When travelling, how many frags?

[Cognoscento]

Hi,
Does this happen to you? Having taken some trips recently, each time I've pondered what frags to bring along. First I think, one for day and one for night. But then I start thinking - maybe one oriental for a romantic evening, one gourmand, a really fresh, light one for daytime, maybe a chypre, etc. etc., until I have rented a U-Haul trailer to bring them along.

I do have samples and decants, but none of them are favorites, and on a trip I want my best stuff, and they're mostly big bottles!

How many frags do you bring? It'd be fun to see some massive lists.

(Of course for air travel this may be moot if liquid restrictions remain or increase. I mostly travel by land).

[beachroses]

I haven't done much traveling, since I started trying so many perfumes, but when I did, it was to evacuate hurricanes and I was so stressed out that I relied on a single note French lavender to carry me through by Pre de Provence. It was the only scent I could tolerate and I clung to it. Lavender has relaxing properties and is often used in aromatherapy. If I was going on vacation, or whatever, I would probably bring two and then buy something new when I got there, so I could have just the right thing for the situation. I wouldn't be able to guess in advance.

[Goddess_Dreams]

Great question, as I've pondered this one many times myself! Of course it all depends on how long your trip is... but lately I've take at least 2 along on a weeks worth of a vacation. Now the thing is that I also end up buying fragrances while I'm away... so the amount of bottles accumulated for the return trip often triples if not quadruples.

On the other hand, to me trips are meant to be special and I still remember the trip I took across Europe in 1996, I ONLY wore Perry Ellis 360° and even though I do not wear that fragrance these days whenever I do smell it I always remember that vacation... So I took a lesson from that and tried to make every trip just as scenticiouly special... so Portugal - Algarve will forever be Black Cashmere (that was where I 1st tried it), and Agent Provocateur will forever be Paris... although Paris has many, many other smells My most recreant vacation was Cuba and that one will always smell like Alchimie to me... and so on...

[Cognoscento]

Very interesting, folks!

Goddess,
I like very much the idea that a scent becomes a special trip memory. Paris and Cuba, oh..... Wow, going from Canada, I'll bet you could get directly to Cuba, right? Many of my frags do indeed have a "place" when I think about them. As we all know, scent is deeply connected with memory, possibly more than any sense. Maybe I'll follow your idea and deliberately concentrate on one scent during a trip to enshrine it in a special way.

Beachroses,
That's quite a tale of using scent during an evacuation, and the scent helping with stress. Hopefully that's not a common occurrence for you. I've been fortunate enough not to have been in that drastic a situation, though I like the aromatherapy qualities of scents, too. I even have an ayurvedic blend with me all the time to keep the nose clear, travelling or not.

So far, I guess nobody's brought more than me. We'll see what others say

[Ayala]

For me it's not so much a question of how many, but a question of which ones. I will explain:
- one or two basics - perfumes that I always feel comfortable with and are very versatile
- A bunch of small decants or samples of scents that I don't usually wear

This way I can associate the new fragrances with the experiences of the trip and create new olfactory memories - and also I can be in my "comfort zone" when I need it, by wearing the one or two familiar favourites...

Depending where you travel - you may want to leave enough room for new fragrances to try and buy

[Cognoscento]

For me it's not so much a question of how many, but a question of which ones. I will explain:
- one or two basics - perfumes that I always feel comfortable with and are very versatile
- A bunch of small decants or samples of scents that I don't usually wear

This way I can associate the new fragrances with the experiences of the trip and create new olfactory memories - and also I can be in my "comfort zone" when I need it, by wearing the one or two familiar favourites...

Depending where you travel - you may want to leave enough room for new fragrances to try and buy

Thanks, Ayala,
And it's great to hear from a perfumer! The whole idea of creating new memories is great. I will have to try that... something I've used very little or not at all, or buying something brand new (that's tougher for me because I either end up in scentless areas or the prices are abusive).

Here's one for you - do you wear your own frags a lot, or do you normally wear scents by others? I'm a musician, but I don't necessarily want to hear recordings of myself too much. I know that's not directly analogous, but you know what I mean, I'm sure.

I actually believe in quality vs. quantity, but being silly, I phrased my original question that way. And I would still enjoy hearing about a giant perfume case or the like being carried around by someone! Maybe I'll have to invent a short story character who does something like that.

In fact, after a couple trips with a lot of big bottles clanking into each other in a decidedly uncivil manner, I've gradually winnowed it down. If I keep this up, I may end up sensible.

Cheers, C

[Shycat]

I'm emotionally driven and unpredictably moody. kai aside, I never know from one day to the next what I will yearn for. I don't like traveling, and when I do I take about six frags, or more, and even if it's just a weekend. It's a security thing, because I take comfort from my frags, and when I want one in particular I really miss it, and feel 'off' without it. One pair of jeans will do me, though.

[tigrushka]

I always pack just one.

Usually I pick some candidates beforehand and decide the last minute. Has worked well for me, and thanks to this method I associate certain scents with certain places (like Angel with Kraków, Vol de Nuit with Lyon and Brussels...)

Besides, if I get bored with the one I picked, I can buy something new!

[Ayala]

Here's one for you - do you wear your own frags a lot, or do you normally wear scents by others? I'm a musician, but I don't necessarily want to hear recordings of myself too much. I know that's not directly analogous, but you know what I mean, I'm sure.

I wear lots of both. I seem to go through different periods: soemtimes I will wear solidly just my own perfumes; than periods of experimenting and trying lots of different fragrances by others, etc. When I make perfumes or create a new one, I don't wear anything at all to be sure my perception is accurate. And this also allows for trying the scent on during the process of blending.

[Twolf]

Depending on the destination and duration, I take 1-5 fragrances with me and rely on shopping there.

[Cognoscento]

I always pack just one.

Usually I pick some candidates beforehand and decide the last minute. Has worked well for me, and thanks to this method I associate certain scents with certain places (like Angel with Kraków, Vol de Nuit with Lyon and Brussels...)

Besides, if I get bored with the one I picked, I can buy something new!

Tigrushka,
A nice minimalist, yet cosmopolitan approach!

Speaking of tourism, after looking at your staggeringly impressive collection, I'm thinking you could book tours of your scents, sort of like a giant wine-tasting. What fun it would be to have your collection, even for a day. I'd keep sniffing until I had olfactory fatigue for several weeks.

[Margareta]

This summer I was away from home for five weeks. I took five bottles with me, and I bought a new one during this time, too. This was enough, I was comfortable all the five weeks.

[hirch_duckfinder]

cog my friend, I agonise over this too. I usally end up with three and a bunch of samples. I try to tailor to the needs of where and why I am travelling (e.g. business or pleasure, urban or rural, seaside or hills) For any rural non-seaside setting guerlain vetiver seems to be perfect!

Remember, leaving some goodies behind adds to the pleasure of homecoming!

[audrey]

It used to be a nightmare to choose, and the bottles are often so heavy...so I took 2-3 and a bunch of samples. But since I found this Opium Fleur Imperial, I just take this. I can wear it always, I can rely on it. And I take a couple of samples, and if I get bored, I order some or go exploring the local shops.

[rowanhill]

I am on the road almost every week, and one thing I have not skimped with are my perfumes. More often than not I have had 5 scents with me, even for a short trip, although now with all the airport security measures it might be just me and my aluminium estagnon of Bois d'Iris which will survive in cargo on its own. No liquids allowed in cabin.
Also when flying to US from Europe one is not allowed to lock the suitcase, thus the risk of something being stolen is higher.
Piece of advice: Tighten the caps of your Annick Goutal bottles before travel. They have a knack of opening on their own - says the one with Eau d'Hadrien drenched handbag. Smells great with 1/4 of a bottle in its lining, but what a waste.

[castorpollux]

last time i travelled, i took only one frag with me and knew i was gonna get more at the duty frees and check them into my luggage instead of my carry-on.

[rotkappchen]

Every time I travel I only take with me three decants: a floral, powdery, feminine scent; a more masculine, woody one and a gourmand (almond, caramel...). And in my car there are always samples of my favourite scents...

[tigrushka]

Tigrushka,
A nice minimalist, yet cosmopolitan approach!

Speaking of tourism, after looking at your staggeringly impressive collection, I'm thinking you could book tours of your scents, sort of like a giant wine-tasting. What fun it would be to have your collection, even for a day. I'd keep sniffing until I had olfactory fatigue for several weeks.

Well, thanks! It has taken years of time, lots of patience (which I don't have), money (ditto), luck (in the form of catching some fabulous bargains) and last but not least: a lot of help from my friends to build that collection. But if I could do it, so could anybody.

[Coconut]

Like the other BN members mentioned earlier. I suppose it all depends on the destination, the occassion and the amount of luggage you would like to carry.

I agreed with Cognoscento, Tigrushka has one of the best approaches. I must say that getting the duty free fragrance has always been a big incentive for me to leave some old scents behind and bringing home some new experiences.

Looking back at my last 2 trips. I packed my favourite Floret by Antonia's Flowers to Singapore as it was for business. It is a scent that won't clash with my outfits and the climate. I also ended up acquiring 2 Serge Lutens at a very reasonable price.

As for my second trip, I went to Guilin in China. It was another business trip. I brought my decanted Folavril as it was an informal meeting but it involved a lot of team building activities and crusing all over the beautiful landscape. It worked really well as I only has a small handluggage for the trip and the perfume stays in my purse so that I could refresh myself all the time.

[kewart]

Last holiday I went on to Italy I took a full size bottle of
Feminite du Bois (evenings) and Roma (daytime) plus about
15 miniatures. The miniature samples came in useful when the
teenage girls got fed up with the less mature teenage boys
and I invited them (the girls) for a sniffathon in my room!!
They all liked the more masculine scents most - hubby's Eau
Sauvage and my Mauboussin.

[CologneJunkie]

I have a bunch of 5ml atomizers, and I fill about 4-6 of them w/ the frags I want to take, & just use those. No heavy bottles for me!