The idea of having a signature scent attracts me. I love thinking that when someone catches a whisper of Guerlain Vol de Nuit he thinks of me, or that my friends associate me with the warm, entrancing aroma left on my coat or suffusing my bedroom. But hey, that’s not going to happen. I haven’t counted lately, but my number of “signature” scents is probably pushing 100.
Now, though, I have a new justification. When I see someone’s eyes start to pop at the sight of my perfume cabinet, I have the perfect reply. “Of course I have lots of perfume,” I’ll say. “Why? For ‘enrichment’, of course.”
To explain, let me take a step back. I have a friend, Ann Littlewood, who used to be a zookeeper. Now she writes terrific mystery novels that take place in the fictional Finley Memorial Zoo. When she heard I like perfume, she mentioned she used to spray fragrance in the tigers’ dens at the zoo. I asked her what perfume she sprayed, and why, and she sent me an answer by email…