Sample Your Scent

How do you know when you’ve found ‘The One’?

“Look smart and treat this as a serious business.” This was the advice my grandmother gave as we approached the department store. She pulled herself up straight as she spoke but there was a twinkle in her eye. “Ready?” she said, holding the door handle. I nodded, wiping my palms on a skirt-normally-reserved-for-Sunday.

My grandmother found her perfect scent when she was 19 years-old and the two had been inseparable since. Now, it was my turn.

She opened the door and I was caught entirely off-guard by the warm breath of fragrance. We would spend the next hour exploring the perfume counters together. My grandmother reached for my hand and her bangles tinkled as she led me through the crowd.

Disorientated and Drenched

I remember very few details of the scents I tested that day. There was something earthy with a squeeze bulb dangling like a pendant around its neck; a tall serious bottle whose contents smelled like grown ups; a perfume that lingered in the air with the sweetness of sifted icing sugar and one that made me think of water and the colour blue. I was disorientated and drenched in fragrance by the end of it with no clear idea of what I liked. For me, the pleasure was finding the words for the various mists into which my grandmother and I walked. After a while, however, I was unable to distinguish one scent from another. We decided not to buy anything that day.

It was not until the following week, when I found a tiny bottle in my skirt pocket, that I remembered one of the counter assistants pressing the tester into my hand as I walked away. I put a dab of it on my neck every morning for a week and allowed it to speak to me throughout the day. It opened like an explosion which almost put me off. However, when the noise of its top notes subsided, a gentle melody took its place. It reminded me of the things I loved: climbing trees, running water and the feel of my grandmother’s wrinkled hand in mine. It was fresh and floral with a hint of spice and a deep, lingering presence of wood.


I told my grandmother that I had settled upon a perfume and the following day she arrived at my house with a large bottle wrapped in shiny paper. When I need to feel grounded, this is the bottle I reach for. It takes me back to a time when the trees were tall and my grandmother was here to hold my hand.


Try Before you Buy

An article written last year in Cosmopolitan Magazine, mentioning us, confirmed what we have believed since the inception of STORIES Parfums: people want to try before they buy. Our 2 ml tester bottles give you a unique opportunity to wear STORIES Nº. 01 or STORIES Nº. 02 for a few days before you invest in a larger bottle. We believe fragrance is personal. You need to allow it to develop on your skin and pay attention to the soul connection that unfolds. Does it speak to you? Does it evoke memories? Does it take you on a journey? Why don’t you order a sample and find out?