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Signature Scent vs Perfume Wardrobe

post #1 of 14
8/13/08 at 3:59pm
Thread Starter 
I'm guessing that most of people on this forum started off with looking for a signature scent, and then discovered that there are too many great fragrances out there to settle just for one. Correct? Or are there different paths to having a whole 'wardrobe' instead of just one fragrance day in and day out?

How do you handle it? Do you wear a scent for a few days, and then switch if you feel like something new? Or wear a different scent every day? And do you start with one scent in the morning, and then switch to another?

Also, do you gravitate to one particular fragrance type (like orientals, florals, incense, etc) and your collection has a theme? Or you have perfumes from all different families?

Finally, do you ever run finish a bottle? I became a budding parfumista in June or so, and I already have 6 full size bottles, a dozen minis, and two dozen sample vials! They will last me a while for sure...

Please share your experiences!
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post #2 of 14
8/13/08 at 8:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by kess View Post

I'm guessing that most of people on this forum started off with looking for a signature scent, and then discovered that there are too many great fragrances out there to settle just for one. Correct? Or are there different paths to having a whole 'wardrobe' instead of just one fragrance day in and day out?

My guess is that there are as many different paths than there are people.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kess View Post

How do you handle it? Do you wear a scent for a few days, and then switch if you feel like something new? Or wear a different scent every day? And do you start with one scent in the morning, and then switch to another?

I simply wear what I fancy wearing that particular day, and usually stay with it.

Sometimes I can change scent after coming home from work, to get from the work mood to the relaxed home mood.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kess View Post

Also, do you gravitate to one particular fragrance type (like orientals, florals, incense, etc) and your collection has a theme? Or you have perfumes from all different families?

I started with Orientals but ended up with scents from all the olfactory groups.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kess View Post

Finally, do you ever run finish a bottle?

Nope.
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post #3 of 14
8/13/08 at 9:07pm
Hi, Kess!

Quote:
Originally Posted by kess View Post

I'm guessing that most of people on this forum started off with looking for a signature scent, and then discovered that there are too many great fragrances out there to settle just for one. Correct? Or are there different paths to having a whole 'wardrobe' instead of just one fragrance day in and day out?

That was my experience when I started my "serious education" this last April. Right now I'm pretty overwhelmed by the number of fragrances out there. And I'm finding that I'm liking a lot of very different ones!

Quote:
Originally Posted by kess View Post

How do you handle it? Do you wear a scent for a few days, and then switch if you feel like something new? Or wear a different scent every day? And do you start with one scent in the morning, and then switch to another?

I'm in sampling mode (having ordered dozens of 1 ml vials), with an occasional break to enjoy a scent from one of the bottles I own. I am pretty strict about sampling just one fragrance per day, with reapplications as needed depending on the concentration. I like spending the whole day and evening really focusing on one. And I often reapply before bed, too, if the fragrance of the day is one I like!

Quote:
Originally Posted by kess View Post

Also, do you gravitate to one particular fragrance type (like orientals, florals, incense, etc) and your collection has a theme? Or you have perfumes from all different families?

No, I came into this knowing that I liked a variety of fragrances, but I've been amazed at the number of different things I'm attracted to (green leafy or grassy florals, woody florals, salty sensations, "florientals", some spicy "gourmands", even some "animalic notes", and the list goes on...).

My goal is to have several different, distinctive signature fragrances for the warm seasons, and several for the cool seasons. Not yet sure what I mean by "several" (grin). Again, I don't typically switch my scents from day to night or from work to pleasure. I like scents that say I am "me" in any setting.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kess View Post

Finally, do you ever finish a bottle? I became a budding parfumista in June or so, and I already have 6 full size bottles, a dozen minis, and two dozen sample vials! They will last me a while for sure...

Well, I'm still grappling with this one and wish I had a plan. Let's see what others have to say!

Heidi
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post #4 of 14
8/13/08 at 11:37pm
I suspect that most people's signature scent is more based on their day wear fragrance. Some are just better for the office environment than others and ends up being the one that's worn more often. I understand that those with extensive collection might not run into this problem, but those of us with a more modest set may have two or three for normal wearing and another two or so for that special occasion.

I'm more towards a signature note than a signature scent. When I first started, I was on a woody scent craze which narrowed down to sandalwood scents. Santal Noble by MPG, Sandalwood by AoS, Tam Dao by Diptyque, and Santal by Floris (yes I know, the last is not really a sandalwood scent.) Now that changed to a rose and incense craze. CdG's Incense series (more specifically Kyoto and Avignon), Black Aoud by Montale, Rose 31 by Le Labo, etc... Who knows what it will change to later on.
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post #5 of 14
8/14/08 at 4:20am
I used to be a signature scent guy. It would take 10-16 months to use a 4oz bottle wearing it almost everyday. I'd then be tired of that scent and try to find a new one. I started searching for a new one and found Basenotes. I bought about 9 or 10 bottles about 2 years ago. I've only ran out of one smaller bottle. I pick my scents based on what I want that morning. I don't know remember why but I ended up at the fragrance counter again. I picked up 2 new bottles and a replacement one in one week (and I'm back on Basenotes. I've found several others that are very tempting and picked up a bunch of free samples. I tried to pick a little from different families to give me some choice when I spray. It's not a huge range, but enough that I don't get sick of one scent too easily.

As a side note, I'm considering some gourmands which I wouldn't have worn 2 years ago.
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post #6 of 14
8/14/08 at 9:43am
I always went between 4 or 5 scents; these days it's more like 40-50. I almost always do decants though: I have very few full bottles. There's just too much out there and I am a perfume slut.
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post #7 of 14
8/14/08 at 9:46am
I never wanted a signature scent and after some time now at Basenotes, I still don't. Too limiting.

I must agree with Tom - I'm a scent slut.
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post #8 of 14
8/14/08 at 10:08am
Thank you for a very interesting discussion.
It's different for everyone. I used to enjoy the idea of a signautre scent but got tired of it and wanted to learn and experience more. Scents are so special to me and I wanted to indulge...and so I did...at the same time I discovered Basenotes...oooh

I wear a different scent each day and a different one in the evening/to bed. I can't resist all the wonderful fragrances in my wardrobe. There isn't enough time to enjoy them all.

My favorite note is vetiver but I also like soft and creamy ambers and vanilla. I've started wearing rose, which I wouldn't have a few years ago. Black Aoud and No. 88 are two of the reasons I got into it. I've also started enjoying musks very much recently and am exploring some scents with that. I tend to enjoy orientals extremely and then woody and spicy ones. No marine or aquatics (the AdG in my wardrobe was a gift--there have been threads about this LOL). They just don't do much for me.
Otherwise, my collection has all sorts of fragrances in it but I tend to gravitate towards more pronounced notes.

I'm comfortable wearing unisex scents or even "female" ones as long as they're not highly floral.

I tend to rotate between warm and cool weather scents so most my citrus and vetiver scents are worn in hot weather (I'm also more relaxed about this rule since I want to enjoy my scents more often).
The weather and my mood are the two things that affect my selection. Then, the occasion.

I don't run out of a bottle for obvious reasons. My wardrobe as posted is all full bottles. I also have countless sample vials and a few minis.

You might want to check out my thread on the male side ("Making your wardrobe leaner?") for other interesting views. I enjoyed them.
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post #9 of 14
8/16/08 at 10:37pm
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[QUOTE=kess;1282701]I'm guessing that most of people on this forum started off with looking for a signature scent, and then discovered that there are too many great fragrances out there to settle just for one. Correct? Or are there different paths to having a whole 'wardrobe' instead of just one fragrance day in and day out?
[QUOTE]

in fact i stumbled across basenotes trying to find ppl with the same interests of collecting as many different type of scents. I would nvr be able to live with just one scent


Quote:
How do you handle it? Do you wear a scent for a few days, and then switch if you feel like something new? Or wear a different scent every day? And do you start with one scent in the morning, and then switch to another?

It really depends on mood and occasion, casual, formal, black tie

Quote:
Also, do you gravitate to one particular fragrance type (like orientals, florals, incense, etc) and your collection has a theme? Or you have perfumes from all different families?

Its too subjective coz alot of scents have similar notes nowadays. its how they were blended and formulated to serve the industrial demand of mass appeal.

Quote:
Finally, do you ever run finish a bottle? I became a budding parfumista in June or so, and I already have 6 full size bottles, a dozen minis, and two dozen sample vials! They will last me a while for sure...

Please share your experiences

1/3 of my 80 large size bottles are back ups of my fave scents....
Im an intense user of frags coz of the weather here. i used to prefer variety, but now i concentrate on about 4-5 tops faves. the rest serve as rotation purposes.Im trying to trim the proportion to 2/3 back ups instead, tho im finding it hard to cut down in total quantity. I can finish three 100ml bottles in 6mths, namely fahrenheit, LDIssey and Bvlgari Extreme. quantity doesnt always satisfy, but having a good supply of scents that ive settled down is more fulfilling, coz there comes a point where you will know which few faves you can rely on.

im pretty new here but already hooked
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post #10 of 14
8/16/08 at 11:07pm
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

I never wanted a signature scent and after some time now at Basenotes, I still don't. Too limiting.

I must agree with Tom - I'm a scent slut.

my exact sentiments.
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post #11 of 14
8/17/08 at 12:49am
Up until several years ago I always just had one signature scent, Cool Water as a matter of fact. Then one day I realized I have outgrown CW and my age was just not appropriate anymore as somewhere along the road it became pretty much a teeny-bopper scent. I wanted something new but something that garnered me the amount of compliments I received wearing Cool Water. I knew nothing about colognes at the time, just once upon a time I stumbled across Cool Water and I liked it and everyone liked it on me so I ran with it. At the time I did not even know what an aquatic was or even that Cool Water was classified as one.

So off to the mall I go and what I found was literally hundreds of colognes, I asked the salesmen for help in finding a new scent for me and rather than listen to what I was saying or asking for they chased me around the counter with tester strips of the "new hot stuff" which all pretty much reeked. Also it was funny how it was the same ones they had big displays of so I assume they were showing me what gave them a bigger commission that week. After about 10 minutes of that treatment I decided that was for the birds and left with nothing. There is nothing more I can't stand then when I ask to see something like A they show me X which is nothing like what I am looking for.

I got home and figured there must be a forum or something for colognes, after all everyone and everything has it's own forum nowadays. Hence I ran across Basenotes. What I found was a glorious site with reviews for just about everything out there and a discussion forum with a search feature that I could search. However rather than help in my search of my new signature scent Basenotes made it all the more confusing really. So many discussion, so many reviews that are pro or con, I was baffled. I studied a bit and tried to find an ebb and flow in the reviews (i.e. poor longevity is a constant in reviews) and so on. After that I started to get things narrowed down.

So I here I sit today, I have tested many, and I found what works for me. The problem is now I don't have one signature scent, I have several. One I wear most days (Erolfa), one I wear for nights out (Millesime Imperial), another for office wear (Chanel Platinum Egoiste), and a couple of others just for fun pr for something different (Himalaya, Issey Intense). At one point I had around 15 different colognes all different in their own ways, now I try to keep my collection scaled back to 5 or under. It is really easy to go over if you get seasonal though, wear a couple for hotter months, another for fall, another for winter, etc....
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post #12 of 14
8/17/08 at 1:04am
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dead Man's Hand View Post

Up until several years ago I always just had one signature scent, Cool Water as a matter of fact. Then one day I realized I have outgrown CW and my age was just not appropriate anymore as somewhere along the road it became pretty much a teeny-bopper scent. I wanted something new but something that garnered me the amount of compliments I received wearing Cool Water. I knew nothing about colognes at the time, just once upon a time I stumbled across Cool Water and I liked it and everyone liked it on me so I ran with it. At the time I did not even know what an aquatic was or even that Cool Water was classified as one.

So off to the mall I go and what I found was literally hundreds of colognes, I asked the salesmen for help in finding a new scent for me and rather than listen to what I was saying or asking for they chased me around the counter with tester strips of the "new hot stuff" which all pretty much reeked. Also it was funny how it was the same ones they had big displays of so I assume they were showing me what gave them a bigger commission that week. After about 10 minutes of that treatment I decided that was for the birds and left with nothing. There is nothing more I can't stand then when I ask to see something like A they show me X which is nothing like what I am looking for.

I got home and figured there must be a forum or something for colognes, after all everyone and everything has it's own forum nowadays. Hence I ran across Basenotes. What I found was a glorious site with reviews for just about everything out there and a discussion forum with a search feature that I could search. However rather than help in my search of my new signature scent Basenotes made it all the more confusing really. So many discussion, so many reviews that are pro or con, I was baffled. I studied a bit and tried to find an ebb and flow in the reviews (i.e. poor longevity is a constant in reviews) and so on. After that I started to get things narrowed down.

So I here I sit today, I have tested many, and I found what works for me. The problem is now I don't have one signature scent, I have several. One I wear most days (Erolfa), one I wear for nights out (Millesime Imperial), another for office wear (Chanel Platinum Egoiste), and a couple of others just for fun pr for something different (Himalaya, Issey Intense). At one point I had around 15 different colognes all different in their own ways, now I try to keep my collection scaled back to 5 or under. It is really easy to go over if you get seasonal though, wear a couple for hotter months, another for fall, another for winter, etc....

for what its worth, i was hooked on CW for the longest time too. I sitll use it and are 1 of he 5-6 faves that i have at least 3 back up bottles of. im also having the same problem now with 18 opened large bottles in my cooler.... your not alone. Im also designing a trim down plan. maybe we could share some tips... and help each other out
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post #13 of 14
8/17/08 at 6:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mikeperez23 View Post

I never wanted a signature scent and after some time now at Basenotes, I still don't. Too limiting.

I must agree with Tom - I'm a scent slut.

Me too. And I couldn't have said it better
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post #14 of 14
8/17/08 at 7:46am
I like the idea of having a signature scent but the reality is a bit different - so many beautiful scents and so little time. I have more of a theme in my wardrobe - florals are most numerous. I like different types of florals and wear them in different occasions and seasons. Sometimes I will wear one scent during the day and evening but sometimes I feel like changing into a different one. There are no strict rules here, I wear them according to whatever catches my fancy at a given moment. The only thing that matters is that I want to feel myself wearing a perfume, rather than feel like I'm playing a role when I wear something.
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