Your First Perfume
[ 3 August 2009 ]
What was your first foray into the world of perfumes?
Mine was Christian Dior’s Hypnotic Poison. I am positive that the ad featuring Milla Jovovich looking like some sexy voodoo witchy priestess is what drew me in initially. Hypnotic Poison came out in 1998, when I was 15 years old, deeply ensconced in my I’m-so-goth ways. (Le cringe.)
I think that ad actually influenced me a lot more than just wearing the perfume. I also used to wear red eye-shadow all the way around my eyes — I think in an attempt to imitate the “heroin chic“ look that was major in the 90s. (Can you believe heroin chic has its own entry on Wikipedia?! These are amazing times.) It all went wonderfully with my collar (black leather with studs & red stitching, don’t ya know), blue-black bob haircut, & obsession with Revlon’s Vixen lipstick & nailpolish. (Oh my god! They still make it!)
It’s funny though, when I look at that ad & pictures of the perfume bottle, I remember exactly how it smells. Vanilla, almonds, roses, cinnamon & jasmine. Very sexy. Probably too sexy for a 15 year old girl, not that I cared.
Now I want to go & sniff some to see if my olfactory memory is as good as I think it is!
At the moment I switch on & off between a few different perfumes — Miss Dior Cherie (strawberries & vanilla), Chocolovers (chocolate & vanilla), & The Exact Friction Of Stars (caramel, vanilla, coconut, chocolate, etc.). Yes, I like to smell like a dessert cart!
So, how about you? What was your first scent & what memories do you associate with it? What do you wear now? Are they similar at all?
(Thanks to Mystic Medusa for making me think about this!)
Love & love & love,
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mine was hypnotic poison as well!
My first scent was a bottle of cotton blossom perfume that came with this gift set a friend bought me. Now the smell gives me a headache… But I’m wearing Candy Baby now (a cotton-candy bunch of goodness in a bottle from Victoria’s Secret). I love it!!
Mine was Calvin Klein’s CK1 – I think I was going through my ‘I’m 14 and have no boobs so may as well get an androgenous perfume’ phase. I never really got the boobs but I’ve moved on perfume-wise. I’m devoted to Narciso Rodriguez’ For Her. Mmmm.
Elizabeth Arden’s Green Tea when I was 15. The bottle is still almost full, I grew out of it very quickly!
I didn’t start wearing perfume until I was around 20 (mostly because I come from a household of several people that suffer from migraines induced by strong scents!). By that time, I was firmly of the belief that I wanted something that was me; expressing both the real self and the image I wanted to project. I was working, single and going to college at the time, so I also wanted something that said “sexy” and “tough”. lol. I got a sample of Stella McCartney’s “Stella” perfume around then, and fell in love with it. It was one of the first scents that didn’t change dramatically when I put it on, didn’t smell too strong, but still was me. One of the things guys who I dated tended to tell me is that one of the first things they noticed was how sexy I smelled. haha! Even my husband says that was one of the things that initially attracted him to me. rofl. I really want to branch out a bit at this point though, and have been experimenting with some lighter, more sweet smells. I’d really love something that smells like vanilla cake. lol. Or maybe something more mysterious and dramatic… I keep looking at the scents at Black Phoenix (www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com); I mean: they have a whole collection based on the 7 Deadly Sins! Perfume geekiness! ;)
For the longest time I never wore perfume, but a year or two ago I picked up a bottle of Sweet Pea perfume from Bath & Body Works and it’s my absolute favorite – it’s a very light, dainty floral scent. I also love my Marc Jacobs Gardenia – soo goood!
When I was younger, I loved anything that smelled grassy and green.
I’m currently obsessed with Lolita Lempicka L, but am also fond of Lush’s Karma. Very sweet/floral scents just don’t work for me, I think!
Mine was Pure Poison =D
Horray for Dior! xx
Mine was O de Lancome, i still onw it thought.
i bought it when my dad took me out shopping (never done before or after that) on 2005 (i was 16 and in my also goth stage xD) and i dunno how it smells like, but it smells good. :P
As I recall, my first perfume was Calvin Klein “Obsession”. I found a bottle of it in my sister’s bedroom and would sneak a little of it every day. It was really strong and spicey, and I still have a tendancy today to pick spicier perfumes.
I don’t know what it’s called, but it’s the one by Britney Spears that smells like cupcakes. I don’t really wear any perfume at the moment since I spend most of my time in school and don’t deem it fancy enough to require perfume (:
It’s good to know that I’m not the only person that loves food scented perfumes. I always get teased about it. My favourite perfume at the moment (again, I don’t remember what it’s called) smells like cotton candy and it’s adorable.
Mine was Cool Water by Davidoff for women!
I was staying with my sister and she had bought some and let me use the lotion that goes with it. I was addicted instantly. I think I was 14.
The description on amazon says:
“This Perfume has a blend of citrus pineapple and woody notes. Accompanied by the scent of the pure ocean air.”
I also recently picked up Marc Jacobs ‘Daisy’
It’s a light flowery scent (duh)
Its okay but I find it fades quickly, and the scent is too light for me.
Cool Water is much much better, but that Hypnotic Poison sounds delicious!
Oh man, my very first perfume was a brandless clementine scented thing i bought at BJ’s in middle school. I soaked myself with it and everyone always made the comment “do you smell oranges?” around me.
Now i wear Vanilla Musk by Coty. It’s simple, one note, and comes in a huge bottle. Though i think a cinnamon sent would suit me better. I have yet to find one.
-Vee
My first perfume was Lagerfeld Classic for men. I was never into girly scents, not even back in the day, although I flipped for Mugler’s Angel when it came out in the 90s, but I now find it sickening.
The post inspired me, Gala, I want to buy some nice perfume now. Maybe I’ll get me some Energizing Fragrance by Shiseido tomorrow.
My first real perfume (not just a body splash from Bath & Body Works, lol) was Tommy Hilfiger Tommy Girl. It reminds me of 8th grade and my first year of high school and everything that usually goes along with those years – hanging with my girlfriends, talking about boys, drama, boy drama, basketball games, cheerleading, etc. I still love it and the memories it brings back.
Le Petite Prince Eau de Toilette. It is probably much more complex than this, but to me it really smells like lemon wet-naps! My dad brought me back a bottle from Paris when I was 17. It’s like the summer of 2002 in a bottle for me, it takes me right back to where I was and how I was feeling…it was an intense summer, too! Nowadays I like anything that smells like violets (very grandma chic) which is hard to find, and Marc Jacobs is my daily go to scent, cause it’s like a big bouquet of gardenia and jasmine.
Although despite this I’ve been told that I smell mostly like incense and clean laundry, which isn’t bad either!
I’m very picky, as many perfumes make me feel physically bad. I’m not exactly allergic, but lots of smells cause some trouble breathing and often leave me with a pounding headache of doom.
Blah di blah, my first perfume was Charles Jourdan. I still love it to death, but it’s impossible to buy where I live. Sadface. The empty bottle still stands on my vanity.
My absolute best go-to is L’eau Par Kenzo. This scent is a constant pick-me-up. I’m currently wearing Agent Provocateur’s Eau Emotionelle exclusively, I love it and find it very versatile. Am very much in love with all the AP & Dior Poisons. I think they’re going to be my next purchases.
My very first foray into scents was Revlon’s Jean Nate. Oh Boy, am I showing my age ;-) My grandmother got if for me for Christmas. I can’t remember my age exactly, but I was still in grade school. And, I loved it! I felt so grown up as I splashed it on generously. Thankfully, my mother continued to buy it for me, although she wished I didn’t go through it so fast.
I used that for years, and then I graduated to an official perfume: White Shoulders. I loved the smell. But more than that, I loved the purity it conveyed. I’m very fair, so the description of white shoulders was exactly the ideal that sold me on the perfume.
However, over the years, White Shoulders hasn’t appealed to me so much. Now, I wear Dilly. Oh my! It is delicious! It smells like a sweet chablis mixed with roses. Unfortunately, it’s not on the market anymore, and I’m so depressed about this. I’ve still got a bottle of it and plan to buy more when it’s finished. However, I wear it very rarely because I can’t quite afford how much a bottle sells for these days. It’s amazing!
And, I love Tresor. It’s also a soft, sweet floral scent. I wear that on a daily basis.
When I was around 14, I got a small gift set of Bath & Body Works stuff with their Green Tea & Cucumber fragrance. I loved it, and still do, but since it’s now only available online I don’t buy it anymore. It’s a very light, fresh scent and it reminds me of springtime – when the weather’s warm but breezy. it’s my favourite time of year (:
Right now I don’t really wear any one fragrance regularly (I am a Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab addict and am constantly testing new stuff out, then buying more. help!) And while I still like fresh scents, I’m also finding myself drawn to berries and aquatics. I like foody scents too, but they give me cravings at random times. haha.
My first perfume was, incredibly, Vanderbilt. I must have been around 12 when I started wearing it! And it’s a very heavy scent even for adults. I have no recolection of why on earth I used that! Then I went completely oposite and starting wearing Body Shop scents. But when they stopped making mine, Moonflower, my sister told me to choose a “real” perfume and she’d get it for me. Since I couldn’t decide, I now wear Coco Mademoiselle for day, and Classique Jean Paul Gaultier for when I want to feel sensual!
I didn’t actually care about or want a perfume until I was about 18 or so. And I feel head over nose for Diesel’s Fuel for Life. I’m still wearing it.
i think my first perfume was 212 for Women by Carolina Herrera. my (about 20 years older) cousin bought it for me when i was about twelve or so, and i thought it was the most wonderful thing in the world. Another one of my first scents was Les Belles de Ricci by Nina Ricci, which smelled amazing and the packaging was also lovely.
Mine was Lancome Oui that I borrowed from my evil (now ex) step-mom when I was 14/15. I probably bathed in it. I wonder if I could smell it now without thinking of that awful woman!
Now I use either Marc Jacobs Blush, peppermint essential oil, Fresh Sugar Blossom, or L L.A.M.B solid perfume. It all just depends on my mood! Often it’s nothing but coconut or lavender lotion.
I do believe it was CK1. Why? Because I remember reading one of those tweenie magazines and they said Taylor Hanson loved the smell of it. I still have it, too, haha. I don’t ever wear it, though. I always laugh and consider wearing it to every Hanson show I go to (some loves just never die), but things are quite different than they were 12 years ago. If back then you would’ve told me that nowadays, I’d have face to face conversations about meaningful things with those Hanson boys, I’d never believe you….or I’d be convinced it was because I was wearing the perfume, wearing their favorite colors in their favorite styles. Haha, I’m such a girl. :-D I love it.
Today, like Jessica who posted above me, I’m a Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab nerd, and buy stuff from there whenever I can. Lucy’s Kiss and Dublin get used most, I believe. My favorite perfume ever though, is one a friend got for me, Lilac perfume oil…for two reasons. 1) I love lilacs. They’re easily my favorite flower. And 2) It makes me think of Jeff Buckley, especially the song “Everybody Here Wants You”. Just that one line “29 pearls in your kiss, your singing smile. Coffee smell and lilac skin…” Along with that, I’d be surprised if I don’t smell like coffee, since I drink it so much, haha.
I wore Cool Water by Davidoff and Tommy Girl by Tommy Hilfiger. I wore the crap out of them. Much like Bri’s posted, it reminds me of high school intensively. They say that scent is unconsciously the quickest link to memory. Very true.
But then I laid off the perfume for the longest time and went for body mists instead. Right now I wear Endless Love perfume by Victoria’s Secret. I’ve had compliments on the bus, something that’s never happened to me before! I adore it :)
I’ve just started wearing perfume recently, and my one favorite is something called, simply,” Japanese cherry Blossom.”
The scent is soft and dusky and flowery but not particularly sweet so much as earthy.
This morning I spritzed some five-dollar drugstore body spray in a cloud in front of me and walked through it — this was a big deal. I never wear perfume.
Growing up my mom would practically go into an asthmatic fit every time I painted my nails, so there were no curious bottles on her nightstand for me to sample… I’ve tried to work my way up to it by trying scented lotion, body wash, etc. but I can’t seem to justify the cost of a good fragrance just yet. I also don’t know how to apply it. (Do you guys really do the neck/wrist thing?)
How bout a Galaguide to Fragrance for Total Newbs With Asthmatic Hippie Mamas?
I’m another BPAL (Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab) addict! I never took the plunge to buy perfume from a department store or elsewhere, but I tried BPAL when I was 16, and a few years later when I worked a few jobs I dove in! Now I have more perfume than nail polish. I have something for every mood.
my official first perfume was Armani’s Aqua di Gio which I loved. Next was Perry Ellis in the tall bottle followed by Versace Red Jeans and the always wonderful 212 by Carolina Herrera. My current fave is Dolce & Gabbana’s Light Blue with the occasional late night jaunt with Dior’s Hypnotic Poison. Just writing about this gives me mini flashbacks, xoxo!
My first scent was called Green Tea and I think it was by Elizabeth Arden… my mom spritzed some on me one night when we were going out to a family dinner party. It’s musky and spicy and also too sexy for the little preteen girl I was, but it’s a scent I associate with my mom and being all glammed up! Now I like to use a gardenia fragrance by CK— I love smelling like a summery garden. :D
my first perfume was Ralph by Ralph Lauren… so sweet, light, and floral, i loved it and i was 14. It even came with a slap bracelet covered in bright aqua feathers and ohmygosh i thought that was amazingly chic in 8th grade.
Nowadays I either wear L by L.A.M.B. which is lovely.. clean & fresh
or an assortment of men’s fragrance since i like to dress very femme but smell like a well kept man :]
my first PROPER perfume was Miss Dior Cherie, but before that i had Lush’s sold ‘Sakura’ perfume.
i’m a black phoenix alchemy lab whore. an imp pack containing (among others) r’lyeh and antique lace were my first forray into perfume i could really “wear”. as time has gone on, i’ve come to quite like possets and villaness perfumes as well.
My first perfume was when I was 13 and it was Ciara. My mother used to where the scent when she was in her early 20’s, so she had a large bottle of it that my father had purchased for her some years earlier. I inherited the bottle when I went into 7th grade, and quickly fell in love with the idea of wearing perfume.
I wore that perfume until I was 15, and then I discovered a vanilla body spray that was much more subtle. Vanilla is still a scent that I wear frequently, and it always makes me feel good when someone tells me that they associate the scent of vanilla with me. Many friends and exboyfriends have told me that when ever they see or smell something vanilla scented it reminds them of the time we spent together.
Now I wear either a Vanilla, or Amber scent, except for special occasions, when I will break into a bottle of “Lucky Number 6” perfume, which has a light, sensual fragrance.
XOXO
Right now I’m wearing rose, which is also the first perfume I started wearing. I’d really like to make the switch to a warmer scent, as I love vanilla.
Ahaha, funny story, my first perfume.
I was maybe eight, and my neighbors who babysat my brother and me had been having a garage sale, so we went over to see. They have two girls who were then in their midteens then, and one of them had put out a little vial of something called “JOOP!” The perfume was gold-ish and had a navy blue top, with JOOP! written on the side. I suppose I thought it would be cool to have perfume, my super awesome neighbor’s perfume, no less. All the better that it had an exclamation point in the name! When I took it home and smelled it, it was soooo strong, but I didn’t care. I thought I was awesome sauce for having a teenage girl’s perfume. ...I think I may still have it. Hahaha..
Now I pick up random things from bath and body works & occasionally Roxy perfumes. The other day one of my friends gave me Clinique’s ‘Happy’ and I can’t say I like it too much. I do like citrusy things and musky boy smelling things…yum. My next actual perfume would ideally be DKNY Be Delicious….mmm! k xx
I’m pretty sure my first perfume, like so many other hippy chicks, was Egyptian Goddess oil. Man, that was the scent to have back in the day.
I’m a perfume whore, but I’ve finally, kind of, settled. I generally alternate between Colonia by Acqua di Parma (Bergamot, Citrus and Musk) and Eau de Merveilles by Heremes (pink pepper, ambergris, oakwood, cedarwood, vetiver). I’ll often mix in Ile de la Tortue by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and Maat by Nocturne Alchemy…I still experiment with all sorts of BPAL and NA though (:
My first perfume was called Ma Chérie, and it was a very popular scent among 13-year-olds in Brazil, where I live. It was pink and girlie and I can’t really recall the smell.
Now I alternate between Armani Mania (by, duh, Emporio Armani) and Dior’s Midnight Poison. Actually, Midnight Poison is also almost as much about the ad (with Eva Green) as about the perfume. Hahaha.
Well, to be quite honest I don’t wear perfume and never did! I was never really into it, and didn’t like leaving a scent behind when I left a room, haha. I don’t like when men wear a scent either. I prefer the natural musk of a person, hahaha.
I actually don’t have a signature scent, although I adore the idea, because one) I am wretchedly poor and all the drugstore perfumes I can afford smell like straight Everclear, and two) I feel like I would have no idea what to buy. I know I love vanilla, I love sexy and spicy but it just seems to me like I’m too young to drop money on a scent that I’m not even sure fits me yet. However this article has made me resolve to think about it even more!
Limespark — There are a bunch of companies you can buy samples from, like BPAL & luckyscent.com! That way you didn’t have to sink a whole lot of coin into some… umm… olfactory exploration. Most of Luckyscent’s samples are $3, & there’s plenty in them!
My first perfume was Coco Mademoiselle by Chanel. It reminds me of being in Harrods London when I was 14 years old and smelling it.
I didn’t actually buy it for about a year after that but whenever I smell it now it reminds me of walking around the shops in London and smelly oh-so lovely.
I still wear it to this day, while alternating with Diesel Fuel for Life Unlimited and Kenzo Amour.
Yummy!
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Alexander McQueen Kingdom – it’s the first one I’ve identified I love and gone out and bought bottle after bottle.
It’s not easy to find though because its actually a little unpopular (which just makes me love it more!) It’s EXTREMELY divisive, smells unusual, rather unfeminine and musky.
It’s the only perfume I’ve worn that complete strangers have noticed and commented on (all positive, or maybe thats just politeness!)
Ralph Lauren Style at age 16. It used to hint at honeysuckle to me for a couple of years and even more strongly of honeysuckle on my skin! When I finally bought it, it took all of two years for my body chemistry to change so that it now smells incredibly like generic 90s middle-aged mom perfume! Sigh. Still no go-to perfume or special memories associated with any, but until then I’m sticking with my natural bergamot essential oil body spray!
(Heroin chic is special. I have it to thank for the some of the interesting people I get to meet on the streets of New York!)
Mine was O de Lancome, when I was 11, I was going into hospital for surgery and wanted something nice to cheer myself up and it’s a bright, fresh scent that I could enjoy even when feeling nauseous.
Nowadays I wear Vera Wang, Cashmere Mist by Donna Karan, Chanel No. 5 (my mother’s used it all my life and I used to steal it off her!) and L’Occitane’s green tea eau de toilette, the latter usually during the summer months.
Love’s Baby Soft.
Then Debbie Gibsons Electric Youth.
Crap I feel old saying that.
Gala-My first expensive perfume I ever purchased was Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle. My mother has always worn Chanel #5 so I wanted to keep the tradition of Chanel, but use something a bit younger. I bought my first bottle two years ago for my wedding. Whenever I put it on it sends me back to that crazy/fantastic day! Before that I use to wear a mix of Sandlewood, Amber, and Patchouli… Patchouli can be a little on the harsh side, but mixing it with the Sandlewood and Amber lightens it up…smells like a wood nymph :) Now, whenever I’m in a summery hippy dippy mood I put it on. :)
Miss Sofia- I totally understand where you are coming from…there is nothing worse then smelling someone (good or bad) before the enter a room and after they have left it! :)
Gala,
I bet Goth Gala was cute. I seriously think you should do a positive ode to Goth Gala post, I say no more Goth-Gala bashing!
Also:
I wore CK Be first…but the scents that get the nostalgia goin’ are Candies perfume and Victorias Secret Very Sexy.
Now I wear Gucci Envy and Envy Me, totally my sig scents.
Clinique Happy & Crabtree & Evelyn Freesia. I reeked of either all throughout high school. Then I moved onto Ralph Lauren Romance & Gucci Rush when I was in university.
dying to see a photo of you back then! you paint such a wonderful picture… i think mine must have been ck one, but only cos all my friends had it too!
Kitten Kaboom — I always go & sniff Chanel No. 5, just to see if it has grown on me, but it never does. I wish I could smell the appeal everyone else seems to, but it just doesn’t ring my bell! I think that’s unfortunate because it’s so classic, I would love to claim it as my own!
& to Kitten Kaboom & Miss Sofia, I’m totally with you re: spraying on too much. When I told the Dish I was making this post he said, “Can you put something in there about how people shouldn’t spray on too much?!” Unfortunately it didn’t quite fit with the theme but I agree with you!
Rabbit — Haha. I just made the same fashion mistakes everyone did at that age, except I did it with a goth slant! I dressed pretty badly! I mean, thankfully I learned some lessons from the whole thing, but really when I am like “ew me as a goth, bleh!” it is more about my attitude (read: sour, bitter, unpleasant) than how I looked. EVERYONE dresses badly at some point… But not everyone acts like a toad. & I did, so I unfortunately associate that with how I looked back then!
My first real scent was Deep Red by Hugo Boss. I love it, and it’s still my favourite.
Technically my first ever perfume was this perfume that I still have. It was like a sample or something that I got as a small child, but it was called, “Pristina” I think. It had a sort of cheap perfume/musky smell, but I loved it anyway, haha.
After that I moved on to several body sprays until finally I fell in love with Britney Spears’ Curious and ever since then I use all of the Britney Spears perfumes and Gwen Stefani’s L.A.M.B. and Harajuku Lover scents.
My first perfume was Diesel. Its very, very sweet and I often got comments about the fact I always smelled of coconuts. I think most of the time they were compliments, but coconuts aren’t to everybody’s taste so I guess it was unpleasant to some. I still have a little left in a bottle and I sniff it every now and then, it takes me back to some great moments of my mid-teens =)
My first was Charlie White. I was 14 and thought I smelled classy and grown-up. cringe
Now I love Burberry Touch, Candies for Women (still) and of course, Anna Sui’s Love is probably my all time favorite.
I’m dying to manifest a bunch of samples from Demeter somehow! They have such incredible olfactory palates.
Well, not going to count those splash ones, but my first real one was L’Eau d’Issey, when I was fourteen. At the time I was going through a mega “I hate flower smells” thing, so i refused to wear any body mists or anything of the like until I was gifted with a half full bottle of Issey, hahaha.
Then for most of high school, I wore: – Corpse Bride perfume. Oh, cringe. It smells like koolaid, haha. See also: various ultra cheap ones. – Tommy Bahama, which seems so perfumey to me now, which is so odd.
-Aquolina Pink Sugar – Lolita Lempicka
Now I usually wear perfume oils (BPAL is the besssttt), but for some reason, everyone STILL thinks I smell like a cupcake. xD
I used to wear a musky vanilla perfume from an accessory store called Afterthoughts. I don’t remember the name. but it was good. It also smelled like cinnamon and sugar. Very similar to B&Bodywork’s Warm Vanilla Sugar. Then I didn’t wear any for a long time.
Eventually, I wore Curve (which I still love) and then Clinique’s “Happy” and “Happy to be”.
Then I bought B&Bodyworks Vanilla Bean Eau du Toilette and wore that though college. It smelled like I dumped vanilla extract on myself.
Now I’m back to “Happy”. It’s really fun and flowery. I feel more feminine when I wear it. :)
I’ve always worn perfume that is not popular. For some reason the floral and sportier stuff popular with teenagers never worked for me.
My first was Fiorucci perfume. A nice scent, but a little too girly for everyday wear now. I believe I also had a collection of those Demester scent perfumes and I distinctly remember one that smelled like brownies.
I prefer less floral, more complex perfumes lately. For day-to-day I love the aquamarine and white colored Mac perfumes. Bonus: they are SUPER cheap! When I worked for Prescriptives I hated Calyx, but now I love it. On certain days when I am feeling grown-up and sassy I’ll wear Alien by Thierry Mugler.
On my list for the future: Prada (forget the name) smells like a trip to Paris, Flower by Kenzo is soft and powdery, and I do love Chance by Chanel although it is very popular.
Sorry for the essay, I am a Taurus rising/Taurus moon and very into scents in general. ;)
When I was 17 I sniffed Estee Lauder’s Beyond Paradise and I’ll never wear anything else. It’s not for everyone, but neither am I. :)
I started in high school with Navy by Coty. It seems so boring now but I loved it then. I moved on to Tresor. And in college I became addicted to the Chanel’s (#5, Allure and Coco). Those are still may favorites, but I’m also big on the original Jean Paul Gaultier and Chloe’.
My first real perfume was Mary Kay’s Velocity. It’s a very crisp, subtle scent, with a hint of a perfumey smell. I wore it in fourth through sixth grade. I absolutely loved it because I used the Velocity face wash and moisturizer at the time and to me it smelled really nice and clean. Every once and a while, I pull out my mum’s bottle (as I never technically had my own) and I am really surprised that I liked it. It smells really perfumey to me now and it gives me headaches.
From seventh grade through most of high school, I wore Sun’s Eye Oils’ Hematite Gemscent. It’s a blend of vanilla and amber essential oils and is a really warm, yummy scent. I picked it up at my local occult shop, so in addition to smelling good, it really appealed to my younger gothling self. I still wear it sometimes because it just smells so yummy.
Currently, I am mostly wearing Lush’s Snowshowers solid perfume. It’s a really bright orange with cognac and lime and smells a bit like a super concentrated mimosa. I’m still not sure why I love it so much, as I really dislike orange smells, but it’s very nice and clean for the summer. It is my signature summer scent when mixed with a generous head-to-toe dusting of Candy Fluff. I really like their Sakura and American Cream perfumes as well and I plan on picking them up soon. But for the time being, I just coat myself in Shimmy Shimmy when I real like American Cream.
i must be the only person here who has never worn perfume. i’ve gone with my friends on occasion when they buy perfume but i’ve never found anything i like or that doesn’t evaporate before it hits my skin.
I once had a friend in New York who SWORE by wearing some cinnamon roll-flavored perfume because she said it must have secretly reminded guys of their mom’s kitchens (haha) and drove them crazy! Without fail, every time she had it on, guys would flock to her, no joke!
Anna Sui’s Dolly Girl. I wore it to school when I was 13 and a girl I really didn’t like loudly announced when right next to me, “It smells like cheap perfume SO badly in here!” I didn’t wear it after that!
Now I’m all about L de Lolita Lempicka – I haven’t stopped wearing it since I bought it. :)
When I was little, I had a bag of perfumes that my Mom gave to me and I would always be trying on something out of there. I always liked Giorgio Beverly Hills because of the little yellow and white striped box, haha.
I also really loved Givenchy Hot Couture which is kind of hard to find now but had such a great scent! I used to get compliments for it.
Now I wear my old mainstays; Chance by Chanel and J’adore by Dior. I love them both and I want to get a bottle of Miss Dior Cherie and Clinique Happy too.
I’m not sure if it qualifies as perfume, but when I was younger all I wore was Hot by United Colors of Benetton. The smell of it now gives me a headache, funny.
Nowadays I use Very Irresistible by Givenchy or Nina by Nina Ricci on a daily basis, I love both smells so much!
xx
It would be Love’s Baby Soft, which my aunt bought for me when I was 9 or 10 and just beginning to want to wear makeup – she also bought me a bunch of candy Lipsmakers, so I could have “lipstick!”
I alternate between bunches of perfumes now, and each one has its own memory:
– Burberry Brit makes me think of being 18 in London with my best friend, going out every night and being hungover for the mandatory tours the next day… – Anna Sui Dolly Girl reminds me of the summer before and my freshman year of college in NYC, when I was wearing mostly vintage and wandering around midtown… – I bought Marc Jacobs Daisy for a birthday present to myself two years ago even though I was broke and really couldn’t afford it, but it’s the very first perfume I’ve every completely gone through and still can’t bear to throw away the empty bottle…Nowadays I alternate between Kate Moss Kate (very light, esp for summer) or Compoitr Sud Pacifique Amour de Cacao (which I got as a gift and need to buy more of – another one that smells like a dessert!).
Music by Gwen Stefani. :D I’m new to perfume.
I remember going to a cheap cosmetics store and getting miniatures of things like Versace Blue Jeans & Hot by Bennetton, but my first proper one was probably Sui Dreams by Anna Sui, which is really vanilla-y. It’s absolutely gorgeous but unfortunately it goes sour really quickly.
My current is Chanel Chance (the pinky one, not the green) and I love it. I get compliments on it a lot. I’m horrific at describing smells but it’s very fresh and flowery without being overpowering.
My first proper fragrance was Calvin Klein CKIN2U, bought it at duty free on my way to Christchurch, NZ – so it reminds me of that trip.
I now have a bottle of Vera Wang Princess, another NZ duty free purchase, it reminds me of my flat in Christchurch and trip to Queenstown….
I also occasionally wear Zizan by Ormonde Jayne (for men, but it’s fab) from a sampler pack I have – plan to buy the bottle and make it my new signature scent.
My first scent was this horrible perfume called Fetish, I think. Very cheap thing, but I loved the smell. Then I went through some period where I just didn’t like perfume at all. Times changed, I am now obsessed with perfume. My last purchase is Rock n’ Rose by Valentino and it is delicious. My all time favourite one and most special to me is Sui Dreams by Anna Sui.
I think the first scent that I started actively wearing was Bath and Body Work’s Peony splash. It was light, airy, and the bottle described it as “charming”, I believe. I wanted to be charming!
When I was eighteen years old, I really started to throw myself into the idea of being a Girl. I started wearing skirts, up and changed my favorite color to pink, and began cultivating a more feminine persona. My girlfriend at the time really noticed the shift in me and described me as having a feminine touch – literally. She loved how I would rest my hand on hers, beginning with my fingers, then down to my palm. Perfume was something I explored more and more, and I flung myself head first into Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab because it was relatively cheap and there were a lot of scents to try.
I realized a couple years ago that I’ll probably never have a “signature scent”. I wear whatever reflects my personality for the day, either one that I want to have or the one I woke up with. When I am feeling like a tomboy, I wear The Body Shop’s White Musk. It has a sexy, strong scent without being too complicated. It’s relaxed and confident. When I am feeling soft and delicate, I wear something that smells fresher and lighter: I really enjoy Marc Jacobs’ Cucumber splash for those moments. When I am at my job (I work with small children) I wear BPAL’s Midway, which is carnival themed and smells like carmel apples and other sweet treats. When I want to be grounded, I ground myself literally: BPAL’s Zombi smells like dirt(!) and roses. Beautiful without flash.
Really, I just go with the flow. I am not worried about brand and prestige, so I’ll happily shift from something cheap (BBW) to something expensive (Prada). I love being told that I smell good. That’s one of the best compliments someone can give to me, since perfume is one of my favorite things. The boys at work do a wonderful job at complimenting my scent and that makes me blush and beam like nothing else, and my ex-boyfriend mentioned that he smelled like me after the first date where we kissed and it made him all giddy and I was as pleased as punch.
Mine was Carolina Herrera. My mother gave it to me as a present when I turned 12 years old. I don’t wear it any longer – I’ve never been faithful to any fragrance – but everytime I smell it, I think of the beach and delicious food…Odd? No. You see, it so happens that we were @ Acapulco when my mother gave me the perfume. :) Happy days…
My first perfume was LOVE’S BABY SOFT. Didn’t everybody wear that until they were about fourteen? Now I wear SJP’s LOVELY. It smells wonderfully floral, but I’m looking into getting a new scent… I’m looking for something greener and spicier, to fit the current direction of my life.
Lucky You!! The little pink & black bottle. It was my first favorite and I still love it today. I actually just found a little bottle while going through some things today, Gala, you certainly haven’t lost your knack for perfect/eerie timing.
My first perfume was some god awful $10 bottle of So… Kiss Me. My first ‘real’ perfume was Young Sexy Lovely by YSL which I’ve been wearing for about 3 years straight now!
Aquatanica Vitalizing Marine Body Tonic. I love the way it smells. Wore it all through high school. Made my skin soft too. I forget the name of what I wear now, but I get many many compliments.
My first perfume was Issey Miyake. My parents were overseas when I was a teenager and an uncle gave them $$ to buy some for me duty free on the way home. He has good taste, as it is still my all time favourite. At the moment I am working my way through a bottle of With Love Hilary Duff, which I am not keen on at all anymore. I loved the smell in the store, but I can’t really smell it on me at all. My next purchase will be MAC’s honey bee range scents. They are amazing.
Not exactly sure of the first perfume I ever bought – after flogging off the odd spray of mum’s musky scent I think it may have been “Love Intentions”, I liked it…until someone told me I smelt like toilet spray. Coincidentally now I own Dior’s Hypnotic poison also, although its not my favourite of the three I have, the two others being a Givenchy scent (again, not sure of the name – fruity, which is out of the norm for me but is a beautiful smell) and my signature scent for quite some time – Body Shop’s Vanilla perfume….nyum nyum.
I’m pretty sure that mine was a bottle of super-strong Vanilla something from The Body Shop, and I used it all of about twice before it disappeared into my closet.
Nowadays I swap between Ralph Lauren HOT and Vera Wang Princess. Love them. I think my next will be J’Adore by Dior or Marc Jacobs Daisy.
For a solid chunk of high school I wore something called (no joke) “Camp Beverly Hills” which I’m sure was absolutely awful! It was a gift from a boyfriend, I think, and I just didn’t know any better!
Then I switched to Chanel No. 5, which is still my signature. I chose it mostly because it’s in the lyrics to “Devil With a Blue Dress On” by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels: “Wearin’ her perfume, Chanel No. 5 / Got to be the finest girl alive.” And because Marilyn Monroe allegedly wore it to bed. I was trying to claim my sexiness, I guess. :)
No. 5 seems to work well with my body chemistry — it mellows out and isn’t overwhelming. My other favorites are Chanel’s Chance and I used to wear Lancome’s Poeme, which is similar — I favor “warm” scents, I think, although I also went through a floral phase, using Crabtree & Evelyn’s lily of the valley scent and something from the Gap that was almost straight-up peony.
i used to make perfume with my friend who lived next door. we’d collect old perfume bottles and fresh flowers and herbs and like smash the flowers in an old butter container and leave it in the sun for awhile, then fill it with water and pour the water into the old perfume bottle. we would take the ‘perfume’ around the neighborhood and sell it door to door and then go buy candy at the corner store. i think we were like… 9 or 10. anyways. i like really fancy perfume bottles, but what i really like is plain essential oil: rose & lilac are my favorites, and i used to wear a lot of dorothy parker’s favorite perfume (i think it was tearose but i can’t remember exactly), because it was used to cover the smell of formaldehyde in funeral parlours.
ps.gala, your comment form doesn’t even appear now on chrome. i had to switch to mozilla.
My very first “real” perfume (I don’t count the cheapo “body sprays” that were my obsession in grade school — my parents were pretty strict about makeup, so if it didn’t have a Bonne Bell logo on it, I couldn’t own it) was Bobbi Brown’s “Beach”, which mostly smelled like a pricey sunblock. I grew up in southern California, though, so there was something insanely comforting to me about smelling like a beach. Summery and cheerful. I’ve completely outgrown the perfume, but smelling it does induce a pretty massive wave of nostalgia.
These days my sinuses are rebelling mightily and even with daily doses of Claritin, I can’t smell a damn thing, so buying perfume seems like a particularly unnecessary extravagance. That said, I do think a basket of perfume samples (can’t you buy those fairly cheaply online these days?) would make for a truly excellent gift.
With older sisters I didn’t need to buy perfume until my twenties – CK1 and CKbe seemed to be their thing when I was like, 12 – 14 haha.
I have Gucci by Gucci for winter/night and Gucci Eau de Parfum II for summer/day time..
My first perfume was back in elementary school when my parents bought me Elizabeth Arden’s “Sunflowers.” I had everything including the lotion and the shower gel but would use them sparingly because I thought they were so expensive and precious. I’d spray about six sprays before going out. I’m surprised I could breathe!
Now I’m much more subtle (At least I hope) and wear Lush’s “Silky Underwear” dusting powder with “Stella” on top, or Zum’s Eau de Zum in “Frankincense and Myrrh.” A great mix of sweet and dark. My bf says I smell like treehugger, but in a good way.
The original versace, smells like liquid gold and makes me feel strong and sexy when I wear it, it also has the amazing quality of soaking into everything I wear so when I open my wardrobe I get hints of it on my clothes.
I remember my mother buying me tommy girl by tommy hilfigur when i was 13..she said it was the most tom boyish purfume she could find..hehe…oh how times have changed:)
i’m sixteen and i just started wearing perfume from time to time…my mom bought me pink jasmine from fresh, i love it
I can’t remember my first, but the first one that I actually liked was Davidoff’s Cool Water, which is still my favourite even though I don’t own any at this moment in time… I don’t wear any scent right now.
Lauren — I remember yeeeears ago my friend telling me that Snoop Dogg wears Cool Water, it has always stuck in my mind! Haha. I love Snoop!
My first REAL perfume was Moschino’s cheap and chic “I Love Love”, but my first was Avon lemon sugar. I still wear the avon sometimes, but I mix it with Hard Candy perfume, when I’m feeling very sugary.
When I was 17 I went overseas for the first time (to Fiji) and got some duty-free Red Door. The memory of buying it in Nadi is so vivid. I still like it and keep some on hand for when the mood takes me. Roses and honey . . . good.
A few years ago I found the work of Luca Turin (via ‘The Emperor of Scent’) and got waaay more adventurous! His ‘Perfumes: The Guide’ is essential reading.
Nowadays my drawer holds:
Bulgari Black
Beyond Paradise Men
Jolie Madame (my current fave)
Marc Jacobs
Lagerfeld Sun Moon Stars
YSL nu
Red Door
White Linen
SJP Lovely
Gucci eau de parfum (the old one)
Brut aftershave (yes, really – it’s delish!)
I definitely don’t have a signature scent!
I always always always wear perfume under my clothes, nowhere else. I’m very wary of photosensitivity, and of bothering other people with too much scent.
I actually don’t remember my first scent but my favourite perfume is Haute Couture by Givenchy. It’s spicy and sweet with a hint of musk. Wearers of this perfume know it and I’ve been approached more than once about how it’s their favourite scent as well!
Aww.. mine was Davidoff’s cool water for women too, still evokes so many memories of high school, first loves and old friendships.
It started a bit of an obsession with perfumes ever since, I lovee perfume.
I always buy a different scent when I go to a different country, so I have a Lavender one that really reminds me of Florida.
And another Ralph Lauren one that I bought on a school trip to France yearss ago.
And another Lacoste one from Italy.
Aww.. So many memories associated with them.
x
Every time I go overseas I pick up a new bottle at duty free and so far so good!
My first perfume was Burberry London, which I still love and am planning to pick up a second bottle. Restock already, Auckland Duty-Free! It’s probably my signature scent, but I don’t wear it much these days since I went blonde from dark brunette. Somehow I associate it with being brunette and since I’m not, it’s doesn’t feel right somehow. It’s divine though and a great fit for the Burberry label.
I loved Armani perfumes last year – Code eau de parfume and Georgio Armani Diamonds both make regular appearances.
I also have a bottle of Kiehl’s Original Musk. Normally I can’t stand musks, but this one warms so beautifully on the skin even if it’s a bit strong to start with. I actually decided not to buy and then a few hours later the sample on my skin drew me back! It’s definitely a more sexy scent – I call it the musk for musk haters.
I pretty much pick my perfume based on my mood that day and my outfit.
I’ve been wearing Opium, Jean Paul Gaultier and Cinema for years and years. I love rich, deep mysterious perfume.
Gala- I think Hypnotic Poison was quite popular amongst young Goths in NZ, a lot of my friends wore it while we lounged around in our black lace and purple lipstick listening to Manson. Oh dear…....
Erin — Oh no, purple lipstick, I had totally forgotten about that! I used to have lipstick that I am sure was made by Wet ‘N’ Wild or California Colours (does that brand even exist? Did I invent it in my mind?), & it was a blue/purple shimmer DEPENDING ON THE LIGHT! I thought it was the living end. I also had some REALLY thick blue lipstick which was made for the theatre, like wearing a crayon on your maw. Horrible!
Yes! California Colours! Make-up for Grandmothers and angsty goths alike! My Granny would take me to the mall and she would pick a salmon colour and I would get some vile shade of blue/black/purple. I had so much of their stuff….How Embarrassment!
Erin — Was California Colours the company who had little stands in pharmacies? & it was like, 2 eyeliner pencils for $5 etc.? I owned a LOT of that stuff.
Mine, too, was Hyptonic Poison!
Possibly because I was also a teen gothchild; black lipstick, corsets & all!
Oh how mysterious and exciting we were. ;p
My first perfume was Victoria Secret’s PINK. I got it for Christmas from my mom. Because of the name – she didn’t even smell it! Luckily the smell wasn’t so bad. I liked the smell it was pretty retro.
My current perfume I actually got BEFORE the PINK perfume. It’s just when I got it I never wore perfume. TIGI Bed Head Very Berry Vibe Body I won it at a contest at a concert. I love the sweet smell that holds a hint of spice to it. It is truly lovely but, I’m dying to try something different. My current perfume seems childish so I’m on the quest for something sweet and sophisticated.
Mmm what a delicious post, Gala!
My first ‘real’ purfume was Gucci Rush which my Dad bought for me when I was 17. If I ever smell it now it reminds me of hot summer nights and boys and tequila!
Now, I definitely have a fragrance wardrobe. I love being able to match my scent to my mood. However my absolute favourites are Black XS by Paco Rabanne (violet, berries, patchouli & vanilla = sweet and sexy!), Hypnose by Lancome (so divine), and when I’m feeling extra provocative Armani Code by Giorgio Armani.. dark and sexy x
Like a lot of girls in my class, it was Tommy Girl for me as a first perfume. I don’t remember how it smells; actually, when I smell it now, it seems different. I was a bit younger (maybe 10 or 12) when Hypnotic Poison came out, but I remember being fascinated by it and REALLY wanting a bottle (I think it reminded me of a character in a novel I was reading or something), but thinking it would sound too grown up to ask for it, so I never did. I finally bought myself a bottle last year, and I LOOOVE it. It never struck me as sexy though. Someone on a perfume blog described it as a cosy kind of sexy, winter night, cuddling by a roaring fire kind of thing, which is what it always seemed to me.
I wore a lot of Clinique Happy in my teens. Nowadays I alternate between Hypnotic Poison, Lolita Lempicka, Gucci Rush, and Ginger Snapped by Villainess.
That’s the one Gala – the one in the James Smith market was particularly feral because all the stanky teenagers would go in and use them before hitting Manners Mall (I fully own up to being one of the aforementioned stanky teenagers)
My first perfume was Chantal Thomass by Chantal Thomass. I was approaching 16 and after seeing the bottle in somewhere I begged my mum to buy it for me.
I had no clue what it smelt like or what it was called so I described what it looked like “it has a black lacy bit around the top”, she searched high and low to find it for me.
I was so pleased when I opened it for my birthday it was a sexy, sweet, fruity smell and made me feel very sophisticated.
I’m currently using Nina by Nina Ricci. Again another cute bottle and again a fruity smell so I guess my taste hasn’t changed much in fragrance at least :)
I’m fairly certain it was “Beautiful” by Estee Lauder. It was a gift from some well meaning relative and in retrospect, I don’t think I even really liked it that much. It was relegated to seldom and special evening use only. I was more keen on wearing those putrid body sprays that were popular at the time. (I was a teenager and it was the 1990s). I had a hello kitty one that I used to wear all the time that reeked of chemical strawberry and had red and pink glitter. Much to my surprise, I see that it has been reformulated & repackaged and is making a comback…
www.hottopic.com/hottopic/What…
Oh dear.
Ahaha, I’ve never worn perfume! Never owned any either…
I always think to myself, that the day I own my own perfume (and my own string of pearls) is the day I will be an adult (I’m 23, HA!). This posts and comments have given me a lot of ideas though! I want to go on a sniffing mission to the department stores.
Until then it’s Au Naturel by E (and the good people who make deodorant!)
haha this is great.
i believe my first was Elizabeth Arden’s Provocative Woman. i still have the bottle with some left; i detest the scent now for some reason.
i’ve realized i really feel at home in a warmer, spicy scent. the only problem is that those don’t always “suit” 104 degree Texas summers. i need something lighter but haven’t been able to find anything i like. everything floral always seems “powdery” to me.
but, i REALLY love Jivago 24k…it’s so sexy and delicious. what can i say, i love sandalwood. it’s very rich so i only use a small bit at a time. it always smells too sweet in the botle, but after it dries it’s perfect.
i’m currently trying to make up my mind on Givenchy’s Amarige. this is another you only need a tiny bit of.
I remembered i liked Gaultier’s Classique, maybe i should get a bottle of that for summer?
I still use luckyscent.com to buy samples, it’s the best way to really “get to know” a scent!
Haha, my first perfume was Navy :D It reminds me terribly of my first boyfriend. I was 13, and he was utterly no good!
My first perfume was Princess by Vera Wang. I always saw the ads in my Teen Vogue magazines in high school, but never really had enough money to buy it. Finally during my freshman year of college I bought a bottle and I’ve worn it ever since. The scent is simply delightful and the bottle is gorgeous.
ooh, this is just my kind of post! i’m young (16!) but have always been heavily interested and intrigued by the wonderful world of perfumes. i have an extremely good nose and can usually tell what perfume and/or notes are in the perfume someone is wearing. i also associate fragrances with that of my family and friends, and when someone else wears the same fragrance i know straight away what relative/friend wears it. maybe this correlates to my synaesthesia with words…?? dunno.
i think that the first real perfume that i got into was jean-paul gaultier’s “Classique”. i rarely buy perfumes, but rather enjoy getting tons of samples from sephora when i go. this one, which i had many a sample of, was so alluring to me between the ages of 11 and up to now still (though i don’t think it’s as versatile for everyday as i did then XD). the corseted bottle drew me in at my gawthiest! love the scent…very heavy and vintage-y, like a 1930s opium den/brothel.
either that or Amarige Mariage (which i do own!). such a beautiful scent…..
My first was JPG’s Le Male. It’s a men’s fragrance I reappropriated from the guy who was my first kiss. It used to have a profound emotional effect on me when I passed someone who was wearing it, but now that it has been my own, it’s just a great scent.
My first ever real perfume was Gucci Rush back when I was 16 in about 2003. I got the box set for Christmas, so would wash myself with the body wash, slather myself in the body lotion, and then probably spray myself with a good 3-4 sprays just for good measure haha.
It reminds me of summer, my first love, high school, the beach, and the white cotton tank tops I lived in back then :D
My first perfume was L’ Interdit by Givenchy, it was a gift from and older cousin because of my 15 birthday. I remenber that scents, watermelos, vanilla, very fruity I think. It was unforgettable for me, I dreamed about love at that time.
Right now Im on Chance by Chanel, Very Irresistible by Givency and L’ eau de Issey. I alternate the three between days depends on my mood, but miu favorite, I have to say is Chance. Is representing a new stage in mi life and I love it.
Would you be able to post some pictures of you from your goth days? I would love to see them!
Excluding the cucumber melon and cotton candy body sprays i used to wear, my first perfume was Lucky 6 by Liz Claiborne. I got it for my 12th birthday (which I just realized was 3 years ago. I suddenly feel old). I was obsessed with Japan/China/Asia in general which is one of the reasons I asked for it. Six months later I received Juicy Couture for Christmas and never looked back. I think I still have like half a bottle of Lucky 6 in my bathroom somewhere.
my favourite isn’t a perfume, but it’s a body cream from the MOR range and i use it every day it is called lychee flower.
It’s absolutley amazing it’s really sweet with a hint of citrus hint of franjapani and lychee flower as well i guess =]
Either way it is delicious and i love it so much. i started putting on before i go to work and this guy i work with said he had to get a last sniff of it befor he went home. and my manager now calls me lychee flower. It’s is an amazing smell
Gap’s So Pink, when I was 13. It’s bright: pink grapefruit and floral, which is surprising since I was very ANGST at the time, haha. It reminds me violently of one of my best friends, who I was with when I bought it and always around during those days.
Now I love The Body Shop’s Satsuma, insanely pure citrus orange. So I haven’t changed at all, really. Citrus is my thing. It makes me smile.
I had that nail polish! Lol…
I wrote a post about this very subject last year: anniespandex.com/perfume/for :)
I haven’t even made a dent in my first bottle of perfume, which is Coco Mademoiselle. :3 It’s definitely my favorite and a little goes a long way. I actually got it for Christmas, this past year, and my dad sent me a large bottle of the lotion for my 18th birthday. :)
Now, I can’t help myself. Every time I think about buying a new perfume, I compare it to Coco, but nothing is ever as amazing. ><
Mine was Estee Lauder’s Beautiful. My mom hated it so she gave me her bottle when I was about 10. 10 year old’s probably shouldn’t wear Estee Lauder but I wore that stuff every day.
Now I switch between Vera Wang’s Princess, BPAL’s O, and Aquolina’s Pink Sugar.
i musta been really young, like, 10 or 11 or so, but, i remember getting “exclamation” as a kid and wearing that out so bad. i don’t know what it smells like anymore, but, i remember the bottle well.
as a hispanic child, i was born and bred on “violetas francesas” and tended to still wear it into my adulthood (it’s a known baby-type perfume that smells heavily of…well.. violets!). most people know it as “my scent” even though i barely wear it now.
i’m in the midst of trying to find “my scent” at the moment. i’m somewhere between BPAL’s “Mata Hari” and “Ultraviolet”, but, I think Ultraviolet is the winner. has a bit of that violet goodness mixed with something cold. feels a lil cyberpunk to me!
my first scent was babydoll. i remember my best friend got a limited edition one with sparkles and a pink fluffy case and i was so jealous. i think what drew me to it was the pinkness and the name.. being a major hole fan. it’s still my scent, i’ve never bought anything else. and when they came out with minature cupcake editions i purchased them right away. :P
Great topic Gala..
My VERY first secnt was Avon’s Little Blossom! This link I found brings back some old memories!
www.tinastreasures.theshoppe.c…
My taste has evolved since 1986 though, thank the lord, and I now wear the following –
CK Contradiction
Issey Miyake – the original
D&G -the original
Marc Jacobs – Daisy
Body Shop Vanilla oil
Dior – La Dolce Vita
Ralph Lauren – Romance
xo
My first scent was Lovely by SJP when I was 16 – I thought the bottle was so pretty, ha! It’s still quite full actually as I never used it much.
Now my favourite is Be Delicious by DKNY (mmm…apples)!
There’s a great quote from Charles Revlon that goes something like:
“In the factory we make perfume, but in our advertisements we sell dreams.”
The only perfume I’ve really loved wearing is the vanilla perfume oil from the body shop. I felt it suited me, and definitely, consistently, caused more random flirtation from strangers (and even friends) than anything else I’ve ever done – certain foody scents just make people happy I think; vanilla, definitely, and of course freshly baked cookies, warm bread and newly ground coffee!
I was devastated a few years ago when they changed the recipe and made it more musky, more ‘perfumey’ smelling, less of a pure vanilla. I don’t like it at all any more and still haven’t found a replacement.
Anyone know of a good vanilla perfume?
Ginger Essence by Origins. My mom had a bottle and I loved the way it smelled, so she bought me one for Christmas. I still use that sometimes, and also some Juicy Couture knock-off.
Apart from White Musk from Body Shop (remember that!) I went all sultry and sophisticated with YSL’s Opium. I hated the smell of it in general but weirdly it was gorgeous on my skin.
Hmm… I think my first was ‘so in love’ by Victoria’s Secret, which I still have a half bottle of… I got it for free, because somebody I babysat for worked for a cosmetics company + was trying to get rid of some of his free samples!
Now I wear ‘the beat’ by Burberry, alternating with the ‘Pink Sugar’ body spritzer by Aqualina, which never smells as good as the little sample did. :( But I always hope, when I put it on!
Curious by Britney Spears. Which I bought solely for the bottle, and looked at it all day.
I have next to no olfactory senses so when I buy perfume it’s usually for the way the bottle looks. Right now, for instance, I ‘use’ Music by Gwen Stefani. XD
Strangely enough, I was thinking about this topic just today. Could have something to do with the essential oil perfume I bought today.
My first perfume was something my friend’s grandmother gave me when I was five or six. I have no idea why she gave it to me. I don’t even know how she got it- we were all poor immigrants back then. It was this really small bottle that fit right into your palm. It may have been called something like “Adolfo.” In fact, I think it was actually a cologne. Does that count? Anyway, it smelled terrible. It smelled like whiskey, with a slight sweet fragrance hiding somewhere in the background. Nasty stuff.
(Note: This was not my analysis of the scent at age 5. Back then, I just thought it smelled awful.)
My first real perfume that I got for myself was Ralph by Ralph Lauren. It smells lively, fresh and clean, like an oversaturated fantasy of a spring day. I’m not what you’d call a ‘typical Ralph Lauren customer,’ but their perfumes smell pretty nice.
Though, in general perfumes smell too much like alcohol to me (maybe the “Adolfo” experience scarred me for life).I prefer essential oils and really good-smelling soaps.
Very nice post. I still haven’t been able to find a signature perfume unfourtunatley.
On a different note, I must say that I slightly adore the “heroin chic” look myself, haha. I even made a small Tumblr dedicated to it —-> www.heroinchic.tumblr.com
My very first perfume was something French that my aunt brought back for me when I was around 7 or 8. My mom was horrified at the thought of a 7 year old wearing perfume. Although, thinking back on it, maybe she was more horrified at the French leopard print tube top that was brought back for me alongside the perfume? I was so stingy with that perfume that I’m pretty sure that 90% of the bottle is still full. But my first perfume I owned at an acceptable age to wear perfume was Be Cool by Ralph Lauren. My older cousin wore this for years when she was in high school and I was still in grade school so the scent reminded me of older, mysterious, high school girls which seemed to have everything: a closet full of amazing, somewhat scandalous clothes, cars, makeup, and cute boyfriends. Although it isn’t made anymore, I found a bottle at a discount store a few months ago and the scent still reminds me of new, exciting opportunities! I am currently using Daisy by Marc Jacobs and I love it!
My first “grown-up” perfume was CK Truth, mainly for the name, though I did like the scent. On me, it smelled of a summer herb garden, all chives and wildflowers.
My signature nowadays is Flower by Kenzo — none of the variants. Just the original. Violets and I get on famously. On days when I don’t want to waste my $50 perfume, I go with a splash of Sensual Amber from Bath and Body Works: “Pink lotus petals enveloped by a golden piece of precious amber.”
Oddly enough, for my environment, I will go in just the opposite direction! I’m fond of lavender on my sheets and fresh, sharp “green” in the kitchen.
Mine was Eternity by Calvin Klein – wore it from age 18 to 21 so have lots of great memories wearing that scent :-). Now I wear Chanel Coco Madamoiselle or new favourite ‘night’ fragrance – Lancome Magnifique!
I can’t remember not being into perfume. My mother always wore KL by Karl Lagerfield, but she had many others and I was allowed to wear them, too. I remember, specifically, being given Poison by Christian Dior and White Diamonds like Elizabeth Taylor when I was young (I’m twenty-seven). I think the first fragrance I purchased on my own was CK1. I own many, many different bottles now, but I got married wearing Daisy by Marc Jacobs and it’s my current favourite.
Oh, and my mum said she didn’t like it when I wore CK1 because it “smells like marijuana”. Hee! I even had a nail polish top coat that was supposed to smell like CK1 (this was back in the mid 1990s); I think Revlon is now making something similar.
All through college (2000-2004), I wore Davidoff’s Cool Water Woman; a close girl friend said it was perfect for me.
I have a list of bottles I want: Kenneth Cole Black, Armani Code, Sarah Jessica Parker Lovely and Covet, Nina Nina Ricci….
Such a cute post…
Mine was Ralph by Ralph Lauren. My father bought it for me in one of his trips abroad. I was 13. He told he asked for a “young” perfume and they gave him that one. It really smelled amazing and young. All my friends were really jealous. It smells like fresh fruit and I wore it sooo much that I ended up disliking the scent.
Ralph Lauren has some amazing perfumes and I love each and every one of them!
My first was CKIn2U For Her, but shortly after I got it, I began hating it. It was just too citrusy-sugary, it gave me headaches! Now I wear Gucci by Gucci EDP, and Coco Mademoiselle EDP. I’ve got my eye on Narciso Rodriguez For Her EDP and Stella by Stella McCartney EDP..
My first experiments with perfume began when I was just a little girl. My mom sold Avon, and there was one that had green leaves on it and it smelled like rain? It smelled like nature or something.
As I got older I moved on to more exotic scents and sweeter ones.
I also went through a men’s cologne stage.
I like pretty much any scent now except the grandma scents, and vanilla.
My first real perfume (discounting the Impulse body spray products), when I was about 12 or 13, was Exclamation – some relatively cheap eau de toilette from Farmers. I then moved up to Green Tea by Elizabeth Arden for daytime wear, and Bvlgari Blv as a night scent – my aunt brought back a whole bunch of Bvlgari samples and I fell in love with the Blv and The Vert. I still wear both of them, though for daywear I also have CK1 (it might be mid-90s, but it’s fresh and pleasant for university) and rose essential oil. It’s interesting that all the perfumes I like tend to have either notes of a) green tea, b) bergamot or c) roses.
Ah, I love Miss Dior Cherie. It’s one of my regulars. I also like Ralph Lauren Romance, a bit coconutty, which I didn’t like at first, but now I appreciate it more. Also, I just smelled Daisy by Marc Jacobs recently, and it’s basically more than adorable (in an olfactory sense). Also the sample cards are in the shape of a daisy flower, so it looks like your smelling paper flowers, and you are! Ah, marketing.
My first perfume was Dior Poison when I was around 15 years old. I recall it as being heavy and heady and luxuriously arrogant …and that bottle! Ripe and round and glassy and plummy, it did look like there might be something sinuous and sinister swishing inside that would kill you gorgeously, but irrevocably dead.
Now my favourite scent is Nasomatto Absinth…it’s woody and earthy and rich and sweet and haunting. It’s all greens and browns and ghost trees trying to come back to life in the dark,wet spring.
I only got into perfume in the last year or so, but the blue and red bottle of Lulu makes me think of my mum. Coincidently she just (as in today!) sent me Daisy by Marc Jacobs for my birthday. New Favourite! That is until I get my hands on some Miss Dior Cherie.
CK One takes me back to high school, all the cool girls had it in their lockers.
Oh, I still have my first perfume! It was a drugstore brand or something, and they had different elements as different perfumes. I bought ‘earth’ and it smells like wet dirt, moss and deliciously green grass. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last long and I could never find it at the store again. :<
Now, I wear anything from Miss Dior Cherie (just bought it!) to Stella by Stella. It’s really strong but very mysterious. I just want to put like, black visor like eyeshadow on my eyes and walk around town wearing Stella!
WOW! Sorry about that guys! It’s totally late and I messed up my ‘name’ and blog!
Wooooooow!
My first perfume was “pink sugar” by Aquolina, and it is STILL my favourite!!! Oh yes, i like to smell like I’ve been rolling around in a small mountain of fairyfoss. Mmmmmmmm….
Hey! I LIKE purple lipstick actually!!!!! Don’t hit me!!! It has to be done right though….not too dark…
haha, this is really daggy, but I still like perfume oils too :D There’s one called Krishna Musk, and it reminds me of those hippy shops that sell new age books and crystals, but it’s yummy >.
My first perfume was Chanel Chance. I wore it very sparingly (I really wanted to make it last) for special occasions all through my awkward middle school years, so unfortunately that’s what it reminds me of. I still love fresh white chypre scents, I’m currently wearing a body oil called “Kama Sutra” by Song of India (yep! Those goofy imported products by R-expo! It smells great though) and trying out some new samples from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.
My first was Hypnotic Poison. So gothic, so mysterious. Pretty much the same story as you right down to year and age. I remember skipping lunch and saving up my quarters to buy myself a bottle. I wore it everyday, for years. Until one fateful day I met a boy and I don’t even remember now who he was but I remember I liked him a lot. He said “Is that Hypnotic Poison you’re wearing?” surprised “Yeah? How’d you know?”
“My ex-girlfriend use to wear it.”
And something just sort of hit me. I don’t know. Maybe I couldn’t stand having my so goth uniqueness being trampled on, lol. Maybe I was scared of being associated with an unknown factor based solely on my sent. But I could never wear it after that day.
I switch between 4 scents now. They’re all pretty mainstream but nothing with the same thrill of that first perfume. I am however kind of enamored with my green tea underarm deodorant.
I just bought Lacoste essential for men. I loove it. Smells manly?
I love this post and all of the comments!
Thanks to all of you ladies I am having flashbacks of all of the scents that make up my own life:
Love’s Baby Soft: Eleven years old, slumber parties, unicorn obsession
Dior Poison and White Shoulders: My mother. Her red, red lipstick and her funny “O” shaped mouth as she applied mascara(I now own, wear, and utterly ADORE Poison…I also make the “O” face while applying mascara!)
Davidoff’s Cool Water: First love, First Kiss
Elizabeth Arden’s Sunflower: Early nineties music (Belly, Dinosaur Jr., Smashing Pumpkins etc.),my first cigarette, Oklahoma Summer air and the sound of cicadas
Givenchy’s Very Irresistible: The perfume I wore while I wooed my future husband…one whiff and I’m transported back to that whirlwind time!!!
And now…
Jo Malone’s Rose and Orange Blossom etc.: She creates the most pure and beautiful scents. I look forward to smelling them, years from now, and being transported back to “now”...
So my first perfume was Lolita Lempicka!!! My love started with like you Gala an ad in a magazine… This beautiful girl laying on the forest floor wearing a flowing beautiful dress… think Mid Summer Nights Dream and you’re heading down the right path.
My aunty who was in Paris got me a sample as it was not available in Australia yet.. and i have never looked back…
I still wear it to this day… and alternate between Lolita, Miss Dior Cherie and Body Shop Vanilla oil!!! whenever i wear the Vanilla Oil i always get told i smell good enough to eat… hehehe
I can remember choosing out a perfume from the body shop for my birthday a few years ago… It was probably my 12th or 13th birthday. I chose our one called ‘the spirit of moon flower’ because I was a little obsessed with all things pale & lunar & magical sounding then. It reminds me a of old faery tales about cursed queens & faeries spells & such; like the lady of the lake & those stories.
I still wear it sometimes, it’s probably two thirds gone. I suppose I chose it because it has quite a sharp but also slightly intoxicating & musty scent, hardly girly at all, & quite harsh in a pretty sort of way.
Now I usually spray ‘floral’ by paul smith on my wrists in the mornings, & now I want a bottle of Dior’s ‘miss dior’ to sit upon dressing table.
My first ‘perfume’ was the Body Shop’s vanilla perfume oil (which now makes me retch whenever I smell it – I wore WAY too much), but my first real perfume was Burberry Brit (yum, yum, tonka beans!). However, my signature scent is Bois des Iles by Chanel – which is too much of a masterpiece to describe.
I think my first real perfume was Noa by Cacharel, I still really like it and wore it for at least five years, and know a couple of my ex boyfriends completely associate it with me. I think I also had a brief flirtation with Anna Sui when I was about 15, but it gave me crazy headches so I went back to Noa. Then I left uni, got a “real” job and decided to treat myself to a couple of grown up perfumes. So for daytime I wear Molecule One, which is more of an aroma as it mixes with your pheromones and smells different on every person and kind of comes and goes. My boyfriend says it smells like hash on me, which he loves. I’m not sure if I like smelling like drugs, but it’s a sexy drug smell at least. For special occasions I wear Mitsouko by Guerlain, a little old for me, but so glamourous I don’t care!
To Hilary- commenter 46!
Those were the exact same as mine!
Love’s Baby Soft
and then
Debbie Gibson’s Electric Youth (cool bottle!).
I can still smell Electric Youth!!!
Ah, my first perfume was a tiny bottle of unknown name from a make-up catalogue brand. I wish I could remember the name! It smelled amazing to me, as an 8 year old girl, it smelled so grown up!
My first “real” perfume was a selection pack of sample bottles of Estee Lauder for my 11th birthday from a friend of my mum’s: Knowing, Beautiful, White Linen, Tuscany, and Pleasures. I think ‘Pleasures’ was my favourite when I was 11. To me it smelled light and fresh!
I moved onto using ‘Beautiful’ when I was 15 and going through a phase of dressing up to look like a goth version of Marilyn Monroe, and I’d never smelled Chanel No5, the scent Monroe wore, so I imagined ‘Beautiful’ to be the closest thing to that! I’m not sure why, but I think to me it smelled grown-up, sophisticated and sexy. Anyway, while dressed up as a goth version of Marilyn Monroe at a party I met my boyfriend, who I am still with, over four years later. That perfume makes me think of the party when I met him, and going on that picnic as our first date.
Sadly I ran out of ‘Beautiful’ and now wear the ‘Knowing’, and Dior ‘J’adore’ (another present from that friend of my mum’s)! I also occasionally wear lavender fragrances, Avon perfumes, Mango ‘Delirium’, and am currently wearing ‘So?...Inspired’ which is quite fresh, and at the same time spicy! Interesting!
i got my first perfume when i was four. my family and i were on our way to a wedding, in my grandma’s new car, and i have this thing with new car oudor that makes me vomit. so i threw up all over myself. we stopped at a departamental store so my parents could buy me a new blouse, and when i had picked my blouse i decided that i actually wanted to wear a skirt and not the pants that i had picked on the morning. okey, my dad said. of course then i needed stockings, and a hairband, and oh my god! my shoes were marine blue, that definetly didn’t pair with my red tones outfit. so they bought me shoe, really cute red mary janes that i loved. on our way out of the store, we walked throught make-up and perfumes and my mom got a papper with perfume on, and of course i wanted to smell it. it was called fleur de orleans, and it was love at first smell. i have to threw a huge tantrumm while screaming “ i smell like puke!” but at the end i got it. i’m such a brat!.
nowadays i stick to moschino’s chep and chic and intimately beckham.
i bet you were a cute goth!
I think that the first perfume i ever wore was 4711. I remember sitting on the edge of the bathtub when i was about five, watching my grandmother get ready for church on Christmas eve. she spritzed the perfume on her wrists and then touched her wrists to my neck. The smell was sweet and fresh like the ocean. I remember feeling awfully grown up.
Now i have a pretty large perfume wardrobe. My favorites are CK1, Tommy Girl and Clinique Happy. I also get in a bit of a tizz whenever i smell Stitch 10, which is this cheap chemist perfume, because i wore that for a whole summer when my boyfriend and i started dating. One whiff of that and I’m seventeen again, making out on my bed while listening to Nirvana and hoping my parents don’t come home early! We’ve been together for five and a half years now!
The first I ever possessed was Lou Lou by Cacharel www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhr89p…. The smell stills reminds me of my first serious boyfriend.
The first I ever bought for myself was also Hypnotic Poison. A lady I used to work with said that when I wore it I smelt like I’d come straight from a French 1920’s opium den. A good complement I think
My very first perfume was Lou Lou Blue by Cacharel. I remember it was a bit fresh and floral I loved the bottle, it came in this clear blue bottle with a red little line. I guess i was mostly drawn by the advertisment wallpaper.narak.com/albums/use…
I don’t belong to a perfume loving family. My mother has a cheap drugstore perfume that she wears dressing up, but it (like make-up) has always been looked upon by my family as mostly ‘silly’ or ‘wasteful’. I’ve always envied those girls with their pretty perfume bottles, though, and their ‘signature scent’ (I love associating certain scents with certain friends/boyfriends). So I searched for quite a while to find one that I thought suited me.
I was in Aspen visiting a friend last spring break and she and I walked around to all of the designer stores (there is a three storey Prada there!) and we ended up talking to the woman in Dior for quite a while about all kinds of things, style, the city, the line, and more philosophic ideas of femininity and class. She had us try the perfumes on display and I fell in love with Dior Addict 2. My friend and I tried to decide for ages what it reminded us of (I knew it smelled like something summery, but couldn’t decide what). Finally I realized, it reminded me of fresh tomato plants.
I bought a bottle a little later, and I’ve worn it almost every day since, though the scent seems to fade on me quickly. No one else seems to smell the tomatoes, like I do, but every time I put it on, I smile.
I fell in love with Ralph Lauren’s Cool a couple of years ago, although I’m not a big perfume wearer. It’s very fresh. But right now, I just like a basic musk scent. It reminds me of my aunt.
xx
my first perfume was ‘beyond paradise’ by estee lauder. i still love it because it’s such a beautiful, refreshing and summery scent, though i don’t wear it very often because i want it to last. the fragrance type is ‘prismatic floral’ apparently, but i don’t really know what that means!
sometimes i wear ‘lovely’ by sjp to work, and also ‘omnia amethyste’ by bvlgari.
My first perfume was one of the So…? varieties. Right now I’m into anything with a sexy, musky sort of smell. Yummo.
Beyond Paradise by Estée Lauder.
I loved everything about it, the bottle, the scent, the advertising..
I was like 15 or so.
Nowadays I use “Envy” by Gucci
but I totally wanna buy “Euphoria” by Calvin Kline.
Although Omnia Green Jade by Bulgari is pretty delicious..
Hard to decide.
I should probably buy both :D
Omg!!!! Same! I wore, and still have a bottle for the good old days, of Hypnotic Poison!!!! :)
I now love Unforgivable Woman by Sean Puffy Diddy whatever his name is…. It is actually realllly nice :)
I also love Daisy…
My first was Moschino – I Love Love. I still love it. I’ve not had a bottle of it for years, though. Gotta get on that.
And right now I switch between Miss Dior Cherie and Lollia – Wish.
my first perfume was ckone, i got my first bottle in a little calvin klein sample set that my dad bought cos he wanted the other ones. then whenever he went on a business trip he’d buy me a duty free bottle as a present. it reminds me of my youthful days of hanging out with boys who wanted to be the next neo-grunge sensation, and spraying loads on to hide the smell of the green i’d smoked (tut tut). i liked it because it smelt lemony and clean. i’m still attracted to fairly clean, fresh smelling scents, at the moment i alternate between l’occitane’s cherry blossom and g by gwen stefani (which smells of coconut). my mum always jokes with me that i have really childlike taste in perfume, because i don’t like anything floral or heavy, i like fruity scents :)
Tocca – Cleopatra from Anthropologie. I’m still obsessed with it!
Marc Jacobs Daisy! I got it just after I turned 16 last year, because it was the only perfume I’d ever fallen head over heels for. I am awful at identifying elements of a perfume, but it’s very light, sweet, fresh, and flowery. I’ve gotten many compliments on the way I smell when using it, and my boyfriend loves it. Only one person has remarked that I smell like their grandma… sort of an odd comment since it’s such a young scent.
As much as I love Daisy, however, I want to branch out a little, perhaps to something a bit darker. Not super-musky-sexy-perfume, still pretty flowery, but a little bit of experimentation.
first scent was CK1. i bought it after i broke up with my first serious boyfriend, because he wore it too. not that i was pining over him…. more that i really did just like the smell. i still buy CK1 today and wear it as my daytime scent, its lovely and feels very “me”.
Mine was Il Bacio from Borghese. I think I bought it when I was about 15, too! I ran out eventually and then didn’t buy more. You have inspired me to go out and find a grown up perfume instead of using all the samples I do now. My newest discovery is Neil Morris Fragrances at www.neilmorrisfragrances.com/s…. I love his perfumes because you can buy a million samples and he sends them to you in a box with a hand written note. Amazing!
Technically my first perfume was Lucky You! by Lucky Brand Jeans, which still reminds me of middle school… But my first perfume I ever had to buy again because I squeezed every last drop of it from the bottle was DKNY Be Delicious. I still LOVE it, but since then I’ve purchased Marc Jacobs Daisy, which is my summeryniceweatherohisn’titbeautifuloutside! perfume, and I bought it because it had this amazing greenish sort of grassy smell to it (& I get tons of compliments on it, weird!) For Christmas this year I got Tocca Cleopatra, which Sephora describes as “Juicy grapefruit and cucumber,” but I think it’s spicier and richer than that. It’s my I’mfeelingverysexylet’sspoon perfume.
The first perfume I ever wore was my mother’s Echt Kolnischewasser 4711. I loved it, and it felt grownup, while at the same time being totally appropriate for a preteen girl.
After that, there were some missteps involving Love’s Baby Soft, Muguet des Bois, and (hideous!) CK Obsession, in which I DRENCHED myself in the late 80s. I wore Obsession because my obsession loved it, and so it always reminds me of black hats with veils, nights writing group surrealist poetry, clove cigarettes, and hopeless yearning. (He came out of the closet the year I turned 18.) Of course, it also gives me a crashing headache now, so.
After that, I finally figured out that my body chemistry alters most perfumes, which is why Love’s Baby Soft always smelled stank on me (the pure chemical soup of Obsession, of course, smells the same on anybody) and got more careful. I spent some time wearing Prescriptives’ Calyx, which I still like, though it’s not really my style any more. Then I wore Gucci Rush for Men, which is pretty nearly sandalwood. Now, I’m back in Echt Kolnischewasser territory, pretty nearly, with a collection of Jo Malone fragrances. My favourite is the Wild Fig and Cassis, which combines something of the lightness of classic cologne with deep earth, and does not turn sickly on my skin.
Mine was DKNY Delicious… I just remember loving the little apple-shaped bottle and the way it smelled like summer.
That ad is amazing :]
I used to wear Bath & Body works cucumber melon. I was obsessed; every time I find a new scent that I like, I declare it wonderful and perfect and I just want to wear it every second. Body sprays were all the rage ;] and that was really all my friends and I could afford, for five dollars in the mall. Then I moved on to this stuff that my mom got for free somewhere and gave to me, it smelledl iike green tea and I still have some left that I spray my room with sometimes, haha. I also used to love Eternity Summer, mostly because it reminded me of a garden and made me feel sexy because Scarlett Johannson I believe was the model for it. I wore Philosophy Falling in Love for a while, when I was actually falling in love and thought it was cute, plus it comes in bottles small enough to keep in my purse.
Now I wear Dior Pure Poison, and I lovee it :D When I wear it to parties my friend always says “you smell like poison” and winks at me because she believes it’s some magical part of my charm or something, and that I’m going to break hearts that night. :p hahaha
My first scent was Marc Jacob’s Daisy. Something about the strawberry, violet, vanilla, jasmine etc is a brilliant combination. Plus, the bottle is lovely too.
My first perfume was Opium, which I wore in the 4th grade. Definitely way too old of a perfume for that age! However, this was about the same time that I was wearing Rayban Wayfarers. Hmm… I think my Cool has decreased significantly since the 90’s. :P
Now, I switch between L’Instant by Guerlain (a musky floral) and Aqua Allegoria Mentafolia (light and minty) by Guerlain. I use the second one as little as possible though, because it’s discontinued!
CK One. I guess just like many of those having their teens in the 90’s. I’ve always said that is the parfum of the 90’s for me! lol
Loved the campaign adds and loved the fact that it was unisex, made it even cooler.
My first was Anais Anais! I remember smelling a sample in a magazine and treating myself to a bottle for my birthday after.
I don’t know why but I tend to go off perfume really quickly, I haven’t wore any for a few years now. But the other day I found a bottle of Calvin Klein’s Eternity that my Mom bought me, which I’m looking foward to using.
My first was Charlie Sunshine. I now switch between Lolita Lempicka and Moon Sparkle.
my first perfume is discontinued. it was fuzzy peach perfume oil by the body shop. i still have some. i used to just go there and just put it on lol. my mom put some on my arm when i was like five and then i would always gravitate to it when we went to the body shop. still my favorite.
My first fragrance was CK One followed by CK BE. I was clearly influenced by the androgynous perfume/cologne movement. Now I use vanilla blossoms by LaVanila Laboratories. I like to smell like a fresh baked goodie and favor vanilla scents.
I’m pretty obsessed with perfume and always have been.
I loved this post so much- it made me think back to what I was wearing at different ages, and brought up a lot of powerful olfactory memories! So here’s the run-down:
Elementary School (yes, I was precocious!):
I wore cheap grocery store perfume like Exclamation! (ha ha) L’fleur and Tabu! Ew ew ew.
Middle School: I was obsessed with Calyx by Prescriptives, but I couldn’t afford it. I wore Arabian Sandalwood and my Dad’s cologne, like Aramis and Zizanie.
Thus began my affection for woody, green scents and smelling like a dude.
High School: I wore Tilleul (Linden), (I forget who makes it) and Ginger Milk. Very light, soft perfumes for a very dark period in my life! I also discovered Roots, which is my #1 signature scent. What else? Demeter’s Honey, and Fracas for when I wanted to feel like a fancy lady. I also like Mugler’s Angel (of course) but only the one for men!
Now? Oh jeez. So many! It depends on the season.
Trois by Diptyque and Hove’s Vetiver are perfect anytime. Roots for winter. I’m writing an article on summer perfumes soon!
ps. Let’s go to Aedes Venusta + I Hate Perfume when I come to NYC! xoxox
Oh yes, and- I love Hypnotic Poison!
It always reminds me of Tamera.
I used to like Tendre Poison, Opium and Bulgari Black also.
Hah, and Revlon’s Vixen! I think it’s time to dig out baby goth photos! I’ll show you mine,
don’t worry. Totally hilarious + cute.
The first fragrance I would have used would be Little Blossom fragrance water from Avon. My gran was a Avon lady and I could bet money on getting a Little Blossom pack for Christmas.
I found a bottle of it the other day and it just smells like baby powder but it reminds me of my gran so it will hang onto it.
The first real perfume i wore was Ralph, it reminds me so much of my last year in high school and first year of uni, I love to smell it and be taken back to that time.
Penhaligons’ Elizabethan Rose scent, when I was 15 or so. I still love the scent of roses, but the perfume itself doesn’t match up to just plain rosewater.
Now I wear Baby Grace by Philosophy whenever I remember to put it on; it smells like baby powder, plain soap and fresh laundry, soft and sweet. By the time I actually bought some, I had loved it for several years, and would try it on whenever I saw a tester bottle in a shop. Having liked it for so long, I’m not worried about growing out of it before the bottle is finished.
I have just started getting interested in perfumes.. but never thought seriously of starting to wear one until I read this post, and, especially, Casey‘s comment!
oh why, WHY did I have to follow the link to the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab? well, the name was too good not to take a peek…
and then I lost myself through the fabulous descriptions and names of their perfumes, just to finally decide which ones I ABSOLUTELY wanted and….and find out they don’t ship outside US.
that. is. sad. * sniff *
I’ll never want to wear perfumes again for years now!
When I was 7 years old tried to make my own perfume. I picked a bunch of wild flowers and then threw them in a bucket and added in various cleaning fluids. I didn’t make perfume but I did learn the dangers of chlorine gas.
The first perfume i ever wore was Tommy hilfiger’s t-girl, i got a tiny wee vial with a magazine (j-mag, it was free!). It smells of frangipanni, plastic and magazine pages and makes me feel violently like humbert humberts lolita, with too much red lipstick and sun bleached beaches and that really air-between-the-ears feeling of a budding teen who religiously ascribes themselves to dolly and wears oversized sunnies and is definately way too cool to ever even think about boys. A little andorgynous and a lot self reliant (and i was none of these things).
Now i wear Midnight fantasy by britney spears. Smells like sweet fizzy champagne and was the only perfume that lasted the full day without smelling either like plain alcohol or just generally nasty (i must have weird skin chemicals).
Mine was “So…?” which my mum thought was hilarious and fitting for a stroppy teenager! I only had the body spray though as I was, as always, completely skint and couldn’t afford a proper bottle of perfume.
It was definately my “Signiture scent” that magazine articles always said girls should have. I like to nick a spray of it when I go to chemists now :)
My first perfume was “Light Blue” by Dolce & Gabbana. A stripper named Jasmine gave me her bottle because she “already had a signature scent – Chanel No. 5!” Well, goodness!
A couple days later, I was in the grocery store, staring at the refrigerated cheeses, and a man – I kid you not – came over, sniffed me, and declared, “damn girl, you make me wanna spend some money on you, or something!”
I think Jasmine’s essence was still in the bottle.
I still wear “Light Blue” to this day … it smells like clean sheets and citrus and sailboats … and strippers, apparently.
Mine was CK One also, the craze in gr.8. If I smell it now I cringe! I have one main memory which is my gr.8 crush saying “Geez, who doused themselves in perfume?” when I was feeling super cool. Bummer! haha.
Then I moved on to Red Jeans by Versace. These days I stick to chemical-free yummy foodie smells from BPAL:)
i grew up in a very perfume-friendly family, so off and on during my early years i was sampling perfumes from the entire family, and trying out the perfume samples in magazines.
oh, the memories of rubbing pages from Ebony magazine, and my brother’s fashion magazines on my neck and wrists! wow, it’s a wonderful flashback remembering how those magazines smelled when i opened them up just after they arrived in the mail.
my first perfume was “tea rose”, when i was about 15. a cheap perfume bought at a department store from the mall i spent all of my free time in. it. just. smelled. like. roses. at the time, i thought it was beautiful, and feminine, and light. this was also a time where, though i dressed like a tomboy rather often, i still leaned toward more girly influences.
then i got a white musk gift basket from my dear grandmother for christmas, and fell in love with the simple, yet strong smell. wore it for years. which carried me over into my real, first “perfume”, which was Cool Water for women, by Davidoff at the age of 18, and BOSS for men by hugo boss.
i’ve since discovered essential oils, and mostly wear spicy, smokey, rich, sweet blends of clove/vanilla/cinnamon/cedar/sandalwood that i concoct, or the “cedarwood tea” scent from CB i hate perfume.
mine was baby soft that came in a lil bottle with a pink lid. i wish i still had some. . .
My first perfume was Vera Wang Princess. I still own it; it’s only half gone. It smells like warm, warm vanilla on my skin after all the flower smells flit away, and that’s always delicious and comforting. There’s something sweet about the bottle as well, which was what first drew me in.
I wear Incanto Charms lately, but that’s because it’s too hot to wear the vanilla without feeling overpowered—Charms feels like a romantic dinner outside, enveloped in the starry night, ripe fruit and a bowl of flowers somewhere on a dusky table. Summery, crisp, cool, full of chance.
In spite of all this I hear that I smell like coffee most of the time. I’m a barista and a cafe-lurker… and I think that natural scent that oozes out of me just might be my favorite perk of the job.
Eternity Moment by Calivn Klein. I smelt it when it was new in my mom’s Marie Claire and fell in love. I smelt it again on a cruise ship, then finally got a bottle for the christmas next. That was my first real bottle – not a sample!
I’ve tried loads in between but my signature scent now in a combo of that, and Rose by Paul Smith.
my first perfume was Charlie Gold, my stepdad brought it for my birthday when i was 11 and i accidently sprayed it in my eyes, never wore it again.
At the moment my scent is Fire and Ice by Revlon
but im getting sick of it.
after reading your post i went to the pharmacy and tried on Hypnotic Poison.. omg amazing.
im in love :)
that will DEF be my next purchase!!
I started out by raiding my mom’s perfume—lots of tiny little sample bottles and more to play with (really old, potent stuff)...then moved onto this very generic orchid perfume, which I still have—it’s soft and lovely and makes me think of Hawaii and happy childhoods. Lately I’m going between Versace Bright Crystal, Miss Dior Chérie, and my absolute fave—Chance by Chanel. It’s magic.
My very first perfume was Little Black Dress from Avon. I still have a bottle of it in my now very large collection, but i like to wear it when i feel like channelling Holly Golightly.
eee..
mine was either britney spears fantasy (smells like candy floss) or vanilla fields…
still have the exact ones to date…
my first EVER was Anna Sui Baby Doll, has the worlds cutest little bottle, but since then i haven fallen madly, head over heels in love with Jean Pual Guatier, the vintage lace bodice is adorable
Very cute :-))))