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When I wrote my book, Secrets of a Beauty QueenI discovered the science behind our love of perfume. It turns out there are sensory cells in the nose, mouth and throat that interpret smells and taste flavours. Microscopic molecules released by food, flowers, fragrance – anything with a scent – stimulate these sensory cells and send messages to the brain. This enables us to identify and remember an astonishing number of odours.
Microscopic molecules released by food, flowers, fragrance – anything with a scent – stimulate these sensory cells and send messages to the brain.Credit: iStock
Our noses are designed to sniff out what is good for us and what is bad, so there is a reason we are attracted to scent of the sea or freshly cut grass, and repelled by the stench of rancid food. This is why olfaction (our sense of smell) is so powerful and evocative, something you can confirm by comparing your reaction to, say, a freshly baked cake, wood smoke, your children’s hair, a wet dog or roses.
In my book, I was inspired to narrow my fragrances down to my top five, the first being Chanel “No. 22” EDP ($365 for 75ml). I return to this time after time because it reminds me of my little sons’ freshly washed hair. It’s a hypnotic floral/oriental scent, the aldehydes adding impact and oomph to the heady note of tuberose.
All of my favourites have a story behind them that anchors them to my heart. I was one of the last journalists to interview fragrance goddess Annick Goutal for Australian Vogue before she died and her Gardenia Passion EDP ($329 for 100ml) is my pick of her wonderful scents. It captures the smell of blooming gardenias picked fresh from her garden after a rain shower.
Also high on my list is Frederic Malle’s “Portrait of a Lady” EDP ($563 for 100ml). I smelled it on a friend first and it hit me right between the eyes. (She begged me not to reveal its identity and to keep it our dirty little fragrance secret.) It is an intoxicating oriental rose blended with benzoin, cinnamon, patchouli, musk and frankincense.
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Guerlain “Vetiver” EDT ($180 for 100ml) is an oldie but a serious goodie, a perfectly weighted combination of fresh citrus, Haitian vetiver root and hints of pepper and nutmeg.
Kiehl's “Original Musk” EDT ($109 for 50ml) – a unisex blend of bergamot, orange blossom, rose, lily, ylang-ylang, white patchouli and musk – completes the top five. I travel with a mini roll-on of this and when I pulled it out on a flight back from Paris once, the woman next to me immediately asked what it was. The result was that funny dichotomy of being flattered that someone could be so interested in the scent I’m wearing while wanting to keep one of my signature scents to myself.
Edited extract from Secrets of a Beauty Queen (Penguin) by Stephanie Darling.
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