I don't know a darned thing about women's perfume

You're missing more than half of the best designer scents out there. Trust me; I'm a guy.

First, there are a huge range of classics, to the point where it's hard to know where to start. The Guerlains are a good place, though: Shalimar for a classic oriental; Mitsouko, arguably THE classic chypre nowadays; Jicky is an early classic that would be pretty much unisex or even male noways. There are many more, and many more informed Guerlainophiles to guide you here.

From Chanel - well, I'm SURE you've smelled No. 5, but it's good to revisit to refresh yourself on how this archetypal perfume smells. No. 19 is a great example of a galbanum heavy green-floral. There are so many classic Chanels I'll let others guide here, but a smell around a well-stocked Chanel counter is a fragrance education in itself.

On the subject of green florals, you must try Dior's Diorissimo, the archetypal muguet - lily-of-the-valley - fragrance. You know those '80s male powerhouses like Kouros and Patou PH? They had their female counterpart in Poison, an explosive and complex floral-oriental fragrance that remains unique.

Estee Lauder has one of the classic female orientals - Youth Dew. It's spicy oriental-amber, very heavy and old fashioned; I love wearing it. White Linen is a great example of aldehydes pushed to the max. If you can find some Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia you'll experience a gorgeous modern floral that's very true to nature.

Robert Piguet is probably not as mainstream as the line once was, but Fracas is the classic tuberose and Bandit is a classic leather chypre.

I'm not a fan of them, but you should try Thierry Mugler's Angel and Alien if you want to get to know some modern classics for those with a big sweet tooth.

Tom Ford's Black Orchid is loved and loathed by men and women alike, is readily available, and in my opinion, is still the star of the TF line.

I'm trying to stick to mainstream designer stuff, but I've barely even touched what's on offer. Go to your local perfume counters and start sniffing - it'll tell you more than any of us can tell you with words.

I found this list very helpful when I first started exploring scents:

http://perfumeposse.com/2007/09/24/perfume-201-draft/

There's also a "101" list, but this is aimed at people with more experience of fragrance generally, which you have.

You might just find yourself ending up wearing one or two of them, after all.

Galamb made you a very comprehensive list of the classics - by all means, start there. I take it you're looking for hidden gems, right? One or two come to mind:
Agent Provocateur
Bvlgari Tea series (White, Green, Red) and Omnia
cK Obsession & Secret Obsession
Dior Hypnotic Poison (and original Poison, too)
Dior J'Adore
D&G Feminine
Estée Lauder Sensuous
Givenchy Organza Indécence
Gucci EdP I (brown juice, not to be confused with the awfully pink EdP II)
Gucci Rush
Jil Sander Sun
Kenzo Amour & flankers
Kenzo Jungle l'Éléphant
Versace Crystal Noir
YSL Elle

Of course, this list is highly coloured by what *I* like and/or consider landmark scents, ask anyone else and you'll get a completely different list.
By the way, the scourge of modern women's releases equivalent to men's aquatics is the much-maligned fruity floral. Smell any two celebrity thingies and you'll recognize a pattern.

There's also the 100 Fragrances Every Perfumista Should Try:

http://www.nstperfume.com/2007/11/26...ta-should-try/

They're not all women's, but many of them are, so there should be some new material here.

Crayfish

You could go around to dept stores and get samples of what the best sellers are, look up the notes, and that will give you info you can discuss with college women regarding what they are actually wearing, as well as some basic knowledge too. Also peek in at makeupalley.com fragrance board where a lot of them post their latest obsessions.

The gateway frag for me was Dior - Miss Dior. If you try that & really think about it, it will take you into classic women's perfume.
Then try - Madame Rochas & Houbigant Apercu.

I tried on Guerlain's Mitsouko recently; a man can wear it, no problem. Also looking forward to sampling some Chanel this week... But SAs do give me funny looks whenever I browse at the women's counter. Not that I care. And whenever I try to engage them in a discussion about the notes, they give me a priceless blank look and start inspecting the bottle for the 'cheat sheet'.

No shortcuts to learning I suppose. Sample & sniff your way the way you did with men's frags. Unless you're Frank Slade, identifying a specific scent among hundreds will take a great deal amount of luck in 'educated' guessing. But I think its a great conversation starter nonetheless.

IMO frgrances made "for women" are generally better made with better materials for a larger purchase group segment of the market because competition drives quality in order to capture market share. Fragrances like Mistouko, for instance, are unrivaled in "made for men" designer fragrances. Therefore, fragrances like Mitsouko, Chanel #19, etc. are better values and better fragrances for the dolllar in my opinion. Test and buy fragrances that you like and feel comfortable with regardless of the gender designation.

OP:

Prada Infusion d'Iris is to me a better version to the Infusion Homme (I tried again the Infusion Homme yesterday, only to have my opinion confirmed).

Dior Homme's equivalent in "feminine" perfumery would probably be Chanel's Chance.