If you could only wear one perfume for the rest of your life.....

[SecretSpAD]

What would it be?

For me, Jo Malone's lime, basil and mandarin. I smell it and it immediately takes me back to hot summer holidays in the Caribbean.....

However. If I started this thread in the winter I'd say chanel coco

Which just demonstrates the impossibility of just choosing one perfume forever, doesn't it!

panache, i started wearing this when i was 17 and the shop i worked in sold this, the other one was tweed, my everyday one at the moment is charlie red.

My DM still wears Tweed most days now

Fracas

Bulgaria BLV. The original not Mk2. I smelled it on a local on a pilgrimage to Rome then sniffed my way round the perfume department of a local House of Fraser until I found it. It's discontinued now but the bottles I have accumulated must be worth around £1000!

Another vote for philosykos - it’s the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever smelt. I find it fades really quickly (EDP) but could still never wear anything else. I wear it in winter too. I dread it being discontinued.

@YouHaveNoAuthorityHereJackie

Stella. No question, I’ve been wearing it for a decade and nothing compares for me. I’ve just panic bought lots of bottles to stash as it looks like it’s being discontinued

Stella is mine too, was my wedding day perfume. Is it being discontinued?? I'd better stock up!

@YouHaveNoAuthorityHereJackie I am with you on Stella!!!
It has looked like it is being discontinued for an age! I would stockpile but I have done this before with others: For example with Arpege (the original version), but perfume goes off 😭😭😭

Body Shop's Woody Sandalwood - if it hadn't been discontinued

Chloe Nomad, beautifully musky and very sexy.

Coco Chanel
or Penhaligon's Halfeti.

But both are my autumn/winter scents. Not sure about something I could wear all year round forever.

Prada Iris, absolutely love it!

Venezia by Laura Biagiotti , I've loved it for years.

@IamEarthymama

I love Patchouli and always have

Black orchid by Tom Ford,Remember when it first came out smelling it n a magazine perfume sample.fell in love.I couldnt buy it locally,shopping online wasnt like now.So when i went to London i went to Harvey Nics only place you could get it and purchased my first bottle.Still love it.Can buy in my city now or online.Buts its one perfume ive remained loyal to for many years,

Estée Lauder Pleasures. I've worn it since I was 18. I'm now 35!

Flower bomb. My mum brought it home from her honeymoon when I was small and I’ve loved it ever since .

A post on this thread has just made me order dkny apple though, I haven’t worn that in years

I’ve been wearing Narcisso Rodriguez for a couple of years & layering it with the Pure Musc… I love it & loads of people comment on it 😊

I couldn’t choose one forever I have bottles of my other faves for nights out - in no particular order….
Chanel Chance
Blank opium
Black orchid

I keep a Zara ones in my desk drawer for emergencies, some of theirs are divine!!

Gypsy water
The Noir 29
Body shop white musk
La colle noir

@Montysauras

BonBon by Viktor Rolfe… I was a Britney Spears fantasy gal…

I forgot all about Britney Spears Fantasy. I used to love that along with Jade Goody's Shhh!

If I had to choose one perfume though it would be Chanel Allure.

Have loved perfumes for almost 60 years. I think Avon Pretty Peach was my first. Oh how I lusted after the soap on a rope and the bottles with a plastic peach on the lid. 😂 Since then I’ve tried dozens and have become increasingly nauseated by them all as the years go on. I live almost in dread of sitting in a confined space with someone in heavy, cloying fragrance or aftershave which can make me vomit or at least pale, headachey and nauseous And this from someone who wore YSL Paris, Youth Dew, Estee, even Tweed, Charlie and Mary Quant am & pm many moons ago! Used to love them. Now the only thing I can wear is Anais Anais or my OHs Givenchy Gentleman. (Poor guy is also restricted due to my intolerance.) Plus fragrance free deodorant, shower gel, shampoo, lipsticks etc. No scented candles or cleaning products. The list goes on .....

Romance by Ralph Lauren. Been wearing it for nearly 30 years, sometimes have others but always go back to Romance.

Bit of a long one here so skip if I'm boring you. For several decades now I've found most perfumes make me feel ridiculously nauseous and headachey. I do wonder whether this stems from a childhood ferry trip in rough seas where I felt dreadful (I have no sea legs anyway) and, as a distraction tactic, my family took me for a wander around Duty Free. The assault on my senses of all the perfumes immediately caused the most violent stomach reaction...you can guess the rest! So mostly I avoid perfumes and stick to the subtle scents left by products like body wash and shampoo. My DD always says she loves how my hair smells,(I use Holland & Barrett Manuka Honey), and a gentle Sukin bodywash, grapefruit and something I think it is. Coincidentally my DH has never been an aftershave fan so just sticks to deodorant and pinches my Sukin gel and moisturisers!
However....in more recent times, post- menopause (so maybe due to bodily chemical changes...who knows,?) my stomachabd head are starting to tolerate some scents. I still run away from cosmetic counter ladies brandishing bottles and paper test strips in department stores (remember those anyone? RIP Debenhams and their generous Beauty Club giveaways). DD's generous BF bought her some Chanel No. 5 which of course reminded me of my mum and didn't cause any rising nausea. A kind friend gifted me her bottle of Jo Malone's Orange Blossom after I told her it was my favourite garden aroma as a child. My sister gifted me a solid block of Diptique's 34 Boulevard St. Germain which is the sort of cream you rub on pulse points, ' oh my, this is so, so, heavenly.... After it ran out I went to a Diptique store in London to see about a replacement but felt so intimidated and unwelcome by the staff, I embarrassedly sidled out. I'd hoped to have investigated what other delights they might have on offer given how much I'd loved Boulevard. Another friend suggested I should try Penhaligan's but in my current state of redundancy, the aforementioned are all too spendy for now. I have one summer fail-safe, my granny's favourite (when she could no longer find Evening in Paris) which is good old 4711. Just a citrussy burst like a freshly cut lemon or grapefruit is a joy on a humid day or after a shower and no tummy-turning involved! I'd be interested to know if anyone else has ever had this aversion to perfumes at any point in their lives and how they overcame it. I'm a regular migraine sufferer too if that has any relevance. Thanks for reading if you got this far ! X

coco chanel mademoiselle. can i just ask do perfumes go off? I've got bottles that I've had for over a decade but not wore often do they go 'off' should I bin them or does the alcohol content in perfume preserve them??

Ive tried so many perfumes from the bloody posh to bargain basement
I wear cksummer if I’m not at work but if I am I wear alrehab chocco musk
Every single person I come into contact with tells me I smell lovely and more than once I’ve had people following me round,just sniffing me
£2.50 a tube bottle-I may just use up the cksummer and make this one my scent

DKNY Pure (vanilla) which is increasingly hard to get - it's just perfect for me.
I have the verbena one which is nice but not as good.

Reading this thread has been like a virtual smell-fest, it's so lovely being reminded of some of the perfumes I used to wear . The one I always come back to, which I bought after reading a review in either Just 17 or Mizz (long time ago now), is Oscar de la Renta. Nothing even comes close, for me.