文︰子慧
Fragrance(香味)，通常用來比喻好的東西，沒有人會反對流芳百世，但沒有人想遺臭萬年。英文也有與香和臭有關的措辭，例如smelling like a rose，像玫瑰一樣香，就解to be regarded as appealing(有吸引力的), virtuous(品德高尚的) or respectable(可敬的)。
Smelling like a rose亦解to have people believe that you are good and honest after a difficult situation that could have made you seem bad or dishonest；一些可以令你身敗名裂的情況過後，大家了解到你原來是正直不阿的人，就可以用smelling like a rose來形容。例如︰When the corruption investigation was over, the official came out smelling like a rose.(貪污的調查完成後，證明那位官員一清二白。)
Stink解有臭味，例如︰The classroom stinks of rotten food.(班房有種食物腐爛了的臭味。)Stink亦解令人有某種負面的懷疑，例如︰This report stinks of a cover-up.(這報告有掩蓋真相之嫌。)Stink也指令人嫌惡、糟糕極，例如︰The situation stinks!(情況糟透了！)
香水情意結
「好香惡臭」是人之常情，怪不得perfume(香水)那麼貴，小小的一瓶可賣幾百、幾千或甚至幾萬元。有一種香水竟然可賣一百萬美元一瓶，貴得令人瞠目結舌。暢銷小說作家Kate Grenville就憶述她自小對perfume是如何喜愛：
When I was little my mother had a tiny, precious(珍貴的) bottle of perfume on her dressing table and on special occasions she’d put a dab(輕塗) behind her ears. The smell of Arpege(由Lanvin出品的一種經典香水) was always linked in my mind with excitement and pleasure – Mum with her hair done, wearing her best dress and her pearls, off for a night out with Dad.
當她長大了，有自己的「特別場合」時，她也會用點香水。她覺得不只香水本身，連它們的裝潢、瓶子、名字，都是那麼令人神往：
Later, old enough to have my own special occasions, I also had my favorite perfume. I loved the bottles: those sensuous(性感的、令人着迷的) shapes. I loved the names and the labels, so evocative(喚起記憶的) of all things glamorous(令人嚮往的). Above all, I loved what they promised: elegance(優雅), beauty, poise(優雅的儀態) and – of course – desire.
有不良反應
她寫了有關香味的書，但不是香水頌，而是The Case Against Fragrance，香味之患。她不但對香水失去興趣，還對大部分人造香味都避之則吉，因為她察覺到每次出席衣香鬢影的場合時，都會頭痛，原來她的身體對香水或香精的味有不良反應。
除了香水，她也不喜歡市面上林林總總產品的香味，例如洗頭水、化妝品、潤膚膏、家居清潔用的化學產品等。她的調查亦發現一個令人憂慮的情況：
The chemicals in fragrance can be linked not only to short-term problems like headaches and asthma(哮喘), but to long-term ones like hormone disruption(荷爾蒙失調) and cancer. Yet products can be released onto the market without testing. They’re regulated only by the same people who make and sell them. And the ingredients(原料) don’t even have to be named on the label.
