Lemony Favourites (by Nava)

Thanks for all the input last week on my decision to try and come up with a “signature” scent. I know going “cold turkey” is not the way to do it, and I’m starting to think that a small grouping is likely to be a better idea. I’m reminded of the movie Sideways, and the scene where Paul Giamatti is asked about his wine collection. He refers to it as a “small gathering in a closet”, which is how I’ve come to view my fragrance collection. Except mine resides in a drawer.

Speaking of closets, I was subjected to my first tennant “inspection” the other day. A couple of guys came in and changed the battery in my smoke detector, which was an excuse for the property manager to waltz in (she being a rather diminutive woman with what I believe is a bit of a “Napoleonic” complex. Definitely no Josephine in this broad.) and fling open my closets. I’m guessing that my abode is the exception rather than the norm in most cases. She was probably looking for clandestine damage and other such effrontery. Good thing she didn’t look behind my wall mirror to spy the chunk of plaster I inadvertently removed when hanging it. I swear, in my hands, a hammer is a weapon of mass destruction.

Anyway, while ruminating over my wish to stick with a small group of favourites, I’ve whittled down my choices to include my two favourite notes: lemon and vanilla. Yeah, I love my woods and my incense, and lots of other heavy stuff, but if I had to choose two notes I’d never want to be without, it would have to be some sort of citrus, and definitely my beloved vanilla. The two pair together quite nicely, like a rare steak and a really good glass of Cabernet. I think it was Lemon Up shampoo that started my lemon-loving ways, along with Love’s Fresh Lemon. Baby Soft was in there as well, but I really had a thing for Fresh Lemon for a long time. I’m sure some of you remember this stuff:

I used to love mixing this together with Revlon Milk Plus Six shampoo. Together, they were the perfect combination of lemon and vanilla. And that’s where it all started.

I remarked to some of you that I would love to go back to wearing Annick Goutal’s Eau d’ Hadrien once again. I drained bottles of that stuff in the late 90s – I’m talking about 3 of the 500 ml sizes. I guess that’s why I stopped wearing it. But, it was always appropriate, and always made me feel good. Another fave used to be Fresh Sugar. Again; wore it to death. I also get a bit of lemon from Philosophy Pure Grace, even though the notes are some sort of well-guarded secret – there’s definitely some lemon in the composition. There are others I’ve tried – a couple of the Carthusia scents, Rosine’s Rose d’ Ete, Eau de L’Artisan, which I believe has long since been discontinued, and Hermessence Rose Ikebana, which is way more grapefruit and osmanthus than rose.

Two other favourites are Ave Luxe Citrine and that discount e-tailer stalwart, La Perla Eclix. I’m thinking of starting over with Pure Grace and Fresh Sugar, since they are relatively easy to get, and inexpensive to boot. We’re also coming into warm weather, and I know I’m not going to be able to stand anything stronger than those. My only gripe with these types of scents is that they don’t hang around very long. But they’re fresh, bright and uplifting. Just what the doctor ordered.

OK, fess up, do you like citrus with a twist of vanilla? I’m not talking fruity floral.