October 5, 2006

Signature Scent

For Jackie Onassis it was Joy. For Marilyn Monroe it was Chanel No. 5. Memorable women, wearing memorable fragrances.

I think I have been a perfume fan since I was a little girl sneaking a "dab" of my mother's Avon. As a teen my friends and I would love to hit the perfume counter at Boots. Here smell this...it's Anais Anais....2 inches higher? Oh that's Tweed. Up by my elbow? That's Navy! We'd walk away from the perfume counters enveloped in a cloud of cheap drug store perfumes by Lentheric feeling very chic and grown up.

Certain fragrances can bring back vivid memories. Panache and Pure Silk remind me of my mum. Charlie was a favourite of my ex mother-in-law. My first love wore Aramis, my ex husband wore Kouros, Biff and N. didn't wear cologne as I recall and Maybe wore Joop. The boy wears Old Spice - amazing how that ancient brand has had a revival in recent years, what next? Brut 65?

I am in the process of finding a new personal fragrance. Growing up my drugstore favourites included everything from Mystique to Charlie. When I got married my ex gave me Chanel Coco. In my 30's I moved onto Estee Lauder's Pleasures and Beautiful, Ralph Lauren's Romance, and Givenchy's Ysatis, to mention a few. Now I am looking for something new for my 40's. I don't think anyone will ever be able to find a particular fragrance and say "Oh this reminds me of Sue." I have switched and swapped so many times. Each fragrance represents a different time in my life and evokes a different memory. There really is nothing stronger than the sense of smell to conjour the earliest of memories, a variety of emotions, to set the blood coursing through your veins and raise the libido. I love it!

5 comments:

Amanda said...

My weakness is 5th Avenue. Though i am now dabbling in Sweet Pea from Bath and Body Works.

JustSue said...

Got to admit there are a couple of Elizabeth Arden fragrances that I like, Amanda. One is "After 5" and the other is "Red Door Velvet"...unfortunately this one is a limited special edition, so it wont be around for long.

Moon said...

I love perfumes that also have a clean scent in them...I have been wearing Jewel by Alfred Sung this past yr...I always get compliments on it. But only after I have given someone a kiss hello or a hug, I hate those women who drench themselves in perfume that linger for minutes afterwards...it takes the pleasure out of the subtle..ofcourse its strong when u first put it on, but one shouldnt put more then a dab on here and there lol
My motherinlaw (giggles...still surprised I have a husband lol)
Brought me a bottle of Dior from France...it smells devine..and it has real Gold Dust in it, so when u wear it , it also leaves a very slight gold sheen on your skin...even duty free, I am afraid to know how much it cost lol.

JustSue said...

What a wonderful, thoughtful ...and appropriate gift to bring from France! I agree about clean smelling perfumes, I hate anything too sweet or sickly. I have known some perfumes to actually give me a headache. That's why I like to try and get a small sample of a new perfume before commiting to a full sized bottle. Considering the costs...$100 plus per bottle, it amazes me how some sales associates look at me so incredulously when I ask if they have a sample vial that I can try before I make a decision.

Amanda said...

Honest to God, the Paris Hilton perfume actually smells really nice. Even as I type that I want to slap myself, but its true, it is nice.