Now, even Facebook has a scent

Fragrance is the ultimate time machine.

 It can transport you to the unbelievable moments in your life, such as when you realized that boys are no longer the enemy as you hit puberty (Davidoff Cool Water) or my first day in high school (Chanel No. 19).

The day I decided that Green Day sang the anthem of my soul (CK One) was also the time I had my first kiss during freshman year. This is when I come clean to my mother and admit to her through the newspaper that the kiss transpired in the den while I was watching Basic Instinct waaaaaay after the allotted time for boys to visit the house. Curfews are so cute and retro! Sorry, mom.

My mother’s wrath (First by Van Cleef and Arpels) has always been followed with me flubbing up an excuse for having a boyfriend too early in life (Chanel No. 5, at last!). But what could she do? I am who I am, after all. Even during that time.

My father has a gleaming collection of colognes and perfumes. The last I counted, it had more or less 75 bottles. Add to that his impressive collection of quality booze and one would think he really had a thing for alcohol-based things and pretty glass bottles. I do remember certain scents due to the reactions that he elicited in me. The most memorable was the one when I puked in the car (Angel by Thierry Mugler), when we saw Evita during New Year’s Day in San Francisco (Pasha de Cartier), and when he turned 70 (a very nostalgic homage to the seminal Calvin Klein Obsession). Every time I kiss him on the cheek, I could taste his cologne when I lick my lips after; I just tell myself not to worry because that cologne is top shelf. During one of our Christmas holidays, he gave me the ultimate bottle of perfume that I imagine, from the depths of my subconscious, was made for me (Celine by Celine). The scent wasn’t me at all but my, how I loved that bottle. It was the calling card of chic.

As a child, I was guilty of indulging myself with Designer Imposters (the lemon colored Primo 2.5 that smelled like Giorgio by Giorgio Armani. I preferred the deodorant aerosol as it was less offensive). There are many factors on why I decided to perform this act of treason: my many hypnotic visits to Walgreens drugstore in California, my beer budget for my Champagne taste, and my love for the color yellow. That bottle represented everything beautiful about that color, next to the sun.

My starter perfume (Anais Anais by Cacharel) was given to me by my mother’s cousin and one of my fave aunts who was then battling breast cancer. I just loved this scent: it smelled like the garden of a mythical super rich person. I also adored the bottle, a pearly white cylinder wrapped in a dreamy label awash in delicate pink gardenias. I also felt kinship with the fragrance after learning that it was made in 1978, a year before I was born. Go figure.

My brother got my father’s genes when it came to fragrances. He wasn’t about the numbers but had a rather elegantly edited collection. His signature scent when we were young (Polo by Ralph Lauren) already hinted of his self-assurance when he gets older. This year, I decided to introduce him to something new and unexpected. (It is part of the D&G anthology collection called La Force. The website is a thrill). I haven’t really seen much of him and I chose this fragrance carefully. My way of saying, “Hello!”

Actually, giving fragrances as gifts is very tricky. Fragrances are very personal, it’s like giving underwear. Yet we all still do it.

I was given a fragrance that was so risqué (a vagina-shaped bottle of Agent Provocateur) by my 60-year-old aunt. It was sexy in all the odd ways. I always give my mother fragrances but she never uses them

Although I must say I was gifted one of my favorite (and later signature) scents by my BFF Wendy (Kelly Caleche by Hermes). I am so gripped by this beautiful fragrance that has hints of leather and comes in the most perfect shade of pink.

I remember my best girlfriends through their signature fragrances: Wendy Puyat smells like dessert in sky-high heels (Comptior Sud Pacifique in Amour de Cacao). Jackie Antonio is all about the finer things in NYC (Calypso Christian Celle by Tocca in Mimosa). Anna Angara reveals her strong but subtle side (Gucci Envy by Gucci) through her Lanvin outfits and fragrance. Bitch.

As for Bea Ledesma, she and I share a love for scented candles. She is anything Diptyque (Figue, I think, being her favorite) and I have my seasonal scents (Molton Brown Black Pepper for the -ber months and Le Labo Santal 26, which I discovered when I stayed at the Gramercy Park Hotel in NYC years ago, as my summer scent). We are scented candle sisters!

I am a polygamist in the scent department, but I admit I do have my favorites. I wear them according to mood and levels of nostalgia. Here is a list of them, the top being the most loved and the bottom still getting hugs and kisses from me.

Un Jardin Sur Le Nil by Hermes: Beautiful powdery garden scent that makes me feel innocent and fresh. That’s a tough order. I just love, love, love it!

Stella by Stella McCartney: Its gem-like bottle is always in my day bag. It’s an instant pick-me-up!

Diptyque L’Ombre Dans L’Eau travel pen: My travel scent, mainly because it’s so neutral, plus it is packaged inside a rollerball pen. It reminds me of my many adventures and my other life in Europe.

Kelly Caleche by Hermes: Very career power woman wearing, well, Hermes. Okay, maybe Celine by Pheobe Philo as well. The woman I want to be.

Fresh Sugar Lychee: Reminds me of the time I lived in India, one of the best times of my life.

Chanel No. 5: An amazing evening scent that’s beautiful to wear during the day. A bitch scent!

Intution by Estee Lauder: Truly an unexpected choice. It makes me feel womanly in this 12-year-old body that I’m trapped in.

Le Labo Santal 26 perfume: It makes me smell like my house.

Sweet Delicious in Lemon Meringue by Donna Karan: It’s just the right dose of dessert smell. I wear it when I’m dieting. I bought it when I moved to my final apartment (yes, I’m never moving again!) and it symbolizes fresh beginnings.

I wanted to do Creed or Tom Ford just because I was infatuated with the bottles, but they just weren’t me. I’m a Duty Free fragrance kind of girl, I guess. I have recently discovered Prada Candy and it will soon make its way to my harem.

There’s no better way to express yourself than by different wearing scents. However, it’s the memories that keep you spraying them on year after year.