“‘Dress for the job you want’ no longer applies. I say ‘smell like the life you want to have’”
I can’t remember exactly when my love affair with scents started. But I know that like for many, a scent can jog and pinpoint an exact memory, sometimes far better than even an item of clothing or music track can. I record people’s identities in my head not by their names but by the way they smell. It becomes their calling card even when they’re not aware of it.
That’s why this quote jumped out at me. It’s taken from an Instagram account called overheardlelabo.
It perfectly describes my obsession with fragrances and just how much my nose has evolved. I got my first sample of Le Labo from my sister when she travelled back from London and I was on my way out to Barcelona. We met at the airport when she handed over the package. The box was plain and marked with a simple label note of the brand, where it was made, and my name on it. The scent? Rose 31. The bottle was small, in a gel balm that I would rub behind my ear and on my wrists.
She knew I loved rose fragrances but hated anything sweet and this one was the ultimate twist that rejected that florals have to be feminine. It was musky, brooding and is still a signature, eight years later. The most recent bottle I got when I received the most generous gift voucher from a friend for my birthday to shop at Skins Cosmetics in Sandton, Joburg. It has pride of place on my dresser, along with Christian Dior’s Oud Ispahan and Commes des Garcon’s Black.
Photographer: Edvinas Bruzas Credit: Unsplash
A little about Skins Cosmetics before we move on. If you’re looking for a fragrance to become your signature that fewer people wear than the mainstream and commercial ones available, this is your spot.
The attendants are very knowledgeable and the store stocks brands like Byredo, Commes des Garcons, Frederic Malle, Kilian and more. Diptyque candles and Caudalie scrubs and body butters.
I never leave the house without a spritz of something to complete my outfit. Smelling great is a memorable way to set a powerful first impression. And why the woman in her 30s, overheard in Dallas, speaks a lot of truth.
Psychology Today, shares in an article about scent driving human behaviour, that “Smells have the power to drive your behaviour on an instinctive and subconscious level. Luckily, you can also harness the power of smell and consciously use it to your advantage.”
The writer adds, “A positive smell, such as burning wood or baking cookies, can trigger a sense of security and the urge to tend-and-befriend while you rest-and-digest.”
The stories in this ManRepeller article where twelve women who smell good share their secrets are a joy to read and echo these sentiments: “You immediately know when Claire enters or is in a room. And when she’s there, smiles are being spread.”
Apart from laws of attraction, it makes sense that as much as you can use power dressing to help you land that promotion or dream job, scent can go a long way in doing the same. Of course we know that not everyone will respond to smells the same way you or others will but even the positive effect a fragrance has on your mental health can boost your productivity. To help you smash those glass ceilings.
But even more importantly is how you feel about yourself and use that boost to your confidence to create that life you want to live.