Scentsation

Perfume Recommendations
Mmm, you smell so good!
I get that a lot. Sometimes it's because I've been cooking or baking, but most of the time it’s based on a perfume spray, essential oil, lotion or other product I’m wearing. As someone who loves to cook, perfumes and their compositions fascinate me and I dabble in making perfumes, hair products, bath salts and other potions.

I like many designer perfumes, but that is not all I wear. I sometimes wear singular oils or blends from From Nature with Love (www.FromNaturewithLove.com), a natural products website. I have several dozen perfumes yet am extremely picky about them "Designer" perfumes are from www.Fragrancenet.com, beautyencounter.com and www.Scentiments.com
Notice how I didn't mention department stores! The only department store purchases are for newer Estée Lauder (Modern Muse), Chanel (Chance Eau Tendre) or Lancôme perfumes with which I can snag a gift with purchase. My main current perfume wardrobe: Crystal Noir by Versace, Fancy Nights by Jessica Simpson (smells like Shalimar and SO cheap), Amor Amor by Cacharel, Champagne/Yvresse by Yves St. Laurent, L'Instant de Guerlain, Pamplelune by Guerlain, Flower by Kenzo. My favorite night fragrances: Midnight Rain by La Prairie and Fracas by Robert Puiget. The best office fragrances: Elie Saab Le Parfum and Honeymania by Body Shop

How do I find out about perfumes/scents and research new releases? I look at magazines for samples and launches, then sniff in person at Sephora, duty-free shops or at a department store. I spend a considerable amount of time on Fragrantica.com. People are pretty picky there so if the consensus is it's a good perfume, I will buy it. Many new favorites like Crystal Noir, Tokyo, Elie Saab and Fancy Nights came from their good reviews. The reviews also convinced me to try Narcisco Rodriguez for Her, an excellent warm floral perfume.

Perfume oil favorites: Rosewood, Osmanthus, Neroli, Orange Blossom, Lettuce, Dirt, Leather, African Musk, Arabian Musk, Ocean Rain, Vanille Bourbon Henri Bendel Type, Chocolate, Peach Orchard, Mandarin, Bergamot, Tuberose, Blackcurrant, Violet, Jasmine, Gardenia

Essential Oil Favorites: Bergamot, Cardamom, Black Pepper, Organic Orange, Organic Lavender, Lime, Clary Sage, Gujuru Balsam, Vetiver, Nutmeg, Patchouli (mixed with other oils)

Floral & Fruity favorites
 Amor Amor by Cacharel is an all-time favorite for almost 10 years. It is very flirty and fun, like a tropical cocktail.

DKNY Golden Delicious (Eau de Parfum) smells like sparkling apple and florals. It smells nice in the air and draws compliments. The lotion is even better.

Indian Night Jasmine by Body Shop-I buy the perfume oil

 Pampelune by Guerlain is a bracing yet refined grapefruit perfume

CK IN2U is a sporty grapefruit and musk scent. The lotion smells divine, but the perfume comes in a distant second, although is a good spritz in the summer

 Juba by the Body Shop—Calyx, by Prescriptives or Clinique is extremely close to this discontinued “juicy fruit” favorite

Heavy & Sweet Favorites
Yvresse by Yves St. Laurent smells like you’ve bathed in champagne and honey, so of course I love it! I have used this perfume for almost twenty years!

Midnight Rain by La Prairie is a sexy fruity patchouli scent done very well. It is not for the wallflower!

Ricci Ricci by Nina Ricci smells sharp and fruity with a little patchouli at the end, kind of like Euphoria but I like this one better.

 Ylang Vanille by Guerlain smells like exotic vanilla and flowers in the sunshine. Very sweet and powdery, so only use a little.

 Lady Million by Paco Rabanne smells like honey and new money.

Powdery Powerhouses
Jean-Paul Gaultier Classique is a strong aromatic perfume that lasts all day!

Crystal Noir by Versace always draws compliments. The tropical coconut and ginger waft in all day long with woodsy notes. Excellent in cool weather.

Flower le Parfum by Kenzo Intense and more woodsy than the EDP counterpart

Flower by Kenzo (Eau de Parfum) Violet and rose with musk and wood make for a powdery floral with a Turkish delight heart

Florals-modern and classic
Very Irrésistible by Givenchy A modern quietly sensual wafting rose scent

L’Instant de Guerlain An expensive-smelling jasmine and honey scent

J’adore by Dior is great for jasmine lovers with money to spare

Fou d’Elle by Ted Lapidus A snuggly vanilla floral with green notes.

Fracas by Robert Puiget is a classic jasmine tuberose blend for a lingering vintage scent

 STELLA BY Stella McCartney combines rose and amber for a rounded floral effect. It used to be light but long-lasting, but I heard the staying power was compromised after a recent reformulation.

Passion by Annick Goutal is a heady, long-lasting jasmin-centered perfume. Get the Eau de Parfum if you can.

Good fragrances for Winter or Night—intense but lightweight
Fancy Nights by Jessica Simpson smells pretty close to Shalimar—a vintage vanilla patchouli, but softer and lighter.

Amor Amor Forbidden Kiss by Cacharel smells like plums and coffee. I like it on other people more than on me.

For the Gents
Thunderstorm by Demeter smells like BASS. Heavy vetiver, a huge thundercloud

Activist by the Body Shop smells like hay, citrus, tobacco and leather, a new classic scent

Tokyo by Kenzo is zippy, warm, woodsy and fresh

Visit by Azzaro is rumored on Fragrantica to be close to Tokyo but at half the cost. I ordered it and hope it’s true!

Good for the Office-floral, light and long-lasting
Laundromat by Demeter It doesn’t last forever but is a clean light scent

  Elie Saab Le Parfum is a beautiful floral that smells like sophisticated blossoms. It smells even more expensive than it is. Still pretty expensive, though!

 
Chanel Chance Eau Tendre has a cool floral structure with a hint of quince. It lasts all day and draws lots of compliments. But duty-free if you can.

Honeymania by Body Shop smells like wildflowers wafting in a sunny field.

Modern Muse by Estée Lauder is a sparkling floral with a hint of patchouli. It doesn’t last very long on me, but I absolutely love it.

Perfumes I want to try:
Liberté by Cacharel combines orange and patchouli, which sounds intriguing

 Darling by Kylie Minogue--Some say it smells like the iconic Deci-Delà from the 1990’s. I’ve ordered it (less than $20) and can’t wait to try it!

Scratch and sniff beneath the surface: Make a gentle, refreshing face & body mist from grocery store ingredients!

Don't you ever wonder how something, the same thing, can cost $1 somewhere and $11 somewhere else? Immediately Evian water in an aerosol Well, I'm not too scared to experiment and figure out how to have fun and stretch a dollar in the process.

So, I wanted to do some detective work to find products that are sold as food products but that could double as beauty products. I favor pure stuff, like "real" vs. "imitation" vanilla extract. It will cost more but not much. Besides, do you want imitation cake--or real cake?

I recommend an Asian grocery store like Hahn Ah Reum, a small store like"India Spice Market" or a "We are in a diverse neighborhood" Giant, like the one across from PG Plaza. I shopped at the "diverse" Giant.

Here are my favorite double duty products:

Note:

If you spend a lot of time in the sun, don't use (or use very little) lemon extract. It makes the skin more sensitive in the sun. Some extracts, especially vanilla extract, usually has corn syrup, so don't add too much, or the bugs may be on you!

Vanilla extract- $3.50 for 1 oz.

Almond Extract- a little expensive, but it has a wonderful cherryish aroma (and you don't need a lot), $4.80 for 1 oz.

Orange blossom water $3 for 11 oz.

Rosewater, $2 for 7 oz.

Lemon Extract, $3 for 1 oz. This is actually 80% alcohol and oil of lemon.

Surabhi cocunut oil, from India. It's sold ina blue plastic bottle and smells like toasted coconut. Divine! Use it with a vanilla/musk fragrance, as a hot oil treatment, or as a beach bum oil.


Refreshing face and body mist:

This is a fragrance I imagine is from a souk (a market stall) somewhere in Arabia.


Use a spray bottle for maximum freshness. It is super-light and would be great as a face mist (try it to set your make-up!), as an outside wedding/graduation long drive freshener, etc. If you want a strong face toner/astringent, add more lemon extract. Or try to find peppermint extract & add a few drops. If you use any product with Retinol or are in the sun, add more almond and/or vanilla extracts ad take out lemon extract.

To decide how much to make, first look at your containers. Then divvy up the quantity by 12. So, if you were measuring with teaspoons, vanilla would have one teaspoon and rose water would have 3 teaspoons, for a total of 12 teaspoons.

1/12 vanilla extract
1/12 almond extract
1/12 lemon extract
3/12 rose water
6/12 orange blossom water

Combine all of these in a spray mist container, preferably dark glass.

Ahhh, enjoy!

Previous comment from "Summa summa summertime"
About extracts...

They usually contain 35% alcohol or have a glycerin base. They are water soluble, meaning fats/oils will not dissolve in them. So, when you add oil, you are going to have a concoction that looks like Italian salad dressing with oil on top & extract on the bottom. Try a thick lotion as a base. I'm just guessing & haven't tried it yet. This should work for both glycerin-based and alcohol-based extracts. Try mixing in a separate container, since you don't want to ruin a whole bottle of lotion.

Can you apply extracts directly on the skin? If you have some extract at home, try it. Otherwise, if you have vodka at home, try that on your skin. It should be fine for pulse points, but, over time, it runs the risk of drying out the skin. Vodka is about the same percentage of alcohol as extracts.

At Whole Foods, Trader Joe's and other specialty food stores they sell vanilla and other extracts in a glycerin base. They are generally high quality. The only problem with putting them directly on the skin could be bees chasing you! These are great for the skin and would be divine as a body scrub. (Mix the extract with vegetable oil and sea salt.) Or do a lotion, as stated above.I don't have brand recommendations, but the best vanilla, scentwise, is bourbon vanilla. For a first go-round, buy the supermarket brand of the pure extracts. They must say "pure" on the box. For value, try Trader Joe's.