Today I'm talking scents for the whole family. I've mentioned it before, but when it comes to fashion and beauty, I definitely wasn't destined to be "in the know" shall we say. Fashion doesn't come naturally to my mom, and we still tease her that her clothes haven't changed in about 30 years! Suffice to say that fashion isn't a top priority. But, thankfully, living in NYC for the past almost 10 years has done me some good, but not so much for my wallet.
Women
For better or worse, I'm thankful that I'm getting myself together; and part of that means smelling nice. The first time it hit me that designer perfumes were really worth the hefty price tag (although any economics major will tell you you're paying for the bottle, and it's an absurd profit) was when I was at a friend's house and her sister's friend came downstairs and this beautiful, elegant and feminine scent surrounded her. Burberry London has been in my rotation since then!
One night I went to visit my former college roommate; she was from LA and of course, the mid-west can't compete! So, I always looked to her for fashion advice and she was always representing the latest trends. I was playing around with her perfumes, and Coco Mademoiselle was my favorite from her collection; it's elegant and classy, yet youth-like. I always kept it in mind, and knew one day I would finally bite the bullet.
A few years ago Flowerbomb burst into the scene. My friend was so excited when she ordered hers, but warned me it was expensive, "but it's so worth it; it smells like candy!" I was skeptical, but then I smelled it for myself, and I was blown away. It really does smell like candy, with a funky kick-ass sort of twist to it.
I recently added Gucci Bamboo to my collection. I felt that I had a few feminine, floral scents, and I needed something not as dainty. There are a few things in life I'm a hard sell on-perfumes are one of them. Sales reps are always rather surprised when my reaction to a scent is, "...it smells like a bathroom." Ok then, moving right along. They'll try to tell me all the different tones, but they might as well speak gibberish. I tried out several, but this stuck out in my mind and I kept saying after every new scent, "I really like that Gucci one." And since then, I've worn it more than any of my others; I almost have to remind myself to wear the other scents. To me, it smells nice and pretty, but it's not dainty. Like the impression I want to give off-pretty and nice, but don't mess with me!
Men
A few years back, I bought my husband his first cologne. Before that, he was an Axe guy. Thankfully we're over that! He's a very simple guy, and has about zero preference in fashion, other than-comfort and practicality. It was way out of his comfort zone to put on cologne, and he definitely didn't want more than one. I smelled this one in a magazine fold and used a gift giving opportunity as an excuse to gift him that. He loved it, and when he ran out I replaced it with this. However, since he doesn't have a preference, I use an empty bottle as a way to try something new! So, I walked into Sephora of course. These were my top three picks for a new scent for my guy!
Jimmy Choo was a fave. I was immediately drug in by the name, as I'm sure this would be the only Jimmy Choo item I ever own! However, because of it's popularity, and I hate being the same, I specifically opted not to go for it.
When the sales rep showed me the Montblanc cologne, I knew the bar was just raised. I mentioned that my husband has about no preference in fashion, but I have to take it back. He cares about one thing-Montblanc. He literally drools over Montblanc pens! So I thought it would be rather cool to get a cologne in his favorite brand.
The sales rep decided to show me a newer, less popular cologne. First of all, you get more product for the same price. Secondly, it's less popular and I'm all for being different! It wasn't my favorite at first, but after smelling it a few times, there's a spicy scent that comes through as like an after-scent, and it's delicious. After I gave it to him, I kept saying, "don't you just love it?!?" The truth is, he loves anything I make, cook, bake, wear, buy...but I know he actually does like this cologne!
Kids
Of course perfume/cologne isn't for kids, but if your kids are anything like mine, they love to copy. My daughter helped me sort the laundry, all while wearing my bra. She recently lined her diaper with a pantie liner! I love that they see us and learn about grooming habits and life skills and I'm all for implementing that in an appropriate way. I have actually had this Mustela product for awhile, and it's finally getting some use! I never bothered to put it on them as a baby, but they love that they can put on their own cologne/perfume in the mornings.
Sometimes the cost of a perfume/cologne can be very off-putting. Thankfully, Sephora has what's called perfume samplers. This one and this one are the current samplers, a little less than 50% off the retail value. What's great about them, besides a lower price, is that there's a certificate redeemable for one full size perfume from the choices in the sampler. So not only do you get to have sample sizes of several perfumes, for a less than full size price, you get a full size bottle! I don't go through my perfumes that quickly and have had some go bad on me-perfumes last about 3-5 years, so I always feel pressure to use it before it goes bad, so the smaller bottles are nice because there's less product to use!
What are your signature scents?
I recently added Gucci Bamboo to my collection. I felt that I had a few feminine, floral scents, and I needed something not as dainty. There are a few things in life I'm a hard sell on-perfumes are one of them. Sales reps are always rather surprised when my reaction to a scent is, "...it smells like a bathroom." Ok then, moving right along. They'll try to tell me all the different tones, but they might as well speak gibberish. I tried out several, but this stuck out in my mind and I kept saying after every new scent, "I really like that Gucci one." And since then, I've worn it more than any of my others; I almost have to remind myself to wear the other scents. To me, it smells nice and pretty, but it's not dainty. Like the impression I want to give off-pretty and nice, but don't mess with me!
Men
A few years back, I bought my husband his first cologne. Before that, he was an Axe guy. Thankfully we're over that! He's a very simple guy, and has about zero preference in fashion, other than-comfort and practicality. It was way out of his comfort zone to put on cologne, and he definitely didn't want more than one. I smelled this one in a magazine fold and used a gift giving opportunity as an excuse to gift him that. He loved it, and when he ran out I replaced it with this. However, since he doesn't have a preference, I use an empty bottle as a way to try something new! So, I walked into Sephora of course. These were my top three picks for a new scent for my guy!
Jimmy Choo was a fave. I was immediately drug in by the name, as I'm sure this would be the only Jimmy Choo item I ever own! However, because of it's popularity, and I hate being the same, I specifically opted not to go for it.
When the sales rep showed me the Montblanc cologne, I knew the bar was just raised. I mentioned that my husband has about no preference in fashion, but I have to take it back. He cares about one thing-Montblanc. He literally drools over Montblanc pens! So I thought it would be rather cool to get a cologne in his favorite brand.
The sales rep decided to show me a newer, less popular cologne. First of all, you get more product for the same price. Secondly, it's less popular and I'm all for being different! It wasn't my favorite at first, but after smelling it a few times, there's a spicy scent that comes through as like an after-scent, and it's delicious. After I gave it to him, I kept saying, "don't you just love it?!?" The truth is, he loves anything I make, cook, bake, wear, buy...but I know he actually does like this cologne!
Kids
Of course perfume/cologne isn't for kids, but if your kids are anything like mine, they love to copy. My daughter helped me sort the laundry, all while wearing my bra. She recently lined her diaper with a pantie liner! I love that they see us and learn about grooming habits and life skills and I'm all for implementing that in an appropriate way. I have actually had this Mustela product for awhile, and it's finally getting some use! I never bothered to put it on them as a baby, but they love that they can put on their own cologne/perfume in the mornings.
Sometimes the cost of a perfume/cologne can be very off-putting. Thankfully, Sephora has what's called perfume samplers. This one and this one are the current samplers, a little less than 50% off the retail value. What's great about them, besides a lower price, is that there's a certificate redeemable for one full size perfume from the choices in the sampler. So not only do you get to have sample sizes of several perfumes, for a less than full size price, you get a full size bottle! I don't go through my perfumes that quickly and have had some go bad on me-perfumes last about 3-5 years, so I always feel pressure to use it before it goes bad, so the smaller bottles are nice because there's less product to use!
What are your signature scents?
Me like smell of $$$$$$
ReplyDelete