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Help with samples for my wife

post #1 of 17
10/2/12 at 6:55pm
Thread Starter 
My wife is 31 and never really wears any perfume but has expressed interest I starting to wear some. I was hoping to get her some samples to try but don't know where to start. She likes lavender and also likes sweet smells like sugar cookies (not sure if she would want to wear it though). I want to surprise her with some in a couple weeks. Please don't limit suggestions to lavender and cookies. Thanks for any and all suggestions.
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post #2 of 17
10/2/12 at 7:10pm
Some of my wife's favorites are:
Bond no 9 Scent of Peace
Bond no 9 Madison Square Park
Bond no 9 New Haarlem (She steals it from me)
Tokyo Milk Everything and Nothing
Jo Malone Blackberry and Bay
Jo Malone Wild Fig and Cassis
Jo Malone Orange Blossom
Aquolina Pink Sugar
Escada Moon Sparkle
Body Shop Satsuma

Those would be some of my suggestions being that they are my wife's favorites. I like every one of those on her also.
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post #3 of 17
10/2/12 at 7:18pm
Welcome!

Taste evolve pretty quickly when one starts wearing and enjoying perfumes. Usually one starts with light, fresh, and sweetish stuff - and finds some heavier things shocking, but then soon one can upgrade to the darkest leather.

I'd go with a selection of some smoother and less challenging classic or time-tested frags, for instance:
Chanel no 5 EDT, or perhaps even the more beginner-friendly No 5 Eau Premiere, for a clean floral
Guerlain Shalimar, for a vanillic oriental, which should satisfy the cookie craving (or, perhaps, more baklava craving)
Chanel Cristalle Eau Verte, for a refreshing green scent

Many other possibilities, and more so if you want to go into expensive lines or niche brands (examples would be the Hermes Hermessence line, which are typically more like ethereal watercolors, or some of the Chanel exclusives, like rue Cambon, La Pausa, or Sycomore).

Later on, you can move into more structured, heavier things.

cacio
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post #4 of 17
10/2/12 at 7:21pm
Another for Chanel No 5
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post #5 of 17
10/2/12 at 8:09pm
Prada Candy
Pleasures Delight Estee Lauder
Miss Dior Cherie
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post #6 of 17
10/3/12 at 1:59am
Chanel No5 Eau Premiere is a great suggestion.

l would also recommend Eau de Shalimar; better than the modern Shalimar EDP IMO, & probably much more wearable to someone unused to wearing fragrance.
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post #7 of 17
10/3/12 at 2:07am
+1 for Aquolina Pink Sugar i used to love this when i was into gourmands, and another suggestion, i still love this Hypnotic Poison which i need to replace, i am nearly out.

Good luck!
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post #8 of 17
10/3/12 at 2:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by cacio View Post

Welcome!

Taste evolve pretty quickly when one starts wearing and enjoying perfumes. Usually one starts with light, fresh, and sweetish stuff - and finds some heavier things shocking, but then soon one can upgrade to the darkest leather.

I'd go with a selection of some smoother and less challenging classic or time-tested frags, for instance:
Chanel no 5 EDT, or perhaps even the more beginner-friendly No 5 Eau Premiere, for a clean floral
Guerlain Shalimar, for a vanillic oriental, which should satisfy the cookie craving (or, perhaps, more baklava craving)
Chanel Cristalle Eau Verte, for a refreshing green scent

Many other possibilities, and more so if you want to go into expensive lines or niche brands (examples would be the Hermes Hermessence line, which are typically more like ethereal watercolors, or some of the Chanel exclusives, like rue Cambon, La Pausa, or Sycomore).

Later on, you can move into more structured, heavier things.

cacio

+2 Excellent suggestions and advice!
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post #9 of 17
10/3/12 at 2:49pm
let her sample portrait of a lady....... its to die for
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post #10 of 17
10/3/12 at 3:32pm
I don't mean to stick to the lavender theme but the lavender doesn't hang around for too long in this.
The first thing that came to mind was Gris Clair by Serge Lutens
It's a beautiful lavender up top that settles into a smoky/ashy/vanilla - it's slightly melancholic, but beautiful - soft on the skin with just a hint of sweetness.
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post #11 of 17
10/3/12 at 6:55pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by forfreddie View Post

I don't mean to stick to the lavender theme but the lavender doesn't hang around for too long in this.
The first thing that came to mind was Gris Clair by Serge Lutens
It's a beautiful lavender up top that settles into a smoky/ashy/vanilla - it's slightly melancholic, but beautiful - soft on the skin with just a hint of sweetness.



That sounds like one I will have to look into! Thank you so much for all the suggestions. All these nuances in different fragrances seem like they can become addictive. I found basenotes through a shaving website so this could become a problem for me.
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post #12 of 17
10/3/12 at 8:25pm
No offense to anyone, but I highly doubt your wife is going to be interested in a classic like No.5 or Shalimar, etc. They're great fragrances and all, and I understand why folks are passionate about them - because they're great - but they don't fit the bill here.

If your wife doesn't really wear fragrances, she's probably going to want something that's easy to wear. The "big" classics might turn her off, being "too perfumey." My recommendation?

Flowerbomb by Victor & Rolf.

It's mainstream enough, easy to wear, and very sweet. And, at the same time, it's a great fragrance IMO.
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post #13 of 17
10/4/12 at 12:12am
Bond N°9 New Haarlem
Serge Lutens Jeux de Peau
Chanel Coromandel
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post #14 of 17
10/4/12 at 12:33am
+1 what jamwires said as far as classics go...she may not be interested in those. That's why I suggested the Prada. Sweet+sophistication, imo.
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post #15 of 17
10/4/12 at 5:33am
Along the vein of jamwires and kalli, I'll suggest Lady Gaga's Fame. Granted, it's a jasmine scent and not lavender. It's actually a pretty nice smelling fragrance (the SAs at Sephora are always wearing it near me) and it's something fairly inexpensive she could wear while she's trying out more fragrances. Flowerbomb is nice but it's pretty expensive for a sweet starter frag (main reason why I haven't bought a bottle). I'd rather pay $120 and buy myself a bottle of a Lutens in the future than buy myself a refillable flowerbomb bottle.
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post #16 of 17
10/4/12 at 10:32am
I agree with Bond No 9's Scent of Peace and Madison Square Park. By Kilian's Love is nice, too.
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post #17 of 17
10/4/12 at 10:50am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rorpen86 View Post



That sounds like one I will have to look into! Thank you so much for all the suggestions. All these nuances in different fragrances seem like they can become addictive. I found basenotes through a shaving website so this could become a problem for me.

I think you should - it's perfectly unisex so if she doesn't like it you might haha. It's very, very nice.
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