Who's lovin' you: fragrances I reached for in July and why

In any collection, save the coveted collection of one will do-it-all-for-me, there are fragrances which take prime front row positions in our perfume cupboards, and those which are relegated to the back, awaiting our remembrance, rotation and love. What makes those front-row fragrances deserving of our attention? My hypothesis is that 'love' is not the reason. To argue my point of view, I will discuss the fragrances that I found myself reaching for in July.

Summer where I now reside is not warm, dry or balmy. We've been blessed with only a handful of days with temperatures above 20C and courtsey of being so northerly, have had to make do with rainy, somewhat chilly days that require a light jacket on hand. So what did I reach for as life regardless of sun or rain continued to happen?

I believe that we often reach for fragrances that are easy to wear. In July, I reached for two fragrances in particular to layer together and begin my workday. They are Vera Wang Embrace Periwinkle & Iris, and Katy Perry Indi. These two bottles are forever on my home office desk and 5-6 sprays of each by 8am and a top-up after lunch by 12:30pm, has become a weekday routine. I don't reach for them because I particularly like them or because they are of top quality. No, I choose them because they are easy and for a workday spent analysing complex things, I've developed a tendre for the easy and simple.

Secondly, I believe we reach for fragrances because we associate certain fragrance notes with climatical seasons. Although it is the thick of summer, it feels like an English spring, and spring summer nights to me call for juicy fruits, in particular, the blood orange, thus I reached for Elizabeth Arden's Always Red.

Just as well, we reach for fragrances that evoke a reaction in ourselves which we desire. When I wear Rasasi's Shuhrah, I feel like a woman whose eyes must hold a thousand secrets. Shuhrah evokes in me the feeling of being special, set apart from the maddening crowd, appreciated but hardly understood. That is how I feel about Shuhrah and she loans me a little of that sentiment.

Lastly, fragrances we regularly choose to wear evoke a certain reaction from others that is a dopamine high to us. 'Elegant... Huggable... Feminine' these compliments elicited by Al Haramain's Junoon has me subconsciouly reaching for her every time I travel. When I wrote this article, I was in a plane travelling from London after concluding a conference. I wore Junoon to dinner and the compliment that I received from a chic French colleague was a shot of dopamine, a pat on the back.

Take a good look at the fragrances you reached for in July, were they premeditated choices, if not, could you tell me why you think you chose them.