CRYSTAL RENN

QUESTION: What is your favourite fragrance and long have you worn it?
Renn: I have worn Coco Mademoiselle for close to ten years.

Q: Why do you love it?
Renn: I love it because as a young girl I would watch my grandmother delight over receiving her yearly Chanel No.5 at Christmas. I would sit on the floor watching her apply her makeup and watch her remove the many rollers from her hair, knowing she was almost done, when at the end she would dab her Chanel No.5. The smell that would fill the air was pure elegance and sophistication.

Q: What is the first fragrance you ever wore and can you share how you came about wearing it?
Renn: When I was old enough and was choosing my first scent I was drawn to Chanel fragrances naturally because of the memory it gave me of [my grandmother]. I feel the key to picking a fragrance is how it mixes with your body. It almost creates this third person and you either like that person or not. I felt what that particular scent created was the person I wanted people to see in me, and was accurate to who I truly am, a young fresh sophisticate with just the slightest hint of mystery.

Q: Some people feel like they’re not fully dressed until they put on their fragrance. Can you describe how important fragrance is to you?
Renn: Over time I have occasionally tried to change scents, almost out of pressure that I should try something new, to fit maybe a change in my life. Yet I never felt that any of those scents represented who I was. I always quickly returned to my original.

Q: How and where on your body do you apply fragrance?
Renn: Dabbing it in on my wrists, neck, and right behind the ear up into the hairline, is where I usually apply it. At the end, I spray it in the air as I do my perfume dance, which is ultimately running through the mist so it is evenly distributed all over. That is my finishing touch.  At that point, I am truly ready for anything.

Chanel Coco Mademoiselle Parfum, $117 (7.5 ml), www.chanel.com
Crystal Renn is a Miami-born model represented by Ford Models. She worked for many years as a plus-sized model and she has graced the pages of Vogue, i-D, Arena Homme and V magazine. She has also appeared on the covers of Elle Italia and Harper’s Bazaar Australia and in ad campaigns for Dolce & Gabbana, Jimmy Choo and Dsquared2. In the world of runway, she has walked for such A-list brands as Chanel and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Renn is also a published author. Her book, Hungry (2009), chronicles the ups and downs of her compelling life and career. The star model shared her perfume thoughts with Deborah Fulsang earlier this year for Holt Renfrew. An excerpt of this interview first appeared in the retailer’s Muse blog in an article entitled “Fragrance Fanatics.”

PHOTO: CRYSTAL RENN ON THE COVER OF VOGUE JAPAN IN 2011.