I'm going to let you in on a little-known perfume secret: When a floral perfume smells particularly delectable, it's likely due to the addition of one note. That note is orange blossom, and when it's added to fragrances, they morph into something truly delectable. Orange blossoms are gorgeous white flowers that bloom on orange trees. They've been blended into perfumes for centuries and have even been touted as an aphrodisiac. Orange blossoms work so well in perfumes because their scent is so...

Wintry fragrances always run the risk of being a bit too holiday heavy. Too many notes like cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla can make you smell like a cookie exchange rather than a serious person. There's one note, in particular, that can make you smell like the inside of a snow globe if it's done wrong: pine. Pine scents can get a bad rep for being too holiday-centric. It makes sense. When we think of pine trees, we often think of everything they're associated with. That means Christmas trees,...

I have a bit of a picky nose when it comes to fragrances. In my early days as a beauty editor, I spent a lot of time sampling every perfume I could get my hands on to figure out my fragrance MO. The conclusion I came to was, yes, I'm very selective. While some designer scents were nice and I wouldn't mind catching a whiff of them while out, I often found that I wouldn't actually wear a lot of them myself. That all changed once I caught a sniff of a few key Tory Burch perfumes.I was first drawn ...

Each one tells a story.I don't wear perfume every day. I realize that might sound strange coming from a beauty editor, but it's true. In fact, there's only one fragrance that I wear often enough to call my "signature scent." All others I save for special occasions because I like the idea of a scent becoming intermingled with a memory. For example, I recently wore Nette's Rose Parade ($30) to my brother's wedding. Going forward, I know it will always remind me of that day.  Still, I love colle...