Today we have a wonderful giveaway of a perfume that I consider nothing less than soul stirring. Andy Tauer is giving away a purse spray bottle (7ml) of his very limited edition Dark Passage from the Tableau de Parfums line. It's not a perfume you can buy anywhere, so if you missed on pledging a donation the first time around here's your chance to win Dark Passage in this giveaway.
All you have to do in order to win is leave a comment telling us about your Precious: which perfume in your collection is the most dear to you? Not necessarily the most expensive or impossible to find (though that certainly is good enough), but that bottle that has a special story and you're so very thrilled/proud to have for any reason at all.
I've been trying to answer this question myself. I have several perfumes that has a special meaning to me for various reasons. Orris by Andy Tauer that I bought unsniffed because the bottles were selling out and I knew there will be no more. It ended up being a huge success for me and I love and cherish every drop. There's the amazing Jacques Fath coffret I found, still sealed, with a mini bottle of Iris Gris. This one trumps all my other vintage finds, and I do have a few. Then there's my first bottle of Cartier So Pretty with just a little juice left (I have since purchased a few, including a lifetime supply of backups); this bottle means the world to me because it was the first perfume the husband chose and bought for me by himself.
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Now, since I'm the one who will be mailing the perfume, I have to limit this giveaway to US residents only. I'm really sorry for this, but I'm already getting the stinkeye at several post office units in my area. The giveaway will remain open until 11:59 PM (Eastern Time) on June 30th, and the winner will be announced on Sunday, July 1st.The other legal stuff that I have to post here: No purchase necessary. Ever. Because I don't sell anything◆participants must be 18 or older◆void where prohibited◆regulated by the State of NJ◆ Are we having fun yet?
Image: Glass perfume bottle for holding precious attars by Christopher McMahon and Manoj Avasthi. Nothing to do with Andy's perfume, just something I thought was beautiful and fitting.
That bottle is nothing less than stunning! A perfume I cherish more for the memory than anything is Clinique Happy. I grew up with that perfume. When I was in middle school my mom wore it, and I felt so cool when she would let *me* wear it on occasion. It brings me back to the days of my first makeup, getting ready with her in the morning, and prom. :)
ReplyDeleteI have a very small collection, but I think most dear to me is my bottle of Tribute by Amouage. I like that when I wear this it takes me through such a sensorial journey. It is truly an ever-changing sequence of notes for me. I never know what to expect, and I love the constantly shifting surprises which Tribute conjures over the hours. It is the most expensive scent I wear, but this is not what makes it so special to me. THANK YOU for the giveaway- I would be extremely excited to experience Dark Passage.
ReplyDeleteTia is akin to choosing which cat is my favorite, but I'll go with the bottle of Tuxedo by Ralph Lauren that I bought in the 80's that still has a bit left. It's lovely and brings back happy memories every time I wear it.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite perfume is Tom Ford Italian Cypress for the simple reason it reminds me of a summer vacation in Italy with my dad. It was his dream to go to Italy but he would never have been able to afford it with our large family. I surprised him for his birthday with our tickets and itinerary throughout Italy in the month of August. Italian Cypress smells like a warm summer night along the Amalfi Coast...and treasured memories of my dad who is now in Heaven.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this beautiful giveaway, the bottle alone is amazing! I have never owned a Tauer fragrance and would love to win this beauty.
Theresa
Black Cashmere is IT for me - I inhale its incense and darkness. My boyfriend bought me a bottle, as he, too, loves it: shortly after my 56th birthday I e-mailed him: When in our 20's we were in love, but sadly, too immature to stay the course. So 30 years later we re-met and have been together since, now I'm 59, and this perfume is loved by us both. He found the original bottle for me, the odd egg-shaped one.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me so happy that he shares my love of this perfume, and that he, too, now enjoys my forays into the world of scent. We would both cherish this cool bottle and its contents - Lou Ellen
I never knew my dad's dad, my "grandad." He lived in town, and we visited regularly, but he simply was not interested in my sister and I. It wasn't until he passed away in 1992, when I was twelve, that I began to discover who he was...my father's siblings had no interest in holding on to any of my grandad's belongings, so the boxes came to our basement and I descended upon them like a magpie.
ReplyDeleteThe green flocked box of Jicky was in with some books from his cultist days in Poona. I knew of Guerlain, but not of this fragrance. It didn't matter, it was the EXACT treasure, the key, the connection I had been hoping to find. Opening the box of fragrance was like being sucked back in time, those stilted embraces, the strangely lonely afternoons spent listening to his horrid canary screech along to Chavela Vargas. The only snack he ever had for my sister and I was almonds.
He had always smelled of Jicky, his apartment with the gold shag carpet smelled of it. I love it. I wish I'd known him, I wish my dad had known him! I still have the Jicky in it's box with the gold embossed swirlies. The green flockung is a bit worn, and there is some amber liquid left, but not as much. It is certainly one of my most prized treasures in my boudoir.
My precious is a blue lantern bottle of Guet Apens. I liked perfumes before and even loved a few, but it was Guet Apens that opened a world of true passion.
ReplyDeleteMy precious is a bottle of Tann Rokka Aki. A couple years ago my husband became very ill (he recovered, thankfully). But for a while it was rough going, he was intubated and in ICU, the whole thing, they were not sure he would survive. I wore Aki, because it was soft and comforting. It was the only thing I could stand to have on for some reason. I'll always have a bottle of it, expensive as it is, because now it's like a security blanket in liquid form.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I'm not eligible for the draw, but I couldn't help saying that my NEW precious is Dark Passage! I was lucky enough to get a little bottle of this, and it is the most beautiful, chocolate-patchouli-birch tar-sweet resin wonderfulness there ever was.
ReplyDeleteYou'll think my tastes are ordinary but the two perfumes I have a special attachment to are an old bottle of Dior's Dolce Vita and Tocca's Cleopatra. Dolce Vita reminds me of my time in Greece as a child, warm summer nights and fragrant breezes on my aunt's veranda. Cleopatra...I never fail to get attention wearing her, especially from men. Which is not such a bad thing since I'm newly single! ;-)
ReplyDeleteThank you and the sponsors for the giveaway! I have a few precious-es. To cover a full spectrum: a vintage White Shoulders because of its connection to my Gran, La Tulipe, which I wore for my wedding, and a bottle of Dita von Teese that my husband sorted for me - just b/c he was so sweet and thoughtful about it.
ReplyDeleteMy most precious bottle is my 1/4 oz of vintage Cabochard parfum that a very kind swapper just gifted me out of the blue. It's both my favorite fragrance and it's a reminder how nice people can be.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the blog and for the draw.
I do live in the US.
My would be Death on a Pale horse by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, not because of the scent, a pretty sweet vanilla and patchouli scent, but because a close friend of mine gave it to me. We were friends ever since grade school, and gave me this perfume for my birthday. When I got it, I loved it, but naturally I had other perfumes I would preferred. A few years later, she died. For a few months after her death, I had to ignore the perfume, because the sight of it made me cry. We were so close, and if I knew we were hanging out that day I would go out of my way to make sure I was wearing it, so every time I just saw the bottle, I thought of all those memories. It's been a few years now and now I wear it every now and than to remember her and all the fun times we had. RIP Tiffany
ReplyDeleteMy most cherished perfumes are decants of Xerjoff Richwood and MDCI Invasion Barbare. The reason, is because about a year ago I lost my entire paycheck, and a perfume angel in the community, sent me a check to cover the loss, and just a RAOK with these two perfumes. They didn't want the money paid back, just asked me to pay it forward one day. I will never forget this selfless gesture for many years to come. Thank Gaia and Andy for the opportunity.
ReplyDeleteWow, what a fabulous giveaway, thanks to you and Andy! Please enter me for a chance to win.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to choose my most prized perfume, since each one has memories for me. I still have the first bottle of Caron Parfum Sacre I ever bought, and even though I am collecting all of the original formula that I can, I hold on to that first one with just a little left; it's a spray so it's still perfect. To me it is the sexiest perfume ever and it reminds me of long-ago passions.
However, I guess I have to choose my beloved bottle of Jean Patou Vacances and my One and Only; it is slowly dwindling as I eke out each wearing, knowing that If I don't use it it may turn bad one day, but hating to use too much since it is the most sought-after of the discontinued Ma Collection fragrances, and when it does occasionally appear it's frightfully expensive. The best green floral that ever was, and now it's gone.
Yes, what a precious giveaway. My most precious perfume will be Narciso Rodriguez For Her. My ex Persian boyfriend loved it on me.. he didn't buy me too many things while we were together, but he did get Nariso for me for my birthday... even though he is an ex, we (or should I say I ) have no bad feelings for him, it is one of those cases that even though we both loved each other and had great admiration for each other, somehow, we as a couple just didn't work (again for me) But every time I wear my Narciso, it will put a little smile in my lips.. those were the days... Cheers from San Francisco, Daisy
ReplyDeletekydchiu(at)yahoo(dot)com
Last year I bought a small vintage bottle of Miss Dior on eBay. I didn't even expect it to be still good: I bought it because it looked almost exactly like a bottle that my mother had when I was a little girl. It was a small miracle that perfume still smells great.
ReplyDeletei have a gift bottle of osmanthus fragrance oil which i love. i have not been able to find one that's a perfect replica of real osmanthus flowers. my gift bottle was purchased from a self perfumer in china. it smells exactly as if one were walking thru a garden with countless blossoming osmanthus flowers .
ReplyDeleteWhat an amazing draw! My two "precious bottles" would be the original DK Chaos (the first fragrance to lure me down the fragrance rabbit-hole) and Fendi's Theorema which smells heavenly.
ReplyDeleteGreat question! I treasure my bottle of Les Nez Let Me Play The Lion because it was my introduction into less commercial perfume. Thanks so much for organizing this giveaway!
ReplyDeleteI've got a bottle of Guerlain Cherry Blossom that I acquired somewhere around 2003, when I first acquired my love for perfumes. It's not a particularly unique scent, being another sharp green-tea type, but it's so pretty, and I can't bring myself to use it even if the bottle is unwrapped.
ReplyDeleteMy most precious perfume is hard to choose, but in the end I´ll say L´Artisan Parfumeur´s "Orchidee Blanche", both because it´s got such a unique personality and because it´s now discontinued (I believe). I have a habit of choosing a specific fragrance to take on trips with me, and this one went with me to Los Angeles and specifically Hollywood and its hills. Now, when I smell this fragrance, I have memories of the dark, cool tree-lined hills above the city, and the beautiful but sometimes spooky residences in those hills. Thanks for the giveaway!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this giveaway. I had to really think hard about what scent I have that is precious. A friend gave me a very rustic little bottle of sandalwood oil that he picked up while in India. Everything about it is precious.
ReplyDeleteIt would probably be my tiny little bottle of vintage Magie Noire because that was my wedding perfume. I also treasure my little bottle of Diorissimo and save it only for the springiest of spring days. Thanks for hosting the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to pick my "precious" but I will have to go with my quarter ounce bottle of vintage Guerlain Shalimar extrait (it was sealed when I purchased it). I had always been a perfume lover (but not a knowledgeable perfumista), but a few years ago I felt disillusioned with mainstream offerings (at least, what I was limitedly exposed to), and, after being "taken under the wing" by my perfumista mentor Hotlanta Linda, this was the first vintage perfume purchase I made. It is one of my favorite scents, and so I cherish it.
ReplyDeleteMy precious is my sample of Septieme Sens by Sonia Rykiel. I owned a bottle at one time and remember that the bottle looked just like an inkwell. Every time I take a whiff it takes me back to better times.
ReplyDeleteI'm still in love w/my bottle of Chloe... I have a tiny bit of it left. My husband (my boyfriend then) purchased it for me in 1982 ... our first Christmas together. It is, and always will be very special to me:) - Charlotte M. email: [email protected]
ReplyDeleteI can't choose! I'm going to have to go with a 1 ounce bottle of vintage Femme parfum that I saw in a mall perfume shop a few years ago. My dear husband went back and paid the relatively exorbitant price, even though it might have been had for less on an auction site. The runner-up is a gorgeous art deco bottle with just a little bit of vintage Caron Tabac Blond left in it. I can't remember how I obtained it, but what a stunner it is!
ReplyDeleteOne of my precious is Quand Vient la Pluie In extraIt. Just because is beautiful and have few ml left. Oh and Après l' ondee in extraIt.
ReplyDeleteCcc
My most precious perfume is Estee Lauder's Beautiful. My father who knows nothing about perfume bought me a bottle for Christmas. He died 1 week later. Everytime I wear that perfume, I think of him and how much I loved him.
ReplyDeleteMy most precious perfume would be Guerlain Vol de Nuit. I saw a magazine ad in the 70s and knew it was for me. I searched for it for 25-30 years and finally found a vintage propeller bottle for an amazingly low price, which I immediately purchased. It has lost some topnotes, but I'm not a topnote person. It's deep, dark, and mellow. Thanks to you and Andy for the draw.
ReplyDeleteMine would have to be Andy Tauer's Incense Rose. Reaffirms my belief in love and mystery. The one to make me fall in love.
ReplyDeleteMy preciousssses are several, one is a sampler of Tom Ford's Violet Blonde that a kind friend gave me. I smelled GREAT at my 20th college reunion thanks to her and thanks to Tom Ford.
ReplyDeleteAnother precious is one my Mother wore in the 70s, Avon's Roses Roses. I have a mostly full spray bottle of it, and when I am missing her a great deal, I will spritz some as an air freshener. It's too feminine for me to wear, even though I do wear Jicky or Vent Vert.
My last one is a spray of Avon's Wild Country, a very old fashioned masculine.....powdery, barber shop-py, and given to me by a friend who is no longer alive. I wore Wild Country frequently when it came out in the late 60's-mid 70s, and it is a treasured memory of good times and a kind friend. I miss Lee very much, he was a standup sort of man.
Lawrence in Ohio
i used to love fendi, and i always wore it, it was also hard to find. but it reminds me of my ex boyfriend and it makes me sick! now, my must have is angel by thierry mugler, and it's available everywhere! thanks for the great giveaway!
ReplyDeleteMy most precious is my Serge Lutens bell bottle of Chergui. A co-worker was visiting Paris and asked if she could bring anything home for me, I jumped at the chance to own a bell bottle, but which one??? I sampled as much as I could, and Chergui beat out the other top contenders (this was before Chergui joined the export line!) I adore the bell bottles and since Chergui is my only one, it looks so special in my collection ... and it is!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the draw! Dark Passage sounds amazing ...
My Shalimar by Guerlain is most dear to me because it is what my grandmother wore. I don't tend to wear it because it is a bit mature for me but I can see how it instantly reminds my mom of her mother every time she smells it.
ReplyDeleteFor me it would have to be my very first bottle of Chloe. I first smelled it when my Dad brought home one of those fragrance blotters wrapped in cellophane that used to come with his Lord and Taylor credit card statements. I was in 4th or 5th grade and he surprised me with a bottle that Christmas!
ReplyDeleteOh wow! It'd be great to win this. I love Tauer's aesthetic.
ReplyDeleteMy precious... that's hard. Either my Chanel Cuir de Russie, which is the most brilliant perfume that I own, in all its formulations: it's rich, elegant, human, beautiful, regal and approachable. And warm.
Or Week-end a Deauville, which I wore on the day that my husband and I got out wedding license. It was a magical day, and this scent is so optimistic and pretty and hopeful. It truly captured my feelings.
My "Precious" is actually a scent I cannot wear - Chanel No. 5. When I was a kid in the 70s, my parents socialized much more than they do now. And those were the days also when my mother could tolerate wearing perfume. My Dad always kept her supplied with Chanel No. 5. I have a vivid memory of being allowed to carefully hug her goodbye one night by the front door as they prepared to go out. She wore a beautiful wig of shiny hair that fell to her shoulders, and a floor length empire waist gown - long white pleated skirt, and a moss green lace overlay bodice. And he always kept her supplied with Chanel No. 5. In that moment, she looked wholly unlike my short-haired stay-at-home housewife Mom. She looked like a queen, and she smelled like one. To this day, I associate the elegant sophisticated smell of - I guess it's vintage now - Chanel No. 5 with that memory and I'm still looking for the scent that creates that effect when I wear it.
ReplyDeleteMy precious is Roxana Illuminated "Q" in liquid. It's my perfection. If I had to give up all others, I could. I know because I will now wear this instead of sampling new scents. I've stopped looking. That's how I know its "the one"
ReplyDeleteMy precious is Roxana Illuminated "Q" in liquid. It's my resinous incensy grounding humming perfection. If I had to give up all others, I could. I choose to wear this instead of sampling new scents. That's how I know I've found the one -- I've stopped looking elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteSince I have only been learning about & really using perfume for a few years my precious bottle is pretty modern: Jabu by Mona di Orio. I loved it so much and tore through my samples, but when I saw the bottle had been discontinued I purchased it. It was my first real "investment". I get a lot of joy from wearing it, and everyone comments on it.
ReplyDeleteIt was hard not to choose the bottle of No. 5 I bought at rue Cambon in Paris a few years ago, but that was a nostalgia purchase; I feel like the Jabu bottle is the purchase when I really decided I would get serious about perfume.
I've worn some type of fragrance every day since I was 13 and my all-time favorite fragrance is vintage Dioressence from the 80's or earlier. I purchased my first bottle in the 80's. The curent formulation is a pale ghost of what it once was and I scour eBay religiously to buy up whatever stock I can find. I've never tried Andy Tauer fragrances but have been meaning to get some samples and explore what he has to offer.
ReplyDeleteMine would have to be daisy by Marc Jacobs. Although it's a scent I brought on a whim, it's one that reminds my now husband of me. Before we were married we were in a long distance relationship between my homeland [the UK] and the USA so I use to spray our lover letters to him in that scent and he had a little vial of the same perfume and would spray it upon a soft toy I had brought for him. It just made us both feel closer to each other! Luckily we're together in the US now and I still wear that perfume!
ReplyDeleteI treasure my bottle of Bois des Iles parfum, my first of many fragrant Chanel purchases!
ReplyDeleteAn old drugstore bottle of Tojour Moi. My best friend an I wore it every day and night to attract boys in High School. As a pair we were KNOWN for this scent. We were drenches. Old memories .....
ReplyDeleteI'm not really sure I have a Precious. Perhaps it is Ambre Sultan, which has an amazing effect. Among the ones I gave to my wife, it might be Bois des Iles, the culmination of my ten-perfume present for mother's day some years back. At that point one couldn't get them online yet, and I had to call one of the Chanel boutiques to get it. I hate telephones, so that feels like a heroic moment...
ReplyDeleteMy most precious is vintage Evening in Paris in a gold vial with a gold tassel around the neck. I found it online, and it came with its original box. It was obviously a special Christmas item, as the blue box has gold snowflakes printed on it, with a fuschia foil lining. Not in great condition, but still rare to find the whole package. And the best thing is that the fragrance still smells delicious. Evening in Paris evokes childhood memories of the little cobalt blue bottle on my mom's dresser. It was a favorite of hers, and fascinated me, the first scent I was really aware of.
ReplyDeleteCould you please let me know where you found Evening in Paris? We did not have much money for extras when I was growing up, and the cobalt blue bottle on my mother's dresser was one of her few nice things.
DeleteMy most precious perfume is Andy's own L'air du desert Marocain.His ability to evoke an emotional and visceral response with his perfumes is without peer.I've never been to the Moroccan desert but when i smell the perfume i feel as if i am there...Amazing
ReplyDeleteI have many precious bottles (some says too many), but I think that the most precious one is Black Tourmaline by Olivier Durbano. I really love this scent and my husband thinks it is the most beautiful composition in my collection and plays with my skin wonderfully.
ReplyDeleteMy most treasured is Loi Krathong by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. It was a limited edition scent and evokes the Festival of Lights celebrated in many Asian cultures. The notes are banana leaves, betel nuts, coconut bark, spider lilies, candle wax, and incense. I wore it yesterday and was able to catch whiffs of it when I woke up during the night. It wove itself into my dreams.
ReplyDeleteI have a couple of scents from an indie seller that has recently shut down. They are based off of characters from my favorite book series so smelling them always reminds of how I felt when I first read those books, and how I came to think of myself differently.
ReplyDeleteMy precious perfume is Gucci Rush which I believe has been discontinued and I will also have to say Clive Christian's X for women - those two are very similar.
ReplyDeleteThese two just go straight to my heart and soul - very few perfumes do that for me. I love many perfumes but connect on a deeper level with maybe 3 -5 .
After all of the perfume's that i've smelled and experienced, Montale's Cuir d'Arabie seems to be standing the test of time as my favorite... but for a perfume to be a favorite after smelling so many, it really needs to be transcendent and CdA continues to transcend for me each time. Thank you for the give away, and a chance to win! - josh
ReplyDeleteMy precious is a tie between my two Lutens bell jars of Cuir Mauresque and Chergui. Both were bought early in my perfume-mania, on a wonderful trip to Paris. The trip was a gift from my mother, who took her whole family (daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren) there for the holidays.
ReplyDeleteI think the perfume that means the most to me is Une Rose Chypree.
ReplyDeleteI didn't care for it the first three times I tried it and then one evening I just thought "What the hell!" and sprayed all over my neck. Well I marinated in this and just slowly fell in love.
It permeated from the nape of my neck the next day on my run and I kept getting whiffs of this.
I've gone through three small bottles and am on my fourth.
URC is something I can wear for comfort , well-being and for oomph.
It always soothes, feels right and smells beautiful. I never want to be without it.
Thanks for the draw Gaia and thanks Andy for the chance to smell another creation of yours.xoxo!!
I don't buy that many full bottles, but I was wearing the heck out of Timbuktu and planning to splurge. I randomly went into a discount store filled with all kinds of cheap junk, and what did I spy on a bottom shelf but two distinctive black L'Artisan boxes. The stripe was green, and as I approached I thought "It can't be... no way... not here!" But it was!!! I bought two bottles of Timbuktu for less than half the regular price of one bottle! I could not believe my luck - this was a few years ago and I am still thrilled every time I spray it on.
ReplyDeleteThank you for entering me in the drawing! ~Amy Bella
A bottle of Tosca by 4711 perfume that an aunt gave to me as a child. I still have the bottle and I used to wear it between ages 8-11. It just brings back so many memories!
ReplyDeleteYikes, this is so tough to choose just one! But I'd have to say my precious is and always will be L'Heure Bleue, which I have worn since I was eighteen.I was in my freshman year of college and had just started my love affair with perfume...this was in the early days of the internet, when online shopping was not widespread, and I ordered it unsniffed out of a little paper brochure from a company called Grasse French Perfumery, simply because I wanted a Guerlain so badly (besides Shalimar, the only Guerlain offered at the local department store in our small town) and the named sounded so alluring. I saved for ages to buy it, and I was in love from first sniff...somehow I just knew it would be "my" fragrance, crazy as it sounds to order something without trying it or even knowing anything about it! But my intuition was right, and it's still my "special" fragrance, the one that I feel best expresses my personality. This Tauer sound amazing, btw...would love to be the lucky winner! :-)
ReplyDeleteHermes Eau Des Merveilles will always have a place in my heart, because it was the first perfume I found that didn't smell horrible on me.
ReplyDeleteA vintage bottle of l'Heure Bleue- I had read so many glorious reviews, but every time I tried it, it seemed so harsh I had to scrub it off. Then I got my little bottle of vintage, and, yes, it is glorious indeed!
ReplyDeleteThank you not only for this drawing, but also for your wonderful blog.
Oddly, the perfume items to which I give "precious" status are only sample vials. I have two from Gobin Daude's lovely line - Nuit au Desert and Jardins du Ottoman - that I only open every once in a while, and use a single drop at a time.
ReplyDeleteMy precious would have to be vintage Emeraude by Coty. I wore it in high school '67-'69. Can you imagine what the hallways smelled like with my signature sillage? We lived in a small town and I begged my mother to bring me a bottle back from the big city. I read Glamour and any beauty mag I could get my hands on, and this was the fragrance I wanted. Mother came through for me and what she must have thought about my choice but she never said anything negative. I now have a vintage bottle my husband found on Ebay!
ReplyDeleteI have a couple precious perfumes, including a vintage bottle of Oscar de La Renta that my mom just sent me. My grandmother used to wear this. My mom used to wear this... and I used to wear this when I was young too! So many fond memories and the scent is still good! My other "precious" is a vintage bottle of Chanel No.5 (pre 1951 in the striped box) on ebay for $40. It was my first ebay purchase ever, and the bottle, box, scent is perfect. Divine!
ReplyDeleteThe 80's was my decade and it was underpinned by grad school, after hours clubs and shoulder pads. While I was making my first mark on the world, I wore Le Parfum by Charles Blair. I found it at the long-gone Nan Duskin in Philadelphia and it changed my thoughts on fragrance. It was sublime, mature and men were drawn to it. During the days, I sported Coriandre but the evenings were spent with Blair. Like the 80's, it's long gone from stores but I still have my last bottle, empty but beloved.
ReplyDeleteMy precious Chaos, by Donna Karan... it was my favorite scent during college years, and when it became discontinued, I still craved it. I found a small perfume store on South Street in Philadelphia and bought the last of their stock, which was just a couple small bottles and those ran out over time, as I didn't have the foresight to hoard them. Years later, the search for a similar fragrance love was actually what fueled my perfume obsession! Though Chaos was somewhat hard to find, my little sister obtained a huge bottle of it that one of her friends was planning to sell on ebay. Knowing how much I adored it, she was so excited to give it to me for Christmas that year. And I was doubly excited to receive that precious gift, I don't think she could have even anticipated my reaction! Spritzing on my beloved Chaos and deeply inhaling the scent was an incredibly evocative moment for me. That still stands out one of the best and most thoughtful gifts ever.
ReplyDeleteThe most precious bottle in my collection is Egoiste Cologne Concentree from the mid-90s, one of my first perfumes. I found the bottle with a few ml remaining a year or so ago in my old dresser. Smells so, so terrific (the sandalwood!) and that formulation is now impossible to find.
ReplyDeleteMy precious is my bottle of Beige by Chanel because when I wear it I know I will not be smelling too many people with it on either. I don't like smelling like something common that everyone else has.
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous bottle. I think the most precious find in my collection was bidding on a sealed box of vintage Lanvin Arpege extrait expecting it to be the square glass bottle and upon opening my package I squealed with delight when I discovered it was the boule noire, sealed and pristine. Thank you for the lovely draw.
ReplyDeleteMy precious is 10 Corso Como. Each and very time I wear it, I have the same reaction - "Aahhhh! I feel like 'me' now". While I adore and am obsessed with many perfumes, this is the only scent that has ever had this affect on me, like I am slipping on a second skin or something that is a part of me, and then I felt complete. This perfume is both comforting and self-assuring. I hope to never be without it.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful giveaway! Thanks for the opportunity! My precious is L'Artisan Fleur de Narcisse. Smoky hay and indoles. I wish I had a second bottle...
ReplyDeleteMy precious is Jo Malone Orange Blossom, which my mother wears every day. It smells just like her (although I suppose, really, she smells just like it)! I have just a tiny bit left from a discovery set bottle she gifted me and spritz it when I want to feel her presence. JM Orange Blossom is also the perfume that completely changed my idea of what a perfume could be and subsequently started my own obsession.
ReplyDeleteIt is so hard to choose just one! Incense Rose is an absolute precious to me, as are several of my bottles by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.
ReplyDeleteMy precious is a tiny (1.5" high) gilded ceramic bottle in the shape of a garden snail. Its little antennaed head holds the cork that keeps the bottle sealed tight. A very, very dear friend gave it to me, and a ghost of pure frankincense oil still resides in it. I cherish it above any big, fancy, or full bottle in my collection. :)
ReplyDeleteThe only real precious for me is Orris by Andy Tauer. I think it sort of wears me, but, I don't care. There's so far nothing that comes close to the complexity of this one for me. Thank you for the draw! Boy, I hope I win! rachel h
ReplyDeleteThere are two bottles in my collection that are dear one is precious becaue of the memories attached to it. The other...not so much. Tabac Blonde is precious. It was given to me by my boyfriend back then while we were in London and I dragged him to Harrods ( you know at the 5th floor near the egyption stuff behind the spa). I just have the strong memories of adoring that little corner of my own personal Mecca and finding Tabac Blonde and trying it again and still loving it. It fitted the surroundings so well, utterly decadent and irresistible, but kind of hidden away. The perfume has always been one of my great loves and started my whole leather/tabacco fascination. Tabac Blonde in extrait cannot be beaten. It's as simple as that. I'm glad my boyfriend bought it for me then.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the boyfriend in question cheated on me a week before I left the country for a new job, apparantly he had moved on before I was gone! Ever since then I can't wear Like This, because on the same trip to London he remarked that is smelled really nice on me and edible. Screw that guy, I don't want to smell nice and edible for him anymore! So I can't wear Like This without bitter bitter memories.
Strangely Harrods made a more lasting impression and how I felt there and it's so strong its not sullied by the Ex.
My most precious bottle is one owned by my mother who died 12 2004. Sh almost never wore fragrances because we could not afford them. But when she did wear a scent she only had one to choose from. A single sniff makes me remember Mom and the association is very strong and immediate. The Scent? Chanel No.5.
ReplyDeleteIn my collection I have a very special bottle of Rose d'Ete from Les Parfums de Rosine that my dearest friend, Sands, sent me when I was watching over my dying mother. There was perhaps 1/4 left in the bottle and it touched me more to receive his 'leftover' than a wrapped full bottle of perfume would have. I had to buy myself a new one, though, because the one he sent me instantly became kind of a sacred object.
ReplyDeleteMy precious is lost actually. It was a 1970's bottle of Shalimar in the frosted rose bud bottle, a gift from my aunt. It was actually my first bottle of perfume. After I moved, it was never seen again. :(
ReplyDeleteMy precious is a tiny, tiny bottle of amber I bought at a street fair one summer. I was there with a friend, who bought the same scent. We've lost track of each other over the years, but I remember that wonderful day everytime I open that bottle. I hope she does, too.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the giveaway!
My precious is a practically empty bottle of vintage l'air du temps. My grandmother gave it to me because I loved the bottle when I was little. Even though it's almost empty it just emanates lovely golden smell into my cupboard. I don't know whether it's the memory of my glamorous grandmother or the perfume itself, but whenever I smell it I get a rush!
ReplyDeleteI've really enjoyed reading all these stories.
The beauty of that bottle and it's artisian elegance took my breath away...amazing
ReplyDeleteMy precious is the last remnants...to the point of fumes... of a bottle Sirene perfume by Vicki Tiel.
I am a lady who enjoys the beauty of the bottle as much as I enjoy the beauty of the fragrance.
This bottle is clear cristal and the perfume dauber is a small stature of a beautiful woman.
Like the photo of your Precious, my Precious caught my eye and my heart at the same time.
Debra Gray
Atlanta, GA
[email protected]
Thank you for the giveaway opportunity, and for encouraging these stories, which are so heartwarming to read.
ReplyDeletePicking a favorite perfume would be impossible, but my most sentimental perfume is the humble Acqua di Gio for men. I met a boy in college when I was 18 that unexpectedly stole my heart. He was young, and we went our separate ways, but I always wished to find someone that I felt so strongly about. Years later in our 20s, we reconnected,and when he would wear that cologne I was immediately brought back to how I felt about him and all that I learned during that time. We are still together 2.5 years later, and I feel like he shaped what I wanted in a man, including my attraction to that fragrance.
- AKM
Habit Rouge is the one loaded with most memories for me. My father used to wear it and every time I smell it I remember myself as a 5 year old reaching for his bottle just to open it and sniff it and then putting it back without anyone seeing me, as if I was sneaking into the magical world set aside only for me. I don’t wear it myself but it will always be a very special scent to me.
ReplyDelete([email protected])
My most precious bottle of perfume is Chanel No. 22, bought for me by a dear family friend at Harrod's. I had been so excited to smell all of the Chanel Exclusifs, but knew that there was no way I could afford a bottle. My friend saw my look of both joy (and hopelessness) when I smelled them, and later that evening surprised me with a bottle of No. 22.
ReplyDeleteFor me, it would have to be Kai. It represents and reminds me of our wedding day and following honeymoon. Everytime I wear it, I am brought back to that time...so special. Sappy, but special.
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough call...but eliminating all scents associated with past lovers really narrows it down. I think that one of the first special bottles was 4711 Cologne. It was given to me by a dancer in a summer theater musical where I worked as a wardrobe dresser when I was sixteen. He always smelled so good (and I told him so!!) and when the show closed he gave me a splash bottle of 4711 as a goodbye gift. I still like how it smells.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite of all time is Incense Rose. Every time I smell it I feel like I am transported to a wonderful place. It always lifts my mood.
ReplyDeletePhilip
My precious is my sample of Omnia Madera. I love love love the scent, and don't laugh, but all my perfumes are samples, except for one bottle of Fresh Brown Sugar. I bought Brown Sugar because you rated it as a cheap thrill, and I actually really enjoy it, but it's just an everyday perfume. My Omnia Madera is an every-day-is-amazing perfume.
ReplyDeleteMy early initiation to perfume was visceral -- literally. When I was about 2 and a half I drank a bottle of my mom's Chanel No. 5 and had to have my stomach pumped. Evidently, I mistook it for another liquid I still love, because I was shouting 'Whisky! Whisky!" as they trundled me into the hospital. I've had many bottles of No. 5 since, but I'd call the one I have now the most precious bottle in my sizable collection of perfume. It's a vintage 1960s bottle of cologne in a rechargeable bucket container that smells just like the No. 5 my mom used to wear in the old days -- civety and less sedate than the current formulations. There's nothing like it out there. I don't wear it much, but every time I do I remember how, then as now, I've been trying to incorporate perfume into my very being.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite scent is Miller Harris L'air de rien. It reminds me of my grandmother. Love it!
ReplyDeleteThat bottle is so beautiful! My precious (at the moment) is Chloe, the original eau de parfum. Its feminine and clean without being too sweet.
ReplyDeleteI would have to say Djedi, which I got in a tester bottle. On the less rare side, Ormonde Woman.
ReplyDeleteI have a bottle of Touch of Venus perfume. Not Secret of Venus, Touch of Venus.
ReplyDeleteI bought a bottle of Touch of Venus at an online discounter based on notes alone. Price was right, I gave it a shot.
On first spray my great aunts appeared in the room with cherry red kisses, smelling of parliment cigarettes, whiskey sours, coty face powder and this. This was the scent they wore in a reformulated of course but this was it. Sent me in search of the vintage, which I finally found a tiny half full bottle on ebay. I dab a touch on my wrist occasionally just to visit with them...
I think my most precious is a decant of vintage Mitsouko - I don't remember who sent it to me now (alas). But it's one of the loveliest examples of vintage Mitsy - something about it eclipses all other perfume and ...well, to me it is the very definition of 'perfume'.
ReplyDeleteI have a number of precious children, but I would have to choose my nearly empty bottle of L'Air du Temps, a gift from my beloved, late Aunt. Aunt Mary wore it in its heydey, and many of my memories of her laughter and her joie de vivre come with the scent of this perfume.
ReplyDeleteWonderful draw!
TaffyJ
My most precious perfume is a tiny little bottle of Estee Lauder's Pleasures. My grandma used to carry it in her purse all the time and wear it sparingly because it was precious to her. She always used to spray a little on my wrist when we were at church and say "doesn't it smell beautiful?" I don't know why she never bought a full bottle. She died 2 years ago and the little bottle sits in a jewelry box full of her things in a corner of my bedroom. I can't bring myself to wear it, but sometimes I'll take the cap off, take a whiff, and remember her.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the chance to win. Estee Lauder's Pleasures or Glow by JLO is the most dear to me. I tend to not even use much of them so I can keep them forever!
ReplyDeleteAmy Orvin
[email protected]
My most precious bottle of perfume is my tiny bottle of BVLGARI 'Mon Jasmin Noir L'Eau Exquise'
ReplyDeleteI've been trying to find a jasmine perfume that doesn't offend my nose and takes me on a journey and this little bottle does it. It's the bottle that really made me want to experience perfume instead of just "smelling good"
My "preciouses" are my tiny bottles of vintage Chanel no. 5 extrait- they aren't expensive nor difficult to find but they were my first vintage ebay buys and the thrill of smelling no. 5 in extrait form for the first time is pretty great..:)
ReplyDeleteYour fragrance descriptions always send me out searching for new things. Thank you for helping make my forays into the world of perfume a little more adventurous. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't even know the name of my most precious bottle. How sad is that? It has no label. It's small and blue and smells of memories and dried rose petals. I don't really wear it much anymore (not much left!) but it reminds me of the old friend who gifted it to me. The friendship may have withered, but the fragrance still smells lovely and reminds me of all the good times we shared before we went our separate ways.
My "precious" is Cuir de Lancome. I know it isn't rare or expensive, but one day I will not be able to buy it. It just makes me sigh when I smell it. I would love to smell Dark Passage and really enjoyed the excerpts from the films.
ReplyDeleteI love so many of the ones that have already been mentioned! My true Precious is my vintage Jicky in extrait. It is unlike anything from my childhood or early days at home, but as soon as I experienced it, I knew it would be my all-time favorite.
ReplyDeleteOrmonde Woman is The Precious. The first time I sniffed it, a few months after it became available, I recoiled. It didn't even register as perfume. I sent the sample along to a friend. Over the next year, it seemed as if I could smell it now and then; I couldn't forget it. Finally, I gave in and obtained a new sample. I opened the vial, turned on my laptop and ordered a bottle.
ReplyDeleteThank you for being so generous to your readers.
Only one precioussss? But...but...how? Place all the hopes and dreams of my scent addiction and hoard into one bottle? Carelessly cast aside all vintage eBay victories aside for...one? Because I create my own history with each artifact I gather. I become part of the house of Guerlain, one with Coco, I can imagine myself to be the little girl in the Lanvin icon. Oh lucky child! Such a treasure trove of femininity and maternal love!
ReplyDeleteI have a loving mother, and I too played with her perfume bottles and those of my grandmother. One grandmother had only Emeraude, the other had Tigress and White Shoulders and various forever unnamed scents. My mother had Faberge Woodhue and I adored the wooden top and thought the liquid smelled of being grown up. Not exactly the same as growing up smelling the grand classics; and I have no inherited or gifted bottles to treasure. I do however still love woody scents, and I have my own Tigress, Woodhue and Emeraude. But a bottle of the divinely bizarre Tweed from the 1940s brings its own inheritance with it. I love to think of the ladies who cherished the scents and then passed through this life to the other side. And I get all that. I know that even the unopened bottles and boxes kept for years were treasured. So much so that they couldn't bear to open and actually use them. I could say that the most precious is the one I am still in the process of obtaining, but that is the addiction talking.
To save one above others, at the moment, would be my vintage Shocking de Schiaparelli. The scent transports me to another age, enthralling me in honeyed floral splendour. Even my husband said that one was nice! High praise indeed, from the man who is amazed that people actually care about such things as perfume.
My special perfume is Fragonard's Ile d'Amour. I own a small aluminium bottle and wore it on my wedding. The scent never fails to bring back happy memories. It's like a small bottle of joy. I only wear it on special occasion to make every drop count.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the giveaway and for the lovely blog. As a fellow perfume-lover, it's always a pleasure to read the perfume posts.
Without question my "Precious" would have to be a bottle of Chanel No. 5 that my grandmother brought to the US when my grandparents and dad moved here from Paris in the 1950s. There really isn't anything left in the bottle but there is still a faint smell that lingers. SInce both grandparents and my dad are now gone-- that little bottle means more than ever to me!
ReplyDeleteMy Precious is Cher's Uninhibited. It reminds me of a forbidden love with this incredible man, seeing him but being unable to touch, feeling his eyes follow me. It reminds me of intense longing culminating in white hot passion. The funny thing is-- I married him!
ReplyDeleteI have always worn Beautiful by Estee Lauder since a rather young age. It is part of my history. I was never unfaithful to it for more than 15 years, until one day, when I was in San Francisco staying in a friend's house, I saw this lovely bottle that contained small green tiny pebbles; it's name was Green Green, Green, and Green. She sprayed a bit and I fell in love; it was love at first smell. As soon as I came back to NYC, I headed directly to Aedes de Venustas to indulge myself in my love affair, but they did not have it in stock so they had to special order it. I waited and waited and waited yet a bit more until it finally arrived. My lover became my precious. My lover and precious is the greenest and happiest embrace.
ReplyDeleteMy most precious is my bottle of Cruel Gardenia. It was the most expensive perfume I've ever bought, but it seemed stupid to keep buying decants. So, I went for it. A few days after the bottle arrived at my house, we had a tornado warning. I grabbed that bottle and took it with me to the closet, ready to shield the bottle with my body!
ReplyDeleteThanks for hosting this giveaway.
Suzy Q
My most precious bottle of perfume is a tiny bottle of Le Dix from the 1950s that sat on my grandmother's bureau and now sits on mine. I adore the scent and think of her and my childhood summers at her place every time I see the bottle.
ReplyDeleteMy most precious is Most Precious, I still have the bottle from high school{empty). Thank you for the chance for the giveaway.
ReplyDeleteThis past Spring my precious mother passed away at age ninety-nine. When the first Mother's Day without her arrived, I found some consolation in wearing the immortal Diorissimo (with it's Muguet connection to Mother's Day.) Now, whenever the sadness is too much, I find it helps to smell this ethereal perfection from the great Roudnitska.
ReplyDelete