Mon Parfumerie

It’s a funny old world – and I am convinced it is on it’s way out, to be replaced by something much healthier and brighter.

There’s not a lot I will miss of the commercial world. The only thing that I found alluring was perfumeries. Perhaps perfume is my weakness. Splashing myself with perfume and dressing up to go out is something I love. I am not particularly in to cosmetics, but perfume – yes!

I have never had much spare cash that I could allow myself to spend on perfume…but over the years I have been gifted at times and I have a short list of my favourites:

If I could only choose one perfume to wear for the rest of my life, it would be Sì by Giorgio Armani.

I really love this scent. It is sweet and has my favourite vanilla undercurrents. I love that whenever I wear it people always comment that I smell gorgeous. It is not too heavy. I could wear it during the day time as their is a freshness as well as an intoxicating sweetness.

It was the perfume I was wearing the night I met Goldfinch and it is the one I always splashed myself with when I was on my way to see him.

I remember surprising him once (wasn’t the only time I surprised him!) by turning up at Victoria Coach Station to meet him as soon as his coach arrived. He thought I would be waiting for him to come to my home. I remember walking towards him and throwing my arms around him. He was surprised. He teased me by saying I smelt just like his girlfriend and was just as beautiful.

Aaaah! Sigh. Happy memories.

Another favourite that became a perfume due to very happy memories is Girls Can Do Anything by Zadig and Voltaire.

If you know your perfumes you will know I fell for this one because it is also packs a huge punch of vanilla. I like perfumes that smell like naughty puddings or freshly baked cakes. Every nose is different – I think some prefer a more fruity scent or a floral aroma. But I like perfume which makes me hungry.

I discovered this perfume at Heathrow Airport on the way to Australia last summer. It’s another perfume I would wear during the day time. The balance of fresh and sweet are just right for me.

I also like it because not many of my friends know this perfume. Lots of my friends love Sì by Giorgio Armani as much as I do. But this is a perfume that is not so well known. I like smelling a little bit different than my friends – sometimes it’s good to leave people intrigued.

In the evening, for romantic dinners or big social events, I like to wear a more heavy heady perfume.

Some years ago I was exploring perfumes in John Lewis department store on Oxford Street in London, and a sales assistant  introduced me to Kenzo Flower D’Ilixir. I was smitten!

To me wearing this perfume is like sinking into caramel. There is a very exotic bouquet of flavours wrapped up in my favourite vanilla binding.

It is definitely more of an evening perfume. It would make me dizzy to walk round wearing such a heavy scent during the daytime.

I have not been out for anything special for months so I have not had chance to wear this perfume recently. It is sitting abandoned on my bedside table.

One of the first perfumes I ever fell in love with is Miss Dior (formally Miss Dior Cherie). I think it was in Boots Pharmacy in Manchester City Center, when a sales assistant asked me to try it.

This perfume is a heavy fruity cocktail with a huge allure to it. It is oh so seductive. It was my signature perfume for years, until I started to find it a little too heavy for me.

Now my former favourite is something I wear for evenings out and splash myself with before I slip into bed with my beloved.

Speaking of my beloved. I bought a scent for him.

This time I was in a Debenhams’ store. I tried lots of men’s cologne and was not satisfied with any of them. I kept on giving my verdict to the assistant helping me. I would say, “Oh no, this is way too girly”, “No, no, this one smells like toilet cleaner”, “This one is too sharp” or “This smells exactly like Lynx”.

I kept on describing to the assistant the way I feel a man should smell. He found me this Bvlgari Wood Essence.

It is gorgeous. I love that after I gifted my beloved with it, he would remember to wear it whenever I was visiting.

When I miss him…and I miss him so often…I have a way to trigger a cascade of wonderful memories within my mind. I find a department store and go to the men’s cologne section. I look for the scent that brings back the memory of breathing in his skin.

Perfumes can be very powerful. In many ways they are unique to the nose that detects them and falls under their spell. These are my favourites…and I hope to add more to the collection.