I saw this perfume tag on Miss Prissypants, and I just couldn’t resist.

1. Fragrance with the most memories attached?

Perfumes, on the whole, hold quite powerful memories for me. After each business trip, my father would gift my mother a bottle of the latest perfume there is out there. She now has drawers-ful of perfumes which I’m most envious of. As I grew older, my father did the same for me. The first perfume he ever gave me was a set of Elizabeth Arden True Love perfume and body lotion.

A few fragrances that evoke some powerful memories:

Elizabeth Arden’s Fifth Avenue – A classic. A gift from my father to my mother. I loved it so much, that I would sneak into her room every morning and squirt on my pinafore before I left for school.

Cristalle by Chanel – My father was on a business trip to Japan when he bought this for me. Incidentally, I was also in Japan at that time. He walked into my office (we work for the same company at that time), and handed me the duty-free paper bag with the perfume in it. My female Japanese colleagues were green with envy that day. One of them even told “you have such a good father. My father has never given me anything like that, much less a Chanel perfume!”.

Davidoff Cool Water – The first fragrance for me I ever bought, and it was for my first boyfriend.

My Givenchy by Givenchy – The first bottle of fragrance (that isn’t the usual el-cheapo stuff I’d buy) I bought at Narita Airport, Japan. I had one hell of a time of training then, and this was a gift to myself for enduring the time of loneliness in Japan.

2. Your most-loved perfume bottle?

I don’t have the ONE perfume bottle that I love, but there are a few that are my favourite.

Estee Lauder’s Beyond Paradise. Another gift from daddy dearest. Don’t really fancy the scent, but loved the shimmery bottle.
Chanel No.5. A classic apothecary bottle. LOVE it.
Van Cleef & Arpels’ Féerie. What a delightful bottle.

3. Which perfume do you wish was still produced?

Chris 1947 by Dior. I was 17 when my aunt gave this to me. I absolutely adored the scent back then, and bugged my mum for one for Christmas. In the end, my aunt (her sister) gave me one for Christmas. ‘Tis a pity they don’t make this anymore. I read this on Paris‘ blog, and it brought back a wave of Form Five memories.

4. Favourite perfume advertising campaign?

Unfortunately, I never did pay much attention to perfume advertising campaigns till recently. Most of the advertising campaigns these days involved fragrances by celebrities, and I was never keen on those. I did like the very expensive Chanel No 5 advertisement by Nicole Kidman though (Kiera Knightley’s, not so much).

5. Best perfume-related discovery?

Can’t think of any at the moment.

6. Perfume that you expected to love but didn’t?

Estee Lauder’s Pleasures. Heard such rave reviews from family and friends. My mum even gave me a bottle, and so did an ex-boyfriend. I just find it too cloying for my taste.

7. Perfume you would give your left arm for?

I don’t think there’s any perfume that I’d want to that extent, but if I have to name one, it would definitely be the Chanel No 5.

8. Top 5 favourite perfume notes?

Err, I’m afraid I don’t know enough about perfumes to actually derive favourite top notes, so I’d say, anything floral? 😛

9. Perfume you wish would die a horrible death?

CK One by Calvin Klein. Obsession by Calvin Klein. Oh gawd, anything by Calvin Klein. Back in the day, every Tom, Dick and Harry was wearing CK. In crowds, the smell was revolting.

10. Next perfumes on your “to buy” list?

I wouldn’t let myself buy anything perfume because I have so many unfinished ones. But these are definitely on my wishlist – Chanel’s Chance Eue Tendre, Marc Jacobs Daisy (I’ve been wanting this for AGES!) and Marc Jacobs Cucumber. For Christmas, perhaps?