Journal Entry: Into The Hobby of Fragrances (Part 1)
(Originally published on December 15th 2022 on Reddit)
So I (27F) wanted to keep a small journal of my journey through the fragrance world so here is my first entry about a month and a half into this. Up until November 2022, I've stayed far from perfumes because of my allergies. Thankfully, I went through allergy desensitization and things have improved substantially which gave me the opportunity to turn my attention towards this exciting new hobby. Here are the fragrances I have right now and my reviews of them:
Sol Cheirosa '62 by Sol de Janeiro / Brazilian Crush Cheirosa '62 (body mist): This is the scent that started it all. I have been very lucky: it's probably my signature scent. I started with the Bum Bum Cream which made me realise I was able to smell scents without triggering my allergies. I then ordered the body mist which led me to buy the travel size of the perfume and then the full-sized bottle. Sol Cheirosa is a soft warm and nice gourmand perfume on my skin. It smells like salted caramel topped with nuts and a dash of sunlight. The flowers barely come through on my skin. There's a creamy aspect in the dry-down (maybe the sandalwood?) that just calls to me and makes me feel cozy. I know a lot of people have said that the perfume lasts less than the body mist, but it's the opposite for me (my poor wallet). When it comes to the body mist, the scent is a bit different from the perfume. It's a lot lighter: I smell the sweet flowers and the salty caramel, but less of the pistachio and almonds. I usually spray the body mist on my hair to get a whiff of it during the day.
J'adore Eau de Parfum by Dior: This one is the story of a mistake. I received a sampler of the J'adore Dior Parfum d'Eau during a purchase at Sephora and I loved the creamy soft white flower aspect of it (also it's one of the only non-gourmand perfume I love currently). I felt I could probably pull it off during spring but also during the colder weather because of the creamy scent it gave off. At a temporary mall shop selling discounted perfumes I stumbled upon a discounted J'adore Eau de Parfum and bought it without realizing it was the wrong one. The Eau de Parfum is a nice white flower scent without the creaminess of the Parfum d'Eau. I do love it but I think it's better worn during spring and summer. I haven't picked it up a lot since I have bought it. I prefer the Parfum d'Eau for its intimate sweet and soft scent, but the Eau de Parfum is nice when I want a nice aura of white flowers around me. I'll probably end up having both bottles in my collection and when I finish this one, I'll be keeping the Parfum d'Eau.
Brumes du Maroc by Moroccanoil: I love the Morrocanoil Light Treatment Oil and stumbled onto this body mist by accident. Reviews said it smelled the exact same thing as the Light Oil so I decided to purchase a small bottle of it to test it out. It smells warm and ambery, with a nice animalic drydown. The smell doesn't last that long on the skin unfortunately. i've had better success at spraying it on my hair. I'll probably empty my bottle but not repurchase another one.
Fresh Cream Warm Cashmere by Philosophy: This is one of my two blind buys from Winners/Homesense (TJMaax for those in the US). I had already spotted this fragrance through Fragrantica (and because of my obvious love of gourmands). I don't regret buying it at all! It does smell really cozy and nice with a warm and slightly sweet dry-down. Unfortunately, it doesn't last that long and it sits quite close to my skin. Ironically, I also bought the shower gel which I do not like (there's a weird fresh smell in there that doesn't fit with the rest). Although I do like the perfume, I don't want to have too much perfumes that end up smelling similar (coworkers and my boyfriend have said my perfumes tend to end up smelling similar) so I'll have to choose between keeping this one or Cloud by Ariana Grande.
Cloud by Ariana Grande: This is the other of my two blind buys from Winners/Homesense (TJMaax for those in the US). I had already spotted this fragrance through Fragrantica (and because of my love of gourmands). I do have to say I was pleasantly surprised when I smelled it. I wasn't expecting this scent from a celebrity fragrance (thought it'd be more synthetic). It has a nice luxurious aura to it with a bit of powdery coconut smell topped with airy whipped cream and vanilla orchid flower smell. The woody notes keep it from smelling too sweet and the musk hugs my skin like a soft and warm hug. People have told me though that it smells similar to Fresh Creme Warm Cashmere so I'll continue testing both of them out and choose one to keep in my collection when both bottles run out.
Green Tea by Yves Rocher: This is one of the scents I was looking for. I remembered my mom had a perfume of green tea and I wanted to have one too for the memories, but also because I do like the smell of green tea (and it's from a different family than my usual gourmand). I like the fact that I do not smell alcohol in the top notes (which has happened with a few perfumes I have currently). Unfortunately, the green tea does not cling to my skin and ends up leaving after about and hour and a half. Fortunately the price for the bottle isn't super expensive so overall I'm quite pleased with my purchase. I'll probably wear this during spring and summer when I want to smell fresh and clean.
Cocoa Vanilla Drop by English Laundry (forgot to include it in the picture): I wasn't planning on buying a body mist (decided that after testing the two body mists mentioned above), but I discovered that one at Winners/Homesense. Cheap for 10$, I was expecting a synthetic, disgusting and overly sweet vanilla smell but I was pleasantly surprised. After a small burst of alcohol, the vanilla comes through mixed with the cocoa. It's a sugary, sweet, but not too overbearing smell that I wear to sleep. I love getting whiffs of it in my bed. When the bottle ends, I'll probably move on from it, but I'll remember this body mist fondly as a reminder that not all body mists are synthetic cloying scents.
Other notable mentions:
- Vanilla Musk Coty: One of the very first perfumes I bought cheap through Winners/Homesense. It has a strong sting of alcohol in its top notes which ends up going away after about 5 minutes. Unfortunately, I've smelled better vanilla since then which is why I have given the bottle to my boyfriend who sprays it when he gets out of the shower. On me, it was a nice vanilla that ended up getting eaten by my skin, but on him it ends up being this warm musky vanilla scent, warm and soft like a good hug.
- Green Tea Elizabeth Arden: At first, I thought I was looking for this green tea scent, so when I saw a bottle at Winners/Homesense, I bought it without a second thought. I did remember my mom having a bottle of this, but unfortunately, it wasn't the right one (It ended up being Yves Rocher). I did like the perfume at first, but when the middle notes came, there's a spicy scent that I just can't deal with (fennel?) and it ends up ruining the overall smell for me. I ended up giving it away to a coworker of mine that loves the scent.
- Cheirosa '71 Sol de Janeiro: Seeing the notes in this body mist I was expecting to love it, but I was disappointed. It's not that it doesn't smell good, it really does, I juste didn't like the smell on my skin and I think it had to do with the macadamia note in it. It does smell like a sweet macadamia, white chocolate cookie and caramel scent, but weirdly enough I didn't enjoy it so I sent it back.
I know my boyfriend has decided to gift me a few fragrances for Christmas. I'm hoping to get the Kayali sampler set and a bottle of Fall Cashmere by Skylar (with which I got a sample and fell in love with).
In the upcoming months I'm planning on trying Bee, Vanilla Milk and Super Amber by Ellis Brooklyn. I'd also like to test Vanilla Vibes by Juliette Has A Gun. 3 fragrances at Lush have also caught my eyes: Turmeric Latte, American Cream and Vanillary. Santal Vanille and Vanilla Woods by 7 Virtues have also caught my attention. Commodity Gold and Milk have also been recommended to me.
After that I'll probably try and shift towards spring and summer scents by checking out Peach Fields by Skylar, Fame by Paco Rabanne, Rose Gold by Tiffany & Co and Pour Femme by Dolce & Gabbana.
I'm trying to keep my collection to a maximum of 15 full bottles. I'm trying to get samplers or travel sprays (no rollerballs) so I can test them out before committing to a full bottle. I have a problem with choosing between perfumes that smell really good and those that I'd want to smell on my skin all day. I also hate clutter so I'm hoping this helps me keep my passion in check. I've bought a small matte black tray to keep my perfumes, but I'm hoping to get a nicer looking tray someday.
*** Cover from Jess Bailey