6 Best Scents For Day, Night, and Work

June 1, 2008

Kristen at BeautyAddict does a feature on perfume now and again. She’s done spring , and summer. These are my favorite articles. I commented once on her site that I hope she does more. Old classics and limited edition fragrances are highlighted, and she has great taste.

I love perfume a lot. Considering the day job I have, I am grateful that scent has not been banned from my workplace. Some days, I tell you… it’s every woman for herself.

Of course, perfume is probably the most subjective beauty product out there. Here are some I will always be faithful to. None, except perhaps Euphoria, is a scent for a woman under 30 which makes them all the better, in my rendering. There is some common denominator in the scents worn by younger women and men that I find too synthetic. Maybe it’s a common ingredient, but nothing in nature would ever smell that way. It smells too forced.

Best work scent

Clinique Simply doesn’t begin as much. It develops into the most agreeable sweet tea, a little like a faint Earl Grey blend. I haven’t seen it at a Clinique counter for years but it still shows up at some of the perfume discounters. It is sheer in that the fragrance is doesn’t create a wall of any sort around you. It is very easy to penetrate. The notes do not continue changing. It is not complicated and not suggestive. It is inexpensive at $30 and can still be found online. It works, whether your work uniform is a suit or cords, a cool shirt, and a great belt. Very classy, never overdone.

Do you know the basenotes database? There are reviews of any fragarance you can name and you can post your own reviews. I was surprised to see these reviews for Simply, many of which were neutral or negative. And nobody thought it smelled like tea! Several women smelled licorice ( which I can see) and soybeans (soybeans have a smell?) . Fragrance is such a personal choice. You can read a thousand reviews but you still have to try it on yourself.

Best day scent

Bulgari Rose Essentielle is unexpectedly beautiful. I do like the scent of rose but it can’t be too easily identified or it seems old-fashioned. This scent is a very modern variation of rose, very fresh and clean. It is my children’s favorite. This is so classy that even people who generally don’t care for scent wouldn’t object. Even though not everyone will like my choice of scent, I don’t want to offend or have anyone say I outright stink. It is not for 20yr olds. You will receive compliments. Sample it next time you’re in The Bay. This is a very elegant perfume. (Did you notice the amazing prices at the Fragrancex site? The Bulgari link will take you there. The selection is as good as the prices.)

Best all round scent

Jo Malone Lime Basil and Mandarin is an incredible scent. It achieves a perfect balance of sweet, sharp, fresh, clean, modern, classic. It is expensive. This is one of those scents that’s not overly feminine. A man could probably wear it. Soft citrus is perfectly balanced by sweet mandarin and slightly licorice basil. Fantastic.

Sexiest scent

Men don’t like to be knocked over and they don’t like complicated synthetic smells. Though the fruity, pineapple blends may remind us of an island holiday, I’m not certain men would feel the same way. I find they prefer warm simple scents to complex florals (Oscar) or sharp and odd scents (Angel, Poison).

Does anyone remember Bonne Bell Skin Musk? Hands down, the human male’s most turn-on scent. I haven’t seen it for sale for years, just as well since I now have teenage daughters and I do not need them wearing this potion. Boys and men react to it like a pheromone.

Euphoria is remarkable stuff. Leave it to Calvin Klein to make such a very cool scent. It changes often on me. It is a little fruity and quite lush, though not excessively so. It has become a cult classic because of its ability to become part of the person who wears it, so well does it blend with body chemistry. It doesn’t just sit on top like the icing on a cake.

Gucci Rush 2 is rose again, but warmer, sweeter, deeper than the Bulgari. Modern. Young but not adolescent. Interesting and a little musky. Very attractive but not strong, so you have to work to get it. And you have to get close. A little too sensual for work but green enough that you can get away with it if you want to be noticed as more than just competent.

Safest scent

Armani Sensi. Here are some associations : peach, soft statement, balanced, medium sweet, health, pleasant, elegant. You’d wear this to take a yoga class. Or maybe to keep you calm through the hailstorm of everyday living.

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Outside The Box

Comments

5 Responses to “6 Best Scents For Day, Night, and Work”

Laureen Schroeder on June 3rd, 2008 1:57 pm

Great article! Bonne Bell’s Skin Musk was sold to Parfums de Coeur years ago and we still make and sell it. We have many loyal customers and I found your comments very interesting too!
If anyone wants to try it – you can buy in online at http://www.parfumsdecoeur.com or at Walmart, CVS, Target etc.
Christine Scaman on June 3rd, 2008 6:23 pm

Hi, Lauren,
I have a lot of memories of Skin Musk. Back in my 20′s , when we were preparing for a night out, my friend and I would take tiny vials of the perfume with us.
We would get those little tiny tester perfume vials, empty them out, and refill them with Skin. If the man of the week appeared at the bar, we would pull out the Skin vial and douse ourselves.
Since we wore our clothes tighter back then and didn’t carry purses and coats, being impervious to cold and worried only about what rain might do to our hair, we kept the little tubes in our shoes. Every now and again, one would break, making the dance floor more precarious than usual.
I followed the link you provided, but I couldn’t tell which product this is. Has it changed names? Does it go by the same name/bottle at Target and WalMart?
karen raulerson on June 24th, 2008 6:45 pm

i would like to know the name of the product,too.— the former Bonne Bell musk scent. thank you, karen raulerson
Christine Scaman on June 24th, 2008 7:51 pm

Karen,

I’ll email Laureen and ask.

Have you used the Bonne Bell Skin Musk before? Maybe we’ll smell it now and think we’ve completely outgrown it. There was a time when I wore Love’s Baby Soft, but I can’t imagine wearing it again.

I used so much Skin Musk back in the day that I think I recall the scent correctly. I believe I’d still wear it. If you do, be careful… it has an interesting effect. : )
Christine Scaman on June 24th, 2008 7:55 pm

Karen,

I looked again on the link Laureen gives us above, and this time I found it. Look at the horizontal bar across the top, the pink one. You’ll see Skin Musk at the far right.
Read the 1 review of the product once you open its page. Looks like other women have noticed the same thing I have. And the reviewer is right, you have to buy the oil. The spray doesn’t come close.