i love smelling and remembering. memories jolted by olfactory stimuli seem sharper and more vivid to me than those involving sights or sounds. this, after all, has grounds in science.

therefore, it goes without saying that i am crazy about fragrances. and that a number of them are very close to me since they are invariably linked to certain memories. the most notable of these commercially available memory triggers is lacoste pour femme.

although my first bottles of perfume were clinique happy and estee lauder pleasures, pasalubong from balikbayan relatives, lacoste pour femme happens to be the first i bought with my own money, so that idea alone gives me a sense of independence and, well, the feeling of possessing so-called disposable income back when i was single and gullible. plus the laughable circumstances surrounding how i got my first two bottles of it are so attached to messy experiences and relationships, it reminds me of how long i have come and the trials i had to surmount to get to this point. it also brings me back to those days when good friends gather in dimly lit cafe corners, melting into couches, profoundly wasting time. melodramatic? that’s what scents do to me.

of course, it also helps that the scent is simply fabulous. the first time i took a whiff of it, the very word that came to my mind was fascinating. i find this smell hard to classify… even the story behind it in its campaign is completely different from the feelings it evokes in me. they say “A free spirit, the Lacoste woman aspires to be swept away, and acts on impulse. Authentic, open-minded, captivating, a bit wild, she’ll try anything once, and she knows how to take advantage of the surprises life can offer!”

to me it’s a very comfortable scent, so comfortable there were nights i wore it to bed. at the same time, i find it spontaneous, but not wild nor impulsive as they market it to be. it’s soft, warm and elegant, something you would love to wrap yourself in, like cashmere. it’s got that simple and natural sophistication to it, something lady-like but not sweet and cloying. it gives you that creamy kind of feeling you get when you dip your fingers in bath foam because it’s so clean and tender. despite that, it’s not a very serious scent, though it’s more “fun-loving” than “party animal”.

top notes: jamaican pepper, purple freesia

heart notes: white heliotrope, iranian jasmine, hibiscus blossom, bulagarian rose, ambrette seed

base notes: himalayan cedar wood, “velvety skin”, sandalwood, incense

its first tv ad strikes me more…

…than the last.

it’s hard to find similar scents to this one (some salespersons say it’s powdery, some floral-woodsy… but really it’s nothing like other perfumes that belong to those categories), and i suppose that’s one of the reasons i am irresistibly drawn to it.

anyway, we moved to fiji in 2009 and one of the biggest advantages here is that all perfumes, my fetish du jour, are priced more reasonably than anywhere else. the unfortunate thing is lacoste fragrances are not available here. when i asked my husband to scour brisbane and the sunshine coast in australia the last time he was there, he sadly informed me that he couldn’t manage to find lacoste fragrances there either. i asked another person in new zealand who had no luck there too. does that mean lacoste fragrances are rare in this part of the world?

so i finally bought one from ebay and had it handcarried from the philippines by someone coming back to fiji. i was as thrilled as a little birthday girl tearing off the bubble wrap and opening the carton. when i lifted the bottle from its box, i heaved an involuntary sigh and pressed it to my cheek. it was like meeting an old friend.

scents are such amazing things. some can get you refreshed and make you relax. some can energize and even seduce. so what are so many women still doing waiting for special occasions to wear fragrance? any day is a perfect day to smell good!

but how to shop for scents? if you are one of the many customers who can’t seem to decide on any particular fragrance until the assistant is fossilized, here are a few guidelines i learned on how to enhance your skills in choosing perfume:

1. determine your signature scent

choose according to your personality: are you active and athletic? are you sweet and sassy? are you feminine and romantic? are you alluring and sultry? are you daring and adventurous? choose according to occasion: is it for daily wear? for weekend getaways? for formal date nights?

fragrances are divided into four groups: fresh (clean with citrus and green characteristics), floral (very feminine featuring, as the name suggests, flowers like jasmine, iris, etc.), oriental (exotic like spice and amber) and woody (warm featuring aromatic scents like cinnamon and patchouli and, of course, woodsy smells like cedar and pine).

so if you are the romantic type, most likely you’d be drawn to floral. if you are seductive, try oriental. if you like comfortable smells, then perhaps woody. if you are laid-back, go for fresh.

2. take your time testing

one thing i notice about shoppers is they feel so harried and intimidated when a gang of salespersons flock around them armed with testers that they just sniff quickly from bottles, turn then go. so here’s one of my most important tips: don’t be intimidated. countless times have i told them that i would like to shop in peace and this has worked without a hitch so far. you see, to appreciate scents, you need to test them, not just take a whiff from the bottle, so do linger around the counter as long as you can.

what i usually do is test as much as my nose and the coffee beans can handle on testing strips. then i narrow them down to three or four scents to apply on my skin (aside from the wrists, you can also use the insides of your elbows so the fragrances don’t mix). and i don’t buy on the spot. i go around the department store or even go home without locking down on a choice. this way, i can find out which one smells best after a few hours on my skin and even sniff out which one lasts the longest. once i have decided on one, i go back for the bottle. because i take time, fragrances have never caused me buyer’s remorse, ever.

3. select your formula and quantity

you also have to consider the intensity and the duration with which you mean to wear your perfume. are you the type who spritzes frequently throughout the day? do you need one that will last the entire evening for a party? here are the concentrations from highest to lowest: parfum, eau de parfum, eau de toilette, eau de cologne. there’s also solid perfume, one that is solidified in beeswax.

then determine how often you intend to wear it as this will help you decide how big a bottle you ought to get. fragrance, once opened, will normally last up to 18 months stored in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight.

4. don’t be afraid to experiment

try to look beyond the endorsements and that cute little bottle (honestly though, i am a sucker for attractive packaging). don’t limit yourself to mainstream brands. there are a lot of fantastic niche brands you would miss if you don’t dare yourself to step out of your comfort zone.

as for me, here are my favorite scents (and their ads that i love!):

chloe eau de parfum

marc jacobs daisy

marc jacobs lola

lacoste pour femme

lacoste inspiration

estee lauder pleasures

images from chandlerburr, impactlab, sophie’s realm, perfume 100.