“Four legs good”

Pets-related stories

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Saturday Question: Have You Ever Gave Your Mother Perfume as a Gift?

Unlike the New Year Eve/Day or some common religious holidays, Mother’s Day is celebrated in different months either on the specific date or certain day of the month. But since it looks like countries from where many of my loyal readers come share the same day, the second Sunday of May, this SQ is in celebration of this beautiful holiday.

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #214:

Have You Ever Gave Your Mother Perfume as a Gift?

Not necessarily for Mother’s Day, but for any other occasions or just because? If yes, was it something you knew she loved, or was it an experiment?

 

My Answer

In my childhood, since perfumes weren’t widely available, even adults used perfumes as gifts just occasionally, so no romantic stories about saving pennies and buying anything perfume-related. As I grew up and started earning money, times were hard, so money were designated for less frivolous, day-to-day necessities. But once we moved to the US and settled down, on each of my visits home I would bring my mom some perfume as a gift. And I always saved some perfume samples: since years ago department stores were much more generous with samples with purchase, I always had a bunch of extras to share with her.

She would actively use them up (but kept bottles for a while, so I know that she finished them), but I don’t think she cared enough to remember which ones she liked more. Or maybe she didn’t want to ask for another bottle trying to be considerate – even though I always asked for her wish list (in general, not necessarily perfume-related).

Since every time I would bring something different, the only three perfumes I remember were Diorella, Yves Rocher Desir de Nature and Elizabeth Arden Green Tea. I wish I could remember more. I wish I would have shared more.

Rusty and Orchid

How about you?

Have You Ever Gave Your Mother Perfume as a Gift?

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Sunday Self-care, Episode 11: Left Holding the [Makeup] Bags

After a 17-month hiatus, I hesitated to continue this series: over the months (years?) of quarantine and “new normal,” this term got overused and became a cliche in record time. But since I still plan to write from time to time about beauty products, I don’t want to start each of them by explaining what that not-perfume-related post is doing on my blog. So, the series will continue.

* * *

As I started writing this post, I realized that until a month ago, I didn’t buy a single makeup bag/case. Ever. I don’t remember what I did before moving to the US (most likely, I didn’t need anything special for the only two items I would regularly carry – a tube of lipstick and a pressed powder compact. For decades here, I would be using cases and bags I got as a part of GWPs or sets. Of all the free makeup organizers I used over the years, I thought Dior had the best ones, followed by Shiseido. Unfortunately, in recent years, in an attempt to increase profitability, most brands either stopped using free bags with their GWPs having replaced them with cardboard boxes or cheapened them significantly. That’s how I found myself thinking, for the first time, about finding the right cosmetics bag to buy.

* * *

The last drop was when recently sitting in the car (in the passenger seat!) I was trying to fish out something I needed from my makeup bag. I knew it was there but could not find it. I complained to my vSO: “I wish I had one of those makeup organizers that you can open wide and see everything in it!” – “Then why wouldn’t you?” he replied.

By now, I’ve been eyeing for a while a recently released Charlotte Tilbury makeup bag. But wouldn’t it be too easy if I were just to buy it and be done? Instead, I decided to order from Amazon two more travel cosmetic organizers that were previously recommended by content creators I watch. All three arrived, and I spent an afternoon unpacking them, checking out their features and taking photos from all possible angles.

Price, Origin & Where Purchased

Charlotte Tilbury,Telena and EACHY Makeup Bags

(Disclaimer: links are not affiliated)

Charlotte Tilbury, made in the USA, $45 (purchased from Nordstrom, currently sold out there but still available from the brand’s site and other retailers).

Telena, made in China, $16.79 (purchased from Amazon).

EACHY, made in China, $23.99 (purchased from Amazon).

Packaging

All three came in an external plastic bag. Telena and EACHY also had a protective white fabric-like cover; Charlotte Tilbury had a paper sleeve. Charlotte Tilbury and EACHY had internal fillings to hold the form, and Telena came in folded flat, but it easily restored its form once unfolded.

Charlotte Tilbury,Telena and EACHY Makeup Bags

All three are packed equally well with EACHY being just a smidge ahead.

Charlotte Tilbury 4.5
EACHY 5
Telena 4.5

Exterior

Both Telena and EACHY bags are made from polyurethane, and Charlotte Tilbury is made of polyester. All three are water resistant.

Charlotte Tilbury,Telena and EACHY Makeup Bags

EACHY bag is light beige/cream. It has a quilted pattern, a light beige handle, a matching plastic zipper with two nicely looking round plastic golden sliders and a single pull tab.

Telena bag is beige with a brown accent, brown handle and a golden plastic zipper with two regular golden plastic sliders and two pull tabs; it is made with a pebbled leather effect.

Charlotte Tilbury bag is pink (surprise!), looks almost like patent leather, has no handle and features the strangest embroidered image of a lipstick held by teeth (the brand’s site calls it “ICONIC lip print design”). Is it supposed to be an allusion to a cigarette? (But why?) Or should it somehow be a phallic reference? (But how?). It has a rose gold metal zipper with one metal slider molded in the form of lipstick and two pull tabs. Because of that “iconic” feature, the Charlotte Tilbury bag is my least favorite in this category.

Charlotte Tilbury 3.5
EACHY 4
Telena 4.5

Interior and Functionality

All three bags are supposed to lay flat when fully open, and they almost do that with EACHY managing this task slightly better right off the bat. The rest will get there with the use.

Charlotte Tilbury,Telena and EACHY Makeup Bags open

EACHY and Telena bags have a solid colored interior that matches the exterior color, and Charlotte Tilbury bag has a contrasted much darker main color with a pattern created of repeating lines of the brand’s logo “CT” and the collection name “Pillow Talk” done in the pink color that matches the exterior. The fabric of the Charlotte Tilbury bag is so much superior to that used for the other two bags that it’s not even a contest (though I would have probably preferred to inverse the background and pattern colors to make it easier to find items on the lighter background). This is not to say that EACHY or Telena’s fabric is bad, but it could have been better.

Charlotte Tilbury bag has five main compartments, one zippered pocket on the internal “wall” and two smaller pockets on one of the divider panels. Interestingly, the internal zipper is plastic and not metal as the outside zipper.

Both Telena and EACHY bags have two main compartments divided by the zipped pocket “for brushes,” with a fabric one for Telena and a transparent plastic one for EACHY. While it’s not a bad idea, those pockets are not large enough for me to want to stick my nice brushes into. Both bags have one larger pocket on one “wall” and two smaller ones on the other.

Charlotte Tilbury 5
EACHY 4.5
Telena 4.5

Portability and the “Cat Test”

All three are not significantly different in measurements. Telena bag is the largest of the three: 250 mm x 120 mm x 120 mm / 9.84 inch x 4.72 inch x 4.72 inch, followed by EACHY: 235 mm x 105 mm x 110 mm / 9.25 inch x 4.13 inch x 4.33 inch, and Charlotte Tilbury, the smallest of them: 191 mm x 105 mm x 105 mm / 7.52 inch x 4.13 inch x 4.13 inch.

Charlotte Tilbury,Telena and EACHY Makeup Bags Size Comparison

The final consideration for me was how these bags fit into my purse.

While I managed to get each one of the three into my purse, Charlotte Tilbury’s bag was the only one that left some room for other important things I might want to fit in there, such as my wallet or sunglasses. I wished though it had been a little smaller.

The photo session took so long that Rusty finally decided it was time for the cat to get into the bag.

After examining EACHY and Charlotte Tilbury, he lost interest, so I’m not sure if it says anything about the Telena bag, or if it should be attributed to his short attention span.

Charlotte Tilbury 4.5
EACHY 4
Telena 4

My Choice

I didn’t do it while I was making my decision, but for this post, I calculated totals of all the ratings:

Charlotte Tilbury EACHY Telene
Packaging 4.5 5 4.5
Exterior 3.5 4 4.5
Interior 5 4.5 4.5
Portability 4.5 4 4
17.5 17.5 17.5

It explained my difficulties with choosing. If I could mix and match features, I would have preferred to have Charlotte Tilbury’s size, origin, metal zipper, interior construction and fabric quality, Telena’s exterior colors and pebbled leather effect and EACHY’s two round sliders (just preferably metal), central transparent zippered brush compartment, interior color (though, I wouldn’t mind keeping CT’s pattern – just in different colors) and its ability to open almost completely flat. But with the choices I had, I decided to go with Charlotte Tilbury as my purse makeup bag, which would replace the two I currently use (I carry a lot with me, not just makeup).

Charlotte Tilbury Makeup Bag and Two Bags it Replaced

… And then I decided to keep EACHY’s bag as a travel bag: I was preparing for a business trip and realized that I needed a larger bag, which I could put in my suitcase. It proved to be quite convenient. It seems like with my choices I took into consideration Rusty’s preferences.

 

… And by the time I finished writing this post, I figured out that I didn’t want to return Telena’s bag because I liked it as well. I’m not sure that I need it, so it might end up as a Christmas gift. But as of now, I’m left holding all the bags. Literally.

Rusty And Charlotte Tilbury Cosmetics Travel Bag

Images: My own

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Saturday Question: What Are Your Top 5 Favorite Flankers?

Last week, as we discussed Mugler‘s Angel, the topic of this (and some other) perfume’s flankers was raised several times, and I realized that we haven’t discussed this question in the SQ series.

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #213:

What Are Your Top 5 Favorite Flankers?

Do you have any in your collection? Do you consider them independent, “stand-alone” perfumes, or do you think that they are secondary to the original one?

My Answer

In my pre-perfumista years, I expected perfume variations (the word “flanker” in its perfume-related meaning came to my life much later) to be exactly that: an almost identical composition with one or two notes intensified or maybe added. And I remember my surprise and indignation when some of those new versions smelled completely different from their predecessors.

Since then, I learned that in many cases, the only common denominator is the part of the name (and the desire to cash out on the popularity of the original one). While I can’t say with any confidence that my attitude towards flankers is affected by my past thoughts, somehow it happened that my top 5 favorites are those that still have the DNA of the original perfumes.

  1. Ormonde Jayne Ta’if Elixir
  2. Thierry Mugler Angel Taste of Fragrance
  3. Givenchy Amarige Mimosa
  4. Prada Infusion Mandarine
  5. Elizabeth Arden Green Tea Mimosa

How about you?

What Are Your Top 5 Favorite Flankers?

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Saturday Question: Do You Like Chypres?

It’s a full-blown spring here, and since I feel that chypre perfumes fit that time of the year. Of course, you might love them all-year-round or hate altogether. So, let’s talk about them.

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #211:

Do You Like Chypres?

If yes, do you choose them more often in any particular period/weather? What are your top 3-5 chypres? If no, is there an exception – one or two that you do wear?

My Answer

I can’t say that I dislike chypres, but they clearly constitute the small part of my collection. I counted 12 perfumes in this family that I periodically wear, but for today’s SQ answer I’ll choose 5 (I can’t believe I don’t have a picture of PoaL with Rusty!): Miss Dior, Amouage Memoir Woman, Frederic Malle Portrait of a Lady, Sisley Eau du Soir, Chanel Cuir de Russie.

 

How about you?

Do You Like Chypres?

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Saturday Question: What Would You Consider a Fair Perfume Sampling Offer?

Long gone those times when departments stores gave away bags of samples with (and sometimes even without) a purchase. And most niche brands know better than to part with free samples (sometimes even with the purchase). Samples became a commodity, and in most cases we have to pay for them.

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #207:

What Would You Consider a Fair Perfume Sampling Offer?

Free samples with a purchase? Free for S&H? Discount for a future purchase? Some other arrangement?

My Answer

All brands, mass-market and niche, should shower paying clients with free samples. Samples can be small (0.7ml – 1.5 ml), and preferably they should have some correlation to what the customer bought. But in general, who is in a better position to be a returning customer if not the one who had already paid for something else? Instead, most stores became extremely stingy with samples, which miraculously find their way to eBay instead (that’s where I bought all those samples on the photo below).

With testing perfumes without a purchase, for brands that do not have significant store presence, it is harder. I realize that brands cannot just hand over free samples: people will abuse that, and the samples would end up at the same location as their mass-market brethren. But I also do not understand when brands charge 2-3 times more per ml for a tiny sample: how else are customers supposed to decide whether they want to buy perfumes from brands they aren’t familiar with?! $40-$75 (and more!) for a set of samples, most of which won’t be even finished (since most people would not like and want to wear all 5-7-10 perfumes in the line).

What do I see as a fair solution? An ability to choose 3-5 small free spray samples with minimal (if any) bells and whistles in packaging, and pay just for the delivery. The ratio of the perfume one gets to how much the delivery costs should be such that it wouldn’t make sense to abuse the system. Another possible solution would be deducting the full price of a discovery set (minus the delivery cost) from the future full bottle purchase: don’t sell me for $45 (+S&H) 12-15 ml of perfumes most of which I won’t even like offering a $25 discount later if I pay a full price for a $200+ bottle.

Rusty and La Prairie Life Threads Platinums Samples

How about you?

What Would You Consider a Fair Perfume Sampling Offer?

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Saturday Question: Do You Write Reviews?

I understand that those of my readers who have blogs post perfume reviews, this is given. I’m not talking about posts or comments on blogs, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook. The question is about designated review spots where your feedback will stay with the product/service and will be visible to others.

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #204:

Do You Write Reviews?

The main question, of course, is about perfume reviews. Do you write them on one of the large perfume sites? How about online perfume stores? Perfume decanter sites/services?

And a wider, general question is whether you leave any reviews, for any products, services or experience.

My Answer

As most of you probably noticed by now, I rarely publish anything remotely resembling perfume reviews even on my perfume blog, so I don’t remember even once being tempted to write a perfume review anywhere else. For me, perfume reviews are useful if I know (I mean, virtually) a person whose opinion I’m reading because that allows me to “calibrate” expectations based on what I know about the reviewer’s tastes. Reading Fragrantica reviews from time to time, I’m amazed at how different people’s perceptions of the same perfume might be and how categorical some of them sound, even when their opinion completely contradicts everybody else’s. I wouldn’t dare. Not with my nose.

As to the other types of reviews, for many years the only place where I was almost religiously leaving feedback was eBay: since I myself rely a lot on the sellers’ reputation, I thought it was my duty to contribute to those ratings. But my feedback is usually done for the “service” (how well the seller described the item, how quickly it was delivered, etc.) and not for the product itself.

On several occasions, I left a review for a restaurant (because I was annoyed; they were mostly negative) and for an Airbnb/VRBO rental (those were mostly positive – but only because I was lucky with my choices, thanks to reading other people’s reviews!).

Other than that, I rarely write any product reviews: Who cares whether I liked (for example) that iron or blanket? – I was thinking. But over the years, I started feeling almost guilty about it: I noticed that I heavily rely not even on the ratings people leave for different products but for additional information and sometimes personal photos of those products – be that on Amazon, Sephora or other sites that sell products I am not familiar with or can’t try at a store. So, I’m thinking that I should start contributing more actively – to warn others about products that I find subpar or to offset ratings from idiots who complain about items being not of the size they expected – even though measurements were clearly stated in the description.

Rusty Fragile

How about you?

Do You Write Reviews?

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Saturday Question: Did You Ever Have A Signature Scent?

Theoretically, it is possible that one of the visitors who is reading this post is currently a “signature scent person” who got to this blog by searching for similar-minded people. But it’s not probable. So, I assume that none of us is currently monogamous perfume-wise. But what about the past?

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #201:

Did You Ever Have A Signature Scent?

If yes, what was it? How long did it last? If no, did you ever consider getting one? Do you know anybody who wears just one perfume (all the time or at least serially)?

My Answer

Since this is my blog, I have previously touched this subject once or twice (or ten times?). So, I hope that those two readers who a) read it in the past and b) remember about it would forgive me repeating myself.

When I was growing up, having any perfume – leave alone a good one (read “French”) – was if not a true luxury then definitely something excessive and indulgent. From what I remember, even adult women who owned perfumes didn’t wear them daily saving them for special occasions. It was slightly different for men since they used colognes and balms after shaving, but that was considered as a functional application rather than “decorative” (and those colognes weren’t either too interesting or tenacious).

So, while owning just one perfume at a time was something common, that was rather out of necessity than a conscious choice. But since perfumes were rare and hard to come by, those women who did wear perfumes would usually use the one they managed to procure or were given as a gift. Thus, having a “signature scent” was mostly a romanticized but unobtainable idea.

Lancôme Climat became first my imaginary (while I didn’t have it but used my Grandma’s bottle once in a while) and then actual (once my Grandma bought it for me as a gift) signature scent. I did wear some random scented products from time to time – not because I wanted a variety, but because Climat was cherished and designated to the most special occasions. But I remember back then being convinced that I would wear only that perfume if I could afford it. And I was genuinely perplexed by the fact that not absolutely everybody was in love with that scent: it was the most amazing perfume ever!

By mid-twenties, I outgrew that “one and only perfume” idea (admittedly, with some help). And today I can’t imagine wearing not just one but probably even 10 perfumes over and over again. But if I were to fantasize about perfume I would want people to associate with me (that was one of the premises behind the signature scent concept I grew up with), Climat still would be one of the top 3 contenders (together with Ormonde Jayne Ta’if and Amouage Ubar).

Rusty and Climat Bottle

Rusty with my very first bottle of Climat from 80s

How about you?

Did You Ever Have A Signature Scent?

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Saturday Questions… for Undina on the Blog’s 13th Anniversary

Since earlier this week Undina’s Looking Glass turned 13, I decided to do something different for this Saturday Question post.

Below is a 13-question self-interview, after which I invite you to answer in comments any of the questions that you feel are relevant to you (some of them are just for me, but others could be valid for my readers), ask me any questions if you happen to have them, or just join me in celebrating my blog’s 13th Anniversary.

Saturday Question 13th Anniversary Edition

1. When you started this blog, did you expect to be writing this post?

I don’t remember specifically thinking about my plans, but I know that back then I wouldn’t have been surprised had anybody told me I’d keep this space alive for the next 15 years and beyond.

2. Do you have any regrets about the current state of the blog?

I do. I don’t have the time and energy to publish stories regularly. The “Saturday Question” series is the only commitment I’m trying not to break. I realize that my readers are doing just fine without additional posts. But I wish my life would return to the state where I could do it at least once a month – especially since I have what to write about.

3. How did your “no-buy” go last year?

Surprisingly, it went well. For the first 6 months of 2023, I spent on perfume $5: I bought a sample of Parfumes Quartana’s Ierofante. In the second half of the year, I bought one full bottle and several samples from my visit to the ZGO Perfumery and Le Labo boutique in September – that’s it.

Perfume Samples

4. What was the last perfume you bought?

Tauerville’s When We Cuddle And I Can Smell Your Perfume On My Clothes. After it came up as “My Answer” in two different Saturday Question posts (Do You Like Skin Scents? and What Is Your Most Calming Perfume?), and I complained in both how I missed getting it when it was available, I just had to pounce once it was re-released as another limited edition (even though it was almost twice more expensive than the first release).

Rusty And Tauerville When We Cuddle And I Can Smell Your Perfume On My Clothes

5. Why are there fewer photos of Rusty on the blog?

While I publish fewer new perfume-related posts in general, which creates fewer opportunities for me to showcase Rusty, sadly, it’s not the only reason. Recently, Rusty was not feeling well. I will not go into details (it’s too depressing for a celebratory post) but just say that we are actively fighting for each extra month we can have him around. With his age and illness, Rusty has become much less energetic or curious, so it is much harder to interest him in what I am doing with a bottle of perfume or prompt him to jump to the sideboard or table where I am doing that. But he still has good days, and I try to snatch as many pictures of him as possible. And since most of them do not feature perfumes, I post them daily on my Instagram.

Rusty On My Lap

6. How large is your perfume collection?

For years, I didn’t feel right divulging the number of bottles I had. I’m not sure why: I don’t think it’s excessive for my hobby, it’s not the largest collection I know of, and I like most of the perfumes that I bought myself. To tell you the truth, I didn’t know the exact number of full bottles in my collection: counting full bottles didn’t make much sense since I have probably twice as many travel bottles and decants that I bought or swapped to wear.

But for this post, I decided to dig up some data from my database. So, not even touching other sizes, I have 123 full-sized (30ml +) bottles of perfumes that I still like and wear and 14 bottles that I liked and bought at some point but am not sure now if I still want to wear them. I still might. Another 14 are almost empty bottles from my pre-perfumista times that I do not use but keep tucked away for sentimental value. The last 13 bottles were gifted to me or came as a part of the set I bought for just one of the items. I wouldn’t have bought them myself (or for themselves, in case of sets), but some of them are lovely, and I use them because they were a gift. So, not counting “old flames,” my collection holds 150 full [at some point in the past] bottles.

7. Do you plan to downsize?

As of now, I’m not sure I have anything I’m ready to part with. But, in general, I think I should. Setting aside the issue of not having enough shelf space to hold any more perfumes, I really didn’t like the feeling of choice paralysis I experienced last year. Using a self-made perfume Advent Calendar helped in December, so I reused that approach again in January. It works! Now I plan to keep doing it this year, and in the end, I will know better which perfumes I don’t choose to wear even when I have time to think about the set for the whole month ahead.

8. What were the first perfumes in your perfume database?

Without looking into the underlying data, I would have never remembered or guessed what perfume I started it with. I can’t even remember when it happened. My best guess would be at least 15 years ago, but it might be earlier. So, this is the list of the first 13 perfumes in my database (chronologically in the order they were added):

Givenchy Amarige
I had a mini bottle. I didn’t love it, but it was fine for variety. I think I finished it (at least, I don’t have it any longer).

Lancome Miracle
I had a bottle. I almost finished it, and I have a mini of this perfume, but I haven’t worn it in 14 years since I started recording my daily use.

Estee Lauder Dazzling Gold
I had several samples that I used up, but I never went for a bottle of it.

Givenchy Extravagance d’Amarige
I had a mini bottle. I think I finished it.

Annick Goutal Petite Cherie
I went through at least 2 bottles of this perfume. I still have a bottle and still like it.

Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue
I had a sample. I don’t think I’ve ever finished it.

DKNY DKNY Woman
I still have the remaining 10% in my second bottle. After a 12+ year hiatus, I wore it again a couple of years ago and still found it pleasant.

Hugo Boss Deep Red
I finished a couple of bottles, have a bottle gifted to me by Vanessa (Bonkers About Perfume) and still like and wear it periodically.

YSL Baby Doll
I loved this perfume and went through almost two bottles. Unfortunately, the second one turned on me before I could finish it, and the reformulated version available at the time wasn’t as wonderful as I thought the original one was.

Guerlain Champs Elysees
That was my first bottle, pre-”bug spray” comment from my co-worker. Since then I acquired another bottle, but I haven’t worn it in almost 8 years. Probably I should check if my bottle is still good.

Estee Lauder Pleasures Intense
I think I had a sample… It says a lot about how I felt/feel about it.

Calvin Klein Eternity Rose Blush
I somehow got this sample, tried and didn’t like it.

Issey Miyake Le Feu Light
I liked it and went through a small bottle. By the time my bottle was almost done (I think I still have it somewhere with a couple of drops in it), this perfume was discontinued.

9. Can you estimate how many perfumes you tried over the years?

It’s hard to think of a realistic number: between 1993 (when perfumes became more easily available where I lived then) and 2010 (when I started my database), I was sniffing and testing one way or the other all mass-market perfumes I could get to in department stores, Duty-Free shops and catalogs (mostly, Yves Rocher, but probably some Avon as well). My estimate would be 350-400 perfumes. As of today, I have 2,113 perfumes in my database. These are perfumes that touched my skin at least once. Additionally, over the years I think I tried on the skin (at stores) but didn’t record another 100 and gave a nozzle sniff or a paper strip test to another 1,000 perfumes.

This brings me to the total estimate of approximately 3,200 perfumes that I at least smelled during my life.

10. What are your Top 13 Perfumes?

As for most of us, this type of list changes often, but as of today, these are my favorites (in alphabetical order to avoid ranking):

Amouage Dia
Amouage Ubar
Chanel №19 EDT
Giorgio Armani La Femme Bleue
Guerlain Cruel Gardénia
Jo Malone Sweet Milk
J-Scent Yuzu
Krigler Lieber Gustav 14
Lancome Climat
Les Parfums de Rosine Rose d’Amour
Ormonde Jayne Ta’if
Teo Cabanel Alahine
Tom Ford Fleur de Chine

11. Does your vSO (very significant other) read your posts?

Nope. He subscribed to updates, but I don’t think he makes it to any of the posts more often than once a year. But he’s very supportive of my hobby: he never once complained about the size of my collection; he patiently tolerates my sniffing rounds both domestically and when we travel (and even provides his skin for testing more masculine offerings); and he listens to all the stories about perfumes, perfumers, bloggers and anything else I throw at him. And he allows me to spray him with perfume of my choice (from his collection) 9 out of 10 times I ask.

12. What are your favorite stories over the years?

I thought it would be quite appropriate to name 13 stories from the previous years. Some of them saw a lot of attention from my readers at the time. Others went under the radar. But each of them was special for me for one reason or another.

First, a bunch of posts with the strongest emotional connection between my past and perfumes:

First Love: Perfume
The very first post on this blog about my all-time perfume love.

First Love: Love
Perfume connected to my first childhood romantic relationship.

“Here’s a photo I’ve been looking for…”: Sweet Milk by Jo Malone
Childhood memories – sweet and bitter-sweet – that preconditioned my love to this perfume.

Angel of Jealousy
I’ve never felt like that about any other perfume.

A Fairy Tale Ending, Perfumista-style
A heartwarming story of perfumistas kindness and support at one of the hardest times in my life.

A couple of lighter posts:

“Oh, TOES!! (for some people)” or Where to Apply Perfumes
I still smile every time I see that title (or remember the scene it referenced).

Tu-ti-tu-rum-tu-tu or Musical Perfume
A concoction of anecdotal stories, music, jokes and a cute cat picture.

lebaB fo rewoT or Found in Translation
Joys of multilingual experiences and strange perfume names (actual or perceived).

In the Search for the Perfect Lavender
Lavender and Terminator-2: in this post, I managed to build a connection between these two.

Déjà vu, Episode 3: powdery fruit vs. peony oriental vs. sandalwood jasmine
For a while, I was obsessed with several well-known perfumes smelling very similar.

Posts with “literary whiff”:

My First Perfume Review: Puredistance Antonia
My scheherazade-esque frame story about this perfume.

Everything Is Relative
I think it’s my only fiction story on this blog.

The Royal Nonesuch of Perfume
One of my most negative posts about perfume.

I’m also somewhat proud of movie-posters’-based illustrations I made for my posts (though, I wasn’t sure at the time whether anybody else had made that connection):

In a separate category, not counted towards perfume-related favorite posts, are all the stories about Rusty and everything that led to him appearing in my life.

13. What are your plans for this blog?

I plan to keep going as long as it brings me joy, I can find what to write about and have at least a few people to communicate with in comments.

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Saturday Question: Are You Planning Any Perfume-related Projects This Year?

A brand-new year. Theoretically, January 1st isn’t much different from December 31st. But we tend to time new activities with other “beginnings,” and the beginning of a year is one of everybody’s favorite milestones for trying something different or starting new habits. We just read about Portia’s going back to the FB wardrobe (after a year of “thunking’ samples and decants). It made me curious about what the rest of my readers have in store for 2024.

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #197:

Are You Planning Any Perfume-related Projects This Year?

I don’t want to call them “NY resolutions,” since most people have bad connotation with that term and tend to avoid making those (though, if you did make any perfume-related resolutions, please share). But maybe you have a vision about either your perfume usage, sampling approaches or purchasing plans. Or maybe you decided to study perfume-making. Or want to order a bespoke perfume. Or… Whatever plans that involve our shared hobby you have, tell us more about them!

My Answer

As I told you a month ago, I reused the 2022 Whittard of Chelsea Tea Advent Calendar box for a self-made perfume advent calendar. It was a total success! I didn’t have to spend any time on a daily basis trying to decide what to wear. It was so liberating! I switch to a different perfume a couple of times during the month, but in general I gratefully followed the random assignment of the SOTD from the numbered box. So, now I am going to repeat the same experiment for this month (and the next, and the next, if it still works). I skipped the first 5 days of January because I had perfumes I wanted to wear, but now I plan to repeat that exercise with choosing 35-40 perfumes I think fit this month and my mood and randomly placing them in the numbered boxes. I will wear perfumes designated for each day, leaving myself an option to choose something else if I do not feel like wearing the one from the calendar.Rusty and Whittard of Chelsea Tea Advent CalendarOther than that, this year I plan to stick to my “low-buy.” I will be getting some samples (it is hard to have a perfume blog without it), but unless I really love some perfume (or finish a decant and want more), I plan to stay away from FB purchases.

 

How about you?

Are You Planning Any Perfume-related Projects This Year?

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Saturday Question: How Many People That You Know IRL Wear Perfumes?

Remembering the B&M fiasco, just to be on the safe side, IRL = “in real life” (as opposite to “on Internet,” or “online”).

 

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

 

Saturday Question #193:

How Many People That You Know in IRL Wear Perfumes?

Perfumistas only count if you know them independently from the common hobby. Family, friends, coworkers, neighbors and other “civilians” are the subject of this SQ.

My Answer

My parents and grandparents on both sides wore perfumes. My vSO from time to time allows me to spray him with perfume I choose from his collection, but I’m not sure if he would do it without my initiative. I could remember about 10 friends and 3-4 co-workers who were noticed wearing perfumes from time to time, but just one who would do it daily.

All-in-all, before I started thinking about it, I didn’t realize how limited my RL’s perfume circle was! It makes me especially appreciative of all of you who come here every week to share our perfumed loves, likes and nemeses. And adore Rusty.

Rusty

How about you?

 

How Many People That You Know in IRL Wear Perfumes?