Scent memories

When I started my fragrance journey, I came across lots of fragrances that captured my senses. There was the gourmand, the oriental, the floral.. too many of them that smelled divine and unique. Well, that was my first dive into niche perfumery. I had a perfect mentor who came prepared with 5 or 6 bottles of fragrances he thought would be a good start for a perfume enthusiast. They were good but they all had a certain je ne sais quoi that bothered me. I wasn’t ready for certain notes, I suppose. I remember thinking some presentations were over the top. My friend and mentor laughed when I pointed out how tacky some bottles looked. I wrote down the names of all these fragrances though I wasn’t ready, hoping to revisit them one day. My list grew considerably as I visited various parfumeries. I loved tuberose and white florals, that I knew from the beginning. Of course, rose was the reason, I embarked on this fragrance journey. Along the way, I discovered Resinous balsamic fragrances, Amber and myrrh. During the lockdown, I had the chance to revisit my list, I ordered samples and decants and even bottles of perfumes whenever I came across a good deal. To my surprise, some fragrances did not live up to my memory of them.
Some were less creamy than I remembered them, some weaker. Some fragrances were simply not for me but reminded me of my mentor, and I bought them just to hold on to our memory of coffee in the student union while sniffing our wrists and cards like crazy.