Happy New Year Basenotes Nation!
Time to close the books on 2008 with SotM for December 2008. This months stats confirm the weekly trends Ive been noticing but Ill get to that after the raw numbers. 5,143 total wears over 1,582 different scents. 763 of those scents posted once for an individuality index of 14.8%. If you add in the scents worn 2,3,or 4 times the index rises to 42.2%. In both cases the indexes are low. The 14.8% is the lowest monthly index in the 10 months of keeping stats and 42.2% is only 0.4% away from the low set in October. Ive mentioned it in the weekly stats but Im going to illustrate the point one last time with the monthly numbers. This community becomes less diverse as winter sets in, in the Northern Hemisphere. The average monthly individuality index for the Summer, July through August, was 17.3% for singles and 48.7% when you add in the 2,3,and 4 wear totals. Compare that to October through December where those numbers are 15.0% and 42.2%. Those are very large differences considering the amount of data and further confirm my hypothesis that we work from a narrower olfactory palette as the weather turns cooler.
This narrowness of choice is also reflected in the top 10 for the month. I would say that if I look at the top 25 there is only one scent there that hasnt posted a top 10 placing before and that is Serge Lutens Borneo 1834 at a tie for 14th with 26 wears.
Leading off the December top 10 is Guerlain Vetiver as it has the last few months. In the past few months there has been a vast gulf down to #2 but this month Guerlain Habit Rouge was only four wears behind. Tied for third were Yves St. Laurent Rive Gauche pour Homme and Dior Homme. Finishing the top half was Burberry London for Men which has been on a tear over the last eight weeks. The bottom half of the top 10 starts with a resurgent Yves St. Laurent M7 which was a popular choice as we got deeper into the month indicating that it was being worn out to parties and holiday events. It is followed by Creed Bois du Portugal, Tauer LAir du Desert Marocain and Guerlain Jicky in the seventh, eighth and ninth spots. We finish with two scents tied for tenth Guerlain Shalimar and Chanel Egoiste. I think this lineup is pretty emblematic of what Basenotes Nation wears when they want to dress up a little bit. When I break out the top 10 scents worn by the ladies it is a more formal group of scents as well. I think you could do worse than to use the two top 10s for December as the starting point for any new Perfumista or Colognoisseur looking for their dressy scent.
The top 10 for December 2008
1.)\tGuerlain Vetiver 49 wears (1.0%)
2.)\tGuerlain Habit Rouge 45 wears (0.9%)
3.)\tDior Homme 38 wears (0.7%)
3.)\tYves St. Laurent Rive Gauche pour Homme 38 wears (0.7%)
5.)\tBurberry London for Men 35 wears (0.7%)
6.)\tYves St. Laurent M7 34 wears (0.7%)
7.)\tCreed Bois du Portugal 33 wears (0.6%)
8.)\tTauer LAir du Desert Marocain 32 wears (0.6%)
9.)\tGuerlain Jicky 31 wears (0.6%)
10.)\tChanel Egoiste 30 wears (0.6%)
10.)\tGuerlain Shalimar 30 wears (0.6%)
Just missing by two wears was the onetime king of this countdown Hermes Terre DHermes. One wear further back was Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur. The top new scent for the month was Ralph Lauren Polo Modern Reserve all the way back at #28 with 18 wears it was followed by Prada Infusion DHomme, Le Labo Gaiac 10, and Kenzo Power each separated by one wear respectively.
Thats it for December and for 2008 as we make the turn into 2009 and the last two months of this experiment.
As always, you keep wearing em and Ill keep counting em
Have a well-fragranced week.
Time to close the books on 2008 with SotM for December 2008. This months stats confirm the weekly trends Ive been noticing but Ill get to that after the raw numbers. 5,143 total wears over 1,582 different scents. 763 of those scents posted once for an individuality index of 14.8%. If you add in the scents worn 2,3,or 4 times the index rises to 42.2%. In both cases the indexes are low. The 14.8% is the lowest monthly index in the 10 months of keeping stats and 42.2% is only 0.4% away from the low set in October. Ive mentioned it in the weekly stats but Im going to illustrate the point one last time with the monthly numbers. This community becomes less diverse as winter sets in, in the Northern Hemisphere. The average monthly individuality index for the Summer, July through August, was 17.3% for singles and 48.7% when you add in the 2,3,and 4 wear totals. Compare that to October through December where those numbers are 15.0% and 42.2%. Those are very large differences considering the amount of data and further confirm my hypothesis that we work from a narrower olfactory palette as the weather turns cooler.
This narrowness of choice is also reflected in the top 10 for the month. I would say that if I look at the top 25 there is only one scent there that hasnt posted a top 10 placing before and that is Serge Lutens Borneo 1834 at a tie for 14th with 26 wears.
Leading off the December top 10 is Guerlain Vetiver as it has the last few months. In the past few months there has been a vast gulf down to #2 but this month Guerlain Habit Rouge was only four wears behind. Tied for third were Yves St. Laurent Rive Gauche pour Homme and Dior Homme. Finishing the top half was Burberry London for Men which has been on a tear over the last eight weeks. The bottom half of the top 10 starts with a resurgent Yves St. Laurent M7 which was a popular choice as we got deeper into the month indicating that it was being worn out to parties and holiday events. It is followed by Creed Bois du Portugal, Tauer LAir du Desert Marocain and Guerlain Jicky in the seventh, eighth and ninth spots. We finish with two scents tied for tenth Guerlain Shalimar and Chanel Egoiste. I think this lineup is pretty emblematic of what Basenotes Nation wears when they want to dress up a little bit. When I break out the top 10 scents worn by the ladies it is a more formal group of scents as well. I think you could do worse than to use the two top 10s for December as the starting point for any new Perfumista or Colognoisseur looking for their dressy scent.
The top 10 for December 2008
1.)\tGuerlain Vetiver 49 wears (1.0%)
2.)\tGuerlain Habit Rouge 45 wears (0.9%)
3.)\tDior Homme 38 wears (0.7%)
3.)\tYves St. Laurent Rive Gauche pour Homme 38 wears (0.7%)
5.)\tBurberry London for Men 35 wears (0.7%)
6.)\tYves St. Laurent M7 34 wears (0.7%)
7.)\tCreed Bois du Portugal 33 wears (0.6%)
8.)\tTauer LAir du Desert Marocain 32 wears (0.6%)
9.)\tGuerlain Jicky 31 wears (0.6%)
10.)\tChanel Egoiste 30 wears (0.6%)
10.)\tGuerlain Shalimar 30 wears (0.6%)
Just missing by two wears was the onetime king of this countdown Hermes Terre DHermes. One wear further back was Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur. The top new scent for the month was Ralph Lauren Polo Modern Reserve all the way back at #28 with 18 wears it was followed by Prada Infusion DHomme, Le Labo Gaiac 10, and Kenzo Power each separated by one wear respectively.
Thats it for December and for 2008 as we make the turn into 2009 and the last two months of this experiment.
As always, you keep wearing em and Ill keep counting em
Have a well-fragranced week.
A superb work since it's inception SMM. Bravo! 
