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.

Is there room for more perfume writing?

Blogging: A Mission Statement

Pat at OlfactaRama had a great post about the general rumbling among fragrance bloggers regarding the 'glut' of new perfumer reviewers/writers/bloggers. I've seen this rumbling around for a bit now, most recently in sort of warning piece/guest post by Vanessa Musson of Bonkers for Perfume, at Now Smell This! entitled "5 things to think about before you start a perfume blog," and then a follow-up post, "The Sequel: 5 Things I Have Learnt From Perfume Blogging."

A mission statement?
You know that's right!

Now I don't want to pick on Vanessa. She is not the first, nor will she be the last, to talk about perfume bloggers or the number thereof or what makes a good/bad blog. Also, I think she had some interesting and useful things to say. FN1. But I do want to talk about this whole "why are you blogging/should you be blogging" thing because I've been wanting to comment on it for a while, and I didn't want to write a thousand word manifesto in someone else's comments section.

Okay, maybe not a manifesto.  It's more like...

A mission statement.

That's right people. I'm about to go all Jerry Maguire up in here. FN2. In fact, let's run with that as a theme, shall we? FN3.

I hated myself... no, I hated my place in the world.

Let me tell you why I started Feminine Things. I was in law school. I was miserable. I had leveraged my future to the hilt to earn my degree, only to find out that I hated my classmates/future colleagues and my industry. FN4. I hadn't written anything fun or interesting in a while. I felt as though my logic-driven studies was literally sucking the creativity out of me through my pores.

At the same time, I met Angela from Now Smell This! through our respective jobs. I told her I was thinking of buying myself a bottle of perfume for my thirtieth birthday. She brought me some samples.

So that's what oakmoss
looks like...

I summarily lost my mind and began buying tens of samples. FN5. I kept trying to keep straight what I'd tried and hadn't, what I liked best, why I liked one thing more than another. I didn't know anything about perfume.

 I had never heard the word "chypre." I couldn't tell a gardenia from a jasmine, a leather rose from a powder rose. I couldn't pronounce most of the perfume house names. I didn't even know what the big houses were.

But I had some free time. And I needed to keep track of what I was smelling. And I needed a writing prompt to help me begin writing again. I figured, "What could be harder than writing about the way something smelled for people who couldn't actually be present to smell it?

So I started this blog.

If this [points to heart] is empty, this [points to head] doesn't matter.

Let me tell you how little I had to go on. I didn't own any non-Body Shop/Bath & Body Works perfume when I started. No one linked to me. No one. My friends didn't even read my blog. You know how much I cared? Not even a little.

Those sunglasses are to hide
my tear-filled eyes.

I didn't start the blog to get readers. I needed a place to think and reflect and write. I needed, some days, a place to scream.  I needed a place for me.

Perfume inspired me. It was overwhelming at first.  I would put something on, and BAM! The perfume I was smelling made me feel...everything.

I would smell a scent and it would remind me of my deceased grandfather, and I wept. Another would remind me of the smell of gardenias in my grandmother's backyard...and I blubbered for an hour. A scent reminiscent of my old high school boy friend? More tears.

Basically, I cried a lot.

But I also wrote a lot. I remembered how much I liked words, liked the texture and feel of them in my mouth as I read my writing back to myself. I loved the vivid images perfumes evoked, the random pop cultural connections that would spring into my head when I sniffed at my hand, and just how damned happy I was. My perfume made me so happy. Still does.

First class, that's what's wrong. It used to be a better meal, now it's a better life.

They get free samples in first class?

Even over a year later, I didn't have anyone sending me samples. FN6.   I didn't have any awards. I didn't have any invites to be part of special blogging events. I still didn't have any links to other bloggers. I didn't even have someone to swap with because Angela and I had both left our positions and, sadly, didn't see much of one another.

 I was spending all my disposable income and then some on samples, but there was no way I could keep up with blogs like Now Smell This! or Perfume Posse. So I didn't bother trying. I bought sample sets from The Perfumed Court so I could learn the difference between a candied violet and a soapy violet, if anyone could make a decent orange scent, what constituted a boozy scent, whether I'd ever like anything other than a rose. New releases - who cared? I hadn't even tried Patou Joy or Guerlain Mitsouko yet.

I read a few books about perfume, but mostly? I just smelled, and then I wrote about it. Then I'd smell some more, and write about it. I'm not promoting blogging with blind ignorance.  I'm just saying, everybody has to start somewhere, and you should never be so afraid of looking stupid you miss an opportunity to learn. As I blogged, I trusted my instincts and my own impressions of the scents. You know why? Perfumes smell different to and on different people. They evoke different memories. They elicit different connections. What smells like a funeral to me may smell like heaven to you.  I think both reviews are probably correct.

Was I writing what my esteemed colleagues were? Nope. As far as I could tell, everyone else had a lot more knowledge of the industry and a lot fewer pop references, no one else was using song lyrics for titles, and I didn't see anyone else occasionally freaking out about feminist politics. Did I have "a new perspective to offer"? Ha! Who cared? I was writing again. It felt terrific.

This April 15 will mark four full years of blogging about perfume. I haven't stopped yet, and I have no intention of doing so.

The key to this business is personal relationships.

One thing that keeps coming up in posts about the 'crowded field' of perfume blogging is the idea of "lost readership" and " fluctuating traffic" and "shouting into the void."

Largely these things seem like nonsensical concerns to me. I admit to being flattered by readership. Who isn't? I admit I like comments. But mostly, I write this blog for me. Maybe it's the writer in me that thinks it's a good idea, but I prefer to give credit to the historian.

When I was in college, I read A Midwife's Tale: The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812 for a class. This work by Laurel Thatcher Ulrich is one of the best books you can read about American life in the period in large part because it reflects the thoughts and feelings of the daily life of a real person as they were living it. This is history gold, people! It doesn't get more primary source than that.

 Do I think I deserve to be the speaker for our times? No, I do not. But I suspect Martha Ballard didn't think she would be either. Part of the reason I write this blog,  and part of why I write and document my life to (quite frankly) an absurd degree (you really should see my scrap books of movie tickets stubs - not even joking), is because part of me thinks, "What if I end up the Martha Ballard of the early 21st Century?" You never know who the Angel of History's eye will fall upon in the rubble. If it's me? I'd like there to be plenty of material for that intrepid historical scholar to work from.

And to that end, I try to document the work I've enjoyed reading around the internet here, and on twitter, FB, G+, and the like. I like to share things with people, to talk about them and read them. And I like to give inspirational credit where credit is due, even if the inspiration is to blog at length about how I disagree, whether that be related to perfume or not. Discourse is intensely valuable and immeasurably rewarding, particularly when it challenges us to (re)consider our own assumed postures. I am grateful to those who prompt me to bring pen to paper, fingers to keyboard.

Plus, being nice? Kind of the golden rule.

Hey, I don't have all the answers. In life, to be honest, I failed as much as I have succeeded.

This isn't my first blog. I started a livejournal back in the late 1990s, then I had an independent blog I designed myself that was hosted on a friend's server for a few years. Before that, I wrote in spiral bound notebooks. FN7.

Can I be your ambassador
of perfume kwan?

I'm not really in the beauty industry, and I doubt I ever will be. I still don't know as much about perfume as a lot of other bloggers. You know what I learned on Castle two weeks ago? How to properly say the name of a perfume I actually own. FN8.

I keep going anyway, learning and trying and collecting. Will I keep writing Feminine Things for a while? I like to think so. I see no reason for stopping. And even though I do have all those things now - awards and event invites, links and followers and commenters and even, yes, the occasional free samples to review - I would still keep writing here if I didn't.

Most flattering to me, though, is that you keep reading, and others find my work valuable.  This blog ended up on a couple of Women's Studies syllabi in courses on feminism and the beauty industry in the last couple of years.  I actually got to send a message to one of the classes that used my blog.  As someone who has made a life of studying sex and gender in popular culture, it touches me to think I might help someone else learn and grow.

Truthfully? I never track my traffic. I didn't even know about this wikio/Ebuzzing thing until I read Vanessa's follow-up piece. Google ranks sites? News to me. I like it when people post on my drawings, because I like to give pretty things away. Other than that? I might as well be writing letters to myself.

When I went back to look at my very short initial post today, there was a comment on it, one I never even replied to. How great is that? Three days in and I had a reader. One reader. Perhaps it's her I'm still writing to.

When I write the words, dear reader, I am literally imagining you out there, reader, and I hope you will hear me when I say the following:

Words are tools; writing, a learned skill. The more you use them, the better you get at writing. Whatever inspires you to write, write about that. If it's wine? Start a w(h)ine blog. If it's shoes, go with that fetish. If it's making up funny, misspelled statements to apply on photos of cats, I hear there's a market for that. It's a big old internet out there, and I am not in any way afraid of losing my reader to you. I can't. They live here, in my head.

You complete me, dear reader!

So if you've got something to say about perfume, I want to hear it! If you've started a scent blog you don't see listed in my sidebar of bloggers, tell me. Provided you aren't a spamming troll, I'll be happy to add you. I can't promise I will always have time to read everything you write and comment on it, but if you inspire me to think or talk or write, I will give you the internet love you deserve. And I truly hope you do it better than I do, even if you start your very first post tomorrow.

Who knows - I might even learn something.

Leave a comment to be added to the blogroll.  Or just to say you love/hate/indifferent me, sweet reader.  For deep down in the spidery corners of my ventricular chambers, I feel the same about you.

But I love my wife husband. I love my life. And I wish you my kind of success.
______________
FN1. For instance, I, too, regret not going with Wordpress. Though if I move now, I'm probably going to Drupal Gardens. Because this Bitch? She hearts the cutting edge technologies. (Given that, I still don't know why I ended up on Blogger. I think because I was broke and it was free. Thanks for asking.)

FN2. Dorothy: "I loved your memo, by the way."
Jerry: "Thanks... actually, it was just a Mission Statement."

Bonkers!

FN3. Also, if you all don't like this post, please don't golf clap me off stage left with my sad little fish in hand. Plus, Tom Cruise is actually bonkers, so I think it works thematically. Also, I love Cameron Crowe, so you can all suck it.

Wait -- am I not supposed to be telling readers to suck it? Damn, I'm bad at this.

FN4. Loved my coursework and my profs, though. Holla to my Lewis & Clark faculty, what? What! Seriously, though. I really should have just gotten a Ph.D. in Legal History or Legal Philosophy.


FN5. Yes, tens, not hundreds. I was broke, remember?

FN6. I actually don't mind paying for samples.  I appreciate that materials are expensive and most of the perfumers I buy from are independent small business owners who need to recoup/cover their costs.  I'm just happy they let me have the samples, instead of selling by full bottle only.  I couldn't afford to try much perfume if I had to buy full bottles just to try them.

FN7. I still write long hand in notebooks.

FN8. Seriously. It isn't fracas? As in "to cause a"? I am terrrrible with French. Ah well. I might sound like a stupid culturally-illiterate American, but at least I don't smell like one.

Thanks to the men and women who serve.

My little brother, who at thirty-one years old will always be my 'little' brother, is currently deployed in Iraq.  He joined up for a lot of reasons, but at the end of the day, it had to do with a fundamental sense of duty.  He felt called to serve and protect.  

I am extremely grateful to him and to all those who serve and have served our nation.  I'd also like to take this opportunity to recommend to my readers a little documentary called "The Way We Get By" available to watch free on Hulu when last I checked, which I found extraordinarily moving. 

As a country, we owe more to our vets than they get from us.  Please consider that the next time you are thinking about who to vote for in an election.  Really ask yourself -- which of these candidates supports veterans programs, like affordable housing, job reintegration, mental health care and counsel, medical care, and education benefits? Then ask yourself if you could see leaving everything you have and all the people you love for years at a time to risk your life in service for any cause.  Then vote accordingly. 

Thank you.

It seemed like a good idea at the time...

When I got up this morning, it seems like such a good idea. Now my apartment looks like the equivalent of this scene from High Fidelity.

I'm actually waiting for one of you to bust through my door to tell me I shouldn't store my samples like that, they'll get really pressured and leak.

I owe you my weekly update,  I know.  What can I say? *looks around her.*  I'm distracted.  Tomorrow or Monday okay?  I did try four new scents this week (took one pass day), but need to translate my incohernt notes into a post.

In the mean time,  it's time for the April drawing, which I also somehow blanked on.  Mix CD and 3-5 samples from this horde I'm organizing.  To enter, post here and tell me your favorite scent for Spring and/or favorite CD right now.

Drawing closes 5/13 at 12:01 A.M. Open to anyone, anywhere.  On the moon?  I'll try to get it to you.

Oscar Musings: What Does a "Best Picture" Smell Like?

Further thoughts on the Oscars... See my guest post at Now Smell This! for more.

There is very little in the world as satisfying as a well-told story.

A truly good story is one that is an immersive experience. It takes the voyeur into itself, immersing you in the sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste of the moment. When any piece of art does this, we like to honor it. For perfume, we have Prix International du Parfum, the Fifis, Grand Prix du Parfum, and so forth. When it comes to motion pictures, two annual judgments tend to reign supreme: Cannes and the Academy Awards.

Tomorrow the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will hand out the coveted statuettes for the 83rd time. First held May 16, 1929 to celebrate outstanding film achievements for 1927 and 1928, the “Oscars” are now shown annually in over 200 countries. So it’s safe to say that, unless you live under a rock or on Mars, you’ve heard about the little golden statute and all the pomp and circumstance that goes with it. While there are a lot of awards for various aspects – costuming, screen writing, score – the most sought after award, year after year, is Best Motion Picture. This year ten films will duke it out to be named story of the year.

When faced with contenders as varied as Toy Story 3, Black Swan, The Kids Are Alright, and Inception, how does one choose the “best”?

As perfume obsessed as I am, it tends to invade all aspects of my life, including my other obsessions. When I smell perfume, I hear music, and vice versa. When I encounter a truly beautiful photograph or painting, sometimes I have an immediate scent association. So of course, as I sit around watching movies, I think about perfume. What’s interesting is I don’t often find myself thinking about what a particular character would wear so much as I find myself wondering what scent could capture the overall feeling of the story I’m seeing.

I wonder, if this film was a perfume, what would it smell like?

So, dear readers, my challenge to you, on this Oscar-eve, is this: Think of the movies nominated for best picture this year. If you were asked to attempt to explain to someone who had not seen them what the essence of their stories were through scent alone, what would you choose?

Random Film Thought of the Day

InStyle did a piece recently on the 10 most iconic movie kisses...

Sam & Jake in Sixteen Candles

....and this one WAS NOT on the list.

Fools.

Ten Great Date Movies & Perfumes to Match

Once upon a time, my lovely but somewhat romantically clueless husband convinced by best friend, Kate, to watch the movie The Crow by telling her it was a love story. Now I admit that love is clearly involved in the epic tale that is The Crow and is an overarching theme. But when the story is about a zombie arisen from the dead for a brief period because he is hellbent on torturing to death the evil people who killed him and his girlfriend so he can reunite with her beyond the grave, "love story" probably isn't the first thing that should spring to mind. And when it comes to romantic events, like say, Valentine's Day, you're looking for a date film that has the right mix of meet-cutes, romantic hijinks, minor challenges, and happily-ever-afters to make everyone feel happy and hopeful and, above all, not like they completely ruined their hair and make-up sobbing through half the film. To that end, I give you the following list of what I deem as appropriate films and their according romantic scent pairs. FN1.

1. The Philadelphia Story (George Cukor, 1940) - A hilarious rom com about a couple of crazy kids in love who, after making every wrong choice available, finally get what they deserve -- each other. Guerlain Shalimar for Katharine Hepburn, who can even make being soused look elegant.

2. Sabrina (Billy Wilder, 1954; thought the 1995 Sydney Pollack remake is good, too) - A wealthy cynic attempts to seduce the girl from the wrong side of the servant's quarters in order to protect the family business and finds himself stuck with the one problem he can't pay someone to fix -- falling in love. Chanel No.5, because I like to think Sabrina found it while she was studying in Paris and brought it back to the house to seduce David, but in the end Linus bought her a bottle every year for their anniversary.

3. Breakfast at Tiffany's (Blake Edwards, 1961) - When a frivolous young woman meets an equally errant young man, they find that the only thing they are more afraid of than an honest day's work is being without one another. Patou Joy, for so many reasons, last but not least of which because the unassailably talented Ms. Hepburn is rumored to have worn it herself. FN2.

4. Hello, Dolly! (Gene Kelly, 1969) - When a widowed matchmaker is hired to make a marriage match for a dour old merchant, she decides to make a match for herself and goes about setting an entire town to falling in love while she's at it, in song. Guerlain Spiritueuse Double Vanille for Ms. Dolly Levy Vandergelder, who loved to eat and drink and make merry, and would like a scent that reflected her spirit.

5. Sixteen Candles (John Hughes, 1984) - A sixteen-year old girl thinks her life is over when her entire family forgets her sixteenth birthday, but ends up with the best birthday present of all -- the high school hunk of her dreams. Annick Goutal Quel Amour for darling Andy, who has to have one of the greatest film kisses of all time.

6. Dirty Dancing (Emile Ardolino, 1987) - When Francis "Baby" Houseman gets dragged to the Catskills for the summer with her parents, she doesn't imagine she will be taught by a dance instructor how to move with passion and grace...and also dance a little, too. S-Perfume 100% Love beause Baby, even after all of her summer lovin' still has that light and innocent feel to her, which is why Johnny loves her so much.

7. Singles (Cameron Crowe, 1992) - Love in the 1990s -- who the hell knows what that's supposed to look like? If you're looking for the intersecting group of love stories movie that inspired films like Love, Actually and Valentine's Day, look no further. Juliette Has a Gun Miss Charming, because Kyra Sedgewick and Bridget Fonda could have both worn it and still gotten their respective endings.

8. Sleepless in Seattle (Nora Ephron, 1993) - When an engaged woman hears a sad widower on the other side of the country tell a story of love and loss on the radio, she finds herself unable to ignore the feeling that he is exactly what she's looking for. How does she know? "Magic." Jo Malone Red Roses for the lovely and lovable Meg Ryan, who is both traditional and modern in this timeless romance.

9. Grosse Pointe Blank (George Armitage, 1997) - When professional assassin Martin Blank gets an assignment that takes him back to his old neighborhood just in time for his tenth high school reunion, he gets the opportunity to try to make up for the biggest mistake of his life: disappearing on prom night and abandoning the girl he has always loved. Creed Love in Black for Martin and Debbie, who deserve to ride off into the sunset.

And last but not least...

10. The Thomas Crown Affair (John McTiernan, 1999 remake) - A bored multi-millionaire pulls an art heist for entertainment and meets up with an art thief bounty hunter who makes him believe that life, and love, might be anything but boring. One of the sexist movies of the last two decades. Robert Piguet Fracas for Rene Russo to wear with that see-though golden dress she flaunts during the dance/seduction scene.

Honorable mention: Valley Girl (Martha Coolidge, 1983), Der Himmel über Berlin (Wim Wenders, 1987), When Harry Met Sally... (Rob Reiner, 1989), Beauty and the Beast (Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, 1991), A Life Less Ordinary (Danny Boyle, 1997), Lola rennt (Tom Tykwer, 1998), Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001), Elizabethtown (Cameron Crowe, 2005), Stranger Than Fiction (Marc Forster, 2006), Wall-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008).  FN3.  FN4.  FN5.

Happy Valentine's Everyone!
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FN1: In anticipation of complaints, I want to say I explicitly left off the following films for the following reasons:

Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942) - No one wants to watch a love story where the people don't end up together for Valentine's Day. Sorry, but no -- Louie and Rick don't cut it.

Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939) - See Casablanca, plus the crushing poverty, death and destruction of post Civil-War south in general and the burnination of Atlanta in particular. Persevering in the face of crushing obstacles might be inspiring, but it is not particularly romantic.

Ghost (Jerry Zucker, 1990) - Movies where people are dead but still in love are NOT GOOD date movies. Reuniting despite death, a la What Dreams May Come or Always, is a downer, people, not date material for this, the most romantic day of all days.

The Notebook (Nick Cassavetes, 2004) - De-press-ing. The Notebook is a very beautiful story but sobbing until you snot all over the sweater your date lent you doesn't make for a great date for Valentines.

Romeo + Juliet (Baz Luhrmann, 1996) - Again, they're dead! What is wrong with you people?!?

Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001) - Dead, dead, dead. And with sad dead person music!

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004) - They're caught in a break-up loop! Things can't even change the second time because they don't remember what went wrong with the first try so they can work on it. They're only going to crush each other again. NOT ROMANTIC.

500 Days of Summer (Marc Webb, 2009) - About a failed romance. FAILED. He calls the IRL girl a bitch in the opening credits. Not a love story -- says so right there in the voice over.

Juno (Jason Reitman, 2007) - Unless you're trying to get preggo, then starting a date night with this film isn't going to end up where you're trying to get, I'd wager.

An Affair to Remember (Leo McCarey, 1957) - They don't get together when they're supposed to midway through the film because she's hit by a bus. Sad. So sad. Just watch Sleepless in Seattle. You'll be better off, date-wise.

Wow, it appears I could have also done a "Movies to Watch on V-Day to Remind You That Sometimes Love Sucks And You're Better Off Single" list. With perfumes.

FN2. For an updated twist, may I suggest Hors de prix, starring Audrey Tatou, which I'd pair with CoCo Mademoiselle.

FN3. This is a really heterosexist list. I know that. I apologize. Maybe next year I can do an all-queer Valentine's list. Which doesn't really make-up for this year's and I'm sorry for that, again. My only excuse is that I'm too tired to rewrite it right now.

FN4. So apparently I'm also a xenophobe, since all my foreign choices ended up as honorable mentions and footnotes, when I could also do an entire list of foreign films in and of itself.  I'm sorry.  I'm very Oscar-focused right now, so I keep thinking "American Cinema, American Cinema."  Again, my apologies.

FN5.  Oh! I obviously watch a lot of movies.  You got that, right?

Great Movies You've Probably Never Seen: Murder by Death

Murder by Death

It's that time again. Time for me to try to convince you to watch movies I love but no one else has seen. I got googlereader shared a link to Leonard Maltin's 151 Best Movies You've Never Seen, and I was pleased to see that I had already seen quite a few of the films. (I checked out the table of content via Amazon's 'look inside this book' function.) I'm not saying I'm an expert, or a professional, but I am telling you that I spend an exorbitant amount of watching movies, so you can trust me as far as you can trust anyone who is an obsessive geek type about something they are into.

So! Murder By Death. First off, here's the IMDB synopsis (the wiki page gives the ENTIRE FILM PLOT, so spoiler alert):

Millionnaire Lionel Twain invites the five most brilliant private eyes to a dinner - and a murder. So, Sidney Wang from China, Dick Charleston from New York, Jessica Marbles from England, Milo Perrier from Belgium and Sam Diamond from San Francisco arrive at the remote castle. They are welcomed by Jamesir Bemsonmam, the blind butler. At nine, a dinner is supposed to be served. The five private eyes and their companionships are in the dining room, wondering what everything is about. Suddenly, Lionel Twain appears and lets the private eyes in on his plan: Exactly at midnight, a murder is going to take place. And he offers a million dollars to the one who can solve the murder. Then he disappears. Before long, a problem arises: The butler is found dead - and it's long before midnight! Will the five most brilliant minds of our time be able to see through the elaborate set-up staged by a criminal mastermind?

Written by Neil Simon, Murder by Death is a comedy masterpiece for mystery novel lovers. Sidney Wang (aka Charlie Chan),  Dick and Dora Charleston (aka Nick and Nora Charles of the Thin Man series), Milo Perrier (aka Hercule Poirot of the Agatha Christie novels), Sam Diamond (aka Sam Spade), and Jessica Marbles (aka Miss Marple of the Agatha Christie novels) are all send ups of famous literary mystery figures, and they are amazingly cast.  I'll watch almost anything with Peter Falk in it as a detective because I loved Columbo growing up, but there are so many good people in this: David Niven of Pink Panther fame; Maggie Smith, who you may remember from Gosford Park, but has been in just everything; Elsa Lanchester, who gained widespread recognition in the Bride of Frankenstein, but most will recognize as the head maid from Mary Poppin; Eileen Brennan, from The Last Picture Show, Texasville, and the '80s Goldie Hawn comedy vehicle Private Benjamin; Nancy Walker, who was a regular on Rhoda, but whose best work was on stage and as director for the Mary Tyler Moore Show.  The best, by far though, is Truman Capote as the devious and frustrated mystery fan Lionel Twain.  He's only in a few scenes, but he totally steals them. 

If you like mysteries and comedies, if you've ever had any appreciation for the board game or film version of Clue, then you're going to love this. Everyone I've ever shown it to both thought it was funny and couldn't believe they'd never seen it before.