Some of my earliest memories are of my mother and how good she smelled. I remember asking her one time what she was wearing and if it was expensive. It smelled divine. It was not expensive. That time, it happened to be Shulton’s Desert Flower. (Woody and flower notes — is it any wonder that those notes are ones I like on me also?) I have since picked up a little of this, so I could have some, but I don’t think it smells the same on me as it did on her, or possibly they have changed the formula. I don’t like it on me until it dries waaaaaaaay down.
Another she used to wear is Revlon’s Intimate. (A heady scent with notes of dewberry, mandarin blossom, water lilly, cinnamon bark, linden flower, tuberose, blue rose, Amber, musk and incense.)
And I always loved the smell of flowers that bloomed in our garden — lilacs, hyacinths, lily of the valley, mint, iris, roses…
In more recent years, I like to reward myself with perfumes when I travel. It gives me a memory from that trip, plus gives me an excuse to justify the $$$, as if I needed one.
I traipsed across Paris in pursuit of several fragrances I cannot smell here. I didn’t buy them, but I wanted to smell them. Later a then-new online friend — I hope to meet her in RL one day — sent me from Europe vials of nearly all Serge Luten’s fragrances, because I simply couldn’t experience them enough on that trip to make a reasoned decision. (Thanks, gal!) Out of that I purchased several decants to enjoy them longer and be able to decide what is FBW for me.
One of the trips we enjoyed the most was a cruise to Alaska. We left from Vancouver, taking the Infinity (Celebrity Cruise Line.) We simply loved it. Going through the inward passage, seeing Hubbard glacier was inspiring. There is a part of me that celebrates trees, likely because I grew up among trees. There is something comforting and familiar about trees. They fill a need that is missing in my daily life. We live in the tropics now, so trees are different, and where I live is about diametrically opposite from Alaska in appearance, climate, and distance. We have talked about wanting to go to Alaska again, whereas taking a Caribbean cruise is like staying at home.
As usual, I looked for something to commemorate the experience. There was a perfume shop on board, but nothing was particularly new to me or I had ruled them out in the past or could rule them out quickly then, except for one: Le Baiser du Dragon. I spritzed it several times a day over several days to make up my mind. And I asked everyone in my family how they liked it on me, as it was so different from anything I owned.
And that’s a story for my next post.
How about you? do you bring back perfumes? One that I wished I had had a chance to smell was an interesting one in the gift shop on the overnight ferry to Greece. I think I may have tracked down what it was, but there is no place to smell it around here. I will have to go back to Greece. And I’m ready!
Karin
If you liked this article, vote for it on del.icio.us and stumbleupon.Categories:
Just thinking, Perfumes, Travel
Related Articles
Lonestar Memories, Andy Tauer Perfumes
Who is the keeper of your memories?
Olfactory memories
Neil Morris fragrances, part 5 Gotham (end)
Chocolate Rose and Limone Con Chocolate, fragrances for Valentine’s Day
Time Travel Romance Books
Time Travel Romance Audio Books
Memories of Yesterday Enesco Decorative Collectible Brands Decorative Collectibles Collectibles
Flower Seeds Plants, Seeds Bulbs Gardening Plants Yard, Garden Outdoor Living
Flower Plants Seedlings Plants, Seeds Bulbs Gardening Plants Yard, Garden Outdoor Living
2 comments ↓
Do I bring back perfumes ???
I’m a scentimental fool, in every possible sense.
It’s really quite pitiable.
And I always need to possess fragrances that remind me of times, or people I’ve dearly loved, who are no longer with me.
One of my greatest failings, is that I have difficulty with the realisation that you love and let go, love and let go…
[I don't mean our children-that one expects;
I mean our friends, our colleagues]
No, it’s not pitiable, it’s quite normal.
I did want to remember my mother and her essence.
I find it hard to pass along a fragrance now, because I often don’t like as well what I might trade it for — and I wish for mine back. OTOH, sometimes a small decant from my bottle is all I need.
Yes, love and let go is part of life…and I find my tastes have changed in perfumes somewhat. I still love, but rarely wear, the vintage fragrances I used to wear. The new tweaking just isn’t the same.
One thing I do try to be careful with is what I wear if what I’m doing is not something that will have good memories. I either overlay it with a fragrance I like to make the event more palatable or I do not wear something that I would not like to associate with that event. I’ve been known to go scentless, or as scentless as is possible for me, just because of that.
Leave a Comment