What's the most gorgeous and longest lasting perfume ever?

[Scarletohello]

Ok so the most gorgeous is gonna be subjective but would love to know what you guys think! Long lasting would be good too but obviously all fragrances fade. I quite like Issey Miyake or rose scents but am very open minded.

Any ideas, you lovely fragrent ladies..? :)

[Kablooger]

Agree. Whenever I used the Liz earle one people asked me what it was

[LoafersOrLouboutins]

Oooh I can't remember it's full name but it's by Dior and is Oud based, it's stocked exclusively in Harrods and throughout the Middle East. Over £200 a bottle. It's like the scent of an orgasm. 3 days later I could still smell it on my hair and my skin when I showered.

[ElleDubloo]

Chanel no 5. I've never worn anything else since my aunt gave me a bottle when I was 18.

[Kablooger]

I used to too. Then decided it smelled like an old lady perfume

[Scarletohello]

So an update. Went to House of Fraser today to try on some perfumes. Tried the Wild Orchid and at first found it very sweet with a weird hint of coconut! Smelt cheap and cloying and didn't like it. Then tried the Clunique one which smelt like piss on me. But.... After a few hours the Wild Orchid was lovely and the Clinique one felt very, sophisticated is the only word I can think of to describe it.

The Aqua di Palma ones were gorgeous, more expensive than I am used to paying, but a good investment.

Will have to go to John Lewis in another town to try the Liz Earle so once I've tried it I will make my decision. And fortunately, I have a £25 JL voucher I haven't used yet!

So thanks all and was a real lesson in letting a perfume settle before deciding whether to buy it! Amazing how different they smelt after a few hours! :)

[Scarletohello]

Still want to try the one that smells like 'an orgasm'..!!

[Kablooger]

Black orchid ?

[Scarletohello]

So I'm sitting here with Clinique Aromatics on one wrist which now I absolutely love, citrusy and classy and on the other wrist is Tom Ford , which is soft, vanilla, warm. They're both lovely but feel like they belong on two completely different people. Which one am I?

[ identity crisis emoticon ]

:)

[turdfairynomore]

I'd describe Black Orchid as warm/spicy/heavy rather than sweet. It's almost masculine at first but softens to a "rounder" scent (that makes sense to me!!) I have a warped idea of "sweet" in perfumes though as my DD19 has the absolute opposite taste in perfume to me and wears things that to my "nose" are very sweet, cloying and sickly. I can smell a perfume and know instantly that she'd like it! (She smells lovely btw-just v different to me!!) As far as thinking that the perfumes you like belong to two different people-maybe both of those people are "you"?! Black orchid is what people associate with me. But I also like other very different scents that I buy in tiny bottles if I want a wee change eg I have Chanel cristalle and allure plus the original juicy couture (the only one that DD and I both would wear!). Any Tom Ford perfume is a big investment though (at least it is for me-the last bottle I bought was about £70+!!) so you'd need to be sure that it's keeper!!! Enjoy the continuing search!!

[wildfig]

Liz Earle No15 is lovely - as is the No1 fragrance.

For sheer lasting power, I don't think anything can beat Angel by Thierry Mugler. I sprayed some the other day in JL on a nostalgic whim and I could still smell it, despite furious scrubbing of my wrists, days later. It must have base notes of embalming fluid.

[wrapsuperstar]

Portrait of a Lady by Frederic Malle has crazy staying power and is one of the loveliest scents in the world.

[williaminajetfighter]

If you're looking for silage I'd go for an oud or oriental fragrance. Or as someone noted something amber based like mitsouko/guerlain.

My faves at the moment tend to be verbena/lemon/citrus/rose smells and they are crap when it comes to lasting.

That said Stella is a v popular rose based perfume and does have food staying power!

Ps please don't go for Angel!!

[expatinscotland]

Fracas

[Kablooger]

Agree re citrus not lasting. See tom ford grey vetvier and eau dynamisante

[Scarletohello]

Erm what does silage mean, long lasting?

Wouldn't wear Angel, simply because a friend of mine wears it and it would just remind me of her ( not that there's anything wrong with her, it's just her scent to me )

[nannyj]

I love Hermes 24 Fouberg.

[Scarletohello]

Also really curious about how many of you know about scents, do you work in the industry..?

[thenightsky]

Lol at william's Silage perfume! How very agricultural.

[Catmint]

L'instant, by Guerlain

[maybemyrtle]

Sillage is the projection of the fragrance...or better described here.

Also as a pp said, perhaps both fragrances are "you"! You wouldn't just wear one pair of shoes all the time, in every season and for every occasion.

Buying decants rather than full bottles is a cost effective way to try them out, by the way.

[Scarletohello]

Buying 'decants'... Er what are they? It's a whole different language, this!

[Scarletohello]

Just clicked on that link, thank you, fascinating! So it's like a trail, yes I get that. I want one! :)

[maybemyrtle]

Sorry, decanted samples of perfumes, eg a 5ml vial, so you can try a fragrance out over a period of time before committing to a full bottle. This place is reliable - I'm not affiliated to it except as a customer. You can also find manufacturer's samples on ebay usually :)