Recently, I watched a random beauty channel on YouTube where the creator repeatedly mentioned being “into perfume” and having another perfume-centric channel. Then, over the course of the video, it became obvious that she wasn’t really familiar with Guerlain perfumes – other than vaguely knowing Shalimar and recalling trying one of the Aqua Allegoria scents. That made me realize that many people who like and buy perfumes might never venture beyond what’s offered at major department stores. Now I’m curious about your choices when it comes to that category of perfumes.
Saturday Question #243:
What Is The Most Mainstream Perfume In Your Collection?
You can define “mainstream” however you see fit. The only condition is that it must be a full bottle you bought yourself or swapped (so, no gifts or “pass-overs”).
My Answer
Eons ago, I created a classification system for perfumes in my collection (Sorting Hat: Perfume Categories). I subdivided them into the following categories: Mall scents, Mainstream, High-end mainstream, Boutique, Niche, High-end niche, Indie and One of a kind. According to this system:
Mainstream – this category will include mass-market, designer and celebrity perfumes (e.g. Estee Lauder, Lancome, Prada, YSL, Thierry Mugler, Bvlgari);
Using this approach, I’d say the “most” mainstream perfume in my collection is Prada Infusion d’Iris EdP. It’s one of the few perfumes in this category in my collection that is still in production. Most of the rest, from my “civilian” days, have since been discontinued.
How about you?
Undina's Looking Glass 
Hello!
For me, the answer might be Bulgari Au Tea Vert. I smelled this at a perfumery in Moncton, and I couldn’t believe anything could smell that good. It really blew my mind. Opened my eyes to a world of possibilities. Later I could find it at my local Winners, and I bought a couple of different versions of it.
Funny I chose this particular scent, cause like you Undina I could find Prada Iris at the grocery store for awhile. I do love that scent. Eventually the grocery chain discounted all their scents so I could buy Shalimar, Samsara, and the Prada scent, as well as a few bulgaris, for about five dollars a bottle. It’s why I had such a stash of Bulgari Black for awhile.
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I love Bvlgari The Vert. One of Jean-Claude Ellena’s genius creations, in my opinion. I wear it a lot in summer.
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I think I stopped trying Bvlgari somewhere around Jasmine Noir (or something like that). I’m not even sure if any of the local department stores still carries that brand. But I like Black a lot. I’ll wear it tomorrow!
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I own many mainstream fragrances. EL Azuree, Clinique AE, lots of Chanels, Guerlains & Diors.
I’m not sure how to designate the most mainstream.
I’d say my collection of Chanel No5 is the most mainstream. Chosen because of sales & history
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I consider Chanel/Dior/Guerlain as a high-end mainstream. I realize that they are now quite ubiquitous, but for me, they are perfume patriarchs, so they don’t count :)
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AHHHH! Maybe half my collection is mainstream Undina. On my desk right now there are Gucci Bloom Acqua di Fiori, Oscar by Oscar de la Renta (vintage extrait) and a vintish Guerlain Shalimar extrait but I have a whole box of celebuscents, a few mixed designer boxes and a slew of department store CHANEL, Dior and Estée Lauder.
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The whole Gucci Bloom range are stunners
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Agreed Alityke, way better than they needed to be. It was like Gucci suddenly remember how to do fragrance.
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Well, I didn’t expect that my readers had a single mainstream perfume in their collection. I hoped to make them think and choose one. Yeah… Perfumistas are notoriously indecisive when it comes to choosing one (five or ten ;) ) of anything, even hypothetically.
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HA! Indeed
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I have quite a few mainstream perfumes, so I decided to look only at full bottles still in production and available at a department store …. Which leaves me with Dior Hypnotic Poison, Mugler Alien, and Dior J’Adore. I wouldn’t put any of them in my top 25 and they all might be on the chopping block if I really go through my downsizing that I keep talking about. I used to keep up with mainstream releases by visiting the counters at Sephora or Macy’s, but I was so often unimpressed that I stopped. When I think about discontinued perfumes like Bvlgari Black and even Tendre Poison, they just aren’t making things that smell that interesting at the big companies any more (unless I’m missing something!)
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I went the same route! I remember times when I knew all perfumes at Macy’s or Nordstrom and would check out anything newly released. Not anymore. I wouldn’t even know what’s new unless I am really bored and have extra 5 minutes to browse the counter.
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My most mainstream scent is YSL Black Opium over Red. Silly name but it’s cozy and comforting for me. I wear it after my surgeries and any time I feel like I need a hug.
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I wanted to try it but somehow I haven’t come across it at a store. I’ll try again this weekend.
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I have a few but several are discontinued, so it’s probably Elizabeth Arden Green Tea, which I bought at a discount and keep in the fridge to refresh myself on hot summer days. It actually gets very little use because I forget it’s there.
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EA’s Green Tea Mimosa was my second candidate for this SQ question. I wonder if I still have any of the original left – at some point, I went through a couple of bottles, but I’m not sure whether i finished the last one.
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Mainstream perfumes you say? Well, I have a few, and I will certainly be dating myself here with the following list. I think of mainstream as anything readily accessible to the general public. I hope I’m not over thinking your SQ. 😉
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Forgot one.
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I’m adding these two if they can be considered within the guidelines of mainstream perfumes, but I was thinking a bit more pedestrian of course.
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Are you sure that’s it? I bet there’s at least a couple more lurking on your shelves. JK ;) If I were to choose one from your collection, I’d say Polo because it is ubiquitous AND it is right “in the middle” – it’s not mall/drugstore Old Spice, but also, it’s not a prestige high-end mass-market as No 5.
Do you still wear all these?
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🤔 Let me take a look. YES, Grey Flannel by Geoffrey Beene.🤣 Thanks for humoring me, Undina. 😉
I wear everything in my collection, even my very vintage bottle of Polo. Some of the others were fragrances from my early years, wearing them is mostly for sentimental reasons. It’s nice to escape once in a while.
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Lots in fact! Jasper Conran Woman, several Yves Rochers, Bvlgari Jasmin Noir, various drugstore dupes…if I looked through my stash I could cite more. ;)
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I see the fellow-commenters who came in earlier had a serious influence on you: the initial idea was not to cite as many as possible mainstream perfumes in your collection but to choose ONE that fits the SQ the most. But I know: it’s hard for any perfumista to select just one perfume for anything, even a superficial list. Probably, that’s how we all ended up with collections that we have ;)
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I tried, believe me, but didn’t know how to define “most mainstream”, and several things popped into my head on an equal footing. ;)
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Mainstream fragrances? 🤔
Pretty much anything I can get at a “regular” department store (e.g. Macy’s) or shop (e.g. Sephora) I consider mainstream, which means a good portion of my collection is mainstream. I do misclassify perfumes as “niche” because it sounds better 🤣. My most mainstream would be any variation of Chanel No.5 because I have so many …
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I don’t know… Somehow Chanel doesn’t fit into my internal definition of mainstream, though you’re right: other than a price point and trend-du-jour perfumes, what other perfume has the same standing, both literally in stores and figuratively in everyone’s mind?
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