As usual, I would be baffled but would good-naturedly followed her on her quest for 'the one'.
Now, bear in mind that we both live in Miri, which has an abundance of many things- oil, kelapa sawit, sea water and makanan-makanan yang sedap but sadly, a good selection of perfumes it lacks. So Bestie Jiun seemed to summarize her search for the one into THIS. (Click)
I have no idea if she has found the one yet as there are countless types of perfumes that exist worldwide. To sniff all of them would be equivalent to undergoing some kind of mission- e.g. Round the World in 365 days. If she were to ever go on such a personal quest, I would suggest she apply for some sort of record in the Guinness Book of Records.
However, for such an objective-less search, two fruitful things happened:
1. Jiun has more than 3 types of perfumes now and is currently still searching for the one.
2. Me, who has never really shown any interest in how good I smell/ or how I smell, for that matter, suddenly piqued into 'OMG. HOW DO I SMELL?'
To me, perfumes have never been more of an accessory, to be used only during special occasions. (Right. So I was too lazy to spritz on something that smells heavenly before I walked out of my door) Anyway, the two perfumes that I am in possession of, have never been used more than 20 times before Jiun began her 'smell quest'. Perfumes seemed to be linked to women like my mom, who always took out her 'secret potion' which smelt special and so delicious, when she was getting ready for a special night out. Or (cough cough) to this teacher in high school who seemed not to know when enough was enough. I still wonder how many bottles he goes through in a month.
So, fast forward to a more perfume-enlightened Me. I now know the who's who of the perfume brands. I can tell you a floral fragrance from a fruity one (although I am sure that your 4 year old brother can differentiate that for you too). I can also tell you how to let a fragrance grow-i.e. wear it on your wrist and see how it blooms into different variances of its original smell.
While I have now come to realize that perfumes are much, much more than just making you smell divine, I have yet to grasp the concept of how perfumes influence your mood. See, I've always been more of a happy-go-lucky person. My sad days are (thankfully) numbered and few. I do buy perfumes that reflect my mood, actually, all my perfumes smell HAPPY. However, I have yet to sniff a sad-smelling concoction or a melancholy-smelling one. Maybe others interpret this connection with their perfumes as: 'Right. I'm going to a party tonight and I want to feel sexy. Let's spritz on something sensual.'
GAH. I really can't see people slapping on something that smells sad...Or the perfumers actually making something that evokes less than desirable feelings. Or maybe, my days of perfume sniffing are still labeled as juvenile-amateur. Or, just maybe, perfumes are like chocolates, they are supposed to be the joys of the world that only stir up positive mood-altering hormones.
Ah well, one man's meet another man's poison.
Ho ho ho, while Christmas has already passed, I see no harm in constructing a new wishlist. Ah, all this perfume sniffing would have had to produce a few favorites, no? Boiling down to that and the thought of perfumes being a 開心果...I've realized that I'm more partial to sweet-smelling concoctions in lieu of darker, woodsy, more spicy flavors.
My ultimate favorite:
Jeanne Lanvin.
Utterly divine and simple,
with an underlying touch of playfulness.
Its like getting to know your new best friend more and more each day,
with little surprises and a feeling of much more to come!
Le Jasmin by Annick Goutal.
While I do enjoy more fruity punches than floral bouquets,
I like the scent of jasmine flowers...jasmine tea...jasmine cookies.
There are tons of other perfumes with jasmine notes floating around
but in my opinion, this wins hands down.
Its not too strong and arrogant
(which sometimes happens when there is one prominent ingredient)
but has the correct aptitude of a fine lady, on a carefree day,
taking a stroll through the park and just...enjoying herself.
Bear in mind, though, that this is a French perfume,
so it may come off a bit stronger than the designer perfumes,
but once you spritz it on,
if you love Jasmine as much as me,
you'll be on Cloud Nine...
Chloe by Chloe.
Ah. Chloe.
One of my most admired fashion houses.
Some have criticized Chloe for such a 'normal-smelling' fragrance coming out of a grand house.
I thinks its pleasant, something that I can put on everyday.
My everyday perfume...
Hahhahah!
Somehow, in one of those unexplainable moments,
I caught a whiff of this and I simply fell in love.
Jasmin Noir by Bvlgari
The only heavier fragrance among all the light, airy ones.
This is up because of its faint jasmine notes.
I was rather disappointed that the jasmine was more of an underlying feel...
while the other ingredients played more of a top note.
However, this bloomed into a very interesting scent as the day wore on
and it has amazing lasting power.
So, while it doesn't really convey jasmine,
its still great for a night out!
As one can see, I think I relate more to wearable perfumes rather than perfumes for the sake of perfumes. Anyway, here are some great tips that me and Jiun have picked up in the course of our perfume-scouring:
- Always try on the perfume that you are planning to buy: never rely on those paper slips to determine the scent. Perfumes are like...orange cheese cake. You get to taste the orange first, then the cheese then the mixture of both orange and cheese in your mouth. A perfume changes too. When you first apply it, you might smell the top notes, then...as time goes on, the middle notes come out and finally, if the perfume has long-lasting power or if its a good EDP, it will end with bottom notes. For airy perfumes, there may be more top notes but more heavier, stronger perfumes use more bottom notes.
- Eau De Parfum (EDP) are always more worthwhile than Eau De Toilette (EDT). Since you're spending $, invest it in a lasting investment.
- Weather plays a part in how fragrances smell. For tropical and warm-weather friends (i.e. Malaysia) its best to have airy, floral or fruit based perfumes because our air is more moist than cooler-climate countries. I'm not saying that heavier scents are bad options, just make sure you're in an air-conditioned place most of the time when you choose to wear them or the fragrances might shift due to the humidity in the air.
- Lastly, for easy to understand perfume guides, try out : Now Smell This and HauteParfum. Others can be rather mind-boggling.
Signing off with a tres delightful commercial showing just how 'addictive' perfumes can be!
I have no idea if she has found the one yet as there are countless types of perfumes that exist worldwide. To sniff all of them would be equivalent to undergoing some kind of mission- e.g. Round the World in 365 days. If she were to ever go on such a personal quest, I would suggest she apply for some sort of record in the Guinness Book of Records.
However, for such an objective-less search, two fruitful things happened:
1. Jiun has more than 3 types of perfumes now and is currently still searching for the one.
2. Me, who has never really shown any interest in how good I smell/ or how I smell, for that matter, suddenly piqued into 'OMG. HOW DO I SMELL?'
To me, perfumes have never been more of an accessory, to be used only during special occasions. (Right. So I was too lazy to spritz on something that smells heavenly before I walked out of my door) Anyway, the two perfumes that I am in possession of, have never been used more than 20 times before Jiun began her 'smell quest'. Perfumes seemed to be linked to women like my mom, who always took out her 'secret potion' which smelt special and so delicious, when she was getting ready for a special night out. Or (cough cough) to this teacher in high school who seemed not to know when enough was enough. I still wonder how many bottles he goes through in a month.
So, fast forward to a more perfume-enlightened Me. I now know the who's who of the perfume brands. I can tell you a floral fragrance from a fruity one (although I am sure that your 4 year old brother can differentiate that for you too). I can also tell you how to let a fragrance grow-i.e. wear it on your wrist and see how it blooms into different variances of its original smell.
While I have now come to realize that perfumes are much, much more than just making you smell divine, I have yet to grasp the concept of how perfumes influence your mood. See, I've always been more of a happy-go-lucky person. My sad days are (thankfully) numbered and few. I do buy perfumes that reflect my mood, actually, all my perfumes smell HAPPY. However, I have yet to sniff a sad-smelling concoction or a melancholy-smelling one. Maybe others interpret this connection with their perfumes as: 'Right. I'm going to a party tonight and I want to feel sexy. Let's spritz on something sensual.'
GAH. I really can't see people slapping on something that smells sad...Or the perfumers actually making something that evokes less than desirable feelings. Or maybe, my days of perfume sniffing are still labeled as juvenile-amateur. Or, just maybe, perfumes are like chocolates, they are supposed to be the joys of the world that only stir up positive mood-altering hormones.
Ah well, one man's meet another man's poison.
Ho ho ho, while Christmas has already passed, I see no harm in constructing a new wishlist. Ah, all this perfume sniffing would have had to produce a few favorites, no? Boiling down to that and the thought of perfumes being a 開心果...I've realized that I'm more partial to sweet-smelling concoctions in lieu of darker, woodsy, more spicy flavors.
My ultimate favorite:
Jeanne Lanvin.
Utterly divine and simple,
with an underlying touch of playfulness.
Its like getting to know your new best friend more and more each day,
with little surprises and a feeling of much more to come!
Le Jasmin by Annick Goutal.
While I do enjoy more fruity punches than floral bouquets,
I like the scent of jasmine flowers...jasmine tea...jasmine cookies.
There are tons of other perfumes with jasmine notes floating around
but in my opinion, this wins hands down.
Its not too strong and arrogant
(which sometimes happens when there is one prominent ingredient)
but has the correct aptitude of a fine lady, on a carefree day,
taking a stroll through the park and just...enjoying herself.
Bear in mind, though, that this is a French perfume,
so it may come off a bit stronger than the designer perfumes,
but once you spritz it on,
if you love Jasmine as much as me,
you'll be on Cloud Nine...
Chloe by Chloe.
Ah. Chloe.
One of my most admired fashion houses.
Some have criticized Chloe for such a 'normal-smelling' fragrance coming out of a grand house.
I thinks its pleasant, something that I can put on everyday.
My everyday perfume...
Hahhahah!
Somehow, in one of those unexplainable moments,
I caught a whiff of this and I simply fell in love.
Jasmin Noir by Bvlgari
The only heavier fragrance among all the light, airy ones.
This is up because of its faint jasmine notes.
I was rather disappointed that the jasmine was more of an underlying feel...
while the other ingredients played more of a top note.
However, this bloomed into a very interesting scent as the day wore on
and it has amazing lasting power.
So, while it doesn't really convey jasmine,
its still great for a night out!
As one can see, I think I relate more to wearable perfumes rather than perfumes for the sake of perfumes. Anyway, here are some great tips that me and Jiun have picked up in the course of our perfume-scouring:
- Always try on the perfume that you are planning to buy: never rely on those paper slips to determine the scent. Perfumes are like...orange cheese cake. You get to taste the orange first, then the cheese then the mixture of both orange and cheese in your mouth. A perfume changes too. When you first apply it, you might smell the top notes, then...as time goes on, the middle notes come out and finally, if the perfume has long-lasting power or if its a good EDP, it will end with bottom notes. For airy perfumes, there may be more top notes but more heavier, stronger perfumes use more bottom notes.
- Eau De Parfum (EDP) are always more worthwhile than Eau De Toilette (EDT). Since you're spending $, invest it in a lasting investment.
- Weather plays a part in how fragrances smell. For tropical and warm-weather friends (i.e. Malaysia) its best to have airy, floral or fruit based perfumes because our air is more moist than cooler-climate countries. I'm not saying that heavier scents are bad options, just make sure you're in an air-conditioned place most of the time when you choose to wear them or the fragrances might shift due to the humidity in the air.
- Lastly, for easy to understand perfume guides, try out : Now Smell This and HauteParfum. Others can be rather mind-boggling.
Signing off with a tres delightful commercial showing just how 'addictive' perfumes can be!
Still holding out my nose for:
Jo Malone
Creed
Chantecaille
Comme des Garcons
Caron
Guerlain
Miller Harris
Jo Malone
Creed
Chantecaille
Comme des Garcons
Caron
Guerlain
Miller Harris
Credits:
Pictures from Google Image Search!
Pictures from Google Image Search!
