There’s a review down there. But first – it’s been awhile since we had one of our little Posse reindeer games, isn’t it?
Well, here’s one I’m proposing – we’re going to call it the Signature Scent Challenge. The challenge is: I want you to pick one fragrance – yes, that’s one fragrance – and try to wear only that fragrance and no other for a week. You know … a signature scent. We’ll all meet back on the blog Monday, November 8 and report in.
Now you are thinking, why, March, why? Why would you suggest such a terrible thing? Well, I’m curious. At one time in my life I only wore one scent (Paris … then Poison … then Coco.) I either put it on or I didn’t, but it was the only scent I owned. No hand-wringing, no decisions, no “does this scent make my butt look big?” or “does it go with green?” or “can I wear this to yoga?”
Let’s all time-travel back to those simpler days, shall we? Because I theorize that after a week, we each might have some interesting observations about a) the perfume we selected, having spent so much one-on-one time with it, and b) our relationship with perfume.
Questions we will answer then include: who among you managed to last a full week? How did you choose your scent? Did you find your feelings about the scent changing over the week? Did you learn anything new about it, its behavior, or yourself? Play along if you want to (no hard feelings if you don’t) and let’s meet back here for your results week after next. on Monday, November 8 — that should give you some time to prepare yourself mentally…
Okay, today’s post, a quickie based on a revisit – Annick Goutal Songes.
Our Top 10 of Fall post is on Friday, and Songes won’t be on there, but it could be. I love wearing big white floral scents in the fall. It seems counter-intuitive, I want them mostly in spring – and they really, truly bloom in humid summer, if you can stand it – but smelling them mixed in with woodsmoke, damp earth and drifts of fallen leaves is also quite lovely.
I’ve outed myself as an Annick Goutal fangirl on here before, but I never loved Songes. I tried it several times and found it terribly off-putting, I still am not sure why. It’s possible the formula’s changed, of course, but I don’t think that’s it. I think I’ve changed, more open to heady white florals (Songes is certainly that) and perhaps more comfortable with the sweet/bitter duality of the scent. Notes for Songes include frangipani, tiare flower, Sambac jasmine, frankincense, vanilla, copahu balm, ylang-ylang, vetiver, sandalwood, amber, and styrax. My review today is of the EdP, which I find richer and more complex than the EdT.
For many people, Songes is more of a Tahitian-white-flower bouquet up top, with plenty of focus on the frangipani, although the jasmine comes into play pretty quickly. On me, though, it’s mostly about the jasmine, and what a glorious jasmine it is, managing to be a bit jammy, green and indolic all at once. Eventually the jasmine is joined by vanilla and sandalwood and the balsamy drydown suggested by those notes – and it has the same sort of dry, resiny jolie-laide bitterness at its heart as the oddball Vanille Exquise.
Songes manages to project an aura of expensive naturalness – it smells both sophisticated and “pure” (although I’m not suggesting it’s in any way more or less synthetic than any other fragrance.) It’s an interesting, other-end-of-the-spectrum contrast to the smell of Donna Karan’s Pure, which manages to smell mostly and annoyingly of laundry musks. Songes isn’t as aggressively in-your-face as, say, Montale’s Jasmin Full, although it’s a heady scent, particularly sprayed on, and a light hand might be called for depending on one’s surroundings. I certainly wouldn’t trespass on other people’s noses by wearing this to a medical building, for instance, or the gym; the sillage on me reaches Fracas levels.
Songes manages to do for jasmine what L’Artisan’s Nuit de Tubereuse does for tuberose – displays it in a setting of other notes that are carefully selected and placed to allow for maximum jewel-like effect. It literally made my jaw drop; how had I misjudged this so badly? While Songes is more straightforwardly jasmine than NdT is tuberose, it’s still a complex thing designed to make me reconsider entirely what it is I look for in jasmine. It also serves as a happy reminder that trying – and retrying – and retrying again a scent that I strongly disliked is often rewarding in the long term. Another sign you know you’re a perfumista, right?
sample: private source
Drat drat drat. I forgot this on Monday! And just last week I was thinking that Oriental Lounge (new bottle!) is the kind of scent that I might be able to wear day after day.
But now I’m traveling away from my core collection, I didn’t pack Oriental Lounge and, worse, I wore Fou d’Absinthe on Monday and didn’t pack _it_, so I can’t make seven days of the same scent by the eighth.
Hmph. Just hmph.
But I’ve decided that I’m going to (try to) wear Osmanthe Yunnan for five days, so as to kinda partly participate.
Songes, EdP in particular is one of my favourites as it reminds me of wonderful visits to Bali and the frangipani fragrance which is part and parcel of the memories. For the challenge however I will go down another memory lane, namely an old signature scent, which I wore several years, so how bad could a week be. It is rather nostalgic really and brings back memories. A week of 80’s memories sounds actually quite inviting.
Paloma Picasso’s Mon Parfum, that is :d
Just saw this, and by coincidence today I’m wearing…..bwahahahaha ……. FRACAS! does that mean I have to stick to it all week?
Why … yes. Yes, you do. (eyebatting emoticon here)
Is it ok if we wear our scent only part of the day every day? At my new job, we were basically told no perfume (“If you can smell it on yourself, it’s too much”), so I actually can’t wear anything until I’m out of work.
Yep, that’s fine! Or you can even skip a day. You just can’t wear something else. (ps congrats on the job but bummer on the no-scent policy)
Thanks :D Right now jobwise I’m in training, in about 5 or 6 weeks I’ll be in the actual work environment, and from what I’ve learned it looks like once there I’ll be able to indulge my scent cravings occasionally, I just need to apply lightly and not go with anything like Poison esprit de parfum (darn it…. ). For the challenge I decided to go with a bottle of Demeter Baby Powder I picked up for $1.50 at CVS a couple of weeks back. (I also scored two bottles of Demeter Patchouli for $0.99 cents each a few days later, and was acutally hoping to get Pure Soap and Laundromat to use as work-safe scents, as well as the various Demeter soliflores I’d seen earlier in the year there at CVS, but they were all gone :( ) And I’ve actually managed to make it through the challenge… just one more day :D
yestereday i wore fleur de oranges and swooned the whole day…today songes…hope to be swooning and happy all day again…sat and sun i will choose something else and monday..phew????
Funny, I wear FdO a lot right now but am afraid to pick it for the challenge. Don’t want to wear it out!
Hi March, I really envy you and Hongkongmom for being able to enjoy FdO. I wanted to love it so BADLY, but that stinky (on me) bit o’ cumin just did me in and stuck around waaay too long. And I know just what you mean about not wanting to wear out a beloved scent. Ahh, decisions, decisions …
Oh goody, a challenge! I’m going to chose something 1)I already like (goes without saying, I guess) 2)that I have a lot of and 3)I didn’t pay a fortune for, in case I hate it by the end of the week and never wear it again. I’m going to wear……….Let me thing about this.
I mean, THINK about this.
Hi Claudia, I’m liking your criteria. I’m a bit stumped myself as I have tons of decants and samples but not sure there’s enough of any one to last a whole week (especially if it needs re-applying throughout the day and night). That could narrow ’em down pretty fast! ;)
My first thought was Ta’if, but I only have a decant and I don’t want to use it all up. I think I’m going to use something that’s non-niche. It will probably be Valentino “V”, which I love and have a big bottle of.
Sounds perfect! Now I need to go rustle through my perfume drawers (oops, that came out wrong) …
Hi March!
Brilliant idea!
It is a comment on this era of plenty and too many choices that what used to be something we wouldn’t have thought twice about: wearing the identical perfume everyday (well it was a signature scent right?) has now taken the epic proportions of a challenge…. and not an easy one at that… and that you’ve probably got many hesitating to join and that the job of actually choosing a signature scent, even for 7 days, seems daunting…
I need to go look at my perfume bottles… this is going to be HARD! though how exciting…
Thankyou for thinking of this…
You’re welcome! I like playing games on here, we’ll do it more often, I miss it.
Late to this, but I want to add- you know how I know I’m an addict? From the slew of excuses I started immediately formulating.
It’s funny, too, because I’m in the middle of a “six items or fewer” wardrobe challenge. It’s been enlightening in ways I didn’t expect. Once I decided that accessories didn’t count, I realized that I have a lot of accessories that didn’t get much play until they were the only interesting thing I was putting on.
I think I’m gonna do it, and I think I’m going with Shalimar. I usually wear it as a treat, so I’m going to see what happens if I live in it.
Ooh, I did that challenge in September. Was hard for the first two weeks, then I got into it and it was, as you say, enlightening. How are you faring?
Pretty well, thanks. I realized when I was picking my 6 things, that all I really wanted was a white shirt and jeans, so I’m wearing one of three white button downs and one of two pairs if jeans every day (allowing a skip day if I have something for which I can’t get away with dark jeans & a big scarf. The funny thing is, no one in my family has noticed.
Loooove this Perfume Challenge idea. I think PP should post a perfume challenge once every few months. I even have some ideas for other potential challenges.
Am I this brave? I’m already over thinking it. At first I thought you meant one scent for one time of the day all week (ie: either one daytime scent or one night time scent) and I thought it’d be hard but could be done. But basically, it means throwing out the entire idea of daytime/nighttime switches! Gah! I’m just not sure that I can do that. I need my nighttime comfort.
There are certainly a few scents that might be possible:
* UBV
* Ta’if
* CdR
* OJ Tiare
* Juste un Reve
* Week-end a Deauville
* Tea for Two
But I’m worried that I’ll overdo it after a week and they’ll be less special. All except UBV I wear frequently already. I reach for them sometimes 2 or 3 times in a single week. That’s love, in my book. But one week straight??
And I have a few things in the mail: the new PdN arrives Monday with any luck, a bottle split of Eau Claire, a sample of Boxeuses. The eau claire would actually be a good choice for a week but I don’t think it’ll be here in time.
I’m just not sure about this.
Oh, a challenge! As it happens, I’ve sorta-kinda been living this challenge for the past three-four months already. Financial & familial circumstances have taken my attention way away from perfume (the acquiring and sampling part of it, anyway) and I found I’ve been very content with wearing the same scent 2, 3 or even 4 days in a row. Have done so lately with AL No 23, Jil Sander Sun, Vanille Galante, Kiehl’s Musk, Ambre Narguilé and Chergui.
For this challenge I’ll scout out a neglected little perfume to dedicate a week to. Bois d’Iris, mayhaps? *Ponders*
Well, there you go, you’re already halfway there! A neglected love seems tailor-made for this challenge.
question here – can you wear the edt, edp, and parfum versions of the same scent in rotation during the week? or one strength only?
Great challenge!!
…. what happens if I say no?
Different concentrations of perfume can vary in their smell (which is why we do it). Picking one bottle/decant and sticking to it is part of the challenge, in my opinion. :)>-
That’s supposed to be “peace guy” but I fail.
Yikes! I’m intrigued but also a little afraid — I have a problem with getting tired of scents I loved initially. Will wearing a favorite for seven days wreck it for me? Or is this a great opportunity to push through that scent-fatigue and get back on good terms again? Or should I choose something I *don’t* love and see if appreciation blooms?
Clearly overthinking here… 8-|
AND THIS IS THE QUESTION. Srsly, I wonder the same thing — am I going to be darned sick of (whatever) by day 6? Will I have noticed some note I hate?
I may, however, pick something I underappreciate (as you said) and see if my feelings change.
That’s my big concern, too. I don’t want to ruin something I really love through overfamiliarity or by association with the fairly stressful work week coming up. It will be tricky to find something arguably worth wearing for a week but that I won’t regret losing if it doesn’t work out.
The struggles! I feel like I can’t pick one of my wallflower musks, something unobtrusive enough to carry me through … where’s the fun in that? But I don’t want to ruin anything for myself either. Fortunately the weather’s finally turned “normal” — that is, not upper 70s. Going to make my decision today!
Oh, hell, this is easy.
L’Heure Bleue.
Vintage.
I have always found that when I wear it once, I want to keep wearing it. Maybe I should “challenge” myself instead and wear something crappily repellent to myself like Chergui or Sarrasins or Pink Sugar or Boxeuses. No, I know-some towering, roaring musk monster (mmmm, don’t own any, come to think of it) like Balenciaga Paris.
Nah. L’Heure Bleue. 11/1-11/8.
LHB vintage seems like a marvelous way to reward yourself for the challenge. :x I was eyeballing the bottle last night but am now leaning in another direction. I do agree that picking something you dislike doesn’t seem fair — you wouldn’t have chosen it as a signature scent.
u r one lucky dude…no agony for u in choosing!
Pretty much de-lurking here to say ‘I am in!’. Before I wear myself out and overthink it, I will choose Czech & Speake #88 and I will start this scary challenge on Halloween…bwahhahaha…
I can only guess what I will think of it at the end of the week!
Thanks for delurking! I am thrilled by how many people might play.
Maybe a Molinard? Maybe Feminite du Bois? Maybe Rose Oud? Ack….I need to get out more because this is really exciting March!
I have a little list with five (six?) scents. Will pare from there.
Wow, March, you are really earning your pointy red horns with this challenge!
Of course I did have signature scents back in the day, but I basically only wore them on dates and the like, not every day. I really doubt that I’ve EVER worn the same scent every day for a week – heck, I’m not even sure that I’ve ever worn the same scent all day (i.e., in the morning to go to work, after I get home and just want to smell something delicious, and as a relaxing scent to sleep with).
Perhaps the closest I came recently was when Denyse organized the samples of Vamp a NY for a group test, and I needed to wear it repeatedly in order to be ready to submit my mini-review. It was an interesting experience, too, so I’m going to give this a try.
AG was actually the first niche line I ever tried, thanks to an article about her in the long-defunct Connoisseur magazine. I think Heure Exquise is the most beautiful, and her Vetiver is probably my fav vetiver, which is saying a lot. I had the same experience as you with Songes, actually, and also see that as a lesson to give scents a chance.
I’m glad to hear you’re going to play … it’s a struggle for me as well. My “signature scent” years were when I worked in an office and putting the perfume on was part of my morning routine. I look back and can’t believe I wore Poison and Coco to the office — put them on at 7:30 or 8 am, ya know? The idea makes me cringe now.
Heure Exquise is getting tons of love on here today.
Wow, Poison or Coco at 7:30 am. I hope that was before offices were replaced by cubicals and everyone stopped smoking. Really, they’ve just taken all the fun out of work! :D
lol my summer internship years were spent at the old HHS building (formerly HEW) — the “health” arm of the govt, I worked down the hall from the Surgeon General’s office, etc. And tons of people smoked inside in that non-ventilated giant cube with non-opening windows. And it seemed perfectly normal.
Interesting challenge. I love the idea of not having to think about what to wear for a week, although I’ll probably wear myself out trying to figure out which scent to go with.
I’m at the wearing-myself-out stage over here.
may be a relief to wear only only one scent for a week as a recovery period from all this!!
Really not sure I could even go to 2, but I’ll think about it… :)
Hey, no pressure, you can sit out and grin.
Not to get too political, but only in a rich, industrialized country would this much debate take place regarding which luxury scent you plan to wear. As for me–I’ve built up a stash of Casaque so I’m not afraid of running out and will wear that daily.
And another classic gets chosen, yay.
Hmm, not sure if I could do it. Will study my collection and see what looks good for a whole week of wear. Maybe Osmanthe Yunnan?
And I too was a perfume monogamist back in the day, going through bottles one at a time: CK Escape, ck one, Chloe Narcisse, Diamonds & Sapphires, L’Eau D’Issey, Hugo Boss Woman, Versace Red Jeans, Azzura Azzara, Angel Innocent, and Acqua di Gio.
Don’t have any FB of Annick Goutal, but love Le Chevrefeuille. It was an LE, I believe, so haven’t stumbled across a cheap bottle of that yet. Ninfeo Mio was nice, but a decant of that is doing me just fine.
I have Chevrefuille, so cheerful. And Ninfeo Mio is so strong! A decant would last plenty long, esp in our world.
And forgot to add; I bought the Songes moon bottle discounted this summer. It’s such a beauty!
That bottle is utterly sumptuous, isn’t it?
It is. To quote Hugh Grant on talking about an Aston Martin Vanquish: ” you want to lick it, or mate with it or something”.*) It is that gorgeous.
*) in his Top Gear interview.
I love Top Gear!
xo >-)
Isn’t it great fun? My favourite bits tend to be the stars in the reasonably priced cars and the specials. Like the trip to Vietnam.
Oooh! Where was it on discount? I never see those things..
In the UK, Escentual.co.uk. It was part of their summersale. I got Songes, Musc Nomade and Iris Nobile. That was plenty of perfume! But such a bargain.
Thanks!
Glad that you have come to like Songes. It’s my 2nd favourite of the ” Femme” Goutals. What GraindeMusc described as the Mama scents. My favourite being Heure Exquise. Songes to me is pure happiness in a bottle.
Wearing only one perfume for a week does seem quite a challenge; I’ll probably opt for a safe option of wearing something that isn’t too demanding, like Merveilles or Eau d’ Eté.
I might just go back to wearing Paris, YSL for a week, it was my signature scent for quite a while, and I still Love it.
Boy, tons of Exquise fans on here, I didn’t know.
Paris. Make me smile. I heart Paris, there are winter days when nothing else will do.
OOh. I love eau d’ete. And I just smelled the non-flanker eau de merveilles for the first time and found them remarkably similar.
I think the new eau claire des merveilles would also be good for a week.
I believe I won’t smell my perfume as much after one week, but we’ll see. I have absolutely no idea what I’ll choose. Maybe Bulgari Black; the awful weather day after day makes it just right. (I’m in Hamburg, Germany. It’s rainy, cold, and the days are short. But what do I do if we suddenly have a gorgeous sunny day?)
Yes! That’s the weather challenge, we have the same problem here. But 20 years ago I had the same problem and coped somehow. I don’t know what we’ll do!
When I went on vacation in August I only brought a little spray bottle of Vetiver Pour Elle. Two weeks of wearing only one perfume, despite being a lovely summer perfume, left me feeling quite deprived.:(|)
Well, no pressure, you can sit this one out and see what happened to the rest of us fools!
“Aura of expensive naturalness” — so true, and also so true about DK “Pure”, which has an aura of inexpensive detergent.
DK Pure — how the mighty have fallen, R. This from the house that gave us Gold, Black Cashmere, Chaos, etc.?
Hmmmm…..those scents I can imagine wearing for a solid week seem to be things I have in short supply. I’ll do some burrowing over the weekend. I’ll bet there are some forgotten scents in my inventory that would be thrilled to be the star of my olfactory show for an entire week.
I’m a lover of big white florals, and Songes spoke to me right from the start. In fact, all the AGs I’ve tried have done, with the exception of Camille which smells like olives on me for some reason. Heure Exquise remains my favorite.
You’re taking the angle I see as possible — some forgotten scent I loved early on and almost never wear now. I am sure I have plenty of those. :”>
Only one or two of the AGs don’t work too well on me. Exquise is indeed exquisite.
Yeah, another vote for Heure Exquise! I wore it all day today and loved it. Funny, the last time I wore it, it was pouring rain, too. Now I’m going to think of it as my rainy day scent. That and Apres l’Ondee. :-)
I’ll probably decline your challenge, especially with my local weather so changeable now, but on the other hand I’ve been loving Fidji so much recently that I know it would be my signature scent if I were to have one. Back in the day, my sig scent for years was Chloe, and before that, Aliage. White flowers have always appealed to me (obviously, with my Chloe credits!), so I need to try Songes someday.
Yes, now I’m thinking I’ll decline as well, due to the possibility – or hope – of a sunny day.
Chloe! Sigh. I have a vintage bottle that I love to sniff.
Songes is a little too busom-heaving for me to really like it, but I’m in on the challenge. Can’t decide whether I’d prefer to go light and easy with something like Tea for 2 or Vetiver Tonka, or something more challenging. I’ll have to really think this one over–thanks for giving us the time to decide.
Yes, I thought springing it on you with no prep time would force too many people to say, forget it. I hear you on the difficulty of deciding and FWIW have no idea at all what I’m going to do.
Yay! So glad you came around to this one! Songes is how I learned I loved Big White Flowers, too. I really only like it in the EDP, though, so maybe that’s part of what made the difference for you? Lots more vanilla and sandalwood, less of the coconutty frangipani part.
I don’t know if I’ll take you up on your challenge or not, M. I’ve done it many times before, but never deliberately. I made a kind of vow to myself, early on, that I would avoid the kind of rule-setting and restriction with perfume that I have too much of in the rest of my life. Of course, that itself is a kind of rule, but…I don’t know. We’ll see how if it feels right (peace finger emoticon, for that very New Agey statement).
I just got back from Saks, which had pretty much the whole Annick Goutal line (Neiman’s here carries only 4 AG scents now), where I sprayed on the Songes EDT. It’s nice and I do like it, but didn’t get much in the way of big white flowers at all, mostly sandalwood, vanilla and amber. Maybe I need to sniff the EDP, but getting my mitts on that to try seems unlikely. I’ve always liked AG (specifically Les Nuits d’Hadrien, Eau de Camille and Encens Flamboyant) and felt that it was often an under-appreciated line, although I have been guilty of overlooking it myself sometimes.
Our Saks has them all but Nordie is now down to Hadrien, Matin and Petite Cherie. Sad.
Hi March, yep, it is sad. It looks like Saks may have the widest selection, although there were a good many available on the Bergdorf Goodman site as well. I chatted with a couple of the SAs at Saks about the situation (and you may know more about this). From what I could gather, the AG U.S. distributor had financial woes or went bankrupt or something, so there was a void for awhile, but one SA said she thought that Hermes had taken over the distributorship. They did have the Ninfeo Mio there at Saks, which they never even got at Neiman’s as far as I could tell, so am thinking that things must be somewhat back on track now.
Maybe that’s what it is then, less coconutty tropical. Even at its finest it makes me think of BBW.
Hey, do NOT feel pressure. It was more a thing I was going to do to myself to see what, if anything, interesting happened. Then I thought I would look for partners in crime. Feel free to stick to your usual routine and come laugh at us!
I feel free! Actually, It’s been fun just to ponder what I would pick. My mind goes straight to all my spicy wood/incense frags: Fem du Bois (can totally imagine that for a week, and have done it before I think), Black Cashmere, Bois des Iles. Vintage Misty also a contender, in parfum. The first time I put it on, my exact thought was “Oh. Now I get it. I could wear this every day for the rest of my life…”
What kills me is not the thought of choosing, but the idea of missing out on one of those great perfume/weather combos I love–a thick sweet thing like Attrape Couer in the first cold snap (due soon, here), or conversely, a white flower on one of our last humid days, or a green scent on a rainy fall day…etc. etc. I’m all about context.
Funny that this challenge comes now that I’m finishing up a month of, almost exclusively, Chergui. I started when I started fostering a kitten that was so young he needed to be handfeed, thinking that it would be better for him if I didn’t smell different everyday. I bring him back to the adoption center tomorrow, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to wear Chergui again without thinking of the darling orange tabby who still tries to nurse on my neck!
Off-topic, but yay! for you fostering kittens. Job well-done!
Ditto on the yay!
Can’t do it here, alas. Rottweilers mean well but…..
xo >-)
I love that smell-association! And wanted to say I think Chergui was mentioned more frequently today than any other scent.
The challenge might actually make the mornings less stressful! I’m not sure how much time I waste staring at the mass quantity of bottles just trying to decide what will work for the day. I will have to ponder this evening what I can be happy with for a whole week. WOW! And I thought math was hard.
He/He!!
Yes, deciding on the perfume seems impossible, but I rather like the idea of putting the same thing on each day!
I’m in, but I don’t think I can be master of my perfume domain, so I’ll probably be out by day 2.
What to try? Many of my favorites are fine for a day or maybe two, but after that would be Just Too Much. My wallpaper scents would be boring for a week. Some possibilities: Ava Luxe No. 23, Coromandel, Philosykos, or 31 Rue Cambon. Theorema might work, but all I have left is a small decant which I’m hoarding.
Master of my perfume domain! That IS a hark back to Seinfeld, right?
Not that there’s anything wrong with that. ;-)
HA!
…in my mind, I’m already there.
I will be interested to see who lasts a week. Not sure I can do it.
31 rue Cambon for a week should be possible, an ideal autumn scent, the bottle is enormous, it’s versatile enough for work and social events in the evening (but really, not even a whiff of a sample?)
31RC would be a great choice … most any of Les Exclusifs, really. Maybe I’ll pick one of those…
I’m with tania — thankful you didn’t make it a “come as you are” event since I’m testing several different things today.
Songes is in my top 5 and this summer I wore it in hot weather after reading a post by Angela at NST. Songes was wonderful in the heat and I kicked myself for missing out for not trying it sooner. The EDP wears much closer to my skin than the EDT.
The temps have been so up and down here that we’ve used the A/C and furnace within the same week. Had quite the storm blow through here yesterday with much needed rain. I need to think my way through the weather issue as well when deciding.
Maybe I got some Songes EdP up my nose? You’re the second person who finds it wearing much closer than the EdT.
We did the heat/AC here too! Now I just have it off. It was almost 80 today, which is absurd for this area in late October.
You should have come with this challenge a few months ago :-D Back in summer I wore Carnal Flower for about 4 weeks (or even more) straight *gasps* I really couldn’t get enough of it! Sometimes I’d even mix it with a few sprays of Jardin des Bagatelles.
Now my bottle’s more than half empty!
When I bought it about 2 years ago, I regretted the purchase almost immediately & never wore it. Back then I wasn’t into white florals at all, but at the end of last year this began to change ( no idea why) & now I love tuberose, jasmine, gardenia – the stronger the better. Songes (EdP) is a favourite of mine, too, & I see a FB purchase in my near future…
At the moment I’m a little undecided what to wear for a whole week, but I think it’ll be something from Guerlain. Even though I’m not entirely sure which one. But there’s still enough time to figure it out!
Isn’t that great about your change of heart on the CF? You just had to let it hang around. Can’t wait to see what everyone picks.
I’M IN! The first thing that sprang to mind was my sweetie Mariella Burani – seasonless and weightless, not too big, not too weird, very comforting to me personally without being one of those jammies-and-bunny-slippers sort of things I never wear out of the house.
If I had a bigger sample, I could wear Iris Poudre every day. If the weather were colder, I could wear Champagne de Bois for a week. If my Vega and La Myrrhe decants weren’t so darn pricey and special, I could wear either one of those for a week. I could also happily wear Le Temps d’une Fete every day for a week in this weather. (Insert chin-in-hand emoticon here… I’m seeing an AldeHo pattern here, except for LTdF.)
If it wouldn’t put me so far behind on my sample testing, I’d do the One Perfume Every Day for a Week challenge all though November. It might free up perfume decision time for NaNoWriMo!
Cuir de Lancome, I could wear THAT every day for a week too. Need another bottle before they all go away – even with all the scents I own, I notice that Cuir and LTdF are starting to get low in the bottle.
Man, now I am feeling lucky that I have access to stuff that I love enough to wear for a week straight. (Or think I love enough. I realize the goal is to find out what happens when I actually do wear something for a week…)
Oooh, I vote for the Cuir. That seems like an excellent choice, I was considering it as well as BdI… but I haven’t browsed the shelves yet.
I second Joe’s query – is sampling in the evening allowed? Goodness only knows what I’d pick but Bulgari Black springs to mind as a strong contender. I love Songes. Was wary of its power until I discovered the EDP wears closer to the skin so I’m not self conscious when I wear it. The EDT is RADIANT. I’m in love with a particular type of jasmine which I sniffed alot in Turkey this year and want to find out what variety it is (it had bigger more fleshy petals than the pretty English version I’m used to) and Songes is the closest to that type I’ve found. I agree with you about its setting though, that lovely frangipani and smokey vanilla base. This was the year of the white flowers for sure :d
Nope! No sampling in the evening! LMAO you guys and what part of ONE SCENT did I make unclear! It’s just freaking inconceivable, isn’t it? I’m not sure how I’ll do it either.
I love Songes edp, as well. Sillage monster! I spritzed, came downstairs and said to Don, come have a whiff. He said, from the other side of the room, I don’t have to, I can smell you from here.
There is some vintage Shalimar, coming to my house, this week. It’s possible that I can rise to the challenge, with this little gem.
LOL on the Songes story. I can well believe it. And vintage Shalimar sounds like just the ticket for the challenge.
Fun challenge! I’m not averse to wearing the same scent on consecutive days but I find that by day 4 or so I can’t smell it on any more past the initial hour so I have no choice but to rotate (that’s my excuse and sticking to it)
Still, count me in. I’m going with Bandit! :d 7 whole days of heavenly bitter green leather with a hint of dirty hair.
See, I wonder if this is why signature-scent wearers drench themselves? They can’t smell it any more?
Much to my surprise I’ve worn Le Maroc Pour Elle for three days running. I’ve never worn only one fragrance, even when I first started wearing perfume. But I do like Andy Tauer scents.
Hey, you could just keep going, you’re halfway there!
Looking anxiously around my bottle and decant collection… Yes, there are a few that I could easily love for a week, but they are the ones that are either ridiculously expensive or increasingly hard to find. Like my beloved Quand Vient La Pluie or my little bit of vintage Apres L’Ondee parfum. Gulp. Not happening. If the weather would cooperate (as in, get a bit colder) I’d just spritz on some easy-to-wear amber-laden or gourmand fall scent. Like a Profumum. Ambre Aurea or Dulcis in Fundo come to mind. But it’s been nearly 80 degrees here! I can’t believe that I’m begging for cold weather.
This weather is BIZARRE. Supposed to be closer to normal by Friday. I’m kind of done with this.
I haven’t sniffed many AGs, but my favorite is Heure Exquise. Love it. In fact, I think I’ll wear it today. I liked Ninfeo Mio, but not enough to buy a bottle.
I used to do the signature scent for many, many years. Starting back in junior high school, the progression went like this: Jontue, Flora Danica, Lauren, Arpege, and Chanel No. 19. So, sticking to one scent for a week shouldn’t be too bad.
I think I’ll pick Bois des Iles, ’cause I love it in fall/winter, and I’ve got the monster 200 ml bottle, so there’s no danger of running out! My plan is to start my week on Monday, Nov. 1.
That’s a great idea. I have a 200 ml bottle of Beige and Sycomore. Maybe I’ll pick one of those just to make a dent in that big honker of a bottle!
I’d thought of that although don’t have the giant bottles meself.
Dang. I was considering BdI but now wonder if I should pick something else? It seems like such a good choice. Actually, any of the Exclusifs I like would work.
March, I think it would be great to have more than one person wear BdI for a week, kind of like in a science experiment. We could see if one of us got sick of it, or if we both still loved it, if we found it always felt “right” and suited the weather, etc. Do it! Do it! Do it! (nothing like peer pressure!?!) Do it! Do it! Do it!:-)
Well, it’s on my list… five things. I think I’ll testdrive them to see which one seems most promising for a week!
Frak! What would I choose???
I’m such a perfume tart, I can’t even be true to one for an entire day.:o
I’m so glad you didn’t make it more ‘interesting’ by saying ‘You have to start now, and it has to be what you’re wearing today!’ Because Soap & Glory #2, though a pleasant enough thing, is not week-worthy….
Well, I have to wear a new one with every outfit, and what works in the morning won’t work in the evening, right? And what works with blue silk doesn’t go with black wool, does it?
Lord, I couldn’t have done it. I was already wearing something unfortunate when I wrote the post! And I wanted to give people time to ease into the idea, work around planned sniffage etc.
That’s good. :)
Well, one thing’s for sure, sticking to a single ‘fume for a week will speed up my morning routine! I might even catch that elusive 8.28 train.
I’m thinking a Guerlain. Not Shalimar or Mitsy, too much for work (it’s a small office). Maybe Attrape Coeur…… though I have an urge to hoard it since it’s discontinued…
And who says great things don’t come from perfume. I’ll be getting you to work earlier.
What a challenge. I guess I will not pick secretions magnifiques as a dare or something.
I can’t say I have ever worn only one for more than 2 days in a row.
In any case, I am in for the challenge. When do we start?
You can start any time between now and Monday, that will give you 7 days before Monday, November 8.
I went –whaaart tf, no way etc….then I saw someone write ‘criminy’, and just maybe I can wear the swoon-inducing death defying wonderful Tubereuse Criminelle…BUT …I can only get decants…I Could Not Bear to ever run out of this other-worldly wonder…like Mitsouko, as I trawl ‘bay worrying about my vintage bottle of extrait…I’ve been holding off putting another few mls into a sprayer.What if another vintage bottle never shows up!!!
I’ve had to have a big heart to heart with myself regarding my love affair for three decades with the Big M – she was like my twilight self, only came out at night on wild hunts, stargazing, and galaxy cruising battles, I’ve had to admit…light little things like Fidji, Ysatis, Paris, Caleche, Diorissimo, Bal a Versailles, Tabu, O d lancome were my quiet daytime frags back in the day (!?!)
Hi March, great but challenging post! You are SOOO tough on us :)
Not sure what I will wear, but as it’s still hot here in ATL but turning cooler this weekend, I had better choose with care. My new love is Amouage Memoir for women but temps are so warm now that I fear it will do me in.
And a big hello to Winifreida and thanks for the mention of Ysatis. Man, did I love her back in the day; definitely a rich, plush scent. Will have to revisit soon although I’m pretty sure there’s been some reformulation.
I’ve been sooooo into Ysatis the past few months– it’s the poor girl’s Carnal Flower. Best if you just doot it on your wrists rather than spray, she ain’t shy. There was a reformulation, it’s boring, but you can still find the older one on the ‘bay.
Ysatis. All these Ysatis lovers, I had no idea.
Ha! That was another decided factor for the this week: No decants or samples lest I run out! Had to be a bottle…..a full bottle, no less.
What did you decide on? You don’t have to tell..
Balmain Ivoire….because I have a cold and I know how much to spray without knocking other people unconscious :)….also it’s one of those scents that I like and don’t love, and this week is bound to turn it into a love or hate.
That sounds like a perfect choice. I eliminated a couple things last night…
tell!
Nononononono! I cannot do this…but will, for you, darling March, and the Advancement of Science.
I think my best choice would be Un Bois Vanille-so easy to wear, always pleases, no torture to it. But-I’ll be in the mountains for 3 days, scentless to keep the bugs away, and must include those days in my week of monogamy.
I wore Opium for “occasions” into college, then some Lapidus for a couple of years, then Guess in the twisty bottle, then baby spit-up, then Datura Noir. I am thinking I had a few “scents on the side” during those steady years…
Songes is lovely-on anyone but me ; (
Muwahahahaha. Bois Vanille seems like an excellent choice, doesn’t it? And I hope to see you soon!
Too funny. I was thinking of UBV as a potential too (it’s comfy, work safe, decent sillage and not annoying after multiple wears).
I think that this is one of the better potential choices for a sig scent, too.
okay I’m in! All Chergui, all the time. well 7 days worth of all the time :d
not a fan of big white florals but you’ve got me wanting to retry Songes. You persuader you!
You know, Chergui is mentioned several times in this thread. I think, more than any other scent (at least as an option.) Had no idea it was so beloved.
I wore Shalimar for YEARS – never mind a week!
OK, I’ll do Ode a la Vanille to really get to know it. It has to be a Guerlain for me to wear it all week (even though this is a “modern” one).
Not a Goutal fan at all I’m afraid. I so wanted to like the scents but they really do nothing for me.
OOOh I’m on the hunt for the Ode V Shalimar, may be a chance this weekend as daughter is off to a city where they might have it, unsniffed but what the heck…
Goutal, hmmm, Songes is the only one so far that really floats my boat, although I am considering Ninfeo Mio as FB as I think its a lovely version of the fig-green-water-garden idea.It does not hit anything jarring in the genre to my nose, although I also adore the E d Italie Au Lac too.
Is this the first time vanilla popped up? I’m surprised.
What a fun challange…I accept, when do we start? I have no idea what to choose…champagne de bois, boise de isle, eau premiere,christian lacroix tumulte homme or something challenging…borneo, jubilation 25, mitsy????
Start any time between now and Monday for a full week of torment! And anything on your list sounds delicious.
wow, how to choose? I’ve been getting raves at work from both men and women for the Noir Epices I’ve worn a few times recently; but I don’t think it’ll be that. I think I have a candidate, though– something I can wear to the office and then sex up a bit by a slightly heavier application if I go out at night. It’ll be a fave, but not one of my weak in the knees faves– where I sit at my computer with my wrist to my nose, or my nose down my sweater going ilovethisilovethisilovethis.
Fun challenge, March. I look forward to reading the reports.
The office challenge is always tricky — limits your choices … although you were wearing PIM to the office, so never mind. 😉