Today we’re helping Issy, who is looking for a casual everyday fragrance for $150 or less. She has good access to perfume stores, and is happy to shop online. Issy says she is basically new to perfume, and here are some other details about her:

She’s in her mid 30s and lives in the San Francisco Bay area.

She’s a civil engineer who loves to dress nicely.

She also loves food, and outdoor activities such as hiking, camping or just strolling around town in sunny weather.

Issy likes woods, citrus and light floral notes.

She doesn’t like cumin, vanilla or anything too foody or too sweet. She also doesn’t like heavy florals or too much powder…

Read the rest of this article »

Michelle says she is modern but is drawn to old things, including strong vintage perfumes. She wants to find a new fragrance that smells like the things she loves, but that won’t overpower her colleagues, family or friends. It should work any time, day or night, and cost less than $150. Here is what we know about Michelle:

She’s in her late 30s and has 3 teenage boys, and works as an event manager for a large hotel.

She loves perfume and makeup, and she’s planning for her (second) wedding later in the summer.

She’s also a history buff and says she is “obsessed with the twenties and thirties, literature, historic New York, old hotels and buildings”.

Michelle loves vetiver, chypre perfumes, sandalwood, patchouli and incense…

Read the rest of this article »

This is an open thread for participants in the Monday Mail articles 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 September and December of last 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…

Read the rest of this article »

Fabio wants our help to find his perfect fresh-but-not-too-fresh (possibly ozonic/marine) summer fragrance to round out his summer scent wardrobe. Musts: less than $150, good longevity and sillage. Here is what we know about Fabio:

He’s in his late 30s and lives in Milan, where he works in an office.

Fabio is “a very classical guy, sometimes old-fashioned, sometimes preppy, but definitely an elegant Italian”.

Fabio goes to the gym regularly, loves photography, squash and reading (Dickens and Tolstoy) and traveling when he can.

Fabio’s would prefer that his new scent not be too widely used. He’d also like it to be classy and elegant, and more “melancholic” (like the sea in autumn, or like the sea on a gray rainy day) than sporty…

Read the rest of this article »

Laura wants to find a special perfume for evening. The perfect scent would be stunningly sexy but intelligent, and would cost under $200. She has reasonably good access to stores, and is happy to shop online. Here are some details about Laura:

She’s in her late 20s and lives in Minneapolis, where she does administrative work for a small avant-garde ballet company.

She says she is reserved, but “comes out of her shell” with people she knows well.

She loves travel, fashion and the arts, and “recently dove head-first into the world of perfume”.

Laura likes notes of iris, tuberose, musk, gardenia, patchouli and vanilla. Her daytime rotation includes Etat Libre d’Orange Putain des Palaces, Balenciaga Paris and Monyette Paris, but she says she doesn’t feel “super connected” to any of them…

Read the rest of this article »