So long as you're not storing them in heat, humidity, or direct sunlight, they'll be fine. Like wine, a lot of perfumes actually get better over time, which no one ever mentions.
Perfume Chat Thread
- Thread starter JenJBS
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
I love fragrances. As far as I can remember, I have always been surrounded by perfume. I have no idea how many bottles of Chanel 19 (a favorite growing up), Coco Mademoiselle, Dune by Christian Dior or Anais Anais & Lou Lou by Cacharel (to name a few) I went through during high school and college years. I never missed an opportunity to buy perfumes at duty free stores. Several of those fragrances are not popular anymore, but they still bring memories and a smile to my face.
However, I'm very new to niche fragrances. I believe my first niche fragrances were from Atelier Cologne a few years ago. The SA at BG was very kind, and I had a lot of fun choosing fragrances and getting several monogramed leather cases. So, most of my niche adventures are relatively recent, and they are dangerous. I'm starting to lose count of the samples and travel size bottles I've been testing.
I have this exact sample kit; I ordered it over the holidays. I am really behind with perfume testing, and only tested Ta'if once, and I agree it's lovely. I decided to test Champaca from the kit today, and to my nose, it's not particularly memorable. It reminds me of some other fragrance, but I am not sure which one! I might try Tolu tomorrow since I'm curious about that one.
I tried Frangipani today. It's a nice fragrance, but I believe I'll not be buying a full bottle anytime soon. At the present time, I'm trying to buy only one bottle of Ormonde Jayne, and I prefer Ta'if to Frangipani. Tomorrow, I plan to try Ormonde Woman, so I'll see if I prefer it to Ta'if. Though, I know that sooner or later I'll buy Ta'if.
Have you tried any of the BDK perfumes?
Yeah, well...join the club.
Don't worry about the distinction between designer and niche fragrances. It really doesn't matter, and that line just becomes more and more blurry. If it's good, it's good. If it's not good, it's not good.
No, I haven't tried any of the BDK perfumes yet. There are a lot of niche houses out there, and to be honest, many I haven't sampled. I haven't counted, but the proportion of niche perfumes in my collection is not high especially when compared to older designer and vintage. As @ultravisitor said, don't worry about the distinction between niche and designer; if you like the perfume and enjoy wearing it, that is all that matters.
I love the smell of frangipani, but already have Annick Goutal Songes (admittedly, it has more going on than just frangipani because there's jasmine and ylang in there as well.) While I am looking forward to trying Frangipani from Ormonde Jayne, I doubt it will turn out to be a full bottle purchase for me either. Chantecaille's Frangipane and Tiare are lovely (sampled them a few years ago). I don't know if they still make them anymore, but definitely worth a sniff. Chanel Beige from the exclusifs line has frangipani in it, but other notes like freesia are quite prevalent too.
Well, I did not mean to go off on a tangent with regard to frangipani in perfumes, lol, but I love the creaminess it imparts to perfumes. Hmmm, maybe I will wear Beige today, which is a pretty white floral, or perhaps I will try Frangipani by Ormonde Jayne.
Oh, I remember its discovery kit nicely packed in a velvet sack man I had many years ago. And I bought Ta'if, the other scents were nice but not available in Dutch shops and any shipment was a nightmare then.
Last month I smelled Montabaco Verano and I liked it. Ormonde Jayne is a nice brand, they told me the concentration of EdP is higher than 25%.
My story is about how we are fooled out by IG. Two Swiss musiсians, either not very successful or got bored, founded a new brand, located not far from my living residence. The discovery kit costs ridiculously much, also loads blabla on IG. So I asked them where I would test their scents. They directed me to a shop, that sells female clothing. I was there yesterday. Neither samples nor paper stripes. The sprayed me the scents on a piece of note paper. Believe me, I got numb, as I have never had such an experience in my life. Fortunately, I keep empty vials in my bag in case if they cannot offer me samples or to make a sample. Honestly, I didn't understand what was special in this brand. Even the nose of this scents isn't mentioned.
You must have a beautiful vintage collection, I hope one day you will share it with us.
I'm with you, it's not being niche or designer that makes a good fragrance. I purchased designer fragrances for most of my life. I never had much time, so I often relied on designers like Chanel, Hermes or Dior to make good quality fragrances and choose from their collections. However, my free time has recently increased and I'm having a lot of fun discovering the 'so called' niche fragrances.
On Ormonde Jayne, I believe I will be getting a bottle of Ta'if and Ormonde Woman. I think they are both great fragrances, but I'm trying to wait a couple of months before getting them. I have unopened bottles of perfume that I didn't have a chance to use yet, so I need to plan a little more carefully.
I didn't have a chance to smell Montabaco yet, my local NM and Saks stores don't carry Ormonde Jayne. I agree with you, Ormonde Jayne is a nice brand. However, some brands put more effort on PR than quality, and it's not difficult to be tricked. It's very important to test the fragrances a few times before getting a full bottle imo.
Last edited:
Thank you! Quite a bit of my vintage collection is comprised of relatively recent acquisitions. And it's larger than it could be because I have different concentrations of the same fragrance. For example, with Chamade, I have vintage EDT, Parfum de Toilette and extrait. With a lot of the older Guerlain fragrances, there are subtle differences among the different concentrations. Likewise with Shalimar and No. 19 -- I have different concentrations of the same fragrance. Now I don't do this with every vintage of course; just with my favorites. I will try to take a group photo one of these days.
I went back and looked at my niche perfumes and I actually have more than I realized, but they're mostly the earlier releases from some niche houses -- stuff from L'Artisan, Serge Lutens, Penhaligon's, Amouage, Annick Goutal, Floris, and some Creed. Frederic Malle is probably my more recent (as in the last 3-5 years) house explored. However, I don't have much in the way of more recent niche offerings.
Then of course, there are the exclusives from houses like Chanel, Dior, Armani, etc., many of them excellent and worth exploring. Anyway, it's good to plan carefully and test a lot so you can build a collection of perfumes that you love and enjoy wearing.
Some of the bottles of the earlier releases must be beautiful. I believe I like the Penhaligon's bottles and the stories a little more than I like some of the fragrances. My favorites are Bewitching Yasmine and Lady Blanche.
Ormonde Jayne has been a great surprise for me, today I tried Ambre Royal and I like it too.
Did you try Tolu? If yes, what are your impressions? I'm testing it today, and I find it lovely so far.
I didn't get around to trying it yet, but will definitely post impressions when I do. I did try Frangipani and it was nice, but not particularly special to my nose.
Tolu is nice imo, but fortunately it didn't make my list for a full bottle.