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Suggestions for Mom

post #1 of 11
3/24/06 at 5:13am
Thread Starter 
Ladies,
I'm looking for suggestions for a perfume for my mother. She's in her late 60's, well-educated, sophisticated and progressive-minded, but with a basically conservative personal style. She works as a reference librarian in a public library, is very active in community organizations, and she and my father have a very active social life with a wide circle of friends.

She wears perfume often, but her one and only is Clinique Happy, which she has worn for many years and which I don't particularly like. She definitely has concerns about smelling too "perfumey" and probably wouldn't be interested in anything too heavy. I'd like to get something new for her as an alternative to Happy, but that would still fit her style and taste and that she would be comfortable wearing (or at least comfortable trying).

Any and all suggestions welcome.

--Steve
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post #2 of 11
3/24/06 at 6:08am
Romance Ralph Laurant and Miracle Lancome are very nice wearable fruity florals complementing women of any age.

For niche frags look into Annick Goutal, she has so many lovely scents, f.e. Quel Amour! or Eau de Charlotte
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post #3 of 11
3/24/06 at 1:02pm
The Guerlain fragrances wear very close to the skin. Maybe Shalimar Light, if she likes a hint of lemon.

I'll beat my drum again and pronounce: The best gift is a bouquet of sample vials. Visit online shops Lucky Scent, Luscious Cargo, Beauty Habit, Aedes, et al. For $15-30, you could treat her to days and days of scensory adventure via samples you select based on product descriptions. She might find she likes two or three fragrances. Use your creativity in presenting the "bouquet" and you'll thrill her for sure.

Your mom sounds like a really neat person. To quote Erma Bombeck, "As a child, my number one best friend was the librarian in my grade school. I actually believed all those books belonged to her."
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post #4 of 11
3/24/06 at 1:58pm
Joy, perhaps? Or En Joy, which is also lovely. Both are a bit pricey, though. I wouldn't say either is too perfumey. Both are nicely subtle, to my nose.

Another one that I find very subtle and quite refreshing is Alfred Sung Paradise. It's nicely green and slightly fruity, with a cool tropical feel (not like coconuts and bananas, though). It might appeal to a lady who wears Clinique Happy (which is fairly fruity).

bonni
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post #5 of 11
3/24/06 at 3:54pm
There's one at Kohl's called Wonderful (by American Beauty) that's along the lines of Clinique Happy and it's very bright and energetic. It's light and fresh like Happy as well.
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post #6 of 11
3/25/06 at 4:52am
Diorella is nice and not too perfumey. It's classic, conservative, yet fresh and sunny with its citrus and basil. It's one of my all time favorites, especially for summer. I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who dislikes it. What about Chanel Cristalle? I don't know many niche fragrances. Annick Goutal has a lot of nice ones, I do know. Both Clarins and Lancome (O de Lancome, is it?) at department store counters also have fresh, light scents. I wear RL Blue - it's light and inoffensive but has good lasting power on me. Also, how about l'eau d'Issey? I also like Hermes' Un Jardin sur Le Nil, but it might be a little too dry for her taste if she likes Happy's juicy fruitiness.
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post #7 of 11
3/25/06 at 5:08am
I sugest Hermes Eau des Merveilles - classy, chic, sophisticated yet not in-your-face overwhelming. Hiris by Hermes is also subtle and elegant.
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post #8 of 11
3/26/06 at 10:21am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the suggestions. I decided to go with the the bouquet of samples idea. Nordstrom's sells 1/2 oz. purse atomizers that they will fill with anything in the store at no additional charge, so I decided to give her a selection. Two suggestions that I wanted to include were Diorella and Eau des Merveilles, but they didn't have Diorella and they don't carry Hermes at all (the Sephora next door did have Hermes, but wouldn't give or sell me a sample :-( ). This is what I did get:

Bulgari The Vert and The Blanc (she's a tea drinker so I thought the idea of these might appeal to her, and I find them light, fresh and very pleasant)

Gendarme and Mugler Cologne (I didn't tell her they were for men/unisex, but I think she might like these fresh, soapy scents)

Dior Pure Poison and SJP Lovely (I've sampled these before and like them a lot. I have also tested samples of Narciso Rodriguez EdT and EdP and found them very similar to Lovely, but I think I like Lovely better)

Vera Wang and Marc Jacobs (I sampled a bunch of other stuff and these were two florals that seemed very pleasant at first sniff, although my nose was pretty overloaded at this point)

Hopefully my mother will find some things she likes from among these. Thanks again for your help.

--Steve
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post #9 of 11
3/26/06 at 2:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SmellsLike

This is what I did get:...

That's a pretty nice mix, Steve. Such a good son!
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post #10 of 11
3/26/06 at 4:34pm
Can I adopt you? ;D
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post #11 of 11
3/29/06 at 12:46pm
;D ;D ;D
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