Nicest ever perfume

[SaagAloopa]

In your opinion what is the nicest ever perfume?

Dries Van Noten - Fleur Du Mal.

Sadly I can't justify the price! If anyone knows a good dupe, let me know!

I used to love this as a 20 something!

Thuis is why I love staying in Conrads, I can wash, and lotion myself up in the fragrance!

Escentric Molecule 01+ Black Tea

Got a sample in a Perfume Society tester box and it was utterly divine. Sadly at £125 per bottle I can’t justify the cost.

It's so personal isn't it. I sprayed this on myself and was totally intrigued by the smell but also really didn't like it 😂 it gave me a headache. But definitely interesting.

I do love their blood orange and framboise noire fragrances though.

Penhaligon’s Halfeti, I adore it.

Similar ilk would be La Labo Tonga 25

Also love Baccarat rouge 540 but that is really expensive so only on special occasions!

I tend to like the more spicy, warm oud type fragrances as you can tell!

Almost everything I love becomes discontinued. A metaphor for life. I mourn Very Valentino and Bottega Veneta Flora Botanical.
I currently love Jo Malone Earl Grey and Cucumber and Lacura Perfect Pink (lass than a tenner from Aldi).

Thank you all so very much. I was trying to think of new perfumes to try to expand my horizons and the only thing I could think of is well I want it to be nice. But then realised that is an incredibly subjective thing and then thought it would be interesting to see what people thought was the nicest. I see some familiar names mentioned and some not so familiar so I am going to try and check them all out. My nicest one is Angels Share by Killian.

P.s. going to buy a bottle of Shalimar when funds next allow. That was my first ever grown up perfume and I adored it

I like Chanel perfumes and Mugler or Jo Malone.

But my day to day go to is Lancombe Miricle or Cacharel Amor Amor.

Coco Chanel, Bvlgari Rose Goldea and YSL Libre are my current favourites. I think my next purchase will be Van Cleef and Arpels - The Amara.

Dioressence

Molecule 01 + manderine

Coromandel

Aromatics Elixir, and also Obsession for Men for a huge hit of nostalgia.

When I was little and my mum used to kiss me good night before she went out, I used to smell her Chanel 5. I still associate it with glamour and being grown up. Now I wear Portrait of A Lady and kiss my daughter before I leave for an evening out...I hope she'll have the same association!

Le Labo the noir is fresh and interesting, the santal 33 has got a bit ubiquitous. There's a phenomenal maker called DS&Durga who seek through Liberty. I bought their 'Bowmaker' for my husband-it smells exactly like a workshop for string instruments but sexy!

Just looked this up! It's £255 for 100 ml

How is it different to eg Jo Malone rose?

I can’t emulate @BetsyRegards very poetic post, but I will try a similar recap:

I love green, mineral and classic & feminine so:

Eternity by Calvin Klein when I was 18
Escape by Calvin Klein
Roma by Laura Biagotti

I found Chanel 19 the chic-est fragrance ever; I wore in my 20’s and now I’ve gone back to it in my 40’s
Also wore the fig one in my 20’s

Annick Goutal Eau Hadrien for a long while but it just doesn’t last (please let me know of anything similar that lasts!)

Chanel Coco was my going out perfume in my 20’s

Flirted with Bulgari Pour Femme in my 30’s and a Patchouli one by a French brand, Essence

Now stuck with Chanel 19 and Chanel’s other sharp green one, Deauville

Always on the look out for bergamot-green if anyone has any recs!

Dans tes bras is one of my favourites too @BetsyRegards - what do you find problematic about it?

I also love Rehab by Initio, Serge Lutens Des Clous Pour Une Pelure which smells like cloves in oranges, Gypsy Water by Byredo, and currently, Olympea.

Do you ever do the New York Times Wordle, @AntigoneFunn? I used to despise ‘puzzles’ but am fond of that - and crucially find it a good measure of my state of mind. If I get through it quickly and smoothly I can be confident that I’m ‘ok’. If I struggle, that probably reflects too much worry, or too much wine, or too much virus.

Dans Tes Bras is the same. If I’m happy, or at least content, and relatively unstressed, it smells perfect on me - ever so slightly discordant and out of balance but also sweet and plummy and intimate and troubling; exactly what I want from a perfume. If I’m out of sorts, angry or anxious or whatever - it becomes the nastiest smell in the world and I have to scrub it off before it gives me a headache or makes me cry. I love the way it responds and records like that - but it makes wearing it a bit of a risk; I never know how we’ll get on with each other.

(I haven’t bought any very recently and suspect it will have become a victim of cost cutting and popularisation and change of ownership.)

Do you find you can trust it to always behave well?

I love these threads! I like variety so it's hard to chose!

Pleased to see Wood Sage and Seasalt has been mentioned, one of my favourites. Also JM Blackberry and Bay.

My favourite summer (or need-a-lift) perfume is Hermès Un jardin sur le Nil, which is quite light and green but not super-bergamotty, @BrightNewLife

I posted about my quest for a fig perfume and got loads of suggestions - so am waiting on lots of samples...

The original Coco by Chanel ( eau de toilette) my all-time favourite; the original Opium (eau de toilette); the original Miss Dior; Chanel No 5; Jardins de Bagatelle, Guerlin (but I've never actually owned a bottle of this yet). It's heartbreaking when they change the formulation of a perfume you love!

Just looked this up! It's £255 for 100 ml
How is it different to eg Jo Malone rose?

Assuming you mean Lipstick Rose, @aliceinawonderland? I honestly couldn’t say! (I haven’t really had any engagement with Jo Malone this century - though Lime Basil & Mandarin got me through some very tricky times in the 90s.) I just know that although I sometimes find it imperfect or even a bit annoying I invariably crave that ridiculous pink smell as soon as the weather turns warmer and the sun returns every spring. It just makes me feel happy and carefree and optimistic.

I should say I only rarely buy full bottles for myself - the travel sizes are much more convenient.

Obviously the value of a perfume is a matter of perception. I used to be quite happy to buy into the whole Frederic Malle vibe, it felt fun and sophisticated and intellectual and full of adventure. I’ve become gradually less and less emotionally invested since Estée Lauder took over, as I assume the perfumes move further and further from their origins.

Tocca cleopatra and Collette.,I can’t take a meter step in an airport for people asking what I’m wearing - including security staff

Shalimar, Hypnose, Insolence, Dune.