Perfumes are not personalised, but they are personal. They are items that are still often overlooked without the knowledge of what power stands inside of the small spray bottles that we use so automatically, without even thinking how we are being presented after two or three sprays on our skin later. One can receive a different treatment when scented good, just as people can form their behaviours towards another person based on how one is dressed. There is a chapter in “Little Prince” published as early as in 1943 where Exupéry tells a story of a scientist presenting the same idea two year apart, when wearing two different outfits- once dressed as a clown, second time dressed in a three-piece suit. Nobody believed him at first, but the second time everyone thought that he was smart and had found something very valuable. Considering the psychology of the audience, the topic and the environment, as stupid as it is and I am definitely not agreeing here, that this should be the norm, but underestimating the power of presence- visible or invisible- can give us a head-start without actually doing much.
It is important to think about what leans us towards some people- what do one finds attractive, trustworthy or sexy. The people who one admires are often very specific and have a very strong, rather rare character- and so do scents. Perfume is a mirror to someone’s character and it is the less obvious, less styled one.

I like to see perfumes as personalities.

I often find myself struggling when trying to explain it- the beauty and importance of a scent. A bottle of perfume is often treated as something to use as a type of coverage or to create a layer of something over our skin and dressing, that is often not mindful. It is treated as something how we are expected to wear or expected to smell like- we put on our carefully chosen clothes that represent our personalities but then spray on a scent that someone either has gifted us or we purchased last time at the airport when flying somewhere. We tend not to think about how we smell (as long as it’s scented at least), nor what is a “good” scent and how we wanna be seen with the way how we smell.
Therefore, it’s not that we smell differently, but we simply just don’t use the same terminology for explaining. Vocabulary really structures one’s thoughts. To have the right vocabulary to describe something, one is more available to talk about the subject. Art history, I believe, is a very good example of that, such as when you take a person to a museum who doesn't know about the paintings. We see the same things but after ten minutes they are exhausted. Because they don’t know when those things were made, neither how or where. They don’t know the painters nor the history. Only when you have a topic related vocabulary, one starts to understand the depth of a subject and feels not only more comfortable to navigate, but also gains a deeper understanding of it.

As said, scent can say a lot about one's personality. Different people wear different kinds of perfume. But we often don’t realise how much we are saying- or not saying- when we don’t understand the power of a scent. As one learns about the invisible language, one starts to understand a form in society that he or she wasn't aware of before.
Some perfumes say “this is how I smell when I undress”, some perfumes say “I am clean, perfect and sophisticated”, some say “I am shy, romantic and sweet”. Each perfume carries a form of character, a power of seduction that becomes complete when worn by a person in a correct environment. It’s often that people are very good at finding the perfume that suits them, but not what compliments them. There are simple and complex scents, but often great perfumes are specific and worn by very specific people.

When I meet a person, there are two things I automatically do. I first quickly try to catch their overall atmosphere: I look into their eyes to find some sort of discomfort- or comfort and read their body language. But secondly I try to catch what they smell like. What I try to read out of their scent is the same way society would translate how one is dressed. One can choose clothes in a very conscious way because of the awareness, based on how different dressing can be seen in different environments. It’s likely that if one wears a suit, one wishes to be presented as professional, neat, maybe wealthy, someone with authority. It’s just common sense, and most of the time one is doing it when being very conscious of the choice. But because of being aware of those social codes, one has the power to bluff. They can manipulate. One can choose to dress differently- or appropriately- based on the social situation to what is being dressed for. We have the freedom to be seen as more sophisiticated, sexy or even stupid, if this is what we choose for. We can choose to be seen as the opposite or more empowered of what we are. We can make statements.
But when people choose a perfume, they are usually not that clever. Most people around us choose perfume because they think it’s right. In that sense because most people still nowadays don’t bluff with perfume, it is quite revealing. It is either carefully picked or not, but either way it says a lot.

The more I think of a person, the more complex of a perfume I choose to introduce myself to them. The people who arouse me, are almost always undeniably intelligent and my hope and belief in that, makes me always choose a perfume that is complex. Not to confuse them but simply because the level of their intelligence makes me believe that they will understand.
Sometimes when I want somebody to like me, not because of me but because of themselves, I wear a scent as a reflection of the person. As if I go to a meeting where I don’t wanna be particularly clever but rather just get a “yes” to my proposal, I make sure they will like me instead of being intimidated by me. It’s easy to be liked on a simple level. It’s as if you are changing your ripped jeans into trousers when going to meet the parents of your new partner for the first time.
When I want to lead, want to present my ideas and convince others that I know what I am talking about, I wear something that smells as confident and strong as myself in front of them. The scent is picked as carefully as the design of the presentation or the choice of words to describe it.
When I really like a man, I put on a perfume that lingers on their nose after I am gone. Not because I particularly want them to think of me, but because the heavy, soothing patchouli in that scent will give them more information about me than they can catch with words or actions. I use perfume to seduce.

I use perfume to manipulate.