Ever go into a wine shop to buy a gift for a friend and feel overwhelmed by the choices? Or have trouble selecting the right wine to go with dinner in a restaurant? We all realize that with the help of a knowledgeable sommelier, the list seems manageable, and choosing becomes a pleasure rather than a burden.

The same holds true for fragrance. Whether you’re choosing for yourself, or buying a gift for someone else, it’s good to have the help of a knowledgeable guide. How about a sommelier of perfume, someone who has studied all aspects of the scent world and understands how fragrances are made, and can answer all your questions about the fireworks in those beautiful bottles? The Fragrance Foundation wants to share the love of scent and realizes that knowledge is powerful and the more people know, the more they enjoy the ride.

Walk by the Van Cleef & Arpels perfume counter with its array of gorgeous bottles, and your eyes will feast upon this lovely new creation. Inspired by one of their magnificent tourmaline and diamond rings, the new Oriens eau de parfum is pretty enough that collectors would buy it just for the bottle alone. Fortunately, the fragrance inside is also a real gem. Spray it on and you’ll immediately utter a quiet “mmmm…”

This “mmmm…” inspiring chypre opens with a sophisticated gourmand blend of raspberry, black currant and praline and then moves on to sunny jasmine mixed with freshly cut white flowers. The final note of patchouli is soft and very feminine. Oriens is a mood lifting oriental scent that I would wear on a blah day when I need a reason to smile…..or on a good day, when it can make my smile even brighter.

Available: Bergdorf Goodman and http://www.bergdorfgoodman.com

From Guerlain comes the seventh fragrance from their L’Art et La Matiere collection. Tonka Imperiale is a heady, woody oriental utilizing the sweet tonka bean as its star ingredient. A seed from Venezuela, the tonka bean contains flavors of vanilla, almond, cinnamon and cloves and is a perfumer’s delight in its own right and is a key ingredient of the famous “Guerlinade” which is a base for many of their classics such as Jicky, Shalimar and Habit Rouge.

Twilight Woods by Bath & Body Works Signature Collection is just the fragrance for the winter season – the hypnotic blend of juicy berry, mimosa, vanilla milk, apricot, cypress and musk work together to form a luxurious, warm and feminine scent. Few fragrances are as multifaceted as Twilight Woods, which you can wear to the office, on a date or even around the house if you want to feel cozy and relaxed. Hard to believe, but true. When you feel depressed that the sun is setting before 5 o’clock, take a whiff of this soothing scent and you might look at the darkness in a whole new way.

Available at http://www.bathandbodyworks.com/signaturecollection.

If you want to baby yourself, do so with Leila Lou by Rosie Jane. This fragrance debut is a brainchild of celebrity makeup artist Rosie Jane Johnson, who named the scent after her daughter. Leila Lou embraces innocence with its fresh freesia and pear notes. We love that this scent is a great pick-me-up, whether you’re stuck on a subway or squished between airplane seats during holiday travel. Plus, the compact roll-on bottle is made from all recycled materials and the company will reward its followers with a free bottle, if they return 3 empty containers.

Available at http://www.shopintuition.com and http://www.leilalou.com.

Forgo the cliché cranberry and pine scents for the sophisticated Antica Farmacista Room Fragrance No.11. As part of the esteemed Italian fragrance and apothecary collection, Antica Farmacista will transform your home ambiance into a cozy bed-and-breakfast or a charming chateau. Bask your room in Sicilian mandarin, verbena, blood orange combined with cinnamon, nutmeg and spruce. Antica Farmacista is the perfect holiday spice that doesn’t reek, like a pantry. Antica Farmacista smells so endearing; you might just spritz it on your wrists… by accident, of course!

If you look up “calamity” in the dictionary, it’ll tell you that it means misfortune, disaster, and catastrophe. The new Calamity J perfume by Juliette Has a Gun, is anything but a disaster in my book; and wearing this edgy yet elegant perfume should surround you with the good fortune of turning some heads!

I caught up with the head turning, fedora wearing Romano Ricci, creator of Juliette Has a Gun, over champagne and cake on his recent visit to New York, and asked him about this newest creation in the collection. The French man with an Italian name is the great grandson of the famed Nina Ricci – so it’s no surprise that he knows a thing or two about style, savvy and uncompromising women!

BN: What’s different about this 4th perfume in the collection?
RR: Calamity J is different in many ways. First, it’s a masculine fragrance dedicated to and meant to be worn by women. It’s for the bad girl, not the girly girl It’s yin and yang, it’s woody and musky. Also, it’s created without a top note. It starts with its heart of patchouli, iris and amber, and then settles into base notes of musk and a vanilla infusion. The scent uses no flowers or fruit and has over 50 ingredients in all.

Whether you have an interview for your dream job, a date with your leading man or a night out with your crew, you want to be sure you look and feel like a million bucks. From hair to make-up to attire, everything has to be perfect, even down to your scent. Look like a million bucks, feel like a million bucks and most importantly, smell like million bucks with these fragrances.

Edgy downtown perfumery, Bond No. 9, is known for mix-mastering the scents of New York City. Using the with legendary artist, Andy Warhol, and the dollar sign as inspiration, Bond No. 9 has fittingly created the rich scent Andy Warhol Success is a Job in New York. Packaged in collectible Andy Warhol designer bottles with the almighty dollar sign dripping in neon colors reminiscent of his 1981 series, the genderless fragrance carries a rich and intoxicating aroma. The fragrance hits you with a spicy-citrus aroma of coriander, mandarin and bergamot and then leads into jasmine, rose and plum and finally segues into an oriental base of vanilla, patchouli and amber. Hit your next job interview with your head held high, feeling like a million bucks and smelling like success is a job in New York. The collection is available at all four Bond No. 9 stores and Saks Fifth Avenue and retails for $145-$220, http://www.saksfifthavenue.com.

Every woman in New York City leads multi-faceted lives: the lower east side hipster, downtown business professional, Upper East Side mother of three, or the SoHo trendsetter. La Prairie understands the complexity of the NYC woman and introduces Life Threads: three exquisite new fragrances that speak to the moods of a woman’s life. Available in Silver, Gold or Platinum, every woman can choose their choice of metal that correlates with their lifestyle. What better way to feel like a million bucks than embracing yourself with the luxury “threads” of fragrance that are bold, daring and rich.