In my last blog entry, I wrote about those fragrances that fall into the category of 'somebody that we used to know'. I shared two examples from my perfume journey- a win and a fail. Today, I'd like to draw your short-spanned attention to fragrances that fall into the category of 'the one that got away'.
Have you ever had the opportunity to purchase a fragrance, decided not to and then regretted it bitterly much later? Or perhaps it is different for you, you owned the fragrance, decided to declutter it to make room for something else, and then regretted your decision bitterly down the line? Mayhaps your experience is even more heartbreaking- you decluttered a bottle of perfume that has now been discontinued, and you have no way to repurchase what you now believe should never have left your collection in the first place. Oh the horror!
I believe that most fragrance lovers or collectors have come across that one bottle of perfume that they wished they had made a different decision about. The sharp pain... the regret... the 'what ifs' and longing to right the wrong of not owning that particular fragrance. It is all a part of the experience, a necessary evil as we continue in this hobby.
To me, the 'one that got away' was Cartier Baiser Volé Parfum. What is yours, and what stopped you from acquiring the perfume when you could, or decluttering it from your collection, when you (s)he was yours? Additionally, have you attempted to reunite the broken mirror by rebuying the fragrance you decluttered?
I'm an odd sort, on the one hand I find that the angst of regret adds colour to my collecting journey, and on the other hand I question if nostalgia will deliver in real life, if the perfume was really 'all that' in the first place. Would I truly have decluttered it or declined to purchase a full bottle if it was something I could not walk away from?
Update: A week ago while travelling for business, I passed through an international airport and like a kid in a candy store, I went straight to the Cartier section. 'Today was the day' I had decided, I was going to acquire the parfum after my heart and put an end to months of longing and regret. 'Why don't you test it again, Lotte' a thought sprung up, 'but I already know how this smells' I countered, 'It was love in the dry down'. I had a little over an hour of transit so I thought, 'why not'. Oh heavens, what a disappointment it proved to be. Had it changed, perhaps a bad batch? Or had I changed, and was the reason I had walked away from it in the first place, a fact that had gotten lost in feelings and longing? Well, there goes the dream.
Lieselotte