One of the women on the lift was wearing a perfume that smelled lovely. It was light and floral, very different from what I would wear. I found myself wondering how it would smell on me. This got me to thinking of my own history of perfume. I can distinctly recall events of my life through my perfumes. They have their own special timeline of moments and occasions; I think that other women must have their own fragrance timelines as well. Here is mine:
Charles of the Ritz, Jean Naté: Technically a body splash and powder, not a perfume, this was given to me when I was eleven or so by Aunt Jane. It is said to be spicy and floral. I recall that it could be deemed invigorating. I have fond recollections of splashing it on before my first cotillion. I wore it to school once or twice but I don’t think any of the boys noticed; they were too busy grabbing my butt and running away.
Top notes: er, let’s just skip this one.
Giorgio Beverly Hills, Wings: It was the summer before I began high school. I invited by some cross country girls to their pre-season training. I liked running, really liked competition and was thrilled to be accepted by upperclassmen becaue they were notoriously fond of hazing the freshmen. The girls took me to breakfast after our runs and then to the mall where I eventually found the perfume counter. To a fourteen year old girl this floral and fruity fragrance by Jean-Claude Delville was the mark of my debut into high school. Halfway through the year I met my best friend and discovered that she also wore Wings. I chose to keep my relationship with her and broke up with Jean-Claude.
Top notes: gardenia, lily, passion flower, rose, osmathus and marigold;
Middle notes: cyclamen, orchid, lilac, jasmine and heliotrope;
Base notes: sandalwood, amber, musk and cedar.
Borghese, Il Bacio: Marsella Borghese provided me with a young and flirty floral perfume that soon found a bee. One of the boys on the wrestling team started walking me to class between sixth and seventh period. He was perfect: relaxed, confident, and popular- everything I was not. He leaned into me and told me that I smelled good. These were the most romantic words that anyone had ever spoken to my teenage heart. He snuck me into a bar to listen to live music for our first date. He drove me home an hour past my curfew. My father hated him.
Top notes: Freesia, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Lily-of-the Valley and Rose;
Middle notes: Melon, Peach, Plum and Passion Fruit.
Bottom notes: Musk, Amber, Sandalwood and Cedarwood.
Guerlain, Samsara by Jean Paul Guerlain: I kept my sweet kisses until university. Then I finally decided that I needed a more mature scent and I sure found it. Aunt Jane took me to the massive makeup counter of a Texas mall and after almost two hours of attacking the testers this scent stood out. It is a scent that will stand up when your sense of smell has been under assault. I still love this scent. I wore it religiously for almost seven years. It was only in my mid twenties when I began to wear my own skin comfortably that I realized how heavy it is. It is described as warm and clean but it is also paradoxically seductive and exotic: the final beatitude that transcends suffering. I still adore Samsara but it is not my regular scent anymore; it is tiring being sexy and mysterious all the time.
Top notes: Jasmine, Ylang Ylang;
Middle notes: Jasmine, Sandalwood, Narcissus;
Base notes: Tonka, Iris, Vanilla
Estée Lauder, Intuition by Alberto Morillas: My best friend returns for this next chapter of scent. In 2003 she called me up after a second date to tell me that she had met her future husband. After finishing the conversation I strolled into the living room of my friend’s house and casually asked if anyone wanted to go with me to visit Chicago. Eighteen hours later I arrived with my new friend Ryan. While my best friend worked during the day Ryan and I toured the city. On our last day we went to the famous Marhall Field’s and he helped me to find a new scent. It was a bit less dramatic than marking the occasion with a tattoo or piercing (which I had done on previous big trips). It was warm and spicy, which I enjoyed, and had a wonderful amber note. It went on too sweet but settled well on my skin. Unfortunately the Intuition lotion stays sweet and never quite settles into the warmth that first drew me in. SB met me during the winter when I was slathering it on my hands and feet and associates that scent with me. I wish he wouldn’t. I would like to think that I am far more multi-dimensional.
Top notes: mandarin, bergamot, grapefruit, fresh green garden
Middle notes: gardenia petal, freesia, Chinese rhododendron
Base notes: amber
Calvin Klein, Euphoria: We had a small flirtation in the spring of 2008 due to a sample in a magazine. It checked all of my boxes as far as exotic, warm and amber however it wasn’t quite me. My twenty-five year old self would have worn it well but it was too sweet and light for a woman who was close to thirty. Just to be sure I tried on a sample and brought it to Uncle Jon. He said it was not me.
Top notes: Pomegranate, Persimmon, "Lush Green Accord" (whatever that is);
Middle notes: Lotus Blossom, Champaca Flower, Black Orchid;
Base notes: Liquid Amber, Black Violet, Cream Accord, Mahogany Wood
Prada, L'Eau Ambrée: Dissatisfied with the lack of dimensionality in my Intuition I went back to the perfume counter. This time I had done some research and carried a list of perfumes that carried the base note of ambergris or sandalwood. This perfume by Daniela Andrier is mesmerizing. Not sweet at all but comfortable. I can’t describe it very well except to say that it first appears to be one thing and then settles into this subtle presence that you can detect like an aura of warm musk. The scent actually gets more and more beautiful over time. This is the scent I wear the most. It is the most versatile and comfortable. I am trying to retrain SB to recognize me with it. So far it isn’t working. There is a woman on his minibus who wears a scent similar to my cloying Intuition winter skin lotion and he sits near her sniffing and thinking of me.
Top notes: cedrat lemon, mandarin neroli;
Middle notes: May rose, benzoin, gardenia jaminoide;
Base notes: modern amber, warm patchouli, opoponax, vanilla.
Charles of the Ritz, Jean Naté: Technically a body splash and powder, not a perfume, this was given to me when I was eleven or so by Aunt Jane. It is said to be spicy and floral. I recall that it could be deemed invigorating. I have fond recollections of splashing it on before my first cotillion. I wore it to school once or twice but I don’t think any of the boys noticed; they were too busy grabbing my butt and running away.
Top notes: er, let’s just skip this one.
Giorgio Beverly Hills, Wings: It was the summer before I began high school. I invited by some cross country girls to their pre-season training. I liked running, really liked competition and was thrilled to be accepted by upperclassmen becaue they were notoriously fond of hazing the freshmen. The girls took me to breakfast after our runs and then to the mall where I eventually found the perfume counter. To a fourteen year old girl this floral and fruity fragrance by Jean-Claude Delville was the mark of my debut into high school. Halfway through the year I met my best friend and discovered that she also wore Wings. I chose to keep my relationship with her and broke up with Jean-Claude.
Top notes: gardenia, lily, passion flower, rose, osmathus and marigold;
Middle notes: cyclamen, orchid, lilac, jasmine and heliotrope;
Base notes: sandalwood, amber, musk and cedar.
Borghese, Il Bacio: Marsella Borghese provided me with a young and flirty floral perfume that soon found a bee. One of the boys on the wrestling team started walking me to class between sixth and seventh period. He was perfect: relaxed, confident, and popular- everything I was not. He leaned into me and told me that I smelled good. These were the most romantic words that anyone had ever spoken to my teenage heart. He snuck me into a bar to listen to live music for our first date. He drove me home an hour past my curfew. My father hated him.
Top notes: Freesia, Honeysuckle, Jasmine, Lily-of-the Valley and Rose;
Middle notes: Melon, Peach, Plum and Passion Fruit.
Bottom notes: Musk, Amber, Sandalwood and Cedarwood.
Guerlain, Samsara by Jean Paul Guerlain: I kept my sweet kisses until university. Then I finally decided that I needed a more mature scent and I sure found it. Aunt Jane took me to the massive makeup counter of a Texas mall and after almost two hours of attacking the testers this scent stood out. It is a scent that will stand up when your sense of smell has been under assault. I still love this scent. I wore it religiously for almost seven years. It was only in my mid twenties when I began to wear my own skin comfortably that I realized how heavy it is. It is described as warm and clean but it is also paradoxically seductive and exotic: the final beatitude that transcends suffering. I still adore Samsara but it is not my regular scent anymore; it is tiring being sexy and mysterious all the time.
Top notes: Jasmine, Ylang Ylang;
Middle notes: Jasmine, Sandalwood, Narcissus;
Base notes: Tonka, Iris, Vanilla
Estée Lauder, Intuition by Alberto Morillas: My best friend returns for this next chapter of scent. In 2003 she called me up after a second date to tell me that she had met her future husband. After finishing the conversation I strolled into the living room of my friend’s house and casually asked if anyone wanted to go with me to visit Chicago. Eighteen hours later I arrived with my new friend Ryan. While my best friend worked during the day Ryan and I toured the city. On our last day we went to the famous Marhall Field’s and he helped me to find a new scent. It was a bit less dramatic than marking the occasion with a tattoo or piercing (which I had done on previous big trips). It was warm and spicy, which I enjoyed, and had a wonderful amber note. It went on too sweet but settled well on my skin. Unfortunately the Intuition lotion stays sweet and never quite settles into the warmth that first drew me in. SB met me during the winter when I was slathering it on my hands and feet and associates that scent with me. I wish he wouldn’t. I would like to think that I am far more multi-dimensional.
Top notes: mandarin, bergamot, grapefruit, fresh green garden
Middle notes: gardenia petal, freesia, Chinese rhododendron
Base notes: amber
Calvin Klein, Euphoria: We had a small flirtation in the spring of 2008 due to a sample in a magazine. It checked all of my boxes as far as exotic, warm and amber however it wasn’t quite me. My twenty-five year old self would have worn it well but it was too sweet and light for a woman who was close to thirty. Just to be sure I tried on a sample and brought it to Uncle Jon. He said it was not me.
Top notes: Pomegranate, Persimmon, "Lush Green Accord" (whatever that is);
Middle notes: Lotus Blossom, Champaca Flower, Black Orchid;
Base notes: Liquid Amber, Black Violet, Cream Accord, Mahogany Wood
Prada, L'Eau Ambrée: Dissatisfied with the lack of dimensionality in my Intuition I went back to the perfume counter. This time I had done some research and carried a list of perfumes that carried the base note of ambergris or sandalwood. This perfume by Daniela Andrier is mesmerizing. Not sweet at all but comfortable. I can’t describe it very well except to say that it first appears to be one thing and then settles into this subtle presence that you can detect like an aura of warm musk. The scent actually gets more and more beautiful over time. This is the scent I wear the most. It is the most versatile and comfortable. I am trying to retrain SB to recognize me with it. So far it isn’t working. There is a woman on his minibus who wears a scent similar to my cloying Intuition winter skin lotion and he sits near her sniffing and thinking of me.
Top notes: cedrat lemon, mandarin neroli;
Middle notes: May rose, benzoin, gardenia jaminoide;
Base notes: modern amber, warm patchouli, opoponax, vanilla.
Comments
I figure that if someone can clearly smell my fragrance, like "Woah! Jasmine and vanilla!" then I'm wearing too much and it comes off as trashy. So why bother?
Long ago, someone bought me a bottle of Chanel #5. (A French person of course -- I've never seen a nation so in love with its own name brands). I can tell you that, when left on a windowsill long enough, Chanel #5 turns green. Bet you didn't know that!
I think modern bath products have enough scent as is. I already smell like shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. I buy Clinique products because they have scent-free moisturizers and creams.
My husband wears all sorts of nice-smelling stuff, some at quite a high price tag. But personally, I think it's a waste of money.
I agree with your whoa factor. I wouldn't want my scent to announce me into a room no matter how divine.
I do like the evanescent qualities of my perfume and how it softly fades in and out during the day. I suppose that's why I like the amber scents also- they are supposed to give an earthy, slightly sweet and "animalistic" scent according to Wikipedia. I should point out to Wiki that animalistic doesn't mean what they think it does.
I like that you had a special scent created for you from local ingredients. Perfume has a wonderful legacy and we relate so much through our sense of smell.