Aroma cont.

Aroma Wasn't Built in a Day
Page 2

What an Original Perfume...
In my research, I came across a company called Demeter Fragrances, whose enticing aromas include things like Pipe Tobacco, Paperback and Dirt. The resemblance is uncanny. Apparently, these scents are meant to remind you of positive times in your life. It's said that smell and memory are inextricably linked together. So if you want to look back at a childhood spent digging in the garden for worms, you can grab your little bottle of Dirt and dream your days away. Or maybe you love the smell of a thunderstorm? Don't ask me how, but they've bottled it.

Some of the scents are perhaps too accurate. The Black Pepper is almost sneeze-inducing, while the Gin and Tonic could potentially get you fired from a more conservative company. Happily, they were sold out of the Poison Ivy variety, so I am not able to report on its veracity.

Once again, I became convinced that everyone everywhere could smell me, and that they all truly hated me for it. Once again, I learned I was wrong. As I unfurled my wrist for all to smell at my weekly hockey game, the strongest reaction came from my friend Casey, another effortless three on the girlie scale.

“That's sweeter than I would've thought for you.”

Honestly, I don't even know what that means.

“You seem like you'd be more of a musky person.”

Is that what you wear?

“Yeah, I don't like sweet stuff. I prefer clean, crisp smells.”

What's your favorite?

“Clinique Happy. You should try it.”

Happy. I remember happy. And it smelled like... nothing.

It Makes No Scents to Me
I want you all to know that I really tried to get into this month's experiment. I diligently inhaled scores of scents, clapped my nose to countless atomizers, and dabbed my pulse points with myriad smelly substances. Yet after a full month of huffing and spritzing, I have concluded that this is one part of the girlish experience that shall forever be distant from me. Potentially not distant enough, though.

So what makes some women shower themselves in scented goodness while others run screaming away? The answer probably lies in our chemical makeup. Skin of a certain pH, with a certain amount of oiliness will retain perfumes much longer than other skin. Smell receptors in the nose may be more or less responsive. Whatever the reason, I've stopped fighting my olfactory squeamishness. With regard to perfumes, I shall ever remain an unrepentant one on the girlie scale.

Next month, what's in a purse? Would a purse by any other name smell as sweet? Yeah, like I'd know.
Next Page