USE OF PERFUMES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLIX, 31 August 1929, Page 17

USE OF PERFUMES.

"ft is seldom that we trouble to tin ok seriously of the important part played by the olfactory nerves in the clany routine of life, yet our senses are thrilled, repulsed, comforted, or soothed by the things we smell, as well as by those we see,” says a writer in an exchange. ‘‘Some people have an intense dislike for artificial perfumes of any sort, but 1 never met anyone who expressed disapproval of the iscent of flowers, and I have heard hundreds of people say how much they like the smell of log fires, the scent of green grass and earth -after a shower, ofrain, the aroma of hot toast on coming home tired and hungry after ’ a long tramp ! “All these things appeal to the senses and produce a feeling of wellbeing, just as a faint scent of lavender will instantly conjure up the vision of a country house, and the well-cared! for linen cupboard of a dainty woman. The odour of damp tweeds and leather bring instantly to mind the- picture of a manly man on the open moors, and the fragrance of tobacco. I fancy it is the abuse of perfume that makes it unpopular with some- people. Often women have- no sense of proportion, and lay it on with a trowel, 'so to -speak, so that the- atmosphere becomes permeated with -a sickly, overpowering smell that- nauseates sensitive folk. Every dainty lady, like a flower, should select and be faithful to her own individual perfume. Just a suspicion of it—no more! In the years to come, who knows what memories may be conjured up by just that particular fragrance. “I once knew -a girl, dainty and sweet, Who used just enough Rhine violet -scent, to make people think t*/Uf a hunch of fresh violets had been brought- into- the- room.- She kept little sachets of the- same scent among her clothes, and put just one drop on her hair after washing it.. Eastern exotic scents have their devotees, but for the ordinary everyday woman the scent of one distinctive flower -should be enough. They say that the very newest -scent resembles leather. I have never sampled it, but I cannot imagine any woman desiring to exude an odour akin to a well filled library, especially when wearing an evening gown in -a flower-filled room. “Scent should be chosen to -suit the temperament of the person using it, and a temperamental atmosphere- is created that is almost- a permanent personality.”