• signature perfumes throughout the years

    My Signature Perfumes Throughout the Years

    January 21, 2020

    Hi Everyone!

    I think I started wearing perfume in high school. I never really wore perfume on an everyday basis until university. Whenever I leave the house, I spray on perfume unless I’m going to be somewhere like the movie theatre where I’m in close proximity to other people for long periods of time. I usually only do one spray and it’s enough for me.

    This is a longer post with three parts so you can scroll down to the parts you want to read:

    • List of Fragrances and their fragrance families
    • My opinions on the perfumes
    • Descriptions of the main accords and notes of each perfume

    These are all of the perfumes I’ve had over the years (in order):

    • The Body Shop White Musk
      • Floral, Sensual
    • Banana Republic Classic Eau de Toilette (unisex)
      • Citrus, Floral
    • Victoria’s Secret Forever PINK Sparkling Apple and Water Lily Body Mist
      • Fruity
    • Ralph Lauren RALPH Eau de Toilette
      • Floral, Fruity
    • Lady Gaga Fame Rollerball
      • Floral, Sensual
    • Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia Eau de Parfum
      • Fresh, Floral, Aquatic
    • Tory Burch Original Eau de Parfum
      • Fresh, Floral, Citrus
    • Dolce & Gabbana 3 L’Imperatrice
      • Fruity, Aquatic
    Please excuse this super grainy photo. It was taken with an old camera phone.

    For the Banana Republic Classic Eau de Toilette, I really liked the scent of this in-store, but  then it smelled different when I brought it home and I ended up decluttering it after using it a couple of times.

    RALPH by Ralph Lauren was a really nice scent, but I got tired of it after a while and that’s why I picked up the VS Body Mist. The body mist was a favourite of mine even though it was a cheap body mist that I bought 2 for $25. I had this other body mist that was okay, but I don’t consider it a favourite of my collection.

    The Lady Gaga Fame Rollerball was gifted to me for my birthday. I thought it was really cool that the liquid was black (which wasn’t black once you sprayed/rolled it on).  I liked the spiciness of it and only wore it when I went clubbing.

    The Giorgio Armani Acqua di Gioia is still a favourite of mine, but I had it for 4 years and it was time for a change. It has an aquatic scent, so I only wore it in the spring and summer. It felt weird to use in the winter time which is why I bought the Tory Burch one.

    Tory Burch is sophisticated, but still youthful. It’s not like Chanel No. 5 where it smells like a rich, older lady (no offense if you’re younger and you like it). I bought the Tory Burch perfume at the Mac Warehouse Sale in a set that came with a mini and a body lotion which I gave to my grandma. Before the sale, I researched which perfume brands were owned by Estee Lauder. I went to Hudson’s Bay to smell the different perfumes from Tory Burch, Estee Lauder, DKNY, Clinique, etc. and chose the original Tory Burch scent. Luckily for me, they had it at the sale and I bought it.

    While I was looking for perfumes (before buying Acqua di Gioia), I got different samples at Sephora. I liked the Dolce & Gabbana 3 L’Imperatrice one, but it was an Eau de Toilette and I didn’t want to spend over $100 on it. Last year, when I was at the Shiseido Warehouse Sale, I saw a smaller bottle on sale and I decided to get it.

    Surprisingly, I’ve never finished a bottle of perfume. From university to present day, I’ve always had more than 1 perfume. I’ve had a few perfumes for more than a few years and I stop using them once they smell different. I still have Fame and Acqua di Gioia, but I only use them for display now.

    On me, all of the perfumes are long-wearing. Sometimes I even smell the perfumes AFTER I’ve showered.

    I found descriptions of most of the perfumes’ notes on fragrantica. I am not associated with fragrantica in any way, it was just a website that had all of the perfumes and I wanted to keep the structure of the descriptions the same. People vote on what they smell in the Perfume Pyramid (top notes, middle notes and base notes). I am terrible at identifying scents unless it’s something really obvious like rose. So all of the descriptions are from the website.

    The Body Shop White Musk Eau de Toilette

    Main Accords: musky, white floral, woody, powdery, floral

    Top Notes: ylang ylang, galbanum, basil, jasmine, musk

    Middle Notes: lily, jasmine, musk and rose

    Base Notes: jasmine, rose, iris, amber, patchouli, vetiver, peach, oakmoss and vanilla

    Victoria’s Secret Forever PINK Sparkling Apple and Water Lily

    There’s no description of this one on fragrantica because it’s really old, but there was obviously sparkling apple and water lily in it.

    Banana Republic Classic Eau de Toilette

    Main Accords: Citrus, white floral, fresh spicy, green, woody

    Top Notes: bergamot, grapefruit, clementine, green notes

    Middle Notes: honeysuckle, syringa

    Base Notes: ginger, woodsy notes, musk

    RALPH Ralph Lauren

    Main Accords: floral, fruity, green, fresh, citrus

    Top Notes: Japanese Osmanthus, Apple leaf, Italian Mandarin

    Middle Notes: Magnolia, Boronia, Yellow Freesia

    Base Notes: musk, white iris

    Lady Gaga Fame

    Main Accords: floral, honey, sweet, balsamic, fruity

    Fragrance Notes: belladonna, orchid, jasmine sambac, honey, apricot, saffron, incense

    Giorgio Armani Acqua Di Gioia Eau de Parfum

    I bought my bottle a long time ago. The new one looks different and I don’t know if the scent has changed at all. I would describe the one I have as aquatic and fresh.

    Main Accords: green, citrus, aromatic, fresh, white floral, fresh spicy

    Top Notes: Amalfi lemon, mint

    Middle Notes: jasmine, pink pepper, peony

    Base Notes: French labdanum, Virginia cedar, brown sugar

    Tory Burch Tory Burch Eau de Parfum

    Main Accords: citrus, floral, fresh, white floral, woody, musky

    Top Notes: grapefruit, pink pepper, cassis, Mandarin orange, neroli

    Middle Notes: peony, tuberose, mimosa, jasmine, carrot seeds, alyssum

    Base Notes: vetiver, sandalwood, white musk, cedar

    Dolce and Gabbana 3 L’Imperatrice Eau de Toilette

    Main Accords : ozonic, aquatic, fruity, sweet, sour

    Top Notes: pink pepper, kiwi, rhubarb

    Middle Notes: jasmine, cyclamen, watermelon

    Base Notes: musk, sandalwood, lemon tree

    If you’re still here, thanks for reading!!

    Based on a roundup of all of the signature scents, I seem to gravitate toward fragrances with citrus, musk, pink pepper, jasmine, sandalwood and vetiver.

    What are your favourite perfumes?

    Love,

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  • Style Goals | A Classic Wardrobe

    July 25, 2018

    Hi Everyone!

    Continuing with “Goals” posts, I thought I’d one on style. For both the makeup and style goals, they aren’t just for 2019, but they are goals I’m setting myself going forward.

    Check out my Makeup Goals!

    Ever since my interest in makeup went up, my clothes buying went down because I gotta save somewhere! So, I don’t think I will need to be instituting an annual budget for clothes. Unlike my makeup buying habits, I wouldn’t say I’m as impulsive with clothes because it’s different. Yes, I’ve bought clothes I didn’t necessarily need, but with clothes, you can try them on and make sure they fit right and for the most part, you can return them. With makeup (especially drugstore makeup that doesn’t have a tester), you’re just buying it based on what you may have read or heard.

    GOAL #1 | Buy more colours and patterns

    If you looked into my closet, you’d see darkness because most of my wardrobe consists of dark blue or black with a touch of colour. Some day, my wish is to have a walk-in closet and it would be really boring to just see walls of black and blue.

    GOAL #2 | Buy better quality

    This doesn’t necessarily mean ‘buy more expensive’ because I can still buy good quality clothes for less at places like Winners and Marshalls. My style is fairly classic and plain, so it’s not like I need the latest jeans or blouses- I’m fine with jeans that were released in 2015.

    Buying better quality is especially important for buying jewellery for me now. A lot of things I’ve bought from Forever21 or Ardene/Claire’s have tarnished. I think I may have gotten an allergic reaction from a ring that I always used to wear. You can definitely tell the difference in appearance- better quality looks super shiny and actually looks silver/gold/rose gold. I love my pieces from Stella & Dot (check out my post).

    I think it’s time to buy better quality bras too. A lot of the time, I got to La Senza to buy bras that are on sale for less than $15. Most of the time when I’m getting dressed, I reach for the same ones. I might as well spend a bit more on an everyday bra and have fewer instead of having 30 bras where I don’t wear 20.

    GOAL #3 | No more shopping at stores like Forever21

    This goes with buying better quality clothes, it’s time to shop my age. Once I passed my 21st birthday and after graduating university, I felt like I should stop buying clothes at Forever21. I already stopped doing this a few years ago when my mom kept telling me to buy better quality clothes. Unless I’m making a DIY Hallowe’en costume, I won’t be stepping foot into a Forever21 store while shopping for myself from now on.

    GOAL #4 | Declutter

    I was reorganizing my room and went through my jewellery to declutter/donate. I am a hoarder; I keep a lot of things because I think, “what if I need this later?” I have a whole dresser full of loungewear and pajamas. I think it’s time I go through some clothes and donate the ones I don’t wear.

    GOAL #5 | Build a Classic Wardrobe with Pops of Colour

    I’ve read numerous articles on building capsule wardrobes and classic wardrobes. I love clothes, shoes, bags and makeup. I don’t think I could ever have a minimalist collection of anything. The items in the Minimalist collections are great starting points, but I want more. For the different articles on building a classic/capsule wardrobe, I own most of the ones they have, i.e. little black dress, knee-high boots, trench coat, dark jeans, black sweater, etc.

    Items I want to add to my wardrobe:

    • Plain white t-shirt (I don’t know why I don’t have any)
    • A coloured blazer (maybe red or blue)
    • Watch (I like Rosefield watches)
    • Patent nude pointed toe pump
    • Wrap/waterfall coat (in black, blue or maybe even bordeaux)- waterfall style is like that drape-y type of coat
    • Classic trench coat (I have a classic beige/tan trench, but it’s a thinner material, it’s not like a water-resistant ones from Burberry/Coach)
    • Comfortable flat ankle boots
      • my cousins wear the Blundstone Chelsea ankle boots, but I don’t think I could pull those off
    • Black riding boots
      • I know ‘comfort brands’ are known for being kind of old lady-ish (i.e. Clarks), but when I was working at Hudson’s Bay, I saw a lot of nice riding boots by brands like Naturalizer and Rockport
    • Designer bag & wallet (maybe a Michael Kors or Tory Burch wallet, and I dream of a YSL crossbody bag, but those are like $3000)
      • I don’t think it’s unreasonable to spend a few hundred on a nice bag and wallet. I take good care of my things, so they’ll last a long time. I have a Longchamp tote that I’ve had for 4 or 5 years and it’s in pristine condition. I’ve used it as my main purse for 2 years now. I love my Longchamp tote, but it’d be nice to get a bag with a shoulder strap so I don’t have to worry about it falling off my shoulder
    • Some day, I would love to own a pair of Gianvito Rossi pumps (Kate Middleton wears these), Christian Louboutins and Jimmy Choos. Also dreaming about the Patent Nude Valentino Rockstuds, but we’ll see if those go out of style since they’re trendy. They’re very expensive, but I’ve heard multiple ladies call them ‘the most comfortable pump they’ve owned’

    What are your style goals?

    Love,

    jen

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