Beauty
The best perfumes ever, chosen by Canadian Living editors
Perfume is a very personal and mysterious thing. There are the superficial curiosities—that no scent smells the same to any two people, that a fragrance changes as it mingles with your body chemistry and a single perfume can smell vastly different on two different people. But there's also the emotional aspect. Scent is the only sense that we process directly through our limbic system which is responsible for our emotions, behaviours, motivations, and most interestingly, our long-term memory. What does that mean for perfume? It means that when you smell something, you don't think about it to formulate an opinion—you have a direct emotional response, which is often linked to memory.
It's the reason why you can remember the smell of your mother's cooking well into adulthood. It's the reason why a single sniff of a particular flower or perfume can bring you right back to a moment in time many years ago. Scent is powerful and magical. So it makes sense that the scents we choose to wear are important and personal statements about not only how we want to present ourselves, but also who we are.
Here, Canadian Living editors share their favourite perfumes, offering you a glimpse into their personal tastes and psyches—and perhaps inspiring you to answer the question, what is your favourite fragrance and why?
Jo Malone London Pomegranate Noir
I must confess, I'm a very loyal perfume person and I have only had two over 40 years! For my first 20 years, my all time favourite was Christian Dior Diorelle. It was citrus and fun with an element of sophistication—but sadly Dior stopped selling it in Canada. Whenever my husband would travel he would bring me some back from his travels which I always found very romantic. When they stopped selling it abroad, I finally had to find a new scent. I now use Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir. It took me a long time to find a replacement and the richness of juicy pomegranate peppered with spicy woods is now my go to. – Jacqueline Howe, publishing consultant
Jo Malone London Pomegranate Noire Cologne, $175, 100 mL, holtrenfrew.com.
Elizabeth Arden 5th Avenue
My favourite fragrance is 5th Avenue by Elizabeth Arden. Someone gave it to me as a gift, likely a decade ago now, and it’s been my go-to scent ever since. I can’t put my finger on what it smells like exactly anymore, it’s become such a part of me, but it’s so light and pretty – it’s a sweet breath of fresh air. – Mary Levitski, features editor
Elizabeth Arden Fifth Avenue Eau de Parfum, $44, 75 mL, amazon.ca.
Christian Dior Eau Sauvage
Up until about 6 years ago, I did not care for wearing perfume. But getting involved in the beauty industry and learning more about both the variety of perfume (and figuring out what I liked) and the interesting way that perfume works with memory, led me to fall in love with fragrance. But, I also have to credit my husband with igniting an appreciation for the product. He’s worn the same scent forever, and aside from the fact that Dior Eau Sauvage is a great fragrance, it’s also my favourite because it always reminds me of him. It’s fresh and aromatic, sexy and woody, never overpowering, and a great fragrance that I think many women co-opt from their partners. Just a whiff of Dior Eau Sauvage brings me right back to falling in love—such is the power of scent. – Alexandra Donaldson, fashion & beauty editor
Christian Dior Eau Sauvage, $85, 50 mL, sephora.com.
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