Laura wants to find a special perfume for evening. The perfect scent would be stunningly sexy but intelligent, and would cost under $200. She has reasonably good access to stores, and is happy to shop online. Here are some details about Laura:
She's in her late 20s and lives in Minneapolis, where she does administrative work for a small avant-garde ballet company.
She says she is reserved, but "comes out of her shell" with people she knows well.
She loves travel, fashion and the arts, and "recently dove head-first into the world of perfume".
Laura likes notes of iris, tuberose, musk, gardenia, patchouli and vanilla. Her daytime rotation includes Etat Libre d'Orange Putain des Palaces, Balenciaga Paris and Monyette Paris, but she says she doesn't feel "super connected" to any of them.
Laura dislikes citrus, fresh, fruity, green and sport perfumes. A couple examples: she admires Annick Goutal Eau D’Hadrien but would never wear it, and the "rotten fruits" ruin Parfums de Nicolaï Sacrebleu.
Here are some of the things Laura has tried in her search:
Juliette Has a Gun Calamity J: Laura liked this a lot, and thinks it's the right direction (some floral, a hint of vanilla and musk) but it didn't have any lasting power.
Monyette Paris: she wears it for day, but it isn't deep enough for evening.
Balenciaga Paris: not enough pizazz for evening.
Balmain Ambre Gris: she likes it — it feels " comfortable and rich" — but it doesn't feel special enough for evening.
Etat Libre d'Orange Like This: too foody.
Tauer Perfumes L'Air du desert marocain: too dry and not feminine enough.
Estee Lauder Sensuous: she liked the warmth, but there was something sour about it.
What say you?
Note: top image is Kildale Post Box by deargdoom57 at flickr; some rights reserved.
Hi Laura!
We have the same first name. But most of my family calls me by my middle name.
I just have one recommendation – Lancome’s Magie Noire.
It sounds like it would be perfect for you. Best of Luck.
Hi Laura. I also live in Minneapolis, in Uptown. Have you visited La Petite Parfumerie in Excelsior? It used to be called Cherie’s. She is fabulous and has many niche brands: Bond #9, Serge Lutens, and lots of smaller ones. She is very knowledgeable and good with questions. If someone suggests something here she may have it for you to smell first. I also love Balenciaga Paris, but like you it’s a day scent. I adore SL Daum Blond and you may like that one too. Also Maître Parfumeur et Gantier Iris which is rich but not overly floral.
I’ve been curious about that shop, but with the location, have feared it might be rather……snooty. Is it?
Oh no, Cherie (hence the original name) is very sweet and helpful. She really knows her product and can guide you towards scents based on what you like or don’t. She will help if you want or leave you alone to wander store. It is quite large and she also carries a few trendy bags and a little jewelry, but frags are her big sellers. She also has a large selection of nice candles. I can highly recommend the store, most certainly not snotty! 🙂
Kelly,
I’m gonna add this to my “to visit” list when I fly in to the Twin Cities in two weeks! Thanks for the tip!
(I know this is off topic, but I was wondering if there’d be good shopping while I was in MN!)
That depends on what you want, and where you want to go. Besides the above, there are Saks and NM downtown, and Nordstrom, Bloomie’s, Macy’s, l’Occitane at the MOA (possibly others, but I try not to spend much time there).
Marjorie- email me at schallauataoldotcom and I can recommend some places. Do you like unique shopping, big malls w/ everything under the sun or something specific? The Twin Cites has several really nice “small town main street” areas that get overlooked.
Hi Kelly! I haven’t been out there- I always mean to, and then it seems like such a hike! I will really have to make an effort though, especially since they have Serge Lutens, which I’ve never tried.
Hi Laura,
Last October and November I was in search of a great evening scent. I tried many. What I found that works perfect for me is Bond No 9 Nuits de Noho. It has notes of jasmine, vanilla & patchouli. It has great staying power. It works really well with my body chemistry. I love it and so does my husband. When I wear it I get a lot of compliments from both men and women. Hope this helps – all the best on your search!
Laura- I have this scent (Nuits de Noho) and never wear it. If you think you might like this one you can have it.
Nahema, Guerlain.
Carnal Flower, Edition Frederick Malle
Iris Silver Mist, Serge Lutens
Seconding Carnal Flower (super luxe tuberose).
Bulgari Black for sexy vanilla.
The notes don’t match the ones you’ve listed, but if you’re looking for a sexy evening scent you should definitely give Amaranthine a try.
Oh yes! Amaranthine is lovely!
When I was reading your preferences, my first thought was Juliette Has a Gun Calamity J! I’m glad I’m on the right page, at least 😉
More from that line: Lady Vengeance is great—packs a nice punch!
Also: What about L’Heure Bleue? I find it devastatingly sexy, and it also boasts the very best of the famous Guerlain drydown (IMO).
A last note on CJ: the staying power and sillage are much (MUCH) better sprayed from the bottle than from either a dauber vial or a sample sprayer. I don’t know why this is—just my personal experience.
I agree! I also thought JHG Midnight Oud. It SMELLS like what she is after but the notes indicate a mismatch.
I have tried Midnight Oud, and it was lovely, but it wasn’t true love. I’ll have to dig out my sample to figure out why. I will try Lady Vengeance. I generally avoid roses, since they feel sort of old fashioned to me, but Luckyscent’s descriptions can often convince me to try anything 🙂
dang! I thought of “LIke This” right away…How about Muscs Kublai Khan (Serge Lutens)? I would def. make a trip to a store which offers SL to try some of them out…A La Nuit or Femme du Bois might work…
How about Ormonde Jayne? Have you tried Woman or Champaca?
Just remembered another scent that I discovered for the first time last month. It is on my “to buy” list as a scent that is perfect for special evening occasions, when I might wear a chignon. It is Hermes 24 Faubourg edp. It can feel like a mature wearer would spritz this but it is sexy & intelligent. Notes include: orange blossom, jasmine sambac, iris, ambergris, vanilla.
Second this, and also Carnal Flower. If those read too mature, maybe Kai. (And hello from the east metro.)
Annick Goutal Heure Exquise. Elegant, green, woody. Aldehyde opening, galbanum, creamy iris, rose, sandalwood. Some people are put off by the opening but be patient, it is well worth it!
A lot of people compare this one to Chanel No. 19. I am not familiar enough with No. 19 to confirm this.
For iris, I think you can’t go wrong with Heeley’s Iris de Nuit, which seems to run through all the different aspects of iris, from warm/spicy to rooty/vegetal to softly floral. It’s interesting, but very wearable.
Heeley’s is one of my favorite Irises. It’s seems more ‘evening’ to me than some of the others and may fit the bill.
Since you like both iris and tuberose, I would suggest Histoires de Parfums Tubereuse #1, which has both. A lot of people concentrated on their #3, and felt they didn’t get enough tuberose from it, but I preferred #1.
Hi Laura, I would recommend Agent Provocateur for evening, especially since you like patchouli.
Chanel Coromandel for patchouli. Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur for musk. Frederic Malle Carnal Flower for tuberose.
Delrae Amoureuse amd Chantecaille Kalimantan immediately came to mind. Amoureuse foes have a tangerine note, but I find it subtle and fleeting.
Errr, *does*, not foes!
I second the Hermes 24 Faubourg – it’s lovely, very sexy, perfect for evening!
I’m not very good at this but we seem to have similar tase. I would recommend Serge Lutens Daim Blond or L’Artisan Nuit de Tuberose.
Ugh! I meant similar “taste”.
I did try SL Daim Blond today-and really liked it! It had good staying power too.
I can’t believe I’m the first to suggest Fracas. Very, very, very sexy, nothing dumb about it, and usually way to powerful for daytime wear.
Duh! You’re exactly right! I think it would be perfect for her.
Hands down Takis from Farmacia SS. Annunziata dal 1561.
Hey there, this is daring of me because I am JUST starting in this whole perfume thing, but I had the pleasure to smell FRANCIS KURKDJIAN – COLOGNE POUR LE SOIR and thought you might likt it. The dry down in vanillary, and it’s powdery but floral and musky too (see, that was precise, oh dear, I’ve got so much left to learn!).
My vote goes to Frederic Malle’s Iris Poudre, a pretty aldehydic iris with vanila in the drydown. It’s a great “dressed up” fragrance.
Daphne by commes des garcons has many notes you love! : bitter orange, incense, saffron, rose centifolia, Tunisian jasmine, tuberose, iris, patchouli, oud, amber, vanilla.
Don’t fear the bitter orange. It is not the star of the show . This fragrance is very luscious, long lasting and versatile. I think it’s a beautiful fragrance for the evening. I love it and discover new things I love about it every time I wear it. Do try it! 🙂
My first hit for you was Bal a Versailles. Or maybe try Tauer’s Une Rose Chypree, Guerlain’s Cruel Gardenia or (vintage) Samsara (still reasonable on eBay).
For Iris-Parfumerie Generale Iris Orientale (formerly Iris Taizo)
-Bois d’Iris by Van Cleef and Arpels
-Orris Noir by Ormonde Jayne
For Patchouli-Paestim Rose by Eau d’Italie
-Lumiere Noir Pour La Femme by MFK
Amber-Amber Russe
Jasmine-Nuit Noir
Miscellaneous- Feminite du Bois, Datura Noir, Baghari
Serge Lutens Fleurs d’Oranger – BIG SEXY FLORAL
Vero Kern Rubj edp – smaller sexy (dirty) floral
Hi Laura,
I’m also in my late 20’s and recently discovered niche perfumery. The first scent I thought of when you wrote “stunningly sexy but intelligent” was Serge Lutens Chene. Warm, spicy, dry but not too dry, and perfectly elegant – to me this scent is the little black dress topped with a mink coat. (Don’t let the notes of this fragrance scare you off! I thought, hmmm… beeswax??) Like you, I also can’t take the rotten fruits, and EL fragrances unfortunately turn rancid on me. Maybe Chene will work for you! Either way, good luck finding your perfect evening scent!
Thanks for all the help, everyone! I have been kind of bouncing around sampling things, so it will be nice to have some direction and focus in my quest 🙂 -Laura
Check out Ava Luxe #23. I received a sample of this with a recent order and it reminded me a bit of the EL Sensuous. It’s on my list of ‘to get’ but since it’s so similar to the EL, I moved it toward the bottom. You might find that it works better for you.
I also second Ormande Jayne Woman and Chanel #19 as standouts.
Sexy, intelligent, modern dance company, iris? Dior Homme!
I think it would be wonderful on a 20 something woman in this milieu! And you can likely get it cheap, meaning you can still splurge on something else!
“Evening”, “intelligent”, “dance company”… well, these are the fragrances that come to mind:
– Une Fleur de Cassie from Frederic Malle ( cassie and mimosa — voluptuous and beautiful), in addition to the already-suggested Carnal Flower
– Onda (my favourite) and Rubj by Profumo Vero — try them in both perfume and edp versions
— Maroc Pour Elle, Une Rose Chyprée, and Une Rose Vermeille by Andy Tauer. Maroc has the patchouli you like, and is the most voluptuous, but each is gorgeous in her own way.
— Mitsouko (the edp, either current or vintage — late ’80s or early ’90s), even though your list of notes suggests Shalimar. Just the most utterly beautiful classic.
— The fragrances of Mona di Orio. Your notes don’t coincide, but I think what you are searching for does — she does some beautiful “evening” scents.
Hope some of these work…