Today's subject is Peggy, who is looking for a casual office fragrance. She'd like to keep the expense below $100, but she might go higher for something absolutely perfect. Here is what we know about Peggy:
She's in her late 30s. She says she works in television but never watches it.
She loves books, and is also a semi-professional musician and visual artist.
Peggy says she can be a workaholic, but she also has a strong navel-gazing bohemian bent. She's quiet, and although she has handful of close friends, she says she can easily and happily drift into hermitage.
Peggy loves cedar, the ocean, rose, bergamot, tea, spice, gasoline, fall leaves, incense, smoke, rose, and exotic, unusual-smelling things. Some of Peggy's past favorites include Givenchy Organza (too heavy for day wear), Lancome Tresor (too heavily floral), and Lush Karma (too hippie for day wear). In the early 90s, she wore a drugstore scent (now discontinued) called Naturistics Sea Splash, and she says about five people a day would ask her were she got it. She also owns L de Lolita Lempicka, but it is a bit too sour on her.
Peggy dislikes licorice notes and "too much of a flowery smell", but she does like rose. Some of the fragrances Peggy has tried and disliked include Chanel No. 5 (too heavy), Thierry Mugler Angel (too overbearing), and The Body Shop White Musk (she'd like to find a more grown-up, complex fragrance).
What say you?
Note: image is you've got mail. [cropped] by e³°°° at flickr; some rights reserved.
Incense, rose, smoke, cedar… oh, that spells Paestum Rose to me!
And another beautiful, but very different, rose scent which would not be too heavy for the office is Andy Tauer’s Une Rose Chyprée.
I’m sure more things will pop into mind as the day wears on…
Une Rose Chypree is gorgeous, the first thing that came to my mind when I read rose and incense. I haven’t sampled Tauer’s Incense Rose though.
Hi, Peggy! By total coincidence I’m trying Tauer’s Incense Rose this morning, and have to second the recommendation; it has the right notes (incense, rose, bergamot), although you may find it a bit heavy. Do try, though. Also try Idole by Lubin; that strikes me as fairly exotic, spicy with a “smoked ebony” note. I wonder if Black Cashmere would also interest you, as well as Fireside by Sonoma Scent Studio. Good luck!
Actually, SSS has a few scents with some spicy, resinous or smoky notes that you migh like: Sienna Musk, Winter Woods, and Fireside Intense.
Mmmmm – had to apply some Winter Woods after reading your suggestion. The roses are good, and I really like Femme Jolie.
My favourite cedar scent of all-time is LesNez’s Let Me Play The Lion.
I second the Paestum Rose!
Oh! of course — Peggy, you need to check out the CB I Hate Perfume line!
Check out: Burning Leaves, Memory of Kindness, Black March, Wild Hunt, Tea Rose, A Room with a View, Fire From Heaven… all are “unusual”, scent experiences more than fragrances, none are too flowery, some of woody and incense notes.
Let me second this and add Cedarwood Tea to the list. I pulled out my CB IHP samples over the weekend and tried this for the first time. Very pretty and very wearable.
Of the bunch, I’d say A Room With a View and Cedarwood Tea are probably the most wearable; also, his Just Breathe.
Jumping in to say that these are all lovely choices. I particularly like Just Breathe, Black March and Wild Hunt.
Also, if you browse the single note accords, you might find something appropriately exotic. I’ve been dying to try Cuba Libre. At the studio, I round Baby Aspirin and Doll’s Head to be about as exotic as they come.
I would think that many of the CdG scents would be perfect for her. She could explore the Incense series ( can’t imagine that going wrong) and also CdG Two. I believe all of those are in her price range as well.
that’s what came to mind immediately —Comme de Garcons….many things for Peggy to sniff in that line.
Agreed! So many! I love CdG #3, an flower from space, aka basil, incense, cedar. #2 and the Incense series are also must tries, and the H&M CdG is a very budget friendly incense/citrus option.
for unusual, not flowery and not too heavy, try Bvlgari Black and Dzing! There are so many other scents which could fit, you’ll probably receive heaps of suggestions!
Weirder than Bulgari Black is Vierges and Toreros, by Etat Libre d’Orange. I can only describe it as machine-like…
I have to recommend Tocade. It has the vanilla of Organza, the same nose (Maurice Roucel) as L but not so heavy or foody, a beautiful rose, and costs about $15 for a big bottle at Marshall’s or TJ Maxx. Even if they don’t have it in the “red” section, it isn’t much more from amazon. It is the very best cheap thrill available.
I had no idea it was so cheap! I enjoy Tocade enormously as a big old rose, and find that the Body Shop’s Moroccan Rose is another cheap fun juicy rose with a little incense kick.
How much is Tocade where you are? The most I have ever seen it for at Marshall’s was around $25, but they usually have 50ml. for $15-18, and sometimes smaller sizes for five or ten. It is one of the few roses I am very comfortable in, but I probably wear it more for the vanilla. I really like Roucel’s vanillas, but his work can be so big and heavy. I find Tocade much lighter than some of his other compositions.
I second the Andy Tauer Rose Chypre and Incense Rose, and Incense Extreme. You might also like to try Une Rose from the Frederic Malle series, but I’m not sure that qualifies as an office scent!
For the gasoline/smoke hit you might like to try Tabac Blond by Caron (parfum concentration is best). There is an excellent review of it here on NST. The Perfumed Court are doing a Caron holiday sale right now, and you can purchase a decant of it for a very reasonable price I think. There’s also a promotional sale of Cuir Mauresque, a Serge Lutens exclusive, which is similar to Tabac Blond but heavier on the spice. Tabac Blond is probably more suitable as an office scent. It’s very very chic.
Also, check out L’Artisan’s Tea scents. And try their Dzonghka and Timbuktu. They are smokey, incensey, woodsy and quite subtle.
To the L’Artisans I would add Saffran Troublant.
I recommend L’Artisan’s scents as well. Particularly Eau de l’artisan; Also Jo Malone Sweet Basil and Cedar. Annick Goutal Eau de Hadrien and Eau de Sud. For musc, I love Tihota, which is available in small quantity from The Perfumed Court. Neil Morris Fragrances has some really interesting scents. For a light, watery scent I like Aqua di GIo.
There is no Sweet Basil and Cedar. Jo Malone offers a Sweet Lime and Cedar, and a Lime, Basil, and Mandarin.
I misstyped-Aqua di Gio.
You misstyped it twice now. Its spelled Acqua Di Gio.
well, I knew exactly what you were referring to Jill. Didn’t miss the “c” at all.
Unusual but sniff-worthy: Odeur 53 bu Comme des Garcons
that’s ‘sposed to be ‘by’. Darned fat fingers!
Or Odeur 71! I love the “dust on a hot lightbulb” note! It has a dry dusty incense quality with an electric zip that I adore.
I have Bvlgari Rose Esenttelle sitting on my desk!
What about one of the Puccis? Pucci Vivara? I love the violet drydown…
Unusual? Bond 9 Warhol Silver Factory! doesn’t get more unusual than that…or does it?
I liked Mugler’s Eau Star…and maybe, even if you don’t like Chanel 5, you could dumb it down to Coco Mademoiselle and still get some of the spice….
i dont find Silver Factory to be unusual. Maybe from a womens perspective, but it smells similar to a number of mens fragrances in my opinion, namely Burberry London for Men.
Andy Tauer Incense Rosé and Extreme and Une Rose Chypree, as suggested above, are super picks for exotic, unusual smelling incense, smoke and rose. Le Labo Patchouli 24 for extraordinary gasoline, smoke + deep patchouli/vanilla drydown.
Though none of them is your typical casual office fragrance! Sorry, I didn’t read carefully enough. But eventually she’ll need a sexy evening fragrance too, I’m sure 🙂
I actually reckon Le Labo Patchouli is a perfect daytime office fragrance. I know it’s a burnt styrax, birch tar festival of smokiness, but I find it very light and fresh on my skin. It’s a brighter scent in reality than it is on paper. So I shall back you up and heartily second this recommendation!
MMmm! 😀
Parfums de Rosine Ecume de Rose and DSH Perfumes Beach Roses are both salty, beachy roses that aren’t ditzy or girly. (I love That Slut Tocade, but it’s too floofy for me to wear to work.)
Although I haven’t smelled it yet, Paestum Rose does have several of the notes that Peggy likes, and gets good reviews. I liked PdR Poussiere de Rose for rose+cedar+spice. And, of course, any of the Lutens Bois series (Bois de Violettes, Feminite du Bois, et al).
For exotic and unusual, Peggy could try DSH The Silk Road (tea, rose, spice, leather).
I wondered why Ecume de Rose hadn’t come up and was full of glee that I would get to it first…but there you are. This was the very first thing to come to mind for me.
Me, too! Peggy I second (third) Ecume de Rose. It’s a lovely “seaside” rose.
Mals, you took the suggestions right out of my mouth! 😉
I haven’t tried Ecume yet, but I’ve loved Rosine’s Zest d’Un Rose! It ain’t cheap, but it turns up for under $100 on ebay.
Seconding both Ecume de Rose and Femininite du Bois as Mals86 stated aboved,both beautiful,and subtle enough for work ,and also agreeing with the Incense series by C.D.G ,Timbuktu by L’A.P and Paestum Rose recs.
Good luck.Lo.
Ooo! For Spcy how about Keiko’s Genie De Bois (did I get the name right?)
Peggy, if you really love the scent of rose, why not go with a *pure* straight-up rose scent? I am thinking of Serge Luten’s Sa Majesté La Rose. (I was drinking a cup of Mariage Freres’ Rose Tea when the idea hit me!)
It is perfectly suited to the office: it is gorgeous but not suggestive — it smells of a bouquet of roses all day long.
A perhaps more interesting rose scent is L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Voleur des Roses.
hmm…navel-gazing bohemian tendancies? for some reason that made me think you may want to give Bvlgari Black a test….it can be had for a song on ebay…and it’s just a real interesting scent—I get different things from it depending on weather. And also– Dzongkha also sounds like a good bet—it was mentioned already so consider this a second for that (third, fourth or fifth…insert the level of recommendation that is appropriate)
3 on Dzongkha 🙂
For a casual office scent…l’Occitane’s Bergamot Tea is light, inoffensive, and contains several of your favorite notes. Some find it terribly fleeting, however, but then again, it’s so cheap you can afford to reapply. For unusual (it’s outside the price range, but try it anyway): Parfumerie Generale’s Psychotrope. It’s been described as a “modern floral” or “leather flowers”, but I get very little floral at all, and instead get what I expected from Bvlgari Black. It brings to mind a single white flower, planted in an old tire and watered with smoky tea.
Parfumerie Generale’s Psychotrope. It brings to mind a single white flower, planted in an old tire and watered with smoky tea.
Awesome, fantastic description! I will absolutely seek this out. Thank you! 😀
Hey, hope you love it! Usually I just say “it smells good”; this was the first fragrance to conjure up a real mental image for me. I still can’t decide if I like it or not, though. 😀
I wanted to have Psychotrope smell like this on me, and it just smelled like lilac. Nothing but lilac. And I don’t even like lilac. Wow, I wish I had that rubber tire in there somewhere. Then again, nothing is ever “rubbery,” or gasoline-y or tar-y enough for me. Even CdG fell short.
Where I was hoping for the lilac and didn’t get it! What little (non-lilac) flower I get doesn’t show up until the far drydown. I know how you feel, though…I was hoping for the rubber note in Bvlgari Black, and got nothing but a nice tea scent.
Boo– did I send you a sample of Ineke After My Own Heart in the last package? It’s a nice lilac scent….I’ll send you some IPdF Lilla too.
Hi!
I would like to suggest: Embruns d’Ambre EdT by Stephanie de Saint-Aignan. Here are the notes: Ocean notes, sand, lemon, wood, amber.
It’s definitely an unusual scent but one worth sampling. It is $35.00 over your budget. But I still think you may like this one. You can order a sample from LuckyScent.
Also, 4th on the Dzhongka.
~Dawn
OH! Embruns d’Ambre is one of my all-time favorites! It’s a lovely oceany amber.
And I’m with all you others that recommend Dzongkha for Peggy.
For casual office wear – and really any time at all – my absolute favourite is Chanel No 5 Eau Premiere. Voile de Rose is also worth trying as suggested above. For my nose, Une Rose Chypree would have to be applied judiciously in an office environment, although I love it. Also consider Jolie Femme from Sonoma Scent Studio which is a great cedar scent. Rose de Mai from L’Occitane is also suitable for the office IMHO.
For incense and rose, try Parfum Sacré.
Frustratingly, I can’t smell all these gorgeous suggestions right now through my computer monitor. After work, I’ll have to hit the mall to seek some of these perfumes out.
I know I can get L’Occitane in Canada, though comforting to know I can order samples from most companies. Thanks for The Perfumed Court tip.
I’m very intrigued by Dzhongka, Bvlgari Black, Tabac Blond, Andy Tauer’s Incense Rose, the Comme de Garcons incense series, the Cuir Mauresque, and the Parfums de Rosine Ecume de Rose and DSH Perfumes Beach Roses… I want to try everything!
Robin did a great review of Paestum Rose:
https://freebox.it.com/2006/08/14/paestum-rose-by-eau-ditalie-perfume-review/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
( I find Robin’s comparison to Timbuktu particularly interesting)
And Chandler Burr raves about it:
http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/01/24/scent-notes-paestum-rose-by-leau-ditalie/
Are you in Toronto?
Yes!
Me too.. if you’re looking to sample some of the niche lines, you’ll find quite a few in the Yorkville area. For L’Artisan there is a store in Yorkville called Noor Boutique. The staff there are really knowledgable and will give you samples. Holt Renfrew for Bond No 9 (I recommend you try Chinatown) and the Bay for Serge Lutens (Feminite du Bois).
Andrews department store in Hazelton Lanes also carries Serge. And at Holts you can try Jo Malone too.
Happy hunting.
Thanks!
I tried the big department stores and Sephora for *any* of the above, but no dice. In fact, someone implied Bvlgari Black was discontinued. Gar! Surprising, yet comforting, since I do want an unusual fragrance. I’ll check the Yorkville boutiques, Hazelton, and HR soon, so I can at least find the Jo Malone. Awesome suggestions, thank you! And apparently a store in the Annex carries the CB I Hate Perfume line.
I did try Fresh’s Cannabis Rose at Sephora but the scent hasn’t lingered long enough for me to make a decision on it.
Oh, try the online discounters for Black. It was a blind buy for me, since I got a 50 (?) ml tester for something like $22.
My suggestions, many of which I see were already suggested:
Feminite du Bois: For cedar and spice. There’s the older discontinued but still available Shiseido version, and the newer renamed and reformulated Serge Lutens version.
CB I Hate Perfume Tea/Rose: A beautiful rose with tea. The liquid and the oil are very different; I’d sample both.
CB I Hate Perfume Burning Leaves: If you meant that kind of fall leaves.
L’Occitane Bergamot Tea: Nice, bright, liquid, happy without being manic.
Annick Goutal Mandragore: I think I’ve expressed this before as Bergamot Tea’s older, somewhat more experienced sister.
Parfumerie Generale L’Eau Rare Matale and Harmatan Noire are my favorite teas. They’re slightly dark; for a brighter summery iced tea, there’s ElizabethW Sweet Tea.
But for “tea and spice”, nothing beats L’Artisan Parfumeur’s Tea for Two. Except maybe for Lorenzo Villoresi Yerbamate.
ElizabethW Rose is a nice rose soliflore.
Serge Lutens Serge Noire: for deep, dark, smoky incense, though it breaks the budget.
Commes des Garcons Kyoto: for a warmer incense, and I don’t think it quite breaks the budget.
For gasoline, there is Comme des Garcons Garage. I don’t know if I’d go so far as to recommend it, but then, why not?
(I’m realizing that I repeat my favorites a lot. Oh, well.)
OMG — “happy without being manic”! Perfumedchicken I am so quoting you on that one.
I second Bvlgari Black; also LesNez Let Me Play the Lion (cedar and incense), and L’Artisan’s Navegar might be up your alley as well as Bois Farine (which I love and get lots of cedar from). And I think Stella is a lovely, office-friendly rose fragrance.
I suggest Serge Lutens Chypre Rouge for smoky, spicy and earthy woods.
Though it’s usually over $100…
My recs:
L de Lolita Fleur de Corail – salty, sandy, lightly floral
J Lo Deseo – interesting sandy notes, creamy floral
Arpege by Lanvin – see the review Robin wrote – I’m wearing it today
Kenzo Winter Flowers – a wearable incensey frag
Bvlgari Aqva Pour Homme – salty, interesting; also reviewed at NST by Kevin, I think
I’d recommend Czech & Speake Dark Rose and also Feminite du Bois. Both push the budget constraints though.
Paestum Rose is probably a good suggestion; it’s just not to my personal taste.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Juliet Has a Gun’s Lady Vengeance, which I think is a very wearable, satisfying, not-particularly-floral sort of rose, but what I really think you’d like is Thé Noir by Ava Luxe – you can buy the oil by visiting her etsy shop (go to ava-luxe.com, click on Perfume.) I gave it to a friend who loved Karma and she liked it as well – a good deal less hippie but very rich and satisfying just the same.
Guerlain’s Nahema is one of the weirdest roses I have ever smelled. Luca Turin describes it as a video of a rose shattering in reverse. To me, it smells like a Young British Artist’s interpretation of a rose cast in a transparent red gelatenous polymer. It’s a formal Guerlain, but smelling it has a tactile quality like chewing on cherry Jell-o for me.
So many great ideas, which I would second, third and fourth!
Peggy, given the spectrum of notes that you love, I wonder if you wouldn’t like vetiver, which is great for the office: smells good, conducive to focus, neither boisterous nor boring. Heeley’s Sel Marine and Annick Goutal’s Vetiver have sea notes. You could afford a decant of the Heeley, and the AG is a bargain online.
I have to agree with Tauer Incense Rose. Maybe Bond No 9’s West Side or Bryant Park would float her rose boat too…
Hermes Rose Ikebana. Although out of your price range, check out getting a decant of this. Definitely a office wear.
I too was obsessed with the Naturistics Sea Splash perfume. and was upset when it was discontinued. I bought it from ebay for awhile. As it started to become obsolete on ebay as well, I decided to recreate the fragrance myself. I call my fragrance By the Sea and named my company The Fleury Girls. I do sell By the Sea fragrance on ebay and from my website. To me it smells exact. And I get the same compliments that I use to get when I wore Naturistics Sea Splash.