My favourite perfume....
Well, my very first one was Nahema by Guerlain. I had a bottle of it when it came out, in 1979. And I still have it. I wanted to use it on such special occasions that I never used it! Then of course I went through the Tea Rose, Lauren, Anais Anais, Giorgio phase....If you're under 35 you may not remember those! Then it was Bijan, and starting around 1989 I wore Coco by Chanel for about 5 years straight. I still love it. Then I found CK One, then Lancome's Rouge Now or Never. That is a great scent. They only put it out one season, maybe 15 years ago, hence the name Now or Never. Well, I bought it and it was my go-to nighttime fragrance. One day, sadly it broke. I knew I would never see it or smell it ever again! Never say never....my good girlfriend heard me talking about it and said "I have some at home and I've never touched it. It's yours!" And I wore it again last week!
But my favorite one EVER was a gift from my brother. He was visiting Cairo, Egypt and had someone mix this essential oil for me, right on the street. It was a spicy musk, my most special and favourite perfume. And I knew I couldn't ever go out and purchase it so I used it sparingly. Well, my sweet son when he was about 4 years old decided to pour it down the sink just for the fun of it...If my girlfriend has one of those laying around, I'm telling her now: CINDY, I'LL TAKE IT!
Then...
Nahema by Guerlain, Paris, Est. 1979
Tea Rose by The Perfurmer's Workshop, Est. 1975
Lauren by Ralph Lauren Parfums, Est. 1978
Anais Anais by Cacharel Paris, Est. 1978
Giorgio by Giorgio Beverly Hills, Est. 1981
Bijan by Bijan for Women, Est. 1986
Coco by Chanel Paris, Est. 1984
CK One by Calvin Klein, Est. 1994
NOW....
Rouge Now or Never by Lancome
photo courtesy of: moonhaven.com.au
I mix my own essentials oils now. I usually use a base of vanilla or white musk and add some floral and spices to it. I don't like heavy scents so I have to make sure it's not too strong, but I like oils better than alcohol based perfumes. I have recently discovered the wonderful marriage of vanilla and grapefruit. It's not as sweet as it sounds, in fact, it almost has a peppery top note. I also like to add the slightest drop of patchouli in some oils, and vanilla and coconut is so warm and yummy! By mixing your own oils, you can customize it exactly how you like it....down to the tiniest note!
Egyptian perfume bottles from sharpe-designs.com
My first essential oil that I had, the one my brother bought me in Egypt, I stored in a small perfume bottle almost exactly like the ones above. With oil you only need the smallest dab so a little bit will last a very long time. There's something so old-fashioned and feminine about putting on perfume with a bottle and dabber.
Now, it seems my daily scent comes from bath oils, which are great because it leaves the lightest fragrance and also moisturizes much better than any lotion will! The Neutrogena Light Sesame Body Oil is one of my favourites. This is usually my summer scent/oil as it is lighter in weight as well as smell.
I am NUTS over all of Booth's products (available at drugstore.com). Their Booth's Original Bath and Body Oil is one of my all time favourite scents .... It's not sweet at all, so it would be totally unisex. This is usually my winter oil, as it is richer, but I use it at least once a week in the summer too because I love the smell so much. Like the Neutrogena, this one has sesame seed oil but also has sunflower, olive fruit, wheat germ and evening primrose oils.
Vitabath's Plus for Dry Skin is a great product as well. I like their dry oil's better than their lotions, but I primarily use this for the fragrance rather than the moisturizing. It has notes of jasmine, violet and white musk. I have tried mixing my own oils with these three scents and have yet to perfect it and come close to matching Vitabath's at all. A surprisingly sophisticated and feminine aroma that you can truly pick up at the drugstore!
