SCENTS A LA MOI
The first perfume I ever bought was a black bottle with a bright pink liquid : Debbie Gibson's Electric Youth. I'd first had a whiff while opening one of those perfume ads in some pop magazine like Bop or Seventeen. I'm not sure it was the smell, or Debbie's sweet face smiling back at me, her fashionable hat, or perhaps the words:
The power seize the energy, coming up strong. The future only belongs to the future itself. In the future, it's electric youth.
Yes, I wanted to be a powerful person someday, and apparently so did Debbie. She's done well for herself after her teenage years- been on Broadway for over a decade now.
The second scent that ever bought was in the 8th grade, and I wore it for most of high school: Sunflowers. My high school boyfriend commented after our relationship that he was not able to get the scent out of his head and actually dated another girl just because she smelled like me... ahem... like Sunflowers. I had a altogether obsession with sunflowers for awhile; it was not just the smell, but I had sunflowers stuff: in my bedroom, in the bathroom. I was a sunflower type of girl back then. What happened?
In college I gained a bit more expensive taste for make-up and perfume; I moved my way out of Wal-Mart and found the department store make-up counter. I fell for Clinique, and of course, their signature fragrance, Happy. As I was visiting a friend at another college, I broke a very large bottle of Happy all over the dorm bathroom. I was devastated. This friend will always be reminded of her dorm bathroom when she comes in contact with the fresh scent of Happy because she could smell it months after. I bought another bottle a couple of years later and it is still in my cabinet at home.. 4 years old, 1/4 gone.. sometimes I wear it for nostalgia.
Upon college graduation, my parents' foreign exchange student from France gave me a bottle of Chanel Chance that his mother brought over from Paris. (It looks exactly the same as the bottle here, so I'm not sure why she brought it all the way over from Europe, but, oh well.) It was probably the nicest gift I've received from an 18-year-old Parisian boy... (?) Who said the French are mean? I like Chanel Chance, but I don't love it. It's a bit overpowering for my tastes.
Lately it's all about subtle scents for me. I like a little mist of something now and again, but don't travel the perfume route often. I enjoy throwing a lavender dryer sheet in the laundry with the unmentionables, using a scented shampoo or body wash, or spraying a water-based body mist in my hair. That's about it.
Other perfumes tried and failed: Vanilla Fields (smells like CoCo Puffs), Elizabeth Arden's Red Door (a bit "old"), Victoria's Secret's Pear Glace (smells like a Jolly Rancher)
SCENTS A LA HOMMES
There are colognes that remind me of the males in my life, of course. It's a good thing to associate them with a cologne scent rather than the smell of beer or sweat.
My high school boyfriend wore Polo - the stuff in the green bottle with the picture of a jockey on the front. I liked it - a lot. But, then again, I was 16 and hormonal. I think I just liked him. He could have worn anything.
My ex-German wore Lagerfeld, which suited him just fine because he's German and was in the military. Lagerfeld translates roughly to "Warehouse Field" which, if you are in the military, you can imagine what you are warehousing, furthermore why it is in a field... Honestly, men should only wear Lagerfeld if they are in a field, and unable to shower for a few days/weeks/whatever.
My dad went through a stage of wearing Brut. It's true. I wish he wouldn't have because this stuff stinks of old man. The women of the family bought him a bottle of something Abercrombie and Fitch 10 years ago, and he still has it in his medicine cabinet. He doesn't wear it. He also doens't wear Brut any longer - thank goodness.
I once had to have a conversation with a guy I was dating because he was wearing Joop!. My brother wore Joop! and I just can't make out with a guy who smells like my brother. Eehw!
Men's scents with associations:
CK One = every guy in high school, and half of the girls
Drakkar Noir = every guy in middle school, especially those going to the dance
No comments:
Post a Comment