Janie is ashamed to admit to feeling tired, work-weary, fat, FRUMPY and fed-up with herself.
Did I mention that a "big" birthday looms at the end of the year???

I need to give myself a "good slap", buy some new clothes, get back to Curves and generally stop feeling sorry for myself....

Recommendations please, for a fragrance that will remind me to hold myself up with confidence
Thinking of something a little playful, smart, approachable and easy to wear but with a goodly dose of style.......

A resurrection perfume if you will.....
Niche or mainstream...

Thanking you in advance

Janie xx

Oh dear, I see, you need POL support here and you know what? You#r in the right place! I's supplied instantly!

"Thinking of something a little playful, smart, approachable and easy to wear but with a goodly dose of style......." this sentence makes me think of something Italian.
As i am not sure which family you generally like best i will try to name a few Italian perfumes which i like of each family which all share the style, approachebleness and playfulness:

musky: Lorenzo Villoresi MUSK (an untypical musk, very powdery and containing a good amount of lavender and dry roses)
aldehydic: D&G woman (the red capped one) or Sicily, both floral-soapy aldehydic, both a powderhouse!
lemon-y: D&G light blue MY personal uplifting perfume, lemons and aplle and salt water and sun on bare skin
chypre: La Perla (the classic) a soft chypre, not too green which turns into a spicy and golden oriantal after a few hours. very sexy!
cologne: Acqua di Parma colonia. Just the right mix of herbs and lemony and flowers. A fresh washed and sun-dried linen kind of scent.
floral: Bulgari pour femme or voile de jasmine or rose (all beautiful florals)

Hm.. don't know if you like one of them but i am wishing you good luck!

Janie, bless your heart! I have a feeling winter's getting to you. You came to the right place. Consider yourself hugged!!!!!!!

Hmmmm.....confident yet playful, smart yet approachable, easy to wear yet stylish.....my vote goes to SJP Lovely. I think it fills all the bills you describe.

Other suggestions, if you hate that:

flowery: L'Artisan Drole de Rose (yes, roses, but also violets, and all-girl)
foody: Chopard Casmir (vanilla and amber and pow!)
chypre-soapy: Magie Noire. Go easy on this one. Very womanly!

Let us know what you choose. And enjoy that birthday when it comes!!!!!!!!!

Hi Janie! I'll second Lorenzo Villoresi Musk (it was the first thing that came to mind) and suggest a couple others:

Christian Dior Dolce Vita
Molinard Nirmala
Royal Bain de Caron
Yves Saint Laurent Cinema

Hang in there, honey! ((((((hugs)))))))

A big birthday? My condolences! ...I mean, congratulations ( know how you feel...)!

Your post made me think about Blu Mediterraneo Arancia Di Capri.

Notes according to Sephora: Bergamot, Grapefruit, Mandarin, Orange, Petitgrain, Cardamom, Mate, Musk, Caramel.

Janie, Happy Upcoming Big Birthday. Hugs galore!

Let Fred and Ginger help you Pick Yourself Up!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDXZkBIxso4

Once you have absorbed that message, how about a little Eau Dynamisante for starters to get you going? You may want to add something else later on but ED can give you that energy to kick-start the process! From the Clarins website:



"Great fragrance. Great feeling.
Eau Dynamisante is truly unique - it is the very first body fragrance with skin care benefits. It reunites the fragrant and treatment actions of plant extracts to hydrate, soften and "energize" the entire body. For him, for her, in any season all year round, Eau Dynamisante is an irresistible wave of freshness and vitality.

Beauty Benefits :
- Delicately fragrances and promotes a wonderful feeling of freshness, vitality and well-being.
- Firms, tones and revitalizes surface skin.
- Moisturizes and softens.

Ingredients :
- Aloe (Alleviates)
- Caraway
- Eleurthero Ginseng (Anti-fatigue)
- Ginseng
- Harpagophytum (Alleviates,Regenerates)
- Horsetail (Stimulates)
- Zinzimber (Stimulates)"

Janie, I know how you feel. I'd love to go out on a 'sniffa' with you because I think you need to go out and try on some new products. In fact, is there a good store in your area with a Goutal or Jo Malone counter? There are some bright, refreshing fragrances in those lines. I'd recommend you try Goutal's Eau de Hadrien or Les Nuits de Hadrien.
Did you read about those studies which said that women wearing scents with grapefruit or orange notes were perceived as about 10 years younger by other people? I find that those notes lift my spirits very much. I own Eau de Hadrien and Les Nuits de Hadrien. I prefer the latter.

The fragrance I was most inclined to recommend as youthful, beautiful in every sparkling golden note, very approachable and wearable for all occasions is Fidji by Guy LaRoche. However, Fidji is becoming hard to find. One has to hunt it down. However, it's worth it and fits your criteria:

http://www.fragrancex.com/products/_cid_Pe...__products.html

Janie, honey..
Can we send you a little sumpsin-sumpsin' ?

PM me with your likes and address-
We'll send you a package and a kiss....

Oh Janie .... I hear ya woman. Here's to a good slap to both of us!

I was thinking Chanel's 31 Rue Cambon. It's in the exclusifs line and I don't know if you have acces to that line but I feel it's fits all the criteria you mentioned.

Then I thought of L'Artisan's Fleur D'Oranger 2005. Uplifting it is.

Or even Moschino's I Love Love. Just a great scent all around.

Good luck with everything and cheers to you.

Dawn

O de Lancome, Libertine or Paloma. First is zingy and ultra refined, second is playful pineapple chypre and the last one is a woman in full roar. Take you pick. All will remind you of your fabulousness.

Janie, first of all you are defitintely NOT fat and frumpy! And secondly, I've had the big birthday that I suspect you are going to be celebrating, and it was GREAT!

Of course, I don't know what sort of scent you like but a Big Birthday definitely merits lots of treats, so something extra-special and limited edition in a beautiful bottle would be wonderful.

Listen to what the good people here are suggesting, but if you're not a tuberose hater then Fracas would be gorgeous.

Oh, you're turning 30? Congratulations!



I thought of that one immediately, too. A wonderful orange scent. I spitz it on clothing and layer with the cream to make it last longer. One of my most uplifting scents. I'm wearing it today, in fact.

Also, what about Eau des Merveilles by Hermes? That one is uplifting but with some depth and zest to it.

I'm not sure if Chanel's No. 5 Eau Premiere is available yet where you are, but that one also comes to mind. More approachable than the classic version, with amped up lemon and vanilla, but still unmistakably No. 5. It's like No. 5, the happy version.

And I hear you about getting back to Curves. Maybe tonight ...

Hi Janie! I have been feeling a bit like you described for awhile. I'll be turning 39 in a few weeks, with 40 looming on the horizon. I LOVE your no-nonsense-take-the-bull-by-the-horns approach.

How about Chanel No. 5? Fresh, very likeable, yet very grown up. Madame Chanel was the poster child for the reinvention of self. Maybe you'll find inspiration amongst the Chanel fragrances...

Hi Janie!

Some friends from Australia are visiting us this Friday -- they'll be here for 10 days! I love the Aussies and the land "Down Under". (Long, long ago...in a world far, far away.....I was an exchange student there.)

I can relate to where you find yourself. I recently celebrated the 13th Anniversary of my 39th Birthday [grin] and was feeling frumpy, dowdy, washed-up, yadda yadda yadda....

I've had a couple of great new haircuts to find a new, stylish "do", my daughters and I have spent some quality time and probably too much money indulging in some new make-up from Nordstrom, I've ramped up my exercise/work-out activities to higher levels --- and I FEEL GREAT! My hubs and kids tell me I'm lookin' pretty good for "an old lady" [grin].
My suggestion is to remember the wonderful you inside, who is still the same person you've always been... but sometimes we need a little selective overhaul. New hairstyles, possibly new haircolor, new make-up techniques, getting healthy from the inside out -- these are simple things that can be done that will give us excitement and enjoyment.

Perfumewise - these last couple of years have been for my perfume passion exploration. I've gone from a few select scents that I loved to more than 30 that I love, plus countless samples that I enjoy, too. Reading here will prompt some experiments, some buys, and hopefully, some new-found knowledge of the world of fragrance. Indulge in some new scents as they strike your fancy, and perhaps you will find a few that "speak to your soul" as I have done:
(Cristobal by Balenciaga,Dolce Vita by Christian Dior,Chergui by Serge Lutens,Coromandel by Chanel,Infusion d'Iris by Prada,Anglomania by Vivienne Westwood,Donna Karan Gold,Roma by Laura Biagiotti,Nuit de Noel by Caron)

Beautiful scents are supremely important to me. My day is better, my outlook is brighter, and I am happier when I am surrounded by a lovely scent that becomes part of ME. Best of luck to you. You'll find some great help and support here. I have gleaned some wonderful insights from the great folks here at POL.

Nobody's ever felt frumpy in Yvresse!

Wishing you well, I know exactly how you feel.

I always seek out No. 19 at moments like this, and it never disappoints. I know it's one of your favorites -- I'm sure it will work for you!

xxxxoooo
Cathleen

What a great way to put it!

24-Faubourg, though a big fragrance, packs an age transcending punch. It's youthful, mature, sexy, smart and strong in a feminine way. It is one of the best orange blossom fragrances out there. Is it a resurrection perfume? Maybe not, but it always lifts my spirits a bit.

Janie, they say that birthdates are just that...numbers that don't really have anything to do with who we are and how we project ourselves. That's what people keep telling me anyway.

Hang in there and Happy Birthday when it comes!

QUOTE (lillie @ Jun 26 2008, 01:17 AM)

Oh dear, I see, you need POL support here and you know what? You#r in the right place! I's supplied instantly!

musky: Lorenzo Villoresi MUSK (an untypical musk, very powdery and containing a good amount of lavender and dry roses)

Oh my goodness......LV's MUSK is delicious! I didn't know it had lavender! I don't care much for lavender or obvious rose fragrance notes so they must be hiding them VERY well because I LOVE this one! Thank you for reminding me....this must go on my WANT list!

Smedley, what a pretty photo!

i would try Ormonde Woman by Ormande Jayne A fantastic scent and one that is regal and soft and unusual enough to mark you as a woman with confidence....

michael

Smedley I second a great hair cut. With this and your best outfit from the cloathes you have now the SAs will treat you very well and the shopping will be nice.

I also second Aqua di Parma Colonia to cheer you up and will also ad 4711 wich is a cheapy - if citrus and some herbs cheer you up, it has that effect on me.

And treat yourself with your best comfort fragrance now and then. It's winter in your place of the world now. For me Shalimar, Caron Parfum Sacré and Galimard Galimar were comforting last winter. And in both Shalimar and Parfum Sacré I feel like a classy lady.

Ooooh, another good choice. I especially love this one in the cold weather, with that black hemlock. An invigorating, utterly unique fragrance.

janie,

i can relate to how you feel, hugs to you!
regarding uplifting scents, i would second one of lillie´s choices: D&G light blue, itsmells very uplifting to me, not too heavy nor too light, it´s yummy without being foody & it has a lighthearted feeling about it. if you don´t know, give it a try!

i would also recommand moschino funny which smells of oranges on a base of wood. really nice & uncomplicated.

or what about DKNY women or even red delicious?
i find DKNY to smell of grapefruits, but certainly not in a fruity floral way, but more grown up. it´s kind of classy & makes you feel selfconfident.
red delicious is more playful, red apples & woods. nothing special, but nice & not overly sweet.

I can definitely relate to the way you are feeling! When I'm feeling out of sorts with the world, I try very hard to remember that every day is a gift!

My recommendations for a fragrant pick-me-up are -

Dior's Dioressence - sophisticated and sexy
Chanel No. 22 - flat-out gorgeous and mystical
Must de Cartier - classic and va va voom in a good way!
Dior Dolce Vita - happy, woody and complex
Etro Shaal Nur - a calm and relaxing magic carpet ride
Serge Lutens Daim Blond - refined and rich
MPG Rose Opulente - a velvety rose masterpiece
Coriandre - green, spicy and uplifting

I could go on and on, but most of all, I want to wish you a wonderful birthday!

Dear Janie,

Do not like to hear you are so down. Its time to be in touch with POL and to acknowledge it is time for CHANGE !!!
time to cultivate loving "you" !

When I have times like this (and I am working with it now)..... I look to going back to basics in many ways and in my mind put myself forward by visualising as absolutely over it and feeling great !!!!!!!!!! at last.

Then I ask myself, how did I get here (feeling great) from where I was - so down and unhappy. Then I list what I "did" ! to get to this wonderful stage.

Your list could be, ,,,,
I. Talked to POL friends for their wisdom
2. Visited my Doctor or found a new one for a fresh start.
3. Arrangements and Plans for Self Lifting and prep for 00th Birthday.
1. Hair cut and style
2. Cloaked myself in Eau Dynamisante from Clarins for a fresh perfume start (I agree on that rec !)
3. Joined an exercise group - water aerobics, gently gently.
4. Joined Spark People on net for a good allround reinvention of body and good sense (weight loss etc)
5. Contacted POL friends again and commenced a perfume search for the already changing self
Choosing something new and exciting.
6. Renewed friendships and cultivated family closeness
7. Stripped wardrobe of anything which is not you or is out of date and carefully plan out new list of
essential clothes, including planning of your colours to coordinate mixing and layering.

Once you have listed the strategies you "took" to get where you are fabulous again....take the actual action.

As a true perfumista I am sure you will find renewed pleasure in organising refining your collection.

I wish you luck and send you my love as a POL colleague. GO FOR IT GIRL !!!

Hey, girl.
I see no PM's...[taps foot]

Tell me what you'd like; if I have it, I'll send it.
With a big kiss, of course.
What's stoppin' you ???