I forgot to pack my perfume bottles to Jakarta so I go around town without a scent and I feel naked. It has been months since I last went out with a scent in Jakarta and this time, I promise myself to splurge on perfumes when I go DFS shopping. I think it is important to have a scent. It's like an identity and nothing beats walking past someone and leaving a faint, lovely whiff of my scent. In Jakarta, most girls smell nice and I am jealous that when I walk past them, I smell sterile!
Yes and if you were thinking, I AM too cheap to splurge at normal department stores there to get myself a perfume. As long as my husband don't complain, I am gonna wait it out to slurge at DFS. Haha.
What I am gonna get myself this time:
A Gucci Miniature Perfume set (Flora by Gucci and Gucci by Gucci). I still wish it was cheaper considering these are only 5ml bottles. But I went weak in my knees when they mixed my 2 favourite Gucci perfumes into one set! Sheer genius!
And since I'm already here, I must as well include a timeline of the perfumes I'd used.
My first ever perfume at 17 years old: Tommy Hilfiger's Tommy Girl. It's fresh and sporty and clean! Loved it alot and wore it to school often. Works well as a room fragrance too. Haha!!
At 21 years old, I was given Givenchy's Insense Ultramarine by my dad. It was a men's perfume and I was puzzled why he would give it to me than my brother. I used it for about 6 months because I was in a strange 'tomboy' phase. I thought it was cool to wear male fragrance then (I mean, there is still nothing wrong to it) and so I did. But I liked the scent; it was crisp, clean and refreshing.
Then I went back to using Tommy Girl until I found Elizabeth Arden's Provocative Woman around the age of 23years. I loved it too. It was feminine, very sweet and I loved the name. Provocative Woman? Rawr~~!! But when I smell it now, I get a headache because it is annoyingly sweet. I guess it is no longer age appropriate.
Next, I discovered DKNY's Apple. I really liked this one and used about 3 bottles. A first for me because even a 50ml bottle lasts a long time for me. I love how fresh, crisp and sweet this was. It wasn't as sweet as Provocative Woman so it's great for everyday wear. I think I used this for about 2 years.
Then I met my ex at 26 who gave me Penhaligon's Lily of the Valley. I was SOLD. This is MY scent. Although my ex was ugly, he had great taste in the finer things in Life. Haha. I loved how much effort he put in before he buys me perfume everytime. When we broke up, he bought me a room fragrance from Shanghai Tang. When I received it, I knew it was over. Haha. It's funny to think back on it but hey, at least he was consistent giving fragrances as presents.
This is sold in Singapore now but at triple the price listed in pounds. >.<
When Penhaligon's ran out, I was devastated because it wasn't sold in Singapore then. Fortunately I found an alternative in Crabtree & Evelyn's version. I use it until today and I got many compliments from it (especially from men). It is my default go-to scent. It smells like a lovely field of flowers in a pretty and charming English village. In Singapore, I use it everyday. A very romantic scent.
At 27, I bought myself Bvlgari's Rose Essentialle and Christian Dior's Ja'dore. The former is powerful and classy while the latter is feminine and classy. I love the smell of flowers in perfumes. I use these more for night-time but really, it all depends on my mood.
I think you can see a pattern here, I am not loyal to brands. I love trying out different brands and every 2 years I get a huge itch to try a scent that is stronger. The only consistency here is that I love florals and I don't like Chanel's fragrances for women (HEADACHE!!!). So here I am, itching to try Gucci's new scents!
Have you found your defining scent yet?
4 comments:
Helloo,
I love fragrances. Yes,it is fascinating how we change our perfumes as we grow older. Different stage of life, I suppose.
I started out with Hugo Boss Woman when I was 20 years old, then moved on to Ralph Lauren's Ralph. In between I tried out Body Shop's White Musk eau de toilette, Strawberry Body Oil, Vanilla Body Oil and eventually, I used Sarah Jessica Parker's NYC (combo of strawberry and gardenia scents).
Now, approaching 30 years old, I've settled with L'Occitane's Cherry Blossom Eau De Toilette. Sometimes I mix the scents and use the Rose and Lavender range as well. Hohohoho... I'm so fickle. I'm still looking for my perfume identity. I found the branded perfumes too heady. I'm quite happy with L'Occitane's range of scents though it's a little light and fades quickly.
I've tried Crabtree & Evelyn's Lily of the Valley Roll-on perfume stick but it didn't marry with my body chemistry. It's a beautiful vintage scent but I smelt like a premature nanna.
I've got a colleague who wears Channel NO. 5, a memorable classic. For some odd reason, she smells a world of difference from what you sniff from the bottle. She leaves a waft of flowers and berries wherever she goes.
I guess it all depends which scent mixes well your own natural body scent?
Thank you!
I know huh? I absolutely adore fragrances. Even when a lady is dressed now, a spritz of fragrance works wonders.
Like Chanel No.5, CK's Euphoria is a difficult perfume to work with too. Different body chemistries obtain different results. I'd approached 2 girls out of the blue before and coincidentally, both were wearing Euphoria. When I wear it, I think I got lots more personal space lol.
L'Occitane has some very nice ones. I really like one from the Rose series. I can't remember the name but I remember it has the word 'nuit' in it. Night version perhaps!
Thanks for sharing! Yes, I do realised that as we grow older, we just want a light scent which can carry us throughout the day. A scent that is only detected when people come close enough. I think that is so much sexier.
No worries. Thank you for your reply too. ^__^ I'm so happy to find someone else who adores and appreciates fragrances, just like I do. I've thoroughly enjoyed reading your entries.
I believe that it's the person who carries off the scent. It's great that you've found 'lily of the valley' as your signature scent.
I can only imagine you bringing out the spirit of the scent when you wear it. Apparently this flower means return of happiness, purity of heart, sweetness, tears of the Virgin Mary, you've made my life complete, humility, happiness, and love's good fortune. The legend of the lily of the valley is that it sprang from Eve's tears when she was kicked out of the Garden of Eden. It is also believed that this flower protects gardens from evil spirits. (Info from About.com)
Coincidentally, it is also known as the flower of May (as in the month).
Your writing and thoughts for each entry reflect this flower definition beautifully.
Hopefully, the people we meet will love and remember us the way we are, which is documented in the scent we embraced them with.
Warmest Wishes,
"Anonymous" First Comentator
What a coincidence! I've been thinking about fragrances lately! I've been wanting to get Daisy by Marc Jacobs and I forgot to get it at the DFS. Bleh. I love the light and floral scent!
I've always used Happy from Clinique but in the last couple of years I've started to get tired of the prickly smell in my nose. I'm not sure you know what I mean, but it just doesn't make me want to sniff myself and go "Ah, I smell so nice" anymore. Instead, I go "That hurts my nose". Haha. But what made me first love Happy was the name of it (haha! i know!) and its citrus smell.
Right now I'm using the Green Tea Eau de Toilette from l'occitane. It's very light and it makes me feel really really fresh. I've been told it's a very ungirly scent but it makes me feel good, so I guess at least it works for me. Haha.
So yeh, next stop maybe Marc Jacobs :)
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