Are you a stinky linky? Or do you smell like a divine divalicious babe? By malu Fernandez

Newspapers have the habit of taking down their archives. This little known article by the condescending, grossly overweight and feeling sexy writer is being posted here in full

Are you a stinky linky? Or do you smell like a divine divalicious babe?

By Malu Fernandez
As all of you know I have just returned from a wonderful holiday in the Mediterranean. To cut on some costs for this impromptu vacation I was forced to fly economy class which I absolutely do not wish on my worst enemy. I was, however, encouraged by my travel agent to try out Emirates since it won the best economy class, so with great trepidation I flew on Emirates via Dubai, completely forgetting that Dubai is the hub for all the Filipino migrant workers. Call me whatever you like but when you are trapped in economy class that is filled to the brim with migrant workers the smell gets a little funky after nine hours of flying.

The whole incident inspired me to write about fragrance. For as long as I can remember I have had a very keen sense of smell. And sometimes I can remember people by their sense, call it weird but its true. Some studies actually state that men and women are more primarily attracted by scent than by physical attributes. I may forget a lover’s face but I never forget his scent.

Have you ever gone shopping for a new scent and felt so overwhelmed by so many choices? No matter how many coffee beans you inhale in between smelling different fragrances it is best to only do five at a time as your sense of smell cannot handle more than that.

“There’s too much confusion, too much secrecy... I think perfumery should be raised to the same level as music, and painting, and architecture. With a symphony orchestra, you can see all the music, you can see all the instruments, and in the end it’s still magical. When you’re educated, you can determine the true value of things, and you can make better choices. It’s time for that same level of education to occur with scent.” (Cristophe Laudamiel, From Making Perfect Scents, The Boston Globe, Feb. 22).

The Philippines has a great number of colognes and perfumes in the market, from Chanel, Anick Goutal, Sarah Jessica Parker’s celebrity scent, Mark Jacob’s designer fragrance to Inno Sotto’s new perfume. You can go through the whole cosmetic and fragrance department of Rustan’s and sample a whole array of fragrances, ranging from P2,000 to P5,000.

What people don’t seem to realize is that wearing a fragrance is like wearing clothes, you shouldn’t wear the same scent all the time or you will have no distinction at all. You can’t go out on the town smelling like you paid $20 for your cologne from the Perfumeria at the mall in Sherman Oaks (eeew!!!!) You also shouldn’t smell like everyone else! If all you can afford is Axe cologne use the magazine scents or don’t wear any. A good fragrance smells differently on each individual because of body chemistry. What may smell good on me may absolutely stink on someone else. To quote my good buddy and fellow fashionista Kitty Go: “I hate smelling like the rest of the world in their clouds of Duty Free scents!”

Frankly, I feel the same way but there are exceptions, like GFF by Gianfranco Ferre. Kitty on the other hand, prefers Jean Claude Ellena’s L’eau d’hiver and Angelique Sous La Pluie and for the winter, Serge Lutens’ Ambre Sultan, and year round Robert Piguet’s Fracas or Bandit.

After talking to Kitty, I decided to find out what some of my other fabulous friends are into… My BFF (best friend forever) and oldest friend Samantha Eduque got me into Jo Malone and I haven’t stopped buying his scents. Our favorite one is the Nectarine Honey Blossom. I also love the Ginger scent, which my bubbly and perky friend Rajo Laurel prefers as well. Jo Malone rocks because you can do fragrance layering which means you layer one scent with another to create your own special scent. Rajo also claims that a good scent can conjure up happy memories. I agree. Have you ever smelled something from the past that evoked a smile?

Acca Kappa seems to be a favorite pick as well because not only is it moderately priced around P2,000, it also has a light lingering scent that my bachelor buddy Christopher Lim prefers.

“I like Acca Kappa because the only time you get to really smell it is when you’re close enough to that special person,” he reveals.

My favorite nephew, Miguel Zubiri, prefers Gio by Armani for himself but he absolutely loves Estee Lauders’ Pleasures, a scent he personally picked for his wife Audrey. My cool buddy Mart Tan likes Bulgari’s kid’s cologne because of its light fresh scent. I like a lot of Bulgari’s scents as well as all the tea scents, green, red and white tea.

There are other playful scents like Insolence by Guerlain a favorite pick of one of my fabulous and beautiful; and fellow fashionista buddy and Mega Magazine’s secret weapon, Carla Sibal. “Just look up the meaning of the name and you will figure out the scent!,” she says.

Leave it to Carla to pick the controversial scent of the moment.

Insolence is a big deal now in the perfume market because of its fierce competition with Chanel. LVMH chairman, Bernard Arnault “understands that of all the LVMH brands, only Guerlain can combat Chanel.” At the moment the perfume giants are all at war and Guerlain and Chanel are at the very top.

Party buddy, Pepper Teehankee likes unisex scents from Creed and Tim Yap loves High Energy by Dior a present he got from my favorite Sea Princess Tessa Prieto Valdes. Tim calls it “Redbull in a perfume bottle.” Tessa, on the other hand, favors Anick Goutal’s Folavaril because it reminds her of gay Paris where the quaint little shop of Anick Goutal stands, at the corner across the chic Hotel Costes, my favorite place for coffee.

So you see different people have different tastes in scents just like in clothes. What people don’t know about the fragrance business is that the actual scent isn’t that expensive to make. More often than not it is the bottle, packaging and the marketing and advertising fees that make some of these fragrances expensive. For now I’m a complete Jo Malone fanatic and I love Sarah Jesicca Parker’s “Lovely” because it’s my stay at home cologne (in other words, my pambahay scent) because it’s really calming and soothing. But just to give you an idea of how some of the fragrances are being categorized. Here is the current list of scents done in category as listed in the February 2007 issue of Town and Country. As you can see it is quite an extensive list but no matter as long as you don’t smell like you got your scent from the checkout aisle at the supermarket or the Perfumeria in the valley you will be fine!

Classic

Potent: Baghari (Robert Piguet), Bal a Versailles (Jean Desprez), Chanel No. 5, Femme (Rochas), Fracas (Robert Piguet), Mitsouko (Guerlain), Opium (Yves Saint Laurent), Shalimar (Guerlain), Youth Dew (Estee Lauder).

Medium Strength: Anais Anais (Cacharel), Arpege (Lanvin), First (Van Cleef & Arpels), Joy (Jean Patou), L’Air du Temps (Nina Ricci), Lauren (Ralph Lauren), L’Interdit (Givenchy), Oscar (de la Renta), Rive Gauche (Yves Saint Laurent).

Barely There: Caleche (Hermes), Diorissimo (Christian Dior).

Contemporary

Potent: Boucheron, L Eau d Hadrien (Annick Goutal), L’Eau d’Issay (Issay Miyake), Obsession (Calvin Klein), Prada.

Medium Strength: Amarige (Givenchy), Calyx (Prescriptives), Carolina Herrera, Cashmere Mist (Donna Karan), J’Adore (Christian Dior), Lime Basil & Mandarine (Jo Malone), Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Paris (Yves Saint Laurent), Pleasures (Estee Lauder), Romance (Ralph Laurent), Stella (McCartney), Tresor (Lancôme), Vera Wang.

Barely There: Allure (Chanel), Au The Vert (Bvlgari), For Her (Narciso Rodriguez), L Instant de Guerlain, Pure Tiffany.

Current

Potent: Black Orchid (Tom Ford), Soir de Lune (Sisley), Valentino V.

Medium Strength: Armani Code for Women, Badgley Mischka, Beyond Paradise Blue (Estee Lauder), Burberry London, Cuir Beluga (Guerlain), Delices de Cartier, Donna Karan Gold, F by Ferragamo, Hypnôse (Lancôme), Insolence (Guerlain), Into the Blue (Escada), Island (Michael Kors), Lovely (Sarah Jessica Parker), Par Amour (Clarins), Rumeur, Silver Rain (La Prairie).

Barely There: Dianthus (Etro), Rose Ikebana (Hermes).

Rare

Potent: Fleur Oriental (Miller Harris), Iris Poudre (Frederic Malle)

Medium Strength: Beach (Bobbi Brown), Colonia (Acqua di Parma), Douce Amere (Serge Lutens), Dreams of the Sea (Antonia’s Flowers), Jarling (JAR), Love in White (Creed), No. 1 For Women (Clive Christian), Perfect Kiss (Sarah Horowitz), Vanille Abricot (Comptoir Sud Pacifique).

Barely There: Millesime Imperial (Creed), Mimosa Pour Moi (L’Artisan), Acqua di Colonia (Santa Maria Novella), The Scent of Peace (Bond No. 9).