Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Loss of perfume


It's a sad day for me. As some of our readers may know, I've moved, along with the inventory of The Posh Peasant. Every single perfume was packed with the utmost care - electrical tape was lovingly wrapped around every top, miles and miles of bubble wrap was used, in some boxes I used pillows to cushion the little darlings. Inexplicably I still lost about 30% of my perfume. None of the bottles were actually broken or smashed but I lost an awful lot of perfume from leakage. An unopened bell jar of Serge Lutens Santal de Mysore is empty. A 90% full bottle of Vacances is empty. A full bottle of Guerlain Plus Que Jamais has only a drop remaining. Nearly every single Miller Harris perfume is empty (note to our dear readers - Miller Harris bottles are prone to leakage). Only a few drops remain of Chanel Coromandel. I never would have thought one of those giant Chanel bottles would leak - like all the Les Exclusifs, it was still in it's box - go figure how it could have possibly leaked. Guerlain Sous Le Vent also went from about 75% full to maybe 10 ml. I could go on and on but I'll stop here. Oh, and Nanadebary Pink and Bronze are gone. (Big dramatic sigh) I'll try to trudge along but I'm devastated! To anyone who is moving with their perfume collection, I suggest taking it with you, driving with it to your new home if possible, shipping is precarious even when you pack carefully.

28 comments:

Ines said...

Oh god. That's awful. I'm so sorry to hear that. :(
And I would never have guessed Chanel Les Exclusifs could leak - they look and feel sturdy and strong.

waftbyCarol said...

AWFUL !!
I own a fragrance boutique too , and leakage is a serious problem . I don't think the perfumers or the companies realize how badly most perfume packaging performs...sprayers stop sprayimg , bottles are hard to hold , and at least half leak long before we could use them up .But this sounds like the Katrina of leaks !!
Moment of silence and a day of fasting for your loss !

krnszn said...

!!!!! Oh Abigail! What a disaster! And such a strange thing to have so many perfumes end up gone!!! I hope the beauty of Santa Fe will help to cure the sadness. Wow.

Reminds me of theft of my jewelry and a leather jacket when I moved from CA to MA. No idea who took it - the movers, or people who were in my apartment after I arrived. Yes, I stupidly packed some valuable stuff in a box...and it disappeared.

Moral of the story, hand carry anything you can't bear to lose (not fun to learn firsthand...)

Gator Grad said...

Gah! I want to give you a big hug and some tissues. My perfume collection (which is really small) is the joy of my soul, surpassed only by my feelings for my dog and SO. I recently took a trip and put my 2ml sample of Philosykos in a bag and 40% leaked out. Less than 1ml. And yet I was devastated, so I totally can not imagine how you must feel. SOOOOOOOO sorry for your loss!

Unknown said...

Oh Abigail--that's terrible! I used to move frequently (at least once a year) and was really lucky to never have lost perfume. Other things did go missing up near Brainerd. Were your fragrances on a moving truck? It seems so inexplicable to have lost so much to leakage. Of course driving through the country with all of that in your car would present its own problems.

Better luck in Santa Fe--go have a big cup of hot chocolate at Kakawa on Paseo to console yourself.

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry Abigail! I recently moved as well and hand packed & delivered every single bottle...quite the task.

I'm trying to think of an optimistic spin on this...but I'm coming up blank. Hang in there!

Mals86 said...

Oh no oh no... Oh, I'm so sorry! Especially about that Vacances since it's virtually unobtainable these days.

Have a good cry, and then a good bottle of wine. (Okay, not all the bottle at one time.)

If you used a moving service, was there insurance?

kathleen said...

How horrible! This discovery must have been gut wrenching. I could feel it, just in the reading of your unfortunate tale.

" Be grateful for a pleasant trip, And pick yourself up, Dust yourself off, Start all over again. ..."

Marko said...

What a bummer, Abigail! You and your lost perfumes will be in my thoughts today. I hope you feel better soon.....

Marko

ScentScelf said...

Oh, Abigail. Oh. I mean, we all know thank goodness it wasn't a pet or one of your limbs, but...oh.

I agree with those who say it's worth a cry, worth a fabulous cocoa...worth a good day of rain and moping. Please, yes, Mals is right to check your insurance. Even though some of those are going to be tough to replace, you will want to get back into business, right?

I am a bit baffled by the Chanel, too. And an *unopened* bell jar? These things are supposed to be shippable. Odd. Sad.

But, to return to the original theme...am glad YOU are safe and intact.

EileenS said...

Abigail, that is awful news! Moving is such an upheaval by itself that adding the loss of some scents is almost too much to think about. I hope the rest of the move went a lot more smoothly.

queen_cupcake said...

Oh no! That is terrible. I am so sorry to hear about the losses. Hope your insurance will take out some of the sting. Some great advice here--cocoa, wine, a good cry. I send a hug and a sympathetic smile.

ahsumaker said...

Abigail, I am so sorry! What a terrible blow, and after all the care you took.

dea said...

omfg.


abigail, i am so terribly sorry. reading the post makes my stomach hurt- i can't imagine how difficult this is for you. as kindred souls (emotionally bonded with each bottle in our respective collections), we are here for you, hon.

for what it's worth- i have a care package waiting to send you (missed deadline sending it to NJ). Contact me, chickadee.

junaduft said...

How terrible, Abigail. I'm so sorry.

Anonymous said...

Oh, man. I'm so sorry. How does that even happen? Was it the changes in altitude in the moving truck? I'm just so sad for you. :(

Karen G.

Tara said...

I am so sorry. That is just terrible!!! Although I have more juice than I could ever use in three lifetimes, a loss such as yours would be unimaginable!! I don't know if you answered this already, but was it due to air travel or road travel?

Elizabeth said...

Oh my lord, how tragic. I am so sorry. :-(

Anonymous said...

AAAAAAAACK! OH, I'm so sorry, Abigail. I hope you otherwise settle into your new home comfortably.
Laura M

Abigail said...

Thanks so much, everyone. I *knew* you would understand ;-)
I soothed myself with a 'dirty Goose' this evening (a Grey Goose vodka martini with olives and olive juice).
I'm trying not to think about all the leakage now. In an attempt to console myself I ordered a few perfumes today. I feel a bit better with the prospect of pretty new bottles on their way(ordered: Chanel Coromandel replacement, Profumum Confetto for my sweet tooth of late and a backup bottle of Laura Mercier Minuit Enchante because I really love this stuff and will write a review soon.)
Thanks again for the condolences...it's nice to be able to vent to like minded folks!
And, lastly, it snowed today in Santa Fe :0]

Bryan said...

I am so so sorry for the damage. That just simply sucks! I can't imagine owning, let alone losing, a bottle of Vacances. I wish I could make it better.
Bryan

Tania said...

How awful! Poor you. I shudder at the thought. OK, if I move I am by god not letting my perfumes out of my presence!

Did the shipping involve airplanes at all? Because extreme temperature changes could cause stoppers to loosen, I guess.

Tara C said...

I am so sorry for this painful loss. I have only transported my perfumes personally so I was unaware that there could be such losses from transport - especially the bell jar and the chanel - I would never have expected that! May fabulous perfumes come your way in consolation.

pyramus said...

What a nightmare! I think someone who doesn't love scent wouldn't get it (and would maybe just think of it in terms of stinking up the other packing boxes), but it's like losing family heirlooms in a fire, isn't it? Just awful.

There are two things I always hand-transport when moving: the important electronics (computers, iPods, external hard drives) and the fragrances. Losing or damaging either is unthinkable.

Anonymous said...

Abigail,

I just read today. I am so very, very sorry. For a perfume lover, this is devastating!

I agree it is a good idea to check with your insurance agent to see if they can assist with coverage.

Please keep you chin up, I promise things will get better.

Lisa W.

Julien said...

My condolences :(
It MUST have been horrible. I imagine it must have been awfull to discoreved the arrived package soiled, and to emerge each bottle from all that disaster.
And that still even now the remaining bottles may have this mixed odor from this disaster.

Vintage Guerlain, Coromandel <3 <3...

Thank you to prevent us from the risk of such leakage. Very strange a chanel bottle could leak. What could have happened, airplane trip, serious shaking, pression change... strange enough I bought a lot of perfume from ebay, perfume send overseas, and I never such problem. And though, Waftbycarol said it happens a lot with its fragrance boutique.

Julien said...

Eh!
I recall myself Chanel are very style-conscious about their quality and luxury image. You should write to the "after selling" services, they are very up to their reputation and show themselves quite generous.
We all agree here it is NOT normal such thing to happen with a chanel exclusive bottle.
There must have been a defectiveness. Sure, it did not happen to the trip from the shop to you, but still enough, 1° ALL the perfume is gone 2° maybe you bought it very recently and may not have enjoyed it 3° you've talk with friend that agree it's very surprising from a chanel product 4° you're traumatised, and disapointed, you may reconsider to buy Chanel again, you who were a lover of the brand.
Send the original "sales check" (the ticket) with the handwritted letter, and photos if you have some. At last you don't have anything less to lost, and you have good reasons, and you may recieve a little (or a big) something from them.

Do the same maybe with the Lutens, asking for their benevolent temper, because for a confidential brand that exists almost only by recommendation from friend to friend a such disapointing story is not a good advertising, and you may reconsider buying Lutens again. You can even not dream to offer a Lutens as a gift anymore, without fearing such disaster to happen again during the shipment.

I can't help myself saying such leakage is strange. Maybe the drug police services took your package, checked each bottle, destroying them, in the search from illicit liquids ^_^!

Anonymous said...

I experienced similar problem, my new and full bottle of Chanel Coromandel started to leak. I always keep my perfumes upright, I have no clue why there was so much leakage. Considering to buy atomizer bottle and transfer perfume into it, I can't image 200ml getting spoiled, considering its price. Really disappointment, never expected that from Chanel.