At first sniff: An evocative take on the power of perfume by the late Wolf Hall author HILARY MANTEL, which first appeared in Vogue in 2009

The late author understood scents not so much as objects but as performances In any department store in January there is a reliably comic sight – buyers trying to choose discounted perfumes by sniffing the necks of the spray bottles. What women have always wanted to know is what scent drives men wild; researchers have the answer, say Turin and Sanchez, and it’s bacon. IF YOU CAN’T AFFORD IT, JUST TEST IT; YOU’LL REMEMBER, AND MAYBE ADD IT TO THE INGREDIENTS OF A BETTER LIFE Its dark, chunky bottle could hold an expensive men’s fragrance; it has a gentle citrus drift that cuts through sweetness, and a light amber note for balance; it’s a lovely summery scent that doesn’t layer a persona over your own, just makes you pleasant to be around. Hilary was seduced by Estée Lauder’s Sensuous, which brought back an enticing memory of peeping into the wardrobes of elegant ladies Comme des Garçons 888: do the designers mean to unleash this bully, that slaps you around the head with a big blast of coriander? The ideal scent keeps the wearer interested, evolves with him or her; you can’t ‘solve’ it in one go like the plot of a bad detective novel.