About 20 years ago, Susan started getting blinding headaches from perfume, and so until recently she'd mostly given up wearing scent other than a few essential oils purchased at a local store. Her headaches have abated, and she'd like to find a new signature scent (or two) for daytime. She says she can tell right away if a new fragrance will give her a headache, and it doesn't seem to be related to how light or heavy the perfume is.
Susan doesn't have wonderful access to retail perfume stores, but she's happy to shop online and doesn't mind buying samples. Cost is not a huge factor, but she says she probably wouldn't spend more than $200. She's not after anything trendy, and probably wouldn't buy a celebrity perfume. Here is what we know about Susan:
She's in her early 50s, and owns a small marketing communications company.
She likes things that are quiet, classic, elegant, understated — but not dull or boring.
Her hobbies are gardening ("nothing better than the smell of good dirt"), reading, and old movies, especially the film noir genre of the 30s and 40s.
Before Susan starting getting headaches, she wore Charles of the Ritz (the burgundy bottle). For a time she sort of liked Chanel No. 5, but she decided it's probably too mature for her. Her essential oil scents were Star Jasmine, Green Tea and Habuba (which she says is somewhat African or Middle Eastern-exotic, smoky and kind of chocolate-y). She also likes ginger fragrances (she has several bath/body products in ginger), and jasmine (the right jasmine!) — all of her clothing and linen drawers and closets have Greenleaf Jasmine sachets.
Here is what Susan has tried so far in her search:
D&G Roue de la Fortune: interesting on the card, but horrible on skin, and headache-inducing.
Dior Escale a Pondichery: why bother?
Givenchy Ange ou Demon: nice on the card, but only lasted 30 minutes on skin and turned into a hideous cotton candy. Too young.
Givenchy Ysatis: liked but didn't love.
Bvlgari: she tried quite a few and didn't like any of them, but wants to try Jasmin Noir.
What say you?
Note: top image is Letterbox [cropped] by Roby Ferrari at flickr; some rights reserved.
Blech. I say, Susan, get out of the mall! She seems to me to like scents that have a more botanical (avoiding the word “natural”) vibe. I think she should go on the Dawn Spencer Hurwitz website and order herself some samples. DSH does faux-retro nicely, and has a lot of what I think of as “spa” scents — green tea, ginger, etc. She also has a newer line of actual botanicals, although I’m not suggesting they’re “natural” as I have no idea.
I agree – though something more abstract than strict botanicals might be called for, to give it more of a “perfume” feel than just a botanical scent. I was thinking of Untitled No. 3 by Sarah Horowitz – affordable, an oil (as it may be some things in alcohol-based spritzes that are causing the headaches), a lovely unfolding experience but one that ends in a gently sweet perfume that is not like everything else but could still feel classic.
Or, similarly, something from Ava Luxe – if she likes a certain level of sweetness and florals, then Citrine (a vanilla citrus) or Roses (a glorious blend of all types of roses) might just suit!
I like your suggestions. I’m a little late back here, but I felt, as a fellow migraine-sufferer, a headache coming on at the thought of Angie Demon and the D&Gs, etc. I’m thinking something less in-your-face would be good.
A possibility: Annick Goutal Le Jasmin, which has jasmine and ginger.
Dangit, WHERE is my mini of that?!? Now you’ve reminded me I’m cross again!! Those used to be so easy to find online too!
Might be a good Jo Malone candidate. They make a lot of lovely scents with a similar botanical vibe and are understated. And I’d definitely check out some sample packs from L’Artisan….Tea for Two and L’Haie Fleurie popped into mind.
Seconding the Jo Malone … maybe White Jasmine and Mint? Plus they layer nicely.
here are a few suggestions…
As a refined wink to her n°5 previous loving self:
*Chanel 31 Rue Cambon
*Chanel Bois des iles
heavy on the Ginger (and on the wallet)
*Sisley eau 3
For her jasmin green tea fix
*L’artisan parfumeur Thé pour une été
If Susan hasn’t tried Shalimar, a huge hit or miss, I find it along the lines of her description of the exotic and smoky essential oil she favours. maybe Guerlain Tonka Imperiale could be along those “heavier” lines of thought, too?
Good luck Susan, have fun sampling!
joining in: DO try the Chanel exclusives (especially 31 rC)! Did you really try Bvlgari Blv, the lighter version? , it is quite gingery…. One seldom mentioned scent it Cerrutti’s 1881 for woman, I used to love it, stopped when a co-worker started to wear it, but it could fit your profile.
Seconding Bois des Iles.
I 2nd bois de Iles! And Bulgaria jasmine nuit is quite nice. I’d try a sniff of Ferre just for fun and take a sniff of the new LArtisan nuit de Tuberose…and Chanels Bel Respiro might interest you as well!
Again, the mention of Ferre! If I haven’t overshot my perfume and cosmetics budget by three-folds this quarter, I’d probably have plopped down the $20 it takes to buy the 1oz bottle on evilbay. Will have to rectify once the 2nd qtr damages clear….
I’ll second the The Pour un Ete. Also suggest Chanel Bel Respiro, Profumum Victrix, MPG Baime, and AG Mandragore. All these strike me as simple but not boring, and fall into the green/tea/jasmine ranges she seems to like.
I’ll third the The Pour un Ete. It’s lovely and I’m considering a full bottle purchase of this myself. Also would recommend Hermes Osmanthe Yunnan.
Second Osmanthe Yunnan. That one’s lovely!
I agree with Zazie–the first thing that popped into my head was Sisley Eau de Sisley #3 which is usually at discounters for a decent price.
I wonder how Chanel Cristalle eau Verte or Bel Respiro would do since it’s summer and they don’t (at least to me ) have an “age” like some of the classics do. I also wondered about Chamade…but I love Chamade so it’s always right there on the tip of my tongue to suggest. And Bois des Iles might be another to try. As for liking the good rich smell of soil…..Penhaligon’s Bluebell smells just like damp soil to me, and CBIHP violet empire has a good dose of “gardening” in it too.
I love chamade as well! And how about another penhaligons: amaranthine!
As usual here’s my oddball recommendation:
Very Irrésistible for Men by Givenchy
They describe it as a gourmand chocolatey-coffee concoction…
But for me it smells of dirt… unearthed coffee beans.
And I KNOW it is a man’s fragrance… but a woman, specially one that likes the smell of dirt, could certainly pull it off!
Hi there — I’m the Susan referenced in this piece. I just had to comment on your suggestion — most of my mother’s favorite scents were men’s fragrances.
To me, hazelnut is the most pronounced note of Very Irresistible for Men.
It is really puzzling that people have so many differents reactions to this one.
Either it has something that is interpreted very subjectively by each person or the formulation is very unstable! (unlikely, I know, but I cannot find another logical explanation)
I might be stating the obvious, but what about Chanel N5 Eau Premiere?
Some others that might be interesting and read classic/elegant to me:
OJ Woman
Guerlain Cruel Gardenia
JHAG Citizen Queen
oh yum —Cruel Gardenia —nice pick
Ha, I’ll “oh yum” the OTHER two.
all of my Guerlains just simultaneously stuck out their perfume-bottle-tongues at you…..
Tocca Bianca- it’s very fresh, floral, maybe a bit sweet though, I’m pretty sure there’s jasmine and green tea in there
Ralph Lauren Romance- I know there’s ginger, but more to the point it kind of fits the “quiet, classic, elegant, understated” idea I think.
Demeter Wet Garden- Just because she enjoys the smell of dirt and gardening and I thought suggesting Dirt would be too obvious.
Marc Jacobs- Just cause it’s so lovely and also there’s the ginger
I second the Tocca idea, though Stella is my favorite.
Love Bianca, especially for summer, although it’s more grapefruit than green tea.
Give ELdO’s Vraie Blonde a try. Even though I don’t think ginger or chocolate are listed as notes, I think it has a ginger ale fizz to it. (The fizz being the champagne note, which doesn’t smell very champagne-y to me.) I oddly don’t always get chocolate from it, and when I do it doesn’t last, but that might vary from person to person.
Definately try L’Artisan’s The pour un ete. Lovely jasmine green tea.
I’m wearing it today…
Hermes, Osmanthe Yunnan is also a quiet beautiful light floral with notes of green tea, worth a try…
For Jasmine Le De by Givenchy or Jojo by Liz Zorn (Soivohle).
Feminite du Bois-just because.
For Exotic-Amouage Tribute Attar (expensive, I know)
-Bois Farine-more smokey
-Iris Oriental by Parfumerie Generale
-Fragonard Cette Nuit La
-Sutra Ylang by Bois 1920
Good Luck!
Hello, Susan!
I hope that you’ll visit the Ayala Moriel website. She’s from Vancouver, quite well-known in perfumista circles, and does lots of mail-order business. Her scents are natural and often lean to the botanical, and stylistically I think they’re exactly the kind of thing you would love. They’re classically-inspired but modern and original, and she’s got an unusually large roster to chose from.
There is a sample program and the website gives lots of information on the composition of each scent at a glance, so it’s really easy to pick out some promising candidates. She’s a one-woman company, too, so I’m sure you’d get personal service if you contacted her through the site and asked her for suggestions.
Just to give you an idea of the kinds of things she’s doing, and one that you might really like, is her Champaca Chai, with ginger, Assam tea, jasmine and champaca flowers.
Good luck and have fun. You have lots of other good suggestions here and your biggest problem will be having the chance to explore them all.
Her Film Noir is nice. It’s all base notes and it has chocolate.
And the Espionage has a nice smokiness to it,
Mmmmm, yes.
I see several people recommending tea fragrances – one of my favorites is Element of Surprise by Creative Universe. It is affordable (even more so if you find some on eBay!) and lasts surprisingly well for such a light scent. A beautiful combination of tea and florals, including apparently jasmine. One of my favorite summer perfumes!
Oh, second this one as well. It really is a nice one!
I second (third?) Tocca Bianca. Chanel Cristalle Eau Verte might also be a good one to try, and I liked what I’ve sampled of Armani Code Eau Fraiche (the new Summer version). And the Cloe Eaux de Fleurs, especially Capucine, might also be good possibilities. Good luck Susan!
Hi all — what a wealth of great suggestions you’ve given me. Looks like I’ll be placing a healthy sample order somewhere! Thanks so much. — Susan
hmmm. I got an immediate Chanel Coromandel vibe from the description of Susan. When I first heard of Coromandel on Katie Pukricks channel @ Youtube I think she first described it as the smell of good clean dirt. I’ve tried Jasmin Noir and Eau Premier and feel like they share a similar note or feel within them, there’s some sort of luxurious tone to them all but I feel like Coromandel is the most interesting. Definitely worth trying!! Sorry I can’t recommend any jasmine or tea perfs, I haven’t met any that I liked enough yet.
Parfumerie Generale Drama Nuui.
Or, on the lower end of the price spectrum: L’Occitane Green Tea & Jasmine.
I would recommend Parfumerie Generale’s Iris Taizo– it is quiet, stays close to the skin, and has a pronounced xocolatl streak to appeal to Susan’s love for smoke/spice/chocolate.
Beautifully described, olenska. It’s lovely because it has that rich, smooth quality but it’s low-key and not at all sweet. I’d love some myself.
I love this one. Now they call it Iris Oriental-I don’t know why. I think Taizo is better.
I just tried Ormonde Jayne Woman, and my first impression was of being outside in my garden, planting shrubs. I got the scent of earth, leaves, fresh air, and just a little bit of flowers in bloom. My second thought was of standing in a forest. As a fellow classic-loving, old film-watching gardener, I recommend it.
Tons of great suggestions above, Susan, but I can’t believe no one mentioned Serge Lutens 5 o’clock au Gingembre! It doesn’t work on me, but it’s probably a must-try for ginger and tea fans. Also, for some odd reason Cumming came to mind — probably because of your predilection for dirt! It’s a wonderful Scotch + peat + dirt scent.
Hiris!
Quiet, elegant… and a teeny touch of dirt.
Hiris–also a great iris scent for summer; it always seems chilly to me.
I have the same problem so much so that I had to refrain from wearing perfumes.But, I discovered perfume oils again and notice that I can wear them without getting headaches .Try perfume oils you can order samples from etailers and test them out.You can even get no 5 in an oil version.
The first scents that popped into mind are classics, and fit the elegant, understated and yet never boring description in the brief:
-Le Parfum de Therèse, which is quite classic, but still quite unusual;
-Joy, which has the gorgeous florals and none of the aldehydes of Chanel No. 5;
– Patou 1000.
I also though immediately of the perfumes of Mona di Orio, which make me think of film noir and the classics… the most obvious is Nuit Noir, which has a beautiful ginger note, flowers and spices. A less obvious suggestion is Carnation, which seems rather proper and traditional, but is a sexy skin scent.