We’re a day late because of the holiday weekend, but today we’re helping Amelia, who wants to find three new perfumes: a casual scent, a “night out” scent, and a wedding scent. She’d like the casual scent to be a budget item: no more than $20. She can pay up to $70 for the evening scent, and $80 for the wedding scent.
Here is what we know about Amelia:
She’s in her early 30s. She says she’s shy and calm, but a fun person to talk to once she feels comfortable with someone. She’s also humble and sincere, and pays attention to small details about her surroundings.
Amelia used to be a singer; she quit performing a few years ago but still loves singing. She loves to go out at night to hear live music and sip whiskey or wine and chat with her boyfriend.
Amelia says she doesn’t know much about fragrance notes, but she thinks she likes aldehydes, jasmine, rose and mixed florals. Perfumes she has liked in the past include D&G Sicily, Bvlgari Jasmin Noir, Bvlgari Au Thé Rouge (but she doesn’t like the top notes), Kenzo Amour, Hermes Kelly Caleche and Armani Code for women.
Amelia doesn’t like sweet fruity perfumes. She bought Burberry London, but finds it too cloying and heady.
What say you?
Note: image is Southgate Street by Martin Pettitt at flickr; some rights reserved.
40 Comments
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Well, for the “casual” one, I would recommend anything from the Pacifica line – the roll-ons are $12 and the sprays are $22. They have 2 jasmines (Star and Tunisian) and Lotus Garden is a good Hermes Jardin sur le Nil dupe, to me. Pretty easy to find at Sephora or Whole Foods.
Yes, Pacifica! They are fantastic everyday scents, and I think they’re more interesting (and less often smelled) than the B&BW fragrances.
Pacifica was my first thought too. They recently released a new rose scent – Persian Rose – which might interest Amelia.
The French Lilac is just beautiful if you’re a lilac fan. Maybe my favorite lilac soliflore.
sounds amazing on the budget. But we don’t have them here. We have b&bw and victoria’s secret here,but I find them too warm-sweet and girly-sweet. I like warm but dry. Thanks for suggesting
Chanel! Chanel!
Try 19 and 22 and the new 19 Poudre!
Also, I’d like to suggest Guerlain Samsara (my current fav!) and TDC Jasmine Nuit…of course Serge Lutens A La Nuit for jasmine as well! Since you are on a budget, get samples of each and 10ml decants of the ones you love!
I haven’t thought of any suggestions, but I agree with Elise, please do not restrict your budget, decants go a long way!
I know I shouldn’t have restricted the budget. Well, maybe I can use all of my budget to buy one perfect perfume. But, maybe I can use the budget to have all these suggestions on decant forms. Though I am loving my Sicily and Jasmin Noir, still I haven’t found the IT perfume for me. Oh boy, the journey of searching will be infinite, both on budget and time. But I am happy to do that
I absolutely, totally second No. 22. Just got a bottle – the perfect aldehyde, in my opinion. Plus, the rose and jasmine won’t hurt either!
Samsara is sooo my mother. I adore the smell on her. I am not sure if I can pull it off, but I would love to try and see. Thank you!
Hi Amelia! Welcome!
For an affordable day scent, I’d highly recommend finding a store in your area that sells Pacifica fragrances (Whole Foods carries them), and trying the ones that appeal to you. They’re about $22 for 30ml and well done. Anthropologie also carries some affordable fragrance lines, such at Tokyo Milk. Bath and Body Works may also be a good place to try some reasonably priced scents.
As to an evening fragrance, maybe the new Agent Provocateur L’Agent or Gucci Guilty?
For your wedding (congratulations!!!), maybe Piguet Fracas (the perfect white floral scent), Tocca Florence, or Badgley Mischka Fleurs de Nuit (available at discount retailers and Amazon).
Looks like odananata beat me to it – Pacifica!!!
A fellow ex-singer!!! (I hold the distinction of being the only member of my former acapella choir to have been asked to leave TWICE.) It sounds like you have a taste for the classics. How about Chanel No. 5, Jean Patou Joy, Lanvin Arpege, etc? Many perfumes of the past are based on that exact scent combination (aldehydes, jasmine, rose) so I suspect that you would have good luck with many vintage scents.
I agree with Joy, perhaps as a wedding scent, provided the wedding is a night. Might be too much during the day and might be too classic for an evening scent if your listening to bands (fine for the opera, though). I’d suggest you consider buying a decant of Heeley’s Hippie Rose for your evening scent. It’s a rose/patch scent, and I can see this one working for nights out (see if you can try it first – might not be your thing but the rose is pronounced enough that it just might work for you).
Casual scent: Sonoma Scent Studio: Champagne de Bois
Night out scent: Paloma Picasso (seriously in your face sexy), Fracas (playful sexy), Chanel Coco Mademoiselle (flirty sexy)
Wedding scent: Frederic Malle Iris Poudre- stunningly beautiful is all I can say.
Good luck and congrats on your wedding!
Don’t be scared by full bottle prices…like elise said, decants and samples can go a long way…especially for your wedding scent. You can get away with a sample size for your wedding day.
2nd Champagne du Bois-In fact the entire SSS line may fit your bill. To Dream is lovely and may be suitable for a wedding.
Staying within budget (I think):
Casual scent: Absolutely ADORE Lady Stetson. The name is absurd, but it’s so easy to wear and pretty. Like Tania Sanchez from The Guide, I find it friendlier than 22, which I really like, but you can’t go wrong with the price (can be found under $10) and the lovely sillage. It’s got the aldehydes and florals. Don’t ignore it because of the dorky name, dorky patriotism, unglamorous packaging, or drugstore point of sale–it’s much nicer than its image!
Second the Pacificas.
Evening or wedding: A decant or ebay find of Joy? Even the pure parfum can be found for a good deal on ebay, or the EdT is lovely too. Check out the discounters. Also perhaps Estee Lauder Tuberose Gardenia, if you like heady white florals. Also Arpege is a great suggestion.
Wedding: Also some of the Parfums de Nicolai, like Sacrebleu, Odalisque, Le Temps d’une Fete–those are all great bargains that can be had in small bottles and easy to order samples. I think the 1 oz is $45 or something fantastically affordable.
I really like full bottles (they feel more glamorous and like a keepsake), so I can understand the desire to stay within budget, although don’t give up, since a lot is available at discounters.
Good suggestions on the Nicolais, Jalee! I’d also recommend their Number One for a white floral scent.
Yes, the PdN line has some wonderful scents and the 30ml size means a reasonable price. Number One and Jardin Secret might be good choices. Le Temps d’une Fete is more of a green floral, but has a “sparkle” to it.
Totally forgot about those–I’m more on the green, oriental, or fruity end of things with PdN. Reminds me to explore more of the florals myself!
Aldehydes, rose, mixed florals? May I suggest you steal a few bucks from the other two budgets and spring for a bottle of Estee Lauder White Linen? (The half-ounce spray is $30.) It is a much-underrated scent, bright, fresh and cheerful, perfect for a summer day.
Your night-out or wedding scent could be the equally underrated Badgley Mischka at $65 for a 50-mL bottle; big, lush floral oriental, so good. You can get them both online very easily.
I second the EL White Linen. It’s classy, versatile and very elegant!
Chloe is a wonderful light floral scent that I wear every day, and she may enjoy Chloe Rose or Chloe Love very much also.
Oooh! Love, Chloe would be a great wedding scent!
Love, Chloe was my first thought for the wedding scent; I heartily recommend it! There’s also a vlog-review up on that one today at Katie Puckrick Smells
Congratulations on the wedding! (I wore Diroissimo to mine, and we have similar tastes, so…) If there’s a World Market near you, their line of THERE scents is lovely – there’s a nice jasmine and the others are also great – wonderful for everyday and inexpensive. You might also enjoy Jennider aniston’s new scent – lots of jasmine and other soft notes – not too expensive and good for evening or everyday (or wedding for that matter – it’s very romantic). Hope this helps.
I, too, immediately thought of Pacifica’s jasmines for day/casual, but Cabaret (by Gres) might be also be a good budget scent — rose and incense, but rather dry and sheer. I wear it to work all the time. My 1.7-ounce (I think) bottle was under $20 on Amazon.
Enthusiastically second Samsara for evening; and Fracas or Love, Chloe for the wedding (they’re very different, and would be fun to compare and contrast). Futur (by Piguet; my current favorite jasmine) might be worth a sniff, too, though it might come off as too subdued for a wedding or a night out.
I second Gres Cabaret!
Check out the aldehydic reviews by Angela (look at the review for Arpege, Le Dix, etc. and then click on the aldehydic tag to see the rest) for a night time scent. Many of those can be had for a song.
Definitely consider a decant for the wedding scent–maybe an MDCI or Amouage or maybe a classic Chanel or Guerlain in extrait.
Maybe Rochas Tocade for the evening scent? It can be had for a song online and is very pretty. You might find it a bit sweet though. I have never tried the Burberry that you found too cloying, so I don’t know if the Rochas is sweeter or less sweet than that one.
Wedding: Chanel No22, 31 Rue Cambon, No5 Eau Premiere,
or: Estee Lauder Tuberose Gardenia, Givenchy Le Du
Casual: Hermes Concentre de Orange Verte
Evening: Bulgari Black
I agree with Chanel Eau Premiere. EL Jasmine White Moss is worth investigating.
Oh, I like Bvlgari Black. And I have seen they sell it for less than 30 dollars on tester here.
Thank you, Cybele
I have heard good things about the Yves Rocher Secrets d’Essences collection. They offer a jasmine called Tendre Jasmin and a rose called Rose Absolute. They are EDPs and US Web site prices are as follows: $5 for a 5ml travel size; $12 for a 15ml purse spray; $31.90 (current sale price) for a 50ml. The rose seems to be available only in the 50ml. Other scents in the collection are an amber, an iris and a vanilla. I plan on picking some of these up myself.
Forgot to say: I have a small sample of Chanel No. 22 that I will happily send you. Just email me at d6brooks at ruraltel dot net if you’re interested.
Hi L,
that’s very nice of you. Well, I will email you, maybe later on tonight.
So, have you picked them yet? How do they smell? Sounds great, I think I like amber and vanilla too
Late to the party, but I can’t think “wedding scent” without thinking about Apres L’Ondee. People almost always use something like achingly beautiful or haunting, ephemeral, breathtaking, etc. to describe it. It is still (only) available as an EdT so it isn’t overwhelming and can be reapplied throughout the day without over doing it. Second the classic Guerlains, too.
lol on your description
yes, I agree with you. The wedding scent somehow has to be as you described.
I think I will try the classic Guerlains.
Thank you, Julia.
Hi Everyone!
I am sorry for the late reply. First I want to thank you all for responding. And to nstperfume.com for helping. I twitted Robin many months ago about my need of advices on choosing the right perfume, and she replied nicely. Thank you, R.
Second, to those who recommends me to get the Pacifica line, sadly we don’t have them in my country (Indonesia). Not that I am aware of, to say the least.
I have considered to have decants instead of buying full bottle. And I have searched online those that provide decanted pretty complete perfume collections, and they said they ship world wide. BUT! They don’t ship to my country. And that really upsets me *cry*
The wedding is still 3 months away so maybe I can stretch the budget to more than 80 dollars..lol
Oh, I forgot to tell that I smoke, and Sicily, Jasmin Noir really comforts me. I hate Gucci Flora and Burberry London. Something in them made me dizzy. I think it was the flower(s), but I can’t put my finger to it.
I know it’s too much, but is it possible for me to have more advice?
Many thanks,
Amelia