All About Perfume Lockets.

Perfume lockets, oh how the Moth Woman does love these things! She is a relative newcomer to this trend but has wholeheartedly embraced it. The general principle is that something is impregnated with perfume, then tucked away in the cage of the locket. Body heat warms it and makes the scent more effusive. This allows for more persistent huffing of those beloved but evanescent darlings you just cannot get to linger by regular methods. The lockets work particularly well with oils, I suspect because the idea originated in the aromatherapy community, by way of the old idea of the vinaigrette.

There are two main forms: ball cage and standard locket shape: The locket style warms the fragrance better due to greater surface area in contact with the body and therefore increases sillage. The cage style is more elegant, but does not broadcast the scents as well.

The locket shaped pendants are sold with little felt pads and the cage style with colourful cotton balls, to hold the scent. Now if you are a serious fume-head like the Moth Woman, and have a vast collection of lovely smelling stuff, using these might get pricey. The Moth Woman has found work arounds:

·         For the locket style, lining them with paper works. These mostly have filigree fronts, so the Moth Woman uses coloured paper for decorative reason. This works well but remember to clean the locket with a cotton bud (Q-Tip) dipped in some kind of vegetable oil after use or smells will get very muddled quickly.

·         For the cage style, she uses 14mm, unvarnished wooden beads. They are cheap, retain the scent beautifully and you can write the name of the perfume on them, so they can be reused.

The Moth Woman has become so tragically hooked on these items, that the Moth Man and Larva are starting to look askance at each new purchase. Time to start hiding them she thinks.

Both are available for extremely reasonable prices on eBay.