I’m more a Kristopher than prissy Krissy when it comes to donning perfume, while I doll up daily fragrance is not always on my check list. Most days you’ll find me either smelling like a lady who’ll never wrinkle (SPF 45), an Organza (Givenchy), or an American heiress and tabloid cover girl (guess).

So until I bottle “Ooh la love,” I’m on the hunt for a signature scent, something a little different from the sea of celebrity fragrance department stores are swimming in.

...continued: Ooh La Love: Perfumes and Fragrance

Says perfume blog Bois de Jasmin:

“As much as I like Parfums de Nicolaï fragrances, from the vanilla turned into sultry darkness that is SacreBleu to the warm mulled wine tartness of Pour Homme, I have to admit that a few pose a frustrating dilemma—they smell far better on paper than they do on skin. The issue is not so much a matter of body chemistry, but rather that the warmth of the skin accelerates their development, forcing evaporation to occur quicker than one would have wished.”

If it weren’t for bloggers, we’d end up just spritzing ourselves with Jessica Paris Simpon Hilton Lohan’s bottle of $50 scent.

And by “we,” I mean “me.”

Just how shopping isn’t only about buying, and fashion isn’t just what glossy mags dictate, perfume isn’t just about forking over lots of dollars for a bottle of liquid.

Says perfume blog The Scented Salamander in their review of Bond No. 9’s latest:

“Introduced just a fortnight ago in the middle of summertime, Fire Island, according to Bond, aims at ”…bottling the scent of bronzing” and beyond that of capturing the scent of happiness and of the relaxed mood commonly experienced during vacations sensually and leisurely spent on the beach with our bodies half-naked basking in the sun.”

We believe products are personal things, whether you actually have them custom-made for you or simply custom-tailor the product to your life.

And so does shopping blog Cheryl Shops:

“I love that, pre-Lovely, Sarah Jessica Parker wore Skin Musk by Bonne Bell. I, on the other hand, wore Dolce & Gabbana (the original, in the red bottle) for years, and while it didn’t appear to be very popular in Chicago, I moved here and started smelling it on women I passed on the street. Now, I realize that unless I get a custom-blended (and ridiculously expensive) scent, not ever smelling my perfume on someone else isn’t really an option. I will never “steal” another person’s perfume, especially if they’re a friend or someone I see on a regular basis, but if someone asks me what I’m wearing, I tell them, because, well, I’m not a very good liar. I rotate between two fragrances from same designer (I’ll give you a hint—he’s French), and so far, I haven’t had to give them up. I do have two back-ups in case that does happen, but it’s always good to have more.”

When I’m looking for perfume, I usually don’t make it past one of my favorite scents branded with a starlette’s name (I won’t say who!), I don’t know my Chanel No. 5 from my Mademoiselle.

So until ThisNext’s shopcasting begins, perfume blog Perfume Posse is my perfect guide in a sea of scents, with its expert opinions on fragrances.

Along with an amazing recipe for chocolate cake.