For the last two years, I have practiced one annual perfume ritual: the wearing of Fendi’s Asja around Halloween. The caramelized fruit note of this discontinued fragrance reminds me of the pineapple fritters and cinnamon donuts my mother made for us when I was a teenager during the late fall. Unfortunately, my little lacquered rice-bowl mini of Asja was the only casualty of our last move. The stone tile floor of the house we left probably gave off an occasional whiff of fresh fritters for weeks. Halloween is over, but with our economies in tatters and the whole American political machine lit and shuddering like a carnival funhouse, many of us still have a case of the creeps. Who would blame us if we faced all this down with a comfort scent like Asja and, yes, maybe some of those midway mini-donuts, if we could find some? But I am here to lead you on a braver, smellier course: wear scary scents.

Of course, I must emphasize the subjective nature of fear. For example, I am terrified of balloons. (You never know when those darn things are going to pop! My heart almost stops just thinking of it happening.) The perfumes that scare me may be your treasured favourites, while your blood curdles at the thought of me cheerfully washing around in a tide of, say, Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune…

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