Our “Recommend Me a Perfume” thread is open this week. You can use this space to find perfume recommendations, to share your discoveries and favorite scents, and to ask any questions about scents, aromas and flavors. Or you can just tell us what perfume you are wearing.
How does it work: 1. Please post your requests or questions as comments here. You can also use this space to ask any fragrance related questions. To receive recommendations that are better tailored to your tastes, you can include details on what you like and don’t like, your signature perfumes, and your budget. And please let us know what you end up sampling. 2. Then please check the thread to see if there are other requests you can answer. Your responses are really valuable for navigating the big and sometimes confusing world of perfume, so let’s help each other!
To make this thread easier to read, when you reply to someone, please click on the blue “reply” link under their comment.
Photography by Bois de Jasmin
43 Comments
Gayle Gorman: I have been loving for years “Antonia’s Flowers”
but since it’s no longer available ai have not found anything close.I loved the light airy scent of freesia.
Any suggestions? August 26, 2024 at 9:10am
Robin Gibbs: I hope someone has a suggestion. I have written about this previously but it doesn’t appear that there is anything close.
I loved that fragrance… so beautiful. August 26, 2024 at 9:17am
Christina: This formulation has freesia as a main note:
https://nantucketperfumes.com/products/antionias-flowers-pure-fragrance
Ask them for a sample. August 26, 2024 at 10:00am
Margie Walsh: I asked the same question a couple of years ago. Someone suggested this oil, which I bought. It does smell very similar to Antonia’s Flowers but the scent doesn’t last very long, at least on me. But it’s worth trying and will take you back to the time in your life when you wore AF!
https://scentsbythebay.com/product/antonias-flowers/#comment-8131 August 26, 2024 at 10:53am
Gayle Gorman: Before Antonia’s Flowers I was using
Chloe by Lagerfeld which I still use in the winter
but am looking for that special light and airy
Freesia scent.
Any suggestions at all? August 26, 2024 at 9:24am
Sami Ulhaq: @Gayle Jo Malone English Pear & Freesia is a fresh fruity cologne just give it a try. I hope it fills the missing space that you are looking for. August 26, 2024 at 10:02am
Gayle Gorman: I tried it and did not like the scent which disappeared in 1/2 hour. August 26, 2024 at 11:16am
Sami Ulhaq: I agree with that bcz it is a cologne. and I personally think that colognes are more like to carry in your bag and wear it whenever you are getting out of your car :D. August 28, 2024 at 7:26am
Gayle Gorman: Before Antonia’s Flowers I was using
Chloe by Lagerfeld which I still use in the winter.However,this scent is only available on Ebay and is very expensive.
Has anyone heard of something that really stands out? August 26, 2024 at 9:27am
Annabel: I have been in love with Le Labo Bergamote 22 for years (for Australian summer). I can’t afford it wondering what else smells as … amazing. August 26, 2024 at 9:55am
Aurora: Hi Annabel: Do you know Parfums de Nicolaï? Her l’Eau Mixte might suit you, it has the Bergamot, grapefruit and vetiver of Le Labo Bergamote or even Cap Neroli, I find them perfect for summer. August 28, 2024 at 8:58am
Beth Temple: I am looking for a gardenia plerfume that has good sillage. I have been using Goutal Gardenia Passion, which is lovely but not at all long-lasting. I would love some suggestions! August 26, 2024 at 10:54am
Gayle Gorman: Have you tried”Kai”?
A light gardenia fragrance.Used with their oil the fragrance intensifies. August 26, 2024 at 11:18am
Gayle Gorman: Have you tried”Kai”?
The spray with the oil intensifies the scent. August 26, 2024 at 11:20am
AndreaR: Perhaps Annick Goutal’s Une Matin d’Orage? August 26, 2024 at 2:15pm
Aurora: Hi Beth: Seconding Un Matin d’orage. Try both the EDP and EDT, they are different. I have the EDT because I didn’t want the tuberose of the EDP but as gardenia passion is a tuberose-forward perfume you might favor the EDP. August 27, 2024 at 5:01am
Sebastian: Un Bel Amour d’Été (wonderful name for a perfume!) has a very pronounced gardenia note. It’s vintagey, creamy, and big. It just came out this year, a new perfume for his own brand Parfum d’Empire by M. Corticchiato. August 29, 2024 at 2:19pm
aire: Santa Maria Novella Fresia?
I remember Antonia’s Flowers – even owned it, but it didn’t wear well on me. A bright floral bouquet that didn’t evolve much.
IMO, Houbigant has some of the best floral bouquets. Along with Quelque Fleur L’Original, there is Jardin Secret, a light woodsy floral, and something “Royale”, that one might have a touch of vanilla. They have an excellent, heady orange blossom. The scents are present, but not overpowering and come in many concentrations: edp, privee, and parfum. Such an underrated perfume house that gets elbowed out of the way by the flash-in-the-pan weird, confused, niche manufacturers that clutter shelves and cyberspace.
Anyway, I would sample the SMN and a couple of the Houbigants. Also, Fiori di Capri by the Carthusia line is a nice, airy floral, albeit a touch soapy and old-fashioned, but it’s beautiful. Not as high-pitched as AF.
Please let us know what you choose! August 26, 2024 at 11:42am
Cathy Ashton: Love this site, thank-you! Does anyone know of a non-screechy scent combining carnation and ginger? August 26, 2024 at 1:20pm
Aurora: Hello Cathy: Etro Dianthus has these two notes, I have it and don’t find it screechy at all, there is a new Floris perfume Wilde with these two notes too, from what I see on Fragrantica but I haven’t tried it. August 27, 2024 at 5:14am
Jenni Swain: I’m looking and smelling for a *lily* forward perfume to replace my Edouard Fléchier – Lys Mediterranee, sold under Frederic Malle. I simply can’t afford at this time in my life.
It reminds me of the south of France around Cap d’Antibes and Juan les Pins in the early 80s when I was a young women. I discovered the perfume 20 years ago as it brought back such lovely memories. I like long lasting and strong sillage. I love sea and salt notes. Something that sparkles. Not interested in a churchy lyse unless there’s a magical one with sandalwood.
Under $200 preferred. Merci tout! August 26, 2024 at 2:01pm
Aurora: Hi Jenni: LM is beautiful indeed, I have a sample. For a lovely lily there is also Pierre Guillaume Louanges Profanes, do you know it? You might try a sample. It is complex, does have incense but I don’t find it churchy, it’s essentially a floral, the base is a little sweet and a little powdery. It is well within your budget. August 27, 2024 at 4:56am
Sebastian: Oh, that’s a challenging question. I believe that you won’t find anythig similar to LM. It was unique at its time, and the style is long gone. So you will have to be ready to replace it with something entirely different.
I love Louanges Profanes recommended by Aurora. However, the last thing that could be said about it is that it sparkles. It also contains a heavy overdose of p-Anisaldehyde. (The same powdery stuff that is in Apres l’Ondee and Eau d’Hiver and resembles hawthorn or mimosa.)
Some of the melancholy and aloofness of LM is indeed captured by Apres l’Ondee, but that is no more affordable.
Fathom V definitely sparkles. It is green, there is some noticeable lily in it, and there are watery effects. So far so good. But it would be stretching things to say that it were lily-centered, and it is very wild in a stormy way that I don’t associate with Juan les Pines. I really love that one, too!
Tuscan Creations – Rinascimento (Ferragamo) offers a pretty tuberose-lily-green combination with some creaminess and moderate sweetness. Basil is also good. The tuberose is clean and unmistakably dominant over the lily. A bit overpowering at first if you have your nose close to your wrist, but the scent is nice. Later, it turns pleasantly spicy. After 4 hours I smelled lots of ambroxan in a nice way with some green-woody vetiver. Elegantly balanced with iris butter, which definitely has a refined effect.
Do tell us when you have chosen a perfume! August 29, 2024 at 2:56pm
Jenni Taylor Swain: Thanks for your thoughtful response and suggestions. I’ll keep exploring and let you know what I might settle on. Sounds like I have my work cut out for me. May need to take a small job or pull from retirement and just buy LM! September 8, 2024 at 8:26pm
Sara: I’m going to ask for the impossible: a jasmin sambac fragrance that’s true to the real thing. I do not enjoy the tart facets of jasmine I can smell in A La Nuit, nor in Madagascan Jasmine by Grandiflora, nor even in Tom Ford’s Jasmin Rouge. I used to wear Lush by Lust a long time ago, but it’s just too ridiculous for me now. Rogue Perfumery’s jasmine scent is too animalic for me, very overtly so. I enjoy Amouage Ashore a lot, but I find it a little bit too icy cold. While I love other white florals, I want my jasmine unadulterated by tuberose and such. Gucci Bloom is beautiful but it’s a tuberose to my nose. Sarrasins is too tart. Is there anybody out there like me, who has an idea of what I’m looking for? August 27, 2024 at 10:12am
Zuzanna Byczek: Perris Monte Carlo Jasmin de Pays August 28, 2024 at 12:21pm
Hilde: Hi Sara,
Zuzanna Byczek recommends You Perris Monte Carlo Jasmin de Pays. But I don’t like it just because it is so animalic to my taste. So I wonder if You will like it.
Maybe Bangla Yāsaman from Isabelle Larignon could be a good option for You. August 29, 2024 at 7:26am
Zuzanna: For me JdP it’s very light and fresh 😀 August 29, 2024 at 10:08am
Sebastian: Nicolas de Barry offers two jasmin soliflores, in both of which the jasmin is combined with citric notes: one jasmin sambac from China, which is lighter, and a jasmin grandiflorum from India. Exceptional stuff, but very expensive. August 29, 2024 at 6:53pm
MaryAnn Hardy: I would swoon if I could find a fragrance which captures CARNATION. I’ve been unsuccessful, and it’s even increasingly hard to find CARNATION in a fragrance oil (simulated scent). I love it for winter’s grey days. Any ideas? August 27, 2024 at 5:49pm
Hamamelis: Hiram Green Philtre, built around carnation flower absolute. Gorgeous. August 28, 2024 at 4:50am
Sylvia: These are my favourite carnation fragrances (the ones that aren’t discontinued). Benay you like one of them. Vitriol d’oeillet by Serge Lutens, Philte by Hiram Green, Tabac Vert by Rogue Perfumery, L’oeillet by Angelos Creations Olfactives, Fleuriste by DSH, OeilletsRouges by DSH, Souvenir de Malmaison by DSH. August 28, 2024 at 11:32am
Sylvia: Benay should be maybe, I don’t know what happened there. August 28, 2024 at 11:33am
Sebastian: I second Fleuriste! Philtre to my nose has way too much clove, drowning the carnation. In contrast to Philtre, I do like the violet-carnation combination in Hiram Green’s Vivacious. The violet is dominant, though. By the way, this scent is being phased out of the collection.
Djélem (SuléKó) combines immortelle with carnation. Wonderfully warm, no curry.
If you like carnation, have you tested Égoïste? That I would consider essential. The combination of carnation, cinnamon, and sandalwood is just great. The current formulation is excellent. August 29, 2024 at 6:22pm
Zuzanna: Oriza L. Legrand Oeillet Loius XV (rather powdery) and Royal Oeillet (spicier) August 28, 2024 at 12:26pm
Hilde: Hi MaryAnn
Me too I love carnation fragrances an I agree with You that it is hard to find perfumes in which carnation is the star.
Years ago I adored Guy Laroche Fidji, but it isn’t recognizable anymore. The recent Nina Ricci L’Air du Temps is better in my opinion than Fidji nowadays.
I also love Ombre Bleue from Jean Charles Brosseau, but I am talking of the early 2000’s version. I don’t know how it smells nowadays. And this is more a perfume for spring I think.
But one perfume where the spicy carnation stands out the most is – as Suzanna recommends – Royal Oeillet Oriza from L. Legrand. And because it is so terribly spicy it is ideal for winter. I very much recommend it to You. August 29, 2024 at 7:39am
Nina Z: It’s very interesting how frequently this question about carnation fragrances comes up! Most of my favorite carnation fragrances have been discontinued. One that I do like that hasn’t been mentioned is Prada’s Infusion d’Oeillet. I like Prada’s old No. 2 Oeillet better if you can find it (it’s around on eBay but discontinued) I also like the previously mentioned DSH Fleuriste, which is a green carnation. DSH has a lot of different carnation fragrances (Dawn seems to love carnation) and it is possible to order a sample set of them. August 29, 2024 at 1:03pm
Nina Zolotow: By the way, the Oeillet soap from Oriza L. Legrand is wonderful! Put it in your drawers! Use it in the shower! I order several at a time. August 29, 2024 at 2:25pm
Rebecca: Have you tried the classic L’Air du Temps, by Nina Ricci? It has a lovely carnation note…. September 11, 2024 at 9:35pm
Maura: More a question than a request for a recommendation, but has Tubereuse Criminelle by Serge Lutens been discontinued?
If it has been discontinued (sigh!), would any of you lovely commenters have suggestions for an interesting contemporary tuberose perfume? August 28, 2024 at 5:45am
Anu: Hi Maura, I find Rogue perfumery’s “Champs de Lunaires” does not have the camphor top note but the rest is quite similar to SL Tubereuse Criminelle. Hope this helps. August 28, 2024 at 10:28am
Sebastian: One cannot be sure, but I do not believe it has been officially discontinued, but is temporarily unavailable. elysees-parfums.fr still seem to have bottles in stock. August 29, 2024 at 6:31pm
Jenni Taylor Swain: Thanks! September 8, 2024 at 8:21pm