the improbable dream

[splix]

I just read that Tom Ford is coming out with a fragrance called - wait for it - Fucking Fabulous.

Edgy, huh. Anyway, the name, which some folks are absolutely clutching their pearls over, isn't what's making me gasp - it's the price. $310 USD for 1.7 ounces, or 50 ml. I think that's freakin' crazy. And I don't own *any* TF frags because the price is just so prohibitive - though I like Santal Blush and Neroli Portofino, and I'd like to have some Noir de Noir for sure.

Which makes me wonder - is there a holy grail fragrance for you? Would you be willing to shell out big money for it?

For myself, I'd love to have some original Ralph Lauren Tuxedo, and Catherine Deneuve Deneuve, both big 80s scents. Le Labo came out with Belle du Soir which is a pretty good dupe for Deneuve, and I have a solid of that, but I'd still like the original. And I have an Irma Shorell version of Tuxedo which, sadly, smells nothing like the original I remember, which was so glamorous and sharp and sophisticated. I was a kid when I had the tiny bottle of the stuff, and I kept the bottle long after the fragrance was gone, just to smell the faint dregs. Sigh.

I wouldn't pay 300 for an ounce, but I would consider *maybe* 100 for each, if decent unturned bottles were to show up. It's so risky to buy blind, though.... :-/

What's your long lost fragrance dream?

Comments

[muccamukk]

I still want a whole bottle of Chanel's Cuir de Russie, but I just can't justify that much money. It's the absolute best femme leather smell out there though.

[splix]

I hear amazing things about that juice. I'd love to sample it some day.

[lunabee34]

I wish I had connected with that one. So many people really seem to love it, but it didn't work for me.

[subsequent]

Not a long-lost dream, but a reality that's out of my price range - Ambre Narguilé by Hermes is an absolute joy, and just wearing it makes me happy.

Unfortunately the full bottle is $335 for a 100ml.

I settled on stocking up on the 15ml bottles when I could afford them (and thank goodness that they offer them), but I'd still love to get a full bottle some day.

[splix]

I'm developing a real affection for honeyed fragrances. I'll have to look for this to try it at some point. Oh god that's expensive. :(

[subsequent]

If Hermes has a store in your area, I've had luck emailing them and just asking for a sample directly. May be worth a try! Good luck!

[splix]

I'm in Albuquerque and we don't, boo. I will be in the Chicago area around the Xmas holidays though - I will make a note! Thx!

[lunabee34]

I love Tom Ford Santal Blush hard. It's probably my second favorite perfume I've smelled. I need to smell more of his perfumes. I suspect I'd like them.

IDK how much I'd be willing to spend on something that was truly Fucking Fabulous. LOL It'd be too precious to wear every day at those prices.

[splix]

I just blind-bought a bottle of Adam Levine Woman - apparently it's a pretty good dupe for Santal Blush and was created by the same nose, Yann Vasnier. And at 12 bucks for a bottle, if it's not exact, I'm not going to cry much. :)

[lunabee34]

I am very interested to hear whether you think it's a good dupe or not!

[splix]

I will come back and let you know. I have only my memory of Santal Blush as it's been a while since I've had a sample but I'll do my best.

[lunabee34]

Gotcha.

I'm looking forward to it!

[splix]

Well, it's not exactly as I recall Santal Blush to be, but the similarities are most certainly there. And it's actually a very lovely fragrance! The sandalwood is the most potent in the drydown and the sillage was good on me. The second time I wore it I blended it with L'Occitane's 4 Reines and that combo was astonishing. I think I'll continue to blend it with florals now and then.

[lunabee34]

What an encouraging review!

I'm going to see if I can find somewhere to smell this.

I just bought Bath and Body Works Vetiver Sandalwood candle and it hits enough of the Santal Blush notes to make me a very happy camper.

[splix]

Ah, nice! I'm glad you found something similar!

[fleurrochard]

Versace V/S, which I used years and years ago until they didn't produce it anymore, and which smelled amazing on me.

[splix]

Damn it all. :(

[vicki_rae]

I miss classic Chanel #22 so much. It was all I wore in the 70s & 80s. Just glorious with my skin chemistry.

[splix]

My aunt wore that. It was marvelous on her.

[ceebee_eebee]

Guerlain Djedi. I would sell the first born child I don't have for a fresh bottle.

[splix]

I'd never even heard of that! I love the education I'm getting from this post. I hope you can find some, miraculous and reasonably priced. :)

[ceebee_eebee]

It was released in the late 20s and that's it. I think there was a limited reissue in the 90s of 1000 bottles or something. It's impossible to find so of COURSE it's the greatest perfume I've ever smelled. ::sigh:: On me I would say it comes off as a creamier, slightly sweeter version of Onda? If you like Onda, you'd probably love Djedi.

[sapote]

Aftelier Shiso. I actually dropped out of perfume fandom over Shiso. That was it, I'd found the one, I was done.

$80 for 2 ml, and that was before she stopped making it completely. Now it's out-of-print, basically, and my 3 (3!) 2-ml minis will have to last me ??forever??.

[splix]

WOW. Okay, that totally blows Fucking Fabulous out of the water re. price. I wonder if there's any chance she'll bring it back [I'd heard of Ms. Aftel peripherally but had never really investigated so thanks for enabling me to dig and learn a bit!].

[full_metal_ox]

(Hope you don't mind a wild Full Metal Ox suddenly appearing.)

One that I always wanted to try was the original formulation of Alexander McQueen's (now defunct) Kingdom--the combination of lush rose and vanilla with unapologetic funky animalics sounds like something I'd be all over like a yellowjacket on a Mountain Dew spill.

[splix]

Not at all! :) I've never tried that either. Drat, it sounds divine!

[full_metal_ox]

Another olfactory Improbable Dream of mine: I've never heard of purslane being used as a fragrance ingredient (a thought that then prompted me to Google the possibility--apparently Grey Mountain, Black Lake from DS and Durga's HYLNDS line contains it, at the end of a list of herbal and atmospheric notes.)

What I'd love is a perfume that gives purslane top billing; the herb has a dense, earthy, moist complexity with elements of lemon, okra, romaine lettuce, and vetiver--and is among the diminishing number of things I can actually smell. (Hyposmia is a huge determinant of my fragrance preferences; I fear I may at some point have been the Rose from the Grave, the Vanilla Gorilla, or the Thing from Planet Patchouli standing next to you in the elevator.)

[splix]

That's an intriguing description! God, there aren't enough opportunities out there to smell everything.

Oh, I'm sorry about the hyposmia. :( I actually have the opposite - hyperosmia? It's a mixed blessing. :)

[full_metal_ox]

Another floral single-note or showcase I'd like: hawthorn-blossom. Unfortunately, it's unlikely to happen; hawthorn apparently comes in pretty floral and nasty animalic varieties, and guess which one happens to interest me.

(Also, I knew I recognized your icon from somewhere: Susie Bick for Dior Maquillage "Les Diaboliques", makeup and photography by Tyen, circa 1986:

)

[splix]

Yep. 80s Dior makeup ads are the bomb.

[full_metal_ox]

A couple more of mine were cheap drugstore fare...back when they existed. My signature scents in the 80's were old-school Tabu (my favorite descriptions are "like Salome, it will not give up until something awful happens" and "smells like a teenager's idea of sex") and Mennen's Hawk; the two shared an emphasis on dark funky take-no-prisoners Oriental base notes: things like patchouli, civet, vetiver, and tobacco--both within my perceptual range and expressive of a menace, gravity, and self-assurance I wish I possessed.