“I’m not sure this* perfume is quite me.”

We’ve all said it. Mostly it’s a polite veneer over a rougher truth — some variation of “wtf is this overpriced miasma?” — while sometimes it truly is an acknowledgement of a decent scent that seems to be a poor fit for personal taste or sense of identity.

This fits me; this doesn’t.
I like it, but it doesn’t suit me.
I wish I could wear that.
I can’t get away with that.
This, though, this is me.

We take it for granted with clothing. I know that nothing short of a general anaesthetic is going to make me feel comfortable in a flouncy floral frock, however beautifully it’s made or how well it fits my body. But if pale pink ruffles are your thing, don’t let my fight-or-flight instinct discourage you.

How does that translate to perfume when it goes beyond fashion, L’heure Bleue for blondes, or “age-appropriate” style?

It’s this sense of identifying with a fragrance that’s intriguing me at the moment. There seems to be a level of connection beyond preference or taste. I don’t know if it’s an emotional connection, a memory link, or a match between how we understand how we dress, decorate our spaces, fill our ears, and scent ourselves.

Perfumistas are the outliers, often with collections ranging gleefully from trash to brain’s trust, and from pretty to reeking. But amongst that eclectic range, I wager there is at least one you’d say feels like “you.” Not who you want to be, and not perfume as costume, armour, cloaking device, or retreat, but something that best fits your sense of you.

This is speculation, a mass of unformed thoughts, but I’m curious. Help me out? If you’ve got a scent that is most “you”, how does it fit? Or an array to suit your different facets?  What does that fit mean to you? Do you line up your interpretation of scent with other tastes? Are you a purist, or mixing-and-matching (I dunno: minimalist experimental fragrances and china kittens, fluffy gourmands with avant-garde clothes, high glam opulence with industrial noise music?)

What makes it feel like “you”?

* In case of confusion: Onda is definitely on the “me” list. So is Bandit.