Smell This

In addition to dresses, I have a bit of an obsession with perfume. I guess you could say I collect different scents. I know many women choose one perfume to become their "signature scent" -- my late grandmother's favorite was Elizabeth Taylor's White Diamonds, so the smell will always remind me of her -- but I'm the opposite. I like variety.

I am currently reading a great book by Australian writer Liane Moriarty. (I love her books. They are such fun reads, and I really enjoy her relaxed writing style.) The book in question is called What Alice Forgot, and it focuses on a woman (Alice) who bumps her head and can't recall the last ten years of her life. (She still thinks it's 1998, so in a way it's almost like she time-traveled to the future!) Certain scents bring some glimpses of her memory back, though, and I have always loved how a simple smell can slam me back to very specific times and places.

I think I have a bit too much variety when it comes to my collection of perfumes, though. Here are the scents currently clogging up the top of my dresser:

• Betsey Johnson Namesake Scent 
• Britney Spears Fantasy
• Bvlgari Omni Amethyste
• Demeter Vanilla Cake Batter
• Fresh Sugar Lemon Scent
• Hanae Mori Butterfly
• Jennifer Aniston Namesake Scent
• Kenzo Sample Collection
• Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh
• Marc Jacobs Lola
• Mariah Carey Forever
• Salvatore Ferragamo Incanto Bloom
• Salvatore Ferragamo Incanto Heaven
• Sarah Jessica Parker Lovely 

Some of the scents remind me of certain times in my life.

I bought the Kenzo sample collection at the airport in Budapest. I was flying home from my European trip (with my MBA class) and killing time in one of the gift shops. I saw the little collection of Kenzo scents and got so excited. I have never seen anything like it here, so I'm so glad I bought it. My mother-in-law, Sheila, bought me the Kenzo Flower Perfume during one of the first Christmas holidays I spent with her family. Even now, when I smell it, I think of being so young and in love. It's also a wonderful, flowery scent.

Christmas 2000 (Birmingham)

I bought Marc Jacobs Lola during our vacation last year in St. Thomas, so I always think of it now when I smell this scent. I think it's also one of Chapin's favorites, though he tends not to comment too much on perfume.

St. Thomas (2010)

My current favorite is also the newest scent to my collection: Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh. I got it during a Nordstrom perfume promotional event, so they actually engraved my name on the bottle. I can't tell you how I excited I was over this little detail. I am such a dork!