Sometimes I worry about my nose. My sense of smell, I mean. Particularly about perfume.

The problem is that over the past year and a half or so I've tried so much BPAL that I can discern notes. I guess that's a good thing, but it's also kind of a bad thing.

Like, grapefruit. I used to dislike it, but I've grown to like it. I remember when I first started trying BPAL oils, when I smelled grapefruit I'd think, "Ugh. Who wants to smell like breakfast. Bleah. Next!" And now I've tried so many grapefruit ones that I appreciate that sparkle it can give to a scent. There's really nothing like it. Manhattan is one of my favorite scents.

But, when I wear it, do people who aren't used to grapefruit scents think, "Ugh! Why does she want to smell like breakfast? Bleah."

There have been many times that I get an imp and look up my old notes where it says that I thought it smelled like bathroom cleaner or lemon pledge or something else undesirable. And then I smell it again a year later with my trained nose and think something like, "Say, that's quite a nice tea and lemon scent, I wonder why I thought it smelled like lemon pledge before?" And then I start wearing it.

Maybe it really still smells like lemon pledge to most people but I just can't tell anymore?

I don't want to walk around feeling like I smell like a playful berry with a hint of some herb but in actuality I just smell like bathroom air freshener. I can smell nuances, but can other people? I honestly don't know. When I started collecting BPAL I couldn't tell. It smelled good, bad, strong, cheerful, spicy, odd, musty, citrusy, etc. There was no "gosh, I really love the grapefruit peeking out from under the violet, and the white sandalwood underneath it is a subtle but warm touch." It would have been "This smells funky. Pass."

I hope I'm not walking around smelling weird but thinking I smell fantastic.