As a child, I always knew when my mom was home or close by because I could smell her. After she died in 1981, when I was 11, I spent many days lying in her bed or sitting in her closet amongst her clothes. Why? Because of her scent. If I could somehow keep her scent alive maybe she wouldn’t be gone? Her love was real, she existed, those first 11 years of my life with her was not a dream.

For me, fragrance is a scent trail toward my loved ones. I follow the path of crushed flower petals; their scent emboldens me. The grasses and trees that lead me to the loved ones of my childhood. The people that shaped the woman that I am today. The Cyprus Rigaud candles that my mother burned in our living room, her Jungle Gardenia perfume, the garden roses in our backyard, the citrus trees and their paper white blossoms bursting with scent. Tobacco brown More cigarettes sticking out of sterling silver cups, her golden jewelry and amber beads, my father’s Sandalwood cologne, the incense in the churches of my childhood.

After the birth of my daughter in 2012, I was filled to the brim with love. I felt a peacefulness that I had not known since my mom died. I wanted to celebrate my mom and the deep and everlasting love that she imprinted on my heart. Motherhood came so naturally to me because of her.

Natalie Fragrance is about memory. Join me on the scent trail.

Natasha