Is there really such a thing as a signature scent?

Pamela Paul observes the changing patterns in perfume practices throughout a woman’s life and contends that there is no set scent for life.

I would like to believe that every woman should have a signature scent, and that I am one of those women.

A woman who swears by one perfume alone — Marilyn Monroe said she slept in the nude, wearing only Chanel No. 5 — literally knows her own essence.