Saturday Question: What Are Your Favourite Fragrance Styles?

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Portia

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Hello Fellow Fumies,

Every Saturday we have a Question, an idea purloined from Olfactoria’s Travels. Everyone gets to chime in with an answer, chat with other responders and it is a fun event each week. Taking sides never means taking offence and everyone keeps it respectful and light, even though we can sometimes trawl the depths.

The idea is you’ll see it on the weekend or chime in through the week. Hopefully you will come back and see if anyone has responded to your comment and you can reply to them.

Over 100 responses I will draw a $10 Surrender To Chance Gift Card.
Over 200 responses I will draw a $20 Surrender To Chance Gift Card.
Comment purposefully on yours or anothers comment & you’ll have a chance, random.org will draw on Friday.

Last Weeks Winner: Bernadette Winfield Gray

eMail me at (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with the eMail you’d like me to send your Gift Card to.

Saturday Question:

What Are Your Favourite Fragrance Styles?

There are so many styles of perfume. Floral, Aquatic, Woody, Fougere, Oriental, Citrus etc. Plus there are piggy back groups like Woody Floral Musk or Aromatic Green. I have a few groups that I particularly gravitate towards and I’m sure you do too. Let’s question our own faves today and share,

My Answer:

 

Chypre:

From the bright citrus top to the furry, bitter oakmoss/leather/patchouli depths I love Chypres. They are so understated, dark and mysterious. Interesting because they stand apart yet somehow they make me feel at ease. A dry, calm waft of reason. Try wearing a Chypre when you are wandering an art gallery, everything becomes instantly more poignant, deeper, personal.

From Le Gallon Sang Bleu, Oriza L Legrand Relique d’Amour, Bottega Veneta EdP (I thought this was a leather), Cacharel Liberté and Aedes de Venustas EdP to the historical Deneuve, Miss Dior, Aromatics Elixir, Ungaro DIVA, Guerlain Sous le Vent, Robert Piguet Bandit, Niki de Saint Phalle, Paloma Picasso and CHANEL Pour Monsieur the chypre has long been something I loved. Some of my favourite chypres end up being classified under other groups, which is bloody annoying.

 

Floral Green:

Green with the added levity of flowers. This is a broad spectrum, some of which I would put in the chypre pile. Nevertheless, Fragrantica puts them here. From the galbanum rich end and the mossy dry downs to the sweeping majesty of the floral with a hint of green. From aloof to prim, austere to pleasantly engaging they all call me. Different moods and weathers call for a different hint of whatever each fragrance holds personal in its fragrant folds.

CHANEL No 19, Jacomo Silences, Robert Piguet Futur, Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Jasminora, Byredo Green, Estee Lauder Private Collection, Naomi Goodsir Nuit de Bakelite and Nicolai Parfumeur Le Temps d’une Fête are just a few of the floral Green collection I own.

 

Oriental:

Oriental was the first real fragrant love of my life. Vanilla with resinous overtones in almost any combination and with most additives work for my psyche and my skin. You want to see me go Ga-Ga over a scent on first application, show me a new, beautiful Oriental.

Guerlain Shalimar and Oriental Brulant, Caron Bellodgia, Amouage Library Collection Opus IX, DIOR Privée Amber Nuit, Hermès L`Ambre des Merveilles, Art Collection by Jacomo #02, L’Artisan L’Eau d’Ambre, MFK Grand Soir and Huitième Art Collection Ambre Céruléen are a smattering of the bottles here in the oriental range.

My Saturday Question to you is: What Are Your Favourite Fragrance Styles?

 

 

80 thoughts on “Saturday Question: What Are Your Favourite Fragrance Styles?”

  2. Hmm, it’s easier to say which styles are not my favourite! Honestly, I can’t wear chypres and fougeres (well, not all fougeres). Sometimes I think I still can grow up to appreciate chypre perfumes. Or maybe not)) As for favourite ones, I think there are more oriental and gourmand perfumes in my collection so far but I also really love musk and woody scents… Or my most recent passion is sweet-coconut-fresh-spicy (according to fragrantica)). I mean those perfumes which smell like sunscreen such as Beach Walk by Maison Martin Margiela or Coccobello by James Heeley or Bronze Goddess by Estee Lauder.

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  4. I am still trying to work this out. Big white florals are definitely there, and then probably citrus and powder.

    And, Portia, thank you so much for my Scent of the Day prize; the decants arrived yesterday and I have been sniffing happily. L’Heure de Nuit is my favourite so far.

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    • If powder is your thing then L’Heure de Nuit will definitely be top of your list Sue. MMMMM
      Portia x

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  7. My favorites are the same plus one. 🙂

    My number one is chypre. Nothing else is as fulfilling as a classic chypre. The more classic the better for me. Modern chypres, while they can be lovely, aren’t really chypres to me. Miss Dior, Mitsouko, Diaghilev, Givenchy III, Bandit, Cabochard, Azuree, Profumo, Jubilation 25. All “the real deal” for me.

    Another favorite, a sister to the chypre is the green floral. Galbanum rich green florals can give a similar feel without being a true chypre. I just love anything super green.

    Orientals are not something I immeditely think of as being my favorite but when I run down my list of loves over the years I realize it’s full of them. Fendi, Opium, Shalimar, Obsession, Anne Klein II all heavy orientals.

    My last favorite category is one that makes me as happy and fulfilled as chypre and that is the lipstick/makeup fragrances. I love powder, the more the better, and add some rose and violet to it or iris, and I’m in blissful heaven. Lipstick Rose, Ombré Mercure, Teint de Neige, A Goodnight Kiss, Kenzo Flower, Misia.

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    • Yes, the classic chypre is absolutely the best! I love every single one of the chypres you mentioned plus…scroll down to see my list 😉
      And I also agree with you about the lovely green florals. I don’t need anything else beside these two styles to make me happy scentwise.

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    • Hi Christi,
      What an excellent extra. That make-up style of scent is really yum. I like it a lot too.
      Portia xx

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  8. I think I must be an Oriental fan, with Shalimar, Trayee, Anubis being some favourites. But then I go to Leather and I have many in that category too.
    The only thing that hates my skin is Floral and especially tuberose.

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    • Hi JackieB,
      What a bummer about the tuberose. I/d be really sad if I could;t wear them. Do any work for you?
      Portia xx

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  9. I love chypre too, especially leather ones. No fruits though, nor those “modern chypres”, those fruitchouli, “pink chypres”, eww. I love green florals as well. Galbanum is one of my favourite notes. And those big white florals, love them.
    As for orientals, it depends. Incense is a big LOVE, but not so much for vanilla.

    I have much less difficulty telling which style is my LEAST favourite: gourmand. I stay far away from anything with ethyl maltol.

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    • Hey JH,
      Modern chypres are unable to include so many of the original ingredients, I think one day oud will be seen as an extension of the chypre genre in many cases.
      Fruitchouli, funnily it’s only recently that I’ve even given them any skin time, except Liberté. Now I can take them or leave them but it’s not loathe so much.
      Portia xx

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  10. My number one favorite category is floral, specifically anything that fits in the BWF category. I love them all, and if I could only pick one category for the rest of my life, that would be it 🙂 My second favorite perfumes would fall into the gourmand category but would be specifically vanilla scents. Not the sweet, cloying vanilla scents. I prefer mine with something to balance that out. I love Lush’s Vanillary and Elizabeth and James Nirvana, both of which have a strong alcohol note to them. The bourbon in Nirvana is especially appealing. And of course, Guerlain’s Spiriteuse Double Vanille would be my top pick in the category. The exception in this category would be Slumberhouse’s Sadanne which took awhile to grow on me as it has a very candied, sweet scent to it. Normally this would not be my kind of scent, but I really like it on certain days. Beyond that it depends on the individual scents, not necessarily what category they fall into.

    This was such a fun question. Thanks for posing it Portia. Can’t wait to see what everyone else likes!

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    • Hey Kandice,
      You’re welcome.
      Vanilla is one not that I love a lot. It has so many faces and can have myriad treatments.So many of my favourite perfumes have a vanilla component.
      Portia xx

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    • Hey Gina,
      YELLOW FLORALS! Yum,
      I think rose sits above and to the left of all other florals, in charge.
      Portia xx

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  12. I love the orientals and spicy woodsy ones best. Vintage Shalimar, L’Heure Bleue, Aquaba, Rumeur, Zibeline, Taj, Carnet de Bal,Quadrille,Bandit, Femme, Arabie, Feminite du Bois. I also tend to like certain specific notes, rose, coumarin,, jasmine, nutmeg, bergamot, cedar, frankincense,myrrh, musk, vanilla, tuberose,gardenia, amber, anise, clove. pepper, cardamon. top perfumes this week are Azayede, Taj, Rose Oud, La Fille de Berlin.

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    • I love Feminite du Bois, it never gets old to me. There’s something mysterious or deep in it somehow! The other Lutens seem often very, very sweet to me, but not that one.

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  13. I love Orientals, Woods, and leathers, with Chypres, and Gourmands coming up behind. I really “try” to like florals, especially white florals, but I don’t. I’m not keen on greens either, save for Masque Milano. I just don’t usually like gardenia, jasmine, LOTV, etc in any large quantity. But frankincense, labdanum, guaic, oud, Tonka, patchouli–mmmmmm. Vintage Shalimar, Salome, MFK A. Pour Le Soir, vintage Coco, Kenzo Elephant, many of the Amouages, a load of Lutens (Bois et al, Daim Blond, Jeux de peau), Tom Ford’s Noirs, YD, AE, HoM tobacco scents–love the spices, woods, resins–anything incense, especially Gurlain Ensens Mythique. Rose with wood/patch combos, Florientals of that kind I like such as POAL.
    Fracas and its ilk….tears. Just don’t reach for it. For example, I tried L’Artisan Rapelle-Toi yesterday, hoping for some honey. I got gin at the top (liked), and then seconds later a Jasmine-indole infused GARDENIA stomped all over me. Mood killer for me.

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    • What a shame Shiva-woman,
      BWFs were my mainstay for years. They have a very special place in my heart.
      Thank goodness you have such a variety of other loves
      Portia xx

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    • I just tried Encens Mythique and found it so interesting! It reminded me a little of Opium’s drydown and like Avignon in some distant way as well.

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  14. I love: leather, oud, labdanum, animal, orange, smoke, amber, incense, rose, vetiver.

    Obviously, that leads to Leathers and Orientals, some Woody, Spicy fragrances too. I generally like intense fragrances, particularly those that last a long time on my skin. I’m not adverse to a great, refreshing cologne that only lasts an hour, provided it’s a good hour (Eau d’Orange Vert, 4711)

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  15. My first and always love are orientals. Vanilla (but not too gourmand), amber, Woods. Not so much the big white florals.

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  16. My most favorites are florals: gardenia, rose, tuberose, ylang ylang etc. Next comes the orientals, florientals with spices. Then I love florals with vetiver, florals with leather, florals with green notes, florals with iris (much earthier). Give me Oud also and last of all, chypre.

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    • Hi Elaine,
      Flowers in all their finery huh? You like the big band florals. The glam showstoppers, me too. Florals get a bad rap sometimes as too easy but the big guns are spectacular.
      Portia xx

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  17. #1perennial love: green florals. (green rules! high-five me, Portia!) But I also love BWFs and floral (especially rose) chypres.

    Of course there are those oddballs that come out of nowhere and are nothing like my usual style but I adore them: vintage Coty Chypre, Alahine, Tabac Aurea, vintage Jolie Madame. But for me, I usually don’t go wrong with the three genres I mentioned first.

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    • High giving you like crazy across the internet Mals86,
      We definitely click on our green love. Actually, if you particularly rate something I’m more inclined to try it than any other blogger.
      Portia xx

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  18. Orientals, spicy orientals, woody orientals, and some florals. I love incense so that is an ingredient that immediately catches my attention. I have some chypres that that I like as well. Its funny, but lately, I find I don’t like orange blossom very much, so I avoid fragrances with that as a note.

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    • Hey ellen,
      So orange blossom is a recent thing that’s made you go EW or has it always been tricky?
      Portia xx

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      • Portia, Its fairly recent. I can always locate it perfume and find that I really dislike it. I don’t know why, and I feel sorry as so many fragrances have that in it, especially florals and floral orientals which I like.

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  19. I had to go and stare at the categories on Michael Edwards’s Fragrance Finder…

    I seem to live on the right hand side of the fragrance wheel, between “soft oriental” and “aromatic”, with all the woods and incenses and vetivers and leathers and skank in between. (With the odd foray over the circle to mean greens and bombastic florals.)

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  20. P , this is a really tough question as I love them all!!!! I grew up on chypres (wore them in the 70s and 80s) but I also love citrus in the summer, woods and orientals in the winter as well as gourmands…and love the florals in the spring…oh, lordie, I cannot make up my mind 🙂

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  21. Really depends on the weather, my mood and probably about a thousand other factors. Love the big, bombastic, sultry florals (Amoureuse), love the spicy orientals (just debating if I should wear Cinnabar or Coromandel today) and really enjoy a touch of powder/vintage style (Lipstick Rose).

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    • Hey ElizabethC,
      Amoureuse is a bloody wonder. I get so happy whoever I see other people who love it.
      Spicy orientals are also big yum.
      Portia xx

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  22. I love pretty much all categories except fougère. And only certain chypres. But orientals, florals, gourmands, incense, leather – love them all. Not a big citrus fan so not much on colognes, other than Jean-Marie Farina Extra Vielle.

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    • It’s astounding. Time is fleeting….
      I love the Time Warp Ingrid, we used to watch that movie over and over again.
      Portia xx

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  24. Hhm difficult one. But it seems like most of mine are classified in Edwards system as soft oriental (incense no surprises there), floral oriental/ soft floral. In Fragrantica woody oriental, woody floral musk and spicy floral. Straight up oriental so far as not been my thing and I have yet to really go into chypres. But that just means more perfumes to try out 😀

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    • Hi Mariann,
      The categories seem to be breeding too which means I’m constantly putting things in the wrong spot.
      Portia x

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  26. Ah well…..I’ll go into the “not so fave category” …. that would be those stinging ouds and bangin leathers…I adore everything else and the more I sniff the more I love. Some of the super old aldehydes possibly not, of all the classics Arpege was and still is unwearable. I suppose under torture I’d proclaim for Floral orientals, green chypres, orientals, BWF, sandalwoodys, argh

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    • Hi Marion,
      Aldehydes seem to be punching me in the nose a bit lately too. Arpege is still doable but CHANEL 22 is problematic.
      Portia xx

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  27. Chypres, really rich resinous incenses, and dirty musks. Honestly, if I HAD to pare down my collection those are the ones I would grab first for the “keep” pile.

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  28. Nothing comes close to the classic chypre, chypre floral in particular. All my vintage loves are in this category: Jil Sander III, Giorgio Armani, Ted Lapidus Vu, Mitsouko, Ungaro’s Diva, K de Krizia…
    Another beautiful category are woody scents like Feminite du Bois.

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  30. Oh man, I only love orientals it seems, and some greens. When I like a gourmand it always smells non-foody to me somehow, lol! How ironic. I love Foxcroft, which is a very unique aquatic type — and Apres l’ondee by Guerlain but that seems to be so non-floral to me somehow! The heliotrope feel makes me feel it is not floral.

    I love talking scents — I have finally tried enough to feel as thought I can discuss them, haha! I really like Diptyque’s room sprays as perfume, as well as Cire Trudon. If anyone has tried either/both, please tell me your reviews : ) I love to hear what else I should get, and reviews always point the way. Oddly I love Diptyque’s Eau Rose but don’t find it ‘floral’ somehow, lol.

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    • Hey Kim,
      Rose has so many facets and is often far too majestic to fit into a floral bracket, the meaty florals like narcissus, jasmine and tuberose can also become a beyond floral experience for me. It also depends on the surrounding notes for me.
      Portia x

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  31. I still consider myself a new bee. Before I used to like everything which was soothing to my nose. Later, when I start learning the notes and the notes breakdown. I came to realize I have a split personality in terms of perfume. Sometimes I really like floral, sometimes I really crave for a gourmand. By saying so, gourmand is not my cup of tea. Though I do wear sometimes because of my wife. She may be the biggest gourmand fan. Unknown pleasure, 24 Gold, Kalemat Black, Palo Santo these are her favourite. But for me, these are very challenging except Kalemat Black. However, the style of fragrance I always love is Balsamic, woody, incensey. Opus VI, DEV 2&4 from Olympic orchid these are my favourite. I just love dark scents but not during summer.. LOL

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    • Evan,
      This summer you will come over i the hottest heat and I will hit you with Ubar, my favourite spicy summer spritz.
      Portia xx

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    • Hey Undina,
      I like florals a lot too. They’re rarely my go-tos though. Champs Elysees is my current floral love, so pretty and fresh yet it has a very nice trajectory.
      Portia xx

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  33. That’s a difficult question but one that I have asked myself many times (I’m a person who likes to find hidden patterns etc). I have tried to organize and categorize my collection from day one but so far, I can not really find “my” categories.

    I’d say, I like green perfumes but they shouldn’t be too sharp (no galbanum) or musty (no green chypres for me, thanks). Green + woody is a good combo. Woody + spicy is also good. And scents of the woody floral musk genre tend to become my office go-to scents.

    Florals are mostly absent in my collection as are hardcore orientals and chypres.

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    • Interesting Marie,
      Organising by genre is very hard for me too.
      Green with spice or wood ARE yummy. Nice choices.
      Portia xx

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  34. I am coming up with a nonstandard genre: Rich Lady. Usually she is quietly so (Heure Exquise) but sometimes people get hit by the furs (Encens Mythique).

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  35. For me it’s florals first, then citrus, iris, spices, vanilla, woods, aromatics. I tend to shy away from caramel, fruit, and patchouli notes

    I love the everything-and-more feeling of Vol de Nuit. Flowers at the heart with a chorus of supporting notes to make them it all the more gorgeous. It is my uber-floral.

    A few days ago I passed a perfume counter and picked up a tester of Shalimar EdP. I tried it a few years ago and got just smoke and petrol. Scrubber! So I gently spritzed my knuckles on one hand (they’re easy to scrub if needed) and was so pleased with the vanilla loveliness that wafted to my nose. It was a good reminder to try things more than once. Never say never!

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  36. Sandalwood, is a common ingredient in my favourite perfumes. Cant leave out leather, oud and big white florals. Not into too sweet lolly waters.I use them for room sprays.

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