Pick your Poision.

okay, it's not what you think - I'm not about to write about an 80's movie with american gangsters trying to work out how they're going to kill their boss, well not yet at least. It's 8.23am in London and I've had a particular post on my mind for about a week, something that I feel relates to the majority of women out there. 

Perfume. That little bottle of toxic poison that all women (and men) carry in their day bags to work, their clutch bags to the bar, their oversized travel bags to their family house. The little bottle that defines who you are, what kind of character you are and is one way we send out our mating scent to those around us - well, not in a natural way. It is one of the hugest markets in the world, used by many fashion and cosmetic companies as a way to develop their brand as well as create an identity, all through particular flavours that have certain connotations when different levels of ingredients are combined together. a concoction of tastes, of styles, of aromas that glisten flirtaciously in those little glass bottles on our window sills, waiting to be picked up at the start of the morning as we rush from the shower in our towels, thinking of how we want to look that day. An intelligent play on materialistic want and self representation that no one seems coming until they're out of their front door on their way to work. 

It's incredibly interesting to pull on the factor of what a consumer wishes to portray themselves as when they choose a perfume, and it's a strong mechanism to almost create a lifestyle through a particular scent so that those that feel they can closely relate to the overall image that a perfume creates, will buy into one particular brand and their created aroma. 

Case study 1 - me. 
The best way I can describe this interesting observation is indeed looking at myself. My first ever perfume when I was 16 was Miss Dior Cherie - a small pink glass bottle with a metallic bow around the nozel, that smelt like flowers and strawberries. It was my first ever perfume bought for me from my parents and was, at the point, a good start to what characteristical path I would set myself upon - I was young, naive, finding myself and becoming a young woman.

When I was 18 I bought Dior Poison. Now this transition in scent says it all - the bottle was dark red and black, and the scent was dark and deep, reminding me of cherries and liqourice, and was as strong as poision. It was my way of drawing attention from others around me when I wore it, a scent that stung the noise and made you want to find out more - at this time of my life, I was finding my own identity, and my own style, was discovering what a social life was and indeed, my own independence. 

Now, at 22, I wear Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium. Lighter than Dior Poison with a slightly more floral scent, it is a perfume that combines what I feel, two levels of my character - femininity and softness against a confidence and independence. A mature scent that still is youthful and girly at the same time. 

So when you next pick up that little glass bottle of the shelf in Selfridges, or spray a little something something onto a tester card when you pass the beauty counter on your way home, think to yourself. Why is this little glass bottle of poison attracting me so much? What is it about me that relates to this significant aroma that one brand is trying to sell to me right this minute?