I took one perfume with me on my trip. It’s one I’ve been yapping about off and on for months, and that I keep putting on. Most of you can probably guess it, but I’ll give the person who guesses first what it is a sample of something else I’ll talk about – the Ann Gerard (see below).

This Monogamy-ish perfume just has something in it that makes me a little weak in the knees and has from the moment I sniffed it first in Paris – one year ago! And it is the one perfume that when I wear it, whenever someone gets close to me – which doesn’t happen as often as it should – what they say is – “God, you smell good.” Same weak in the knees, quiverish voice. Guess away!!! It has gotten so bad that I broken down and bought a 50 ml bought just for myself instead of raiding the TPC stock, which was beginning to embarrass me a lot. I mean, yeah, it’s just a spritz or two, but I just couldn’t keep doing it.

Paris was last week. I didn’t find anything new in the stores, but Denyse of Grain de Musc (sorry, I’m on my iPad and can’t figure out how to get a link going? Oh, wait, there it is, not exactly easy without a mouse now, is it?) invited me over, and we sniffed all sorts of new things. The one that’s gotten me all atwitter has been basically done for a while, but packaging for shipping is a problem. Bertrand Duchafour did it for Ann Gerard, who is a jeweler in Paris. It is called Pleine Lune, and it is a stunning iris. We smelled it after sniffing Denyse’s rare and dwindling stock of Iris Gris. They are not the same, this doesn’t have the peach notes in it and some other things, but the iris piece of it has a similar buttery quality that just melts into this soft velvety iris. No woods, no fruits, no earth, just orris butter. Well, other notes, too, but that’s the star of this, and it’s beautifully put together and fills a hole in the iris world.

I have no idea what the price point is on this or when it will land in the U.S., I believe as soon as the packaging for shipping is ironed out – hopefully soon?!?!? But it will get added to my all-star wall of iris scents, which include the long-lost and much-grieved Fath Iris Gris, Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist, Parfum DelRae Mythique, Dior Homme, Van Cleef & Arpels Bois d’Iris, TDC Bois d’Iris, and a couple more.

Other discover in Paris, which someone here had mentioned in comments that they were obsessed with (Jarvis???) Saint de Saints rubber incense. OHF, what a great idea with the perfect scent, and you get like four sheets in the package, and it’s subtle, and someone at Malle is a genius. It’s not going to scent a whole room like the cute little red mechanique thing (we had a long discussion about the Gardenia room scent and how I’m dying to get it in a body lotion, hairspray, foot deodorizer, detergent, deodorant, shower gel and bosom heaving tuck-in pad), but sit it next to you on your desk or nightstand, and you will be happily Saint de Sainted. I’m not sure if it just works with this type of scent, but if they could infused that little red rubber incense pad with something else – say that gorgeous gardenia – I would buy a gross of them on credit and let God and Amex sort it out later.

My trip! For those of that were playing the home game of 30 days of meditation, I’ve had a break from it the last week – sleep problems, disrupted schedule, on the run. Oddly enough, as much as it is one of those justsitdownandoitandquitarguing things, I’ve missed it the last seven days. So I’m going to do a restart, and I’m trying to decide when – now or when I get home. I think I’ll try now, but do a restart if my plan gets quaffed in travel later this week. It gives me a time every day – at the end of the day – to just sit, and I’ve started to look forward to it. I don’t process anything, I try not to process even a thought, but to just be and let the world and all the detritus of the day swirl around in my head with no need or care to do anything with any of it. It’s letting go that requires nothing more than to not pay attention to any of those random things jump-started into existence by some firing neuron in your brain. It gives me the space to choose to let those dust motes float without energy beyond what sparked them. For someone as high-octane in the random thought department as I am, it’s a wonderful gift once a day.

I’m getting very attached to it. It’s still hard and requires discipline, and my discipline kinda goes out the window after the second glass of wine/prosecco/champagne/truffle/gelato, hence the break while I’ve been traveling.

So Paris was great – I hit my circuit of Serge, Louvre, Colette, Montale, Musee d’Orsay, Marriage Freres, Frederic Malle, Bon Marche (hat shopping!!!!!). I added Pierre Herme to it this time since the reviews on their macarons were over the top. One thing I’ve learned, 1-2 macarons are plenty.

Now I am in Firenze, Italy. I’ve blown through here before, but didn’t stop, and I can’t believe I’d have done anything like that if I’d known how great this city is. Tomorrow is the Accademia to see David and a lot of other Florentine art by Michealangelo, et al, and then Wednesday is the Uffizzi, which is one of the premiere art galleries in the world. Thurs is ??? Not sure. Santa Maria Novella for sure, then probably San Marco, and then I’ll see if I can also get across the river. Today was ravioli with black truffles, panna cotta with chocolate sauce drizzled on it, then a stop at Grom for some amazing gelato – pistachio and extra noir chocolate. It’s cold out, but I carried that little cup with me for an hour, savoring every delicious bite on my chattering teeth.

The next three days will also include gelato, just not sure from where. Should I sample around? Are there other places I should hit? perche no? gets a nod from a lot of the guidebooks. If anyone who has been here has a gelato place or a restaurant I need to visit, let me know! I did find a cute pair of boots, but they had just the one pair in the window, not in my size. WTF? We looked through the store for anything similar – again, one pair that was on the floor, that’s it. I guess my kg luggage problem isn’t going to get any worse at this rate.

Okay, so reminder, guess the perfume that I’m being as faithful to as it gets for me, and the first person to guess it will get a small sample of this Ann Gerard iris perfume that’s so gorgeous! But chime in with any Florence places/hints/tips/whatever too! I’ve got three more lovely days in this place, and I don’t want to miss anything!

Patty

Tom’s posting tomorrow, we’re having a three-day weekend and doing some museum-going on Monday with my captive kid audience.

In other exciting news, I got a new Droid cell phone yesterday, at the end of our long-anticipated divorce from the craptastic AT&T network and back to Verizon.  My husband and girls bullied me into it.  I’m still playing with the Droid; never has fine new technology been so wasted on a human being as this thing on me, I tell you.  I’m the person who’s had an actual Go-Phone for two years — one of those things in the clamshell packaging off the rack for $15 at Best Buy — because whenever a teen’s phone breaks they get my upgrade.  Because heaven forbid they have to go to school with a cheesy, out-of-date phone.

The most amusing thing about playing with the Droid thus far (although watching me do anything, including trying to answer a call, is amusing to my teenagers) is the autocorrect feature in text messaging.  The New York Times magazine had a funny article about autocorrect this morning in their magazine, and they mentioned a website that shows various autocorrect text fails — Damn You Auto Correct!

And hence this quick post on a Sunday night, because frankly I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard.  My ribs ache. Even the dog came in to see what the problem was, followed by Diva, yelling, “you okay in there?”  I should probably mention that what makes so many of these bloopers funny is that they turn out unintentionally raunchy in nature, just in case you end up reading this at work.

March

For the longest time, I’ve been contemplating getting some ink. We’re talking years. I’ve never quite had the guts to go through with it, but the older I get, the more I want to get it done. It’s like one of those “bucket list” items, except I really don’t believe in making a bucket list. It’s more of a, “What have I been too chickens#&t to do so far in my life?” list. Getting a tattoo is at the top of that list.

For the past year or so, I’ve been thoroughly obsessed with Kat von D. I’ve watched endless episodes of Miami Ink and L.A. Ink, and I really admire the girl. Maybe she’s one of those people who happened to be in the right place at the right time, and without reality TV, she’d be just another anonymous tattoo artist. But, in today’s media-driven world, the girl is a star. I love the fact that she’s not afraid to put herself out there, and revel in her goth/rocker chick lifestyle. Yes, there were drugs involved at one time, but from what I’ve read, she’s past all that. Plus, she dated Nikki Sixx from Motley Crüe. I loved Nikki Sixx back in the day, and am not ashamed to say, I was swooning in my seat about 50 feet from him when the Crüe opened for Ozzy Osbourne at Madison Square Garden, back in 1980-something. It was one of the wildest concerts I have ever been to. Yeah, deep down I have a thing for bad-ass men. Don’t tell anyone.

People have told me that once you get inked, one is never enough. I don’t think I could ever get as many as Ms. von D, but I have 3 particular images in mind. The closest I’ve come to getting one was last April, when I ventured down to the most famous tattoo joint in Toronto: New Tribe on Queen Street. It was Good Friday, and I thought for sure that the deadest day would be Good Friday. Alas, there were no openings, so me, and my deflated courage (think the cowardly lion from The Wizard of Oz) had to be consoled by a sushi lunch. I haven’t been able to get back there since. This year, my goal is my birthday, and by God, I am going to get me some ink!

In the meantime, I’ve been following Kat von D on her Facebook page, and checking out her makeup line and scents at Sephora. The makeup is a tad much for my taste; I’m far removed from the “rocker chick” stage of life, but that doesn’t mean I can’t smell like one. I wasn’t all that keen on the first two scents, Saint and Sinner, but when her latest, Adora, was introduced, I was transfixed by the soulfulness of it. I’ll give you the lowdown on the first two, saving the best for last.

Saint: The notes are Mirabelle plum, mandarin, gardenia, jasmine, caramel, vanilla, musk and sandalwood. I know I probably lost many of you at caramel and vanilla, but the combination works. I love heady florals only when they’re combined with other elements, so the inclusion of sweet caramel and vanilla makes this work. Much as I do like Saint, I can’t bring myself to wear it, because it smells like countless other scents I’ve smelled before. It reminds me of Child Perfume and Moneyette Paris, and Kai, and all those other suffocating white floral concoctions that are supposed to be “tropical”. This is one I’ll sniff from the bottle, but never, ever wear on my skin.

Sinner: Orange blossom, mandarin, plum, jasmine, cinnamon, vetiver, patchouli, woods, vanilla and musk. I should like Sinner, but my anti-patchouli reflex kicks in and won’t let me. I think I finally need to get that replacement bottle of The Different Company’s Jasmin de Nuit to cure me of this one. Unless I can find some way to extract the patchouli, which is highly unlikely. It’s a shame, since Sinner could have been a “practically free” alternative. Although, I have to give credit here, since Sephora is now so ubiquitous, they’re practically mass-market: This is a very sophisticated scent from a very unlikely source.

Adora: The third time is definitely the charm: Lychee, boysenberry, thyme, cassis, hyacinth, jasmine, mango flesh, patchouli, sheer musk, amber wood. As “in your face” as the patchouli is in Sinner, it is non-existent in Adora. This is not one of those “fruitchouli” mash-ups we love to poke fun at. There really is something soulful about this one; maybe it’s the thyme in the top notes that gives it a distinct “green-ness”, and prevents it from smelling like a can of fruit cocktail. The drydown is ambery and musky, with just a hint of leftover mango. It’s got a head-shoppy quality to it, like an old, discontinued favourite of mine, Yosh Han’s La Contessa. There’s also something vintage and classic about it, almost like Mitsouko minus the chypre element. If I was still in Virginia, March would be lining me up to throw a coffee at my head right about now.

Kat von D’s products are manufactured by and sold exclusively at Sephora. The makeup is highly pigmented and not what anyone would call subtle. The colours are gorgeous, but just not my thing. The scents are worth checking out, and as I mentioned, the price point ($55.00 for 50 ml) falls into our infamous “practically free” range. For some reason, the scents are retailing for $72.00 here in Canada. Why there needs to be an almost $20.00 mark-up is beyond me.

Your Turn: Who has ink? Who wants to get ink? How do you feel about heavily-tattooed individuals? Inquiring minds want to know.

Disclosure: All Kat von D. scents were sampled (repeatedly) at Sephora.

Oops.

It’s easy to lose track of days when I’m traveling, and somehow I’ve blown my normal Europe habits of getting my clock on their local time quickly, and I’m on some other time that involves lots of sleeping. I’m blaming the hotel. They had a room ready for me to slide into when I got here at 9 a.m. (oh, the traffic in Paris is so awful, it was an hour and a half from the airport!), and I slid into it and slept and slept and slept. Woke up long enough to run to the Apple store and get a charger which somehow I managed to leave on the bookcase at home. Then slept some more.

This is not good. Except every now and then, no matter where you are and what you really want to be doing, you have to surrender to sleepies. Because I know they last for approximately two days for me, and then I’m good as new. The bad news is I just woke up like 30 minutes ago realizing I hadn’t written anything for today.

So I have no exciting perfume stories to tell you or sightseeing yet, though I am planning to be awake enough to go out for a lovely dinner tonight. The last time I did this was 15 years ago in Hawaii, got there and slept for two days straight.

Tell me stories. No, not bedtime stories, something more invigorating. What do you have planned for this year, fragrance-wise or personal-wise? Have you mapped out a couple of treasured perfumes that you’re going to spring for?

Patty