Buh-Bye winter blues! Hello and welcome back sweet spring!
Spring is finally here. Are you ready to snug sunshine and swap out your winter scents with some fresh and uplifting options? I know I am:)
Here are some of my personal recommendations for getting your fragrant groove back:
When you want to feel…
Fresh out of the shower:
Try barely-there fragrances that smell powdery and soapy on the skin. When we think of clean we usually think of fresh laundry or a new baby smell. To best capture these aromas look for fragrances containing musk. The association between clean and musk can be traced back to childhood since many of baby products, including Johnson & Johnson baby powder and shampoo, contain musk.
Check out: Lazy Sunday Morning (Replica), Colette (Tocca), Pure Grace (Philosophy), Amazing Grace (Philosophy)
Keep Calm and Carry On:
Maybe you’ve been hit with a major blow to your psyche and keeping your game face on can be challenging. Lavender and vanilla have long been known for their calming properties. Jasmine has also been proven to be a natural anti-anxiety scent. When inhaled by mice they stop running around and rest quietly in the corners of their cages. Jasmine has been linked to mood enhancement in humans as well. A study at the Smell and Taste Treatment Center in Chicago showed that humans knock down 23 percent more pins when they bowl with the scent of jasmine in the air.
Check Out: Shalimar (Guerlain), The One (Dolce & Gabbana), Carolina Herrera (Carolina Herrera), 1000 (Jean Patou)
More Productive:
With warmer weather, longer days and backyard barbecues on the horizon, it’s easy to feel like work is the last thing you want to be doing. Five scents that are good for boosting your concentration and mood at work are: lemon, bergamot, lavender, rosemary and jasmine (again). These all bring out empowering chemical reactions in the brain while also easing stress levels.
Check Out: Stella (Stella McCartney), Bergamot (MALIN+GOETZ), Daisy (Marc Jacobs), J’Adore (Dior)
Unleashing Your Inner Vixen:
If you’re looking to bring sexy back, go for a floral oriental scent, also called floriental. Nothing works better than exotic florals like peony or freesia, mixed with with oriental notes like vanilla, amber or patchouli. Vanilla seems to conjure up sweet memories, patchouli is earthy and sensual and amber is known to stimulate sexual desire. The floral notes add femininity and make it more wearable. Perfect juice to spritz on for date night.
Check Out: La Vie Este Belle (Lancome), Black Orchid (Tom Ford), Dahlia Divin (Givenchy), Narciso Rodriguez for Her (Narciso Rodriguez)
Effortlessly Chic:
You want to smell amazing with an understated and not trying too hard vibe. Time to reach for something with a woodsy note combined with fresh florals. Something with cedar, sandalwood or vetiver containing floral notes such as iris or violet is your best bet. The effect is airy, cool and unisex just like a man’s oversized, tailored shirt.
Check Out: Knot (Botegga Veneta), James (Rosie Jane), Good Girl Gone Bad (By Kilian), Nirvana White (Elizabeth and James)
Taking Off For Spring Break:
Imagine tropical fruits and floral notes that transport you to an idyllic island vacay. Even if a Hawaiian getaway isn’t in the cards, a girl can always dream, right? There’s something about coconut and flowers like gardenia, ylang-ylang and frangipani that conjures up memories of a surf-and-sun holiday. There’s a good reason that these types of fragrances do well year round.
Check Out: Beach (Bobbi Brown), Bronze Goddess (Estee Lauder), Beach Walk (Martin Maison Margiela – Replica), Salt Air (Demeter)
Confession: Sometimes when I write blog posts I write them more for myself than for anyone else. It’s been a long and cold winter and I am really ready for starting new projects, sewing new seeds and adding some amazing new scents to my wardrobe.
Have I forgotten any spectacular spring scents? If so, I’d love to hear!
Until the next time,
What a lovely blog post. It’s nice to see the perfumes listed against different feelings or properties of them.
I never knew jasmine was an anti-anxiety flower, how interesting? I love the bowling fact too!
Thanks for so much useful information and some great recommendations of perfumes! More posts like this please 🙂
Louise
You are most welcome Louise. Thanks for stopping by to comment.
Erica
Very cool way to organize recommendations for different perfumes! It’s hard to pick out perfumes in person, and easy for the senses to be overwhelmed. Smart to associate different moods and motivations with the scents, since people do associate smells with moods and activities. Good way to bridge the gap between perfume and essential oil/aromatherapy worlds!
Hi Penelope,
When you factor in that fragrances smell differently to each person depending on their body chemistry it makes it a bit more complicated. This is my take on how these scents smell to me. Thanks for dropping by and commenting:)
Erica
So many options, the categories are great. Something for everyone. I have been looking for the right fragrance for me. Do you have anything a little more spicy? It seems like most fragrances are fruity or clean, I’m looking for something a little more wicked.
Your site is fantastic though, the colors and layout are really well chosen. It caught my eye immediately.
Spicy and wicked? I love it:) I think you might like Angel by Thierry Mugler or Black Orchid by Tom Ford. Let me know what you think.
Erica
I feel like I just walked into a spring meadow! Love your descriptions of these scents… I feel like you made them come to life. So many great options. Is there one that you would you recommend for everyday use (something not too overbearing.. not too subtle? And which is your favorite of all of these? 🙂
Hi Jen,
That’s a really tough one since I don’t know your preferences.Two that I really like are Knot and Beach Walk but that’s me. Beach Walk is the lighter and more subtle of the two but I wouldn’t call Knot overbearing. Happy hunting!
Erica