Fragrance Fetish Finding the Right Scent for your Style You’ve made it through winter and feel ready for the sunny promises of spring. So what better way to celebrate sandal and skirt weather than to indulge in your feminine side? Beside a signature wardrobe, a subtle dab of a favorite fragrance on your wrist can speak volumes about your style, interests, and passions. By creating a signature scent, be it musky, floral or earthy, the aroma of you will stay behind, long after you’ve left the room. Which one of these describes you? BRING ON THE BOUQUET You’re in love with anything soft and feminine. Your wardrobe gravitates toward soft pastels and you feel your best in neutral, pale colors. You’ve

Photographer: Rodrigo Torres

been told that you’ve got that starry-eyed look, but you’re no space cadet – just a woman who only needs a few touches to feel pretty. Your makeup often is soft and tasteful, and you favor shimmery golds and pinks. Choose a fragrance that doesn’t hit you with flower power but offers a sweet subtle scent that has a floral hint. - ROSE, Sonia Rykiel A floral harmony of rose and amber, with a woodsy undertone, this scent is steeped with freesia, lotus flower, sandalwood, and delicate musks. A bouquet of luxury, its decadent combination of pomegranate, pimento and cardamom make it the perfect alternative to the garden variety floral fragrances. - Happy in Bloom, Clinique Clinique recently revamped its popular floral fragrance, Happy, with fresh notes for spring. The new version hasn’t lost any of its charm and keeps its floral medley, including a mixture of boysenberry, honeysuckle and lily of the valley, with an added blend of yellow plum, mimosa, and freesia.

- White Musk, The Body Shop
Musk, jasmine, lily and rose are the dominant fragrance notes of this affordable scent, and one splash on your wrists can make you feel sexy without the added drama of a heavy perfume. The woodsy blend of scents, including iris, amber and patchouli, is sure to awaken a fire inside of you – a perfect way to stay warm on those breezy spring nights.

CHIC
You like clean lines and strong scents that show off your womanly charms. Your style is elegant but sexy. You look stunning in smoky, dark makeup, and plum and berry shades which bring out your dusky soulfulness. You favor the movie star glamour of yesterday, and you seek a fragrance that captures you: regal, tasteful and unforgettable.

- Pure Turquoise, Ralph Lauren
Ralph Lauren’s new fragrance for women offers a cool, refreshing splash of concentrated and long-lasting perfume essence, that’s perfect for an evening out. Its eclectic array of fragrance notes include patchouli, silver birchwood, amber, vanilla, and rum—and it offers a deep oceanic embrace you’ll happily drown in. Other fragrance notes such as Bulgarian rose, night blooming cereus, and indigo violet petals offer an exotic blend that exquisitely meld femininity with gracefulness.

- Amber Nude, Estee Lauder
Former Gucci guru Tom Ford’s latest scent blends the scent of radiant florals such as jasmine, a hint of dark chocolate, and spices into one sensual package. A spin-off of Estee Lauder’s original Youth Dew fragrance, the newer version combines the classic sensuality of the past with the hipness of the present to create a pulsating, urbane scent that will send your senses soaring.

Remember, when choosing a fragrance, don’t dab directly on your skin; spray a bit on a test strip first to acclimate yourself to the scent. Walk around with the test strip for a bit, and make sure to smell it again outside, away from the suffocating and distracting heaviness of department store fragrance counters. Just because a perfume is new doesn’t mean it’s right for you. Look inside yourself to figure out what scents appeal to you and suit your personal style.

Shilpa Arora is California-based freelance writer. She writes articles related to healing, style, and wellness.

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