Perfume - Movie Trailer - Click here for this week’s top video clips
One of my most memorable readings in high school Psychology class was about pheromones, the chemicals we exude that attracts people to us. I remembered the lesson recently when I saw the VCD of "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" (bought from SM), adapted from the book with the same title by German writer Patrick Süskind.
The story, set in 18th century France, is about an orphan Jean-Baptiste Grenouille who has no odor, making him invisible to those around him. Yet he is gifted with a sense of smell so acute that it is his primary way of perceiving the world.
By covering either our ears or our eyes, we are able to imagine how it is to use sight without hearing, or hearing without sight. But to experience the world only through our nose, what would that be like?
Perhaps because of a spartan upbringing- Tatay admonished me and my brothers while growing up to take no longer than five minutes in taking a bath and to comb our hair without using a mirror, "just like in the military"- I don't think much of perfumes. Except that in my teens, I was given a bottle of musk cologne which I used on dates and special occasions.
The fourth or fifth dimension of scent that I have today was composed mainly by two people- a woman and a man- and of course me.
Tricia, my BFF in high school, was like a female Grenouille (though less deadly): she could differentiate the odor of her different suitors. She also had a brother Gari- a veritable metrosexual before the word was invented- who had a collection of men's perfumes in their room. One time, Trish decided to experiment and try the different scents on me- around a dozen kinds- to see which one would blend best with the chemicals on my skin and complement my personality. I was of course a willing subject. (Gari, I'm sorry- yes we did this!)
The one scent which made Trish exclaim, "This is it! This is it!" was one of the first purchases I made after graduation when I was already working. Here is Trish smelling our food during a memorable lunch in Pebble Beach, California.
In law school, I was also gifted with a scent one Christmas by my classmate Deo- this was for our gift exchange (or Secret Santa). I never thought a man could use it, but it has become my "no-scent scent"- while wearing it, a fellow writer thought I smelled "clean, like soap." The bouquet is transformed and becomes more complex when I'm in love. I discovered from my parfumeur that this is also the favorite scent of actor Richard Gomez.
In law school, I was also gifted with a scent one Christmas by my classmate Deo- this was for our gift exchange (or Secret Santa). I never thought a man could use it, but it has become my "no-scent scent"- while wearing it, a fellow writer thought I smelled "clean, like soap." The bouquet is transformed and becomes more complex when I'm in love. I discovered from my parfumeur that this is also the favorite scent of actor Richard Gomez.
Here is Deo with the fraternity he headed and their frat sweetheart Maida (now Deo's wife).
Recently, while hiking in the northern forests of Solvalla, I found something fragrant that I took back with me to Manila- I've added this extra note to my scent-dimension, to share a bit of my love of adventure and make the experience even more personal for those interacting with me.
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