Monday, July 4, 2011

My Top Three Perfumes


Like many of you who commented on this post, I have dithered, changed my mind and even pulled out a few hairs trying to decide on my top three perfumes.

Sorry about that, Paige.  They'll grow back.

If I had to - absolutely HAD to - choose three perfumes from my collection to live with forever, they are:

1.  Un Jardin en Mediterranee by Hermes
2.  White Aoud by Montale
3.  Rose Essentielle by Bvlgari

Criteria I used in making this decision:

*  Perfumes that are consistent, 'go to' choices.

*  Those that I consume more (I will soon begin my third bottle of Mediterranee, which is extraordinary given the number of perfumes in my collection).

*  They must draw positive attention from others.  You know it matters.

*  All occasions are covered.  Whether I'm going to the office, a wine tasting, a holiday party or an outdoor wedding, my perfumes work for them all.

*  Perfumes that span every season.

*  They make a statement, but avoid monster sillage.

*  Perfumes that lift my spirits and make me happy each time I wear them.

Favorites that I cannot believe I didn't choose:

Black Aoud by Montale
Borneo 1834 by Serge Lutens
Sycomore by Chanel
Ambre Sultan by Serge Lutens

What can I say?  They don't meet all the criteria.  

On one hand, I'm really proud of making this top three selection.  On the other hand, Inner Critic keeps bugging me about why I keep accumulating perfume if, in the end, I really could live with just three.

None of his beeswax.

image from fotolia.com

11 comments:

  1. (whining) But I don't waaaaant to live with just three!

    I could probably live with 20. (So then, why do I have more than 20? Inner Critic does have a point.)

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  2. I would go with: Hypnose (Lancome), Code (Armani) and Sensi (Armani). Just around the corner, fighting to enter top 3, are: Black Orchid (Ford) and Alien (Mugler).

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  3. Thank you *jen! "Inner critic needs a hobby" will become my new mantra (and I'm not just talking perfume).

    --Lindaloo

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  4. Hi Muse - yes, 20 is a sound number of perfumes that I could possibly accept. But there will always be those few that I will feel awful about leaving behind. Happy that we don't have to make that choice.

    Nice whining, though!

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  5. *jen, tell me about it. Inner Critic needs to get a hobby, get a life or read a book. War and Peace comes to mind.

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  6. Hi Bellatrix - great choices! There are always those few that want to break into the top three. Black Aoud is about to throw a tantrum about being a runner-up. Just because they didn't make the top three doesn't mean we don't love them, right?

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  7. Lindaloo, hello! Sounds like your own Inner Critic speaks up from time to time. It's nice to have a comeback ready. Thanks, *jen!

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  8. I could live with three perfumes for a month. 3x12=36 36 perfumes a year sounds reasonable to me. Of course, reason has nothing to do with perfume, does it?

    I can't do a top three. Oddly, I can do a top two:

    Lutens' Chergui
    L'artisan's Passage D'Enfer

    I don't trust my summer nose. Last year, I couldn't get enough of Parfums de Nicolai's Vie de Chateau. Now I can't stand it. A the moment I'm wearing Bulgari's Au The Rouge, which I had previously thought of as a good air freshener!

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  9. Hi Julie - no, reason has absolutely nothing to do with perfume, thank God. And you're right about the top two - that was easy! The third one was difficult, maybe because choosing the last of anything is difficult.

    My nose changes constantly and absolutely cannot be trusted to remain the same from year to year. I take that in stride now and it sometimes makes the current love affair with a perfume a bit sweeter.

    Thanks for stopping by!

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  10. I liked your reasons for choosing the shortlist - I didn't consciously follow them in my selection, but instinctively I was more or less working along those lines - or some of them!

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