My favorite thing to treat myself to is.......

Perfume. That's the secret indulgence.

Coco Chanel once said that it was the height of arrogance for a woman to think that she smelled good enough to go out without perfume - so if you want to make the right choice, what's a girl to do?
I have my favorites and so at risk of revealing my secrets... I'll share just a little. I like the pure perfumes but sometimes they are too strong and I find that the body butters or lotions release a subtle fragrance and they make your legs feel smooth. Usually that's where I smooth it on but - the back of your neck is always good too in case you need to share a hug with someone. Michael Kors has a good one, Neige by Lise Watier has allowed me some nice compliments, and I do like Miss Dior too! Let's see, Daisy by Marc Jacobs was nice and then there is also Look by Vera Wang. For sprays and spritzes I love Ageless which apparently is hard to get now.This one is fail-safe and I always get the "you smell so good". It's the one for when you just want to smell really fresh and young. The advertisement makes me laugh on the box because truly it says that the person who smells it on you will feel 8 years younger. Really ? See this flower ring? It's pot perfume. Isn't that one a nice piece. It slides open to reveal the secret touch up pot. That was a present and of course.... Loved it !I also bought some of Tiffany's perfume because - well - I just needed to have a bottle and it's nice but a little "older" smelling for when you wear pearls or something like that. Pretty bottle with that signature silver lid engraved with the Tiffany's name on it. Indulgence. I stopped at the Givenchy counter a couple of weeks ago and found a new one that I am trying on for size. Eaudemoiselle.It took some lingering to decide it was nice and then a simple little trick by the fabulous perfume rep sold me for sure. She took a tube of thier "Very Irresistible" body veil and smoothed it over top of the perfume on my arm. Chemistry at the counter! It was even another scent altogether.
So read a little about scent and this is what I found out.

Smell is the sense most closely tied to emotion; people often have powerful responses to specific odours. What you choose will have an effect on you and those around you."
as a perfume dries on your skin it releases a sequence of odours.
The lightest, head notes , appear during the first 15 minutes. These are followed by heart notes, and finally the base notes, which appear in the last 12 hours.
So what a scent smells like in the shop will differ after a day at the office.

It takes 750kg of jasmine flowers to create 1kg of essential oil. In France, jasmine blooms only from August to October, and must be picked by hand during the few hours of the day that the petals are open.
The rose doesn't make life any easier. It must be picked by hand, flower by flower, at sunrise.

I read up on some perfumology and found that because of the cost of "true" ingredients, we are buying products that actually use synthetic copy-cats. They are marketed by movie stars and models and fashion houses because they are money makers.

When a kilo of rose absolute can cost up to £4,000 and its synthetic equivalent costs only £400, it's not hard to see why the perfume industry has embraced synthetic scents. But be careful - because they don't last and they can sour.

I have always wanted to try Linterdit by Givenchy because Audrey Hepburn wore it as her signature scent. Only recently was I able to try some in a shoppe and it reminded of the era of Channel No. 5. Those sweet smelling perfumes that are all about class and subtlety.

I love it when you get samples from those pretty girls who are lucky enough to work at the exquisite perfume counters. It's like an extra special little gift and I have often stumbled on a new scent that I like from that little treat.
I think I would be in my glory to be a representative for a perfume company. Dressing up and smelling great and talking to women about how important it is to have a little something special to put on when you go out the door. I have learned however, that not all scents smell the same on every person. So, just because it works for me - may not mean it's your style.

Don't be fooled by the pretty girls in the ads... buy what smells good to you and on you. Let your nose be your guide and the compliments you receive help build your collection.



Love Jewells (Ya, that's why I bought it)