Something awful has happened. My perfume has been discontinued!!
Even though I know it happened a while ago — I am still really struggling to come to terms with it.
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My favourite perfume has been discontinued.
This may sound a bit dramatic (OK, I know, very dramatic. This is very much a first world problem and there are much worse things in life) but, nevertheless, I am totally gutted about it!
Since I was in my teens, I have been defined by a signature scent.
When I was 15 it was Lou Lou, by Cacharel. A sweet, intoxicating perfume. Cloying and perfect for a teen. My boyfriend at the time said, whenever he smelled it, he thought of me immediately.
(Which was often, as practically every teenage girl in the whole world Britain was wearing it.)
Lou Lou By Cacharel
Samsara by Guerlain
Then it was Samsara by Guerlain.
Spicy, exotic, dark and heavy; this was the scent of my youth. More often mixed with sweat and cigarette smoke, as I danced the night away in many a London club.
I wore Samsara from the age of 22 for a decade, perhaps.
Grew up. Stopped smoking. Became kinder to my body and mind and knocked the all-nighters on the head.
In between, I had dalliances with ‘flash-in-the-pan’ perfumes.
In date order… Eden, CK1, Happy by Clinique, Prada, Chanel No5 but I always came back to my favourite of the moment.
And then I found ‘The One’. Which I have been wearing ever since. The fragrance that absolutely defines me. The one that no-one ever recognises but all associate with me.
Cristobal by Balenciaga.
I first came across Cristobal by Balenciaga when I was shooting on location.
The location house had a dressing table strewn with beautiful, unusual bottles. I was totally transfixed by this one bottle and even more so by the scent inside. Totally and utterly captivated, I went to Liberty in my lunch break, the very next day, and bought the first of many bottles.
This perfume is absolutely the essence of me. I wear it and it sort of doesn’t even smell like I’m wearing perfume — if that makes sense? It just smells like me.
But one day, I came to buy a new bottle and — horrors — was told it had been discontinued.
Just like that.
I have already resorted to Ebay to replenish my stock and have just a bottle and a half left. Only next time, when it’s gone, it’s gone. The prices have escalated so much that a 30ml bottle of Eau de Toilette — EDT!! not even Eau de Parfum!! — is currently going for £150. Now I love it but I definitely have my limits.
So there we are.
My Perfume Has Been Discontinued. What now?
Well, I’m on the look out for a new scent. A replacement for the most beautiful perfume I have ever had the pleasure to encounter.
A replacement for the fragrance that lifts my spirits, makes me feel confident and totally and is totally and utterly my signature scent.
What am I going to do without it?
The search is on.
Do you have a signature scent? Or your perfume has been discontinued?
Caro Davies is a former art-director turned writer and content-creator, and editor behind UK lifestyle blog The Listed Home. She writes about home-related topics, from interiors and DIY to food and craft. The Listed Home has been featured in various publications, including Ideal Home, Grazia, and Homes & Antiques magazines.
It may be a first world problem, but I worry about that as well! Good luck in your search!
Thanks SO much Christina!! I can’t believe how upset I am about it!! Silly really — but nice to know it’s not just me! Fingers crossed your is never discontinued! Thanks so much for your comment!X
Oh Caro, I feel your pain – I really do! I have a signature scent that I’ve been wearing for many years. No other perfume comes remotely close to the intensely sweet perfume of Angel by Thierry Mugler. Mum bought it for me in my early 20s (I’m now in my mid-30s), and everyone I know associates that perfume with me. I rarely smell it on other people, although I very occasionally get the odd waft of it from passersby in the street. It is incredibly unique, and probably not to everyone’s taste, as it is so sweet. I would also say that it works best in the winter, but I don’t care. I wear it all the year through regardless.
But back to you. What on earth are you going to do to replace your beloved scent? xx
#TheTruthAbout
Thanks so much Fiona!
I really don’t know…. I love this perfume so much. It smells like me and I sort of feel really weird that, very soon, I’ll smell like someone else!!! It’s such a weird thing to get hung up on but when I smelt it for the first time — I almost can’t explain it — it was SO familiar. It literally was my fragrance. And, like you, I wear it all year round, day and night. To not smell it ever again will be very sad!!
Thanks for your lovely comment xx
Argh! I hate it when favourite products get discontinued. I was gutted when Bobbi Brown discontinued my plum shimmer lipstick! So upsetting! I have kind of drifted through a few scents, my current one is Black Opium but my equivalent of your Samsara was Amarige by Givenchy – I loved it but it was popular and I always felt a bit gutted when I smelled it on someone else, like they’d stolen it from me or something! I hope you find a new signature scent soon X
#thetruthabout
I’m totally with you Sam — it’s happened LOADS over the years. My favourite lip-liner, my favourite mascara… but my perfume?? Aaaah I’m absolutely gutted about it!! Fingers crossed I’ll find a replacement soon. Thanks so much for hosting! XX
Ekkkk! I don’t have a signature scent but I did when I was a teenager so can totally relate to that feeling that it’s part of you. If you’re really desperate maybe you could get a perfumer to make up a replica for a special birthday or something. Worst case scenario, finding a new scent will be fun! #thetruthabout
Thanks Jude! And I’ve already looked into getting some made up… it would cost THOUSANDS! The guy I spoke to said they do it for manufacturers but not for one offs. It’s SO upsetting! X
Oh no, what a nightmare! I have to say I have never found ‘The One’, but I know if I had I’d be gutted if it got discontinued! I can’t even tell you the name of the perfume I’m on right now! I just spray it and smell nice!!
Also, I totally used to wear LouLou as a teenager!! Thanks for linking up with #twinklytuesday
Total nightmare!! I just don’t know what I’m going to replace it with. Although there are lots of other perfumes out there, they’re just perfume!! They don’t smell like me!!! :) Thanks for hosting pet x
Oh no!!! I remember Lou Lou from when I was younger I used to love it!! I’ve never found the one I tend to have a few but good luck with your search you’ll have to let us know what you’ve picked! x
Thanks so much Nat! Yes — Lou Lou was so popular! I smelt it the other day on someone and it brought back lots of memories! X
What a nightmare! I must admit I move from one to another and as long as it’s fairly fresh and not too heavy, I’m happy, but there are other products which I ‘can’t’ live without.
I wish that I wasn’t so taken with just the one! It would make life a lot simpler now, that’s for sure! Although I didn’t think they’d discontinue it in a million years!! Such a shame. Thanks for your comment Erica x
How gutting! I rarely wear perfume but did have a single bottle I was sent to product test and it was the only one I ever really loved. I never knew the actual brand and was devastated when it finally ran out.
If you only have one full bottle left I would save for special occasions and find yourself a new favourite now xxx
It’s totally gutting Katie. And you are absolutely right. When I finally crack oprn the last bottle, I’m going to have to be pretty sparing with it. Hopefully by then I’ll have found a new ‘me’ scent! X
Aww no, that’s sad news!! I remember when my favourite chocolate bar was discontinued… the red Boost… ooh it was so good! My signature scent is Alien by Thierry Muglar, I love it. I hope you manage to find some of yours somewhere! x #pocolo
It’s annoying isn’t it?! Be it make up, a chocolate bar, perfume… to have your favourite product discontinued is SO irritating!! x
Hi Caro, I have had a couple of signature scents over the years, in my younger years I wore Heavens Scent (can’t remember who it was by), but it was discontinued and I moved onto White Musk from The Body Shop. For my twenty first birthday my parents got me a bottle of Cinnabar by YSL, which I used for many years.
I’m not sure that they even make Cinnabar anymore, but I sort of went off the scent and never found another that was really me.
I hope you find a scent that becomes you again.
#PoCoLo
Thanks so much for your comment Debbie — I hope I find a new fragrance too! It seems like such a waste of time and effort in formulating a perfume, to then go and discontinue it. I’m hoping a new scent will be just around the corner! x
I don’t wear perfume, but I would feel like this if my usual lipstick was discontinued. You know how there are designer perfume copycats–maybe there is a copycat for your scent? Good luck!!
Fingers crossed for you that your lippy always stays in production! Having to find an alternative for a go-to product that you love is a nightmare!! X
I haven’t even thought about whether my signature scent (Chanel Allure) would ever be discontinued! I hope it doesn’t, but if it did I think I’d try to find a different Chanel one, I just love Chanel! Good luck for your search of a new perfume, or have you found one? Thanks for visiting my blog :)
Carolyn
Thanks so much Carolyn! Nope — still haven’t found one… I’ll keep you posted! ;) x