You would not think it would be so hard to post the Monday Mail on Monday, but turns out that some weeks, it's a challenge. So I'm late again, but today we're helping Alnysie, who wants to expand her collection of decants and bottles, and to discover some new fragrances. She'd especially like to branch out into some new fragrance families — she'd like to find some florals and green fragrances, and maybe a few more spicy-gourmands. Her price requirements are open since she's willing to buy decants, and she has reasonably good access to stores.
Here is what we know about Alnysie:
She's in her early 30s and lives in Montréal, where she works in an office.
She says she's an “assertive introvert” — she likes her clothes, jewelry, and glasses to be simple but to have something (a cut, a dash of color) that makes them stand out.
She prefers small gatherings to big crowds, and while she is not outdoorsy or sportsy she does like smell of the woods and nature.
Alnysie likes going for a beer with a few friends, reading, watching TV series, learning languages, traveling, and eating.
Alnysie likes her fragrances to be neither flamboyant or quiet, and to have a touch of something a little different. She likes green notes, woodsy notes, leather and animalic notes, spices, gourmands and soft flowers. Favorite perfumes include Etat Libre d'Orange Like This & Jasmin et Cigarette, Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille, Bas de Soie & Fille en Aiguilles, Jacomo Art Collection #08, Frédéric Malle En Passant & Une Fleur de Cassie, L'Artisan Dzing!, Traversée du Bosphore & Thé pour un Été, Parfumerie Générale Praliné de Santal, Annick Goutal Ninféo Mio, Eau du Sud & Eau de Camille, Hermès Hiris, Un Jardin en Méditerranée and Un Jardin sur le Nil.
Alnysie does not like big sillage or heady florals, tea, incense and patchouli, amber, cucumber/melon/aquatic, fruits (especially pear and cherry), butter, fig, and that cola note that people have told her is aldehydes (it's in Piguet Bandit). She's not a huge fan of citrus. Perfumes she doesn't care for include Annick Goutal Eau d'Hadrien, The People of the Labyrinths Luctor et Emergo, L'Artisan Tea for Two (she loves the spices but hates the tea), Serge Lutens Jeux de Peau (the butter!), Les Nez The Unicorn Spell, By Kilian Back to Black (too sweet), Penhaligon's Amaranthine (like cucumber), CB I Hate Perfume Revelation (cat pee), L'Artisan Dzongkha.
Here are some of the perfumes she has tried in her search:
L'Artisan Nuit de Tubéreuse: too “screeching”.
Diptyque Philosykos: she likes the opening, then it turns aquatic-like, as do many figs.
L'Artisan Bois Farine: She loved its oddness, bought a bottle, now she hates it — it smells more peculiar than nice.
Serge Lutens Nuit de Cellophane: too close to shampoo.
Elie Saab Le Parfum: too sweet and fruity.
Sonoma Scent Studio Winter Woods: all she smells is the sweet cola note she doesn't like.
Diptyque Tam Dao: too dry.
Guerlain L'Heure Bleue: not her, although she likes it in theory.
What say you?
Note: image is post_te by fedewild at flickr; some rights reserved.
Although she has not said so, it appears that she dislikes tuberrose since many of her dislikes contain tuberrose.
If she likes L’Heure Bleue, but would not wear it; she may want to try its cousin Apres L’Ondee.
Thanks, Dilana! You’re right, I dislike tuberose, ylang-ylang, and the like. (Maybe I should have written “white florals” instead of just “heady florals”? I’m still trying to figure out the terms!)
I think I have a sample of Après L’Ondée I ordered many months ago, when I just started. I should try it again, thanks!
You might want to try Mona di Orio tuberose. It’s one of the only tuberose scents I like (I scrub the rest off). It has a touch of green and spice without being a tuber-monster. In fact, it’s the only tuberose I remotely like!
I like your list of favorites! One that I immediately thought of when I read “woods and nature” and “something a little different” is Ormonde Woman. It’s green, but sort of a dark, woodsy, mossy green and very unusual.
Thanks for the support!
And for the suggestion! Sounds nice!
Second the OJ Woman, fab scent!
3rd OJ Woman and add Orris Noir.
4th Ormonde Woman, and seconding Orris Noir! In fact, I highly recommend buying the discovery set
n^th-ing this comment. OJ Woman is the first thing i thought of.
Posted right when I take two seconds to look! Thanks, Robin, and thanks in advance to everybody! I won’t have time to check much before tomorrow, but I really appreciate the suggestions! It’s weird to read about myself on here, I’m a little intimidated.
Hi, Alnysie. Maybe Thierry Mugler Womanity (fig-y and salty), Lolita Lempicka line, Chanel Nº19, Dior Escale line, Eau de Campagne, Fico di Almafi, Prada Infusion D’Iris, A Scent (Issey Miyake)…
For a green floral maybe try Jacomo Silences? Or Chanel 19 ( if you haven’t already).
Gucci Envy is pretty green; I am not very fond of it myself but many people think it is a masterpiece.
Your list of favourites does not include any of the Parfums de Nicolaï line, which is one of my favourite houses. If you can get hold of them you really ought to try Odalisque and Le Temps d’une Fête ( for the green florals), Sacrebleu and Vanille Tonka for your spicy orientals. I love most of her fragrances. PdN New York is one my most cherished fragrances.
Have fun exploring!
Seconding Jacomo Silences; it’s a stunner, and if you want to explore green, it’s a pillar of the genre!
I’ll third that suggestion – I spent several month of my sampling budget working through all the green florals, and the three I ended up loving were Silences, Heure Exquise and Bel Respiro. Silences is gorgeous, inexpensive and comes in a great black bottle. (I also love Le Temps d’une Fete, but on my skin it’s far more floral than green. Great stuff, though.)
And OJ Woman is just brilliant.
I would never think of Heure Exquise as a green floral, it’s stunning though, and probably my favourite Goutal.
Seconding Bel Respiro. It’s a gorgeous green and I get a very soft leather in the drydown.
I’ll second every one of those PdN recommendations. Great choices.
For a leathery animalic floral that’s anything but the typical big white variety, I thought of Caron Narcisse Noir. The sillage isn’t huge but is there, and it is one of those that I think falls in the ‘love it or hate it’ category, and it is very easy to find and not too pricy, even the extrait.
Also, speaking of the Jacomo Art Collection, No. 2 is fascinating to me in a woody and creamy way with some almond/vanilla going on but a lot of woody earthiness with a note that reminds me of sun-warmed rock in there as well if you like that sort of thing.
My all time favorite green is Shiseido Relaxing which, while the notes might suggest another bland green fragrance, is absolutely beautiful and I’ve found nothing like it in all my years of searching. The original EL Private Collection does green/moss beautifully, but might be too much on the chypre side. But if you can find it, it really is gorgeous, classic and one I’d happily wear if it hadn’t been my mother’s signature scent.
EL’s Sensuous Noir is also wonderful for the gourmand especially this time of year with all the honeyed woods, amber, spices and “dark” florals to keep it from being too sweet. Guerlain’s SDV doesn’t feel as sweet to me as BK’s Back to Black, and it is a really lovely gourmand, too. And of course, I have to suggest Prada Candy since it is one of my recent fave gourmands and isn’t as sweet as you might think, but a wonderfully, softly caramelized musk over a base that reminds me of the original Prada edp.
For another floral, I also find Crepe de Chine (or even Long Lost Perfume’s interpretation) to be a gorgeous green floral with some chypre notes, but not so many that it tickles the nose or becomes distracting. And if you don’t mind some patch (not a lot to my nose), Midnight Poison is a wonderfully spicy, woody rose with a lively bit of orange that pops up now and again to keep things from being too dark. Also, Rose 31 is similar to me in that “woods with some flowers” category and I love it when I want to smell good but not like flowers or candy.
Best of luck and happy sniffing!
I like Narcisse Noir layered with Gucci Pour Homme. It pulls up the spiciness and tames the sweetness, if that makes any sense.
Estee Lauder Sensuous (Check out Sensuous Nude)
Frederick Malle Noir Espices (this blends well with rose)
Van Cleef and Arpels Bois D’Iris
Le Labo Rose 31 (as Absolute Scentualist suggested)
Le Labo Iris
Parfumerie Generale Iris Orientale
My favorite spice scent is Eau Lente by Diptyque. I also like Sushi Imperiale, which is a spicy vanilla scent. I’ll probably come back with more suggestions later on today.
I like green woods too. Hmm~ a great woodsy jasmine is Theirry Mugler Alien. Marc Jacobs BANG for men is a wonderfully woodsy/peppery cologne that smells great on women. Also, try Musc Ravageur by Frederic Malle for an spicy musky scent. Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille, Rose Portifino, and some others of his are odd, deep and interesting. : )
Definitely order the OJ sampler, and try some of the Nicolai range. Also maybe Cuir de Lancome, which is just lovely, and not expensive. I struggle with most of the SSS scents as well, but want to like them, and find I get on best with Incense Pure which doesn’t have that note you get as cola. I get it as a slightly off citrus, and it just doesn’t work on my skin, but IP’s great.
Have fun trying everyone’s great suggestions!
I was also going to suggest Cuir de Lancome. It’s my favorite leather, with very soft floral notes.
A good green floral to try: Diptyque L’Ombre dans l’Eau, blackcurrant and rose.
Another req for Cuir de Lancome here! The best prices seem to be at some of the online discounters.
Chanel No 19 is great if you’re looking for green fragrances.
I don’t think I have any new suggestions for things you might like, so instead I will suggest a perfume I think you would HATE (yes, very useful, I know)! DSH Champagne de Bois!–CdB lovers, avert your eyes–Worst aldehyde cola/stale champagne note ever!!
Scratch that, I can think of one! For a true outdoorsy-type-smell with some soft florals going on: CBIHP, Winter 1971.
ELdO Putain des Palaces has some leather and light spice. If you’re interested in classic Guerlains but don’t get along with L’Heure Bleue, you might have better luck with Vol de Nuit. And I echo the Ormonde Woman suggestion. The entire OJ line is worth trying.
Please absolutely try OJ Woman, which i’ve recently falled in love with (late to that particular party, I know, but better late than never). You also might like the new Bulgari Jasmin Noir L’Essence – not much in the way of jasmine but lots of spicy goodness.
like almost everybody else, I’d say your profile seems to be screaming Ormonde Jayne, do try the sampler! Maybe you should try your way through all parfumerie générale scents, if you haven’t already. I don’t see many irises on your list, that’s a note you might like, Robin has frequently reviewed them. Vetivers could also be interesting for you, try vetiver tonka (hermessence, here too, try the whole line if you can, you have several Ellena scents on your list). Another interesting note could be incense, here for starters you have the comme des garçons… have fun!
You can almost never go wrong with Parfumerie Générale
OJ Woman for President! : D
for leathery stuff try Parfums DelRae Mythique and Serge Lutens Daim Blond
for green-flower I would recommend Chanel Bel Respiro and Beige
for woods and nature Nassomato white musk
have fun Alnysie
I’m a huge fan of Like This and I also like the ‘unusual’…these are some of my favs that you might enjoy:
Chanel Bois de Iles
Guerlain Samsara
L’Air du Desert Morocain (Tauer)
and have you ever tried the indie perfumer Liz Zorn? I think you might really like some of her stuff…esp. Centennial, Meerchuam, Palomino…
For spice, there is nothing in the world to top Le Labo’s Poivre 23, as far as I’m concerned
I chimed in above to the OJ discovery set, and Jacomo Silences, but I’d also like to add Puredistance Antonia— it’s a little bit rounder take on the green genre, without loosing the power!
I’m not great with suggestions, but I’m thinking, spicy gourmand and a little green could be: Serge Lutens – Douce Amere, and Juliette Has A Gun – Citizen Queen.
Both, to me anyway, are a little different/unusual, but not overpowering.
And I’ll also add to the chorus and say you need to treat yourself to the OJ sampler set!
Good luck with the search…
Spices without tea or incense: Caron Tabac Blond and Yatagan, L’Artisan Jour de Fete and L’Eau de Navigateur, OJ Ormonde Woman and Orris Noir (both repeats).
Also, the green fragrances sampler “where the grass is always greener” on TPC.
I seem to remember that you just got a new job; congratulations!
I know I always pound on this particular drum, but once again I’m thinking Kenzo Jungle. It’s a spicy gourmand, and it’s different but not outre. And I thirty-second Ormonde Woman, but I also want to put in a good word for OJ Champaca, which is floral but with an oh-so-delicate hint of mintiness that really takes it off the beaten path for me. (Full disclosure: I won it in a NST drawing a while ago, but I fell in love with it on its own merits.
Thank you, thank you NST and OJ!)
My suggestions are Cuir de Lancome – wonderful leather, Safari by Ralph Lauren is very similar to the green Chanel # 19 but much lower in price and just about any Ormande fragrance for strong wood notes. I also like to layer Marc Jacobs Bang.
RL Safari – beautiful and wears like a dream. Excellent suggestion.
Flower Market by Lush is a very spicy carnation with green notes. Lush lists the notes as: carnation, ylang ylang, violet leaf, elemi, and galbanum. Osmoz.com describes elemi as “spicy, peppery, green, lemon-scented,” and places galbanum and violet leaves in the “green ” category. I have sprayed my way through two-thirds of a bottle, and I will definitely replace it when I run out.
Pacifica’s Mexican Cocoa spray perfume — after 10 or 15 minutes the almond wears off, and the spicy goodness takes over. It is intensely spicy for quite a while; then a tiny bit of milk chocolate comes and goes; then it becomes a spicy vanilla. Very good and not too sweet.
BTW, I don’t smell any lemon in Flower Market’s elemi note (I saw that you are not a huge fan of citrus).
OK, enough posts for me for tonight! Oh, my.
I tried L’Occitane’s new immortelle fragance over the weekend, and the immortelle (one of the notes in Like This) note lasts for several hours.
The Noble Rose of Afghanistan, by The Seven Virtues, is a spicy rose fragrance that is not too sweet, not sour at all (i.e., does not smell like rose hips), and very natural-smelling.
Thanks, everyone!!! I’m too tired to answer individually, but I REALLY appreciate your input! (And I guess I can’t *not* order a sample of OJ Woman! I didn’t expect such a consensus! Haha!)
How about Frederic Malle Eau d’Hiver? It’s in between Apres L’Ondee and Hermes Hiris. Plus, have a look at the recent article Robin wrote about lavender, there’s plenty of ideas there, if you want to venture into green fragrances. And… how about some traditionally masculine fragrance? I ‘d suggest Caron Pour Un Homme, Vetyverio Diptyque, Dior Homme, perhaps Green Irish Tweed in small quantities
You sound like my scent twin so I just had to chime in with something I know you’ll like- Parfum DelRae’s Panache. It’s so incredible.