(all notes borrowed from the website of the perfume, Fragrantica, or Parfumo)
Tuscan Blood Orange by Pacifica
Fruity-Sweet
I love this perfume so much and was devastated when I ran out of it. I wore it during 9th grade and felt like hot shit. If I could get it again, I would, it's rather one-note, but the note is good, so it's not a problem.
Cool Water by Davidoff For Women
Aquatic-Fresh
My first boy perfume. Yes, it says for women. But it is a boy perfume TO ME. It started me on a journey through androgynous-if-not-masculine aquatics you'll find elsewhere in this list.
Eau des Merveilles Bleue by Hermès
Aquatic-Fresh
My stepmom's boyfriend gave me this for free, and I adore it so far. It's so expensive I'm afraid to use it, so now, away from it, I can't recall the exact scent, only the difficult herbal coolness. What's easier is the bottle. It makes me think of sand castles on European beaches, slanted, ready to fall. The glass is spattered with stars and blue seeps into the edges like wet-on-wet watercolor. Whoever designed it was a genius, at least as much as the person who actually made the perfume.
Acqua di Gioia Giorgio Armani
Fresh-Aquatic
My signature. It doesn't last more than five seconds, but I love it anyway. I think part of it was the commercial with Emily Didonato, who I was fascinated with for reasons I couldn't articulate yet. There was the rain glazing the teal leaves, her wet hair, the ocean roaring. As a landlubber in a part of the world that doesn't get a ton of rain, I was sold. It seemed less gender than other perfumes in my cabinet, not that I mind feminine perfumes, but I always had an attraction to cool, androgynous, white-button up aesthetics. Acqua di Gioia fits that well, with the watery smell and bits of sweetness. I wonder if I'd like the cologne?
Happy by Clinique
Fresh-Floral
Maybe I got a dud, but this perfume smells like isopropyl and orange peel. At first, anyway. I thought I didn't like florals, but the olfactory relief once the top notes fade is gorgeous and not at all soapy. It's delicate and romantic. But god, I'm not sure if it's worth it.
Trésor Midnight Rose by Lancôme
Fruity-Floral
It's so sweet. A nice sweetness, but you can get tired of it, especially because it lasts forever. I think I liked the idea of the perfume and the bottle more than the perfume itself. I wore it during my Francophile phase, took pictures of it on a fluffy bedspread for my Instagram (never posted), but never actually drained the bottle. It definitely is heavy, the title is suitable, but it needs less sugar.
Chance Eau Vive by Chanel
Fresh-Citrusy
I don't remember what this smells like, only that I liked it and emptied the sample. I remember a fruitiness, though that could be Bombshell, later in this list and also coming in a tiny sample.
White Citrus by Bath & Body Works
Citrusy-Fresh
Exactly what it says on the tin, which is why I love it. I don't really smell the middle or bottom notes, but that's not why I'm here. It's very 2000s-2010s Bath and Body Works, and I mean that as a compliment.
Bombshell by Victoria's Secret
Floral-Fruity
Using this regularly in high school and feeling like a bad bitch. Fruity and sweet, if I recall correctly, one of the few VS perfumes I actually liked.
Devotion by Dolce & Gabbana
Sweet-Gourmand
Sprayed this on my wrist at Ulta while trying to find a friend of mine a lipstick she'd like. Perhaps my tension and anxiety soured the scent, but I didn't like this at all, despite wanting to. Fruit Loops for the first half hour, then sugar, then a nice vanilla. I did not get the lemon that would've balanced it out.
Coco Madamoiselle by Chanel
Floral-Sweet
The official website calls this perfume ambery, and that resemblance suffix is the key here. I'm not smart enough to decide that the unsettlingly warm opening is amber, but it feels like it is, considering the commonality it shares with Le Lion. Where this perfume departs is in being good. Orange and ghost amber aside, it's delicate, escapes the powder, goes straight into clear floralcy that only gets more beautiful at time goes on. Runtime is a couple hours, which is a shame.
Le Lion by Chanel
Smoky-Resinous
Smelled on the blotter. Stimky. Chanel's catalogue either smells like powder or leather or both. This falls into leather. Sweet but in a strange way, like rotting honey. Distinct urinous smell is left the day after.
No. 5 by Chanel
Floral-Powdery
Smelled on the blotter. Powdery is right, but that's every perfume made before 1990. Like your grandmother's body cream. I smell No.5 every time I get the chance and this time, it was sweeter than I remember. I don't like it, but I respect it, and my great-grandmother loved it.
Sycomore by Chanel
Woody-Spicy
This fell into the leather category at first, and I didn't like it in-store. I also wrote down 'wet dirt,' and talked frequently about 'pool smell' on the way home. It developed into a cool, woodsy bouquet that stayed on my skin for eight hours. The vanilla only kicks in once the vetiver is done and doesn't distract. My friend bought me a bunch of samples, which is good, because I dropped one on the ground and shattered it. I sealed up the broken sample in a bag and smelled the bag over the next week. Every time I would get a waft of the scent, even though there was only a few drops inside, and feel instantly soothed. Astonishing.
Jersey by Chanel
Floral-Powdery
Liked it! More leather than Sycomore. Or maybe I'm projecting leather onto the masculine note of lavender? I don't remember if I smelled the EdT or EdP, but either way I wrote down "magic markers" and "graphite like my pencil cases." I'm not sure which part of the pyramid these come from.
Comète by Chanel
Floral-Powdery
Powdery category. I definitely got the cherry blossom, as it smells like the BABW Japanese Cherry Blossom scent my mom keeps in her bathroom. Bath bubbles, sharp and plasticky, but not in an unpleasant way. Fun on the blotter, but wouldn't wear.
Midnight Fantasy by Britney Spears
Sweet-Fruity
Original Pink by Soap & Glory
Fruity-Floral
Heavenly by Victoria's Secret
Synthetic-Sweet
Polo Blue by Ralph Lauren
Fresh-Aquatic
Cheirosa Sea & Sol by Sol de Janeiro
Citrusy-Fruity
Cheirosa 59 Delícia Drench Perfume Mist by Sol de Janeiro
Sweet-Floral
Coco Cabana Cheirosa '39 by Sol de Janeiro
Sweet-Gourmand
Aqua Allegoria Herba Fresca by Guerlain
Green-Fresh
Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune by Guerlain
Citrusy-Fresh
Coconut Lime Twist by bodycology
Fresh-Citrusy
Sun Kissed Lemons by bodycology
Fresh-Citrusy
Eau de Gaga by Lady Gaga
Citrusy-Fresh
Fame by Lady Gaga
Sweet-Fruity
Good Girl Blush by Carolina Herrera
Floral-Sweet
Honolulu Sun by Bath & Body Works
Fruity-Aquatic
Eros by Versace
Sweet-Fresh
Coconut Lime Breeze by Bath & Body Works
Sweet-Fresh
Bare by Victoria's Secret
Creamy-Sweet
The Thinker by Apotheke
O, Unknown! by Imaginary Authors
Woody-Powdery
Curve for Men by Curve
Fresh-Green