Look for the Base Note

22nd March 2009, Michigan, USA

I was in the Boston Store at Brookfield Mall with a friend, whom I was visiting in Milwaukee, looking for some luggage items. I entered the store and by default had to pass by the perfumes section as those are usually at the entrance of most of these stores for obvious reasons :-). I suddenly recalled that a friend of mine is a big fan of a Gucci perfume so I thought I will check it out for her in case it's available. The store unfortunately didn't have the brand I was looking for but the sales woman showed me the new brand that was in. She mentioned that the one I was asked for has been discontinued.

We came back home but I wasn't fully satisfied with her response, so I went online to Gucci's website to realize that perfume is still available, so I told my friend that the sales woman lied to us about it being discontinued. Then we started talking about how this perfume is different from the ones she showed us. I told him that perfumes are generally composed of three different fragrances called notes which makes up for a harmonious scent. The top note or the head note is the scent you get immediately after you apply the perfume and for the next few minutes to an hour, then it makes way for what is called the middle note or the heart note which is the main body of the perfume that kicks in once the top note starts to fade, this scent can last for many hours. Eventually as the heart note grows lighter, you start to smell the base not of the perfume. The base note is the underlying tone of the perfume and brings depth to a perfume. Over time, the top note and the heart note soften and the base note is the scent left at the end of the day.

Now my friend has been happily married for a little over an year now and we used to have discussion in the past about what he is looking for in a girl, what works for him and what doesn't. Since his marriage the roles have kind of reversed and he has been giving me advice about what should I look for in a girl, what matters and what doesn't etc. So, he was listening to my explanation of perfumes very attentively all this while and after I was done talking, he looks at me and says, "Himanshu, you should look for the base note in a girl!". I didn't ask him for any explanation, the metaphor was obvious. And out of all the discussions we ever had about relationships, this is one I am not going to disagree with even a bit... when it comes to perfumes and girls... look for the base note... when all else fades away that is what matters...