Reasons to buy a perfume?

[Akimbo]

Well here's my confession of the day: A few weeks ago I bought a Pecksniffs' set having been on the look out for their "Argentum" perfume cheap and finding it on BrandAlley. Now here's the weird part - I wanted it because my sister is tracing yet another branch of out family and discovered an ancestor called Argentum Darke (possibly a vampire with a name like that, but definitely a rogue by all accounts). Well it arrived this morning and first impression was that I don't like it! Maybe not quite a scrubber, but I did wash my wrist and change tops. Now I'm back home a few hours later and the sleeve of the top I took off smelsl gorgeous, so maybe I'll just have to spray it on fabric not my skin?

Anyhoo, here's my question: What weird and wonderful reasons have caused you to buy a fragrance? Plenty of nice enough scents I pass over because they're endorsed by some actress, rap artiste, or Z list celeb but have you bought or ordered any perfume for the name alone or the bottle or the planets are aligned in a certain way or for any reason other than the smell of it?

Jude xx

 

[Weathergirl]

I bought one because it reminds me of one my mum wore when I was ittle. I buy the L'Occitane rose ones because I have started a bit of a rose collection. I Got Chanel no. 5 because it's inevitable. I buy L'Air du Temps because I have always liked it. Not as interesting as Jude's though. I have bought a mini trio of the Tocca one's just to try them, I liked a little sample I got at the beauty bash and want to sample the others before choosing a full size bottle.

Sent from my GT-I9305 using Tapatalk 2

 

[donna255]

I once years back was sent a sample by the house Amouage called Ubar(its since been reformulated and does not smell the same), by Les Senteurs.

I tried it, and straight away was taken back to childhood and rummaging in my mother's handbag. This smelt just like the inside of her old 60s Grace Kelly style bag, a mix of hankies(they real ones), her Park Drive, leather purse, odd bit of makeup and wrapped sweets she kept in it. Now the notes gave nothing which even looked like these. But it was just the inside of my mum's handbag. Of course I had to buy the one and only bottle they stocked, actually I got a great deal as they only got one bottle in to see how the fragrance went.

 

[Akimbo]

That perfectly illustrates the emotional response smells evoke. Know just what you mean about handbags, also my Dad's wallet had it's own smell (maybe green shield stamps and ciggie coupons as well as money). After my Mum died I "watched" lots of Coty Masumi bottles and sets on ebay, because she wore it whan I was little, but in the end I talked myself out of bidding because tbh I didn't particularly like it, and always tried to convince her to buy Khadine(sp?) instead because it came in an exotic purple bottle, whereas Masumi came in boring pale yellow packaging! My sister used to wear L'air du Temps and Ombre Rose which I disliked at the time (at peak sibling rivalry) but I'd always think of her if I smell them today.

Years ago I bought the scent of the season (in my impressionable 20s) Champagne (the one YSL had to rename because of trade mark name infringements). I think I gave it away because it wasn't nice on me. I wish I'd kept it because who knows how much it'd be worth these days. Anyhoo I got a bottle of Yvresse (same scent different name) for a quid at a car boot sale and guess what?

I still don't like it!

Jude xx

 

[Vienna]

Smell evokes all kinds of emotions and quite often we`re trying to relive those feelings rather than those smells. My Mum wore Evening in Paris when I was a child and I still have a small evening bag of hers which has an empty bottle inside it and it still smells lovely but it brings back the sight of Mum in her best frock and getting ready to go out with my Dad. As I grew older I began experimenting with her perfumes and cosmetics and they are all imprinted in my brain. Charles of the Ritz, Yardley, Quelques Fleurs, Royal Secret and Avon Topaz being just some of the smells I ( think ) I remember but I also think memory twists those smells too. Over the years I`ve tracked down a few of them and somehow they don`t smell the same as I recall but maybe I`m trying to recapture the moment and not the actual smell and that`s impossible to do. The only one I still use is Quelques Fleurs and even though its been reformulated I still love it.
We`re also walking fragrance memories ourselves and our partners, family and children will often remember us by how we smelled at certain times. My first husband always bought me Chanel No 19 because he said it smelled so clean and fresh on me. I didn`t really care for it but wore it to please him. After he died I never wore it again.
My sister has worn nothing but the original Miss Dior since she was a teenager, she`s 64 now and I will never be able to smell that perfume without thinking of her. I can also recall as a teenager going to dances the smell of the brand new modern fragrance for men hanging in the air like a fog because every teenage boy was buying or borrowing it, BRUT and the smell reminds me of the music, fashion and boyfriends from that era.
Smells can also bring back bad memories too. My sister bought my Mum a brand new perfume just out, it was Paris and Mum was in hospital at the time. I remember her spraying Mum with it and telling Mum how nice she smelled. Minutes later Mum closed her eyes for the last time and I actually run from the smell of that perfume because even now, many years later, it still brings back that awful memory.
How many times did we all sniff our babies after bathing them ? Hundreds of times I bet and yet I bet nobody else`s baby has ever smelled as nice ?
My second husband likes Samsara because he says when I wear it I remind him of the vanilla cakes his Mother used to make lol. Some people might be offended by that but I`m not because I know just how much he loved his Mum and that pleases me. So all in all, we choose fragrances for ourselves but also they affect others without us even realising it and I once worked with a woman who soaked herself in Obsession and it affected me so much I found myself not wanting to be in her company, becoming impatient when I was and dreading her coming into the office. On the other hand I remember a late dear friend who wore nothing but Coty L`Aimant creamy skin perfume and I loved working alongside her and missed her fragrance when she`d gone.

 

[WildRose]

Only just read this thread and oh how it made me smile, esp the Quelques Fleur, which my Grandmother used to use. Have not smelled it in years and was wondering if anyone remembered who made it and if you can still buy it?

 

[Vienna]

Hi Wild Rose yes you can still buy Quelques Fleurs and Quelques Fleurs Royale. Its made by Houbigant but has been reformulated since the " old " days but I still love it. I buy mine from Fragrance X or from Amazon. Be prepared for a shock at the price of it !