I have written before about the value of ‘scent’ in descriptive writing. And I mentioned Luca Turin’s scintillating  book about the A-Z Perfume and now of course I should also mention the famous thriller about ‘Grenouille’ the murderer with an abnormally sensitive response to smell, aptly named Perfume.

Give these books a read through and be bewitched by all the scents and smells around us!

So much descriptive writing relies on the visual sense in order to evoke the presence of ‘reality’. Think how many times we use the word SEE!!

Yet as we all know, our noses are often more aware of our surroundings than any other sense.Think about it! We cannot control our sudden reaction to a HORRIBLE smell or indeed a GORGEOUS smell!

If you don’t believe me, then  next time you are out shopping, shut your eyes in your  supermarket aisle, take a deep breath in,  and work out what you are smelling and therefore where you are.

Can you do it?

Fruit aisle or toiletries? Bleach and washing powder or biscuits and cereals?

Queues are good for smells too. Sometimes alarmingly so!

And travelling. Go on the bus. The train. Sit in your friends’ new/old car…

Eating out. Pizza. Curry. Garlic. Ice Cream!

Your neighbour’s hallway.  Your uncle’s busy/old garage.

The local coffee shop. McDonalds.

I could go on, but you get my point.

Here’s a beautiful cheap way of training your nose to smell differently. Al Rehab perfumes are easy to buy on ebay and their range allows for all sorts of encounters with scents!

Let’s go through some of the many encounters with scent and smell all available through a £1-60 bottle of Al Rehab perfume oil:

Citrus, light musk, dark musk, amber, floral, sweet creamy vanilla, oud, woody, exotic floral, white musk, rose, Hungarian Rose,  tobacco, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, orange flower…clove !

Just to make it REAL as well, here are a few of my favourite Al Rehab perfume oils so far:

Khaliji: sweet  citrus and then has a musky aspect that remidns me of new, clean  sweat! Really lasting and the ‘tanginess’ great for day wear and for that slightly ‘dirty’ drydown. Everyone who has smelt it loves it and works for men and women.

Choco Musk A gourmand scent! Really rich and delicious. Slightly burnt caramel. Makes me want to eat my wrist! A very Cheap Serge Lutens Un Bois De Vanille!

Superman Ignore the daft name! This is a strikingly unusual scent. Clove, cinamon, evergreen and then sweet amber. Great lasting power and again like Khaliji works on men and women. Has a definite power!

Soft another name that probably doesn’t help the scent. But this is a gorgeous creamy citrus, with floral notes and then the hint of musk. nearly sweaty again.  Very accomplished and a bargain!

Lovely it is! Creamy and with citrus. This lingers on you skin and about you like a very happy morning greeting! Then you find the floral musk and this weaves a perfect spell. A gift of a perfume!

Nebras One of my favourites. Taif Rose, citrus, jasmine, oud and sandalwood..all complex in a scent that endures and bewitches. lats I find lemongrass. carry around and cheer up even the most dismal day!

Dalal One of the first Al rehab I bought. A very unusual vanilla. Veiling jasmine and fruity floral notes. Something musky too and slightly heated?  Another that always gets compliments.

Lots more, but these are great. Could add on Balkis ( a dance with vanilla and musk), Dehn Oud( sour woody, honey with butterry sandalwood. Somehow a perfume not keen on being liked but you love it anyway!) Al Sharquiah( heavy woody oud. Like smoke and then spices ramble in and musky sweat again with a few dare devil floral notes)