We simply have no words for smells. Acrid, I suppose, comes close to being an abstract word for a smell, but it's more like a kind of smell than a specific one: It's more about an unpleasant burning sensation caused by a smell. We have lots of modifiers like that: Smells are pungent or heady or nauseating. But those words aren't specific smells in themselves.

— From A pungent puzzle at the Globe and Mail.

The ideal scent keeps the wearer interested, evolves with him or her; you can't "solve" it in one go like the plot of a bad detective novel. You need a perfect structure, like Chanel No 5, to keep you safe; and then from time to time you need to subvert expectations, with something that cuts against your style and even your gender. Scent is a demanding art. It privileges what is subjective, skin-close. So seek out what no one else is wearing. Keep a notebook. Scrub off your mistakes. New year is a time for experiment, re-definition, and perfume is a fine place to start.

— Novelist Hilary Mantel writes about fragrance in At first sniff ... at The Guardian. Many thanks to Vanessa for the link!