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Newbie needs help finding a skin scent (Also posted under Just Starting Out)

post #1 of 24
9/14/10 at 6:55am
Thread Starter 
NebraskaLovesScents suggested I post here for you lovey smelling ladies to help me out also. So here I am. My original question is posted below.

"Hi guys, I am really interested in finding a skin scent. Im kinda stuck between the idea of something that smells like skin and something that smells like a child or children's skin. I want to wear the fragrance as everyday scent. So longevitity is important.

After reading many reviews and descriptions, I really like the idea of Ava Luxe Milk, Dawn Spencer Hurwistz Au Lait and Thierry Mugler Le Parfum Virgin No.1(I know this is not an option). What would you guys suggest? "

Link http://www.basenotes.net/threads/259...g-a-skin-scent

****Background Info****
-Im 22 and I usually dont wear perfume.
-Im not a perve. I just want to smell youthful without being too obvious with it.
-Im also trying to broaded my horizen and push past purely fruity scents, but I still want to incorporate them. Its not like I actually wear fruity scents anyway. Im just maybe a little too comfortable with them. I need to know what else is out there.
- I've only been able to really smell for about two years. Prior to that my sense of smell was quite poor. I really dont know how that happened, but stuff smells different now.
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post #2 of 24
9/14/10 at 7:03am
Ava Luxe has another one you should check out - Love's True Bluish Light. And Opal from Sonoma Scent Studio. Both of these are vanilla/musk skin scents, quite soft and sensuous....and they're also very affordable.
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post #3 of 24
9/14/10 at 8:54am
Great suggestions Evangeline.
Also Pearl Musk by Ava Luxe- it's a beautiful scent.
Musc Bleu is also lovely and subtle.
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post #4 of 24
9/14/10 at 9:17am
Thread Starter 
What are you all's thoughts on musks in general? Mind you, I have never worn musk before until this past weekend. Due to curiousity, I decided to try a couple of drugstore musks even though I was kinda warned not to. They were Parfums de Coeur Body Fantasies Fresh White Musk and Skin Musk. Those two fragrances did not agree with me. I started feeling ill shortly after wearing them. They also seemed a bit too mature for me. Do you all find that most musks smell that way, even designer/niche?

What I got from it, I guess would be overally sweet floral plus something else. I kept imagining the werewolves out of the Twilight series books smelling vampires while wearing this.
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post #5 of 24
9/14/10 at 9:48am
Totally understandable philosophy about fragrance IMO.

Musks are a nice starting point. Also, not all musks are created equal. Some of the drug store varieties are a little "off". Try some nicer ones, or even just musk heavy (but not pure) frags.



The thing that caught my attention the most actually was
"I've only been able to really smell for about two years. Prior to that my sense of smell was quite poor. I really dont know how that happened, but stuff smells different now. "
That's something that should be looked into if it hasn't already. It just seems like a big red flag in my opinion.
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post #6 of 24
9/14/10 at 10:24am
Thread Starter 
Maybe I should look into that, Master-Classter. During my latter years of highschool I lost my ability to smell most things strongly like I use to. I tried to make up for that by being overly clean. I didnt have many sinus inffections nor did I have any problems with allergies. I do know that once I started truly smelling again my sense of taste changed also.
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post #7 of 24
9/14/10 at 9:17pm
Hmmm...

I'd go a slightly different direction and suggest Diptyque's Tam Dao. It's a creamy sandalwood with tonka bean and a subtle musk. I find that it smells like the top of a baby's head after a few hours on my skin.

It's subtle if you don't wear too much and only gets perfumey if you wear a lot.
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post #8 of 24
9/15/10 at 2:45am
what about Clean Ultimate by Clean
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post #9 of 24
9/15/10 at 6:13am
Some of the nicest musks are also the least expensive. Oils tend to make very nice skin scents. I have been obsessed with a "your skin but better" perfume forever. Some of my fave musk oils:
Abdul Kareem Egyptian Musk (this was Carolyn Bessett-Kennedy's signature scent)
Auric Blends Egyptian Goddess
These are both so soft & subtle and under $30. I wear them to bed, and layer them under many perfumes.

Some other skin scents (high & low end)
2nd the Musc Bleu and Clean Ulitmate
Bill Blass Nude (discontinued but available very cheaply online)
Le Labo Ambrette 9
Coty Wild Musk
Body Time China Rain
DSH Special Formula X
Donna Karan Pure (and her new DK Cashmere Mist Luxe Edition is a beautiful skin scent!)

Good luck & report back with your findings
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post #10 of 24
9/15/10 at 7:32am
Hi Jane !

I second Bill Blass Nude and Le Labo Ambrette 9 !
Philosophy's Baby Grace is yummy too.
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post #11 of 24
9/15/10 at 7:43am
I agree with all of the above. Musks are funny...there seem to be so many different types, and you have to experiment until you find the one(s) that is perfect for you. Otherwise, they will make you feel a little queasy. That has been my experience anyway.
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post #12 of 24
9/15/10 at 2:16pm
Musks are some of the largest fragrance molecules and many people are unable to smell (anosmia) many of them. I'm one of those that cannot smell any of the big powerhouse musks, Musc Kublai Khan, Musc Ravageur, that everyone raves about, I open the bottles and think, 'what?' there is nothing there!

BUT! There are other musks that thankfully I can smell and enjoy immensely, one is the Musc Bleu recommended above and the other is Mona di Orio's Musc, and I think both of those meet your criteria, IF they are musks you can smell. Of all fragrances the musks are the most individual.
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post #13 of 24
9/15/10 at 5:52pm
The new Hermes Eau Claire des Merveilles.

It's delicate and airy and smells liks skin that is a bit salty with a teensy hint of vanilla, woods and amber. Just a lovely skin scent kind of perfume.
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post #14 of 24
9/15/10 at 10:04pm
In the line of other musk recommendations, I'll suggest Ralph Lauren Blue. Its classified as a floral, but on me its a woody-musky skin scent.
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post #15 of 24
9/16/10 at 2:33am
I recommend Philosophy's Pure Grace - it's light and fresh without being antiseptic. It's a lovely heliotrope and that might be a note that works for you.

If you bump into a fragrance called Sonja Rykiel For Women Not For Men in edp, give that a try too. Applied lightly, I think that works nicely as a skin scent. Again, it has heliotrope, but it's a bit more full-bodied.

I'd certainly recommend a good look at Ava Luxe's line - there are some beautiful fragrances there and they're not expensive, especially in the 5ml sizes.

Finally, the one that I started out using as a skin scent is Donna Karan's Cashmere Mist, but you might find that's a bit strong. However, it's well worth a try if you're passing a tester bottle in a store. See what you think.

And it's lovely to hear you're enjoying fragrance after your hiatus in high school. x
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post #16 of 24
9/17/10 at 7:06am
Thread Starter 
Yesterday around 6 pm I stopped by Ulta. I went in looking for Clean Ultimate and Pure grace, but both of those fragrances didnt have testers. I totally forgot to try baby grace and ralph blue. Well, I was curious about some other fragrance I read that are suppose to be fresh like. So I quickly sampled fragrance that I recognized and headed on to my belly dancing class. I tried Clean Provence, CK BE, Demeter Pure Soap, and Pure White Linen. None of them smelled the way i thought they would. Clean provence had a very bright berry scent to it. CK BE smelled slightly masculin yet a bit fruity. In all honestly they smelled different, but also a lot alike. Pure Soap at first almost smelled clean, but never smelled like a bar of soap. Pure White Linen at first smelled like it was buring, but according to my mom she like this one best.

After a belly dancing class and 5 hours later, Clean Provence and CK BE kept their same scent. Demeter Pure Soap started smelling like Clean Procence but with out the berry smelling note. It seemed that everything but white line started smelling very similar. It had that almost sick breath accord that Hollister Malaia has in it. And Pure White Linen smelled like old women's perfume.

Its now 14 hours later and Clean Clean Provence and Demeter Pure Soap are totally gone. A little of CK BE is still there but faint and the Pure White Linen has totally changed. It now smells like Escada Moon Sparkle and i can smell it from a few inches away from my face.

I think that my skin is weird. Nothing smelled the way I was expecting except for CK BE. Next time I will take a list with me so I can remember what to try
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post #17 of 24
9/17/10 at 7:36am
not to derail here, but in all seriousness, have you seen an ENT or someone like that? By the sounds of your story above, the one that keeps sticking out to me is how your sense of smell seems a little "strange". Don't take my curiosity as a personal affront, but it just sounds to me like there's something going on there that might warrant looking into further. As far as I know people don't just lose and regain their sense of smell for the duration of several years. For example, you just concluded that it must be your skin... doesn't seem to be the right conclusion to me
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post #18 of 24
9/17/10 at 3:48pm
I'm going to make the same recommendation I did in your other thread, mostly because I think many of the women here would enjoy it but may never take a peek at a thread in the just starting out forum.

That recommendation is for "Wicken 3000" by Six Scents, of course. It's the most minimalistic fragrance I've ever encountered and truly does smell like crystalline fresh air. It's like a white musk type smell without the usual white musk molecules - it doesn't have their sharpness or tinniness.

Octavian of 1000 Fragrances posted an interesting review of it here ( http://1000fragrances.blogspot.com/2...grances-2.html ) where he says

" Lucas Sieuzac "Wicken 3000" for Bernhard Willhelm
Rather strange in the first moments when you wonder if there is only alcohol, it starts with the perfect illustration of "the scent of nothing". It smells white, empty, pure, steel. No man is living in this cold environment of high altitude design or "futurotopia" year 3000, or even the modern architecture. In fact it has the strange feeling of Japanese white contemporary architecture, of those photos with unusual geometry and no human presence. The perfume seems to be built around lily of the valley aldehydes and alcohols, with an almost invisible white rose and transparent musk. It's like an oxygen mask in the perfume, a white shape in too much light to see the details. It seems to share several aspects with the Givaudan Bloom experiment. A design approach where everything is minimal. Call it Lilial, Bourgeonal, Floralozone, etc... it's simple the idea of purity!"

The reviews at Luckyscent have all been positive, too. It's still available to sample at Luckyscent, but if anyone is considering getting a bottle, it's still have off at RonRobinson.com - I ordered mine from there and received it quickly and without problem.

It's so very much a minimalist scent - far more minimal than even something like Jovan White Musk for Women or CK Be - and that is what makes it so unique. Its minimalism actually seems to up its elegance (and sexiness, too) in that it really comes across as a nice smell that is utterly unpretentious, it's not trying too hard because it's not trying at all. It just is.
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post #19 of 24
9/17/10 at 4:31pm
Thread Starter 
I opened up my Gendarme samples today. Those do smell like soap to me. The Gendarme green smells just like Irish spring to me at first , but the drydown smelled like some type of blue soap(cant think of the name) and bubbles (the ones you blow for fun). Grabazzi smells just like a brand new baby doll. Not a regular doll, but the baby ones with diapers on or good smelling baby wipes( I've never have actually smelled a baby wipe that smells that nice though). Maybe my nose isnt so broken Master-Classter. I even asked my brother what he thought without telling my opinions.

SculptureOfSoul I will be ordering a sample of the Wicken 3000 soon. Too bad luckscents doesnt currently have samples of this
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post #20 of 24
9/19/10 at 5:50pm
Thread Starter 
I purchased Coty Wild Musk today. It actually smells nice. I do not understand the correlation to it being wild at all. It smells like something my grandmother would wear, but that doesnt mean Im saying it has an "old lady" smell. My grandmother just likes body powders. It smell like one of those Johnson& Johnson shower to shower body powder with a tiny bit more of something else. It smells like you just woke up and you can smell the remnants of the shower to shower you sprinkled on last night. If more of the niche/designer musks are similar to this then Im no longer afraid of musk.
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post #21 of 24
9/21/10 at 11:43am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dany06 View Post

I purchased Coty Wild Musk today. It actually smells nice. I do not understand the correlation to it being wild at all. It smells like something my grandmother would wear, but that doesnt mean Im saying it has an "old lady" smell. My grandmother just likes body powders. It smell like one of those Johnson& Johnson shower to shower body powder with a tiny bit more of something else. It smells like you just woke up and you can smell the remnants of the shower to shower you sprinkled on last night. If more of the niche/designer musks are similar to this then Im no longer afraid of musk.

This is a fun one! I layer it with many things and wear it to bed too. Always gets me compliments, especially from my snuggly younger daughter who gets to experience all my frags up close & personal. Very easy to wear
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post #22 of 24
9/21/10 at 11:51am
Try NUDA by Il Profumo/Italy. It's a miracle... soft, yet fresh, musky-clear, yet skin-like.

It is a very subtle scent - but one of the best of its kind. I guess that's would you are looking for.
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post #23 of 24
9/21/10 at 11:56am
I also recommend Hermes Eau Claire des Merveilles.
Lovely, soft yet sparkling skin scent. Orangy, milky, ambery...pretty.
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post #24 of 24
9/21/10 at 12:21pm
suggest you test: Skin by Trussardi
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