Just Wear It…

Last week I discovered a perfume I truly adore, something unusual for me. Most perfume just doesn’t smell as good on me as it does in the bottle, but this one was fabulous.

I don’t wear perfume often, nor makeup for that matter. I don’t go out much and my work demands sturdy clothing over sexy. I indulge my girly side with nail polish in outrageous shades, but even then, I stick to the more conservative colors on my hands and save the more unconventional shades for my toes.

For the most part, the only makeup I wear is mascara. Occasionally some eyeliner. Rarely do I put on lipstick. I never wear foundation. And yet, just like perfume, I like these things. I’m just saving them for a special occasion.

So when I fell in love with this perfume, my first thought was, “Wow, I love this so much, I could wear it every day!” Until I saw the price tag, that is. Then I instantly relegated it to “Only on very special occasions.”

Then it dawned on me. I have an awful lot of perfume that fits into this category. 

Do you know what happens to perfume that sits in a bottle too long and doesn’t get used? The scent degrades. The chemistry within changes. Before you know it, the magic is gone. The product you thought too precious to waste on everyday life has been completely wasted by not being used at all. 

I think a lot of us spend too much time waiting for special occasions to bring out the things we love. Life is too short. We need to stop ‘saving’ ourselves for potential-but-not-guaranteed events. This doesn’t just apply to perfume, or that favorite pair of shoes, but to ourselves as well. How many of us have chosen not to go to the beach or put on the cosplay outfit because we weren’t happy with our appearance? We don’t ask for that raise because we’re afraid we don’t deserve it. We don’t follow our dreams because we’re afraid of being crushed. And somehow, we think at some future date, when all the stars align and we look exactly how we want, that we’ll get the other things we want as well.

In the meantime, we tell ourselves the perfume is too expensive to wear just around the house.

Put on the perfume. If smelling that delicate scent on your wrist makes you smile, wear it, by God. Even if you’re only going down to the barn. 

Don’t put it on for someone else. That applies to the makeup and the favorite clothes, too. Put them on because you like the way they make you feel. So what if you’re only going to work? As long as you can get the job done (and you’re not violating any dress code), wear what makes you happy today instead of saving it for some future date. If someone tells you you’re too old to wear graphic t-shirts, or that you really should stop wearing x-y-z when you love how you look in them, tell that person to stuff it. The ONLY thing women of a certain age should stop wearing is the unsolicited opinions of people on the Internet.

Stop putting your life on hold for some mythical time when you are prettier, thinner, smarter, richer, or what every yardstick measurement you’ve been holding yourself up to. Live. Love. Smile. Today is yours.

Wear the perfume. Don’t let it go bad in the bottle because it was too precious to ‘waste’. Life is too precious to waste. Every day that we get is a special occasion.

 

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