This week we’re helping Lucy, who has been looking for her daily signature fragrance for a couple years without success. She says she doesn’t know much about perfume, but she lives in a large city with access to a wide range of stores and is also willing to shop online. She’ll pay up to $80-100. Here is what we know about Lucy:

I’m a writer, artist, and university instructor in my early thirties, finishing my MFA. I love farmers’ markets, roller coasters, thrift store dresses and old jeans, stationery, leather boots, sea salt, contemporary art and craft, smoky black tea, beach hair, Thai sticky rice with mango, ginger molasses cookies, gardening, and road trips in rusty pickup trucks.

Lucy likes citrus and honey notes…

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This week we’re helping Marie. She’s a brand-new mom, and she rarely wears the same perfume more than 2 days in a row but she feels like it’s time to settle down to a signature scent. She’d like her perfume to cost under $200, and she’s willing to shop online. Her perfect scent should be comfortable, classic with a modern feel, and not a limited edition, and because of her baby, it shouldn’t be a sillage-monster. Here is what we know about Marie:

She’s a red-head in her late 30s, and lives in Montreal.

She loves to travel and try new restaurants.

Her husband is from the Middle East, so they go there to visit family every year; she says it’s “fantastic to be exposed to wonderful new odors, food and culture”.

Marie likes woods, amber, vanilla, iris, rose, some fruits for freshness…

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Samantha has been wearing Gucci Flora, and is getting tired of its floral aspect. She wants to find a perfect everyday fall/winter fragrance, preferably one that costs $70 or less. Here is what we know about Samantha:

She’s in her early 20s and lives in Oregon.

She says she is fairly introverted, but has a small, close group of family and friends.

She’s something of a homebody — she loves to hang around and watch movies with her boyfriend or play with her cat — but she wants to be clear that she doesn’t want a plain fragrance just because she’s a homebody…

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Ines is looking for a new perfume. She sometimes makes her own natural solid blends using essential oils and beeswax (her favorites include sandalwood, benzoin, ylang ylang, mandarin, clove, cinnamon, or ginger) but they lack staying power, and she’s ready to settle down to a new commercial standby. She wants something she can wear year-round, day or night, and she’ll spend up to $120. She prefers to shop online. Here is what we know about Ines:

She’s in her early 30s.

She teaches at a university, and says her tastes and pastimes are predictably bookish.

She has a sense of humor and doesn’t take life too seriously.

Ines likes woods, spices, citrus, and off-beat floral notes…

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Today we’re helping Adrian, who is looking for a new fragrance. He doesn’t care if it’s niche or not, but he’d rather not be wearing the same thing as everyone else, and he likes “the idea of something strange”. Adrian happens to work for a company that makes perfumes, but he is in marketing and says he is not an expert on fragrance (although he does work with some perfumistas). He’d like to find a long-lasting but not overwhelming scent that would work for day or night, and he can spend around $100. Here are some other details about Adrian:

He’s in his late 20s.

He has lived in different places; right now he is in Barcelona.

He likes fashion, clothes, going out, travel, and the internet.

Adrian likes woody notes like cedar, vetiver and patchouli…

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