Although I never bother with makeup or chic clothes, I love perfume. It’s easy and fun, but I have to be careful of the perfumes I wear—some scents give me migraines or irritate me after a while. However, several years ago, I discovered Skylar. Their scents are hypoallergenic, plus they have a fun quiz to discover your favorite scent and a nifty sampler set. My favorite is Meadow (discontinued, sob) with Capri being a close second. Then Skylar came out with their Scent Club, which is a great way keep your fragrance fresh and exciting. Plus, their customer service is awesome. I can’t recommend them enough, but on to the actual point behind this post…

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I love giving hidden meanings to characters’ names and costumes. And yes, I also give each of the women in my stories a specific scent. I usually only have their special gentleman describe their scent, but I always know what it is.

The sense of smell is strongly tied to emotion and memories, so scents are important characteristics. However, complex perfumes are too difficult to describe, so I stick with a single perfume note for each character. Fragrantica is a great site with a list of perfume notes as well as perfume reviews and descriptions, and I use their site to help me find just the right scent.

Below are some of the scents for my main characters:

• Selena’s scent is lymon balm (i.e. lemon balm.) A hearty herb, lemon balm has a tart, sweet, lemony fragrance. It’s something a poor country miss could easily afford, and Selena’s mother taught her how to make her perfume, so it holds sentimental value for her.
• Wren’s scent is violets. Just like wrens, violets (at least the perfume one) are found in forests. Their scent is an elusive, sweet, powdery floral. Perfect for the shy lady who would rather write her plays than attend court events.
• Kiera’s scent is lavender. English lavender is aromatic and clean with sweet overtones. Kiera’s scent is floral but not cloying, hinting at her different background and freshening influence at court. Lavender would also be affordable for a poor orphanage matron.
• Annalise’s scent is honeysuckle. Honeysuckle is a heady, sweet floral with hints of honey and fruit. Honeysuckle flowers attract bees, birds, and children. This scent highlights Annalise’s alluring beauty but also hints at her secret. (Think melissae and ambrosia…)
  

Below are some of the scents for secondary characters:

• The Veiled Witch, a powerful, secretive witch = incense (frankincense, to be precise) = rich, exotic, mysterious
• Kit, Wren’s childhood nemesis, Lady Blaine = cinnaspice (i.e. cinnamon) = spicy, sensuous, strong
• Cassandra, a young witch of mixed parentage = amber = sweet, resinous, exotic
  

I could go on about my women’s scents for days, but I should stop before I reveal all my plans for future stories. 😉