Scent of Woman

So today I was looking for a Fragrance Oil that is a copy of Bvlgari Black. Shmoo wears it and it's yummy. I want to make an aftershave for him that smells just as yummy. After having no luck I remembered Royal Aromatics. They have an FO* they are calling Bvlgari Men. I wanted to get a 1 oz sample to see if it was the right thing. Last time I ordered a pound of the wrong thing, (from another supplier) and while it doesn't smell bad, it's not what I wanted either.

Royal Aromatics is also the only supplier for the FO that I use to make my mom's soaps, bath bombs, lotions, etc. (L'air du Temps in case you really wanted to know.)

Unfortunately, they only use UPS.

Now, I have ranted on and on before about how I feel about UPS, and not only do I not want them to try to deliver anything to me ever again, I don't want them to receive my money to do it. I am not about supporting "Brown" anymore. Brown can do absolutely NOTHING for me. I have emailed the company and am hoping that they will hear my plea to use something besides UPS. If not, I guess I will just have to do without, and when my mother's FO runs out, well, then I guess it's gone until I can find another supplier. Which is unlikely, it took forever to find this supplier, and it's a bang on copy as well. So this is just disappointing.

But all this led me to thinking. How we associate memories with smells. When I smell L'air du Temps, I instantly think of my mother. It is HER scent. It is the representation of her to my nose. I have been told by other people who smelt the soap before I gave her the last batch of it I made, that it smelt like an old lady. Which leads me to think that my mother *might* smell like an old lady. (She doesn't to me of course, she smells like Mom.)

But then I thought, what is old lady smell? I think it changes, with each generation. Old lady smell becomes what our mothers wore. The scents and fragrances we associate with their generation. It's not the smell that changes. It's the people.

One day, someone will tell me, in passing, that my Jessica McClintok smells old and not light and heavenly, nor sweet and innocent. Or that my Tuscany Per Donna doesn't make them want to commit wicked sins with me, but quite the opposite. And that my Obsession is obsolete. And that my favorite everyday scents of Coconut Lime Verbena, and White Tea Ginger are neither light or refreshing but simply passe.

It is then that I will know that I too smell like an old lady.

*Note: FO in this case means Fragrance Oil and not Finished Object.