Maybe this has happened to you: When people discover how much I like fragrance, often they tell me (1) there’s this perfume they used to really like, you know, the one with the tall bottle with the blue thing, and might I know its name?; (2) but really they don’t like perfume very much, because, face it, most people wear too much, including that lady who always gets in the elevator with them in the morning, pee-yoo; and (3) that they know it’s sacrilege, but they don’t like “the Chanel” at all. Then they lean forward and ask, “Tell me, what’s your favorite perfume?”
Mostly I (1) ask questions about the forgotten perfume and try my darnedest to help them, but often fruitlessly; (2) sigh and say, “Isn’t it always the case that the person with the nastiest perfume wears too much of it?”; and (3) about “the Chanel” reply, “You mean No. 5?” and steer the conversation away, since No. 5 can smell like heaven on the right person at the right time, and it’s just too complicated to get into it.
But as far as telling people what my favorite perfume is, I haven’t come up with a good response…
