Last week, fellow Dupontee Betty Joan did a post about perfume. I’ve always been fascinated by scent, and well, anyone who wants to smell like Velvet can just buy Angel by Thierry Mugler, mix that with a little sex, and voila! Eau de Velvet. Okay, that sorta grosses me out a little.
I’m almost at the end of the delicious Angel perfume, which brings me to a quandry I shall explain in a minute. Since I was 18, I have chosen a scent and worn it daily until the bottle is empty – which is usually about a year. That is a great way for me to go back and smell a perfume and be instantly blown back to the point in time when I wore that fragrance. As I commented on Betty Joan’s post – Eternity is the end of high school and early college. If I open Eternity at the fragrance counter, I’m reminded of making out in my boyfriend’s Pontiac GTO and getting caught by the cops. (Three times that summer.) Oops. Sophmore year of college? Fendi. Hooking up with my R.A. and declaring a major. Gio, Giorgio Armani was my trademark scent for junior and senior year of college. I loved that perfume until a friend bought it, I got pissed off because I like a scent to be a signature scent. Then I threw it out and found “something new.”
The “something new” continues to be my secret weapon, a fragrance I will never reveal as a promise to myself, something so delicious I never want to smell anyone else wearing it. I wore it while I was 23 and 24, another wonderful time in my life of taking a cruise through Mexico and having fun boyfriend after fun boyfriend. When that bottle ran out, I was preparing for the big move in with AtlantaBoy. My roommate in Connecticut (who I was now leaving behind) was wearing “Romance” by Ralph Lauren. Based on theory above, I didn’t want to wear it while we were living together. But once I moved to Atlanta, fair game bitch. I basically wore Romance for that entire relationship and then some. I have to say, it’s an unbelievable perfume. It smells just as great the next morning as it did when freshly sprayed. But I can’t go back. It reminds me of him, and while that’s not necessarily a bad thing, I wouldn’t want to reimpose it in my life and have the memories blur together. It feels like cheating. Or trying to wash away the past.
So, the quandry. What fragrance to choose. I could continue with Angel, as it is the scent Sherlock / new man / Mr.PantsonFire is used to smelling on me. But, I hesitate. Angel reminds me of a very turbulent past 18 months. It reminds me of all night binges, dating countless men, buying my condo and the hellacious renovation I masterminded, and starting this blog. All fun memories, but the first two hopefully things in the past. I don’t want new man to have a scent of me on his memory that other men I’ve dated also identify me with. I want him to have one of his own. And he and I have also had a rough time over the past three months since we met. So it is my goal between now and the end of the Angel bottle, to find something new. Like sands in an hourglass, there are only a few weeks of Angel left.
I have two very distinct ideas, but both will require several trips to the fragrance counter to try try and try. The one complaint I have with Angel is that I smell like a cheap whore the next morning. (Wait…maybe that’s not the perfume…) I want something like Romance, that smells just as great “stale” as it does “fresh.” Little help please, if you can.
I was giving this some thought the other day, and I recalled reading an article last year about a perfume that was returning to the market. In its heyday, it was so popular, when it was discontinued, there were near riots. Of course I would never wear something so ubiquitous. I do like the obscure. But…the name. The name of the perfume is so apropos to how I feel right now, that I might be willing to check it out.
Try Stella, by Stella McCartney. It smells like roses, but in a not-old-lady kind of way.
Gucci Rush is always good too, although I always found it a little more imposing than I am.
OK, not being the great knower of many perfumes myself, what kind of core scents do you like? Musk? Floral? Citrus? Light, clean scents? I personally like Estee Lauder’s Beyond Paradise. Possibly appropros for you with Mr. PoF!
Apprently, the scent contains: Plum Blossoms, Orange Flower Templar, Jasmin, Edens Mist, Jabuticaba Fruit, Orchid, Blue Hyacinth and Honeysuckle
I have no idean what Jabuticaba Fruit is, but it smells great!
Thanks for the shout-out, lady. As for suggestions/recommendations, here ya go: since Angel is a “woody oriental,” a few that I like in that scent category are Prada (def. smells good the next morning, as you would expect), Givenchy Organza, Armani Mania, and By Dolce & Gabbana Woman. If you’re looking for something in more of the floral arena (like Romance), I’d recommend D&G Light Blue (one of my faves–brings boys to their knees), Marc Jacobs, Clean Fresh Laundry, and Dior J’adore. Oh, and ANYTIME you want to stroll down to Sephora and sniff around (literally), call me–I love, love, LOVE perfume shopping, even if it’s not for me!
I say take a trip to Sephora and try them out, to find something somewhat obscure. I don’t know what Angel smells like, so I can’t recommend anything in that vein. I have a bottle of Salvatore Ferragamo’s Incanto Charms and I love it, but it doesn’t last all day.
Ok we are semi-clones. I wore Angel from 18 years old to last year. EVERYONE knows that as my smell–My ex (and every man I KNOW) used to say it was the best smell in the world. I love how it smells even and ESP after sex. YUM.
Ok, since the ex and I broke up I’ve been wearing another smell that is REALLY close to Angel but less musky and more citrus (but not really) is Hanae Mori (the pink flower bottle)–it’s what all you guys or the rebound guy would recognize on me. My sis used to wear it and its my #2 favorite of all time.
Ironically I am hitting the mall on Friday to get Angel again bc I feel like I am finally ready to wear it and not smell like times with my ex and just start again bc it truly is my fave.
Ok that was a BOOK.
A REALLY delish smell for people that love Angel is Escada MAGNETISIM. Seriously…its ORGASM worthy!! Just go and SMELL it. YUM.
You should check out Sephora’s Fragrance Finder http://www.sephora.com/browse/me/index.jhtml
I recently went on the new perfume search myself – and this helped me figure out things I might really like based on other things I liked. Like a dating service for perfume. 🙂
Granted, not nearly as good as checking out the merchandise in person – but, really, few things are.
OK – our girl KK sent me your way today…LOVE Angel – have been wearing it since I was 18 as well and I will never change. BUT if you want to change, one I love is Issey Miyake….I forget the name but it’s a good one. Good luck moving on girl!
Jenn – You know, I love Stella as a person, so that’s a good idea. I should try her scent.
Luck – I don’t know what all those scents are. It’s like when someone swirls the wine in their mouth and comes out with a bunch of adjectives like, “ooh, oakey, and I taste pear, and ooh, just a hint of…” I suck it down in 2 seconds and I don’t know what I drank. I’m like that with perfume. I would describe something as “clean” and “classy” but, I don’t know that that translates to the same thing to everyone.
BJ – Okay, I think Angel was a bit too much for me. I would like to try the lineup you mention in the “Romance” variety. I think that when I was little, I had some perfume that I fell in love with, and like a first love, I’m always looking for that smell. I can’t place what it is though.
Siryn – I haven’t smelled Ferragamo’s either. Angel is prevalent on the main floor of Bloomingdales (it’s like no other store in the world) on 59th Street. Seriously. It’s all you smell in there.
KK – I’ve always loved Angel. But I think it turns on me after a while. There is something in it though that is like…cotton candy is how I think it was once described to me. It’s very sweet. And it smells classy to me if I don’t overdo it. Now, there is another one in the lineup of Thierry Mugler called “Innocent” I think, and it is very similar to Angel. Maybe a little switch up so you always have Angel to remind you of the ex? (If you want.)
Mandy – OMG! Going to that website NOW! THANK YOU!!
Amester – You and KK make me laugh! Make sure you stock up on perfumes. As I wrote about “In Love Again” these idiots have a way of taking them off the market for no particular reason. Stock up and store it in a cold dry place, bottom of the refrig or something.
Amarige & Issey Miyake both make me weak (but they are very mainstream)
I am a citrus with musk sorta gal. I like the Aveda scents, but have been thinking about Vera Wang’s line a lot recently. Actually, I usually like men’s cologne better than women’s cologne. I would wear obsession for men if I were single, but Nick doesn’t prefer the smell…Man, I am one strange lady.
Cashmere Myst – Donna Karan
Dont’ ask why I know this scent or why I like it, as I’m a hetero(not metro) sexual guy.
I’m gonna go watch sportscenter and eat raw steak now
Since you liked Eternity you should try out Deep Red by Hugo Boss. It has a spicy/sweet scent that as the day wears on starts to smell like Eternity. I’ve been wearing it for the past 3 years now, it’s like me Spicy n Sweet. Heh… I know, I’m cheesy.
There are some good, obscure scents to be found at Sephora. The Ferragamo one mentioned earlier is nice and smells a lot like Moschino’s I Love Love (a personal favorite).
Demeter’s fragrances are fun, too – they are the folks that make Gin & Tonic, Laundry, Dirt, Sex on the Beach, and other scents that smell just like you think they will. While the cologne spray by itself doesn’t last long, you can order the accompanying body wash, lotion, and oil for fragrance layering. I use Between the Sheets spray, lotion & bodywash from Demeter and absolutely love it – makes me feel girly-drink drunk! The link is http://www.demeterfragrance.com
i agree with jenn on both accounts–stella is my fragrance of choice these days (but it’s ok, velvet, we don’t know each other). i also love me some gucci rush 2–the hot pink bottle, not the red bottle–sometimes difficult to find. i am actually a perfume whore…i have seven or eight different ones that a alternate between. another good one is marc by marc jacobs–kind of a honeysuckle scent which is great to wear in the fall bc it’s so contradictory.
This isn’t about the perfume (though CK-1 always reminds me of my high school boyfriend). I am a new reader who went deep into the archives and read all the Sherlock stuff and some of the rest. I’m also 27 and just starting to date after a long dry spell. What you write is both scary and fascinating — am I really ready to get out there? Is it really this complicated? Are there really that many d-bags out there? I give you major props for putting your feelings out for us to live through. And yay for you w/ Mr PantsonFire! Good luck.
I’m like you and perfume except with music.
However, you asked for suggestions. Personally, I’m a sucker for anything by Kenzo. It also has the smells the same the next morning as when it was sprayed quotient going for it.
🙂
AM
Chico – Amariage is what one of my friends wore – I like that one too.
Playful – You crack me up!
Needtsza – HA! How’s the raw meat coming along? Oh, and yes, I’m volunteering on the House Tour.
Rebecca – Eternity to me has a clean smell, but I think I’m wrong – people might say it’s floral. I do like it though.
GirlWithMoxie – I’m addicted to the scent finder Mandy (above) linked to! I’ve never layered a scent, I think because the lotions always seem to smell different than the fragrance. But I’m willing to try!
Reluctant Dater – Gucci Rush keeps coming up on my Sephora list of ones to try. I’m excited, but I hate that you can’t smell them all in one day. Bastards! Who would think the nose would give out.
Laura – Wow. This is a tough question. I want to ask about why there was a dry spell, when your last relationship was, what you expect from dating etc. I started out as dating to just get out there and meet people. The more “types” you encounter, the easier it becomes to weed out. Also, as you get older, you start to figure the guys out faster. I’ve definitely had my share of issues and drama. I’m hoping (as always) that it is behind me. A lot of the Sherlock drama was because I stupidly left the word “Velvet” as part of my online profile. (I had not been on this particular online dating site for many many years.) And some girl (also a blogger) Sherlock knew and had dated a couple times, saw that, and connected for him that I had a dating blog. She initially emailed and said she would stay out of our way, but then she couldn’t help herself. For some reason, she started attacking me, without provocation in the comments, proving herself to be a complete lunatic.
If Sherlock never knew of the blog, and this girl never knew about me, there would be none of this drama. Why? Because I never would have known what he was up to during that time in question. She never would have read my blog, and my happiness with respect to him, and then felt the need to leave nasty comments about it.
All in all, it was worth pursuing, at least from this vantage point. I will also tell you that the internet is filled with d-bags. That never bothered me so much because I knew that going in and didn’t take a lot of the dates very seriously. But even though when it comes to online dating, “everyone is doing it,” not everyone is sane. The preferred method is and will always be to meet someone through friends. Then they can’t treat you crappy, knowing they will have to answer to their friends. That’s my take anyway. Email me if you want to chat more.
AlieMalie – I’m like that with music too! Ha! Unless it’s country…my vice. Or 80’s hair bands.
Another one I like is Dior Addict. It might be my next fragrance purchase, but when I tried it out, the scent lingered in my head. I have J’adore and love that scent, and it lasts all day. I expect that Addict lasts as long.
Another one I enjoyed was Hermés… can’t remember which particular one, but the box sparkled a little.
On the sweet side is Ferragamo’s Incanto Dream. It’s more citrusy and smells like summer. I bought that for a friend for her wedding.
I agree w/KassyK: I’ve worn Angel for 2 years and loved it, but I really like Escada as well. Also Burberry.
Skip the parfum. Let them enjoy the natural essense of Velvet!
Sweet! Hope it lasts forever!
I like the perfume section at Nordstrom. If you can find someone knowledgable, ask them about the more exotic scents. Have you tried Mugler’s new Alien (which I love)? Or MyQueen by Alexander McQueen? I also like the Annick Goutal line – they’re a little different, and I like that.
It is so nice to hear that you’re having fun, and it gives me hope!
Try Tommy Girl by Tommy Hilfiger. It’s somewhat sporty and girly all in one. It never spoils the day after. I actually like the day old smell, although that sounds kinda gross (but it’s not!).
I love – love – love the re launched Lanvin fragrance Rumeur, it smells divine, the first time I wore it I felt like a debutante, it’s the only way to describe it.
Stella in Two Peony is also great, very refreshing and young. I wear Stella in Two during the day and Rumeur at night, it just fits!
This perfume/aroma-review blog is actually a pretty fun read:
http://nowsmellthis.blogharbor.com/
I’ll tell you that my signature scent is Magie Noir by Lancome. I’ve worn it since I was a Sophomore in HS and I’ve only known 2 people who had it too in the nearly 20 yrs I’ve been wearing it.
I’ve always gotten compliments from men on that scent.
Another great scent is Liz Claiborne. I don’t know if she has other scents, but it’s the one in the triangle shaped bottle. I wore that in college and loved it.
I love Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker. I know it is so mainstream but I always get asked about it when I’m wearing it. I also love Romance, to me they are very similar smells, clean and light.
Kiehls Musk Blend No 1 is nice as well in a rich hippy kinda way–smells like earthy and flowery at once. Boys dig it.
Fracas is another good one although it’s a bit weird. Either it works for you and it doesn’t.
I wore Rush by Gucci for several years in my early-twenties but stopped because it was inextricably linked to my first love. As I am approaching a milestone birthday next month however, I thought it might be fun to reclaim it.
Kiehls Musk Blend No 1 is nice as well in a rich hippy kinda way–smells like earthy and flowery at once. Boys dig it.
Fracas is another good one although it’s a bit weird. Either it works for you or it doesn’t.
I wore Rush by Gucci for several years in my early-twenties but stopped because it was inextricably linked to my first love. As I am approaching a milestone birthday next month however, I thought it might be fun to reclaim it.
Velvet – you’re singing a song close to my heart….life and love are intertwined with all the smells wafting all around us….so I’ll throw this into the mix.
Check out Kai
* it is not too strong but it is lasting
* smells the same in the morning and evening
* is from a small boutique and therefore isn’t found everywhere so the person next to you probably is not bathed in it
If you like clean and crisp give it a whirl. I think it smells like pretty.
Just don’t wear it near me….’cause bad things might happen. 😉
the fragrance
————-
http://www.kaifragrance.com/main.php?location=productsDetail&productID=perfume_oil
pick it up here
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http://www.kaifragrance.com/main.php?location=locator&state=district+of+columbia#results
happy hunting.
http://www.luckyscent.com
Go there. Do your homework. This is where the serious perfume lovers hang out. You can also purchase samples.
And spend some time here:
http://nowsmellthis.blogharbor.com/
And here:
http://boisdejasmin.typepad.com/
And here:
http://perfumecritic.com
Hey Lady V- Long-time lurker, first time commenting (I was afraid to respond to some of your other posts for fear that the computer spies here in the office would be watching, but this one seems tame enough!) Love your posts, and I’m quite glad to hear you sound so happy. Good for you – after all you’ve been through, you deserve a great relationship!
Even though Angel smells great, I think it’s a little too common… try Le Artisan’s “Chanse de Pappillones”…(not sure on the exact spelling) its my all-time favorite, and because I live in NY, I’m willing to share its secret with ya! :o) I saw someone else recommend Hanae Mori which is also delish…
Great references, Cubie. Yet another thing to waste my time during the day at work!!
But I found this interesting:
http://boisdejasmin.typepad.com/_/2005/07/dior_addict_2_b.html
“Addict 2 plays up certain clichés of a ‘young’ scent, however, the result is far better than most fragrances of its ilk. If you like Yves Saint Laurent Baby Doll or more subdued Yves Saint Laurent In Love Again and Hermaissence Rose Ikebana, Addict 2 might be something to consider.”
Siryn – I know. I’ve been on those fucking links she sent all day. Damn. The thing that sucks about this is that you can only smell 3 perfumes a time. So, this will take a long time because I have a loooooong list I want to check out.
Cbrh – YAY! I love new people!! I never used to write about sex, then one day I just started to, and it hasn’t backfired….oops…eating words. Okay okay, so it hasn’t resulted in stalkers seeking me out for sex. There. That’s better. I’ll add your perfume to the list, but if anyone tells me I smell like a chick in NY, I’m going to just ship it off to you!
Cube – Thanks. These links rule.
Injuninjun – Don’t wear it around you? hmm. Is that a dare? I know where Cafe227 is you know….
Hey Pretty – Rush keeps coming up a lot, both here in the comments and in my searches. Interesting. Also on the list.
Jill – Romance is definitely a favorite. I’m concerned about anything SJP related. I do so hate her…
Shannon – I’m not much of a makeup wearer, but I will say Lancome has them beat. It’s the only makeup and skincare that I like.
Jimmy – Another link to waste work time! Thanks!
Sofitel – Thanks for the recs. I will check them out too!
Bejeweled – Day old smell is important. When I leave the man’s house, I don’t want him thinking a cheap whore was in there. (Insert joke here.)
La Whisky – Aww. Don’t lose hope. Please don’t lose hope.
Barbara – I think you are the only one who realized what the post was really about. Have fun in France!
Circ – Ugh. Essence of Velvet….that’s really garlic and pizza, depending on what I ate that day!
Penny – Burberry smells good in the magazine. I need to check it out in the store.
Siryn – I bought my mom a Hermes perfume in Paris. She has yet to wear it, but I remember smelling it in the store and loving it.
I’ve always associated perfumes with memories and people. And it works for everybody. Since we’re so far away and won’t be running into each other I can tell you one that’t not so known, and it’s been my signature scent for over 3 years. Lolita Lempicka. It’s great, smells a bit like Angel, which I also have, but is softer. It stays with you all day or all night, and believe me, you shall be UNIQUE.
Ciara used sparingly-
Last winter, I accidentally discovered Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline and instantly fell in love. Not only does it smell heavenly, and come in a cool bottle, but I’ve never smelled it on anybody else. I’ve had strange men(good strange, not bad strange) stop me to tell me how good I smell.
Go to Sephora and check it out.
Why not go down to the local hippie store and pick up some essential oils (or whatever they’re called) and make your own signature scent? Eau de Velvet? When I lived in California, I used to love going to Bubbles and picking up various 1/4 ounce bottles of stinky stuff and making my own cologne. Sure, nobody’d come within 10 feet of me . . .
Velvet,
I am late commenting on this post…but if you like Angel, you might really like Amarige (Givenchy), or The Secret of Venus.
The Secret of Venus, (by Parfums Weil) is hard to find, very sensual and extremely addictive…sorta musky, but w/floral notes, it’s definitely worth a shot.
Also, what about Creed? There are so many different scents from Creed..all delish.
I’m sorry to hear that you had to go private. Unfortunately, I completely understand 🙂