Goodbye, With Love!

When I was turning sixteen years old I remember Dad leaving for a trip to Dubai and asking me that one question he always asked before going out, that one question that always got me excited. "Kuch mangwana hai?" he asked, which meant, "Do you want something?" when spoken in Urdu. I usually left the choice on him because he had excellent taste and always bought stuff that dazzled and shined with class and glamour. Yet for that one time I actually had a request. I wanted the new perfume by Hilary Duff, the advertisements of which had the almost-sixteen-year-old Hilary-Duff-obsessed-girly-girl me going absolutely crazy. She had launched her first ever perfume along with the song 'With Love' which I enjoyed listening to immensely at that time. Hilary Duff was such a craze back then; her movies were adorably girly, her songs were brilliant, and she was gorgeous herself too. I loved her then and I still do.

Dad never refused when I asked for something and somehow he always managed to find it for me. When he returned from Dubai he sure had found the perfume for me. He told me he had a tough time looking for it but eventually found it at last. I recently celebrated my twenty fourth birthday and eight years later I am finally finishing the bottle of perfume Dad had gotten me on my sixteenth and I'd stood there squealing in excitement and throwing a million thank yous at him. I haven't seen any new Hilary Duff movie in years; the last time I saw her was in Gossip Girl as Olivia, the superstar who stayed for a few episodes only. Of course I loved her as Olivia too, she has always been the best. She's the one actress from my teenage who didn't disappoint me and the rest of her fans by turning into a perverted wannabe desperate woman. I'm not sure if she still sells With Love perfumes or not though. I did search around a little bit in stores but never found one anywhere, so I'm guessing these really are the last few drops of this fabulous perfume left.

It is sad, sort of, parting from a perfume you loved for eight years of your life. As can be imagined, I used the perfume sacredly, only applying a puff or two on very special occasions. That explains the exceptionally long period of time the bottle lasted. Finally it is coming to an end. I guess I'll only have one or two more times of using it before it fully finishes. I'm still not sure if I'll part with that gorgeous bottle though. I'm saving the box and have already taken it apart to stick in my scrapbook (which I'm soon going to start working on!) as a keepsake. The bottle is really pretty, even in its now empty state, so I may just retain it for decoration. I know I'm being stupid!

The year 2015 hasn't ended alone ...

a sixteen year old's favorite perfume has finished along with it!