Melissa is looking for the perfect “beach at night” fragrance. It should call up the beaches in Southwest Florida where she lives: “warm, salty, sandy, with a wash of tropical white flowers”. Ideally, it would cost under $100 but she’ll go higher for something wonderful if she has to. Oh, and she loves online shopping.

Here is what we know about Melissa:

She’s in her early 40s and says her personality can best be summed up with the word “sarcastic.”

She likes to read and she likes to sleep; she says if she wrote her autobiography, she’d call it “Wasted Potential.”

Melissa loves dining out, shopping, drinks with friends, and wasting countless hours on the internet.

Melissa likes warmer scents, like orientals and florientals. Her floral preferences lean heavily to white flowers and/or anything tropical…

Read the rest of this article »

Before we start with today’s subject, Sam, I wanted to mention that the waiting list for the Monday Mail is as short as it’s ever been. If you were considering joining the list, now would be a really good time! Instructions can be found here.

So, Sam. She’s looking for a fresh and pretty — but interesting! — fragrance for day, and she wouldn’t mind a new fragrance for night, either. That one should be interesting and sexy, but not something “so niche-y that [she] will smell like a damp basement floor and send the boys running”. Sam lives in Los Angeles and has good access to perfume stores, and she can pay up to $120 per fragrance. Here is what we know about Sam:

She’s a college student in her early 20s.

She’s majoring in film and French.

She says she is outgoing, fun, and affectionate, but also dramatic and intense.

She loves old movies, books, fashion, traveling, and has just recently become interested in perfume.

Sam loves orange blossom and incense…

Read the rest of this article »

Today we’re helping Andreja, who is looking for a new perfume that is unique but not weird. She lives in Slovenia and has limited access to good brick ‘n mortar stores, but is happy to shop online. She can spend up to $150.

Here is what we know about Andreja:

She’s in her mid 30s, and has an 18 month-old daughter. She has a small circle of special friends, and likes socializing but dislikes crowds.

When she has time, she loves to travel, dive and ride motorcycles.

Andreja likes woody, spicy, oriental-floral, oriental-woody and chypre fragrances. She likes notes of incense, myrrh, nutmeg, cedar, bay laurel, and other woods.

Andreja doesn’t like citrus-y, airy, overly gourmand, sweet or fruity fragrances, or heavy rose notes. Some of the fragrances that don’t work for her include Thierry Mugler Angel, Chanel No. 5, Issey Miyake L’Eau d’Issey, Prada Infusion d’Iris, Keiko Mecheri Loukhoum…

Read the rest of this article »

Today we’re helping Lea. She’s in her early 40s and says she is a serial monogamist when it comes to perfume. She needs to find a new scent to replace Annick Goutal Eau d’Hadrien, which she says does not smell the same as it used to. Her new fragrance should be distinctive but not overpowering. Lea is willing to shop online, and she doesn’t have a price limit.

Lea likes citrus, woods, and subtle spices. She liked Eau d’Hadrien for its lemon, its lightness and its “woody, unfloral clarity” but says the current version smells like “the cleaner they use in the bathroom of a Greyhound Bus.” Before Eau d’Hadrien, she wore Le B by Agnes B, which she loved for its “fresh lightness”, and before that she wore Givenchy Ysatis…

Read the rest of this article »

I’m late! Az is waiting patiently for our advice. She’s looking for an everyday fragrance — something she can put on without thinking and that will last at least half the day. And of course, she’d like it to smell delicious! Extra bonus points if it works year-round, and although she doesn’t mind shopping online, she doesn’t want anything vintage or terribly hard to find. Her price limit is around £100-150 (£150 = $240).

Here is what we know about Az:

She’s in her late 20s and has a young son.

She likes to read and paint.

She says she’s a bit of a romantic, when she gets tired of being practical.

Her musical tastes range from world pop to opera.

Az likes notes of cumin, lavender, jasmine, gardenias, lilies, sandalwood and citrus…

Read the rest of this article »