A perfume that smells like talc and palma violets and clean?

[Howdoistopthecatshoutingatme]

I havent worn perfume in over 25 years. I've been trying to find a nice, clean (and affordable) fragrance. Nothing that people can smell in the lift after you've left it!

But everything seems so overly perfumy or strong. Or just fussy somehow.

Apparently Philosophy would have been a good bet but nowhere seems to sell it and looking at reviews they've changed the fragrances now anyway.

Any ideas?

The last time I wore perfume was Sunflowers (I wouldnt wear that now). I was a bit generous with the spray. I went for a picnic with "friends" but had to leave because I was being harassed by bees! They literally followed me in a line as I walked away. My friends turned out not to be friends and told everyone it was flies because I stank. I never lived that down.

I like Cashmere by DKNY for a soft powdery smell.

If I remember correctly Exclamation had a powdery smell. It seems you can still buy it on Amazon. Also Johnsons do a baby cologne if you want to be literal about the powdery smell. I use Mitchum deodorant which comes in a range of fresh scents including Shower Fresh and Baby Powder.

Poudree by Narciso is lovely as it literally smells like baby powder.

Woman by Ted Baker is clean and fresh and very cheap. £10 for a large bottle of eau de parfum

Kenzo Flower smells exactly like parma violets.

Linsolence 💯
I love it, many hate it
it is the perfect powdery palma violet smell

This thread is so wonderful - I have a list of perfumes to try. Can anyone recommend a reliable sample site? There are loads but I'm wary of getting a fake.

Yay! I’ve finally found another talc & violet fan! I spent years trying to find the perfect fragrance that hit my powdery flowery sweety quota 😂

Daisy Eau So Fresh and Kenzo Flower remind me of Parma Violets, and I layer them with The Body Shop White Musk.

Of course, fragrances are so personal. I always get complimented on it but my friend tried my combination and she ending up smelling similar to my grandma’s bathroom. Although, she can get away with Chanel No5 and I can’t, so I have serious envy.

Violet Tabac by Shay and Blue smells exactly like Parma violets. You can buy a small size as a sample.

Also thought of prada iris when I read your requirements. Been using it for years and it was my first repeat buy as I find other perfumes too heavy and headache inducing. It's getting more expensive now so am interested in these other recommendations

thank you for this thread @Howdoistopthecatshoutingatme I am also looking for a new everyday scent so I'm enjoying all the recommendations!

I was just in Next and sprayed their Cashmere Intense.
it’s a lovely powdery, clean scent and I’m very tempted to go back and buy a bottle

I am just marking place as I’ve been searching for exactly this, especially the Parma violet element.
Insolence didn’t work for me and Paris wasn’t quite right either.
DH has a cheap aftershave dupe that smells perfect on him but doesn’t work on me.

Is there a particular variation of Kenzo Flower that smells like parma violets? Because the one I have doesn’t.

I think it must be how they react with individual skin as just sprayed myself in kenzo flower ( present at Xmas) I love it and have had it before - but def can’t smell violets at all

I wasnt keen on Lovely. Maybe its my skin.

I couldn't find anyone to open the cabinet to try Prada. I'll find a tester instead.

I bought Marc Jacobs Dot. Not quite what I was after but it was nice and not "peffum-y".

I tried Marc Jacobs Perfect afterwards and I really liked that. It was kind of cucumber-y on me so I should have waited and bought that instead!

I will work my work through the other suggestions and I'm sure I'll find something perfect. 😊

Lefko by Korres is a great powdery scent.. It smella like clean linen.

I was going to suggest these two as well :)

To my nose it smells exactly like Parma violets. Whereas Lovely by SJP (recommended on here) smells like cats piss to me. I actually thought I had a gone-off bottle of it, but i don’t. It’s interesting how our noses perceive things so differently.

Mark Jacob’s Daisy smells like Parma violets. You can usually find it somewhere on offer

Try Insolence, by Gerlain.
Parma violets, delicious scent!

Interesting thread.

Can someone explain what Parma violets are and what they smell like?

Shay & Blue Violet Tabac . Gorgeous scent .

Has anyone mentioned Hermes Caleche - it’s clean and talc like to me but i know others think differently

I know they're both not on the "budget friendly" side, but I also love scents like this and the two I can highly recommend as a perfume collector are:

Penhaligon's - The Favourite (they do a 30ml for £80) &
Diptique's - Fleur de Peau. You can find some people selling the travel 10/15ml on Vinted if you want to try it out!

stunning scents that both have long lasting power and dry down really nicely.