The Monday Mail is back, and yes, the Monday Mail had a wonderful summer vacation, thank you! If you want to get on the waiting list, which is pretty short at the moment, see here.

Today we’re helping Marielena, who wants to find a new everyday scent with some staying power. Her perfect scent will be sexy, floral, clean but not sweet, and not too grassy green. She can spend up to $200, and while she’d prefer something she can smell in person, she has great access to perfume stores. Here is what we know about Marielena:

She’s in her early 30s. She is from New York City, and works there as an actor, mostly in TV and film, focusing on comedies.

She loves fashion, especially McQueen, Marc Jacobs, Topshop, vintage, anything chic, sexy, original, slightly costume-y.

She says she is fun, funny, sophisticated and not afraid to take risks in her clothes, scents and performances.

Marielena loves white flowers, woods, and feminine scents with a sexy masculine edge…

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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 between January through April of this year, so check back over the next few days to see what we can find out (or, check out this post about the subjects from last September through December).

Here are links to the articles for each participant…

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This will be the last Monday Mail post before summer break. If you’d like to get on the waiting list for September (it’s very short at the moment), do follow the instructions here.

Today we’re helping Caroline, who wants to find her perfect everyday scent, something she will be comfortable with and attracted to. Something suited to cooler weather would be best, as she is in the process of relocating to a colder city. She is happy to shop online, and can spend up to about $150.

Caroline is a writer in her early 30s. She lives in Australia.

She is quiet, but passionate about many things, and a bit of a gypsy — she has moved around a fair bit, and loves discovering new places and stories.

She’s a big fan of travel, mystery/spy novels, good conversation, rainy days and too much coffee.

Caroline likes balmy, resinous, and soft oriental notes — ambergris, musks and vanilla. She also likes oakmoss, warm leather, the scent of old books and/or tobacco (she quite likes vintage Caron Tabac Blond), sandalwood, ylang ylang, and spices…

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Today we’re helping Verity — she’s getting married in September and wants to find the perfect perfume that will remind always remind her (and her husband-to-be) of the day. She lives near London and has good access to perfume stores; she can spend up to £100. Here is what we know about Verity:

She’s in her late 20s. She works at a university and writes in the evenings.

She is shy but creative and loves to try new things.

She loves to get outdoors when the weather is up to it, and loves being in the countryside — there’s nothing better than a pub lunch and a pint somewhere pretty.

Her wedding will be in the New Forest (UK), followed by an informal reception at a beautiful old pub by a river, complete with lots of champagne…

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Today we’re helping Lindsay, who is looking for a signature scent that smells green and alive and botanical…like a forest or an herb garden with beautiful flowers. It can be feminine, masculine or unisex (and she wouldn’t mind hearing about any decadent skin products that fall into this category as well). She is willing to shell out for the right perfume, but she’d like to sample first, and she’ll be doing her shopping online. Here is what we know about Lindsay:

She’s in her thirties and is a performer. She lives in the deep south.

She describes herself as a very feminine tomboy with a goth streak — she loves vintage dresses, overalls, red lipstick, bare feet and cat’s eye glasses.

Lindsay has freckles and wears very little makeup (other than the aforementioned red lipstick).

She loves to be outdoors and is an avid gardener.

She says she tends to be very reserved in non-performing situations…until she is not. Then look out!

Lindsay likes most green herbs, foresty notes, oakmoss, rose, honeysuckle, linden, jasmine, gardenia, orange blossom, tuberose in moderation, lavender, woods, patchouli, stem and sap-ish aspects, grass, vetiver, soil, some citrus, and she is definitely not afraid of musks…

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