It Wasn't Meant to Be

There are perfectly marvelous fragrances that don't work for me. Every person's body chemistry is so different, as well as our olfactory sensibilities. Sometimes I have purchased a scent hoping so badly that it would be perfect for me. The bottle was pleasing to the eye, the name was intriguing, or the first few sniffs made me fall instantly in love.  I would rush home elated about my new acquisition, only to find my infatuation dissolving in the following weeks and months. 

So it is with lovers. The guy you fall madly in lust for one night turns out to be married. The friend of a friend who everyone said would be "so perfect for you" isn't.  The beautiful disaster of a man who seemed so full of love one moment is gone the next.  Like men, perfumes have distinct personalities and will react accordingly with ours.  

One autumn I had bought a bottle of Armani mania, the original incarnation with the black cap. I thought it smelled contemporary and elegant, which is what I was striving so hard to pass for at the time ( I was 21).  The bergamot and clove notes pulled me in and wrapped me up like a cashmere sweater.  While I was donning this I met a rakish young "toy revolutionary" who charmed me for some reason (like I said, I was 21).  After a couple months of pseudo relationship, the heavy incense and bourbon notes of mania began to wear on me. I felt dizzy and sick from the drunk feeling that enveloped me wearing it.  I don't blame the perfume, it just wasn't meant to be. 

A few years later a gentleman swept me off my feet with a whirlwind courtship and spontaneous marriage proposal.  Around this time I got a sample of Kenzo's L'Eau par Kenzo. It smelled of mint, melon, cucumber and clover. Maybe just a touch of lily. Breathtaking crisp and clean. It smelled like summer dreams and hope in a bottle. It would not last on my skin. I would apply it and half an hour later it would vanish.  Much like the romantic gentlemen...after six months of living with him I had changed my mind. The love would not last on my heart. 

The last great affair perfume that comes to mind is the new version of Nina by Nina Ricci. A few years after the engagement was called off, I was shopping with my crush, a tall blond with catalog model good looks. My eye fell upon this gorgeous red glass bottle shaped like an apple with silver leaves. It smelled divinely of caramel apples, peonies and vanilla bean. The clincher was that when I put a little on, my crush couldn't stop himself from becoming my boyfriend.  I really enjoyed wearing Nina for a few months, but after awhile the caramel began to seem sickly sweet. I started getting headaches from it. More importantly, it was all I could smell anymore. Any complexity of the scent was long gone and it had become dull.  Boring juice in a pretty bottle, just like Catalog Model Dude.