On the Road again

Lord, it’s rainy in Houston. 

Whenever I travel, there is the inevitable process of picking out what fragrances to take with me.  Ever since an unfortunate baggage handling incident on a trip to Sanibel with an almost full bottle of Eau de Merveilles which I had purchased for full price at Neiman-Marcus — purchased before I believed discount perfumers on the internet were actually selling the same, exact perfume — I now carry just decants or minis.  But which ones to take?

 This trip to Houston I started musing about it as I was doing my usual last-minute pack-and-run to the airport, wondering what significance my picks might have. Finally I decided not much except they were my favorite of the week or already in a decant.  Just FWIW, here’s what I brought with me, and please ignore that I’m only staying two days and am taking this many perfumes — it’s a little embarrassing:

• Rose Ikebana
• Vetiver Tonka
• Delices
• Caron Montaigne
• Spritzed on the absolutely stunning Mille et Une Roses for the plane trip (this one has great sillage and keeps me sniffing happily for hours and hours, it just sticks, but isn’t too loud)

Then I cheated and threw in the whole  box of the Parfumerie Generale second chapter set of samples.  What?!?!  I needed something to write about, and I’ve already waxed as poetic as is possible about the ones I wanted to take with me.  Without fail, though, for the last many months, Rose Ikebana and Vetiver Tonka almost always come with me whenever I travel.  They are light enough to wear in groups, they give me some propping up when I have to speak to large groups — and I hate public speaking with a forlorn passion, and more so on this trip since I can’t even get some general information about what to expect, the size of the audience — 50 or 300? — the questions our panel will be getting (and at least one of the other people on the panel hates me and has refused to speak to me for about ten years), if we are to do a longer speech before questions, if my handouts are appropriate for what they want us to talk about, I’m beyond miffed and toying with the idea of boycotting until someone responds to my requests, and this is why I hate public speaking! 

Deep cleansing breaths.

Now that I have some time in the hotel, I spritzed on Parfumerie Generale Ilang Ivohibe, a woody floral vanilla.  Notes of Madagascan ylang-ylang, California orange (as opposed to what? huh? Sorry, snarky habits die hard) and Egyptian jasmine, and I’m omitting the rest of the drivel, which really isn’t all that bad compared to some of the PG descriptions I’ve read.  This is one I like a lot from this line, tart in the beginning, drying down to a creamy vanilla, some note in the middle is not good for me, but once I get past that, the drydown is really gorgeous, creamy and smokey goodness.

On my other arm went Jardins de Kerylos, a woody green musk, with notes of fresh figs and sycamore wood.  I like fig generally, but have always found most fig perfumes to be too sweet (i.e. L’Artisan’s Premier Figuer). This one remedies that, the woody notes keep it grounded and earthy.  I really do like this one quite a lot, probably the most likable for me of the four I have tested so far, but I keep wishing it had something else in it, but I can’t decide what exactly.  Anything I think of would make it less than what it is or more than what it should be. As an earthy fig perfume, it is excellent, and I’m still toying with whether I am in need of more.  I’m leaning to a yes on that just because it fits an empty hole in my perfume wardrobe.

What perfumes do you always pack to take with you when you travel?