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Need help selecting a perfume for my girlfriend

post #1 of 9
6/22/05 at 10:35am
Thread Starter 
A bit of relevant info which partially explains my dilema: My girlfriend is significantly older than I am, she is 29, a buisnesswoman, very level headed and professional. For years she only had one perfume at a time, and wore it all year round no matter what the occassion. The problem was I disliked the smell of it on her as it was too sweet/artificial for my taste and I couldn't come out and tell her that it smelled horrible on her. So I bought her "Flowers" by Kenzo, since she gravitates towards floral scents. It smells good, but now we're back to square one where she wears this constantly. I'd like to buy her something nice that would be more suited for evening wear or something more formal, but I know next to nothing about women's perfumes. Any advice or help would be greatly appreciated!
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post #2 of 9
6/22/05 at 11:28am
Hmmm you could try something classic like Coco, Chanel No.5, Arpege, or L'Air du Temps. Personally I love Caron scents, Parfum Sacré being a favorite but there are other Carons that are more distinctly floral, less spicey. I always think of Dior's Tendre Poison as being very formal, green floral, as well as Paloma Picasso a spicey chypre. Since most of the newer scents are casual, light, fruit-florals or watery florals, I think you'll have to go back in time a bit to find something more formal. Chanel Allure might work, it's a citrusy floral on a base of woods and vanilla, more grown up that Coco Mademoiselle or Chance, sexy, nightitme scent.
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post #3 of 9
6/22/05 at 12:12pm
I like and wear Must de Cartier. It is a great oriental for cooler weather or evening wear.
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post #4 of 9
6/23/05 at 1:19am
Le Parfum de Therese by Frederic Malle is a nice floral for daywear. For more formal occassions try a classic like Shalimar or Coco.
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post #5 of 9
6/23/05 at 2:00am
My first thought was Arpege too. It's a beautiful classic floral - very elegant but still relatively easy to wear. You can't go wrong with that. I have never met anybody who didn't like it.

Good luck! And tell us what you decide, and how she likes it! [smiley=smiley.gif]
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post #6 of 9
6/23/05 at 8:18am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for all the help! I'm going to try the Chanel No 5, and next week I'm starting work on making my own floral scented perfume for her, I hope to have a good formula down by the end of the year in time for Christmas/our anniversary.
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post #7 of 9
6/23/05 at 5:38pm
You should try Pure Poison---all of the girls I work with in that age range absolutely love this one.
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post #8 of 9
6/24/05 at 2:07pm
It's too difficult to guess what kink of more "formal"/nightime scent could be suitable for your girlfriend. From what you say it seems she likes sweet/floral scents but not too spicy or oriental...
So It could be good some Chanel n.5 or n.19 (green-floral-powdery scent very complex and elegant; to me it's a true masterpiece) or Allure (if you want something more modern).
I think also Guerlain L'instant could be good (a good magnolia+woods scent). Maybe Shalimar (another of my favourites) could be a bit too smoky-oriental.
From Dior house, sounds "important" to me Dolce Vita: flowery-fruity-vanilla scent but could be too fruity.
I hope my advice can be helpful
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post #9 of 9
6/24/05 at 2:46pm
In addition to the advice everyone else already gave, I'd also add in Quelques Fleurs. It's a lovely, sophisticated floral that opens slightly green and matures to a bouquet of summer flowers. It's a fragrance that takes me everywhere in every season.

Also, as an afterthought- if she likes sweet, full florals try Joy. It's the ultimate classic Floral and on the right chemistry is so classy yet still approachable. It also dries to the most gorgeous, soft, floral-powder that's not overwhelming at all. Also, let's face it, along with No 5 it makes a great gift-giving presentation.
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