Signature Scent or a Scent Wardrobe

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I love the idea of a signature scent. Someone detects the scent in the air and they know you have been near. Also a minimalist struggling with clutter, so simplicity appeals.

However, I also do not want to smell at home the way I do at work, a sort of olfactory zoning. Some scents I adore I heavy orientals and feel out of place on a glorious day spent pattering or running errands.

I have currently 5 EDP, two smoky, two light floral and a sweet one for date nights. And randomly gifted perfume I only use sparingly for the gym :-)

Curious to hear how others do…

I have 3, one(Armarni She) I've used since it first came out in 1998 and people know it as my scent. I then have Jean Paul Gaulitier La Belle for when I'm feeling a bit more sophisticated (it feels like a scent for when it's cold to me so when its really cold I also wear it). I used to wear La Classique for years but found so many people started to wear it it wasn't unique enough for me.

I then have a Ted Baker one that is very summery, floral and sweet.

That ‘signature scent’ thing seems such an oppressive, pressurising idea - and something I vaguely remember from my Jackie magazine reading childhood. Was it a way to lock young women (and maybe their partners) into a lifetime of handing over their money to a particular brand? Can’t remember, but it seems wholly unnecessary and meaningless.

It would be the same as having a single ‘signature’ picture on your wall, or eating a ‘signature’ meal every single day of your life.

Most people like to experiment and discover new things - there’s no reason on Earth why perfume should be an exception.

I would definitely recommend a scent wardrobe.

I don’t think a single scent can be worn whatever the occasion, time of year or setting. I’ve found that perfumes actually smell different depending on the seasons.

I’m lucky to have quite a few to choose from and rotate them relative to the time of year. At the start of each season I put away the previous season’s perfumes and enjoy getting the next season’s perfumes out.

I rotate between 4. Wood sage and sea salt (JM) is my day to day. Chloe by Chloe is my going for lunch / coffee with friends / weekend type scent. I then have J'adore / JPG Classique for nights out / special events.

No idea it was called a scent wardrobe, I just call it perfume

I love Discovery Sets - of course Insta and FB bombard me with ads for them now - and I've learned I don't like oud or patchouli and I do like anything citrussy, jasmine/ tuberose and vanilla. I prefer fresh and floral to woody and oriental and I realised all this after trying four different sets.

I had a 'signature scent' (purely because I loved it, not on purpose) and then the bastards stopped making it. I've not been able to find another I like enough to wear every day

@BooBooBaloo Tell me about it …

Over the past 20 years it’s happened twice with perfumes worn by my mother: each suited her spectacularly well - both highly individual and made by geniuses. The creator of the first had to stop making it as the financial loss was too great. The creator of the second - died, and production ceased.

And two of my own best-in-a-lifetime favourite perfumes - both made by Vero Kern - just came to a sudden end when she died. I still have about a third of a bottle of Onda left. But I’ll probably long for another sniff of Rubj until the day I die …