First of all, I’m sorry for the missed Saturday: I know that you all perfectly survived without it, but I’m trying not to miss at least these posts without a good reason. This time I just ran out of time before I had to leave for a business trip to Chicago.
The trip went well (if not count that because of the time difference I had to get up every morning at 5 AM my time). For the first time in my life, I spend a couple of work days on the 44th floor (below, I posted a picture I took from the window of the conference room). And once we had lunch on the 70th floor of that building. You can see a photo I took from there in my Instagram feed (or in this blog on the side for web visitors or down the screen for mobile ones). It was impressive! I regretted not having any perfume in a bottle with me: I could have taken a picture of the perfume I wore on the highest floor I’ve ever visited. But since I brought with me just decants, I missed that opportunity.
Saturday Question #132:
Have You Ever Broken a Perfume Bottle?
If yes, what was that? Have you replaced it since then?
And a bonus question, since we skipped it last week: What was the highest floor you’ve ever been to? Do you remember what perfume you wore?
My Answer
I do not remember ever breaking a perfume bottle, and even the idea of it makes me shudder. So, the topic of this post came not from any bottle (or even a decant) suffering during this trip. But while I was trying to fall asleep earlier than my usual time, I was going through my Instagram and saw a posting with a shattered perfume bottle on the new account that Richard Goller (the author of the fragroom.com blog) posted on his new Instagram account and couldn’t stop thinking about it. (Speaking of IG, if you used to follow Richard on the previous account, richgoller, you’ll need to follow his new account, ficklefragrancelover because the first one was blocked by IG for the reason I don’t know and can’t even imagine).
And to answer the bonus question: on the day I visited the 70th floor, I wore Heure Exquise by Annick Goutal.
How about you?
Undina's Looking Glass 
Heure Exquise – beautiful, and what I always wear at this time of year. What amazing photos. I have never been more than ten stories high, and think that’s possibly a good thing as I would get dizzy with vertigo.
I have never broken a bottle of perfume, but my sister smashed one of mine and she has never stopped feeling guilty and I don’t think I have quite forgiven her, even though it was over 40 years ago! It was a huuuuuge bottle of Caleche, and she was sneakily spraying herself but dropped it on the tiled bathroom floor. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth ensued, on both sides.
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When you look down from behind the glass window that doesn’t open, it doesn’t feel the same as when it’s an open height. And the higher you get, the less real and scary it gets ;)
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The CN Tower observatory deck on the 114 floor in Toronto, is the highest structure that I remember visiting so far, 10 or so years ago. I visited the observatory deck at The One World Trade Center on the 102 floor a couple of years ago. Living and working in the design and construction field in NYC has made me be in high altitudes very often.
I broke a bottle of Serge Lutens L’Eau Froide last year, but it was replaced by a very kind and generous fellow perfumista. I have broken several decants, but the most painful one was a new, unused decant of Frederic Malle Iris Poudre, that slipped from my hand when I was just ready to use it for the first time. I was shocked and very upset and so far I have not replaced it.
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Now, when I heard about all these tall buildings I want to visit them! I should probably start with NY :)
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I’m not good at being high up. I’m afraid I’ll throw myself off!! So I only go up high if I can’t see out.
I don’t remember dropping a perfume but a travel spray of LAP The Pour Un Ete unscrewed itself in my bag at work once. Smelt great!
In 1981 my flat mate’s daughter, who was three at the time, decided she wanted to try my 60ml dabber of Opium. Of course she knocked it over & split it on the dressing table & carpet. That took some time to clear!
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Opium in 80s?!! I wonder if the remains of that carpet somewhere in a landfill still maintains some base notes ;)
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That carpet will probably be preserved forever as it’s perfectly embalmed. The landfill site will confuse everyone nearby as the only tip to smell good
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I dropped and broke my bottle of L’Artisan Vanille Absolument. Fortunately I grabbed it before the entire bottle spilled out and filled a couple of 10ml sprays with the remains. So I have a couple of decants, but I lost a lot of it (my closet hallway smelled great for weeks!) I have dropped others but something about the shape and how it hit meant that one wasn’t destined to survive.
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Well, objectively speaking, probably you would not have been able to go through the whole bottle before it spoils ;)
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Hey Undina,
I broke my Mum’s 16oz bottle of what I thought was JOY EdC but Jean Kerleo assured me there had never been any such thing. So it must have been No 5 EdC, my memory of the bottle pre-smash says it could well have been. The reps used to give Mum lovely gifts because they sold so much in their shop.
Lately I’ve also been clumsy. Haven’t dropped a bottle in decades but Le Galion Eau Noble fell out of its pedestal box and smashed into the office carpet and Pineider Estratto di Colonia slipped from my hands and smashed in our bedroom at Jin’s Mum & Dad’s place last month.
The Eau Noble I have a back up of and fortunately was hoping to finish up the Pineider while on holidays. Be careful what you wish for eh?
Portia xx
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Well, whoever says you haven’t finished that bottle… :)
It’s interesting how memory plays with us sometimes: we might recall things not the way they were in reality. I hope your mom wasn’t too upset – whatever that bottle of perfume was.
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HA! Undina, I can’t really remember if Mum was furious. She was a woman on the verge and some things sent her batshit crazy, others she just let slide. Never knew which way the reaction would go.
Didn’t matter, I was a nightmare and she was amazing.
Portia xx
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I broke a sample vial of Spring Flower in the locker room at work. Shortly thereafter, an anti-sillage (“If your perfume can be smelled by others, it is not acceptable”) rule was passed.
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Boo hoo! It couldn’t have been that bad! :(
I hope you found a way to enjoy your perfumes without breaking the rule in a too obvious way.
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Ooh, a two-fer!
Highest floor — assuming we’re not counting being looking out the window while flying at cruising altitude — 107th floor The Greatest Bar on Earth and a restaurant there (don’t remember the name) at the World Trade Center in New York City. This was way back when there were few restrictions on what is now considered too woke for a college to be hosting getting to know you soirées. It was New York University so it is only fitting to use a landmark location. I have also spent time at a satellite location the 70-something floor meeting with colleagues when I was with the same company on a totally different function. I would have to say I was commando all the times I was there (including the soirée) as I was not “into” perfumes then and was unlikely to have taken the time to wear perfumes.
As to breaking a bottle, not yet and hopefully not ever!
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There was time when you weren’t “into perfume”? Unbelievable! :)
Until I got to that 70th floor, I haven’t even thought about tall buildings. Somehow, that has never come to mind as an attraction when I thought about visiting different locations. But of course now I want to get higher! :)
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I haven’t broken a bottle of perfume, thank goodness! The highest floor of a building I’ve been on was the top of the World Trade Center, so I think about 110 stories up. Not an experience I enjoyed very much, as I get vertigo and I dislike heights. But if I stayed far back and just gazed at the view, it was very spectacular.
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Was it open, not behind glass?
Being safely separated from the outside by a window, I do not feel any excitement when looking down. It would have been quite different had it been a balcony.
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All glassed in. I would NEVER have ventured out onto an open space that high up!
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I think it was the CN Tower. Years ago I dropped a bottle of Kai edp on the bathroom floor. I was more upset that it broke my glass bathroom tiles than about the bottle (not easy to fix).
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Yeah, a heavy (or just strategically dropped) bottle might do a serious damage!
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Hello, dear Undina, and thanks for the mention. My IG account was suspended because they reckon I featured “counterfeit goods”. I’m in the process of submitting numerous appeals to get them to reinstate it.
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I hope that nightmare goes away! It is so unfair and infuriating!
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Tell me about it, dear Undina. Thanks again.
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No to breaking a bottle, but I do remember sneaking out to the Willis Tower by myself a few years ago on a work trip after the work events. Best guess as to what I was wearing is Paul Smith Essential. Hope you enjoy(ed) your trip to Chicago!
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It was a good trip – both work-wise and on a personal level: I got to see many co-workers I haven’t seen for 2.5 years.
I saw that tower on our architectural water cruise. Impressive.
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A couple of years ago I dropped my new bottle of Victoria Minya’s Hedonist Iris and the spray top broke off, arrgghh! I had to use a needle and syringe to get the perfume out of the bottle. It was a challenging situation, for sure. Tallest building? Hancock tower in Chicago I think. I hate heights, very scary for me.
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Looking it up, I learned that it had been renamed in 2018 by request from the name owner (the insurance company who long moved out from that building). Now it’s just called by the address. Boring :)
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Kate Walsh Boyfriend. Though it was a smallish purse spray / travel size, and not a classic bottle shape. I wrote up the sorry incident here…;)
https://bonkersaboutperfume.blogspot.com/2012/02/kate-walsh-boyfriend-my-relationship-is.html
The highest floor would be either the top of the World Trade Centre some 12 years before 9/11, the Sears Tower in Chicago, or the Space Needle in Seattle (though it doesn’t really have floors ;) ).
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Even though I’ve been to ALL these cities and saw those buildings, not only I’ve never visited them, a thought to do so on account them being that tall hasn’t crossed my mind! And I’m not even afraid of heights. Of course, now I want to go there.
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No to breaking any bottles but I have spilt perfume when trying to get the stopper off samples. I much prfer the spray ones.
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Been there :) But I still prefer dab vials for testing perfumes: it’s easier to control the amount… if you manage to open it without spilling that is ;)
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Yes, I broke a small bottle of Annick Goutal in Aldi of all places. My handbag wasn’t closed properly and I upended it, of course the bottle was the only item to hit the floor. I wasn’t able to replace the bottle either, could never find another one in that size, think it was maybe 15ml. I love tall buildings, the highest floor I’ve ever been on was 102nd floor of the Empire State Building, which was a bit of an anti-climax as the windows were almost opaque.
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My best memory of a broken perfume bottle is when my then toddler nephew snuck into my mum’s bedroom and somehow managed to break her bottle of Youth Dew, which ended up
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Oops, hit the send by mistake! Anyway, a lot of the perfume got onto the white lace curtains, which she was more worried about than the loss of the perfume. The carpet smelled amazing for ages.
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Children and fragile things seem extremely incompatible :)
Your Youth Dew incident reminded me of the stories about scented curtains on theaters’ stages.
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My highest floor is 124th (or 125th?) of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (world’s tallest building) which I have been to several times since people visiting always wanted to go. Good thing I’m not afraid of heights! I always loved the view from up there – the city, desert and sea all in one.
Sadly, I’ve broken a few bottles – Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum is the only one I’ve replaced. My serge lutens Chrypre Rouge, I would have replaced but I haven’t found another export bottle (non bell jar). It is really sad when they break!
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I know that now whenever I plan the next trip to a city, I will be figuring if they have especially tall buildings that I can check out.
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I have not broken a perfume bottle…yet. Regarding heights, once upon a time I rode the elevator to Windows on the World, in the North World Trade Center Tower and looked out the windows. It’s a sad memory, given what happened much later. I’ve since realized how much I dislike being in tall buildings and that probably affected me then, though at the time (as a poor student) I thought: I can’t afford to buy any food or drink here!!!
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Yeah, these things stay with us. Just during this Chicago visit, it came up in a conversation with a coworker as I was investigating where the emergency exit was: whatever happens, just don’t go up; never up :(
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