I want a perfume that does this!!!

[opalescent]

I hate most perfumes. I wish I could find one that just gave a nice gentle 'what's that lovely smell?' smell.
I hate floral, musk, or anything too sweet. Is there such a thing as a perfume that just produces a gentle, barely noticeable 'Mmmm' of pleasure? I realise that it's a very subjective thing.
I prefer the smell of men's fragrances in general. Is there such a thing as a female fragrance, that is quite 'masculine?' Help!!

I was just reading an article about finding your signature scent. They say its quite a long process. In the store spray the paper strips and write on with pencil which is which. Smell it then and then again a few hours later. Those that you like best, spray onto your skin next time. Then continue this process until you find the one you like, and those that bring you compliments . Mine is Dune by Dior, I have used it for years and years and although it isn't one of the newer scents, I still get complimented when wearing it. What suits one person may not suit you so it may be a process of elimination to find 'the one'.

Lolly this is what one should do, sampling on skin a few times is a must.

Finding 'the one' is great but I love diversity even more - today I'm wearing a light bitter-orange tinged cologne (Acqua Allegoria Nerolia Bianca) but tomorrow I might prefer a warm cashmere wrap (Coromandel, Le Labo Labdanum) or the brisk business feel of a classic masculine (Geo Trumper's light and debonair Spanish Leather - smelled on a stylish man on the street yesterday - or the piney and earthy classic Yatagan). Often, there is no one correct solution. So OP, go sampling and enjoy the process

Dune is a great classic though!

I thought that's what everyone did? My problem is that I do this endlessly and almost never find one that I still like on myself an hour later, they always change for the worse. Also I live in the sticks and rarely shop in cities so it's not easy to find the more unusual brands. Perfume is a source of great frustration to me.

For light inoffensive scents ie work friendly for me:

Estée Lauder Modern Muse

Bulgari au the vert

Hermes Vetiver Tonka

Annick Goutal Ninfeo Mio

Atelier Cologne Orange sanguine

If you don't it to smell too "perfumey" don't try Chanel Coco Mademoiselle but do consider Prada Infusion D'iris- it's soft and wafty and gentle.

Also- listen to Frugal Fashionista on perfume ^^

I write a perfume blog and I rate her advice very highly.

Thanks MissBattleaxe

WhoKnows I only really started undestanding and enjoying perfumes when I started ordering niche samples. Many mainstream perfumes are so anodyne these days and the quality is not great. Les Senteurs and Scent and Sensibility have great stuff and do mail order samples - a sample of something new and lovely is an inexpensive treat.

Also repeting this from previous threads but if you read Perfumes - The A-Z Guide you'll understand your likes and dislikes a lot more, plus it's a great read. Perfume sites like Fragrantica and Basenotes are also great and blogs like Bois de Jasmin and Perfume Shrine are fantastic.

Guerlain Mitsouko. Not at ALL floral or sweet! Woody, warm spicy and earthy. And lovely

Thank you FF - I tried to follow those long perfume threads that were going a year or so back (maybe they still are?). It is a real problem being out in the middle of nowhere with Debenhams being the main source of perfume locally. I've always been a bit afraid of ordering samples as I only seem to have a "like" rate of about 1 in 100 that I try in shops (I do try them anywhere I see a perfume counter). Will look into those sites.

eau de blanc bvlgari is fantastic, bugger to find but you can get it online.

My favorite unisex colognes are bulgari green tea & Hermes orange verte. But they are very citrusy.

Narcisso rodriguez is fab with a wonderful clean powdery finish.

the prada infusion d'iris is quite similar with the powdery finish covering any underlying flowery or musky tones.

Pricey but I love some of Tom Ford's. Vanille Tobac and Tuscan Leather. Yum. I got his Violet Blonde (or Violent Blonde as I prefer to call it), and it's quite spicey but feminine. But it's strong when you first put it on. Nice and mellow as the day goes on though.

I'm curious to know what the Tova perfumes for QVC smell like but not enough to order any The main sales point for the whole line seems to be, 'ooh, everyone will ask what that incredible unusual fragrance is, as they collapse in seduced abasement at your feet'.

Disclaimer: I'm not so daft that I don't realise this is QVCese for 'we don't know how to describe this smell on television.'

Mme not citrusy but warmth.... would a green/mossy thing may be up your street?
Look at the descriptions here and see what groups seem right, then try a few within the categories
I stick my by thought of moelcule 01 though

I love Serve Lutens fragrance. There are a few that might suit. If you are near London go to Liberties & have a sniff. (not cheap though - but are different)

My favourite of the moment is Five o'clock au gingembre.

Try reading some reviews - I like Lucky Event's write ups.

I'm just like you, OP. Hate most perfumes, and those that I like in the bottle turn rank on me.

One staple, though, as been Infusion d'Iris by Prada.

Then I smelt molecule 01 on a man, and had to practically mount him there and then, despite him being totally gay. I got it two birthdays ago, and have worn it ever since. It's a little bit woody, a little bit warm, a little bit musky, but you only catch little wafts of it. People always say how nice I smell. Some say I smell of pine woods, some of clean washing. It really is my favourite ever perfume.

OP AS others have said, follow Frugal's advice. She's the expert! And do try samples if you can.

Scent is so extraordinarily individual. To me, for example, some other posters' favourites such as Dune, Mitsouko, Eau Dynamisante do not seem 'gentle'. I hate them. BUT THAT'S JUST ME. There's nothing wrong with the scents themselves, or with other posters' recommendations. Those scents work for them, and that's fantastic. Many people probably would not like my favourites.

On the other hand, I'd certainly second the poster above who recommended Guerlain's 'Apres l'Ondee' (faint, smoky violets and the merest hint of green - a bit like hay). I'm also a fan of perfumes by a company in Brittany called Lostmarc'h www.lostmarch.fr/category.php?id_category=5 - especially their Eau de'Hermine. You can get samples of that from Scent and Sensibility for £3.50: www.scent-and-sensibility.co.uk/Samples/L%27Eau+de+L%27Hermine.html
Beware, though. On me at least, their scents are NOT at all long-lasting.

For old-fashioned ladylike/retro, there is always Balmain de Balmain. At first, it's strong but soon fades to something that I - and quite a few others - find intriguing. This is what basenotes says about it: You can get cheap bottles from So Lippy: solippy.co.uk/catalog/balmain-balmain-pierre-balmain-women-toilette-p-2597.html

As Frugal has said www.basenotes.net/? is tremendously useful in describing the different elements in each scent. That could be helpful in narrowing down the range of perfumes you might want to sample.

Also, I recommend buying samples from ebay. They're a bit funny about decants at the moment, but official samples can usually be had for a song.

I like the m and s aftershave nero