The Perfume.

Coco Chanel was once quoted saying "A women who doesn't wear perfume has no future." Whilst I think that her statement might be a little melodramatic, I think it reigns some truth behind it. A woman's perfume she picks decides how she chooses to present herself to the world, and in turn says a lot about who she is as a person. For a very long time a woman's perfume is what defined her. Now, maybe not so much - but I think the importance of your own presentation is still there.

With all of that being said, I have always found shopping for perfume to be one of the most difficult tasks I have ever faced as a woman. I have a really hard time smelling and picking perfumes because to be honest... I think they all kind of smell the same. There's maybe 4 traditional scents that I find are bottled in dozens of different bottles with different names on them all across the wall at Sephora and are sold at different price points even though they're all basically the same thing.

I am a bit unconventional, I like perfumes that don't smell like something I've ever smelt before. I like untraditional scents that provoke memories, and I end up finding myself looking up very strange things on perfume forums like "perfumes that smell like the beach" or "smell like Earl Grey Tea". Another late night of doing this is actually how I stumbled upon what I wanted to show you.

When I saw that Jo Malone made a fragrance called Earl Grey Tea and Cucumber I was so intrigued that in less then 24 hours I found myself in Holt Renfrew at the Jo Malone counter smelling it. For the first time in my entire life, I fell in love with a perfume. The second I smelt it I knew that I wanted to smell like this all the time. This scent was me.

Jo Malone's website describes it as "A British tradition...afternoon tea. A fragrance with a burst of bergamot, distinct to Earl Grey, and the cool succulence of crunchy cucumber. Counterpoised with a sweet base of beeswax, vanilla and musk. Reviving and refined." which I think describes it perfectly. It's got a top note of bergamot, whilst its heart note is cucumber and it's base note is beeswax.

Now I sometimes feel like I must of lived in London in a past life, or maybe I just read and watch too much harry potter, but I've always loved any thing British. Though I've never been to the UK *let us momentarily pray for Coley's travels of 2015*, it is the inner London in me that I think of instantly when I smell it.