Custom Perfume Symbol in Elle Kennedy's The Score
The Custom Perfume as a Symbol
In The Score, a tangible object holds an entire lifetime of love, grief, and identity: the custom perfume made for Allie Hayes by her late mother, Eva. More than a cosmetic, the perfume becomes a literary symbol that threads through Allie’s personal history, her emotional vulnerabilities, and her eventual reconciliation with Dean. This analysis explores the perfume’s literal recurrence, its shifting meaning, and its role in character and theme development.
Literal Description and Recurrence
The perfume is a custom scent created for Allie on her twelfth birthday by her mother Eva, who was already ill with multiple sclerosis. Eva worked with a friend—a fashion designer who knew a perfumer in France—to produce a unique blend. When Dean discovers the small blue vial on Allie’s childhood dresser, he reads the label: “Allie” in a pretty script. The fragrance combines strawberries and roses, two notes that perfectly capture Allie’s essence.
Dean first encounters the scent without identifying it early in the novel. While dressing for a club in Chapter 22, he breathes in Allie’s smell and can’t place it—“Strawberries? Mangos? Roses? I can’t figure it out, but it’s goddamn addictive.” He repeatedly fails to name the fragrance, which underscores his initial superficial attraction to Allie. Only in Chapter 34, when Joe Hayes explains the perfume’s origin, does Dean fully understand its significance.
The perfume recurs tangibly only in that single discovery scene, but its presence lingers throughout the story. Allie’s habit of learning French via a soap opera (Chapter 9) is a direct consequence of her mother’s fluency and love for France—a skill she rejected as a child but now pursues to feel connected to Eva. The perfume thus operates as both a physical object and an emotional echo.
Character and Theme Connections
Allie Hayes: The perfume represents the irreplaceable bond with her mother and the grief of losing her. With only three vials remaining, Allie guards the scent jealously. It is a tangible link to Eva’s love—a love that did not end with death. The perfume also reflects Allie’s identity: the strawberries-and-roses combination is both sweet and sharp, much like Allie’s personality (feisty yet vulnerable, determined yet uncertain).
Dean Di Laurentis: Dean’s journey with the perfume mirrors his emotional growth. Initially, he perceives Allie through a sexual lens—her scent is merely “addictive.” When he discovers the source, he immediately recognizes its importance, calling it “kinda badass.” His willingness to watch a French soap opera with Allie (Chapter 9) and his nighttime conversation with Joe show he is investing in understanding her past, not just her present. The perfume becomes the key that unlocks his empathy.
Allie’s father, Joe: Joe’s explanation of the perfume (Chapter 34) reveals his own pain and pride. He recounts Eva’s plan to cheer Allie during her illness. The scent is a shared memory between father and daughter, a way to keep Eva present in their home. Joe’s grumbling acceptance of Dean after Dean learns about the perfume signals that Dean now belongs to that intimate circle.
Themes:
- Grief and Loss: The perfume is a relic of a mother who died too young. Allie’s stinginess with the vials illustrates her fear of letting go completely.
- Class and Privilege: Having a custom perfume made by a French perfumer is a privilege of the Hayes family’s connections (Eva was a model). Yet the object itself is unpretentious—a small blue vial, not a designer bottle. The symbol avoids glamorizing wealth; instead, it emphasizes the love behind the creation.
- Personal Growth: Dean evolves from dismissing the scent as a mystery to treasuring it as a part of Allie. The perfume catalyzes his apology tour and his decision to become a teacher and coach.
- Communication and Jealousy: Early in the story, Dean cannot communicate what draws him to Allie. The perfume gives him language to articulate his feelings to Joe and, implicitly, to himself.
Symbolic Meaning and Evolution
The perfume begins as a marker of absence—Allie’s mother is dead, and the scent is all that remains of her. When Dean first smells it, he can’t identify its components, just as he cannot fully comprehend Allie’s emotional landscape. His inability to name the fragrance reflects his emotional immaturity.
In the middle of the novel, as Dean and Allie’s relationship deepens, the perfume remains a private treasure. Allie does not flaunt it; she does not tell Dean about it. It is hers alone—a reminder that some parts of her identity predate and transcend any relationship.
The turning point comes in Chapter 34 when Dean stays at the Hayes home. Joe reveals the perfume’s story, and Dean instantly connects it to Allie’s French soap opera habit. This moment bridges Allie’s past and present for Dean. He sees that her grief is not a flaw to be fixed but a fundamental part of her that he must honor.
By the end of the novel, the perfume no longer symbolizes absence but continuity. Allie still has three vials; she will never run out of the scent because she has learned to carry her mother’s love within her. Dean’s acceptance of the perfume—and his willingness to engage with her French language project—shows he is committed to the whole person, including her history.
Study Questions and Answers
1. Why does Dean struggle to identify Allie’s scent early in the novel, and what does this reveal about his character at that point?
Dean cannot pinpoint the fragrance because it is a complex blend of strawberry and rose, two notes he doesn’t expect together. His limited ability to name it mirrors his limited understanding of Allie as anything other than a sexual conquest. He is distracted by her physical appeal but not yet attuned to the emotional depth behind her smell.
2. How does the custom perfume connect to Allie’s efforts to learn French?
In Chapter 9, Allie reveals she is watching a French soap opera to immerse herself in the language. Her mother Eva spoke French fluently and spent time in France, but Allie “wasn’t interested” as a child. Learning French now is a way to honor Eva and reclaim a lost connection. The perfume, made in France, and the language are both tangible links to her mother’s world.
3. In what way does the perfume become a symbol of Dean’s transformation?
Dean’s reaction to the perfume changes from vague attraction to reverence. When Joe explains its origin, Dean immediately understands its value and later references it during his apology tour. His willingness to spend a night bonding with Joe over sports and the story shows he is prioritizing emotional intimacy over physical gratification.
4. The perfume is described as “strawberries and roses.” How do these contrasting notes reflect Allie’s personality?
Strawberries suggest sweetness, playfulness, and vulnerability—traits Allie shows with her friends and in her romantic insecurities. Roses imply depth, thorns, and resilience—qualities that emerge when she ends her relationship with Sean, faces audition rejection, and demands Dean respect her need for independence. Together, the notes encapsulate her dual nature as both soft and strong.
For further reading on related themes, explore our analysis of grief and loss in The Score, casual sex vs. commitment, and personal growth and redemption.