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Is it just me, or was choosing a perfume simpler in middle school? You spritzed on some Electric Youth or Love’s Baby Soft, plunked on your flower-adorned Blossom fedora, unstrapped one overall strap, and called it a day. No muss, no fuss.
Source (Waddup Debbie Gibson!)
I love being surrounded by comforting scents: Philosophy Hot Cocoa shower gel in my tub, coconut conditioner, a sugar cookie candle in my office, a bit of lavender linen spray on my pillows. I love scents.
But I don’t like most perfumes.
I have a long list of allergies and items that flare up my asthma. Strong perfumes are on that list. Anything too “perfumey” or with too much floral gets my nose twitching and my head aching, which makes shopping for wedding perfume a daunting feat.
What smells can I stand (I know, I’m awfully picky)? I adore the roasty toasty smell of fresh coffee beans. I love the yeasty aroma of bread baking in the oven. I love the sharp scent of a salty seaside (I also love alliteration) and the zest of lemons and limes. I love the faint smoke of a campfire. I love spice: cardamom and clove and anise and black tea leaves.
In perfumes, I look for bakery scents, spicy cinnamon and heady vanillas (but nothing too sugary or cloyingly sweet). I love sharp citruses. Has anyone figured out how to capture the beach in a bottle? I can’t do most “ocean-y” or “surf” fragrances (does anyone remember Malibu Mist? I couldn’t even find a picture of online, which is surely a testament to its greatness and my old age). Nothing with even a hint of floral, particularly roses or lilies. They make me and my histamines weep.
On a day-to-day basis I like Fresh’s Hesperides, which smells like grapefruits. I’m sure there are other scent notes in it, maybe tonka or fig or cedar or ylang-ylang, but all I smell is grapefruit and I love it. Unfortunately, I don’t love anything else that Fresh makes, and I’ve tried a bunch.
I’m determined to find a new perfume for my wedding, one I can spritz on afterward and remember my BSD. I love simple scents that evoke feelings of comfort and cookies or summer days and beach blankets. Is this too much to ask for? (It might be.)
I’ve tried asking a pro at Sephora. I explained that I have a sensitive sniffer and that most scents give me headaches. I left covered head-to-toe in Juicy Kardashian something-or-other and a migraine. So I turn to you, hive. Help me smell nice, please!
Do you have any recommendations for me, any at all?
Please don’t suggest Exclamation. Did you douse yourself in it in seventh grade? It’s okay, I did too.
Whoa, major flashback with those pictures! I’m also allergic to most scents and anything “perfume-y”. Would you be open to a nicely scented body lotion or oil? The cocoa or shea butter moisturizers smell great and aren’t irritating.
You might look into Lavanilla Grapefruit. It’s a combo of vanilla and grapefruit, which seems to fit right in with a number of your likes/dislikes. It also doesn’t last FOREVER like many perfumes (which is a plus in my book). It’s far more subtle.
Ha! I loved my Electric Youth and Exclamation!
As someone who also doesn’t like most perfumes (except Mrs. P, of course!), I now wear Elizabeth Arden Green Tea - check it out. It has a perfect, light, fresh scent. & it is almost always on sale somewhere online!
I have a bottle of Avon Shine and it smells light and fruity. Have you tried Chanel Chance?
Haha, I love remembering the perfumes from my past. I loved electric youth. Maybe it was just because Debbie Gibson promoted it because I don’t remember the smell being so great. And, I’m sorry I don’t have a recommendation. I love chanel chance, but that might send you into an asthma attack.
I’ve mentioned it before, but I love, love, love perfume. Since you have perfume aversions, maybe one of the more straight forward CB I Hate Perfumes…I’m thinking http://www.cbihateperfume.com/at-the-beach-1966.html At the beach 1966, might be nice with your beachy wedding. Or his other Mr. Hulot’s Holiday is another beach inspired scent (but I haven’t tried that one.) I really like Hermes Eau de Mervailles, BUT it is perfume - perfume. It dries down to a salty skin smell, but you might be put off by it.
You could also try the Dyptique line. Their Philosykos fig is nice, not overwhelmingly fruity, more like the fig along with the tree. It’s a little green for my liking, but it might be right up your alley.
If you like citrus scents, Guerlain has the Acqua Allegorias and I really liked the Mandarine Basilic - basil and oranges, and it was really fresh smelling for the summer. (And coming from someone who wore it in order to get through bar courses, that’s saying something.) Also, this you can sniff at your local Sephora, which might make it a lot easier on you.
Also, if you’re interested in trying out a number of samples I’d recommend the Perfumed Court, or lusciouscargo.com.
Good luck and let us know what you end up choosing!
I almost remember the Exclamation jingle. Luckily for all of you, not enough to write it out in the comments.
Electric Youth! Pchips, we would have been friends in middle school fo sho — and all our boyfriends would have worn Drakkar Noir. Now that we’re grown up, though, come over to my place and try my Trish McEvoy Blackberry and Vanilla. You will looooove it.
blackphoenixalchemylab.com! They sell indie perfume oils that don’t ever make me sneeze and don’t always smell like traditional perfume. A favorite warm yummy scents is Eat Me (three white cakes, vanilla, and red and black currants) from the Mad Tea Party line. Miskatonic University (from the Picnic in Arkham section) smells like Irish coffee and books. You might also like Shanghai from their Wanderlust section, which is green tea, lemon verbana, and honeysuckle.
@Miss Spaniel - I totally remember the Exclamation jingle and how it was broken up…. “EX! CLA! MA! TION!” but I shall leave the rest for memory. I wonder if its on youtube..
and I TOTALLY forgot about Electric Youth! I LOVED that stuff and the pink spring in the bottle! Thanks for the jog down memory lane 
oh wow, i completely forgot about exclamation. wow. based on your preferences, i would want to just want to lick your face because the yummy scent you’ll end up wearing. i’m kidding. i wouldn’t do that. unless you wanted me to.
ohmygosh I completely forgot about Electric Youth and its crazy spiral straw. I don’t really have any suggestions, as my perfume escapades have led me down the migraine path, too.
I totally wore exclamation when I was in elementary school…ahhh memories. I don’t know if these would work for you but maybe the vanilla scented perfume at Bath and Body Works? I used to wear their coconut perfume until they stopped making it and it lasted a super long time and smelled of the beach and coconut sun tan lotion. Right now I wear “G” from Harajuku Lovers because it smells of coconut/beachy-ness. Oh and someone above suggested Chanel’s Chance…I bought that when it first came out and wore it twice…both times I got attacked by flying bugs. I quickly took it back for a refund. Sorry Chanel!
Ha! I used electric youth and exclamation in middle school so sweet smelling i might just puke now… lol. I really don’t wear perfume anymore… just plane lazy- sorry I have no suggestions.
True story: I still have a small bottle of Electric Youth packed up somewhere in my mom’s basement with all of my childhood treasures. I just can’t let it go. I’ve also been planning an epic blog post on why Debbie was way better than Tiffany. Stay tuned 
I wear Clinique Happy, which has a nice citrus scent. I wear it every day and our wedding day was no exception.
Let’s pause for a moment as we remember Exclamation!
I wore that a little too much. Hope you find a scent that is you (that also doesn’t hurt your head)!
This post totally threw me back - perfumes mentioned (all): guilty, one overall strap: guilty… hey - it was middle school - the place where your whole life centers on fitting in!
I too am picky about perfume. Citrus based scents are where I tend to end up and I have the best luck with body splashes rather than regular perfumes. I keep (a few too) many on hand and switch it up from day to day.
Um so I LOVE you b/c you have a picture of Electric Youth. I begged and begged for that perfume when I was in middle school. My Mom made me save up for it and I bought it with my own money. I HARDLY ever used it b/c I was so scared of using it up. Children of the 80’s!
I’d suggest trying the Demeter line at Sephora - they are “subtle singular scents” like cucumber, coconut, freshly cut grass, sugar cookies, sex on the beach cocktail, etc. - very unique, very yummy, and not too overwhelming!
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Ms. Potato Chips, Boston/Narragansett RI Age and Occupation: 29, PhD Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Personal Trainer/Business Owner/Physical Therapy Assistant Engagement Date: January 1, 2009 Wedding Date: June 2010 Venue: The Narragansett Towers About Me: A semi-professional bookworm, if I could be a literary character I’d be a cross between Jo March and Jane Eyre, only better accessorized and much lazier. My hobbies include sleeping in, seasonal brews, running, Trader Joe’s, and watching Unwrapped and Good Eats with Mr. Potato Chips. I harbor an irrational fear of tulle, crafts, things that are fussy, and overuse of the phrase "Your Special Day". After a year or seven together, down the aisle we go, slouching toward adulthood and planning a Rhodie party with equal parts whimsy, cheer, and pizza.
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