This week we're helping Kathie, who found her perfect signature fragrance in Daisy Fuentes Dianoche, which was described as a light tuberose in a 2-in-1 duo with day and night variations. She loved both scents, but preferred the night version. She did not love any of the Dianoche flankers, and now that Dianoche appears to be discontinued, she'd like to find a substitute. Ideally, she'd find two similar fragrances that she could use for day and evening as she did with Dianoche. I'm especially hoping that any of you who might be familiar with Dianoche will chime in! Kathie has good access to mid-tier department stores and chains, and can spend up to $75, but might be willing to go higher for something perfect. She's also willing to shop online.
Kathie is in her mid-40s, and describes herself as positive, credible, passionate, adventurous and caring.
Kathie doesn't know that much about fragrance, and has an easier time saying what she doesn't like than what she does like. She dislikes heavy florals, heavy musks, too much powder, anything too clean, linen scents. She likes a good blend that doesn't emphasize one note over another, and she does like amber, tuberose, mandarin and vanillas.
Here are some of the fragrances Kathie has tried recently:
Juicy Couture (original): one of her favorites of what she tried, but it still did not smell as good as Dianoche.
Gucci Flora: way too floral.
Prada Candy: too sweet.
Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia: too fresh and clean.
Philosophy Amazing Grace: too floral and powdery.
Caroline Herrera Red: she liked this one, but not perfect.
Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom Unbreakable: she liked it; a good mix and not perfumey.
Kate Spade Twirl: nice but too orange-fruity and turned sweaty in the dry down.
Burberry The Beat: she didn't like it.
Christina Aguilera By Night: she liked it.
Lancome Midnight Rose: she thought she liked it, but then it turned too fruity.
Vertigo: she liked it but it was a little too soft.
O de Lancome: too clean.
L'Eau de Chloe: too close to Sprite / 7 Up.
Calvin Klein Euphoria: she liked it, but it's a little heavy.
What say you?
Note: top image is Boites aux lettres [cropped] by besopha at flickr; some rights reserved.
Easy, Coco Mademoiselle, Chanel Chance nor Madonna Truth or Dare.
It didn’t personally float my boat but Truth or Dare was well received and it’s tuberose with a warm/sweet base. Worth trying.
You might also like Annick Goutal Songes — it’s jasmine, not tuberose, but really lovely.
Maybe Guerlain Lys Soleia, Honore des Pres Vamp a NY, or seconding Truth or Dare.
Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia!
Yes I also thought it would be a good choice – it’s a floral but very sparkling, not heavy at all…
For a light tuberose, try Diptyque’s Do Son; very transparent and pretty and wearable.
There’s also Michael Kors, Pure Poison, and Kim Kardashian.
The Perfume & Skincare Company Gardenia is a lovely scent. Maybe Jo Malone Lime Basil & Mandarin Cologne would do the trick or L’Artisan Mandarine?
I would also suggest Atelier Cologne Ambre Nue and Vanille Insensee.
Kathie might check out the Tocca line – Colette is a spicy vanilla.sandalwood, with enough juniper and incense to stay interesting, and i beleive Cleopatra has some tuberose. Like others, I’ve heard good things about Truth or Dare as well, though i haven’t tried it (tuberose and I are not friends. Not at all…)
Unfortunately, I think my two favorrte tuberose scents may be out of her price range; although Kathie could consider ordering samples or decants of them. But, in spite of the name, I find Nuit de Tubéreuse a lovely daytime tuberose. And for an elegant night time scent, I would choose Caron Tubereuse. I haven’t sniffed Dianoche, so this is a shot in the dark.
Oh, one more — for citrus, intensive tuberose, vanilla, try Guerlain Mahora — discontinued, but you can find the minis for a song on eBay. It’s a walloping big scent, though!
I’m seconding this! When I went back and read the description of Daisy Fuentes Dianoche, the combination of notes of the two versions sounded exactly like Mahora.
It’s interesting that you call it a “big scent”, Thalia, it’s soft and pretty on me. But either way, I think Kathie might really like it.
L’Ambre des Merveilles !
For your love of tuberose you should try Truth or Dare, Estee Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia, Van Cleef and Arpels Gardenia Petale and By Kilian Beyond Love- the two latter ones are expensive and not everywhere available, consider to order decants for the joy of trying them!
Shalimar or Bulgari Black?
Both have a smoky-vanilla-rubber smell but Shalimar has a bit of citrus.
Organza Indecense may be one worth trying, too.
Hermes L’Ambre des Merveilles!
I don’t know about Truth or Dare, if she says she does not like big heavy florals? what about L’Artisan Parfumeur La Chasse Aux Papillions Extreme? I know it’s somewhat outside of the price range but it might turn out to be the right one.
Tuberose is a heavy floral, so she must like them a little bit. Maybe what was meant is a huge mix of florals? Or florals dominating too much? But in Juicy, tuberose and florals dominate. She likes safe and fruity tuberose. Mmm, Well, the one I would rec is:
Plum by Mary Greenwell. A little fruity but is mostly tuberose. Not too “heavy” but there’s a good amount of tuberose in there without weighing it down, say like Fracas does.
More votes here for Truth or Dare, ELPC Tuberose Gardenia, and the Tocca collection (all are very light.) I also think you might want to check out the original Marc Jacobs for women. It’s gardenia instead of tuberose, but it’s light and pretty. It would be more of an elegant evening scent than a nightclub scent though. If you want something a little louder for nightime, give the original scent by Kim Kardashian a try. I think it’s just called Kim Kardashian? It’s a black bottle with pink letters. It wasn’t my cup of tea because I already have the ever-powerful Fracas, but I thought it was a surprisingly good modern take on the classic.
btw, the ELPC Tuberose Gardenia may be pushing your perfume budget. I occasionally see it in TJ Maxx, usually as a gift set after Christmas.
my bad…after looking at Robin’s review of Kim Kardashian I see that the bottle looks different depending on the size. I’m pasting the link to the review so you can see the bottles and because she mentions several light and heavy Tuberose fragrances, including many recommended above.
https://nstperfume.com/2010/02/16/kim-kardashian-by-kim-kardashian-perfume-review/
Tubereuse Criminelle and Obsession.
Another vote for Michael Kors. It’s a friendly tuberose.
Do Son would be a good idea. More expensive, but also worth a try is Chanel’s Gardenia. And frankly, that scent actually reminded me about my old favorite, the much maligned Amarige – it never hurts to sample it in a department store.
I would suggest Kai (I have the rollerball oil), which is a delicious floral and not expensive.
if you can find it, I recommend prada infusion de tuberose (I found it at tj maxx). Also seconding original marc jacobs and kai. Good luck!