The Ugly Fragrance Truth

Here's the ugly truth: you don't wear fragrances for yourself. You just don't. You can't. There's no such thing as wearing a fragrance because (maybe among other things) you like smelling pleasant scents. Why? Because you become nose blind to the smell of your fragrance a matter of minutes after you apply it. So the fact is, you're wearing a fragrance for other people, not yourself. Everyone except for you will be able to smell your amazing scent. Now this is not an invitation to re-apply your fragrance every couple of minutes; you will be shot--I will personally come and shoot you.

In all seriousness, this is a bit of a problem because in online fragrance communities, so much of the discourse revolves around how many compliments a fragrance can get you. It feels so odd and regressive for this industry to care so much about what other people think of your fragrance, but that's just the way it has come to be. A similar argument can be made for makeup, and less so for fashion, but the thing is with either of those, there are still mirrors.

I still like fragrances. I think a good test is to consider whether you would wear fragrances even entertaining the possibility that you may never ever receive a compliment for the way you smell, or being willing to embrace the fact that your scent may not perceptibly change anyone's behavior in any way, big or small.