5 Random Bests

Aromascope and Perfume-Smellin’ Things are teaming up once again to introduce a new re-curring feature, 5 Random Bests, in which we will offer our ideas for scents suited for pretty much any occasion and situation imaginable and will list the favorites according to various criteria. Today we present the first five Bests and we would love it if you could tell us what other Bests we should do in the future.

The first two Bests are related to the season:

5 Best Scents to Take on a Holiday

1. For a weekend of shopping and romance in Paris- one of the French-iest perfumes of all, the charming and tres refined Iris Poudre.

2. Indulging in the elegant dolce far niente on the sunny Côte d'Azur - Le Labo Tubereuse 40, the joyful and luxuriant essence of summer.

3. Scuba-diving, deep-sea fishing and mountain biking (yeah, right!) on a deceptively “simple and natural” resort in The Seychelles – the tastefully exotic, lighthearted and refreshing L’Artisan Ananas Fizz.

4. Yoga, hiking, and exploring ancient monasteries in Bhutan – the quiet, soulful and centered Christian Dior Boir d’Argent.

5. Leisurely traveling from Istanbul to Bucharest to Budapest to Venice in the old-world luxury and style of the Orient Express – a supremely feminine and glamorous classic, Chanel Gardenia.


5 Best Scents for a Wedding

1. For a traditional wedding in a church, in a big gown with a train – the dazzling and deceptively virginal Lys Méditerranée by Frederic Malle.

2. For a stylishly minimalistic, über-urban wedding in a roof garden of a penthouse - an unexpected, not obviously wedding-y, very exclusive scent like Serge Lutens Encens et Lavande.

3. For “an exotic destination wedding”, barefoot on a beach – the supremely romantic Annick Goutal Songes.

4. For “a European wedding” in an Austrian castle - the timeless elegance and hidden sensuality of Chanel No 22.

5. For a quickie elopement in Las Vegas – whatever one happened to carry in one’s purse. In my case it would probably be Dzing! (which, with its eccentric feel and the circus-like accord, would be quite fitting).


Some of the most often recurring questions are about which men’s scents are suitable for a woman and which women’s scent a man can pull off. Here are my humble suggestions.

5 Best Men’s Scents for a Woman

1. Chanel Egoiste. This tastefully ornate and exotic, honeyed-sandalwood-laden fragrance is not any harder for a woman to wear than Bois des Iles. In all honesty, I like the sumptuous grandson a tiny bit more than his refined grandma Bois des Iles.

2. I am going to cheat and count the three Dior colognes, Bois d’Argent, Cologne Blanche and Eau Noire, as one. All three are perfectly wearable for a woman, and I urge those who haven’t tried them yet to give them a chance. As far as I am concerned, they are the best fragrances to come from Dior in the recent years. (And while we are on the subject of Dior, the soft, irisy Dior Homme is also wonderfully wearable for a woman.)

3. Annick Goutal Duel. The scent is velvety-smooth, gently sweet, with maté leaves adding refreshing greenness to the composition, making Duel a great choice for summer.

4. Terre d’Hermes, with its bright grapefruit, its cool vetiver and pared-down elegance so typical of Ellena’s creations, is another summer staple.

5. Rose d’Homme by Les Parfums de Rosine is dark, husky-soft, subtly sweet…I am sure it is fantastic on a man, on a woman, however, it is strikingly beautiful.


5 Best Women’s Scents for a Man

1. An obvious choice… the leather, the sweet smokiness, the dark sensuality …Caron’s Tabac Blond should be made obligatory for men to wear

2. Another Caron on the list- the deep, fiery and patrician Poivre.

3. The dark, sensual, robust Guerlain classic, Mitsouko practically demands to be worn by a man (as do Shalimar and L’Heure Bleue)

4. Donna Karan’s woody-incensey marvel, Black Cashmere, is as far removed from being girly as a feminine fragrance can possibly be. Do give it a try!

5. The note I love to smell on men the most is rose. Dark, brooding, luscious rose …and the thing is, I noticed that a man’s skin makes even the sweetest and daintiest of rose notes drier and darker. For example, it accentuates the earthy truffle accord and woodiness of Frederic Malle's Une Rose, making the latter kneeweakeningly gorgeous.


Our final category is 5 Best Retro Scents. By retro scents we mean the fairly recent creations that, whether by design or unintentionally, smell as if they were created not a couple of years but almost a century ago. These opulent fragrances with luxurious sillage seem to pay homage to the lavish perfumes of the past.

1. Parfumerie Generale Bois de Copaiba. If someone told me that this sumptuous creation was a forgotten old Guerlain, I wouldn’t have been surprised.

2. Czech and Speak No. 88 is said to be based on an original Elizabethan recipe, and the plush, dark and smooth composition does indeed prove the claim.

3. Parfum Sacre by Caron. There is just no way that this complex, lush potion with a magnificent depth was created in 1990. No way!

4. Andy Tauer’s Le Maroc Pour Elle is a romantic and dramatic perfume that could easily have been scenting a glamorous star in the Golden Days of Hollywood.

5. If Bois de Copaiba could have been an obscure Guerlain, Iris Poudre, created by Pierre Bourdon for Frederic Malle’s Editions de Parfums in 2000, isn't hard to imagine as an unknown Chanel perfume. The shimmering aldehydes, sumptuous feel of iris the sandalwood, and the classic structure create an aura of timeless elegance and impossible sophistication.

Please visit Aromascope to read Ina's Random Bests.

Image sources, forbes.com, brides.com, verushka.net, stevenkenny.com, britannica.com.