Narciscio Rodriguez for Her, for Me?

Every so often I get cravings for a paticular scent. It might be something I have already or had, decided I didn't like and got rid of, it may be something I took a quick sniff of and now feel like giving it a second chance. When I was in hospital it was Shalimar, my Hubby brought my montre bottle of the cologne to me. I had to use it lightly, you know how hospitals are about perfume.

Lately it's been modern musks that I crave. I think it was brought on by the Victoria Secret Musk that I fell in love with. I have no NR in the house. I had samples at one time but I decided it wasn't for me & gave them away. I didn't want to buy samples just yet. Money is tight, if I can get out of buying something-good. We happened to be in the mall on Black Friday. When the weather is freezing we've been going to the mall at night to walk, I'm suppose to walk daily. I went into that horrid Macys. And there are all the SAs waiting to pounce. Most just said hello, but this one said "Would you like to try Narciscio Rodriguez today?" Wow. I don't think I've ever had one ask me to try exactly what I went in for before.

She had the pink bottle in hand, sprayed it on a ribbon & handed it to me. We started talking and she sprayed another ribbon with the black bottle. After a couple of minutes I didn't feel like I was smelling much of anything so I sprayed my right hand with the pink, left with the black.

Next she goes on to tell me the story behind the bottle, which is.... the reason that it is pink on the inside-rather than on the outside is because NR believes that all women are beautiful from the inside out, and painting the bottle that way made for a beautiful bottle. Something along those lines. That doesn't explain the black bottle, though. The bottles are rather nice, elegant and understated.

Since I seemed to enjoy that story,  she  then tells me the story behind the scent. When NR was in college there was another student that influenced him with her looks, she dressed in the classic style rather than trendy, wore her hair pulled back, she was very elegant and she wore musk. Again, something like that, my memory is terrible lately but that's the jist of it.

I kept thinking of who that elegant musk wearing woman could be. After I was home Carolyn Bessette Kennedy came to mind. He did design her wedding dress, but the age difference wouldn't put them as classmates, plus NR went to Parsons, CBK went to BU.

She was elegant and beautiful, wasn't she? That look of hers, the blond hair and red, red lips was popular around here around the time she got married and her and John-John were in the celebrity papers often. I'd see a lot of women sporting light hair-anything from medium brown to platinum-paired with light make-up and dark lips. Myself included. {I had an accident with a bottle of bleach, all I wanted to do was lighten my hair, and the shit quickly stripped my hair of color, yikes! I went with the flo, it worked out in the end}

 
The actress Hope Davis had that look in "Next Stop Wonderland" which is an independent film that was filmed in the Boston area around the same time frame. I believe it was an independent film, I don't remember it being in wide release, I wanted to see it and it was only playing the art house circuit.

So what about the NR perfume? I dunno, first my right hand, plrayed with the EDP smelled stronger and better than my left, which had the EDT. BUT the EDT was still going strong the next morning! I can't decide. I might get a few samples, no way do I need a full bottle of this. Or maybe I'll give SJP's Lovely another go, they're similar, right?

As for the SA in Macy's, she didn't make a sale with me, although she tried very hard. I wonder if she made up the story or it's something they told her that would help sell more bottles.

What Patchouli Means to Me

My first brush with patchouli occurred sometime in the mid 80's, we were in Boston (Charles Street to be exact) crossing the street and there were some people standing on the island between the streets, they were in the middle of crossing also. They were kids, probably a few years older than us. My boyfriend at the time said, "Ugh, patchouli...." when we got near them, but not loud enough for them to hear. I said "What's patchouli?" which he answered with a Shushhhh, I didn't know who or what he was talking about. He said, "Those hippies over there, they reek of patchouli." And those kids looked kind of dirty, I recall they were all bundled up in stringy like clothes-it was winter and one was wearing a brown suede fringe jacket with an acoustic guitar strapped to his back- so they looked like stringy, frindgy clothes and hair. Not filthy dirty but hip dirty, they had a style, a coolness about them.

It smelled like fresh dirt which the wind wafted it in our direction, and it was strong. Like soil and oil, and planting things in terracotta pots outside in the summer. It did not smell like perfume to me, it was simply an aroma, not something you'd pay a lot of money for out of a store which came all packaged up in a fancy bottle with a sprayer. It was the anti-perfume, the anti-establishment perfume.

A few years later I bought a small, amber bottle of patchouli that smelled just like that dirt smell. Not Spiritual Sky, I had smelled their patchouli and it wasn't the same. This was some, possibly hand-mixed/handmade oil I got out of an occult shop that had shelves full of exotic oils. Along with the patchouli I got a bottle of Mango and a bottle of Sandalwood. The sweetness of the Mango attracted me.  I also acquired a bottle of coconut and some different Musks (Egyptian Musk, Dark Musk, the ones they sell on the sidewalks in NYC). So I had a nice little arsenal of fragrances going there with all those bottles. That kept me satisfied for a few years.

The patchouli laden perfumes of today don't have that soil like scent, well very few do, if even. I don't catch the soil/dirt accord except in one fragrance. It arises when one of my girlfriends wears Angel, and only on her do I smell it. On other people Angel smells sweeter, more cotton candy, more chocolate. On her the patchouli explodes. Must be a body chemistry thing.

I was reminded of the hippie patchouli incident a couple of days ago when I had the dogs out for a walk. One of the neighbors had recently raked up leaves (or neatened up their ground area, their house is on a hill so its not a lawn) and the rake had exposed all the semi-moist dirt, with little chunks of grass remaining. My dog thought that would be a great place to sniff around or go pee-pee so I had to pause there and the scent hit me. My mind wandered off and back to 30 years or so ago, remembering those frindged hippies and their patchouli. I don't even know if the dog did her business there or not, I was daydreaming of patchouli.

Imposter Perfumes

I get a kick out of the names of the Lady Gaga imposter perfumes, fakes, whatever you'd call them. "Crazy Lady" takes the cake for names. Can you imagine someone asking what you're wearing and having to give them that answer? If you're truthful.  Or "Monster Lady" which I saw the other day in C.W. Price. (I can't remember where I saw Crazy Lady, it was a while ago.) These imposter Lady Gagas seem to be everywhere fakes are sold,  it must be a popular perfume. The kiddies whose parents can't afford or refuse to buy the genuine Lady G must love it, since it gives them a chance to own something close to what they might not be able to afford otherwise.

Have you ever bought an imposter perfume? I have, waaay back in the day. I recall buying a bottle (or was it a can?) of one of those "If you love CK One, you'll love OK Numero Uno " or whatever it was called. My girlfriend at work wore it and I got turned onto it from her. I also liked the fact that it was unisex, it felt kind of edgy to wear a potentially man's fragrance. Plus it was "It's so clean smelling" we'd say. It was different at the time. Ugh. If we only know we'd all be bombarded by "Clean" over the next 20 years. "Clean" got tiring, boring. At the time I didn't want to pay $50 or more to smell clean.  I also didn't have a lot of disposable income.  I still don't have the disposable income but I find a way to work a Lutens or Guerlain into the budget from time to time.

If I really loved CK one I would have bought the real deal at full retail price. Back then I ponied up few times and paid for an expensive perfume. Guerlain's Mahora was one of them. I got a whiff from a magazine and there was nothing in the world like it, I HAD to have it. I also had to travel all over town to find it! Filene's and Jordan Marsh (or was it Macy's by then?) didn't carry it and they pointed me in the direction of either Neiman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue, where I went and bought it, I think it was around $60-$80, somewhere in that ballpark. They were very generous with the samples when I bought it, I got a few carded samples of probably JPG, which I seemed to get every time I made a purchase, and they also gave me about 3 or 4 minis of Mahora. I had enough Mahora I gave a couple of the minis to my sister in law. (Yeah, I wish I didn't do that now....)

Actually, if you're itching for Lady Gaga perfume and are short on cash, some of the TJ Maxx around here have it @ about $15 for a 1.7 oz. Or you can get the Lady Gaga Singing Toothbrush which is in the "as seen on TV" aisle of Wallgreens.

Victoria's Secret No.1 Feathered Musk

Why this? Somehow or somewhere I read a review of this stuff which led me to seek it out. I think that's how it happened. Normally I don't chase after Musks (unless a lot of peeps describe them as "dirty" and "filthy" then I get curious) Chasing after a Victoria's Secret Perfume? Very rare. The last perfume I liked and owned from them was Halo. Released in 2000, Halo has: top notes of poinsettia, fig leaf, freesia and tiare flower; middle notes are orchid, pepper and vanilla; base note is sandalwood. Back then I fit into the wardrobe offerings of Victoria's Secret so I probably stumbled across Halo while buying some over priced panties.

This feathered Musk. What is a feathered musk? Musk from a bird? Please. And if anyone asks I'll say I'm wearing something else. No way in He// am I admitting to wearing something from VS. Anyhoo, this is a real surprise from VS. An actual perfume that's not all candy/vanilla/flowers/laundry scent. No. 1 develops on the skin and takes twists and turns along the way.

It starts off with something citrus, lime? Bergamot? No citrus is listed in the notes but I smell something zingy. Zingy with hints of coconut and chocolate. I'm not the only one smelling coconut, my husband smelled it, too.
The chocolate is a milk chocolate, not the deep dark chocolate found in Borneo or Coromandel. It isn't along the lines of Elmer's Chocolates (the cheapest, most inferior chocolates that show up on the shelves around Easter, ewww.) but more along the lines of Hersheys. Then it turns tobacco, cherry pipe tobacco, kind of like By Kilian's Back to Black, if I'm remembering the scent correctly. Very strong cherry tobacco. A couple of days ago I was wearing No.1, stepped out of the car and into the cold and I got a blast of cherry tobacco in the freezing cold.  Otherwise it stays close to the skin, it's light and unfortunately doesn't last long. I wind up reapplying this a couple of times a day, several sprays, too. I like to get whiffs from my perfume throughout the day, I don't from this, it's nose-to-skin after a couple of hours. If I could get the body cream that would create some silliage, I can't find it anywhere, it's no longer on the store shelves and not much is on the bay or amazon, mostly the perfumes & body spray are up for sale. Maybe when Vicky has the semi-annual sale, but by the time that rolls around I'll be onto the next big thing.

I've been wearing this for over a week straight. Unusual for me, and I didn't wear anything special on Sunday. Usually I'll wear something, uh, elegant and special and/or different on Sundays, like Joy, or I'll test drive something traditional, it depends on how I feel when I get up. Right now I feel like seeking out my Back to Black sample, I know I have several stashed here somewhere. It really helps when organizing perfumes if I put them in alphabetical order by house, not name. I was in the process of doing that but haven't finished.

Fumes and Fumes

Since I had my cardiac arrest I have not smoked a cigarette. September 10th to November 4th, equals almost 2 months so I'd like to think all the smoke residue or whatever you'd call it is gone from my lungs and inside of my nose. They say when you quit smoking everything tastes and smells better. Well, food tasted fantastic when I smoked so no issues there. It tastes just as fine now as it did then, except the after taste of it lingers longer than it did when I smoked-cause I'd always have a nice smoke after a wonderful meal, and after an ordinary meal, too. Gosh, I miss smoking.

It's the ritual of it that I miss the most. Get on the phone, have a cigarette, take the dogs out for a walk & have a cigarette, escape from work for a few mins & have a cig, The "after Thanksgiving dinner" cigarette is one of the memorable ones, so is the after Christmas and Easter dinner ones, and lets not forget the after a piece of birthday cake ones, too. And of course the after sex smokes, smoked in the bathroom or kitchen because Hubby hates smoking. Where was I going with this? Oh, the smelling part. Yes, perfume seems to smell no different now that I no longer smoke. I expected to be blown away by the stronger scents but it hasn't happened. Except for when I was at the pharmacy counter at Wallygreens and someone around had heavy handily applied Angel and it nearly knocked me out. It's strange, I've worn Angel since I came home from the hospital (Angel Les Parfums de Cuir) and it didn't bother me. The Angel behind the pharmacy counter blew me away, it kind of made me sick.

 Editing to add: Geeze I write these posts and leave 'em in draft. I've always had trouble finishing things. ADD in action here. Here we are 2 weeks later and I'm just going to hit publish, otherwise it'll sit in draft along with everything else that I haven't fully gathered my thoughts over.

Some Random Throughts on Old or Old Lady Perfume Part 2

About 10 or so years ago used to work with a woman, every Saturday it was just me and her in this one section. You get to know your work partner well. Jojo was in her early fifties at the time. She was one of those women whose weight didn't change, she was the same weight from her late teens onward. It seems these non-gaining weight women must have a trunk full of clothes from back in the day, because they'll pull out outfits from a different era and wear it from time to time. We had two of them at work. For example, Jojo would come in wearing acid washed baggy-but tapered at the ankle-jeans from the 90's, and maybe a day-glo top from the 80's along with it.
I think she kept perfume in the trunk, too, because she would wear something that would drive me up the wall! Our other retro dresser wears Opium and she uses a light hand and it's fantastic on her. Whatever Jojo wore, it had an old fashioned smell to it. I wish I would remember what it was! But the smell would get to me so much so that I recalled us having a perfume conversation before and her saying she liked "Vanilla Fields" so I brought her in a bottle, I had extras at home I had grown tired of. I thought at least it was from the same decade somewhat. From then on Jojo reeked of Vanilla Fields and that also drove me crazy. The seating arrangement changed before I picked out another perfume for her, so she continued on with Vanilla Fields.
Maybe it was our perfume competing that drove me crazy, or her heavy handed use of fragrance, I don't know. Why did I think her first perfume was old? Obviously this was before I became a perfumista, otherwise I'd have answers as to why. I think whatever it was smelled "Dated" to me. What makes something dated? Having been exposed to it during a certain period of time, just like a song or style of clothes would seem dated. So whatever Jojo was wearing was something I had smelled long ago. But even back then I'd smell my old, not-used-in-long-time bottles and the scent would bring me back in time, happy memories. Jovan Musk Oil. Coty's Muguent, Emerude. Heaven Scent. Jontue. Charlie. Enjoli. (Yeah, all the drugstore fragrances).

Sometimes when I smell some vintage perfumes they transport me back 30 years ago, to the bathroom of ** Mount Pleasant Street in Somerville, which was my Grandmother's house. She kept about 3 of those old metal cabinets you use when you don't have a closet or shelf space. I have 2 of the cabinets here, storing my photography stuff, plus her 1950's kitchen table and chairs. But those metal cabinets were loaded with perfumes, lotions, old medicines, those floral scented bath pearls and squares and dusting powders. My grandmother said you needed to dust powder before getting into a girdle, it made it easier to get on. What did she have for perfumes? Oh, a lot of Avon and the usual drugstore offerings, I don't recall anything exotic like Shalimar or any old Guerlains or Carons. The last time I was in there was 1989 when me, my mother, aunt, uncle and a cousin or two cleaned out the place, they were selling the house. My grandmother passed in 1980, but my uncle continued to live in her apartment, my cousin downstairs and once my uncle passed and cousin moved out the kids had to sell. But her bathroom was just as she left it back in 1980. I got an unopened Avon Timeless dusting powder set, it was in an amber faceted plastic container. For some reason Timeless appealed to me at the time, and I wasn't one to wear a girdle. I can vaguely recall it's scent now, I remember it being amber-y.

Second Chance

Its been a while since I've been here. I haven't been anywhere for a while, except the hospital. Its amazing, you're just chugging along with your life and then something happens and turns things upside down. Around 5am on September 10th, I suffered a cardiac arrest. If it was after 5am I wouldn't be here, Hubby leaves for work at 5 and he was in the bathroom getting ready when I hit the floor. (And I didn't just hit the floor, I banged my head on the way down on the table and now have a scar from it, in spite of the stitches, that's the least of my worries)Anyhoo, Hubby knows CPR and saved my life, he did the chest compressions, blew air into my mouth until the ambulance and fire department arrived. I do not remember anything. I do remember being tired and pushing myself to finish something at the kitchen table, I must have been making something, bracelets I think. Then I remember waking up in a hospital room and thinking I was in a hotel, totally confused. I had spent a week in the ICU, it was very touch and go, they all said I was lucky to have made it through everything. My heart had stopped, once they got that up and running there was some trouble with my kidneys so I had a round of dialysis. Then I spent a week on the cardiac floor, got a pacemaker last Thursday and was discharged on Friday. (I do feel like I fooled them into discharging me, I didn't feel ready but I just wanted to be home, in my own bed and so on).

Yes, a pacemaker. They call it an ICD and I just can't google it, as long as it isn't shocking me I don't want to know. Someone called it "like having a cardiologist in your pocket" and "an insurance policy in case your heart stops again". I go from thinking I'm fine to needing a cardiologist in my pocket, plus a whole team of doctors at the hospital. I was the youngest on the floor, I'm 45. Never thought I'd see this day or this happen. Thinking back on it, I should have seen it coming. My cousin visited me in the hospital and said they all have heart trouble on my mother's side, and I remember my Nana carrying around Nitroglycerin and my Aunt having a heart attack. So a family history, plus me smoking, being overweight, being on adderal, burning the candle at both ends, it all adds up now. They did say I had pneumonia (which I had seen my primary care doc for the day before, he said bronchitis) and that traveled to my heart causing infection and weakening the muscle. Or I may have had a bum ticker to begin with.

Today I finally feel slightly better. It wears me out just walking around Walgreens, using a shopping cart as a walker, picking up all my new prescriptions and whatever else. BTW, Skin Musk is on sale. Last night I managed to sleep on my left side (where the ICD is) and that helped, since I've been constantly on my right I've got a pulled hamstring which makes getting out of a chair or bed painful. Ugh. But today was better, I feel more back to normal, but am still sore where the ICD is, my ribs still hurt. And I'm still reaching for a cigarette, which I haven't had since this happened. I'm getting used to it. I'm chewing the nicotine gum when I need a pick me up. No more adderal, really, never again. I'm allowed 1200mgs of salt a day, which I adhered to all week except today which I cheated a little for supper.

So I've got a second chance at life. No idea what I'm suppose to do with it yet. What I do know is: when I'm tired I go to bed-I don't give a shit if things don't get done-they can get done the next day, I'm not breaking my neck at my job doing doubles (actually I'm not working at all right now, no set return date either, I'll just have to live frugally for now)and I'm not going to stress over stuff. So what if I couldn't remember the pin numbers for our checking accounts and now have to reset them? I got the money in the bank via a teller and will fix the pin situation when I have the time. My memory hasn't been so good since this happened. They took up a collection for me at work so the bills will get paid this month, at least the important ones. Maybe, maybe I'll list some stuff on ebay to make up the rest. I don't know. I'm just playing by ear right now.