There's a long-running trope in perfume advertising that perfume speaks, and what it broadcasts is a message about its wearer.
香水广告一个经久不衰的诉求点就是香水能说话，能传递有关香水使用者的信息。
In the 1950s, many perfumes spoke the message of feminine sexuality, a subversive message that was only socially acceptable to be spoken subliminally and invisibly, in perfume. In the 1950s perfume ad for Primitif, under the image of a sultry super-vixen with half-parted lips who looks like she just jumped from the cover of a pulp novel, a tagline asks, 'Why not let your perfume say the things you would not dare to?'
上世纪50年代，许多香水传递的是女性的性感；在当时的社会，这种大胆、具有颠覆性的信息只允许通过香水隐晦地透露一二。当时的Primitif香水广告中就是一个超级惹火的娇艳女郎，樱唇微启，活生生从低俗小说封面中跳出来一样，下面的广告语是：“为何不让你的香水把你不敢说的说出来呢？”
In Guerlain's Chant d'Aromes ad from 1965, we're told that a great perfume must do two things: 'It must express something for a woman that she would like to express herself, and it must be said in away that can be understood by men.' And in a Nuance ad from 1978, a few years before the big-shouldered 1980s fragrances such as Giorgio and Christian Dior's Poison shouted their messages, women were told their perfume shouldn't be too strong or loud. 'If you want to capture someone's attention,' it advised, 'whisper.'
娇兰(Guerlain)在1965年的“喜悦之歌”(Chant d'Aromes)香水广告告诉我们，一瓶伟大的香水应做到以下两点：必须能表达女人想表达的自己，同时必须能从某种意义上被男人理解。在宽肩盛行的80年代，Giorgio和迪奥(Christian Dior)的“毒药”(Poison)等香水用浓郁的香氛大声地表达，而就在那之前几年，1978年的Nuance广告则告诉女人，香水不应该太强烈或者太夸张。该广告建议称：“如果你想要吸引别人的注意力，低语倾诉就好。”
Perfumes still 'say' things, of course, but in a post-signature scent era, when women (and men) are offered upwards of 1,000 new fragrances a year to choose from, most people express different things with their perfumes, depending on their moods, the event they're going to, what they're wearing, or whatever they happen to grab on their dressers. Are these eternal, 'essential' truths about their wearers? Not so much, since perfume can be applied and taken off as easily as a Roberto Cavalli leopard print maxi-dress or an L.L. Bean down vest-jacket.
当然，如今香水依然能“表达”很多东西，但是在后标志性香味时代，当女人（以及男人）每年有多至1,000种新香水可供选择时，多数人会根据心情、要参加的活动、穿戴或者在梳妆台上随手抓来的香水表达不同的信息。这些信息能反映出香水使用者永恒的、最本质的自我吗？不见得，因为香水可以和罗伯特・卡沃利(Roberto Cavalli)的豹纹长裙或是L.L. Bean的羽绒背心一样穿脱自如。
Here are some of the most popular perfume families -- and what they say about you to others.
以下是一些最流行的香水系列以及它们所能传递的信息：
Citrus/Marine/Ozonic (i.e. 'clean') -- You probably carry hand sanitizer in your purse and consider organizing the contents of your purse as one of your hobbies. No-nonsense, unsentimental, and efficient, you are the leader of the pack, and probably prefer Tory Burch flats to Louboutin blood-red-heeled stillettos.
柑橘/海洋/臭氧系列（即“清爽”系列）――你可能会在包里放无水洗手液，同时把归类包里的东西作为兴趣爱好。你不会瞎聊、不会感情用事、行事高效，是团队的领袖，也许比起鲁布托(Louboutin)的血红底细高跟鞋，你会更喜欢托里・伯奇(Tory Burch)的平底鞋。
Floral -- You like baking cookies, hand-writing thank you notes, and the idea of true love. You are a mix of introverted and extroverted. You project a conventional femininity that some would describe as 'classic.' To you, perfume means 'flowers,' and you don't see any need to question what has worked for millennia.
花香系列――你喜欢烤饼干，手写感谢卡，也相信真爱。你是内向和外向的集合体。你觉得传统女性可以用“经典”来形容。对你来说，香水就意味着“各种各样的花香”，你不认为有任何必要去质疑已经延续了千年的真理。
Fruity and Fruity-Florals - Bubbly, flirty, and fun, you don't take anything too seriously, and you're the person people invite to their cocktail parties to get the festivities going. You're open and friendly.
水果和果味花香系列――你很活泼、喜欢与人逗乐、有趣好玩，不会认真看待任何事，你是大家都喜欢邀请到鸡尾酒会上来带动气氛的人。你开放又友善。
Gourmand -- You are romantic and seductive. After all, you want to smell like vanilla, chocolate, praline, and cotton candy -- things someone could take a big bite out of. Generous and larger than life, you're not sure why someone would decorate her apartment in an all-beige color scheme when purple leopard-spotted wallpaper is available. In spite of the va-va-va-voom quality of the fragrances you like, you are also a comfort seeker. You probably own a hidden pair of jeggings you wear underneath your Snuggie on cold nights on the couch while eating bonbons.
美食香味系列――你很浪漫，还很性感。说到底，你希望自己闻起来像香草、巧克力、果仁糖和棉花糖这些大家想要咬上一大口的东西一样。你为人慷慨又大气，你不明白为什么有紫色豹纹壁纸可供选择的时候，会有人想要把她的公寓全部装饰成米黄色调。尽管你喜欢的香水超有活力，你同时也喜欢舒适。或许在冷天缩在沙发上吃夹心软糖的时候你会偷偷在毛毯下穿一条牛仔打底裤。
Oriental -- Like the gourmand lover, you prefer perfumes that contain sweet notes of vanilla and amber, but they also need dark and mysterious notes such as frankincense and myrrh. Romantic and sensitive, you live in your own world, or at least do your best to make the one you're in conform to your dreams. Some might describe you as 'intense,' others a 'drama queen.' When your perfume contains the 'tears' or resins that 'weep' from the barks of trees when they're wounded, as labdanum and balsams do, what do they expect?
东方香味系列――跟喜欢美食香味的人一样，你更偏爱含有甜甜香草和琥珀味的香水，但同时它们也需要乳香和没药等黑暗和神秘的香调。你浪漫且敏感，活在自己的世界中，或者至少尽最大努力使生活符合你的梦想。有人可能会评价你“情感强烈”，也有人会说你喜欢“小题大做”。当你的香水里含有劳丹脂和香脂等树皮受伤时留下的“眼泪”时， 他们会作何感想呢？
Mossy and Woody -- You may be living in the 21st century, but you're what some might have described in the past as a 'dame,' and maybe even a 'dame with moxie.' Like the gal below, no one is going to find you sipping on an Appletini or wearing pink. More than likely, you'll be the one drinking a bitter espresso in the corner café reading Camus, Sheila Heti, or the DSM5 -- for fun. On a sunny Saturday afternoon. You're probably a Scorpio.
青苔和木香系列――你是生活在21世纪，但若在过去，你会被称作“夫人”，甚至“勇敢的夫人”。与喜欢下一个系列香水的女人一样，你不会喝苹果马提尼或穿粉红色的衣服。你更有可能会在一个阳光明媚的周六下午在一个角落里喝杯苦咖啡，读读加缪(Camus)、希拉・海蒂(Sheila Heti)的书或是第五版《精神疾病诊断与统计手册》(DSM5)――纯属娱乐。你可能是天 座。
Leather/tobacco/musk/oud/incense: Voted in high school 'most likely to grow up to be an international spy,' your Platonic ideal of a good night out is donning your vintage Yves Saint Laurent 'Le Smoking' suit, drinking single-malt scotch neat at a dive bar with a mysterious stranger you just picked up at an art gallery in NYC's Chelsea neighborhood, and making out with him -- or her -- in the back of a taxi cab.
皮革/烟草/麝香/乌木/薰香系列――读高中时被大家票选为“最有可能成为国际间谍的人”；你的理想夜生活是穿上复古的伊夫 罗兰(Yves Saint Laurent)的 “Le Smoking”套装，在一间小酒吧喝着纯麦不加冰的苏格兰威士忌，旁边是一位你在纽约切尔西(Chelsea)某艺术画廊认识的神秘陌生人，之后在出租车后座上与他（或她）亲热。