The first time that I remember encountering perfume was on my first flight(s) from China to New York. A large lady wearing an overwhelming scent passed by my seat and in such close quarters, it was hard not to notice how badly it smelled. I wrinkled my little nose, and at the age of 10, made the decision that perfumes simply smell bad. At a later age, I would be given perfume samples in department stores, and I would test spray different scents in Victoria’s Secret and Sephora. But as other girls and women found their “signature scents” that they flaunted all the time, I was lost in the world of perfumes.
More recently, I acquired through shopping for other things online a selection of perfume samples in those little 1 oz. bottles that changed my mind about perfume. A list:
Lolita Lempicka
BCBG MAXAZRIA Within
Lacoste Inspiration
Lacoste Pour Femme
Hanae Mori
Burberry Brit
Maybe I will come back later to this list to write about what I think of each one, but what I discovered through experimenting is that I like a subtle sweet scent. So far, the sample that I keep coming back to is Hanae Mori, described as “a rare blend of berries and flowers, with a distinctive tone of strawberries and almond, giving an impression of vanilla. Notes:Strawberries, Bilberries, Black Currant, Bulgarian Rose, Jasmine, Ylang-Ylang, Sandalwood, Almond, Praline. Style:Spontaneous. Modern. Festive.”
The two perfumes that I have ruled out as being “me” are Lolita Lempicka and Burberry Brit. Lolita is a bit too sweet, and Burberry Brit is a bit too …citric? I will write more about the other ones later because I will actually use them now that I’ve finished Hanae Mori.
I think perfumes are personal, frivolous, and fun. But it can also be serious: it can be used to make a statement about yourself and your current frame of mind. I don’t think that I am a sophisticated enough perfume user to do the latter, but the perfume that characterizes me would be understated and natural, and I think I found that in Hanae Mori.
Neat. I have hardly smelled any fragrances at all, but I agree with you! I can’t stand most perfumes. I’ve also always and a negative stereotype… I felt it was cloying and intruding, not to mention something for dated older women.
On top of that, I used to think that I hated heavy, ‘sensual’ scents like amber / musk / patchouli because they unpleasantly cloying, overly artificial ‘ocean’ scents because they reek of soap, and also a lot of floral scents because they come out sickly-sugary sick (a la bath and body works sweet pea etc.) But, in real, quality parfum, strange and magical things happen when all of these notes mix together. I am often startled to read the description of a perfume that form words alones sounds yucky.
Hmmm I want to look up the notes in the 2 fragrances I do I know I like so that I be edumacated and analyze what I like too! I also ought to start smelling samples and learning what I like and do not like, for fun if nothing else.
Interestingly, I do have a fragrance back home — Fresh Eau de Parfum in “Sugar Blossom” — that my mom bought for me as a “rite of passage.” Fragrances are very expensive so it was a big deal, and she made much of being proud of me for expressing womanly individuality by choosing the scent. Strange how I’d forgotten about that. Wish my little diffuser of it I took with me hadn’t leaked into nothingness
By: halcyonandon on February 8, 2010
at 8:24 pm
I’ve never like perfumes either. So I’ve never really given perfumes a chance because they usually give me headaches. I know I like light scents. Plus, perfume isn’t something I can spend money on now.
By: littlelynx on March 1, 2010
at 3:42 pm