This week Elena wants us to help her find something more complex and rich than what she usually wears, but something she can still wear frequently — not a special occasion perfume. She has no set limit on the price, but she’d prefer to find something under $200. Here is what we know about Elena:

She’s in her early 30s, and lives in the Massachusetts suburbs with her young daughter, husband, and two greyhounds, one of whom tries to clean any perfume or lotion off of her immediately.

She says she is a very nerdy, bookish jock.

She plays tennis and Ultimate frisbee, loves taking her dogs and daughter for long walks, and also loves to read.

She describes herself as outgoing and friendly, analytical and intelligent, goofy and playful.

Elena loves leather, iris, and green fragrances, but says she doesn’t know many notes…

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This week we’re helping Tiffany, who wants to find a pretty scent to take her from from day to evening all year round. Tiffany lives in a dry, hot climate and many of her favorite orientals feel too heavy for much of the year. She’s just finished grad school and is still on a student budget, so she’d prefer to spend less than $100 on a bottle, but she can be flexible if she finds something amazing. Here is what we know about Tiffany:

She’s an environmental scientist in her late 20s, and lives in a mid-size city in California (not one of the fashionable ones).

She spends lots of time outdoors and loves hiking and rafting.

She also loves English novels from the 20s and 30s, like Enchanted April and anything by Dorothy Sayers or P.G. Wodehouse. For movies, she likes classics like His Girl Friday, Born Yesterday and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.

She describes her personal style as 90% classic and 10% Stevie Nicks.

Tiffany likes spicy notes, gourmands and florals that aren’t too sweet, powdery scents and slightly retro perfumes…

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This week we’re helping Candice, who is looking for an everyday/work perfume — and she’d love to hear suggestions for a summer and a winter perfume. She doesn’t want separate perfumes for day and evening, and says she has two young girls so doesn’t go out much in the evening anyway. She’d rather not spend more than €120. Here is what we know about Candice:

She’s in her late 30s, and lives in Paris.

She produces exhibitions for museums and thus gets to meet some very interesting people.

She likes to stay in the background, but at the same time she likes to be noticed and will often wear something to make her stand out in a crowd.

Candice’s ideal perfume would be Yves Saint Laurent Saharienne, but with staying power…

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The Monday Mail returns from its summer vacation this week, although it will be off again next Monday for Labor Day. Our first subject for the fall season is Lisa, who has been seriously interested in perfume for a couple years. She would love to find a really special fragrance — possibly her signature fragrance. She’d prefer something that is unusual and distinctive but not hard to wear (or too “in your face”). It should be suitable for evening wear rather than a casual or a skin scent. She can spend up to £150, and is willing to buy samples and/or decants. Here is what we know about Lisa:

She’s in her mid-30s and lives in the north of England.

She likes her work, but lives for her time off.

She loves the outdoors, particularly mountains and rivers. She enjoys paragliding, rafting, walking and canoeing.

She loves to travel, particularly to the United States, Italy and the Alps.

She also enjoys time at home, especially cooking for friends, and she loves going to the cinema and listening to classical music…

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The Monday Mail, our regular feature in which readers help other readers find the fragrance of their dreams, is still on summer vacation. Right now there is only 1 person on the waiting list for September, so if you’re interested, this would be a good time to apply.

Meanwhile, this is our open thread for participants in the Monday Mail to share their experiences, and hopefully let us know if they found what they were looking for (or went bankrupt trying). I’ve sent out emails requesting feedback from everyone who took part between January through April of this year, so check back over the next few days to see what we can find out.

Here are links to the articles for each participant…

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