Scentual

There are some things that are perhaps unnecessary in life but that it's nice to pass down, like fine china for example: Chris and I didn't register for any but my grandmother is giving us hers (when we have somewhere to put it), and I love that. I think perfume is another one of those things. I've never had a perfume of my own (not counting drug store body spritzers or the Gap scent that I hang onto because I love its honeysuckle smell, if not the chemical effect that arises around hour two). On my wedding day, my mom asked me if I had a perfume and when I said no, she said, "Here, dab on some White Shoulders, which is your grandmother's scent." So that was a nice memento to wear that day, and the smell of White Shoulders does always make me think instantly of my Nanny (and now, perhaps, my wedding day). Likewise, whenever I see a bottle of Chloe I flash back to the bottles my mom had on her dresser when I was growing up.

My friend M., though she would undoubtedly demur at the label, is a bit of a perfume expert (or at least, connoisseur), and she's been taking me out "taste testing" (scent sniffing?).

Here are the perfumes I've liked enough to obtain sample vials:

Hermes Jardin sur le nil
Stella McCartney Stella Nude
Michael Kors (I love this one and its heavy yet refreshing "creamy floral" smell, but M. advises that it's not one you want to wear every day)

Still open to:

Stella McCartney Stella
Hermes Voyage (this one has a spicy cardamom scent that it just delicious, there's no other way to describe it, but at the same time it kind of makes me feel like it's a Christmas perfume)

Negative, ghost rider:

The other two Hermes Jardins
D&G
Chanel Allure, Chance, and Coco Mademoiselle
Bulgari Jasmin Noir
Prada
Prada Infusion d'Iris
Burberry Brit (this was actually quite nice but just not me)
Lolita Lempicka (liked but not for me--too vanilla, and I mean that literally and not in the "bland" sense of the word)

M. says that now we've exhausted Sephora as they tend to stock the "mainstream, heavy florals" (I'm paraphrasing her because whether she likes the term or not, she's my expert). Next she's taking me to Bergdorf's to smell the Chanel exclusifs (as I love the idea of having a Chanel perfume, but the ones I've smelled to date, including No. 5, though I'd like to give it another chance, hurt my nose), to Saks, and to a tiny perfumerie in the West Village.

Listen, this may all sound ridiculous, but sometimes you have to have fun with the fact that you live in New York City.

Photo via Anthropologie.