Discover your color palette and your style type.

Style IDs for Best-Selling Perfumes

3/12/2018

I wasn't a regular perfume wearer until I got really excited about fragrances for different style types and spent several months researching them.

Now, I'm crazy about the fragrances for my Ethereal Natural style identity.

My current obsession is Hinlay by Lorelyane. Even the bottle is Ethereal Natural. Just look at this gorgeous thing! Blunt-edged, geometric minimalism on the bottom; gently curving, intricate, abstract detail on top.

The scent is perfect for me, too: it's delicate and airy, but also earthy. Lotus, water , and floral notes emphasize my Ethereal quality, while musk and woody notes emphasize my Natural element. I feel so happy every time I spray this on myself.

Anyway, if you're already in love with fragrance, you may be wondering whether your favorite fragrance fits your style identity. Here, I'll analyze a couple of the best-selling fragrances.

Happy by Clinique for Women

This aptly-named perfume is very Gamine Ingenue. Apple, citrus, and mimosa make it bright, sweet, innocent, and cheerful.

Ed Hardy Women's EDT

This is a very feminine, "Disney Princess" fragrance -- Romantic and Ingenue. Mango, vanilla and tonka bean make it sexy and sweet.

Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker

This is great fragrance for a Dramatic-Natural-Classic. Patchouli and orchid make it rather traditional, and spicy and woody qualities. bring in D and N.

Be Delicious by Donna Karan

Like Ed Hardy, this is a very feminine fragrance. It adds a light, airy Ethereal quality with cucumber and grapefruit, so it's great for a Romantic-Ethereal-Ingenue.

Heat by Beyonce

This is a good fragrance for a Romantic-Natural-Ingenue: peach, magnolia, and neroli give it mouthwatering sex appeal, while musk, amber and sequoia bring in the Natural quality, and a strong use of almond gives it a bitter Dramatic edge.

Check out your personal Fragrance Guide!

24 Comments

Victoria

3/12/2018 12:33:34 pm

Oh fun, this is an interesting post! I was JUST thinking about fragrances and style identities. My boyfriend bought me a perfume sampler from Sephora for Valentine's Day. It came with 17 mini fragrances and coupon to buy your favorite full-sized bottle. I'm a Romantic-Natural-Gamine and my favorites tend to be warm and spicy scents, particularly musks. I ended up with Kat Von D's Sinner. YSL Black Opium was a close second, but the lasting note was too sticky sweet. Sinner is described as "dark, sultry, and empowering, this enticing fragrance sweetens a bouquet of jasmine and orange blossom with notes of vanilla, mandarin, and Mirabelle plum. Spicy cinnamon envelops white florals at the heart of the fragrance, while base notes of vetiver, patchouli, and wood form the deeper, darker nuances."
I was curious if it aligned with my type...it's definitely working for me! :)

3/12/2018 01:12:20 pm

So interesting! I find this fascinating. Of all the guides I've gotten from this site (quite a few), the fragrance guide completely was new info to me - stuff I would not have guessed. I did not have any vocabulary for describing smells. In my experience, if you can't name it, you can't properly understand it (hence why I love this site for info!)

I'm usually leery of perfumes, but I've become very fond of a cedar-scented soap that I never would have picked out of not for the style guides.

On a related note, I have to add that I've found your guides incredibly useful, Rachel. Most useful was the seasonal colors cards (I carry them when shopping), then the style calculator, then the shopping guides, then fragrance (for fun). Compared with all the "10 things you MUST wear this season"-type style blogs, this blog is always such a breath of fresh, reassuring air. Just a reminder to know thyself and own it! :)

Rachel

3/12/2018 07:56:19 pm

Oh, thank you so much for these words. When I'm making women's lives easier and happier and more empowered, I feel like I'm fulfilling my mission. ❤️

Miranda

3/13/2018 12:56:29 am

This is an interesting take! I've been a huge fan of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab since 2004 so I have very strong opinions about what works for me, and now I'm thinking I should go through my collection and try to classify them. Oh no, more time obsessing over my beloved smellies ;)
I had already figured out that sexy scents don't work for me at alllll (my style ID is ENI). Red musk, black musk, oudh without a grounding element (like patchouli), red rose...they are *awful* on me. I can do lighter musks and white rose though. I'm obsessed with tea scents, which I suspect could be Ingenue? But also oakmoss and two of the more delicate fougeres, vanilla if it isn't too sweet, herbal scents if they aren't too bitter, patchouli as long as it smells like sweetened dirt...
I could go on.
I may have too much perfume.
And I may use some of your ideas to prune my collection a bit.

3/18/2018 01:29:59 am

Hmm, after looking at the recs for my style ID, I think I'm comparing apples to oranges because perfume oils react to skin chemistry much more strongly than commercial perfumes. Some of the notes listed as too harsh or masculine are soft and earthy on me, while the notes most recommended for ENI manage to be *both* harsh and masculine with my body chemistry.
Maybe not so applicable to perfume oils, but I'm glad to have the style suggestions in mind because I can use that to translate the overall effect that a perfume oil has on my skin.

3/19/2018 09:48:22 pm

I had a similar experience with the translation of scents: I ended up using the guide, but had to adapt to what the perfume smelled like on me.

Based on the guides, I tried a perfume I'd never heard of, and in the bottle and on the card at the perfume counter, it was amazing! Ethereal and classic and a bit of drama... Loved it. On me, it smelled like Resolve carpet cleaner.

Tried another perfume by the same brand. In the bottle, it was Barbie's Cupcake Boudoir - sickly sweet and trying to be sexy. On me, it dried down gentle, subtle, and with a hint of drama. The floral overload became cedar, sandalwood, and coffee. Perfect!

So yes, seconding this: I've used the guides as guides, but had to translate the ideas. For whatever reason, a lot of ethereal perfumes dry down nasty on my skin. I've had to lean into a more ingenue perfume that dries down with a light, gentle scent that mimicks the ethereal I'm looking for.

Liz

3/14/2018 01:58:57 pm

This is so interesting; I hadn't even thought about the connection between fragrance and style ID. Rachel, I've also been wondering if you could do a similar type of post for what types of jewelry work best for the style IDs? I would especially be interested in recommendations for the blends. For example, I'm a romantic dramatic, and sometimes I feel like most of the earrings I own look "wrong" on me...

A related question that would be interesting to see a post on is facial piercings--nose and eyebrow piercings, for instance, along with multiple ear piercings, appear to have become much more popular lately, but it seems to me that many women don't look quite right in these styles.

As always, you've been writing fascinating blog posts, so thank you so much for the entertainment, wisdom and insight!

3/14/2018 03:17:59 pm

Hi, Liz!

With jewelry, it's pretty simple: just apply the shapes, sizes, levels of detail, and materials/fabrics from your essences, and you're most of the way there.

For example, as an Ethereal Natural, my shapes need to be moderately large to large, and usually narrow. That means long, narrow earrings, long narrow necklaces, and so forth. Long, oversized earrings and necklaces are sometimes good for me too, because of my N.

My level of detail can be very low or very high, so I can do (for example) delicate and intricate earrings, or simple loops.

S-curves, figure eights, and elongated, blunt geometrics are my best shapes, so those are the shapes I look for in jewelry. I avoid actual circles and sharp-edged geometrics.

I can do rough, natural materials and fine, translucent materials, so I choose pieces that feature one or the other, or both. Some things I would avoid would be enamel and super-shiny metals.

* * *

On the topic of body piercings other than ears, I find that, in Western culture, these generally read as Gamine or Dramatic Gamine, because they are perceived as playful and rebellious. (In a culture where these are commonplace, they might read differently.)

I have had a nose piercing for more than 20 years, and I SO want it to look good! But every time I start wearing it, I eventually stop -- it just doesn't look like "me," as much as I want it to. :-) I don't have a bit of Gamine or Dramatic.

3/14/2018 05:06:03 pm

I thought I didn't have any Dramatic or Gamine (ENI), but now I'm wondering because I do *not* look right without my bilateral nostril piercings and (reasonably small) stretched lobes. They do good things to the geometry of my face. I do use delicate jewelry though, and natural stones or shimmery glass for plugs.
My sister is Dramatic Natural so maybe I missed a bit there, or maybe because I live Portland OR, the social context may be different enough to make it work.

Lena

3/15/2018 03:34:51 am

Hi, Rachel! Thank you for writing about jewelry and style ID. I like your recommendations, but I do have a question. Don't you think that we also should consider our face shape when choosing jewelry?

3/15/2018 04:40:10 pm

Oh, thank you, Rachel, that's really helpful! I had been wondering if I would look good with facial piercings, because I thought they might evoke the dramatic essence, and I do have a strong bit of dramatic. But I have NO gamine, so I think that this, in combination with my strong dose of romantic, might make facial piercings not look right on me.

3/20/2018 11:24:31 am

Hi, Lena! Good question. Face shape plays a really big role in one's Style ID, so basing jewelry choices on Style ID is, to a large extent, basing one's choices on face shape. :-)

3/21/2018 12:09:33 pm

@Miranda - If you're an ENI living in Portland, I'd be surprised if you *didn't* have a nose ring. ;) Mostly joking, but most people I know in OR have facial piercings and tattoos (even the priest!) I also think nose rings can look very feminine, if delicate enough. One of my friends is very RN (I'm guessing). She is never without her nose ring. But as she's from India, this simply reads as womanly and ornate. I think if it works for your facial geometry, that's the key. (My 2 cents, anyhow!)

Beth

3/16/2018 10:39:22 pm

This is a very interesting and informative post. I can only say another great one that you have done. I was wondering, if perhaps, finding one's signature perfume or perhaps, even a signature perfume wardrobe might lead one to their "style type."
However, in this "vein" once I asked you about Avon's Sweet Honesty. I believe you said it was R-E-N (Romantic-Ethereal-Natural.) This is, you might say, my "signature perfume." It is really the only perfume I wear. I wear the fragrance spray, deodorant, and the body cream everyday. It always makes me smile and feel good even on a "not so good day." Yet, I, confess, would never wear the REN fashions. I would not feel like me and everyone would think I was pretending to be something I am not. On Avon's Website; it is described as Casual and Woody/Earthy. However, some websites dedicated to perfume reviews say it is floral. So, I am somewhat confused and would appreciate your kind and intelligent assessment of both of my ideas and concerns. Thank you so very much. Have a great day!

Beth (a different one)

3/17/2018 03:52:17 am

I do find this really interesting, but at the same time it does confuse me. I’m Ethereal-Romantic-Classic, and I hate traditional girly fragrance. My favourites are always balsamic/woody/spicy, this YSL Opium or Dior Poison. I like my fragrance to have huge silage, and whack you around the face with their sexiness, which I assume is the romantic taking priority. However, I’d expect ethereal fragrances to be lighter and softer, but I find anything light and extremely floral to be very insipid on me, and they tend to just smell like sun cream.

I do wonder what the typical style type for my fragrances of choice are.

3/21/2018 11:09:35 am

I don't have the scent guide, but I think of Opium and Poison as for romantic dramatics. They're over the top, full length fur coat and red lipstick fragrances. You need both danger and womanly femininity to pull those off. I tried them, before I was into Rachel's blog and when I was trying to wear a lot of romantic dramatic, much to my detriment as I'm an ECI. Interestingly, it was far easier for me to tell that the fragrance wasn't working than to see that the clothes were not for me.

I'd think involving ethereal and classic would mean something more watery, and a little less sillage, but not girly. Girly to me is the very sugary sweet stuff, vanilla and candy. I'd guess that Ralph Lauren Romance would be good for ERC (romantic rose, ethereal lily and lotus, and classic musk?)

3/22/2018 04:43:46 am

Hi M, thanks for replying to me. I think this is where what W and Miranda were saying upthread, my body chemistry is very very odd in how it reacts to and eats up scents. Anything watery does just get eaten up and disappears, and I need the earthy spicy base notes to ground the fragrance and stop it just turning into sun cream smell (it’s really weird, and people don’t believe it until they smell it on me). I also have the added problem that several florals (I’m not sure which ones, but definitely strong violet notes) give me migraines.

I love the sound of Ralph Lauren Romance though, I will seek it out to try.
I have also just sampled Thierry Mugler Alien on my skin, and I really like it. Interesting, sexy, but slightly sweeter and softer than my usual choices. I think I could have success with it in the summer months.

3/22/2018 07:06:45 am

Hey Beth,
According to fragrantica, Alien is very simple, 3 notes. That sounds like a smart strategy for your sensitivities; you only have to see if the jasmine would bother you or turn soapy. And maybe W's idea of subbing in ingenue would smell like ethereal with your chemistry. There's some sweeter spinoffs of Opium and Poison, but I've never sampled them. I can't pull off those sweet sexy gourmands myself.

Tanja

3/24/2018 01:06:44 pm

Wohoo! THANK YOU for this article! Been wondering about a fitting perfume that is still in the stores for quite a while now. <3

Valerie

5/17/2019 03:57:09 pm

For Heat by Beyonce, did you mean, "Romantic-Natural-Dramatic"?

Melina

11/15/2022 08:23:23 am

I was thinking the same, Valerie! Especially as it's a perfume I like a lot, so the "RND" description surprised me a bit - as far as I can tell, I have only R, of these essences! (But it seems I like some Dramatic perfumes, even if I don't have it as my actual essence :))

(I realize the comment I'm replying to was years ago, but never mind, perfumes as a topic are eternal, aren't they? ;) As are most topics on this site, TBH!)

11/15/2022 03:18:31 pm

Melina, they are definitely eternal! Unfiortunately, there are almost no fragrances that I can use, so I guess I'm "natural" all the time!!

12/8/2022 04:59:13 am

Oh, sorry to hear that, Valerie! :(

12/8/2022 05:00:29 am

Would anyone have an idea what style ID Prada Candy is? I've revently fallen in love with it! :)

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Style IDs for Best-Selling Perfumes

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