Surprise, surprise – I decided to take my own Signature Scent Challenge! Since I can’t try anything new this week (I started on Saturday), here’s a bit about what I didn’t pick, and why. Don’t forget, meet me here next Monday November 8 for the Signature Scent Challenge results, in which you all report in on how a week of wearing one fragrance worked out.
I’m not going to go too much into the process (saving that for next Monday) but wanted to say I had a lot of the same issues others of you mentioned. Picking something innocuous, what I call my wallpaper scents, seemed like a cop-out. I didn’t want to commit to something I loved and then turn that into loathing by the end of a week. I didn’t want to overthink it, but a certain amount of research was necessary. I did some quick and dirty test-driving…
L’Artisan Passage d’Enfer. There’s a soft spot in my heart for Passage d’Enfer, the first L’Artisan I sniffed and the first bottle I bought, I think. PdE was an early-on revelation for me in terms of redefining what a perfume could be. That said, I don’t know if my bottle has changed or I have, but that lily note seems much soapier to me than it used to. I found it grating, which is sad.
Chanel Bois des Iles fits me like a well-cut pair of trousers. But like a well-cut pair of trousers it seemed too safe a choice for this challenge. My signature scent, for better or worse, needs to be “bigger.”
Fendi Theorema. I had high hopes for this one as well – fruital and syrupy, just the way I like ’em, apparently. As much as I love it (and I do love it), I didn’t spray it on and think, this is it! Theorema marked the point at which I started to worry I wasn’t going to be able to pick anything.
Guerlain Mitsouko. After making some long-overdue samples, I reeked of three different vintages of Mitsouko PdT, Cinnabar parfum, and Chamade PdT simultaneously. (I am a sloppy decanter). It occurred to me that I could stop torturing myself and pick Mitsouko a.k.a. the Queen of Everything, but I simply became even more bull-headed and said no, something else.
Shiseido Feminite du Bois. Another obvious choice that eluded me because – follow this twisted reasoning – there are so many variations (in the Serge Lutens Bois series, not to mention Dior Dolce Vita), I couldn’t bring myself to commit. Still, though. Stunning, especially in parfum.
Malle Carnal Flower. I hope one of you picked this. I love it and yet I decided seven days of this right now (fall allergy season is particularly brutal) might ruin the scent for me.
Donna Karan Signature (remember that cool robo-duck bottle?) was sitting next to the Passage d’Enfer. Since it’s her original “signature” I thought, what the hell. I couldn’t even remember what it smells like! Well, it’s not my signature, but what an amazing deep suede note – on me it’s almost entirely suede, austere verging on bitter, with a hint of dark floral (plum?) You folks who’d like a dry suede that isn’t all smoky birchtar should check it out. I want to wear this on a snowy day. It’s now a part of her regular collection in those tall cylinder bottles, but I’m sure the robo-duck’s still out there on eBay, and probably some discounters.
Public Service Announcement – the rumors appear to be true that Donna Karan Gold has been discontinued. Gold, that fabulous Casablanca lily scent from 2006 – four short years ago! — done by Calice Becker and Yann Vasnier, among others. It’s not on the DK website any more but can be found in abundance online at discounters and eBay for a song ($10 – $20 for the EdP). If you love it and don’t want to be kicking yourself in two years for not stocking up, now’s probably the time.
photos: have nothing to do with today’s post but they’re cool, no? Big Cheese has now decamped to Pokhara, Nepal, having spent some time in Kathmandu. The top is the view of Fishtail Mountain which towers over Pokhara (and I believe the rest of the range is Annapurna); the bottom is Phiwa Lake, facing the other direction. He also sent me some amazing pictures of their flight through the mountains on the way.
I am on day four of, drumroll, please, Yatagan. Will I have any friends after this experiment is done?
You’re always welcome in my vicinity. I’d love to smell that on another person.
March, oddly, although I thoroughly enjoyed analyzing and considering various possibilities, I ended up going with basically the first scent that came to mind when I first read the challenge.
I realized I had a huge (7.5 ml) sample of something that had gotten enticing reviews but which I had only given a cursory sniff when I first got it. It is also very right for the season and versatile enough for different times of the day and possible weather shifts. And so far, so good!
There WAS, however, ahem, I think it was last Thursday at that time of night when resistance is down and the index finger hovers trigger-happy over the touchpad that I remembered having really wanted to try out one of those Honore des Pres scents and loving the idea of giving my nose a spa vacation by wearing an all natural scent for a week.
Coco Love and I Love Carrots have been calling my name ever since I tested Vamp a NY a few months ago, courtesy of Grain de Musc. I was ready to go for it – the Challenge was just the excuse I had needed! But I pulled out of that nose-dive in the nick of time: neither seemed very seasonal. Shame, really!
I agree on I love Carrots, seems all wrong for this time of year. And if it makes you feel any better (although it won’t) I bought a buncho items on eBay the last few days and as they roll in here I grit my teeth and ignore them (plus some sampls showed up.) There is no way I can open the boxes without spraying! I look forward to your report, I like the way you chose your fragrance. Now you’ll devote some time to it.
Heh I second and third everything above! In the end could not risk running out of Tubereuse Criminy…ended up deciding that I had to go with *large* full bottles only (more than 50ml) as I share the angst about lovely things you’ve only just met being reformulated or deceased.
I’m in the position of being in Spring Downunder, and I finally sorted my storage into seasons.
Strangely three of my lifelong faves made it out onto the dresser…
Mitsouko
Fidgi
L’Heure Bleue
but after wearing them all for a few days I decided to go for something from my current perfumista time. More adventurous!
I got out Vent Vert and Vol de Nuit which I hadn’t known back in their day…
Then Heeleys Ophelia, Cristalle and Cr Au Verte, Iris Ganache, D.K Jasmine, Apres L’Ondee…
Will hold out letting you know what I chose and why!
Yeah, keep it a secret, I did! Sounds like some people are already getting bored, ruh roh. But we are strong! Strong, sister!
I’m wearing Eau d’ Hadrien for the week. It was the first Anick Goutal perfume I ever tried and holds good memories of summer and since it is never fall in California I thought it would be nice so here it goes…..
Fun to read about everyone’s choices. I’m on day 4 of Miller Harris’ l’air de rien. Complete barnyard up top for about 15 minutes on me, then the lovely skin scent of tobacco, incense, oakmoss and musk. Dunno if I whimped out and picked a wallflower, but it doesn’t feel that way at first.
This is the scent that makes me wonder if I’m anosmic to shank, because it gets compared to Bal a Versailles, and I don’t fear skank in little ‘rien. BTW, I tried the petite rien and it was *very* different, laundry musk like on me. Not bad smelling, but not compelling or come hither the way the original is for me.
Hope no one burns out on one of their FBs. This one was my newest acquisition, and seemed a natural choice for the 7 day test. Hopefully not detest :)
I wore Cuir de Lancome for 4 days straight and it was interesting: I never once regretted it. I thought I would’ve gone nuts, not having something else to try but those 4 days allowed me to really enjoy that ONE fragrance, rather than dashing about, washing and prepping for another entrant.
Let’s hope Diorella stands the 7 day Test of Time. Sofa, so good.
xo >-)
Diorella is a great fragrance and quite easy to wear. I have a tiny bottle of vintage extrait, now that is something else.
Oh, that was one of my criteria: the scent COULD NOT be a FB – I could not risk hating a whole FB of something I used to love if I ended up ODing on it, LOL! :d
I wasn’t going to do this challenge, and I totally forgot about it until I read this post. I’ve been wearing the hell out of my “signature” (or the closest I have to one), Dior Fahrenheit, for the last week or so and can’t bear the idea of spending another unbroken week with it. I didn’t want to pick one of my faves and grow to hate it by the end of the week, nor did I want to take the easy way out and pick one of my “wallpapers”. But I happened to spritz on a scent earlier today that I enjoy but don’t wear very often, slightly intimidated by its overt sweetness and loud personality, and I think this challenge would be the perfect opportunity to get to know it better and find out how I REALLY feel about it. Also, I figured I might as well go big or go home.
The scent is Angel.
Wish me luck.
😮 ^:)^
xo >-)
Like I said last week, I think I’m committing to Eau des Merveilles for this challenge. And before officially starting tomorrow, I did a bit of a dry run last week, wearing EdM for three days straight ( a long time for me!). I’m a bit anxious to report that EdM is not as wonderful as I imagined it in my head. Maybe it’s the decant I have, but EdM for me just fizzles and sparkles the entire time (if that makes any sense) without settling down to anything richer. And I vaguely remember my first spritz at the department store being slightly richer and warmer. To my nose, it never seems to get past the citrus and pepper notes. Anyway, I’ll wear it for the next week and perhaps change my opinion, maybe experiment a bit. I wore it last week with Chergui and that was interesting.
:)
Hrrrmmmm. Yeah.
Let me just say that this Seven-Days-Without-Testing-Anything-Else just isn’t gonna work.
I have, however, worn the same scent to work all day for the last four work days and it’s working for me really well. But having gajillion samples and decants at home, and also making some decants just doesn’t really allow for this king of experiment. What can I say? … I’m a quitter!
Oh, and I really like Gold. It’s what I like to think of as my “Poor Man’s Lys Mediterranée.” I have a bottle of EDP but need to try the EDT to see if it’s a little less strident and ‘VA-VOOM.’
The EDT IS less “va va voom”. So much so that I never bother wearing it, unless it’s July. But then I don’t get any complaints about “what is that flowery smell?” from my husband with it either.
I SO LOVE the EDP. I’ve lost count of the number of backup bottles I have hidden away.
The body lotion is nice too.
Joe and Lemonprint (love that name, btw) –
I can’t try it this week because of the Scent CHallenge so I have to ask you – is there a muskolicious note in the drydown? That was the dealbreaker in Lys. I thought I’d found the HG of Lilies…then that stupid musk note…..:-w
If you detect no musk I might….:-?
xo >-)
Not sure I get musky… but there’s amber, so they say.
Next time we’re swapping or something I’ll send you a dab of EDP. I need to get my hands on some EDT too and I know just who I’m going to.
I recently bought backup bottles of a few of my favorite scents (among them DK Gold and Cuir de Lancome), but even with the backups, I feel distraught about the possibility of them becoming unavailable. I’d rather fall out of love with them eventually rather than feel anxious whenever I want to wear them! Stupid perfume industry.
I’m wearing Valentino “V”. It IS a wallpaper scent for me, but I only have small decants of the stuff I really love, and I don’t want to run out. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.
I’m wearing VS Dream Angels Divine. I have enough, and it’s a scent I love. However, this morning I woke with full on raging allergies, so I can’t smell a thing. :((
Well, that’s one problem with my timing. Lots and lots of allergies.
I’m pretty torn up about the Gold issue…I had read somewhere that it was discontinued, so I ordered 2 giant bottles cheap online. I think I could wear this one everyday…its so pretty but also friendly and complex.
I ordered one too and I can’t even remember what it smells like! I think I paid $9 for a 1.7 EDP which is astonishing.
So there I was this morning with four scents on my arms: Ava Luxe No. 23 (a lovely sandalwood), Ralph Lauren Safari, CdG Zagorsk, and SSS Champagne de Bois. Zagorsk is bit too out there for a week, Champagne de Bois a bit too formal. So it was down to No. 23 and Safari. Safari won for the simple reason that I have lots of it: a backup bottle to the backup bottle and (thanks Mal!) a mini of the parfum. I’m awfully fickle, though, so we’ll so how long I last in this challenge.
Haha! So it will be a challenge, a scent you have a lot of but are not sure will play nicely. I like your moxie.
Safari! So glad it went to a good home.
I loved Safari back in the day. It is truly special. Good Luck!
Scents I considered wearing were:
Hermès; Eau des Merveilles, Kelly Calèche
YSL: Paris
Lutens: Sarrasins
Prescriptives: Calyx
Divine: L’homme de coeur
I ended up deciding to wear the original (1987) Nina by Nina Ricci. It’s a scent I love loads but just never seem to wear. Started today. Got lots of compliments and am enjoying it immensely.
Now, this makes me smile. What’s better than busting out your vintage Nina and getting compliments?
Is that the aldehydic floral Nina, as opposed to the fruity Nina? I keep thinking I ought to go hunt up some of that, I think I’d like it.
Hey Mals – I thought I sent you some of the Nina? No? I can if you’d like. Email me…
a:)
Yes, the original Nina is an aldehydic floral. It’s rather like L’Air du Temps (vintage), but less sweet.
I have only once tried the new Nina. I didn’t like it. If you like aldehydic florals this might be worth a try. It’s really quite lovely, although not spectacular in anyway.
Krishna Musk by Song of India. It’s sort of a midway point between animalic and clean, and is just incredibly compelling. It’s still hot here in New Orleans, so nothing too strong, because some days it’s cold in the morning, hot at mid day and then cold again at night.
I almost did Fleur d’Oranger too, Hongkongmom, but I’ve been having migraines lately and I was afraid anything with an actual smell (versus sort of a presence, like KM) might set it off.
The migraine thing is the only deal killer for me, if it rears up we will skip a day.
I chose Chanel Bois des Iles. Feels like a safe and boring choice, but I have a stressful week at work, so I didn’t want something too challenging or weird. BdI is so warm and elegant, and perfect in most situations. Chamade was on my shortlist, but I only have a small decant of it unfortunately.
I might do this again next week, with something more daring like Sarrasins or Shalimar. We’ll see how this week goes first, though :)
Wow, BdI and Chamade are all over this list. I had no idea there were so many Chamade lovers until recently. And another round next week sounds challenging.
Yikes – I officially have 2 hours to make my final decision as to what I’m going to wear for the challenge. I too went through some scents last week and shuffled things around (in and off my skin) and came up with 4 possibilities: Mitsouko EdP, Le Parfum de Therese, Pulp, or Amaranthine. I’m leaning towards the Malle – any suggestions? My problem is I teach dance 3 days a week, so the fragrance has to “work” when I’m sweating buckets….
Muahaha. wonder what you picked? You don’t have to tell… I want to say Pulp because I’m sadistic, apparently.
Hello there. You’re the first person I’ve seen comment on the Ode so I was wondering: Do you think it might work on someone like me for whom Shalimar is a complete fail (goes waaay icky powdery on me)? It’s one of those scents that I want to love so badly but it just turns up its nose at me. Thanks, and enjoy your Guerlain goodie box!
Shalimar hates me. Good question. Have you tried vintage Emeraude? That’s like great Shalimar.
I wore it (Emeraude) ages ago and am dying to revisit it. Thanks!
I have some of the Ode de la Vanille, and can say that it still smells like Shalimar till you get to the far drydown when it becomes all vanilla. That said, this Shalimar has less skank and a brighter, richer vanilla, not the fluffy lemon/vanilla frosting of the Eau Legere. I do have and like eau Legere, btw…
OK, good to know. Think I’ll sample the Ode and the Eau Legere then, just to see. Many thanks!
Eau Legere was a limited edition scent. They occassionally pop up on fleabay. You may need to go to TPC to get a sample. Good luck.
Well, I am on Day Five of The Challenge and I decided to do Ode a la Vanille. It has so far allowed me to realise that it is a rather straight-up linear scent and it is NO “real” Shalimar. Yes, I should have chosen Chamade, my first Guerlain all those aeons ago….sigh. It never fails to delight me.
On Day One of the Challenge I had a big box delivered from Guerlain in Paris so it has been a bit of a killer not to be able to try out my new babies!
Ooooh, what else is in the Guerlain box?!?! ::peers over your shoulder:: this is exactly the kind of report I am anticipating (about the Ode). I will be curious to see what people decide/discover about a scent after 7 days. Chamade really grew on me after I got the bottle btw. I could rewind it and add more, although the top is something I tolerate more than love.
Chamade was my first Guerlain, and funny thing is – it was the opening that drew me to it. I actually had to learn to love the heart and the drydown after the big rose-hyacynth-galbannum-and-whatever-else opening! That was also my signature scent for a few years with only a few others interspersed for some variety.
I’ll be one of the poops and not take the challenge. I just feel like I’d be straightjacketing myself and that would be very stressful…
:d
I had decided to let fate choose for me. Whatever was the first thing delivered from my last Ebay rampage was going to be ‘the one’ for this week.
What the fickle finger of fate delivered to me was Molinard de Molinard (original version). I think fate treated me well. This is a scent with a lot going on – at least on my skin – so a week of wears should be instructive.
I must admit that when I awoke to a cold dark rainy morning today, I was tempted to grab a comfort scent, but I held strong.
March, I don’t know what your husband does for a living, but he certainly goes to THE most interesting places. :)
Molinard sounds like a great choice — not wallpaper, not boring, and picking from your eBay rampage is as good a decision as any other.
Husband collects art and works with artists overseas, mostly in Thailand and Burma. And he does go interesting places! I’m trying to get him to take a side trip to Bhutan which is right next door (in honor of Dzongkha). 🙂
March–still undecided as to whether I’m doing the challenge, let alone what to pick! But had to comment because our short lists appear to have been surprising similar–far more so than I would have guessed, since I don’t necessarily think of us as having the same taste. Mitsy, BdI, Fem d B, Theorema (check, check, check, check). If we’d been doing this in summer, CF would have been on there for sure, and I seem to recall it was one of the frags that I accidentally wore repeatedly for over a week. Something about the drydown really makes one want to reapply the next morning…
Love reading all the thought processes.
So funny, our lists were so similar. You are so right about the CF drydown, after a long long while you just want to get up the next day and do it again. It does last a full 24 hours on me, too.
Well I spent days trying to figure out what to wear and then last night with all the Halloween stuff I totally forgot to pick something. So this morning as I was rushing around to get me and the kids out of the house before 7 a.m. I remember I needed to pick something, but had no time to decide. So I went with what was on my bathroom counter (it was left there from a wearing a couple of weeks ago) which was Peastum Rose. So after all that pondering that’s how I came up with my week-long scent. Kinda pathetic, but true.
Actually it will be a challange, because I am NOT a rose person so I don’t know if I can do Roses, even beautiful ones, for a full week.
Good Luck everyone.
tara..i didn’t stick with my serge and my vintage shalimar edt is making my allergies a little crazy today…lets see what tmrw brings…good luck with pr
Lol I’m on the way out the door to my dad’s, will be back shortly, but this is excellent. You know what? It’s just as legit a way to choose as anything else. I was almost to the point of closing my eyes and reaching my hand into the closet to choose.
Tara, I think that might work out well – it’s one of those all-weather things, and neither too loud nor too soft. Also, fairly distinctive, not wallpapery… your last-minute grab was a good choice!
Tara, I predict you will have a very good week indeed in PR! To me it’s not really a rose scent–it’s almost all resins–bracing at the start, then the dark rose in the middle, and then that lovely dry smokiness. FWIW I wore it all week during one of the most stressful weeks of my life–a whole series of very high stakes meetings that absolutely needed to turn out well. It was a great frag for that situation, the week went well, and I was so NOT sick of it that I carried the little spritzer I’d made for my trip around in my bag for the week after I got home, just for emergencies. I still have a sample in my purse.
What she said. I like it and I am not the Queen of Roses either.
Oops, misplaced comment. What Sweetlife said. I like it and am not the Queen of Rose.
Thanks guys. PR is truly beautiful and I really enjoyed it today. It was freezing this morning 32 degrees. Winter is here.
Sweetlife. I agree that PR is not your average Rose. I could definitely see how it is soothing. It has a old kind of wise quality to it, but not dated. It’s hard to explain.
i was going to settle on fleur d’oranges…but yesterday changed my mind after all the thinking, analyzing, testing and chose something that I hadn’t even considered an option(so impulsive, so me)….hope i can maintain one week…i already have an itchy urge to change tmrw…for me the challenge is just to be able to stick with one fragrance…
I’m glad you’re playing as well, people took all sorts of interesting approaches to making their choice.
Well, it seems like I’m the only one who chose to wear something whackadoo for the week. I’m on day 3 of wearing Fireside Intense, which I love and will always have to have a bottle of because it’s the scent equivalent of armor for me. But how long will I be able to carry this around? Or will repetition kill its mojo for me? Horrors! On the other hand, it was perfect for Halloween weekend.
Wow… you are a brave person! Winter Woods was too smoky for me, personally, and I knew I couldn’t manage Fireside, much less the Intense.
It would be the perfect armor scent, and I’m glad you picked it. Should have some quirky entries, yes?
For someone who was all excited about the challenge, I’ve been surprised at how difficult it has been to actually pick a scent. I tried various spritzes of the Short List – Mariella Burani, Cuir de Lancome, Le Temps d’une Fete – last night to test out my feelings, and nothing seemed right: MB too wallpapery, CdL waaaaay too smoky (has my bottle gone off in the last two weeks? it didn’t smell like a cold fireplace last time I wore this), LTdF just… not right. Then I went digging around in my stash: TF Voile de Fleur? too girly-wirly. Shalimar Light? too lemony/ice cream on the asphalt. Chanel No. 19? Too mean. DK Gold? Too cold and satiny.
Vintage Emeraude? Too… crickets. Inner critic silent, no complaints.
So this is the scent of the week. How I’m going to square it with NaNoWriMo has yet to be seen – I’ve been so nutso busy with family stuff lately that I’m afraid that I won’t even be able to give it a serious push. I usually spend the month in fragrances that my female protagonist would wear, but I don’t actually own anything that this year’s main character would wear. Grr.
My boys made last-minute decisions on what they wanted to be for Halloween, and so I spent the ENTIRE weekend making Viking costumes. (Photo up on my blog, 10/31 post.) They’re cute, but now I’m ticked off at not having done stuff I needed done before Nov. 1… yeah, my own fault for not saying no.
Mals how do I get to your blog. I’d love to see the Viking pictures..
http://museinwoodenshoes.wordpress.com/
FYI if the person’s name is red on here (as opposed to yours which is black) it’s a hotlink, often to their blogs. You might be very surprised at what some of these folks are into :d
wow, thanks for that info March….i have seen mals cute vikings , and catherines awesome photographs…and look forward to seeing more
bisous!
You’re so lovely! :x
March,
Thanks for the info. I would have never figured that out on my own.
Well, it took me awhile too, and I wasn’t kidding about the links, they can be fascinating.
Yep, Tara – click on my name, it links right to ma blog and the sweet little Vikings. :)
the Vikings are fabulous. I’m quaking in my pattens!
xo >-)
mals…emeraude…u….surprise;)
HA! Funny thing is, I had almost forgotten about it, hadn’t worn it in months.
Mals, The boys are so cute. Great costume work on your part!
Hi Mals, just saw the Halloween pictures — handsome boys and great outfits! I bow to your amazing costume-making skills!! ^:)^
Also, love your choice of Emeraude — I haven’t smelled that in years and now you’ve got me itching to try it again.
Yay for vintage Emeraude! So gorgeous, I can definitely see that. And the boy’s costumes are wonderful, you are a great mom in that department.
You’re doing the writing month!?! My hat’s off to you. I work with a few writers who’ve accomplished it. It’s insane. Even trying it. And I’m SO glad that are not-sane writers in the world.
Good luck!
(come on…give us a hint!)
GOOD! I thought I missed it. I worked so hard last week that I forgot perfume until yesterday morning after the shower and slathered on No. 5 body lotion. Ooops! That’s definitely too safe.
But the timing now is even better. For the entire week, I’m focusing on my photographs. Art! And an a perfume that can withstand “fix”! Yum-yum. I know the one!
xoxo
Yes, keep it a secret! I am looking forward to everyone’s reports back. It cooled off significantly today, which makes more things seem palatable.
I’m in!
If you’d picked Mitsouko I would’ve BEATEN you! Neither of us gets to cop out with La Mits. I’m in Diorella, having had to scrub, then alcohol, then scrub AGAIN the remnants of LeLabo Aldehyde44 from last night. Man, what is in that stuff?
Anyhoodle, it will be an interesting week. On my way to IN to meet a new customer,lost all my credit cards and ID so I’m going to be going commando (spent the last hour, when we should’ve been on the road,’ frantically searching for the little walletini then….you know the phone calls…. /:)
Diorella is holding her own, keeping me calm. Not a sig scent, since, like Francesca, I’m not a believer in that but it’s certainly one I think I can carry forward.
xo >-)
Ohnoes! Maybe one of the percherons ate your Visa? I bet it was that big stud stallion. So to speak. ::clears throat:: Moving on, LL Aldehyde is there until the layer of skin flakes off, in my experience. And yes, Mitsy just felt like a cop-out. A beautiful one, of course, but we owe it to ourselves etc. A week of Diorella I … am not sure I could manage, so looking forward to your report.
What a bummer, Anita. I feel badly for you as I am well-acquainted with that awful, panicky feeling of “OMG, where is XXXX?” But let’s hope for the best — maybe the lost items will turn up unexpectedly and you can breathe a sigh of relief. Keeping my fingers crossed for you!
Thank you so much! One good thing: it may be lost but it isn’t being used – neither of them (because I am still somewhat fundedly challenged my credit is severely ….teeny)
but when I called to cancel both? Neither had been used/attempted!
Nice.
you know it’s hanging out in the drivway or something, don’t you? Doing that giggling thing…..
xo(alien)
Love the idea of the challenge, but at this stage of my life, am just too fickle to carry through. For years and years, I just had one bottle at a time, and my signature scent was White Linen. I wonder how many bottles of that stuff I went through! Now I almost never use it (there is just a little left) but I still love it.
If I were taking the challenge, PR Metal would be my choice for the week. It is a beautiful scent and doesn’t overwhelm me (or anyone around me). PR Calandre is also great, but Metal is somehow easier to deal with no matter what the temperature or weather.
Have never tried Metal (or plenty of other things, for that matter. There’s always something else out there!) It was fun reading all the discussion about it on here a few days ago.
I haven’t decided yet – torn between one of my loves, something I’m testing, or something more challenging. There’s also the option of a scent that while I love to smell it, it’s not quite me, but it would be very comforting during what promises to be a stressful week at work. I’ve still got about 45 minutes to decide. :-D
A comfort scent for work might be the way to go. I am looking forward to hearing what you picked.
Well, I picked the one that I’m testing (a new one) for Laurie at SSS. This won’t be much of a “challenge” as unbelievably, it has no staying power on me. Me! Of Scent Glue Skin!!
Hmmmmm, I’m Scent Glue too. Always strange to get the opposite.
Rapple – I’m sure you’re talking about the “Classic” – funny but it lasts quite a long time on mine….or at least I thought it did. I’ll need to have another go and see.
I decided not to torture myself with the challenge. It might have been interesting, but I have a few reasons, one among them, that I’m still having intermittent congestion problems. Why bother if I can’t smell it?
I don’t think that I can really describe or even fully understand my process of picking out a scent to wear each day. It’s probably easier to say why I chose the one that I picked, than to justify each one that I consider, then reject. Sometimes, it’s a simple craving for a particular fragrance that makes the choice. Picking one for a week would have been a chore, I think.
Oh, picking one for the week was a chore, all right. And I often have a craving for a particular scent as well, the way I imagine others might crave a certain type of candy, perhaps. There we are, living life, and I think, oh! I need some Philosykos! (I’m envisioning you in something more like Scherrer.)
Scherrer??? I or II? Yeah. I guess that’s usually me, but I had a craving for sweets this morning. Maybe a holdover from the overdose last night. So today it’s Profumum Dulcis in Fundo. My arms are dripping in sugar.
So funny! I didn’t picture you in sugar.
if you wore the same scent all week I’d probably stop inhaling when you walk by!
Well, so far so good at the end of Day 1.
Except for a few meetings, I’m mostly working at home this week, and the weather here in SE Asia is as hot and rainy as usual. So, no community or weather constraints.
Criteria for choosing:
Sufficient supply that I won’t get all caught up in a stupid scarcity thing — this ruled out small decants.
Nothing that I already associate with another time/place — this ruled out L’Air du Desert Marocain, which reminds me strongly of last year’s vacation, and Amarinthine, which reminds me of this year’s.
Nothing too wallpaperish or mood-specific.
I thought about Chamade and Chanel #19 EdP, but decided both were too formal and serious for a whole week. Thought about trying to push through disaffection with former loves — Un Bois Vanille, Premier Figuier Extreme, En Passant — and did the equivalent of crossing the street to avoid talking to them.
What I picked — Silver Factory — may turn into a week of migraines, but there was something about that metallic incense that just seemed really bracing and right this morning.
Hee, love crossing the street! We had a little of that over here. And I do hope somebody picks Chamade, it was on the Short List. Silver Factory feels like a great choice — it *could* be a signature scent. Now we’ll see how you feel after 7 days.
I love Silver Factory. I think it’s really original and would make a wonderful signature scent.
It would definitely be Chamade extrait for me if we were doing this in April or May!
great choice!
I’m on day 2 as well, with my pick of YR Voile d’Ambre. I have had a 50ml bottle for 2,5-odd years now, hardly touched. I bought it right at the start of my fume hobbyism, being seduced by a cursory sniff and rave reviews, and fell out of love immediately after purchase. Lesson learned. But I don’t like dead wood in my collection, so here’s my opportunity to get to terms with it! So far, so good.
Discarded choices: Jil Sander Sun (too easy, too wall-papery), Bois Farine (too gimmicky), Ambre Narguilé & Chergui (too sweet), MdO Cuir (would’ve been top choice, but I only have a 2ml sample).
Now, that’s a great idea, we were thinking along the same lines. Much of what I “previewed” were things I bought at the beginning of the fixation which haven’t had much attention. It’s good to dig those things out, ya know? “Too sweet” killed a couple for me, too. Chergui I love on others but it is almost unbearably sweet on me.
Hi March,
I am on Day 2 of your Signature Scent Challenge! I went through a similar debate about what to wear, something safe and MOR or something I don’t get yet (looking at you here, Mitsouko) in hopes of immersion therapy doing the trick but I didn’t want to feel vaguely queasy and in need of a shower all week. In the end,I decided to wear my Halloween perfume for the week as it is my absolte favourite holiday and I wanted to see if I could carry the spirit throughout the week. So, I will be back on 8 November to report on 7 days of Czech and Speak #88 – wish me luck!!
Hope you enjoy your choice!
Hey, C&S 88 seems like an eminently reasonable choice! Good luck and I’m so much looking forward to everyone reporting in.
I really don’t like to think of this week’s challenge as a signature scent. I find the whole concept of signature anything to be really annoying–one signature scent (I know a woman who has one made for her, and she, her home, and her shop all smell of it; it’s a lovely fragrance, but still), a signature brooch, a signature hairstyle, hell, I just read about a woman who always wore a pair of signature tiger ears on a headband. Now that the rant is out of the way, all I really wanted to say is, I almost picked Feminite des Bois, too, but didn’t. though it certainly is one I could have lived with for a whole week. Love the Cheese’s pix, too.
Hey sweets — it’s a bit early in the a.m. for cohesiveness (too much witch’s brew from the cauldron last night, courtesy of a neighbor) but wanted to say: what I was aiming for was the sort of scent I might actually pick as a “signature” if such a thing were possible. And there’s a very small part of me that wishes my children could associate one scent with me in their memories, but it’s a very small regret, and the trade-off is I think they will remember me as always smelling interesting. 🙂
I have that same small part that wishes for a signature scent for my girls but the very first fragrance I wore with both of them was Shalimar, which I have loved since I was 15 and ALWAYS have at least 1 bottle of, so I hope that that one will always strike a chord of memory for them. Hurrah for smelling interesting though!
Shalimar, a great choice. And I think mine (in that category) is Mitsouko, assuming the backup bottles hold, so we’re probably good. :)>-