Let’s talk about…fragrance!

Ever since I can remember, most scents made me sick, and I don’t mean nature scents (food, flowers, traffic, not even gasoline), I’m talking about most women’s fragrances. I blame my mother as her signature scent when I was young was Magie Noir from Lancome, it was very trendy during that time, nothing to say about that, but it’s still a very heavy fragrance. However, I always loved wearing men’s fragrances and that was all good and acceptable until things got serious when I was about 20 and had to stop smelling like a perfectly groomed man (started to get unwanted attention from women). That was the time I started my quest for the perfect scent for my sensitive nose. I can’t even tell you about the huge amount of unused perfume bottles I had in the house at some point and that happened because my very, very annoying nose loved the top notes of most scents but a few hours later my stomach was starting to act like I was pregnant in the first trimester (my friends that have already gone through that phase tell me that’s the most annoying period).

You might think that because I love men’s perfume, I could just stick to unisex aromas, and that would be a logical suggestion, but no, my nose just won’t cooperate unless we’re talking about Voyages d’Hermes by Hermes. Now the problem with that one is that it’s D signature scent and we can’t really go out smelling exactly the same… I mean, what would people think? That I daily steal his precious scented millimetres from him? I can’t have that!

So, that brings me back to my treasure hunt among nicely designed bottles of aromas. Let me first tell you that this treasure hunt is an expensive one as you can’t find samples for all fragrances, and even fewer in the non-popular fresh division. When I turned 26, things got a bit desperate as that was the year that D and I decided to tie the knot (the civil ceremony, as we had the religious ceremony a year later).

My first find among the non-sickening scents was Versense by Versace. I liked it because it smelled fresh and citrusy, basically like a vacation on the Mediterranean. The first note, in my opinion (you can find more scientific results here) is bergamot and it slowly develops towards white flowers. I always loved the smell of nature’s fresh notes, and I guess that’s what drew me to this little green bottle. The only problem with this one is it’s non really long lasting. I did use it for about one year and went through 4 bottles mainly because I felt like reapplying it quite often.

I’m not the type to alternate between winter/summer, day/evening fragrances, if I find something I like and doesn’t make me sick I stick with it until I get bored.

I did at some point need to switch to another one and I found, in Paris, Aqua Allegoria Limon Verde by Guerlain. This is one fragrance that I absolutely loved with all my heart. In my opinion, it smells like my favourite cocktail-Mojito, under a palm tree on the beach (as it does have a salty feel to it). Because it smelled so amazing, of course it has no longevity whatsoever and therefore making me go through 6-7 bottles in less that two years. That was the reason why, at some point I started pairing it with Aqua Allegoria Herba Fresca. This one is a lot more greener and more masculine. It basically smells like fresh-cut grass topped with a lot of mint. I did wear that one on is own for a short period, but the combination of the two was just two irresistible. You can only imagine how heavy all my bags were at the time cos I was carrying two bottles of perfume.the longevity of the second one was a bit better that Limon Verde, but I still used about 5 bottles. I think I’ll always have periods when I come back to these two…

When I discovered Escale a Portofino from Dior, I felt as though I’ve finally found that one fragrance that will never make me look back. I loved the powerful bergamot scent and the fact that it was surrounded by citrusy essences and it still kept its fresh notes after a few hours-others turn musky. Again, as with any fresh citrus scent, the longevity was not fantastic and that made me go through quite a lot of bottles.

The last one I’ve tried before making the big discovery was Le Jardin de Monsieur Li, by Hermes. This was rather new to my eyes, and I couldn’t help but wonder what if?! This fragrance is a bit tricky, as it starts off as citrusy but not as fresh and unlike all the other ones, turns really woody on my skin after a few hours. That being said, I’m obviously not a big fan of woody notes. The good thing about this and one is that it is a bit more long lasting than the others, but because it turns woody I had to reapply it as often as the others. However, unlike the others, the silage on this one is quite soft, so someone has to be really close to actually feel it.

Finally getting to the one, that one fragrance that I’ve been looking for for ten years. That one fragrance that will make me repurchase it for a very long time. I’m talking about the relaunched Addict Eau Fraiche by Dior from 2014 (I feel like I’m talking about wine). I didn’t really like the old one at all hence the reason why for the last couple of years I’ve been avoiding the Addict shelf (I’m not really up to date on this department). I think that Dior really nailed it with this version and I hope they never discontinue it, because it took me too long to find such a fragrance. To describe this one without using notes and other technical terms, i’d say it’s fresh, crisp (very) and pure all in one. It’s weird that it’s a pink coloured liquid as it strikes me as a green one, but there’s nothing pink or sweet about it, it’s just perfect! It’s quite lasting and the silage is moderate, so no need for someone invading my personal space to feel it. Really, the only problem with it is that Dior doesn’t have a complimentary line for it. I seriously need a body lotion and at least a shower gel that smells like this one. Actually, I need a lot of stuff that smells like Addict Eau Fraiche.