I’m late this week, but it’s still Sunday, and I decided not to skip our weekly topic. It’s Father’s Day in the U.S., and since we haven’t covered this question before, I decided it would be quite appropriate – even though my loyal respondents are all around the globe and even if celebrate a similar holiday, most likely, do it on a different date.

Sunday Question #268:

Does/Did Your Father Wear Perfume?

If yes, do you know/remember which one(s)? How about your grandfather(s)?

A bonus question: do you have Father’s Day or a similar celebration where you live now?

My Answer

All men in my family wore colognes when I was growing up. Men’s colognes, as practical aftershave products, were much more prevalent then women’s perfumes. Most of them weren’t fancy (though, my father and one of my grandfathers were known to get a better ones), but men used them – both at home and as the last step in getting a haircut at a barbershop.

My father uses perfumes these days. We leave 5+ hours flight away from each other, so I do not know what is in his scent wardrobe these days, but I remember him wearing Jo Malone Dark Amber & Ginger Lily, Chanel Egoiste Platinum, Creed Aventus and Ineke Field Notes From Paris (which I bought him for his birthday 3 years ago).

Now it’s your turn.

Does/Did Your Father Wear Perfume?

Can you believe it – I didn’t ask this question before? I was sure that we did it at some point and planned to ask anyway since it was long ago. But I checked – and no.

Saturday Question #267:

Which Are Your Top 5 Favorite Brands?

You do not have to give away or stop wearing any of the brands you won’t include. You do not need to rank these five – unless you want to, of course. These are not necessarily brands that are represented the most in your collection. And you can change your mind tomorrow. But today, please make an effort and choose just 5.

My Answer

My perfume database currently contains 388 brands. It doesn’t mean that I own even a sample from all of them, but I tested at least one of their perfumes at some point. I could have also tested some additional brands but didn’t think I would ever be interested in their perfumes – so, those experiences haven’t been recorded.

I selected top 3 without thinking or looking in my records – Ormonde Jayne, Amouage and Puredistance. Each of these brands have numerous perfumes I enjoy wearing, and while there were releases that didn’t work for me, each of them had something new that I liked quite recently.

But then it took me some time to choose the last two. I like many individual perfumes, but that doesn’t mean that I like the brand. For some brands I have multiple bottles, but then I start thinking about their most recent releases, and I’m not sure if I like them any longer. Finally, after sifting through the list, I decided on Chanel and Masque Milano. (I have to clarify: I do not like Chanel as a brand, but I like their perfumes.)

How about you?

Which Are Your Top 5 Favorite Brands?

I can’t believe it’s the last day of a Meteorological Spring already! Today was the hottest day (so far) this year – +88F/+31C, and I am already thinking about Fall. I know that we need summer (I love eating local fruits, and grapes for wines that we buy need at least some sun), but if it were for me, I would have been happy with a “jacket weather” all year long.

Saturday Question #266:

Do You Still Buy Perfumes?

Yes, we do not need more perfumes, and yes, most of us still have a wish list, even if it’s a small one. But have you actually spent any money on perfumes this year? Everything counts – bottles, decants and samples. As long as you paid for it.

What have you bought?

My Answer

Had I asked this question a week ago, my answer would have been “No.” I tried a number of newer perfumes at the local Nordstrom and Neiman Marcus, but haven’t pulled the trigger on any new bottles. I was tempted a couple of times by Luckyscent’s sample packs, but by the time I would see them advertised in their newsletters and get to the website, they would be sold out.

Last weekend, since Luckyscent was running the Memorial Day sale, I decided it was a good reason to buy some samples. Since it was a spur-of-the-moment purchase, I bought just 3 samples – the latest Puredistance perfume Divanche (it was the main reason for that purchase) and 2 Amouage perfumes, Guidance 46 (I like the original Guidance, so I am curious to try this extrait de parfum version) and their newest Reasons (I wanted to try others from the same launch, but Luckiscent was out of samples for them). I haven’t received them yet, but hopefully early next week they will be here.

Since I have some trips planned later this year, I will be testing more perfumes than I did in the last 3-4 years, so I might find something that I’ll want to add to my collection. But, in general, I’m currently on a very-slow-buy.

How about you?

Do You Still Buy Perfumes?

I wrote about iris perfumes so many times that I was sure we have previously covered this topic in one of the SQ posts. But I checked – and no, we didn’t. So, shall we?

Saturday Question #265:

What are You Top 5 Iris Perfumes?

Provided you do like this note in perfumes, what are your most favorite irises in your collection? (Any formats above a sample count.)

My Answer

I like iris in perfumes, and in the past, I did a couple of Month of Iris projects where I wore only iris-centric perfumes for the whole month (albeit a short one, February). It was hard to choose just 5, and I feel bad leaving some of my favorites off the list, but I can’t break my own rules, right? So, here we go, in alphabetical order by brand – not to worry about which one I like the most:

Chanel №19 Parfum
Frederic Malle Iris Poudre
Armani Prive La Femme Bleue
Le Labo Iris 39
Xerjoff Irisss

I love them all, but it seems like I can’t recommend any of them! La Femme Bleue was a limited edition, so it’s long time gone, No 19 parfum isn’t on the brand’s site (but it might still be available at one of their boutiques), Iris 39 and Iris Poudre are bleak copies of their original selves, and Irisss is still available but I don’t know how seriously it was reformulated. It will be interesting to find a new iris favorite among the currently available perfumes.

How about you?

What are You Top 5 Iris Perfumes?

Last week, as I was checking my collection for Serge Lutens bell jar bottles, I realized that I haven’t worn De Profundis in about 18 months. I rectified it since then and confirmed that I still like that perfume. But since then I was thinking about all the perfumes that I own and like (at least, I think that I still like them), but never choose to wear.

Saturday Question #264:

What Perfume in Your Collection Do You Still Like But Haven’t Worn in a While?

Since you ignore that perfume (perfumes?), you might not know for sure that you still like it, but unless you know otherwise, you can assume that you still do. Why do you not reach for it?

My Answer

I decided not to check anything but bottles – full and travel – while looking for neglected favorites. It was slightly depressing: I have so many beautiful perfumes! Why don’t I wear them more often?!

I’m positive I still like Coco Chanel. But I haven’t worn it in more than 2 years. Ineke‘s Hothouse Flower seems still very attractive – and yet, it didn’t get any skin time in the last 3 years. And I’m not sure if I can still claim liking Champs Elysées by Guerlain because the last time I wore it was… 9 years ago.

Why?.. Too many perfume decants that are more easily accessible than bottles tucked away on a shelf. New favorites competing for my attention. And probably working from home for the last several years. I will try to rotate perfumes in my collection better. Because I’m sure that if I look at decants as well, I’ll find many more perfumes that never get into the rotation and sit on the shelf or in a drawer forgotten. But if you were to ask me, I would have told you that I still liked them.

How about you?

What Perfume in Your Collection Do You Still Like But Haven’t Worn in a While?

Last week, as we discussed perfumes we’d like to get back in our collections, Hamamelis mentioned Iris Silver Mist, and that sparkled a memory. 12-15 years ago, Serge Lutens perfumes were quite popular in Perfumeland in general, and bell jars were something that people talked about with bated breath. Those who were lucky to travel to Europe (or have a perfume mule) would proudly present their prized possession, and others would be in awe of the beauty. Around 2012, those bell jars finally made it to the US. The price was steep by those time’s standards – about $300 for a 75 ml bell jar, much more expensive than those were in Europe. But at least they were here.

These days, I don’t hear about Lutens perfumes too often, and I don’t know if any store in the US still carries that line after the demise of Barneys. But Serge Lutens website offers all perfumes, including bell jars (with just $9 delivery fee). And the prices today, 12+ years later, are $320 for a bell jar, which in today’s prices doesn’t feel as exorbitant (not that I’m prepared to pay it now). It has been a while since the brand released the last new bell jar, but still…

Saturday Question #263:

Do You Own Any Serge Lutens Perfume in a Bell Jar?

If yes, which one(s)? If now, was the price the only deterrence? Or did you not find any in the line to love? Or did you not like that format?

Do you think you’ll ever buy one [more]?

My Answer

I have two! The first one, De Profundis, was delivered from Europe by a friend after I overcame my initial preconception against the name. I bought and wore the second one, Boxeuses, as an invisible armor during a couple of rough years at the end of my long stretch at the company I worked at then, including the last day, as I was leaving for the next job. I still enjoy both, though I just can’t bring myself to using perfumes from those bottles: I keep decanting them into a much less glamorous containers keeping perfumes in bell jars pristine.

I am not sure if I would buy another perfume in that format if it is available in a spray bottle as well. The closest contender would probably be Bas de Soie, but it really pains me to pay a bell jar price for perfume I should have bought in a regular bottle when it was available.

How about you?

Do You Own Any Serge Lutens Perfume in a Bell Jar?

Last week’s topic clearly wasn’t a favorite of my loyal readers: some didn’t participate at all, some still refused to part with any of their bottles even theoretically. Let’s try the other way around.

Saturday Question #262:

What Perfume Would You Get Back If You Could?

The condition is: you previously had that perfume in your collection – not a sample, but anything else from a decant (the smallest allowed size 5 ml) via minis and travel bottles to a full bottle can play. It doesn’t matter if perfumes are still in production, discontinued or reformulated. In this fantasy poll you can wish for any version of any perfume – as long as it fits the criteria.

My Answer

Since in the last 15 years I haven’t finished any bottles that I loved without replacing them, and I’ve bought most perfumes I tried and liked, my choice is between something mainstream that I wore before falling into the niche rabbit-hole and perfumes that were discontinued before I could get them.

My choice is Deneuve by Avon. I had only a decant of it shared by a kind friend, and every time I wear it, I feed sad that once my decant is gone, I won’t be able to replace it. Vintage bottles can still be found online, but I wouldn’t trust it to be in a wearable condition. It is a wonderful green chypre. You might like it or not, but when you smell it you know that what you smell is a real perfume and not some conceptual art or abstract scented product. If I could, I would have magically conjured a bottle of Deneuve.

How about you?

What Perfume Would You Get Back If You Could?

Let’s do a mental exercise. Just for fun. Don’t worry: nobody will hold you to whatever choice you’ll make answering this week’s SQ.

Saturday Question #261:

What One Perfume Would You Vote Off Your Wardrobe Island?

It has to be a full bottle (presentation-wise, it doesn’t have to be actually full), so no decants, travel or mini bottles! It has to be a perfume that you used to wear at some point – and not just got someone else’s castaway (“I know you’re ‘into perfume’ – here, take this one, I do not use it”-style). It can’t be a perfume you’ve already consciously decided to “retire” but just couldn’t or didn’t want to part with. Just look at (or think about) your perfume wardrobe and name one bottle you’d let go if you had to make this choice.

If you have a “good” candidate, tell us how you got it in the first place and why you don’t want it any longer. If you don’t have any such perfumes, you still have to choose one (that’s the rules of this game!) and explain your “Sophie’s choice.”

My Answer

I constantly put myself in this situation: I come up with a question – and then I’m not sure how to answer it myself!

After spending some time going through my perfume collection in my head last night, I fell asleep. (Hmm… maybe I should start using this method as a sleep aid?) Today I went through the database and came up with a list of 7 “maybes.” One was a gift – so, not ready yet. One was kind of a swap… and it’s discontinued/rare, and the bottle is cute… Nah, it’ll die in my collection. In the end, I decided to go with the one that was the latest to my collection (out of the five considered) – Ilio by Diptyque. I bought it almost four years ago (here’s the story – I should have known better by that phase in my hobby!), and since then, I have chosen to wear it… exactly two times, both soon after the purchase. I am not sure I even thought about it since then. So, I suspect I wouldn’t even have noticed if it had decided to abscond and join the secret all-perfumista army of MIA fragrances.

How about you?

What One Perfume Would You Vote Off Your Wardrobe Island?

As much as I do not care for the most new brands these days, a brand created by one of the most prolific perfumers of 2010s, Bertrand Duchaufour, seems deserving at least a consideration.

Saturday Question #260:

Have You Tried Any L’ENTROPISTE Fragrances?

If yes, did you like any of them? If no, do you plan to?

A bonus question: Do you have any favorite perfumes created by Bertrand Duchaufour?

My Answer

I have not tried any of these perfumes yet. I would have been tempted to get a mini-discovery set from the brand’s site, but shipping to the US almost doubles the price of already quite spendy samples. So, I’ll probably wait until I can try them somewhere at a store or at least buy with the local delivery rates.

I remember a couple of years when Mr Duchaufour would release more than 20 perfumes per year. So, for some reason I thought I would have more perfumes created by him. But according to my database, I’ve ever tried just 46 perfumes where I know he was the nose. And out of those, I counted only 8 strong favorites – Naomi Goodsir Or du Serail, Neela Vermeire Creations Bombay Bling!, Ashoka, Pichola and Trayee, Parfums MDCI Chypre Palatin, The Vagabond Prince Enchanted Forest and L’Artisan Parfumeur Traversee du Bosphore. And even then, I have full bottles only for the first two, and with the rest – just travel bottles or decants. I wish I didn’t miss the opportunity to buy Traversee du Bosphore while it was still available, because that one and Bombay Bling! are the only two from the list I will miss once I’m done with what I have.

How about you?

Have You Tried Any L’ENTROPISTE Fragrances?