Do you have a perfume that reminds you of a special person or situation?
Is there a fragrance that brings back memories or feelings that are very important to you?
Is there a scent that brings you to your knees in a mere whiff?
My Answer:
There is a perfume that reminds me of someone, although I have only smelled it recently.
It is not the perfume itself I remember from the past, since it is new, but it has qualities that conjure up a person and a situation in such a strong and clear and direct way, I was astounded.
Once more the sense of smell humbles me with its power over us.
That is something I thoroughly enjoy, but that also makes me wonder how much we are manipulated and led by our noses, whether we are aware of it or not.
Which perfume you ask?
This one. 🙂
Olfactoria's Travels 
So, so many! Whatever I wear the most during a certain period, gets associated with it, for better or worse. A lot of times the perfumes become unwearable.
The perfume “becomes unwearable” that is so sad, but true.
Yes! L’Heure Bleue is my special fragrance. My Ohio license plate indicates as much, too. I wear it throughout the year with the exception of fall. In fall, I wear my melancholy Mitsouko. Mitsouko is special to me because it was one of Charlie Chaplin’s favorites as well. His children still remember the room smelling like Mitsouko–kind of touching. I’m a huge Chaplin fan, so there you go! I love Guerlain in general.
Hello Jeanne! Thanks for commenting!
I would love to see those license plates! 🙂
Both your special fragrances are wonderful! It takes quite a woman to carry off Mitsouko, I am jealous (a little) 😉
I’d say Joy, for two reasons, in descending order of importance:
1.) My late grandmother wore it.
2.) I had one of those plastic ponies as a kid that smelled just like Joy. The first time I smelled it in a store, I thought of that.
I wouldn’t say perfume is an emotional experience for me for the most part, though. It’s more like Archie Comics to me than the more olfactorily-related interest many perfumistas have in food. It makes me happy without really having to read too much into why, as opposed to food, which takes a great deal of discipline to prepare, moderate, and contend with.
Hi Joan!
Such a lovely story about the pony, thanks for sharing.
You seem to reserve your emotional ties to perfume to Joy and enjoy collecting others. What an interesting and beautiful approach!
I’ve met a few perfumes that take me to a very specific place in time, or feel very familiar in one way or another, but the most potent experience I’ve had so far was when I realized the Amouage Epic smells like my aunt, a person who smells like “home” to me; it was so powerful that I nearly cried!
Another fun one was Ormonde Jayne Tolu—it smelled familiar, but it took me a while to place it. When I was a young girl, I was gifted some very fine bath oil beads… they were these little purple balls, and when you placed one in your bath, it scented the water, the bathroom, and your skin until the next bath! I loved them so much, and never could find them again, though I searched for them over the years. When I realized the connection in Tolu, it made me so happy!
Another great conversation topic B!
I was thinking about your Epic experience when writing this post, it is such a beautiful story.
You need to try Tolu bath products then! There is an oil bath and a shower cream, both are very good. You could recreate your childhood dream bath! 🙂
When I smelled YSL Paris last year I was hit hard with a feeling of melancholy – I don’t know what it reminded me of, but someone in my past must have worn it, probably without my knowing the name of the fragrance, and there must have been some conflict going on. It was a strange experience. As I like Paris a lot I decided to work through it, and now I don’t have that feeling anymore. But there was definitely a silent memory of some kind.
Chanel no. 5 and Miss Dior so remind me of my youth. I received both scents as gifts when I was very young, and I wore them for almost a decade day in and day out. I still wear Chanel no 5 occassionally and I still love it.
Something as commonly worn as Acqua di Gio (for men) makes my knees go week because it’s associated with a certain someone. For a while that was quite unfortunate because so many men wore it 😉 – I don’t smell it very often anymore. Tastes have changed, I suppose – or maybe I notice it less.
Some years ago I gave away two fragrances because they reminded me too much of a failed relationship, so I also know the concept of scents that become unwearable. Those two weren’t all time favorites, so it was OK. There are other scents I’d be willing to fight for if it came to that 😉 I’ve worn Chanel no. 5 for so many years that I don’t think it has ever stuck to one particular person or episode. Quite recently a new favorite (Hypnose Senses) almost got caught between a rock and a hard place, but I would have none of that and tore it out of the realm of unwearableness!
Great topic – will have me thinkning all day 🙂
Thank you for sharing your memories, Marie!
It would be so interesting to get behind the Paris reaction, but that is the Freudian in me speaking! 😉
I can assure that the Freudian in me has been working overtime to figure that one out 😉 The smell was so incredibly familiar and yet I could not place it – unnerving!
Maybe one day it is just there again, when the time is right…:)
This is really fascinating B. Particularly in cases such as yours and Dee’s where a new perfume manages to conjure up a particular person/time for no obvious reason. Very interesting. Makes me even more curious about that new Frapin.
I don’t have any perfume associations myself but don’t know whether to be pleased or sad about that because it seems to be something that can be good or bad depending on the circumstances. Really enjoyed reading everyone’s stories though. Hope to hear more about your mysterious Frapin association one day 🙂
Some mysteries have to stay mysterious 😉
Maybe your specially significant perfume is still out there. What a great reason to keep on sniffing, Tara! 😉
Almost all perfumes from my “favorites” category are important to me, have some special meaning or story to them. Of course, until the second half of the last year I was a “civilian” perfumes consumer and I had a luxury of time to court each scent before adding it to my harem. I do not know if it will change now when I’m engaged in a speed dating, sometimes with the whole perfume house.
Speed dating is the right phrase, that is what it feels like sometimes, but it has its perks! 😉