4.13.2010

the scent of a woman...

It is said, scent is the strongest link to memory.  I have lovely memories and I have an unusually strong sense of smell.  This has been well documented in my family.  It makes up for my poor vision and failing memory.  I love to inhale intoxicating scents as much as I shrivel when I get a whiff of something not so intoxicating.  We've discussed our favorite smells before, but this time I want to discuss a particular kind of smell.........perfume.

I don't wear it every day.  An entire month could go by and I haven't used any, but I do love it.  What girl doesn't?  In fact, right now, I have only two bottles of perfume and one is almost empty. 

I love when someone walks by me and I get just a little hint of perfume.  Just a LITTLE hint - not the dousing you smell on some people.  I often turn my head and look at them.  Wonder about them.  Is that their "signature" scent?  Is it perfume, scented lotion or delicious soap?  Did they buy it for themselves?  Was it a gift?  Do they feel a bit fancier that day because they gave themselves a little spritz as they walked out the door?  Does it match their looks?

I like a clean and flowery scent, but I also like masculine scents and have worn men's cologne many times (bought myself a bottle once).  My mother leans towards the classic velvety powder fragrances.  The daughter towards the subtle.  I think she is still experimenting.  Oh dear, I just described US, not just our perfumes.  I'm all over the place, masculine and femine.  Mom is traditional and classic.  Daughter is subtle and deep, coming into her own.  Must delve deeper into that some other time. 

That "TokyoMilk" bottle is one of mine.  I bought it at Anthropologie a few years ago.  It's almost masculine smelling and I really like it.  It's strong, a little dab will do ya.  Not a summer scent.

This one IS a summer scent.  Also from Anthropologie (theme?).  It's the opposite of the other one (see I'm all over the place).  It's clean and slightly flowery/fruity.  It's french and I really like it.  This is my second bottle.  To me, it smells like you just showered outside with some great soap.  You can spray as much of this as you want.  Never overpowering.  Perhaps that's why it's almost gone.

My most favorite smell in the perfume world is musk.  Nothing compares for me.  I venture off into these other scents from time to time, but I always come back to musk.  White Musk from The Body Shop is the all time winner in my book.  I remember my daughter once telling me, to her, that smell was just me.  I like that.  I like that she has that link.  Tabu and  L'Air Du Temps By Nina Ricci do that for me with my mother.  I would show you a bottle of White Musk BUT I AM OUT OF IT (click on the link above if you're interested).  Did you read that Andrew Henry?  I'm out of it.  Just sayin'.

Here is a little secret.  Something I do.  Something AH finds hilarious.  He and the daughter think I'm the only one who does it.  I don't think this could be true, but even if it is, I don't care. 


I tear all the perfume scent ads out of magazines and keep them next to my bed.  I rub them on myself, sometimes even just to go to bed, or just as I'm getting out.  I like nice smells.  Am I the only one who does this????  I also often put a dab of perfume under my nose, so I can smell something nice all day.  Is that weird?  Does anyone else do that?

So, tell me, do you do this and what is your "signature" scent?

16 comments:

Maria said...

OK, I now firmly believe in the phrase "it runs in the family" with reservation now. The more you "talk" the more similarities I find. And too funny that you bring this up now as it is a current topic around here - that said, my post will be longer today. (sorry)

I too used primarily 2 scents and then had a favorite that I deferred back to as an "all purpose - all the time" and the scents are almost identical to what you described heady and floral and then musk. My summer scent is/was also French,"Eau d'Hadrien", a gift from a friend who travels there. And since I don't know if I'll get there within the lifetime of this bottle, I ration it carefully. "Joop" is the heavier scent I wore. The all purpose was also a white musk scent. I say all of this in a past tense because I gave up wearing scented anything for years while I worked with special needs children - it was a sacrifice of love. And then, while my boys were very small, I didn't want to overload their tiny little olfactories, so I decided to only wear scents on special "going out" occasions - these were very few and quite far between, so I got away from wearing perfume and scented things all together. I am just now, since the youngest is now 2, getting back to experimenting with wearing perfume and scented things again. My hubby loves this! He is a fan of "Happy" and Beautiful", though I prefer less "commercialized scents, we'll see.

As for the magazine samples I used to do the same thing - isn't that why its there? To try as you like?? (reserve the magazines for a treat at the hair salon now).

Oh - and I have worn mens fragrances in the past as well - while the hubby was away for so long, wore his a lot - no explanation required, right?

Henley said...

I wear Chanel No.5. Received it as a graduation present and have never worn anything else since.

MJM said...

You are the only one who does this. And I am also a big fan of men's cologne. I often prefer it to women's. My current favorite is a Versace for men sample I got for free. I get compliments every time I wear it.

Beatnheart said...

Your lovely Jeanette...I really enjoyed that...Your writing improves everyday...Your getting as good as T I C !! In fact now I read you before her...hows that for a compliment...I'm gonna check these out for sure...Already got the Meyers dish soap like you said..I hate with a capital H overbearing perfume..Ha Choo!!!
But a light SCENT..gentle. Thanks for your visit..The model helps the photography..so much more fun...I too am looking for the old Wolf mannequin...Expensive!!! like $400 (LA prices) but my little boy is making me happy right now..I love the way the light hits it.

jeanette from everton terrace said...

Wrong MJM - see Maria said she used to do it too!

Cynthia from Beatnheart - Thank you, a lovely compliment indeed!!

RockinJ9 said...

my favorite would have to be the mixture of china musk and lilac. I used to get the oils mixed at a body shop in Placerville, Ca. That was years ago but, I still have a smigeon (?) left and will savor the scent left in the bottle long after the oils are gone (kind of like what I used to do with the tic-tac containers. My children now carry on that tradition). Thanks for the stroll down memory lane!

Andrew H. said...

Note to self. White Musk Eau de Toilette- CORE 05. White Musk Eau de Toilette- CORE 05. White Musk Eau de Toilette- CORE 05...

jeanette from everton terrace said...

Good husband.

MaiPie said...

I've been wearing one perfume for about 8 years now by Lucky Brand. I think its clean smelling. I don't know how to categorize the scent. But, I'm also one to wear mens fragrances...

Megan (Best of Fates) said...

I seldom wear perfume, but I agree about scents and memory. There's nothing that can bring back an old scene stronger than a wiff of something.

Chris said...

My favourite and usual squirt Tresor by Lancome.....reminds me of a weekend spent in Paris when it was launched!!
a more pungent evening perfume Joy by Jean Patou... have had my bottle for ages, just a few dabs needed.
Cacheral Anais Anais...bought just before one of my sons birth because I hated the smell of hospitals and had it dabbed on the end of my nose to disract..it worked.
There is a very old perfume very english called Evening in Paris. No longer available it was in a small blue bottle and if I smelt it now it would bring back my Mum in an instant.
To finish just a single sniff of Poison anywhere in a room, hall, church can bring on a migraine!!
Grear post loved having a bit of a wallow in nostaligic

Maria said...

Chris - I am with you on the Tresor by Lancome and Cacheral Anais Anais - I used to wear those YEARS ago - just thinking about them now brings back a host of memories - how fun.

I think we all seem to agree - less is more. I was in the grocery just a bit ago and tasted a woman's fragrance as she went by - to which my eldest exclaimed "Mom! What is so stinky???!" Ha, ha - serves her right!

Claire Kiefer said...

I have to admit that I really love perfume, and my taste kind of runs the gamut. Today I'm wearing a Givenchy sample that I got from Sephora, but I usually alternate between this:

J'Adore Dior (classic)
Miss Dior Cherie
L'eau d'Issay (Issay Miyake)
Curious by Britney Spears

BRITNEY SPEARS! I love it. Seriously, it smells so good. :) I also really like Ralph Lauren's Clean line . . .

One of my bffs wears the Body Shop's White Musk, and it will forever make me think of her, and I think it smells WONDERFUL!

Unknown said...

I always try and buy something new and different when traveling, Penhaligons in London, extract of limes, I tend to go for a citrus or the Violetta, a soft scent, while in Charleston I discovered Creed Green Irish Tweed for a man, made especially for Cary Grant, got it as a gift for Bruce, (I even like it for myself). I used to love My Sin by Lavin no longer available. I like to try different perfumes but always seem to end up with a citrus, clean scent.

jeanette from everton terrace said...

Wendi, I've never heard of "Penhaligons", will investigate. Now, something made especially for my all time favorite actor Cary Grant, you must be joking. This, this I must smell!

Anonymous said...

my signature scent was always "poeme" but one day i woke up and i could not force myself to smell it. it smelled terrible. i switched to "angel" and for a long time i was very original. the down side to the originality was that i could only buy the perfume in europe. now i still love angel but "flower bomb" (lame name) distracts me sometimes. having said all that, my favorite is armani's "bois d'ensece" but someone said to me that i smell like an old church... i still don't know if it was a compliment or not... e.