I remember when I was living in London 13 years ago, at the tail end of a most miserable and grey Winter, and I decided to purchase a new perfume from Jo Malone. At that stage, Jo Malone perfume was only available in London, in her little shop on Sloane Street. After sniffing away at all the different scents, I selected French Lime Blossom. For some reason, it reminded me of childhood Summers spent at our beach shack, and feeling rather homesick, this was the one I decided upon.
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It only became apparent why I chose this scent upon my return to Australia. Fast forward 1 year later, and I walked into work in Melbourne wearing my French Lime Blossom cologne only to have one of my work colleagues sniff the air and say "who's wearing sunscreen?". The penny dropped. No wonder it reminded me of beach holidays.
More recently I have been helping my Father clear out my mother's things. I have to admit, this has been rather depressing. I burst into tears on entering her Dressing Room, as not only did it have all her familiar things in it, but her smell too. Mum always wore Hermes Caleche, for as long as I can remember. The smell still reminds me of being little and in bed, Mum dressed up ready for a night out somewhere leaning over to kiss me goodnight with a heady whiff of her perfume enveloping me.
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My Father has, for as long as I can remember, also stuck to a signature scent. Dad is quite particular about scent (although I think his sense of smell is used more for sniffing wine than perfume), and has worn Dior's Eau Sauvage. This does not seem to be a common aftershave, so I do tend to associate it with him, in the same way Caleche is my Mum.
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When I was 15 years old, I determined that it was time I should have my own "Signature Scent". I used to subscribe to Vogue, and my reading had lead me to believe that this was of vital importance. The scent I chose should be my scent alone for the Rest Of My Life. With this weight on my shoulders, after a lot of deliberation, I chose YSL's Paris. Frankly, it epitomises the 80's. Very overblown and full of Roses, it has the ability to leave a tailstream of scent behind you hours after applying. Of course I "layered" it, as the perfume marketing execs told us to, using the body cream and powder as well.
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A few years later, I was seduced by Ralph Lauren's Safari, partially because I loved the cut glass Victorian style bottle. It's a scent that Mr AV associates with me, as I used to wear it when we first met, back in 1994. I stopped wearing it around 4 years later, but even now, if I squirt a bit on, he will always comment on it.
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I can't say I have a signature fragrance now. I stopped wearing fragrance while I was pregnant and immediately after having children, as the hormones did strange things to my sense of smell and I found perfume overbearing. I have a few on rotation at any one time, my favourite probably being Jo Malone's Lime Basil and Mandarin in Summer, or her Nutmeg and Ginger in Winter.
Do you have a Signature scent, or choose as your mood depends?