In last week’s comments on the Guerlain Parure review, the idea of smelling “like a million bucks” arose. It got me thinking. What does it mean to smell rich?

Of course, we all know that just because a fragrance costs a lot of money doesn’t mean it smells expensive. First, practically every fragrance outside the drugstore costs a packet, yet they convey messages ranging from “I found a fragrance that expresses who I am, and I love it” to “I don’t have a mind of my own and will buy whatever smells bearable at first whiff” to “I’m a fifty-cent hooker.” (Sadly, you can spend hundreds of dollars to smell like a fifty-cent hooker.) Conversely, some relatively inexpensive fragrances could successfully waft through the halls of the fanciest opera houses, in my opinion. Balenciaga Le Dix, Rochas Madame Rochas, and Faith Hill by Faith Hill all smell like class to me, yet all can be found online for a fraction of what you’d pay for a new fragrance in a department store…

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