I remember times when Olympic games were a big deal for me: I watched even those sports that didn’t interest me at other times. Then I would watch an opening ceremony and gymnastics (Summer games) or figure skating (Winter). Then… I knew about the upcoming 2024 Olympics in France and read some news and commentaries (I still can’t believe they are going to swim in Seine!). But I wasn’t sure about the exact schedule, and a couple of days ago I thought the Olympics had already started. A couple of hours ago, I learned that the opening ceremony was earlier today, and I missed it. It didn’t even upset me. I might attempt to watch a video if I find anything online. Or not. But one way or the other, sport was on my mind.
Fragrantica has about 400 fragrances sporting (pun intended) one of the forms of this word, for example, Burberry Sport, Polo Sport by Ralph Lauren or Sporty Citrus by Michael Kors. Additionally, one can find some sport-related names (though not utilizing the word itself), such as Tennis by L’acqua di Fiori, Work Out by Womo or Rugby for Men by Pascal Morabito.
Saturday Question #224:
Do You Have Any “Sport” Perfumes in Your Collection?
Be as literal or metaphorical as you wish.
A bonus question: do you plan to watch any of the Olympic disciplines this time?
My Answer
Not only do I not own a single “sport” perfume, I am not sure whether I’ve ever tried any. I wonder if it is my attitude towards most sports activities that put me off those.
The only perfume I tried with the name vaguely reminding a sport (though not an Olympic one) is Checkmate by Mind Games. I enjoyed the fruity-rose opening every time I tested it, but that pleasant intro combination was a sprinter on an extremely short distance, and 5 minutes into the development it became somewhat boring. It gets its “second wind” the next day as a wonderful robe scent. But I disqualified it from the daily competition for the first place on my skin.
As for the Summer Olympics, I might catch a couple of after-the-fact clips of Simone Biles if she performs well. But in general I will probably miss most of the competitions.
How about you?
Undina's Looking Glass 
I don’t have any sport perfumes, they are almost all directed toward men, I don’t generally care about those definitions but I also don’t tend to enjoy very “masculine” smelling scents. That said, I did just blind buy Nicolaï’s Olympics release, Victoire. I have been waiting for the games to arrive to try it, so probably this week. There are only three reviews on Fragrantica – two positive and one very negative. I like the small frosted bottle (50ml). A moment of weakness led me to order it 😂
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Every time I see yuzu as a note, my heart starts beating a little faster :) The price is good, even considering the delivery cost – please try it and report back! :)
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I have owned & drained two or three bottles of EL Aliage in my lifetime. It was released as a “Sports” fragrance for women. It was a bright, herbal, mossy wood with a citrus opening & became the stereotypical sports scent until the calonic horrors of the 90s arrived.
The current version lacks the symphonic feel of earlier versions. It’s now a duet rather than a full orchestra.
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I don’t think I’ve ever smelled Aliage. I am not sure how it happened: Estée Lauder was one of the brand performed from which I tried at stores, and I used to buy makeup and skincare from the brand often enough not to be shy at the counter. Somehow I missed it completely.
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It’s not always available at all dept store counters. Hasn’t been for decades in the UK. Just in the very large ones or you have to ask for them to order it in. If you like JML colognes & Goutal Aliage might be up your street. It’s probably the gentlest of ELs classic line up, but it’s still noticeably Lauder
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Oh & the opening ceremony was tedious at times. The galloping horse on the Seine looked spectacular but went on far too long! Worth checking out for a bit.
The lighting of the Olympic Cauldron fell flat, the spectators & TV crews seemed to expect it to be at the Eiffel Tower, but no! Zinedine Zidane handed it to Rafa Nadal who then boarded another boat on the Seine with Serena Williams & others, they disembarked & Amilie Mauresmo took the flame, then it went to the oldest living Olympian in his chair for a few seconds then it went to someone else who took it to the Tuileries Gardens where the Cauldron was lit & taken into the air by a hot air balloon.
All this is constant, drenching rain! Rafa Nadal’s cream trousers were see through!
The competitors on the boats were largely wearing transparent rain poncho or holding brollies.
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Thank you! I really enjoyed your report on the event! I wouldn’t mind reading your take on any of the events if you end up watching them: your take on it was quite entertaining :)
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Yesterday’s cycling time trial around the streets of Paris in rain that would have had Noah rebuilding his arc. So many casualties it must have smelt reminiscent of ELDO Secretions Magnifique!
They have cleansed the Seine but the rain is washing all the filth back in apparently!
Anyway what sort of weirdo races themselves?
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I’ve started an interactive blog post so anyone can scent an event or two if they fancy
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I liked much of the opening ceremony, although I agree it was much too long. I thought the horse rider was never going to get to the Trocadero stadium! Marie Antoinette holding her head was iconic and the dancers were all excellent. I loved the runway show and the Bacchanial feast was cool, too. I’m still laughing at all the Americans who didn’t understand it. They must not be teaching world history in US schools anymore.
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The ignorami of the Internet, including “Truth” Social think it was “disgusting” parody of the last supper from the Da Vinci. The DJ has been receiving hate mail & death threats.
Some people are beyond ignorantly stupid.
In the UK the new definition of ignorance isn’t a lack of knowledge but a harmful entity
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I don’t own any sport-related perfumes either, unless you count Galop d’Hermès, and I’ve never ridden a horse in my life! The word “sport” on a fragrance makes me think of locker rooms, which puts me off instantly. I also enjoy watching gymnastics but probably will only watch opportunistically or after the fact.
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Galop fits the theme! :)
Yeah, I was also never inspired by the “sport” part – even though I have never experienced locker rooms in my younger years: those were just not a thing where I grew up.
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I can’t think of a single “sport” fragrance in my collection, lol. As some of you know, though, I occasionally write a “marathon” series of fragrance reviews on my blog in May (May Muguet Marathon and Roses de Mai Marathon). That’s as close as I can get!
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Good idea! :) We’ll definitely count your marathons.
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I seem to be the only one with a sport perfume Undina. Maybe it’s because I quite like ozone, salt, aquatics and that particular citrus/woods combination that so often mark the genre.
Annoyingly, mine are all called BLUE rather than sport except Lanvin L’Homme Sport, which is lovely. I like the bottle a lot too, so pretty.
When Jin moved in with me there was no television in the house. He is so sports mad that it was the first change he made. If Baseball, Rugby League, Soccer or a bunch of other favourite games is on I can find him happily ensconced in the living room, riveted. Every Olympics he takes a couple of days off to sit in front of the TV just basking in it.
Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary and it’s been bloody impossible to think of anything to get him. I’m going to grab him a Sports Perfume. Thanks for the idea.
Portia xx
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Happy anniversary to you and Jin! <3
An unexpected question from my vSO (I was sharing your answer with him as we were driving home from the friends’ place): what Olympic sports does Jin watch? Does he take days off for any specific disciplines, or just to be a part of the event?
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Good question VSO.
He loves to watch the swimming for Australia, it’s our superpower.
He watches shooting, archery, fencing and handball for Korea.
If there is anything either country is doing well at and he can cheer them on it’s a bonus.
He also loves the long term competitors like Simone Biles and a few others that don’t come to mind.
Lastly, Jin LOVES an underdog. I’ve seen him utterly heartbroken for competitors that have their chance snatched or during the stories of how much they go through to get there.
When none of the things he loves is on, over five stations and two languages, he will happily watch any sport that’s on and get enthusiastically behind some competitor that he takes a shine to.
HA HA HA! He also takes against an athlete if they start to get arrogant or up themselves.
Portia xx
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Sounds like he was a Brit in a former life!
I’m with Jin. Love to see excellence even if I don’t usually follow the sport.
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HA! Maybe he was.
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I own the Dior Homme Sport from 2008, and it’s a great zingy ginger perfume. I also own Chanel Allure Homme Sport Cologne which is similar to the Dior but more musky. Apparently Procter and Gamble have set up a scent shop in the Olympic Village for the athletes. I read somewhere that there’s been some stamps released to coincide with the games that smell of baguettes.
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If I were to participate in Olympics, buying perfume would have been probably one of the last things on my mind. Especially from P&G. But I could get onboard with scented stamps (even though I don’t remember when I used any stamps last time.) :)
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I have Victoire by Parfums de Nicolai, which she issued for the Olympics. It’s a yuzu and galbanum opening with nice vetiver and woods in the base. I am enjoying it in the hot weather and I’m realizing that I like yuzu quite a bit.
I wore Lauder’s “Aliage” in college. It was very green and sporty, smelled very grassy and woody. I loved it and I can’t bring myself to try the current version since I know it will be a shadow of its former self.
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You are the second person in comments who has this special perfume! And in addition to the note I’ve been obsessed with in the last couple of years, it has my all-time favorite galbanum. I am sooo tempted!
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Aliage isn’t bad currently. Now Lauder have sorted out their oakmoss substitute
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I love the Olympics. Being pretty clumsy and uncoordinated as a child and teen, I never participated in any competitive sports, but I wish I could have had the skill to do so. It looked like so much fun. I realize how difficult it must be to excel in any sport so I admire the athletes and love to cheer them on, albeit from my couch.
I’ve been watching both men’s and women’s gymnastics and diving for many years. I was excited when Tom Daley and Noah Williams won the silver medal in synchronized diving and I was absolutely thrilled when the US men’s gymnastics team won a bronze medal. They’ve each had a lot to overcome and it was wonderful to see them all shine on the Olympic stage. Of course I’ll be watching Simone and Suni Lee tomorrow, 2 more inspiring young women. I also love the equestrian events as I was a horse girl as a youngster. The equestrian event venues are so gorgeous this year, all at Versailles.
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The way you are describing your watching plans makes me want to watch them too! :) I’ll see what I can find tomorrow to watch.
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Double no – to the sport perfumes and watching the Olympics. I shudder at the word “sport” when appended to a perfume, which is often a flanker to some other awful men’s fragrance and has monster fizzing sillage. Sorry, sport scents are my bête noire!
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Before I went to Fragrantica to investigate, I also thought that “sport” was done for masculine fragrances. Apparently not. But I haven’t tried any of those feminine “sports” that I found on the list.
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Thinking more widely about perfumes associated with sport, even very loosely, I used to have a sample of “Time to Draw the Raffle Numbers” by 4160 Tuesdays, which was inspired by Bradley Wiggins’ podium moment after winning the Tour de France in 2012. I gave the sample to a friend who was cycling in a 100 mile race(!), and she wore it on the day…
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100 miles?! (faints)
My sciatica starts hurting just from reading about that! :)
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