The Way Things Smell

I feel like we've discussed this before, but smell is something that is important to me. I think I'd go nuts if I completley lost my sense of smell bc then I think I wouldn't have memories. And I'm serious when I say that. I associate people with smells, I associate feelings with smells, I associate places with smells. I might not always be able to name the perfume or whatever, but if I walk past it, I know it as something. I smell the ocean breeze and my heart rate automatically slows down. I smell Curve for men and I get a little sad. I smell cinnamon and apples and I feel loved. I smell Old Spice and Big Red together and I feel safe. It all makes sense in the tangled mess of my mind.

So bc of that, I'm very particular about the different scents I use. It was vanilla and only vanilla for a very very long time. Then for awhile it was eucalyptus mint. For a brief period of time it was Philosophy Inner Grace (bc obviously I thought the name would surely also promote goodness within? Weren't we mistaken...). But not long ago I decided it was time to find a new scent.

Are you bored or completely weirded out with this train of thought yet?

So I went exploring for a new smell. I hate things that are too girly or too sticky sweet or too flowery or are so strong you can taste them when you walk by (you know this phenomenon, you've walked by Holister). And while there were more than a handful that I liked, I just didn't see myself as a Ralph Lauren Romance or a Clinique Happy or a Burberry Brit or what have you. They smelled good, but they didn't smell like me. I suppose the girls reading this would understand how important this can unintentionally become when you can't find something you like. But finally completely by accident, I did! And as much as it disgusts me to say it bc it makes me feel even more like a sell-out yuppie WASP bitch, it is Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue. It doesn't give me a headache and it isn't girly but then it isn't manly either. The product description describes it as:

Light Blue. A stunning perfume, overwhelming and irresistible like the joy of living. Surprising and colored: the liveliness of Sicilian citron, the happiness of Granny Smith apple, the spontaneity of bluebells. Feminine and resolute: the intensity of jasmine, the freshness of bamboo, the charm of white rose. Deep and true: the character of cedarwood, the fullness of amber, the embrace of musk.

I want to be irresistible like the joy of living. I want to be surprising and colored, feminine and resolute, and deep and true. I want to raise one eyebrow when I'm either lying or giving you The Look (oh you know The Look) and know i smell of all those things. And Gain. Bc even when I try to stop using that detergent and fabric softner, I can't. I love Gain. I would buy Gain perfume if they made it, but they don't, so there you go. I guess the moral of the story here is that I needed something new, like the red walls, but something that was still deep down me.

I don't know why I went on this tangent of smells. I guess maybe it is because one of the ladies at work just walked by and she uses the same perfume that mom used to when I was little and I immediately remembered being probably 9 or 10 and "getting" it for her for Christmas. You all remember that feeling, when someone else bought it and wrapped it but you got to put the bow on it and write your name on the tag and feel all proud of yourself and then accidentally on purpose telling said parent what you "got" them bc you want them to be impressed by your amazing ability to know exactly what they wanted. Or maybe it's because I've been thinking about change and how I'm working on that but because I'm such a coward I'm doing it in baby steps and if a new perfume is one way to start then so be it.

So readers. What do you smell like? What are your favorite smells? What makes you feel like home?