general perfume articles: 94 posts

I have a new article in The Financial Times “How to Spend It” Magazine. In A Heady and Refined Scent for Winter, I talk about some of my favorite gardenia scents. The opulent and complex scent of gardenias has been on my mind a lot lately.  If I had more space, I would have included Estée Lauder Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia, By Kilian Water Calligraphy, Parfums de Nicolai Juste Un Rêve (a gardenia kissed tropical bouquet), and of course, Tom Ford Velvet Gardenia (alas, discontinued).

Gardenia is a flower with diverse connotations, from sultry to innocent. The jazz singer Billie Holiday famously tucked a white gardenia in her hair; 19th Shanghai courtesans used its seeds to colour their undergarments a vibrant yellow; and in the Victorian language of flowers, gardenia symbolised purity and refinement. Its scent is heady and lush, marrying the seductive warmth of jasmine with the sweetness of peach and coconut. A single blossom is enough to perfume a room for hours with a fragrance that reminds me of a summer evening. But with winter approaching, it will be months before I can find fresh gardenias, and instead  I look for them in a perfume bottle. To read the rest, click here.

Do you have favorite gardenia fragrances?

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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The November issue of UK’s popular women’s magazine, Red Magazine (Hearst), features my article “The Fragrance Wardrobe” (p. 206-212) on how I went from a single signature perfume to a wardrobe of scents. I also explain why I find fragrance as rewarding and stimulating as music and art, and how to create your own perfume wardrobe. It is available on newsstands now. Red Magazine’s November issue is autumn inspired and includes interesting articles on managing stress, creating healthy meals, picking the ideal skincare and more.

Here is a peak inside the magazine, as well as into my current fall perfume wardrobe.

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