Quote:
Originally Posted by
katred 
I love Insolence, for when I'm feeling feminine and Mitsouko has been a signature scent of mine for years. It's a gorgeous perfume, but it's a little odd if you're used to more modern scents, because it's a chypre- a base that's hardly used anymore by major perfume houses. Thanks for reminding me that I need to get a new bottle!
Shalimar is a lovely "darker" scent as well. A little goes a long way!
Shalimar has been my signature scent since i absconded with it from my mother's room when i was in high school in the early 1960s. She didn't wear it - she didn't like oriental scents - it had been a gift from her father. I finally used up the whole bottle of parfum, and it seems to me the new versions - mostly outliers - barely smell like Shalimar at all. And the true parfum is so expensive, i haven't replaced it yet, sadly.
Plus I've been trying to break myself out of orientals - that's the fragrance category i tend to love the best - and try new things. I've found some i like a lot, but nothing feels as warm and embracing as Shalimar.
I also love chypres. There is a double problem with chypres these days and the basic formulae of so many classics have had to be altered. 1. oak moss was a typical basenote in classic chypres, and so much of it was contaminated with fallout from Chernobyl, so it was unobtainable from many old sources; 2. with new laws in the EU regarding fragrance ingredients related to allergies and skin sensitivity, many typical fragrance notes have been banned and oak moss was among them. If you love chypres, try to find vintage bottles.
