PERFUME

I have only worn a few perfumes in my life. I have never been one to change my scent with the season or for special occasions.

In high school I wore one called Woodhue by Fabrege, I found some places on the net that still have it (I assume it is very old - ick) but the elements of it were: bergamot, carnation and violet, geranium, ylang, iris and jasmin. Vetiver, musk and sandalwood.

In college the thing was to wear essential oils and I favored one called China Rain The fragrance, China Rain®, combines the "softness of a bouquet of lilies, the freshness of a fresh cut rose, a hint of moss, while the scent of a fresh spring rain blends with sandalwood and musk."

In my 20's, I discovered the Clinique fragrance "Aromatics Elixir" and wore that for years and years. I actually had a man track me down (pre-internet) and call me because he smelled the perfume on someone in a crowd and just had to talk to me...so a memorable scent. I wore it up until I was first pregnant and I couldn't stand the scent any longer. Even after I had my babies and in the years since, when I have gone back to it again, it still smells wrong to me. It had "notes of rose, jasmine, ylang ylang and vetiver."

I missed wearing perfume, but I went without a scent for a long time. I was attending a workshop which lasted several days and was struck by the lovely scent of one of the women.

The last day I asked what she wore. It was "Tova" which is sold on QVC. It was a light, clean scent which reminded me of the China Rain I wore in college. I ordered it and was thrilled with how it worked on me. I received compliments all the time. I wore it for about 8 years.

Then - they changed it.

It has a harsh, alcohol smell when you spray it on which lasts a few moments ( it was advertisied as containing no alcohol), but then it doesn't have the depth or richness it used to have. It also doesn't last very long.

On the QVC site there are 17 pages of comments - mostly complaints about the change to the fragrance. There is no response from QVC about it. When I wrote the company about it, I got a form letter back. Apparently QVC bought the line from the woman who started it, changed it and refuses to acknowledge that they did.

The notes in the Tova were: bergamot, lavendar, jasmin, sandlewood. I have looked in stores and online for similar componants in perfumes for over 2 years. In fact at Nordstom they pulled out a huge book that cross referenced different fragrances. I have not found anything I like. I have found through all this research, that there are certain elements that I like which are found in all the fragrances I have liked - so I still have hope. In the meantime, I may go back to the college scent. It fits my current budget better anyway.

It is hard to express how much ill will I harbor for QVC because of this!