Rochas has launched Muse de Rochas, a new fresh floriental fragrance for women. Muse de Rochas is a tribute to creation inspired by a muse...

When I first started posting on the fragrance discussion board at Makeup Alley, around 2004, I had a very basic idea of what I was looking for in a new fragrance for myself. I knew I loved rose scents, and I was a longtime fan of the rich vanilla in Jean Paul Gaultier Classique. Perhaps, I thought, I could find a perfume that combined the two notes. I finally ventured to ask for rose-vanilla fragrance recommendations, and a few veteran members of the discussion board offered suggestions. The one that was most enthusiastically named and seconded by other members was Rochas Tocade, so I set out to try it as soon as possible.

Tocade was created for Rochas by perfumer Maurice Roucel and was released in 1994. Its name translates as "whim" or "caprice," and its composition includes top notes of magnolia and bergamot, heart notes of rose, orris, and geranium, and base notes of cedarwood and vanilla. Its vaguely silly-looking bottle, designed by Serge Mansau, reminds me of a figure wearing a turtleneck and a conical hat, or a toy for an infant. If had seen that bottle in a store, without knowing anything about the fragrance, I probably wouldn't have picked it up, but thanks to the good advice I'd received, I was willing to give Tocade a chance.

Tocade is a floriental with a gourmand leaning, and it's definitely a perfume-y perfume; anyone looking for a fragrance that feels "clean" or "shower-fresh," or even "airy" or "dewy," can stop reading here...

Even though I've finally finished my years (and years) of higher education, I still think of autumn as a season of "back to school" anticipation, complete with new books, new shoes, and new friendships — as well as the renewal of older friendships. Angela's recent post describing her fragrance collection as a group of friends made me smile and made me look at my own fall fragrance line-up in a similar way.

Les Parfums de Rosine Poussière de Rose was one of my first "niche" perfume purchases, and it's still one of my closest fragrance "companions." I actually wear it from fall through spring, because it always feels right. It reminds me of rose potpourri in a cedar box; very nostalgic. We're two of a kind.

Rochas Tocade is another longtime acquaintance, a rose-and-vanilla floriental that I bring back into rotation every autumn. It can feel a bit overdressed sometimes, and it's definitely not shy, but I always know I can rely on it to boost my confidence for a night out.

Ormonde Jane Ta’if is a more recent arrival to my perfume wardrobe...

Few notes in fragrance are as polarizing as cumin. Some people associate cumin with sweat or food, and even the tiniest hint of it will cause them to double-bag a perfume sample and take it to the garbage can in the backyard. Other people, including me, like the carnal edge cumin adds to a fragrance.

For people who want to experiment with cumin-laced fragrances, I've put together this cheat sheet of a few perfumes and their ratings on the cumin-o-meter. I hope you'll chime in with your favorite fragrances, too.

Cumin-o-meter rating 1: Serge Lutens Chêne. Have you ever leaned your head toward a four-log fire in a fireplace that draws well and breathed deeply? Riding the heat is a touch of cumin...

To me, perfume has a texture. Some fragrances wear like silk velvet, others like a practical gabardine, and still others — unfortunately — like double knit polyester. In summer, I want to wear perfume that feels like chiffon, linen, the fabric of a well-worn tee shirt, or even nothing at all. Here are the 10 fragrances I'll be probably be wearing most this summer:

When it's sizzling out, when lifting the bedroom window feels like opening the door of a convection oven, I want perfume that is crisp, cooling, and effortless. In short, I want perfume that wears like linen.

Christian Dior Eau Fraiche is a perfect linen-like fragrance. I have a bottle more than 40 years old that still sparkles and still has the warm chic of real oakmoss. I can wear it to work, after a bath, or while enjoying a gin and tonic at the neighborhood bar and feel fresh and even elegant, if I have to be.

Annick Goutal Folavril is another good linen substitute...

Rochas celebrates the 40th anniversary of Eau de Rochas this year, and to celebrate, has launched Eau de Rochas Fraîche, a fresh, light and delicate variation on the original...

Hermès will introduce a trio of colognes in May. The first is a repackaging of the long time house favorite Eau d'Orange Verte. In addition...

House perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena has conjured Eau de Pamplemousse Rose, a sparkling grapefruit scented juice tinted with rose, and Eau de Gentiane Blanche, which features notes of white musk and gentian...

Most colognes are easily identifiable by the "eau" that precedes the name. Many perfume houses do a cologne as a matter of course. Some famous colognes are Eau de Guerlain, L'Eau de L'Artisan, Christian Dior Eau Fraîche, Thierry Mugler Cologne, Eau de Cartier, and, of course, 4711. I like the cedar freshness and gin and tonic quality of Eau de Cartier, and I spray Thierry Mugler Cologne on my sheets when I change the bed, but otherwise cologne has never resonated much with me...

I know many people who love perfumes but who do not have the “vocabulary” to describe them; as they struggle to identify “notes” or “accords” they falter and become frustrated. But sometimes those same people can make a perfume come alive for me when they forget about the ‘notes’ and describe a scene or feeling the perfume inspired. Like all perfume lovers, I often experience vivid images and emotions as I smell a perfume for the first time:

LUI

It is a hot summer day. I am alone in a small, stuffy, dim and cluttered room that is decorated in the Victorian style. The room’s windows are closed and covered by heavy, moss-green curtains. The room’s walls are papered with dusty pink (and flocked) wallpaper in a Fleur-de-Lys pattern...