Favorite coupledoms in Movies/TV/Books

Dear reader,

Do you know what a 'shipper is? It's someone who gets super into relationships in pop culture and feels very strongly about the fates and futures of said relationships. I, dear reader, am a shipper. I'm not hardcore, per se. I don't write fanfiction to create alternate universes where my couples get together. I don't wear 'TEAM' t-shirts. But I do strongly identify with a fictional relationship occasionally and root for that relationship.

So in honor of it being Valentine's week, and because I am feeling especially sappy this year, here is a list of a few of my favorite 'ships from movies, books, and television, along with a (sometimes unconventional) song for them and a scent or two.

~~~

1. Debi Newberry & Martin Blank, Grosse Pointe Blank

You know the story. "Spring of '96. Two young lovers with frightening natural chemistry. A girl sits in a seven hundred dollar prom dress on the front steps of her house, waiting for the most romantic moment of her young life. Boy never shows up. Not until now." Debi and Martin are wonderful because they lead us to believe those that loved us once, and loved us best, might still love us again. Even in an ugly callous cynical and sarcastic world like the one of Grosse Pointe Blank, love conquers all -- in fully-automatic style.

Martin: "I'm sorry if I fucked up your life."
Debi: "It's not over yet."

Song: Peter Gabriel, "Let My Love Open the Door (To Your Heart);" Neko Case, "This Tornado Loves You"
Perfume: I always think of Debi (half) ironically wearing CK Obsession to the reunion. Is that weird? Martin does have obsessive recurring dreams about her... Martin doesn't wear anything. Someone might smell him coming.

~~~

2. Jane Eyre & Edward Fairfax Rochester, Jane Eyre

Now and forever, Jane and Edward will stand out in my mind as two sad and broken people who find each other and, despite great obstacles of circumstance and social convention, rebel against everything in defense of their love for one another. Is their relationship problematic? Sure. Could I forgive Edward if I were Jane? I don't know. I only know that when she hears his name on the wind, she goes to him, and I am glad she does.

Songs: Depeche Mode, "Somebody," The Decemberists, "Hazards of Love"
Perfume: For Jane, Guerlain Mitsouko; For Rochester, Guerlain Habit Rouge.

~~~

3. Nora Grey & Patch Cipriano, Hush, Hush series

I wasn't sure how I felt about Patch initially. He ran hot/cold and was often mean, way meaner than Daniel was to Luce in Fallen. It's hard to resist roguish, though. Is it wrong when I mentally picture Patch, he's basically Jess Mariano? But, you know, more of a '50s tough, and angelic. I like that Nora doesn't always trust him and isn't always willing to listen. I like that she makes her own decisions. Over the course of the series, Nora grows into one of the bravest female protagonists I've found in YA today. I'm excited to see how the series resolves.

Songs: Lou Reed, "This Magic Moment;" The Smiths "There is a Light That Never Goes Out"
Perfume: Patch is supposed to smell like "mint and earth," so I'm tossing CB I Hate Perfume Black March onto the list, but I admit I also associate Il Profumo Patchouli Noir with Patch and Nora.

~~~

4. Ethan Wate & Lena Duchannes, Beautiful Creatures

Ethan & Lena - you want to talk about two kids who will break your heart? Here they are. The most wonderful thing about this series is that the stories are told from Ethan's perspective, and he's the devoted and wounded one most of the time. Lena is confused, wild, willful, and non-conformist. And even when they're apart, their love is strong enough it could reconfigure time and space, even tear the world in two.

Songs: The Band Perry, "Walk Me Down the Middle;" Alison Brown, "Every Day I Write the Book;" The White Stripes, "Sugar Never Tasted So Good"
Perfume: Lena's scent, rosemary and lemons, which always makes me think of Miller Harris Fleurs de Bois, because it's meant to be a warm weather scent and it is always hot in Gatlin.

~~~

5. Bella Swan & Jacob Black, Twilight

Yeah, yeah, Edward is forever, he and Bella are both eternal sparkly diamond parents. Call me a heretic, but to me the more interesting relationship isn't the first person you love who screws you over, abandons you, and breaks your heart. It's the person who comes after them. The person that says "Yes, I see how broken and messed up you are. That's okay. I'll love you, anyway." That's the person who restores my faith in humanity, my hope for a better love tomorrow. You know that Garth Brook's song, "Unanswered Prayers"? I love that song. Because Charlie is right - sometimes you have to love what's good for you. Or at least, here in the non-sparkly world, you should.

Songs: Soltero, "The Moment You Said Yes;" Linda Ronstadt, "When Will I Be Loved;" Natasha Bedingfield, "Pocket Full of Sunshine"
Perfume: I always think Bella must smell like food since people want to eat her, but if we focus on the non-blood drinkable parts of Bella (Are there any?), then I want to give her and Jacob a warm, sunny scent reflective of their warmth and Bella's desert origins, like Tauer Perfumes L'Air du Desert Marocain or  Olympic Orchids Arizona. (Too on the nose?)

~~~

6. The Doctor & Rose Tyler, Doctor Who

They traveled through time and space, exploring both together and saving the world.  They literally bent (and sometimes broke) the laws of the universe to find one another even when it seemed. Their isn't just a love for the ages, it is a love for all ages, all times, all dimensions. He's her mad man in a blue box; she's his Bad Wolf. Enough said.

Songs: Lykke Li, "Unrequited Love;" David Bowie, "Modern Love;" Beatles, "Here, There, and Everywhere"
Perfume: I want to put Rose in something excellent like By Kilian Back to Black, but she's probably wearing Burberry Brit with those overalls. And I can't scent the Doctor, but I  know Esscentual Alchemy Natural Perfumes has taken a delightful stab with Time Lord, found here.

~~~

7. Elena Gilbert and Stefan Salvatore, The CW's The Vampire Diaries

I know, I know. Believe me. Damon and Elena means more Damon, and who couldn't use more of that?  Damon is so hot sometimes I think my eyeballs will literally melt out of my head. But when it comes to Elena, I'm going to have to say that she was a healthier, happier person with Stefan, and Stefan was a less Ripper/slightly more broody version of himself. They love each other and they're better for and with each other. We're all going to have to deal with that.

(Which leaves Damon conveniently available....right?)

Songs: Fiona Apple, "Slow Like Honey;"  Feist, "1-2-3-4;" Iron & Wine, "Such Great Heights"
Perfume: Elena is so innocent, but I can't help but imagine her running around Mystic Falls in Agent Provocateur. Okay, maybe she only wears that only when she starts running around in one of those ridiculous Founder's event ballgowns.  The rest of the time she probably rocks something like Prada Infusion d'Iris. Stefan probably wears something youthful and full of denial, like Davidoff Cool Water or Thierry Mugler Angel AMen. (And I like to imagine Damon wearing Bvlgari Black, and his songs for Elena have to be Chris Issak's "Wicked Game" and Ok Go's "A Million Ways to be Cruel".)

~~~

8. Logan Echolls & Veronica Mars, Veronica Mars

Oh, Veronica and Logan. How I love to want to kill both of you for being stupid.  If ever two people were a disaster of epic love proportions, it is you two. You hurt each other over and over, and yet there is not a moment after the kiss on the balcony that I cannot see you together. It just seems cataclysmically meant to be.

Logan: "I thought our story was epic, you know? You and me."
Veronica: "Epic how?"
Logan: "Spanning years and continents. Lives ruined and blood shed. Epic!"
Veronica: "Come on. Ruined lives? Bloodshed? You really think a relationship should be that hard?"
Logan: "No one writes songs about the ones that come easy."

Songs: Mike Doughty, "I Hear the Bells;" Blair, "Hearts;" The Be Good Tanyas, "In Spite of All the Damage I've Done"
Perfume: Veronica wears Jovan White Musk (Okay, this is a cheat KBell wears it herself, and I can't not think that when I mentally sniff her.) For Logan, something warm and sexy and not necessarily traditional - Costume National 21 or CB/Alan Cumming's 2nd Cumming.

~~~

9. Buffy Summers & Angel, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer

One girl in all the world... and one vampire redeemed find love against all odds. It's written in the stars by the Powers that Be.  Some day, hopefully in the not so distant future, she will stop carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. And when she does, the monster she made a man will be waiting. (I mentally retcon the Angel/Cordelia fiasco. When it comes to Angel and Buffy, there can be only one.)

Angel: "You still my girl?"
Buffy: "Always."

Songs: Urge Overkill, "Girl You'll Be a Woman Soon;" Bat for Lashes "Siren Song;" Tom Petty, "Angel Dream (No. 2)"
Perfume: Serge Luten Bois de Violette, which I cannot justify. I don't even know where Buffy would come by such a thing. I just feel like she would. Or maybe Atelier Grand Neroli? Sweet and not necessarily innocent or fragile, but hopeful nonetheless, particularly in those early seasons.

~~~

10. Sydney Bristow & Michael Vaughan, Alias

In the first three seasons of this show, their love was so amazing and palpable and yet played with such restraint and subtly that I could not get enough of it. There is this scene from the first season that completely sold me on this relationship. Sydney is having an awful time.  She calls Vaughan and they meet on a pier pretending not to be together.  Overcome, Sydney starts sobbing, and you can just tell it is killing Vaughan he can't hurt her or help her or make it better.  Then Sydney reaches out and takes his hand, even though she's not supposed to and its dangerous and stupid and could blow her cover and get them both killed, because she cannot help herself. Even though  she can't even look back at him, and it doesn't matter because...he's her anchor.  He's the thing that keeps her in that moment from giving up.  From that moment on you just know somewhere deep inside, no matter what happens, they'll find their way back to one another.

Songs: Peggy Lee & Benny Goodman, "All I Need Is You"; Beatles, "I've Just Seen a Face;" Robin Thicke, "When I Get You Alone"
Perfume: Sydney might where a lot of different scents with her costumes, but she strikes me as a classic sort of girl -- Chanel No. 5 or Worth Je Reviens, maybe? Something that screams classic and elegant and refined, but not too noticeable - a great cover for the dangerous, adventure-loving spy in us all.

I have a tough time scenting Michael Vartan because I feel like, having spent a huge portion of his formative years in France, he'd have some strong personal preferences.  Vaughan, on the other hand, probably wears something very work-a-day government handler, like Old Spice. Boring, conventional, reliable, but also...attractive.

~~~

That's my list.  What couples for you 'ship, dear reader? I see Titanic is being re-released in 3D soon.  Who wants to tell me what they think Jack or Rose would wear?  Wish I'd done Tara & Willow from Buffy instead? Any Luke Danes/Lorelai Gilmore fans out there? What about Wash & Zoe from Firefly? Or Brian Kinney & Justin Taylor from Queer as Folk? (I will never forget that dance scene.) 

Inquiring 'shippy minds want to know.

We're drinking and we're dancing and the band is really happening and the Johnny Walker wisdom running high...

Perfume Challenge Week 18: Monday, 5/16/11, to Friday, 5/20/11

"Ah, we're lonely, we're romantic
and the cider's laced with acid
and the Holy Spirit's crying, 
'Where's the beef?' 

And the moon is swimming naked
and the summer night is fragrant
with a mighty expectation of relief."

This week in Oregon, we had two consecutive completely sunny days with temperatures in the 70s. This is the first time this has happened since October 19th and 20th, 2010. That's right -- seven months. If that isn't a sign of end times, I don't know what is. At this moment, the day is overcast, but that doesn't change the fact that when the weather is lovely, and it's been a long time since it's been lovely, we Oregonians get really excited. Me? I went for several long, barefoot walks. It was nice.

You know, when I wrote about the rapture last week, I didn't even know it was going to be a big deal this week. If we've got to go, at least the weather was nice this week. In all seriousness, though, I feel unspeakably sad for those who have nothing to live for but their faith in a better life after this one. Because this one? It can be pretty powerfully awesome when you really stop to appreciate it. And part of what makes it awesome is all this wonderful perfume.

Monday: Jo Malone Grapefruit - Notes: grapefruit, tangerine, vetiver, rosemary. A bitter sharp take on the fruit, with none of the sweetness you expect.  It reminds me of the first sharp tang of a large gulp of grapefruit juice, like fruit rind and pulp instead of the fruit itself, and also a little bit like dried and cracked leather and pencil shavings.  Not bad, but not what I'd like out of a grapefruit.  If you like less sweet fruits, though, definitely give it a try.  3 of 5 nods.

Tuesday: Miller Harris Figue Amere - Notes: figs, green violet, amber and cedar. Holy moly, bitter fig is right! Oh god, the applicaton is almost a scrubber for me. It's true that it never hits the super sweet you expect from a fig, but I kind of wish it did. The dry down is a light amber and cedar blend, which is nice enough actually, but not particularly figgy. And the figgy part is just....wow, does not work for me.  I just have such a difficulty with the bitterness.  It's like an aspirin dissolving on the tongue.  2 of 5 nods.

Wednesday: DSH Perfumes Butterfly - Notes: Blood Orange (Israel), Lime Peel, Mango, Melon, Ocean, Egyptian Blue Lotus, Gardenia, Green Tea, Honey, Jasmine, Purple Lilac, Tiger Lily, Amber, Brazilian Vetiver, Chai Tea, Musk, Sandalwood, True Arabian Myrrh. What a sparkly lovely spring scent. I typically do not love any scent with the word "ocean" in the notes, but this works for me. Maybe because there is so much going on I can't quite determine what I'm getting other than zesty, bright, sparkling, light, and effervescent. The immediate opening is orange-y, but soon I get a burst of lime peel and green tea, myrrh. I like it so much -- and that's rare or me for such a bright floral. I bought an ounce after a quick sniff from a wand sampler, and I don't regret it at all. 4 of 5 nods.

Thursday: Ava Luxe Opoponax Intense - Notes: opoponax, amber, vanilla, Himalayan cedar, Mysore sandalwood, iris,black rose, jasmine, orris.. Reminds me of Calvin Klein Obsession, except way nicer. Its sweeter and less synthetic, and where Obsession is peppery, sharp and green Opoponax Intense is gentle, sweet, and lulling. It's like the difference between 80s florescent and a naturally bright color. It's beautiful if you like that super-duper sweetness of the big 80's O variety, definitely give this one a whirl. 4 of 5 nods

Friday: Jo Wood Organics Amka - Notes: Iranian rose otto, Egyptian jasmine, neroli, bergamot, green mandarin, sweet orange, cedarwood. Bergmot, neroli, and orange dominate the top creating a crisp, light scent. I love how green and limey it is. This is a perfect scent for warm weather. It reminds me of laying in the shade under a tree in a citrus grove, the grass awaying gently around me. My only complaint is the it doesn't have greaat lasting power, but in Amka's defense, I did not have a sample I could spray myself wet with, which may be the way to make the loveliness last. This is everything I wanted Jo Malone Lime Basil & Mandarin to be. 3.5 of 5 nods.

Winner of the Week: This is so tough. I think I'm giving the tie to Ava Luxe Opoponax Intense and Jo Wood Organics Amka, though I love Butterfly and own it, so there you go. For those of you who love Figue Amere, I'm sorry. I just can't get into it and I tried three times. When I want strong fig leaf, I go to Olympic Orchid's Midsummer Day's Dream.

For those of you who don't get raptured today, I'll still be here next week, heathen that I am, to bring you more post-apocalyptic, perfumey thoughts. If you're looking for safe haven and can make it to Lewis amp; Clark, we will be more than happy to take you into our community. And for the record, the same holds true for a Zombie apocalypse.

"So we struggle and we stagger 

down the snakes and up the ladder
to the tower where the blessed hours chime
and I swear it happened just like this:
a sigh, a cry, a hungry kiss,
the Gates of Love they budged an inch.
I can't say much has happened since
but closing time."

~ "Closing Time," Leonard Cohen

Photos by Diana Wiener Rosengard, 2011. All rights reserved.

Scent that Book!: Beautiful Creatures & Beautiful Darkness

Scent That Book! is a new, reoccurring feature here at Feminine Things. It is premised on the idea that even books require perfuming, whether the authors realize that or not.

Reading is sexy!

Dear reader, do you read a lot? I read…a lot. I’ve always been a big reader. I was the kid who always carried around a book like a safety blanket; I was like the Rory Gilmore of my Houston suburb. My reading slowed to a trickle during college and then law school. In the last year, though, I’ve returned to fiction with ferocity. I read two to three books a week, usually in the two hundred to five hundred page range.

Something I’ve been noticing. These books will have passages that describe scents, usually the specific way a person smells, and my little sniffa brain immediately begins distracting me with an internal hunt to place the scent in the panoply of perfumes I know. Then I thought – why play a game alone that could be so much more fun with friends?

Thus here we are, the first in a new series I’m calling Scent that Book. I’ll give you a passage from a book with some scent related items mentioned. You help me figure out what perfume you think might be similar.

First up:  Beautiful Creatures, and its sequel, Beautiful Darkness, also known as the first two novels in  The Caster Chronicles, are books by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia. Beautiful Creatures was named it one of the top ten books of 2009 and the top pick for best teen book by Amazon.com. Here's a brief description:

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small southern town of Gatlin has ever seen. Lena has wavy black hair with large green eyes. She wears a necklace made of pieces of junk and carries around a tattered journal. She is gossiped about, picked on and neglected because of the fact that she is the niece of Macon Melchizedek Ravenwood (Otherwise known as Old Man Ravenwood), the town's shut in. Lena is struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps, and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten south, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Lawson Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape Gatlin, is haunted by dreams in which he is trying to save a beautiful girl he has never met. He has brown hair and blue eyes and lives with his care taker and house keeper Amarie "Amma" Treadeau and his depressed father who has shut himself in his study since his wife's death. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

Without giving away too much detail, here are two snippets of scent description from Beautiful Darkness:

I was caught in her drag, struck by the current that bound us together and kept us apart. I leaned in to kiss her mouth, sand she held the lemon in front of my nose, teasing. "Smell." "Smells like you." Like lemon and rosemary, the scent that had drawn me to Lena when we first met. (pg. 32) 

Lemon and rosemary, Lena Duchannes' signature scent. So what do you think, dear reader? What scent might capture all the magical turmoil of Lena Duchannes (rhymes with "rain") and her star-crossed love affair with Ethan Wate in tiny Gatlin? I was thinking maybe Guerlain Jicky at first because Lena's power is supposed to go back generations, but now I'm thinking Miller Harris Le Petit Grain, the oak-moss, vetiver, and patchouli leaves at the base reflect some of the story elements that I'll let you discover on your own.

Ah, yes, but as all star-crossed stories go, Lena and Ethan struggle with forces working against their love, and teenage temptation rears its head. Enter Liv, who is described below.

But I didn't answer her. I pushed her shiny blonde hair away from her face and leaned down, our faces only inches apart. She inhaled softly, our lips so close I could feel her breath and the scent of her skin, like honeysuckle in springtime. She smelled like sweet tea and old books, like she had always been here. (p. 211)

Honeysuckle, sweet tea, old books. Like a cross between CB I Hate Perfume In the Library and Jo Malone Honeysuckle & Jasmine, or better yet DSH Perfumes Wild Honeysuckle? Though that, sadly, misses the sweet tea aspect, which if you're from any part of the South, you know won't do a'tall. I've never tried elizabethW Sweet Tea but maybe that would do. I dunno. It's stumper, Liv, the English would-be librarian.

So now its your turn. You've got a few words about the universe, the characters, and some notes. What do you think?

You can read more about Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness here.

I get a little warm in my heart when I think of winter: Best of Winter 2009 & Drawing!

Inspired by I Smell Therefore I Am's list of Favorite Christmas Smells, I thought it was time I made my list of my top winter scents for 2009.

Winter is bearing down on us here in PDX. Saturday night we got our first ice over of the season, resulting -- campus events wise -- in David sliding five feet on his back, cars sliding off the road on the hill, a broken arm, and my friend Becca not being able to get back to her campus apartment from a late night in the lab because she kept sliding down the hill when she tried to walk up it! Being on a college campus at the top of a steep hill is always eventful when there's weather. Though, since I am no longer employed by a college or university, my role here is strictly spectator, even if David does have the duty phone from time to time.

So from the warmth of my apartment, with kittens all sleeping soundly, I bring you my list of winter/ holiday season favorites for 2009. My winter lists tend to be dominated by spice, sweet, and incense, which is reminiscent of my kind of winter holiday -- snow covered days spent next to fire places, spicy sweet roasted nuts, and trips to church for holy days. With that in mind, away we go!

1. Bond no. 9 New Haarlem
When it's cold, I like hot coffee with milk and sugar, and I like no coffee scent better than New Haarlem, and this one has vanilla and patchouli to boot! Every time I wear it I get tons of compliments. It's foodie but not too foodie, herbal but not too herbal, sweet but not too sweet. If you like coffee, I bet you'll love this.

For my review, which I wrote write at the beginning of this blog and really does not do this brilliant scent justice, go here.

2. CB I Hate Perfume Fire From Heaven
As I said in my review, this is such a potent smoke scent, one that to me speaks of sacred rituals and holy fires. A great scent, and one that is different enough from the generally lovely smoking smell of cold winter night spent in the warmth of wood burning fireplaces that it makes you stop and take notice.

For my full review, go here.

3. CB I Hate Perfume the Fir Tree
You might think that no one would want to smell like a fir tree, but let me tell you, you're gonna want to smell like this tree.

For my full review, go here.

4. Frapin Passion Boisee
When you think of all those spirits that help one get into the holiday spirit, and you are looking for a great holiday party or late night cocktails scent, this is the one.

For my full review, go here.

5. L'Artisan Dzing!
Possibly my favorite scent of all time. Summer, Spring, or Fall, I'll wear this one. But winter, ah, winter. I think practically every sweater I own has the faint smell of Dzing! If you are new to perfume and try this and think you don't like it, try again in six months. Trust me -- it's genius.

For my full review, go here.

6. Miller Harris Geranium Bourbon
Geranium Bourbon is another wonderful dry, boozy scent that would be great for the holidays.

For my full review, go here.

7. Tauer Perfumes L'Air du desert marocain
Hilariously, when I wrote the review I was thinking, "summer scent" but here I am in winter and I still want L'Air du desert marocain. It's possible that Andy Tauer just makes transcendent scents that go beyond time of day, event, season, or even gender. I feel this way about really all of the Tauer scents, but I love L'Air du desert marocain the best.

For my full review, go here.

8. INeKE Evening Edged in Gold
Again, here I am with the leathers and smoke, but there are plums here and gold tinsel and so many beautiful and fine things. All six of INeKE's scents are great -- definitely worth the $25 for a sample box. It's the perfect size for a stocking stuffer. Don't think, just order.

For my full review, go here.

9. Guerlain L’Heure Bleue
When I first reviewed this, one of the things I noted in the mixture was the smell of wet wool, like snow flakes melting on your coat or sweater after you come into a warm house after a winter walk.

For my full review, go here.

10. Lorenzo Villoresi Alamut
I have actually never reviewed Alamut, and I own a bottle! Ha! I'll have to get on that. I know that a lot of people were disappointed with Alamut, but I love it. It's big and warm and incense-y, and I deeply enjoy it, particularly in winter.

11. Bond no. 9 Andy Warhol Silver Factory
Possibly the best of all Bond scents, it's textured and multi-layered and beautiful. Woody, sweet, incense-y, awesomeness, with a great weirdness in the opening. Love it!

For my full review, go here.

12. DKNY Black Cashmere
One of the only bottles I've ever bought entirely unsniffed during the period when everyone thought it was being discontinued, Black Cashmere is a great spicy scent that has a weird rubbery leathered edge to it and yet somehow manages to simultaneously be a light fragrance. Donna Karan has since brought back Black Cashmere and Fuel and several other scents through the exclusive DK collection at Neiman Marcus, along with my beloved Fuel for Men, but I don't regret buying the bottle at all. This is yet another scent I need to review completely.

That's it for me. What about you? What scents do you associate with winter? In the spirit of the holidays, those who comment by 12:01am PST on Monday, December 21 will be entered in a random drawing for 1ml samples of Bond no. 9 New Haarlem, Lorenzo Villoresi Alamut, DKNY Black Cashmere, and L'Artisan Dzing!. Depending on my availability, prize package may also include a mix CD made by yours truly. Thanks in advanced for the commentary! The results will post on December 23, 2009.

"I run off where the drifts get deeper.
Sleeping beauty trips me with a frown.
I hear a voice.
'Your must learn to stand up for yourself
'cause I can't always be around.'
He says, "When you gonna make up your mind?
When you gonna love you as much as I do?"
"Winter," Tori Amos

Saw you going crazy on the dance floor...

Miller Harris Geranium Bourbon

Why is it that sample acquisition is that much more tempting now that I am unemployed? I did manage to convince myself I was allowed to get a sample of L'Artisan Havana Vanille, which I have been drooling over since it was announced, so look for that soon.

For today, though, I'm reviewing Miller Harris Geranium Bourbon. According to Miller Harris, Geranium Bourbon is described as

Geranium Bourbon is a complex blend, deep and rosy; a combination of cassis berries, lemon geranium and Turkish rose - the scents of an English garden after the rain. Geranium Bourbon is unique. It is light, complex, young and sophisticated and one thing is for sure - it is truly addictive.

I love Geranium Bourbon. Despite being able to smell the rose throughout, this is one hot and sexy masculine scent. It's spicy, it's dry, it's boozy, and yet with the cassis and rose and geranium, it's still got a lovely feminine edge.

This is exactly what I think of when I try to think of scents that might fit Angela's call for feminine scents that work for men. It's a little sweet in a dry way like good gin and I like the lemony edge it gets from the geranium. On me little bits of spice kept bubbling up and bursting on the dry down, which kept it interesting and complex. I love that it is masculine in a cheeky way; it reminds me of meat sweetened by a lemon honey brine or one of my favorite beers, a Belgian beer, Lindeman's Cassis.

It's a scent that says I am traditional enough to be confidently teasing in a feminine way. On a woman, I think it would read as classy and preppy, like a very youthful Polo ad. Basically I think it works for for the Gossip Girl set, and I mean that for both Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass. Geranium Bourbon has very low sillage, and it is very faint after two hours, so I'd be generous with the application.

You can buy Miller Harris's Geranium Bourbon in 50ml for $95 and 100ml for $140 direct from the the perfumer or from Luckyscent, FragranceNet, and other outlets. Check around; on this one you can probably find a good deal. You can also get decants from The Perfumed Court or, and in this case I recommend, Posh Peasant, which frequently has lovely scents for very good prices. It also comes in a candle and a 5g solid perfume, if you're into that sort of thing.

For the first time,
standing with my friends in the bright light.
Saw you going crazy on the dance floor.
I’ve taken one already but I want more.
This time I’m going to feel it.
- "Breakfast in NYC," Oppenheimer

Want more? Try...
~ a review from Perfume-Smellin' Things
~ a review from I Smell Therefore I Am
~ a brief mention from Katie Puckrik Smells
~ a brief mention from Perfume Posse

Images courtesy of Miller Harris, Merchant Duvin, and Gossip Girl.