Hello. I'm new to the community, although I do read your threads from time to time. I know that you ladies know your stuff, so i figured I would ask for your expert opinions...

For the last 4 years, I have worn nothing but Lacoste Pour Femme. Boring, I know, but I prefer something subtle, and I like the gentle "woodiness" about it. I have tried other scents, trust me, but things that smell great on other people are either headache-inducing on me, or just a little too overwhelming for the small office where I work. A friend of mine wears Givenchy's Very Irresistible. It smells great on her, so I bought a bottle for myself. Suffice it to say, after wearing it twice, I will never wear it again. On me, it just smells like a rotten flower, and gave me the worst headache and nostril-burn...i just don't want to subject the people in my office to that. I don't really know how to describe it, but something about it seems so unnatural to me. I think that's what I like about lacoste - it kind of just reminds me of walking through the woods, and all of the smells of nature, as corny as that may sound.

Like I said, I love the way certain scents smell on other people, but on me, I prefer something a little more subtle - I don't want people to smell me in the lunch room 3 hours after I've finished my lunch :)
While I love big strong floral scents on others, they do not always agree with me. On me, I prefer something a little woodsy, maybe a little spicy, but not too over-the -top or incredibly musky - something kind of natural, but clean. I want something that I can smell and that the people closest to me can smell without asphixiating. Which leads to my topic...

I was flipping through the new Sephora catalog and saw an ad/paper sample of Narciso Rodriguez for her. At first, I thought it smelled terrible, but when i rubbed it on my wrists, it smelled great. The smell definitely seemed to evolve after a few hours, but I was never offended at any point, nor did it ever give me a raging headache. i just don't know if a paper perfume sample is an accurate indicator of the scent/strength of the scent. It seemed subtle and fresh enough to me, but what do you guys think? Now that you know what I like and dislike, what are your thoughts on the subject? I'd love to hear your expert opinions!

I'm wearing the Edt today as a matter of fact. I like NR alot. If you want something that stays close to you, try the Parfum concentration which comes in the roll on, tall skinny bottle. It stays very close to the skin and it's mostly floral with a nice musky dry down. If you want more musk and a little more sillage, try the Edt. The Edp is quite different than these two, in my opinion, it is much more floral than musky and I personally don't like it much.

NR also makes a MUSK oil - which comes in a black bottle and costs 150 dollars. I haven't tried that one, but some POL'ers like it.

The best thing for you to do is to go to Sephora and try all concentrations and see which one you like more. But I would say that in general, NR is a low sillage fragrance that is very feminine, stays close to you and is very cuddly w/o being vanillic or foody. I find NR to be sexy yet unobstrusive. And given your description on what your looking for, I think NR is a good place to start.

You might also want to try:

Caleche Edt (fresh, green, woodsy, soft)
Sensi - Armani (sweet, powdery/floral, soft)

Other POL'ers might have other suggestions.

Thanks, Irinadax!

Looks like I will be making a trip to Sephora this weekend to "smell-around". Maybe my fiancee will be nice enough to treat me to a bottle of perfume!

It sounds like something that would be good on you.I would suggest getting a sample or a mini and try it out a few times before you buy a full bottle. Here is a link :

http://perfumebay.com/women-s-n-narciso-ro...ez-for-her.html

Welcome, kristin. I'm not a Narciso fan myself but just wanted to say if you like subtle fresh woodland scents, you might like Eau de Cartier.

Just to add there are also guys here who are very very knowledgeable on perfume.

Kristin,
To me, Narciso Rodriguez is a very minimalist synthetic floral-woody perfume, yet manages to create a feeling of richness because of the musks, which create warmth. In the beginning it gave me a headache, so I didn't like it at all. It does smell quite a bit like nailpolish at first application... But after a while it became my most favourite modern perfume (and I am known for loving all those vintage classics for the most part).

It seems like Narciso Rodriguez might be suitable for you, since it has woodsy elements. However, don't judge it by the scent stripe in the magazine. It's just not accurate because it's not in the same medium (alcohol) that the fragrance you'll be purchasing is. I recommend you go and try it in the store. As Irina said before me, you might like the parfum concentration better (it comes in a roll on, so it can be applied discreetly without scenting the entire room). My personal favourite is the EDT. I don't even get near the EDP (it's a completely different scent).

On another note, other scents that you might like as well - Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker, Scent Intense by Costume National, Kisu by Tann Rokka, and Pure Turquoise by Ralph Lauren. You might want to give them a try.

Thank you for all of your input! I will definitely consider all of your suggestions!

I didn't mean to leave out any of the guys in the POL community - sorry guys! The male point-of-view is always welcome/needed!

I highly suggest you go sniff out also Omnia by Bulgari which is a wonderfully gentle woody scent. Also second the SJP Lovely suggestion.

NR is one that took me a very long time to warm up to. The concentration is key with this scent, so get samples of both the EDP and the EDT from Sephora and try them both. The EDP was way too rich and powdery/musky for me, but the EDT is a bit more angular and uncomplicated to my nose. It's sort of a chypre for those that find traditional chypre to be too dated, heavy or formal to their noses. It has that same dramatic interplay of earthy base and fresh notes. It was the honey that put me off for the longest time, but that is turned down quite a bit in the EDT. It has great lasting power on me, but does not announce itself unless I go over 4 sprays with it.

The EDT is lovely, cannot bear the EDP, haven't tried the musk oil. I would definitely have a few sniffs before buying.

Sage advice and great description. NR EDT was my one major purchase for 2006. I kept trying it out, obsessed with the little scent strip in my pocket. I bought the EDT but I also like the EDP - and sometimes wonder if I should get that one as well.

I'm a convert to this scent after a few years. It's a gorgeous orange blossom musk scent. I even like the men's version too. I need to get both of these now!!!

"Jezuz, just when I thought I was getting rid of stuff here, I keep getting pulled back in!" LOL!!

Ah i just don't get this scent. I think I'll only purchase a mini in the future and it me suffit

and I am sure it's only me who thinks EDT and EDP is almost identical. really.

All good suggestions. If you try SJP's Lovely, do try the liquid satin serum version.

Also the new SJP Covet is very natural smelling - as in natural essences - and stays very close to the skin - in my experience anyway.

Stella McCartney is a clean pretty soft rose with minimal sillage and Kenzo Amour is very soft sweet and milky with a great long-lasting non-obtrusive woody drydown.

Good luck with your hunt!

Hi Kristin - I was thinking that you might like Eau de Cartier as well.

As far as NR goes, I like the EdT quite a bit but my first and best experience has been with the body lotion. It warms up very slowly and smells clean, soft, a little sweet. I was actually quite impressed and I'm not a big, scented body lotion fan. It smells very much like the EdT but stays very close to the body.