Perfume Whores of the World, Unite!

I'll admit it: I'm a perfume whore. I own 19 full-sized bottles of scents, plus dozens more samples. What can I say? Fragrance has been good to me. My friend Jess and I initially bonded over our shared love of the stuff. It makes me feel good. It's the perfect accessory to any outfit, and you can coordinate what scent you wear with what mood you're in. Sure, some may consider my perfume collection the gateway drug to full-on hoarding, but I prefer to see it as an enthusiastic tribute to one of man's most fabulous inventions. And with that said, I thought I'd share a few of my favorites here.

Victoria's Secret Dream Angels Divine

This was my very first perfume purchase, the fragrance that started it all. It was the Christmas after I graduated high school, and my friend Meagan got me a gift certificate to Victoria's Secret as a present. I had never purchased anything from Vicki's before, and I'm not sure why I decided on perfume. Maybe it was because I thought wearing fragrance was the height of sophistication; maybe it was because The Land of Scent was beckoning me like a good-smelling siren because it knew we were soul mates (FYI, I prefer to believe the latter), but when my nose got a whiff of this stuff, it was love at first smell. Tastes change, however, and while I now find this scent a little too sweet, I still break it out sometimes. It brings me back.

Rockin' Rio by Escada

Rockin Rio, my love, why oh why did you have to be discontinued? We were so good together! Was it something I said? Something I did? I swear, I'll take it all back, just come back to me, PLEASE! Sigh...this perfume was such a sexy summer scent: warm and musky. It's dearly missed.

Harajuku Lovers G

Although G doesn't fully fill the void left in my heart by Rockin' Rio, it does a pretty good job, and is my new favorite summer scent. Warm and coconut-y, it reminds me of every beach trip I've ever taken with friends and family: the smell of the suntan lotion, the smell of the salt in the air, the smell of newly sun-kissed skin. If I'm in a bad mood, I'm instantly perked up with just a whiff.

Rock 'n Rose Couture by Valentino

This scent pleasantly surprised me. For the longest time, I wanted so hard to like it (I mean, look at that bottle! It's a work of art! Who wouldn't want that on her dresser?), but every time I smelled it in a magazine, I recoiled in disgust. It was just...ew. Too vanilla-y and flowery. But then, on a trip to Macy's, a very wise sales associate saw me eyeing the bottle, and the following conversation went a little something like this:

Her: Isn't that a great scent?

Me: I really want to like it, but I can't. It's too strong.

Her: It's actually a light scent. Here, let me show you...

She then grabbed my arm, spritzed a little on my wrist, and told me to walk around and let it set for a few minutes. And you know what? She was absolutely right. It actually is a light scent, but still sexy enough to wear on a night out or on a date (I actually wore it on the date I described on Pretty and Poor, and later said to a friend, "The bastard didn't deserve it."). It's the perfect balance of vanilla and rose. I never saw that wise sales associate again, which leads me to believe that she was my fairy godmother, sent over by The Land of Scent to get me back on the right track.

There you have it--my favorite scents (although I adore the other 15 I own as well). What are some of your favorites?