Thanksgiving 2011

This year I'm thankful that everyone in my family (blood and otherwise) and myself is healthy and happy. Well, healthy enough, I'm thankful that my MIL is not on the verge of anything life threatening. I'm VERY thankful that Hubby is finally trying to take care of his health and is eating more healthy, cut out the salt, cut down on the beer and is trying to eliminate stress. He got the fear of God put into him with a high blood pressure scare a couple of weeks ago. I'm thankful that my Shay & Winnie got a fairly clean bill of health from the vet. I am thankful that my weight is down, not down enough but at least I haven't put any of the 60 pounds that I lost last year back on. You can never be too rich or too thin.

The turkey may have been lopsided, but it was very tasty : )

I'm thankful that me and Hubby have our jobs. I'm thankful that I have a fun job, I work with fantastic bunch of people and that I can come & go as I please from there. I'm thankful to have a work husband, a work wife, a work sister, a work mother-so many friends, so many roles and I love them all. They're like family to me. I'm thankful that I'm getting a turkey from work this year and I'm going to cook it with all the fixins': stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, squash, pumpkin pie. Hmmmm, where are the vegetables?


Note to self: Do not attempt anything daring with the stuffing again. I don't know what came over me, but while making the stuffing I got the urge to cut up an apple and add it in. What goes good with apples? Cinnamon and cloves so those went in, too. I stuck the regular stuffing in one end, the apple concoction in the other. It was ok, a bit spicy (too much cloves) but the regular stuffing was much, much better!

Let the games begin.........it's now after midnight so it's Hubby's birthday. It's Black Friday. Monday is Cyber Monday. Tuesday is out anniversary.  It's a crazy week here. I didn't get a cake, we have enough stuff in the house right now. Wonder if we have any balloons?

Something Old, Something New: Rochas Femme

9/28/11 (yeah, it takes me forever to finish a post here).After a busy day at work the work husband offered me a ride home (as usual) and I agreed. Surprise flat tire. I offered to get security to help but he refused and changed it himself. Not without a bit of fussing trying to find the jack and tools. He keeps a lot of junk in the back of his van/truck type car, he does landscaping and other odd jobs when not at the regular job. He moved all the junk around and  two shopping bags full of empty cans spilled all over the back. Since I couldn't really help with changing the tire, I gathered up all the cans, found a bag in my purse to put them all back. When I stuck my head in the back, he was one side-still looking for tools, I was on the other side and I got a whiff of, uh, well, sweat. He worked up a sweat fussing over the tire. Cumin scented sweat. The unscented man isn't unscented anymore. He smelled very much like Rochas Femme, the modern version with the cumin note, a sweet spicy sweat. Nice........

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Femme by Rochas

Created in 1943 by Edmond Roudnitska whose other creations include Diorissimo, Eau Sauvage and Rochas' Moustache.

• Top Notes
• Peach, Plum, Sandalwood, Rosewood, Lemon, Rose
  
• 
  Middle Notes
• Jasmine, Oakmoss
  
• 
  Base Notes
• Patchouli, Musk, Amber, Civet, Leather

Illustration from Basenotes.com

What I'm going by is an old bottle of parfum de toilette, which seems to be an aerosol spray type so possibly from the 60's or 70's. When you push down on the nozzle it makes a "swoooooish" sound when spraying. *Since I began this post I acquired an old bottle of EDC that smells as deep and rich as the PDT. I haven't given a good wearing yet. {Yeah, it takes me forever to finish a post here!} Both are completely different animals from modern Femme. Original is all about plums, cloves, amber and leather. Warm & spicy. A deep vibe.


 Wearing this Femme it's like having a constant mellow aura of warm spiced plums around you. Not sugar plums, but dry, slightly sweet from their ripeness plums. And peaches, as in peach skin-similar to Mitsouko-a hint of sweet and lots of fuzz. Peaches & plums dipped in musk and moss. Later a nuance of spice, leather and amber surrounds you. Smooth, soft and mellow from start to finish, no bumps in the road with this one. It's like you've got this fabulous warmth around you with Femme. It's an intimate warmth, like the warmth of a body, sensual & rich-but not only the scent of a warm body, it's got the plums, peaches amber and such going on.


Modern formulation Femme {post 1989}: 

Oliver Cresp re-orchestrated Femme in 1989, to give it a modern interpretation, I believe. Why does everything have to be modernized?

Modern Femme. Because of all the hype surrounding the cumin note I hadn't ventured out in public wearing it, until today.  Cumin screams perspiration to me. And Taco Bell. Upon first spritz, the cumin note is really LOUD, once it settles not very noticeable, the spice notes move into cinnamon territory. Not bad, not bad at all.

The modern Femme's got the plums, the peaches, which seem fruitier rather than rich as they are in the vintage. It's got a touch of the amber, musk and leather but by the time they show up they're drowning in spices. Once it's been on for a few hours it's all spice, that's all I get. Nothing animalistic, no warm aura, it's got a spicy aura.


Modern Femme isn't all that bad, compared to some other formulations I've encountered. I wouldn't call it "a shadow of it's former self" it's more of "a different facet of it's former self." Like a flanker. It still smells unique, rich, has depth-it's that damn cumin and spice again-giving it it's depth. 

Between my bottle of PDT ( I have 2 of them, one full, one with a small amount left) and EDC I have enough Femme to last me forever. If by any chance I exhaust my stash & I could wear the new Femme, but there are other perfumes I'd probably reach for first, or instead of. When I think of modern Femme I think of spices, and when I'm in the mood for spice I grab Kenzo Jungle Elephant.

********

Once I packed up all the cans I could grab, I sat down on the ground, lit a cigarette and watched him change the tire. The weather was perfect, we were out of work somewhat early and the sun was going down. I could have sat there forever watching him change that tire.
When it was changed, I did help, I picked up the tools and handed them to him and dropped one on his foot while doing so. He swears that it didn't land on his foot, but I think it did. Whoops.

Miss Dior Esprit de Parfum

 Miss Dior. Didn't think I'd ever like this, let alone fall in love with it & put it in heavy rotation. I had tired the vintage EDC and EDT and they weren't memorable, they seemed old & stuffy.  Prior to sniffing the ESdP the name "Miss Dior" sort of conjured up images of debutantes, very upper-class uptight (somewhat stuffy, ah, maybe a stuck up woman) well manicured (perhaps what we'd call today as "high maintenance", or someone who always looks perfect) old fashioned young women from back in the day. Pastel fluffy prom dresses with matching corsages. Perfect, pretty and not sexy. Maybe a Stepford Wife.  Am I going way off base here? I think I am, but....

Miss Dior was created in 1947 by Paul Vacher (creator of the line of Le Galion fragrances, and Sortilege, Diroling, and Arpege, none of which I'm familiar with-sorry to say, but I'm working on it ; ) and Jean Carles (of Shocking de Schiaparelli ,Ma Griffe, and Tabu fame, which I am familiar with) who, at the time was completely anosmic.  He compared his anosmia to Beethoven's deafness. Amazing. Christian Dior's instructions to the perfumers was to "Create a fragrance that is like love." Okay. Named by Mitzah Bricard (Dior's muse) when she saw Christian’s sister Catherine and exclaimed,"Here's Miss Dior!" Something along those lines. A liter of the extrait was sprinkled on a weekly basis in Dior's first boutique in 1947. Yikes, how would you like to have worked in there? Being around it that much would be too much of a good thing for me.

I picked up an old Esprit de Parfum and watch out world, here I come! Heavy, heavy thick leather, a lipstick leather with honey, or something in there giving it a semi-sweet edge-as you can tell I have trouble picking out notes, especially florals. Maybe it's the galbanum giving it the sweet edge in the beginning.....where was I? Lipstick leather, sweetened with honey (or sumpthin') with mossy vanilla and amber. A cross between a chypre and an oriental, or maybe you'd call it a combination of both?  I'm wondering if my bottle is from the 80's because it wears like a powerhouse perfume of that era, like Montana's Parfum de Peau, Balengencia's Rumba, Gucci 3, Krizia's Teatro Alla Scala. And I didn't drown myself in it to get that effect, it just went that way. Just a spritz on the wrists and on the neck is enough to be very noticeable.

All this with an animalic background. No civet, musk or castoreum in the notes, but something strikes me as a teensy bit skanky. There's something earthy-earthy as in Revlon's Intimate, which crossed my mind while spritzing myself with Miss D today. But not dirty skanky, a clean skank. Just warm and earthy. Sexual. Hmmmmmm........

Miss Dior to me is less of a debutante and more like a cougar. It brings to mind images of a sophisticated, mature and sultry woman, like Ann Bancroft as Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate. The original cougar, she even donned the animal prints from coat to underwear. BTW, Ann Bancroft was only 36 when she played Mrs. Robinson, who was twice as old as Benjamin's 21. That's NOT old. Sheesh, I am older than Mrs. Robinson. Oh, never mind. Let's talk about art, shall we?

Miss Dior is yummy, heavy, sexy, sexual, vampy. It wears well on me & goes especially well with my leather jacket and my leopard coat, of course.

 Miss Dior Esprit de Parfum vs. the EDT and EDC versions
Since becoming very acquainted with Miss Dior ESdP I compared it to the EDT and EDC I had of it. Both the EDT and EDC start off differently to the ESdP,  they lack the opening  zing and spunk, but they were opened-long ago-splash-bottles, their top notes were probably gonzo, so I'll forgive them.  My ESdP was a new in sealed package find of the century! Must have been sitting on the back of the shelf for years, maybe 30 years or more. It was tucked way in the back behind some newer Diors and EDCs. Anyway, the EDT and EDC eventually dried down to the amber/leather/slightly vanilla-)ish, animalistic drydown of my ESdP, but they weren't as rich or full bodied as the ESdP.  The EDC seemed to have more vanilla than the EDT. Both were lighter fragrances compared to the ESdP.

I have no idea how the current formulations smell. There are so many Miss Dior Chere flankers I'd have to rummage through them all to find a regular Miss Dior on the counter, right? I dunno. I am a little curious about the current, but I'm not going out of my way to try it.

Molinard de Molinard

Molinard de Molinard. New Love. Vintage bottle of eau de toilette purchased during a crazy buying spree, was meant to be put up for sale but it's a keeper. Floral-fruity my ass, this is as green as I don't know what!  Something about "green" perfumes is uplifting to me, they make me happy : ) Alright, there are "fruit notes" and a black current note in the opening, they give it a tinge of sweetness but that falls by the wayside in no time. Lots of pine, lily of the valley and some sort of marijuana note. For reals, it smells a bit like pot. I did NOT wear this on my recent drugstore trip for fear of the pharmacist would think I was high or something and refuse to fill my script. It smells that much like herb. Well, at least to me and I didn't want to take any chances. And I was in the middle of a long run of wearing this, still am. It's in heavy rotation, especially since my coat reeks (in a good way!) of it.

The pine note makes this very Christmas-y, I will be wearing this around the holidays for sure. Along with Guerlain's Winter Delice.  A little goes a looooong way with MdM, just a spritz down my shirt (none on my wrists or my neck)and I was smelling it all day, and woke up the next day with it still lingering. Does not come off clothes until they've been through the laundry, and even then I still detected a hint.

The Awakening of the Forest 1939 by Paul Delvaux

At first I didn't think of MdM as being a sexy perfume, but after several wearings I've changed my mind. It's sexy in the way it makes me feel, all those strong green notes bursting out make me feel confident and happy, which make me feel, you know, sexy. Damn, this is so zingy, shiny, full of life, how can one not feel fabulous when wearing it?

It's also a comforting scent-without being vanilla, Oriental or gourmand.
How is that? I dunno. It just smells good. Warm. Embraceable. Maybe it's the dry down of musk and amber giving it that warm feeling. Or perhaps because I love and enjoy wearing it-it feels comforting to me.

Now I'm wondering if M de Molinard is the same as Molinard de Molinard or what? It M the reformulation? At one point I had a sample vial of M de Molinard, and guess what? I didn't care for it. The house of Molinard is puzzling to me at times. Miss Habanita IS the same as Miss Molinard. I recently acquired a bottle of Miss M and it's the same except it's richer, so Miss H must be the reformulated version. I think? I'll give both a good wearing and report back on that.

 

It Isn't Easy/Falling in Love/Working

This is a post from a month ago. Been busy and finally finished it up now.

It ain't easy on several levels. Shopping, perfume hunting. First, I have to make a plan, a game plan: where am I going to go, what bus to take, where to go first, pick up stuff at the first place or hustle back and forth while testing & deciding. Making a list helps, especially when you remember to bring the list with you, like I did today. One side of the paper was new things I wanted to test, the other was vintages I was hoping to score. My husband got a glimpse of it and said, "Oh, she's made the food shopping list already."  Which I replied, "No, that's the perfume list."
Then there's the spending limit. Before leaving the house  I weakened and took my whole check ($400) along with me, instead of only $200 and a few smaller bills-ones, fives and such for change. I figured that this might be one of my last full time checks, all the bills are paid up (somewhat) and some of the stuff will be sold and/or may be Christmas gifts.

Guess what? I only spent $150 and brought home a booty of goodies. BOOTY. I lucked out.

First stop, that horrid Macy's. Was bombarded by the SA's, well meaning but annoying. I sprayed Vince Camuto on one wrist, could barely smell anything. Walked around, sniffing occaisonally,  finally got a faint whiff of something similiar to Flowerbomb. No thanks. Sprayed the other wrist with Givenchy's Ange On Demon Elixir, since I adore the original  Ange On Demon, no flankers. Very nice, like a sweet AoD but too much like Alien. Pass. Fragrance Event? All it was-was 5X the usual SA's on the floor attempting to spray you with the latest fruit cocktail. Nobody handed out any samples, which I heard happens at these "events". I gave up. Nothing there piqued my interest enough to buy, and if I did buy, I'm sure any samples/freebies wouldn't even be worth it. By that time it was getting late (I never leave the house early enough) and postponed Saks and other stores in favor of going to the old place.

Since the owner knows when I come in I'm dropping more money than all his other customers combined so he often discounts things, today he let me have a few free. I would marry that man if I could. One thing, I wish he'd let me behind the counter. Just let me go back there so I don't have to bother him and his helpers asking, "How much is this?" "How much for that?" "Do you have ___?" and my usual, "I thought I saw a bottle of ____ the last time I was in here, is it still around?" Now when I leave the place and am at home-sometimes I do it in the car-I make a list on paper of what I wanted/was interested in but didn't get, so I'll remember the next time. I SWEAR there was a bottle of Le De Givenchy on the shelf, next time I went (only a couple of days later) couldn't find it for the life of me. It also doesn't help that I think him & the helper re-organize the items on the shelf so every time I go it's slightly different. It's like playing a game of concentration with some arsehole switching the cards around when you're not looking.

I dream of him letting me go behind the counter and do my shopping from there. With a large box, I'd fill it up. I used to pester him about hiring me, then stopped because if I badgered him too much he'd never hire me. He probably won't hire me, but I keep hoping. He could pay me in perfume, I'd be spending my check there anyway.

Tomorrow or sometime this week I'll be stopping in there. My weekly visit. The Christmas shopping season is approaching, wonder if he might need some extra help around the store?

The Month in Pictures, Some Notes, Sounds and a Few Words

Have been digging My Morning Jacket lately.

 



 Distilled Oil of Costus Aplotaxis lappa root. Stimulant, "aphrodesiac", repels insects. Helps to preserve woolens. Heavy "oriental type" aroma used in perfumery. Blends well with Sandalwood, vetivert, patchouli, rose and violet leaf absolute. Very strong and tenacious.

Very intriguing. Need to get my nose into some of this, the "dirty hair/scalp" smell. I can't imagine how it would be in perfume. A few years ago I got into a cab that reeked of dirty, greasy scalp, the cabbie must have needed a shampoo and was probably scratching his head whenever he had the chance.

 The van broke down....I will be taking cabs and subway until he gets a new car or something. Wonder if I'll ever get in the costus cab again, lol.  No more driving around, dropping people off after work, picking up coffee before work-which I've become addicted to, need to have a coffee a day, sometimes more. That medium iced coffee that once seemed so big and lasted the whole day doesn't seem so big anymore and disappears quicker than I'd like. Anyway, I hope the new ride has a working radio.

 It snowed tonight. Yes, it's still October and snow. Didn't amount to much, melted as soon as it hit the ground but stuck to bushes and grass. Winter is coming and sooner than usual. Earlier today I hung up all my winter coats, my vintage furs and scarves because I'll be wearing them soon. BTW I hate snow.

Drugstore chasing. It's a sad state of affairs when the drugstores & pharmacies in your city are out of your meds and you have to call ALL of the surrounding ones in order to get a refill. Had to travel to another city, off the beaten path. Will have to do the same thing next month, like I didn't have enough to do already.

What I've been up to....

 Miss Dior. Another "buy to sell" that's not leaving this house, unless it's stashed in my purse for later applications.

I don't know how I can stay in business if I'm hoarding all the juice for myself!

Nothing new to report from the YSL line of fragrances. The ad reminded me of a phone call....

The Fragrance Event

Ah, the magic of macy's. Do ya think they can possibly part with some samples for this event? I'm thinking of getting Vince Camuto, or at least stopping in and getting another sniff of it-then deciding. The bottle is beautiful and from the slight sniff I took off it, it was very promising. If I purchased that and got some samples of Prada Candy, Bvlgari Mon Jasmin Amor, Angel EDT,  Burberry Body-that would be perfect. With my luck with that place they'd say they were all out of samples or give me some celebrity crap samples and/or stuff like Clinique Happy-which smells putrid on me and will bring on a headache.

By the time I get to this event they probably will be out of samples. I have a strong feeling I will have to work today so I'll be going to this tomorrow, day 2. I'll take whatever work I can get right now.

On the other hand, if I read any more about Bottega Veneta I will have to take a detour and go to Neiman Marcus and give that a whirl. Michel Almairac is the nose and he has done some fantastic scents: Gucci Rush, Bond's Saks for Her & West Side, Burberry, Chopard's Casmir. A leathery chypre with a connection to my old favorite, Gucci Rush? Will have to check it out. (I thought I had a magazine sample around here?)

Whenever I get my day off, I will be all over the place. I got cards from Saks for samples of Tom Ford's Violet Blond and the new Acqua di Parma. I may go to the old perfume shop and pick up that bottle of Miss Doir in the hounds tooth box, I've had my eye on, and whatever else might be there. There was another Dior, I think Dioressence, just did a search from what I remember of the box. I thought it was Diorissimo, but the box looks more like Dioressence, it was a dark swirly design. Decisions, decisions.

Not Really Off-Topic: Make-up & Cindy Sherman

Since my nose isn't fully up to snuff due to the cold*, make-up will be today's post. I've had some non-perfume posts rolling around in my mind anyway. Yup, I wear make-up, too, and lately it's been a lot-compared what I've worn in the past. Thankfully make-up doesn't turn me on as perfumes do otherwise I'd really be in the poorhouse.

Tonight I was browsing that horrid Macy's website only because they're having that fragrance event beginning Wednesday. Somehow I'm on their mailing list, actually the flyer was addressed to Hubby-must have been that J'adore purchase last Christmas. Anyhoo, I wound up in the MAC make-up section. WTH? It's certainly eye catching, isn't it? It reminded me of Cindy Sherman's photography. I even wondered if Sherman did the photographs......

OMG, she did! (Blogging in real time here, Google search in one window, make-up page in another, blog in another) Well, whadda  ya know? I knew that BFA in photography would come in handy someday.

I haven't seen any of her recent works, haven't seen any of her work since I was in school-some 15-odd years ago. I was googling her, found some photos, then  this one then it all made sense.

Cindy Sherman

Untitled # 412

2003 

 

Cindy Sherman for MAC 2011

If you're not familiar with her work,  check out the link above and/or do search. Her work is extremely thought provoking, sometimes disturbing, and her physical transformations are incredible.

This reminds me of a character that Cheri Oteri did on SNL, can't figure out who though...

Does it make you want to run to the nearest MAC counter and invest in some new make-up? Didn't have that effect on me but again, I'm not that into make-up, I'm not picky, Wet n' Wild, Revlon or whatever is on sale will work for me. Although it did lead me to browse the MAC section further to find more of these unconventional make-up photographs, which led me to the lipstick section and that brought me to their Mattene Lipstick. I just LOVE a good matt lipstick, it's the only type of lipstick I'll wear. No greasy, glossy, gooey lipstick for me, I can't stand it when it leaves lip marks on cups, straws, cigarettes, forks and everything else I put my mouth on. Rich and deep looking colors with catchy names: "Seeds of Desire", "Unknown Pleasures" and "Legendary" for $14.50 is quite do-able. Perhaps that horrid Macy's will throw in a perfume sample if I buy one.

Sick Day (well, probably several of them)

It got to me. Everyone around me at work was sick, or in various stages of getting sick, and loading up on Airborne (whatever it's called) tea & honey, all their home remedies and preventions. They offered me some  of the Airborne, but not the honey since one girl supposedly attempted to stick her contaminated spoon in it already, and given the advice to drink some Nyquil before going to bed as a preventative. Since I'm on some medications already I didn't take either of what was offered, especially the cough syrup, no idea if it would all mix. I did my usual thing-nothing- to strengthen up my immune system to the germs.

That backfired. OMG, am I ever sick! Not only have I got a cold thing going on, I also have a stomach bug or something, too. I took Tuesday off (no sick days left) and spent the day running back & forth from bed to bathroom, keeping a cold, wet wash cloth on my head, running the air conditioner and when I'd get hot I'd put the blankets over me. Kept a bucket nearby, I felt like I was going to throw up. TMI, every time I ate it would go right through me. I had made a nice soup before the sickness took hold,  I don't dare eat any more of it because now I'm wondering if the chicken or the dandelions in it were bad, something gave me a stomach bug, or could it be the cold?

Oh, the cold. Started off as a scratchy inflamed throat, now I feel like cement was poured into all the muscles of my face, up my nose, down my throat and neck. My eyes & ears are bothering me. My bones ache. I ate some ice cream which made my spit so thick I went into a coughing fit and coughed up, oh, you don't want to know. The coughing fit was like the ones I got when I had bronchitis. Oh shit. And on top of all this I got my period. I am just a mess.

Most people, when they get sick they lose weight. I am the opposite, with the exception of an episode several years ago when my throat swelled from strep & tonsillitis, I had a fever through it all and lost about 10 pounds in about a week or less. More like a weekend. I couldn't eat at all, couldn't swallow. My mother made one of my favorites, Orange Chicken w/ rice in the crock pot. I chewed a small piece, couldn't get it down, had to spit it out. That Monday I wound up back in the ER because I was not getting better in spite of the antibiotics prescribed,  I was drooling and my throat took on this smell, more like a stench. I could even smell it, it smelled like old blood. Ugh. Obviously I'm better now, but I swear my throat has never been the same since. Where was I going with this? Oh, this past month I lost 7 pounds! Now I hope I don't blow it being sick, I really haven't been eating much, been mostly drowning myself with watered down orange juice, ginger ale,  my usual triscuits-today they've been too difficult to swallow, a soft tuna sandwich for supper tonight. Ugh, I hate, hate being sick!

Sniffs of the Week (or so)

Very busy the past week or so. Been a lot of places, did a lot of things (as in fixing up the house/housecleaning) and some got shopping in!

In Store sniffs-

Hello Kitty. Why do I even bother taking a whiff of things like this? Pure noisiness. Sugar & Apples. No thanks.

Demeter Pure Soap. Not a bad scent for a $5 roll-on at my local drugstore. Smells like soap, with maybe a hint of musk, clean musk. It certainly smelled better than the Vanilla Cake Batter sitting next to it.

Burberry Body.  Different. I don't think I like it. My girlfriend has been raving about this so I had to try it. My nose was shutting off at that point so I will give this another go. (why is it that whenever I go to Sephora or Ulta my nose stops working? Even the coffee beans don't help much. Is it perhaps these "new" fragrances are weak?)

Chanel Coco Mad. EDT version. I like this, it's not really me, but maybe it is? I've really been getting into Chanels lately.

Chanel no.19 Poudre. I think I'll stick to my vintage no.19 and save my money. Vintage 19 makes a bold statement, the Poudre is wimpy in comparison.

Smelled off others:

Estee Lauder Beautiful (from a friend at work). It smelled beautiful. Really. It smelled a bit like Mitsouko but then I realized that the last time I wore the jeans I had on I was wearing Mitsouko so it might have been me. Ok, ok, no I don't run around in dirty clothes, I wore them twice then they got washed. It helps the envoirment and the water bill.  Nor to a apply perfume to my pants, I was thinking since I had Mitsouko on my fingertips, perhaps some got transferred to my pants via my pockets or whatever.

I found a tester of Beautiful in the store and it didn't smell like Mitsouko, it was floral and sweet. My other girlfriend wore this on her wedding day waaaay back in 1992. I remembered asking her what it was, I liked the scent. I like the scent now, but not really enough to buy a bottle.

I don't know exactly what it was, but somebody was reeking of perfume in the Walgreens down the street. My guess was Calvin Klein's Europhia or Narciscio Rodriguez. They must have sprayed themselves from head to toe, I couldn't even tell who it was, it was just an invisible perfume cloud floating around the store.

Angel Garden of Stars Le Lys. My Angel lovin' girlfriend wore this to work. I knew right off that she wasn't wearing her regular Angel, I just couldn't figure out which flanker it was. Le Lys is my 2nd favorite flanker out of the series, La Rose is my 1st.

John Galliano EDP. Another friend at work. I said, "Oh, what have you got on? Smells nice." What a big dummy I am, I'm the one who got her into that and hooked her up with a bottle. Oh well, win some, lose some.

A man getting out of his car in a parking lot smelled fabulous. I don't know if it was him or he had a fragrance-like air freshener in his car. It kind of sucks with men fragrances, if I don't know the guy I don't want to ask for fear of him thinking I'm flirting or trying to pick him up.

Serge Lutens Gris Clair. Off my husband. I need to hide the bottle better, he not only sneaked some sprays out of it, he took it to work with him and left it in the car. He has plenty of fragrances, why pick this one? (I shouldn't be so greedy, but he has been pissing me off with things lately.)

And purchases.....

On a side note, I spent way more than I should have recently. I went overboard. I may have to shut myself off for a while. Still have money for the bills and all, I just went a little crazy. Not just perfumes, I got new clothes (just 2 pairs of pants and 2 tops) plus some items for the house, sheets and kitchen things. Am really broke right now  : P

Serge Lutens Boreno 1834. Love. Love. LOVE. Used bottle, great price, how could I resist? Wore it the other day, was smelling exquisite chocolates and patchouli all day.

Boucheron Japiur. Oops, I meant to get the Safir Japiur. Slaps self. I didn't realize they had flankers of this, although the Japuir came first. I think this was all she had of Boucheron, other than Trouble (a possible future purchase). Am in the middle of testing this to see if it's a keeper or not.

Dior Miss Dior EDT. A new/old stock purchase, one ounce for $44. I am wondering how old this "old stock" is, it's in the white packaging. I think I should have held out and got the older version in the hounds tooth packaging, located at another store for about $10 more.

Chanel no.5 Sensual Elixir. Wow, pure heaven. It's a perfume gel, do I slather this all over myself or where I usually apply perfume? A few dabs on my arm lasted quite a while. A keeper.

Miss Habanita by Molinard. Different for me, rather on the sweet side. The dry down was the most beautiful creamy scent. Need to fully test drive this.

Macy's Pt. II

My real hatred of Macy's was brought on in early November 2010, I had a job interview there. Applying at Macy's consists of filling out an online application and a loooooong questionnaire which makes you jump through hoops, you are asked the same questions over and over. Hello? If I checked off yes on the 1st question that I would report another worker stealing I'm going to check it off again the second time, the clever re-wording didn't fool me. Once the application is completed and sent, you sit and wait for days for an interview, or more of an interview opening. After the 1st interview they might make you go to one or more group interviews and some unpaid training. maybe a group training session,  individual multiple choice tests, a training session involving role-playing scenarios, a night course on customer service, several random drug tests, during this time you have to send them all your records: school, medical, marriage, copies of any and all your library card, undergo a a psych evaluation, a lie detector test, and if after all that if they hire you you go on to get fingerprinted, mug shots, sign waivers and release forms and so on. Ok, I laid that on a little thick....

I figured they'd snatch me right up because I have over 20 years of cash handling experience, plus credit cards, checks, all forms of payments, dealing with unruly people, customer service and so on. They pay MINIMUM WAGE. A very experienced worker for min wage, quite a bargain.

It started off well, the woman who interviewed me said I fit the dress code because I was wearing all black with a grey dress jacket. Not only that I wore my hair pulled back in a chic, tight bun, no flashy earrings or jewelry, my face well made up to look polished and natural, neutral nail polish, no nose ring, the whole shebang. I looked in the mirror that day and nearly didn't recognize myself. Even after I dropped a few hints to my extensive perfume knowledge, and my desire to work the fragrance counter, she told me I wouldn't be at the cosmetics or fragrance counters, I'd be where they needed me. I'd probably get stuck in the men's department, or the lamp department, or stationary. Yawn.

I was ready to accept the men's or lamp departments or whatever miserable place they'd put me because Christmas was coming up and who doesn't need some extra cash during that time? But at the interview I was told that I didn't get the job, they didn't have any openings. They did all their seasonal hiring in August/September. WHAT? Why in hell's name did they interview me knowing there wasn't any openings? I took a double shift off from my regular job to go to that interview, which means I lost over $200 (plus tips) to go to Macy's and be told they were not hiring. I think my not getting hired had something to do with my regular job, and I had first checked off that I wasn't available on Saturdays, but when she said they needed people on Saturdays I said I could take them off from my job and work at Macy's, no problem. They probably thought I was full of shit. Who cares? I didn't get the job and I will not be applying there again.

Into the Mist, Musk, Sweat and Whatever Else

Finally I had a day off (not really by choice, there wasn't any work today) in which I got up and out. Not as early as I would have liked, but at least I got out. The weather was horrible, it was either pouring rain or misting. I managed to escape the pouring and spent the day in the mist-in more ways than one.

Got my nose into Serge Lutens' Muscs Koublai Khan. First spray (on my skin, no spraying cards with that one) it smelled fine, like a strong musk & I had no problems with it. I kept sniffing and waiting to smell rose and/or amber notes. Didn't smell any. 

While I was waiting for this to develop (yeah, I'm impatient) I tried a few others on the paper. Ah, ho-hum. The ones that made an impression were Borneo 1834 (which I sprayed on my opposite hand) Jeux de Peau higher up on my wrist/arm and Vitriol d’œillet which the SA suggested-that wasn't even on my list. Chypre Rouge also seemed promising although surprisingly sweet.

I knew I'd like Jeux de Peau (pronounced Juo de pwah, I kept making the faux pas of pronouncing it wrong) because I believe I had tried it the last time I was in the store (9 months ago) and its an oriental. I got a sample of it and will give it a good test drive.


Boreno 1834 smelled FABULOUS upon first spritz, absolutely yummy and dark. Bittersweet chocolate and Patchouli. After a bit it turned into an extremely deep and strong patchouli, very masculine. Perhaps too masculine or too patchouli for me. It can be found on ebay cheaper than in the store. Maybe I'll go that route if I have to have it.


Vitriol d’œillet smelled pleasant on the paper, I had enough on my plate by that time so I didn't give it much thought. And the SA only had the tester bottle, none for sale yet.

During all this spraying and testing, I kept checking in on the Muscs. After a while (I had spent some time in the store talking to the SA) the MKK took an unexpected turn. Kinda for the worse. Yup it began to smell dirty. I was expecting dirty as in the dirtiness I detect in Patou's Joy-which I always smell right off, right out of the bottle. Are roses dirty smelling or something? I keep smelling, uh, a pungent odor from Joy, kind of poopy. I know it's not the rose note, must be the civet and/or castroneum but whoa, I smell a lot of poop. Not just from Joy, I've smelled in others and not just ones that have civet or castroneum listed in their notes. I began to associate roses with poop in perfumes. And that is another post in itself.

So what did I do? I bought the Muscs Koublai Khan. I justified that by thinking that this was priced very high on ebay (wrong, the prices are comparable to retail-there's just not many bottles to be found, I must have had this mixed up with a purse or something) and the SA told me they were discontinuing it in the US, and he only had 3 bottles left. They're also discontinuing Boreno 1834. 


When I met up with Hubby, I stuck the Boreno 1834 hand under his nose. He liked it, why wouldn't he? At that point it was smelling like a deep patchouli with hints of cocoa. Hours later, even after a hand washing it still smells good.

Now when I stuck the MKK hand under his nose, after a quick sniff it he pulled his head back and said "What is THAT?"  followed by "You didn't buy that did you? It smells awful, like some of the guys at work who don't wash." I have smelled those guys myself (at a normal distance, no invading any one's personal space) and it isn't pretty. I can think of worse smelling things, though. I have a customer at my work that smells absolutely putrid, I have to hold my breath when dealing with him. Tonight I accidentally stepped in dog poop and that was a bad smellin' batch, must be the Kibbles n' Bits or the new cookies.


Can it be that bad? I need to get more acquainted with MKK. And now I have a whole $140 bottle to do so with, which came with a 1/2 dozen or so samples of others: Jeax de Peau, Five O`Clock Au Gingembre, Arabie, Bas de Soie, Chergui, Datura Noir and Fille en Aiguilles.

 8+ hours and a couple of hand washes later, MKK smells like a regular musk fragrance like Kiehel's, and the musks I used to wear like the ol' Skin Musk, Jovan Musk and the various small bottles of musks I'd buy from street vendors and small shops back in the day: Black Musk, Egyptian Musk, Africian Musk, Dark Musk, Nubian Musk, I've been a musk lover forever.

At this point, I haven't opened the package of MKK. I feel like opening it and giving myself a good spray. BTW the SA suggested not to overdo it with this one. When I make a big purchase I get nervous about it, maybe I should just sell it? Make a few bucks on it and buy something else, maybe a Chanel or something? Something safe. Can or should I even wear MKK out in public? Return it for the Boreno 1834? Then I'll have MKKMKK smells more like a sweat rather than poop, right? I'll go and open it up and find out  : P

The Unscented Man

My work husband is scentless. He must not wear any fragrance because I never, ever, ever smell anything from him. We often work right next to each other, he drives me to work and home, so I'm right next to him in the car. An unscented man. Not even sweat or bad breath. One day he picked me up for work, he had been painting the house earlier that morning and still had paint on his hands, even though he had just taken a shower. I didn't even smell soap off him, as I was expecting to smell Irish Spring or Ivory.

He's a bit older than me (13 years) so I imagine him using old school products like Irish Spring, maybe Brut or Enlish Leather, although he's of Italian decent. Perhaps he's got a bottle of Gucci, Krizia or Cerruti stashed for special occasions.

Not that I'm right up against him sniffing around all the time. I get smells from other people, all the time. Maybe not everyone at every moment, but enough of the time. When I used to go to the gym, whenever someone rushed past me causing a breeze I'd hold my breath for a few seconds because I knew the scent of their sweat would soon follow. When I walk through a crowd (at work, for example) I will get whiffs of things here and there, sweat, different perfumes and after-shaves, beer, booze, cigarettes, cigars. Whenever my friend at work moves I can smell Angel-one day I could smell it as I approached the door to our room, and she isn't heavy handed, either. It doesn't smell chocolately on her, it smells very patchouli, I had guessed at being a chypre before she told me. A few years ago a co-worker was extremely ill, she wouldn't see a doctor even though we all persuaded her to. One day I smelled acetone when I went into her section, I thought someone had been doing their nails. No one else could smell it. I recalled my mother's commode when she was ill, it smelled like that when her sugar was out of control. It's the diabetic smell. Anyhoo, when my coworker finally got admitted to a hospital her blood sugar was oh, around 700 and they found spots on her pancreas. From there on it's a long, sad story which I can't get into here.

Back on topic, I don't claim to have a bionic nose or anything. I do think of myself as being fairly sensitive to smells. Tolerant but very aware of smells. My husband has often said that I should work for the state police because I can smell alcohol a mile away.  Even if you've just chomped on mints or still have them in your mouth, I can smell the liquor through it. Do you know how many times I've smelled liquor off people who shouldn't have been drinking or were not in a drinking setting, like a bar? Too many.

Again, back to the unscented man. Really, I don't get any sort of scent from this guy.  I read somewhere that the smell of a man's sweat-it has to be different smelling from your own for you two to be attracted. I am extremely attracted to this guy and he has zero smell, what does that say about me? I must reek or something.

The Perfume Partner

An interesting weekend.  I was given not one, but two perfumes while at work! How do you like that?  I have found a perfume partner at work! We were friendly anyway  & our conversations often turn to fragrance (and skin care, hair care, all that). He's not as overboard as me, but enjoys fragrances. He calls himself a "metrosexual"-I dunno, I have heard the term before but still had to look that one up. He's a year older than me, been married about as long as I've been, oh, and he grew up one street away. Small world.

He is much more concerened with his looks than I. He has mentioned wanting work done on his face. Those ideas have crossed my mind, but right now I'm just taking things as they come, I'm happy that I look younger than I am. Whatever happens in the future, well I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I'm too busy fighting grey hairs and unwanted hair to be worrying about crow's feet. I would LOVE to get a breast augmentation, nothing fake or bigger, I'd like mine higher. I'd run around bra-less, something that I haven't done since I was 10 or so.

Back to my buddy, one perfume in his arsenal is Drakkar, which I fell in love with and got a bottle for Hubby. Couple of weeks ago he sprayed  ne with a sample of....oops, I forgot what it was now! Whatever it was, it was a men's fragrance and I wasn't in the mood for wearing one. Didn't smell bad, though. He showed me how he takes an empty sample spray, somehow bites off the nozzle and fills it with whatever he wants to take to work. I didn't need to see or hear anymore, next day I brought him in some brand new empty atomizers (plastic 4mls) a bulb, a couple of funnels, and two 1ml decants of men's fragrances he should try. He was so happy with it all the next day he gave me an  atomizer which he filled up one of the with some of his stuff for me to give to Hubby. It's ok, my husband likes it more than I do. I might decant him some Kouros next time. Right now I feel like taking a few huffs out of the bottle, it's that sexy. It's filthy. Ahhh.

What does my buddy do with the decants I gave him? He puts one on each wrist, his clothes are already drenched with his own scent of the week (the one he decanted for my Hubby) and asked a few women at work their opinions. He chose women in different age brackets. He figured whatever these women were the most enthralled with he'd wear, something like that. They all picked his own scent of the week-which was this. They didn't pick the Rochas Man or Daim Blond that I decanted. Humpgh.I'm teaching my perfume partner as we go along. I had to tell him to wear what he scent loved, whatever makes him feel confident and/or sexy-whatever scent turned him on, something that brings a smile to his face whenever he gets a whiff of it,  not what others voted on. All this from me, who has been drowning myself in Madame De Carven nearly every day because it seems to bring about the most positive reactions from the work-husband (a man other than my perfume friend) whenever I wear it around him. Well, I usually do the wear it for myself thing, but I seem to be stuck on Madame. It never ceases to thrill me whenever I get a whiff. Madame had a day off today, I wore Molinard Orient de Chypre, a test drive. So far so good, I like it very much.

The other perfume I was given was a sample vial of Cartier's Baiser Vole from a very kind co-worker. I just commented on how nice her perfume smelled and she spilled the beans-what it was, where she got the samples, and gave me one. I like Baiser De Vole but haven't fully tested it, just took a few sniffs from the bottle. It seems to have a lot of vanilla for a perfume that doesn't list any vanilla notes. 

Labor Day 2011

Ahhhhh, Labor Day, a celebration of social contributions of workers. The end of summer. No more wearing white-I'm old school. Hmmm, do I even have any white purses or shoes? Nope.

Friday afternoon I made potato salad before working the night. That's the closest to celebrating we'll be doing around here: potato salad. It's summery and it's barbeque fare. There's just no BBQ or hot dogs to go with it. Both me and Hubby worked all weekend and are working today.

I must have worked every Labor Day since 1992-when I began the job I'm at currently. I'm not complaining, it's time and a half.  I will do my celebrating sometime after payday, maybe even with this week's paycheck, depending on how much I get to work this week & after figuring out whatever bills need to be paid, etc. Going to Barney's and sniffing up all the Serge Lutens is still on the radar. I have a list, all I need is the time and the luck of getting myself up, dressed and out of the house early enough to do my thing without being rushed.

The end of summer also marks the end of my crazy working season. The working nearly every day, pulling double shifts, sometimes coming in on my day off, picking up extra shifts while others are on vacation, that all comes to an end about now. Sometimes not. You never know. It's feast or famine. Hey if it is, I just work what ever shifts they give me and go back to doing Ebay, it's what I do every year somewhat.

What fragrances will I be putting away when the summer is over? Not many,  as much of what I've been wearing can be go through the fall and into the winter. I can see me wearing Jil Sander's Sun on Indian Summer days & nights, along with the Aliens, Chamade and Patou's Eau De Patou, although Sun got worn the most out of those.

This summer wasn't so hot so what I planned to wear in the heat didn't get worn much. Diesel's Zero whatever wasn't a hit with me, didn't even wear it out of the house. I was dabbling in Guerlain's Terracotta Voile d'Ete, didn't fall in love with it, it's a very pretty scent-and that's about it, it doesn't bring much else to the table. 

Thierry Mugler's Angel Sunessence Ocean d'Argent, La Rose Ange, Le Lys, Eau De Star and Womanity got several wearings. Womanity will be shelved for the winter. Or maybe I'll drag it out on a few dreary, snowy winter days. I've also noticed some sneezing around me when I've worn it. Hmmmm? Still undecided on the Angels & Eau De Star. I do not get to wear those often because my girlfriend and co-worker (my work-wife, lol) wears Angel religiously (uh, no pun intended) and I don't want to match or try to steal the spotlight when I'm with her. She wears it well, very well, it smells different on her and I let her bask in it solo when I'm around, if that makes any sense. I gave her samples of the flankers that I had to see what she thought of them. Haven't heard any thoughts yet.

Hands down Madame De Carven is what I wore the MOST this summer and it will get it's own post whenever I get around to it. And that one will be kept in heavy rotation well after the summer ends.

Macy's and their Stingyness

Have I mentioned before that I hate Macy's? That horrid Macy's. I was never a big fan of the place, being the discount shopper that I am, I'd only go there if they were the only place that carried what I wanted. Off the top of my head,  one my last big or memorable purchase from there was Gucci Rush in 1999 and at the time it was a big "ouch" because it cost $90-it was a set with the perfume and lotion. At the time they gave you samples with purchase, an enjoyable part of buying perfume at retail price. Last Christmas my husband got me a bottle of J'Adore which in-itself was a complete mistake, and no samples, they were all out. After Christmas when we returned that bottle of J'Adore and  I purchased a bottle of Chanel Coco EDP and they said they had no samples, come back another time. More like you've made your purchase, get outta here, kid, you bother me. I just spent over $100 and they practically tell me to screw when I asked for a sample.

When I drop over $100 bucks on perfume I expect a goodie or two. Is that asking for too much? All the other stores do it. They're not stingy. When I go to Saks, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom's, Barneys' I am showered with samples-and GRACIOUS sales associates. Even Sephora will give you 3 samples. Really, the SAs at Saks are specaticular, they will give you a sample when you're just browsing. I didn't even buy anything and the SA gave me a sample of the Bond no.9 I had my eye on and told me to come back next week for their "Friends and Family" sale. And I did, and I was showered with samples with my purchase. The SA at the Guerlain counter, I would marry her if I could. She mailed 10 Guerlain samples to my house after I purchased from her. Not once, but TWO times. She decanted them herself. So now I have samples of nearly all the Guerlain line, well, 20 of them, and no crap either, as if Guerlain makes crap.* She sent me Attrape-Coeur, Chypre Fatal, Gourmand Coquin,  Oriental Brulant, Boise Torride, Iris Ganache, Muguet, Philtre d'Amour (she knows I love chypres) Quand Vient La Pluie, Vega, Rose Barbare, Liu-which I had been eyeing and testing every time I was in the store. I am still undecided with that one. After I got a good whiff of the Attrape-Coeur I went and bought it from her, hence the second set of samples mailed. I would have loved a sample of  Spiritueuse Double Vanille but I'm not complaining, she gave me a LOT of good ones.

The woman at Neiman Marcus is fabulous also. She is extremely knowledgable and was able to answer any and every question of mine. And I ask a lot of off the wall questions. She gave me a sample of L'Heure Bleue and I was just browsing. When I made a purchase she loaded my bag with samples, plus some men's fragrances for my husband, and a few things she wanted to get rid of, like a Gucci cosmetic case-which I later sold on ebay, I didn't have any use for it.

 The SAs at the the stores above, are so accodomating, pleasant and generous it makes me want to go back and buy, buy, buy.  And I'm not one who buys a lot of perfume at retail prices. The SA's at Macy's, well, I find myself shrugging my shoulders when talking to them and wanting to leave in a hurry. Like I mentioned above, I only go there when they're the only place that has what I want. The Coco, well my husband said I could spend the money we got for returning the J'Adore and I was right there so I did. Chanel is the same price at all the stores, unless I go to a discount place and I didn't know of any back then so I bought it there. When you're a perfume addict like me and someone sticks money in your hand and says buy some perfume you do.

Another thing I don't like about Macy's is they took over all the regional high end department stores. I'm sure there was  one in your neighborhood, Marshal Field's (Chicago), Kaufman's (Pittsburgh-I was in that one once) Strawbridge's (NJ & Delaware) Robinsons-May (West Coast) Fliene's and Jordan Marsh (Boston). It sucks when you're traveling out of state and you find all the same stores that you have back home. Well, whatever. It's the way things go nowadays.


*After recently trying the Narciso Rodriguez For Her inspired Idylle, I am not so sure. What came first NR or Idylle?  First impression is that Idylle smells an awful lot like a many of the "new" scents on the market, the floral, woody, musk that is too common today.  And now there's a couple of flankers. Wait, let me get a taste of the Idylle Eau Sublime before I make any hasty decisions. I really need to get my behind into the city, I'm sure Saks has got a tester of the Sublime, and I have yet to try the Duet.

Scent & Taste

Don't even bother taking a quick (or deep huff) of your wrist if you recently have had a peperoncini in your mouth. First I got a taste of the pepper, then it's slight fire which radiated to the roof of my mouth, then to the back of my throat, and from there up my nose. Peperoncini aren't really hot, but hot enough for me to create a slight burning sensation which I still feel an hour later. I have gastritis so I really shouldn't be eating things like that, I love the peperoncini in small amounts-like in a salad or on an Italian sub like I had today, I just have a little, 1/2 of sub, plus a few tiny bites of the peppers, it's enough heat for me.

In-between bites I took a sniff of my wrist, couldn't smell a thing. All I got from my nose was the heat from the peppers. Now that the fire is out I am enjoying Chanel Allure EDP. I seem to be on a Chanel kick lately. Well, I liked the Allure Sensuelle so much it led to me trying the others. I even scored a bottle of the Allure Homme for Hubby, which I'm going to put away until Christmas. Heck, while I'm on a roll I may even give No.5 another go, something I haven't worn since I was a teenager. A few weeks ago I was in that horrid Macy's and gave myself a couple of spritzes of Cristalle that was on display. Not a wise move, it smelled terrible, has this been reformulated? This carp smelled old, sour, sharp, dusty, not good at all. I have a small bottle that was my mother's and I don't recall it smelling bad. Will have to revisit that one, too.

Back to the Allure EDP, this stuff is fabulous. Smooth and slightly sweet, must be the peach note giving me the impression of sweet. Love it. It's much more vanilla/oriental than the Sensuelle.  Very vanilla but not gourmand at all. A perfume-y vanilla, a grown up vanilla. And of course I get a bit of muskyness, although musk isn't listed in the notes, not the note lists that I've seen. But not dirty/sexual musk like in Sensuelle. And it's not as heavy/heady as Sensuelle, it's easier to wear. Not to say that Allure isn't a sexy perfume, it is, just not as sexy as Sensuelle. I do like it very much.

Why is it when I only buy a small amount (my bottle is only 10ml) I practically fall in love with it, but when I blind buy a larger size, many times it's ho-hum? Should I run out to the vintage store that has Chanels for $65 and pick up one? I recall they had Chance (ugh) No.5 and 19 and Allure EDP. I am itching to try Coco Mademoiselle, yes I've tried it before but I feel like trying it again. Can't do today, we're going to the mall to get a new cellphone for Hubby. There is that awful Macys there, what's new that I can check out? Of course I'll try the Coco Mad while there. Maybe the new Prada Candy? We'll see.

Un Bois Vanille: Lay Your Sweetness on Me

♫ ♪ Lay it on me - Lay your sweetness on me - lay it on me - Ooooh Hold me tight I need you lady ♫ ♪





Today I've had the sweetest, most beautiful song ringing in my ears, and an equally sweet scent on my skin, Serge Lutens' Un Bois Vanille. Spent the day working next to the sweetest, uh, oh, a VERY NICE co-worker, we chatted & joked, shared some candy a customer gave me. I became very aware of both of our body language after he touched the back of my chair, then later my back. Yikes. Very sweet, though.  It made the day go faster than the speed of light.

The air around here has begun to have taken on a crispness, them temps have been lingering in the 70's & 80's during the day, cooler at night. Fall is on it's way.  A rich, Oriental like Bois Vanille works well now.

Bois is very sweet, but it's a sophisticated sweetness, or is it the price tag giving it that air of sophistication? To my nose, it's not really a gourmand. Notes are: sandalwood, black licorice and coconut milk. There's something else in there giving it an "edge", cutting the sweetness, something citrus, bergamot maybe? I also smell vanilla, caramel, and chocolate. Yes, later down the road it takes on a nice chocolaty smell, kind of chocolate and a mild coffee, not an acidly, strong coffee like you encounter in Sonya Rykel's  Bell en Rykle, this is a smooth mocha coffee. And a smokey note, like incense. I only get hints of the licorice and sandalwood, It's smells a bit milky, more creamy than milk and less like coconut milk, if that makes any sense.

To sum Bois up: a warm, creamy and sweet comfort scent with an edge. Will go nice with a snugly sweater this fall and winter.

Last January I was in Barney's and testing all the Lutens, Malles and Byredos, there was a pair of SA's who were extremely helpful, let me test anything I wanted, made good suggestions and showered me with samples when I purchased Daim Blond. All Serge Lutens samples, not the Carnal Flower sample I was hoping to score. Anyway, I recall one of the SAs saying he often used Lutens' scents together and showed me an example-Un Bois sprayed on top of another scent, it was something lavender. Together they smelled appealing, but a bit too gourmand for me, it brought to mind these lavender sugar cookies I used to make. Perhaps it was a ploy to get me to buy 2 bottles? I planned on only buying one, and I felt guilty enough spending all that money on one, let alone two. I've been in Barneys twice since and haven't seem either of those two SA's. It's a shame because the other SAs I've encountered  have been un-knowledgeable and unhelpful.

Tomorrow, well technically today, is my day off.  The laundry is all set to go into the washer, all 2 or 3 loads, dishes are washed and the food shopping list has been made out. I was toying with the idea of going out, I don't want to stay home all day! Thinking about hitting Barney's and testing some Muscs Koublai Khan, I feel like being dirty, like smelling something animalistic, earthy and dirty. Hell, I'm dirty already for carrying on with my sweet co-worker. Maybe I'll throw on some Khiel's Musk, stay home and call it a day. Boring, but very affordable.

Chanel Allure Sensuelle or What I Did On My Day Off Last Week

When you only have one day off a week you cram as much as humanly possible into it. Laundry, light house keeping (because making this place immaculate is impossible right now), bill paying and such are done either the night before or on the day when I work the night shift.

A few days before the day off I stumbled upon an auction for Chanel Allure Sensuelle, bid & got outbid all in the final seconds. I thought I had a sample around here somewhere, found it in my mother's stuff and it was Allure EDP, which smells better than my EDT version. Fueled by being outbid, reading that it's no longer available in the US, I decided to try the vintage perfume stores that I frequent. Plus I had an appointment in that area so....that morning I hopped on a bus, went to the appointment then did some shopping. First store, no Allure, second store no Allure but a tempting big bottle of Gucci Accenti but at $55 or so I declined. Instead, I bought a new pair of pajamas because I co-worker that drives me to work keeps showing up extra, extra early and I didn't want to be seen in the same PJs all the time.

Caught another bus (a long ride, not long as in Greyhound long, but long enough for my arse to nearly fall asleep) and went to the 3rd perfume store. I am having a love/hate relationship with that place, well more with the store owner but that's another post. I wound up with a 1.7 oz  bottle of EDT- as to how I "wound up" is another post again. I also bought 3 bottles of Balenciaga's Michelle and a vintage Cafe for Men for Hubby. $85 total in the store, $65 for the Chanel, which I wasn't even sure if it was authentic at first. I couldn't really smell it, I think my nose had worn out that day. A wearing told me otherwise.

I wore the Allure Sensuelle today and it's fabulous, even for an EDT it's beautiful. And STRONG. A little goes a long way, and that's coming from someone who likes their perfumes strong. It really doesn't wear on me like an Oriental, at first it's a harsh blast of bergamot, pepper and some spices. I think pepper and spices bloom on me. Like it's name, this juice smells sensual, the scent brings to mind beautiful lingerie, lounging in and around the sheets with a partner,  it's got sort of a sex smell, almost like sweat, but not really sweat, not dirty sweat or cumin, nothing unclean, but like perspiration in a way. It's a deep smell, oh, this is tough. It's sexy & musky. Warm, something you want to get close to, to snuggle up with, or nuzzle. Sexy and classy.

Will I wear this again? Yes, I've already worn it a couple of times in the past week.

Would I wear this to work? Yes, I have, but lightly applied.

Actually, I'd like to get s whiff of the EDP of this, I like it THAT much.

NOTE: This scent seems to "stick" to clothing, after one washing I could still smell a bit of it in my shirt, and I did NOT spray my clothes with it.

Work, Work, Work

For the past 2 months or so, maybe longer, it feels like the better part of my life, I've been busy working. The days seem to blend and I find myself wondering if such-and-such happened yesterday, today or last week. Didn't I do that yesterday, or was it earlier today? Weekends are worse, doing doubles it feels like I live there. We all end the shift rather than saying "Goodnight" we say, "I'll see you in a few hours."

I'm NOT complaining, not in the least. I do love my job, I love my co-workers (well, most of them, most of the time), and the work isn't hard or boring, never a dull moment. In this economy and the way the business is going we all wonder if we'll remain open in the next few months. So I snatch up all the work while I can, while it's available. Who knows, I may wind up on unemployment over the winter. To keep myself going I keep reminding myself that after Labor Day I probably won't be working so much. Then I get a mass email from my union boss saying we'll probably remain busy for the next 6 to 8 weeks and to work while it's available. What?? I know I can hang in there. And sometime during the next 6 to 8 weeks I'll be waltzing in there with a new purse on my arm. No, we haven't hit the coach outlet, due to his mother being sick and other obligations. Plus I want to get ahead on the bills before splurging.

Perfumes and Purses

I don't know what happened, I seem to be on a purse buying spree. Well, I'm not really buying any much, the prices make me uncomfortable. A couple of months ago I came across this ad in a magazine, probably Vanity Fair or Vouge:

and just fell in love with it. Bubble gum pink leopard print! Va-va VOOM! With loads of hippie-esque fringe hanging all over the place. Drool : ) Yes, I am a peculiar dresser and I do not find it tacky in the least. I would use that purse in a heartbeat. A New York minute. Why, I even have a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor sneakers in the same shade of pink. I can see myself now, that fantastic purse, matching sneakers, a pair of jeans and my fur coat for the winter. Oh, you say it's a Spring/Summer purse?  I could rock that year round.

Unfortunatly, the closest I'm going to get to that purse is the ad hanging on my fridge, which it is. It's by Blumarine, which is somehow connected to schiaparelli pikenz, anyhoo, they all make perfume so I was familar with the names. But the prices....yikes, I saw a plain Blumarine purse, no leopard but it had the fringe-and it was around $1,000. Nearly knocked me off my chair.

Talk about Champange tastes on a beer pocketbook. Literally.

"A shitload of money" seems to be the going rate for a designer purse. As in more than I'd ever dream of paying for a purse. So I've been shopping around. Then the desire to out-do somebody (my sister in law, it's a long story) came about and I decided to buy myself a really nice purse. I've never owned one before. Plus, every year when I work my ass off during the summer I buy myself something special. Last year it was a vintage diamond ring, $200, with very sparkley mine cut diamonds. Another year it was a tiny ruby heart shaped pendant. I have been doing 50 to 60 hour weeks the past few weeks, so it's that time again. The price of gold is crazy right now, and I have enough perfumes, there isn't any paticular perfume I'm pining for at the moment. Why not a new purse?

SIL has a Coach, and since what I knew about Coach (plain, brown signature pattern purses) I looked around for something better. Prada, Gucci, Balengencia, to name a few. No can do, they're pricier than Coach. Next I inadvertently bought a fake Coach off ebay. Only $30, but it was too small to actually use, I couldn't fit all my stuff in it. Yes, I'm doing the chargeback now. Anyway, there are some Coach purses I do like, they're not all that boring brown signature print. Actually, the signature C's in "Moonlight" is very appealing. So is the horse and carriage print. And the C pattern in pink and silver. I still check them out on ebay, very leery of buying one there again. It's a project, I'd have to check the serial numbers, make sure the style number matches the bag and so on. My fake one had serial numbers. It isn't easy.

Betsy Johnson has a few nice purses, nothing spectacular though. Fossil has some eye catching stripes. I kind of like the Juicy Coulture Daydreamer bags, BUT I've seen them in person, in a store and am not so sure. Terry cloth seems cheap, especially for the prices they're asking for. I also like the B. Makowsky leather purses, there's one in pink I've been eyeing-but I've heard that the color of your clothes can rub off onto the lighter purses. If I'm going to drop some serious cash on a purse it better not have/get any issues. Is that too much to ask?


We may be going to an outlet place in the morning. Yup, I've hounded Hubby about purses since this kick has started. Then I cried in front of him when I found out my first Coach was fake. It hurt getting taken like that. I don't break my neck working 50 to 60 hour weeks to get taken by buying fake purses. It wasn't just $30 (plus shipping)  I had just won another one on Ebay for $50 and that was a fake, too. I would have been out $80 to $100 for crap.  Needless to say, I wrote to the seller of the 2nd purse explaining that the serial number was wrong, it was a replica purse and I wasn't going to pay. I also reported it to ebay, they have done nothing.

So this outlet place, they have Coach store, a Juicy store and several others. Wonder if any of the places would have that Blumarine purse? I'll look. My maximum to spend is a soft $200. I say soft because I could go a bit higher, but not more than $250 or $300. My spending comfort level is being tested here, I don't know if I can go through with a purchase like this! I felt the same way when I splurged on that bottle of Guerlain's Sous Le Vent, $315 at Saks. It took me several trips to the store to actually go through with it. Then I signed up for their credit card and got 20% off, which eased up the tension a bit. I paid it off within the month, so no finance charges, I spent enough for it, didn't want to have pay any extra.

I wonder if the outlets carry perfumes? You know, in case I have money left over.