5 Fragrances for 30-somethings

Before you laugh, we're not talking about Obsession by Calvin Klein, the ultimate '80s perfume cliché. This is Secret Obsession, a 2008 update that echoes the original but won't give you acid-washed-jeans flashbacks. It's been described as a more subtle and modern version of Obsession, with woodsy base notes (sandalwood and burnt amber, along with vanilla), a middle range of jasmine, orange flower and tuberose, and top notes of plum, rose and mace.

Unlike many other celebrities who lend their name to fragrances, Sarah Jessica Parker was apparently very involved in the creation of her first scent in 2005. She wanted Lovely to be instantly recognizable and appeal to women "from 17 to 107." By all accounts, it's a very distinctive and unusual fragrance: musk-based with notes of citrus, lavender, patchouli and, most intriguingly, apple martini.

Diorissimo has been around for quite a while -- since 1956 -- but it somehow avoids becoming a grandma fragrance. It's a simple, light and crisp floral, featuring lily of the valley, ylang-ylang, amaryllis and jasmine. It's something you imagine a young Grace Kelly wearing. Go ahead and give it a spritz -- it's a classic for a reason.

Like Diorissimo, Vera Wang's flagship fragrance is often noted as an evening scent, one to wear when you're dressed to the nines for a big night out. Perfume critic Chandler Burr called it "elegance in a bottle." But that isn't to say you can't wear it to work or to the playground with your kids -- who doesn't want to smell elegant, even when clad in cutoffs and flip-flops?

Angel, which has been around since 1992, seems to be a "love it or hate it" kind of scent. It's strong (one spritz should do you for the day) and offbeat in that it doesn't seem to fit into any one category. Angel has more food notes than anything -- including chocolate, caramel, cinnamon and ginger -- but somehow it isn't sweet. Trying it yourself is really the only way to discover if you'll be an Angel convert.