Back then I swore I was gonna marry him someday, but I realized some bigger dreams of mine.

Ava Luxe Milk

I love milk. I have two weaknesses in terms of food, really. The first is dairy in ANY FORM, but primarily any and all cheeses. The second is fresh baked bread. When David and I first started dating, some of my favorite times spent together were spent lounging on our couch watching television while he introduced me to fine cheese and rare microbrews, talking and watching movies. It may seem simple, but the truth is that one of the reasons I knew I should say yes when he asked me to marry him is that we both enjoy simply sitting in the same room together. If, as Gavin Rossdale of Bush once rasped, "It's the little things that kill," then it's also possible that the little things can also make an otherwise difficult day a good one.

But I was talking about milk. Yes, I love milk. Those milk mustache ads? I'm all about them. Milk in my coffee. Milk in my oatmeal. I drink glasses of it simply because I enjoy the taste. So I was intrigued by the prospect of milk as scent. If I suddenly became lactose intolerant, I think I might die.

According to the perfumer Ava Luxe, Milk is:

A gentle milk perfume, slightly sweet, with a soft and airy musk base. Soothing and cozy.

Notes: Milk, Vanilla, Musk.

Wow. This is delicious! Now I am on record as being a gourmand lover of the highest order, but I have to say, this is pretty great. On application, Milk is, well, milky. I find it so comforting -- sweet, light, a tiny bit salty and warm. The vanilla is there, but it isn't the overwhelming part of the scent, which is rare with vanilla. If you press your nose close, it even has a little bit of a sourness, like milk that is just starting to turn a little, as though you warmed it a bit to drink before bed. More accurately, the food experience it reminds me of is Leche Quemada, a Mexican milk custard (and also a candy) which is kind of like Dulce de Leche, but less caramel in flavor. Someone else mentioned sweetened condensed milk, but on me this is much more like a fresh glass of milk with a dash of vanilla added and warmed to just to the perfect temperature for comfort. For me at least, "Got Milk?" will also include an inquiry after this delicious scent.

And while I'm mentioning "Got Milk?" advertising, can I just point out how cute Taylor Swift's ad is? Also, though I usually wait until the end of the week for this, I cannot wait that long to direct your attention to this post over at 90's Woman about how awesome Taylor Swift is. I concur with this analysis. I love Taylor.

Yeah, yeah, she can be normative. Yeah, yeah, she's no Kathleen Hanna. But she is NOT "a feminist nightmare." (Also, note to feminist blogging community -- neither is Tina Fey/Liz Lemon. Sorry Sady, I love you, but just -- no. It's Tina Fey making fun of the IRL Liz Lemons out there.  It's meta.  It's ironic.  Pick up a hipster-to-English dictionary if you don't believe me.)

In an industry (country music) where NO ONE writes their own material (I'm looking at you in particular George Strait, with your Lifetime Achievement Awards and your chart-topping "Troubadour" album wherein you didn't so much as co-write a single song), here is a girl who is working hard to write about her own life experiences and convey those experiences to others. Here is a girl who tells fifteen year-old girls who (if they're anything like me) are lonely and lost and desperate for love and acceptance and are in NO WORLD going to listen to adults who 'don't understand' them to take their time making decisions and to aim higher than getting a date on Friday night. Frankly, I love that. Because when I was fifteen, you know what?  Someone told me they loved me and I believed him and then it broke my heart when he left me for someone who would sleep with him when I wouldn't. (You know who you are, AGV.)  And then I did sleep with someone I wasn't all that attached to and later regretted.  Several of my friends did.  We all cried.  Not because our virginity was a super-precious gift from God meant for only the man God chose for us or anything, but because we had decided to share a significant and intimate life experience with people who didn't really care all that much about us in the long run, and because we did it (at least in part) out of a need for acceptance and love we still didn't find.  And I was an engaged high school senior with a jealous and controlling boyfriend who I wanted to marry and then didn't, and now I've accomplished lifelong dreams I never thought I would and have a partner who supports me. So you know what?  I'm a radical feminist who TOTALLY IDENTIFIES WITH TAYLOR SWIFT.  So does Stevie Nicks. Deal with it. 

And also I love the song "White Horse" wherein a slightly older (17 y.o.?) Taylor realizes sometimes people lie and boys aren't the solution to everything and that you ultimately have to save yourself. And also? Taylor is funny! And kind of sarcastic. And hilariously real. And I suspect, because she does write from her own experiences, as she grows and changes, so will her music. She's already a fairly strong young woman. I'm excited to see where she goes next. She...

...okay.  Rant over.  I'm out of steam...for the moment, at least.  Sorry about that.  It's been boiling for a while.

You can buy Milk direct from the perfumer at her Etsy store. It comes in a 5ml perfume oil for $17 and a 15ml perfume oil for a mere $45. The website lists them both as currently in stock.

"'Cause when you're fifteen 
and somebody tells you they love you --
you're gonna believe them.
When you're fifteen and your first kiss
makes your head spin 'round.
But in your life you'll do things greater 
than dating the boy on the football team.
But I didn't know it at fifteen."
- "Fifteen," Taylor Swift
(You can listen to the song here)

I found a few mentions of Ava Luxe Milk in a variety of places, but no other actual reviews. Too bad; I think it's worth a look.