“A perfume is like a piece of clothing, a message, a way of presenting oneself, a costume that differs according to the woman who wears it” – Paloma Picasso

I come from a long line of women with signature scents. My grandmother always wore Shalimar, my mother, her daughter, wore Chanel No.5. When I smell those scents now, I see each woman in my mind’s eye. I feel their personalities in the notes of the fragrance.

When I was growing up you were either a Baby Soft or White Shoulders gal. For me, it was White Shoulders or bust.

By high school and college I was bouncing between Perry Ellis, Marc Jacobs and Michael Kors with a slight preference for Michael Kors when they released the Eau De Perfum Shimmering Fragrance Spray. I am a sucker for sparkly things!

Fun fact: My mom was friends in college with the designer Perry Ellis. One of my few celebrity claims to fame is the time when I was in 5th or 6th grade and was home sick and Perry Ellis called our home phone, returning a call from my mom about a project on which she was hoping to partner with him. He was extremely gracious to find my stuffed nosed self on the other end of the phone line.

After college I found my scent soulmate – Joy by Jean Patou. It’s heavy emphasis on white floral and rose managed to stay this side of cloying and the scent had an extraordinary staying power. For several decades it was my signature scent.

But then a truly inspired, historical perfume house met the black hole of being bought by LVMH and the end was nigh. (Ask me how I really feel.)

I flitted listlessly through several different scents. I even tried a completely different scent pattern – Myth by Ellis Brooklyn and Merit Retrospect – but they were too musky for my taste. Then I corrected my olefactory course back to my rose preferences with White Rose by Floris.

In 2020, I finally found my new signature scent – Eau Rose by Diptyque. While it will never be Joy, it brings me joy and that is the scent / vibe I want around me.