I was at the pharmacy today, bored, waiting for my medicine. They have a whole lot of perfume on sale at my pharmacy; last seasons hot scents that are still new for the people who never get out of the suburbs. I like trying them on and imagining buying them.
At school in the 90s, the cool girls used Lynx in the changing rooms. I just smelt sweaty, or, I probably didn’t, because I disdained any effort at gym. It didn’t sit well with the academic image I was trying to cultivate (so I thought then).
Perfume is so gender-neutral now, or so the sales-assistant at David Jones tells me. My best friend in high-school used guys’ scent. She always smelt a bit dangerous and exciting; roses and cigarettes. I’d love to be cool, even now, when I should be old enough to know better.
I try out some perfumes from the mens section, feeling powerful and trend-setting. When I get home, I smell like a man.
