I am flying to NYC this week and I can hardly wait to get away. A few days just with my husband but without work and family pressures – ah.
(For New Yorkers: I will be at Osswald on Saturday, Nov 29 from 2-4pm. Come and say Hello!)
Despite my breathing difficulties I cannot live entirely without perfume, so I definitely will bring some sampes or decants with me. I feel naked and unpolished without perfume.
So for a short city trip, what would you bring?
Old faithfuls or exciting new things?
Stick with what you know or explore new fragrant territory along with the geographical one?
Which perfumes would you take with you?
My Answer:
Normally I would say a bit of both. Something old, something new (maybe even something blue?) and something borrowed from my husband’s stash.
Since I have to be more careful what I put on at the moment it is Jean-Claude Ellena all the way for me. I will being a travel set of Rose Ikebana, Santal Massoia, Paprika Brasil and Brin de Réglisse. Happiness.
Also I will fit in perfectly at the Hermès boutiques in New York. They are required sightseeing, aren’t they? 😉
What would you bring with you? Or would you just shop your way to perfumed bliss?
Olfactoria's Travels 
Hey Birgit,
SO excited to see you guys, it’s so close!!!
Funnily, I think you were in my mind while picking my travel frags. I have 15ml of Vanille Galante and Epice Marine, DSHs La Folie da Noel and a surprise Smell Bent oil hidden in my wet pack.
Hug the crew, safe travels to NYC.
Portia xx
Very soon Portia!
I was happy to see you packed Hermès on your big US tour.
I was sorry to hear about your health issues, the trip to NY will be a great break!. Love your choices, especially paprika brazil which I’ve tested many times and contemplated buying. It will go well with NY in winter! I would take Love, Chloe, as I’m slightly obsessed with it right now, having discovered it about 5 years after everybody else.
Alice
Love, Chloe is so pretty. Better late than never (or before it gets discontinued). 🙂
Glad you like Paprika Brasil too!
Yes, I noticed it;s lurking on the bottom shelf in stores, and no gift sets for Christmas – both bad signs, maybe time to get a back-up bottle!
Not a good sign indeed… 😦
I travel about 4-5 times a year for work or holiday and my travel bag has a decant of Chanel No 5 which lives in it permanently. Other than that I take or buy whatever matches the season, my mood, the destination, and budget.
Birgit, do you think the fact that you can still wear JCE’s stuff is because you have always loved it, or because there is something about his style and the way he constructs the fragrances that makes a difference?
I think it is because JCE uses mostly synthetics, no complex natural materials brimming with allergens and he generally uses fewer ingredients. Dabbing also helps.
Chanel 5 is a perfect travel choice, Annemarie.
I usually toss a few samples in my bag when I travel, which isn’t often. I do try to purchase a fragrant souvenir if I can.
I might get to NYC this weekend after all. It’s not a sure thing but it is a possibility.
It would be great!!!!
Have a fabulous time in NY! I look forward to hearing all about it. Beautiful perfume choices. I usually bring decants of the perfumes I am currently wearing with a sample or two as well just in case I want to try something new. Of course I also enjoy perfume shopping – especially in cities like NYC! No- not jealous at all… 🙂
I will bore you with every detail when I get back! 😉
Woohoo! I plan to meet you and Portia and the gang at Osswald. As to what to bring on a trip to a city, my Chanel EDT travel atomizer lives in my cosmetics case permanently and I usually bring a 30 mL flacon of whichever Atelier Cologne fits the venue best and/or 1-2 samples if I have time to pick. I’m a last-minute packer for some items and perfumes and jewelry fall into that category. Have a safe trip!
I’m so looking forward to meeting you, hajusuuri!
Atelier Cologne 30ml bottles are great travel companions.
For a city trip in autumn I’d take a good allrounder, like Cuir Ottoman, something cosy and warm with a bit vanilla, and something shimmery, chypre-like. What exactly will depend on my sample and decant collection and last minute mood. You have a great time in NY and come back with all the stories to tell!
Cuir Ottoman is a beauty.
Thanks Sabine, I will! 🙂
Have a wonderful trip to New York! I bet The Husband is already salivating at the thought of all that bacon and other culinary delights… I would take favourite things for the most part, with maybe the odd wild card sample in the mix. I usually wouldn’t wear it though when I was away. 😉
Thanks, V. You are right, the Husband is already dreaming of coming gustatory highlights! 😉
it has been decades since I actually took a real vacation and travelled abroad…however, I do remember always bringing a “new” fragrance…one that did not have any past associations…this way I could conjure up the good memories of my trip just by wearing that fragrance on the home front….and if at all possible, sampling new perfumes while on vacation and making one full bottle purchase to commemorate my trip……
That is a very beautiful idea, anon. I hope you get to travel again.
I agree, what a lovely way to experience new scents and places!
I hope you’re feeling better soon
I usually buy a decant of the more pricy perfumes I’m interested in, then if I really love the perfume I’ll buy a full bottle, so I’ll usually take a couple of these favourite decants on holiday since they’re handy for traveling.
But I always take one bottle of an old faithful too, something mainstream and easy to wear like Infusion d’Iris or Baiser Vole
An old faithful to fall back on is always good to pack.
Ooh, I love perfume packing for trips and spend more time thinking about fragrances than what clothes to bring! I like to bring Travalos and Decants so I can have a wide range of choices while conserving on packing space. Like Poodle, I enjoy buying something new on my trip if there is a perfume shop nearby.
I have my perfume and scarf selection ready, but no idea what clothes to bring, hehe. 😉
That’s right…I forgot about scarves. Excellent as they are for daily use, they make great travel companions as they can totally change the look of an outfit.
Exactly. I get away with all black and just add a different scarf.
Like a few others, I would probably bring a few samples- maybe a few favorites or ones I wanted to revisit. Enjoy and I look forward to hearing about your trip. 🙂 -Jim
Thanks, Jim. Samples are a godsend for travel.
Birgit, I recently took a lengthy trip to the Florida Keys and took only two perfumes – Eau de Merveilles and Vanille 44. Both worked just fine in the slightly warmer climate. There is nice fragrance shop on Duval Street in Key West and I did shop a bit.
I had to smile at the mention of Florida as “slightly warmer climate”. 🙂
I hope your trip was wonderful!
Oh yes, it was heavenly..
Good!
At the moment I’d take my new favorite Russian Tea by Masque Milano. I think it’s very urban :-)Have a lovely trip, B.
Sounds interesting. Thanks, dear M.
Shop your way to perfumed bliss! Actually, that’s probably a bad idea as often the one or 2 things I’ve purchased from minimal sampling I’ve tended to regret. On my most recent trip I brought samples of 8 or 9 things I hadn’t tried. It was fun, but I felt like I was so busy and entranced with my surroundings that I wasn’t able to really pay attention to what I was wearing and I’ll have to try them all again, if there’s enough left. So with that in mind, I’d probably definitely bring an old faithful or two in the future (once I find some!!)
Have a lovely trip! If it weren’t for the fact that I’ll be in Houston spending the holiday weekend with my daughter, I’d be jealous.
For me, what I wear in New York depends on the weather. I usually go with my tried and true when I’m in New York. SL Iris Silver Mist, PdE Equistrius, Chanel 31 Rue Cambon, Bottega Venetta and Hermes 24 Faubourg.
I always love the window displays of the Hermes boutiques. Last time I was in New York they had a silvery gray plate with a line drawing of a pegasus in the window. I’m still thinking of it and wishing it could be mine. Not to mention so many other objects of desire in that store. Sigh.
Have a fantastic time!
Thank you, I sure will!
Hermès is… ah, there are no words, but I know you understand. 🙂
Haha! Definitely old faithfuls in traveling cases, just because Like this I have more room for the new ones I’m definitely buying on my trip! But if you ask me the actual scent would be MFK Oud in my Globetrotter case. I’m slightly obsessed with Oud scented perfumes at the moment and this one is simply the cleanest Oud scent I have ever tried on! 😊👌xx
Have a safe trip lovely! ☺️
Annie,
http://www.anniesbeautyblog.com
Thank you, Annie!
Those travel sprays are really great, I’m glad more niche brands are coming out with them now.
Have a lovely time in NY, Birgit!! And best wishes for a speedy recovery from the allergies – thank goodness JCE’s perfumes are still wearable for you…
I just went away for a weekend trip, actually, and brought no perfume at all because I was staying with my sis and knew she had a couple of things I could wear. Normally for a short trip I’d bring a sample or two and no more, to save on luggage space, which means I usually don’t wear favourites but things I’m in the process of testing. Can be quite hit and miss..
Thank you, Figuier!
It must be great to have a sister who wears and loves perfume too.
You’re welcome 🙂
Actually, she has a modest 2 perfumes, both acquired as a result of my rather manipulatively enabling patter – she does enjoy them, though and so do I when I visit!
So jealous of all the meet ups in NYC! I do hope you have a fabulous time – but I’m sure it won’t be too difficult. Well usually for travelling I get together the annoying teeny plastic bag (hand luggage only – for short trips) and try to cram as much in as I can. This can all go horribly wrong as the last time I went away which was on a road trip I put a little bag together of travel sprays and didn’t put it in my bag. So I lived on the samples in my makeup bag which actually was quite nice because I hadn’t really spent time with them properly before – I had a few Reminiscence sprays. But usually I would take a black Serge spray – ISM or Fourreau Noir and I also find the little 30ml Atelier’s perfect for travelling – Orange Sanguine is nice and cheery.
Aw, sorry about your travel sample mishap. Glad you had a few samples somewhere else (as a true Perfumista does!) 🙂
Oh NYC! How I love that city! Have a fantastic time there (and Hermes. There is ALWAYS time for Hermes 😉 )
I tend to refrain from bring my tried and trusted. I would always bring samples that I wanted to try (I tend to be more forgiving on trips I think… I would hate myself if I put on a sample that is even the usual meh at home but when overseas, I feel mostly alright :P)
Another reason for samples is that I create this little sense of “deprivation” so I can go and treat myself a little souvenir (or two! or more!!! haha).
( I always feel a little extra joy or win if I know I got my bottle of Guerlain from Paris or Bond no.9 from NYC. Wonder if it’s just me..?) 🙂
Very good thinking on the deprivation! 😉
And of course there is always time gor Hermès… 😉
I wish you and The husband a wonderful time in New York! It’s so exciting that you’ll meet all the fragrance loving people at the weekend, please give Portia a hug from me.
Today my samples from Atelier Cologne arrived and I could imagine that lots of their range are pretty good for you to wear because they leave you enough space to breathe, if that makes sense…
At this time of the year I fell hard for the Blanche Immortelle one, it’s an excellent autumn, near winter scent, and I simply love the way they send you their samples with these beautuful postcards. Great brand. So, thanks for giving your readers the codeword!
Thank you, Anka! You are right, Atelier Cologne is a line that also works well for me. Glad you enjoy the samples!!!