What is your scent?

When I was a little girl, the spray we used for mosquito bites was very fragrant, herbal and crisp. When I ran out of spray, I would often spray my aunt's perfume on the mosquito bites instead.My aunt was not very amused when she discovered I've been using her perfume as mosquito spray.

A decade later, with the proximity of a wonderful Sephora store, I have to try tons of perfumes before I buy. Perfume is an expression of self. Not only are there a wide variety of perfume, but they also smell different depending on the individual. While some people believe in signature scents, I believe in wearing perfume to suit my mood. When I need to wake up early in the morning, a spritz of a clean, crisp perfume gets me ready for the day. When I want to feel special, for a dance, dinner or party, a warm, I crave a warm, feminine and inviting fragrance.

Here are some of my favorite fragrances (it's my personal opinion, and it may smell different on different people):

- Haiku by Avon: clean, cool, a bit grassy and I'd like to think with a hint of bamboo. It perfectly reflect my tomboy personality since it's not sweet, not soft/powdery, and not super femine but definitely not a men's fragrance. Of course, the simple but beautiful pagoda bottle with translucent glass doesn't hurt.
p.s. The Chinese character in the circle means "harmony" or "peace". =)

- Daisy by Marc Jacob: yeah I know, it's everywhere and on everybody. It smells sweet, fruity but clean and soft. It is definitely girly, fun and inviting. It also fades very quickly and you can barely smell it after an hour or two, but it's a great perfume for those days when I'm feeling girly instead of tomboyish. If you feel like this is too immature, Burberry Brit sheer is a good one to try. It's slightly more serious than daisy, but still young and fun.

 - J'adore: while it is a popular perfume, which might be a turn off for people that like to smell unique, it is a very elegant, feminine, inviting and soft smell. While it has citrus ingredients, it is not sweet and the citrus made it more inviting and less old-lady like. It has a warm undertone and is great for evening or winter. One spritz before a party is all I need to feel like a lady.

-Code by Armani: while it smelled a tad too mature for a 21 yr old girl(me), I couldn't bring myself to dismiss it. Initially it smells clean and floral, and then it dries down to warm, floral, and vanilla, with a slight hint of tea. It smells elegant, feminine, and slightly mysterious. Both on amazon and on sephora, it received very favorable reviews from men as well as women. With a gorgeous bottle and alluring smell, this is what I want to wear when I'm older.



And then there's the sweet perfume that smells wonderful, so much that I actually wear them occasionally, despite my dislike of sweet perfumes:

-Butterfly by Hanae Mori: It smells absolutely delicious, like creme brulee or caramel flan but slightly more fruity. It doesn't have that artificial smell most perfumes have. It smells sophisticated, although sweet enough to almost give me a sweet toothe.

 - Fleur de Corail by Lolita Lempicka: The bottle is gorgeous and I would keep it as a book weight long after the perfume is used up. The perfume itself is slightly sweet, tropical, and comforting. It feels young and full of energy but not girly. If I happen upon it again and am in the mood for a sweet fragrance, this is the one I'm getting.

-Princess by Vera Wang: It is sweet, but also vanilla, fruity, and soft. Maybe I am influenced by the perfume description and the packaging, but it smells fun, sweet, girly, and inviting. And there are some days where you just wanna be a little girl and have fun regardless of what other people say. Why not?