I have an affinity for a lot of beautiful things. Fragrance being one of them. Makeup and fragrances wrapped in beautiful packaging sends me over the moon. I love the beautiful bottles of perfume that aren’t necessarily available on every corner. I love boutique fragrances. I love how beautiful bottles look while sitting on my vanity and I thought I’d share some of my favs from over the years. This post was inspired by one of my favorite beauty gurus, Sally Hughes. Check out her divine collection of fragrances on this video.
Let me preface this by saying that this is a small collection of what I actually have. And yes, it’s obscene!
One of my all-time favs is by perfumer Annick Goutal. I have purchased her Petite Cherie perfume several times over the years. It’s such a feminine fragrance where pear is standout scent here. With other notes of rose hip, peach and vanilla, it’s the perfect fragrance for early spring. I don’t wear as much as I used to, but I do like to spritz it on at least once or twice a year when the seasons do change back to spring.
Another favorite Annick Goutal fragrance that I love is Ce soir ou Jamais. It’s weird because I’m not a big fan rose scented products, but when rose is mixed with other scents in a certain way, I tend to gravitate towards them – if that makes any sense. Ce soir ou Jamais is a definite rose heavy fragrance, but it’s Turkish rose infused with ambrette and hibiscus notes that make me feel alluring and pretty!
Prada Les Infusions d’Iris is another flower perfume that I completely bathed myself at a point in time. A very elegant perfume it’s an oriental-woody-floral. This fragrance has the ability to transport you to any chic Italian villa with notes of iris, cedar, and vetiver. I remember when it was first released, one of my beauty connects at my local Neiman Marcus begged me to come into the store to try it out because she knows what I like. And she was so right! She spritzed the fragrance on me and I was in love instantly. I walked out with a bottle and haven’t looked back sense. It’s something I still wear to this day and it’s my “transition to fall” fragrance.
On a weekend trip to NYC, I stopped over at Barney’s. It’s hard for me not to go to NYC and not make a stop there. One this one trip a few years back, I got interested in a fragrance called IF by Apothia. It’s described as hip, fashionable, and elegant. And that’s actually how I feel when I wear it during the summer months. It’s a burst of white flowers, grapefruit, and sparkling yuzu. It’s a really sexy perfume and I love it!
Stella McCartney perfume, Stella, is a beautiful English rose scent. It’s another rose-scented perfume that I absolutely love! Because it also has notes of amber (another favorite scent of mines), it’s a fragrance that I can bathe myself in all day. It’s a highly feminine fragrance that conjures up visions of a strong, independent #girlboss-type of woman. I wear this when I want to feel my most confident.
Serge Lutens Daim Blond is a strangely strong and alluring scent. Another Barney’s purchase (Barney’s of Chicago), this is the first unisex fragrance that I’ve ever owned. Daim Blonds means “white suede” and it’s a mysterious fragrance that I reserve only for fall and winter nights. It has several notes, that include leather, iris, heliotrope, musk, Ceylon cardamom, among other notes.
Flora by Gucci is one of my favorites because, in my opinion, a very upbeat and sexy fragrance. It’s playful and lively and it contains notes of peony, rose, pink pepper, and sandalwood. I will spritz this on the weekends, particularly on casual Fridays when I want to get the party started!
Lastly, one of my top ten fragrances of all times is Viktor & Rolf’s Flowerbomb! I LOVE this effing fragrance! I bought it when it was first released back in 2005 when I was a freelance makeup artist for Bobbi Brown. It’s just as the name denotes, an explosion of flowers! Not only do I love the name, but I get so many compliments when I wear this fragrance, particularly from men. I literally got chased down once by this guy that was getting off of the elevator to ask me what I was wearing. Scary, but flattering! J Made with notes of bergamot, jasmine, freesia, orchid, rose, and patchouli, it’s not a fragrance for the faint of heart. It’s bold. It’s sexy. It’s feminine. And it’s fun!!