yebaah!

My husband and I met with Michelle and Jim (who are soon to be wed) last Saturday to scout for a wedding veil.  Well, we all got sidetracked sniffing perfumes on sale at Canberra Centre in Civic.  A few dollars later, we came out like happy kids with a bagful of lollies and smelling like potpourri J.

Good perfumes can be quite expensive, so I seldom miss a sale opportunity - one of the tricks to always get value for money.  Here’s more:

Listen to your body.

Each person reacts to perfumes differently.  There are perfumes that give you allergies, no matter how fragrant or expensive they are.  My sister Balot gets rashes each time she sprays on anything Estée Lauder.  She must be allergic to something generic to all Estée products.  I, on the other hand, get heady, sneezy and watery-eyed with anything too sweet or too musky.  So unless you want your perfume to ruin your day or a special occasion, respect your body’s wishes and buy what suits you.

Test the perfume on your skin.

I don’t rely on blotting papers nor do I rely on how good a perfume smells on others.  We all have different skin chemistry, with different pH levels, and this affects the perfume.  Some perfumes can smell wonderful in a bottle or on someone, but totally different on you. 

Apply the perfume on your skin and give it an hour to allow the top notes to evaporate and the perfume’s base notes to settle (this would be a good time to do the rest of your shoppingJ).  I, sometimes, test it for a day.  I work out a sweat and if it still smells good, I buy it the next day.  By the way, DON’T spray perfumes on top of one another as this will totally mess everything, and DO sniff the coffee beans before testing the next scent. 

Stick to the tried and tested.

Buy from the category that works best for you.  For me, it’s generally from the fruity and floral family.  I just change brands for some variety, or if I want a particular mood to dominate my day.

Allowing my physical reaction to guide me has also made perfume shopping so much easier.  I went to a perfume shop in California and simply told the saleslady the key words: summer, ocean, tropics and citrus.  She went from shelf to shelf grabbing bottles here and there and came back with eight perfumes for me to try. 

What would have otherwise been hours of reading labels and nasal torture became a pleasurable task of simply choosing what I liked best.

Go for the scent, but do mind the brand. 

I find that most cheap perfumes wear off easily, and once their top notes (the scent manufacturers put for first impression) disappears, you’re left with a base that doesn’t smell too good.  I go for the scent that I like, but do prefer them to come from reputable brands (Britney Spears ain’t one of them).  It’s better to have one expensive, good-quality perfume, rather than several cheap perfumes that don’t work for me.

Buy when they’re on sale. 

I bought most of my perfumes on sale, at duty free shops or factory outlets.  The savings I got were quite considerable.

For those who like the fruity, summery type, you might want to try these:

Oscar Fresh Vanilla EDT by Oscar de la Renta - I fell in love with this straight away.  It’s a light, sweet, summery, tropical scent with a tiny hint of something warm and exotic.  It must be the perfect combination of bergamot, rose and vanilla.    Normal retail price (NRP) is AU$49.00 for a 60 ml bottle. Sale or not, I just had to buy it.

Vera Wang Princess EDT - it’s girlishly sweet, charming and young, so it might not suit some adults.  But hey, who doesn’t want to be young or, at least, feel young?  It’s very subtle, so I spray it on the pulse points.  It lasts on me the entire day.  NRP: AU$50 for a 30 ml bottle.

Dolce & Gabanna Light Blue EDT - light hearted and long lasting. It gives a feeling of freshness, even on hot, sweaty days.  I get compliments from both sexes each time I wear this perfume.  It’s reasonably priced. I bought mine last October in Singapore for SD$75 for a 100 ml bottle.

Duende EDT by J del Pozo - it has that clean, breezy scent. It lasts very long and it’s very cheap at US$19.00 for 30 ml.

Live Luxe by Jennifer Lopez - very lively, fruity, floral and fun.  I love it and so does Balot - though it easily fades away.  Not good for something priced at US$60+.

Escada Gift Set, which includes Escada Into the Blue (EDP) - very feminine, water cool and fresh, with just a hint of watermelon scent; and Escada Sunset Heat - a very light sexy scent that’s good for summer evenings.  I bought the gift pack for US$49.95. 

Echo Woman Summer Fizz by Davidoff (limited edition) - I find it stronger than most summery perfumes. It made me sneeze occasionally.  But it wasn’t too bad because I still managed to use half of the 100 ml bottle before Balot finished it with no problemo. 

Green Tea by Elizabeth Arden EDP - its top scent turned me off, but when I gave it time to settle, it came out really fresh, forest-fresh and light.  I just have to spray it hours before I go out.

Sunflower by Elizabeth Arden - it’s a light, fruity, cheerful, sweet and happy scent.  NRP: 100ml @ AU$78.  But I bought mine super cheap at $14!!!

Cool Water Woman by Davidoff - gives you that cool, fresh from the shower feeling.  A number of my friends like it too.  I had it before and will not mind having it again. 

Envy by Gucci - this one did smell good on me, but I had headaches each time I wore it…had to give it away. 

Narciso Rodriguez for Her EDT (Black) - A gift from my husband.  Though very musky, it doesn’t give me headaches.  It’s scent is complex.  One could easily like it or hate it.  I like it. It’s rich and sensual but sweet, smart and refined.  It makes you delectable, I swear! I thought my husband bought it for that purpose he-he , but he didn’t.  He wanted something that I could wear to work, something very feminine but smart, young and professional.  The saleslady gave him Narciso.  NRP:  AU$139 for 100 ml.

If you know other perfumes that are fruity, summery, light and sweet, i’d be happy to hear from you.