I recently bought myself several bottles of perfume — Bellodgia, Muguet Des Bois, Je Reviens, and Love’s Lemon. I don’t wear perfume, but I bought them purefly for nostalgia. My mother mother wore Bellodgia (and Shalimar). I thought I loved it, with its notes of carnation and rose, but when I got my box and smelled it, it smelled like an old woman. Nix that.

My sister wore Je Reviens, and I remember loving it on her. Now, it smells powdery and sweet. A very young fragrance. Nix that too.

Love’s Lemon smells like slightly spoiled table wax. Uh, nope.

But Muguet des Bois still stands the test of time for me. It’s light, and green,and smells like fresh cut lilies of the valley. It reminds me of another fragrance I used to love – Diorissimo. Open, fresh, and full of possibility. Or maybe that’s my memory of how I felt at 14, when I would spray this scent on, and go out to meet the world.