On the day I filed for divorce from my husband, after I’d cried for a while and thrown out a pile of his things, I bought something I had longed for our entire marriage: a big bottle of L’Ombre Dans l’Eau, the Diptyque perfume.

In the early days of our relationship, I deduced that he had an involuntary aversion to my favorite scent. He sneezed throughout our first three dates, especially when he got close enough to kiss me good night. As I got ready for our fourth date, I decided to try an experiment: I deliberately didn’t wear any perfume. He didn’t sneeze once that night — or the next morning. When I got back to my apartment, I reluctantly tossed my elegant, curved glass bottle of L’Ombre Dans l’Eau into the garbage.

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