My Perfume Diary. Do you have a scent that brings you "somewhere?"

It’s amazing how an aroma can bring you back. Coconut. Lemon. And pineapple. A fruity mix, but a delicious one. Even as I’m sitting here writing this, I have a huge smile across my face thinking back to that trip. Leslie Blodgett, of Bare Escentuals is creating a line of perfumes called The Perfume Diaries. Each scent has been inspired by a trip she has taken. Leslie has inspired me to find “my” scent…

It was July 2001. My husband and I were in Cabo San Lucas on our honeymoon. My boss at the time gave us our honeymoon as a wedding gift, and it was the most luxurious, elegant and 5-star studded trip we had ever taken. We were staying at the One&Only Pamilla Resort for 5 nights, and it was the most romantic and incredibly relaxing vacation in the world. Each morning we woke up to coffee at our balcony, along with delectable fruits and croissants. We lounged by the pool. We explored the resort. And we sat and watched the sunset every night. That was our honeymoon. Complete and total relaxation, peace and rejuvenation. Life was so different then. I had just become a wife. I was paying rent. I worked a ga-billion hours per week. And I had never had anyone call me “Mom.”

My husband and I have not been away on a romantic vacation since our perfect honeymoon in July 2001. I think that’s why the scents of that specific moment in time speak to me and evoke such special and lovely memories.

Coconut. I remember arriving at the hotel and grabbing our bathing suits out of our suitcases immediately. We were off to the pool, ready to take in the first day when I realized I had forgotten to pack sun block. Oddly enough, I had enough clothes packed to dress all of the people staying at the resort, but no sun block. So we quickly purchased some at the hotel store, and off to the pool we went. Well, the sun block was a coconut based one. And it was a strong a coconut scent. A good strong. It smelled delicious. It exuded this tropical paradise that we were at, in every essence. Every couple of hours we’d lather up because the sun was so brilliantly hot, and the scent of coconut wouldn’t leave our bodies. I remember swimming in the crystal clear water of the pool, dipping into the warm ocean water, and relaxing by the pool enjoying chips and salsa with a traditional Cabo San Lucas margarita. It was a carefree time. This was all before 9/11, and life was just not what it is today. There weren’t any alerts or fears, and for us… we were just a honeymooning couple crazy in love. Crazy in love, smelling like coconut.

Lemon. This is a funny piece of our honeymoon. As I look back now, it’s even more funny. There was a family on vacation there at Cabo, a family with 4 little girls. I remember looking at them and thinking, “4 little girls? Wow, what are the chances?” And now here I am with 4 little boys. But the little girls kept spritzing and spraying lemon juice into their hair to make it a couple of shades lighter. I remember doing that way back when I was a young girl (now I just do it the “right” way). But the mist of the lemon juice spritz and spray is something I will always remember. The scent was light and airy and fun and it made me smile at this family and think about the future for us. When we were first married, we already knew that we wanted to have a larger family, so seeing these people do it and make it work, with the lemon juice and all, it’s an amazing moment in time that we captured. It was that before we knew what life had in store for us moment. And lemon brings me there again.

Pineapple. There was pineapple everywhere during our trip to Cabo. By the pool. In the lobby. On the dining tables. On plates delivered to our room each morning. Prior to our honeymoon, I never really liked pineapple all that much, but it was so present everywhere during that happy time that I had to try it, and I discovered that I loved it. One of my secrets was sprinkling sugar over the top of a pineapple slice, and that is so delicious that I still do it. There’s simply no mistaking the smell of pineapple… sweet and tart all at the same time.

The sense of smell is so powerful. It’s what connects us to people and places… and allows us to remember and take in memories in such an incredible way. We have hundreds of photos from our honeymoon. We have souvenirs. But what’s amazingly special to have always are the scents that changed our lives. Since that summer, I have purchased coconut based sun block for us… and now for the boys as well. It makes me happy. It makes me smile. And it’s a magnificent connection that I have to that time in my life, that beautiful time. Lemon and pineapple are flavors and scents that take on different meanings, too. Scents are deep and meaningful, and they elevate our moods and make us silly and giddy and entertained and enchanted by life.

Scents are all around us. Take them in. And let them take you away.

I’m off to buy something coconut.

Sponsored post by the amazing SEPHORA.

About Audrey

Audrey McClelland has been a digital influencer since 2005. She’s a mom of 5 and shares tips on her three favorite things: parenting, fashion and beauty. She’s also a Contemporary Romance Author.

Sign Up To The Ultimate Style Newsletter for Moms

Categories

ShopStyle “List” Of all Things I Like and Blog About

Pinterest

1 Comments

  1. 10.23.09
    Music said:

    The scent that brings me somewhere: Cardamom: reminds me of trips to India, Thailand, and Asia in general…

Comments are closed.