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The Essence of Modernity: A Journey through Cities and Fragrances

It’s not just a part of a beauty routine. Choosing a fragrance is a way of expressing our personality. The scents we wear and the smells of the cities where we live combine to shape our sense of identity.

NOTE TO READERS: NO PROUSTIAN MADELEINE WAS HARMED, CONSUMED (OR EVEN REFERENCED) IN THE WRITING OF THIS ARTICLE

The holidays are quite literally in the air. Our sense of smell plays an important role at this time of the year (colds and runny noses notwithstanding.)

Scents waft through all our dinners with friends, relatives, and colleagues. They’re ubiquitous in traditional foods and sweets, on festooned streets, in the cold wind, in pine needles and mistletoe. All these smells jog distant memories and tug on our heart strings as we remember Christmases past. Not to mention that the holiday season is when the most perfumes are sold and given as gifts.

Each of us has a personal olfactory map, based not only on the fragrances we wear, but also on the scents of the cities where we live. Whereas in the past, perfumers once sought to mask unpleasant odors, today their goal is to create scents that are in harmony with our surroundings.
To wear a perfume is to assert one’s personality and place. And our surroundings often influence our preferences.

Scents and the city

First there was Paris, then came London, New York, Amsterdam and Brisbane. Many cities have now decided to present the scents of their streets in museum installations. Still others have sought to capture the smells of their subways or to recreate the original essences of their most iconic destinations.

Every town or city has its own smell, a medley of elements that come together in a unique way: the air, the public transportation system, the foods and the trees, the people and the animals. When we return to a place we love, we instantly recognize those odors as part of an urban identity, on equal footing with a celebrated skyline, beloved monuments or the local language. That’s what prompted Gérald Ghislain and Magali Senequier to introduce their The Scent of Departure line, a collection of 40 perfumes inspired by big cities.

Not Just N.5

A century after its debut, Coco Chanel’s celebrated N.5 perfume is still the best-known fragrance worldwide. Yet, there is room for other masterpieces in the temple of iconic men’s and women’s fragrances.

Opium by Yves Saint Laurent, CK One by Calvin Klein, Eau d’Hermès by Hermès, Le male by Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Colonia by Acqua di Parma are but a few of the must-have perfumes created in recent decades by the most visionary, brilliant noses. While all fashion houses have updated and revisited their classic formulas, creating more modern, wearable versions of their fragrances to appeal to new generations, it’s also true that some perfumes never go out of style and continue to attract legions of fans in their original essence. Nothing is more modern than a timeless classic.

Living More Vespa in 2022 – the Fragrance

Fresh, with invigorating citrus notes, or spicy and sensual, with a mix of wooden or leathery accents, and touches of amber and ginger. In 2022, perfumes will be dynamic and genderless, floral without being saccharine, perfect for anyone on the go and lasting just enough to stay with us throughout the day.

So, how should go about picking the right perfume for the coming year?

1) Give it a try.
Maybe you first reach for the bottle because of its design, or the perfume’s name, or your mood that day. Whatever the reason, it’s always best to settle on a scent after you’ve tried several different options, giving your nose a chance to re-set for a few minutes in between each.

2) When in doubt, choose universal notes (citrus, vanilla, musk).
Clean, crisp fragrances that are not too intense layer nicely, blending in with the other scents we all carry (from face creams, aftershave, deodorant and even laundry detergent).

3) Follow your instinct.
If your first whiff of a perfume triggers positive feelings and makes you want to hop on board your Vespa and take off to discover the world or seek a new adventure… well, you’ve found the right fragrance.