Which perfume do you choose for a day you want to remember?
What is the one scent you reach for on days when something special happens?
What do you wear when you need some comforting and confidence-boosting?
What perfume do you select on a special day?
Are you going for something tried and trusted or will you wear something new to make memories with?
What is your perfume of choice when it really matters?
My Answer:
Today is my older son Paul’s first day of elementary school. After a year of pre-school the real deal starts today with an hour in the classroom and another one in church (it’s a Catholic School).
And of course I have been thinking what to wear. Not clothes-wise, that’s easy: black pants and blazer and a colourful Hermès scarf (in this case a pink and grey Carré GM silk dip-dye called Brazil II for the Hermès fans among you) are my fool-proof uniform.
But what perfume to wear?
That is a lot harder to answer for a Perfumista. The choices are not exactly few in my closet after all.
I want to wear something discreet first and foremost, no fumigating of innocent bystanders with floriental bombs.
I think I want to wear something I already know, it is not a day for something new that I’m not sure about and where I don’t know the development very well. Distraction is not needed.
I am tending towards elegant, light, sophisticated and calming.
The one name that pops up in my mind again and again is (no surprise here!) Hermès. Rose Ikebana is a strong contender.
A safe choice would be Chanel N°5 Eau Premiére.
One other perfume is beckoning me too, though: Prada Infusion d’Iris. Iris’s cool, calm and collected charms are always a good bet.
Which one should I wear?
What would you wear?
What is your safe, but much loved choice for a special occasion?
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Ah, is this Monday Question or Monday Questions? Lol. For you; the rose to match the scarf for invincibility.
I really dislike chanel 5 or the premier. Personally ,I would wear the Prada Iris.
The Prada is a great everyday perfume that never gets boring.
It’s always more than one question, can’t ask just one – just like I can’t have just one perfume. 😉
I wore Rose Ikebana indeed, thanks to your timely comment.
Wow, as Jordan mentions, how difficult to narrow it down to one answer! For a daytime important event where, like you, I don’t want to risk offending anyone I often go for an iris based scent like FM Iris Poudre or Chanel No. 19 EdT. The cool crisp iris is confidence building but soothing at the same time. Also, OJ Rose Ta’if is a good choice since it is quiet yet still a little bold (maybe with some Ta’if rose oil).
If the important event is something in the evening or at a location where I can be more bold I will always go for an Amouage (doesn’t really matter which one) and preferably layered with an attar for a little something extra.
And I definitely will go for something familiar for any important event, I don’t want to risk some crazy skin chemistry reaction or even worse, that the scent dies before I even get to the event!
Beautiful choices, dubaiscents! An Amouage is always so elegant…
Hm, a difficult question, I have never thought about a “to go special scent”. Maybe a soft leather like Bottega Veneta or Evody Cuir Blanc. Both would compliment a special day without stealing the show.
For a day like your son’s first day at school, I would go for something fresh and sunny. Rose Ikebana is excellent as is Ninfeo Mio or Eau de Shalimar. All tree are lighthearted but chic and would be a perfect match to your Hermes scarf and the event.
It turned ot I was very happy with my choice of Rose Ikebana, it fit well and it always makes me happy!
I think Iris is a very elegant note – especially if it is done understated, like the one by Van Cleef&Arpels (Bois d’Iris). I also found Ormonde Jayne’s Nawab of Oudh a universally matching scent for any occasion. However, when I’m allowed to go bolder then it’s Mona Di Orios’s Oud …
Perfect choices, oud is more your thing than mine, but I love to smell it on you.
Definitely Eau Premiere, which I have worn myself on such occasions. I would have said Bois des Iles if it had been colder. Or Taif, as someone else mentions. Prada L’Eau Ambree has also got me through situations that involve a challenge and the need for something familiar. All the best to Paul in his new start!
Thank you V!
If it had rained I would have worn Bois des Iles. 🙂
If the occasion is very special I would love to buy a new perfume for it. Right now, after having tested it at Liberty’s on Friday, that would be Aedes de Venustas Iris Nazarena, So beautiful it made me sigh and with the painful price tag to match.
And a gorgeous bottle to boot!
My voice goes for Infusion d’Iris!
Congratulations on the Big Day in your son’s life. Everything will be just perfect, you’ll see!
For the similar event I’d choose one of my all-time favorites. Right now Amouage Ubar and Chanel No 19 come to mind.
Thank you dear Undina, it was a lovely day, after school we went to an amusement park an had great fun. I picked Rose Ikebana in the end.
h first school day, I guess that’s very exiting for Mr. O. as well,…..perfect outfit for the “scotts” btw, hope you picked your BV as well, scent should be calming and relaxing for P. and M. as well, your choices seem perfect, maybe MKK e.g. would have been out of place maybe, hope P. had a good start into school life, and M was not too nervous at all;-)
Mr O was indeed excited and sad he couldn’t be there all day because of work commitments.
P had a blast!
🙂 happy to hear this, first school day’s are very essential on how we see school life, but who am I trying to teach…..after all
On a special occasion I go with Prada Amber Pour Homme or its Intense version. I think you should go with Prada too!
Thanks for your vote, Lukas. I went with the Hermès this morning, but right now I’m basking in Infusion d’Iris’s gentle light. 🙂
Good luck today! Bittersweet. Beautiful choices today. Love your scarf. I wore Angelique Noire to calm my nerves today. Something tried and true.
Thank you Sandra. You made a great choice too, love AN.
A very special day for you and your son – hope all goes well!
For that type of special event (ie an important day event, rather than a glamorous evening event – not that I go to many of those!) my real choice would be very similar to those above; Chanel 19, SL daim blonde, Chanel 5 elixir (the oil is softer than the edt).. my imaginary choice (as I always have a couple on the horizon which I don’t actually possess but are part of my fantasy wardrobe)..maybe Equistrius or an Atelier Cologne, eg Mistral Patchouli.
Equistrius – good idea, I love that one as well!
Thanks for adding your faves, Alice!
Oh and I forgot (how could I?) one of my all time favourites- la Parfum de Thérèse, perfect for quiet elegance!
I completely agree!
Do you stay for a while, or drop, kiss and run? Where I am parents are welcome to stay if they like, but generally the hope is that they don’t stay beyond a short time, so that the teacher can take over and get everyone settled. With so many kids in full time care anyway, before formal schooling, the day is not quite the big event that it was when I started school. Perhaps what you need is something that Paul identifies with you, but not to the point where he won’t let you go! Something sunny but brisk. Le Temps d’une Fete would be my pick, if it were me. Eau Premiere would be a fine choice too. Theorema if the day is cool.
I keep 31 Rue Cambon for special occasions in summer, and Parfums de Nicolai’s Maharanih (so warm and colourful!) for winter.
The first day the parents are there the whole time, there is only one hour in class getting to know the teacher and the each other, then mass in the school yard. Afterwards we went to the Wiener Prater, an amusement park for lunch and enjoyed the rides. It was a fun and exhausting day!
Sunny and brisk was my reasoning as well, thanks for your tips, Annemarie!
How bizarre. Rose Ikebana is my scent for these exact occasions as well. An amazing coincidence. I ONLY wear it for these formal occasions; in fact I wrote a whole (surreptitiously scathing) review about it, ‘The Good Boy’…..
Great minds think alike. x
I know that review, not very favorable.
I can’t help but love Rose Ikebana though, maybe because I’m such a good girl… 😉
Yes, I guess I am only PRETENDING, and therein lies the problem…it is my conservative disguise, wheeled out only for such occasions when I have to try and hide the black narcissus and be Mr Chapman. I do like it, though. Its transparent, zingy simplicity.
😀
My go to scent for when I need something with a presence but not an overwhelming one,one that’s a crowd pleaser but doesn’t bore me is Miller Harris Geranium Bourbon.I also find Tolu very elegant and bourgeoise ,but I prefer the sunnier disposition of the Miller Harris one.
Sounds interesting!
31 Rue Cambon is my go-to when I want a beautiful scent that doesn’t announce my entrance, I’d also wear Bois des Iles, Infusion d’Iris, or Dior New Look 1947 depending on weather and mood, but these are my favourites for more serious special occasions.
I love all of these, we have a lot in common, Lynley!
I’d go for the Rose Ikebana – one can never go wrong with a double whammy of Hermes.
As for me, my go-to special occasion scent is MFK’s OUD. It goes remarkably well with a sharp suit I find.
Right, there can never be too much Hermès! (Well, actually it can be too much, but there is no danger of that in my income bracket) 😉
I can imagine OUD working very well on such occasions.
One can dream of too much Hermes!
Definitely! 😉
Oh that first day of school! My only goal was to be brave and not tear up till I got back to the car. I think perfume might not be on my radar, as it wasn’t 24 years ago when I took my son to his first day of school. I think I might pick the perfume he loved most on me, so that when I gave him his goodbye hug, it would be the lingering memory of Mom as he ambled off to his classroom and new friends. The many votes for Rose Ikebana have me curious to try it. I hope the day goes well, and I imagine you will smell fabulous.
The day was great and I did cry a bit, but smelled great through it all. 🙂
I think your Chanel or Prada ideas would work well. I haven’t smelled the Hermes.
My standard choice for special occasions is Chanel Pour Monsieur. Though sometimes I do change it up and wear something different.
Such a good classic scent for special occasions!
Another vote for Rose Ikebana to go with your elegant attire for this special day. As for my own choices, Chanel 19 for confidence and comfort; Bottega Veneta, 31 Rue Cambon, and Tom Ford White Patchouli for understated elegance. Or maybe a drop of Shalimar perfume, always appropriate in my world 🙂
Lovely picks, ringthing.
On special occasions I reach for my Slumberhouse samples. Full bottles of my Slumberhouse favorites are beyond my meager means at the moment, and some of them are discontinued, so I use them only for very special days! Jeke for empowerment, Kere for comfort, Norne for mystique, Baque for sensuality, Grev for elegance.
You seem to be a Slumberhouse fan! I must try the line eventually…
Slumberhouse really suits me and my style! However, what makes Slumberhouse my go to brand is the exeptional longevity. For special occasions I want a perfume stays around all day and beyond and Slumberhouse does that. 🙂
That is definitely a very good quality to have for such days.
I often forgo perfume altogether when I have a special, slightly scary/overwhelming, daytime event. Otherwise something that veers towards subtle base rather than shrill treble: Terracotta (which come to think of it has a good iris to it) or, in Winter, PG Indochine (dabbed not sprayed)…and your choices sound great 🙂
Subtle is important, I agree. love your choices!
During the days when i was a teacher of young children, I found that they complained if I wore anything other than Shalimar. I usually wore only a small amount, but constantly had little ones who wanted to be held so they could sniff behind my ear. You just can’t go wrong with that one in a scene with young children.
I love that story, Anita. Those were very lucky children!!!
Dear Birgit, all my best wishes to Paul!!! a great day for him and……his parents.
I have no children but Tolu would be, as suggested, a good choice, I know you like it very much it’s very elegant, and warming for you and will remain like a warming memory for Paul too, we never really forget those days and the perfumes of our mum…….
Thank you very much, dear Florence!
I will certainly wear Tolu more in the fall now that it is getting colder.
For a truly special occasion, I would most likely choose my beloved vintage Caron Parfum Sacre. Another good option would be Lelong pour Femme, an opulent floriental. Of course vintage Miss Dior is always perfect too, and I might even decide on one of the Shalimar Odes – I love the “extra” vanilla and to me they are what Shalimar should have been like all along.
I love the extra vanilla as well! Thanks for sharing your special occasion scents, Donna!
My first choice for special occasions has been Opium pour homme edp. Newer choices are Jubilation XXV and Trayee. Sometimes I plan to wear some other fragrance, but I always wear one of these. No exceptions in this moment. I’m so curious which one will be my fragrance for son’s first day of school next year. Maybe, he can choose it.
Great idea, maybe you have a mini-perfumisto on your hands. 🙂
I definitely understand about wanting to wear something special for a day like today. Tomorrow is the first day of Grade 1 for Spud, my youngest, and after 20 years of being a SAHM I find myself feeling a bit… adrift. For special occasions, if it’s a fancier affair, I’d pull out my beloved Ormonde Woman. First day of school feels like 28 La Pausa, discreet and elegant with a bit of backbone, and one of the perfumes my friends call “the smell of Dionne.”
Have a good first day of school too, Dionne. It must be especially strange to give your youngest away.
La Pausa is perfect and I would wear it if I had a bottle (which I will some day). It is lovely that your friends acssociate you with La Pausa, there could be worse things. 😉
Brigit, did you know that Chanel is discontinuing 28 LP? I picked up a 200ml size as soon as I found out.
Nooooo! Really? I can’t believe it!
Thank you for the heads up!
those 3 are all lovely scents; infusion d’iris is my favorite of the three but rose ikebana is definitely a good scent for formal events. very polished and likeable (while infusion d’iris, on the other hand, was scathingly referred to as “toilet cleaner” by my best friend…)
for formal or special occasions, i like to wear floral scents – SL’s nuit de cellophane, OJ’s sampaquita, etc.
Oh no, that is not something you want to hear, but I understand: my husband also has the ability to take down perfectly good perfumes with one scathing comment.
I love your floral choices.
I think Chanel no 5 premiere is a perfect choice. It’s elegant, light and definitely a safe choice.
I think that Prada Infusion d’Iris is very similar to Chanel no19 poudre and I like the latter more.
If it was me, I’d try Chanel Beige – I don’t own it, but I’ve smelled it a few times (and have a few testers) to know that it’s light, floral and the sweetness in it makes it smell enveloping, and somehow “comforting” to me.
Beige is a very nice scent for such an occasion, good idea!
Safe and I do not get along too well, but among my non-offensive special occasion fragrances I can name Mohur, Iris Poudre and la Rose de Rosine.
When the occasion to celebrate arises, I go for Ubar or The Party in Manhattan (I know you are gasping for air)
xoxo
Caro
Lol, no, I find The Party awesome, it’s just not for me unfortuntely. I would love that bottle!!! 🙂