COMMIT OR PLAY THE FIELD?
ELLE’S BEAUTY TEAM DEBATE WHETHER A SINGLE FRAGRANCE IS EVER WORTH SETTLING DOWN FOR
THE NOTION OF WEARING A SIGNATURE FRAGRANCE
was born out of necessity, not reason. Perfume was once seen as a luxury. Owning a bottle, which was saved for special occasions, was a privilege – and having more than one was something few could afford. It wasn’t until 1953, when Estée Lauder introduced Youth-dew Bath Oil, that a shift started. The ever-progressive Lauder was dismayed that women waited for men to buy them fragrance, so she marketed Youth-dew, a floral-patchouli blend, as a bath product. It quickly took hold as a daily perfume, too, and fragrance became an everyday essential.
Today, thanks to the uptick in synthetic notes and innovations in production, hundreds of new fragrances are launched annually, bridging all price points. So it seems antiquated to swear by a single scent and, if you ask me, needlessly cruel.
Scent is incredibly powerful: research shows it can trigger more vivid and emotional memories than an image does. People may not remember
what I wore, but they’ll recall if they liked (or hated) my perfume. Why put that much pressure on one scent?
“I believe that the dictate of wearing one fragrance is totally passé when you consider our modern lives,” says legendary Armenian perfumer, and my fragrance spirit animal, Francis Kurkdjian. “Women and men have so much more freedom and power to express all the facets of their personality. From work, to love, being a parent... there isn’t one single fragrance that could embrace all those facets.”
The modern approach, and one I adhere to, is to maintain a wardrobe of scents. Sure, one is more “special” than the others, but not every day calls for special. Casual brunch on the weekend? A spray of soft and powdery Byredo Gypsy Water will do. A night out with my husband? That’s the perfect excuse for Kurkdjian’s Baccarat Rouge 540, an intoxicating woody floral. And the musky scent of Le Labo’s Another 13 is the ideal everyday spritz — for now. Check back with me again in six months’ time.