Today we're helping Rena, who had so much fun with the Monday Mail last year that she wants to do it again. She'd like to find a new scent that stays very close to the skin, since she is a massage therapist and doesn't want to overwhelm her customers. Her most recent acquisitions — Annick Goutal Songes, Parfums de Nicolaï Sacrebleu and Lush The Bug — are all too lush and big for work purposes. Ideally, her new perfume will cost under $125. Here is what we know about Rena:
She’s a massage therapist in her early 40s, and she is currently attending acupuncture school in New York City.
She says she is generally cheerful, optimistic, easy going and down to earth.
She loves eating out, going to bookstores and looking at art.
Rena's favorite notes are gardenia, honey, honeysuckle, galbanum, carnation, tiare, frangipani, saffron, plum, cardamom, linden, mimosa and iris but she'll consider anything except lily, including vintage scents as long as she can get samples. Her previous work scents were The Different Company Osmanthus (she is bored of it now) and The Different Company Bois d'Iris (it doesn't work now with her postmenopausal chemistry).
She can’t wear anything fresh, sharp, green or aquatic, and she doesn’t like baby or baby powder fragrances.
Here are some of the fragrances Rena has tested:
Parfumerie Generale Felanilla, Agent Provocateur Maitresse, Parfum d'Empire Equistrius and By Kilian Flower of Immortality: all of these were pretty, and were quiet after a few hours so they might work, but she has not yet tested them solo, only quickly while shopping.
Keiko Mecheri Ume: on the short list.
Kerosene Pretty Machine: perfect spring happiness; she bought a bottle.
Parfum d'Empire Azemour: the base is great but the opening is a little masculine and soapy.
LM Parfums O de Soupirs: got really big really fast and is almost impossible to get off.
Roja Dove Enslaved: gorgeous but doesn't meet her sillage or budget requirements.
Histoires de Parfums 1826: she liked the opening but it dried down to dirty hair.
Union Gothic Bluebell: gorgeous on paper but was sort of grassy for 3 hours before it got to the pretty stuff.
Ulrich Lang Lightscape: pretty and delicate but not sure how diffusive it is.
Dries van Noten par Frederic Malle: turned into an annoying explosion of musk.
Laboratorio Olfattivo Cozumel: full bottle worthy but doesn't meet sillage requirements.
What say you?
Note: top image is Postbriefkasten [cropped] by ganesha.isis at flickr; some rights reserved.
Olfactive Studio Lumiere Blanche is subtle and quiet. Top notes are cardamom, cinnamon and star anise; middle notes are iris, cashmere wood and almond; base notes are musk, sandalwood, cedar and tonka bean.
I would suggest trying Van Cleef & Arpels Bois d’Iris and Carner Barcelona D600 for magnificent iris perfumes that are more subtle and stay close to the skin.
Annick Goutal Le Chevrefeuille is great honeysucke but it disappears very quickly and needs to be reapplied during the day course
I would suggest that Rena consider body oils and/or solid perfumes which tend to stay closer to the skin as opposed to standard perfumes for her day job.
KAI, a gardenia scent that explodes from my skin (i.e., has pronounced sillage) in the perfume form, but is a nice quiet scent as a spray body oil.
Hadn’t thought about different forms. I’ve tried Kai and thought it way too big too be work appropriate but I. Didn’t try the form you recommend
Dilana beat me to it. I sometimes work in a small room where I am nearly shoulder to shoulder with my coworkers. That’s when I use oils or solid perfumes. In that way I can continue to wear my favorite heavier notes without overwhelming people.
Iris – L’Artisan Mon Numero 8. A beautiful, subtle scent that stays close to the skin – it is ‘clean’ smelling, but with a slight mushroomy darkness that gives it an interesting edge. Certainly wouldn’t interfere with treatments.
Gardenia – Champaca by Ormonde Jayne. OK, it’s a champaca and not a gardenia! But it is a white, creamy floral with basmati rice and myrrh and green tea and bamboo – meditative, skin-close, not invasive to those nearby and stunningly unusual.
I second the recommendation of Goutal’s Chèvrefeuille. Some other Goutals you might wish to try are: La Violette, Le Jasmin, Eau du Viel and Un Matin d’Orage.
Histoires de Parfums 1876 and 1725 might be more to your liking than the 1826 you tried.
Dior Homme is a good gourmand iris and a persistent but not too intrusive fragrance.
I second the recommendation of Lumière Blanche. Have you ever tried Prada’s Infusion d’Iris?
I second the recommendation of oil or solid perfumes, as the ones I have tried tend to hover close to the skin–strong enough for me to enjoy but not so much as to overpower everyone in the room.
I am very fond of Sonoma Scent Studio; she has a new line of all-natural fragrances (Cocoa Sandalwood and Spiced Citrus Vetiver are the first two releases) that are quite subtle and lovely. My favorite scents by this perfumer are Jour Ensoleille (beautiful soft white floral), Rose Volupte (incredible, unique plummy spicy rose–no powder!), and Fig Tree (creamy fresh green woodsy fig). There are many others on the site worth checking out!
Second Champaca. Cozy and loving. It should have been on my “to buy” list before Woman.
Chrisskins, that was my first love and my first purchase from OJ. It’s gorgeous.
I was recently given a sample of AMANDA LACEY ARIA DI COLLINA PERFUME. You can get it at Shen Beauty in Brooklyn or on their website if you can’t get to the shop.
It’s a light iris scent that has an airy spiciness to it but fresh too. Very much a day time kind of scent and would not overwhelm your clients.
And, also for a natural gardenia scent, I am suggesting Fleur Blanche by Ajne. You can order a sample from her online site.
Have fun sampling with all the lovely suggestions you have gotten so far.
~Dawn
Un Matin d’Orage, Annick Goutal
and Beige Chanel.
Lalique Flora Bella, sadly discontinued but available online, might be a good one to try. It is a gentle tropical floral with a cozy rice pudding background wit a bit of spice. It has polite sillage.
All-natural fragrance lines might be worth a look, if you haven’t tried them already, like Aftelier, Roxana Illuminated, Providence Perfume Co., Ayala Moriel, etc. Natural scents tend to wear reasonably close to the skin since the materials don’t have any synthetic “assistance”, and it seems like using natural materials would be a good fit with your work.
I also second the SSS Cocoa Sandalwood. I’ve tried that one and I really liked it. It’s not too sweet.
Since you liked Keiko Mercheri ( and do keep exploring; her line is lovely) I think you might also like Yosh Han’s fragrances ( My favorites of hers are Sotille and White Flowers.)
Any particular Keiko Mecheri scents that you would recommend? It’s an awfully big line…
How about Miller Harris Couer d’Ete? It was made to be worn by a pregnant woman so it’s supposedly good for close quarters, sensitive noses.
Also seconding Lumiere Blanche. It might be perfect for what you’re looking for.
CDG Like This might fit her needs.
First thing that came to mind was Osmanthus DC- lucky customers you have! If this can’t be I’ll recommend you:
Ormond Jayne Frangipani
Chanel 28 La Pausa
and Bottega Veneta in Eau Legere
For Gardenia must try Estee Lauder PC Tuberose Gardenia but although it smells clean might be a bit much for the kind of work you are doing.
L’Artisan Mimosa Pour Moi for mimosa, D’Orsay Tilleul for linden. Both are lovely and fairly light.
Chanel Beige
I agree with the recommendations for Un Matin d’Orage, Annick Goutal. I just bought a bottle based on recommendations for Gardenia, it doesn’t actually smell like Gardenia to me but it is a lovely soft springtime garden scent.
I second the Goutal recommendations and would add Chanel 1932 – it’s soft, light, floral and very pleasant. I’ve worn it to groups meetings in close quarters and had no problems.
You might consider adding a squirt or two of your favorite perfume to an unscented body lotion. Then you have a thin veil of diffused fragrance versus a huge concentration around your head and upper body. Just mix the two in the palm of your hand and give it a go. I love Providence Perfumes. Charna is lovely and now has a store front in Providence, Rhode Island. My Mother and I had the great pleasure of making a pilgrimage to her store and spending several hours with her. If you live anywhere near Rhode Island, I would encourage you to go. I applied Moss Gown at 6:00 am and I can still smell it on my arms. That is considerable staying power for a natural perfume!
I would suggest the dry oil version of L’Artisan’s Premier Figuier for a lovely and close-to-the-skin fig fragrance.
Gosh, so many scents fall into the “close to skin” category (for better of for worse!).
I think:
-Prada Infusion ‘d iris
-Lady Caron
-Chanel Beige
-Annick Goutal Le Mimosa