Scent that's not a "perfume"

[RedCarsGoFaster]

I've seen how people seem to know lots here about perfume, but I want more of a specific scent and not necessarily a traditional perfume!

I absolutely love lemongrass and bergamot. Strong, citrusy smells are really clearing for my brain and make my head feel better on a bad migraine day (of which I have MANY). I have worn Coco Mademoiselle and Cacharel's Eden over the last decade or so, but I'm going off eau de toilette type scents I think.

I can't bear patchouli, lavender, geranium, rose, sandalwood and anything too heavy like Opium gives me an instant migraine.

Can anyone advise on what I want to look for? I can buy essential oils to wear on my throat and wrists, but I don't find they stay on me for long - I'd much prefer a spray type of scent to wear on my clothes if I can. I've also tried "Aromaworks" Bergamot and Lemongrass room / linen spray which smells amazing but doesn't last well and isn't a strong scent.

All help gratefully received!

not citric, but Eau d'Issey is lovely

Verde London do a Lemon Zest spray that might be what you are looking for.

Malin + Goetz, C O Bigelow and Le Labo all have bergamot scents but I don’t know if they’ll be what you’re looking for.

Not what you asked but have you tried lemongrass and bergamot tea/s?If the scent helps you feel better maybe breathing in the steam from tea would help?

L:A Bruket have lemongrass products including a hand cream that would give you a regular hit of fragrance (and smooth hands )

Try Origins 'Ginger Essence', its light, sharp, beautifully spicy - I can't wear heavy perfumes either but I wear Ginger Essence every day and have lots of people complimenting it and asking me what my perfume is.

Oh wow, how do you all know these things?! Amazing, thank you so much - I'll get looking into it all!

And actually, lemongrass tea is a good shout - not sure why I've not done that before :-/

I'd definitely like to hold the scent with me too though. I also have a gorgeous This Works roller ball scent thing, but again it just seems to disappear from me within literally minutes.

Is perfume not working on someone a thing?

I like that ginger essence one too-

The Tom Ford body sprays are really good. Both mandarino di amalfi and neroli portfolio are citrusy and long lasting.
They’re both available on the Tom Ford U.K. site.

L'Occitaine do a beautiful sharp lemon verbena scent which lingers. There's no lemongrass in it but it's very sharp citrus.

Another vote for Verde - really lovely products! I used to live near the shop in London and now use mail order - they will give advice over the phone and are really helpful. Worth a look.
www.verde.co.uk/product-category/oils-sprays/

I think your nose may be desensitised to your scent- to others it's probably still quite evident, scent receptors can become "saturated" so they no longer notice strong smells.

The suggestions by others are all good. Esp the Tom Ford and Le Labo suggestions, you might also want try the aqua de Palma range, lots of strong citrus scents in their range. But for the sake of others who are very sensitive to strong smells, I'd still be careful not to over apply even if you think it has worn off your body.

Fragonard at m&s do lovely citrus scents

There's always good old boots cologne too!

Ever tried Aqua de Palma? I love that

Molton Brown so a body oil and also a perfume in their rhubarb and rose range

The Floral Street range is lovely - I'm currently on Electric Rhubarb. I got it almost half price from Brand Alley. Also Eau d' Issey and Blue Grass (Estee Lauder). Also discovered a Greek brand called Korres on hols which I love.

Yes and I'm sure they do a verbena one too.

On the continent, babies are doused in eau de cologne and it completely fits your bill!

Like this one

I was going to suggest ’Baby cologne’ too, it’s not very long lasting though

Thanks for the reminder about baby cologne, I've just ordered some.

How about a perfume locket if you feel like a given scent doesn't last well on you - could be used to hold a solid perfume, or a bit of cotton bud sprayed/soaked in your desired scent.

I can't believe I haven't asked before - thank you all so much. I've ordered a few samples / small bottles of the suggested scents where I can find them online and will trawl the beauty counters this weekend as well.

And a locket is inspired @ferretface ,I'm going to look at that right now, thank you!

vallentee , do lovely products , I think you would like their scents
they do a lemongrass range

@RedCarsGoFaster as well as lockets there are actual rollerball perfume pendants available for sale - lots of independent /artisan jewellers sell them on Etsy, I've seen some beautiful ones. Some search terms to try:

Perfume pomander, perfume diffuser pendant, rollerball perfume pendant, scent locker, solid perfume holder

I also agree that aqua di Parma have some beautifully citrus scents! Very fresh and not "fake" smelling.

It's an oldie but CK one is nice too