PerfumePatty Perfume Wardrobe and Profile
Favorite Notes: vanilla, fruits, florals, amber, sandalwood.
I like soft, sweet, feminine, romantic, fresh, natural scents. I'm a big Sophia Grojsman fan, as you can tell by my wardrobe - my signature is a 1994 Sophia creation, Sun Moon Stars - a soft, feminine, powdery vanilla comfort scent, which I've worn for years.
Least Favorite: civet, musk, white floral, oakmoss, patchouli, incense, pepper, pencil shavings, play-doh, rubber, plastic, turpentine, dirt, skunk, "bug spray".
I dislike very animalistic, strong, sharp, heavy, pungent, smoky, spicy, sour, bitter and synthetic scents.
About Me:
I'm a 48 yr. old Los Angeles baby boomer, a former graphic designer and now a stay at home caregiver for a paraplegic husband who inspires me everyday with his strength and humor. Together we run a nonprofit called Kids On Paper, which gives sequential art workshops (comics, graphic novels) to afterschool students. Fragrantica is a fun, relaxing escape for me, my favorite place to hang out and unwind. Reading the blog posts here is endlessly entertaining because of the variety of opinions - the same perfume can smell like an "expensive, sophisticated, masterpiece" to one person, and a "cheap, stinky, scrubber" to another, depending on their chemistry. Fascinating!
I grew up in Brooklyn, NYC. The '80's and '90's, my college and post-college years, were my favorite era for perfume. That was some primo "fume" back then! Some that I wore then I now find too strong for daily wear (Poison, Coco, Lou Lou, Nicole Miller, Giorgio - whoa!), yet they bring back fun, carefree memories. Back then I had the exciting experience of working as a coatcheck girl at Le Cirque, a fancy 4-star French restaurant in NYC where high society dined. Fashion superstars like Estee and Ronald Lauder, Carolina Herrera, Ralph Lauren, Halston, Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Pierre Cardin, Karl Lagerfeld, Diane Von Furstenburg, Gloria Vanderbilt and many more New York glitterati were regular customers. I used to smell luxurious high-end perfume wafting from the coats of the wealthy women customers in the tiny coatroom I sat in - Chanel, Guerlain, Hermes, Fendi, Gucci, Givenchy, YSL, etc.
My dad was a maitre d' at Le Cirque for many years, and wore a tuxedo to work. One of my earlies olfactory memories is smelling his Atkinsons English Lavender cologne as a child. Customers would bring him gifts of expensive perfume to tip him at Christmas and through the year. On my parents' bedroom dresser were bottles of expensive fragrances, and I used to sneak sprays when they weren't looking. I remember trying classic scents like Chanel No. 5, Rive Gauche, Opium and Youth Dew on my wrist, sniffing, frowning, and thinking "peee-yewww"! Apparently they were too strong for my unrefined little nose at the time! My aunt, the restaurant owner's wife who was allergic to perfume (poor woman), gifted me a large bottle of Chanel No. 22 when I was a teenager, which came in a white spray bottle. I loved how it smelled. Today that same bottle would cost well over $200. I also remember owning big bottles of Chanel No. 19 and Cristalle. Once I was gifted a potent bottle of Princess Marcella Borghese Giardini di Montecatini, which today sells for close to $400 on ebay. Looking back, I realize what a lucky girl I was!
Mom was a housewife who bought fragrances from the Avon lady, and I remember she got me a little Avon turtle pin with creme perfume inside, which I loved. She used Charisma, Candid, Moonwind, Topaze. She wore a lot of 70's drugstore classics like Jean Nate, Aviance, Ciara, Charlie, Cachet. As an adolescent, I did too - Jontue, Enjoli, Navy, Lutece, Sand & Sable, Skin Musk, Ex-cla-mation. Mom's signature fragrance in her later years was Giorgio Beverly Hills Red. It smelled really nice on her. Sadly mom has lost her sense of smell (she's 83 now). To lose one's sense of smell - what a tremendous loss, huh? What would we perfumistas do without it?
So many of today's new fragrances smell extremely chemical and synthetic to me. “Bug spray” as you Fragranticans refer to them - ha ha! How do people wear this awful fake-smelling perfume they put out? I'm truly shocked at how many designer houses have "sold out" and cheapened their quality, while keeping prices high. They also have poor longevity and are gone in an hour or two. Don't they have any integrity in their products? I think we perfume lovers should band together and protest. "Perfumes Before Profit" or some slogan like that comes to mind.
Turned off by chemical-smelling designer scents and stinky celebri-fumes (though there are exceptions), I now search out vintage classics, niche and organic scents made from essential oils that last on my skin. I'm vegetarian and against animal testing and the use of animal products. If a "fume" contains civet, that's a no-no for me.
Through the kindness of fellow members I've been able to try niche scents from Serge Lutens, Jo Malone, Atelier, L'Artisan, Lavanila, Maison de la Vanille, Laurence Dumont, Ineke, Antonia's Flowers and more. They are far superior to commercial perfumes due to quality ingredients and purity.
I fantasize about one day becoming a perfumier - what job could be more fun? Perfume is magical. Each fragrance is a voyage of discovery. I feel I've just taken a major step by joining Fragrantica, and look forward to sharing the voyage with you and furthering our education together. The camaraderie on this site is great. So nice to know that I'm not the only one with this mad obsession!
I've had successful swaps with:
Mister_Chaz, gesch, relle, JoshuaRyan, bookishbeauty, Muneca, belle de sud, Bigsly, nastyamason, Vie Cafe, ta2kitty, leea
I've received generous fragrance gifts from:
NathalieZ, NebraskaLovesScent, Zoka (contest prize - a bottle of Tresor signed by Sophia Grosjman-wow!), JoshuaRyan (giveaway contest)
Swap List:
Elizabeth Taylor Diamonds and Rubies, Nautica Woman, Bijan (Bijan), CK Truth, Avon Casbah, Avon Extraordinary, Avon Hana Gasa, Adrienne Vittadini, Coty Sophia, Halston, Davidoff Good Life, Alberta Ferretti Femina, Laura Biagiotti Roma, Moschino Cheap and Chic Light Clouds, Cacharel Noa, Bvlgari Voile de Jasmine, Oscar de la Renta Volupte, Fidji, Elizabeth Arden Beauty, Tommy Bahama Set Sail St. Barts (body lotion), Fresh Index Pomegranate Anise. I also have D&G The One I bought on ebay that may be fake...if you like The One you might like to try it.
Swap Warning:
I got burned by Giannahazagunaka Buddhizt (she also goes by Jasminehead). I lost a bottle of Organza and a mini Fracas to her. I recommend you avoid swapping with her.
I like soft, sweet, feminine, romantic, fresh, natural scents. I'm a big Sophia Grojsman fan, as you can tell by my wardrobe - my signature is a 1994 Sophia creation, Sun Moon Stars - a soft, feminine, powdery vanilla comfort scent, which I've worn for years.
Least Favorite: civet, musk, white floral, oakmoss, patchouli, incense, pepper, pencil shavings, play-doh, rubber, plastic, turpentine, dirt, skunk, "bug spray".
I dislike very animalistic, strong, sharp, heavy, pungent, smoky, spicy, sour, bitter and synthetic scents.
About Me:
I'm a 48 yr. old Los Angeles baby boomer, a former graphic designer and now a stay at home caregiver for a paraplegic husband who inspires me everyday with his strength and humor. Together we run a nonprofit called Kids On Paper, which gives sequential art workshops (comics, graphic novels) to afterschool students. Fragrantica is a fun, relaxing escape for me, my favorite place to hang out and unwind. Reading the blog posts here is endlessly entertaining because of the variety of opinions - the same perfume can smell like an "expensive, sophisticated, masterpiece" to one person, and a "cheap, stinky, scrubber" to another, depending on their chemistry. Fascinating!
I grew up in Brooklyn, NYC. The '80's and '90's, my college and post-college years, were my favorite era for perfume. That was some primo "fume" back then! Some that I wore then I now find too strong for daily wear (Poison, Coco, Lou Lou, Nicole Miller, Giorgio - whoa!), yet they bring back fun, carefree memories. Back then I had the exciting experience of working as a coatcheck girl at Le Cirque, a fancy 4-star French restaurant in NYC where high society dined. Fashion superstars like Estee and Ronald Lauder, Carolina Herrera, Ralph Lauren, Halston, Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Pierre Cardin, Karl Lagerfeld, Diane Von Furstenburg, Gloria Vanderbilt and many more New York glitterati were regular customers. I used to smell luxurious high-end perfume wafting from the coats of the wealthy women customers in the tiny coatroom I sat in - Chanel, Guerlain, Hermes, Fendi, Gucci, Givenchy, YSL, etc.
My dad was a maitre d' at Le Cirque for many years, and wore a tuxedo to work. One of my earlies olfactory memories is smelling his Atkinsons English Lavender cologne as a child. Customers would bring him gifts of expensive perfume to tip him at Christmas and through the year. On my parents' bedroom dresser were bottles of expensive fragrances, and I used to sneak sprays when they weren't looking. I remember trying classic scents like Chanel No. 5, Rive Gauche, Opium and Youth Dew on my wrist, sniffing, frowning, and thinking "peee-yewww"! Apparently they were too strong for my unrefined little nose at the time! My aunt, the restaurant owner's wife who was allergic to perfume (poor woman), gifted me a large bottle of Chanel No. 22 when I was a teenager, which came in a white spray bottle. I loved how it smelled. Today that same bottle would cost well over $200. I also remember owning big bottles of Chanel No. 19 and Cristalle. Once I was gifted a potent bottle of Princess Marcella Borghese Giardini di Montecatini, which today sells for close to $400 on ebay. Looking back, I realize what a lucky girl I was!
Mom was a housewife who bought fragrances from the Avon lady, and I remember she got me a little Avon turtle pin with creme perfume inside, which I loved. She used Charisma, Candid, Moonwind, Topaze. She wore a lot of 70's drugstore classics like Jean Nate, Aviance, Ciara, Charlie, Cachet. As an adolescent, I did too - Jontue, Enjoli, Navy, Lutece, Sand & Sable, Skin Musk, Ex-cla-mation. Mom's signature fragrance in her later years was Giorgio Beverly Hills Red. It smelled really nice on her. Sadly mom has lost her sense of smell (she's 83 now). To lose one's sense of smell - what a tremendous loss, huh? What would we perfumistas do without it?
So many of today's new fragrances smell extremely chemical and synthetic to me. “Bug spray” as you Fragranticans refer to them - ha ha! How do people wear this awful fake-smelling perfume they put out? I'm truly shocked at how many designer houses have "sold out" and cheapened their quality, while keeping prices high. They also have poor longevity and are gone in an hour or two. Don't they have any integrity in their products? I think we perfume lovers should band together and protest. "Perfumes Before Profit" or some slogan like that comes to mind.
Turned off by chemical-smelling designer scents and stinky celebri-fumes (though there are exceptions), I now search out vintage classics, niche and organic scents made from essential oils that last on my skin. I'm vegetarian and against animal testing and the use of animal products. If a "fume" contains civet, that's a no-no for me.
Through the kindness of fellow members I've been able to try niche scents from Serge Lutens, Jo Malone, Atelier, L'Artisan, Lavanila, Maison de la Vanille, Laurence Dumont, Ineke, Antonia's Flowers and more. They are far superior to commercial perfumes due to quality ingredients and purity.
I fantasize about one day becoming a perfumier - what job could be more fun? Perfume is magical. Each fragrance is a voyage of discovery. I feel I've just taken a major step by joining Fragrantica, and look forward to sharing the voyage with you and furthering our education together. The camaraderie on this site is great. So nice to know that I'm not the only one with this mad obsession!
I've had successful swaps with:
Mister_Chaz, gesch, relle, JoshuaRyan, bookishbeauty, Muneca, belle de sud, Bigsly, nastyamason, Vie Cafe, ta2kitty, leea
I've received generous fragrance gifts from:
NathalieZ, NebraskaLovesScent, Zoka (contest prize - a bottle of Tresor signed by Sophia Grosjman-wow!), JoshuaRyan (giveaway contest)
Swap List:
Elizabeth Taylor Diamonds and Rubies, Nautica Woman, Bijan (Bijan), CK Truth, Avon Casbah, Avon Extraordinary, Avon Hana Gasa, Adrienne Vittadini, Coty Sophia, Halston, Davidoff Good Life, Alberta Ferretti Femina, Laura Biagiotti Roma, Moschino Cheap and Chic Light Clouds, Cacharel Noa, Bvlgari Voile de Jasmine, Oscar de la Renta Volupte, Fidji, Elizabeth Arden Beauty, Tommy Bahama Set Sail St. Barts (body lotion), Fresh Index Pomegranate Anise. I also have D&G The One I bought on ebay that may be fake...if you like The One you might like to try it.
Swap Warning:
I got burned by Giannahazagunaka Buddhizt (she also goes by Jasminehead). I lost a bottle of Organza and a mini Fracas to her. I recommend you avoid swapping with her.
My favorite fragrances
Perfumes I Have
Perfumes I Want
Perfumes I Had
Popular brands and perfumes:
