Find me a perfume - love Chanel 19 but doesn't smell the same on me now :-(

[Plainandsimple]

Help me wise ones, I need a new perfume and can't find one I like! I wore Chanel 19 from late teens until early 40's, when DC's school shoes became a bigger priority than perfume, then decided to treat myself to a bottle last year only to discover it smells like cat pee on me now! I am gutted, this was 'my' perfume, I've never found anything else that smells as unique and delicious, but really miss having a lovely scent around me (Bold non-biological doesn't quite cut it). What should I try? I don't like powdery, floral, sweet, rose, musk, sandalwood. Scents I love are orange blossom, lemon, cinnamon, Christmas spice, cut grass, clean laundry, suntan lotion, chocolate brownies, lavender, jasmine, honeysuckle and that 'tarmac after rain' smell.

Any suggestions from that eclectic mix?!

Givenchy l’interdit is gorgeous - it has top notes of jasmine and I always get loads of compliments
A bit lighter is l’occitane verbena - It’s lemony and fresh
Another very fresh smelling one is jo malone pear & freesia - gorgeous and unusual

Oh and if you like chocolate smells “angel” Thierry mugler is very vanilla/chocolatey smelling. A woman walked past me with it on yesterday and it smelt lovely!

Thankyou Bette (love your taste in music by the way!), I'll go sniffing at the weekend. I did think of Angel - the description ('fragrance notes'?) sounded lovely, so I'll start with that.

Oh, you should try 'Tendre Madeleine' by Les Senteurs gourmandes.
Buttery vanilla, lemon and cinnamon. You'll smell like a Christmassy lemon cake. It's very like the discontinued L by Lolita Lempicka.

Also, there is a fragrance by Demeter called 'Petrichor' which is literally the smell of newly dampened earth after a rainstorm.

And, there's Escada 'Desire Me' (naff name) which is Mandarin, chocolate, Tiramisu, coffee, honeysuckle and various green notes which are pretty grassy to my nose.

But whilst you are thinking about what to spend your money on, buy yourself a rollerball of Choco Musk by Al Rehab off ebay. It's a cult favourite amongst fragranistas, smells of chocolatey cocoa pops and vanilla with a touch of cinnamon and rose. And it costs about £2.

Try Miss Dior original

Eau Dynamisante?

Have you tried Chanel Noir? I too love Chanel No 19 but it doesn't smell 'right' on me. Noir has that darker, more woody scent but still in the Chanel family - I adore it.

My all-time favourite is Dune, also Dior

I was coming on to say Dune as well. That and 19 are my 2 favourites. I also keep meaning to try Hermes Eau des Merveilles, that sounds very interesting

If you want something not a million miles from Chanel 19 have a sniff at:
Annick Goutal Eau du Sud (crisp sharp citrus)
Yardley Jade (seriously it's fab)
Liz Earle number 1 (green and Herby)
Jacomo Silences.
4160 Tuesdays Ealing Green is also a gorgeous crisp green and covers your cut grass bit.

You might also like a couple of the Chanel Eaux that have recently come out. I love most of them for their crisp Chanel-y ness but Paris-Deauville is my favourite.

Orange blossom- any of the billions of Neroli Portofino types, but don't waste your money on either Tom Ford, Acqua Di Parma or Jo Malone etc. Get the dupes from Perfume Parlour. For simple, linear fragrances like the above brands churn out you can pick up dupes which are longer lasting and 20x cheaper. Superdrug do a range called Bloom which has an orange blossomy one. M&S carry lots of citrussy stuff as well. Shay and Blue Blood Orange is a stronger orange than orange blossom/neroli but v nice.
Seville a' l'aube is lavender and orange (Artisans Parfumeur) but it's also got a hit of Patchouli.

If you hadn't said you don't like powdery then I'd have said Shalimar (orange chocolate spice Christmas) or Shalimar (orange/sandalwood)

Lemon- Annick Goutal Eau d'Hadrien is my favourite lemon.
4160 Tuesdays do one called Lemon Sherbert but like most of theirs it's too sweet for me.
Again, M&S have some good citrussy ranges.

Library of Fragrance Petrichor for your after the rain (I think there is an actual scent called After The Rain but I don't know it)

Estée Lauder Bronze Goddess for your suntan lotion vibe.

Dune is sandalwoody so OP might not like.

Wow, loads of suggestions - thankyou all! I’ll start working my way through the list and let you know how it goes!