Fragrance has an amazing ability to transport me to a specific location and time in my life. It’s almost like I become Marty McFly and head Back to the Future when I smell a specific scent. My memories don’t take me back quite as far as 1955 and the fictional Californian town of Hill Valley though. One of my most vivid memories is from my mid 90’s high school days.
Whenever I smell Versace Blue Jeans, I’m immediately transported straight back to Senior high Maths class in 1995. Statistical analysis, exponential functions and the undeniable aroma of Versace Blue Jeans. It was in fact the teacher that used to wear it and that powdery cola like scent is forever embedded in my memory and associated with the classroom. For 4 periods a week, it permeated into my nostrils. It was and is a scent that I enjoy and even though Maths was not my favourite subject at school, it was made more bearable by old Blue Jeans. I recently bought a bottle of Versace Blue Jeans and I must say it has held up well, which is more than I can say for my algebra and geometry skills.
In another more recent memory, just last weekend I spritzed myself with some Florida Water, more specifically the Two Girls variant of Florida Water. Two Girls Florida Water is manufactured in Hong Kong and is as ubiquitous in that city as skyscrapers and crowded subways. It’s a fragrance made from essence of lavender, peppermint, bergamot, cinnamon and clove and is used by residents of Asia’s world city to soothe mosquito bites, prevent heat stroke and as a general relaxant. I used Florida Water extensively on a trip I took to Hong Kong with my parents and sister late last year. As soon as I sprayed it on, memories of that trip came flooding back. Suddenly I was riding the subway, exploring the myriad of museums and gazing down from Victoria Peak all over again.
Memories that last a life time and for a perfumista, inexorably linked to the sense of smell. An olfactive time machine if you will. There are of course many memories both positive and negative, but those are for another day………..
What scents send you into the olfactive time machine?
Note: Blue Jeans image from Fragrantica and Marty McFly image Naomi Tamar from Unsplash. Two Girls Florida Water is my own photo.
