I have made a commitment!

I like to have a signature scent. Beginning in the late 1990s, and for a long time after that, it was Black Pearls by Elizabeth Taylor. I liked it because it was both floral and musky, and because it wasn't as common as White Diamonds, which every woman seemed to be wearing for a time. Then, damn that Liz, it was discontinued. I still have a few bottles tucked away in a drawer in a dark closet, saved for special occasions.

Then, in 2005, I moved on to Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker. I loved, loved it! The packaging was pretty. The floral scent was good for day into evening. I was very loyal, even as I was embarrassed to buy it. (I always worried the girl at the counter was tsk-tsk-ing that I was a poor tragic thing who thought she was Carrie Bradshaw.) Then, damn that SJP, it was discontinued in 2009. I began hoarding it and had enough to last me until the tail end of last year.

Finally I have landed on a new scent! (Drumroll,please!) Exceptional!

It meets all my basic criteria: it's floral but not overwhelmingly so (kinda like Estee Lauder White Linen, only a wee bit hipper/spicier); not a lot of other women wear it; the body creme is rich; the packaging has nice, clean lines; best of all, it's not a celebrity fragrance and it's readily available online, so I won't be embarrassed at the cosmetic counter.

This search for the perfect scent made me sad about e-readers. For I did a lot of my research with fragrance strips in magazines. As printed periodicals go the way of the dinosaur, how will I find my next signature scent?