I think there are a few standard things all grown women should have... a little black dress, a pair of heels so comfy you could run a mile in (at least one pair among the gorgeous, less comfortable ones), bed sheets you want to swim in, jeans that make you butt look great... & a signature scent.
I didn't have that last one. I normally don't even bother with a perfume, maybe if I'm going out I'll do a splash of body spray, but not 1 standard smell. I know it's silly, but I want something consistent... like if I was dating someone & they knew my perfume so well that smelling it on their pillow would make them miss me. (I accidently admitted that to a friend at the bar... he laughed & accused me of being a romantic... I guess the secret's out.)
After an hour of sniffing circles around Macy's & near inhalation poisoning, I found it. And it's not Chanel No. 5. I've always been intrigued by Marilyn so it was the first scent I tried on...spritzed a liberal dose of my wrists... & hated it! It just smelled like old lady... which she would have been by now so I guess it's fitting. But it's so very NOT me.
It made me think about what I wanted my perfume to say about me. I wanted it to be clean & light enough to apply liberally that says "I'm a grown, sexy woman who is nothing like your mother". Close enough, the description posted of my final choice said "Confident, Successful, Charismatic". I based it off my nose, not the advertising, but maybe it's not a coincidence.
Dolce & Gabbana 3 - L´Impatrice (translation: Empress)
So it's not the Marilyn glamour, it's something better... it's me.
I've been wearing the same thing since middle school (when i found an old bottle of my mom's and started wearing it). Its become so established - i no longer smell it on myself but other people sometimes say they smell "me" in places. I feel that because it's been my go to for so long I can't change now, so for better or worse - i'm CoCo Chanel.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to smell the new you!
Thanks for making me laugh so hard I spit out my Coke Zero :) Smells like old lady. Priceless. Frankly, perfume advertising is one big myth, because no matter how glamorous a fragrance may seem, it always smells different on each different person and what smells good on you might stink on me. I always hated the way Chanel No 5 smelled on other people, so I never thought to buy it. Then one of the doctors I worked for (a woman) bought me some as a birthday gift. I was all ready to give it away when, lo and behold, I discovered it actually smelled nice on me. Go figure. I promise, I don't smell like grandma wearing it! I have to say, I smell much better in Coco than No 5. For that matter, I smell best in a Clarins fragrance called Elysium. I'm not sure they even make it anymore. Oh yes, and the delicious perfume, Boucheron which is insanely expensive. I have the Eau de Parfum, which is pretty concentrated, so a little goes a long way, which really, it needs to because it's so freakin pricey. I bought it back in the days were I was single and had the money to blow. Now I covet it like gold and only use it on special occasions. I may never be able to afford it again, but it just SMELLS classy :)
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