Your Story in Fragrances

I HAVE THE AMAZING PLEASURE OF MEETING PEOPLE EVERY DAY.

It’s what I love about being on Main Street. Part of what we do here, and this is true for most everyone in the service industry, is listen. We get to share joy, doubt, celebrations and life moments as bystanders and cheerleaders. It’s the real reason some of us are passionate about being brick and mortar shops. It’s the stories and interaction that make it all work in a way that Amazon just doesn’t.

Recently, I had a client chatting with me about fragrance. We were just mucking about sniffing the assortment we have. I knew she didn’t need or want perfume but like so many of us it’s fun to try on a different personality for a moment whether it’s through a lipstick or a scent. She is older, and has had a long, adventurous life. I admire her enthusiasm on many levels so I was intrigued when she mentioned she had only worn 3 fragrances in her life.  Curious, I asked her about this and here is what she said.

“When I was young, I wore Shalimar. It was my first real perfume and I thought it smelled so sophisticated. It was a musky, and dark flower smell. I wore it to college, I met my husband wearing it and wore it at my wedding. Later, when I got pregnant and my first daughter was born I found that I wasn’t comfortable wearing it anymore. It didn’t smell different, but it just didn’t smell “right”. The following Christmas my husband bought me a bottle of Lauren by Ralph Lauren. It was new, and all the rage then. After that it became my signature – that little brown bottle was a fixture on my dressing table.  I actually still have a bottle just sitting out, that I don’t wear, just because it seems such a part of my dresser.”

She giggled and asked if I remembered this perfume because she didn’t think it was still made – I googled it, and yup, it’s still made. She wore Lauren for the rest of her married life, through another birth, many parties, holidays, life events, celebrations and school functions. It was her. “But what about now?” I asked, drawn in by the unspoken comma in her tone.

“Well, funny enough, when I lost my husband many years ago I stopped wearing perfume at all. I didn’t really think much about it until one day I picked up that brown bottle to spray it on for an event I was going to, and do you know, it just didn’t smell “right”.  I put the bottle down and every time I was in a shop, I’d sniff the perfume.  It wasn’t until a few years ago that I a friend gave me a bottle of Chanel #19 she didn’t want.  It just kind of worked, it smelled of vetiver and lily of the valley.  So now, you know, I can tell my story in 3 fragrances.”

My story would start with Chanel No.19. My aunt always wore it, I would occasionally sneak into her bedroom when I would visit her home and steal a spritz or 2, convinced she was totally unaware. I can't remember what the occasion was now but one year I unwrapped a gift from her, it was my very own bottle. She knew all along. Eventually, I graduated from college and moved to New York. Somewhere along the way in some little beauty apothecary I discovered The Original by EIGHT & BOB. It was so clean and classic. It also helped that it has the most charming backstory. We can chat about it the next time you find yourself in the shop. Now, owning two cosmetic stores, there are more fragrances in my life than I can keep track of. My current favorites would have to be Aphélie by Trudon or Orchid by Caswell-Massey.

So I now ask, “What’s your story?”