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Re: Which bottle made you into a collector?
I have been collecting (I now realize in retrospect) for a long time. And along the way, I thought there were markers. There were times before I had ever heard of Basenotes that I realized I had stuff that most people had never heard of. There was the time when I first realized that I had already amassed more bottles than most other Basenoters; until that time I had unconsciously assumed that most people on this board had hundreds of bottles!
But I think the real indicator came relatively recently. A while ago, I purchased Parfums DelRae Eau Illuminée. I had seen it in a small boutique that sold mostly antiques and home decor items. They had all four of the DelRae line, and I sniffed them all. Gradually, I realized that there was some kind of genius in the nose that created these, Michel Roudnitska, the son of another perfumer, Edmond Roudnitska. It was a while before I picked up my second fragrance from the DelRae line, Bois de Paradis. After that it was a foregone conclusion that I would buy the other two, Début and Amoureuse. And I did, as I knew I would. Then I realized that I had bought an entire line (albeit a very small one) of fragrances: first, because I loved every one of them; second, because I knew I would wear them all; and third, because I knew that the nose who created them was a true talent. Most of you know that this is the same nose who created Noir Épices for the Frédéric Malle Éditions de Parfums line. [His father Edmond created Parfum de Thérèse, now also in the F. Malle line, originally conceived as Prune, but not marketed under that name when he created it because it was too far ahead of its time.]
Somehow, that experience of discovering, appreciating, and buying all of that line brought me to the realization that I was a collector; and that this was so because I knew with certainty that I would eventually hunt down with the tenacity of a bloodhound any scent that I believed in some private, interior sense was a masterpiece. I have picked up many others that were not real masterpieces (some of them pretty far from that exalted designation), but those don't define my quest. I don't dine every night on gourmet food, and in just the same way, I don't always wear masterpiece scents. That's not the point. The point is that I regard scents as part of living, a clearly central part of it for me, and that I am now in some inescapable sense, a collector. Thanks, Michel Roudnitska, for that realization. You may not be the greatest nose that ever lived, but you're pretty high up in my book, and your oeuvre finally made me realize just how much scent means to me.
But I think the real indicator came relatively recently. A while ago, I purchased Parfums DelRae Eau Illuminée. I had seen it in a small boutique that sold mostly antiques and home decor items. They had all four of the DelRae line, and I sniffed them all. Gradually, I realized that there was some kind of genius in the nose that created these, Michel Roudnitska, the son of another perfumer, Edmond Roudnitska. It was a while before I picked up my second fragrance from the DelRae line, Bois de Paradis. After that it was a foregone conclusion that I would buy the other two, Début and Amoureuse. And I did, as I knew I would. Then I realized that I had bought an entire line (albeit a very small one) of fragrances: first, because I loved every one of them; second, because I knew I would wear them all; and third, because I knew that the nose who created them was a true talent. Most of you know that this is the same nose who created Noir Épices for the Frédéric Malle Éditions de Parfums line. [His father Edmond created Parfum de Thérèse, now also in the F. Malle line, originally conceived as Prune, but not marketed under that name when he created it because it was too far ahead of its time.]
Somehow, that experience of discovering, appreciating, and buying all of that line brought me to the realization that I was a collector; and that this was so because I knew with certainty that I would eventually hunt down with the tenacity of a bloodhound any scent that I believed in some private, interior sense was a masterpiece. I have picked up many others that were not real masterpieces (some of them pretty far from that exalted designation), but those don't define my quest. I don't dine every night on gourmet food, and in just the same way, I don't always wear masterpiece scents. That's not the point. The point is that I regard scents as part of living, a clearly central part of it for me, and that I am now in some inescapable sense, a collector. Thanks, Michel Roudnitska, for that realization. You may not be the greatest nose that ever lived, but you're pretty high up in my book, and your oeuvre finally made me realize just how much scent means to me.
Total Comments 10
Comments
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For me it was L'Heure Bleue. I bought a few bottles before that, but it was the first time I truly found what I was looking for in a fragrance. The first sniff I knew something had changed in my life & I know what it was I wanted to do & what I had been missing in shunning perfume because of my extreme sense of smell.Posted 2nd September 2008 at 02:03 PM by DebraJean 
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L'Heure Bleue made you a collector...
Guerlain
L'Heure Bleue
(1912)
Jacques Guerlain
Top Notes: Bergamot, Anise Seed, Neroli Oil, Lemon, Coriander
Middle Notes: Carnation, Orange Blossom, Jasmine, Bulgarian Rose, Heliotrope, Ylang-Ylang, Orchid, Clove
Base Notes: Iris, Vanilla, Sandalwood, Musk, Vetiver, Benzoin
This is a very beautiful scent indeed! I can see why it captivated you. I only have it in EdP, not in pure parfum. Maybe some day...
Posted 3rd September 2008 at 05:55 AM by JaimeB
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aww, I have to go put some on right now to review it! I just moved & finaly have all my bottels with me. I only have the new edp, I want to get the old ones. I'll be buying some for sure around my birthday, October 11th, & if I get a full bottle I'll decant you some.
Posted 4th September 2008 at 06:44 AM by DebraJean
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is this the cliff richard website . ?
Posted 6th September 2008 at 08:28 PM by Hazelmarch
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I like men who wear aftershave it usualy means they have gentle ways
Posted 6th September 2008 at 08:31 PM by Hazelmarch
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VAnilla. thoughts of parties cakes and happy times what a nice smell hard to get for my esential massage
Posted 6th September 2008 at 08:34 PM by Hazelmarch
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with this bad weather i like to find happy fragrance like chocol
Posted 6th September 2008 at 08:41 PM by Hazelmarch
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Sorry for off topic!
I have an idea to order a custom perfume ( and resell them in a small amounts ) There are lot of suggestions in the WEB but i can not choose because i do not test what they are doing.Please recommend me if it is possible perfumer who is
1Great
2Not expensive(not more 500 USD)
3 Who already made perfumes for celebrities or for well-known brands ( it will be easier to advertise )
Thank you very much in advance !Posted 11th September 2008 at 11:35 PM by dimitry
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For me, it was when I read a thrilling, historically in depth description of Bandit and ordered the pure parfume - unsniffed. (I know, I know!) Before that my only perfume had been Opium, and I regarded Opium as a glorious fluke in a world of icky floral stink potions sold to gormless casanovas trying to impress some woman.
Bandit was an education in a bottle - and now that I have found Basenotes, the obsessive-compulsive in me is going to be trolling the internet for more and better scent rides.Posted 13th September 2008 at 01:15 AM by rock-head
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I don't know if this counts since I'm early on my perfume collecting journey (though I already know how this is going to go, seeing as I am truly obsessive whenever I find something that interests me). But anyway, what actually started me this way was a combination of two things - Dior Addict (which I do not like nearly as much now that I've smelled many other things) and finding a review of it on nowsmellthis. Nowsmellthis was the tipping point. I had never thought of perfume as an art form before.
I think, more than any one scent, I am obsessed with perfume because I enjoy a) thinking about how it works and b) honing my senses in order to identify various notes/accords. I also am fascinated by the scientific side of it. I love science and art, and it's rare to find something that so fully encompasses both of those things.Posted 16th September 2008 at 03:47 PM by hyacinthine
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