Personally, I have sniffed, spritzed and cataloged over 1400 fragrances. With 600+ new fragrance releases a year, how do you cut through the clutter?
How do you tell a great perfume?
“A great fragrance stands the test of time," opines Bertrand Duchaufour, the Perfumer in Residence for L’Artisan, "and the lines between commercial and luxury fragrances are blurred”. Certainly from a structural point, I agree. Great fragrances are the ones you wear, the scents you love; like fingerprints, no two people smell alike. Usually I test a fragrance on at least ten people of varying skin types - salty, green, woody, powdery, milky, and tannic (to name but a few) - ages, gender, and ethnicities. This way, it is possible to translate the perfumers’ vision on the person on whom it smells best.
There are a number of fragrances I love and find to be without comparison, and, yet, I find myself also attracted to a number of fragrances that smell eerily similar on my skin (milky, Mediterranean, carnivore). Will they smell the same way on you?
Probably not (although my friend Carol is as close to my scent twin as I have ever met; we wear 75% of the same fragrances). Either way, these fragrances are very close on my skin, although some last much longer and are more complex in the formulation.
Sometimes you do get what you pay for...and sometimes it's really close. So Luxe or Trust, there are fine fragrances for anyone and any budget:
LUXE: Nahema perfume by Guerlain 30ml $355 Guerlain boutiques worldwide
TRUST: Une rose chypree EDP by Andy Tauer 15ml $75 Luckyscent.com
LUXE: Kelly Caleche Perfume Extrait 7.5ml $200 Hermes.com
TRUST: Fetish by Ayala Moriel 5ml $65 Etsy.com & AyalaMoriel.com
LUXE: M. Micallef Mon Parfum 100ml $230 first-in-fragrance.com
TRUST: Narciso for Her EDP by Narciso Rodriguez 100ml $100 Bloomingdales.com
LUXE: Coze EDP by Parfumerie Generale 50ml $120 Luckyscent.com
TRUST: Chamade EDT by Guerlain 93ml $120 NeimanMarcus.com
LUXE: Carnal Flower by Frederic Malle 50ml $200 EditionsDeParfums.com
TRUST: Fracas EDP by Robert Piguet 50ml $75 BergdorfGoodman.com
LUXE: Hermessence Ambre Narguile 100ml $235 Hermes Boutiques worldwide
TRUST: L’Artisan Parfumeur Amber Extreme 100ml $155 LartisanParfumeur.com
LUXE: Parfumerie Generale Aomassai 50ml $120 Luckyscent.com
TRUST: Mahjoun by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz 30ml $65 DSHperfumes.com
LUXE: Hermessence Vanille Galante 100ml $235 Hermes Boutiques worldwide
TRUST: Serge Lutens Un Lys 50ml $120 BeautyHabit.com
LUXE: Montale Chocolate Greedy EDP 50ml $95 Luckyscent.com
TRUST: Apothia Velvet Rope 50ml $80 (or snag a FREE 2oz Velvet Rope Lotion Mini with purchase) apothia.com
LUXE: Rahat Loukoum by Serge Lutens 75ml $165 SergeLutens.com
TRUST: Loukhoum by Keiko Mecheri 50ml $90 Luckyscent.com & KeikoMecheri.com
LUXE: Magnolia Nobile by Acqua de Parma 50ml $105 NewLondonPharmacy.com
TRUST: Eau de Fleur de Magnolia by Kenzo 50ml $55 Kenzousa.com
LUXE: Patchouli Noir by Histoires de Parfums 50ml $185 Takashimaya NY & HistoiresDeParfums.com
TRUST: Patchouli Elixir EDP 100ml Reminiscence 100ml $125 BeautyHabit.com
LUXE: Habanita EDP by Molinard 100ml $265 Henri Bendel NYC
TRUST: Geisha Noire EDP by Aroma M 50ml $80 Luckyscent.com & AromaM.com
- Michelyn Camen
Fashiontribes Editor-at-Large Michelyn Camen is a New York City based writer and consultant who is a former Brandweek Marketer of the Year and Ad Age 100 recipient. She slipped off her power suit to pursue her passion for beauty and fragrance. Camen is a fragrance specialist and the owner of FifthSense N.Y.C., where she consults for niche luxury, fashion, beauty and fragrance companies. She is an Editor for Fragrantica.com, the Fragrance Editor for UptownSocial.net, the former Senior Contributing Writer for Sniffapalooza Magazine, the former New in Niche Columnist for Basenotes and was the Editorial Director for Beauty News NYC & LA. Email her at [email protected] or Michelyn AT Fashiontribes DOT com.
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