I know I blogged about a somewhat similar topic somewhat recently, but here we are again. I was at the grocery store earlier in search of some cream for my purse. I already have some cream that I keep in my bag for school, but I wanted some specifically for my purse (which is just a miniature version of my bag for school).
They didn't happen to have the same kind that I had gotten in the past, so I had to choose something different (which I didn't entirely mind since I'm not in love with the scent of what I had gotten previously). It needed to be in a small sized container, have a tolerable/pleasant smell and not have a consistency that's too thick.
There was some that I considered, but it was unscented and it turned out to be too genuinely unscented, which to me seemed mildly freaky. Usually, unscented products have a very slight scent of "unscentedness." So a truly unscented product is just a little too... bizarre. So that one was out. There were some others I also looked at, but they were in sealed containers so I couldn't test their consistency or scent, which are pretty intrinsic to whether or not I'd like them. Those were out too.
I ended up finding some that I could open up to see the consistency and scent. The consistency was agreeable and the scent was pleasant too. In fact, it happened to be familiar, which mildly surprised me since I hadn't remembered smelling it particularly recently. I think it smelled familiar because my grandmother used it.
There are a few people who I associate with certain scents, scents of particular products they use. I take it that these scents are more a byproduct of using said particular product rather than an intentional decision to smell a certain way, like how using perfume or cologne is.
So if or when I use one of those products and therefore take on that scent for however long it is until it wears off/fades, I usually end up thinking that I smell like whoever it is that also uses that product. And that's one of my primary thoughts regarding me having one of those particular scents.
Deodorant: The original thing that spurred considerable thought about this topic. I met someone and I thought he smelled really nice. Beautiful, in fact (and I told him as much). Naturally, I wanted to know what exactly it was that caused him to smell so beautiful. So I asked, and I got an answer: Speed Stick. Some time after having learned what deodorant it was, I ended up getting some for myself just for the sake of having (and occasionally using, when the spirit moves me). It smells so very much like him (unsurprisingly, as that's what he uses), which is pretty much all I can think about when I use it.
Shampoo: My sister uses some shampoo by Garnier Fructis. It has a distinctive smell that's particularly noticeable right after she's washed her hair. It turns out they use that scent for some of their other products too, including this detangling/air dry spray that I recently started using occasionally. So now, whenever I've sprayed that on my hair, I end up thinking that I smell like my sister. It has a relatively strong scent until it wears off, so it's hard to not think about the fact that I smell like my sister when I use it.
Hairspray: I don't use hairspray, but if I did and I used the same kind that my mother uses, I'm pretty sure I'd think that I smelled like my mother.
Sunscreen: This is a weaker association than the others, probably because it was only a couple times I was around this person when they used it, but I guess it's still worth a passing mention. Neutrogena, and I think I recall it smelling sort of coconut-y.
(clean) Laundry: I recall a few people who smelled like laundry, although only one do I know the specific product -- Gain lavender. The other two I just remember smelling like generic clean laundry.
My own personal scents these days primarily come from a selection of Dove deodorants. I prefer the ones that have more distinctive scents. At this time of year, I'm using their chamomile scent since I feel that it's a cozier scent and therefore suited for colder weather. Cucumber, for example, which I've used in the past, is a fresher scent and more fitting for spring or summer.
I don't know if these scents are particularly noticeable on me since no one's ever commented on them. Except for coconut, since whenever I use coconut scented products, my mother complains. So I don't use them particularly often.
When I feel like using Speed Stick so I can smell like *a certain someone,* I use a Dove deodorant that's less distinctively scented underneath it so the scents are less likely to clash. I'm not used to using only deodorant and therefore feeling kind of sticky/soggy (women's deodorants are generally antiperspirant/deodorant combinations) so it's necessary to use both kinds.
While we're on this subject, I should mention the book "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer." Read it, if you haven't already. The premise is a bit odd, but it's somewhat related. Thankfully I don't need to kill anyone to capture their scent, I can just use whatever product it is they use to smell like them.
