Arrived today!

My Shalimar Toast

Yay! My coveted Shalimar perfumes arrived today!

A limited edition 1 oz(middle) & a vintage 2.5 oz(est 1970s) Baccarat bottle.



And my updated Shalimar perfume collection. All concentrations are represented except the '80s parfum de toilette.And no, I DON'T need the modern versions! I love and cherish my vintages!!

My 300th post on my first blog ~and how fragrance fanaticism has affected my life.

Nary can I believe that it's already been over 5 years(four months short of 6) since I tried my hand at blogging.

As you can see from my pictures-only posts the past month or two, I've rediscovered a very pricey pastime that I picked up when I was fifteen: perfume collecting!

At this time last year, I was in the last throes of my obsession with Pet Society, an online game on Facebook.

It was indulging in a portion of that rather inane activity( trading rare items )that convinced me that I could quickly grasp the inherent value of an item, and trade it like I do stocks or equities.

Having registered for an eBay account since Jun 2008(but never actually utilising it), and with the Greenback plumbing new depths against the local currency, I decided to seize this hobby,reviving a long latent passion that I was sure had died circa 1992.

My mother had annexed my entire collection,including my favorite 50ml bottle of Poison Esprit de Parfum, used some of them, and discarded or donated all the empty/partially filled bottles,without a whisper of approval-seeking from their owner.

She belongs to a very antiquated generation who is firmly convicted that what belongs to their children also belongs to them!

If only they believed in showing love instead of only paying lip service to it as well...

In July, during a particularly bitter spell when she ignored me after a spat over chocolates gifted by an aunt, I sneaked into her wardrobe one day, questing for whatever remnants remained of my collection.

My mouth opened a little in surprise as the door nearest the window opened to reveal a basket that contained what I had hoped to find: a 30 ml bottle of Poison that she had taken without my consent, but was barely used because it was acquired by me (I remember spending S$90 for it) just as the trend for powerful '80s scents was at their lowest ebb, soon to yield to a preference for watery & fresh perfumes.

I also reclaimed a 50 ml bottle of CK'sEternity
(largely unused) and a 50ml bottle of Obsession,about 40% used.

The rediscovery of these vintage bottles reawakened my love of scents and their beautiful vessels.

Soon, I began to watch perfume reviews on youtube,and browsed enthusiastically through online fragrance-related writeups, which waxed lyrical about the ability of a good scent to transport one away from the travails of the day, and also their similarity to music(which I also loved). As Luca Turin said, it's a substitute for an orchestra, and wearing a scent means this ensemble can follow you around,imparting sheer pleasure!

It was not long (end of July actually) that my attention turned to eBay, seeking out the scents that I had read others rave so glowingly about: Bal a Versailles, L'Air du Temps, Chanel No. 5 and others.

I cleared the hurdle of using Paypal by utilising a debit card that I had obtained mainly by accident as I opened a safe deposit box at a local bank.

My first transactions were near disasters, as being unfamiliar with the true current value of vintage fragrances, I almost bid amounts in the hundreds for a Lalique flacon Colombe and some apparently antique Czech bottles.

I was $5 short of being caught high and dry with a purchase of an example of the former(before I discovered that these were actually quite commonplace).

Fortunately, the seller(username 'perfumeandpharmacy') did not accept my final offer of $260(!) for a 1 oz bottle of the perfume.

I wasn't so lucky in other respects: offering & paying $170 for a 1 oz bottle of Arpege parfum in its coffret, and footing large sums for shipping, and eventually paying $99.99 for a sealed Lalique flacon Colombe of L'Air du Temps. Also, I overpaid slightly for a Lalique star-studded bottle of Dans la Nuit.

Other transactions were more fortuituous : $17.61 for a sealed 1 oz bottle of Arpege extrait complete with box, and $12.99 for a 7ml bottle of 'the most expensive perfume in the world' : Jean Patou'sJoy.


The day that I paid for my first purchases, the US Dollar plumbed a new 52-week low of around 3.155, and I thought I was lucky indeed!

It has since descended further, making all subsequent purchases cheaper, and fueling my desire to acquire more gems.

I believe God was guiding me when I backed out of deals that on hindsight seemed ridiculously expensive.

After all, with my fluctuating income, I had to treat these purchases more as an investment than as a consumable good.

After acquiring over 55 bottles, the accumulated knowledge attests that I have overpaid for some bottles, while getting other great deals.

Now, I know that I have to:

1. Focus on the rarity of the item, which is mainly in the realm of speculation, but can be gathered from online sources and books.

2. Resist going for anything that seems strange and interesting,merely hoping but not having an inkling as to its true value

3. Watch out for shipping costs, which can be exorbitant in relation to the price
(as I found out when I aborted a transaction with a French seller who tried to rip 25 Euros off me to ship 4 rather light empty bottles!)

4. Control the urge to overbid just because I have been seeking that item out very long and hard.

5. Be quick in asking for a refund for non-arrival and when I feel I have been duped;Be merciless in threatening negative feedback(and dishing it out) to unethical sellers.

My Baccarat Dior amphoras - Ms Dior & Diorissimo!

Arrived on 5th Sept 2010

My itchy fingers offered...& secured...this bottle...for $55