Fragrances you love but rarely wear?

I haven't been into perfume long enough to answer this, but I am noticing a pattern that may persist, Guerlains! I really like all the ones I have but never ever feel like wearing them. Mitsouko, L'Heure Bleue, Chamade, Jicky, Shalimar ... they all feel like such a commitment. It's like trying to go about daily life in a couture gown. So many others here wear these scents all the time and find them versatile. And I find some of the loudest and kookiest other scents imminently wearable. It's a personality thing probably. They're too classical for me.

Wow - what an old thread.

But since you brought it up, I rarely wear the ones that remind me of my perfumista paternal grandmother. I think of her everyday and I love having her perfumes around, but when I wear the ones with the strongest association to her I tend to become preoccupied and think of her constantly, and then I miss her too much and that makes me sad ...so I just can't wear them very frequently. These include Cabochard, Miss Dior, Joy, Chloé, 24 Faubourg, Boucheron, Oscar de la Renta, Youth Dew, Opium, Scherrer II, Estée, and Jolie Madame ...I did mention she was a perfumista, right? Good thing she wasn't too crazy about Chanel, lol! Actually, I probably love some of these only because she wore them, and I really only have some of them because I inherited them from her.

so so true!!i had only shalimar and had to sell EDP almost unused, it was somehow too pale for this world, also i had a feeling i wear watered down version of what used to be Shalimar once upon a time, it was not unpleasant scent at all but was like a pale 100% synthetic ghost to me....the only Guerlain i wear frequently is insolence edp, huge raspberry iris this one smells alive

and on the topic,
i did not wear Vanilia for 8 months, becasue i was feeling sick of it, now i just started wearing it every day and cant get enough of it!! amazing 180 degree shift in my head!.....

I've just sorted through my perfumes, marking those I liked but wore infrequently 'to be sold'. It's sad, but true that the older I get the fewer special occasions I have which warrant a special perfume.So now I indulge myself as often as possible in the rare vintages , the extraits and parfums, as well as the very expensive in my collection. I buy to use, and feel no pangs when I do that. After all, I wouldn't keep special foods til they were spoiled, or clothes til they were out of fashion or didn't fit any longer. To me perfume is a part of my everyday life. I wear it to give myself pleasure, nothing more. If others can share that then so much the better

Life is just too short to hoard or to keep things locked away in the back of a cupboard, in my opinion. The beauty of my arrangement is that I can see all bottles at a glance. I keep my back-up bottles elsewhere, my samples in a bespoke box and my minis in another special storage box. So each morning, when I choose my perfume for the day, each one stands to attention, vying for my favour with everything else.

My brother made a telling comment when I showed him my perfume cabinet last year. 'How long til they all turn to vinegar, Sis?'His point wasn't lost on me. It would be a travesty if I kept these beauties to a 'past their use by' date. Not only will I be denying myself the pleasure, but also denying a fellow perfume lover the same. A bit mean-spirited to my mind.

It's interesting to see the Guerlains mentioned often by others. When I went crazy last year, purchasing the best known examples of the big perfume houses, a number of Guerlains ended up being given away. There were - L'Heure Bleu, Apres l'Ondee, Mitsouko, Shalimar, Jicky, Mahora, Terracotta. These really didn't strike me as wearable for my everyday lifestyle. The first five were curiosities, interesting examples of perfumery of a bygone era that I only wore ever so occasionally. I was so very pleased that someone else had them to love. I knew they would probably sit in my wardrobe, deteriorating before I ever used them up.

So true, LiliB! I also bought some of the classic frags, mostly Guerlain, but find them unwearable in my everyday life. The Chanels, on the other hand, are all sitting pretty in my rotation (these are the current Exclusif EDTs which I find great and fitting for routine wear).

Life is too short. Wear what you like. Find frags that fit your lifestyle, or find frags that you just want to sniff every now and then. Wear them!

Weird and modern is good, if you go that route. Classics are also good, if they fit you to a T. I've pretty much made up my mind to wear my loves and leave the rest to others. I enjoy sampling as a side track and a way to keep things interesting, but I know where I will always return. And I don't care if my bottles run empty. There is more out there!

Ah the Photo Album Scent collection!

Here are a couple that, although loving them to bits, I rarely reach for my bottles: Odalisque and Chamade

Had to check my wardrobe to get an accurate representation of the facts. The biggest surprise and I kinda can't believe it is I've only worn Tuscan Leather once in the last few months. Whats crazy is now that I'm thinking about it I remember the exact last time I wore it and it was a long ass time ago. Nothing is as surprising as that. I also seem to be ignoring 1270, Tonka Imperiale, Cuir Beluga, and Amber Absolute. All of those save 1270 are because they're not situationally versatile, i.e. no situation seems like the right situation to wear these lately. 1270 see's no action because of it's absurd longevity issue, which is unfortunate but it is what it is.

This thread has made me go through every single bottle of my 100+ collection and start considering.

Angel-refillable bottle unopened
Angel Chic-worn once, reboxed never to be considered again. Loved when tested.
Nu-unopened cream box version. Bought cos I was almost out of the original. Now opened, sprayed and much wrist nuzzling ensued. Nu will be worn regularly this winter
Anais Anais-still in cellophane. Bought as an old love. Cost pennies so think I'll keep

Loads more too, really pleased this thread made me take stock

So interesting to read the posts here. I wear my Guerlains and Chanels so often. Except for L'Heure Bleue, which I will spritz, swoon, but almost never wear out and about. I tend to spritz it before bed, like a sleeping elixir.

I mostly work from my home office now (a fixed up vintage airstream), but I still dress up a bit and use a sotd, or more, but I need to start rotating my collection around in my armoire so that some of the less used ones get more attention.

Another loved but not working right now seems to be Opium. It makes me a bit queazy now. Could be this health thing I am going through, but I can't wear it for now. Shalimar, in all its forms and vintages, gets almost daily use!

Same here!


l often spritz L'Heure Bleue on my sheets before bed, & yes it really is like a sleeping elixir.

The one that springs immediately to mind is Fracas; l love it, but l have to be dressed to kill & in a super-confident mood to feel right in it. On the right occasion though, nothing else will do!

Bandit parfum
Aimez Moi parfum
Tabac Blond parfum

all beauties that I love, maybe because they are small bottles that I am trying to prolong using them up...but also in the case of Bandit and Tabac Blond, they put one in a certain mood and I choose not to wear them out of the house indiscriminately.

This thread reminded me of my neglected Aimez Moi, however, which is a wonderful warm fragrance for the upcoming holidays.

KarmaLee, I LOVE that your office is a vintage airstream!

I adore and worship my Escada Magnetism, but it only gets worn on "Club" nights lol.

Thank you! It is something I wanted for so long. I just had this vision of me writing away inside of what I now call my spaceship. The whole inside is MINE. People know, if I am in there, I am off limits. It takes me places for sure.

I love my Jamaica Punch by Carol's Daughter, but I haven't wore it since last winter. Goldleaf is another one I haven't wore lately.

I used to love Fracas. However, it often gave me a headache or was nauseating. It is not a shy scent.