Today we’re helping Carolyn, who wants to find a new perfume — she says she keeps thinking there’s some vintage gem out there that she hasn’t discovered that will evoke an eccentric woman covered in glittering jewels, sitting by the ocean, in the sun. Carolyn just bought Jour d’Hermès and wishes she could find her dark, mysterious, bad-ass sister. She can pay up to $300 if she’s sufficiently obsessed, and she has excellent access to perfume stores. Here is what we know about Carolyn:

She’s in her mid 40s, is Cuban-Dutch-Lebanese and lives in Miami.

She is semi-retired and manages a high-end consignment boutique.

She says she has tan skin, blue eyes and a lion’s mane. She describes her style as St. Tropez rich hippie meets Tom Ford 70s Disco vixen meets nerd.

Carolyn loves Hermès 24 Faubourg, Narciso Rodriguez for Her, Guerlain Mitsouko, Eau de Sisley, Nikki de St. Phalle and pure patchouli oils (the dirtier and more hippie B.O.-smelling the better) to mix…

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Today we’re helping Helen, who wears perfume every day and prefers to have a signature scent. Her problem: her current signature is Calvin Klein Truth, and it’s been discontinued. She wants our help to find a replacement. She’d love to find another fragrance that isn’t worn by everyone, and that will work for day or evening. Here is what we know about Helen:

She’s in her early 40s and lives on the East Kent coast in the UK.

She’s a graphic designer, and loves all things style, from food to interiors and everything in between — but she’s not a super stylish, scarily cool, judgmental creative type, in fact she prefers to be low key. She’s more of a grey marl cashmere crew neck kind of girl than a latest designer t-shirt type…

She’s a brunette, and feels that impacts her perfume choice — she likes darker scents, nothing too light and shiny.

Some of Helen’s pre-Truth perfume choices have included Lancome Poeme, Jean Paul Gaultier Classique, Stella McCartney Stella…

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Today we’re helping Sophie, who says she is new to the fragrance scene, but picky and disinterested in many popular fragrances. She wants to find an everyday scent that is not out of place most of the year in Australia, where the weather is quite mild. She can pay up to $150-ish and is happy to shop online. Here is what we know about Sophie:

She’s in her late 20s, and is studying for her PhD.

She says she is quite introverted but doesn’t take anything too seriously.

She likes to try new things and being herself, an individual, is important.

She also loves to be outdoors, whether it’s hiking, cycling or skiing.

Sophie likes patchouli, iris, vanilla, citrus (particularly bergamot), woods (particularly sandalwood) and lighter florals. Sophie’s favorite perfume is Guerlain Shalimar Ode a la Vanille sur la Route de Madagascar…

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Today we’re helping Lucia, who says she has worn perfume all her life but is a relative newbie to more serious exploration — her mother only wore Guerlain so that is where she started, and she has only recently begun to branch out. She’d like to know what is out there beyond mainstream fragrances, and her immediate goal is a signature scent for spring and summer. Here is what we know about Lucia:

She’s in her late 20’s and lives in the northeast US.

She says she is a driven and outgoing person when it comes to work, but tends to spend her down time with only a few close friends or a good book.

She likes almost every kind of music and loves to dance; she regularly goes to the ballet (and to ballet class).

Her wardrobe vacillates between classic/tailored and flowy bohemian.

Lucia isn’t sure what notes she likes, but her ideal warm weather perfume would be green and fresh to start — but not too citrusy — then settle into a wistful, old fashioned floral (but not too sweet and still greenish) with a deep woodsy base…

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