Gris Clair. What to Wear?

What do you wear when you're going to meet your oldest and best-est  friends, ones that you've know since you were 15 (they were 16 & 17, I was the baby of the group, or clique) and haven't seen in a couple of years? Three to be exact. One lives several states away-when she makes a trip here it equals a reunion. The others, one lives 30 miles away, another lives about 10 miles away and the third I see every time I pay my house insurance late & have to run into her office to pay it. When you're a grown up it's just so difficult getting together, this one has kids, that one is far off, this one is taking care of an ill husband/mother/insert relative here, the other works weekends (that would be me). You all can't get together every Friday night for movies, or pop into that one's apartment when I get out of work to watch SNL and drink cold ones. Or hide out at anothers' house after you're had a fight with your boyfriend or mother. Not anymore.

Sooooo, we meet up every couple of years. They feel like family to me and practically all of us have not many blood relatives. These are friends I don't need to impress at all. There was a point where my life was falling apart, we only met up once during that time and I just kept mum about it. They knew it anyway. And here we are a couple of years later, things are fine in my life .

Other than clothes, I had to decide what perfume to wear to this occasion. It was 2 occasions, first day me and the long, long distance friend hung out on her hotel room, caught up on things and went out for a bite. Last night all of us met up and went to a more formal dinner. The clothes were easy, jeans and a new top. I stood over my dresser covered with perfume bottles and had to pick something. Something modern because I know one might drop an  "old lady" or "old fashioned" comment if I wore something like Madame de Carven (which I've had in frequent rotation recently) or Sherrer 2,  and it had to be something that wasn't familiar to their noses. As if I know where their noses have been. I wanted to wear something I was comfortable in and enjoyed, of course. I was leaning toward Alien or one of the Sunessence flankers, but decided against it, too strong. Couldn't wear anything overbearing because one has allergies. Supposedly. She spritzed her bottle of Jessica McClintock every time she went near the bathroom. Uh, not my style and I would not run out and buy a bottle for myself after smelling it.

I went with Serge Lutens Gris Clair for both occasions. Why? Well, it smells good, no great. Powerful silage, but not enough to make others sneeze. No one sneezed. I love the the stuff. Originally purchased for my husband,  I snagged it, kept it out of his reach so I could wear it. It's too yummy for him, very vanilla and soothing lavender, kind of masculine but strong and sexy smelling. Confident. VERY modern smelling, most likely nobody had encountered before.

Unfortunately it didn't stay with me long. I didn't put a shitload on and it wore off a couple of hours later. There was a lot working against it. We met up at 3pm, and between going outside for them to smoke pot (I did not partake) and with the wind blowing their pot smoke and my cigarette smoke on me,  a few raindrops, then her Jessica  McClintock filling the air, and at 7pm the insurance friend joining the group wearing Boyfriend my perfume fizzled out.  At dinner, a hot and steamy restaurant where they cook the food at your table, flames and smoke and all, whatever was clinging to me was gone completely. I should have sprayed my clothes, the shirt from the other day still smells like it. The Boyfriend wearing friend, I guessed it as Pink Sugar, of all things! I do have a small purse spray of it myself, I should have known what it was. Once she told me it made sense, but it smelled very sweet on her. When the hell am I going to guess a perfume off someone and be correct?

Work tomorrow, it's going to be hot & humid for the next couple of days. Hmmmm, maybe I'll dip into one of the Sunessences or Jil Sander Sun. If it had been a sunny & bright day today I probably would have worn the Sun. It was grey and cloudy, more approiate for Gris Clair. Mellow.

Hot Fun in the Summertime

Ok, so it's not "Hot Fun in the Summertime", but the video is stunning and very summery. Couldn't find any summer themed videos for "Hot Fun".

It's the middle of July and things are finally heating up around here. Finally. I love the heat, love heatwaves, long hot days and even longer hot nights. I love it when it's so hot out and everyone scurries from one air-conditioned place to another.Nobody pushes you to do anything or rush with things because of the heat, you just go along at your own pace. Finishing work for the day, picking up dinner on the way home (because it's too hot to cook) and relaxing in the somewhat cool house for the night. We have air conditioners in the bedroom and one in the room next to the kitchen, both make the heat liveable. Icy cold beer, wine coolers and iced coffee & tea. Capris, shorts & tank tops. Throwing those on along with a pair of sandals and calling yourself dressed.

Soooooo, what do you do for fragrance in the summer? I'm finding that some things fade very quickly. Others seem to "heat up" on my skin and amplify, sometimes making them become too heavy. Like Kenzo Jungle L'Elephant,  Thierry Mugler's Angel and Mitsouko to name a few.  Last week I dabbed on some Shalimar extrait and I could feel a cloud of it following me around. People looked at me, I do dress a bit odd so I don't know if it was the Shalimar or my attire.

In the heat and in heavy rotation now:

Jil Sander's Sun. Pure yummyness, it's almost drinkable. Lots of sunshine, crisp citrus, oranges, dewy fruits (I smell raspberries) with a dry down of amber and vanilla. It's a delight to wear this. Happiness in a bottle.

Thierry Mugler* Alien which is on the heavy side for hot weather, but just a small spritz will adorn you in smooth jasmine creaminess all day into the night.
Alien Eau Luminescente and a Sunessence-have to check the box to figure out which one. The Alien flankers smell like sunshine to me.
Womanity. A unique & different scent, fresh, (no fish) and salty. Makes my skin smell like I've been swimming in the ocean. I own a mini and a mini body lotion, I think the lotion smells better than the perfume, it smells creamier and less tart, both wear well together.

Guerlain's Chamade which I didn't care for at first, I had a bottle of the current formulation which I sold. Picked up about an ounce of the vintage EDT (in one of those deftware canisters) and although it's similar to the current, it blows the new formulation out of the water. Vintage Chamade is all dewy galbanum,  hiacynth, dew drops on roses,  it's green and sweet, it's bright and strong. It's much more deeper & richer, the current smelled flat, it lacked oomph.
 Mahora  ohhh, a little something I've had for years. Literally. All I have left is maybe 5ml plus a mini.  I bought a bottle when it was first released, back in 2000, the summer to be exact. It got me off my Gucci Rush addiction, which I had been wearing since the year before. I drowned myself in Mahroa that summer, it's kind of tropical in a perfumey way but without any coconut or fruits. Loaded with tuberose, ylang ylang, jasmine, a bit o' vanilla, sandalwood, it's exotic. I am revisiting (what I have left of) this perfume this summer, 11 years later.  I don't have much luck with applying Mahora. The nozzle on my full bottle broke off, I extracted the remains out with a syringe and into a  new & functional atomizer. At least then it was, I went to spritz myself with it the other day and the nozzle stuck!  I dabbed it on.

So we have Mayonette in place of Mahora now. Same stuff supposedly, but I've seen different note listings. Have yet to try a side-by-side test of the two.

Diesel Zero Plus Feminine. I love the Milk Feminine, Milk Plus Feminine? Plus Plus? What's it called? Cute and quirky in the milk carton. The Zero in the red grenade is not as fabulous as the milk. I get a lot of pineapple and lightness out of the zero, all the other notes meld into the pineapple (with a hint of coconut) and make it one linear smell. Interesting. A perfumed Pina Colada. I like it, but I don't love it. And it's one of the ones that I just sweat right off in a couple of hours or less.

Jean Patou's Eau de Patou. An oldie but goodie if you can find it. Light, bright, fresh and pineapple again. Refreshing. Citrusy, fruity, but ends on a deep note of  amber, moss and civet. Have only worn it once or twice so far, I am impressed but haven't made a final decision on this one yet.

Gucci no. 3

It tingles the nose is the perfect way. In the beginning it tingles and entices, soaps and spices in the middle, toward the end it seduces with smoky & mossy leather.

Starts off on the sweet side and tingly. What gives it that tingly, magical quality? The coriander, bergamot or both? Or Neither? Orris root? I've encountered this tingly scent in other perfumes: Ralph Lauren's Safari, Krizia's Teatro Alla Scala, Revillon's Turbulences, (all of which have the orris root note) and in Anne Klein,  and if I remember correctly Versace's Blonde. Whatever it is, it smells opulent, rich and sophisticated.

At the same time Gucci has that soapy aspect, rich (again) thick, bubbly soap toward the middle. I don't get really any of the supposed floral notes in this, but I do need to familiarize myself more with the scents of flowers.  Notes of Lilly of the Valley, Narcissis, or what have you, don't ring any bells with me, I can't remember the last time I've smelled them. I ought to be familiar with Lily of the Valley, it's my birth month flower (May) and I remember we had some growing in the backyard years and years ago. But that was years ago. Nowadays whenever I'm near a flower stand (usually in the supermarket) I stick my nose in the different flowers and usually come up empty. They all seem to be scentless. I'm working on it, the flower smells. Currently I have roses in the yard, 3 different types, but roses are easy scent-wise. The others, well I don't have the greenest of thumbs. Roses, catnip, basil, chamomile, I can handle, heaven forbid I attempt a hydrangea or gardenia, they won't thrive. My husband seems to have brought some life back into my potted gardenia, we'll see how that goes.

Enough of the gardening, back to the Gucci. From beginning to end, this perfume is heavenly. Maybe "heavenly" isn't the right word, the leather in Gucci 3 is so sultry, seductive, as in a femme fatal. It's warm, inviting and sexy smelling. Brings to mind of seductresses in leather, not dominatrices, but an attractive woman in a tasteful leather coat, or skirt. Or at least a fancy leather handbag. No floozy or air-head, an intelligent woman in leather, with some experience and street smarts under her leather belt.

Whenever I wear my leather jacket or coat I reach for the Gucci 3 or Miss Balmain, sometimes Robert Piguet's Bandit. With the current rise in temperatures its been at least a month. Actually, last time it was Kelly Celeche, but that didn't work out like the others mentioned above, didn't give the impression of femme fatal, it was a bit too light and more citrusy for that.

Just one of those days

I've been slightly sick for the past couple of days, possible oncoming head cold: infrequent stuffy nose, the feeling that my head is stuffy, cloudy, feeling "off", tired, oh, everything. My husband got a 48 hour or so bug, maybe I was getting it, too. I worked all through it, had to. Felt so bad Sunday night after work I checked my blood pressure and blood sugar to make sure it wasn't something else. All fine. Went to bed at 11 pm, VERY early for me. And my period is due so I've been munching on actual potato chips, ice cream, with some dark chocolate thrown in.

Enough about my physical ailments, I'm feeling better now. The rest, potato chips and chocolate really helped!

Ever have one of those days when everything smells horrible? Today is one for me. Started off wearing Thierry Mugler's La Rose Angel, which smelled lovely. Unusual, too, I'm not really a fan of Angel, in fact I don't care for it. After changing my clothes at the end of the day, Angel had worn off and I felt like trying something that was new to me: Rochas Alchmie. Good God, after a couple of sniffs I got a headache. Couldn't stand it, a scrubber. After one washing I still could smell it, more subdued but headache inducing. Washed the dishes, more soap on my hands and it was gone. Then I was in the mood for something tried & true and coconutty: Versace Crystal Noir, which I have in a 2ml sprayer, decanted from my mini parfum. An unmarked, unlabeled sprayer.* Did I get that mixed up & use the wrong stuff? Ewww, another headache! Actually, it does smell as I remember Crystal Noir, but it's bothering me, it's not giving me the comforting, pleasant scent and feeling it once did. Blah. I took a whiff of my bottle of Bulgari Jasmine Noir and that also smelled like crap.

Everything smells wrong today. Maybe it's the possible head cold? I give up. I'm going to bed now and may dab on some Shalimar extrait, and if that smells wrong I'm going to eat some pancakes.

*Edited to add:  Today, 8 days later I came across my Crystal Noir, the bottle which I thought was unlabeled. It's labeled  & smells fine. The stuff I sprayed that night was still sitting where I left it. Wonder what it is? Looks like it's from Sephora, one of those clear, small sprayers, although it's slightly too tall. And I usually keep my samples from Sephora in the labeled baggies they provide. Might be Midnight Poison. Whatever it is, I don't like it. I'm going to organize my decants/samples tonight, been meaning to to that for a while.