Knowledgeable perfume people - help needed!

[LadyOfTheCanyon]

I fancy some new scents.
I went a bit nose blind in Liberty last week sniffing perfumes and completely confused myself. Think I'm developing a bit of a thing for ouds.

If I list some of the perfumes and notes I like, would you suggest other perfumes in the same vein?

Currently Love:
Dans tes bras, Frederic Malle
Portrait of a Lady, Frederic Malle
Cedar Violet, Aerin
Halfeti, Penhaligons
An Oud Affair, Vilhelm Parfumerie
Dear Polly, Vilhelm Parfumerie
Des clous per une pelure, Serge Lutens
Oud Immortel, Byredo
Good girl gone bad, Killian
Velvet Plum, Lalique
Un Jardin sur Le Nil, Hermes
Paris- Edimbourg, Chanel

I like ginger, spice, incense, rose, jasmine, ylang, cedar, amber, violet, lavender, heliotrope, woody, aromatic, balsamic notes. Some fruit.

Not keen on anything too powdery, soft, iris-y or overly gourmand, although I like some vanillas. Happy to wear 'masculine' notes too - my all time favourite smell is possibly the original Gucci Envy for men. God, I miss that smell.

Please suggest some fragrances for me to start obsessing about and chasing samples round the internet!

Hopeful bump

Honey Oud by Floris is lovely. It's also very strong so the small travel size will last ages. No need for the big bottle.

You need to find Chevvyimpala on the perfumistas thread. I think your list sounds similar to her style.

Brilliant, thank you!

Malin and Goetz Rum.

Fougère d’Argent by Tom Ford

Perfume blogger here, at your service! Looking at that list, you have pretty wide ranging tastes from the watercolour hesperides of Un Jardin Sur Le Nil to the big, carnal tuberose of Good Girl Gone Bad and the deep, dark Vilhelm Ouds.

From all of that, you seem to have an excellent collection and a wide ranging preference already. Maybe I could direct you to some you may not have tried?

Papillon Perfumery Salome (sexy as heck!), Hera (iris, white flower luxury) or Tobacco Rose ( a woody, spicy rose with great lasting power). All handmade by one genius woman, Liz Moores. papillonperfumery.co.uk/

4160 Tuesdays: Midnight in the Palace Garden (rich, deep, oudy), Court of Ravens ( in a similar vein to POAL but I prefer it), Meet Me on The Corner (Lemon and Lime chypre like a terribly British Cristalle), The sexiest Scent on The Planet Ever (IMHO). www.4160tuesdays.com/

Tauer: Une Rose Chypre, Noontide Petals, L'Air du Desert Marocain ( a smoky cult classic) www.tauerperfumes.com/

Gallivant: Too little space here to talk about all of them, but they do a great Discovery Set that gives you the price back. www.gallivant-perfumes.com/products/try-the-full-collection

Le Jardin Retrouve: Paris family run perfume house which delivers to the UK within 4 days (IME). The Discovery set has 11 fragrances and you get 24E off your next purchase. I am in love with Sandalwood Sacre, Jasmin Majorelle and Cuir de Russie. lejardinretrouve.com/

Also, try The Perfume Society Discovery niche boxes. They have a generous bunch of hard to get samples in one box. perfumesociety.org/product-category/discovery-boxes/

Lastly, I co authored The Perfume Companion with Sarah McCartney which has loads of suggestions and fragrance families ( so if you like this, look at the one below, for example). You can also have a look at my blog, iscentyouaday.

HTH. Happy sniffing!

I like a lot of the same things. Also recently got into ouds. Worth trying Initio Oud for Greatness - lovely and not overpowering.

For rosy incense-y or smoky scents, you could try:

Andy Tauer’s Incense Rose and
Papillon’s Tobacco Rose.

How wonderful and kind of you to take such time and care to put that list together! I shall have a happy time searching some of these out.

I was born next to Ravenscourt Park, so Court of Ravens has interested me for a while!

Been meaning to try this for a while - on paper it sounds exactly like my sort of thing. Thanks!

@MissBattleaxe I think Tauer’s Une Rose Chypre has been discontinued? I can’t seem to find it on sale anywhere. Any ideas?p

@LadyOfTheCanyon Papillon do a sample collection of all their scents that is very worth a try if you are looking for something interesting and a bit different.

Parfum de Marly- Delina exclusif

That’s a fantastic list already - greedy much 😂
Angel Share by Killian - one sniff and so was hooked - gorgeous boozy fragrance with cinnamon bites perfect for this time of year.
Tom Ford Lost Cherry - similar to Angel Share but cherry instead of cinnamon.
By the Fireplace - Replica. There are certain dead of winter days when nothing else will do.

ooh and yes to Delina as PP - but more of a Spring/Summer fragrance I think.

I was hooked
Notes (not bites!)

Good girl gone bad is my "signature " fragrance so I'd ask you ever so kindly to stop wearing it and never utter it's name again jk jk

Others I love are :

Sensual orchid - Laurent Mazzone
Armani privé- rose d'arabie
Bond No9 - New York Nights
Byredo - mixed emotions

Which are all so different but delicious

Ha ha. Good Girl Gone Bad was my new scent to celebrate my 50th Birthday holiday in Italy in the summer - it is gorgeous. Too gorgeous to keep it to yourself 😂

Some nice suggestions here. I've got weird taste, I still like Mitsouko and my H tells me I smell like church pews when I wear it!!!

They aren't very fashionable any more but I think you might like Fracas (Piguet), Poison (Dior), and Carnal Flower (Frédéric Malle). Possibly L'Interdit (Givenchy) if you wanted some gourmand notes with your tuberose / white floral. You should also try Mitsouko (Guerlain) but not the EDT - try the EDP or even the extract if you can get hold of it and you have the budget.

L'interdit I don't mind and I love Carnal Flower. But Poison and Fracas are both no- nos on my skin unfortunately.

Mitsouko I don't love, but might have to revisit!

I was born next to Ravenscourt Park, so Court of Ravens has interested me for a while!

Oooh know it well! Also intrigued by the perfume title!

@LadyOfTheCanyon You're most welcome! Court of Ravens is made by 4160 Tuesdays and their studio is in Hammermsith. There are 4 inspired the area: Goldhawk Road, Hammersmith Tea and Biscuits, Court of Ravens and Brackenbury. Sarah, who makes them, wanted to use the name Ravenscourt but couldn't for some legal reason so did a little word swap.

@MissBattleaxe would you mind recommending me an alternative to YSL Cinema please? Have worn it for years, bought an M and S perfume called Midnight blossom yesterday which I thought I liked but it's given me a headache today, so I think I need something with similar notes to Cinema if you can think of anything? Many thanks

Chanel Le Lion performs amazingly in cold weather. Frederic Malle Musc Ravageur, MFK Grand Soir and Initio Absolute Aphrodisiac as well as Oud for Greatness are worth a try.

missbattleaxe - i think it was you that recommended a sample box from the perfume society. thanks, i'm really enjoying trying the different perfumes. liked first 2, not sure about the other at the moment....it sort of improves during the day. Alas my favourite is £100 a bottle. enjoying the experience though

I wasn't mad about Le Lion to be honest but I don't mind Coromandel. Chanel perfumes just don't seem to mix right with my skin for some reason - the only one I can tolerate is Gabrielle and to be honest I find it quite meh as a fragrance.