When I was at high school it was pretty much de rigueur to dowse oneself in perfume oils from The Body Shop.

This was back in the day before anyone could afford the pricier fragrances from the department stores, with the exception of Calvin Klein perfumes (I seem to remember one year during my teens where every moment was spent in a hazy cloud of CK One).

Eventually my budget allowed me to buy the department store designer perfumes and and for the last 10 years I’ve favoured the likes of Gucci Envy, Chanel Allure, L’Eau d’Issey and more recently, Marc Jacobs.

But in recent times I’ve noticed that everyone seems to smell the same. Walking down the street, I constantly catch a whiff of someone’s scent, and I can usually identify it because there seems to be a list of about 10 favoured by most people. Frankly, I am sick of paying $100 a bottle to smell like everyone else.

So I have decided to revert to The Body Shop perfume oils, at least until I can afford the $200-plus for a bottle of Bond No. 9 Chinatown. I’d forgotten how nice some of them are, and they are so affordable (prices from $17.95). My current choice is Ananya, which features top notes of bergamot, peach, melon, coconut and violet; middle notes of jasmine, rose, freesia, tubersoe and ylang ylang; and base notes of sandalwood, cedarwood, vanilla and musk. Plus, it makes me feel like I’m 13 again. Which is a more appealing proposition with each new wrinkle I identify.

There are heaps of oils to choose from in store, including vanilla, strawberry, white musk and neroli jasmin.

By Caroline Warnes