Go on, go on and talk...

First, dear reader, let me say that this author has been touched beyond belief with the calls, emails, Facebook messages, tweets, and, in one case, an actual visit to my house in response to my last post.  

 I love you, dear reader, and it is startling to know that you, within the confines of the various forms and functions love allows, love me, too. You make every day worthwhile. 

Okay, having been accused of "blerghing" rather than blogging last week, let's move past the mushy stuff, shall we? FN1.

It's getting cooler in Portland, which means we are approaching my favorite time of year: Fall. I love everything about fall. The holidays. The cool weather. The fall leaves that paper the streets, slick with rain. The moody cloud cover. The foods. The smell of fireplaces and wet pines and musty wool. School spirit and new beginnings and Friday night football games. FN2. FN3.

Last week I woke up and the rain and wind were knocking yellow leaves from the trees along my drive in to the office, when only the day before those leaves had been green. Fall isn't here precisely, but it will be soon.

The winter ships come and go
despite the Columbia fog...

What does Fall mean to you, dear reader? For me, it means a change in scent wardrobe, thought that likely won't occur until I come back from Nashville next week. FN4. FN5. But I've been thinking about it a lot. What will inevitably rotate to the back of the scent collection and what will come to the fore. Since I'm skipping my annual September trip to the Olympic Peninsula in lieu of Nashville and won't likely get up there now until it is full on winter, you will all have to cope with tales of broody Portland fall this year. FN6.

Since it was cool and wet yesterday morning, I dug out my bottle of Bvlgari Black. If you've never tried Bvlgari Black, you really should. It's beautiful, edgy yet feminine, and you can always find it at a reasonable price.


To get to Bvlgari Black, I had to reach past Tauer Perfumes L'Air du desert marocain, a long standing favorite, and Pentachord Auburn, which I bought after wearing it out of The Perfume House and then thinking about it for the next two months. Both of these are nice for fall.

Last week, I whipped out Lorenzo Villoresi Alamut, which is indelibly sweater linked in my head. I also recently found a place for my Jo Malone Blackberry & Bay on my Lazy Susan which holds my seasonal choices. (I rotate things in and our of drawers on the Lazy Susan, which I can spin at leisure in the morning.)

What else smells like fall to me? As someone who associates fall with it beginning to rain again, I can't ever smell those wet leaves without thinking of CB I Hate Perfume Black March, which I love layering with the easy, soapy, beauty of Jo Malone Red Roses.

Another happy Fall scent for me is slumberhouse Rume, which I once referred to as "the fall evening aromas of humidifier mist." It is a spicy, wintry, vaguely medicinal fruitcake liqueur of a scent, and every time it gets cooler, I reach into the cabinet for a healthy spray of it.

For something more toward the foodie end of things, may I recommend Annick Goutal Vanille Exquise for fall? This vanilla plays toward the burnt sugar and salted caramel end of things for me. When I saw the salted caramel mochas were back on the seasonal menu at Starbucks, I knew it was the right time to dig this one of the the drawer. Vanille Exquise always reminds me of pie walks and homemade carnival treats at elementary school carnivals. I think I only got to go to one at my own school when I was very little, but it remains one of my favorite childhood memories. If anyone has a recipe for really good popcorn balls, I'll take it.

For my final Fall-scented thought for this moment of transition, when every breath carries with it the death of the old in favor of a long coming new beginning, I'll add one of those scents that, if money were no object, I'd buy a giant bottle of so that I would never run out: By Kilian Back to Black. Tobacco and sugar are at their best here, intermingled together with a laudanum undertone that makes it a perennial hit in my book.


So there you have it, dear reader. Ten forward thinking Fall scents for the coming season. I know these are all scents I've reviewed before, and I promise, new reviews are on the horizon. But I realized this week that I haven't really sat down and spent quality time with my current collection in a long while…too long, really. I need to take some time to reflect on what I have and what I want and what I am missing. I suspect this will also result in a round of "What I can give away," so be prepared for that to come, too, dear reader.

The time has come to reassess and clean a little house. So mixes and scent packages will be forthcoming, as well as some long overdue gifts I owe.

Until next time, when I hope to write you from the land of barbecue, boots, and bourbon, I'll be thinking of you.

Pier 39, Astoria, Oregon.

You know this isn’t right, 
can’t we just have a fair fight?
So you need to hide to get through the day.
Stop being nice. 
Say it to my face:
am I Jezebel or am I Gargamel today?
You know it makes me laugh out loud.
You can’t hurt me now.
Go on, go on and talk
You can say whatever you want
Call me a homewrecker; call me a monster.
Give me what you’ve got!
~ "Give Me What You've Got," The Shondes

______
FN1. I'm looking at you, knife boy.
FN2. Okay, technically Lewis & Clark plays on Saturday afternoons, which is weird, but whatever. I'm from Texas, and in my head, it's all about the Friday Night Lights.
FN3. And here's why:

There is no quit in those boys. NO QUIT. And as my beloved brother was once a teenage Texas football player, a lingering intense pride remains.
FN4. Oh? Did I fail to mention I am currently in Nashville for a week to hang with my very own The Kate? Yep.
FN5. I am buying my first pair of cowgirl boots in over a decade while I am there. I am very excited. There will a fancy new shoes post to come soon for those of you into that sort of thing.
Wait.
That came out wrong.
FN6. Though I also have a trip to Chicago in October and a trip to Seattle in November, so there will be multi-state perfume plotting.