Perfume….

So the other day I’m rummaging around in my bathroom cabinet when I stumble across a bottle of the Body shops ‘White Musk’ the ubiquitous scent of the 80s. I took off the lid, took a long hard sniff, and was immediately transported back in time. I love these almost out of body moments, in that instance your life plays out like a 80/90s romcom and your forced to relive those moments you’ve been desperately trying to bury your whole adult life.

White musk evokes for me, frosted pink lipstick, Clearisil and Sun in, all these beauty must haves pale into insignificance when held against their modern day equivalents, the closest I came to contouring as a teen was leaving a tide mark around my jaw.

I think his name was Matt. I’d been throwing some shapes on the dance floor (school dining hall) for awhile, nothing too fancy just the odd grapevine, you know, stuff like that. All of a sudden the ambiance changed and ‘Nothing’s gonna change my love for you’ by Glenn Medeiros started to play. The tension was palpable. Some bolted for the door some just looked around the room desperate to catch the eye of someone, anyone! It was like a scene from a wildlife documentary, survival of the fittest, whoever was left alone at the end, destined for social suicide. Not unlike musical chairs, but the chair counterpart being a teenage boy we all grabbed the closest one to hand and clung on whilst awkwardly swaying from side to side in a weak imitation of slow dancing. Matt, if that was his name, seemed incredibly pleased when it was over and made his way to the nearest exit, I felt that we had made a love match and obviously he was my boyfriend.

Matt or whatever his name was, was quickly forgotten but he did leave a lasting legacy, he absolutely stank of Kouros aftershave, he’d managed to coat himself in it to such an extreme level I think it had actually become a part of his genetic make up. In those few moments where our clothes had come into contact he had permeated my Tammy Girl jumper with his odour, like a skunk he’d got frightened and tainted me. I thought it was wonderful (at the time) and sniffed on that jumper like a polyester mix addict, until it all got a little bit weird.

I’ve met many people over my lifetime and I’ve forgotten a good majority of them, so it’s crazy that just a mere whiff of a long forsaken aftershave can teleport me back, I can almost see Matt (whatever) in front of me, with his poor excuse for facial hair and his inability to say no, like it was yesterday. I think I better put this bottle of ‘White Musk’ down and stop sniffing it now, it’s all getting a little bit weird again.

Feel free to get in touch and let me know the signature scent of your youth ……