The Reeking Stench of Bitterness (aka Scents for When I am All Bad Moody)

Get that AWAY FROM ME!

There are some days when I wake up, get dressed, trundle over to my perfume cabinet and shudder in horror at the thought of wearing some of my truly beloved scents.

Why?

I overslept, my hair is wet, I don't have a stitch of make-up on, and my general attitude is that the world at large should just be glad I got out of bed and participated today. In other words, I am feeling, if you'll pardon the expression, like hammered shit, and there is no way I feel bold and sassy enough for a dose of Tauer Perfumes Une Rose Chypre, or beautiful enough for my tiny vial of Robert Piguet Fracas parfum, or thin enough for a hit of vintage Caron Tabac Blond, or sexy enough for my roller of DSH Perfumes Erotica.

Everything I pick up is like that quote from High Fidelity: "The thing I really learned from the Charlie Debacle is that you gotta punch your weight. Charlie was out of my class: too pretty, too smart, too witty, too much." There are days when a lot of my favorite scents are, quite frankly, too pretty, too bold, too sexy, too classy -- too much. I can't face them. I want to go back to bed and only strength of will and a desire not to get canned in the worst economy in a century make me do otherwise.

On these days, it can be very hard to find a fragrance and you definitely do not want to be testing anything, because the anxiety of trying something beautiful in an awful mood and hating it is deeply depressing in its own right. To that end, here are some thoughts on scenting your way through the dark down days.

~ Don't be afraid to be a coward. ~

A lot of people will tell you try new scents, look for inspiration, challenge yourself to rise above it and find the invigorating meat of life that will help you turn your mood around. To these folks I say, SHUT IT. In the immortal words of Winona Ryder in Heathers, "If you were happy every day of your life, you wouldn't be a person. You'd be a game show host." You're not doing yourself or any hard working perfumer a favor if the stream of cursing running through your mind as you spritz on a new scent is filth of the order most frequently uttered by eight-year-old boys who have just acquired a naughty vocab and are out of their parents' earshot. Run, don't walk, from challenging material. Be a coward today; it's cool. We all do it sometimes.

In bad moods people tend to: eat their favorite foods, wear their snuggly pajamas, watch their favorite movies. We seek, in a word, comfort. The unknown is not comforting. Because I'm not talking about ennui here; that's a different problem. FN1. I'm talking about a black mood, Sally, and not one born of the cumulative circumstances in a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, which might be overcome by a good ending a beautiful scent might provide because you're open to such a possibility. I'm talking about waking up on the wrong side of the bed and knowing the day will suck because you are in the mood to refuse any argument to the contrary.

On such a day, wear something you have absolutely no complaint about. If you have always and will ever after, Amen, loved Guerlain Shalimar or can’t get enough of Channel No. 5 EDT, bust that baby out. If you're ready to bite the heads off everyone, don't let a challenging scent get in the way.

This is my FIGHT FACE!

~ Wear a scent you already unconditionally love even if it is common, bad, or otherwise embarrassing. ~ 

Yes! Embrace the known, the overworn, the possibly common and mundane. If you have a big bottle of Estee Lauder White Linen or Ceasar Woman lurking in the back of the closet because you like them and don't care if other people think they are overworn or smell cheap or just all around suck in general, bring it out into the light. Have a brief, torrid, public love affair with banality! Love your bottle of GAP So Pink! with all your heart. You were already in the mood to tell the world “Screw You!” for the sake of it; you might as well wear a scent that might give you the opportunity.

~ Wear a scent that others find boring. ~

Yep. You've all got one. I know you do. You've got a scent you love but other people think smells like a dryer sheet, or you think smells like winter and noses in the knowes think of as white noise. Normally your friends notice and comment on the olfactory beauty in your wake, or hug you and say, "You smell wonderful, (sigh) as always," and then grill you on your recent scent choices. Perhaps on another day you might not want to admit that next to that $300 bottle of LE L'Artisan lurks a bottle of Paris Hilton Fairy Dust, but I say now is the hour of your reckoning! Get down with that reject scent; you're already feeling rejected and full of bile. Spray it all over and then if someone frowns at you, wave your arms wildly, spreading your averageness around like an obscuring cloud of scent underachievement.

~ Wear a scent that flies a little under the radar. ~

I have some very lovely scents that wear close to the skin and, unless you actually get closer than eight inches to me, you would never know they were there. FN2. These are the scents I am most likely to turn to when my mood is more rotten than a crab apple full of worms. Not because there is anything shameful or embarrassing or boring or wrong with them. Simply because the only statement I am hoping to make today is one to myself, a small reminder that despite the general bitterness eating at me these long hours, tomorrow will be better.

Must remember:
Not a workplace
appropriate response!

In these moods, I really like green scents. I like to use DSH Perfumes Hemlock or a little Miller et Bertaux No. 3 Green, Green, Green, Green to help assuage my ill temperament, though the latter is almost too large sillage-wise for this mood. Big sillage means attracting attention, and in this mood, I want no such thing. I know on these days I can be hard to deal with; no need to inflict that on anyone but myself. FN3. I need to purchase JoAnne Bassett's Night Queen, not because it isn't beautiful or glorious on me, but because I think I would find it equally silver-lining inspiring.

Another scent I find really comforting is Demeter Fragrance Library Salt Air, which has a harsh edge to it and isn't super low sillage, but doesn't necessarily smell perfumey, and therefore is unnoticed by everyone but me. There is something about being able to put my headphones on with the volume cranked and close my eyes and give my wrist a little sniff and pretend for a few minutes I am not trapped at work but instead barreling down the highway along the coast with the windows down that makes me feel a tiny bit better.

You know what else is comforting? Foodie scents. L'Artisan Bois Farine, aka the infamous "bread hologram" is really comforting and moderate to low sillage in smallish doses. Another scent that makes me feel better on a bad day is Olympic Orchids Carolina, which smells like banana bread and is similar to Washington Tremlett Royal Heroes 1805, but better smelling and better priced.

And last, but not least, I always feel it's best to smell like a cocktail when I really, really want one. To that end, I have the terrific Memoire Liquide Champagne et Mure #900 and Frapin 1270 EDP to make me feel boozy, but without the drunken rambling over-truthfulness I’m prone to in my tipsy moments.

What about you dear reader? What do you wear when you have a black day? Tell me below to enter a monthly mix drawing , this one my much overdue August 2011 draw. August 2011 Mix CD, which is a mix mostly of which what I was listening to in August, some new, some old, all awesome. Winner will also recieve a $15 gift certificate to their choice of Demeter Fragrance Library or The Perfumed Court, a few decants, and possibly a post card and other goodies.

Comment by Friday October 28, 2011 12:01AM PST to enter!

At least one more draw this week, so stay tuned.
_____________________
FN1. See video here for explanation.
FN2. Too close, you fool! I'm in the mood to ax-murder a body! NEVER GET THAT CLOSE IN THESE CIRCUMSTANCES! I could snap your poor self in half with nothing more than my jaws of viciousness on such an occasion.
FN3. And my lovely and long-suffering husband, who gets the backwash of my bad moody days by virtue of living with me, sadly.

I've been lying too long; I was right when you were wrong.

Spring Time Reflections, Some Perfumey and Some Not

View from the Oregon City elevator

In an  "everybody else is doing it so why can't we?" mindframe, I’m was going to do my top ten scents for Spring 2011, for my own since of personal scent development archiving and because I can. But I already did a pretty hefty Spring scent list over here already. So instead, I’m just gonna record, for your entertainment and mine, some random thoughts for Spring, perfumey and not.  Also, some random pictures from a recent adventure I took following brown signs to historical sites around Oregon City, Oregon.

Bands/Artists I can't get enough of: The Watson Twins, Neko Case, Rilo Kiley, The Decemberists, Fitz and the Tantrums, Fleetwood Mac, Muddy Waters.

Surprise go to Scent this Spring: DSH Perfumes Lush Honey, bought unsniffed and so loving that I will buy another bottle while I still can, before it is discontinued.

Houses I need to try more of: Dior, Hermes, Annick Goutal

Best scents I bought for under $15: A tie between Coty Stetson and Worth Je Reviens EdT.

On the "soon to be purchased" short list: Miller et Bertaux no. 3: Green, green, green and green (finally), Tauer  L'Air du Desert Marocain (also finally),  vintage Evening in Paris (go, go ebay bidding skillz), CB I Hate Perfume At The Beach 1966.

If I had a million dollars: A huge bottle of Roxana Illuminated Perfume GreenWitch, which is so amazing I can barely stand it.  At $175 for only 7.5ml, is just sadly well beyond my price range, as my ideal would be to have twice that much at least. Carefully hugs her tiny 1gram $30 sample vial. Truly one of the most beautiful green scents I've ever smelled, and deserving of a lengthy review as soon as I can get to it.

End of the Oregon Trail
Interpretive Center closed in 2010.

Happiest stumbled upon scent love of Spring: Hermes Un Jardin En Mediterranee. Who knew I liked figs? I certainly didn’t. Want to try more figs now.

Best newly discovered indie perfumer: I am so glad I found Ellen at Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes. Not only is she a really nice person, she makes great perfume and is doing us PNW perfumistas proud

Notes I’m weirdly over right now: vanilla, sweet florals, roses. I think I burned myself out.

Notes I can’t get enough of: weird fruits, anything green or herbal, moss, civet, cedar. If you’ve got recommendations in this area, please provide them.

Spring, in general and as part of college life: My least favorite season. Maybe it’s a time of adventure and renewal for everyone else, but for those of us who live on a college campus, it’s an ending time. This year is particularly difficult because, thanks to an early retirement program, forty-five life-long members of my beloved campus community are retiring. Yes, you read that right. Forty-five. So much for institutional memory. It really reinforces my feeling of not belonging here anymore; it’s strange to feel like a relic of someone else’s adventure in your own life.

Among those retiring is one of my favorite people in the entire universe, Stephen Dow Beckham. If there is a person in the world who inspires me to never give up or think something is out of my reach, to push myself harder and always believe I can do anything, it is this man who has done everything and still keeps on trucking. He is the first person in my collegiate career who ever implied my work was valuable, that my ideas were worthwhile and my voice, worth hearing. I had a lovely advisor before Dr. Beckham, who was a great and special man who believed in me, but Dr. Beckham is the one who took everything I did in stride as a matter of course and demanded more because he knew I was capable.

I’ll never forget the day after I did my radio interview as spokeswoman for a statewide campaign against parental notification for abortion. FN1. I ran into Dr. Beckham on my law school campus; he was there to interview dean candidates for the law school. He stopped me, and I felt this terror swirl though my stomach. Here was this educated, established, well-off white man who I loved and admired and wanted to think well of me, but whose politics I had never been all that sure of. “I heard you on the radio,” he said. I nodded, and said something perfunctory about the interviewer having ties to my alma mater. “ I heard your voice, and I thought, ‘I know who that is’” he replied, his eyes twinkling. He didn’t come out and say he was proud of me, but I could tell he was. Dr. Beckham knew one of the things I was most ashamed of in my life, and he was proud of me for standing up for what I believed in. That was the moment I knew doing the campaign was the right thing, and I felt, for the first time, we might win.

It was a huge moment for me personally, and I think it says evverything about how much a teacher can shape your life, helping you long after you've left them to know you're on the right path.  I pity all the students who won’t get to have him as their teacher. He’s the kind that can change your life.

What about you, dear reader. How is your Spring going?

"I can't hear this anymore.
It's time to leave.
I've closed the door.
Did you ever believe in me?
In you and me?"
"U-N-Me," The Watson Twins
_____________________
FN1. Yes, I had an abortion. No, I don’t regret it. No, I don’t feel the need to justify that to you. Yes, I did radio(NPR)/television (all three networks; yes, even Fox)/newspaper interviews where I talked about my experience, which included a photo of me on the front page of the widest circulating paper in the state. Yes, people said things to me, good and bad. Ultimately, we won, thus keeping Oregon the state with the least regulation on choice. I know anecdotally that at least some votes were changed because of my story. I’m glad I did the campaign and would do it again.

Let me also say, that as a woman who had an abortion in Texas, I am appalled by the recent news that the Texas Legislature has passed a bill requiring a sonogram before an abortion can be preformed.  This will not stop a woman who wants to have an abortion; it just adds unnecessary time and expense.  Society spends a large part of its energy policing women's behavior through shaming, particularly around issues of sex.  Well, guess what?  You've already made your feelings clear about our choices.  But they are our choices.  And you won't stop us.  You never have.

If you want another kind of love, I'll wear a mask for you.

Monday, 2/28/11 - Friday, 3/4/11

14 kinds of chow-dah!

Last weekend I went to the 5th Annual New England Chowder Challenge at Fifth Quadrant.  My friend Kate, one of the two Yankee transplants in my life, came along.  Together we both blind picked the winning candidate of fourteen entrants an listen to some very good live music.  Of all the gifts this perfume obsession has given me, a more discerning palette is one of the best.

Monday: Miller et Bertraux Shanti Shanti - Starts off with a big burst of rose it turns and becomes gentle and creamy. It is a snuggly kind of rose, one you want to curl up with an sniff on a dark and stormy afternoon under a blanket by a fire with a good book. I agree with other reviewers who referred to it as "calming." Some people get spicy with this one apparently, but I didn't. On me it's a gentle rose, not overly aggressive, like fuzzy bunny slippers. Unfortunately, I prefer my roses on the 6 inch spike kitten heels or wrapped in miles of velour variety so I can't imagine I'd wear it very often. But if you like your roses on the not too strong side, and you'd prefer to skip the skany rose trend afoot of late, this might be a nice one for you. I'd like to say its more than just good, but the rose field is a crowded one, which makes it difficult to stand out. These days it feels like if you aren't Tauer Perfumes Une Rose Chypree or DSH Perumes Beach Roses, I've kind of smelled you before. 3 of 5 nods.

Tuesday: Weil Zibeline - A floral aldehyde from 1928, I have is a vintage sample from the 1940s-50. Zibeline, or "sable," is part of a line inspired by and meant to be worn with fur. To learn more about the history of the scent and the line, I recommend this great piece from The Scented Salamander. I can see the 'fur' homage here.  The opening reminds me of something -- Chanel No. 5, but less floral, or Guerlain Mitsouko, but without so much peach.  It's lovely and sweet and warm like a fuzzy sweater.Very nice, and probably worth getting your hands on if you're into warmly sweet floral aldehydes.  4 of 5 nods.

Wednesday: Tauer Perfumes Incense Rosé - Okay, here's a tip. Never sample a Tauer perfume in a non-scent friendly environment. The sillage will blow you right down, and piss off the scent haters around you. Personally, I think the big sillage is one of the things that make Tauer Perfumes so consistently beautiful. The incense portion is similar to Une rose chyprée (the scent so nice I reviewed it twice), but the opening has a citrus rose opening I really enjoy, and that aspect, though receding, is still an ongoing part of the scent.  Love it, just like basically everything else I've tried from Tauer Perfumes. Someday I'll have a bottle of each.  5 of 5 nods.

Leonard Cohen, live Dec. 2010

Thursday: Jean Desprez Bala Versailles parfum - Fizzy like a soda pop kind of like a scent Dr. Pepper at first, it becomes rough, animalic, and almost rubbery.  And yet, still vaguely sweet like cocoa powder is sweet.  In other words, awwwwesome.  So incredibly sexy! I admit that if you're not into perfume, this one is going to be a challenge for you, but it's really worth it. Would work for either a man or a woman, and be hot either way. If there were a scent version of Leonard Cohen's "I'm Your Man," this is probably it. 5 of 5 nods.

Friday:  L'Artisan Mure et Musc Extreme - Remember when I reviewed L'Artisan Mure et Musc over two years ago and found it to nice to like?  Well I decided to break down and try the extreme version.  I wouldn't describe it as too nice.  The open as a medicinal green kick, it's not overly sweet or fruity, but instead hot and sticky, like berries too long in the sun, bodies pressed and rolling among the brambles, too lost in love and lust and rebellion to notice the scraping thorns.  Beautiful and lush and lusty, this is the Mure et Musc I could have worn as a teen.  If you think Ava Luxe Wild Blackberry Musk is too fruity sweet, try this. 4 of 5 nods.

Winner of the Week:  In a week of amazing scent, I'm giving it to Jean Desprez Bala Versailles for its singular filthiness!

"I've been runnin' through these promises to you
that I made and I could not keep.
Ah, but a man never got a woman back
not by beggin' on his knees,
or I'd crawl to you baby and I'd fall at your feet
and I'd howl at your beauty like a dog in heat
and I'd claw at your heart and I'd tear at your sheet.
I'd say please.
I'm your man."

~ "I'm Your Man," Leonard Cohen

They say that things just cannot grow beneath the winter snow, or so I have been told.

Miller et Bertaux No. 3 Green, Green, Green

My friend Brian just returned from Chicago and an annual higher education administration conference and the first thing he said was, “Back in Portland, where it is colder than Chicago.” Yes, winter here is hanging on tooth and claw, and I frequently find myself turning to David and saying, “MY GOOD GOLLY IT’S COLD!” even in the middle of the day.

I love my winter scents like the dickens, but I am really ready for some warmer weather and sunshine. I usually enjoy my dark and dreary Portland winters because, in my mind, they seem like what I always picture in my mind on mid-18th century English novels when people stand solemnly on cliffs gazing out at the moors. But right now? Whilst I am unemployed? I am not feeling very moor staring-ish. I am feeling unemployed-ish.

No, I long for the green days of spring and the light of summer, and yet here I sit, mired in a winter I am long since past appreciating. In my quest for lighter days, I bring you this review of Miller et Bertaux No. 3 Green, Green, Green.

Again, let me take this moment to lament my lack of French here and thus my inability to read the Miller et Bertaux website. Thus I took the following from The Perfumed Court website:

Miller et Bertaux No. 3 Green, Green, Green blends laurel, bay leaves, verbena, sap, coriander, jasmine, cedar, vetiver and musk to make up a tart, gorgeous green scent. Great for any time of year, it's refreshing and lovely.

This is SO GOOD. So good. It's green, it's lemony, it's citrusy, it's got a celery bit, it's....alive. I can see that some people might try this one and get cleanser, but I don't. I get this overwhelming, almost burning sensation of greenery. It's like chewing on grass or an incredible fresh salad. I get the hints of wood, which gives it this warmth underneath, and I get a peppery bite, which is the little bitty bitter bit that creates a tiny nose tickle for me, but this is just...green. I mean, I know it sounds simple to say that, but it truly is an amazing beautiful green scent.

Then after about half an hour, it becomes mostly about woods and warmth, and yet it's still green somehow. Still so beautiful. Strong and beautiful. This one would be great for a man or a woman, has moderate sillage, and is the best green I've tried so far. (Even though it isn't really as much green as much as it is woodsy.) I noticed that Robin didn't find it long lasting enough, but I don't seem to be having that problem. And can we talk about that bottle for a second? So pretty. It's simple, but beautiful. It's the three little green bubbles in the bottle that sell me, I think. The design is just...really right for the scent I think. I'd love to have this one for Spring and Summer; I think it would be even more beautiful in warmer weather.

EDIT: I did eventually get to the rose around the 3 hour mark, which was the same point that the scent suddenly lost it's umph and faded quickly. I agree with Robin, by hour 4, it really was all gone. You'd have to be liberal with the spraying on this one or refresh mid-day, but truthfully, given the price point, I'd say that's manageable.

I saw various prices for Green Green Green, but right now you can buy 100ml for $100 from Your Cosmetics, which was the best deal I saw. It's also available from Beauty Encounter, Four Seasons, and Aedes De Venustas. You can get samples from The Perfumed Court, Your-Cosmetics, and Four Seasons.

"I still believe in summer days.
The seasons always change
And life will find a way.
I'll be your harvester of light
and send it out tonight
so we can start again.
Is love alive?"
- "Winter Song," Sara Bareilles (You can watch a fan video to the song here; ignore the bad video and listen to the pretty song.)

Want more reviews? Try...
~ A review from Robin at Now Smell This!