There’s nothing genetic, Polge says, that made him a suitable successor. A perfumer, he explains, shouldn’t smell things nobody else can, it’s not about possessing a palate that’s distinctly accurate: “We all have a huge memory of scent. The work is much more about activating the link between your nose and memory.” Warhol seemed to regard the wearing and collecting of perfume as an art form, a form of documentation, and a way of exerting more control over atmosphere and near-total control over nostalgia. Warhol began amassing his collection of semi-used perfumes in the early '60s. "Before that the smells in my life were all just whatever happened to hit my nose by chance," he wrote. "But then I realized I had to have a kind of smell museum so certain smells wouldn’t get lost forever." This fragrance is still produced today, but like the Yardley fragrance is only available in bath essence and soaps. Interestingly, it is widely believed that women tend to be more drawn to geranium essential oil as geranium has properties that regulate hormones. We can only assume that Marilyn might have found the geranium scent soothing too! Our liability is limited and excluded to the maximum extent permitted under applicable law. We will

Geranium essential oil interestingly enough is known to have particular affinity to women as it possesses the property of regulating the hormonal system. One may guess that Marilyn Monroe might have found the fragrance both soothing and uplifting. She may also possibly have used it in her bath, a gesture which was more common in the past.One of the most iconic actresses and recognizable faces of all time, for decades Marilyn Monroe has been a symbol of beauty, glamour and femininity, so it’s no wonder that so many people want to smell like her! But what was Marilyn’s perfume of choice? In 2013, Marilyn was the subject of an advertisement campaign by Chanel entitled ‘Inside Chanel.’ In the two-minute advertisement, Marilyn is the posthumous face of the legendary perfume. Polge spent his first year not making a single perfume, instead he was told to watch how others worked around him. This meant spending time sitting in the lab, just as he’d done that first summer, while also coming to understand the design and development process inside Chanel’s ateliers. In the early 50s, Arthur Miller (played by Adrien Brody in Blonde) was married to Mary Slattery, and Monroe was at the peak of her stardom, appearing in Niagara and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. According to Donald Spoto in Marilyn Monroe: The Biography, Miller and Monroe were first introduced at this time by the director Elia Kazan. Later, Warhol reflected on the (arguably underrated) power of smell, as well as a scent’s ability to be a time capsule in and of itself:

What’s even more unsettling is the opinion held by Blonde’s original author, given in a 2000 interview. Oates essentially victim-blames Monroe, stating: “She fell into the trap. She made herself into the blonde who looks dumb, who is very sexy”. This harsh outlook fails to align with what Monroe said herself about how she hated the idea of being reduced to what a sex symbol was – just a thing. Again, blaming Monroe for the restrictions placed on her is a scathing alliance with misogyny. Now we know what perfume Marilyn Monroe loved to wear, you might be wondering what perfume other iconic screen actresses loved to wear too. Well, let’s take a look! Audrey HepburnShe launched her pioneering perfume empire that includes iconic scents such as Forever, Passion, and White Diamonds, and the latter is one of the best-selling celebrity perfumes in history. Rumor has it that Audrey wanted the perfume to be just for her, and that she didn’t want it to be released publicly. But in the 1960s, Givenchy made the perfume widely available. At the heart of this operation sits Chanel No 5, the world’s most popular perfume. This year marks its centenary, in that time faces of the scent have included Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve and, more recently, actor and activist Marion Cotillard. Now, for the first time, a book dedicated to exploring the perfume’s history has been published, celebrating this milestone. This perfume was Givenchy L’Interdit that was created specifically for Hepburn in 1957. Givenchy L’Interdit has notes of bergamot, iris, jasmine, narcissus, rose, sandalwood, and violet. But where did this quote come from? It originated from an interview with Monroe in Life Magazine in April 1952. The interviewer didn’t ask this question themselves, but rather the quote came about during an anecdote Marilyn was telling: