Signature Scent? No!
For many people, a signature fragrance is the one product that they can wear every day, for every occasion, for years on end. Fragrances are a fairly personal thing.
According to a recent BBC article ( W. Park ,21st June 2021) our odor preferences are genetically determined. So unbeknownst to our conscious self, our genes are telling us what scent to choose. I am not quite sure if I should find that worrisome or not. Aside from the fragrances I design (which are most certainly a construct of personal stories and emotions) my choice of fragrances and what I choose to spritz myself with on any given day is as varied as, I dunno, the shoe department at Saks. Egad! Am I some sort of genetic mutant with malleable genes that routinely (nightly!) change?
Unquestionably, I am not a fashionista. My clothing choices generally are determined by what is clean that is either lying conveniently next to my bed or hanging from the closest hook in my closet. Not to digress, but admittedly, I am currently obsessed with hoodies. Back to scent! However, if there is a fragrance equivalent to the fashionista I could honestly consider myself a fragranista (perfumista, scentista?).
My day starts like this: feed the dogs, make some coffee, grab a coffee, shower, throw something on and begin the enjoyable but intense decision as to what scent I want to surround myself with for the day. Fleeting feelings such as: is it warm, is it cold, am I in a serious mood, a playful mood, is it a moment for reminiscing, or a do I feel a creative, energetic vibe, and on and on. I don’t actually verbalize any of this stuff (duh) I just feel it. So, are my mutant, malleable genes causing this or is it something else?
In an old article from Scientific American that I dug up, a professor at Brown University (R.S. Hertz Do Scents affect people's moods or work performance?, 11/11/02) posits that our response to scent has to do with what we have learned to associate with it. This can be either positive or negative. If you hated Latin, and by extension, your Latin teacher, and they always smelled like vanilla, good chance you won’t like the smell of vanilla.
Apparently, our odor preferences begin before birth depending on our mothers diets. And if your mom wore perfume when she cuddled you as a baby, you will definitely have an affinity for some of those scents. Of course, I suppose conversely, that if your mom or dad only wore scents on occasions where one was acting naughty, (and they let you know it!) you might have an aversion to those scents.
Our lives, my life, so far has been filled with an amazing number of experiences and moments in which I was aware not only of the circumstances themselves but of everything surrounding them, including the surrounding scents. My experiences, imho, have been enhanced by being aware of the scents of both the every day and the unique. By extension, my days are enhanced by my choice of scent, either new or old. So, do we cheat ourselves and our experiences a bit by sticking to one “signature” fragrance? Certainly, for me that would be the case.