I Love Layering- Even In The Summer

my kind of layers....yum

I am a bit maverick-y when it comes to perfume. I know- shocking, right? I love masterfully composed exclusive perfumes like Acqua di Parma Profumo and sweet, charming gems from the drugstore like Lady Stetson. Another thing I like to do is layer my perfumes. Some might find this sacrilege but I find some of the most delicious scents have come out of my layering experiments. It is often accidental. I will put on a perfume, then a few hours later reapply as I'm leaving, forgetting which perfume I originally applied. Most of the times, it's a happy accident. 

My scent mood rarely changes dramatically during the day, so instinctively I seem to choose scents that luckily work together. This is another reason I tend to favour simple scents. They are easier to layer! Its not always easy in this age of "a million perfumes that all smell like the same mix of a million synthetic ingredients" but it's easier than you'd think. It's not a new concept to perfume- Jo Malone actually offers layering menus on their website with suggestions of perfumes that work well together.

My layering trick is pretty simple. I try to start with a soft skin scent to work with as a "base note". Soft musks, ambers, and woodsy notes well as base notes. Creamy sweet gourmande perfumes also work well as a base. Scents that melt into the skin and make you have to lean in close to smell are the ones that make good base scents.

Then its time to look for a top note. Yes, I know perfumes are made into 3 notes- top, middle/heart and base, but I find it best to keep things simple when doing this yourself. Top and Base are really the only things you need. As far as light and airy, I tend to favour floral and green notes for the top note, as they compliment a richer base note. The base note is calmed and softened by the airy top, and the top is grounded and enhanced by the richness of the base notes.

Annick Goutal Songes, Musc Bleu, AK Musk, Sisley Eau de Campagne, Sexy Angelic, Etro Heliotrope

Some of my favourite base suggestions:

Egyptian Musk Oil: I love Abdul Kareem and Auric Blends musk oils. They have a clean woodsy note that work as the perfect base for almost any perfume. 

Il Profvmo Musc Bleu: This is the lightest cleanest musk, adds a fresh scrubbed note to any perfume.

Honore Des Pres Sexy Angelic: the soft and sweet notes hug the skin and smell amazing when topped with florals. It adds a yummy aspect to clean scents.

Etro Heliotrope: The powdery sweet floral notes in this soften any scent.

Annick Goutal Songes: This sultry and dark tropical floral adds a sensual sweetness to any perfume.

Sisley Eau de Campagne: This shimmering green shower of a perfume adds a spring shower meets green field of grass note and lightens any scent.

YSL Y, Creed  Virgin Island Water, AG La Violette, L'Artisan La Chasse aux Papillons, Floris, Guerlain

These work wonderfully when worn as top notes:

Floris Night Scented Jasmine: simple sweet and floral, this one is just gorgeous with a musk base. It becomes positively dangerous when layered with Annick Goutal Songes.

L'Artisan La Chasse Aux Papillons: Another simple summery floral, I love this one with Sexy Angelic as a base for evening.

Annick Goutal La Violette: This simple sweet violet sings like a spring day when worn with Eau de Campagne.

Then some that just work as a top or a base:

YSL "Y": This soapy green floral chypre is so beautifully composed it pretty much works with anything. I love it with a musk. It is basically like being in a shower all day. I have blown my own mind by wearing this one with Chanel Bois des Iles. WOW. This one is still available for a song online. Get it if you don't have it. 

Guerlain Un Air de Samsara: This is basically sandalwood and jasmine with a little mint tea. I use tiny amounts with any floral and adore it.

Creed Virgin Island Water: Layer this with anything that you want to smell beachy and summery.

So, there are basically no rules for this kind of stuff. As I type this I am already thinking of others....Kiehl's Musk, SMN Gardenia, Keiko Mecheri Jasmine.....I say just experiment, play, and see what works! Often if you think it will work, it does. Our nose knows....

Beautiful Green Perfumes

One of my favourite perfume groups are the Green scents. Green perfumes tend to focus more on the foliage of the flowers and tend to be fresh with a slightly sharp edge as opposed to the sweetness you get with flowers.  This is often due to the addition of aromatic green leaves, grasses and herbs. As you can imagine, they are often shared or unisex scents, as they are simply fresh and invigorating vs traditionally “pretty” or “sexy” feminine scents that have sweeter more floral notes. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good floral, but I also adore the crisp fresh breeze of a scent that comes with green scents. They evoke the feeling of being outside, maybe in a meadow or a garden, either in warm sunshine or even a cool fresh rain shower. Coming into our hot summer months, these are perfect and I crave them. Here are just a few of my most loved Green Perfumes:

Original Vent Vert ad

And the modern one I adore...

Balmain Vent Vert The Mother of All Green perfumes, in my humble opinion. Now, this has been reformulated since it was originally created in the late 40s, and there is much consternation over different versions. I will keep it to the present version that looks like the bottle in the photo ad above. It is simply green perfection.  There is a touch of  floral sweetness in this one, but only a breath of it. It is like sweet grass on a hot summer day with a gentle breeze blowing through it, carrying the scent through the air. A key ingredient in many green scents is galbanum, which is a plant resin. It has an intense green scent  with a peculiar musky/skin accord.  This was heavy in the original Vent Vert and is more gentle in this version but still there. Gorgeous. This is my biggest compliment getter without question and one that just becomes “me”.  The edt has fantastic lasting power and it’s perfect for day or night.

Sisley Eau de Campagne I was telling a friend about this the other day. It was a really hot day & I’d spent the day outside in the sunshine. After showering & changing I spritzed some of this one on. I described it to my friend as “showering with fine, expensive French soap, then settling down to enjoy good food & wine in a garden in provence”. It really has the sense of “garden” in it, which is likely due to the tomato leaf note, which is bracing and GREEN. It was launched in the 70s and has a cool laid back feel to it, with that cool French “je ne said quoi” feel. Very unisex with a soft dry down that stays close to the skin, Eau de Campagne has a cooling calming effect. Perfect for hot summer days and nights, and perfect for sharing.

Polo anyone? Meet you at the club...

Estee Lauder Aliage Another oldie but a goodie, with a super duper dose of galbanum, Aliage is also from the 70s. It was created as the first ever “Sport Scent”  as it had a real outdoorsy feel to it, and was not a fancy schmancy ladies floral to wear when you are sitting around having tea. Aliage plays tennis, golf and probably hikes too. There is a slight butch feel to this scent I find, but I love it. This may be the uber does of galbanum which is so earthy, but is helped along by pine, vetiver and oakmoss. It IS earthy and a wonderful scent to wear in the heat. Its sold “under the counter” at Estee Lauder counters in the US (sadly not in Canada) as you have to ask for it, like a dirty little secret. At less that $40 for a bottle, this is a brilliant and unique scent that every green perfume lover needs to own. In true Estee fashion, it goes on strong and stays all day. Perfect!

Coco & a cute dog just hangin' at her country home...

Chanel Bel Respiro From the Chanel Exclusif collection, Bel Respiro is named for the week-end house that Mademoiselle Chanel bought in Garches in 1920, which means “nice breathing”. Great name when you consider it does smell like standing outside in a lush green garden inhaling the scents around you.  It evokes leaves and wet summer air after a shower, and does have a clean soapy accord. There is a touch of the sweetness and galbanum of Vent Vert in this. I am reminded of VV whenever I wear Bel Respiro. This one is soft and gentle and easy to wear, perfect for summer.

Lean in a little closer, Big, I'm wearing Cristalle...

Chanel Cristalle Another iconic Chanel scent, this one from the 70s, Cristalle spells green, fun yet elegant and stylish. To me this is a light airy green, like a soft summer breeze. It smells just like summer, with a dash of citrus to keep it cool. Caveat- only the Eau de Toilette is worth wearing in my humble opinion. They made an Eau de Parfum in the 90s in order to deepen the original scent to make it "wearable" during cooler months and to perhaps make it last longer on the skin. Light airy scents tend to lack longevity but in my opinion Cristalle fails as an Eau de Parfum. It looses it's spirit and soul and becomes heavy and weighted which to my humble nose, does. Not. Work. Keep it light, wear a Halston flowy wide leg pantsuit or wrap dress and you are ready for a hot summer day. Remember, this is the perfume that Chris Noth once said- aka Big on Sex & The City- brings him "to his knees". Duly noted... (ps- another obscure 70s scent by Molyneux "Quartz" smells sooo close to Cristalle, even the names are similar. Worth sniffing out if you can find it. It's usually quite a deal...)

Betcha she's wearing YSL "Y"...cool

YSL “Y” This beauty is a green chypre from the 60s and I adore it. It is cool green and sexy, and for someone feeling confident and standing tall. It has a slight sweetness to it from flowers but there is a cool dry accord that comes from the aldehydes and perhaps the woody notes. It tends to have a slightly soapy accord on me but not everyone pulls soap from this. I happen to love soapy notes so I’m good with that. It is soft and quiet, never loud, and would be perfect for any occasion.  It does have some patchouli in the base which I find lends it a slightly sexy feel in the dry down. I can’t explain why it feels elegant but it just does. It lasts hours on my skin too. Worth trying as it is available for a song online. My friend Dane generously gave me his big bottle. Get it while you can.

Pass my glass of champagne, sil vous plait..

Creed Aubepine Acacia I *think* this one is discontinued so I apologize in advance if, after reading this, you decide you want it. It is quite sad that they took this one out of rotation as it is so lovely. Simple, clean and green with gentle floral notes, it was created in 1965 and worn by Brigitte Bardot ( I prefer to think of her in her 1960s incarnation as opposed to the clazy rady she is now…) and it has an endless summer on the beaches of France feel for sure. There is a slight fruit note that comes from the bergamot on the top but otherwise it is galbanum, hawthorn and mimosa. Vetiver isn’t listed but it seems to smell vetiver-ish and there is a bitter green note that is somewhat addictive in this. Love it, it is just gorgeous and made more so perhaps by the fact that it feels so rare when I wear it. This is another compliment getter and I feel like sultry Bardot on the beach in capris with messy hair drinking wine when I wear it. Fun fact- she also wore Vent Vert so she was a lover of green scents...  I have heard rumours that it is only available in the Creed Mothership shop in London (or is it Paris?) in the massive jugs for around $800 in case you REALLY want some.