Bonjour, my besties!

I know, you thought I'd never blog again!  I'm not going to give you the whole list of excuses I've thought up, I'm just going to say "hi, I'm back!". And hope you're pleased!  Hope everyone has been well, had joyous holidays and is happily fulfilling New Years resolutions, like "I promise to eat more birthday cake" or "I'm going to buy great shoes when I see them instead of waiting"!!!

Before my little leave of absence, a client and friend asked me a question I REALLY wanted to blog about.  She wanted to know about perfumes.......how to find the right one for you, along with wanting to find a fragrance that reminded her of soapy clean freshness.  Let me answer the first part first...........

The first step in finding a scent that is right for you is to decide which family of perfumes you feel most happy with.  Do you gravitate towards heavy, spicy rich fragrances that will linger long and remind him of you?  Or do you prefer light florals that evoke summer meadows and bouquets of wild flowers ?  Perhaps you like musky, earthy fragrances?  Or maybe you prefer, as I do, to lighten up from a wintry scent to a summer one?  The best way to decide?  Go sniff.  Go to the perfume counters at a department store you're comfortable in and ask for a sampling of each family of scents.  You'll discover that the right family speaks to you and the wrong ones almost turn you off.........you'd be amazed at how easy this step is.

Head to your friendly, neighborhood perfume counter.

Next?  Once you've isolated the type of perfume you prefer, it's time to gather all the testers in your chosen category and sniff away.  Do not try them all on........you'll never remember which is which.  Have the sales lady spray paper perfume testers and label the ones you like.  Then carry them around for a few hours and "re-smell" them in different locations to see how they'll wear.  You'll rapidly zero in on one or two.  Go back to the counter and spritz your favorites on you.....one on each arm.  This is to see if your fave changes with your body chemistry.  In two hours, you'll have your answer and a new YOU of a scent!

Jo Malone

And now, because Vickie doesn't believe I can find her a perfume that evokes cool, clean soapy freshness, I say "welcome to my favorite fragrance line.......Jo Malone!  Jo Malone is a line built on the idea of layering.  Each scent is designed to layer over or under some others so you create the scent that is unique to you.  Available at Saks, Neiman Marcus or online, once you're familiar.  And Vickie?  Try Lime, Basil and Mandarin.........my all time fave for that clean, outdoorsy non-perfumy scent.  Without any layering, it's the bomb.  With layering?  The sky's the limit on your creativity!

Ladies and gentlemen, I am BACK!  I'll be around every week now, so send in your questions and we'll get 'em answered!  And remember, "trend" is today......"style" is forever!!!!