I love the way different people smell:). My body chemistry really changes scents, so I don’t know of one that works for me.

This is a really “fun” goal, but I just don’t want to work on it right now. 6 months ago

Perfume Style: floral oriental I think

Perfume Name: fine; I like the sound of it

Perfume Bottle: just gorgeous

Perfume Scent, on contact: powerful but pleasant, invigorating, sharp/floral

Perfume Scent, 1 minute later: oh, wow. Gorgeous floral. I smell like a classy lady. I LOVE THIS.

Perfume Scent, 1 hour later: Less floral, even more fantastic. Like being at the art museum after dark.

Tested on Animals? Nope. 13 months ago

Tried this because a saleslady suggested it.

Perfume Style: fruity floral

Perfume Name: insipid

Perfume Bottle: dull, and I don’t like the pink color of the juice…also insipid

Perfume Scent, on contact: reminded me a little of Champs Elysees

Perfume Scent, 1 hour later: sweet, boring, uncomplicated; maybe good for a preteen 13 months ago

Perfume Style: floral

Perfume Name: hate it

Perfume Bottle: love it

Perfume Scent: I opened the little vial and the room filled with a powerful sweet grape jam smell. I got one drop on me on accident and it smelled like I was wearing a lot of perfume. I washed it off, closed the vial, and threw it away. 13 months ago

Perfume Style: floral oriental; fancy old French perfume

Perfume Name: a beautiful meaning, but I don’t know how to pronounce it properly. I could learn, I guess. I’m hardly an idiot.

Perfume Bottle: drop dead gorgeous

Perfume Scent, on contact: Like very old face powder in a medicine cabinet. Horrid.

Perfume Scent, 1 minute later: Sweet and powdery, hard to describe.

Pefume Scent, 1 hour later: Powder, vanilla, and floral incense? Still very hard to describe. Unique and dreamy.

It’s a contender.

ETA: Perfume Scent, 3 hours later: A little like pecan pie. Amazing. 13 months ago

Perfume Style: fruity floral

Perfume Name: love it

Perfume Bottle: love it

Perfume Scent, on contact: sour fruit

Perfume Scent, 1 minute later: like a Cosmopolitan, + flowers

I think this scent is more extroverted than I am. It would be good for fun ladies to wear to parties. 13 months ago

_{if people are sick of reading these, I will stop posting them! just let me know!}

Perfume Style: pear rose

Perfume Name: adorable

Perfume Bottle: absolutely love it

Perfume Scent, on contact: roses plus something WEIRD.

Perfume Scent, 1 minute later: Still a little weird. Washed it off.

_{it might be perfect on you though!}14 months ago

Perfume Style: floral

Perfume Name: I guess you would just say the “Rosa Magnifica” part.

Perfume Bottle: Very pretty. I like the gold netting.

Perfume Scent, on contact: Roses plus something a little spicy.

Perfume Scent, 1 minute later: Pale pink roses.

Perfume Scent, 3 hours later: Pale pink roses.

Tested on animals? No; Guerlain stopped animal testing in 1989.

G. liked it. It’s English garden-y. Maybe I’d like something a bit more complicated. Anyway, it is discontinued. 14 months ago

I only tried this because Halls doesn’t carry the Guerlain or Givenchy ones I wanted to try, and I figured I may as well try something while I was there.

Perfume Style: floral oriental

Perfume Name: Stupid.

Perfume Bottle: Boring and snobby like all Chanel bottles.

Perfume Scent, on contact: Very sweet and bright!

Perfume Scent, 1 minute later: Kind of like those butter cookies (ostensibly from Holland) that come in round blue tins, mixed with flowers. I like it quite a bit.

Perfume Scent, 3 hours later: Less cookie-ish I think. Smooth floral with vanilla + maybe something a little exotic. Still really nice.

Tested on animals? Not as far as I can tell. 14 months ago

Perfume Style: Rose chypre.

Perfume Name: Easy to say, not romantic, but at least smart.

Perfume Bottle: Not super pretty, not ugly.

Perfume Scent, on contact: Wow, very strong for one light spritz. I can’t smell the rose. I can’t smell anything but, PERFUME!

Perfume Scent, 1 minute later: Only a little better. Can only barely smell the rose. Not doing much for me, sorry to say. I washed it off.

_{it might smell fantastic on you, though :)}14 months ago

1. must smell fantastic, obviously
2. can be expensive, but can’t be ridiculously expensive!
3. must have a pretty bottle I like (sorry, Rive Gauche)
4. must have a name I don’t feel stupid saying (sorry, L’eau de Jatamansi.) 14 months ago

Here are some things I’ve learned so far from my fancy perfume guide!

A chypre perfume (pronounced SHEEP-ruh if you are American and don’t want to attempt a fancy “r”) has a funky base of oakmoss, or possibly patchouli or amber, though it really should be oakmoss for a proper chypre.

Perfume will stay good for a long time if you keep it out of the light, and even if it’s old and smells nail-varnishy at first when you put it on, the nail-varnish smell will wear off very quickly and it will be fine. 14 months ago

I haven’t been wearing it for a while, and an online discussion about it made me interested in wearing it again. (I should point out that I don’t use too much!...you have to be very close to me to smell it.)

I just ordered Turin and Sanchez’s perfume guide, which should be fun reading, even though they trash an old favorite of mine, Champs Elysees. There could hardly be a more subjective thing than scent, anyway. Everyone has different memories and associations with scents, and perfume smells so differently on different people!

I’ve been having a lot of fun today considering perfumes at The Perfumed Court , where you can get samples of just about anything, and reading perfume reviews on Basenotes .

One thing I find ridiculous in people’s perfume reviews, though, is how terrified people are that a perfume will make them smell “like an old lady.” Please. What has age to do with it? I wouldn’t wear Chanel No. 5, but not because many older ladies love it; it’s just too conservative for me. I would feel like I would have to wear tweed suits all the time. I’d probably look classier if I did, but I’m not going to.

The other funny thing about reviews: people are very suggestible when it comes to product names. A lot of people say L’Heure Bleue is sad or depressing; I’ve tried it before and it’s definitely complex and romantic, but I think the “blue” name makes some people think of sadness. (It just refers to a twilight hour, which is a nice time, right?) I saw lots of people say Champs Elysees smells like champagne, and it doesn’t at all…I think it’s just the name (though it does smell a little sparkly, if that makes sense.)

I do like real perfume. I’m not a Demeter or CB I Hate Perfume type person. I like florals, especially rose (very un-fashionable), and they tend to blend well with my skin.

I ordered samples of a bunch to try out!

L’Heure Bleue (I’ve tried it before in department stores…if I recall correctly, it doesn’t smell promising right away on me, and then turns into something really interesting)

Acqua Allegoria Magnifica Rose (kind of a waste to order a sample; I didn’t realize until after I placed the order that it had been discontinued :( )

Annick Goutal Quel Amour!

Annick Goutal Ce Soir or Jamais

Poison (I don’t really expect to buy a bottle of this, but it sounds like this really slutty perfume that might be fun to try out for an evening at home :) )

Boucheron (no rose notes, but it sounds fancy and I have high hopes) 14 months ago

I love perfume. I love how a scent can improve my mood, and I love the thought of ‘signature scents’, different scents to wear on different occasions, with different outfits, with different moods. I’m going to have more than one signature scent, as one just wouldn’t be enough – I’d look longingly at others. Maybe four or five different perfumes for girly days, naughty days, sweet and innocent days and sophisticated days, perhaps.

I have one, maybe two, already: I love Britney’s Believe, and Britney’s Midnight Fantasy. The first is floral, the second fruity. I wear Midnight Fantasy when I feel young and fun, and Believe when I feel elegant, sophisticated, and feminine.

Next week I’m going to get my hair cut (because it is seriously damaged – will have to buy repair shampoo and conditioner, too) so afterwards I will treat myself by going to Boots/Debenhams and spritzing like mad xD I’m going to find my other signature scents!

Any recommendations?

Adverts have made me curious about: Nina Ricci, Vivienne Westwood, Vera Wang. A Cosmo quiz told me my signature scent should be Calvin Klein. Will hopefully see how they smell next week. 16 months ago

DKNY Red Delicious!! <3 20 months ago

have any perfumes tht have a smell like tht?

not fruity but those together or by their selfs. kinda looked but i dont know. 22 months ago

I’m using Alfred Sung Shi, which is a nice scent for summer, light, almost unisex, and unique. I’m pretty pleased with it. Since I’m trying to save money I’ll call this done. Finding the perfect perfume can be lifelong quest to some extent, though! When I use up this bottle, I’ll revisit it. 23 months ago

Erox Realm Women
Badgley Mischka
Fresh Sake
Carol’s Daughter Pearls
Alfred Sung Shi 23 months ago

I discovered perfume when I was about fifteen, and over the years I’ve had lots of scents. Here’s my attempt to chronicle the madness:

Victoria’s Secret Love Spell- Their most popular scent. Smells exactly like jolly ranchers. I wore it when I was fifteen and thought it would make me irresistible to boys.
Aquolina Pink Sugar- Smells like cotton candy, comes in a pink bottle. Wore it when I was about 17. Embarrassing!
Lucky Brand Lucky You- Another pink bottle, another young sweet scent. My sister gave it to me for Christmas.
Elizabeth Arden Green Tea- Still one of my favorites, a light crisp clean scent.
Marc Jacobs- The first real perfume I ever wore. Smelling it now brings back such strong memories. Still very floral and sweet.
Burberry Brit- Another one I got for Christmas, I love the unusual combination of vanilla and lime but I’ve never used up the bottle as it’s too strong for everyday wear.
Erox Realm Women- I stole it from my mom. It smells like cinnamon and supposedly has pheromones in it or something.
Victoria’s Secret Dream Angels Heavenly-Hugely popular but smelled like plastic to me. Yuck.
Badgley Mischka- I still haven’t actually owned this but I’m intoxicated by it. It smells like vanilla and amber.
Fresh Sake- Probably the only perfume I’ve bought twice. Smells really light and unisex.
Carol’s Daughter Pearls-My latest perfume, worn for about the past year. My sister claims it smells like detergent. It’s pretty lemony.
Alfred Sung Shi-Just bought this. It comes in such a cute raindrop bottle and it’s really unique, sort of unisex and light but sweet. Intruiging. 23 months ago