A perfume is not just for Christmas.

As I lie here in bed, with half a wad of loo roll in my sleeve, a mug of hot lemon, ginger and honey at hand and a nose filled with mucus, I reflect upon one of the most important things to me. In those "If you HAD to..." questions, I imagine the sense of smell is one that would often be given up over the other four primaries, but to me smells are a very important part of my life.

To those who know me personally, they'll most likely agree that I am a very nostalgic person. I enjoy reminiscing over past events and tend to own keepsakes of various things that I've experienced throughout my life (trust me, I have A LOT of theatre tickets around the flat). As a visual/kinetics learner, I tend to remember through visuals or carrying out the same action, but another strong focus for me is scent. If I smell something familiar, it will always bring me back to the moment where it was most prominent and, to me, that's something nice that I would never want to let go of.

Palmer's Cocoa Butter - something that will always
remind me of my Dad

So, think about someone who comes to visit your house, or vice versa. One thing that you might remember is the smell of them or their surroundings. Everyone has their own unique smell - the smell of their skin which is mixed with whatever they use to wash, perfume themselves, things they often eat and even the pet they own. This smell becomes tied to you and can act as a comfort, a nostalgia and an identity. Currently, I have a t-shirt of my boyfriend's, which he had forgotten to pack after visiting me last. When I found it amongst my own washing, I could tell it wasn't mine because it didn't smell of jasmine perfume; I could tell it was his because it smelt like him and it genuinely made me smile. The smell for me is one of comfort; a smell that reminds me of someone I care for very much, and a nice reminder of their visit (our Halloween costumes were nothing short of amazing). The thing is, now that I've washed it, it will smell more like me and my patchouli/oakmoss washing liquid. The t-shirt will be returned with a faint smell of something he might link to me, and possibly bring a similar smile. A prominent smell that I really love is the smell of cocoa butter, as it's something that my Dad uses on his skin to keep it soft. I have grown up my entire life with that scent on his skin, and now there is something homely about it. Cocoa butter has become nostalgic, warm and reminds me of the man who used to fall asleep on the sofa whilst we watched old Westerns on television.

In my 1st and 2nd year of uni, I used to have pink hair and
wear a candyfloss perfume. The sweetness of the perfume
was SO different to the style of clothing I wore that I think
it really reflected my personality behind the fashion choices.

 Another example of this would be from my first year at university. I had left something in my room whilst I was visiting family and desperately needed to know if it was there. I phoned my flatmate and asked him to go in and find it whilst he was on the phone to me. Once he entered my room, he breathed in heavily and said to me "I miss you so much right now!" We hadn't seen each other for a while, but this was rather out of the blue. I responded that I missed him too, and he proceeded to tell me that once he had opened the door to my room, he had been engulfed in the smell of my perfume. To me, this is something beautiful - to know that smell can evoke emotions and memories.

This is why I feel that perfume is so important, and not just a fall-back gift. When I buy a perfume for someone, I try to think of their personality, the smells that they surround themselves with already, and the sort of things they like to do in their day to day lives. For instance, I have a friend who enjoys travel and spent a lot of time in hot countries like Spain. Her personality is vibrant and excitable. For her, I would find a scent that smelt of warm holidays, with oranges that reminded her of the tastes and smells she might've taken in. I think the citrus would also compliment her loud personality, leaving a fantastic and zesty atmosphere wherever she's been.

 Okay, so before you choose to buy the poshest looking perfume, or the one that's endorsed by their favourite celebrity, think about who they are, the foods they enjoy, their favourite holidays or even something wonderful that they might have done with you. Think of those things and then relate it to a smell, and THEN find a perfume that is similar, or even has those things in it.  Don't just give a perfume for Christmas, give a perfume that evokes something every time they wear it, and in turn becomes a reflection of them in a scent. Trust me, it's more personal.