So interesting…I need to spray a lot since I can’t smell it as well as other perfumes!Light?! I feel like it can flood any room...but I love it!
Perfume Chat Thread
- Thread starter JenJBS
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Did a family portrait of my small but curated and beloved perfume collection 
From Right to left :
* Prada infusion d‘Amande: tend to wear it in spring or summer. Discrete and delicious.
* Diptyque Eau Papier or “love at first smell”
* Sylvaine Delacourte Valkyrie : a shame that it lasts such a very short time… Real “parfum de peau”
* Guerlain L’heure bleue: my historical perfume, the one I’ll chose over any other. I think my ballet teacher wore it when I was a kid, or something similar. Will always evoke my poise and grace
* BDK Crème de cuir : my warmest winter scent, strong and comforting at the same time.
* Santa Maria Novella Lana : latest edition, my first cologne.
One is missing: got a vintage (plastic made!) bottle of Kenzoki Eau de riz sensuelle. Kenzo re-edited the Kenzoki perfumes but they have nothing to do with the originals…
So many memories with these little bottles… Would be happy to hear about other TPFer’s collection or favourite scents !
From Right to left :
* Prada infusion d‘Amande: tend to wear it in spring or summer. Discrete and delicious.
* Diptyque Eau Papier or “love at first smell”
* Sylvaine Delacourte Valkyrie : a shame that it lasts such a very short time… Real “parfum de peau”
* Guerlain L’heure bleue: my historical perfume, the one I’ll chose over any other. I think my ballet teacher wore it when I was a kid, or something similar. Will always evoke my poise and grace
* BDK Crème de cuir : my warmest winter scent, strong and comforting at the same time.
* Santa Maria Novella Lana : latest edition, my first cologne.
One is missing: got a vintage (plastic made!) bottle of Kenzoki Eau de riz sensuelle. Kenzo re-edited the Kenzoki perfumes but they have nothing to do with the originals…
So many memories with these little bottles… Would be happy to hear about other TPFer’s collection or favourite scents !
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I hope I’m writing this in the right place! Please, I need some suggestions for a new fragrance. I like both florals and gourmands and probably favor scent profiles that are more on the feminine side. While I like the note of vanilla and don’t mind it in my fragrance, I don’t want that to be the only thing. I want it be more complex than that. I also need something strong and beast mode. No one can smell perfume on me ever. It’s very frustrating!🥴 Over the years, I have smelled many things I like but nothing that I really LOVE. Maybe I’m too picky? Lol. I’m open to cheapies, designer, or niche. Any suggestions are so appreciated! Thank you!!
Do you layer? By that I mean a lotion or matching body oil before you spray your scent. That helps a lot in building up your scents longevity. Also an eau de Parfum has power than an eau de toilette. Pure Parfum is the strongest and most lasting.
Finding a fragrance I love takes a lot of work as I don’t like 90% of what is out there. When I spritz and can’t stop smelling my wrist I know I have a winner!
Sites like Fragrantica and Basenotes are great resources. Particularly Fragrantica. Look up a fragrance you know and love and it will tell you the basenotes ( floral, woody, green )and recommend others you may like. I am a spicy Oriental fragrance lover, but lots of floral lovers here to make recommendations.
Finding a fragrance I love takes a lot of work as I don’t like 90% of what is out there. When I spritz and can’t stop smelling my wrist I know I have a winner!
Sites like Fragrantica and Basenotes are great resources. Particularly Fragrantica. Look up a fragrance you know and love and it will tell you the basenotes ( floral, woody, green )and recommend others you may like. I am a spicy Oriental fragrance lover, but lots of floral lovers here to make recommendations.
Feminine floral is still a wide range: tuberose; rose; dark rose; mimosa (fleur de Cassie) ; white floral/orange blossom; jasmine; LOTV; hyacinth (chamade), gardenia , violet. . . Carnation (the latter is banned as an allergen, but there are plenty of vintage and possibly a synthetic version). Guerlain is famous for engineering synthetic oak moss, which was what anchored a lot of perfume and gave it staying power. Lavender is a base for a lot of men’s cologne.
green (heeley’s rose, Chanel 19, iris silver mist; En Passant) fruity (parfum de Therese; Guerlain Nahema; some modern Hermes fragrances); dark, oud, tobacco, wood, (a lot of amouage; voleur des roses; gourmand ( maison francis K; (there are a million rose variations of the first five). animalic (musc kublai khan is animalic rose) , amber ( ambre sultan; ozone, smoke, powder (some amouage fragrances turn to powder and FM Iris Poudre). leather/rubber (two powerhouse examples of the latter are tuberose criminalle and Bulgari black . . . Your own skin chemistry can amplify certain notes or aspects. It’s best to narrow down the field a bit.
Agree with @chowlover2 re layering. Make sure your skin is well moisturized before application. Any perfume will be more explosive if sprayed rather than dabbed.
A vintage perfume in good condition will be particularly strong. But some vintage perfumes are complex compositions of floral and other notes, like Chanel 5. You can decide if you like a blend or a soliflore (mainly one note)
There are many specialty perfume sites that can help. This link below has recommendations embedded in the comments
recommend me a perfume Archives - Bois de Jasmin
Some historically strong French houses: Caron; Guerlain; Chanel; Dior (I believe Frederic Malle was Diors nephew or something like that).
Italian: Maria Santa novella, etro, Lorenzo V.
American: Estée Lauder has come out with some very strong contenders; one was a blend of florals— very feminine
Middle Eastern: typically expensive with a high concentration of potent ingredients; often unisex. I think Amouage Gold was a mixed floral, but my recollection could be off.
Other: jewelry houses like Bulgari tend to have reasonably priced, excellent quality perfume
Niche: a million small and medium sized brands and houses.
Designer: comme des garçons Avignon ; Fracas; Bandit
Fragrance genius : Dominique Rompion (responsible for Carnal Flower; Geranium Pour Monsieur etc etc
ETA: a parfum extrait is significantly stronger than EdT or EdC. If you want something to really last, make sure you love it, and then spray on hair or clothing (if you decide you cannot stand it, very hard to wash out). If you cannot smell it, but others can, it may be bc your nose has acclimated. This was a famous problem with YSL Opium.
Go slowly, test first on paper, then if possible get a sample to test in skin before purchase. There used to be decant on line sources that would allow you to purchase tiny amounts to try. One was called Surrender to Chance.
ETA: Chanel gardenia famously does not smell like gardenia lol
Some of these suggestions above are not things that I like or can wear myself, but they’re just examples of a range.
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Thank you!! I actually have tried Fragrantica before and sometimes find it overwhelming. So many contradictory opinions, lol!!! But I will look at Basenotes. I do always buy eau de parfum or extrait as they are supposed to be the strongest formulations. Honestly just having you say that you also have a hard time finding something you love makes me feel better. Both my daughter and my mother easily settled on ‘signature fragrances’ and I feel like I should be able to find one too.
Thank you so much! Lots of great info here! I appreciate the suggestions!Feminine floral is still a wide range: tuberose; rose; dark rose; mimosa (fleur de Cassie) ; white floral/orange blossom; jasmine; LOTV; hyacinth (chamade), gardenia , violet. . . Carnation (the latter is banned as an allergen, but there are plenty of vintage and possibly a synthetic version). Guerlain is famous for engineering synthetic oak moss, which was what anchored a lot of perfume and gave it staying power. Lavender is a base for a lot of men’s cologne.
green (heeley’s rose, Chanel 19, iris silver mist; En Passant) fruity (parfum de Therese; Guerlain Nahema; some modern Hermes fragrances); dark, oud (a lot of amouage; voleur des roses; gourmand ( maison francis K; (there are a million rose variations of the first five). animalic (musc kublai khan is animalic rose) , amber ( ambre sultan; ozone, smoke, powder (some amouage fragrances turn to powder and FM Iris Poudre). leather/rubber (two powerhouse examples of the latter are tuberose criminalle and Bulgari black . . . Your own skin chemistry can amplify certain notes or aspects. It’s best to narrow down the field a bit.
Agree with @chowlover2 re layering. Make sure your skin is well moisturized before application. Any perfume will be more explosive if sprayed rather than dabbed.
A vintage perfume in good condition will be particularly strong. But some vintage perfumes are complex compositions of floral and other notes, like Chanel 5. You can decide if you like a blend or a soliflore (mainly one note)
There are many specialty perfume sites that can help. This link below has recommendations embedded in the comments
recommend me a perfume Archives - Bois de Jasmin
boisdejasmin.com
Some historically strong French houses: Caron; Guerlain; Chanel
Italian: Maria Santa novella, etro, Lorenzo V.
American: Estée Lauder has come out with some very strong contenders
Other: jewelry houses like Bulgari tend to have reasonably priced, excellent quality perfume
ETA: a parfum extrait is significantly stronger than EdT or EdC
Hello! You mentioned that you have smelled many things but none of them were loves. I am wondering if you can share some of the ones you have already sampled as that will help to make better recommendations by giving me an idea of the ones that didn’t work very well.
Agree about layering and the other excellent suggestions above. I am a habitual undersprayer (just one or two sprays, especially heavier perfumes) but I can usually smell my own perfume (occasional wafts) for several hours. If I may ask - how much do you spray and are you able to smell your own perfume through the day even if others are not able to smell it? With some of my perfumes, I have to spray on both skin and clothing because for whatever reason, the same scent dissipates faster on skin but lingers much longer and I can smell it better on clothing.
A few floral suggestions to start: Chanel Comete, Houbigant Quelques fleurs, orangers en fleurs, isabey fleur nocturne. Lancôme usually makes strong fragrances so worth sampling.
Are there any particular florals you like better than others? I will probably have better suggestions tomorrow morning when I’m bright and fresh so will check back tomorrow.
Some people just like everything! I had a friend I used to work with, and she loved everything. Like 25 out of 25 fragrances. I would be very lucky if I liked 1 out of 25. I have also found I tend to like certain houses, like Guerlain. Through that I discovered Parfums de Nicolai, she is the granddaughter of Guerlain. What I-like about Fragrantica is they make recommendations based on what you like. In the winter I love spicy Orientals, mostly from the late 70’s and 80’s. So my rotation in winter is Opium, my fave the original version that came out in ‘77, Estée Lauder Cinnabar, Fendi Theorema, Chanel Coco, Tom Ford Amber Nude, Calvin Klein Obsession and my 2 non Orientals Lorenzo de Villoresi Teint de Neiges and Lise Wattier Neiges. I tend to like alot of fragrances that were introduced before the crackdown on ingredients like oak moss in 1990. Also hate all the reformulations. The original Opium is nothing like what is on the market today. Estée Lauder reformulated her line and to me they are awful. I understand if manufacturers can’t use items, like civet or ambergris. To me it is a whole new fragrance and should be called that as well. Balmain reformulated several in their line. I love Vent Vert, the original from 1947, but the 3 later versions are terrible Also love Ivoire, but the ‘79 original, not the later formulations. I am torn about buying the new Balmain Discovery kit as I doubt I will like much of it. 4 are reformulations and 4 are new.
Have you ever tried decants? A shameless plug for the ladies at Surrender to Chance. I have been buying decants from one of the founders since she sold on EBay 20+ years ago. Tons of options and lots of recommendations, lots of new stuff every month. Lucky Scent is great as well as Aedes de Venustas for decants. That way you can try something and live with it to see if you love it. Good luck.
Gosh, what a lovely, kind reply! Thank you so much! I have dry skin and live in a very dry climate at altitude (just under 8,000 feet) so I do think that is part of why fragrance doesn’t ‘stick’ to me. When I visit my folks in Texas, I do feel like my perfume performs better. I usually spray 4-5 times, mostly at my chest and torso. Sometimes I can smell my own perfume if I literally stick my nose in the spot on my clothes where I know I sprayed, lol. I don’t even bother spraying on my skin anymore because I couldn’t smell it there even a minute after spraying. I will usually ask my husband or daughter if they can smell me and they always sheepishly reply ‘No, sorry.’ Maybe I need to apply a thick lotion or body oil to my skin first and then spray? I might give that a try. Thank you for the fragrance suggestions! I will check them out! Some perfumes I have liked but not loved include Gucci Bloom, Flowerbomb Ruby Orchid, Burberry Goddess, and the entire AERIN line but those dissipate in about 6 seconds on me. 😂
Thank you so much! I think I will try Surrender to Chance! I live in the mountains in CO so getting to actually smell things in person has been challenging! It’s funny that you mentioned reformulations—I am in my early 50’s and I miss the golden days of Dior Poison, Estée Lauder White Linen and Beautiful, Prescriptives Calyx, Calvin Klein Obsession, etc. from my youth. I did buy Poison and White Linen recently just as a nod to nostalgia, but they are most definitely not the same. 😢 I have not tried anything by Guerlain yet but I want to! I have been eyeing Mon Guerlain original or intense as a place to start. I was in the city recently and I tried Chanel Coco Noir. I didn’t mind it but I literally couldn’t smell it even on my clothes an hour later, which I know is funny because Chanel is supposed to have strong fragrances! Anyway, I think sampling decants is the way to go. Thank you so much for your help!!
It seems like the dry climate and altitude are playing their part in terms of affecting perfume projection. I like to also spray in the crook of my elbows or on the forearms as I find that my perfume projects better when applied on the arms.
You could definitely try the lotion or body oil to see if it helps. Ultimately it might take some sampling of different perfume houses to see which ones suit you and perform better on you. I haven’t tried some of the ones mentioned in your post but I do have Lilac Path by Aerin which has actually gotten stronger over time but agree that most of the line, especially the florals tend to be on the light and airy side.
Regarding Guerlain, mentioned in your other post, I would suggest also looking into the Les Legendaires line available on their website. Agree that samples and decants are the way to go in exploring new scents. Among the Les Legendaires line which includes their classic perfumes, you might want to try Nahema, L’Heure Bleue, Champs Elysees (this is underrated but a floral fan might enjoy the mimosa and spring like prettiness) and possibly Samsara (jasmine and sandalwood). While these are newer versions of their classics, I have heard that Guerlain has done a good job with keeping them as close as possible to the original versions.
Among niche houses you might want to sample Frederic Malle’s Lys Mediterranee, En Passant, Carnal Flower, Iris Poudre and Lipstick Rose. Their Portrait of a Lady is very strong but it does have patchouli in the base.
Good luck in your quest.
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Thank you so much! I really appreciate you taking the time to post such a thoughtful reply! I’m very intrigued by Guerlain. I actually do remember having or at least liking Samsara many years ago as a college student, and I know my mom had Shalimar, but that is my limited experience with the house. I had AERIN Lilac Path and loved it! It was the most photorealistic lilac scent and was gorgeous in spring! I used it up completely but didn’t repurchase just because the performance on me was poor. AERIN has a new version of Estée Lauder’s Tuberose Gardenia (which I had back in the day), but reviews for its longevity and sillage aren’t great. 🥴 I will research the other ones you mentioned. Again, thank you!!!🙏
A while back, I asked for some suggestions and several of you kindly responded. I made a list and recently finally made it to a department store that carries some of the brands I was looking for (Diptyque, Memo Paris, Matiere Premiere, VCA). There was so much scent already in the air when I walked in, so I didn't end up being able to choose. Maybe I'll try to go in the morning when hopefully it will be less busy.
I did order a 50ml bottle of Berber Blonde (Sana Jardin), but now that it has arrived I feel that it smells quite different from the sample size. I still like it though.
And finally, I got a discovery set from Essential Parfums. Trying Divine Vanille today, it's OK. And this leads me to my next question: do you care whoever the perfumer/nose is? Looking at these names and cross checking against the more detailed information on fragrantica, it seems as though many of them create perfumes for many price points. I'm guessing/hoping there's still a difference between Byredo and Other Stories even though the same person is behind the composition of many fragrances?
I did order a 50ml bottle of Berber Blonde (Sana Jardin), but now that it has arrived I feel that it smells quite different from the sample size. I still like it though.
And finally, I got a discovery set from Essential Parfums. Trying Divine Vanille today, it's OK. And this leads me to my next question: do you care whoever the perfumer/nose is? Looking at these names and cross checking against the more detailed information on fragrantica, it seems as though many of them create perfumes for many price points. I'm guessing/hoping there's still a difference between Byredo and Other Stories even though the same person is behind the composition of many fragrances?
Yes. Certain perfumers have very recognizable styles.
Also, don't pay too much attention to Fragrantica. The notes listed there are often totally wrong, and many of the "reviews" are just...no.