Recently, at an event celebrating the launch of a series of fragrances, a startling thing happened. I dabbed a bit of one of them on my wrist, put my wrist up to my nose, and in an instant, my old cousin Ruth, who gave me piano lessons when I was 5, appeared in my mind, fully formed.

Do you have a signature scent? Or do you like to play the field?
Feeling 14
My favorite scent is L'Air du Temps by Nina Ricci. It never fails to bring me back to my early teens and to all of the attendant hopes and dreams of a girl that age. When I was 14, I babysat for a neighborhood family. The mom in the family was beautiful and smart and vivacious and she always smelled wonderful! At that point in my life, I was a tomboy and not particularly interested in perfumes or makeup. But one day I asked her what perfume she was wearing and she responded: L'Air du Temps, and then generously told me I could wear hers anytime I was at their house. I still wear it today and love its spicy sweetness just as much as I did then.
Barbara Harting
Framingham, Massachusetts

Top of the World
My signature scent is Pink Sugar. I started wearing it right before I met my husband. I'll never forget the first time we kissed—on top of the Empire State Building. Of all places! My first time ever in New York City and my most vivid memory is my husband saying, "You smell like heaven." Now, whenever I put it on, I remember the day I fell in love with "The One."
Kelly Hall
Playa Del Rey, California

A Big Compliment from a Short Man
I have a signature scent that is perfect for my job teaching elementary school gifted and talented. I wear Comptoir Sud Pacifique's Amour de Cacao and love it like no other perfume I've ever worn. I've had men tell me that I smell unique and incredible. Women and men ask how I smell so "scrumptious." But the best—and most—compliments come from the children. One tiny little boy ran up to me for a hug and started oohing so much that I asked him what he was doing. He said, "You smell like a warm marshmallow!" What higher compliment could come from a first grader? Now he literally connects his nose to my wrist whenever he sees me at school.
Dinah Houston
Russell, Kentucky

From the April 2007 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine

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