Bohemia Bunny

Good Scents

June 5th, 2007 by lynnylchan under Paid Post

*Paid Post*

Once, a friend and I were talking about the make-or-break qualities we sought in guys. Quite apart from education, money, sense of humour and so on, we each had an idiosyncratic preference for a specific trait. Hers was timbre of voice. She liked men with deep voices, and found midrange tenor voices unattractive. For me, it was smell. I don’t just mean cologne or shampoo, although over time I grow attached to such smells because they remind me of him. When someone just smells right to me, it’s a good sign that I’m attracted - a gut instinct that goes deeper after he’s passed the first evaluation.

Men, on the other hand, have less sensitive noses, which is why women have to douse themselves in perfume to make an olfactory impression. The kind of perfume a woman wears is an indication of how she wants to be perceived. I can’t find any statistics on the top selling womens fragrance so I can’t draw any conclusions as to how most women like to be perceived.

If I had my way, though, the top-selling perfume would be something classic and sensual, along the lines of Chanel’s No. 5, YSL’s Opium or Christian Dior’s Poison. They evoke an image of feminine sensuality, of women who carried themselves regally but with an air of mystique. Or at least that’s what I’m looking for in a perfume.

The scent market now is more adventurous, with the introduction of lighter scents, sometimes with an unexpected twist like the creamy mocha in Ralph Hot. Perfumes like those give off vibes of sexiness, peppiness and youth, but they’re not something you can wear for a lifetime. I would prefer to use one perfume my whole life and make it my signature scent - that’s how you get the boys to notice and remember you, it’s what you’ll wear at your wedding, it’s the scent your grandchildren will remember when they hug Grandma.

Maybe that’s the secret behind the staying power of “classic” fragrances. They can carry a woman not just from day into night - some perfumes are more suited to one than the other - but also through different stages of her life.