The Air You Wear

Coco Chanel said, “A women who doesn’t wear perfume has no future.”  I don’t agree with that, especially not in this age of environmental allergies, but I do love a good scent.  I don’t have a signature fragrance.  I wish I did, sometimes.  A signature fragrance, like a strand of good pearls, a camel colored, cashmere twin set paired with a tweed skirt and kick pleats, and Cole Haan loafers equals class to me.  Alas, I rarely wear my pearls, cashmere makes me itch, Ross doesn’t sell Cole Haan, and my taste in perfume changes with my mood and the weather.

Maybe since I started wearing all my favorites back in the 80s and 90s, they count as signatures?

Today I am wearing Tresor by Lancome, which I love because it is feminine without being powdery, and has some weight to it–it’s not too girly to be professional.  It is a good office perfume.  It pairs equally as well with a flirty dress, a suit, or cigarette pants and kitten heels.  For me, it’s the Audrey Hepburn of perfumes.  Thor likes this one best, too.

For a date perfume, or a womanly-wife perfume (hubba-hubba) I prefer Amarige by Givenchy.  It is spicier and richer, but has class and grace, and dresses up a LBD like nothing else.  Given how much Audrey H loved Givenchy, this should remind me of her, but it doesn’t.  Amarige reminds me of New York’s winter elite-nightlife.  Nothing girly about it.  I was wearing this on my first date with B.

In the summer, I have come to love Harajuku Lovers G by Gwen Stefani.  Yes, I originally bought it because I thought the bottle was adorable, but I really love the scent.  It is a light, coconutty fragrance that smells like Exotic Beach to me.  Again, not girly, not powdery, and not at all what you would think might come out of that bottle.  An adult woman can wear it without feeling like she needs knee socks and pigtails.

Hypnose, by Lancome, is another fragrance I’ve grown to enjoy wearing.  At first, this smelled like old lady to me.  It is a heavy, sticky scent, and originally I associated it with decaying country club doyenne, but I couldn’t stop myself putting it on.  I kind of love to hate it.  I can’t say I love the scent.  I can’t say I think it smells really good on me.  But, I can’t stay away from it.  I’ve decided to wear it on days when I need to feel powerful, when I need to take control, and when I want other people to be a little unsettled around me.

I have been wearing Tatiana, by Diane Von Furstenberg, longest of all.  This is absolutely my go-to fragrance.  When in doubt, I spritz myself with this one.  I love, love, love how light and sweet it is, and also love that it has some heavy undertones.  That makes it wear easily, and allows it to go summer to winter without a blink.