One day, walking down the road, I was suddenly stopped in my tracks by a heavenly scent that teased my olfactory senses and opened the floodgates of memory. A few quick gulps of that sweet; scent laden air, and I continued my journey with a swirl of bittersweet memories floating in my head.
I remember the exact moment when my love affair with perfumes began. I was 4 years old and starting school. A burbling mass of misery, I suffered from a case of severe separation anxiety. To calm myself down and be reassured, that we would meet again in a few hours time, my mother sprayed a bit of her favorite Elizabeth Arden Blue Grass perfume on my tiny hanky. I spent that first day in school; my eyes screwed tightly shut and taking little sniffs of that reassuring smell, visualizing my mother sitting next to me. Soon this became a ritual. If there was no perfume on my hankie, then going to school was out of the question.
During my growing up years, I would often surreptitiously raid my mother’s cupboard for a spritz of her cherished Christian Dior, Poison perfume. I loved admiring the purple color of the bottle and inhaling deeply; the fruit, flower and spice mixture of the scent. Along with it, those stolen moments of wearing my mom’s makeup, high heels and perfume made me feel all grown up.
My signature perfume in college was a Lancome perfume called Oui Oui. A present from my dad, my personal preference was to wear this perfume strong. Although I was enveloped in a heavenly cloud of honeysuckle it invariably gave me a massive headache each morning, sitting in the close confines of the car on my way to college.
Two of my personal favorites in men’s perfume were Farenheit by CD and Monsieur Balmain. I loved the clean citrus notes of the latter. Over time my perfume collection has slowly increased. From a Fendi to a FCUK to a Van Cleef and Arpels………………….. But the one perfume that I will always treasure was the one that my best friend gave me as a parting gift an L'air Du Temps Perfume by Nina Ricci.
Memories fade but certain scents remain embedded in our minds. The scent of nostalgia is strong, pure and beautiful.
