Within Fragrance: The Light Comes from Within

Pictured: The romantic “Within” fragrance packaging from BCBGMAXAZARIA

In the words of Linda McCartney, “The light comes from within.” She said, “I need a sense of cause, I wanna smell the flowers.” I wonder if the creators of BCBG’s new fragrance “Within” are familiar with Linda’s lyrics. I like the name of the fragrance, as I do Linda’s lyrics, because it reminds me that our outward appearance, does not necessarily reflect our spirit. The real spirit (our light) lies within.

Before the holidays, I had the opportunity to try “Within” and meet its creator, perfumer Sarah Horowitz. Ms. Horowitz is well known for creating custom scents. She told me she loves to spend time with her clients, to understand what they are about and what kind of scents would compliment their pre-existing scent. Did you know that we all have a certain something about us, or je ne sais quoi, that is inherent in our own unique body chemistry? This is why scents will smell different on each wearer. And they will smell different over time, as body temperature changes or as we age. In creating custom scents or recommending packaged scents, the creator of “Within”, Ms. Horowitz likes to smell that certain something or natural scent on each individual. It’s quite an elegant process the way she does it. Here she is at the BCBG store on Rodeo checking out the scent of a client.

Pictured: Perfumer Sarah Horowitz offers a scent consultation at the BCBG store on Rodeo Drive.

The goal for Ms. Horowitz is to translate her impressions of a woman into fragrance notes. In the case of “Within,” natural fruit scents like apple blossom, pear and bergamot (the citrus fruit laced into the Earl Grey tea blend) in the top notes. The top notes are the scents you will notice immediately upon applying the fragrance. As the scent warms to the wearer, the next wave of scent, or the middle notes, float through the air. In the case of “Within” the middle notes are flowers like jasmine, honeysuckle and freesia. Finally, the perfume is comprised of “base notes” which become apparent after about 30 minutes of wear. For “Within” the base notes are a unique blend of of sandalwood, tobacco and amber. When I was told that tobacco was part of the mix, my eyebrows lifted almost to my hairline. Tobacco? But Ms. Horowitz explained that the tobacco scent is discreet and is there for a purpose. The tobacco makes the scent stay on the skin, so the scent will last after the initial spritz on. This makes your perfume last longer, as you don’t have to apply it frequently to maintain the scent.

From my consultation with Ms. Horowitz, I learned that various factors including diet (vegetarian or meat eater), age and general body chemistry influence how a scent wears on each individual. This means “Within” can smell different on each wearer. On me, the top notes were most evident. I smelled of pear (reminiscent of Petite Cherie) but my friend who tried it wore more of the middle notes, or the floral scents like jasmine and honeysuckle. What I liked, and found completely unique, was that both of us wore “Within” differently. You could not tell that we were wearing the exact same perfume. The scent smelled completely different on each of us. It was also very different on us than it was on the fragrance strips given to us when we entered the BCBG store.

After wearing “Within” for 20 minutes, I was even more impressed by the fragrance than I was when I first sprayed it on. The perfume really opened up like a fine bottle of wine. In these budgetary times, its a plus that you can buy an off the shelf perfume that allows you to actually smell different than other women who wear it. If you like light, non musky scents, then do give “Within” a try. Just make sure to try it, or any perfume you are considering buying, on your skin. Don’t believe the fragrance stick! Wear a scent for a little while as you shop. See how it wears on you over a short period of time. This it the important “cents” test of all scents. Make sure the fragrance works on you before you invest. With Valentine’s Day on the horizon, this perfume might be a nice option for a special evening out or even, a gift suggestion. “Within” retails for $58.00 US. Look for coupon codes from BCBG on their website or online to save a few pennies.

To learn more about the art of creating scents, visit Sarah Horowitz Parfums on the web. For discount codes and savings on Sarah’s perfumes join her Facebook group. There are some nice offers there 🙂

Please note, this is not a sponsored post and I am not a BCBG affiliate.