The question is inspired by the recent Portia’s post about perfume wardrobe for the South Korea trip.

Saturday Question #157:

How Many Perfumes Do You Bring to Your Vacations?

Do you have some rule or a tradition related to which perfumes you take with you an a vacation? Does it depend on the length of the trip, destination or a mode of transportation? Do you usually bring more or less than you need?

My Answer

As a rule, I take two perfumes for each day of the trip plus one or two extra if it’s a longer trip. And usually, I manage to wear more than half of them. But once I remember I brought 21 perfumes to my 8-day Hawaiian vacation, which was overkill even with multiple swims and showers daily.

Other than tropical vacations, I do not have any special selection of perfumes I take with me: I try to guess what I’ll enjoy wearing based on the location and expected weather there. It doesn’t always work – hence the multiple options I bring. Since I rarely go anywhere with carry-on luggage only, my choice doesn’t depend on whether it’s a flight or a drive to the destination.

How about you?

How Many Perfumes Do You Bring to Your Vacations?

I just blinked, and my week ran away from me. Due to various reasons, I didn’t wear perfumes every day. One of the reasons was decision paralysis: I felt too overwhelmed with other stuff and was afraid to make a wrong choice. That got me thinking: would it be simpler if I chose just one brand and went through 7 perfumes from that brand? Do I even have any brand with enough different scents to do that?

Saturday Question #156:

For Which Brand(s) Do You Have a Week’s Worth of Wearable Perfumes?

I’m asking not about just any 7 perfume from a random brand: most of us will probably have a discovery set or 7 random perfume samples for several brands. But do you have 7 perfumes from a brand that you bought (or swapped) because you liked them and planned to wear them? You can count any bottles or decants of 5 ml or larger but not samples.

Bonus question: How often do you wear perfumes from the same brand on multiple consecutive days?

My Answer

I practically never wear the same perfume two or more days in a row. And I rarely wear perfumes from the same brand within a week.

I have several brands for which I counted enough scents to support my imaginary project. But one brand stood out: Jo Malone. Even though in recent years I lost interest in their new creations (as in “getting not more than one or two new mini bottles per year”), throughout my hobby, I accumulated enough perfumes that I like from this brand to wear a different one for at least 3 weeks.

So, starting tomorrow and until the end of March, I will wear one of Jo Malone’s perfumes. Luckily, many of them are not too tenacious, so if I apply one in the morning, I’ll be free to choose any other scent later in the afternoon.

How about you?

For Which Brand(s) Do You Have a Week’s Worth of Wearable Perfumes?

Somewhere between the last SQ post and this one, we quietly passed a three-year mark since this series moved to Undina’s Looking Glass. I’m glad that you still keep coming back to participate. And especially I’m pleased to see when the conversation goes beyond just exchanging a couple of comments with me, and you find each other’s comments engaging (particularly when I’m late with my replies, as it was in the last couple of weeks, about which I’m sorry but wanted to let you know that even when I don’t reply, I read your comments within several hours after you post them). But I promise I’ll try to be more present.

Saturday Question #155:

Do You Have Any Perfume Hacks?

It doesn’t have to be something significant or unheard of. But if there is something you find helpful for yourself – be that about wearing, storing or buying perfumes, making them last longer (or getting rid of the offensive scrubbers), anything else that some people might not know (or just don’t think of it) – please share.

Bonus question: What perfume are you wearing today?

My Answer

I suddenly had the urge to wear Neela Vermeire Creations Trayee. I think it’s an amazing perfume. And I wonder how much it has changed since its first release in 2012. Has anyone had a chance to smell it from the newer bottle in the last 2-3 years?

Now to hacks.

1. It applies mainly to decants and handmade samples, but I found it to be the case with some full bottles as well: if you haven’t used them for a long while (6 months+), before spraying perfume on yourself, do the “dry run” first – let the first 1-2 sprays to go into the air (away from you) or in a sink: I noticed that for whatever reason a portion of perfume that is left in the tube and the spraying mechanism spoils faster than the rest of the vial. So, if you “clear” the stale or rancid portion, the rest might still be good to wear.

2. This is more like observation and recommendation. If you like a newly released mainstream perfume and are considering buying it, try to do it within the first year of the release. It seems like companies reformulate their fragrances as soon as they become popular. If in the past we could blame IFRA for more and more limitations, these days, I think it’s all corporate greed and desire of the brands’ executives to report to “stakeholders” an extra percent of profit, which comes from cutting corners where possible hoping that nobody notices.

Do You Have Any Perfume Hacks?

I came up with this question a couple of weeks ago when I told you about the gasoline accord in Parfumes Quartana Ierofante. But it was right before Valentine’s Day, so chocolate seemed like a better idea. And then I forgot.

Saturday Question #154:

What Are The Strangest Notes In Perfume You Encountered?

It can be a note in the perfume pyramid you own or tried. Or something you read about. Or a weird note you smelled in perfume even though it wasn’t listed.

My Answer

If I were to sift through my database, I could find more strange notes. But that would have been cheating: most of my readers do not have a database to check. So, I’m going with the note I remembered without looking: Instant film accord in Vogue 125 by Comme des Garcons.

I didn’t read notes before trying it for the first time, so this note surprised me. I didn’t recognize what it was. It reminded me of acetone, and I wondered what it was. But when I read about that note, it fit just perfectly matched what I smelled. And it has the ink note, which also isn’t the most common or expected. I don’t want to wear it, so a small sample is all I have. But it was interesting to smell.

How about you?

What Are The Strangest Notes In Perfume You Encountered?

I’m running a little late with this week’s SQ, but I hope my anniversary post kept you entertained while I was finishing this one.

Saturday Question #150:

Have You Tried Anything New Recently?

It’s almost the end of the first month of 2023. Have you tried anything new this year? It doesn’t have to be something just released – just new for you.

My Answer

I just went to my local Nordstrom to check if they already had new Tom Ford‘s perfumes. They did! Unfortunately, they stopped the sampling program, so I couldn’t make samples myself, and the SA I talked to didn’t have any manufacturer samples. So after I made sure that at least I didn’t hate them on paper, I courageously sprayed two perfumes on two wrists.

I’m not sure why Tom Ford decided that we needed 2 (two!) flankers for Lost Cherry – but here we have them: Cherry Smoke (2022) and Electric Cherry (2023).

On paper, I liked Electric Cherry better (notes: cherry, ginger, jasmine sambac, ambrettolide, pink pepper and musk), but as both perfumes developed, Cherry Smoke became more interesting (notes: sour cherry, saffron, leather, olive, Chinese osmanthus, apricot, woody notes, smoke and cypriol oil).

When I say “more interesting,” I don’t mean interesting enough for me to want to pay $240 for a 30 ml bottle. If you ask me, it’s a ridiculous price for this perfume. But if people pay the price, kudos to TF. Would I want to wear it if I were to get it for free? I don’t think I want more than a sample. But I’ll try to get that sample if I can.

How about you?

Have You Tried Anything New Recently?

I loved, owned and wore perfumes for most of my life. Recently, talking to a “civilian” friend, I realized that many things that seemed trivial and clear to me weren’t that for my friend. So, I thought it would be interesting to “compare notes” (some pun intended).

Saturday Question #149:

What Did You Not Know In Your Pre-perfumista Days?

When I say “pre-perfumista,” I mean when you were not reading perfume blogs or participating in FB perfume groups. It doesn’t have to be significant, just anything you can think of.

My Answer

I didn’t know that:

Companies can reformulate perfumes while keeping the same name and packaging. I used to think I had just changed my mind about the perfume I used to love.

Notes listed for perfume might have nothing to do with ingredients that actually went into its making. I believed that “rose,” “jasmine,” or “lily of the valley” (yeah, this is my favorite) essential oil was used.

Flankers of most perfumes were temporary/limited editions that would disappear in 6 to 12 months and never return. I kept looking for some of them on discounters’ sites. Oh, and I didn’t know the word “flanker.”

Now it’s your turn.

What Did You Not Know In Your Pre-perfumista Days?