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I imagined the wife as a fashionable, but not too trendy, woman who enjoys a decent silk scarf and grainy leather handbag when she sees them, and has a mildly sweet tooth in what concerns fragrances. Without making Ronald jump through hoops I suggested the following rich-smelling and quite classy fumes.
First of all since she's already familiar with the prolific Thierry Mugler brand, why not upgrade to the truly gorgeous Thierry Mugler Alien Essence Absolue? It retains the jasmine and amber scent of the original Alien, and is not miles away in concept, but adds a soft luxurious undercurrent of resinous myrrh, orris and a leathery scent impression which nudges it into true luxury; the difference between an Hermes purse and a Coach one...
Next came the following recommendations I made.
Staying in the Mugler universe, there's Mirroir des Envies; still sweetish but classy and with a jasmine-y heart. Quite uncommon too!
Sarrasins perfume by Serge Lutens is jasmine scent heaven. The scarcity is also a plus in this instance. Not to mention it even has a soft fruity hint via osmanthus.
Exploring the jasmine and white floral theme with a cocoa-vanilla overlay: Christian Dior Pure Poison Elixir. Less common than the original Pure Poison and a tad softer too.
On the subject of white chocolate (and the patchouli hinted at by her like for Miss Dior Cherie), I suggest the perennial classy favorite Chanel Les Exclusifs Coromandel. Drop dead gorgeous!
If a fruitchouli is considered, then Badgley Mischka eau de parfum is a good option, classier than most in the genre and not well known in order to smell herself coming and going.
Finally, for daytime, because a girl needs a clean floral sometimes, I went off the beaten track and suggested the ethereal Le Cheuvrefeuille by Annick Goutal. She might also like Gelsomino Nobile by Acqua di Parma.
What do you think? What would you suggest he surprises her with?
All those are great sounding suggestions and I'm off to try some of them myself. Alas, Badgley Mischka is discontinued and getting hard to find and expensive. I love it, and treasure a little hoard of it I've built up. After it was d/c you could get BM for a song, apparently. I missed that moment. Still, it's very rich and sweet, not to everyone's taste. Clearly :( .
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to hear they discontinued it. Especially since the fashions have featured so prominently at the Oscars, Emmys etc.
DeleteYes, quite sweet but in a good way (not my personal choice for personal fragrance but a good sweet scent)
the "coromandel" seems a genius suggestion. i'm sure the "alien essence absolue" would be a perfect upgrade for her too; the "pure poison" seems logical, as she clearly doesn't mind that funny grape candy note, and something like the "chevrefeuille" would be an excellent replacement/augmentation for her "tommy girl". i almost wonder if she might not like "le baiser du dragon" for something different, and definitely classy, and even keep the theme with a bit of "baiser vole" for day instead of the "tommy"?
ReplyDeleteI like both your lovely suggestions! My only qualm would be whether she's into powdery; these are both kinda powdery (one is ambery powdery, the other musk/orris/vanilla powdery). Powder is a polarizing note (I personally love it of course but not everyone does).
DeleteBut he might get her samples and see how she reacts! ;-)
Excellent choise, Elena! Alien Essence Absolue it's gorgeousss! I love it and recommand it. Me too I used to like Miss Dior Cherie, eau de parfum, I replace it with Cinema by Yves Saint Laureant. For day time use: Le Jardin de Monsieur Li or Hugo Boss-Woman.
ReplyDeleteThanks Cristina! (are you Romanian btw?)
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting suggestion about Cinema. I hadn't thought of it as a stand in for Mss Dior Cherie but it's a lovely perfume and I wonder why I don't wear it more. I believe they discontinued it? (am I right?)
Yes, I am Romanian :) who lives in Morocco - the Serge Lutens land :))). I don't know if they discontinued Miss Dior Cherie, my husband hate it, by the way, and I've made it my sister's gift.
DeleteMy first thought was like yours - Sarrasins. Hard to think about anything that's so right in so many dimensions: very elegant, jasmine, just a touch of fruity sweetness. Too bad one has to be in NYC or Paris.
ReplyDeleteAs for Tommy girl, I wonder whether she's into the blinding whiteness or the light tea. If the latter, then there's always that staple, Bulgari eau parfumee au the vert, which has the dubious advantage of being appropriate also when she doesn't want to seem to wear a perfume.
Thanks M for confirming my suspicion that it was the obvious choice.
DeleteThe Bulgari green tea is such a modern classic I wonder whether there's someone in her entourage wearing it. But even so it's a shapeshifter of a scent melting with the wearer. More of an aura than "bang that's perfume you're wearing!" Good suggestion on your part!
I love Sarrasins, but suspect an elephant would be more suprising...
ReplyDeleteHa!!! Yup!: :-)
DeleteVoile d'ambre from Yves Rocher.
ReplyDelete