Scenting

Monday, July 08, 2024

Yesterday, my “midday shift” at work was a dream. My hours were free from the usual opening and closing duties, meaning I had no heavy lifting, no bending, and no worries about getting everything done perfectly. The primary purpose of my shift was to cover a coworker’s lunch break.

The scorching heat kept customers scarce, leaving me with ample time to explore a nearby fragrance counter. I had avoided perfume for years since my earliest gym days when I became wary of combining scents with sweat. But yesterday was a scorcher and our store had few customers.

After years of steering clear of commercial fragrances and now having free time, I wandered to Fragrances. It was hard to resist free-spray opportunities from numerous tester bottles, and I opted for a few casual sprays. However, when Chanel No. 5, a fragrance I had long forgotten, landed on my wrist, it triggered a flood of memories. Another surprise is that the original Chanel version is still pleasing.

The familiar fragrance instantly transported me back to younger, more carefree times and prompted me to reconsider my perfume aversion. I often returned to the Chanel tray through the rest of that shift. That classic fragrance will come back into my life; perhaps in one of its newer, slightly altered iterations.

A pleasant bonus was the lingering, subtle scent at the end of the day. That entire fragrance experience got me thinking about the fascinating world of scent perception. I could delve deeper into it, but for now, yesterday’s olfactory adventure adequately satisfies.

Dear Friends: What a delightful surprise! Diana