The Holy Grail Perfume

November 9th, 2006

The Holy GrailIn relation to yesterday’s post on Guerlain Metallica, the notion of the holy grail perfume has been on my mind a lot. It got me thinking which perfumes could be nominated for this status. The selection process is rather painful, I might add. I did manage to come up with a list, however. As a side note, this should not be confused with my favorite perfumes. The nominees for this particular rank are the best of the best, the tried and true, the ones I’d run to salvage in case of fire (hypothetically).

This is hard! Please share your nominees or perhaps you’ve already found your holy grail perfume?

Image source: www.wikipedia.org

Entry Filed under: This and That

21 Comments Add your own

  • 1. newproducts  |  November 9th, 2006 at 6:40 am

    For possible HG status, I have just two so far:

    Parfum Sacre
    Alamut

  • 2. Lucy  |  November 9th, 2006 at 7:16 am

    For me, the definition of a holy grail perfume is one that I am looking for, to match what I am privately hoping for in a perfume, something that will capture the essence of deep violet (the color) with an uplifting top note element (undefined). From the desriptions I thought it might be Diamond Water by JAR, but tried it, and no, that’s not it, though very complex and interesting nontheless…

  • 3. Judith  |  November 9th, 2006 at 7:34 am

    Oh, this is so difficult (particularly when I’ve only had one cup of coffee)! Off the top of my head:
    Guerlain Mitsouko
    Guerlain Jicky
    Caron Poivre
    Chanel Cuir de Russie
    Creed Angelique Encens
    FM Musc Ravageur
    SL Rose de Nuit
    SL Encens et Lavande
    SL Fumerie Turque
    Kolnisch Juchten
    Le Labo Patchouli
    L’Artisan Fleur d’Oranger
    Caron French CanCan, Tabac Blond
    JAR Golconda
    Ambre Narguile
    SMN Nostalgia

    Is that too many? I’m interested in the fact that, despite the fact that I do love every scent on your list, we have no overlaps. (Though I am loving my decant of CO more and more. . .

  • 4. chaya ruchama  |  November 9th, 2006 at 7:42 am

    HG’s are tough to come by, my pet…
    On the right path, though, are the following:

    Mitsouko
    L’Heure Bleue
    Ambre Russe
    Tabarome
    Cuir Ottoman
    Ambre Sultan
    Feminite de Bois
    Un Santal de Mysore
    Tabac Blond
    Jolie Madame
    Bois Oriental
    Cabochard
    Iris Silver Mist
    Guet-Apens
    Sortilege
    Bel Ami
    Doblis
    Crepe de Chine
    Replique
    1000 de Patou
    Scandal
    My Sin

    We could go on ad infinitum, and probably will-
    But others need their turn, too..

    Love you !

  • 5. Leopoldo  |  November 9th, 2006 at 8:04 am

    Because I know I’m never going to find ‘The One’, it has to be those I return to again and again, with love and a little booty shake of delight.

    and they are:
    l’Air du Desert Marocain (my amber of choice)
    Encens et Lavande
    Chergui
    Guerlain Vetiver
    Arabie

    how hard was that to stick to five? Ouch.

  • 6. Leopoldo  |  November 9th, 2006 at 8:06 am

    …and how much do I now have to try Cuir Ottoman?

  • 7. Marina  |  November 9th, 2006 at 8:16 am

    And the nominees are:

    L’Artisan Dzing
    Guerlain Guet-Apetns / Attrape-Coeur
    Guerlain Bois d’Armenie
    Shiseido Feminite du Bois
    Chanel Cuir de Russie and Bois des Iles
    Dior Miss Dior, Diorling
    Lutens Muscs Koublai Khan
    Malle Musc Ravageur and Therese

    And lots more that I am forgetting now because my brain needs more coffee at this hour. :-)

  • 8. Flor  |  November 9th, 2006 at 8:18 am

    I’m still searching, but here are the nominees:

    L’Heure Bleue
    Mitsouko
    Apres L’Ondee
    Iris Silver Mist
    Iris Poudre
    Chanel 19
    Cristalle
    Encens et Lavande
    Guet-Apens

    Just to name a few. Han’t tried Cuir Ottoman yet. But I will as soon as possible.

  • 9. March  |  November 9th, 2006 at 8:43 am

    You guys are killing me. How can you do this in the a.m.?

    I can barely remember the names of my kids.

    I’ll check back later … until then, I’m borrowing Judith’s list, you can kick the Caron off there and put on Andy’s orris.

  • 10. Elle  |  November 9th, 2006 at 9:12 am

    Does your blog cut off obnoxious commenters when their lists go on for far, far too long? Mine really could, but I’ll try to give you the severely edited version:
    Cuir de Russie
    Bois des Iles
    #19
    Mandarine Mandarin
    Bois et Fruits
    Fumerie Turque
    Iris Silver Mist
    Encens et Lavande
    Rose de Nuit
    MKK
    Diorling
    Miss Dior
    Dioressence
    Sous le Vent
    Guet-Apens
    Mitsouko
    Bois d’Armenie
    Chant d’Aromes
    En Avion
    Tabac Blond
    Poivre
    French Cancan
    Scandal
    Goldmund
    KJ
    Rive Gauche
    Givenchy lll
    Untitled #1
    CB Violet Empire
    Jalaine Vetiver….brutally cutting self off here…sigh.

  • 11. Sara  |  November 9th, 2006 at 9:44 am

    these are the ones I’d call HGs!
    Mitsouko
    Chergui
    Rose de Nuit
    Tabac Blond
    Rumba
    Coco
    Opium
    JPG Classique
    Cuir Mauresque
    Shalimar

  • 12. IrisLA  |  November 9th, 2006 at 11:33 am

    This is hard! The nominees are:
    Chanel Bois des Iles
    Guerlain Mitousko parfum
    Guerlain Shalimar parfum
    Mazzolari Alessandro
    L’Artisan La Chasse aux Papillons

  • 13. Tom  |  November 9th, 2006 at 12:24 pm

    Well, the ones that I am grabbing if there’s a fire are
    MKK
    Rahat Loukoum
    Chene
    Borneo 1834
    CB I Hate Perfume Musk
    Kolnisch Juchten

    If I had the ultimate perfume “Sophie’s Choice” that is

  • 14. violetnoir  |  November 9th, 2006 at 12:55 pm

    Shalimar parfum
    MItsouko
    POTL body cream
    Bois d’Iles parfum
    Carnal Flower
    Attrape Coeur
    Fracas
    Chaos
    1000
    Songes
    Cristalle
    Lipstick Rose

    Hugs!

  • 15. Patty  |  November 9th, 2006 at 3:32 pm

    No can do… too many, but there are a few that are close:

    Caron Montaigne
    Caron Coup de Fouet
    SL IRis Silver Mist
    Gucci EDP
    Parfum de Merveilles
    Carnal Flower
    Ormonde
    Orris Noir

    um, how long can I go here?

    Vetiver Tonka
    Dzing
    PG Harmatan Noir

    Okay, i’ll stop there, these are the top of the HG list

  • 16. greeneyes  |  November 9th, 2006 at 3:35 pm

    My list is short…too much I haven’t tried!

    Vol de Nuit
    Iris Poudre
    Orchidee Blanche
    Parfum de Therese
    SMN Citta di Kyoto

  • 17. benvenuta  |  November 9th, 2006 at 9:18 pm

    It seems that I am really picky. I have only two: La Chasse aux Papillons and Parfum Sacre.

  • 18. CindyN  |  November 9th, 2006 at 10:19 pm

    Here are my save from the peril of fire list:
    Attrape coeur
    Cuir Amethyste
    E. Duse
    Apres L’Ondee extrait
    Carnal Flower
    Songes
    Jasmin Full
    Isabey gardenia
    Chergui
    Fumerie Turque
    Ormonde Woman
    Organza Indecence
    Nuit de Noel
    PdN Number one

  • 19. griff  |  November 10th, 2006 at 7:18 am

    Hmm, right now:
    La Chasse,
    Mure et Musc,
    Nuits de Noho,
    Perfect Love,
    White Moss,
    Fracas parfum,
    Marc Jacobs,
    Diorissimo,
    Fire Island

  • 20. Ina  |  November 11th, 2006 at 11:19 pm

    Thanks, everyone, for your lists! Absolutely enjoyed reading them.

    Newproducts, I envy you for having just two candidates! :) Parfum Sacre is to die for, though.

    Lucy, I *adore* DIamond Water and can totally see it being a HG candidate.

    Judith, I could adopt quite a few from your list!

    Chaya, what a gorgeous list!!

    Leo, I’d do a booty shake of delight to Chergui! Oh, and you do need to try CO badly.

    Marina, I can barely forgive myself for omitting Musc Ravageur!

    Flor, I’ve really been enjoying Mitsouko parfum recently. Total HG material.

    March, you should know your HG candidates even if woken up in the middle of the night!! Tsk, tsk.

    Elle, I knew you’d have the longest list ever. But I forgive you - I can adopt your list easily myself.

    Sara, Cuir Mauresque is another HG material.

    Iris, I’ve recently tried vintage Shalimar parfum, and, oh, it is ever so gorgeous!

    Tom, MKK is so worth getting out of the fire, for sure.

    Robin, Carnal Flower would be my recent HG candidate, too.

    Patty, Orris Noir - yes! And I need to revisit Harmatan Noir.

    Greeneyes, I love your list! The shorter, the better, I think. :)

    Benvenuta, I bow to you.

    Cindy, Isabey Gardenia - but of course! So gorgeous and so pricey…

    Griff, lovely nominees! Diorissimo is so beautiful.

  • 21. esprit libre  |  November 18th, 2006 at 7:56 pm

    Cuir de Russie *
    Iris Silver Mist
    Dioressence
    Sous le Vent
    Mitsouko **
    En Avion *
    Poivre *
    Fumerie Turque
    Clair de Musc
    Fleurs d ‘Oranger (Serge Lutens)
    Nuit de Noel **
    Chant d’Aromes**
    Musc Ravageur
    Le Parfum de Therese
    Santal de Mysore
    Seve Exquise ***
    Sous le Buis ***
    Biche dans l ‘Absinthe ***
    Nuit au Desert ***
    Nombre Noir ***

    * extrait de parfum
    ** extrait de parfum vintage
    *** discontinued

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