Smelly

Smells are incredibly important. We all know (partly thanks to Proust) how evocative smells can be. Certain smells can transport you back to a different time and place with much more immediate effect than other sensory data.

What I find fascinating, though, is how people smell different and how perfumes react with an individual’s own smell to produce different results from person to person. Most people I know have tried a perfume that smellt really lovely when a friend wore it and turns out horrible on themselves. This is why you should always try a perfume on yourself rather than on one of those silly little paper strips, and why you should leave it on your wrist for at least half an hour before you decide whether you want to buy it or not.

Really.

The topic came up because I bought a deodorant yesterday. Not an unusual occurrence, obviously, but I thought I’d try a new one, which has turned out to be a big mistake. It has obviously clashed seriously with my personal chemistry and now smells totally icky. Instead of “perfume” or “sweat” I smell of disinfectant mixed with that smell blackboard sponges get when they get old – mouldy moistness. Not good. I would have preferred “sweat”. Need to go shopping. Definitely need to throw yesterday’s buy in the bin.

Incidentally, I have another deodorant at home that I am unable to use, too. Not because it smells icky, but because it smells all wrong. It’s a Ldh (or whatever) and it actually smells of hand cream. I’m sorry, but armpits are just not supposed to smell of hand cream, that just majorly confuses the brain and my brain is having a tough enough time as it is.

Voices in my head: The Fraggles – Fraggle Rock