I have been experiencing incredible frustration and difficulty finding
a woman's perfume that is spice-based rather than "green" or "sweet". 
For years I wore "Opium" by YSL, and was completely happy with it, but
then my body chemistry seemed to change, probably with menopause, and
now I cannot find a perfume that does not turn to bug spray on me. 
The only one that smells good on me is "Gingerbread" by Demeter, which
I got just for fun, but I really don't want to go around smelling like
a Christmas dessert.  You would think for all the enormous perfume
industry out there that this would not be such a hard problem, but it
is.  I can't even find a  perfume consultant and have wasted lots of
money on fragrances useless to me.  Can you find me a perfume that is
"spicy" and/or a consultant who can?

Try 'Old Spice aftershave'. I know that it's made for men but it
smells surprisingly good on women too. You could always decant it into
a beautiful atomiser.
And it could be worth checking out other men's aftershave brands. 

Alternatively, Lush's 'Ginger'  or 'Karma' might interest you.
'Ginger' smells warm and gingery (as you'd expect). 'Karma'  has an
orange spice smell which is very unusual and rather attractive.
See 
http://www.lush.com
http://www.lush.co.uk

Have you tried Estee Lauder's "Cinnabar"? I can't be certain it will
mix well with your body chemistry, but I'm told that it smells
fabulous on my postmenopausal self:

http://www.esteelauder.com/templates/products/sp_nonshaded.tmpl?ngextredir=1&CATEGORY_ID=CATEGORY6840&PRODUCT_ID=PROD1810

I've just had a look at Susan Irvine's book, 'The Perfume Guide'. She
lists the following perfumes as 'spicy orientals':
'Le Feu d'Issey' (Issey Miyake)
'Rush' (Gucci)
'Tabu' (Dana)
'Boudoir' (Vivienne Westwood)
'Hypnotic Poison' (Christian Dior)
Coco (Chanel)
'Youth Dew' (Estee Lauder) [ -I rather like this one]
'Comme des Garcons' (Comme des Garcons) [  -there should be a cedilla
under the 'c' but I'm not sure how to find it in this font]
'Black' (Bulgari)
'Dune' (Christian Dior)
'Samsara' (Guerlain)
'Bal a Versailles' (Jean Desprez)
'Vol de Nuit' (Guerlain)
'Tiempe Passate' (Antonia Ballenca-Mahoney)
'Moschino' (Moschino)
'Magie Noire' (Lancome) [ -should have a cedilla under the 'c']
'Obsession' (Calvin Klein)
'Ambre Sultan' (Serge Lutens) 
'Shalimar' (Guerlain) [-A real classic, which I'd try early on]
'Must de Cartier' (Cartier) [-but probably not for you  because the
book says that it opens with a green note]
'Habanita' (Molinard)
From personal experience Yardley's 'Sandalwood' is also pleasant on
me. And some lavender scents can be quite spicy in a way.

But I'd still consider an experiment with the aftershaves.Susan Irvine
also seems to approve of 'Old Spice' on women. She says:
the sophisticated, clean, smooth spiciness ,,, is great on a woman
too. Flower notes soften its heart and woods add sensualty.
'Once, I did a blind-test of fragrances with perfumers and women whose
business involved smell. Nearly all agreed on one heavenly potion as
the most expensive, feminine, sexy, sophisticated. In short, their
favourite. When they took off their blindfolds, they saw it was - Old
Spice. The lesson is : use your nose, not your eyes when choosing a
scent.' [p.98.]

Anyway, there seems to be a fair range of scents available to try.
Best wishes,
Amber

Try Shalimar (Amber's early on recommendation); I love it, reminds me
of girls who were then maybe too young for such an adult perfume.  If
it works, maybe it will have that effect on you.  Hmmm? I mean that
they'll think you are too young again  - not that they'll be reminded
of someone thirty years back who used her mom's perfume.  : )

You may wish to send an inquiry to the "Internation Perfume Bottle
Association."  I'm providing a link below.  One of their longtime
members is Helen Farnsworth whose email address is posted there.

     http://www.perfumebottles.org/what.cfm

Most perfumes are categorized in a type of genealogy chart that shows
the various fragrances related by ingredients. The categories include
floral (largest group) and one called "oriental, sweet and spicy." 
This last one is likely the one you are interested in and includes
Estee Lauder's Youth Dew, for example.  By knowing the members of this
group, your search could be easier to perform.

Al

My suggestion is Hermes by Hermes.
I think you should really try it because it can be exactly what you
are looking for: spicy, strong and very "Opium" like.

Alina
www.akela.ro

Would you believe that Demeter's Gingerbread    is classified as an 
rich -Oriental-( family description reads as sensual combo of resins,
exotic flowers, vanilla and musk ) in contrast to   Opium  ( a
classical  -Softer Oriental- combo of incense , flowers and amber
where the bottom notes are not as sweet nor rich as  the
aforementioned Oriental example.)

Consider that these scents are worn on skin : that you have a "skin
print" which is as unique to you as your fingerprint. It is a sum of
your genes, your eating habits ( or diet), your medication intake,
your stress level, your perspiration level,  the oiliness or dryness
of your skin, to name a few influences.

It appears you still want a "spice" dominance in your scent  as
opposed to flowers or wood , the other two  dominant families of
ingredients.
There is variety in spices and you may prefer "some" over others AND
you may want your spices mixed with "certain" ingredients  and not
others.

One of the most difficult problems in conselling  a fragrance customer
is " the language" .

If we were together , I would try some spicey scents to see what
spices you like and what other ingredients you like to mix with your
spices.

I would suggest you smell the following that are very similar to Gingerbread
AMbre Extreme- l'Artisan
Chergui- Shiseido
Messe de minuit-Etro
Ciara - Revlon


Gingerbread may be the only example of this family that you like.
I would then show you other spicey scents.

You must realize that this should be a journey of discovery and not travail.
Smell and learn. Have patience and keep smelling until you find a
scent that talks to you .

Realize if spices are an ingredient that your mind AND skin are ready
for, that there is great variety in spices and in other ingredients
that can be mixed WITH the spices.
You say you do not want "green" or 'Sweet"  . I would show you
examples f  greenness and sweetness (  in vanilla - a spice ,   in
flowers) .



It is imperative that you  spend time living with the scent BEFORE
purchasing - wear it for at least a  day , give it time to develop .

 
My information is based on the publication "Fragrances of the World"
by Michael Edwards and twenty years of fragrance counselling  (which
is much easier in person that online.)

I suggest trying:

MACKIE by Bob Mackie - is classified as a flowery fragrance. This
feminine scent posesses a blend of: sweet, spicy and exotic. It is
recommended for casual wear.

WISH by Chopard - is classified as a flowery fragrance. This feminine
scent posesses a blend of: a woodsy and spicy floral, with notes of
patchouli, incense, sandalwood and amber. It is recommended for
daytime wear.

A women I knew LOVED the spicy scents and always wore either Mackie or
Dolce & Gabbana (the original in the red box).

Even though D&G isn't defined as necessarily a spicy scent, I always
thought it was rather spicy.

You might also try the 'unisex' fragrances such as CK Be or Bvlgari
Black.  Since they are intended for men as well, the flowery aspect of
the scent is rather muted.

Denise Hayes
http://www.drhfinegifts.com