scents intertwine with life

i was making up the bed earlier and i realized that i never, ever wear TBS White Musk on my body. i only ever use it to scent the sheets when i'm putting on new ones. L'Occitane Honey Gentle Water is only for the dog and her bedding; Côté Bastide Péche de Vigne is only for putting in the handwash water.

i don't know why i isolate these scents as i do. White Musk would make a marvelous room spray, and Honey Gentle Water would smell delicious in the handwash water. yet i've become accustomed to doing these things and thus the TBS remains unsprayed except when i'm changing the sheets, and the Péche stands in its interesting bottle until the bathroom sink is stoppered.

there are also fragrances i will only wear at certain times, to fill a particular emotional need. while i love Passage D'Enfer with a singular passion (it was my first L'Artisan and remains one of my favorite fragrances), i will only wear it when i need 'help' with my day. i also only wear elizabeth W's Hyacinth when i'm feeling wonderful, which means i don't wear it much despite it being the most gorgeous and perfect hyacinth soliflore i've ever smelled in my life.

by the same token, i won't wear POTL Luctor et Emergo when i'm feeling too insecure. i'm not sure why. i get the most compliments when i wear this perfume, and one of my exes thinks it is the sexiest perfume on me ever. so one would think i'd reach for it whenever insecurity loomed, right? but no. it is as though i can't wear it because i feel i cannot carry it off. Serge Luten's Iris Silver Mist is the opposite - i must feel melancholy enough to wear it, or it doesn't work for me.

i'm sure there are other, more subtle decision processes that occur for other scents, but they're not as clearly delineated so it's tough to put them into simple words. regardless, it points me towards a clearer understanding of how interdependent scent appreciation is with personality, mood, habit, and style. i wonder how the people of the 1400s would have assessed the scents we enjoy now, and what we'd think of the scents that will be popular in the 2600s...