Sweet Fragrances

by Valerie Gladstone — December 14, 2007

I've loved perfume since I was a child. I'd ask my mother for her empty bottles and then fill them up with water and use them as my pretend perfume. My mother liked Chanel 5 and Je Reviens among many others and my grandmother always wore a scent with lily of the valley, which was also my favorite flower. I still think of them whenever I smell those fragrances. I would no more leave my apartment without a touch of perfume (except when I'm going to the gym) than without my phone or iPod.

A great deal of snobbery surrounds perfumes and they are often only considered desirable if they are expensive and very exclusive. Imagine, the average cost of Le Parfum Sur Mesure, a consultation with the Guerlain fragrance director in Paris in which the customer creates a perfume, is $36,000.

But women don't necessarily fall for the hype. If a scent smells unattractive on a consumer, it's unlikely she'll buy it. There's such a wide range of wonderful scents, no one has to wear anything but the most flattering. The point is to try to choose perfumes that suit you, not your friends or family. Test a perfume in a store and then walk around for a minimum of 10 minutes. Some perfumes take as long as half an hour to an hour to truly develop.

It's best to apply perfumes to pulse points such as the folds in the crook of your elbow and back of knees, wrist, neck, and cleavage. Spraying a little into the air is also good if you walk straight into the perfume. This helps to diffuse it over your body.

I've had several favorites over the years, but I've always favored the florals. I was mad for Laura Biagiotti's Roma for awhile (it didn't hurt that Rome is my favorite city), which is a blend of roses, jasmine, lily of the valley, and carnation, topped with mint and bergamot with tones of vanilla, patchouli, oak moss, ambergris, balsam, and myrrh ($62 for 3.3oz).

But today, I'm more inclined to wear Dior's Diorissimo, a refreshing, flowery fragrance, which possesses a blend of jasmine, lily of the valley, and ylang-ylang. I was given Burberry's Classic Scent for Women last Christmas and just assumed I wouldn't like it because I'm so accustomed to choosing my own perfumes, but I do like it, especially for day when Diorissimo or Roma can be too strong. Fresh, clean, and sensual, it contains scents of back currant, green apple, peach, jasmine, sandalwood, cedar, and vanilla ($55 at sephora.com).
Since Christmas and the gift-giving season are not so far away (and perfume is such a great present), I decided to ask friends their favorites. I'll pass them along as they respond.

Judy: With perfume scents, less is definitely more. I believe in spraying out in the air once, and walking through quickly. I like Estee Lauder's Beyond Paradise ($50 for 1.7oz) because when I use that method the perfect amount envelops me lightly. My partner insists on this method because he is very chemically sensitive, and the one who usually buys it! Stores like Banana Republic and Ann Taylor have lightly scented perfumes too. I always remember the scene in Carson McCullers' "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" where she uses vanilla extract out of the kitchen pantry behind her ears and on her wrist pulse points for a sweet-smelling effect!

Kate: I've worn Estee Lauder's White Linen ($45 for 1.7oz) for years and years. It's light, floral, and garners lots of compliments.