Signature scents are ridiculous. You don’t wear one dress everyday. It’s monotonous. It shows an inflexibility in character.
— Marian Bendeth talks to Fashionista about niche perfumes.
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Amen.
I can’t say that I necessarily agree with the quote above. While it is impossible for me to choose one, I know lots of people who only wear perhaps one or two perfumes (a friend of mine has four now in her rotation thanks to asking about a couple of my frags on various occasions) and I think that’s perfectly fine. I almost admire the simplicity…
*looks at crowded perfume shelves* Almost…
It isn’t easy to grasp given how much time I spend on blogs and MUA, but all it takes is walking into my local Macy’s to ask if they carry any By Kilian or even less well-known (among the general public) Guerlains to remind me of how intense my addiction is when I’m met with either a confused look and “Sorry, never heard of that.”, or having to carefully list the name and house of what I’m wearing as well as methods for obtaining some when someone approaches and wants to know about my perfume and how they can get it.
yeah, it is diffcult to be special, isn’t it?
I know what you mean about admiring the simplicity!
I was “with” Marion right until the signature fragrance showing an infexibility of character. Not sure about that. Anyone that can enjoy scent or anything sensually creative cannot possibly be infexible. Although I am fond of many fragrances myself, I know many people who love their signature passionately. Signatures are a part of your personality. I became a “multi” fragrance person after I regained my sense of smell. I guess it is part of trying to catch up, so to speak? Or just make up for taking scent for granted before. Either way, a scent lover is a scent lover and therefore we all have this in common, whether it is one or many.
I agree.
Besides, perfume is meant to be FUN.
I have a feeling her comment was also meant to be FUN, or at least, light hearted — I did not take it as a serious directive.
Ah! Okay then. I stand corrected. Sometimes I read things too seriously and feel hurt for those that might be hurt. Empathy is a curse!
FO, I actually think it’s fairly inflexible to make snap judgments like the one Ms. Bendeth made. All people with a signature scent are inflexible? Ridiculous. The claim annoyed me as well.
I have more perfumes than I have shoes, by a factor of about, oh, fifteen… I suppose the idea is to get people to think of perfumes as accessories. It’s sound-bite-worthy, maybe, but not a serious psychological claim.
Okay, I can dismiss it now. Snark over.
No need to stand corrected…I didn’t take it as a directive, but you’re not the only one here who did!
While I do have what I consider a signature scent as well as some very solid staples, I do enjoy deciding which perfume to wear with a certain outfit, to a specific event or gathering or what will convey the best mood.
I do feel as though one should have a signature scent whether they wear it routinely or not. SMN Melograno is mine, something that friends associate with me & a fragrance that my fiance’ considers to simply be how I smell. However, I’ve not worn it in at least two weeks but it is the one I always return to.
Well said and ditto – thanks!
No, you don’t wear one dress every day, but you are YOU every day, aren’t you? I may have dropped my personal allegiance to the “signature fragrance” concept, but I can still see its appeal. In fact, after a few years of sampling new and old fragrances, I find myself gravitating to the idea of a pared-down, well-considered “fragrance wardrobe”. A few good scents, that’s becoming my motto. Of course, I’m still ready to investigate more scents; as we all know, the good ones get too often get discontinued or reformulated, so I keep my eyes (and nostrils) open for new choices.
Ditto ALL that. Excluding the last few years, when I couldn’t find a new signature scent due to the proliferation of insipid fruity florals, followed by WAY too many options as I discovered the world of niche, I’ve always been a serial monogamist.
It’s a little precious and a lot annoying that Ms. Bendeth refused to say which vintage fragrances she wears. Talk about inflexibility in character! And Bendeth seems to make the Fashionista writer feel bad about herself for having a favorite perfume. That’s sad and discouraging.
What’s wrong with searching for a signature scent? I take that notion loosely: it means that I’m looking for something that smells so good and so right on my skin that it wears like a soft and well-traveled leather jacket. It’s what I’d wear without having to think about to feel good about myself. It need not be the only scent in my cabinet, just my favorite.
I completely agree. This kind of elitist attitude is not quite nice. Why would you not tell someone what you are wearing, especially if it is hard to come by, most likely discontinued, and you have horded most of what surfaced of it on ebay over the last 5 years.
Anyone has a reason as to why you should keep your choice private?
I agree with that comment as well. I have asked people what their scent is and they are all secretive about it. Odd. At least I find it odd and annoying! I mean it’s not like we can’t find out. May take a while, but if we can smell it…………hhmm?.
But in this particular case, it may be viewed as advertising?? Or maybe she is under contract with “something”, “somewhere” that makes it wrong for her to do so. It might be a possibility, no?
I can only imagine what Marian thinks of my wearing the same lipstick every day.
I used to admire people that had the restraint and dedication it takes to have a signature scent. Really, anyone who wears and loves perfume is alright in my book.
A classic lip is timeless. Any woman these days who has the dedication to keep herself together in whatever way is possible gets credit I say. Most mornings I want to go to work in my PJs, but I always try and rally something besides my fragrance choice, maybe a great brooch, a scarf, etc. I remember one time reading an article about Sofia Loren and how she only wore a classic ensemble of a great blouse (normally white), black slacks and whatever shoes or accessories, etc. Now who can argue with that? She was all about the timeless woman.
What is your signature lipstick Miss Kitty? I am in a committed relationship with Nars, Strawberry Fields… my true lipgloss love. My co-workers joke that it must be made of Kryptonite because it won’t wash off any of the coffee cups. It’s my signature.
Maybe I need to try yours! That sounds impressive. I’ve worn MAC Sequin for years now. Heaven help me if they discontinue it. Now, I do *own* more than one lipstick (like, say, over 20), but that’s the one I wear every day.
I just love it when people smell a fragrance and immediately think of me…on the other hand, there are sooo many to choose from and so many fragrances that i haven´t even tried yet that i can´t get myself attached to ONE perfume ad eternum!!!
I guess the key is to change the “signature scent” sporadically, right?
That’s what I did. Besides eternity is a really really long time! Especially if you have changed yourself. If your life is different, loves are different and interests, then you have redefined yourself in a way. Scent can be a part of that.
Well, there are some very stressful days when figuring out what to wear to work is just the most awful thing ever and I long for the simplicity of a “uniform”. I have one black crepe jacket that if I could wear every day with a fantastic white blouse, I’d be a very happy camper indeed… and then wear whatever fragrance sparked my imagination that morning, and then change again in the afternoon, lol.
I work with a women who’s signature scent is Azuree and she smells fantastic. She is a very stylish and remarkable woman who wears all kinds of beautiful clothes. She is actually someone I respect and admire (which doesn’t happen much), and she always smells fantastic. Everyone bows down to the wake of her Azuree. She wears it in spite of how trends have changed and many people can’t stand something as wonderfully rich as Azuree. She is the classic case of a signature scent being a real statement about the person.
Now that sounds like a beautiful, confident and secure woman with a serious sense of herself. Inspires respect, she does. If we could all give that to our daughters/step daughters, nieces, etc… Don’t listen to the “judgers” think for yourself and express YOU.
AMEN.
Eh. It’s a fairly inflexible comment, no? And I know lots of people who do the equivalent of wearing the same dress everyday–I myself have a basic uniform of sorts. Lots of us do.
When I come across SS wearers I just waggle my eyebrows and crook my finger at them–c’mon over here honey, let me show you a few things. No one’s saying you have to wear them, now. Just a little taste….
umm excuse me Marian Bendeth, I have seven signature scents, and wear very little else
well okay, one of them is more sacred than the rest of them and I like to wear that one the most but still.
besides you don’t just have to wear that ONE scent. I have a signature scent and wear a couple of others.
Exactly. I have several scents that I feel I wear the most. I deviated out of the norm today — way out of the norm — & am kind of regretting it. Somehow Lolita Lempicka has turned … powdery & unusually overly sweet on me today.
I have my signature and then about four or five others that I consistently wear depending on the setting. I had an interview w/ a government contractor the other day and wanted to wear a fragrance while not risking overpowering the room w/ my scent. So I went with Chanel No. 5. Classic, non-offensive when applied in moderation, and something familiar enough that I felt comfortable wearing it to an interview. Chanel No. 5 is traditionally the perfume I wear when I want something that just fits any occasion and is very suitable for office use. No. 22, Shalimar, Avignon, & L’Heure Bleue are also staples while Melograno is the signature.
Just because someone has a signature doesn’t mean they’re not adventurous. I love a new perfume, relish it even. I’m open to smell just about any fragrance once & will wear many for that matter. But on those days when I’m just existing, just wanting to be myself, I know I have my signature scent.
I once had Lolita Lempicka edt, it was too liqourice for me, I like the edp though
and YES that is exactly like me
plus, you’d never get through all your perfume if you had half as many bottles as a lot of people on here.
my favourites are D&G light blue, D&G the one, Givenchy v.irresistible fresh attitude, Tom Ford black orchid(though I don’t have a bottle) Giorgio Armani’s Acqua di Gio, and my signature is flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf, though I’ve never heard of Melograno :S
HA! I love it! “It shows an inflexibility of character.”
I try to say the same thing to a very good friend who is an insane creature of habit (I try not say it too often though, since it justifiably annoys her for me to point it out).
Inflexibility of character? Really? I think perhaps it shows a person has more important things to worry about than which scent to wear on a given day. Or that they don’t have vast amounts of disposable income. Or perhaps that they are loyal, or prefer simple living, or that they wear it for someone else’s pleasure. Good grief.
I know plenty of people that wear one fragrance or shower only with one type of soap.I don’t find anything wrong with it and they are the most classy people I know.If you are so lucky to find that one scent that you are always happy with why not so much cheaper that way.I can’t do it myself but I wish I could.
I think it’s almost impossible for anyone to have a signature scent with fragrances being discontinued just a mere 5 or so years after they’re made and new ones cropping up soon after. I was devastated when Calvin Klein discontinued Contradiction. I have not been able to find a fragrance quite like it since. I feel like I’ve been settling since I don’t have the resources (no mall or Sephora nearby) or the time to take on a full perfume search.
I have two fragrances I’m quite happy with right now and switch between them. I’d love to have a signature scent, honestly. I can’t say I agree with perfume being like clothing. I would not wear the same dress everyday, but I would wear the same perfume everyday. Not only does it impart a sense of comfort, but also memory. Years from now, I’d love for my daughter to catch a hint of a lavender or amber fragrance and remember me.
JB, that’s so true, and if not discontinued they are often reformulated beyond recognition.
FYI, I just googled Calvin Klein Contradiction and am seeing several online sources, including Amazon.com. I’ve had good results over the last two years of ordering fragrances through Amazon. No guarantee it will smell as you remember, of course, but it’s discounted to under $30! Sometimes there is a temporary silver lining to discontinuation.
I think I must be the only one here who knows a person who has a ‘signature’ scent – the only fragrance she has worn for the past 20 years, who thinks my perfume hobby is weird and who is a very inflexible, condescending and judgemental person. So I do have a prejudice and a negative conotation associated with a ‘signature perfume wearer’. Then I recall a quote by some designer years ago that said a person who doesn’t have a signature scent and wears many different fragrances is not to be trusted. That really ticked me off. Of course, I’ve had several signature scents over the years. LOL
Yeah. I think the moral of the story is, you can’t judge a person’s character based on one facet of their lives. I used to say that any person who loved animals was ok was me, but I’ve since met far too many sociopathic “animal lovers” to stick with that.
We’re all a bunch of complex little freaks, as we should be.
Lol, ain’t that the truth!
Proud to be a complex freak.
And hang out with you other complex freaks. Mwah!
I love a little complex freakishness in people.
Thanks for the chuckle.
Yeah, I’m not saying I would ever literally judge anyone’s character based on their perfume habit or their devotion to a signature scent. I happen to think variety is the spice of life, and I personall dislike manifestations of extreme rigidness in the behavior and preferences of others, but {{{vive la différence}}}!!!
I didn’t need another rationalization to inch my way toward FB # 100 but I will bear this in mind, in case I develop some willpower.
Maybe the reason why the perfume companies once pushed the “signature scent” idea was to convince women to wear perfume everyday, and to justify the purchase of a high priced luxury item. Now they are pushing the idea that a woman has a collection of perfumes is to convince us to buy more bottles. In addition, it is hard to claim a woman should have a “signature” scent when the celebrity brands come up with a new “Actress X” scent every nine months.
As for men, the industry has yet to convince them that fragrance should be a regular indulgence, much less to chose between a signature scent or a collection of fragrances.
I believe people should avoid overpowering others with their scent, although it is now pretty rare for an adult to put WAY too much on. Other than that, perfume is still a luxury, and an expensive indulgence. Most people wear perfumes/colognes rarely. Many do not wear any (other than the shampoo/detergent/soap, etc) fragrance at all.
If someone wants to indulge in a perfume on only special occasions, or once a week, or every day, or with one fragrance or many, that its how he/she chooses what he/she will enjoy most. Why should anyone else judge that choice?
I agree—I’m betting the old model for fragrance companies was to encourage loyalty (and heavy application) so they’d have repeat customers. Today, it looks like there’s been a new approach: flood the mainstream market with options, even if many of them smell very similar. It’s just hard to tell if the point is more to encourage collecting or if it’s to distract us with newness every few weeks. I’m voting on the latter, simply because so many new fragrances (at least for men) are subtle re-toolings of existing scents.
The men’s market is a little different than the women’s market though. The last problem men seem to have is changing colognes too often. That’s why I thought it was so odd that one of Chandler Burr’s 10 rules for wearing cologne in GQ’s September issue was, “No, you don’t need to change your scent with the seasons.” What American guy is feeling pressure to rotate his scent by season?
I’d be a little more gentle in encouraging people (especially men) to branch out with their fragrance choices. Tell them to consider something for going out at night, in addition to what they wear to work. Tell them to think of it as a wardrobe. Then again, not everyone cares enough to bother.
I didn’t know I had something in common with Sophia Loren, LOL! Too much choice makes me anxious and annoys me too – I’d rather spend my time doing something else than selecting clothes or perfumes. I wear black trousers with different tops – black too most of the time b/c my chest is slightly concave, from the absence of breasts, which ended up years ago on a hospital slab, and black is the only thing that doesn’t emphasize that). And, as far as perfume is concerned, I am a serial monogamist and have no intention of ever being anything else. Each perfume I have worn in the past relates to a particular period of my life and evoking it brings back that period.
(Did that woman actually say ‘inflexibility in character’ or is it a typo?)
Good to have you with us years after that surgery.
Sometimes though, it can be a lift in the morning to look forward to choosing to wear a favorite outfit (even if it is the favorite of black suits) and a favorite perfume, when all indications are that the rest of the day will be dreary.
I totally agree with this I wear mostly black and I have a very small wardtrobe and I like it that way.Less choices is good one less thing to have to figure out.I know plenty of people that have a signature fragrance I think its really nice to have one scent that you love and wear nothing wrong with that.A different fragrance for every mood is not for everyone.
It’s hard to take “Inflexibility of character” lightly. Them is fightin words!
Maybe someone is poor. Maybe they only have one scent they are not allergic to. Maybe perfume isn’t their thing.
I long for the days when I had a signature. I feel like me, comfortable in my own skin, pretty, sexy, and in the arms of someone familiar. I am very flexible, and a character.
Sometimes it’s o.k. to want to come home.
I agree – I don’t think choice of scent has anything to do with character, actually.
The problem I have with the idea of a signature scent is that it implies that other people are noticing your perfume and associate it with you. No one ever seems to notice my perfume, or at least, no one comments on it. I think I can count on my fingers the number of times in the last twenty years that someone has commented on my fragrance. Since no one else notices it, I figure I am wearing fragrance for myself alone. Consequently, I wear whatever I feel like each day, which means I have a lot of different scents. Some of them I wear quite often, some quite seldom, but no one scent can be considered a signature. I would even find it hard if I had choose, say, only 5 perfumes to wear for the next year. I don’t eat the same food everyday, and I don’t wear the same perfume every day.
I must say I love the *idea* of a signature scent. The problem is I simply can’t commit to one fragrance.
I kind of admire people who have a signature scent- unless they are someone I dislike on another level, and they are ruining some nice perfume by association.
I had a series of signature scents back in the days when I could basically only afford one perfume at a time, there were fewer scents in a typical department store than there are new launches per quarter now, and there were no online retailers, ebay or TPC. That was then! Now, my omnivorous, easily bored nose is practically hardwired to my laptop, perfume appreciation is one of my hobbies – an art form that I follow as others follow opera, etc. – and I’m usually wearing it because I want to smell it myself, rather than as a means of personal expression or enhancement.
At the same time, I can also admire people with one or a few signature scents, or who don’t have time or money for, or even interest in, scent at all. It don’t think it has anything to do with character.
Of course, it seems likely that Ms. Bendeth was simply earning her living by producing the kinds of provocative sound-bytes that PR thrives on.