I’m not much for perfume or scents, generally speaking. I’m allergic to most of them and they almost always give me headaches no matter how divine they smell.

So I’ve got a pretty small collection of fragrances, though I do have a few very rare ones in there as well–straight from the perfumeries of Grasse, France.

I don’t really shop for scents since I don’t wear them much, but today…today I was caught off guard.

I was flipping through an issue of Flare or Fashion or something like that and a heavenly smell rose to greet me. I usually hate those stupid perfume inserts in magazines, but for once I was glad for one!

It was the new Yves St Laurent Parisienne perfume.

WOW.

It really captured me, a (totally refined beauty junkie) girl who doesn’t even like most fragrances she smells. I can’t believe it, but I actually rubbed my wrist on the little sample to see what it smelled like on me.

They call it a “grand floral with a woody structure”. I don’t know if I would call it that exactly, but it’s got this really delicate and refined undernote? Is that what you call it? The scent that stays on your skin long after the punch of fragrance has left. I think it suits me, and it smells fresh and clean and not overly cloying.

I feel that if I actually possessed this perfume I might actually wear it! Imagine that!

I wonder if it really is the right perfume for me… I went to the site to learn more and there was this funny little quiz to find out whether you are a Parisienne girl or not. Of course I turned out to be one (based on all of 5 answers! LOL I don’t think you could “fail” that quiz!) but my style book at the end was pretty flippin’ accurate describing my style (deceptively demure), my makeup (red alert) and the places I like to go to (Cool cafes, [not-hair] salons and bookshops). Interesting, no?

Anyway, it was a really interesting experience for me today. I still have a bit of the perfume on my wrist and I keep catching little whafts of scent and smiling. I just might have to get this for myself.

That is, unless there are any kind PR folk out there who would like to send me some? I’d be eternally grateful!! 🙂