Saturday Question

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Saturday Question: What Is the Most Youthful Perfume in Your Collection?

I’m running a little late this week because in the last moment, I decided to make a question that I had into a longer post (hopefully, coming up soon), and then I had to quickly find another SQ that would feel right for today. But here we go.

 

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

 

Saturday Question #219:

What Is the Most Youthful Perfume in Your Collection?

Leaving aside that we all subscribe to the idea that any perfume can be worn by any gender or age and not trying to use any formal definition of “youthful perfume” – just based on your internal feeling and personal classification, what perfume from those that you have in any format (not counting samples) you would consider the most youthful? If it helps, imagine that you would want to make a decant for a 12 years old niece or recommend to a 14 years old son of a friends whose tastes you do not know but had to limit the choice only by what you have at home. If 12-14 is too young, try 16-18.

My Answer

I think I mentioned it before, I come with these Saturday Questions first and then start thinking how I would answer. So, imagine my surprise when I went through the list of perfumes I own and realized that I would have a really hard time making that decant. Looking through my favorites, I find them either not interesting enough or … “too much” for an imaginary teen or adolescent.

But I can’t not answer my own question, can I? So, I spent some time sifting through the list and came up with three perfumes I think might fit the bill: Jo Loves No. 42 The Flower Shop, Jo Malone Peony & Blush Suede and Ineke Hothouse Flower.

Rusty and Jo Loves The Flower Shop

How about you?

 

What Is the Most Youthful Perfume in Your Collection?

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Saturday Question: Are You Tempted by Chanel No 5 L’Eau Drop Bottle?

On June 13, Chanel is releasing a new limited edition of their Chanel No 5 flanker – Chanel No 5 L’Eau. It’ll be available in their boutiques and on chanel.com. I’m not sure why they decided to call it “Drop”: it looks rather like an egg, but that’s how it is referenced on the Chanel site. And “a drop of perfume” sounds a lot better than… you got it. It holds the same No 5 L’eau from 2016 (or at least they claim so: who knows how many reformulations it went through in the years passed). It will be available in one size, 50 ml, and the US price is $155. You might be more than positive that it will sold out, and even if it gets to one of the retailers, it won’t survive long enough to wait for some site-wide promotion.

 

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

 

Saturday Question #218:

Are You Tempted by Chanel No 5 L’Eau Drop Bottle?

Do you like this perfume? Do you have it in your collection? Are you contemplating the purchase of this limited edition bottle?

My Answer

I tried just a tiny sample of No 5 L’Eau (that’s how I requested it from a perfumista friend since I didn’t expect to like it and didn’t want to waste her perfume), and unexpectedly I liked it. It wasn’t love-love to send me buying that perfume immediately, but I was considering a purchase if I happen to come across it at a Duty-free store. It haven’t happened yet.

This bottle looks appealing to me. If it weren’t for my “low-buy” this year, I would have tried to buy it. I am arguing with myself and still not sure if I want to make an exception. We’ll see.

How about you?

 

Are You Tempted by Chanel No 5 L’Eau Drop Bottle?

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Saturday Question: Are Perfume Splits Dead?

I like NST. Whenever I get there, I enjoy glancing over some perfume news and reading friendly exchanges in daily SOTD threads. It doesn’t happen often these days because I’m too busy when most people are active there, so by the time I can take a break most commenters are already gone – and I didn’t see a point in talking into void. So, with any extra time I have, I prefer to visit friendly blogs. But I am trying to watch for splitmeets because it used to be my steady source of 5 ml “samples” for interesting new releases.

This year I knew it was coming – and then almost missed it. I remembered about it last moment, went there in some giddy anticipation… and was both surprised and disappointed. Not only I didn’t find anything that would interest me (I’m not even sure what I wanted – maybe Chanel Comete?), but the even itself was quite underwhelming: 8 splits were offered, just 2 of them “closed,” 2 got no takers, and the rest gathered some interest, but I don’t know whether they went through.

 

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

 

Saturday Question #217:

Are Perfume Splits Dead?

From the SQ four years ago, I know that many of my loyal readers did not participate in splits for various reasons. But my today’s question is not just about whether you stopped or didn’t start participating in friendly splits, but also about your opinion as to what’s happening with this part of our hobby. And, if your answer is “Yes,” why do you think it is happening?

My Answer

I know, this is my fault, it happens to me all the time: I might be going to a restaurant or a store for years; then something happens that introduces a prolonged pause in my visits; and the next time I decide that “It’s been too long, let’s visit X!” I find that X has closed. So, with my no/low-buy in the last couple of years, I’m not surprised the splitting subsided.

Jokes aside… I know, this is my fault. Well, not just mine, since probably each of you contributed to this. More and more brands have finally realized that “perfumista size bottles” (10-15 ml), about which we all kept talking for the last 13+ years, is where money are. And while small bottles from brands are more expensive per ml than a friendly split, those official bottles survive better than their manually decanted counterparts. So, having said our farewells to more than one evaporated decant neglected in our collections for two long, when (or rather “if”) adding anything else to our SABLEs (“Stash Above and Beyond Life Expectancy,” according to Vanessa’s (Bonkers About Perfume) SIL), we might be more inclined to buy a travel bottle.

 

What do you think? Is it my fault?

 

Are Perfume Splits Dead?

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Saturday Question: Do You Like Musk Perfumes?

Musk in perfumery was recently on my mind: Portia just published a post about Musk by Lorenzo Villoresi, and while commenting on that post, I discovered that I had more than 25 perfumes in my database that had one of the variations on the word “musk” in the name. Also, one of new perfumes I’ve been testing features that note (stay tuned for the mini-review post).

 

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

 

Saturday Question #216:

Do You Like Musk Perfumes?

If yes, what are your favorites? If no, are you sensitive to any musks or some specific ones?

My Answer

I have never thought about musk as a leading note in perfumery: it was mostly a base note in perfumes I liked or didn’t like but not something that would define how inclined I am to feel one way or the other about new perfume I intended to try.

What I didn’t like about this (or any other) note was when it was used as a name of perfume. Not because I know that I do not like the scent profile but because I don’t like that type of names.

But what about perfumes? I decided to look only at those perfumes from the list of testes perfumes that had “musk” (“musc”) as a part of their names.

It looks like I don’t like musk in my perfumes, after all: of the 27 perfumes in my database with “musk” in the name, I do not own a single bottle (full or travel) and only one small decant.

Out of all musk perfumes I’ve ever tested, I would like to own only three – Annick Goutal Musc Nomade (the original one; I haven’t tried the last at least two reformulations, so I’m not sure that I would even like it now), Hermes Musc Pallida (maybe one day, but today I can’t bring myself to pay its price) and maybe Ramon Molvizar Musk Oriental Goldskin (but I tried it only once, many years ago, so even if it hadn’t been as expensive as it is, I wouldn’t have bought a FB without trying it again). There were 2-3 more that I thought were nice but not to the extent of wanting more.

 

How about you?

 

Do You Like Musk Perfumes?

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Saturday Question: Perfume Names In What Language Do You Prefer?

Many of us speak (or at least read) more than one language. Does it influence what names we favor when it comes to perfumes?

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #215:

Perfume Names In What Language Do You Prefer?

It doesn’t matter whether you own or even like those perfumes, just thinking about perfume names, do you have a preference for the language of the name?

My Answer

I do not like French names: it’s enough that probably until the end of my days when I speak English people will be asking me “Where are you from?”, so trying to figure out which of the 5 letters in the end of the name are silent when answering the question “What perfume are you wearing?” isn’t my idea of fun.

I thought I would go with “English” as my answer, but after thinking about it for a while, I realized that I prefer portmanteau names, which merge parts of two or more real words (preferably English) into a single, innovative term, such as Splendiris, Felanilla, Irisistable or Sheiduna.

Rusty and Dusita Splenderis

How about you?

Perfume Names In What Language Do You Prefer?

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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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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: What Do You Think About Mugler’s Angel Today?

How is this for a random SQ?!

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #212:

What Do You Think About Mugler’s Angel Today?

I am curious about your thoughts on this iconic perfume and the place it takes, in your opinion, in perfume history. But also, did you ever like it enough to own and wear? How do you feel about it today?

My Answer

I haven’t worn Angel in over two years, and it didn’t cross my mind until today, while grocery shopping, I caught a whiff of it on a fellow shopper. It sparked a wave of nostalgia, prompting me to dig out my 20+ year-old bottle and apply just the tiniest amount to my wrist. It wasn’t even a full spray – just a tiny squirt from the nozzle. But wow! I don’t know how I (or anyone around me) managed to survive any of the parties to which I wore it liberally sprayed (well, not hajusuuri-style liberally, but at least 3-4 sprays, as I remember). And you know what? I still like it.

Granted, I had an unusually emotional relationship with this perfume, so I may not be entirely objective. But I am in awe of the audacity it took the brand to release that perfume 32 years ago. At that time, we still were in the era of loud, bold, unapologetic  perfumes. But they all were still mostly perfumes in a more traditional vein, years away from polite minimalistic unisex creations or scent experiments of the how-far-can-we-stretch-a-perfume-definition-type. Angel stood out as something entirely different, so when it became popular, it single-handedly created a new trend in perfumery.

I wonder why the brand altered the formula. This perfume always struck me as somewhat artificial, so can we still blame IFRA? Or was it a cost-cutting measure? Is it be possible to recreate the original formula today? While my bottle is old, the juice inside smells different from what I remember in the ’90s. I’m not entirely sure if my bottle changed more than just the color or if I had an already reformulated version. Regardless, it doesn’t quite match my memory. I doubt I’ll wear it outside of my house these days. However, I’d be willing to pay $20-$25 for a 0.5 ml sample of the original Angel – just to see if all these years later I would still experience that surprise at the first sniff.

Mugler Angel

How about you?

What Do You Think About Mugler’s Angel Today?

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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 Percentage Off Would Motivate You to Make a Purchase?

This week my YouTube stream is overflown with Sephora spring sale recommendations, so discounts, sales and offers are on my mind. I know that most of my readers slowed down in their quest for new perfumes, especially when it comes to full bottles acquisitions. But let’s talk in general of what seems interesting or significant enough to consider a purchase.

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #210:

What Percentage Off Would Motivate You to Make a Purchase?

Let’s not talk about one-of-a-kind bargains, eBay finds or insanely discounted blind buys. But when it comes to regular stores, specialized online perfume boutiques or brands’ sites, what would incentivize you enough to buy perfume that you had on your wish list for some time?

Bonus – the same question but about skincare, beauty and makeup.

My Answer

As I said, Sephora was on my mind. My friend was supposed to share with me her Rouge status, and I was contemplating (strictly necessary!) purchases with her great 20% off discount… when we discovered that her status had elapsed before that sale. That was a disappointment! But after some considerations, I realized that 15% that I could get with my own status wasn’t that much worse, and I would end up spending probably just $5-7 dollars more. Still, before settling for “mere” 15%, I looked around to make sure that I couldn’t do better somewhere else. And while many brands offer the same 15% and sometimes even 20% for the first purchase, usually one has to spend $50+ to get a free shipping. And since each of the items that I planned to buy was under that threshold, placing separate orders at brands’ sites would end up costing more then buying everything at Sephora, which I did. None of the few items I bought was perfume-related (if not to count a free sample that I chose but might not get if they run out of those), but it made me think about discounts when it comes to getting perfumes.

I realized that my expectations and valuation of offers and discounts heavily depend on what I think is possible. I remember hunting 6 months for free shipping from the brand that usually didn’t offer either discounts or free shipping and being ecstatic when I managed to get it. On the other hand, if I know that some sites do 20% off once in a while, I would be patiently waiting to get that discount not being tempted by anything less. And for sites and brands that never do site-wide sales, I would be checking for some bundle or extra samples offer because it feels wrong to pay the full price and not to get anything “extra” – even if I don’t need it.

So, both for perfumes and beauty items that I plan to buy anyway, any discount is good and enough to push my decision – as long as I think that it’s the best I can do before I need to use it (if I’m running out of some beauty items) or have to buy it (if perfume is getting harder to get or being discontinued).

How about you?

What Percentage Off Would Motivate You to Make a Purchase?