Vintage Perfume Season

The change of seasons means a change of scents for me; I like to switch it up with the weather.  So as we head more deeply into fall, I am doing a bit of experimentation with my array of vintage perfumes that I seem to collect with amazing speed (I can’t help it, I’m utterly besotted with vintage fragrance).

My general trend is to wear lighter, more sweet floral scents in the summer, and then wear the spicier Oriental scents for fall and winter.  This past summer was really quite warm, and since scents heighten rather alarmingly on warm bodies (especially my warm body), I used scent sparingly over the summer.   When I did wear scent, I tended toward Skin Musk Perfume Oil by Parfums de Couer.  It’s a really sexy floral scent with sandalwood and musk to cut the sweetness.  Sort of makes me feel all earthy and natural.  But a little goes a long way.

On one of my thrift store shopping ventures, I found a bottle of Champs-Elysées eau de toilette by Guerlain.  Of course I snatched it up immediately!  I love it when I find perfume treasures at the thrift – it is a rare occasion when that happens.  The scent is very sweet, almost too cloying for me, but I wore it anyway.  It was a fun summer scent adventure to wear something so very French and elegant and different.  A bit jarring to my olfactory sense perhaps, but it is good to not get into too much of a scent rut.

Now that autumn is here, I’m rethinking my scent choices.  Of course, my perennial scent for 30 years has been Opium by Yves Saint Laurent.  It is and will be forever my signature scent.  It is the only scent that I get almost a primal thrill from – it goes deep!  It is also the only scent that I consistently get compliments on when I wear it, “You smell so GOOD!”; so I figure it is a perfect match for me.

In the winter, I like to dabble with the other various vintage perfumes that adorn my dresser top.  And since I’m usually under about 3 layers of sweaters and freezing cold, it’s nice to add a layer of scent to warm things up a bit.  Winter just seems more suited to scent for me, and I indulge freely then.  Here’s to smelling wonderful!

-Marilyn Huttunen