Program Schedule Exhibitors

‘Lifetime Scents’ by Tara Wallace (iamtarawallace)

November 13, 2024
Fellow Spritzers, Lifetime Scents

TARA WALLACE hails from the small town of Jayess, Mississippi, where life centered around kindness and spirituality. Influenced by her grandparents, she credits them with shaping who she is today. After college, Tara fulfilled a lifelong dream by moving to New York City, where she immersed herself in the arts within one of the world’s most vibrant cultural hubs. As a TV personality, actor, and author, Tara continuously seeks creative avenues to express herself. One of her favorite mediums is beauty and fragrance, which she uses to communicate without words, evoking deep emotions and memories.

My favorite notes are Spice, Grapefruit, Oud, and Rose because they are grounding and intoxicating. I feel they blend well with my own pH.

My favorite fragrances are Mariya (Omanluxury), Dia 40 (Amouage), 502 (Bon Parfumeur), Angel (Thierry Mugler), 212 (Carolina Herrera). I love these fragrances because of their boldness and beauty. When you smell these, they say their names.

What fascinates me most about fragrance is its rich and extensive history—not just what we perceive today, but its roots in culture, spirituality, and rituals. Fragrance is a celebration of one of our senses that we often take for granted. If music is the universal language of hearing, then fragrance speaks to our sense of smell.

These reflections form the foundation of why I believe it’s important to share content about fragrance. The nuances of beauty are significant; what was once deemed forbidden or exclusive is now accessible and luxurious. Most importantly, I love it. I genuinely enjoy sharing insights about the products I use as a beauty creator. This passion keeps me inspired and creates opportunities for expression that I never imagined possible before.

I became a fragrance content creator because… I’ve only recently incorporated fragrance into my beauty content, so what I offer is quite new. I’m learning alongside my audience, experiencing this journey together in real time. I love seeing the responses and questions in my DMs. Fragrance is subjective, and what I appreciate most are the samples that allow people to try scents without committing until they’re certain.

A great fragrance is one that truly stands out, seamlessly blending its unique notes to create a signature scent that evolves throughout the day. It’s a dynamic experience, transforming and revealing new facets as time passes, leaving a lasting impression.

I see the current perfume market as… What a wonderful time to be alive, where we can indulge in and enhance the beautiful accents of life. This is the sentiment that comes to mind when I reflect on the current perfume market.

The best aspect of ScentXplore is… My first Scentxplore was last year. I was invited by Amouage. I truly did not have a clue of what to expect. I arrived alone and was overwhelmed. I had never gone to such an event. I had to regroup and ground myself. I sat in on the discussions to understand the culture and what I loved most was the warm energy that welcomed people to come and smell a fragrance at any counter. People seemed to love what they do and I felt that. I am so excited for this year.

To me, perfume is the heightened moment, an experience that invites you to be fully present. It is the unseen, uniquely significant barrier we move through; while we can’t see it, we know it’s there.

TARA’S LIFETIME SCENTS

Anaïs Anaïs by Cacharel

The 1st scent I can remember is the scent of Anaïs Anaïs on my mother. My Mother was in her 20’s, 5’2 and dynamic. It’s amazing how a single scent can hold so much of a person’s spirit and confidence. The connection to Anaïs Anaïs is beautifully rich, this scent creates such vivid memories. It even lends as a source of strength because of who I know my mother to be. My mother was self-assured, and her confidence seems to shine through in how she chose unique scents and styles. The scent embodies her spirit, her essence reassurance and ultimate femininity. If a lioness wore perfume it would be Anaïs Anaïs.

212 by Carolina Herrera

Part of my training in acting school that awakened the power of understanding smell brought me to doing something even I find strange. I love to own the scents of all my past roommates like a sensory diary or preserving the feeling of my first. Carolina Herrera 212 was a scent my roommate would talk about and one day I bought it. It was literally the scent to the backdrop of me falling in love for the 1st time in NYC. It was 2000 and I was new to NYC, finding my way, having new experiences, Sex and the City energy in the air. Kisses along Central Park West thinking that this 212 is shaping me into the love child of Blanche Devereaux and Carrie Bradshaw. It’s the introduction to scents like gardenia, bergamot and sandalwood and invigorating to say the least. I will forever own this fragrance.

Gieffeffe by Gianfranco Ferre

Gieffeffe by Gianfranco Ferre was a fragrance my roommate Rockee loved, perfectly reflecting her—a unique blend of subtlety and complexity. The scent takes me back to our nights out in the city, capturing the thrill and freedom of that time. I wore it on the unforgettable night I waited on Prince at Jimmy’s Uptown in Harlem. We were so young and full of dreams, with everything feeling just within reach. And Rockee? She was always ready to take on anything standing in our way. Even now, as close friends, we hunt down bottles of this discontinued fragrance, ordering it together whenever we find one.

Sunflowers by Elizabeth Arden

The 1st fragrance I ever purchased was Sunflowers. It was the scent of every highschool girl that had a job in my hometown. Sunflowers fragrance carried all the brightness and liveliness of high school days, a scent shared by every girl with a job in our hometown. It’s more than a fragrance—it’s a reminder of youth, innocence, and the excitement of taking those first bold steps toward making your mark on the world.

Tommy Girl by Tommy Hilfiger

After high school came college, and that’s when I discovered Tommy Hilfiger’s Tommy Girl. You could probably smell me all the way across campus—I hadn’t quite figured out how many sprays were too many! What I remember most is that this was when I first started to understand fragrance notes—and the discovery that grapefruit was irresistible to me. That bright, fresh scent has drawn me in ever since, and I still find myself reaching for fragrances with those unmistakable grapefruit notes.

Cheap and Chic by Moschino

For years, I believed in having an everyday fragrance, and for me, that was Moschino Cheap and Chic. It was my daily statement and the baseline of how I showed up in the world, through great days or tough ones, always leaving a memorable mark. With its warm, comforting blend of citrus top notes, including bitter orange and yuzu, balanced with a heart of rose, jasmine, and peony, and a soft sandalwood and musk base, it was both lively and grounded. This fragrance was my signature—fresh, floral, and unmistakably present. Once, a friend remarked that I remind them of Holly Golightly, embodying that beautiful blend of confusion and independence. This scent represents my personal statement—a joyful expression of who I am—reminding me that I can embrace life’s uncertainties while leaving a memorable mark wherever I go.

Rose 31 by Le Labo

Le Labo was the brand that introduced me to the world of luxury fragrances, and I can confidently say there’s no turning back. Every dresser deserves to showcase a bottle of this exquisite line. My first purchase was Rose 31, a scent that embodies sophistication and charm. To me, Le Labo represents the girl who devours bestsellers, stays updated on current events, and manages to show up to work on time. During the challenging COVID era, this fragrance became a highlight, offering a soothing backdrop during difficult times and a sense of reprieve when I needed it most.

Dia 40 Woman by Amouage

All this reflecting has deepened my journey through the world of scent, where countless fragrances swirl in my thoughts, each carrying its own story. While working in Detroit last year, I encountered something that truly changed the game for me: Amouage. This brand opened a door to an entirely new realm of fragrance, one I had never imagined existed. The introduction to Amouage sparked great curiosity within me, igniting a desire to delve deeper into the art of scent. What is it all about? What stories do these fragrances tell? As I explored, I found that Amouage offered more than just luxurious scents; it invited me to engage with the nuances of fragrance in a way I had never done before. Dia 40 has become the backdrop of my journey toward self-reinvention. It serves as a reminder that when I enter a room, no one will smell like me. This unique signature is a consistent affirmation of my individuality, a gentle nudge to embrace who I am. Dia 40 also encourages me to celebrate my femininity, to bask in its richness and complexity. The grapefruit notes, in their true and raw form, are ever-present, infusing the fragrance with a bright energy that resonates with my spirit. They remind me to be bold, to take up space, and to live fully in every moment. In this way, Dia 40 is not just a fragrance; it’s a declaration of my essence, a fragrant reminder to own my presence in the world.

Follow Tara on Instagram @iamtarawallace

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(photos by the respective brands)