Merry Anders

This is a 1953 Lydia Lane article, where actress Merry Anders talks about perfume. Enjoy!

Merry Anders is one of the few young girls in Hollywood still under contract to a major studio. The tendency is for free lancing and it is doubtful if Hollywood will ever again put people on salary without definitely knowing what they are going to do with them. When I went to Twentieth Century to have lunch with Merry she was full of plans for Christmas. “I’m giving lots of perfume” she said. “I adore it myself and I feel it’s something everybody enjoys. “When I say perfume,’ Merry continued, “I really mean anything that smells sweet because I’ve also selected bath oils, sachet and cologne. I think it’s much better to give the best fragrances in small bottles than a sumptuous package of something you never heard of before.”

“You are so wise,” I commented. “How did you develop such an interest in perfume?” “I have a delicate sense of smell,” Merry confessed, “and whenever someone is wearing a perfume I particularly like I ask what it is and then try it the next time I need a cologne. It’s interesting how different the same perfume will smell on different people. I’ve learned the hard way to buy a purse size flagon and try it first. I hate to open an expensive bottle and find the scent is all wrong on me.”

“Do you have any pet places for wearing perfume?” I asked. “When I am going on a romantic date I start with bath oil and soak in fragrant water. When I get out of the tub I like to spray my body with a matching cologne. And I like to spray the hem of my skirt with cologne because the fragrance rises and this way you are sure of being surrounded -by it.

“I think you have to learn through experience how much to use to last for the evening,” Merry confided. “But, at the same time, you should be subtle enough so that you don’t knock people over with your scent.” “How do you, personally, go about choosing a scent?” I asked. “I decide on a perfume by the compliments I receive,” Merry told me. “When I wear something which everyone likes, it sets me up. And it tells me that the perfume is right far me.”