Certain scents have a unique skill - teleportation. Most of us have experienced getting a whiff of something that immediately transports us to a time and place in the past. For example, whenever I smell Michael Kors, I am taken to my honeymoon in New York 2001. If I smell Fahrenheit by Dior, I am whisked back to my hubby's flat to the wonderful loved up days when we first started dating.
But not all scents take us to a pleasant point in history, for example, L'instant Magique by Guerlain takes me back to a very unhappy time in my life, because it was what I had been wearing during that whole time. Every time I smell it now, I get knots in my stomach and I tense up. The reason it comes to mind now is because of my commitment to work my way through my entire perfume collection and my dread of wearing it again.
This relationship between smell and memory fascinates me. For me, music has the same ability to transport me to another time and place. Just the opening bars of 'Follow you, follow me' by Genesis takes me back to the late 70's in my childhood home, in the back room with my mum doing the ironing. Unlikely as it sounds, 'No Limits' by 2Unlimited is a favourite song of mine because it reminds me of when Kid 1 was born as it was a massive chart hit at the time.
I could list hundreds of songs and smells that hold a special meaning for me, not because they are great smells or songs, but because of where they take me, but is it possible to change what a smell or song represents? I suppose it depends on the strength of the attachment to the memory. Because the period of time that L'instant Magique takes me back to is so unpleasant, I could never imagine that it would ever be a scent that I could wear again which is a shame as it is a truly lovely scent (although not as nice as the original L'instant). Likewise I feel the same about the song 'Baby baby' by Amy Grant. That song takes me right back to the day my dad died. Again, I can never imagine that I will be able to enjoy the true meaning of that song which is a celebration of love.
So I'm going to conduct an experiment. Baking is one of my favourite past times and I'm going to have a baking day this weekend. I normally listen to very cheesy pop very loudly and abstain from wearing any perfume so as not to detract from the heady scents of the baking, but this time, I am going to listen to 'Baby baby' and I will wear L'instant Magique. Nothing bad happens when I bake and I find it a very blissful way to spend the day, so I'm hoping that this will have an impact on the hold they have on me.
I'm under no illusions that this will magically happen in just one afternoon, such is the power that the scent & song have to take me back to such horrible times, which is why I will deliberately wear L'instant Magique when I have a fun event planned and will have 'Baby baby' ready on my iPod to be the soundtrack to happier times.
This has turned out to be quite a morbid blog hasn't it? Sorry. I didn't intend it to be. It was just me being curious and wondering out loud, as it were, whether I could change the meaning of a scent. I'll get back to you with my results.
XX
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Celebrity perfumes - do you buy it?
I like to think that when it comes to fragrance, I am a purist rather than a snob. If it's a lovely scent and lasts all day without turning bitter or over powering than it goes into my 'like' category regardless of the brand, or celebrity endorsement. However, it just so happens that most celebrity perfumes smell like cat pee.
Let me just explain what I mean by celebrity perfumes. I don't mean brands that get celebrities to pose in their adverts to endorse the scent, for example, I heartily condone Josh Holloway (Sawyer from Lost) promoting Davidoff Cool Water*. Yes, that's perfectly OK in my book. What I object to is so called celebrities releasing perfumes under their own name, claiming to have had a pivotal role in developing the scent, when in reality, they have most likely just had their first whiff minutes before the media launch. Frankly, I just don't buy it.
To be fair, I can understand why the 'Z' list celebs go down that road. After all, their fame is fleeting and they have to earn as much as possible while they can, but it's the likes of Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez that annoy me. They have no business dipping their toe in the perfume production world as far as I am concerned. I own both their debut scents (gifts, not bought by me!) and they are both vile. It's just so unnecessary. They have contributed nothing to the perfume world. In fact they taint the genre with their terrible concoctions.
Take Jennifer Aniston. Now, I like her, she is a good actress who makes the occasional good film and she is also exceptionally beautiful. So what in the name of Chanel is she doing bringing out a perfume and then admitting during the press launch that she is not a 'perfumey kind of girl'?! That's just rude. And more importantly, does not exactly fill me with confidence that she was in any way involved in the development.
All that being said, I will still give Jennifer Aniston a good sniffing before I discount it completely, because as I said, I am not a perfume snob. Which leads me on to my next point. There are two exceptions to the 'all celebrity perfumes smell like cat's pee' rule - please step forward Kylie Minogue and Kate Moss. I will explain....
Darling by Kylie Minogue was Kylie's debut into the fragrance world. As with all celebrity perfumes, I approached the bottle with caution and was pleasantly surprised, not because of any slight on Ms Minogue, far from it, I am a big Kylie fan and one of my mantras in life is 'what would Kylie do'. Darling is darling. It sweetly dances on the nostrils and then once it's finished twirling** around your senses sprinkling them with the scent equivalent of pretty pink sparkles, it settles down into a warm and comforting snuggle.
Kate Moss' self titled scent was released after the whole debacle of her being caught on film sniffing cocaine and her other ungainly antics with Pete Doherty. Again, I approached the bottle with caution, but this time because of what the name Kate Moss represented and was again surprised, but this time to my utter annoyance. It was lovely. It's edgy, dark and dangerous - exactly how you would imagine the lady herself to smell, minus the stench of booze and cigarettes.
In conclusion, I am not suggesting that you avoid celebrity perfumes completely, but please don't allow yourself to get sucked into believing the hype. If you can, ignore whoever it is on the box and judge the scent based purely on your own standards for assessing the merits of a fragrance.....unless it's Celine Dion, in which case it's OK to use it as drain cleaner!
xx
*my opinion is based purely on being OK with celebrity endorsements and nothing to do with Josh being semi-naked and walking out of the water looking so yummy that you could spread him on a cracker.
**I could have gone for the obvious and typed 'spinning around' instead of twirling but that would have been too easy and silly for a serious blog about perfumes!
Let me just explain what I mean by celebrity perfumes. I don't mean brands that get celebrities to pose in their adverts to endorse the scent, for example, I heartily condone Josh Holloway (Sawyer from Lost) promoting Davidoff Cool Water*. Yes, that's perfectly OK in my book. What I object to is so called celebrities releasing perfumes under their own name, claiming to have had a pivotal role in developing the scent, when in reality, they have most likely just had their first whiff minutes before the media launch. Frankly, I just don't buy it.
To be fair, I can understand why the 'Z' list celebs go down that road. After all, their fame is fleeting and they have to earn as much as possible while they can, but it's the likes of Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez that annoy me. They have no business dipping their toe in the perfume production world as far as I am concerned. I own both their debut scents (gifts, not bought by me!) and they are both vile. It's just so unnecessary. They have contributed nothing to the perfume world. In fact they taint the genre with their terrible concoctions.
Take Jennifer Aniston. Now, I like her, she is a good actress who makes the occasional good film and she is also exceptionally beautiful. So what in the name of Chanel is she doing bringing out a perfume and then admitting during the press launch that she is not a 'perfumey kind of girl'?! That's just rude. And more importantly, does not exactly fill me with confidence that she was in any way involved in the development.
All that being said, I will still give Jennifer Aniston a good sniffing before I discount it completely, because as I said, I am not a perfume snob. Which leads me on to my next point. There are two exceptions to the 'all celebrity perfumes smell like cat's pee' rule - please step forward Kylie Minogue and Kate Moss. I will explain....
Darling by Kylie Minogue was Kylie's debut into the fragrance world. As with all celebrity perfumes, I approached the bottle with caution and was pleasantly surprised, not because of any slight on Ms Minogue, far from it, I am a big Kylie fan and one of my mantras in life is 'what would Kylie do'. Darling is darling. It sweetly dances on the nostrils and then once it's finished twirling** around your senses sprinkling them with the scent equivalent of pretty pink sparkles, it settles down into a warm and comforting snuggle.
Kate Moss' self titled scent was released after the whole debacle of her being caught on film sniffing cocaine and her other ungainly antics with Pete Doherty. Again, I approached the bottle with caution, but this time because of what the name Kate Moss represented and was again surprised, but this time to my utter annoyance. It was lovely. It's edgy, dark and dangerous - exactly how you would imagine the lady herself to smell, minus the stench of booze and cigarettes.
In conclusion, I am not suggesting that you avoid celebrity perfumes completely, but please don't allow yourself to get sucked into believing the hype. If you can, ignore whoever it is on the box and judge the scent based purely on your own standards for assessing the merits of a fragrance.....unless it's Celine Dion, in which case it's OK to use it as drain cleaner!
xx
*my opinion is based purely on being OK with celebrity endorsements and nothing to do with Josh being semi-naked and walking out of the water looking so yummy that you could spread him on a cracker.
**I could have gone for the obvious and typed 'spinning around' instead of twirling but that would have been too easy and silly for a serious blog about perfumes!
Sunday, 27 June 2010
Ode to a discontinued perfume
There is nothing so heart breaking as falling in love with a fragrance, getting to the end of the bottle, going to the shops to buy a new one and discovering that it has either been discontinued or was actually a limited edition that is no longer available. Trust me, I speak from bitter experience. Here is my sorry tale.
Many years ago, 1999 in fact, I was indulging myself with one of my favourite past times....nose shopping at the Boots perfume counter. It was winter time, my favourite time of year. Having perused all the latest releases, I had created my mental list of those that had potential to join my collection and those that came under the heading of 'one that my Mum would like'. The latter being a category reserved for only the most vile of scents*.
Our eyes met across a crowded display of bottles. There she stood, tall and sleek, with a clear glass finish. At the base of the bottle a hole had been carved out and a piece of paper with a nice wise phrase on it, rolled up like a scroll nestled inside the hole. This was my first introduction to Kenzo's most sublime creation 'Time for Peace'. It was love at first sniff.
As I have mentioned before, I have had my fingers burnt by not immediately buying a perfume that I have fallen in love with. I had no intention of making that mistake again. I whipped out my purse and virtually skipped all the way home. This would make a very fine addition to my collection.
Time for Peace, for me holds joint first place in the perfume world with Chanel No.5, Michael by Michael Kors and L'instant by Guerlain. Yes, it is that special. If you have not been lucky enough to smell this heavenly perfume, it is a heady mix of woody, spicy and a very faint hint of sweetness. I associate it with winter, because that's the time of year I fell in love with it, but it's also a very nice summer perfume too. When I am wrapping up Christmas presents, I have a ritual that I follow - Xmas music, Xmas tree lights, glass of something wine and Time for Peace.
Because I fell so spectacularly in love with it, I was very careful of not using it up too quickly, whilst still getting my regular fix. The inevitable happened and the time came for me to buy a new bottle to replenish my stock. I mooched on over to the perfume section in Debenhams, made a beeline for the Kenzo shelves and was then faced with a terrifying sight. No Time for Peace. Not one bottle. I grabbed a passing sales lady and asked her if they had any that were perhaps displayed elsewhere or in their store room. She must have sensed the panic in my voice. She calmly and gently explained that it had been discontinued. She added in what I can only assume she thought was a helpful manner, that if I scoured lots of perfume shops, I might find one that had some stock left.
Now, I'm a reasonable person. I have a reasonable grasp of the business world, but I cannot fathom, even now all these years later, why Kenzo would ever discontinue such a wonderful perfume. Moreover, why hadn't the woman in Boots warned me it was a limited edition?!
Nil desperandum I thought, and I went on an expedition of every single shop in the high street that sold perfume. Every time, I was treated to the same explanation, accompanied with an understanding smile, their head tilted to one side in sympathy.
Once home I frantically switched on my computer and googled the name of my beloved. I finally found a website that still had some stock to sell. Hallelujah!! I got so carried away with the excitement of my find that I didn't even care that they were charging over £70 for it. I eagerly entered my payment details and hit the confirm button. I immediately felt a bit sick at the the thought of paying such a high price. I went upstairs to my perfume collection, took out my empty bottle** and forlornly pressed the spray to try and get the tiny drop at the bottom of the bottle out. It came out as a pathetic dribble, which I rubbed on my wrist. My sickness dissolved as I smelt all the reasons why I had been justified in dusting off my credit card. I fell in love all over again.
Because of the price, I only ordered the one bottle. I savoured every single squirt of that bottle. Halfway through the bottle, I happened to be idly surfing the internet and quite by chance happened upon a website that sold tester bottles of perfume at very reasonable prices. Curiosity got the better of me and I clicked on the Kenzo name. I have to admit my heart began to beat a little faster as I waited for the page to load. My brain was telling me to pack it in as there was no chance it would have TFP and that I was being ridiculous. My heart however, was shouting 'shut up brain, you bloody killjoy, what do you know?!'. The page loaded. I scrolled down through all Kenzo perfumes and there towards the end of the page was TFP for men. My heart sank and my brain smugly said 'told you so'. Then I noticed that there was a second page to the results. I clicked on the number 2 and held my breath.........
TFP FOR WOMEN FULL SIZE BOTTLE £25 AND FREE P&P!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
'WOO HOO AND IN YOUR FACE BRAIN' my heart shouted. By this time, my perfume obsession had made a big dent in my finances and I could no longer fall back on my old friend mastercard, so I could only order the one bottle again. But I still had half of my uber expensive one left, so I was safe for the time being.
It is now 2010, 11 years and 3 bottles since my first encounter with TFP. In preparation for this blog, I googled for TFP. Ebay have a handful of bottles being sold, but the cheapest was £85 plus £25 p&p. I've told hubby about it, as today is June 27th, prime time to start hinting about what I was for Xmas!
I still have half of the third bottle left. This is because I now limit myself to wearing it only in winter and even then, only on days when it is particularly cold & nasty outside so I can appreciate it's comfort and warmth even more.
Since this heartbreaking series of events, I have changed how I nose shop for perfume. If I see the words, limited edition on the display, I just walk on by. I will not even entertain giving it a whiff. Once bitten twice shy. On a recent trip to New York, I spent a glorious hour in Macys with the loveliest and campest man who worked in the perfume section. He loved my passion for perfume even more than my cute English accent. We went through a whole host of perfumes together, chattering away about our favourites and the stories behind them. I told him my sorry tale about TFP. He touched my arm in an act of genuine sympathy and empathy and said that he had been through the same thing and assured me that he would not show me anything limited edition. I bought 3 perfumes from him, all of which are still in production today and now widely available in the UK.
Despite all the heart break and expense, I don't regret falling for TFP. It is such a beautiful fragrance that it was worth every single penny and heartbeat.
*Maybe it's an age or generation thing, but my mother has the most revolting taste in perfume. It's handy though, because she acts as a kind of barometer for me if I am on the fence about a new perfume.
**I keep all my empty bottle and put them back in their boxes. I have a loft full of them. I started doing it because I thought they might one day be worth something on ebay, but really it's beacuse I can't face dumping them in the bin.
Many years ago, 1999 in fact, I was indulging myself with one of my favourite past times....nose shopping at the Boots perfume counter. It was winter time, my favourite time of year. Having perused all the latest releases, I had created my mental list of those that had potential to join my collection and those that came under the heading of 'one that my Mum would like'. The latter being a category reserved for only the most vile of scents*.
Our eyes met across a crowded display of bottles. There she stood, tall and sleek, with a clear glass finish. At the base of the bottle a hole had been carved out and a piece of paper with a nice wise phrase on it, rolled up like a scroll nestled inside the hole. This was my first introduction to Kenzo's most sublime creation 'Time for Peace'. It was love at first sniff.
As I have mentioned before, I have had my fingers burnt by not immediately buying a perfume that I have fallen in love with. I had no intention of making that mistake again. I whipped out my purse and virtually skipped all the way home. This would make a very fine addition to my collection.
Time for Peace, for me holds joint first place in the perfume world with Chanel No.5, Michael by Michael Kors and L'instant by Guerlain. Yes, it is that special. If you have not been lucky enough to smell this heavenly perfume, it is a heady mix of woody, spicy and a very faint hint of sweetness. I associate it with winter, because that's the time of year I fell in love with it, but it's also a very nice summer perfume too. When I am wrapping up Christmas presents, I have a ritual that I follow - Xmas music, Xmas tree lights, glass of something wine and Time for Peace.
Because I fell so spectacularly in love with it, I was very careful of not using it up too quickly, whilst still getting my regular fix. The inevitable happened and the time came for me to buy a new bottle to replenish my stock. I mooched on over to the perfume section in Debenhams, made a beeline for the Kenzo shelves and was then faced with a terrifying sight. No Time for Peace. Not one bottle. I grabbed a passing sales lady and asked her if they had any that were perhaps displayed elsewhere or in their store room. She must have sensed the panic in my voice. She calmly and gently explained that it had been discontinued. She added in what I can only assume she thought was a helpful manner, that if I scoured lots of perfume shops, I might find one that had some stock left.
Now, I'm a reasonable person. I have a reasonable grasp of the business world, but I cannot fathom, even now all these years later, why Kenzo would ever discontinue such a wonderful perfume. Moreover, why hadn't the woman in Boots warned me it was a limited edition?!
Nil desperandum I thought, and I went on an expedition of every single shop in the high street that sold perfume. Every time, I was treated to the same explanation, accompanied with an understanding smile, their head tilted to one side in sympathy.
Once home I frantically switched on my computer and googled the name of my beloved. I finally found a website that still had some stock to sell. Hallelujah!! I got so carried away with the excitement of my find that I didn't even care that they were charging over £70 for it. I eagerly entered my payment details and hit the confirm button. I immediately felt a bit sick at the the thought of paying such a high price. I went upstairs to my perfume collection, took out my empty bottle** and forlornly pressed the spray to try and get the tiny drop at the bottom of the bottle out. It came out as a pathetic dribble, which I rubbed on my wrist. My sickness dissolved as I smelt all the reasons why I had been justified in dusting off my credit card. I fell in love all over again.
Because of the price, I only ordered the one bottle. I savoured every single squirt of that bottle. Halfway through the bottle, I happened to be idly surfing the internet and quite by chance happened upon a website that sold tester bottles of perfume at very reasonable prices. Curiosity got the better of me and I clicked on the Kenzo name. I have to admit my heart began to beat a little faster as I waited for the page to load. My brain was telling me to pack it in as there was no chance it would have TFP and that I was being ridiculous. My heart however, was shouting 'shut up brain, you bloody killjoy, what do you know?!'. The page loaded. I scrolled down through all Kenzo perfumes and there towards the end of the page was TFP for men. My heart sank and my brain smugly said 'told you so'. Then I noticed that there was a second page to the results. I clicked on the number 2 and held my breath.........
TFP FOR WOMEN FULL SIZE BOTTLE £25 AND FREE P&P!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
'WOO HOO AND IN YOUR FACE BRAIN' my heart shouted. By this time, my perfume obsession had made a big dent in my finances and I could no longer fall back on my old friend mastercard, so I could only order the one bottle again. But I still had half of my uber expensive one left, so I was safe for the time being.
It is now 2010, 11 years and 3 bottles since my first encounter with TFP. In preparation for this blog, I googled for TFP. Ebay have a handful of bottles being sold, but the cheapest was £85 plus £25 p&p. I've told hubby about it, as today is June 27th, prime time to start hinting about what I was for Xmas!
I still have half of the third bottle left. This is because I now limit myself to wearing it only in winter and even then, only on days when it is particularly cold & nasty outside so I can appreciate it's comfort and warmth even more.
Since this heartbreaking series of events, I have changed how I nose shop for perfume. If I see the words, limited edition on the display, I just walk on by. I will not even entertain giving it a whiff. Once bitten twice shy. On a recent trip to New York, I spent a glorious hour in Macys with the loveliest and campest man who worked in the perfume section. He loved my passion for perfume even more than my cute English accent. We went through a whole host of perfumes together, chattering away about our favourites and the stories behind them. I told him my sorry tale about TFP. He touched my arm in an act of genuine sympathy and empathy and said that he had been through the same thing and assured me that he would not show me anything limited edition. I bought 3 perfumes from him, all of which are still in production today and now widely available in the UK.
Despite all the heart break and expense, I don't regret falling for TFP. It is such a beautiful fragrance that it was worth every single penny and heartbeat.
*Maybe it's an age or generation thing, but my mother has the most revolting taste in perfume. It's handy though, because she acts as a kind of barometer for me if I am on the fence about a new perfume.
**I keep all my empty bottle and put them back in their boxes. I have a loft full of them. I started doing it because I thought they might one day be worth something on ebay, but really it's beacuse I can't face dumping them in the bin.
Thursday, 27 May 2010
Day 1: Michael by Michael Kors
Mmmmmmichael. You can't say the name without going mmmmm and that's exactly what I do every time I spray this fragrance on. But how do I best describe Michael to you? It's New York City in a bottle. Does that help? No? OK, I'll have another go...
At first whiff it's quite full on with it's spicy, intense whirlwind of intoxicating heady scents. But then it settles into elegance and sophistication. Warming, yet floral. Soothing, yet inspiring. That's why it's NYC in a bottle. It's easily on a par with Chanel No.5 for classy elegance. Actually, it's No.5's edgier, but still effortlessly cool cousin, who's just breezed into town all sexy and sassy making all the guys jaws drop.
To me it symbolises New York because that's where I first discovered it. August 15th 2001, Sephora, 5th Avenue - the last day of my honeymoon. We had started off 8 days before in Boston, headed to Toronto and then to New York for the final day/night. For the record New York is the greatest city on earth. Fact. I reserve the right to either completely ignore arguments to the contrary or shout 'because it is okay?!' to anyone that disagrees with that simple fact.
Due to the expense already incurred on the honeymoon, when I fell in love with Michael, hubby said that we should not buy it there as it would be cheaper in the airport. It wasn't. They didn't sell it in the airport. Hubby then told me not to worry as we could get it at Heathrow when we landed. We couldn't. They didn't sell it at Heathrow. Or anywhere else in London apparently. Or the UK*. Fast forward to December 25th 2001, our living room, a credit card statement with an entry showing a U.S perfume company and an extortionate amount of money and one very VERY happy woman holding a glass bottle containing the heavenly golden nectar of the gods.
There is a lesson in the tale above. DON'T EVER PUT OFF BUYING A PERFUME YOU INSTANTLY FALL IN LOVE WITH THE VERY MOMENT YOU FIND IT. Here endeth the lesson for today.
*Michael by Michael Kors is now sold in all good perfume retailers throughout the UK, along with his other perfumes which are lovely too, but will get their own blog at some point in the future...most likely the summer because they are summer fragrances.
At first whiff it's quite full on with it's spicy, intense whirlwind of intoxicating heady scents. But then it settles into elegance and sophistication. Warming, yet floral. Soothing, yet inspiring. That's why it's NYC in a bottle. It's easily on a par with Chanel No.5 for classy elegance. Actually, it's No.5's edgier, but still effortlessly cool cousin, who's just breezed into town all sexy and sassy making all the guys jaws drop.
To me it symbolises New York because that's where I first discovered it. August 15th 2001, Sephora, 5th Avenue - the last day of my honeymoon. We had started off 8 days before in Boston, headed to Toronto and then to New York for the final day/night. For the record New York is the greatest city on earth. Fact. I reserve the right to either completely ignore arguments to the contrary or shout 'because it is okay?!' to anyone that disagrees with that simple fact.
Due to the expense already incurred on the honeymoon, when I fell in love with Michael, hubby said that we should not buy it there as it would be cheaper in the airport. It wasn't. They didn't sell it in the airport. Hubby then told me not to worry as we could get it at Heathrow when we landed. We couldn't. They didn't sell it at Heathrow. Or anywhere else in London apparently. Or the UK*. Fast forward to December 25th 2001, our living room, a credit card statement with an entry showing a U.S perfume company and an extortionate amount of money and one very VERY happy woman holding a glass bottle containing the heavenly golden nectar of the gods.
There is a lesson in the tale above. DON'T EVER PUT OFF BUYING A PERFUME YOU INSTANTLY FALL IN LOVE WITH THE VERY MOMENT YOU FIND IT. Here endeth the lesson for today.
*Michael by Michael Kors is now sold in all good perfume retailers throughout the UK, along with his other perfumes which are lovely too, but will get their own blog at some point in the future...most likely the summer because they are summer fragrances.
Sunday, 23 May 2010
And so it begins....
They say that a woman wears just 20% of her wardrobe 80% of the time. I suspect that I do that with my perfume collection too. This diary is an attempt to get me to vary the perfumes that I wear. I will wear a different perfume each day and write a little about each fragrance.
I have always loved perfume. When I was a little girl, my mum would only wear perfume on special occasions. It was also the only time she put lipstick on too, so perfume came to epitomise glamour, beauty and elegance to me. Her scent of choice was usually a Yardley creation. I never cared for their fragrance myself, but even now I get a pang of nostalgia whenever I get a whiff of their powdery creations. Hiding behind the Yardley was the never touched mysterious simple plain white box on mum's dresser that had the words 'Chanel No.5' in bold black letters on it. When I quizzed my mum about this, she said she never used it because it was Parfum, not any old Eau de toilette and that it was far too special to waste. And so she let it sit there collecting dust, only to be used for being looked at longingly by me throughout my childhood.
As I entered my teenage years, I developed an obsession for smelling nice. At school I used to sit near a girl that had a body odour problem and I became paranoid that I too might smell like that, but not know it, never mind that it would have been physically impossible as I washed religiously twice a day, used anti-perspirant and just for good measure, never left he house without at least two squirts of perfume. It started with Blase. I can't remember who made it, but I assume it was someone like Coty. One of my elder sisters used it and therefore it must have been the height of sophistication in the early/mid 80's. I then leapt on the bandwagon along with every other 14-16 year old girl in the later 80's and started using Body Shop's Dewberry perfume oil. At the age of 15/16 I decided I was ready for more grown up perfumes and graduated to the dizzy scents of Chloe, Lou Lou and Anais Anais.... I know, I know, but give me a break, it was acceptable in the 80's!!
And so the obsession began......
As I type, I am a 36 year old woman with an ever expanding perfume collection. I've always held the opinion that you should have a scent to match every one of your moods. At the last count I had a little over 120 bottles of perfume. That's full size bottles. I also have a burgeoning collection of those tiny sample bottles too! Lately I have fallen into a bit of a smell rut. I have been alternating between just 3 of my perfumes for the last year or so. I have no justification for abandoning my other perfumes. I'm as guilty as my mother for leaving them there to watch jealously as I yet again reach for the same bottle day after day.
But no more! This diary will be a journey through my collection. Join me as I reacquaint myself with my old friends. It may get smelly - you have been warned!
I have always loved perfume. When I was a little girl, my mum would only wear perfume on special occasions. It was also the only time she put lipstick on too, so perfume came to epitomise glamour, beauty and elegance to me. Her scent of choice was usually a Yardley creation. I never cared for their fragrance myself, but even now I get a pang of nostalgia whenever I get a whiff of their powdery creations. Hiding behind the Yardley was the never touched mysterious simple plain white box on mum's dresser that had the words 'Chanel No.5' in bold black letters on it. When I quizzed my mum about this, she said she never used it because it was Parfum, not any old Eau de toilette and that it was far too special to waste. And so she let it sit there collecting dust, only to be used for being looked at longingly by me throughout my childhood.
As I entered my teenage years, I developed an obsession for smelling nice. At school I used to sit near a girl that had a body odour problem and I became paranoid that I too might smell like that, but not know it, never mind that it would have been physically impossible as I washed religiously twice a day, used anti-perspirant and just for good measure, never left he house without at least two squirts of perfume. It started with Blase. I can't remember who made it, but I assume it was someone like Coty. One of my elder sisters used it and therefore it must have been the height of sophistication in the early/mid 80's. I then leapt on the bandwagon along with every other 14-16 year old girl in the later 80's and started using Body Shop's Dewberry perfume oil. At the age of 15/16 I decided I was ready for more grown up perfumes and graduated to the dizzy scents of Chloe, Lou Lou and Anais Anais.... I know, I know, but give me a break, it was acceptable in the 80's!!
And so the obsession began......
As I type, I am a 36 year old woman with an ever expanding perfume collection. I've always held the opinion that you should have a scent to match every one of your moods. At the last count I had a little over 120 bottles of perfume. That's full size bottles. I also have a burgeoning collection of those tiny sample bottles too! Lately I have fallen into a bit of a smell rut. I have been alternating between just 3 of my perfumes for the last year or so. I have no justification for abandoning my other perfumes. I'm as guilty as my mother for leaving them there to watch jealously as I yet again reach for the same bottle day after day.
But no more! This diary will be a journey through my collection. Join me as I reacquaint myself with my old friends. It may get smelly - you have been warned!
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