Until not that long ago, although I was well aware of how scents can affect us (see this post about everyone's very own time machine), I did not know much about perfume. Since I often use scented shower gels and body lotions, I used to wear perfume very rarely, thinking the result of combining the two would be too strong. The only perfumes I owned were two tiny sample bottles which I had been given from a cosmetics supplier.
Then, RJ started to become interested in perfumes. Whenever something hits his curiosity button, he goes about it in a very thorough manner. Having a Ph.D. in natural sciences and a diploma in physics, he uses an almost scientific approach to all his favourite subjects, and perfumes are no exception.
From a mere two or three bottles of scent, he is now the proud owner of a collection of just over 300 perfumes, all stored in an in-built cupboard at his small bachelor pad - even his stock of food had to make room for that.
Apart from simply enjoying a well-composed perfume, RJ can tell you everything you want to know about what elements it is composed of and in what way the "scent pyramid" works, showing its head note in the first few seconds, and revealing its heart and base in the course of several hours.
He loves choosing his perfume for the day according to his outfit and matching the occasion. He can discern many different types of scent now, and many of the single elements a scent is composed of. Many perfumes have a history; some have been reformulated after their original recipe, such as "Bois du Portugal", which was apparently Napoleon's favourite scent.
Like clothes, food, hairstyles and a lot of other things, perfumes follow trends and fashions. The 1980s had very different popular perfumes from what most people prefer now. Sadly, many let themselves be fooled into buying a scent that does not fit them (and is not particularly well done) simply because some celebrity or other lend their faces (and bodies) to its promotional campaign.
There is a whole world of knowledge connected with perfumes, and of course I can only scratch the surface here. RJ has given talks about his scented hobby several times already, to different groups, from a semi-business environment to the totally private "Perfume Party" we threw the other Saturday:
We invited some of our friends, shared a meal with them, and RJ talked about perfumes. He had brought a small collection of scents from his vast stock, to illustrate the various types of scent and to advise our friends on what they should know before making an informed decision next time they intend to buy a bottle of perfume.
It was interesting and entertaining, and I think all our guests had as much fun as we did in preparing and hosting the event.
By the way, ever since RJ embarked on this new hobby of his, my meagre stock of perfumes has risen to about 7 or 8 normal sized bottles (not counting dozens of samples). Some of them are better suited for spring and summer, others are proper winter scents; I choose a different perfume for going out than for a day at the office. I will never spend as much money on them as RJ does, and don't want to give so much space over to hundreds of bottles, but it certainly is an interesting hobby, and well worth taking a closer look (or sniff?) at.
I always wear Opium, have tried others through the years, but this is the one that best suits me and even better my husband loved to smell it on me.
ReplyDeleteThen Opium is what RJ would call your "signature scent". I don't think I have found my signature scent yet; it's a bit like with music for me, varying a lot according to my mood and the occasion.
DeleteMy only concern is that some people are allergic to scents. My friend had to leave a church service because the woman in front of her was wearing way too much perfume. When i do wear a scent, which is seldom, i try to keep it very sublte. As Miss Manners, Judith Martin, once noted, your scent shouldn't linger in a room where you are not.
ReplyDeleteMiss Manners is right, of course. And the danger of using the same scent every day is that one's nose can get so used to it that we don't smell it on ourselves anymore, using more and more of it, until it becomes a nuisance to others. At the school where my Mum used to work, there was a secretary who had that problem. I don't think anyone ever told her she was using way too much, but I think they should have.
DeleteThis is unbelievable. I've never heard of this interest before. He is unique! This is the company I buy from:
ReplyDeletehttp://auricblends.corecommerce.com/
Thank you for that link, Nan, I have just had a first quick look and am now going to bookmark it so that I can show it to RJ. And you are right, he IS unique :-)
DeleteI suppose in a way it is a bit like wine tasting, (well, obviously very different too) in that you are considering things that are really quite hard to write about or identify - they're so personal and must have to be held in the mind. I can see how the hobby could become interesting, if one takes a scientific approach.
ReplyDeleteIt is very much like wine tasting, Jenny. One of our acquaintances is a wine dealer, specialised in Spanish and Majorcan wines. He claims being able to discern over 60 different aromas, and I believe him. The nose can really be trained.
DeleteWould you believe that I still use the same perfume I used in the 70s? Nina Ricci L’Air du Temps. Nowadays I think I have become allergic to scent, my skin itches madly every time I spray some behind the ears. I hardly use it now, it doesn’t go well with wet dog smell and country aromas.
ReplyDeleteMy Mum once had a bottle of L'Air du Temps, I can't remember the scent well enough to describe it, but I remember that I used to like it.
DeleteRJ's skin is very sensitive and he is rather allergy-prone, therefore he never sprays perfume on his skin, but always on his shirt cuffs and just a little bit above his head, so that it'll sit in his hair but not on the scalp.
I have the same problem as Friko: My skin doesn't like perfume. So I spray a god dose into the air and then go immediately through this mist.So you can be sure that its never too much.
DeleteMy favorite perfume since more than 30 years is KNOWING from Estée Lauder. My brother once gave it to me. From time to time I try another scent, but I always come back to Knowing.
oops, sorry, of course I mean a "good" dose! :-(
DeleteYou could also simply spray a bit on your clothes, or your hair. But walking into the scented mist is also a good way.
DeleteThis sounds fascinating....I hope he has read about Hungary Water. From time to time I buy a perfume, but I don't really use them much....But I do like to smell fragrance and would love to know more about the history of perfume which must be a very ancient one.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I have come across Hungary Water yet, Kristi, and I am sure if RJ knew about it, he would have told me about it, too. Something else for me to research :-)
DeleteIn the history of perfume on wiki it says that Hungary Water was the first modern perfume...I think it is similar to 4711 in scent. It is supposed to come from a recipe of Queen Elizabeth of Hungary.
DeleteThank you for having looked it up for me, Kristi! I will impress RJ with it tomorrow :-)
DeleteMeike am I to understand that RJ actually "wears" perfume? I've never known a man to wear perfume, men's cologne and after-shave, but not perfume. I do think this is a fascinating hobby/interest and he could probably get a job with his "good" nose should he ever need one.
ReplyDeleteYou understood that right, Jill, RJ wears perfume every day. It's quite a big market, too, with more and more men buying scents and cosmetics every year. For him to earn his living with his nose, though, he would have to be free from several allergies he suffers and which influence his sense of smell, mainly in spring and summer (hayfever!). Also, he founded his own consulting firm a bit more than 3 years ago, and is both happy and successful with that, so there's no need for him to find another job :-)
DeleteI'm one of those people who can get allergic reactions (breathing difficulties) from various scents/perfumes. Not only have I got rid of the few perfume bottles I used to have; but now most of the time I choose all fragrance free products whether it's detergent, soap, hairspray, makeup or whatever. I have one bottle of very discreetly scented body lotion, but that's about it, I think...
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to anything that is applied directly to the skin, such as creams, body lotions and shower gels, RJ is like you, Monica. He only uses products without any colour or scent additives. But perfumes so far have never triggered an allergic reaction with his breathing.
DeleteI guess if one is really particular about one's choice of perfume, then one does not want to mix it with other fragrances anyway! Oh, and I just discovered I do still have one bottle of perfume - or eau de toilette - in my bathroom cabinet... Venice by Yves Rocher. It used to be my favourite. Still is I suppose... (How long does perfume keep?!)
DeleteDepends on how you store it, Monica. I know "Venice", have been (and still am) a customer of Yves Rocher's since the mid-1980s, and have a much cherished sample bottle of their "Moments de Bonheur" (a rosy fragrance).
DeleteActually, keeping perfume in their bathrooms is what most people do - and it is the worst you can do to your scents: usually, a bathroom experiences drastic changes in temperature and air humidity. When you shower or have a bath, it gets very warm and damp in there. Then, you open the window, and let in cool or cold and dry air. A perfume, especially one that is made of mostly natural substances, won't keep well in a typical bathroom longer than a year. Stored well in a dark, dry place at nearly constant temperature, it can keep for five years or longer.
What a fascinating and interesting post. I love perfumes and some of my friends have signature perfumes by which I can always know them. I think most people (that I know anyway) eventually arrive at a perfume that suits them although I do know one 'connoisseur' of perfume whose favourite for her personal use is one I really don't like very much at all. It may, of course, suit her but just not my nose. My wife always wore Tweed by Lentheric. (a totally irrelevant fact I thought I'd just throw in to show that I have a memory).
ReplyDeleteWhen I use aftershave I use Noir by Roberre which is described as a 'vintage' aftershave and which I have used for more years than I care to remember. I was astonished a few years ago to find that my local pharmacy on Lewis had a stock.
I should have added that when I was at the ballet recently a lady near me was wearing a large amount of an overpowering scent which was really quite distracting.
ReplyDeleteYes, there can certainly be too much of a good thing, can't there!
DeleteRJ does not use aftershafe, but I have a sample of a perfume called "Noir" by Tom Ford, and if I am not very much mistaken, RJ has one that is called Tweed, although I am not sure of the manufacturer's name.
Like DawnTreader above, I also suffer a great deal with chemicals...that is really the problem, it is in perfume, cleaning products, lotions, etc... Oddly enough, many of the products that I buy in England, do not give me any problems with my asthma. Reading about it, it seems that anything that is applied to the skin is more regulated in Europe and I think that might be the reason. Anyway, I was given a small sample of Marc Jacob's Daisy at a department store in Eastbourne, and I LOVE that fragrance! It is so light and it does not bother my breathing one bit!!
ReplyDeleteI have to be careful of the deodorants I buy since so many of them bother my breathing!! AHHHHH, it's a hard life sometimes just to breathe! (Oh, and if something is labeled "non-scented", watch out! It can mean that they have put a strong chemical over it to mask the scent!
RJ should bottle his perfumes and sell them...they sell for a fortune!! :-)
Umm... little misunderstanding here, it seems: RJ's 300+ perfumes are bought perfumes, not ones that he made, he does not have any of the necessary equipment (nor the time). They did sell for a fortune - at the shops where he bought them :-D He is by now a well-known customer of several perfume shops around here.
DeleteI never use spray-on deodorants, they make it indeed difficult to breathe. I prefer a roll-on.
I agree with GB that this is a fascinating post. After years of wearing the same scent, it disappeared from the market place, so I went in search of a new one. I found one that I was okay with (Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea Organics), but I didn't really love it, though several people, including my granddaughter said they liked it. Then one day I saw some of my original choice on sale, so I bought some. "Oh that scent is so old fashioned!" the clerk said. I laughed and said, "I prefer the term 'classic'!"
ReplyDeleteThat clerk wasn't very clever, was he/she! Serving in a shop, you should never say to a customer what they are about to buy is old fashioned (or out-dated). You bought it nonetheless, because you know it's a fragrance you like and that suits you, and you're not fooled into buying something else simply because it is "modern".
DeleteRJ's original signature perfume was also said to be out of production two years or so ago, which is why he went in search of a new one - which in turn got him started on this new hobby of his.
Thanks for the compliment to my taste in fragrances, Meike! I just thought I was stubborn ... !! :)
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