classic, chic fragrance for a non-fragrance-wearing 29 year-old?

[ChateauMargot]

That's it, really! Wondering about Chanel, Guerlain, Jo Malone?.. Where does one start?

Armarni in a gold bottle with a soft squirts push thingy at the top :)

That's not a very good description sorry haha

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle is lovely.

Second Verity's recc. Also, I love Chloe by Chloe. Really very lovely indeed.

Aqua di Parma is unisex, very fresh and Mediterranean (citrus notes). It's light and you can layer up with the shower gel and the perfume. Fabulous.

Another vote for Coco Chanel mademoiselle

More votes for Chanel - Coco Madesmoiselle, No.5 and Allure. Also love Chloe by Chloe.

Chanel's "ordinary" Coco is lovely too.

Thanks, ladies! Shall check these out. Is Chanel No 5 a bit old, then?

Hmm - I think for a non fragrance wearer you need to go for a very light scent.

As a previous non fragrance wearer, I love this

Yes Santafffeta, that L'Occitane one is a lovely fragrance

Coco Chanel Mademoiselle can work but can also become slightly piss-like after some wear. Personally, I don't like Chance and Allure. Coco I love but that is too strong for many people.

Chanel #5 is a definite no-no. It is a grandmotherly scent. You can purchase it for yourself if you really like it and can carry it off, but it can be unpleasantly soaplike on a young woman.

I recently bought Especially Escada on a flight. It smells chic, crisp and rosy, there is something very clean and brisk about it (it smells almost like a good laundry detergent), and it's not difficult to wear and not too sensual for daytime and office. I wore it in a job interview and got the job.

Issy Miyake? I don't think I've ever met a woman who doesn't like it.

I am not sure about Coco Mademoiselle on a non-fragrance wearing person, although I like it myself. It's quite sweet. I would recommend one of the Pradas - Amber, Infusion d'iris, or Donna Karan Cashmere Mist.
I cannot stand L'Eau d'Issey but then I wore it in the first year of university and it reminds me of nights on the lash and the after-effects :(

This is so helpful, all - thank you! Need to get to Selfridges for a good sniff around, I think...

I'm nearly 46 and just started wearing make-up and am considering the odd bit of scent (just for work). I used to like Rive Gauche - so any hints for me would also be great (and sorry to thread jack OP).

How does one go about choosing - the thought of trying loads on fills me with terror (all those women with ornage faces - yuck).

I don't wear much perfume, and I rarely wear the more full- on ones I have been given like Prada or Chanel. I'd go for something lighter and less complex, like Jo Malone or the aqua di Parma ones, mentioned above.

LOL at orange faces!

So is Jo Malone more discrete, in general?

I've never tried them, but Philiosophy do a range called Amazing Grace or similar, that are all v. Light, 'clean' smelling. Otherwise Prada Iris, Acqua di Parma are lovely, crisp and not overpowering. I love Chanel Coco and Allure, but they are full on fragrances and perhaps not for perfume novice. I've also got that Emporio Armani one Humpty described. It's called She - lovely warm, musky, slightly sweet (but not sickly)

Oh and Guerlain do a range called aqua Allegoria which are light too. Dont rate Jo Malone personally, v.expensive and don't last very long (unless you fork out for the entire body range and layer it) there's discrete and non existent chateau!

I was a non-fragrance-wearer for the first 30 years of my life. I now wear Guerlain Voil de Nuit. Unusual, powdery, and my then DP now DH thought it smelled like naked me, which is why he bought it

Teahouse, Fragrantica is a great resource. It breaks down what your favorites smell like (RG, for example, is a floral aldehydic rosy smell) and gives you suggestions of things you might also like. Write a few down, go to your local shop, spray some on strips of paper and the after that the one you really like on your wrist. Go home and feel how it transforms - do you still like it? Repeat a few times, and you'll find what you love. To get you started, here is a full link to RG in Fragrantica. Oh, and if you want to wear a scent to the office, go for a light EDT - heavy, heady perfumes and EDPs can give you and your colleagues a headache (as can classics like Coco, Shalimar and Opium).

I don't like Jo Malone all that much - lacks complexity and lasting power.

www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Yves-Saint-Laurent/Rive-Gauche-96.html

A friend mentioned Amazing Grace to me years ago - thanks for the memory jog.

And cheers for the link! Looks like fun :)

Teahouse - like

anais anais by cacharel. it's a little flowery and quite traditional, no muskyness or sweetness. I don't really wear scent, but my mum got me this and I love it.

I would look for travel sizes like these so you are not stuck with a big bottle - I am a non perfum wearer, so I think a travel size bottle would last me as long as a large bottle.

I think that HumptyDumpty2 means Armani She. Which I was going to say too. It's the only perfume that I wear.