The scent of my life...

I don't really know what started this thought process off, but I've been thinking about my birthday (so far away yet!) and considered that I might like to try a new perfume.  I love trying a new perfume and the way it makes me feel but always feel disappointed as no matter how much a swather myself in, I never get that wafting scent that others do. This led me to thinking about the perfumes that I have worn through my life, so far and I thought I'd share them with you!

My perfume journey started back in 1991 hanging around the perfume oil section in The Body Shop on a Saturday afternoon. I'm sure many of us have been there! I used to always try a few different scents but always went back to that old favourite, White Musk.  I had a sniff of it recently and struggle to see what all the fuss was about!

The early teens were all about Exclamation and Charlie Red, and of course I had the accompanying body spray tucked away in my school bag. I must have got through bottles of this stuff and one little whiff takes me right back to 1994 reminding me of first loves and well, skiving off school mainly.

By the time I was sitting my GCSE's and leaving school I had moved to to CKOne - this evokes memories of day-glo Benetton jumpers, belly button piercings and Alanis Morrisette's Jagged Little Pill.  In this same period of my life (but hopefully not at the same time) I was wearing Chloe Narcisse. I totally loved this perfume and haven't smelled it in years (I can't tell you how long it has taken for me to remember the name of this perfume!) but it only makes me think happy thoughts and I remember how much I loved wearing it which has brought about the urge to go and buy some.

When I entered the world of work at the tender age of 17 I was wearing Tommy Girl. Now I haven't gone near a bottle of Tommy Girl in such a long time but can vividly remember the smell. This isn't necessarily a good thing as it generally reminds me of a very bad time in my life and not something that I want to be revisiting on a daily basis so Tommy Girl will remain firmly in the past. This was around my 18th birthday when I received a bottle of Elizabeth Arden Sunflowers as a present. I felt really grown-up wearing this scent but in hindsight it was probably a  bit too old for me.

As I suddenly had money from my new job, I went through a  bit of a mad perfume purchasing stage. These were the Calvin Klein years.  Mainly Eternity but with some Contradiction thrown in and even some of the yack-inducing Obsession. I have no idea what I was thinking about. My boss bought me some Estee Lauder Beautiful for Christmas one year around that time and even though I didn't love it, I still wore it.

In my early twenties my perfume of choice was Emporio Armani Il/Elle/She. I wore this for quite a few years and it reminds me of getting together with my husband. It also reminds him of that time. I think this is something I should revisit, to remind us of carefree times before we were dragged down by the daily drudge of house, jobs and what can sometimes be, mundane family life.

In the years following I also dabbled with Paul Smith Rose and Davidoff Cool Water Happy Summer but never really felt that connected to them. They were both good, light day-to-day perfumes but I probably wouldn't be buying them again.

By my mid-twenties I had discovered Marc Jacobs and his Daisy perfume and it's still a firm favourite.  I've stayed pretty loyal to the original Daisy even though there has been many different editions out and in fact I've liked them all. I'm actually wearing Daisy as I type this!    I was 30 when we got married and I wore a perfume that Mr M had bought me for my birthday only a week or so before, Marc Jacobs Lola. I still have a big bottle of this but I try not to use it too often as I don't want to wear it out if you know what I mean? It still takes me back to the gloriously sunny day of our wedding. 

Which brings me to now and my current choice of perfume which is Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb. Mr M bought this for Christmas a year or two ago. I asked for Eau de Toilette and he bought Eau de Parfum. Clearly not a huge problem for me, but was a HUGE problem for his wallet. Tee hee.  I love this and will continue to wear it for a long time I think.

I'm now on the lookout for a new one. I might try another version of Daisy or maybe a Dior. As you can see, I tend to favour florals but I don't like anything too over-powering. I recently tested all of Jo Malone's perfumes but they're not really me so if anyone has any perfume suggestions that I really must try out, leave me a comment below!

Did you ever wear any of these perfumes? Would love to hear all about your scent choices.