Notes I Love

I’ve been shifting and changing, growing more experienced about what I want in a fragrance and the list of notes that I love today might not be the same as the one I’ll make next year. But these days, I’m craving some very specific notes and some notes, I’ve just wanted to find holy grail fragrances for and haven’t been able to locate those yet.

Photo by: Jo Anna Barber

Here are the notes that I’m loving right now.

Vanilla
Holy Grail: Spiritueuse Double Vanille
I love vanilla, but not the faux vanilla that has a tendency to smell like plastic when it’s poorly blended. But boozy, spicy vanilla with a touch of woods. My favorite for this category is still Guerlain’s SDV, whose boozy, woodsy spicy vanilla hits the spot.

Amber
Holy Grail: Still looking
A good amber to me is smooth, warm, comforting and settles quietly on the skin. I have yet to find an amber fragrance that I’m totally happy with.

Honey
Holy Grail: Honey Blossom
Honey Blossom isn’t so much a single note of honey, if that were the case, I’d just get single notes and be done with it. Rather Honey Blossom an entire perfume that beautifully depicts the concept of a honeyed floral. It smells inviting and pretty. I just wish I had a lot more of it.

Jasmine
Holy Grail: Still looking
I’m picky about jasmine because it’s in so many fragrances as it is. I’m looking for a scent that really showcases a green, fresh jasmine that isn’t too overpowering because strong jasmine doesn’t smell too great either. There has to be a delicate balance and I’m still looking for my favorite.

Sandalwood
Holy Grail: Still looking
If any note could take me back to my childhood, it would be sandalwood. This is another one that I’m really picky about and as a result, haven’t found my favorite yet. The closest so far is Guerlain’s Samsara whose perfumed sandalwood inspired some brief nostalgia, but not anywhere near enough.

So what notes draw you in? And as always, I’m open to any suggestions on my search for a holy grail for every note.

Photo Credit: Jo Anna Barber

6 thoughts on “Notes I Love

  1. I love amber perfumes but there are so many of them that it’s really hard to make any suggestion without knowing your tastes better and which ones you’ve tried and liked or didn’t like.

    Have you read Tara’s post about Birgit’s talk: “Olfactoria, Queen of Amber” – Perfume Lovers London Meetup? It has a nice classification and links to reviews for some of these perfumes on Olfactoria’s Travels.

    My favorite notes are: amber, galbanum, iris root, rose, lilac, lily-of-the-valley, linden and tobacco.

    • I’ll have to check out that post, and probably go nuts buying as many little samples that I don’t have, so I can smell them all in one day and get a massive (but awesome) headache. Yee!

      I also forgot about linden! I love that too, and one of my favorites is Black Phoenix’s The Unicorn, it’s unfortunately been discontinued–but it was so pretty. 🙁

  2. I wondered if you had tried SSS Champagne de Bois, which seems to me to be All About the Sandalwood.

    Favorite notes for me: galbanum, tuberose, rose, aldehydes, and spices. They don’t necessarily have to be combined; I don’t, though, have A Holy Grail for each of them.

    • I haven’t tried Champagne de Bois, but that’s another one to add to the list of “must try”! I know you’ve probably tested a lot of tuberose fragrances yet, but have you smelled Annick Goutal Gardenia Passion? I know it supposed to be gardenia, but I get all tuberose from that one.

  3. I love this. I don’t know if I have a holy grail for any of my favorite notes, because I always want to feel like it’s still out there elusively hiding from me. As for my favorite notes? amber, oakmoss, citrus (primarily orange), and surprisingly to me, rose.

    • I love orange notes too, especially the sweet ones that remind me of orange juice. Just something comforting from childhood, I guess. 🙂

Leave a Reply to Kay Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *