Perfume 101: 517 posts

December 6th is celebrated as Saint Nicholas or Sinterklaas Day in Belgium and the Netherlands, and this holiday kicks off the winter festivities. In the olden days, children used to receive gifts on this day, rather than Christmas Eve, and according to legend, if children had been naughty, one of the Sinterklaas’s helpers would stuff them in a sack and take them to Spain. Apparently, Sinterklaas spends most of his time in Spain, with only a brief visit to the northern lands. As I  look at the grey skies outside, the idea of a Spanish sojourn doesn’t sound all that bad. On the other hand, the glittering decorations in the streets of Brussels are so beautiful that I’m willing to put up with some rain and snow.

In the spirit of the holidays, I will play Santa Claus today and bring you some gift ideas.  (I’m sorry to say that even if you have been very naughty this year, I can’t whisk you away to Spain.) I already shared with you the perfume sets that caught my eye. Today, inspired by the impressive array of holiday gifts at the stores in Brussels, I want to talk about  other treats that feel special and luxurious, either because of their scents or colors.  I’ve enjoyed using these products myself, so I recommend them without reservation.

Belgian Eggwhite Soap

Belgian Eggwhite Soap is produced with pure eggwhite, chamomile, and lecithin. While it’s intended for use on your face, I prefer to use it on my body, since it leaves my skin silky and moisturized. Eggwhite soap has a delicate chamomile scent, and it lathers into a whipped cream like softness. 6 x 53 g soaps ($19), a single 53 g soap ($5). Available at Beautyhabit. Continue reading →

When I was growing up in Ukraine, I don’t remember hearing women discuss perfume brands. They would simply refer to high-quality perfume as “French perfume,” and these two words conveyed all of the glamour, beauty and elegance that one sought inside a crystal bottle.  Even today, after having smelled no shortage of boring and uninspired French perfume, I still feel the allure of these words. Naturally, I’m curious as to what French women themselves wear.

The ranking is based on my calculations of published marketing data so please be kind enough to site the source if you choose to republish the information.

Top Selling Perfumes USA : Popular Fragrances Spring 2012

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances 2011 USA

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances for 2010 USA

Top Selling Feminine Fragrances for 2010 France

Top Selling Masculine Fragrances 2010 USA

And they wear plenty of scent–Paris metro is filled with a melange of perfume, which on occasion can be less than pleasant. On a recent trip, I took an anthropological approach and jotted down a few notes when I recognized a particular fragrance. My notebook was filled with mentions of Coco Mademoiselle, Angel, Miss Dior Chérie, and most surprisingly, Hypnotic Poison. I even smelled Viktor & Rolf Spicebomb on a girl dressed up as a fairy, complete with sparkles on her face and stars in her hair (and a classical Burberry trench).

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Part 1: Florals ~ Rose
Part 2: Florals ~ Jasmine and White Florals
Part 3: Florals ~ Lily of the Valley and Violet
Part 4: Florals ~ Blends
Part 5: Essentials
Part 6 : Orientals

Autumn is the time of year when I reach for woods fragrances from my collection, hoping to recall memories of crisp leaves, curls of wood smoke, and the bracing green of pine. Woods fragrances may include sandalwood, cedar, oak, pine, and cypress (plus more), and also include for classification’s sake patchouli and vetiver.  Some woods fragrances smell like the outdoors, while others smell like an antique treasure chest and still more use wood as a basenote, skipping the ambient quality and using wood as a background support.

Wood notes are used in both male and female fragrances and may be interpreted differently.  In male fragrances, woods can suggest rugged masculinity (Coty Wild Woods) or they can be smoothed over with elegance (Chanel Égoïste).  A large amount of sandalwood in Samsara enhances the seductive nature of this Guerlain classic.  I enjoy the dryness and sharpness that wood notes can bring to fragrances, and their combination of elegance and sensuality.

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I have a friend who will not wear rose fragrances.  They remind her of her grandmother, and this opinion is one often echoed through perfume discussions.  But ask a rose lover for his or her favorite rose fragrances and the discussion opens up to a world scented by roses—reds, pinks, yellows, and whites; Rosa damascena (damask) and Rosa centafolia (cabbage); Bulgarian, Moroccan, Iranian, Turkish; soliflores or blends; attar of roses or rose absolute; the most realistic, the ultimate rose…

Most rose lovers agree that there is no such thing as the ultimate rose; as is true with the flower itself there are simply too many perfume variations to ever settle upon just one.  From creamy to clear, from spicy to green, rose fragrances are as simple or as complex as can be imagined.  Some settle on the skin as if one is wearing a bouquet, while others announce their presences in operatic registers.  Still more are dark and earthy and others smell rained upon.

While for me nothing approaches the experience of the scent of the bloom on its thorny stem, I wear rose fragrances more than any other.  Here are some of my favorites:

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I sometimes receive comments from people who want to learn more about scents, but are afraid that this hobby is too expensive for them. How could you try all of the fragrances you read about without ending up broke? As with most interests, a perfume hobby can be as expensive or as budget conscious as you want. When I was a student living on a meager stipend, spending even $20 on something non-essential required  major planning. Today, given my family responsibilities, I need to think twice before every perfume purchase, so I’m still very budget conscious.

But the truth is that the joy of discovering perfume is not in amassing dozens of bottles on your dressing table; it’s in smelling and experiencing the pleasure of scents. For this you need not spend a cent.  If you are trying to manage your perfume hobby, let me share a few tips that have helped me learn about scents, understand my perfume tastes and keep within budget.

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