by: Elena Vosnaki
If you're like 45% of Americans (and an indeterminate percentage of internationals) you have sorted out your New Year's Resolutions faithfully with the first glimpses of the calendar leafing though at the start of January. "This year I will do this, I will do that and accomplish everything I have set out to do without throwing the blanket at mid-February", you say to yourself. The reason I'm mentioning mid-February at all is because most people determined to keep their New Year's Resolutions abandon them by that time, according to Time's coverage in 2012 [1]
A research paper from the University of Scranton [2] in 2014 further indicates that only 39% of people aged 30 or less attain their resolution and a staggering 49% of all people polled have infrequent success with meeting their own. So, after the filling desserts of the end of the year, the heavy partying and the perceived loneliness associated with holidays in what pertains to the unattached or the attached, there is a fun way to make light of the most common New Year's Resolutions. Why not sprinkle them with a spattering of fragrance and associate each one with a gorgeous fragrance that will improve your mood and make you more optimistic?
I decided to take the most common resolutions, analyze their components and suggest a fragrance that should satisfy the craving and give a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. Please supplement in the comments if you have more suggestions.
Resolution 1: Lose Weight
Purpose: Getting fit, feeling better, looking better.
Solution: Although the concept behind gimmicky products such as the 1996 Aromatrim focus on curbing your appetite by smelling something foul (like burnt plastic) is a form of aversion therapy, there are much better -and more sustainable- ways to do it. According to a 2012 study in "Flavour", strong aromas help you take smaller bites. Try spicy and bold perfumes with pepper, red chili or immortelle, such as Sables (Goutal), Poivre Samarcande (Hermes), Poivre 23 (Le Labo) or Piment Brulant (L'Artisan). The Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation has also found that overweight people sniffing bananas or green apples when hunger strikes lost more weight than those who didn't; neutral sweet smells help curb the appetite. Try Sira des Indes (Patou), All About Eve (Joop!) and Light Blue (D&G).
Fennel also works, according to the West Coast Institute of Aromatherapy; try Aniceby Etro or Provence Meadow by Demeter. And one especially optimistic theory from the Osaka University in Japan suggests that the scent of grapefruit itself might interact with liver enzymes and help dieters! No shortage on that perfume note... Eau de Pamplemousse Rose (Hermes), Grapefruit (Antica Farmacista), Pamplelune(Guerlain), El Dorado (Fueguia 1833)... the catalogue is endless.
Resolution 2: Getting Organized
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Solution: Clutter suggests mental sluggishness due to boredom/fatigue or some negligence due to stress. Smells that are invigorating or can relieve stress can help: notes of orange, rosemary and lemon as well as jasmine, lavender, ylang ylang and clary sage can help you out.
Fragrances with a combination of these includeEau Neuve by Lubin, My Sin (Lanvin), Zizan(Ormonde Jayne) and Cologne du 69(Guerlain).
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Resolution 3: Spend Less, Save More
Purpose: Harnessing the purse strings and putting that retirement plan into action
Solution: Perfume prices have exponentially grown these past few years, what with the positioning of most new brands as either niche or luxury and the significant mark-ups of perfumes issued by luxury conglomerates such as LVMH. But value-for-money can still exist in perfumery and cheap thrills are plenty.
My own suggestions include Mauer & Wirtz Tabac (gorgeous masculine tobacco fougere), Goeffrey Beene Grey Flannel (a great violets and green tapestry), Halston Z-14 (chyprish "perfumey" scent for connoisseurs), Il Bacio (Princess Marcella Borghese) a not too sweet fruity floral with spine, L'Occitane en Provence 4 Reines (a gorgeous natural feeling rose), Oriflame Lovely Garden (a rhubarb and milk vanilla fantasy), Silk Way (Ted Lapidus), a recent find thanks to the blogosphere which is like retro florientals, Zara Rose (a very good copy of Narciso for Her) and Monsieur Balmain (sunshine in a bottle).
Resolution 4: Enjoy Life to the Fullest
Purpose: Savor the simple things and search for moments of happiness.
Solution: Although this might seemingly run against resolution #3 (because enjoying life for perfumistas means surrounding yourself with the best aromas and that might come at a financial outlay), maybe it isn't so. Let's not suggest buying MORE fragrances, but rather making a commitment to wear the beauties that we own. So many of us live in self-denial, safekeeping our precious bottles for fear of running out of "the good juice", sure to be tampered in the future by penny-pinching accountants and ultra-austere fragrance industry regulations. But there's nothing worse than finding yourself dead and deprived of all the things you might have enjoyed! Without being morbid, let this year be the year you enjoy what you have.
Resolution 5: Staying Healthy
Purpose: Health is un-negotiable
Solution: Inform yourself on what is really beneficial, what is neutral and what can be harmful. If you're worried about the ingredients in your fragrance, relax and block out the fear mongering that runs rampant on the Internet. I can assure you that the International Fragrance Association is monitoring everything (and anything and maybe a bit too much for our own good sometimes) and the regulations for skin sensitizing and allergenic reactions are super-strict. We don't drink perfume after all, right? Better make a decision to re-examine your functional products (home cleaning stuff), the airborne molecules into the ventilation system at work and in shops, and the air in your city.
Resolution 6: Learn Something Exciting
Purpose: Diversify and expand your mind.
Solution: The easiest way would be to change fragrance, to try a new fragrance family (if you have always resisted chypres, why not give them a chance, following Fragrantica's classification system, for instance) or better yet connect your love of perfume with new knowledge. I suggest consulting the following good books:
1."Perfume, the Art & Craft of Fragrance" by Karen Gilbert: a basic but concise guide for both beginners & lovers
2. "Fragrant, the secret life of scent" by Mandy Aftel: a beautiful expounding of the power of scent
3. "The Diary of a Nose" by Jean Claude Ellena: a personal memoir by a famed perfumer
4. "Meaningful Scents around the World" by Roman Kaiser: a more advanced tome for those really interested
5. "On Perfume Making" by Frederic Malle: a book on the concept of one of the first niche brands which shaped the scenery (ironic given the latest developments, but good book all the same)
Resolution 7: Quit smoking
Purpose: Self explanatory.
Solution: Two pronged approach on this one. If you embrace the aversion therapy school, you might want to have an atrocious scent to make you refrain every time you reach for that packet of Marlboros: why not rely on the trusted Secretions Magnifiquesand its avant-garde bleached operating theaters scentscape? Guaranteed aversion; careful though if you're in a work environment, it might put you off a lot of things.
If you think you can substitute an actual fag with the smell of fags, try Jasmin & Cigarette (Etat Libre d'Orange), Bell'Antonio (Hilde Soliani), A*men Pure Havane(Mugler) and Kretek (Ava Luxe). They reproduce the note well.
Resolution 8: Help Others in their dreams
Purpose: Send out good karma and pay it forward.
Solution: This is where the fragrance hobby comes handy: share the love! Also do you know of people wanting to start up a small business that might involve scent or scented products? Coax that person, guide them with your passion and help them realize that there is a big market for artisans and small entrepreneurs. We're legion.
Resolution 9: Fall in Love
Purpose: Tick off the box of things one must do in this life, at least once.
Solution: Although I personally believe you can't fall in love at will, one can't deny that many people believe that they lack the willpower or discipline to find the interest of their amorous affections, hence the resolution. If you feel that way, surrounding yourself with fragrances that enhance your amorous disposition and which make you feel confident and attractive might help you in your "plan". Generally experts recommend fragrance notes of ylang ylang, sandalwood, rose absolute, vanilla, and musk which are considered aphrodisiacs. I also suggest ginger, jasmine, sage, coriander, almond, cinnamon, and peppermint/basil.
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Try the fittingly named Amoureuse (DelRae), Dangerous Complicity (Etat Libre d'Orange), Lyric Woman (Amouage), Presence (Montblanc), L'Eau Chic (de Nicolai),Minuit Enchante (Laura Mercier).
Last but not least you can try wearing synthesized pheromones, namely androstenol [3], which users report works rather well (I have no personal experience but even the placebo effect is known to "work" by making you more confident).
Resolution 10: Spend more time with family
Purpose: Reconnect with the people who matter most to you.
Solution: There is no magical fragrance trick here. But maybe returning to a fragrant home might make you want to spend more time there.
Whatever you do, good luck with your New Year's Resolutions!! And don't forget to share your OWN helpful suggestions in the comments.
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