I want what I can’t (or almost can´t) have. That is the story of my life…

(side note: M., for once this is NOT a husband bashing post :D)

The quest for the hard to get is one of my favorite pastimes. When it comes to perfumes the appeal instantly goes up, if I can´t get it at the nearest mall. Even if it is a truly rare item that through pure coincidence is to be found locally, my interest diminishes somewhat. If I have to trail the internet for days, scour evilbay, or have to approach faithful and dear friends across the ocean, to get it for me, I am happy. If I even read the magic words discontinued, the hunt is on. Not with me, discontinue all you want, I am going to find it, if it kills me. I am strange that way. Maybe it is because I need to earn to have it, simply buying it is not enough, there has to be a quest, a struggle.

I love to read about fragrance (and I love to write about it too). Reading, almost like the real smelling later, conjures up images in my head, associations, ideas, all working together to create a perfect picture of the perfect scent in my head. So, is it so wrong, that I really, really want that perfect fragrance?

Combine this love for the ungainable and the idea of the one perfect scent existing purely in my imaginatiom and you know where this is going, right into the Land of the Unsniffed.

There is a rule, that every selfrespecting perfumista loves to break, and not only once. That rule is: “Never buy anything unsniffed!” That is quite sensible advice, since it is hard to convey what something smells like even at the best of times. Someone like Luca Turin (Perfumes – The Guide) has a gift for succinctly describing perfumes, but even that expertise is not the same as smelling it yourself, obviously. Only you know what you like, everything else is pure luck. The nicest combination of notes on paper can send you for the shower in a hurry once applied in real life. The greatest perfume, steeped in tradition, revered by all and sundry, can be the one you hate with a passion.

But haven´t we all done it? It seems to be a part of the genetic makeup of a fragrance fiend. The new Lutens? Okay, it does sound a bit odd, but you know how great Serge does odd, so please give it to me, I don´t need to smell it, I´m sure it will be love, what can go wrong? It is a Lutens!

Yes, what can possibly go wrong. (For non-perfumistas reading this: A LOT.)

But we wouldn´t be true lovers of fragrance if we couldn´t take such setbacks in stride. Better an unfitting perfume to sniff and think about than none at all! Because even from a scent we don´t like we can learn a lot, which aspects we cannot stand, what notes are to blame, can it be salvaged by layering, is it just today’s mood that makes us hate it, maybe next week we fall in love! You never know. And finally, there are always others who may love what you reject.

A trip into the Great Unsniffed can end badly, and more often than not does, but it could also land you the one perfect fragrance, the holy grail, I just have to keep on looking…

Picture sources: tim.courtois.wordpress.com, coverbrowser.com, fragrantica.com some rights reserved, thank you!