Perfume: It's personal

I don't have a signature scent yet. I'm not even sure if I really want one.

I'm a bit of a perfume junkie -- I'm sensitive to scent, sure, but I love good ones... and sometimes when I skip over the paper strip testers, I wind up sad for days if it's the wrong one. (Of course the wrong ones always last the longest.) And despite all of my little teeny glass tubes, so far I haven't found the number one right one yet.

For one thing, I'm not sure what aspect of my personality I want a perfume to represent. Think of the scene in Moulin Rouge where Satine asks what "type" she should play -- Wilting flower? Bright and bubbly? Or smouldering temptress? This is why a lot of us have day-at-the-office scents versus going-out-and-dressing-up scents -- the office version of you might not want to smoulder all over everyone while the evening you does. I don't know if I can nail myself down enough yet to figure out what part of myself I want to represent, especially on a day-to-day basis.

Plus, with all of the variety of perfumes out there, it gets more complicated. Am I sweet like sugar or sweet like honey? Spicy like pepper or cinnamon or sandalwood? Fruity like citrus or berries or melon? Floral like roses or floral like lilies or violets or orange blossoms? Aquatic -- yeah, I'm not aquatic, so we can check that one off the list. Do I want to smell like something delicious to eat or do I want to smell like a bouquet or do I want to smell like something else completely, like leather or smoke?

And then there's the whole scent-memory thing. Sure, I have several perfumes that I really really like, but I don't know if they're right enough to be my representation to everyone else. I'm talking "we broke up ten years ago but when I walk by someone on the street wearing her perfume I think of her" type of thing. We all have extremely strong scent memories, and so I'm not exactly sure what I want to have catalogued as "me" just yet. I'm totally open to accepting other people's scents as their signature scent without question, but so far I haven't been able to figure out what I want for myself.

So I'm looking -- sniffing, really -- around. I'm exploring and learning and reading and testing, and eventually I'll find something. Or maybe I won't -- there's nothing wrong with not having one, either! I do think I'm getting closer, though, and part of the fun is the thrill of the hunt, right?

Therefore, I'll be sharing the hunt on BeautyHacks -- from fancyfancy department store types to independent brands to body creams and lotions, I'm here to let you know what I find that smells good to me and on me... after all, perfume's personal!

Have you narrowed it down to your signature scent? What is it, if you have one? What would you look for in one, if you haven't found it yet? Or are you someone who just loves to explore? I'd love to hear (and smell!) what you've found!