I'll be a thorn in your side till you die.

Review of Naomi Goodsir Bois d'Ascese

I know, I know. I'm back! Again! Two weeks in a row!

You're so excited.

You just can't hide it.

You're about to…

...read a blog post.  It's a blog post, Diana.  It is not the beginning of a full-tilt musical number, no matter what a lifetime of Grease sing-a-longs and special musical episodes of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Psych might otherwise lead you to believe.

Sigh.

A girl can dream, can't she?


Let's talk about things that cause me to dream a little, shall we? This EW cover right here is a dream come true.  I have been a huge fan of Veronica Mars for a very long time and this movie is something I have literally dreamed of. FN1.

The Veronica Mars pre-sale movie tickets go on sale today so get thee to an online vendor and buy yours now!  I would love it if VM ended up having one of the biggest opening weekends at the box office this year so far.  It would not only lend credence to the idea that Networks should listen more to fans and critics when they say a show is too good to cancel, but also will support more fan driven reboots negotiations.  FN2.

You know why I am such a hardcore VM fan?  Yes, it is in part because Veronica Mars might be the most feminist show I've seen on television in the last ten or so years, possibly ever.  It's also in part because it is a terrific neo-noir, which is the modernization of my favorite of all story-telling genres.

But for me a lot of it has to do with the impossible, difficult, somewhat insane romance between our beloved marshmallow Veronica Mars and the deeply damaged obligatory psychopath Logan Echolls.

Their on-again-off-again romance is something you don't see coming until it's happening to them, and to you, the viewer.  They are these terribly angry, terribly hurt, terribly sad people who manage to show each other protection and kindness despite every reason not to, and that kindness is enough to break through.   While I was never like that - never hard or resistant to love, more inclined to race toward the cliff with both arms flung wide like I couldn't possibly hit the ground, no matter how many times I fell -- I love the idea that two people can accidentally fall into each other, through one another's walls, and unexpectedly change each other's lives forever.

Finding a new perfume you love is sometimes like that.  You're going along, ho hum, boring floral here, repetitive aquatic there, and then something comes along that surprises you. That's what happened when I tried Naomi Goodsir Bois d'Ascese.

Naomi Goodsir Bois d'Ascese is described by Luckyscent as: 

A meditative swirl of serene incense, intensified by smoked wood. At first, this brings to mind a stark, secluded chapel and a life of plain and simple pleasures. But as it develops, notes of whiskey, tobacco and cinnamon begin to shimmer through the incense, and you start to think that perhaps these pleasures won’t be quite so plain, after all. If you have ever enjoyed a fine Islay Scotch whiskey, such as Lagavulin or Laphroaig, you are familiar with the way the intricacies of smoke and moss add a complicated and enigmatic appeal – harsh and medicinal one moment, mesmerizing the next. The layers of smoked cade wood, oakmoss and whiskey have a similar effect here, as bracing jolts of smoke morph into the airy tranquility of incense, keeping us endlessly intrigued and hopelessly addicted. A starkly elegant fragrance that puts us in a trance.  

Notes: tobacco, whiskey, cinnamon, amber, cistus labdanum, oakmoss, smoked cade wood, Somalian incense

On my skin Naomi Goodsir Bois d'Ascese brushes on as lemon softness that fades almost immediately into polished woods, aging paper, and a gentle incense blend that reminds me, not of church, but of a grand and incredibly old library.  Not a stuffy library, nothing so drab or dreary, but instead something that holds secrets and magic, untold mystery and journeys beyond imagination, the library at Hogwarts, for example, or perhaps the lost library of Alexandria.  A voluminous room with high ceilings full of softly glowing golden light, a space filled with the hushing sound of turning pages and the smell of aging scrolls, pages yellowing to a thin and fragile thing both brittle and luminescent in it opacity. And last, but certainly not least, that slightly burnt smell of tallow and wax sealed pages and a gentle kind of incense that clings to one's clothes after departure, something that hints at the intrigue held in those great and strange tomes.

I love the smell of it against my skin - the way it is secretive and somehow warm and cool at the same time.  It's a lovely scent, and in my opinion, in no way exclusively masculine, thought it appears intended as such.  I think it's a beautiful scent.  I feel lucky it found its way into my life.

Naomi Goodsir Bois d'Ascèse is available in 50ml for $150.00.

"I'll be a thorn in your side 
for always.
If we sink, 
we lift our love."
~ "We Sink," Chvrches

Want more? Try...
~ a review from Kevin at Now Smell This!
~ a review from Kafkaesque
~ a review from Sorcery of Scent
~ a review from The Scentualist
~ a review from I Smell Therefore I Am
~ a review from Notable Scents

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FN1. Also, Jason Dohring, more times than I can admit without embarrassment. He has actually gotten hotter with age. How is that possible? How!?! Look at those arms? And the smolder? I think he has gotten BETTER at the smolder, and I didn't think that was humanly possible.

Now if you'll just excuse me…I think…I think I need a moment. *fans self*

FN2. It will also help lessen my personal sorrow at the low box office numbers for Vampire Academy, which I saw on its Friday opening and thought was terrific. More on that in a separate post, though.

I cannot believe it.

Review of By Kilian Good Girl Gone Bad

I cannot believe how long it has been since I last posted.

Have I stopped loving perfume? No.

Have I stopped wearing perfume? No.

Have I stopped buying perfume? No. I admit I've slowed down some, but I've already made my first purchases of 2014 and we're only a month in.

So why did I stop posting?  Some if it has to do with decreasing free time and increasing work responsibility.  Some of it has to do with feeling like I don't have much to say, which is silliness because actually things are happening all the time. So the answer is, no good reason certainly.  And time to correct it, I think.

One of my coworkers told me around the holidays that I always smell like "Christmas and deliciousness."  That's a pretty nice compliment. (Though I was wearing Jo Malone Bitter Orange & Chocolate at the time, so it was also quite accurate).  Another coworker sent me this NPR piece Friday entitled, "Perfume's Scents Of Subversion? Sweat, Musk And Patchouli" and said, "At first I thought it was you."

So obviously, perfume? Still a huge part of my life.  Right now Portlandia is covered in a crazy ice storm and I am wearing By Kilian Good girl gone Bad while I watch vampire movies and try to entertain my cats.  Part of the "In the Garden of Good and Evil" collection, the scent is described as:

A sensual and unrestrained temptation. The perfume opens on the fresh innocence of the petals of Jasmin Sambac and the Apricot sweetness of Chinese Osmanthus. Letting go of their demure appearances, the flowers toss off their inhibitions and reveal their decadent side! The Rose of May gives off its honeyed heat. The Indian Tuberose nakedly exhibits its milky roundness, while the narcotic sensuality of Egyptian Narcissus surges forth, uncontrollable and deliciously haunting. Notes of Virginia Cedar and Amber open up and try to assert their dominant character.

I have to say, I'm usually a sucker for By Kilian scents, but this one isn't what I expected.  Maybe it's because I have sweat, musk, and patchouli on the brain, but this one just isn't happening for me.

According to LuckyScent, the notes are plenty floral but there seemed like there was enough dirty fleshy bottom notes in the mix I thought I might like it: Jasmin Sambac, osmanthus, rose, tuberose, narcissus, violet accord, plum accord, cedar wood, amber, patchouli, vetiver, musk.

I've tried Good girl twice now, and I have to sadly report that for me? It does not work.  Nope.  It landed on my skin as a hot mess of florals and screechy white musk, overwhelming amber, and fake woods. I do get some peachy stone fruit in the middle, which is nice-ish, but it is just ruined by the almost headache inducing noise of the rest.

I feel both relieved and disappointed. On the one hand, I love a lot of the By Kilian perfumes and they are so expensive that it gives me and my wallet great sadness. So in that sense, I feel like I missed a bullet.  But on the other hand, there are folks out there who really like this one and get a lovely scent I wish I had the chance to experience.  Seriously.  I wish I was getting "slut in a lovely Dior gown" but that is not what is happening for me. Instead, the whole thing feels like a terribly awkward seduction. It's like a preteen with braces trying too hard to be sexy in her middle school frump wear. In fact, it most called to mind that scene when Dawn tries to seduce the lead singer of her older brother's band in Welcome to the Dollhouse. FN2. That is not attractive.

Victoria did a nice little rant on the name of the scent, which I feel inclined to agree with. I'm not much for slut shaming, and I tend to think she's right that this what the "gone bad" is meant to imply.  You know, in the same way that terrible Robin Thicke song wants to do things with 'a good girl.' FN1. I understand the need to feel subversive, but at the same time, you do kind of question whether playing into the the madonna/whore trope is a good idea.  I think the name would bother me less if the copy cut against the idea, but alas, alack, it doesn't.

In the end, Good girl gone Bad is a pass for me. But maybe you'll get lucky like some of the other reviewers who really liked it.

Want more? Try...
~ A review from The Non-Blonde
~ A review from EauMG
~ A review from That Smell
~ A review from Make Perfume, Not War
~ A review from My Perfume Diaries
~ A review from Ça Fleure Bon
~ A review from Perfume Posse

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FN1. Can't believe it took me this long to get around to posting the Feminist Parody, Defined Lines, on this blog.  LOVE.IT.


FN2. If anyone comments on the name similarity,  I will be most displeased.