About Calgary City Editor
Calgary City Editor Ricky Zayshley knows a good thing when he sees one. His heart races when he discovers a new hotspot and his mouth waters at the sight of delectable food. After years of living out east, this Prairie boy has found his way back home and can’t wait to dish about sweet finds in his favourite city.
Last week I stopped a woman at an event and asked her what perfume she was wearing. I tried guessing: “Eau Du Soir by Sisley,” I ventured. “No, Aromatics Elixer by Clinique," she replied. “Everyone asks me that when I wear it.” I don’t know this woman very well, but I will always remember her by that scent.
My earliest perfume-related memories are provided by my mom. Her dressing table was always filled with several exquisite glass bottles of iconic scents: Calvin Klein Obsession, Elizabeth Taylor White Diamonds, Chanel No. 5, and Christian Dior Poison, but the scent she wore regularly, year after year, was Oscar de la Renta Oscar. I have a picture of her in my head: She’s picking me up from school wearing a fur coat in our larger-than-life Cadillac. I step into the car and it’s filled with that dewy, sweet concoction. I’m so proud to hitch a ride with my glamourous mom.
My two equally glamourous grandmothers write the next chapter. They both wore juggernauts of ‘80s — Grandma Zayshley in Elizabeth Arden Red Door and Grandma Wilson in Giorgio Beverley Hills. These perfumes were not created for wallflowers, and they couldn’t have found better advocates. I think my love for all things scent-related is inherited from my Grandma Wilson. When she passed away I asked for one thing: her last bottle of perfume. It is my most cherished possession.
One of my fondest memories of the power of a good fragrance takes me back to Edmonton, 1997. My friend Natalie and I went on a shopping spree to celebrate her newly-shaped eyebrows. She fell in love with Moschino Cheap and Chic and has worn it ever since. I associate that scent — which is unlike any other — with big events in my life. Later that year we loaded up my Toyota Tercel and bid adieu to Saskatchewan in search of fame and fortune in Toronto. Every morning of our trip, Natalie would spritz on her Cheap and Chic — we felt so good!
My sister-in-law Erin also knows a good thing when she sees it, or, in this case, smells it. She wears Christian Dior Hypnotic Poison because it reminds her of the beach. Now this scent reminds me of Erin. Whenever I am in Shoppers Drug Mart I wander into the fragrance aisle and spritz it into the air. I don’t see her very often, but this little ritual makes me feel like she’s close by.
A couple years ago my friend Caitlin presented me with a challenge: she was in search of the perfect signature scent. After all, I’d just recently discovered my own signature scent, Terre d’Hermès (which is the BEST men’s fragrance ever!!!), so we knew it was doable. We searched high and low, trying everything from Tom Ford’s sexy update of Estée Lauder Youth Dew to the holy grail of perfume, Chanel No. 5. Nothing seemed to fit until she tested the new Chloe. It’s as refined, yet youthful and exuberant as she is. I’m so glad she relates to such a perfect scent. Life is about making memories.
What’s your signature scent? What’s your fondest scent-related memory? Join the conversation here and on Twitter @be_spoken