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Always nice, but sometimes stunning, phenomenal, jaw dropping

post #1 of 18
4/6/09 at 2:32pm
Thread Starter 
That has been my recurring thought, today. I chose Jasmal as my sotd, and while I always like it, there are days when it blooms just right on my skin and becomes the stuff dreams are made of.
And I have no idea why or how this happens.

I started thinking that there are other frags in my collection that behave like this on occasion. Femme de Rochas is one of them. DoSon is another. Ditto for Datura Noir.

So now I wonder: Are there scents in your collection that are mostly "nice but not earth shattering" and occasionally morph into olfactory rapture for no apparent reason?
And do you have a theory as to why this happens?
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post #2 of 18
4/6/09 at 2:40pm
Many people say that humidity and temperature affect the performance of a fragrance, so that's one explanation.

It could also be that on some days your sense perception is sharper for whatever reason (got a good night's rest etc), and that you're better able to appreciate your SotD.
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post #3 of 18
4/6/09 at 2:47pm
I have quite a few scents that behave the way you describe. Sometimes I'll wear one and it's enjoyable as always, but that's it. Other times, it will make me swoon with pleasure - not exaggerating. Often, this "rapture", as you so aptly describe it, will occur concurrently with discovering a new facet of a fragrance - even one you've worn for years.
The usual reasons will be offered for this ever-shifting development in one's enjoyment - weather, hormones, emotions. I personally don't mind it being a mystery - as long as the mystery accompanies me throughout my life.
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post #4 of 18
4/6/09 at 2:53pm
My theory is that this happens when a particular scent fits your particular day/mood/weather/mental state particularly well. I just can't seem to accept that any combination of odorous molecules would perform in an objectively different manner, out of the blue, from one day to the next. I find it more probable that the difference lies with the human component.
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post #5 of 18
4/6/09 at 2:57pm
Youth Dew Amber Nude was 'that' fragrance for me today. I do not know what happened. Usually the drydown turns insecticidal but, today is is heavenly...
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post #6 of 18
4/6/09 at 3:18pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by veuve amiot View Post

My theory is that this happens when a particular scent fits your particular day/mood/weather/mental state particularly well. I just can't seem to accept that any combination of odorous molecules would perform in an objectively different manner, out of the blue, from one day to the next. I find it more probable that the difference lies with the human component.

In my case, it will remain a mystery, then: I had a bit of a mishap this weekend and I am now sporting 4 stitches on the left rear side of my head, I look and feel like I've been wrestling Big Foot himself, lol.
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post #7 of 18
4/6/09 at 3:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by analavande View Post

Youth Dew Amber Nude was 'that' fragrance for me today. I do not know what happened. Usually the drydown turns insecticidal but, today is is heavenly...



Analavande, I have had a similar YDAN experience. .Sometimes I wonder why I even have it around--maybe only b/c that bottle is so retro cutesy girly kitsch-- and then other times it astonishes me how much I like it.

As Veuve says, I suspect for me it is my mood more than anything.

SO I wonder: are perfumistas an especially moody bunch?
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post #8 of 18
4/6/09 at 3:33pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
SO I wonder: are perfumistas an especially moody bunch?

EMOMISTAS!!
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post #9 of 18
4/6/09 at 4:38pm
I really suspect that since hormone levels fluctuate, that might affect the PH of one's skin. (I'm no scientist, certainly) I have been getting some hormone help lately & voila, many frags I disliked before are suddenly excellent on moi! Not to mention my general niceness.
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post #10 of 18
4/6/09 at 6:14pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by kumquat View Post

I really suspect that since hormone levels fluctuate, that might affect the PH of one's skin. (I'm no scientist, certainly) I have been getting some hormone help lately & voila, many frags I disliked before are suddenly excellent on moi! Not to mention my general niceness.

Hormones... that makes sense. I thought it only affected my perception of scents, but maybe that's not all.
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post #11 of 18
4/6/09 at 6:54pm
Ah hormones...what DON"T they do to us ladies??? I can certainly see that. Excellent point, kumquat. They really do affect smell. I'm sure other women can testify that while pregnant (aka hormonally super-charged) certain smells send you running for the nearest waste basket or bathroom. And suddenly my husband's cologne that I loved turned vomit-inducing. So I can see how fluctuations in hormone levels could really make or break a fragrance. That can only be true. And I'm sure most women don't even think of that.
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post #12 of 18
4/6/09 at 7:13pm
Thanks for starting this thread Shimkai!

This phenomenom is one of the wonderful facets of the perfume experience that I love. Tonight for instance, I was inspired to wear Bulgari Blu Notte - a scent that most of the time I regard as pretty, a bit too powdery, certainly not a favorite. However, sometimes when I wear it (nights only) it smells amazing... Lush, sexy, mmmmmm.

Reasons? I agree with you all, that it's maybe hormonal, what was recently eaten, what type of scent one is craving, what one just read about a scent, and what mood one is in. Also, what state of health (emotional and physical) one is in.

I guess I think that moods, and general demeanor are the major factors that determine which scents we reach for. Tonight, I wanted to relax, unwind, let loose, succomb to the purely physical (instead of always having to be thinking), and scents such as Blu Notte, Angel, Samsara, and other non-ethereal, non-cerebral perfumes fit the bill for me.
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post #13 of 18
4/7/09 at 5:08am
The last time this happened was in October, with Datura Noir. DN has always been a bit difficult for me--as I told a friend, like looking into the eye of the sun. I've had a bottle for several years and have worn it reluctantly, sure it would be the cause of another Bad-Perfume Day. When I have Bad-Perfume Days, I have a string of them, and they often outnumber Bad-Hair Days not only in number but also in intensity, and then they cause me to avoid perfume for weeks.

However, one warm day in October, Datura Noir bloomed. It didn't necessarily change; it still smelled much as it always did, but on that day I appreciated its high reflectivity and lack of verticality. It was perfect as none other has been.
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post #14 of 18
4/7/09 at 10:14am
I have been wearing perfumes with patchouli or sandalwood in the base, gotten wet (swimming, shower, or bath) and have been enchanted by the blooming of the scent afterwards. It's a combination of water and heat that performs the magic.
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post #15 of 18
4/8/09 at 7:03pm
That is really interesting.
I LOVE Datura Noir, but I totally understand
about the whole
"sometimes stunning, phenomenal, jaw dropping"
but sometimes "just nice"
and that part I just don't understand.
Hmmm come to think of it, are there others?
Bulgari Black
Chinatown
Cèdre SL
Eau des Merveilles
Fleurs d'Oranger SL
Miel de Bois SL

So now after this little list
I see a bit of a common factor here
I do love SLs but there we go...
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post #16 of 18
4/8/09 at 9:06pm
Madame Rochas is the one for me, that occasionally, repeatedly blows my mind. The rest of time, I am like, "Why was I liking that so well?"
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post #17 of 18
4/10/09 at 4:32am
I've been doing a (very) informal study of this - suspecting that scents really do change with mood, weather, surrounding smells, what I've eaten recently, etc.

This is my post on Avignon - seems to be a pretty good study of what seems to happen with me and perfume over an extended period.
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post #18 of 18
4/10/09 at 1:09pm
This happened today, and once before, with Anglomania. I'm sure the difference is due to hormonal fluctuations but I don't like to analyse too much.
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