I don’t usually spray perfume on my skin, where I find it distracting, but into my hair, where it lasts longer and mixes more readily with my own natural scent. My taste in perfumes tends towards sweet and heady scents; they tend to be potent, so take my approbations with due warning. My favorite fragrances tend to have that heady, sweet base, usually something like vanilla and amber, with different notes predominating. They’re not “wussy” scents, in that the sweetness isn’t sugary, but warmer, mellower, and slightly spicy. I don’t wear florals, true orientals, citruses, or fruits very well—they have a tendency to smell either overpowering or fake. I assume that my body chemistry is responsible for this, because the scents I do wear would be overwhelming on most people, but are lovely and mellow on me. As an experiment, I’ve sprayed one wrist with rose, and the other with amber, and asked people to sniff the rose: “Mmm… lovely. I like it.” Then the amber: “Wow,” with widening eyes, “That’s much better.”
Notes I like: vanilla, amber, sandalwood, anise, coriander, violet, rose (not tea rose, which makes me gag), carnation, lavender, gardenia, most citrus notes (including pomegranate and cranberry, which smell more citrusy to me). I don’t like fruits at all, for much the same reason that I don’t like most florals; in fact, the distortion is even worse with fruits as far as I’m concerned—like candy, and sour in the worst possible way.
My favorite perfumes are as follow: Givenchy Organza Indécence is my straight vanilla scent. It hits you first with cinnamon, which is quickly mellowed over by vanilla, though it’s underlaid by the jacaranda wood, which is similar to rosewood (the scent is similar to a less earthy sandalwood). The vanilla becomes soft, like vanilla ice cream, but still has “bite”, because of that woody note. Some floral—it’s nearly impossible to pick out—softens it. And a fruity note like a syrupy, honeyed plum that dissipates over time. The ingredients are supposedly heavily spicy, with patchouli (which is too spicy for me straight), but honestly, the vanilla-jacaranda wood mix overpowers them all. This is the scent people like best on me. The bottle is very glamorous, though not exactly my taste.
My “amber” scent is L’Occitane Amber (from the very reasonably priced Jardins de L’Occitane Eau de Toilettes. The Neroli Rose and Linden are fantastic as well.), which is very simply a powerful mix of amber with vanilla. It’s spicier than the Indécence, which is comparatively milky and sandalwood-y. Absolutely intoxicating. It smells like golden sunlight filtering into a dusty library on a winter afternoon. Or a night on the town. Or India. Or incense. As for the bottle, it looks very holistic and antique-y, which appeals to me.
Lolita Lempicka is next on my list. Initially, it begins crisp and green, possibly something like lemons, then very quickly mellows down into something very sweet. Even though it is a predominantly sweet fragrance (vanilla-ish), it has an herbal spice to it, which is obviously the aniseed, giving it licorice-like tones. Next to the Indécence, it smells predominantly of violets, though, as I’ve mentioned, it does have a vanilla undercurrent. It looks spectacular on your vanity counter, as far as the bottle goes. Try the EDT, if you find the EDP too strong for you, though it smells is slightly different—much lighter.< This perfume only comes second after Indécence on my list of favorites.
Donna Karan Black Cashmere is not a scent I can wear often, but on occasion, I want a heavy, knock-‘em-dead scent. A perfume that really feels like I’m wearing perfume (as if my other picks aren’t strong enough), the way red lipstick makes me feel as I’m wearing lipstick. I’m not all too familiar with these notes, as this is a true oriental (the copy says: Saffron, Patchouli Singapour, Red Marechal Rose, Clove, White Pepper, and African Wengue Wood). It smells like patchouli, pepper, and saffron. Yes, it does have sweetness, but it’s mostly just spice, this does not have an amber-vanilla base. What I like about it is that it smells like incense, like the inside of a Catholic cathedral. There’s something very solemn about it. It does have a lovely name, and the packaging, while a bit boring, is very reminiscent of Donna Karan’s clothing. As I have mentioned, this is an “occasion” scent, for me.
I like Gucci Rush, because it’s not like any other scent out there, and yet it reminds me of my other amber-vanilla scents. The composition is a lot like Lolita Lempicka, and both sort of emphasize themselves as “fantasy” scents. If ever there was a fragrance that outright smelled like sex, this is it. Sephora calls it “euphoric and intoxicating”, and that’s just right on the money. To me, this has a lot of gardenia and vanilla, but it has a coriander element to it, which is why I like it so much. Very minimalist packaging, but a vibrant color—a bit boring, if you ask me.
I’m still looking for a rose and a carnation scent with that amber-vanilla base, though I suppose I could always layer. But somehow a “complete” perfume appeals to me… so the search goes on. Saturday, March 08, 2003 »0 comments
