One thing I’ve noticed about myself as a fragrance collector is that I’m rarely trying to own an entire house, but at the same time, I also don’t really like owning just one fragrance from a house. If a brand interests me enough to add it to the collection, I usually want to explore it a little deeper. With most houses, I end up with two or three fragrances—the ones I believe represent the best of what that house does. I spend a lot of time testing, sampling, reading, comparing, and researching before deciding what actually deserves a spot in my collection. I’m always looking for the best of the line, not just another bottle. There are about a handful of niche/artisan houses where I own, or have wanted to own, essentially the entire lineup. Those are the exceptions. For a house to get me to that point, I have to believe there is something consistently interesting about the perfumer’s style and that the collection offers enough variety to justify going that deep. As my collection has grown, I’ve become much more selective. Early on, it was easy to chase releases, hype, or completeness. Now I would rather identify the two or three fragrances from a house that really stand out than own ten bottles just because they share the same name on the label. But I also like having enough from a house to actually understand it. One bottle can tell me I like a fragrance. Two or three can start telling me whether I like the house. That’s a big part of collecting for me now: testing, researching, comparing, and curating. I still want to experience as much perfumery as I can, but experiencing a fragrance and needing to own it are two completely different things. For me, the fun is finding those few bottles from each house that make me say, this is where this house really shines.

Today I’m wearing Bergamote Fantastico Extrait 11 from Guerlain. I’ve always appreciated fragrances that take something familiar and show you just how interesting it can become when it’s handled exceptionally well. Bergamot is certainly nothing unusual in perfumery, but here Guerlain really puts it under a magnifying glass. It opens with that beautiful bright, almost sparkling citrus character you expect from bergamot, but there’s much more underneath it. As it settles, I get a wonderful combination of woods, fresh spice, aromatics and a touch of amber, which gives the fragrance considerably more depth and substance than the opening might suggest. What I particularly enjoy is the contrast. It feels fresh without being light, elegant without being overly formal, and sophisticated without trying too hard. There’s still a bit of that unmistakable Guerlain refinement running through it. For me, this is exactly the sort of fragrance that makes an otherwise ordinary Thursday morning just a little more intentional. 😎