Smell Ya Later

I was thinking about scents. I smelled something the other day and for a flash I was 10, stepping out of the Green Room and into the hallway leading to the auditorium to perform in the end-of-piano-camp recital. It was a combination of coconut oil, sweat, air conditioning, polished wood, fresh carpet, and Lauren (by Ralph Lauren) perfume. Quite a combination, no?

And so many, many years later - with not a drop of either coconut oil or Lauren in site - it came back.

Fascinating.

I have been thinking about scent memory ever since. And while thinking, I was trying to remember all of the fragrances I've worn over the years. Can I even remember all of them, would be a better question.

So, I'm going to try. Right here and now. Here goes: (and feel free to comment openly about what you remember about each of these, too)

Love's Baby Soft - my first and I will always remember it

Bill Blass - thought this was v high brow as a teenager; back when I started reading Seventeen and Town&Country

Alyssa Ashley Musk - the smell of my summer holidays in Arizona

Lauren - my 'I'm-not-going-to-wear-Liz-Claiborne-too-no-matter-how-cute-the-bottle-is' scent

Samsara - first perfume chosen for me; happily abandoned when a wonderful friend declared her love of it (we literally swapped scents and I got...)

Shalimar- my scent of choice - still; like a comfortable sweater on a cool night and a mug of Earl Grey, perhaps because of my memories of that great friend

Obsession - my second scent of choice; my bold, 'you-can-smell-me-coming' scent

Kiehl's No 1 - this became my 'I-want-to-love-this-but' scent

L'eau d'ambre - close cousin (to my nose) of Shalimar; just lovely

The par un ete - LOVE this; so wildly different from anything I'd ever worn or do wear

Paul&Joe Bleu - light and powdery (imagine that); perfect for summertime or a scent pick-me-up in winter

Hypnose - another cousin to my beloved Shalimar; reminds me of how royalty smells - perhaps due to color as have no idea how 'royalty' smells

Also, I always wanted to wear "White Shoulders". It's too flower-y for me. And the girls who wore it were as well. Same with "Amazing Grace".

Ten-O-Six and Noxema were hard to keep off the list, but I had to - strictly speaking. You understand.

Now, I seem to be a soap-and-water girl. And I get swept-up in the scents of moisturizers instead of perfumes. Some of them I want to eat! But isn't it interesting to sit and ponder about such things as scents. They really do make a lasting impression.

And when I grow old, I will try to wear Chanel #5 with grace and aplomb. My grandmother did, and it always seemed to be the perfect 'grandmother-ly' smell. That and pie crust and lemon wood polish.


No conundrums today, kids. Let's just breathe deeply and reminisce.

Thanks for perusing this blog; blog you again soon!