I had to come back to this post. Before I started perusing YLF, I had been heavily invested in hunting for perfumes that reminded me of favorite scent memories. Topping my list was the sweet tobacco scent I recalled wafting from my uncles pipe while we sat around and talked after family gatherings. I had read perfume blogs, learned about scents and done my best to find something. I ended up with a large collection of lovely scents which reminded me of all sorts of things: fresh cut grass, lilacs and honeysuckle in the spring, roses, forests and cut wood, fresh air after it rains/ozone, tea, lemons, vanilla and Honey. I noticed there was a certain group of scents I preferred over the others. I think these would be the amber/ oriental/ woody scents. Maybe they would also be the leather and tobacco scents. In any case, I ended up giving a lot of perfume away. I had samples which I gave to friends, and a fair number of bottles which I knew I would never love enough to use up. I kept only my favorites.
1. Chanel Sycomore - one of the exclusif’s, it is a magic combination of Vetiver and tobacco notes. This for me is almost the holy grail tobacco scent. It reminds me of my uncle and makes me happy. The Tom Ford tobacco scents were lovely, but DH found them too cloying, and they were not the same scent as my uncles sweet tobacco. I wear it for evenings out, special occasions, and whenever I need a boost in my mood. My uncle made me laugh!
2. Bottega Veneta- this is my current signature scent. I am disappointed that they discontinued the body crime because it smelled wonderful and the lotion isn’t as nice. I miss it. I am not sure if I will want to use this as a perfume only. I have used it for the past 6-7 years.
3. Prada - L’eau Ambree and Infusion D’Iris. These may seem very different from each other, and in fact they are. The Iris perfume came out first, and I used it exclusively for almost three years until the L’eau Ambree was introduced. Then I alternated between them, wearing the Iris in the warmer seasons and the L’eau Ambree in the cooler seasons.
5. Estée Lauder Sensuous - I added this along with the Prada’s. It’s a bit cleaner, and there is no Patchouli. Sometimes I am not in the mood for patchouli, so the L’eau Ambree would get replaced with the Sensuous.
So, these are the current perfumes in my collection. I use all 5 of them now. If I could only pick one, it would be Bottega Veneta, and if I could pick two I would add the Iris. Next the Sycomore.
Picking perfume is tricky. Not only do you have to love the scent yourself, but the scent has to work well with your body chemistry. I’m not sure how others tell if they have picked a perfume well. Once I think I have a good one, I have DH check it, and also DD. If they are okay, I need to check a more public audience. I know I have a successful scent when the people around me start to say that they smell something nice but aren’t immediately able to identify that it’s me. That reaction guarantees a winner in my collection every time.
As I read everyone’s answers to your question, I saw some perfumes that I might want to try. When I looked them up on Fragrantica.net and looked at the similar scents people might also like, I always found one or more of my current 5 favorites in the Fragrantica list. Two perfumes turn up in every single Fragrantica list of similar perfumes: Shalimar and Narciso Rodriguez. Another one that was in all but one was Tom Ford Black Orchid. The only one of these I have smelled is Shalimar. My Aunt wore Shalimar and Opium. I wonder if I should give Shalimar a try?
