Smell that?
Wednesday, July 22, 2009 at 5:24AM In my medicine cabinet is a bottle of perfume that my friend Fashionista bought for me, in Byron Bay, shortly before we left Australia. It's very pretty; the perfume itself is green, and it's named something earthy-sounding, but I don't use it.
I'm not really a 'perfume' person, but I'm in love with the idea of perfume, of having a 'signature scent', one that someone wouldn't notice initially, but that when they smelled it later, it would evoke memories of me. (Also, by that point in our travels, I was also in love with the idea of smelling like a GIRL and not the flip-flops I wore in the last 37 hostel showers.)
I used the perfume regularly when we first got back from Australia, but when the bottle got about half-empty I stopped, panicked that once it was empty, I'd be unable to replace it. I became the 'non-perfume' person, that I really am, again.
I haven't touched it in a couple of years but this morning I noticed that there was less of it. Well, duh, I thought, it was evaporating. So I spritzed myself with it, thinking it might evoke some memories of my travels. But I forgot that I hadn't really used it while travelling; I'd mostly used it when I came home. When I came crashing back to reality. It smelled of regret, dissatisfaction and the heavy burden of familiarity.
(Also, a little bit like old lady.)
So much for my signature scent. I guess I'll just go back to watching it evaporate slowly. Like memories.
What about you - do you have a signature scent? Or something you can't smell without thinking of a certain time?
Reader Comments (35)
It's good you are not a "perfume person" because there are tons of chemicals in those smelly products, not to sound hysterical...but it's true! It can wreak havoc with out female hormones.
I'm very much not a perfume person. My boss made the comment the other day, "You're wearing a new scent; it smells good." (Said boss is 40 and dates 22-year-old girls and thinks any woman over 32 is too old for him). I said, "It's Johnson and Johnson's Bedtime Lotion." He looked at me funny, and I said, "You know, the baby lotion that's supposed to help babies sleep? It doesn't work, so now I use it because it smells good." His brows kind of shot up quickly and then he said, "So where are you at with the web pages." Whatever.
I just ran out of my favorite scent. I'd like to go out and buy some more but the label wore off. Now, I'm screwed. I'll have to go out to find a new one. Something along the lines of mid-life crisis meets old lady. That doesn't sound very pretty. Maybe, I should stick to soap smell.
I've worn Fendi for years. Years. They've been discontinuing it for years. Years!. It gradually went from high-end stores to perfume shops only to TJMaxx to online only. Now? Impossible to find. I am desperately seeking Fendi, while at the same time trying to adjust to something new, but every new thing I try is just not the same.
My advice? Hmmmm. Be flexible, because if you DO have a signature scent, they'll discontinue it fo' sho', and then you'll be both heartbroken and unscented. :-(
I love things that smell wonderful but I'm not really a signature scent person. Yummy shower gels, body sprays, bath bombs are all fantastic. I tend to try all different scents and mix it up so I always have something different going on. Makes it more fun!
Old Spice.
I'm not a perfume person because I have a lot of family and friends that go into major asthma attacks when confronted with scents.
i reallyreallyreally want to have a signature scent, but i keep finding new ones that i like and therefore don't have one. plus, i pretty much only wear perfume whne i'm "dressed up." i wore ralph lauren's romance on my wedding day and then never bought it again until my husband and i went on a long weekend last year, so now when i smell that, it reminds me of my wedding and vacation. i really love that smell now.
I used to be a perfume person but once a bottle of perfume became more expenseive than a can of formula - i had to stop buying it and wearing the smell of a mommy
I have a similar bottle in my medicine cabinet. It's a horrible scent, but my aunt gave it to me before she died so I figure it'll be in there for the next 40 years.
For every day, I wear Fresh pomegranate anise. If I'm having a bad day, I wear Terranova Rain because the smell is so, so soothing. Then there's the old standby, Chanel Mademoiselle. I am a freak about things that smell good, which is why I am so fussy about my face soap. But this is a really, really long comment so I'm stopping now.
I wore the same perfume for years and years, but then it kind of got old and I wanted something different, so now I switch it up a bit. Lately I've been wearing Fresh Sugar. Smells like lemons and sugar. I just like a little, not enough to make people retch.
I have a few bottles, but only wear them for occasions. Usually, I smell like whatever lotion I've just put on.
It's funny how a certain scent brings back memories, though. Whenever I smell Chanel no 5, I think of my Mom. It was her signature scent. And Ralph Lauren's Polo reminds me of my Uncle Tom. Funny, huh?
I'm a perfume junkie! I have about 4 that I wear regularly and a few that sit on my shelf that I don't wear anymore. I love smelling a perfume and being transported back to the first time I smelled it. Vera Wang is very much like that for me. There are two I used to wear that remind me of exes that I could do without. Hope you find a new signature if you decide to search for one!
I don't think I have a signature scent. Some smells remind me of other people, like my grandmother. If I smell her perfume on someone else she immdiately rushes to mind. I don't really wear perfume either. Mostly because I forget to put it on.
i have studied aromatherapy for 10 years so scent plays a huge part in my life. but even i forget to "anoint" myself. I took a natural perfumery class and so i make my own and was thinking of developing a "signature scent" product for people. also don't forget cleopatra was huge into scent and had eunuchs just to anoint her. i love that. i try to channel her without the eunuchs. my scent is vetiver, it is a grass and very very earthy and almost smoky. it grounds me and makes me feel rooted. hmm better go put some on now!
of course if i could bottle and perfume my grandmothers meatballs and sauce then i would feel comfort all the time.
i always think i smell like an aromatic mixture of baby and toddler poop. i think i need a new scent.
Joy. My father brought me back my first bottle on a business trip he took to France. I was 16.
I wore it ever since.
Now I have no money and I only have a little bit left in my last bottle. But the goats don't care what I smell like. Well, the bucks only care that I smell like goat.
My life. Welcome to it.
Just to answer your question: Patchouli gives me anxiety attacks. *LOL* That's really the only free-association I have with smells. I don't know why; but if I smell it, I literally go into full blown panic attack mode.
Random!
I also like the idea of perfume, but don't ever use.
I have some beautiful bottles setting on my dresser though.
Perfume tends to irritate me because so many people don't know how to wear it - I swear, sometimes a gas mask is in order when I go into the women's restroom here at the office.
I wear it once in a blue moon - I've got a bottle of Sarah Jessica Parker's perfume I picked up last year that I'm using. When that's gone (in probably another year or so), I'll find something else to wear on the rare occasion I use it.
I am obsessed with scent. there are MILLIONS... no... BILLIONS... no... GOBZILLIONS! of smells that bring me back. I can't help it. Some are good, and some make me want to cry. Weird, huh?
I love love love the scent of Jadore by Christian Dior. My mil gave me a bottle of Paris Hiltons' perfume a couple of years ago and whenever I wear it I get a ton of complements. I'm always embarrassed (and a little proud) to tell them what it is.
I usually use Bath and Body Works country apple scent. Hard to find. So when they bring it out for semi-annual sales, I stock up. But now that I'm a SAHM, I rarely use it. I also have a lemongrass verbena scent that I cannot figure out what it is or what it's called. So I only use it on very special occasions, especially since it's Seth's FAVORITE! *wink, wink*
I used to wear Design but stopped after a bad breakup because it reminded me of the relationship. Now these days I do not wear perfume but on occasion I will use a vanilla smelling lotion from Bath& Body.
I smell body odor, and it reminds me of all the years that I have busted my ass in order to make other people rich! :)