Which fragrance for which occasion?

I think "one perfume per one occasion" is a myth -- just wear what feels right.

My only two gripes are about situations which I think call for no fragrance:

-- people wearing colognes/perfume to job interviews (which typically take place in small conference rooms -- for hours -- where a scent can be overpowering)

-- waiters wearing fragrance on the job (not that I eat out that often, but when I do I'd rather focus on my food rather than what the waiter is wearing)

Okay, rant over!

I don't have a master plan or anything. If I feel like wearing a fragrance (which I don't always), it mostly depends on what I'm wearing and where I'm wearing it to. If it's work or hanging out, I won't wear anything strong, and vice-versa for going out at night. I guess if it's hot, I'll always wear something green, and if it's cold it's time to bust out the spicy or smoky stuff.

On the whole Heeley Figuier is the most 'flexible' fragrance for me; there's something I really like in the contrast between its sharp green edge and fairly steady musk drydown. The green makes it easy in hot weather while the musk gives some warmth in cold temps. It can dressed up or down, great with buttoned up work wear or ripped jeans. It's funny because I don't actually love Figuier a lot, but I feel the most comfortable in it most of the time.

Somewhere in the Basenotes Articles is an article fom arounf five years ago with a prominent perfume person, and she was pretty adamant to leave orientals mainly for use at night.

I tend to agree with her, unless they are really fresh orientals.
To me, orientals do more often tend to convey a feeling of I'm here to party/here to hunt/here to have a good time which may not suite the occasion, as other perfumes just smell nice and fit in better with I'm here to work/I'm here to shop type situations.
Renato

Have you tried the l'eau d'issey pour homme? It would work awesome on a girls. The original version is unpleasant in my opinion.

To me an oriental is powdery/incense-y. I think a good example you can identify with would be Samsara, which I noticed you enjoy. It is a floral-oriental, to my nose at least. I've always found sandalwood to be oriental smelling... I'm quite a fan of oriental fragrances.

Where I'm from, people often use incense in religious practices. Even in street shops, many owners have alters offering incense, albeit not the highest of quality incense sticks, but that's where I guess I've formed a closeness to that sort of aromatic vibe(though i personally do not practice burning of incense in a religious context).

I like how you are open to scents and have noticed your good taste. I think it will be easier for you to enjoy and appreciate fragrances considering that you are willing to try all or most things.

Regarding the guy at work, I think you should spread the love and offer him a sample

Samsara is awesome yeah! I think you could wear it on most occasions, as long as you are in the mood for it

I would call Amarige Mariage and Shalimar Light fresh orientals. It's the citrus over the creamy vanilla and florals. I see you already have SL. AM can now be found cheaply at many TJ Maxx's/Marshall's. I keep pondering a purchase, but I still have some testers and other things higher up on my wishlist.

Not all orientals are heavy evening perfumes! But if you're really open-minded about fragrance, there are quite a few citrus, green, woody, aromatic, incense, and leather fragrances that won't blast your coworkers' sinuses into submission. You might have to stray over into the "guy" side of the aisle for some - that's where the open-mindedness comes in (If you already have a boyfriend or husband, just consider it pre-emptive quality control)

When it was colder I used to wear Sienne l'Hiver (smoky stone) and Rock Crystal (incense) a lot to work. I think they're pretty light, with a masculine twist. I agree with Dobson's suggestion to cross the aisle to look at guys' stuff. For some reason a strong (if I was going to wear something strong) masculine fragrance seems less 'offensive', though I can't articulate exactly why. Maybe it's the dryness and lack of sugar; it feels... structured? Guerlain Vetiver is another great one for this, or clean vetivers in general.

I'm trying to expand into girly stuff, though. I'd definitely wear something like AG Petite Cherie to work -- it smells like watery, plastic-y pear and rose to me. Ooh, have you tried Stella McCartney Stella, misscasey? I think that's a great work-and-after-work fragrance.

Hmmm.

I don't feel that there are many rules that need following, other than avoiding strong fragrances when people are forced to be near you.

But thinking over how I generally match mood to fragrance:

- On a hot summer day when I'll be out among people, I tend to wear what I think of as the sparkling greens - Chanel Cristalle, Le Labo Jasmin 17, Jo Malone White Jasmine & Mint and so on. I'll wear these whether I'm dressed up or not, though they always drive me to dress up a little more than I would - for example, if I'm wearing jeans, I'd prefer a pressed linen shirt and well-shaped flats with them, instead of an old T-shirt and sneakers.

- On that same hot summer day if I'll be mostly alone, I tend to wear non-smokey, non-musky tea fragrances, like ElizabethW Sweet Tea, Lorenzo Villoresi Yerbamate, Ava Luxe Moroccan Mint Tea, CB I Hate Perfume Black Tea, etc. Green is for sunlight and people, tea is for shade and privacy.

- However, if I'm _really_ not dressing up - if I'm putting on shirts and a T-shirt and going out to weed - I'm more likely to wear a citrus fragrance. But that doesn't mean that I think that citrus is inherently casual; it's just a personal quirk. I feel that I need to live up to the sparkling greens, but not to the citrus.

- Summer evenings, I'm more likely to go to florals, but usually light florals. Hermessence Osmanthe Yunnan or Hermessence Rose Ikebana, for example. If I'm actually getting dressed up (rare), I tend to wear something deeper but still with limited projection, like a couple of drops of Chanel No. 19 extrait, or an oil-based rose perfume.

- Some perfumes feel to me like "office" perfumes. Annick Goutal Mandragore makes me feel like a well-dressed 1930's secretary in a perfectly tailored suit and tappity-tap heels. Coco feels like the youngish woman who intends to become an executive and probably will.

- Some perfumes are the ageless woman who's perfectly put together, never rumpled, never disarranged, but you forgive her for it because she's a warm, fascinating person inside all that perfection. The aunt that smelled so good when you hugged her when you were small, who maybe let you play with the perfumes on her dresser. The teacher that made you want to impress her, and also want to grow up to dress like her. The next door neighbor that seemed _so_ cool, but Mom liked her too. You know, that woman. She's Chanel No. 5, and probably Arpege, and... you know, those perfumes. You know?

OK, I'm getting over-whimsical now, so I'm stopping.

Crayfish