A-moo(like a cow)-age with a soft g. My sister say Amooooge. I think she’s wrong?

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  9. Let’s see 🙂 Bal d’afrique from Byredo, Obsession from CK, Miksado from Jereboam, Antidote from Viktor & Rolf, Envy from Gucci and of course Bandit and Baghari from Piguet (awesome names) 👌🏻

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    • Alen,
      I’m so glad you said Obsession. That is the BEST name. Says so much quickly and sounds good. It fits all the bills needed for a great perfume name and has a real rock star kind of savour faire.
      What are you wearing?
      Obsession.
      BAM!
      Portia xx

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  10. My all-time favourite perfume name was Smell Bent’s “Tipsy Social Blah Blah”. I was crushed when I got a small bottle and didn’t like the actual scent.

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  11. Pilar & Lucy: Exact Friction of Stars and Tiptoeing Through the Chambers of the Moon! I didn’t like either fragrance but I adore the names and still wish they had worked out for me.

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  12. I agree with Patou Joy and Guerlain Shalimar. Recently reminded of VM Hedonist – love the name. Frassaï’s A Fuego Lento – Slow Fire (simmer). Marina Barcenilla’s Patchouli Clouds. SL Iris Silver Mist, though for some reason I always want to put an *h* at the end of *Iris*. Patou’s Adieu Sagesse. MDCI Peche Cardinal.

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  14. Oh yes, Shalimar is definitely at the top of that list, along with Samsara. I also like Boucheron Trouble, Bandit (inspired thinking at the time), Balenciaga Rumba, AG Petite Cherie – sooo cute, Black Cashmere, Opium. I wouldn’t be embarrassed telling anyone what I was wearing if it were one of those. Now to the silly: Poopoo Pidoo 😳 though I love the perfume. Pleasures Intense got a good laugh from a few ladies one day. I have to get my thinking cap on for more. I don’t like long winded or hard to pronounce names in a foreign language either, life’s too short for all that nonsense.

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    • Hey Cassieflower,
      What a list!
      We were sitting next to a woman at the Symphony on Friday night who was wearing exactly the right amount of Samsara. As the night wore on I was happily assaulted visually, aurally and olfactorally. It made the whole event even more splendid. Afterwards I asked if she was wearing it and she was chuffed to say yes. PERFECT!
      Portia xx

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      • I love that the woman wearing Samsara added to your overall pleasure at the symphony. I adore when I sit near someone that smells fabulous.
        I went to see the Nutcracker performance yesterday, and the man sitting beside me smelled terribly of BO. Not a pleasant distraction, lol!

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        • Good lord. BO is the worst. I’m at the gym very early most mornings. I always choose treadmill no. 3 because it has the best window view. Without FAIL! This wretched young dude in a lime green shirt, that I swear has never seen the inside of a washing machine gets on the treadmill Right. Beside. Me! In spite of the fact that there are at least 15 other available machines. Exactly 8 1/2 minutes in to his run he begins to stink. Stale sweat and garlic and Christ only knows what else. It’s nauseating. I was so annoyed the other day I almost said something. What is wrong with these people? Who reeks at 6:30 in the morning? Ugh.

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          • Oh my, and yes I can relate! Gym BO is the worst. Men that seem to wear unwashed workout clothes that have that stale stench is the worst. I wish so much someone close to them would tell them how terrible they smell, I don’t dare! It amazes me though because I think I have enough self-awareness to know if I smell unpleasant? I wear perfume to the gym, because I love to smell good but mostly for my own smelling salts. Thank goodness for perfume!

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  18. The name does not exactly evoke a positive image yet I cannot help but admit that my most favorite perfume name may be Chaos from Donna Karan; I kinda like how ‘Chaos’ is pronounced and also how Chaos pretty accurately defines our lives as well as the world we live in. In short, it does not usually have positive associations yet it is also a word with lot of truth attached to it.

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    • Donna Karan really understood people and the way they interact with the world and fashion Fazal. Chaos was a perfect name for a fragrance, especially in the time it came out too.
      Still a fab name to say when asked.
      What are you wearing?
      Chaos!
      Perfect.
      Portia xx

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  19. That’s a great question! I love most Guerlain names chosen while the house was still run by the Guerlain family, my favourite being Vol de Nuit, Parure, and Chamade. Caron’s le 3e homme was a clever choice: it was their third cologne for men and, obviously, the movie reference, and their l’Anarchiste has a wonderful name and presentation. Ostara is another beautiful name (it’s too bad that the perfume doesn’t work well on my skin). Patou’s l’Heure Attendue, Chanel’s Antaeus and YSL’s Kouros, Poison, Magie Noire … Gotta draw the line somewhere, there are so many great names!

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    • Hi Diana,
      Antaeus!! Such a fabulous name.
      Yeah, the Guerlain family had a knack with titles for historic fragrance. Chamade sounds so rich.
      Caron’s le 3e homme is too hard for me to organise in my mouth, I say Caron’s Third Man. Yeah, lazy, I know.
      Portia x

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      • Hi, Portia! That’s the beauty of the name, isn’t it: it sounds great both in English and French. Every time I see my bottle of this cologne I immediately want to rewatch the movie, but I never do: I guess I’m lazier than you are 🙂

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  20. Hello gorgeous.

    I so agree with you on Shalimar. I think a lot of classic Guerlain names are just sublime. Loving everyone’s lists with many I totally forgot (Bandit, Obsession…)

    Below are just a few others on top of my head:
    Sublime: Rien, Opium, Aura (still haven’t try the juice yet), Dandy (previously Arsene Lupin Dandy), Sublime (Patou), Timbuktou, Dzing, and Secretion Magnifigue (I am unlikely to ever wear it)
    Fun: All About Eve / What About Adam by Joop, Envy, Elevator Music and Dark Lord
    You hope no one ever asks: lots of ELdOs: (Secretion Magnifigue fits here too, Don’t Get Me Wrong Baby, I Don’t Swallow, I Am Trash, You or Someone Like You, etc.) and Cumming/Second Cumming

    Such a fun post.
    XXX… Tim

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    • Hey there Tim Tam,
      What a terrific list. Sublime is a fabulous name, and Opium. I remember it being such a great taboo name when it came out. the world was rocked.
      Yeah, Having trouble telling people I’m wearing I Am Trash myself but it’s such a beautiful fragrance that I still wear it.
      Portia xx

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  21. I like short names. Samsara, Ostara, Poison, Mitzah. Shalimar is of course a classic. Coromandel. Paris. Etc etc. More than a couple of words and I’m irritated!!

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  22. So many good suggestions here! Guerlain has beautiful names (Vol de Nuit!); and I love the Dior __ series: Diorissimo, Diorella, Dioressence, Diorama, Diorling. I also find the names from St. Clair Scents (First Cut, Gardener’s Glove, Frost, Casablanca) and Papillon Perfumes (Dryad, Angelique, Bengale Rouge, Salome, Anubis, Tobacco Road) to be very evocative. The classic Jean Patou fragrances have lovely names: Moment Supreme, Vacances, L’Heure Attendue, Chaldee. I always love the names Sarah McCartney comes up with for her 4160 Tuesdays fragrances; some favorite names are Captured by Candlelight, and Clouds Illusion; others are clever and amusing (Up the Apples and Pears). So many scents, so little time!

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  24. I like evocative names. One of my recent favourites is Anubis, a dark and mysterious name if ever there was one. Someone else mentioned Mojave Ghost, which I also like. ELdO’s Malaise of the 70s is a good name, although the scent doesn’t live up to the name.

    The name, combined with its representation in the packaging, that actually made me want to buy the fragrance, was Idole. Conjuring up a forbidding image from an exotic, aged culture in a single word, backed up perfectly by the bottle design, is no mean feat.

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  26. One simple little fragrance that is stuck in my mind is Coty’s L’Aumant. My late father always bought my mother the gorgeous pink creamy skin perfume, in a little black glass bottle, with a gold cap and a dauber. Sadly he was taken from us at an early age, so I continues to buy it for mum., I think this is where my live of soft, rose/powdery scent stems from., The creamy skin perfume has unfortunately been discontinued, but I’ve managed to buy a couple of bottles which I use regularly. I enjoy all the lovely, happy memories it evokes., Other perfume names I love are Grande Soir and a very new favourite , Tantra. Reminds me a bit of good old Tabu from when I was a teenager.,Some of the makers names are even worse to pronounce than their fragrances! Really enjoying this weeks question 💐

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      • Sandra, I also adore L’Aimant. Coty L’Aimant and Emeradue are my favorite vintages. L’Aimant is along the lines of vintage No 5. Completely gorgeous and no perfume ever will compare.

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        • Just love it, maybe why I really love no 5 and joy, the patou kind. Getting a bit more adventurous after reading through these pages 😄

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    • My mother had that beautiful cream perfume too. I can immediately recall that beautiful smell. And of course I couldn’t keep my little paws off it. I was very taken with the plastic dauber.

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      • I’ve still got a couple bottles of the old stuff, sheer love in a bottle! Can’t believe they stopped making it 😭

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  28. It is harder than I thought it would be to come up with great names “on the spot,” and even reading replies of others didn’t help, unlike it happens often with other topics.

    But after thinking a little (and then going through my Perfume Portrait), I found/remembered several great names:

    1. Ramon Monegal Impossible Iris
    2. Guerlain Cruel Gardenia
    3. Fréderic Malle Portrait of a Lady
    4. Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess
    5. EnVoyage Captured in Amber
    6. Ineke Field Notes from Paris
    7. Lancôme Mille et une Roses
    8. L’Artisan Tea for Two
    9. L’Artisan La chasse aux Papillons
    10. SSS Bee’s Bliss
    11. Mugler Angel
    12. Floraïku One Umbrella for Two

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  29. In addition to the Frassai ones mentioned above I‘d also add Fueguias. They have wonderful place names like Magellanes as well as literary inspirations like Alguien Sueña (someone dreams). Oh and Bombay Bling, Mohur or Rahele!

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  31. Bruno Fazzolari just released a perfume named Corpse Reviver, a re-interpretation of his previous release Cadavre Exquis. The notes actually sound quite good as a cozy winter scent with bourbon and caramel. But I couldn’t wear either based on the name, not suiting my image at all!

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  32. A name (and scent!) that has always fascinated me is My Sin. It conjures up all sorts of questions. What was the sin? Who committed it? Why?
    For sheer romance This Grand Affair by Blocki. I imagine a brief, torrid and secretive affair aboard the Orient Express, everything shrouded in mystery and opulence.
    For fun and games, Guess.
    Friend: you smell good. What are you wearing?
    Me: Guess
    Friend: I dunno. La Vie Est Belle?
    Me: nope
    Friend: well, what then?
    Me: Guess
    This sort of nonsense pleases my inner prankster 🙄
    Just because it’s juvenile and fun to mispronounce – Jardins sur
    Le Tw-ah-t.
    And, like many of you have agreed, Shalimar. The ultimate classical name for a timeless beauty.

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    • For your “guessing game” there is another good “answer”: Not a Perfume.

      I was considering “this grand affair” fo my list (and I even like and own it) but their not using capital letters bothers me 🙂

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      • Yes! Not a Perfume is perfect for that bit of silliness.
        Had I known that Blocki did not capitalize the name’s letters I would probably have struck it off my list. I find that sort of idea boring, predictable and lacking in imagination.

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        • It bothered me a lot (mild OCD, I guess), but they have an explanation that this was like a fragment of a longer phrase, taken poetically… I kind of accepted it. But it still isn’t something that feels natural to me 🙂

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  33. A little late to the party. Super question Portia and some awesome answers.
    I know it’s already been mentioned but I do like Imaginary Authors Memoirs of a Trespasser. The Zoologist names are cool. TokyoMilk has Bulletproof, Novacaine and Tainted Love (that’s for Cassieflower) ELDO have crazy names and probably should mention Fort & Manle Confessions of a Garden Gnome. And the Purple Hat one!

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  34. I am often intrigued to try a new fragrance based on the beauty or cleverness of its name, such as Choeur des Anges, Venom of Angels, Angelique Noir, Larmes du Desert, Villainess, Felanilla, Fineapple, Bergamust, etc. I also love Ysatis, but no so sure about the translated. Now unfortunately named fragrances, there are so many (and a great future question?)–one not mentioned yet that deters me from trying: Dent de Lait. Ick.

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