Most of the time I match my perfume to the weather, or my mood or the occasion. For instance, Diptyque L'Ombre dans l'Eau or Frederic Malle Angelique Sous le Pluie I like for rainy weather. Penhaligon's Orange Blossom calms me down. Roja Dove Diaghilev and The Party in Manhattan go well with dressy evenings out.
But I have another criteria I use to choose perfume in the morning, that I only just realized I do mostly unconsciously. I choose perfume to match the colours I'm wearing.
Some notes have distinct colours or textures and I like to match them to the outfit I choose in the morning. Today I wore a silk blouse with an orange print and I chose Frederic Malle Birgarade Concentree to match.
Bitter-orange with orange, that one's easy. Also easy matches are rose with pink or red and velvet and galbanum with green. Here are some more:
- Jasmine: mauve or purple
- Frankincense: black and fur
- Myrrh: grey
- Oakmoss: khaki and leather or wool
- Iris: blue or dark grey
- Cedar: black-brown and denim or flannel
- Aldehydes: the colour of champagne and silk
- Tobacco: rust or maroon and corduroy
- Sandalwood: reddish-brown and cashmere
- Frangipani: yellow-peach
- musk: light grey and cotton or angora
- Ambergris: tan
- Lime: navy
- Vetiver: dark green and rough cloth like burlap
Do you have any colour associations with perfume or any other fun synesthesias? Or do you have any other strange perfume habits you want to share?
Painting: The Museum of Modern Art in New York - The Dance by Henri Matisse
