SniffapaloozaWhen the weather turns chillier, I instinctively reach for my heady, spicy, more intense fragrances. This year I’m loving boozy accords…. I’m really in the mood to smell like a sexy cocktail (inside and out), put on a spangly little dress, kick up my stiletto heels, and celebrate the season in style. And I’ve found the perfect fragrance to toast the glittering festivities with – Absolument Absinthe, by Absolument Parfumeur. It’s one of the best-kept secrets of the Scent Universe!
As someone who has loved fragrance just about my entire life, I never lose the thrill of trying a new fragrance. I read every fashion and beauty magazine I can get my hands on, but not until after I’ve flipped through them scavaging for the scent-strips. I scan the web regularly to see when new launches are happening, and, most importantly, where I can go to get a whiff of a new creation.
I’m particularly interested in the creative process, and I love a meeting of fragrant minds coming together to develop something unique that couldn’t exist without collaboration. So when I heard that Coty was working on a fragrance collection with Walmart called Love2Love, I got very intrigued. Coty, one of the oldest, still-in-operation fragrance companies in the world, and Walmart, where America shops – what a blast to see what they came up with!
As a pastry chef, it’s a no brainer I’m fond of perfumes that fall into what the fragrance world categorizes as the Gourmand group of perfumes. This means foodie notes – and predictably that often includes vanilla, fruits (peaches, grapefruit), berries, caramel, chocolate, coffee, tea, and often times a healthy dose of sugar or honey. It can also include spices. At the least, if you choose a vanilla or gourmand perfume, it’s low calorie indulgence.
But there’s nothing more heartwarming, especially in the chilly seasons, than vanilla-based perfumes. More often than not, I’m stopped and asked what I’m wearing. Yes, I live a red carpet of scent – the what are you wearing to me is never about Gucci or Zak Posen, and my answer is usually, I’m wearing Guerlain, Chanel and other perfumers. Nothing is more flattering than to wear a scent that doesn’t overwhelm or upstage but instead, has people stopped in their tracks and asking you what your fragrance is.
Of course, a lot depends on which vanilla perfume you choose (no one wants to smell like a cookie or cupcake….or do they?) but if you are open to it, you’ll find there’s something in the vanilla/gourmand spectrum that’s sure to please. There’s pretty well a vanilla scent for every personality out there or your many moods or personas. I’ve worn every perfume on this list and I’ve also been known to tuck a vial of vanilla oil in my purse for a quick dab, en route to tango or touch my wrists with Nielsen Massey Double Strength Madagascar Vanilla.