The Catalyst

Which fragrance launched you down the rabbit hole of fragrance collecting? What's the story?

The first fragrance I fell in love with was Mon Guerlain Eau de Parfum and I still use it religiously at least once a week, but I didn't begin collecting until I realized the power that "Club Black | Mercedes-Benz" has over me. I literally become weak in the knees around it. It made me want to discover more about this witchcraft so I was encouraged to try Luna Rossa Eau de Toilette and that was it for me. First it was the original, then Luna Rossa Black, then Luna Rossa Carbon, and I have never been happier building my collection of magic potions. I'm happy to be part of this community of enthusiasts.

It's also fun getting my boyfriend to try all the fragrances I bring home and showering him with affection in all the new scents. It feels like a fairy tale to me.

I wore Polo Eau de Toilette forever because I only sampled at stores and that did nothing for me. So nothing smelled like it would if I gave it time. But around 2022ish I discovered getting 5ml samples and it changed all of that. I could wear things several times and notes would finally unlock.

At one point after not thinking much of it at first, everything unlocked for Original Vetiver I remember exactly when it happened…I was walking down the hallway, day time, Spring, sniffing my wrist and saying I couldn’t believe a person could smell like this. It blew my mind.

The perfume I used to wear in the late eighties and nineties was Antaeus Eau de Toilette and I adored the woody depth and sweet, eternal sillage. I didn't know then this perfume reveals a type of a man with authority. It was a very pleasant and lush experience and now I don't even try the current version in case it smells different and poorer.Much later I bought a second hand bottle of a fragrance it is disrupted now. It was a three quarters bottle of YSL Opium edt , launched for women but so entirely unisex today. This already used bottle from the nineties , I still have , the fragrance was originally launched in the seventies, gave me the kick to start collecting perfumes. The year 2009 the YSL house had to either disrupt Opium edt and edp or minimise them down to 7 notes out of the 26 notes the fragrances used to carry. I have to admit they succeeded to minimise this gorgeous resinous amber very well!!

I've always had severe allergies which kept me from getting close to perfumes since my nose was so sensitive. Fortunately, I got to start a treatment to alleviate my allergies which was working. I realized it was working when I could wash myself with the Cheirosa body wash without sneezing and I could stand to spray the decant I got of Sol Cheirosa '62 from a Sephora purchase.

Then it was the beginning of the end.

I still have Cheirosa and I still love it although it's no longer the one I'm wearing the msot or my favorite in my collection. I do keep it 'cause I like wearing it now and then and I fondly look at the bottle thinking it's what started my journey.

Not my first fragrances at all but Millésime Impérial and Green Irish Tweed sent me down this rabbit hole. Bought them together and never looked back.

hmm. well, I can't say a specific fragrance started it exactly. I was just kinda wanting to revisit fragrances from my teens! though my first purchase iirc was Paris Hilton Body Mist. I didn't expect that to lead to a bigger interest in fragrance, and yet, here I am now...

When I was young, I was shy and worked in a crowded lab, so I couldn`t wear anything too strong. I mainly stuck with Noa Eau de Toilette because it stuck close to the skin, so I could enjoy it without disturbing my colleagues. At the weekends, I wore Le Feu d'Issey or Le Feu d'Issey Light. Those were unlike anything else on the market at that time, challenging, and evolved and changed on my skin with time, so they were my gateway to the world of fragrance. After that, I wanted to experience more and more, the simple EDTs would no longer satisfy.

Versace Man Eau Fraîche Eau de Toilette was my first fragrance, I got it around the time I was 14, I really like lemon's so I really liked the scent and wore it a lot but I found it really didn't last long at all and it really didn't work in winter (Obviously at the time not knowing about the differences between EDT and EDP etc), for a year or so I wanted another fragrance but didn't really pull the trigger on anything until I was 16 (2019) and during the winter time I picked up Polo Red Extreme in a gift set and I really liked this scent, I ended up using all of it! From there I brought Eros Flame as I really liked Versace fragrances at the time, I liked this scent quite a bit, I even had a 200ml bottle but left it at my ex girlfriends house to never be seen again! I was going around to bath and body works and Sephora with that same ex gf when I suddenly had the urge to test every scent I could 😆, one really stood out to me Fahrenheit Eau de Toilette I tested it, didn't like the opening but the dry down I thought smelt really good and I ended up buying that and then later getting Versace pour Homme Eau de Toilette from there I kind of just stuck with these and wore them daily often switching between the 2 until I ran out, there was a couple months in between time I had no colognes and this really annoyed me, it was the first time in quite some time I had nothing 😆, one night I drove around my brother and one of his mates, he was wearing Guess Uomo Eau de Toilette and he was bathed in it, like 15 sprays min! but it really got me itching for another cologne, I hated wearing nothing! This was winter time and Emporio Armani - Stronger with You Intensely was really hyped up at the time, I brought it and loved it and ever since my collection has been growing! From that day forwards I've never allowed myself to run out of fragrances again and wear them everyday!

Thank you for sharing! It got me curious about Polo Red Extreme and so I'll try to check it out. From the forums, I see that folks also recommend The Scent Private Accord for Him. I'm curious if you're familiar with it.

I have actually luckily tested both! Although I've only smelt The Scent Private Accord for Him once as a friend of mine owns it! From what I remember they are quite a bit different but I did like it when I tested it! I'd personally prefer Polo Red Extreme , it's smoky, woody, warm and sweet, honestly I don't think I can say I've smelt anything exactly like it and the silage and longevity are really good! It was one of my first fragrances and it's probably been one of my most memorable ones! I don't even normally like coffee but the coffee note in it is so addicting! If you can test it out, I'd highly recommend it! It goes insanely well in winter! I am unsure if it's been reformulated however, unfortunately it's discontinued here in Australia but if I remember correctly it's still available in the US (I really wish I brought back a bottle with me last time I was over there, I 100% will buy another one when I am back over in the US this year!).

In 1996, when I was 9 years old, my godmother who lives in the US brought Far Away Eau de Parfum for me as my first own bottle. Been hopelessly into fragrances and collecting ever since 😅

My perfume journey was sort of foisted on me. My dad was in the perfume business and I was allowed on occasion to play with the sample case. There was always a bottle of Echt Kölnisch Wasser Eau de Cologne and Eau de Cologne Impériale that my father and grandfather used everyday. I would wait for a spray and loved it. My mom wore N°5 Parfum and Bellodgia Parfum of which I would beg for a dab of.

I started to get perfume as presents from family members. The first perfume I bought with my own money was Hope Perfume , but what really started this olfactory journey was the spice box in kindergarten, where unmarked bottles containing cloves, cinnamon, oregano, etc... were there to sniff and identify.

As a child, my godmother (who could have been old enough to be my grandmother) allowed me to play with her collection of perfumes. She had beautiful perfumes like "Shocking | Elsa Schiaparelli", Vent Vert (1947) Eau de Toilette or Bellodgia Parfum like your mother, @Luxie.

The first bottle of perfume I bought when I was maybe like 15, was Miss Dior Extrait de Parfum Original with some money she gave me for Christmas.

Later, she bought me Opium (1977) Parfum and Arpège (1993) Eau de Parfum .

She was the only woman in my family (she was also my mother's older sister, also old enough to be my mother's mother) who loved perfumes.

She died in 2013, but we are still connected through perfumes.

God bless our godmothers for our love for perfumes.

My mother always wore perfumes. One day she let me use a few drops out of a small bottle of Fidji (1966) Parfum. I loved that perfume and was eager to grow up to be able to wear it (and I now own the modern version of it). Later she sometimes let me wear her "Apple Blossom | Helena Rubinstein". So lovely!

When I was older we often would try perfumes and we - for instance - shared our love for Mitsouko Eau de Parfum (an older version of it ofcourse) and many more. I wasn't too happy when she fell for Poison Eau de Toilette It gave me a huge headache! Like her, I am a migraine prone person and I still wonder how she was able to wear it.

I can't remember her wearing L'Air du Temps Eau de Parfum which I find strange, I think she would have loved it. (sadly I can't ask her that, she past away long ago). First time I smelled that perfume was on a guy I was madly in love with.. lol .

But it were those few drops of Fidji that got me addicted. If it still would be that potent, it surely would have been my signature I think. I now seldom wear that modern version though I still love the scent, but I find it too weak now.

These stories are why I love fragrances so much. Thank you all for sharing! I'm so moved!!!