December 29, 2010

Do You have a Signature Fragrance?

"Some of us are born with It."
"The first reaction  of most people when the subject of smell comes up is to mention its 'evocative' power, and to illustrate it with an anecdote about Granny's perfume."
   -- Luca Turin, "The Secret of Scent"

Growing up, my sister and I always knew when my aunt was going out; her departure was invariably marked by whiffs of her perfume wafting up to our bedroom.

I can never see a bottle of Clinique "Happy" without thinking of my aunt.

The original Estee Lauder "Pleasures" invokes memories of high school morning assemblies as I tick off my best friend for wearing too much perfume. 

"One spray is enough. You don't need five."

My mother's favourite fragrance was the old Chanel No. 5 formula. Someone gave her a bottle on her wedding day which my sister broke a few years later -- a deed which my mother still feels like spanking her for. 

We remember the fragrance as being much more mature, spicier and richer. The current No. 5 is vastly inferior to the old formula.

A long discontinued Armani perfume was my sister's favourite until she hugged and kissed me good luck before a PMR exam. I had to sniffle and weep my way through the paper as I am allergic to Armani perfumes. The invigilator must have thought that I had cracked under pressure.

Some perfumes are so strongly associated with people I dislike that I refuse to touch them (both the persons and perfume) with a 10 feet pole.

I don't have a signature fragrance. FlowerbyKenzo has been a staple favourite of mine for a long time but I don't use it often enough for it to be associated with me.

Do you have a signature fragrance?

5 comments:

AskMeWhats said...

Carolina Herrera 212 used to be my signature fragrance, now? I'm more of the Gucci Envy Me girl :)

Syen said...

Oooh! I really like FlowerbyKenzo as well. But as my nose is nowhere near as keen as a Beagle's, I don't really go into the whole perfume thing. So right now, I only have one perfume. Or two. That's it. But like you, I also hardly wear Flower often enough for people to associate me with it.

Connie De Alwis said...

I don't wear perfume often enough to have a signature scent! I like sniffing perfumes on guys though. An ex's was from Adidas and the current's was Clinique Happy for Men but he recently started to use Sean John I Am King and I love it too.
And Bee's is Dior Addict 2! :D

Petra said...

If I'm not mistaken, 'Envy' is the Gucci perfume a friend swears turns men on. Everytime a waft comes our way he gets horny.

Tine said...

I'm too fickle to have a signature scent. Hence the many perfumes I have :P

Although I have to say, CK One (in fact, almost all CK fragrances in THAT bottle) invokes memories of secondary school for me. As in, good Lord, not another one falling victim to that godawful smell! :P