What you should know about me:
I think I hate department store scents. I've smelled them. My mom and sister love things like Gucci Rush and Givenchy Irresistible and Ralph Lauren...Yucks. To me, most department store scents are overly sweet, overly floral...just completely overwhelming. I hate the alcohol-y tinge that seems to sting my nose at first. I sometimes like the way they smell on other women, to be sure. But, not me. Sephora and Macy's smell "too much" for me. Help!
The thing is - I love scents. I love the way my *favorite* scents smelled, and made me feel. I love sniffing my wrists all day long! You'd think that I just wasn't a "perfume" person, but the truth is - I like everything about perfume - I just need the right perfumes.
So, I've mostly used essential and blended oils over the years - Egyptian Musk is my everyday scent, and I've liked some others, too - watermint, some custom blends...I love verbena and lemongrass. The problem is I'd like some more complexity, and some more sillage (oils are great, but usually people can't smell them on you, they stay so close to the skin, you know?).
What you should know about my old faves:
My favorite scent was a "green" scent: Minteva by The Body Shoppe (also a fan of their very green-smelling Beleaf). This is how it smelled to me: like cut flower stems and vase water, and only slightly minty. It was like there was an "idea" of floral, but a concentration on the green part of the flower. Yum.
My other favorite scent was surprisingly a floral: Fuji Flower by Stacked Style. This scent was slightly fruity (kumquat, I think, is the proclaimed scent there), and described as having a mostly Jasmine note - although from my experience with Jasmine essential oil (smells pretty, but too "much" for me), this was either understated by the fruity scent or mixed so well with the other notes that, again - it wasn't overwhelmingly floral to me.
Finally! One other scent that I adored was Zinzibar by The Body Shoppe. I have an old bottle of this, and I think the scent has started to "change" due to age, either that or I completely grew out of liking it. It has a distinctly earthy, clove drydown that I find overbearing now - like a clove cigarette. The other notes seem washed out by this after the first hour or so. I love it's "pink pepper" opening, though. It was spicy, peppery, and yet "clean" smelling to me, instead of earthy.
Unfortunately, for me - all of these scents have been discontinued. They were all on the cheap-y $15-$30 range. I'm sure most people would consider them a little juvenile, not sophisticated. So, maybe someone can help a girl out.
In summary:
What are some more variations on a theme (a fresh, green; a soft, fruity floral; a dry, peppery oriental) that I can try to add some complexity without getting that strong department store vibe? Basenotes has been great for me so far (my to-try list is HUGE now). I have been looking up perfumes based on notes I "might like." Fun!
But, real-live people giving recommendations would be better, I think. So far, by checking out reviews, I have come up with some replacements for Minteva: less-fancy (Hampton Sun's Privet Bloom), fancy (Guerlain's Aqua Allegoria Herba Fresca), super-fancy (L'Artisan's L'Eau de L'Artisan)! Any others?
For the record, I think I am averse to a vanilla base in perfumes. I am also not usually a fan of a heavy incense-y base (think pure patchouli), either.
Love to hear your thoughts. Also, did anyone else here consider themselves a "not a perfume person" - only to realize you were smelling all the wrong things? ;-)
I think I hate department store scents. I've smelled them. My mom and sister love things like Gucci Rush and Givenchy Irresistible and Ralph Lauren...Yucks. To me, most department store scents are overly sweet, overly floral...just completely overwhelming. I hate the alcohol-y tinge that seems to sting my nose at first. I sometimes like the way they smell on other women, to be sure. But, not me. Sephora and Macy's smell "too much" for me. Help!
The thing is - I love scents. I love the way my *favorite* scents smelled, and made me feel. I love sniffing my wrists all day long! You'd think that I just wasn't a "perfume" person, but the truth is - I like everything about perfume - I just need the right perfumes.
So, I've mostly used essential and blended oils over the years - Egyptian Musk is my everyday scent, and I've liked some others, too - watermint, some custom blends...I love verbena and lemongrass. The problem is I'd like some more complexity, and some more sillage (oils are great, but usually people can't smell them on you, they stay so close to the skin, you know?).
What you should know about my old faves:
My favorite scent was a "green" scent: Minteva by The Body Shoppe (also a fan of their very green-smelling Beleaf). This is how it smelled to me: like cut flower stems and vase water, and only slightly minty. It was like there was an "idea" of floral, but a concentration on the green part of the flower. Yum.
My other favorite scent was surprisingly a floral: Fuji Flower by Stacked Style. This scent was slightly fruity (kumquat, I think, is the proclaimed scent there), and described as having a mostly Jasmine note - although from my experience with Jasmine essential oil (smells pretty, but too "much" for me), this was either understated by the fruity scent or mixed so well with the other notes that, again - it wasn't overwhelmingly floral to me.
Finally! One other scent that I adored was Zinzibar by The Body Shoppe. I have an old bottle of this, and I think the scent has started to "change" due to age, either that or I completely grew out of liking it. It has a distinctly earthy, clove drydown that I find overbearing now - like a clove cigarette. The other notes seem washed out by this after the first hour or so. I love it's "pink pepper" opening, though. It was spicy, peppery, and yet "clean" smelling to me, instead of earthy.
Unfortunately, for me - all of these scents have been discontinued. They were all on the cheap-y $15-$30 range. I'm sure most people would consider them a little juvenile, not sophisticated. So, maybe someone can help a girl out.
In summary:
What are some more variations on a theme (a fresh, green; a soft, fruity floral; a dry, peppery oriental) that I can try to add some complexity without getting that strong department store vibe? Basenotes has been great for me so far (my to-try list is HUGE now). I have been looking up perfumes based on notes I "might like." Fun!
But, real-live people giving recommendations would be better, I think. So far, by checking out reviews, I have come up with some replacements for Minteva: less-fancy (Hampton Sun's Privet Bloom), fancy (Guerlain's Aqua Allegoria Herba Fresca), super-fancy (L'Artisan's L'Eau de L'Artisan)! Any others?
For the record, I think I am averse to a vanilla base in perfumes. I am also not usually a fan of a heavy incense-y base (think pure patchouli), either.
Love to hear your thoughts. Also, did anyone else here consider themselves a "not a perfume person" - only to realize you were smelling all the wrong things? ;-)
