One bottle a day: no mercy!!!

[Andy the frenchy]

Do I need 500 bottles? Probably not.

I already have sold ~60/80, and have another ~100 currently for sale. Now... the first couple of waves are the easiest, but now, the selection starts to be harder, because I kind of love them all haha!
I'm NOT desperatly trying to 'downsize from 500 to 5', but like someone told me a couple of years ago: choosing a fragrance in the morning shouldn't become an anxiety-generating conundrum. And let's be honest: life is too short to waste wearings with just good (but not great) stuff.

So I decided to add one fragrance per day to my sales list, from now until the end of January (that's another ~40 fragrances), possibly until the end of February.
I know... this thread sounds like a group therapy for whom has a huge wardrobe like mine, but it's not!

So... which fragrance did you decide you do not need anymore, today? Why so?

 

[Andy the frenchy]

I'll be starting with Colonia Oud by Acqua di Parma

I loved it a few years ago, and decided to wear it again yesterday following a post in a thread about AdP. Well.... that was pretty much a painful downfall: synthetic and harsh are the two words that came to my mind immediately. Still, it's somewhat more interesting than the average mall fragrance, and I'm sure it has its fanbase. But as of today, it has one less supporter. Farewell!

 

[hednic]

I am very happy with my current large collection and have no plans on cutting down.

 

[Andy the frenchy]

I am very happy with my current large collection and have no plans on cutting down.

Not sure why, but I was expecting your post
Maybe you could help me: what is your strategy to choose a scent in the morning? (with several 1,000s bottles you own, I think it's reasonable to define that a strategy)

 

[hednic]

No strategy. I simply randomly choose a fragrance the night before.

 

[waldganger]

I'm also putting a few bottles aside for sale, that I barely wear or just dont like anymore.
My collection was less than 100 and I sold many in the last 18 months (I didnt buy anything during that period).
I regret selling a couple like Peau de Bete or the original Bat but its too late now.

The first one on the new list is MFK-BR540 extrait.
I really like it but after 2-3 years, I feel like I dont need it anymore.
It has lost its X factor.

*edit: just took the bottle, sprayed myself with it and now Im not sure anymore hahahahahha

 

[Andy the frenchy]

I'm also putting a few bottles aside for sale, that I barely wear or just dont like anymore.
My collection was less than 100 and I sold many in the last 18 months (I didnt buy anything during that period).
I regret selling a couple like Peau de Bete or the original Bat but its too late now.

The first one on the new list is MFK-BR540 extrait.
I really like it but after 2-3 years, I feel like I dont need it anymore.
It has lost its X factor.

*edit: just took the bottle, sprayed myself with it and now Im not sure anymore hahahahahha

I also have that yes-but-let-me-think-about-it-more reactions for a few of them. And that's perfectly fine! At least it confirms firmly that you don;t want to get rid of it (or that it's not yet its time).

Also for the original Bat (blended by Ellen Covey), I probably shouldn;t tell you because it's counter productive for this thread, but Ellen Covey re-issued it in her own line, exactly identical, for a lower price/ml. It's now commercialized as Night Flyer, by Olympic Orchids perfumes. So no, it's not too late haha!

 

[cazaubon]

I have no specific numerical goals, but I just sold 2 dozen excess backup bottles, of which I already have one regret. LOL. I don’t plan to sell any more until maybe next spring. It was hard for me to let go, but I feel like at my age it’s ridiculous to have so much perfume, especially unused duplicates. I look forward to following your project!

 

[Andy the frenchy]

I have no specific numerical goals, but I just sold 2 dozen excess backup bottles, of which I already have one regret. LOL. I don’t plan to sell any more until maybe next spring. It was hard for me to let go, but I feel like at my age it’s ridiculous to have so much perfume, especially unused duplicates. I look forward to following your project!

Which one was your regret, if I may ask?

 

[waldganger]

@Andy the frenchy
No worries, I already knew about the existence of Nightflyer, so not really a temptation.
But now if we talk about her Dev series, wich you reminded me about...

 

[Andy the frenchy]

@Andy the frenchy
No worries, I already knew about the existence of Nightflyer, so not really a temptation.
But now if we talk about her Dev series, wich you reminded me about...

Shall we also put Woodcut on the table, at this point? 💸💸💸

 

[Clarissochka]

Yeah I have been trying to bring my collection down to double digits, and I feel like Sisyphus. It is hard for me to let go, and I keep adding things to my collection, and I am obviously not draining any bottles (or decants). I think my tally for this year was to sell more than I bought, which I did accomplish, but I am nowhere close to getting into double digits.

 

[Cook.bot]

Andy, I'm going to expect you to add one discard bottle per day to this thread. Don't let us down!

I had planned to trim back the bottles this year but failed miserably. HOWEVER, I did manage to get through the entire year without buying a single full bottle, so that's kind of the same thing, right?

Maybe you could help me: what is your strategy to choose a scent in the morning? (with several 1,000s bottles you own, I think it's reasonable to define that a strategy)

No strategy. I simply randomly choose a fragrance the night before.

I always imagined Hednic having all the bottles in his dedicated perfume room on a conveyor belt, like the clothes on the revolving rack at the dry cleaners. He would just hit the pedal, then release it and pick up whichever bottle is in front of him. LIke a game of musical chairs.

 

[baklavaRuzh]

I keep a rotating 3 -4 fragrances for everyday use, so no anxiety.


I don't have or aim to have triple digits of full bottles, although as I was sort of heading in that direction, so I decided to stick to travel sizes (30 or 50 ml) if possible with a few exceptions, and no more buying online until i finish half a litre or so of fragrance. I'm never going to bother selling my fragrances, so I will have to use them somehow, that's where the smaller sizes come in. I probably won't repurchase the majority of the fragrances as many are too similar or not best in show.

 

[Diddy]

I don't have any 'per day' goals. Heck, I don't even have a For Sale thread. However, I've enlisted my brother @Mythrol to come over one day in the near future and help me sift through everything. I'm definitely at a point that a lot of stuff just sits, and, I would like to get my collection down to only fragrances that I consider my favorites plus any backups I'd need/want. So yea, I need to pull everything out and start a 'To-Go pile'. I'm not curating a fragrance museum, and I don't collect with the intent to have some sort of retirement plan, so there's no need to have the few hundred bottles I have. Once I get everything sorted I'll either trade, sell, or give away to friends.

 

[Adonna]

It is the Holiday's so as always, I have boxes for donations.
So far, 42 is the last count of perfumes that need love in the boxes. 🎁
a~~

 

[FullCollapse]

Do I need 500 bottles? Probably not.

I already have sold ~60/80, and have another ~100 currently for sale. Now... the first couple of waves are the easiest, but now, the selection starts to be harder, because I kind of love them all haha!
I'm NOT desperatly trying to 'downsize from 500 to 5', but like someone told me a couple of years ago: choosing a fragrance in the morning shouldn't become an anxiety-generating conundrum. And let's be honest: life is too short to waste wearings with just good (but not great) stuff.

So I decided to add one fragrance per day to my sales list, from now until the end of January (that's another ~40 fragrances), possibly until the end of February.
I know... this thread sounds like a group therapy for whom has a huge wardrobe like mine, but it's not!

So... which fragrance did you decide you do not need anymore, today? Why so?

I'm in the same boat. Rigorously logging my SOTD helps determine what I haven't been reaching for and whether I need to evaluate keeping a bottle in my collection. I've gone from 200+ bottles down to exactly 100. My very favorites are backed up and when the others run out, then that's it for them. I hope to continue this method through 2023 and get my collection down to 50-75 bottles. Any purchases will only be focused on bottles not sufficiently backed up.

The most recent bottles to released from my collection are several from Parfum de Marly, Creed Aventus Cologne, Vintage Mitsouko and my backup bottle of Zoologist Squid.

 

[whoame]

Inspiring! I am so rooting for everyone looking to downsize and battling this mad game.

At one point I decided to put everything I had on sale, sit back and see what happens. Moments of real clinging arose when I saw my favorites gone one after another. Waking up at night in regret even.

I didn't sell everything, and I even bought some new bottles, then I also had a period of backup bottle buying which was simply another way of playing tricks on myself. (I'm not buying something new, I'm just buying something I really love and don't want to be left without it. -Yeah, because you will most definitely get through that first bottle, right.)

All in all: so far I managed to narrow down to 8 bottles all together, and right now one of them is packed and waiting to be taken to the post office tomorrow. The struggle is real and it might still stay with me, as it's not a sale but a return.

It's really hard to let go sometimes, but I learned it's so worth it. And there are harder 'things' than perfumes one has no option but let them go.

 

[Ken_Russell]

So far, have not reduced, trim down etc. the collection-but although having no plans to do this in any immediate future either, this might still change anytime at a whim, with no further notice (more so if realizing that even a smaller amount of bottles can still offer not just the longevity but also the variety needed even with no additional purchases).
Until then, trying to cut down on too impulsive, lavish, over-diversified shopping and instead trying to focus on a very select few if ever considering to (re) purchase again (and again).

 

[LL Cool Spray]

I'm rooting for you. I like to keep 40 bottle wardrobe. More than that becomes too much for me.

 

[StylinLA]

Yeah, 500 would freak me out. At about 130 I'm a bit stressed.

But whenever I consider selling some, I realize it's hard to part with many and the ones I'd be happy to let go aren't much in demand.

I've done some purging in past and the only regret selling over 40-50 bottles was Derby. Should have kept some of that.

 

[PStoller]

If this were about need, I’d have 3 frags, tops. Or none, really. So I’ll keep my 500 700+, thank you very much. But as I identify fragrances I neither wish to wear nor desire for completion’s sake, I’m either selling them or giving them away. A few are in the Free to a Good Home thread, with more soon to join them. Apparently, I have to give away better stuff, since some of my offerings are still languishing there.

 

[Andy the frenchy]

I don't have any 'per day' goals. Heck, I don't even have a For Sale thread. However, I've enlisted my brother @Mythrol to come over one day in the near future and help me sift through everything. I'm definitely at a point that a lot of stuff just sits, and, I would like to get my collection down to only fragrances that I consider my favorites plus any backups I'd need/want. So yea, I need to pull everything out and start a 'To-Go pile'. I'm not curating a fragrance museum, and I don't collect with the intent to have some sort of retirement plan, so there's no need to have the few hundred bottles I have. Once I get everything sorted I'll either trade, sell, or give away to friends.

@Mythrol is kind of a legend for me: he did that stunning 'Vetiver quest', and later the 'Sandalwood quest', 2 threads that inspired a lot my love for these notes. But afterwards, he transformed into a ghost. If you happen to spot him in the basement of some dark dungeon, please let me know.

 

[Andy the frenchy]

Andy, I'm going to expect you to add one discard bottle per day to this thread. Don't let us down![...]

I'm here! I'm here!....
Ok since I already failed (on day 2....) I'll add 2 bottles on day 3. So my 2 VOTD (Victims of the Day) are

Declaration Essence by Cartier
I'm a big fan of the Declaration signature dirty citrus+spices profile, but unfortunately that sweet tea supporting note of Essence, that appeared as a welcome improvement for many, is not working very well for me. Yup... to sweet. I wished they added only vetiver, without the tea note. Oh well, I have the original Declaration, 2 bottles of Epices Marine by Hermes as well as 3 bottles of Eau d'Hermes. I can live without Declaration Essence, I guess.


The other victim is
Oud Royal by Armani
For sure a very nice oud/rose combo, possibly one the best in the mainstream world. But in that world, I already own THE best (for me), which is Indonesian Oud by Zegna. As cuh, it'll be a farewell for me.... but let's talk truth, it's just an easy one, because what we're talking about here is a 10ml decant

 

[Cook.bot]

VOTD (Victims of the Day) are

Declaration Essence by Cartier

Ohhhh NOOOOO! Now I'm sorry I nagged you.

I adore Dec Essence. In fact, I've come to love it more than the original. But then, I do love a tea note. If your bottle is going onto the auction block, I might be one of your customers.

Is Epices Marine very similar to the original Declaration? I don't think I've ever sniffed it.

 

[Diddy]

@Mythrol is kind of a legend for me: he did that stunning 'Vetiver quest', and later the 'Sandalwood quest', 2 threads that inspired a lot my love for these notes. But afterwards, he transformed into a ghost. If you happen to spot him in the basement of some dark dungeon, please let me know.

🤣😂 I’ll screenshot your message and text it to him later. He’s alive and well. He’s just been extremely busy with life. Beyond that would be his story to tell. I will tell that very recently I brought up to him about doing another ’Quest’ and he seemed interested. Those quests were a huge commitment for him, in many ways, but also an awesome educational experience for him and myself. To be able to smell source materials, and literally start to finish examples of the notes was an amazing journey for each quest. Very eye-opening.

 

[Andy the frenchy]

Ohhhh NOOOOO! Now I'm sorry I nagged you.

I adore Dec Essence. In fact, I've come to love it more than the original. But then, I do love a tea note. If your bottle is going onto the auction block, I might be one of your customers.

Is Epices Marine very similar to the original Declaration? I don't think I've ever sniffed it.

Epice Marine bears unquestionable similarities with Declaration. While some might argue that Dclaration leans somewhat masculine, with EM Ellena brought it on a perfect unisex line and high refinement level by using Hermessences-level quality ingredients, adding some flufy musk in the base, some sweetness that rounds a bit the edges (no gourmand, it's subtle) and a salty twist. Epice Marine is my Declaration for colder days, or for when I want Declaration, but a bit less spice-bold.
I wouldn't pay full retail for EM, but a tester around $100/120 on ebay might very well be worth it for Declaration/Eau d'Hermes fans.
Alternatively, just walk in any Hermes store, express interest for it and ask for a sample: you'll be granted by a generous 8ml serving.

As for Declaration essence, trust me, it has been a long conundrum to decide if letting it go, but that sweet tea is too much for me. For the same reaosn, I'm letting go AC Philtre Ceylan (now discontinued... will I regret it?)

 

[Andy the frenchy]

My VOTD is

Sovereign by Le Galion
Beautiful luxurious smelling pink pepper and myrrh combo, supported by a delicate bed of rose, woods and oolibanum.
One might rightfully ask me: "And what's wrong with that?". Right. Well, I have to admit that the pink pepper is very strong here, and not my preferred note. But should one like that note, this is probably the holy grail. And also, as I said: I have to make choices.... not an easy let go, trust me people!

 

[hippononamus]

I have nowhere near your collection size. I was quite content with one bottle for a couple years, until I decided to track down Hindu Grass this spring and fell down the rabbit hole.

I still have less than 10 full bottles and a handful of decants, but that even feels excessive at times.
I decided Tempo needed to go. I enjoyed it a lot after sampling it at a Diptyque boutique, but subsequently found the violet too cosmetic powdery for my taste to wear regularly and so sold it last week and replaced it with a travel size haha.

 

[Mythrol]

@Mythrol is kind of a legend for me: he did that stunning 'Vetiver quest', and later the 'Sandalwood quest', 2 threads that inspired a lot my love for these notes. But afterwards, he transformed into a ghost. If you happen to spot him in the basement of some dark dungeon, please let me know.

Lol. Thank You very much for the kind words. My brother brought your post to my attention and I just happened to be sitting at a computer so tried logging in and wouldn't you know it, I actually remembered my password! He typically will keep me abreast of stuff on basenotes if it pertains to me or of interest to me. I'll say this for the benefit of any that might care. If @Diddy claims I have said something or relays a message / opinion as mine on a fragrance, It's true. He is originally who got me interested in fragrances beyond whatever designer fragrance my gf (now wife) thought smells good on me. I suppose that was a blessing and a curse because he's caused me to spend a great deal of money over the years. I look forward to finding an expensive hobby I can rope him into one day and returning the favor. I've tried with expensive whiskey's but so far it hasn't stuck as I'd hoped it would have.

As far as my ghosting, you're absolutely correct, though not necessarily of my own choosing. Very soon after finishing those quests we found out my wife was pregnant and I also started my own business, so these past 5-6 years have been extremely busy for me. I do feel there is something nice about someone saying what they had to say and just disappearing, though my brother does try his hardest to rope me into fragrances any chance he can get. Those quests were a huge undertaking and while I'd love to do another I'm not sure if my wife would stand for it. There's also the question of what note I'd want to focus on next. I've been on a huge citrus / sporty / aqua kick (probably due to our weather here) for the past couple of years now and would love to just do a huge deep dive on everything involving sporty scents but I feel like that scope would be far too large of an undertaking even if I had all the free time in the world.

If you want an idea of what I'm wearing lately it's much the same as it was years ago. Lots of (now vintage) Mugler Cologne, Original Vetiver, Encre Noire Sport, Dior Homme Cologne, Chrome Aqua, Dior Homme Sport, and a few that are my wife's favorites like Versace Pour Homme. As you can see almost everything Sporty and clean for the heat we have down here and very little actual super expensive high end stuff except on special occasions I will wear Clive Christian 1872, Xerjoff Nio, Roja Dove Vetiver Extrait.

I noticed you're currently wearing Viaggio d'Africa and all I can say is what an absolute beast of a fragrance (in the best possible way). I was very fortunate to get a bottle of it years ago and it's one of my favorite's for what it's trying to do. Unfortunately our weather here doesn't give much opportunity to wear it.

If I don't reply or miss any messages from anyone feel free to get in touch with @Diddy and he will let me know. I'd like to promise I'll be more active here however my life circumstances are still the same and keep me busy and also I find the more I read on basenotes the more money I spend on fragrances so it's probably for the best I'm not as active as I was in the past.

 

[Andy the frenchy]

Lol. Thank You very much for the kind words. My brother brought your post to my attention and I just happened to be sitting at a computer so tried logging in and wouldn't you know it, I actually remembered my password! He typically will keep me abreast of stuff on basenotes if it pertains to me or of interest to me. I'll say this for the benefit of any that might care. If @Diddy claims I have said something or relays a message / opinion as mine on a fragrance, It's true. He is originally who got me interested in fragrances beyond whatever designer fragrance my gf (now wife) thought smells good on me. I suppose that was a blessing and a curse because he's caused me to spend a great deal of money over the years. I look forward to finding an expensive hobby I can rope him into one day and returning the favor. I've tried with expensive whiskey's but so far it hasn't stuck as I'd hoped it would have.

As far as my ghosting, you're absolutely correct, though not necessarily of my own choosing. Very soon after finishing those quests we found out my wife was pregnant and I also started my own business, so these past 5-6 years have been extremely busy for me. I do feel there is something nice about someone saying what they had to say and just disappearing, though my brother does try his hardest to rope me into fragrances any chance he can get. Those quests were a huge undertaking and while I'd love to do another I'm not sure if my wife would stand for it. There's also the question of what note I'd want to focus on next. I've been on a huge citrus / sporty / aqua kick (probably due to our weather here) for the past couple of years now and would love to just do a huge deep dive on everything involving sporty scents but I feel like that scope would be far too large of an undertaking even if I had all the free time in the world.

If you want an idea of what I'm wearing lately it's much the same as it was years ago. Lots of (now vintage) Mugler Cologne, Original Vetiver, Encre Noire Sport, Dior Homme Cologne, Chrome Aqua, Dior Homme Sport, and a few that are my wife's favorites like Versace Pour Homme. As you can see almost everything Sporty and clean for the heat we have down here and very little actual super expensive high end stuff except on special occasions I will wear Clive Christian 1872, Xerjoff Nio, Roja Dove Vetiver Extrait.

I noticed you're currently wearing Viaggio d'Africa and all I can say is what an absolute beast of a fragrance (in the best possible way). I was very fortunate to get a bottle of it years ago and it's one of my favorite's for what it's trying to do. Unfortunately our weather here doesn't give much opportunity to wear it.

If I don't reply or miss any messages from anyone feel free to get in touch with @Diddy and he will let me know. I'd like to promise I'll be more active here however my life circumstances are still the same and keep me busy and also I find the more I read on basenotes the more money I spend on fragrances so it's probably for the best I'm not as active as I was in the past.

Mythrol!!!!! I'm very honoured by your presence here! Can I have an autograph, please ))

The 'ghost' was used to be consistent with my dungeon joke, I didn't meant you ghosted, sorry that was a clumsy joke of me.

Ha... next note? I was going to suggest leather, but if you're into clean stuff, it's not the right direction to go. Maybe some woodsy thing again? Or incense? Or what about a real marine thread - with real salty notes, not just 'blue'?
Your vetiver thread has been eye opening for me, and a delight to read (not to talk about the suspense of waiting for the final line of each review, aka your wife's mercyless opinion haha! I already loved vetiver, but that has only pushed me to explore further. But you're right, hanging out on BN doesn't help the wallet haha
In the meanwhile, I took possession of the vetiver dept, and @Brooks Otterlake took charge of the tobacco dept.

I hope to bump on you sometimes around here, and in the meanwhile, it's noted, I'll stalk @Diddy haha!
Talk soon!

 

[Diddy]

Mythrol!!!!! I'm very honoured by your presence here! Can I have an autograph, please ))

The 'ghost' was used to be consistent with my dungeon joke, I didn't meant you ghosted, sorry that was a clumsy joke of me.

Ha... next note? I was going to suggest leather, but if you're into clean stuff, it's not the right direction to go. Maybe some woodsy thing again? Or incense? Or what about a real marine thread - with real salty notes, not just 'blue'?
Your vetiver thread has been eye opening for me, and a delight to read (not to talk about the suspense of waiting for the final line of each review, aka your wife's mercyless opinion haha! I already loved vetiver, but that has only pushed me to explore further. But you're right, hanging out on BN doesn't help the wallet haha
In the meanwhile, I took possession of the vetiver dept, and @Brooks Otterlake took charge of the tobacco dept.

I hope to bump on you sometimes around here, and in the meanwhile, it's noted, I'll stalk @Diddy haha!
Talk soon!

Feel free to reach out to me anytime. I also was kinda hoping @Mythrol would tackle something less abstract than clean or fresh or sporty scents and tackle something head on again…. The Quest for THE Tea Fragrance?! The Quest for THE Leather Fragrance?! Would be a fun ride, and likely controversial as well. I.E. interesting

 

[hednic]

If this were about need, I’d have 3 frags, tops. Or none, really. So I’ll keep my 500 700+, thank you very much.

 

[cazaubon]

Just a gentle reminder that selling is not allowed in discussion threads (not saying anyone is currently doing that, but please bear that in mind).

 

[Mythrol]

Mythrol!!!!! I'm very honoured by your presence here! Can I have an autograph, please ))

The 'ghost' was used to be consistent with my dungeon joke, I didn't meant you ghosted, sorry that was a clumsy joke of me.

Ha... next note? I was going to suggest leather, but if you're into clean stuff, it's not the right direction to go. Maybe some woodsy thing again? Or incense? Or what about a real marine thread - with real salty notes, not just 'blue'?
Your vetiver thread has been eye opening for me, and a delight to read (not to talk about the suspense of waiting for the final line of each review, aka your wife's mercyless opinion haha! I already loved vetiver, but that has only pushed me to explore further. But you're right, hanging out on BN doesn't help the wallet haha
In the meanwhile, I took possession of the vetiver dept, and @Brooks Otterlake took charge of the tobacco dept.

I hope to bump on you sometimes around here, and in the meanwhile, it's noted, I'll stalk @Diddy haha!
Talk soon!

I couldn't imagine leather. Not even because of me but my wife. I can already tell you the answer from my wife for every single leather fragrance I'd try, "Ew. Smells like smoke." Speaking of leather fragrances I just picked up a bottle of Tuscano Leather by some company I can't remember the name of and boy is that thing straight up the best clone of any fragrance I've ever tried. It legit just smells like Tuscan Leather. I have a small split of the Tom Ford and was comparing the two and it's insane. If you have an itch for Tuscan Leather, I'd suggest looking that one up. My wife's answer was they both smelled terrible, but what does she know anyway!

Incense is a good one. I feel like I've already tried some outstanding Incense fragrances but I can't pull that knowledge out from memory atm. I think Incense is more up @Diddy's alley. A real marine thread would be a fun one. I actually have some strong opinions about that those and it'd be close to the aquatic style that I've been digging lately. Salt would be a good quest to go on and feels like it'd be interesting to see different perfumer's take on it. As of now my go to Salt / Marine fragrance is Sel de Vetiver and I still have regrets with not having purchased a full bottle all those years ago when I first tried it.

 

[Diddy]

I couldn't imagine leather. Not even because of me but my wife. I can already tell you the answer from my wife for every single leather fragrance I'd try, "Ew. Smells like smoke." Speaking of leather fragrances I just picked up a bottle of Tuscano Leather by some company I can't remember the name of and boy is that thing straight up the best clone of any fragrance I've ever tried. It legit just smells like Tuscan Leather. I have a small split of the Tom Ford and was comparing the two and it's insane. If you have an itch for Tuscan Leather, I'd suggest looking that one up. My wife's answer was they both smelled terrible, but what does she know anyway!

Incense is a good one. I feel like I've already tried some outstanding Incense fragrances but I can't pull that knowledge out from memory atm. I think Incense is more up @Diddy's alley. A real marine thread would be a fun one. I actually have some strong opinions about that those and it'd be close to the aquatic style that I've been digging lately. Salt would be a good quest to go on and feels like it'd be interesting to see different perfumer's take on it. As of now my go to Salt / Marine fragrance is Sel de Vetiver and I still have regrets with not having purchased a full bottle all those years ago when I first tried it.

We can do incense! You over there talking about salt/marine fragrance and not even talking about vintage Imperial or Erolfa? Ay, ya-ya. We still still have much work to do, young padawan! And that only scratches the surface. Actually, you’re getting my wheels turning now. This can be dangerous!

PS… no need to do incense as I already know that Jubilation XXV (especially vintage) is the best general all around incense.

 

[Andy the frenchy]

I couldn't imagine leather. Not even because of me but my wife. I can already tell you the answer from my wife for every single leather fragrance I'd try, "Ew. Smells like smoke." Speaking of leather fragrances I just picked up a bottle of Tuscano Leather by some company I can't remember the name of and boy is that thing straight up the best clone of any fragrance I've ever tried. It legit just smells like Tuscan Leather. I have a small split of the Tom Ford and was comparing the two and it's insane. If you have an itch for Tuscan Leather, I'd suggest looking that one up. My wife's answer was they both smelled terrible, but what does she know anyway!

Incense is a good one. I feel like I've already tried some outstanding Incense fragrances but I can't pull that knowledge out from memory atm. I think Incense is more up @Diddy's alley. A real marine thread would be a fun one. I actually have some strong opinions about that those and it'd be close to the aquatic style that I've been digging lately. Salt would be a good quest to go on and feels like it'd be interesting to see different perfumer's take on it. As of now my go to Salt / Marine fragrance is Sel de Vetiver and I still have regrets with not having purchased a full bottle all those years ago when I first tried it.

Not a fan of TL (the raspberry accord is not my thing), but if interested, another great TL-inspired fragrance is Macho Man by Nabeel. Roll-on oil sticks goes for under $10, and projects better than the original (in spite of being an oil frag)

As for SdV, yes, it’s stunning. In my top 5 vetiver fragrances, and would definitely fit in a « quest for salt »

 

[Andy the frenchy]

We can do incense! You over there talking about salt/marine fragrance and not even talking about vintage Imperial or Erolfa? Ay, ya-ya. We still still have much work to do, young padawan! And that only scratches the surface. Actually, you’re getting my wheels turning now. This can be dangerous!

PS… no need to do incense as I already know that Jubilation XXV (especially vintage) is the best general all around incense.

A recent release that could fit well in a « salt quest » is Noir de Noir by Atelier des Ors. They replicated the smell of caviar to perfection. Not sure I want to smell of caviar, but really worth a smell.

I see J25 more as an honey/amber fragrance than incense (intended as smoky, churchy, myrrh, olibanum).
So yes, we need an incense quest

 

[Diddy]

A recent release that could fit well in a « salt quest » is Noir de Noir by Atelier des Ors. They replicated the smell of caviar to perfection. Not sure I want to smell of caviar, but really worth a smell.

I see J25 more as an honey/amber fragrance than incense (intended as smoky, churchy, myrrh, olibanum).
So yes, we need an incense quest

You’re correct. J25 has more sweetness, although the non-magnetic cap version does have more incense. It’s not the best straight up incense fragrance. I put it at my #1 all around in general fragrance with incense backbone, instead of #1 incense. Like vetiver, incense can be broken down into segments. For some Avignon would be the best because it’s such a clear representation of a scent memory from church. @Mythrol could break incense into categories like ‘easiest introduction’, ‘best pure incense’, ‘most wearable’ etc etc. Last night he and I were texting, and he used the word “salt” several times. I’m not sure if he was foreshadowing or just speaking generally about what has piqued his curiosity lately….

 

[PrinceRF]

And let's be honest: life is too short to waste wearings with just good (but not great) stuff.

Totally agree - and with an excessively large collection, you'll have fewer opportunities to wear your favorites! Wishing you best of luck with your goal.