I’ll never forget the smell that
filled my parent’s bathroom as I sat in their over-sized tub and watched my
mother swipe on her mascara. Her powdered deodorant left behind a baby soft
aroma as it puffed through the air. The most distinct though was a pure, sweet,
and innocent perfume smell. My mom only wore the expensive Angel perfume when
my father and she went out on date nights, usually leaving my sisters and I to
fend for ourselves that night. To me, Angel smells like mediocre TV movies and
kid cuisines.
The transition here from the enticing excitement of watching your mom get ready to go out and the boring, pedestrian evenings she left you to have is a nice contrast. It's almost jarring--to me, mediocre TV movies and Kid Cuisine evoke their own smells, but the fact that you associate them with your mom's special perfume lets me feel that sense of being let down or left out of wonderful adventures.
ReplyDeleteLiking this comment and this post. I LOVE the specificity of the last line and the jarring bit. Yeah, I think we could see a bit more--in a different assignment--about that feeling of glamor mixed with that feeling of boredom.
DeleteCould we get the same specificity with the description of the perfume? It gets only adjectives. Also, are we seeing MRMJBH (or whatever the acronym is)?
Love "puffed through the air." Gives the hazy feeling of a memory.
I agree with the Jules the transition is strong and it's interesting that such an expensive perfume reminds of you something much lower in price. My only issue is that I wish who would have started there and brought up more memories of the perfume.
ReplyDeleteThe first question that hits me while reading this is: What does innocence smell like? I think the language you use in this post is vivid and well-described. In that same vein, what does something "pure" smell like (other than TV movies and cheap dinners)?
ReplyDeleteAlso, "swiping" on mascara is a beautiful way to describe the action of putting on makeup.
Good post!