Column: A woman's journey through scent...

[Grant]

Scent of a woman: A Woman's Journey in Scent
by Marcy Goldman, 30 January 2006

As a baker girl/chef, it is no surprise that I am seduced by scent. In addition to working with fragrance and flavors in the bakery and kitchen, I also dabble in candle making, personal and custom perfumes, and hand milled soaps as well as home fashioned incense and potpourris.

Scent is as much about memory as it is a woman’s special personal signature and statement of taste. It is highly subjective and powerful – as fragrance is an incredibly indelible sense. All of us will easily and involuntarily associate scent with a time and place, a mood, a feeling, an ambience, a lover in our past - just as much as we associate it with personal being and ourselves...

Read the rest of the article here...

[scenteur7]

Marcy, congratulations on your first post. I'm a huge fan on Infini and find it an amazing and sensual chypre! I wish Caron would re-launch it for men! I've been thinking about buying a bottle, but the Parfum - who knows how old those Ebay bottles are? And the EDT - is is the same creature?

Glad you're part of the family!
marlen

[castorpollux]

Thank you very much for the article I really enjoyed it!

[lefay]

Sorry to be a downer, but anyone who classifies particular fragrances as appropriate only for women of a certain age has underdeveloped, unsophisticated tastes, in my view. I expected better from a Basenotes columnist.

[scenteur7]

lefay, I know what you mean, I'm definitely in a "wear what you love no matter what" frame of mind, but then again, this is definitely a reflection of Marcy's personal journey with scents and merely her opinion.

That said I can think of a number of fragrances that to me equal 65 and older (though honestly, 65 seems young to me these days), no matter how open-minded I'd like to think I am. For example, Perfumer's Workshop Tea Rose is the scent of a restaurant serving early bird specials. Bal a Versailles is still difficult for me because it was my grandmother's last perfume. Xeryus is an old man in polyester...

marls

[lefay]

Scenteur7,

Thanks for your gracious and diplomatic reply to my cranky post! I admit that fragrances do elicit memories and associations, so I suppose one can't escape the age issue entirely. But even at my stage of maturity (ahem), I still enjoy Oh! de London occasionally, and I have a thirty-something friend who wears Ma Griffe magnificently; in fact it is her signature. Marcy's dismissal of these as age inappropriate reminded me of a guy who once told me that the exquisite Vol de Nuit parfum I was wearing reminded him of his grandmother (a disappointing appraisal for me, under the circumstances; but he lacked taste and finesse in other areas, too). I always want to cheer when I detect one of the vintage classics on a young woman.

Lefay

[scenteur7]

Originally Posted by lefay

I always want to cheer when I detect one of the vintage classics on a young woman.

...or a young man!

Originally Posted by lefay

Sorry to be a downer, but anyone who classifies particular fragrances as appropriate only for women of a certain age has underdeveloped, unsophisticated tastes, in my view. I expected better from a Basenotes columnist.

You're not at all a "downer", Lefay, and I don't think your post is the least bit "cranky". It's honest and it's gutsy, I like it and I agree with you. I had read Ms. Goldman's article somewhere online, before it was posted here on Basenotes. I was so stunned by her Ma Griffe comment that I didn't even bother to bookmark it. I think this article, like some others here on Basenotes, are simply for entertainment and not to be taken seriously. Just my humble opinion, of course.

Originally Posted by Ladylonestar

You're not at all a "downer", Lefay, and I don't think your post is the least bit "cranky". *It's honest and it's gutsy, I like it and I agree with you. *I had read Ms. Goldman's article somewhere online, before it was posted here on Basenotes. *I was so stunned by her Ma Griffe comment that I didn't even bother to bookmark it. *I think this article, like some others here on Basenotes, are simply for entertainment and not to be taken seriously. *Just my humble opinion, of course. *

I agree with both LadyL. and Lefay.

I was almost offended by the Ma Griffe comment, especially as it was my advice that put a friend three decades below Ms. Goldman's prescribed age in that specific scent in Ma Griffe for her wedding day - and she loved it. *Ma Griffe will forever be the scent of love in full bloom and a wonderful new beginning for her, not musty old dowagers. *It's a pity, because many young women love Jean-Paul Gaultier Classique, a heavy, lush, powdery fragrance that clearly takes its cues from scents just like Ma Griffe, and many young women would smell fantastic in that classic Carven fragrance - and would wear it if they knew more about it.

I've suggested age ranges for scents before, but I've always recognized there are exceptions and conditions to those age ranges. *Some young women are precocious; some older women are just young at heart. *And some people just have unique styles and/or unique chemistries that accommodate different scents different ways.

Moreover, I really have to wonder, What is she doing writing for this site?

So, what is the new scent? Ah, girlfriends, that would be telling. Once you have found your new scent, you hush. It is your secret. Some things, we don’t share, like the secret to better pie dough, men, and perfume.

Uh, Ms. Goldman, that is entirely against the spirit of this community. *People here can't shut up about their personal scents. *Clearly this piece couldn't have been written with Basenoters in mind...

[lefay]

From Serpent:
Moreover, I really have to wonder, What is she doing writing for this site?

[Quote from article:
So, what is the new scent? Ah, girlfriends, that would be telling. Once you have found your new scent, you hush. It is your secret. Some things, we don’t share, like the secret to better pie dough, men, and perfume.]

Uh, Ms. Goldman, that is entirely against the spirit of this community. *People here can't shut up about their personal scents. *Clearly this piece couldn't have been written with Basenoters in mind...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And I have to agree. This dodge at the end of an article on finding a new scent was calculatedly coy and more in the spirit of a fluff piece for Allure. Basenotes readers sometimes disagree with each other, but we tend to go for full disclosure!

[scenteur7]

Originally Posted by lefay

Basenotes readers sometimes disagree with each other, but we tend to go for full disclosure!

LOL! True...though I try, I just can't keep my mouth shut! (or maybe...my fingers still?)

[lefay]

Originally Posted by scenteur7

[quote author=lefay link=1138608051/0#9 date=1140190150] Basenotes readers sometimes disagree with each other, but we tend to go for full disclosure!

LOL! True...though I try, I just can't keep my mouth shut! (or maybe...my fingers still?)
[/quote]

Well, that's just part of your charm.

[Grant]

I'd like to address a few points here on behalf of Marcy.

Firstly, the column was titled - A women's journey in scent -- about one women's personal journey, with her own personal views. Here's a quote from Marcy in some email correspondence we had:

You cannot factor in tone in a column and I didn't really mean that seriously perfumes have an age attached to them. I am opinionated, true! but it my opinions are more airingly uttered, with a bit of whimsy and humor to them...Truth is, I think you can wear what you like at any age - and I for one, do. But some perfumes are sombre and I wonder what I was thinking of at 16, to wear Ma Griffe!
So- I hope readers would appreciate the tone (light!) of my piece on scent and know - I encourage people to simply use instinct, mood, and taste to 'play field' perfume-wise ...and inhale the riches around us.

As LadyL commented the article is for entertainment purposes rather than educational. It wasn't written for Basenotes, it had previously appeared on Marcy's website -- I thought that it stood well as a good introductory piece.

As for:

Uh, Ms. Goldman, that is entirely against the spirit of this community

(In reference to the fact that the mystery scent is not disclosed)

The article wasn't a post in the community, it was an article on the main site. Contrary to popular belief, Basenotes isn't just about the community - 80% of the site's visitors don't use the community preferring to read the article and the product directory.

The name of the mystery fragrance was actually mentioned in the copy I was given, but I took it out in the mistaken belief that it might generate some discussion as to what the product might have been.

(Allure btw.)

[glorious1]

I share recipes and perfume. Maybe you were joking. ??

[lefay]

To King of Basenotes,

I grant that Marcy's column was intended to describe her own experiences in a lighthearted way. However, any opinion on fragrance is likely to spur an emotional response from the likes of Basenotes readers. Most journalists are accustomed to fiery responses to their work and generally take it in stride. I trust that Marcy takes responsibility for her viewpoint, as we readers do for ours, without any hard feelings.

Lefay