Shalimar aside, the top five is just a game of musical chairs. When I don't know what to wear it's either L'Orpheline or some version of Chanel No. 5. Basenotes doesn't account for concentrations let alone vintages, but I can tell you that I love layering very vintage eau de cologne with any of the extraits I have. No.5 used to be very be ubiquitous, but I can't remember the last time I smelled it on a random person anywhere (obviously my perfume friends don't count).
Bal a Versailles is my filthy friend while Philtre d'Amour is a favorite after-shower treat. My backup bottle might be called in for service sooner rather than later. Then I'll be scared.
My cheap thrill of Oro by Cavalli is still going strong. It's becoming harder to find other than in my basement and I'm not apologizing.
I have a feeling that I've worn Ilang Ivohibe many more times than this list may suggest. It's located strategically in my cabinet so I can and do reach for it often. It's also an evidence that I don't really understand people. Why isn't it the biggest Parfumerie Generale hit? This is such a delicious and warm floral I'd expect more perfume people to worship it.
I'm not sure why I've let No.5 Eau de Premiere slide down the list this way. I guess that whenever I feel like No.5 I go for the real thing, but EP deserves better, especially in light of the more recent No.5 L'Eau which I simply don't get.
Then there's No. 19. Again, I'm pretty sure that I've missed logging several wearings, especially of the very floral eau de parfum from about 15-20 years ago which I love dearly. Maybe I'll wear it tonight to erase the memory of a day spent in Chanel's Gabrielle.
Closing the list is La Fin du Monde. The end of the world. If we're all going down I'll be doing it in a big bang of buttered popcorn and iris.
I love Ilang Ivohibe! It's still on my wishlist, though, I must do something about it, because there's only one-wear amount of the sample left. Other favourites here are Shalimar (wearing Shalimar Light while typing this), L'Orpheline and Fin du Monde. Bal à Versailles is gorgeous (reminds me a bit of Coco) but I don't have it.
ReplyDeletewould someone please tell me the difference in the No.5's?
ReplyDeleteI have been wearing the EDP for 50 years plus and it doesn't smell the same.
I am losing my eyesight and maybe I am getting the wrong bottles.
Where can I get vintage if necessary? I am paralyzed and so can't get outside for a sniff test.
For many years I was not permitted to wear perfume as none of the executives were either.
I am excited to start again but am so confused.
Not much to comment on, other than I'm glad someone else enjoys L'Orpheline as much as I do. I wouldn't mind a 100ml bottle of that one! I'd probably wear it more since I hate finishing bottles and therefore stop wearing a perfume 75% through a bottle.
ReplyDeleteI wear something different every day but I'm recently obsessed with my vintage Parfum d'Hermes EdT. Gorgeous stuff especially in the heat.
Interesting to hear that someone else with an enormous perfume collection also tends to wear the same core scents repeatedly. For the past year or so, it seems like I've been spritzing on the same 5 or 6 fragrances. Not exclusively, but typically. This morning, faced with a rainy, cold day against a backdrop of spring green, I reached for something I adore but only find myself moved to wear once or twice a year: AG Eau de Camille. The sweet privet and ivy and grass turned out to be perfect for this grim day: raised my spirits while working with the rain and green rather than against it. That's one of my favorite things about perfume: the capacity for the right scent to transform my mood. Plus, a long-loved scent--like Eau de Camille, for me--comes equipped with decades of memories, which never hurts. :) That said, I need to try La Fin du Monde. Iris and buttered popcorn!
ReplyDeletesigh. well it was worth a try. i’m not a bot or a creepy stalker. just had a unusable bottle of perfume that no one i know can wear and thought ‘aha! there is someone that maybe could’. i offered it for swap on fragranatica too with no succes. uh well :)
ReplyDeleteotherwise, my rotation probably has on top tea fragrances : Tea for Two in winter, Eau de the bleu in autumn, Fig tea in summer.( Artisan, Bvlgari, Parfums de Nicolai)
Shalimar, always.
ReplyDelete