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 #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?

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 #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?

I know, I know, it’s a very broad question. But I thought: if “Do you like vintage perfumes?” is a legitimate question, why wouldn’t this one be?

Saturday Question #209:

Do You Like Modern Niche Perfumes?

Give your own definition to what you consider “modern,” and what you classify as “niche,” and after that tell me whether you like them, find new favorites, I’ll even dare to say – buy them?

My Answer

As a rule, I do not feel old (or even “older”). But recently I caught myself thinking that the way I feel about new niche perfumes that I come across makes me sound old, because my mental mantra these days is: “in my time” perfumes were better.

I am not talking about ingredients that were banned and substituted (even though, of course, that plays its role in my perception of new perfumes). I am not even complaining about lack of originality or not being memorable. But more and more I test new perfumes that smell either very minimalistic or too gender-neutral or overly artificial or not really perfume-y.

And after a while, I realized that those are not just poorly constructed perfumes (well, some of them are), but it seems like a new style. The industry keeps creating new aroma chemicals that become popular, and many new brands eagerly utilize them. They are not necessarily unpleasant, they don’t even smell identical. But many of them have some recognizable characteristics that just don’t excite or inspire me. And if perfumes aren’t expensive, I think: “Of course, how much could these aroma chemicals cost?” And if they are expensive, I think: “How could these aroma chemicals cost that much?!!”

I’m not a fan of vintage perfumes. I remember hundreds of perfumes of the past that I didn’t like. And I still come across some perfumes I like. But in general, I do not like the prevailing style of modern niche perfumes.

How about you?

Do You Like Modern Niche Perfumes?

Don’t ask me how I came up with this one. It just emerged from some depth of my end-of-work-week brain (in the US, Good Friday isn’t a public holiday).

Saturday Question #208:

Have You Ever Used Someone Else’s Perfume Without Permission?

If yes, what were the circumstances? What perfume was that? Were you “caught”? Did/do you have that perfume in your collection?

My Answer

As a child, I loved perfumes my mother and grandmother wore. And sometimes they would allow me to use some. I understood what perfumes were, I knew that I wasn’t supposed to touch them on my own. But somehow the concept of perfume leaving an “evidence trail” of my misbehavior escaped me at that early age, so on more than one occasion, being left alone, I would perfume my favorite doll with one of my mom’s Diors (pure parfum!) or “sniff” my grandma’s Climat parfum almost dipping my nose in the bottle opening. I wasn’t sure afterwards how adults could tell that I touched their precious bottles.

As an adult, I resist those temptations. Though I have to admit to sniffing mini bottles in a couple of my friends’ bathrooms. I don’t know whether they wear perfumes they keep in those guest bathrooms, or if those are used for decorative purposes, but I was intentionally careful not to pick up any of the scents with my nose.

How about you?

Have You Ever Used Someone Else’s Perfume Without Permission?