I Love Perfume!

I love perfume. Every season I sit down and decide which perfumes are going to make it into rotation. It may or may not be a quirky habit, but it's just what I do. When the weather starts changing I sort through my perfumes and choose the ones I think will match depending on the season. I think of green, fresh, and of course flower scents for the summer. In general I'm not big on fruit, but I love the bubbly champagne happiness of my only 2 fruity scents: I Love Dior and Remember Me. They're cheerful so they're good perfumes to use in the heat, as I'm usually not.

When wearing a perfume I take into consideration such things as: weather, color, time, occasion. For example: if I'm going to a dinner party, I'll want to wear something that stays very close to the skin (so as not to clash with the food), and I'll want it to be a bit more sexy as dinner parties tend to take place in the evening. I won't want to wear anything over-the-top as for this type of occasion I won't want to draw unnecessary attention to myself, especially not negative attention by offending someone with my perfume.

If I'm going to a party, I'll want something that's going to bring the house down. Whereas a picnic or bbq calls for a flowery fragrance that's feminine and light. A serious more down to earth and not in the least bit sexy perfume is what I think is appropriate for a business meeting. For work, I think whatever you feel best represents without being overbearing or strong.

A signature scent is a capital idea, but I change my mind too often to make it stick. I know people with signature scents and I think it's the height of elegance. For example, a friend of my Mom's in Argentina always wore Shalimar. I thought it smelled like vanilla powder on her and I loved it. There are scents that no matter where I am or how long it's been since I've seen that person, I am reminded of them because I associate them with their fragrance. My advice to anyone choosing a signature scent however, would be not to choose any perfume that was made in the 80's. They may be good to wear every once in a while (Poison, Samsara), but like the frizzy hair and fanny packs of that time, they are loud and outdated. Of course, there are a few exceptions, so just use your discretion.

During the day at home I have a couple of staples that never leave my shelf. They are me in a bottle. I always smell like them and I love to wear them. They are unobtrusive, sophisticated, clean, fresh and most of all, they are not too expensive. They are Gap Heaven and Hermes Hiris (a little pricier but I bought a couple on sale and paid a fraction of the real price).

All this to say, I know it's been a little warm lately, but it hasn't been hot so I haven't been forced to take out my summer collection. I realized I was late to the party so I did it today.

My summer collection consists of:

CK Eternity
CK Eternity Summer
CK Eternity Purple Orchid
Patou Joy
L'Occitane Iris
L'Occitane Eau de 4 Reines
L'Occitane Lavande
Guerlain Apres L'Ondee
Gap Heaven
Gucci Envy
Burberry Summer
Clinique Simply
Hermes Hiris
Hermes Eau d'Orange Vert
RL Blue
Chanel Chance
Chanel Cristalle
CD Diorella
CD Remember Me
CD I Love Dior
Kenzo Flower
BBW Gardenia Lily splash

For any season I also use my Fleurs de Cerisier (L'Occitane) perfumed powder (it's lovely). I used perfumed soap all year long as well as Dove (which I have loved for more years than I can remember). I just got a new L'Occitane Eau de 4 Reines liquid soap, so that's what I'll be using all summer. By the by, speaking of soap, how awesome is Dove's cream shower oil? It's thick and creamy and washes completely but leaves this amazing velvety feel on the skin. Really amazing and super affordable. It's probably better for the winter, but it's such a treat and feels like such an expensive luxury I feel like using it all the time.