The perfect scent for your style

The careerist

High-end, expensive, confident and luxe, the career woman’s Gucci purse is as elegantly no-nonsense as she is, housing luxe red lipstick, a BlackBerry, car keys, shiny bold-hued nail polish and business cards. And while her silver, three-quarter-length-puffed-sleeve Lanvin blouse, black satin cigarette pants and Christian Louboutin heels are equal parts office attire and cinq à sept perfection, her fragrance need not multi-task. During the workday, she wears Flora by Gucci (from $60, at the Bay). Inspired by the Italian house’s iconic Flora pattern, originally used in 1966 on a silk scarf made for Princess Grace of Monaco, Flora the fragrance is feminine, composed of rose, osmanthus (a Chinese flower with a fruity floral-and-leather aroma), citrus, peony, sandalwood and patchouli. Initially designed in colour, the Flora pattern is now delicate in black and white, decorating the inside of the packaging and showing through the transparent glass flacon, which features gold and black details. “This woman is a very confident woman. Very joyful, optimistic, playful and sensual, because I think this fragrance is very sensual and the bottle is powerful as well. So I think all these characteristics describe the Gucci woman,” says Frida Giannini, creative director for Gucci, who admits to wearing Flora during daylight hours and then switching over to Gucci by Gucci (from $78, at the Bay) at night. Balancing Flora’s brighter, lighter appeal, Gucci by Gucci is a headier, spicier floral blend of guava, pear, Tahitian Tiare flower, musk, honey and patchouli.

The world-traveller

Fresh-faced, with an adventurous spirit and bohemian-chic style, no destination is too far-flung for this woman. Along with her favourite easy-to-pack, Mexican folk–inspired Anna Sui dress, she routinely totes sunglasses, organic lip balm and her passport. Inquisitive, she takes the time to smell the flowers and brings them with her in her Michael Kors purse. For a girlie Saturday brunch at the cottage, Oscar de la Renta Oscar Sheer Freesia ($49, at department stores) is the perfect accoutrement—a sparkling bouquet of blueberry, green apple, rhubarb, freesia, pepper, lotus flower, teak and white musk. Halle by Halle Berry (from $35, at drugstores), with its woody-oriental blend of Sicilian bergamot, fig leaves, pear blossom, freesia, hibiscus, ultra mimosa, sandalwood, driftwood, cashmere musk, olibanum absolute and amber, is the ideal eveningwear counterpart for a midnight stroll along the beach. Glamorous at first glance, thanks to its movie-star namesake, the fragrance is deceptively subtle and sublime, an easy-to-wear smooth and creamy scent. “I think I’m very simple in the way that I approach fashion and beauty, so we wanted it to be simple,” says Berry of the juice, which took two years to create. It was a fulfilling task for the Oscar winner, who says that both the scent and its bottle are representative of her personality. The flacon is a low, grounded rectangular shape, with a wave pattern on the glass and hammered rose-gold rings around the base of the cap. “Fragrance is as important for a woman as her dress, handbag, shoes, jewellery. It’s another way to express who you are and your sensibility.”

The Preppy

Sporty, sleek and classic, this woman’s white leather Roots purse is stylish and durable, filled with the essentials—iPhone, breath mints, pretty neutral-pink lipstick, Tide to Go pen, cherry-red day planner, nautical rope belt and all-over-face mineral bronzer with its compact miniature brush. Not to be confused with a low-maintenance girl, this woman looks timeless in her oversized pale-pink Stella McCartney boyfriend blazer, crisp white shirt, trousers, tortoiseshell sunglasses and oversized platinum men’s watch. Her style is a combination of equestrian-influenced accessories, ropes of pearls and fresh fragrances. Her matinée-date scent: Narciso Rodriguez Essence (from $102, at Holt Renfrew). The hefty bottle, with its sleek, sculpted edges, shiny mirror-like finish and clear glass topper, houses a juice that features notes of rose, musk, iris and amber—it is irresistibly clean, while simultaneously floral and powdery. Rodriguez told Women’s Wear Daily that his fresh new scent is “very sexy, but has that crisp, clean, pure quality of sunlight.” Equally luminous—and an excellent finishing touch for a Sunday night aperitif at Hôtel Le Germain’s sleek lounge in Toronto—is Shiseido Zen limited-edition eau de parfum ($65, at department stores). Starring blue rose, bergamot, grapefruit, freesia, gardenia, Chinese rose, amber, patchouli and white musk, perfumer Michel Almairac’s juice is simple, clean and light, freshly floral and casually pretty—all contained in a compact, contemporary, straight-edged and square-lined bottle with delicate gold detailing.