Can My Signature Scent Tell You, Who I am?
Express yourself
When I was 14, I thought I had achieved the pinnacle of sophistication because I had finally chosen my signature scent. What thrilled me even more was the fact that my friends could recognise my fragrance; the excitement, I don’t think there are words to describe it. At that age, I was disproportionately fixated on finding my signature scent, who was I even? It’s so cringe, I thought I had it all figured out.
In hindsight, I had no clue what it all meant, and it was merely another juvenile attempt at rushing to grow older. Whilst I settled on Fantasy by Britney Spears very easily, in today’s world, choosing a signature scent can be perplexing, to say the least. A signature scent is a scent that perfectly and completely encompasses you as an individual. Oscar de la Renta famously said, “If you wear a different perfume every day, I do not recognise you.” Your scent is essentially an extension of you, not to get deep, the notes tell a story or so they say.
In life, we all grapple with how we see ourselves versus how others see us, the constant battle between the internal self and the external. Somehow, signature scents have become a way to establish a bridge between the two to create a harmonious link. A more authentic communication of internal self to shape our external self. At least, that is what we have been told.
Among the beauty fanatics, it's considered one of the most important beauty decisions, if not the most important. What do you want to communicate to the world, Who are you? Let’s be honest, none of this was part of my thought process at 14. It was simple, I liked the scent and I wanted to smell like that, I couldn’t even tell you want the notes were, let alone what I was communicating to the world.
Today, fragrance is one of the fastest-growing sectors within the ever-blooming beauty industry. And now with thousands of fragrance offerings, where do you begin the quest to find your perfect match? You’ve felt it right, this overwhelming pressure to find that one scent, your soul mate if you will? So much so that individuals are turning to fragrance consultations. It’s part of the modern beauty experience, weighted pressure from all angles that we succumb to unconsciously. Because it’s what we know, what we’ve been exposed all our lives.
Fragrance consultations and profiling are one-on-one meetings with an expert to explore your fragrance palette - like matchmakers but for perfume. Traditionally, this started as an in-store service, however, social media, specifically TikTok, is changing the landscape.
It was bound to happen, the online fragrance expert is the new guru to come out of the beauty community. Think of them, as the mystics of the fragrance world. Rather than clients coming to the consultations with what they like, the expert read the individual, through a series of quirky and sometimes intimate questions. The expert develops a picture of the individual, and so rather than you being in control of the journey, you have someone to guide you based on, well, you. Very similar to having someone tell you, who to be.
And it’s not just content creators, brands are catching on, for example, Penhaligon’s now offer an online matching service, and based on you as a person, questions include what type of hat you would be, your perfect getaway and there is even a question about your spirit animal.
On TikTok, Travaulya Wallace is quickly cementing her place as the go-to fragrance specialist. Travaulya offers what she calls the ‘Travaulya experience’. When shopping with her for your next scent, it’s an intimate, emotional and immersive session, and it’s rumoured people have even shed tears during their time with her. Travaulya’s page is filled with suggestions, not just your average run-of-the-mill finds, they’re all rigorously and attentively chosen to complement the different characteristics for whom the suggestion is being made, whether it’s based on your occupation or your star sign.
It certainly not for everyone, definitely a little woo-woo for me, yet loads of people swear by it. Our lives are inundated with choice, we’re experiencing choice overload in almost every factor of life, some outsourcing can offer relief.
It was interesting to read in a Mintel report that “fragrance while functioning as a tool to escape reality, can also be positioned as an extension of the wearer’s personality. Turning fragrance into an expression of one’s own identity can ensure repeat purchases.” My 14-year-old self feels deceived, can’t lie. Is the idea of a scent signature nothing more than a marketing ploy? How much of scent communicates who we are and how much of it is just capitalism at play?
As someone who's obsessed with fragrances, I’ve spent way too much time on #perfumetok and fragrance experts are no joke. Through following these experts I’ve learnt the differences between scents for when you just want to be left alone and the type of perfume you want to wear to a boardroom. Though, I must admit still don’t really understand it.
Traditionally, the world of fragrance is aspirational and adverts are filled with supermodels living out their best lives. It’s pitched as your slice of luxury escapism outside of the mundane. We’re constantly told, we too can have this with the spirits of our perfume. Online fragrance experts are bringing scent knowledge to the everyday consumer and I guess that’s why it’s so intriguing plus we’ve high off that fragrance pipe dream.
The idea is that fragrance experts and consultations make perfume a reality within the scopes of our real life and present a new accessible way to discover and refine our scent palette but to what goal? It may not be obvious but fragrances also reflects and conveys broader societal norms and beauty standards.
Does the idea of a signature scent speak to the need to express ourselves authentically in a world that is restrictive about how we should present ourselves and what we can be? In reality the pursuit paradoxically distances us from our authentic selves, perpetuating consumerism and societal pressures.
They say fragrance experts are facilitating a new era of signature scents, giving life to all the versions of you and building a fragrance wardrobe that not only represents you but also functions as a language to communicate who you are and who you want to be in life. Surely, the onus of self-expression should ideally fall on us as individuals, transcending beyond the limitations of a fragrance?
And all of this is not to say the idea of signature scent is a bad one. I enjoy the idea, it’s the illusion that it allows access to authenticity, freedom, and power that doesn’t sit right well with me. What do you think?