Finding a signature spring fragrance for yourself or someone you know may seem like a daunting task, but Diane Wissink, owner of La Petite Parfumerie in Excelsior, ensures it’s actually quite simple once you narrow down the myriad of choices.
“We break everything down to what’s in the perfume—the essences,” Wissink says, adding that usually people can relate to one of four broad categories: floral, fresh, oriental or woody.
The staff at La Petite Parfumerie takes a little bit of time to talk through the fragrance categories with customers to ensure that they find something they absolutely love. “When helping a customer find their favorite scent, it’s easier when we find the category that they really like,’ Wissink says. “I always ask people what they've liked in the past,” she adds. Then from there, she says, it’s a matter of dividing those categories into subgroups and testing a few scents in spray jars or on the back of a hand to find one that truly suits an individual.
After identifying a favorite fragrance, the question becomes where to apply it. The neck and wrists are standard for those who don’t have sensitive skin, Wissink says. If you do, avoid applying perfume directly to skin and instead spritz some on clothing or hair. Lighter scents can be applied more liberally to last throughout the day, but Wissink attests that hydration in key; she recommends moisturizing skin to help hold fragrances longer. One trick she often tells customers is to mix a small amount of perfume with plain lotion to create a custom scented moisturizer that will last all day.
If you’ve experienced headaches or unpleasant reactions to perfumes in the past, Wissink encourages you to give it another try. “We have perfumes for people who don’t consider themselves perfume people,” she says, explaining that La Petite Parfumerie specializes in French, Italian and English perfumes made with natural ingredients. And she’s sorted through more than 200 luxury perfumes available at her store to provide you with the following top picks for spring.
Floral Notes
- Floral (fresh-cut flowers): Papillion by L’Artisan Parfumeur, $145
- Soft floral (powdery, rose): Jacinthe & Rose by E. Coudray, $90
- Fruity floral (melon, apple, blossoms): Spring Flower by Creed, $140–240
- Green floral (mandarin, jasmine, cedar): Gelsomino Nobile by Acqua di Parma, $108–170
- Berry floral (huckleberry, grasses, tulips): Madison Square Park by Bond No. 9, $170–240
Fresh Notes
- Green (woody, grasses, fruity): Jardin en Mediteranee by Hermes, $125
- Water (clary sage, white musk, magnolia): L’Eau by Serge Lutens, $150
- Citrus (bergamot, citrus fruits): Bergamotto by Acqua di Parma, $73–110
Oriental Notes
- Oriental (floral, spices, new generation): Shalimar Initial by Guerlain, $84
- Soft oriental (patchouli, musk, vanilla): Nuit de Noho by Bond No. 9, $160–230
- Woody oriental (jasmine, sandalwood): Samsara by Guerlain, $118
- Floral oriental (amber, tobacco, powdery rose): floral and sweet spice by Fifi Chachnil, $75–150
Woody Notes
- Woods (ginger, sandalwood): Vetiver by Creed, $140–240
- Warm woods (sage, lavender, coffee, nutmeg): Endymion by Penhaligon’s, $80–120
- Clean woods (mineral, vegetal, woody): Terre d’Hermes, $75–120
- Citrus woods (grapefruit, pine needles, jasmine): Cypresso by Acqua di Parma, $73–110
