Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Top Five Perfume Lottery


For approximately the past six years, I have been accumulating perfume, sometimes more, sometimes less.  Recently, I decide to reduce my full-bottle collection to fifty, so I inform B-man of this decision with great emphasis.

Samples and decants have no limit, of course.  

Read the rule book.

The thing is, I've been on a binge lately and my collection has doubled what I intended.  B-man, in his ever tactful way, simply says, 'it looks like you're running out of room.'  Thankfully, he has never discouraged or dismissed my perfume purchasing, even when I occasionally go off the deep end.  His usual response to my obsessing about the latest 'must have?'  'So get it.'

Enabler.

Sometimes, when I'm playing with my perfume (you know you do, too), I pretend that I must select only five to live with forever. 

While the list changes slightly from time to time, I have sentimental favorites to which I always return.  This evening, I would choose these perfumes in exactly this order:

1.  Jardin en Mediterranee
2.  Borneo 1834  
3.  Sycomore
4.  L'eau du Navegateur (this rotates with Black Aoud)
5.  Fracas

Even as I make the list, I feel guilty for all those that I have left behind.  Of course, Inner Critic is having a field day, chiding me and acting like a pompous ass.  

Nevertheless, I stand by my list.

If you had to choose five perfumes that you could spend your life with, what would they be?

11 comments:

  1. In no particular order:

    1. Carnal Flower
    2. Back to Black
    3. Spiriteuse Double Vanille
    4. Feminite du Bois (original)
    5. Tonka Imperial (to switch out with Philosykosm Bois de Encens, or Jose by Jose Eisenberg).

    - Geordan

    ReplyDelete
  2. Geordan, welcome! You have a great perfume list (hard to resist the switch-outs, isn't it?).

    Thanks for visiting!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My weather in SW VA is really variable, so my TOP 5 list changes for the seasons, when it wouldn't if I lived in, say, San Diego. For summer:
    1. PdN Le Temps d'une Fete
    2. Silences
    3. Carnal Flower
    4. PdR Rose d'Ete
    5. Mariella Burani

    There I have a Wonder Juice, a green-rose-iris satin thingy, a tuberose, a rose, and a go-everywhere aldehydic floral musky thing. I cannot explain the appeal of LTdF, but if you explain love, I believe it isn't Love.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hello, Muse! Nice perfume list - in fact, I'm wearing Silences today and loving it.

    I've noticed perfume junkies tend to lean toward either Carnal Flower or Fracas as their signature tuberose (like Diet Coke or Diet Pepsi). The black inkiness of Fracas transforms the tuberose into something dark, fleshy and more than a little naughty. Love it.

    Thanks for stopping by!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I like your choices. Sycomore is one that I've seen mentioned in a few places - I must find some to try. I'm pretty fickle, so can only give you my current top five.

    1. Clinique's Aromatics Elixir - my addiction
    2. Ormonde Jayne's Tiare - my only truly 'grown up' fragrance - properly womanly
    3. Ninfeo Mio - I still don't own a bottle - but love this Annick Goutal winner - sums up everything that's good about leafy green fragrances.
    4. Orange Sanguine by Atelier Cologne - gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous
    5. Difficult to narrow down a fifth - but Noix de Tubereuse by Miller Harris has a beautiful almond quality.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi MPL - great choices! Yes, you must try Sycomore. It's truly different on everyone, as all perfumes are to some degree. When I bought Sycomore, another woman was also cruising les exclusifs and it smelled completely different on her; grassy and fresh. On me, it's dark, baroque and smoky.

    I'd love to know your opinion!

    ReplyDelete
  7. nice blog. i'm new here. :-)

    my 5 top perfumes, which i also own:
    -bond no. 9 chinatown
    -costes hotel costes 2
    - diptyque philosykos
    -l'artisan verte violette
    - POTL luctor et emergo

    sara

    ReplyDelete
  8. Anonymous, welcome! I share a couple of loves on your top 5 list; Chinatown and Philosykos.

    Thanks for stopping by - I look forward to future comments!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh, I love these bittersweet questions!

    SL Un Lys
    Guerlain Plus Que Jamais
    TDC Bergamote
    Jo Malone Dark Amber & Ginger Lily
    Ormonde Jayne Ta'if

    Additionally there are 15 others bubbling under the impossible shortlist - vigorously bubbling, indeed.

    ReplyDelete
  10. FS - great list! You name a couple that I have not: Plus Que Jamais and Ta'if. Now, you have provided a boost of motivation.

    'Bubbling under the impossible shortlist'- well said!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Miller Harris L'Air de Rien
    Bulgari Black
    Opium (original, not messed with, though any of the Summer variants are also good)
    YSL Nu
    Lancome Sikkim because it's my current favourite chypre, but there are a stack to choose from there..
    And like FS, there are a good dozen more that I'd really like to take to that desert island. To hell with the records, give me scents!

    ReplyDelete

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