One of the most prominent memories of my trip to London when I was 9 was entering department stores and running for my life. "I am allergic to perfume!" I would exclaim. I remember wrapping my scarf around my nose, clasping both hands on top for added protection and just bolting through the perfume section to somewhere with milder sensory input like maybe, the accessories section. I wasn't exactly allergic (that was definitely an exaggeration) but I did, and still do have a very sensitive sense of smell. In high school this was somewhat problematic as I could smell other peoples' pungent and hormonal body odour from many metres away. When they were babies, I could even detect that my siblings' nappies were full even before everyone else noticed.
But as a child, perfumes were my greatest enemy. Especially in department stores, the strong musky smells coupled with floral scents mixed together with the smell of alcohol was too much for my untrained nose. I have since grown accustomed to the strong smell of perfumes (except for Arabic oud, yuck), and I have made a small collection of them throughout the years. However, I remain very picky on the sorts of smells I would let into my home or onto my body.
It began in high school. Having lived in the girl's dormitory for five years, needless to say, one is bound to become influenced by the grooming etiquettes of the popular pretty girls. As a freshman, I would observe how the older girls would put on their uniform with great care, tie up their hair in a neat pony tail and douse themselves with expensive branded perfume. They would glide gracefully to the front of the dormitory, check their appearance in the mirror and walk out, bag of books in tow. In their absence, they leave a trail of scent. Sometimes musky, but more often, floral. From their signature scents, one didn't really have to see them to know that they were there - it was that strong. We could even tell whose who just by their perfume. She wore Britney, and she wore DKNY.
As a wide-eyed, very impressionable young teenager, I began to emulate this into my own routine. One of my first perfumes were from Body Shop. Packaged in small, clear glass bottles, I took great care to use them wisely - enough to make an impression, but not too much to be wasteful. All of that primarily just to fit in, to be like the other girls. This was particularly evident as I would only use perfume at school, and never when I was on holiday at home. Really goes to show how powerful peer influence is in teenagehood.
I have another story on perfumes, but I think I would like to leave it for another day. Tomorrow perhaps?
P.S. I am writing this on my newly repaired laptop! Thankfully, the only malfunctions found was on my keyboard and trackpad, and not my hard drive. All has been replaced, and it is working good as new, Alhamdulillah!
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