How to Choose a Cartier Perfume for Women

Note that Cartier's line of perfume may have several variations.

Known primarily as a purveyor of fine jewelry and fashion merchandise, the House of Cartier also produces distinctive lines of perfume for men and women. Choosing a Cartier women's perfume for yourself or for a lucky recipient does not have to be daunting. Without extensive industry knowledge you can select a perfume based on what you know best: you or your recipient's scent preferences, the intended use of the perfume as well as practical matters such as the prices and limited edition features of the Cartier perfumes.

Instructions

1. Identify the top, middle and base notes of the Cartier women's fragrance, and the overall effect they have on the perfume. Consider the Panthere for Women by Cartier. The top notes include grapefruit, spicy ginger and pepper. The floral middle notes are tuberose, gardenia, freesia and ylang ylang. Base notes of patchouli, sandalwood and civet may come across as "animalistic" to some wearers, while others may find the effect "old-fashioned."

2. Compare it to another Cartier perfume for women, such as Delices de Cartier Eau Fruitee, which shares similar top notes of citrus with the Panthere but has a rhubarb component and middle notes composed of cherry flower and jasmine, with sandalwood and amber as base notes.

3. Take into account the personality and perfume habits of your recipient as well as the "tendencies" of the Cartier perfume and match the scent accordingly: Wearers of the Delices to be light and fruity, perhaps too sharp in the beginning, but softer as the fragrance dried.

4. Choose a Cartier women's perfume based on its appropriateness for the season, day or evening: A grande dame perfume like the Panthere or the mysterious Must de Cartier may only be appropriate for evening wear or formal settings; however, the Delices series may be worn both during the day and evening. The Eau Fruitee may have a natural affinity to spring and summer months, although it could be worn in other seasons. Choose the unisex fragrance, Eau de Cartier, for mostly daytime wear, although evening application may also be suitable: the green of the violet leaves gives you a clean scent that does not overpower.

5. Make your selection based on your budget and the price range of the Cartier women's perfume you wish to buy. Consider that the Eau de Cartier and Delices de Cartier Eau Fruitee may, depending on your perfume merchant and the size and dispensing method of the perfume you buy, be about $40 for a 1.7 oz. Eau de Toilette spray to $70 for a 6.7 oz. EDT spray at the time of publication. Other Cartier women's perfumes may range from $60 for a 1 oz. EDT spray to $140 for a 1 oz. pure perfume spray, such as the Le Baiser de Dragon.

6. Determine whether your recipient would appreciate the historical aspects of the Cartier perfumes in question, in which case, give her a perfume from a landmark collection. Contemplate the specially designed series of perfumes made for Cartier for its centennial: Les Heures, a unisex initial collection of five perfumes each representing a particular hour; a later addition to the collection, L'Heure Diaphane VIII, was designed for women and contains peony and litchi elements.

References

• Cartier: Cartier Perfume for Women
• Fragrantica: Cartier Perfumes and Colognes
• Perfume: Cartier Perfume and Cartier Cologne