When one sets out to narrow down to six perfumes her favorites, what she should do instead is grab a Xanax, place her head under the pillow, hold it down firmly so nobody hears and scream until the mood passes.
But I didn´t. Instead I have come up with the list of the six perfumes that I cannot live without, under any circumstances, and which best define who I am or want to pretend to be. So they may or may not be the perfumes that I admire most as great creations, though I think all on this list are that, but they are the ones most beautiful to me. The agonies of discarding beloved perfumes from this list has been horrible. Warning, there are a couple of incidences of cheating to narrow this down…
1. Ormonde Woman. Full-bodied green velvet -think Miss Ellen´s Poitiers from Gone with The Wind, after they got made into that beautiful green gown for Scarlett. A little saucy and tart, makes you pucker sometimes, not sure if you like it or not, but inevitably its charm wears you down. Parfum version preferred, it just amps up the annoyance and the charm.
2. Guerlain Apres L´ondee. Melancholy, regretful, but completely full of hope. It is sorrow at 1,000 yards, where you can look at it and appreciate the exquisite pain without really feeling it. The numb place before the real pain sets in or after it has gone. EDT or parfum will work.
3. Le Labo Patchouli 24/Vanille 44 – Okay, this is a cheat, I know, I know! But they GO together, kids! A spritz of Patch down the front of your shirt for depth and tarry resonance and a couple of spritzes of Vanille over your outer clothes and in your hair creates a cloud of woody vanilla over that tar – truly the most amazing and comforting scent in the world.
4. Christian Dior Dorling vintage parfum. What a cold, unfeeling thing it starts off as, and you´re thinking it has no soul; it´s finicky, much too churlish and standoffish to love. That´s when Dorling brings the magic. It warms not into the most beautiful girl in the room, but the most interesting, the one you have to stop and pay attention to, sit and talk with. Anthropomorphize much? Well, this perfume seems completely human to me, and she never fails to amaze me.
5. CB Cradle of Light/Strange Invisible Perfumes Lady Day/Serge Lutens Sarrasins. Yes, I´m cheating, but any of these three could fit here, and any day will have me changing my mind. They are gorgeous jasmine treatments, and each stuns me and can keep me mesmerized all day with its beauty – sort of a hypnotic sniffing loop. Everyone has to have a jasmine on their list, unless you hate jasmine, but you should get over it and put one on your list anyway… or three.
6. Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist. Give me that overabundance of cold, rooty iris with a dollop of spice in the drydown, and I´ll give you my unadorned and complete, lavish devotion for a lifetime. Genius, brilliant, and a joy to wear on any day of the year.
While I started off with a list of five, I had to expand it to six because none of these would exit the list. Now, as I read comments, I will find my head exploding as you guys mention perfumes that should be on this list, and there is a subset of about 100 perfumes that go beneath these that I also can´t live without, but these are the list of six´ish that I will have in embarrassing amounts for all of my life.
What´s your six?
Annoying American Idol part of Friday: Ramiele is GONE, yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Mop-up items: Winner of the Indult C16 and CdG Hinoki samples are: Tom (tmp00) and Six. Just click on Contact us over on the left, and send me you address and I’ll ship you the samples!
Hmm well only because I’m a relative new-comer to the perfume world, and I haven’t heard of half these fragrances listed here, will I list 6, perhaps not-so upper-class perfumes that I love.
1. Burberry Weekend for Women.
2. Versace Woman – Versace.
3. Lalique Pour Femme – Lalique.
4. Salvatore Ferragamo – Salvatore Ferragamo.
5. Pleasures – Estee Lauder.
6. Believe – Britney Spears.
SIX?!!! Brain explodes. Can’t even do first six on list of fave hundred. The MUA top 25 lists strike terror in my heart because I simply can never pick a top 25. Always feel like I have to make Sophie’s choice decisions and agonize over them forever. However, since it’s early morning, pre-coffee and I can pretend I’m still asleep, I will pick 6 random loves and go on dreaming about the rest. So….Diorling (of course), Jubilation 25, Micallef Automne, Dorissima Goldmund, Iris Silver Mist, Arabie….closes eyes and goes on happily dreaming of endless, long lists. 🙂
6? 6?!
Well, all right then, all you big cheaters out there here are my, er, SIX:
1. Caron Tabac Blond. makes me feel like Marlene Dietrich sans accent.
2. Andy Tauer Orris. I know there are those who despise this but it made me realize that i could love the scent of iris as much as i worship their physical beauty.
3. Montale White Aoud. Sex on silk sheets.
4. Delrae Eau Illuminee and Bois de Paradis. I can’t decide which I adore more. I worship at the Roudnitska altar.
5. Guerlain Chamade. The most sutting evening gown of a fragrance ever.
6. Ormonde Jayne Man. Yes, MAN. Tied with about 10 other perfumes including Caron Alpona, Malle Fleur de Cassie (skankalicious yet resoundingly elegant), Tauer L’air du Desert Marocain, Villoresi Garofano and Yerbamate, I Profumi Agrumi di Sicilia (summer sun distilled and bottled), PG Querelle and that naughty Bandit parfum…
This spring, these are my favorites:
–Chanel no. 19. edp: Sweet & sophisticated & it gives me confidence. I’m a poet & am putting together a book of my poems. I wear this frag for meetings with my publisher.
–Diorissimo edt: Dirty debutante rolling around in the grass at night in her long white ballgown. Witty & sarcastic & gracious. This is a big fragrance. It gives me the feeling that I am living large.
–Creed Aubepine Acacia: good road trip fragrance. I wore this when I was driving across Texas to give a poetry reading. There was a sudden freak spring snowstorm & somehow the green strangeness of AA was great to smell with the frozen mineral smell of the melting snow. It smelled like danger in a good way.
I am having a perfume emergency, people, help me out. All of a sudden, I am hating my favorites, and think even Mitsouko is in on the rebellion. All of a sudden, I am in love with Musc Rav.(I never ‘got’ it before), and actually kind of liked Kai. Is it spring that has me all topsy-turvy? I apparently don’t like anything I thought I did. has this ever happened to anyone else? I need some ideas- I can’t walk around in Musc Rav. every day forever. I would, but- you get it, don’t you, perfume people?
Yes, I totally feel your pain. It’s probably spring fever (though in my case it’s menopause that has all my old standbys smelling like b-(
I took a huge dive off a really high board recently, in trying some pepper-based scents. Came up with a winner in Poivre Samarcande, which was shocking for me (I’m a Joy/Fresh Lemon Sugar/Bal a Versailles gal – not all at the same time, of course). I am so new to the game that I couldn’t begin to advise you, except to advise you to get out there and spritz! I spritz almost everything now, cause you just never know who your New One True Love(s) will be!
Good luck!
These will be entombed with me when I pass on.
1.Black Aoud
2.CdG Avignon
3.Musc Ravageur
4.Dior Homme
5.Ambre Sultan
6.Black Cashmere
What fun. Albeit difficult. Let’s see. What I cannot live without, under any circumstances:
1. 4711 – it was the first perfume I ever smelled, when I was a little girl and my family traveled on Lufthansa airlines from NYC to Germany to see my mother’s family. I’ve never been without a bottle since and I wear it mostly when I go out for a run or a hike.
2. Tabac Blond – the ultimate grown up gal’s perfume.
3. Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia – so, so pretty.
4. L’Heure Bleue – this one intrigues me to no end. I’ll never stop trying to puzzle it out.
5. Gucci EDP – it took a long time for this to win me over. Now, it’s true love.
6. Acqua di Parma Iris Nobile – it simply sparkles on my skin.
This is going to be tough. And, could change depending on the day.
1. Olivier Durbano’s Black Tourmaline – underrated and gorgeous
2. Josef Statkus – my boyfriend thinks I always smell like this.
3. Hermessence – Osmanthe Yunnan
4. Serge Lutens Tuberose Criminelle – gorgeous, bizarre
5. SMN Eva – so so so lovely
6. Andy Tauer – Le Maroc Pour Elle and Incense Rose. I couldn’t choose. I cheated.
Well, let’s go :
AN Grand Amour
Bandit
Miel de Bois
Passage D’Enfer
Montale Patchouli Leaves
Bigarade Concentree
My top six for this minute, in no order:
1. SL Fleurs d’Oranger (okay, this really is my #1)
2. PG Corps et Ames
3. Ormonde Woman (breathtaking…a masterpiece)
4. Tauer Incense Rose (damn, that’s intoxicating stuff!)
5. Delrae Amoureuse
6. DK Black Cashmere
Aghhh but what about OJ Frangipani??! Okay, it’ll just have to be my #6.1!
This is really just too hard – I must have 10.
Burberry Brit Gold
Mandragore
Iris Silver Mist
Bois Oriental/FdB
Rochas Byzance
Flowerbomb
Andy Tauer Incense Extreme
Cuir Beluga
Passage d’Enfer
Tubereuse Criminelle
*Takes deep breath*…I can do this…
1. Apres L’Ondee: An impressionist painting in a bottle.
2. Mitsouko: A glowing sunset in a bottle.
3. Diorissimo: A precious little muguet, hiding an animalic secret.
4. Chant D’Aromes: Peachy floral bouquet for a debutante.
5. Tabac Blond: Elegant, complex leather. Puttin’ on the Ritz!
6. Ecume de Rose: Salty and beachy (a cold, northern beach) rose, my hot weather go-to perfume.
L’Heure Bleue
Apres L’Ondee
SL FT
SL ISM
Nuit de Noel
Hiris
I leave for a few days and come back to a TEST? Nobody tol’ me bout no steenkin’ TEST!!:-l
Besides, I am having Scent Epiphanies so I’m not even sure what my faves are anymore. I just had a mini Spritz on Tuesday and played around with vintage Carons – do you think there’s a Caronade, much like the vaunted Guerlinade?
A few months ago I could’ve told you my ‘spaceship musts’ but now…
well the ones that never change are: Joy (always), Fracas (winter spaceship), Fresh Lemon Sugar (summer spaceship), Diorissimo (Spring spaceship , though I must have it, Caron Bellodgia (vintage spaceship if I can get it).
Alas, I have just discovered pepper and incense scents….so I’m all in a tizzy. Got a charming! sample of Poivre Samarcande and I think I’m in love. Then I got Passage d’Enfer…..in love again, then I tried the L’A Poive-something…..dang, can a gal have too many loves?
I would’ve bet heavy money that En Passant would’ve made that list but …..well, I’m not quite sure.
SO wish I could join you at Sniffa! I’ll be there next year but for this one, sniff some for me, okay?
xo
I’m terribly new to this, so I expect this list will change with time:
Annick Goutal Eau d’Hadrien
Annick Goutal Mandragore
Bond No. 9 Chinatown
Fifi Chachnil
Guerlain Après L’Ondée
Parfums de Rosine Rose d’Ete
D, darn you, why did you mention that?!? Now my brain is again clanging with self-accusation. L’air is probably the perfume that makes me feel the most like me, and I’ve been trying to ignore that all morning.
Hey, that was supposed to go to Dusan. What happened? Me stoopid, I guess.
Erin: stoopid – yeah, you and me both — it happened to me too last week when I was leaving a comment on here for YOU, heh. And it wasn’t the first time, so I win. Ha!
I’m sorry to have made you squirm some more, as if doing this next-to-impossible task wasn’t enough, but isn’t it amazing how I left out the fragrance I too see as my own, my second skin? Crazy. Plus you made me realize I needed to stick by my third man and now I feel awful for forgetting about that one. Just so you know, I’ll know who to blame when I’m living on the streets, eating out of trash cans and cadging for fags but smelling fabulous nonetheless 🙂
And shame on you for not including Champaca in your top 6, I didn’t except something negligent like that from you 🙂 Seriously, I’m wearing Fleur du Male today but had to dab just a drop of Champaca on the back of my hand – it’s so lovely!
Gracious, I haven’t been doing this long enough for it to be so hard to narrow down to 6, but, golly, it is! So here goes:
Tabac Blond
Mitsouko
Carnal Flower
L’Air de Rien
Dzing!
and…hmmm…
SMN Nostalgia, believe it or not.
Whew!
I flirted with Nostalgia as well! I don’t know what it is about that weirdly lovely rubber note;)
Okay, have been thinking about this lately, because I swore I was going to participate in the MUA Top 25 this year (anybody know what’s going on with that?) So I tried. I wrote down Apres L’Ondee (LOVE your description above, btw) and Gucci Rush with confidence. And I’m still confident. But then I realized I only had four left and my brain literally shut down. No. Four is too few. In the name of all things holy, but I’m going to give another run at this, I can see that. And I’m going to give the spots to perfumes that have given me “the Moment”, while trying to balance including lines I love. *deep breath* Last four:
Dior Homme Eau Noire
Rochas Femme (okay, damn you conscience, the original version)
Caron Third Man (*really near weeping for Patou Moment Supreme*)
Nicolai Odalisque
The one I feel the worst about leaving off is OJ Champaca. It definitely should be up there. Most days it *would* be there. I think the problem is that my love diffuses over the whole OJ line, and distracts me from individual perfumes. But yeah – no Chanels? No Patous? No Malle? Where in God’s name are Chene and Jicky? See, if you need to run from the flaming house, you need at least 10.
Oh yes, there’s the headache I was trying to avoid all morning; I can feel those forehead creases setting in for the rest of the day too! Oh well, here goes:
1. SL Borneo
2. Profumum Olibanum
3. VGD Biche dans l’absinthe
4. SL La Myrrhe
5. SIP Magazine Street
6. PG Coze
Oooh, but I NEED an amber! So bending the rules a tad:
7. Profumum Ambra Aurea or the dreaded Ambre Narguile, I don’t care which.
Unfortunately everyone will be giving me a wide berth come summertime with that list. 🙁
Oh wow, I love Olibanum and it never seems to get mentioned much.
I’ve noticed. It’s definitely not for the weak-kneed. I like to wear it on my evil days: those dark, bitter times when it’s perfectly in character with my inner office Goth. Or maybe I mean Visigoth. Not that it matters, as Olibanum suits them both equally well.
Hmmm…This is difficult, and I am not as brave as you are to list just six. But, here are my top three favorites that I have to stop myself from wearing all the time:
Doblis (Merci for introducing me, P!)
Le Labo Iris 39
Guerlain Angelique Noire
Hugs! Go Bruins!
Violetnoir –
I was just in the Chicago Hermes boutique on Tuesday. Are you sitting down? Apparently they had a half0bottle of Doblis…just hangin’ out in the employee bathroom for evah! I made Jose dash down there to see if it was still there…but when last he’d seen it, it was dregs…and now it’s gone.
Dang…
Oh, I love to do this even if it’s hard…. and scary as it is, since the “what you’d take to Mars” post about a year ago, I play the game of my top 10 favs all the time…
1. Jicky – first love
2 L’air du Desert Marocain – newest love and vying for #1 spot
and in no particular order for the others….
3. Vol de Nuit
4. Chergui & Chene – I don’t even feel like this is cheating since they have to go together to make the top 6 list…. big spritz of Chergui, small one of Chene over that. Read about that combo on one of these blogs and had never layered at all, and otherwise have no desire to.
5. Bois d’Armenie
6. Bois des Iles
And not that anyone asked, but Chanel Cuir de Russie is beginning to compete to get on this list and the last one that was thrown hard and far off my top 10 list was L’air de Rein. Wow, that all of a sudden went way wrong on me.
Happy weekend everyone!
great list – we seem to overlap! If Cuir de Russie were available in parfum strength, I probably would give Bois des Iles the boot and put on CdR – it is so amazing in the parfum 😡
Kim – my understanding is they both will continue to be available in parfum in Paris only (very big bummer) and there may be a few bottles left in the states in boutiques that haven’t run out yet? I know Chicago is out…. but I did track down both CdR and BdI in parfum a couple weeks ago… just didn’t feel right about the splurge at the time.
yes Paris only. sigh. I would love to stockpile in the meantime since I doubt I will be in Paris anytime soon. I wish at least ONE of the boutiques would carry it regularly. :((
I could be tempted to do a bottle split….
A mouse in the corner here, not wishing to interrupt anybody’s romance, but also willing to join in a bottle split of BdI if someone is serious…
hmm… I’m not sure if there is way to communicate w/out giving email addresses on the blog… I notice the message board doesn’t seem to be alive anymore… can anyone advise?
If you switch back to “Dirty Girls,” you can find the message board!
Thanks – it took awhile to figure out how to switch to dirty girls, but I did and I’ve posted a message on the message board about splitting bottles of CdR and BdI….
I know! I hat they are limiting the parfums. I think I got close to the last 2 bottles in NY, but I am willing to share if you guys want a little split of ’em.
I can’t even begin to list my six favorites ummmm
Femme
Eau des Merveilles
Amoureuse
Le Labo vanilla 44/Parfum Sacre (interchangeable)
oh no only 2 more
umm errr
Nuit de Noel
Jicky…
I think my brain may explode on this one!
Oh my GOSH this is hard, but here goes.
1) Faberge’s Tigress, because it’s who I am, distilled and placed in a bottle.
2) Goutal’s Heure Exquise, for my sophisticated moments.
3) Ginestet’s Botrytis, for when I need a comfort scent.
4) Parfums Delrae’s Bois de Paradis, because it’s beautiful and incredibly well crafted.
5) Patou’s Joy, for my white flower moments.
and finally, because this is ‘let’s pretend’ and I can have anything I want
6) Fath’s Iris Gris, because, simply put, I’ve never smelled anything more magnificent
Weird this but I can do 4. And after that my brain goes into meltdown. The 4 are
Mitsouko
Diorella
31 rue Cambon
OJ Frangipani
Oh hang on I lied. I can do 5! Adding
Tabac Blonde
Looks at list and sighs at omissions such as Eau de Merveilles and Femme and Attrape Coeur and Bois de Paradis. And Bandit. Ouch. Still as Scarlett says, tomorrow is another day!
You realise that being a typical Gemini I will change my mind by the time I finish typing, right? Oh well, here goes:
AG Sables
MKK
Acqua di Parma Colonia
SL Chene
Miller Harris l’air de rien
Le Labo Patchouli
SIX!?! :((:-ss
This is way too hard …
Ava Luxe Midnight Violet
Ava Luxe Cafe Noir
Knize Ten
Creed Orange Spice
Tauer Incense Rose
SL Fumerie Turque
It’d be a lot easier with a list of ten, but no cheating …
Shout-out to Louise — glad to see Datura Noir is on your list, too.
Mine is as follows, in no particular order:
Chanel No. 19
Patou 1000
Serge Lutens Datura Noir
Caron Alpona
Caron Nuit de Noel
Annick Goutal Passion
Oh no! That leaves out Je Reviens and Diorella — what to do?
Hey Girl! Nice list.
Good to see you here. Must get together again, soooon!
You got my contacts, right? 🙂
Hey, y’all! I’m out of town right now at a work thing and then have dinner tonight, so I may not be back with comments on this, but I love reading them!!!
I’ve been so indecisive, scentwise, that the ones that work do rise to the top – Chanel 19, Coco, Coromandel, Cristalle; PdN Vanille Tonka & Un Jardin Sur Le Nil. All scents that seem somehow right for every occasion and time of year, in my life anyway. TGIF, everyone have a great weekend (spring break starts for me now, whoo hoo! Break out that 50 degree weather!)
Guerlain Mitsouko
Bulgari Black
Narciso Rodriguez EDT
Carven Ma Griffe
Dior Diorella
Guerlain Shalimar
Of everything I’ve tried and everything I own, these 6 tend to always be out on my dresser.
What does it say about this little (HA!) obsession of ours that I am a newbie who has been doing the sample/decant thing for only six months and I have a hard time listing just six! But, in no particular order:
PG Un Crime Exotique (love the spice)
Inis (received this as a gift years ago and it is my fall back when I don’t know what fragrance mood I’m in)
Sushi Imperial
SL Fumerie Turque
Le Labo Vanille 44
L’Artisan Tea for Two
So…am I into gourmand and comfort scents or what. But what will I wear in spring and summer? And what will happen to the status of these six when I get my most recent TPC order? And when I smell everything on everyone else’s lists? :”>
1. Osmanthe Yunnan (can’t believe you didn’t list this, P!)
2. Chanel Coromandel
3. Guerlain Spirituese Double Vanille (The only reason I chose this over Vanille 44 was availability)
4. DSH Oeileets Rouges
5. CB’s Tea/Rose
6. Bois 1920 Sushi Imperiale or Bond Silver Factory 😕
That’s the list for today. Tomorrow it may be different.
Tough list to make, fun challenge, thanks!
These are in no particular order.
Saffran Troublant
CdG Palisander
Mitsouko
SL Santal Blanc OR Louve OR Bois de Vanille
Tauer Reverie au Jardin
La Parfum de Therese
Sadistic much, Marchioness de Geissler? 🙂
You know, I was dead sure you were going to stick Gucci edp in up there, but I guess with all that cheating the number 6 was too limiting. Sooo, I’ll nix the six and state my picks, in no particular order: Eau Noire, Chene, Prada EDP (yep, I’m growing titties), Prada Homme, Habit Rouge, L’Instant PH, M7, Emporio White, Eau des Merveilles, Fleur du Male… That’s ten, I know, but I couldn’t possibly imagine living without them 😀
Lee’s definitely onto me – I *am* a nancyboy!
Just realized I forgot to include L’Air du Desert Marocain.
I wrote a list like this a few weeks ago, just to see if future (near and far) planned purchases were worth it…so I’ve dug out my little notebook.
1. Ormonde Jayne Seraphim…the only reason to purchase it is because, upon first sniff, I couldn’t live without it–ever.
2. Frederic Malle Carnal Flower…first I had to get over the fact it makes me feel like Tinkerbell. That’s a lot of money to dress up as Tinkerbell at 35-years-old. No, no sum of money is too high for that.
3. Mona di Orio Carnation…I only feel “me,” and I only feel beautiful. Grace.
4. Ormonde Jayne Ta’if…This, believe it or not, is my kind of warrior fume. It slays all evil and turns everything into smiles.
5. Les Larmes Sacrées de Thebes…A shower of gold, a shower of Zeus, a shower of arrows.
6. vintage Diorling edt…Yes, the parfum is better, but I’ve had better luck finding and stashing away a couple of nice bottles of edt. Your description is perfect, Patty. This woman doesn’t rush to seduce you, you must wait and watch. Each time I wear it, I’m rewarded by a glorious bouquet of white flowers about 2-4 hours in. Very sophisticated–nothing like the innocent glee of A la Nuit.
And now I’m going to scribble a bit of everyone’s choices into my notebook. Some I’ve never heard of!
Catherine,
How do you find the lasting power to be with this beautiful fragrance? It seems short-lived, albeit magnificent, on me. The one drawback for me … well, that and …
🙂
Hi! I can’t quite tell which one you mean (sincerely–because they are all my “preciousies”), but one of my priorities with scent is that the scent create a discernible aura around me (but not “smelly” like I drained half the bottle on me) and last throughout a long day. Each of these fragrances lasts from morning to night, half of them into the next morning.
P.S. I *spray* everything–and that may make the difference. No dabbies for me.
Thank you Catherine! It is a beautiful fragrance … With your observations and suggestions in mind, I will try it again.@};-
Okay, am I finally getting which one? Is the rose a big hint?:d (There’s another one equally as luxurious, and equally as beautiful, but it’s not a rose.)
Spray, spray, spray. For the first two days, I tried it, I could smell nothing unless I stood in the wind. I was being miserly. I let it rip, sprayed maybe more than 1/2ml, went out for drinks, and had men and women coming out of the woodwork. And I, too, for the first time, smelled it.
@};-@};-@};-
Guerlain Mitsouko
Guerlain L’Heure Bleu
Caron Narcisse Noir
Mona di Orio Nuit Noire
Annick Goutal Songes
Boucheron Trouble (it’s so comforting!)
A little embarrassing in comparison to the sophisticated noses here! I don’t even have six. Here are my few:
Patou – Joy, perfume (vintage – preferred)
Hermes – Amazone
Dior – Dioressence, perfume
Annick Goutal – Tubereuse
Ormonde Jayne – Ormonde Woman
These fragrances, especially the first four, from the first dab, seem to ground me again, and always bring me back to my truest self. The last is a newer addition and a fragrance I love and am always happy to wear, never seem to tire of.
PS – Lee, yes vote here. I grew up with a vizsla. She was a profound part of the family. I have always thought that we might have known her in her last incarnation as a dog and her next visit to Earth in a physical body would be as a person. Lately, I have started to think that maybe her vizsla incarnation was actually more advanced than life as a person. I can not imagine regretting a life with a vizsla; along with my parents, grandparents, and brother, Yogi has made me much of the person I am today (for the better.)
@};-
I LOVE Dioressence parfum. I tried so hard to like the vintage edt as much as the parfum, since I only have an itty-bitty bit of the latter. No dice. The parfum is brilliant.
Wow. This was MUCH easier before I started playing with fragrance. @-)
My (current) list of 6
Dior Hypnotic Poison – old signature scent. Still a grabber when I don’t feel like thinking too hard.
Tauer Le Maroc Pour Elle – when I want to feel pretty
Le Labo Labdanum 18 – for me, comfort scent extraordinare
Serge Lutens (if I can’t have the whole line) Fleurs d’Oranger – that cumin with the orange blossom is a HUGE turn-on for me. LOVE this stuff.
Montale Black Oud – Because it layers so well. Especially with vanilla-based scents.
CdG Avignon – Another layering scent and a benchmark incense.
I am surprised at how many lists have OJ Woman on them. When I tried it, my only reaction was “Hmmm…different and nice, but what are others seeing in this?” Thankfully, I kept the sample– wondering if something was wrong with me that day–and I can retry.
Hmmm….six….. and I don’t cheat. :d
1. Neil Morris Midnight Tryst
2. SL Fumerie Turque
3. Something from red*vines on ebay; it was a sample I received in a swap. If I have to sample her entire line to find it again, I will.
4. Ginestet’s Botrytis.
5. FM L’Eau d’Hiver
6. Etro Messe de Minuit
I only have three of these in FB’s. :((
patty *argh* – thank you for awaking my lemming for vanilla 44 once more :(( i can almost smell how lovely it would go with patchouli…
i´m in a hurry & can´t think about a favourite list at the moment (this always so hard – it always takes my ages…), but my new love gucci EdP (i used to LOATHE it) would definitely be on top of the list.
What a bunch of cheaters! =))
My sinuses are chafing me and I’m not even gonna play. I’m just going to drink my coffee and watch the others squirm.
I missed you and hear you had a GREAT time. I can’t wait to see you next week! <):)
Great list, with some overlaps. In no particular order mine are:
– Ormonde Woman
– Bois d’Armenie
– Le Labo Patch24 (must try the layering with Vanille)
– Parfums MDCI Rose de Siwa
– Diorama
– Parfum Sacre’
– Daim Blond
Ooops they are 7, obviously cannot count. :d
Lovely w-e to everyone !
It was wonderful to meet you and your family! 😡 I feel uber- privileged. I love everything on your list (well, in the multiple items, I love the first one of each)–but I will only steal three:
Ormonde Woman (amazingly, I just discovered how much I love this)
vintage Diorling
Le Labo Patchouli
and then. . .oh, dear
vintage Mitsouko
Tabac Blond/or Poivre
And then, hiding in a secret compartment, SL Fumerie Turque. . .or Chergui (but probably FT).
What, no rose? Really light on the flowers here. Well, pick one: The Different Company Rose Poivree, Montale Aoud Rose Petals, SL Rose de Nuit, Le Labo Rose.
Well, I didn’t cheat toooooo much.
Jeeze….. the ONLY way to do this IS to seriously say out loud to oneself …”This is a only a test, (pop) just a test. Were a real perfume emergency (pop) to be on the horizon and you had to make a choice of only six (POP POP)? Well, that would NEVER happen so its ok to breathe now and its ok to pick seven/eight and the list order doesn’t have any meaning.”
Mitsouko
Ormonde Women
Coup de Fouet
Ambergris et Diamont Noir
TDC Jasmin de Nuit
Diorella
Bois Oriental /FdB
:)>-
Après l’Ondée
Shalimar EDP
La Chasse
Olene
Paris edt
Ô de Lancôme
Happy Friday to all!
Oh No! Too much stress to think of it 🙂
But one try at it-
Mitsouko
Tabac Blond
Bois des Iles
Datura Noir
Perfect Night
and-Arabie/Fumerie Turque/Messe de Minuit/Kretek/Sushi
Imperiale/Vetiver Tonka/Rose Kashmirie/Ambre Russe/Silences/Miller& Bertaux Green X 3/ Montale Rose Ta-if, Maroc pour Femme/Jasmin de Nuit/Rue Cambon/Musc Ravageur…
That’s 6, right?
Happy Friday, all!
Why, yes it is! :d
Now I have to go back over your sixth choice and see which fragrances I have missed in my perfume journey.
1. Laura Biagiotti Roma
2. Chopard Madness
3. Molinard Habanita
4. Tauer L’Air du Desert Marocain
5. Tauer Reverie au Jardin
6. Tauer Incense Rose
and that’s just the top six (order by date of discovery) of about 20 indispensables (not counting the droves of other scents I’d sorely miss if they departed out of my life!). And yes, I’m very much an Andy Tauer girl (Serge Lutens takes care of quite a few of the other indispensables, though)!
I can only name five at the moment, but here goes (in no particular order):
1. Chinatown
2. Ormonde Woman
3. Parfum Sacre
4. POTL Luctor et Emergo
5. Apres l’Ondee
To hell with cheating, what you wrote for number 3 with the Le Labos is my idea of heaven. Throw together patchouli with comforting notes of any kind and you’ve got me! And I really commend you for narrowing it down. I mean, basenotes always has those famous “your top 5 blan blah blah” and MOST people answers with at least 10, perhaps 20. So here are my top 20… JUST KIDDING… my top 6… understanding of course that there is a WORLD of fragrances I have yet to experience…
NUMBER ONE: Andy Tauer Incense Extreme, it literally makes me get all emotional in my chest region and I kinda want to well up with tears.
and now the rest:
Tom Ford Amber Absolute
Yves Saint Laurent M7
Serge Lutens Arabie
By Kilian Straight to Heaven
I think that’s it actually… spot number 6 could be filled with any of 20 or more things… so I guess there are my top 5. Wow, when you look at these lists they really do say something about your fragrance tastes don’t they… they really paint a picture.
Ok, so it looks like I had to revise… I mean, what am I supposed to do in the summer? I was going back and forth, thinking IE could work for that, but really, I need something a little fresher, so, back and forth, back and forth… Terre d’Hermes? Un Jardin Sur le Nil? Silver Mountain Water? And then reading QuinnCreative’s response with Mandragore, would THAT be it? I LOVE Mandragore… Then I decided… I can not live without Terre d’Hermes… so that’s number six.
Oh, goody. If you aren’t taking the Mandragore, pass it over here. I love it hot weather, as it won’t mush down and keeps its pleats nicely ironed.
I just realized that there are no violets, If I can’t have Fresh Index Violet Moss or Bois de Violette I’m not going!
ok here goes:
ormonde woman
gobin daude seve exquise
frederic malle cologne bigarade
parfumerie generale bois blond
serge lutens fumerie turque
histoires de parfum 1740 marquis de sade
bond # 9 new haarlem
annick goutal tubereuse
I know that’s 8 but I love these :)>-
I’m not going to try. my head’s too muddly messy a place by Friday from work, snuffly woofsters and pea green with envy-ness. You know of what I write…:x I wanna meet Patty….:((
“Snuffly woofsters”? 😡
Are you saying that Woof is in da house? *clapping hands in excitement*
Snuffly woofsters?!
I love the word snuffle, particularly as i have a (what some might call unhealthy) obsession with big-nosed hound dogs. I have a 9-month old basset puppy who turns out to be quite the perfumista! She gets soooo excited when i open perfume vials near her. I allow her to help me choose the perfume du jour every morning. A cursory snuffle translates to no way, get that horrid thing off your skin right now; a snuffle and brief lick means meh, while a double lick on the wrist means yeah, mom! that one! and by the way, where’s my snackie?
What, so now you want our heads to explode? Pop pop pop pop pop, all across the blogosphere? You’re a harsh taskmistress, ma’am.
One. Cuir Ottoman is my favorite leather. Ambre Fetiche is my favorite amber. I must have Datura Noir.
I must have a vanilla as vanilla makes my bf loopy like nothing else, and I get big vanilla craves all on my own. If I must choose one: Un Bois Vanille although it’s utterly useless in summer & I’ll probably have to sneak someplace for some SDV during July & Aug.
That’s 4. OK, woods. I need Bois d’Argent even though lately I’ve been liking Tam Dao more, and even Nelli Rodi Bois. I feel my head coming close to the ‘splodey point, this is really not fair.
That’s 5. I will forego fig, I can do that. I think I need Barbara Bui even though I’ve not been feeling her lately. Either that or Tea For Two. No, Barbara. Hmm. WITH the white oil? Do I get to have both? It’s really only 1 scent. And if I took the white oil I could live with Tam Dao instead of Bois D’Argent & layer … well, you know.
And that leaves me entirely without CB Burning Leaves, which is absolutely essential for mixing when I’m in THAT mood, which is often, believe me. Except June – Aug. So I can stick by this list for 9 months out of 1 but then all bets are off.
Oh, what a terrible question, Patty! However, I love what you wrote: “I have come up with the list of the six perfumes that I cannot live without, under any circumstances, and which best define who I am or want to pretend to be.”
I’ll take a stab at it:
Guerlain L’Heure Bleue
Caron Nuit de Noel
Tauer Incense Rose’
Caron Alpona
Chanel No. 19
Oh, gosh, choosing the sixth one is hell!
Okay,here goes:
AvignonHabanitaChene
Yep, that’s the sixth one. :d
Can you imagine that’s the type of list I make when I have insomnia? Do you think it helps me sleep? Not! So here’s my still caffeine-depleted list:
1/ Chanel Cuir de Russie. Feels like “home”. A bit dirty, a bit cool, aldehydes fizzing up the oily mix.
2/Mitsouko and Jicky in a tie. Because.
3/ Onda. Again the skank, earth, green, honey, feels like an animal rolling around in the woods.
4/ Bulgari Black. The smell of city streets in summer after rain. The Shalimar of the 21st century.
5/ Bandit. Ashtray, leather, flowers… The gutsiest scent I know.
6/ L’Air de Rien. A new love. Can’t get enough of that astringent woodmoss mixed with skanky musk. Feels like home too.
That’s making me leave out 31 rue Cambon and Chanel N°18, which I consider as my “palate-clearing” scent. I’m better at lists of ten, cause I’d also add Diorling and Tubéreuse Criminelle (need a white floral in there!).
Oh, just 6? Well, let’s see. . .
L’Eau D’Hiver and Bigarade Concentree by Jean Claude Elena for Frederick Malle. Well, and Lipstick Rose, too. Ooops, that’s three already.
Sabi because a good green chypre is hard to find. Mandragore, because it goes with so many other scents, and I simply love it for what it is.
And Li Altarelli, which I simply can’t get over. I kept buying samples and finally, just today, sprang for the whole bottle because I can’t help myself. The crazy thing is that for the first full minute after I put it on, I smell. . .nothing. Then it starts waving a galbanum/violet leaf freak-flag on my wrist, then simply coasts into a summer breeze scent that stays for 12 hours. I swear my arthritis gets better when I wear it.
Well, OK, maybe not, but it is my new love.
If the original L’Heure Bleu existed, I’d put that on the list.
thank you, thank you, thank you! (where has the hug emoticon gone?)
Wonderful list and especially loved reading the reasons. Yes, it is torture to narrow it down – kind of like those exercises where the earth is going to blow up and you have to pick only 5 others for the space ship? :- :((
Mine?
1)Chanel No 5 (which I could easily pick as the only one if forced – it just speaks to my soul as no other perfume does)
2) No 22 (yes, I love aldehydes!)
3) Bois des Iles (picked it over Cuir de Russie and Coromandel – perhaps you heard the screams of protest?)
4) Mitsouko (there must be at least one chypre and this is the best)
5) Nahema (this suprised me but I really needed to have a rose)
6) Vol de Nuit (picked it over Shalimar and L’Instant – hope they will talk to me again but there was only room for 1 more)
Me thinks I may be a lover of Chanel and Guerlain? 😕
Well, it is hard to follow such a list but here goes: Joy, AG Heure Exquise, FM Bigarrade Concentree, Fresh Sugar (not Sugar Lemon), Hermes Caleche, and SL Un Lys.
I do not need to hear about Un Lys….I put my hands over my ears….la-la-la-la-la. I will not succumb, I will not succumb…Damn, where’s my wallet?
Un Lys is quite simply a lily masterpiece. My very favorite SL by far!