Am I the only fragrance lover who sometimes anthropomorphizes perfume? For instance, to me Caron Tabac Blond is a woman of a certain age who used to be edgy and still won’t suffer fools, but now spends a lot of time reading novels she pulls from her leather handbag; Frédéric Malle Carnal Flower is a radiant starlet almost too beautiful to behold — to the point where she can exhaust you after a few hours; and Guerlain Shalimar is one of the few who can pull off devoré velvet without looking like a Stevie Nicks wannabe.

Similarly Byredo Black Saffron and Seven Veils have distinct personalities. Black Saffron is an introvert who wants to be known as an androgynous intellectual but is too shy to attend any of the parties she’s invited to. Instead, she gorges herself at home on raspberries sprinkled with rosewater while she reads Oscar Wilde in her leather club chair and is in bed by nine o’clock…

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