Also, I tend to find traditional classifications of perfume confusing, eg, what's a chypre? How is something both oriental and floral? And so on ... so, alongside the traditional categories, I'll also be using these denominators/ratings/categories on my project:
Disgusting
Ok
Nice/Soapy
Weird
and the (rare) Very Nice
As far as I can break it down - it's hardly scientific as I'm sure you've already noticed, these are the categories that MrLippie lumps my fragrances into when he smells them - they can be described more fully as follows:
Disgusting = kind of self explanatory, but mainly refers to "scrubbers" (perfumes that immediately make you want to wash/scrub the disgusting stuff off your skin) or fragrances that make me vomit, as there are more than a couple. I suspect the ingredient that causes it is tonka bean, but I'm hoping to find out properly this year.
OK = better than not wearing perfume at all, but not much (will usually smell of fruit)
Nice/Soapy = Pleasant, and nice to wear but not mind-blowing. Incidentally, I see a lot of scents written off for being "soapy", in my mind this is a mistake, some of my favourite scents are only available in soap form, and I don't see what's wrong with that. A lot of soap is actually fragranced by perfume makers in the first place, you know ...
Weird = Something that doesn't always smell of traditional perfume. Leather, tar, rubber, leaves, vegetables and the like. Does not mean unpleasant, but just something a little out of the ordinary.
Very Nice = There is a very small category of scents that will make MrLippie sit up and pay attention (out of all the perfumes I own, I think three have made MrL make this observation), and I'll make sure to highlight these ones properly.
Where mine and MrL's opinions vary widely, the perfume will be given two ratings.
As for how the project works, there are 120 perfumes on the list that follows, which equates to 10 perfumes a month. I'm not intending on buying all of these, I'll garner sample sizes where I can, I'll smell others on scent strips, and occasionally, if I like something enough, I'll buy a full-size bottle. In fact, I've like a few of the scents I smelling in January so much that I might have bought a few full size bottles of them already ... oops!
I'm not intending to do a full review of every perfume on the list, but I will mention my thoughts of very many of them when I do roundups, which will be on a very ad-hoc basis.
So, all that out of the way, here's the full list:
Aqua Allegoria Pamplune by Guerlain
L'Air du Desert Marocain by Tauer
Alliage by Lauder
Amber Absolute by Tom Ford
Ambre Sultan by Serge Lutens
A*Men by Thierry Mugler
Anice by Etro
Anne Pliska by Anne Pliska
Antiheros by Etat Libre d'Orange
Apres L'Ondee by Guerlain
Arpege by Lanvin
Aveda Man Pure-formance by Aveda
Azuree by Lauder
Baldessarini by Hugo Boss
Bandit by Robert Piguet
Beyond Paradise Men by Lauder
Billet Doux by Fragonard
Black by Bulgari
Bois d'Encens by Armani Prive
Bois des Iles by Chanel
Boucheron by Boucheron
Cabaret by Gres
Calandre by Paco Rabanne
Ca Sent Beau by Kenzo
Chamade by Guerlain
Cologne a la Francaise by Instituit Tres Bien
Crystalle by Chanel
Cuir by Lancome
Cuir de Russie by Chanel
Climat by Lancome
Dazzling Silver by Lauder
Derby by Guerlain
Diorella by Dior
Dior Homme Sport by Dior
Donna Karan Signature by Donna Karan
Eau de Guerlain by Guerlain
Eau Lente by Diptyque
Eau Savage by Dior
Envy by Gucci
Farenheit 32 by Dior
Feminiti du Bois by Serge Lutens
Fracas by Robert Piguet
Le Feu d'Issey by Issey Myaki
Fleur du Male by Jean Paul Gaultier
Fleurs de Sel by Miller Harris
Frangipane Absolute by Ormonde Jayne
Givenchy III by Givenchy
Grey Flannel by Geoffrey Beene
Gucci Pour Homme by Gucci
Habit Rouge by Guerlain
Halston Z-14 by Halston
Heritage by Guerlain
L'Heure Bleu by Guerlain
Hindu Grass by Nasomatto
Homage by Amouage
Hypnotic Poison by Dior
Incense Extreme by Tauer
Incense Rose by Tauer
Insense by Givenchy
L'Instant Pour Homme by Guerlain
Iris Silver Mist by Serge Lutens
Joy by Jean Patou (P&G?)
Jules by Dior
Kiki by Vero Profumo
Knize Ten by Knize
Knowing by Lauder
Lauder for Men by Lauder
Lavender by Caldey Island
Let it Rock by Vivienne Westwood
Like This by Etat Libre d'Orange
Lime Basil & Mandarin by Jo Malone
Lonestar Memories by Tauer
Ma Griffe by Carven
Absolue Pour le Soir by Maison Francis Kurkdjian
Menthe Fraiche by Heeley
Miss Balmain by Balmain
Missoni by Missoni
Mitsouko by Guerlain
La Myrrhe by Serge Lutens
Mystere by Aesop
Nahema by Guerlain
New York by Parfums de Nicolai
No 5 EDT by Chanel
No 19 by Chanel
Odalisque by Parfums de Nicolai
Ombre Rose by Jean Charles Brosseau
Onda by Vero Profumo
Orange Star by Tauer
Organza Indecence by Givenchy
Ormonde Woman by Ormonde Jayne
Osmanthe Yunnan by Hermes
Oud 27 by Le Labo
Oydeo by Diptyque
Par Amour Toujours by Clarins
Parfum Sacre by Caron
Pour un Homme by Caron
Private Collection by Lauder
Rush by Gucci
Safran Troublant by L'Artisan de Perfumer
Dzing by L'Artisan de Perfumer
Sarrasins by Serge Lutens
Scent by Theo Fennell
Scent 79 Woman by Jil Sander
Shalimar by Guerlain
Stetson by Stetson
Sycomore by Chanel
Ta'if by Ormonde Jayne
Tam Dao by Diptyque
Timbuktu by L'Artisan de Perfumer
Tocade by Rochas
Tolu by Ormonde Jayne
Truth by Calvin Klein
Verveine by Heeley
Vetiver by Guerlain
Vetiver pour Elle by Guerlain
Vol de Nuit by Guerlain
White Jasmine & Mint by Jo Malone
White Linen by Lauder
Yatagan by Caron
Yohji by Yohji Yamamoto
Youth Dew by Lauder
There are perfumes by 61 manufacturers here, many main-stream, but plenty are offbeat, and some are pretty niche, but fully half of the list are perfumes by just ten manufacturers, these are:
Guerlain 15
Estee Lauder 9
Chanel 6
Dior 6
Serge Lutens 5
Tauer 5
Ormonde Jayne 4
Caron 3
Diptyque 3
Givenchy 3
All perfumes have been chosen purely because something about the description of them in the book by Luca Turin & Tania Sanchez in some way appealed to me, it's purely a personal choice (you might notice I'm a big fan of the nice/soapy category, and I love masculine fragrances somewhat too ...), this list is in no way a guarantee of quality and/or taste and reason.
This post originated at: http://getlippie.com All rights reserved.
I'm a perfume junkie from way, waaaaay back (and I have a well-loved copy of that book), and I still don't know much about it. I'm too lazy to get too involved in it - like wine, I appreciate it and indulge in it often, but my rating system for both is along the lines of "I love this" and "This sucks".
ReplyDeleteI'll be following your project with great interest. :-)
Looking forward to reading about this! I've been doing something similar, but just on paper. & it's been mostly on the fruity scents that I love, oops.
ReplyDeletethat's a great list, although you may find some of those rather difficult to obtain. I wouldn't necessarily take Luca and Tanya too seriously as arbiters of quality - Luca in particular seems to take joy in being perverse and his championing of some of the Estee Lauder fragrances in particular is a bit strange (Beyond Paradise for Men in my opinion is dreck), whereas his hatred for the wonderful Le Labo range in particular is downright odd and largely based apparently on their refusal to supply samples to him. Basically, perfume really is a matter of taste and you hopefully will develop your own opinions. Boards like Basenotes and the fragrance board on Makeupalley will be as helpful if not more than the Guide.
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, a lot of the Knize Ten on ebay is fake.
It's great that you're throwing yourself into this with such enthusiasm.
ReplyDeleteWould you like me to send you a small sample of tonka bean, to help you decide if it really is the culprit?
That is a GREAT list, I am sure you will have fun and learn a lot in the coming year. I'm looking forward to read all about your experiences. :)
ReplyDeleteOoh I'm looking forward to reading your posts on this, sounds very interesting :)
ReplyDeleteCould you comment on Bois des Isles, please? I was just talking about it with my dad, as it was the perfume my grandmother wore, and when I googled,someone referred to it as a "thinker's perfume" which I loved.
ReplyDeleteI know this isn't my blog, but I can't help commenting about Bois Des Iles. It must surely one of the most beautiful woody scents ever created. Is it a thinker's perfume? I don't know. But if it is, it shows that thinkers know how to have very grown up fun...
ReplyDeleteThis is an ambitious and wonderful project, I hope you have a lot of fun sniffing your way down the line. I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
ReplyDeleteI had to laugh at "scrubbers" - I know exactly what you mean! For me that's usually due to a jasmine or some other unctuous white flower in the mix.
ReplyDeleteTauer does a little 5-piece discovery kit; perfect for trying all your choices from his range in one go.