GR.9 STUDENT NAMI HELGASON

Tomorrow it’s back to teachers, back to books. The occasion got us wondering about the fragrance habits and attitudes of today’s tuned-in teenagers—how important perfume is to them, what they really think about Justin Bieber’s insanely popular scents and what fragrances they’re really coveting. So, we went straight to the source: Today, our Q&A is with the very cool and clever, turning-14-this-week, Nami Helgason of Toronto.

QUESTION: Hi Nami. How do you define your sense of style?
HELGASON: Tomboyish if anything. I don’t really try to, I guess, have a certain sense of style. It differs depending on the day and my options.

Q: What kind of fragrance do you normally wear?
HELGASON: I have a body spray my friend gave to me. It’s called “Dove Go Fresh Body Mist”

Q: Is putting on fragrance an essential part of your routine?
HELGASON: I guess so. I put it on along with deodorant after showers and also when I wake up in the morning.

Q: Where or when do you normally wear fragrance?
HELGASON: I wear it about 5 days a week, regardless of place or event.

Q: What is your favourite fragrance/fragrance product and how does it make you feel when you wear it?
HELGASON: Rebalance by Dove. (I don’t know if that counts.) It’s my favorite scent of the body mists, (there’s also a cucumber melon scent and etc.)  It makes me feel better, more prepared for the day if anything.

Q: What percentage of your friends wear fragrance?
HELGASON: I’d think that maybe 2 out of 5 actually wear it.

Q: What are the favourite fragrances of your closest friends?
HELGASON: My friend Josel wears a body mist similar to mine. I think it’s the cucumber-melon version. And my other friend, Nicole, wears perfume. I usually see her putting it on after a workout, or our martial arts class together. It’s potent stuff, and you can always tell when she’s there.

Q: Where do you go to buy fragrance/fragrance products?
HELGASON: Shoppers [Drug Mart], most likely. Considering the kind of product I like to use.

Q: Why do you wear fragrance?
HELGASON: It makes me feel fresher. I like the way it smells—and the way it makes me smell.

Q: How much are you willing to spend on fragrance product around back-to-school?
HELGASON: I don’t know. I never really thought about it in relation to back to school.  But I don’t think I’d like to spend more than $100.

Q: What fragrance(s) would be on your wish list if money weren’t an issue?
HELGASON: G by Gwen Stefani. I like the smell; I saw (or smelled it) in France.

Q: How important is the bottle to you when you’re buying a fragrance?
HELGASON: Well, in the case of Gwen Stefani’s line of perfume, I love the bottles. I don’t really think it matters though. If I like the smell, I’ll ask if I can get it.

Q: How popular are the celebrity fragrances with your friends?
HELGASON: I don’t think it matters to them who made what perfume, but that may be due to the fact that my friends and I don’t really care about who made what and who’s famous nowadays. (Though I’m sure a couple of my friends would go crazy if say, One Direction made a perfume.) Plus most of my friends don’t wear fragrance anyways. Occasionally one of us will pick up a random bottle and be like, ‘Hmmm, this smells nice. Oh look, it’s made by Britney Spears.’ and that’ll be the end of it.

Q: How popular are Justin Bieber’s fragrances with your crowd?
HELGASON: Ahahahah. Not incredibly. None of my friends would even touch the stuff, because ‘Justin Bieber’ is like a giant neon ‘Radioactive’ sign to them. So no. Sorry J. Biebs.

Q: Do you notice fragrance ads and which ones do you love?
HELGASON:  I don’t watch a lot of television, so I’m probably underexposed to such things. I do remember one that I saw and loved when I was younger. It was a woman dressed in all gold with a bottle that was a mirror image of her. It was called J’Adore Gold by Christian Dior.

ILLUSTRATION: NAMI HELGASON; HTTP://NAH-MIH.BLOGSPOT.COM