s.shampoo - lor’s third person

The concept of associating scents to certain periods of one’s life has always existed, for everyone and for Loretta too. At a point in Loretta’s life, she had a lovely collection of scents that she would start each day by picking of. She never liked to spray perfume, but the men’s oils that her father boasted in his drawers appealed to her. Her collection was not as sizable as his. Every day, Loretta would choose one of her five favorite oils. She would open one up, give it grace by breathing in its scent, then decide against it and set it down to choose another. Whatever lucky oil she chose would be gently applied to her wrists and rubbed on her neck. Like this, a year or so passed.

Once, she heard that wearing perfume outside was not recommended, and she stopped. It was not such a large sacrifice- Loretta could still hold on to the aroma of her fabric softener and floral shampoos. Shampoo, in particular, made its scent greatly known in the absence of the perfume that usually masked it.

Loretta always used the shampoo set that her mother would buy at the department store for cheap. It was an argan oil shampoo, usually with an aloe vera scent. There was a time where Loretta tried something else, something more expensive, but it ran out and its scent was nothing magical enough to push her back to the shops in pursuit of it. She returned to her argan oil-aloe vera shampoo and held onto it steadfastly. The smell of it was so comforting, taking warm showers in a bathroom fogged up with the aroma of aloe vera and the area being permeated by the smell for the next few hours. It was almost revitalizing.

Loretta went on with this shampoo set until it ran out once again. Her mum was headed to the store, and so Loretta asked for the same set of shampoo that she always bought. Her mum came back with shampoo and conditioner. They were the same brand, both made of argan oil, but one scent was different- the shampoo. It showed, on the bottle, a green tea scent label instead of the familiar aloe vera sticker. The conditioner was the same, and only the shampoo seemed a little different. Loretta brushed it off and jumped in the shower.

She pumped the mysterious new shampoo in her hand and was pleasantly surprised by the scent. It smelled just like something she already knew. Maybe she already had this shampoo before, a few years past. It might’ve been her mum’s old shampoo, back when Loretta clung to her so close that they’d use the same bathroom. It felt reminiscent, and it was an amiable scent. Loretta couldn’t place exactly where her feeling toward it came from, but she chose to enjoy it all the more. It had the scent of simplicity. It was good.