I wasn’t expecting much of this since it has the dreaded “Aqua” in the title.  But I’ve found that I like his pour le soir scents a lot and whatever is in there that makes it “Forte” makes me like it a lot.  It’s a simple blend of citrus, white flowers and woods, but it seems to be amped up to about 11.  While it does have that clean and fresh aspect to it but manages to keep it well away from the fresh laundry aspect of things, for which I’m glad.  While it’s fairly unisex, I honestly think it would be better on a woman in that casually sexy, borrowed the boyfriends button-down kind of way.

The only downside I can see is the $265 for 70ML part.

At Neiman Marcus and LuckyScent.  I asked for and received my sample from the latter and from whom I borrowed the image.

 Hooray! We are now officially “un-slabbed” and “de-podded”  and all our furniture is now back in our freshly painted, nice, clean house (at least until the toys, books, etc., start “multiplying” in the den – ha!). And our very large yard ornament has been hauled away, so we have our driveway back, too. Double hooray!

 After a chaotic and very stressful day or two last week while everything was being moved back in, this weekend I decided to treat myself to wearing the most expensive comforting scent I own, cost be darned. So what did I pull out? It was too chilly and fall-like for Le Labo’s Tubereuse 40, so I snagged my small decant of their Vanille 44 and spritzed with abandon. Its lush vanilla and incense soothed my stressed body and mind, and its rich aura made me feel pampered and self-satisfied as I kicked back in my cozy recliner with my favorite cup of tea (naturally) and simply enjoyed doing nothing for an hour or two.

 What’s your favorite “I deserve a treat” scent? What do you wear to reward yourself for a job well done?

….isn’t this the cutest thing? 

This is one of a trio  of scents by Arbonne.  I didn’t know anything about them until my pal Lydia sent me the samples.  There are three (that’s what makes it a trio, I guess.  Slammin’ math skilz, Musette) – The Dreamer, The Dazzler and The Dynamo (the blonde here is The Dynamo).    Each one of them comes in a cute-as-a-bug foldout ‘environment’ and they just make me giggle each time I see them.

And the scents aren’t bad, either.  Lydia is quite the nose in the real perfume world and when she told me about these she stressed that they were not high-end niche fragrances; rather, they are charming scents that would be fun to give as gifts – but guess what?  You might want to wear one or two of them yourself!  I was prepared to be all ‘eww’ but I was pleasantly suprised by two of them.

But let’s start with the one I was not.  Unsurprisingly, it’s the best-seller.  Becauuuuuse:  it’s a fruity-floral!   Sort of Calyx has a fling with Light Blue, The Dreamer is, in my opinion, the most delightful bottle, with a charming brunette in a cute, dreamy setting (complete with birdcage)  she appears to be wearing a green nightie and fuzzy ballet flats (aka ‘houseshoes’), which is cool – but she is also wearing a ginormous silver cuff bracelet.  I want her just for that odd pairing!  – the notes for Dreamer are : Fuji apple, yuzu zeste, white cyclamen, Australian sandalwood.  It’s missing the crisp bite of Calyx (which I love)  but it wouldn’t kill me to smell it on a young(ish) girl.  In fact, this is probably what I am going to get my 14yr old goddaughter for Christmas!  I think she will love it, her mom won’t hate it and it will look absolutely delightful on her vanity.

The one I was almost-pleasantly surprised by was  The Dazzler.  Notes of green bamboo, ylang-ylang, jasmine blossom and patchouli, it has a greenery-marinery vibe that didn’t make me run screaming for the Lava soap.   This is a fun, light take on green marine, with just enough jasmine and patch in there to keep it from veering into Victoria’s Secret territory.  I would happily get this for someone in my office who likes perfume but doesn’t like ‘real’ perfume.  I could stand to smell it and even if applied with a heavy hand, it’s not tenacious enough to be there long enough to give you a headache.  Sounds like faint praise?  It isn’t.  Consider:  you could be stuck in the cubicle next to somebody liberally dosed with Angel.  Or Opium.  Or……..Aromatics of Dooooom.  This is a way better alternative and it’s been awhile since I’ve seen such fun packaging.  Harajuku Lovers, move OVAH!

The one I actually would (and did) wear.  And really enjoyed it.  The Dynamo.    Notes are white cardamom, frosted pink grapefruit, night-blooming jasmine and golden amber.  Okay.  Let’s skip right on past the frosted grapefruit.  I have no idea if that means it’s liberally iced or if, somewhere out there, grapefruits are being slathered with Duncan Hines.  No matter.  The Dynamo is a nicely complex fragrance, with a touch of peppery aldehydes (the cardamom) and that whiff of rotting meat that makes Chanel No 5 and L’Aimant so deliciously interesting.  Y’all know me well enough to know that is high praise, indeed.  If you like aldehydes or if you want to gift someone who likes peppery scents but isn’t quite in Chanel territory (and loves cute bottles), this is a winnah!.  This is the ‘grownup’ fragrance of the three, imo.  But I’m a cranky old bat, so what do I know.  I do know that, given my druthers, I  would’ve switched bottles – this one deserves the LBD that The Dazzler  is wearing.  In fact, I wore it when dressed in something Not Fleece and it was a great choice.    Of course, it’s dropping into the 30s tonight so it’ll probably be May before I’m out of fleece.  sigh.  Perhaps The Dynamo can help see me through winter, though she’s pretty skimpily dressed.  I’ll have to get her a fleece hoodie.

These are  $78 ea for 1.7 fl oz in those cuuuuute bottles.  They are not sold in stores -  you can contact lydiaarbonneATgmail.com for more info or to order.  I am not affiliated in any way with the company, just so ya know, though Lydia is a great perfume resource and friend.  They’re just cute, they smell good and I thought you all should know about them, since the hollerdays are just around the corner.

Ooop!  I almost forgot the GIVEAWAY!!!  Drop a line telling me which one(s) sounds most interesting to you, either for personal wear or to gift.  I will send my 3 samples (each about 1.5ml) of all 3 perfumes to the lucky winner (random.org will choose).

First, winners of the de Profundis samples – MaureenC and Homura-chan.  Just click on the Contact Us over on the left, send me your address, remind me of what you’ve won. Make sure I give you a quick response so you know you didn’t drop into my spam filter thingie.

I loved the discussion on the perfume. Well, not the perfume, but the “de Profundis: part – Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde, Dante, the Psalms?  I think the answer is mostly Wilde and Baudelaire as far as Serge’s inspiration. But the theme crossed all of them, and I agree that it is one of hope.  If you spend too long thinking about your daily drudgery, endlessly toiling, worrying, sacrificing, over and over, it’s overwhelming, yet most of us hang onto that refracted joy that we glimpse sometimes in a child’s laughter, a thoughtful gesture, seeing love where you least expected it.  Yes, I do mean refracted. Refraction is the bending of light as it passes from one substance to another.  Most of the joy we get is bent from one person to another, one moment to the next, from a happy memory recalled in the present or a hopeful expectation from the present to the future.

And it is that refracted joy that gives us hope that what we do matters, that we are all  worthy of redemption – either in a religious or humanitarian sense – and capable of more than who we often are.  I think the crying from the depths is ourselves wanting more, hoping for more – for ourselves, other people, the world, or maybe it is crying for love or companionship, understanding, to not be completely and utterly as alone as we all are.

Which led me to my favorite question – what would you do if you weren’t afraid?   I keep facing that question in my life over and over in the last 3-4 years. My answer is simply there’s nothing I won’t do, fear isn’t a factor I consider.  What’s your answer?  My answer used to be “sniff that Humanity thing again Mugler did” and then I decided it wasn’t fear that stopped me but revulsion. I think fear and revulsion aren’t the same?

So I think I need to buy that big-ass kiln to fuse glass in at home, especially since that stupidly expensive cardigan I thought was shipping this month got canceled.  Right?  I know I need a 40 watt breaker, but if I just plug it in in the basement where the dryer goes in, never run them at the same time (obviously!), it should work, and I won’t blow up my house.  And if I do, I’ll probably have some really cool blown-up fused glass all over the block for my  neighbors to appreciate.

Patty

By March

I pulled a muscle in my neck about a week ago, doing something strenuous (pouring coffee? Emptying the dishwasher?) and since then I’ve mostly been smelling of Icy-Hot, so much so that Diva and Enigma have complained about the after-reek if I pop on one of their sweaters.  (Too bad, girls.  It could be worse.)

I was rooting around in the candy on my desk and ran across the samples Dawn Spencer Hurwitz of DSH did for the Peace, Love and Patchouli Project, you can read more about it on her blog.

Quoting Dawn as she contemplated the direction she wanted to go: “It seemed that the big question was: are we, with this project, hiding the patchouli or making true patchouli perfumes, in the same way that one would think about a soliflore (which is to create a unique setting upon which the ‘gem’ note is placed to SHINE)?  Or are we attempting to create perfumes with patchouli that ‘hide’ it in a way to try and get non-patchouli lovers to say: “Oh, there’s patchouli in that?”  Patchouli is such a versatile perfumery material and depending on the origin, whether it’s light , dark or aged (my favorite! I age all of my patchouli) the patchouli feels and acts differently in a composition.   I knew that I had to first answer this essential question and the answer was: let’s go for a PATCHOULI  perfume, first and foremost.  Another thing I also knew from the beginning was that this was a Summer patchouli project. So, I decided that I would attempt a bit of a trick, which is to make a LIGHT, soliflore patchouli perfume. (Patchouli is not exactly known for its “lightness”, you know.”

Now, I know you patch hags are out there, but patchouli as a dominant note is not my favorite.  As Dawn notes, it can be pretty aggressive, and I can’t escape my instant impressions of patch as a dirty-hippie love-oil smell any more than some of you can escape associations of straight frankincense as a lingering memory of church.  On the other hand, I took the girls to see Hair at the Kennedy Center last year and we loved it.  So since I was already in the mothball/menthol/eucalyptus territory with my neck issues, I decided to give them a whirl.

No.1: BodhiSativa.  This was her final entry into the Patchouli Project (click here to see the long list of other entries by other perfumers), and it’s my favorite, notes from the DSH site: Top notes: Bergamot, Cassis Bud, Galbanum. Middle notes: Cannabis Accord (Botanical), Centifolia Rose Absolute, Champaca Absolute. Base notes: Australian Sandalwood, Benzoin, Buddahwood, East Indian Patchouli, Frankincense co2 absolute, Texas Cedarwood, Tolu Balsam, Vanilla Absolute.

This one smells the most like “classical” perfumery to me, with a heavy overlay of patch.  It’s definitely a patch-oriented fragrance without being at all hippie-ish.  The woods and incense really shine through, and that rosey-vanilla makes it warm and rich rather than floral.  While I wouldn’t exactly call it light, and I definitely wouldn’t have busted it out in our August heatwave, it’s a fragrance I’d turn to in the winter months when I’m craving an “old lady” scent (high praise from me) with both heat and an edge to it.

Aquarius (Natural; Patchouli Project no.2)  “A warm, animalic fantasy patchouli perfume inspired by the original cast of HAIR and the (unwashed?) hippies of the Summer of Love.  My second design developed for the “Summer of Patchouli Love 2011″ Peace, Love and Patchouli ! project. “  Top notes: Cassie Absolute, Clary Sage, Galbanum.  Middle notes: Ambrette Seed,Australian Sandalwood, Centifolia Rose Absolute, Costus, East Indian Patchouli, French Beeswax.Base notes: Ambergris, Cumin Seed, Indonesian Vetiver,Labdanum No. 3, Texas Cedarwood, Tonquin Musk.

I thought this would be my favorite based on the notes, and I was wrong.  I magnify the hell out of the ambrette and musk, leaving me with something that smells like sweet pickles and patch.  It’s not terrible; it just reminds me of Chanel No. 18, and not in a good way.  YMMV.

Bodhisattva (Natural; Patchouli Project no.3).  “A creamy, delicate floral patchouli perfume inspired by the glorious spiritual images in Tibetan Thangka paintings. Walk in the clouds on rolling pillows of incense, exotic Indian flowers and rich, aged patchouli.” Top notes: Bergamot, Davana, Moroccan Neroli, Orange Flower Absolute – Spain.  Middle notes: Centifolia Rose Absolute, Champaca Absolute, Orris Root, Spice Notes.  Base notes: Atlas Cedarwood, Australian Sandalwood, Benzoin, Ciste Absolute, East Indian Patchouli, Frankincense co2 absolute, Vanilla Absolute.

Very, very pretty, and when it’s doing its champaca thing I’m in loooooove.  But then it becomes a more powdery floral, and powdery florals just aren’t at the top of my priorities list.  The least patch-intensive of the three on my skin.

It was fun reading Dawn’s notes about how she went at this project; I’m not a perfumer, and following her thought processes and her goals in terms of rendering such a powerhouse aroma in different ways reminds me of how complex the art of perfumery really is.  While I’m still not a patch-hag, I’m impressed with the variety in her results.  You patchouli freaks out there, feel free to list your favorite patchouli frags in comments for the rest of the readers who want to explore this note.

samples: courtesy of DSH Perfumes

March