(Pic taken from http://www.chanel.com/)
I have a confession to make: I absolutely love Chanel No. 5. I realize that there's a huge divide out there, a camp among fragrance appreciators that roll their eyes at the mere mention of No. 5 and regard it as passe, and perhaps a little old fashioned too. I am not one of those people. To me, it has always been the Holy Grail of all scents, a must-have for any burgeoning perfumista's collection. Several years ago, I cringed when my sister returned an admirer's gift (No. 5 EDT) in exchange for a bottle of Alfred Sung Jewel.
But I digress....
When I picked up my 7.5 mls of No. 5 parfum last week, I truly felt as if I had become a part of history. When I uncorked the glass topper from the mouth of the teensy bottle opening, I felt like I had opened up a minute haven of olfactory memories. Mine, and every other perfumista's. When I dabbed the fragrant stopper onto my skin, the iconic image of Marilyn Monroe flitted into my consciousness.
Does it get any better than this?
(Image taken from thewire.sheknows.com)
Wearing the purest form of Chanel No. 5 makes one feel just as sensual and evocative as the image above. The jasmine, aldehydes and sheer beauty of what Coco herself intended for all of us to enjoy is embodied in that tiny little bottle.
I had nudged myself in the direction of purchasing this one because I love all things No. 5. I'm realizing now that this is just a continuation of my fascination with Marilyn herself, and Chanel too. It also bears mentioning that this is my first 'parfum' purchase.
If I had to make one small criticism, I expected this one to have a bit more sillage and staying power. I have a partial of No. 5 EDC from the 1960s that has a more enduring presence than the contemporary parfum. A victim of re-formulation perhaps? Who knows. All I know is that it won't prevent me from loving every last drop, and seeking out parfum formulations of my other favourite scents.
What was your first pure parfum purchase? Did it live up to your expectations? Is Chanel No. 5 a must-have for you? Why or why not?
When a beloved perfume is discontinued, for those of us who are fragrance obsessed, there is a process much akin to a grieving period. First, there is the denial stage: 'It can't be discontinued, I can still find it at' (insert retailer here. For those of us fragrance-lovers who suffer the unfortunate fate of being in a small town, we grudgingly insert 'Sears'...)
When months pass and our favourites are cleared off the shelves (and we go searching for hugely marked-up specimens online,) we have officially reached the 'anger' stage.
'How dare they discontinue this olfactory masterpiece? Don't they know how fantastic it is? Don't they know how much joy it has brought me? Don't they know how damn good it makes me smell?'
The third stage is 'bargaining', and for those of us who routinely scour online shops/antique markets/wiki pages for our beloved, it's a stage that we're quite familiar with. Sometimes we luck out and vendors have no idea what they're giving up. Other times, we're forced to pay the 500% markup, just to have that coveted backup.
'Depression' inevitably kicks in when we realize that the scent that we've loved for years has been replaced by something completely unremarkable. (One example that comes to mind is Cacharel's Gloria (Beautiful SDV dupe)...discontinued and replaced by the tooth-achingly fruity concoction that is Scarlett. (Its only redeeming feature: Gorgeous bottle. I have seen this one on discount shelves recently, assuming now that its fate has also been relegated to the discontinued. I can't say that I'm not a little smug in this realization!)
And finally, after months of scouring various retailers, swap lists and the like, those of us who have lost a beloved fragrance can finally accept the fact that it's gone. If we've received some notice and have been fortunate enough to prepare, we can gradually stockpile....then move onto a new favourite.
Unless, of course, your love transcends space, time and anything else that might get in your way. Unless your favourite is something that isn't even close to resembling anything else. Unless of course, you are my mother.
Back in the 70s, the Love's franchise came out with 'Love's Deep Earthy Musk'.
It was about $3.00 a bottle and shared the shelves with the ubiquitous 'Love's Baby Soft' and various others (including Love's Fresh Lemon and Love's Soft Jasmine). My mom fell head over heels for this beauty and it remained a part of her rather extensive perfume collection until it was discontinued in the early 80s. I remember how upset she was about it. Since English isn't her first language, she enlisted my older sisters to help her write a letter to the Dana fragrance company, imploring them to sell her any leftover bottles.
Their response? They sent her a catalogue of their current scents (I remember how glossy this publication was, very high budget for back then. Unfortunately it didn't contain the information that mom wanted most!) She was in mourning, and has been for almost 30 years.
Most of my shopping for the last several years (fragrance and otherwise) has been done online. It has been my personal mission to find a bottle of this. I'd do weekly searches, google the name of this fragrance over and over again. Nothing. Until a couple of months ago.
I found an untouched bottle of Love's Deep Earthy Musk via online auction. After much hoop-jumping, email correspondence between myself and the vendor to make sure my purchase wasn't going to end up part of the Canadian Customs graveyard, I was triumphant. Mom was going to have her biggest perfume wish come true! It was well worth the fact that I spent 10 times the 1974 retail price (Let's face it, I would have spent much more). I could barely wait to see the look on her face when she opened this long-awaited package.
And dear readers, she didn't disappoint! My mom was rendered speechless after being reunited with her long-lost fragrant love. (Of course, after grilling me about how much I spent on this gem).
It's hard to describe how it made me feel to make that wish of hers come true. That feeling of satisfaction in finding something so rare was multiplied by the fact that I knew this was the one she wanted most.
How have you dealt with recent fragrance discontinuations? What lengths have you gone to, to find a much-loved, no-longer-produced fragrance?
I know that mom and I aren't the only ones who would go to any length...
Despite the fact that my fragrance journey began many years ago, and despite my obsession with the hard-to-find, I was up until fairly recently quite uninterested in 'niche' scents. I understood that niche meant for the most part, superior ingredients, expert blending, and scents that were markedly different from mainstream offerings. However, I managed to dismiss this whole category simply because of the perceived snobbery that was associated with it. I had read online musings from other perfume connoisseurs, proclaiming their exclusive love of the genre. Being of the philosophy that 'If it smells good, I'll wear it' (regardless of cost, distribution, or association), I decided to rebel.
A couple of years ago, I realized how wrong it was to avoid this beautiful world of scent. Someone included a Hermes decant in one of my swap packages and the rest, as they say, was history. It was another one of these swap samples that made me want my own full bottle, purchased on my own, not hustled via swap. This year on my birthday, puzzled at the prospect of what to give me, my sisters were gently nudged in the direction of a gift card for an online retailer that had a great selection of niche offerings.
What was this first feverish, pulse-racing purchase, you may ask?
None other than Jardins de Kerylos by Parfumerie Generale:
(Pic taken from the official Parfumerie Generale website
http://www.parfumerie-generale.com).
One sniff of this, and I'm instantly transported to Crete. Figs, salt air, and a hint of honeyed greenery. It simply makes me swoon. My first full bottle niche purchase, it made me feel more absolute in terms of my perfume love. I felt like I had officially arrived. This scent, wearing extremely close to the skin and evoking a quiet strength, makes me feel as if I can take on whatever might be thrown my way.
What was your first niche purchase? Do you feel it was worth it? Is your collection mainly niche now, or happily included within a mainstream collection?
Fellow perfumistas, I'd love to hear your first niche stories!
I'm not sure if it's human nature, or my personality in particular, but once I hear that a product (namely fragrance) is 'discontinued', I immediately become curious about it (especially if I haven't had the opportunity to sniff it before) and the hunt is on. As soon as I'm told that I can't have it, I want it.
Much can be said about the discontinuation of many perfumes out there (not to mention reformulations, but that will be another long, convoluted post!) and I'm certainly not an expert, but some of my favourites fall into this elusive category.
One recent example that comes to mind is Sarah Jessica Parker's Covet.
Riding on the coattails of her wildly-successful 'Lovely', SJP decided to launch a scent that was largely unconventional (for the mass-market audience, at least!). Everything about this fragrance seems to thumb it's nose to what the general public considers appealing. (From the oddly-shaped bottle (with it's own detachable floral pendant), to the strange-coloured juice, to the unlikely geranium/lavender/musk olfactory combination).
I admittedly hated this scent when I first sniffed it. My Makeupalley review (dated 01/04/2009) summarizes my experience with this fragrance nicely:
The stubborn Taurean that I am, it usually takes alot for me to admit that I'm
wrong (especially when it comes to my obsession with all things beauty-related.)
However, I'll gladly swallow my infinite pride when it comes to this scent and
fully admit my initial error in judgement (thus necessitating that I delete my
previous (very negative: I believe I might have employed the term
'vomit-inducing') review for this product and insert this one
instead.)
When SJP first launched her fragrances, I wasn't a fan. (I
adored her Lovely Liquid Satin, and still do...however her other perfumes just
didn't work for me). As with Lovely, I was encouraged to revisit her scents
since I had recently read (and enjoyed, 'enjoyed' being an understatement, I ate
it up) Chandler Burr's book 'A Perfect Scent', chronicling SJP's foray into
scent creation. There is alot of thought put into every fragrance undertaking
she completes, and this is no exception.
Covet is deceptive; out of the
bottle there seems to be a mingling of notes that quite frankly seem to
counteract one another, the fact that she chose for wet greens, geranium,
chocolate and musk to exist together in this juice seems to defy logic (and test
one's recoiling instincts). Up until I actually decided to spray this on my
person, I never would have reached for it solely based on how it smells out of
the sprayer.
As an admitted musk fan, I delight in SJP's incorporation of
it in Lovely, and this one as well. The chocolate, wet greens and geranium
intermix with my chemistry to produce something incredibly comforting and
sensual. As the hours wear on, it becomes more and more interesting, morphing
into something I've never smelled before. As I did with my revised review of
Lovely, I will again implore all haters (especially those who couldn't dare
spray this one on) to give it a try. As others have written, via reviews and
other perfume blogs, it's a real shame that this fragrance didn't find its
audience of appreciators and has as a result been pulled from the shelves. A
real gem that will be missed.
Covet can still be found via online discounters (and the occasional retail outlet) for insanely reasonable prices (recently spotted: gift set containing 1.7 oz spray and 250 ml lotion for under $20).
As for the many, many other discontinued gems out there, they can require alot more sleuthing (and patience!) to track down (as proven by my recent experience in searching out my mom's HG: Love's Deep Earthy Musk....an experience which will surely be entitled 'Discontinued Gems, Part #2.... ;-)
(Pic taken from gardentherapy.ca:)
Thanks to the best pal a solitary gal like me could possibly have, this admittedly non-outdoorsy perfumista has been quite obsessed with spending as much solo time at the cabin as possible. What does this mean fragrance-wise? Finding the perfect campfire accompaniment. Something that doesn't clash with that woodfire scent, but something that will hold its own and provide a distinct backdrop.
Since I've been enamoured with this perfume as of late, and have the hugely ironic and unfortunate fate of being recently employed in a scent-free environment (yes, the horror!) I decided to pack Kate Walsh's Boyfriend in my weekend tote. (I call myself a perfume snob, but the reality is that if it smells nice, I'll wear it. It can be drugstore, niche, celebrity...if I like it, it's mine....)
The whole concept of Boyfriend is the mingling of masculine and feminine. According to www.yourboyfriend.com (the official site for the fragrance) Boyfriend is inspired by the scent that one's guy leaves behind...the faint aura of his cologne mingled with your perfume. Official copy:
Ever miss the scent of your boyfriend on your skin? That warm, woody scent that makes your eyes roll and wanna put on a red dress? Well, I did so I created Boyfriend, a fragrance inspired by him but made for us. It's a delicious blend of muguet, dark plum, myrrh, night blooming jasmine and just enough amber musk to make you purr like a jungle cat.
Not exactly how I'd put it, but a highly intoxicating scent nonetheless. First spritz of the EDP yields a characteristically masculine vibe. To my nose, a blast of sharp vetiver, a little bit of that aforementioned myrrh. After a few minutes, the plum takes centre stage. The amber is the most irresistible aspect of the fragrance in my humble opinion. And despite the fact that they aren't listed in the fragrance notes, the EDP version dries down on my skin yielding patchouli and vanilla. Hours later, the musk emerges. Heavenly.
I have sampled the pulse oil as well and much prefer the EDP. It strikes me as much more masculine, more rich, and multi-faceted. I haven't tried the other body products, but word on the street is that each version of the scent has that common thread...but manages to be distinctly different.
I've been browsing the official site and have placed every possible incarnation of this scent on my wishlist....awesome concept, amazing scent!
I have many fragrant memories, stemmed from my mom's perfume obsession. I owe my own addiction to her predilection for savouring everything fragrant, from fresh basil to springtime hyacinths.
My very first perfume was Avon's Sweet Honesty when I was about 6 or 7 years old, housed in a glass deer, much like this one:
The scent itself evaporated quickly, imparting a sticky residue on the neck of the glass bottle (coincidentally, also the neck of the doe...:):):)
I don't even remember wearing this particular perfume, it was just displayed proudly on my dresser. When I'd come in and out of my room, I'd take a sniff. To this day, I have this tendency to 'save' my scents rather than spray lavishly. These days, I'm trying to break out of that habit! I have an emerging collection, and it's there for me to enjoy!
Any other perfumistas remember their first love? Please share! :)
