Signature Scent

I like the idea of having a signature scent. A soft smell that lingers in the air after I've left a room. When I was little, I loved how my Yaya's sweaters always smelled of her perfume, even just hanging over the back of a chair. So...yes. A soft, delicate, feminine scent. That's all I want.

As it stands, it's a miracle of God I don't go up in a hail of flames every time someone lights a match around me. That's because everything I own is scented, from my peppermint foot rub to my kiwi leave-in conditioner. My deodorant is "powder fresh," and my toothpaste is mint. My facial scrub smells like citrus and my shower gel is coco-honey. My leg shaving gel reeks of melon while I have the choice of lavender, strawberry, or raspberry body lotion. I gargle with Scope (minty fresh!) and floss with cinnamon-flavored wax. My shampoo is green tea and my body scrub is jasmine. When I run trails, I spray "no-smell" OFF bug repellent on me, (which retains its own distinct odor).

On top of all this, I add perfume. Why? Because I want to smell good.  I've got spicy, tangy, fruity, lavender, soapy, and mild scents. I've also got quite the collection of perfume samples that I will never wear, but they're free, so I have trouble throwing them out. (Maybe one day I'll want to smell like White Linen. Who knows??)

I recently bought Lovely, the new scent by Sara Jessica Parker. It is lovely--very light and effervescent. I wonder though, given the myriad of scents it must compete with, if there's any hope of anyone catching a whiff of Lovely coming off my body and identifying me with that scent.  My fear is that every time my nieces and nephews smell OFF mixed with too-strong strawberry-creme hand lotion, they'll think of their Aunt Dena.  What a sad state of affairs that would be.

Maybe I'll quit worrying about me, and just start spraying my clothes with the Lovely. That way there's at least a chance for someone someday to pick up my sweater and say, "Mmmm."

Just like I did with my Yaya when I was little.