Fragrances

This week’s fun is selecting fragrances for the boutique! I am working with Boudreau Fragrances, from whom I’ve gotten my amber scents for years. They are the only company I know that ages their amber so it gets the richest, most luscious scent. Which is why I have become a total amber snob and, whenever a shop assistant tells me they have some fabulous amber in from India or Morocco or wherever, I always sniff it and wince. It’s too young, I say. Plus, it hasn’t been allowed to breathe. (Honestly, I’m like an obnoxious wine connoisseur.)

The thing is, I am so particular about my preferred scents – Tunisian amber or Sudanese amber – that it’s hard for me to branch out into scents others would love. I am learning which scents work well for brunettes, blondes, or redheads, and which scents are likely to smell delicious on all women. Generally, it’s lighter, citrusy scents for blondes and redheads, darker scents like musks and ambers for brunettes. (Guess which color hair I have?) I’m also learning which scents mean home (like vanilla) and which are sexy (musks, spices).

Even better will be deciding what to do with the custom scents – perfumes, scents to create a special ambience in a room, bath teas ….