A Scent-imental Trip

29 October 2004 10:37 pm

I'm still pondering over the idea of memory as having an olfactory dimension, which I talked about in this entry. Seized by the realisation that I can actually put a scent to a year, I decided to do a timeline. Here it is:

• 1992 - Gio by Giorgio Armani. My first perfume! I wore it for all occasions.


• 1993 - Gio by Giorgio Armani (day wear) and Jean Paul Gaultier by Jean Paul Gaultier (evening wear)


• 1994 - Tribu by Benetton (day wear) and Cabotine by Parfums Gres. Tribu was discovered in Duisburg, Germany, when I was Christmas shopping with Aunt. I don't think I can find it in any department store now.


• 1995 - Laura by Laura Biagiotti (day wear) and Kenzo Jungle L'Elephant by Kenzo (evening wear)


• 1996 - Head Over Heels by Ultima II (day wear) and Donna Karan by Donna Karan (evening wear)


• 1997 - Acte 2 by Escada (day wear) and Jaipur by Boucheron (evening wear)


• 1998 - Cool Water - Woman by Davidoff


• 1999 - Sunflowers by Estee Lauder (day wear) and Donna Karan by Donna Karan (evening wear). Old favourites made a return. Must have been swept over by a wave of nostalgia that year. However, I realised that I was no longer in love with Donna Karan. It was a sexy scent on me when I used it in 1996, but it didn't feel "me" anymore. Probably a sign of things to come. DK was an anniversary gift from The Asshole, and 1999 was the beginning of the end.


• 2000 - Truth by Calvin Klein


• 2001 - Aroma Tonic by Lancome


• 2002 - Contradiction by Calvin Klein (day wear) and Miracle by Lancome (evening wear)


• 2003 - Green Tea by Elizabeth Arden (day wear)


• 2004 - Pleasures by Estee Lauder (day wear) and Romance by Ralph Lauren (evening wear)

You may say that I am schizophrenic or simply an indiscriminate perfume whore because of the variety I've sampled. That's your prerogative. You know I wouldn't give a fuck what nasty things you're thinking about me. In point of fact, I was very particular about what fragrances I wore. It had to be me, it had to capture my personality and mood. However, my resources were limited in the early and mid-'90s because I was still in school, so I gratefully accepted German Aunt's perfume gifts whenever she came to town (perfumes are her default souvenirs, when she couldn't think of anything German, and nice, to get for me, Sister 1 and Mother). I also received perfumes as gifts from friends and boyfriends. I could have asked specifically for my favourite scent, and sometimes I did, but I didn't always know I was getting a perfume for my birthday and besides, in all honesty I enjoyed the opportunity of trying something new, which I wouldn't have tried myself given my firm ideas of which types (i.e. floral, oriental, woody, spicy, that kind of shit) suited me most. If it hadn't been for all that experimentation, I would not have been able to do the timeline anyway. It'll be like, my life smells like CK's Contradiction, that kind of thing.

I would say my signature scents were Gio (early '90s), Donna Karan (mid-'90s) and Truth (late '90s to present). I was (and in the case of Truth, still am) deeply in love with them when I discovered them. They made me feel feminine and sexy.

For further reading: Perfumes over the Years by Denise Petals.

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Older entries
Ramadan - 08 October 2006
Where I Have Been - 03 October 2006
Baby Talk - 10 August 2006
6 Weeks of Separation - 16 July 2006
Unacceptable Rudeness - 21 June 2006

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