LUXURY ESSENTIALS

I have a new bottle of perfume, Lancome's Poeme, gorgeous and expensive but my sister bought it for me. Now I have a choice of three french perfumes, luxury in bottles. Perfume makes me feel feminine unless I look in the mirror when I'm spraying it on (never a good idea). Going out wafting YSL's Opium makes me feel confident. Clarin's Eau Dynamisante sends me off to citrusy sleep. I cannot walk past a perfume counter with out trying something new, sometimes with horrible consequences. I can't wear any Dior fragrance. They make me feel ill and never develop on my skin the way they should, no subtle notes just pong. Guerlain's Byzance gives me a raging headache, Chanel No.5, forget it and the various celeb creations, well the bottles look great. YSL's Opium for Men goes surprising well though.

You'll note that these are all expensive french goodies. We have champagne tastes on beer money in this family. My father loved Eau Sauvage, my mother loves L'air du Temps and my sister buy Estee Lauder everything by the gallon. I remember Dad telling us not to buy the talc because it wasn't good value, it ran out too quickly then he discovered the grandson filling his sneakers with it because it made them smell nice. Grandson had his own expensive taste, developing a liking for Givenchy aftershave.

I remember a perfume that reminded me of my first cocktail, made from mandarin and brandy, both of them heady. One long lost friend wore nothing but Tabu and if I smell that I can see her face clearly although it's been years since we last saw each other. My mother-in-law will be forever violets.

Perfume is the only feminine thing women don't have to give up as we grow older. Hair styles change to suit the more mature face. Hipster jeans and tank tops give way to power dressing.
Jewellery becomes more discreet and hopefully, more solid gold. Fragile bones drop the 6" stilletos down to 4" or even 3" or in my case, no heels at all.

I started off with light teenage florals, went on to classic woody now I'm into luscious orientals and since I plan to live a long and eccentric life, I don't think they're made the perfume for my old age yet.