I've always had, from as far back as I can remember, a keen sense of smell. I'm one of those people that has 'smell recognition' somewhat like photographic memory... I can place people, places &/or events from specific scents. Guess I'm kinda like a dog that way. For example, if you say "summer on a farm", I can smell in my head, the alfalfa in bloom... the dried grass... the foxtails... the cowpies, etc. that I remember from my youth. If I have a strong memory of something, scent will always be involved. I'm sure anyone can do this to a degree, but it's pretty intense with me; so much so that you could be the smarmiest person on the face of the earth, but if you smelled good, you were A-OK with me! And, if perhaps you were strong, charming and handsome AND you smelled good, well you could just as well swallow me whole and spit out the bones. This gift is not always a plus.
Now it's come to the point where I'm needing to upgrade my perfume and I'm rather hesitant to go there. Usually, I 'run into' fragrances that I like either on other women, or in those sample strips in magazines. This has not been the case for me thus far. Now I have to go in cold turkey and if you've ever approached a woman's fragrance section in your local dept./drug store, you'll know of what I fear. Firstly, the sections themselves are wrapped in a cloud of co-mingled scents heavy enough to start a rainstorm, and secondly, the choices are staggering. After about 3 sniffs, your nose is so overwhelmed and confused, you have to leave immediately and seek out medical help or at the very least, fresh air. This leaves you with a headache and the grim realization of only 732 more to go! (Hmmm... I think I'll go organic; splash some vanilla or lemon juice on me and call it a day.)
Part of the problem with choosing scents is defining how you want to be perceived... should you go against type or with it? I used to be drawn to light, fresh, floral notes, but now I kinda lean more to the deeper, spicier ones. Coincidence?... I think not! Then there was the time when attending college that I got into men's cologne. I was obsessed with Halston's Z-14 that my then boytoy wore and I couldn't get enough of it, so started wearing it. (It was a phase, people!) Didn't last long though... kinda like the relationship. No big whoop. I did recently have a little breakthrough though...
It was during our flight from Vancouver to Amsterdam and middle of the night when I first felt it coming on. It escalated over the next hour or so, and after 2 hours I was positive I had it. I had the fever... the Bieber Fever!! Yes, it's true and no one was more shocked than I was. I had been evading it for months and months, but some where over Greenland, at 34,000 ft. I decided to watch 'Never Say Never' and by the end I was a convert. (The boy loves Jesus & his mama... how can you defend against that?) Now you're probably wondering what this has to do with perfume, but I tell you, it most certainly does. It just so happens that in the latest copy of People magazine there is a scent strip from Justin's new fragrance, 'Someday'. I smelled it and I liked it! Now, I'm not sure if I can bring myself to actually wear it, but I too say, 'Never Say Never'... I'll have to try it on for size first. Let the hunt begin.
Well, there you have it. My own personal scent crisis. I'll sleep better tonight having shared this with you.
Smell ya later!
Ahhh! Hahahaha! That's SO funny. Heather made me watch Never Say Never. I didn't really want to, but she was insistent. I think I started to cry during the first 5 or 10 minutes, and was kind of hooked too. It's a good story.
ReplyDeleteYou have to tell her you like his fragrance. She'll think it's awesome.
And I was going to recommend asking Heather about fragrances. She always knows about so many and can recommend some good ones I'm sure.
My advice for the perfume counters - spray the test strips and take them home with you. They always smell different once the smell has 'settled' (or whatever it does).