A fragrance chat with Andrea Karr of Canadian Living

Andrea Karr is the Associate Editor, Fashion and Beauty at women’s lifestyle magazine Canadian Living, so needless to say, she knows her beauty products. We love that Andrea dives into new products and treatments, whether it’s getting eyebrow extensions or experiencing a vajacial—yes, you read that correctly. And we love that she’s a no-pretensions fragrance fan, enamoured as much with the scent of fresh paint as she is with a citrusy spritz from the house of Guerlain. 

QUESTION: What is your favourite scent memory from childhood?
ANDREA KARR: Paint. My grandpa was a house painter, and I used to toddle over to his garage, flip through a string of keys, find the correct one and open the door. I could stand in that doorway for ages, sniffing in paint fumes. It’s horrible, I know.

Q: What was the first fragrance you bought yourself and why did you buy it?
KARR: For many years, I wore Fruits & Passion’s Apple EDT. I love fresh scents with a bit of zip, and I received so many compliments on my cheap little fragrance, I bought five bottles when they discontinued it.

Q: What does your favourite fragrance say about your personality?
KARR: Probably that I crave lightness in my life, and that I have a sweet tooth.

Q: What makes you notice a fragrance?
KARR: I will like almost any fragrance that includes bergamot, grapefruit, fig or blackberry. I’m attracted to those scents. While I can appreciate an ultra-floral or powdery fragrance, I wouldn’t feel like myself if I wore one.

Q: How many fragrances do you own?
KARR: I think about 25. I have a full shelf.

Q: How many fragrances do you regularly wear?
KARR: I have five on regular rotation: Hugo Boss Ma Vie Pour Femme, Jo Malone Blackberry & Bay, Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Limon Verde, Acqua Di Parma Fico di Amalfi, Carven L’Eau de Toilette.

Q: What do you smell like?
KARR: I like to think that I smell like a fruit grove, but people tell me I remind them of fresh laundry.

Q: Who is the best smelling person you’ve ever met, and what did they smell like?
KARR: Tough call. I tend to like the way men smell if I can sense just a touch of cologne. It doesn’t really matter what it is. I’m also a fan of Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue, which is what my guy wears. It has mandarin, grapefruit and bergamot, so it’s a winner for me.

Q: If you could bottle the scent of a favourite place/city/memory/moment what would it be and please describe the smell.
KARR: I try to capture the scent of a trip with a fragrance that I own or a product that I use. For me, the Middle East will forever smell like Vaseline Intensive Care Healthy Hands Stronger Nails in the pink tube. I used it on my three-week trip to Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Israel when I was 17. Whenever I put on that hand cream, I’m transported.

Q: How important is fragrance to your life, to your sense of style?
KARR: Extremely important. Every day feels a little brighter if I’m wearing a fragrance that I love, and I like to pull less-used fragrances out of the back of the shelf when I need a change. Plus, those bottles! I’m a sucker for good packaging.

PHOTO: Jeff Coulson