Hi sunny5011 -
Well, don't take out HM because you have Rive Gauche. Try to test it first. It may grab you. Rive Gauche is an Aromatic Fougere made in the classic style by YSL. A great scent - with anise. It may be that you want to disclude Lolita Lempicka au Masculin because of this ironically (if you don't want to smell like licorice/anise all the time - although the scents present the note very differently), but HM has lots of bright lemons, florals and vanilla. It can be whimsical and some people say unisex, but I don't. It is not "mature" - like (over 35)...I meant it has a depth of notes to it. Nothing close to Rive Gauche, any way.
Yardley's Wood & Citrus is associated with Terre d'Hermes and one can always associate/compare scents. To me, they are rather different, (but I prefer to judge scents independently and not draw similarities). Terre d'Hermes is spiked with Iso E Super...a molecule that Ellena (the perfumer) uses in a lot of his creations. Nutshell description - ""Smooth, woody, amber with unique aspects giving a ''velvet'' like sensation. Used to impart fullness and subtle strength to fragrances. Superb floralizer found in the majority of newer fine fragrances and also useful in soaps." Yardley's composition does not have it and it wears very naturally.
Terre d'Hermes costs a lot more as well and the house has a wonderful history of scent. Yardley is a soap/lotion company that also made some perfumes. I looked it up - it has been around since 1770 in London! This scent caught so many people off-guard when it came out. I jumped on a bottle when I found it - and glad I did. Only a couple of full wearings, but it is of very good quality.
So, if you want to get a scent for school/day/casual wear that is not too expensive - maybe look into a great line of high quality bottles from Gandini. You've probably never heard of them. Neither had I until I came upon a line of superb quality (called, "1896" - the year the house was founded) scents. Although they are classified as "Eau de Colognes", I get very good longevity out of them and they wear incredibly well. Each is truly a 'full' composition with top/heart/base notes and of niche quality ingredients.
In the citrus realm, they have Lime & Basil (which is green and sharp) and also Grapefruit & Citrus (vibrant, crisp). In the fall/winter (colder) months - two bottles that wear exceptionally well are Pomegranate & Incense (juicy on top with smoky wood base) and Teak Wood (which has a base of rich, exotic wood, tropical notes on top and spices with violet). Orange Blossom & Leaves is also exceptional (nice vetiver and cedar in the base).
I bring this line up because I see that your 4 listed bottles are, and please take no offense, all over the place. You're new to this passion so that is totally understandable. First, answer this question - are you getting this next bottle of scent to please you or someone else? Most likely, whatever you answered first is the truth. What is nice about the Gandini scents is that they really wear wonderfully and you can even layer some of them. I love wearing the Pom & Incense with the Teak Wood (light application) - it smells wonderful. One doesn't need to - it's a want thing.
Look - I am not a seller nor do I represent any perfume house or company. I am just a fragrance lover. But, to me these scents speak to people in the 18-30 range who want to smell great, care about quality ingredients and (here's the fun part) - all the scents are unisex. So, you could share what you are wearing with girls (even if they are just friends - it becomes a social thing). Also, the Gandini bottles are available for under $30/100ml at Parfum1.com and if you order something from them (doesn't have to be a Gandini bottle) just ask for samples and tell them you heard about the line of scents from someone on Basenotes. They will throw in samples of what they have.
That is my advice...if I made your decision even more difficult, I apologize, but maybe someone else will read this and check out the line. It happened in another thread over the summer. I got a nice letter of appreciation. They are not reviewed on this site - but you will find them on
www.fragrantica.com - including my reviews there. I've been meaning to to paste them over here for some time...
Cheers,
ericrico
