Recommend a classy perfume - one for night, one for day

[Booksandsport]

I want to try some new perfumes thanks to vouchers, but not sure what to try.
Given the cost, I don't want to waste money on something I won't like.

I'm 49, so afraid of young sales girls who will see me as ancient and only suggest something matronly which I am not but then google things and sometimes feel they are for jet-setting 20 year olds which I am not either!

I was reading the glossy 4x4 style thread and I was wondering what perfume do the people wear who are have the capsule wardrobe of well fitted clothes and glossy hair (I actually naturally do well in the latter department, but not so much the former - my style is more "rushed"!).

Guerlain Champs Elysees is gorgeous for day. Or Chanel Coco Mademoiselle.

Chanel Allure for night.

I find there are sooooo many options that I smell the first few and then I start sneezing/getting confused!
So I definitely will take on the coffee idea bean idea, thanks for that.

I'll look at scent kits and talking to someone with Jo Malone and Liberty so...

Just to be clear the reason I am asking for ideas is not that I would blindly go with other people's choices, but when you walk in and see walls of options, I need some way to limit my options.
At least I can try ones people suggest and maybe give myself a clearer idea of what type of scents I do like... I may well go with none of the ones people suggest!

I am still defaulting to the same few for years - D&G Light Blue since college, J'Adore which I got for my wedding and Black Opium which I got a present of for my 40th - make of that mix what you want!

I wear the original Opium for evenings, and Diorissimo for daytime. Occasionally I use Caleche (Hermes) instead of Opium, and very, very rarely, I get out my very old bottle of 1980s L’Interdit, which is quite different from the modern version, and smells divine.

Coco Mademoiselle is my go to perfume. It’s fresh and floral but also creamy and with amber hints. Quite complex and elegant.

Despite the name, it makes me feel grown up and as though I’ve got my shit together even when I most definitely haven’t! Plus I love the simplicity of the bottle.

Go into Liberty, they will help you. The staff are superb and the scents on sale are gorgeous.

Perfume is so personal to the person wearing it.

Go and try a few in a shop then look up what kind of scent it is (floral, amber etc) and you’ll be able to see all sorts of perfumes in all sorts of price ranges that have a similar base.

I don’t personally believe in day/night fragrances. If your personality suits a ‘big’
perfume it doesn’t suit a light one. I wear the same day and night.

If you have a chance you could do a bit of browsing before your London trip to try to pin down the type of scent you are looking for.
I find perfume buying quite stressful as I start to get confused and a lot of perfumes end up making me feel sick so I have to pass them on eg I love Dipthyque in the shop but can't tolerate them on me.
I find some eg Chanel and Tom Ford are more long lasting than others.
I am currently wearing Jo Loves pink vetiver
Juliet with a Gun , Vengeance
The last legs of a Chanel Chance
And also the remnants of Tom Ford White Suede
I am older than you and not very glam and have never had anything other than helpful assistance.

Seconding @musicmum75 - the perfume hall downstairs at Libertys is gorgeous; it's where the less well-known independent lines are and the staff are super-friendly. I think if you explain that you have vouchers and want to try new stuff, then they'll be very accommodating. Worth having a think too about the types of fragrance that you like or don't like, but also prepare to try very new things.

But yes, would definitely recommend getting some samples if you can (or at least taking a pen to write down what you've tested on those paper strips.

Tell us a LOVELY one

Paco Rabanne perfumes are lovely and are, in my opinion classy, Lady Million is really nice and long lasting. Fame is also nice and bit lighter than Lady Million.
Carolina Herrera good girl is nice too and also lasts well. It has almond undertones if you like that kind of scent.

Id not tried any new perfume for years, so got this www.thefragranceshop.co.uk/the-fragrance-shop/the-fragrance-shop/eau-de-toilette-advent/p/69291

it was good fun testing out different ones each day. My favourites are

Rabanne Lady Million for evenings and Ikon 914 for fresh day time option

Liberty has the best fragrance section of the department stores IMO. Selfridges has good brands but the salespeople are so pushy.

The top experience in fragrance buying is a trip to Les Senteurs, which is a short walk from Sloane Square station. Beautiful shop, fabulous niche brands, lovely helpful staff. But you will come out having spent more than you imagined!

A bit too late but if you are happy to wait 11 months. I bought the perfume shop’s advent calendar for my daughters. It has introduced me to some new perfumes too. I have two new favourites that I didn’t know existed:
Estee Lauder’s Magnolia Beautiful
Christina Aguilera’s Signature

Look on he Fragrantia website and look up perfumes you currently like,then it will show option with similar notes.

If money were no object I'd be doused in Byredo and Le Labo all day long!

My most recent cheap-ish one was the Glossier You which is a lovely day time scent

I wear Cool Water or Anaïs Anaïs during the day.

After much testing, my favourites are Byredo Gypsy Water for day and Armani Prive Figuier Eden for evening.

Not cheap, but dupes are available!

I’d definitely try the Byredo counter and Juliette Has a Gun perfumes are also very high on my list.

Chanel Mademoiselle is lovely for day or night.

If you like Dior J'Adore then Chanel Coco Mademoiselle and Chanel Chance could be 'daytime' options for you.
You could also try Chanel Coromandel from their exclusives range as an 'evening' scent, or Chanel Coco.

Andy Tauer perfumes are wonderful. If they've got L'Air du Desert Marocain ask for a sample! He creates complex earthy, sensual fragrances, still sophisticated, but worlds away from the 'clean' style of Chanel. Unfortunately his website is terrible and shipping options are limited so I don't have as many of his perfumes as I'd like.

For Tom Ford I'd recommend Cherry Smoke from the exclusives range, which unsurprisingly is a smokey cherry scent.

My favourite oud is Mancera Aoud Exclusif, it's creamy and long lasting, and oozes opulence and sophistication.

Zara Waterlily Tea Dress is supposed to be a dupe of Gypsy Water.

Because it's you- Giorgio Armani top notes are raspberry lemon neroli , middle notes are rose and base notes are vanilla musk and amber . Very elegant and feminine perfume ..

4160 Tuesdays has some gorgeous scents and do a tester library for £30. My favourite is Take Me to the River.

A few years ago I went to Fortnum and Mason to find a scent for my birthday. A sales guy was great. He asked me what sort of scents I already liked then gave me two to smell and asked which I preferred; kept the best one and then compared with another one iyswim and then so on and so on. I don't know if they still do that though?

Also, on another occasion, I got scent some samples from Bloom Perfumery. I tried one on one morning and thought "blah! I don't like this!" Then as the day went on it developed and I realised I loved it!!! So it can really change. It's now one of my favourite winter perfumes and I'm wearing it today. (It's by Imaginary Authors and is called Cape Heartache)

I had my first try-out of testers yesterday, so I tried YSL Libre and Libre intense and Armani si and Armani Si passione and liked all and I also tried Mugler Angel and a pink Be delicious one (as I used to love the original one when I was younger) and I liked those less.

This thread has been great as whereas I thought the shop had a small selection (and there wasn't anything very unusual), there still was plenty for me to try. I just got nose blind after the 6, so will keep popping in and trying. That way hopefully I'll be walking into Liberty with a bit more confidence about what I want/like, so thanks for the encouragement.

Guerlain do very classic and long-lasting fragrances