Or, more accurately, the scent at the beginning of the universe. It took me twelve hours to decide what fragrance to wear while the clock ticked away the remaining hours of 2010; the fragrance I finally chose is the fragrance that gave birth to the perfume mania that has come to characterize my life: Stella McCartney’s Stella.
This humble and modern rose was the smelling salt that woke me up to the notion that perfume wasn’t just an accessory, or finishing touch. Perfume has become the central star around which all my other habits and routines orbit. Myriad samples, decants, and bottles followed in Stella’s wake, but I’ll always be grateful to the frowning librarian* who introduced me to this library of wonders.
Reviews: Now Smell This :: Bois de Jasmin :: Katie Puckrik Smells
*quotes below from Turin & Sanchez 🙂
…schoolmarmish, sour rose…
—Perfumes: The A-Z Guide, p. 108
… with a tight-lipped rose… Stella is a fragrance for women who programmatically say no.
—Perfumes: The A-Z Guide, p. 328
beauty on the outside 
Hahaha, love the Guide quotes!
Upon first reading I thought “Huh?”, when you said you wore Stella, as it seems not the most festive or celebratory fragrance there is. But as it is your gateway perfume it makes total sense and is a lovely gesture. 🙂
My first perfume, that was more than just a thoughtless routine of the time before madness started taking its toll, was Prada L´Eau Ambrée.
L´Eau Ambrée was your gateway drug, eh? Now that would be a fun post: invite everyone to confess what theirs was! I wonder what sort of insight it might provide about later tastes…
Yeah, I felt a little silly wearing and writing about Stella, because she’s really not a perfume to WOW the die-hards (*blush,* us 😉 ); but, like the frowning librarian I equate her with, she introduced me to the stacks of literature that changed my life, and deserves recognition! Pursed-lips and all 🙂