My very extremely newbie-ness

I discovered this forum when searching for, you know, the perfect scent, as I have been forever. I stayed up all night reading the posts and looking through potential samples. Very exciting, thus, the all-night thrills as I kept reading about scents that sounded just perfect for me. I discovered The Perfumed Court, where all samples sound perfect.... and then I tried a bunch of other ones from AEDES.
Basically, I love some very specific scents. I don't necessarily like perfume. In fact, I loathe perfume-y scents, which means that I'm left with light, fresh scents that disappear pretty much instantly, and all smell exactly like something I would eat.
I'm a little disappointed. I can't get myself to really like vanilla spirituelse (sp). I love the vanille from anthropologie, and the old Body Shop vanilla oil. I also love satsuma, mango, and coconut body butter. And then, after trying and failing to make good aromatherapeutic cleaning goods, I fell in love with Meyer Lemon from williams Sonoma. So there you have it. I don't belong on this site at all. But it's still interesting to read.
Oh, and I thought I loved beachy scents, but no. The ones from CB I hate the beach and Tom Ford and Bobbi Brown... they do not smell like my beach. It must be an East/West thing. My childhood was all about Sex Wax and Hawaiian Tropic oil (and I still LOVE those scents....) I'm always looking for the pefect lemon to match Love's Soft Lemon, but the fancy samples that I've ordered aren't working so well.

SO, that is me. I'd love to find the elusive signature scent. But I don't love whatever musk or ? that makes fine scents stick around.

Nice to meet y'all, and to hear about a new and different world

Thank you all for your kind and welcoming words. I suppose I would find The Search for the perfect scent (HG, the Holy Grail?) to be pure fun if I weren't so broke these days! (Three daughters in college, cutbacks at my work, blah blah blah...)
I managed to spend an astonishing amount on samples, and I have a nice little order from LuckyScents assembled and ready to go. Clearly this can become an addiction. It is certainly fun to see all those little vials packed so attractively, ready to be examined, evaluated, enjoyed.

Maybe I should take a look at your suggestions before sending my order, teardrop. I saw a few of those as I was perusing TPC--they sounds lovely. And really, the sample prices are not exactly prohibitive. The list sounds like a great next step for me.

The real reason I found you-all initially was that I was searching for reviews on New York Collection Eau De Parfum ... Love Coco, which anthropologie (favorite store) carries, but only online. I didn't want a "blind buy." I was hoping to find a sample, or at least some reviews, which I did. I ordered a hefty sample from TPC, which of course is much less expensive than springing for a bottle, and as it turns out, that scent wasn't truly perfect for me.
I don't have the language for describing it, but it was strangely...harsh? I did smell the coconut, which I love, but there was another odd scent blended that made it less appealing. Coriander? And then it disappeared... so it's not indeed my perfect scent, but it's interesting. The reviews had been mixed, so I wasn't surprised.

I also ordered a roll-on of Bvlgari au the blanc, which I knew I loved, both from the memories of lovely days spent at the Ritz Carlton, and just because I love it (don't know what the scent is at all on that one). I'm glad to have bought it, but I haven't been able to find a good way to make that wonderful scent last more than a few minutes.

Sex Wax? It's surf wax that used to come in a wide variety of scents such as tangerine, blueberry and licorice. I used it in the summer, and so it reminds me of wonderful times surfing warm clear waves... Sex Wax is still made, but I don't think it comes in many scents anymore. There's nothing better to me than the smell of surf wax--coconutty, a little bubblegum, mixed with the salty scent of the ocean, warm sand, and near me, iceplant... ahhhhh... clearly I need to get back out in the water!

Maybe the disappointment comes from the fact that my feelings about scents are frequently extreme--either I LOOOOVE it (generally the scents of nature, such as orange blossoms, various types of jasmine, vanilla...) and find that it's hard to find a good perfume translation of floral. Also, I gag at the musk or pachouli or whatever is used to make the scent actually last.

I think knowledge will help me relax and enjoy the process. THANK you for your friendliness. I assume that in this section one can ask stupid questions and bumble around using the wrong terminology :>D. I'll try to curb my inclination to write about a hundred things in one post, too. Next time.

I'm compiling another set of samples. I'm excited about finding some wonderful scents. I've tried as many sprays in my local beauty supply as I can before my nose has given out--actually, I've tried on far too many at once, and yechhh.... that's not so good. I'll let you all know what I think about the suggestions. Thanks again!