I’ve heard that your olfactory system, which is just fancy for your “sense of smell,” is the part of your sensory system most closely tied to vivid emotions and memories. And that is completely true for me! Enter perfume: A bottled essence so strong, I have a million and one memories, emotions, even sicknesses tied to MY past perfumes. But also, internal reactions and memories attached to the scents of friends, coworkers, family members, and even ex-boyfriends (anyone else’s high school fling wear Aqua Di Gio")
My first (remembered) experience with perfume was when I was nine years old. My older sister had adopted the famed ’90s fragrance ?Tommy Girl,? by Tommy Hilfiger, as her signature scent? and since she was the coolest person I knew (and still is) I thought it should be mine as well. I did this by sneaking into her drawer after she?d left for the day and spritzing WAY TOO MUCH Tommy Girl all over the ?perfume spots? I?d seen people use in real life and in movies (neck, wrists, behind hair, chest, etc.) Then I?d do a second pass, making sure I REALLY got that aroma attached. And I?d casually leave to my elementary school smelling like one of those over-perfumed public nuisances, very likely giving everyone in my path a smell-induced migraine. As what happens to most good things in life, it became too much of a good thing, and I got sick (the vomit kind) when wearing my sister?s perfume. One spell of nausea can ruin a scent forever, so ...