If you’re a parent, then school starting for your children may or may not be a mixed bag. I’m a bit sorry to see summer go, especially as it wasn’t all that hot this year where I live, which was rather nice. And I did so enjoy the laid-back days of sleeping in a little and not having to rush around so much. But no back-to-school blues for me, as my son was starting to get antsy and echo that all-too-common refrain, “Mom, I’m bored,” so getting back into the routine will be somewhat welcome.
He just turned 13 this weekend and will be in seventh grade. And that’s a good, comfortable place to be (or as comfortable as middle school can ever be). You know the ropes now, you get how things work; you’re in between the newbie sixth-graders and the eighth-graders who are a stone’s throw away from high school and all that that entails.
Best of all, though, for me, back to school means that fall will be here before you know it, and that’s my favorite time of year. So with all this in mind, I’m thinking of a bright, celebratory scent for these remaining happy, sunny days. How about Clinique Wrappings? Or YSL’s Champagne (or Yvresse, as the case may be)? Perhaps a big ‘ol burst of white flowers like Carnal Flower or Estee Lauder Tuberose Gardenia? I’ll be wearing something along those lines this morning when darling son heads to the bus stop for the big first day of school.
Will you be happy to see school start and summer wind down, or does this time of year make you bittersweet or even a bit blue? What smells like back to school to you?
Oh thank you Ann for your sweet reply. And I think you’ll be seeing me here a lot! 🙂
(Whoops! I meant to do that comment as a reply, sorry!)
Yay! Looking forward to it!
It is sad for me that summer is coming to an end. My son is only in his second year of preschool but it’s so much more relaxed around our household when I don’t have to wake him up to eat breakfast, get ready and out the door first thing in the morning. I also don’t want to see the summer weather go. I don’t do cold! 🙂
BTW, this is my first post here! Been exploring the place and like what I see!
Hi, and welcome! Glad to have you here on the Posse! I know what you mean about the relaxed mornings — those are hard to trade in for the alarm clock and rush-rush-rush schedule. But hopefully it will get easier. Hang in there — hope you’ll stop by often.
BTW, love your name — how perfect for a perfume lover!
Our eldest is entering the 9th grade this fall, and public school for the first time – so this is a pretty big “back to school for us.”
End of summer usually means I feel more like heavy florals, spices, and woods 🙂
Wow — that is a big jump into back to school! Hope it all goes smoothly. Your florals, spices and woods sound good but it’s still just a little too hot and humid here to wear them. But soon, I hope.
I don’t have kids, but since I’ve been out of school I look forward to the end of summer. I look forward to the end of heat more than anything. I want to be able to wear by Memoir Woman and Boxeuses decants! I tried wearing Memoir Woman in the heat when I first got it, and it was maybe a bit much.
Amen to the end of the heat, Jennifer! Like you, I’m itching to wear some of my heavier scents (Interlude and Memoir, among them) but they just seem to be a little too heavy right now for me, too.
I’m watching the kids here jam as much vacation into their last couple of days – not a lot of ‘I’m bored’ around here – this is like some 50s throwback town, with kids on bikes, with their fishing poles…basically you are on your own, with your pals, until grandma rings the dinner bell (and I am not joking – one of my neighbors has one of those bells!).
We’ve had wackadoo weather here – it was high 80s about an hour ago. Now it’s cooled down and thunderstorms are in. Huh. Lyric seems to be the only sensible choice.
xoxoA
How cool that the kids in your town still do that — just get out and run around on their own! Around here, everyone’s inside (probably playing video games, etc.) Even on Christmas Day, we’ve noticed, there are rarely any kids out trying out their new skateboards, bikes, etc. We’ve got thunderstorms rolling in as well, so I’ll grab some Lyric, too! 🙂
Dear Ann,
I have mixed feelings about the end of summer. I enjoy the months where my two kids (rising 8th grader and rising 11th grader) are in school, so I’m happy to see “Back to School” approaching, but my son has special challenges dealing with schoolwork that make the school year stressful for him, and me as his mom.
Enjoy every little bit of this year when your son is a seventh grader. I experienced with both of mine that there is a drastic sea change between seventh and eighth — all their sweet child-like ways disappear to be replaced with sulky, attitudinal teenager ways. Sigh. My daughter has gone through this this summer, and it is very sad for me to find myself at odds with her so often, and on the receiving end of a lot of scornful disdain.
As for scents (Aaaah, a much happier subject!), I live in Virginia where it is hot and humid, so I’m still enjoying my summer goodies. Today is Cartier Declaration edt with its great cardamom note. Earlier this weekend, I wore Vetiver pour Elle and Cristalle eau Verte. These are tried and true summer “Greatest Hits” for me, if you will.
Hang in there, Dina! It’s just a few short years until they come back to their senses and appreciate their wonderful mom, and that appreciation will persist, growing ever stronger, for the rest of their lives! (I’m a former middle school/high school teacher, so I’ve seen it many hundreds of times!)
Seconding Masha here, Dina! Although since my son has severe ADHD and other issues, I’ve long been dealing with some of what you mention (attitude, especially). But I try to rejoice in the good moments when he’ll ask me for a hug or come over and give me a smooch on the cheek. BTW, love your Cristalle Verte — need to go give my Cristalles some love now!
Defiinitely mixed feelings about the kids going back to school. I like structure, but must admit there is so much less stress when they’re not in school! My kids are older–middle school to high school–and they are under pressure, socially academically, which spills over into family life. Much less attitude over the summer!
Dina, I do feel for you. As I said, school is difficult for all kids, but when you have special needs children, each school year opens another set of challenges and anxieties. Teens are tough, hang in there, it will take some time but it will get better again. Patty has a very poignant post on raising teenagers somewhere in the archives. I’m not the type, but honestly I read that and cried and cried. You could see the love for her son, how the child acts out but the mom sees the insecurity, and wants so much to help him through but it’s something he has to work thru himself. Do look for that article. It is heart-wrenching, but just to let you know we all go through that with our kids (some kids harder than others…lol). Hope you have a good year with your kids!
Perfume wise, I am loving Lys Mediteranee and lots of flowers right now–my own flowers have not done well this year (too much rain perhaps?) and perhaps I am compensating!
Hi Ann. This time of year actually has me wishing I could turn back time and go back to school. My college years were some of the best years of my life, and I still think about them thirty years later. I can always love summer, though, so I’ll do a perfume toast to that, with you, with a spritz of Carnal Flower. 🙂
I’m right there with you, darling Suzanne — my college years were wonderful for me as well. Yes, let’s toast with the oh-so lovely Carnal Flower!
School doesn’t start here until after labor day here (can’t start before the state fair!), so we’re at the part of summer where all activities and camps are done with and we haven’t done back-to-school shopping yet. My daughter starts high school this year, which is terrifying as she is only 13 and there has been issues aplenty already. Goddess get me through! My son “officially” starts at the U, although he’s been going there 2 years full-time already through PSEO. Only new things there are figuring out the money stuff. This is the first fall for 10 years that I’m not in school! Wow, it didn’t really hit me until I wrote it.
I’ve been sampling a lot of new releases, maybe it’s about time to pull out some old favorites.
Michelle, you’re lucky to be going back after Labor Day — that’s when we started when I was growing up. Hang in there with the kids and school; hopefully, the issues will work out quickly and they’ll find balance and a good groove. Scentwise, it is a nice time to revisit the old favorites; think I’ll do that too.
This time of year generally makes me a bit wistful for years gone by. However, since moving from NC to IL in Feb 2013, this time of year is just making me sad because I am SO dreading the dark, bitter cold days of winter. I moved to IL for a terrific job but still haven’t figured out how to change my attitude to make the winters tolerable. Its a work in progress I suppose.
That’s got to be hard, Diana, but hopefully your cold-weather scents can help you adjust a little. I think it does get better over time. Hang in there!
I’m heading off to college for the first time on the twenty-third, and am really dreading leaving all the things I care about behind. So, no, not excited to see summer go. At the same time, autumn is my favorite season, so hopefully that will make the transition a bit more palatable. I am excited for the fall perfume season- I can finally dust off my L’Air de Rien.
Congratulations, Connie! I know it’s hard to leave, but think of the great adventure that awaits you. And your favorite scents will help a lot in the transition. In what area is your college?
My 7th grader is getting bored, too, so he’s looking forward to school. Me, I’ve been enjoying some time off, so I have mixed feelings about getting back to work this week! Ah, well, it’s time to be useful again….
We have only 2 seasons here, the “Very Hot Season”, and the “Not Quite So Very Hot Season”. Fortunately, Chergui is lovely in the heat!
So glad to hear that you’re the proud mother of a teenager, too! When do you guys return to school? I grew up in Florida, so I hear you on those two “seasons.” Hope you enjoy the rest of your time off!
To celebrate the end of winter I’ve been wearing a lot of iris and tobacco. Just ordered a decant of Marron Chic, which I can’t seem to get enough of, and I think I’ll need more Back to Black. too. Even if it’s not as good as Chergui, I really enjoy how it smells of real pipe tobacco – although I think I’ll never get a FB exactly for this reason, it isn’t complex enough to justify its price. Or am I missing something?
Hope your kid has a nice return to school. 🙂
Thanks, Solanace! I have not tried Marron Chic so might have to sample that. I’m on an iris binge here lately; and I love Chergui in the cold months as well, but have not spent much time with B2B. Enjoy!
Not so sure about the Wrappings. I just spritzed some on my wrist yesterday and it seems a bit funky to me -what’s it supposed to smell like anyway? They offer it in giftsets arround the holidays but Never have a tester bottle (and I’ve asked…) I finally blind bought a partial bottle- but hmmm..maybe it’s turned..
I’m always in two minds about Wrappings – I think I have to be in the right frame of mind to wear it, as it can be a bit astringent, and I’ve heard some people compare it to pine toilet cleaner – it is quite green and mossy! But when it’s good, and your mood is good, then it can be lovely (perhaps in an old fashioned way). I also think that it can turn quite quickly, and if it hasn’t been stored too well this will hasten its demise. Do try it again though, as it may grow on you.
Oh, dear, no! I’m with Jillie in that it may have turned a bit. But hopefully after the blown top notes fade, it will still be good. Don’t give up on it quite yet. Perhaps you could leave it in the refrigerator from now on to preserve the rest? I have many of my older, more fragile scents in the vegetable crispers in my fridge and they seem to do pretty well in there.
Hi Ann! School started here last week already, doesn’t it just seem crazy early? Fall’s my favorite season too but it’s been so cool that I’ve been wearing some different perfumes, esp Bottega Veneta lately and haven’t reached much for summer scents. Happy first day to you & your seventh grader 🙂
Howdy, dear! Yes, it just seems to start earlier and earlier — one of these years we’ll end up going back the day after July 4th (just kidding, but who knows?). Thanks for your good wishes!
Like Fernando, I’m a teacher. Personally, I’ll be going with big scents until I have to tone it down for the students. After all, why not end the summer with a bang?
You tone it down? I’ve always thought that since we’re (kind of) alone in front of the class, our profession is one of the few that allows any perfume to be worn; that most students will just think that I have a terrible, old ladish taste. And that young people in general have good, healthy noses that can take a little L’Heure Bleue or Shalimar. No one has ever complained to me, but now I’m (almost) starting to feel bad – hence all my arguments above, a lame attempt to justify my fiendish perfume habits. 😉
Oh no! Please don’t stop educating our youth with a healthy dose of Shalimar or L’Heure Bleue! I have to do a number of weekly small group meetings in a closed office in addition to lectures, and, I’m a terrible under sprayer. I would feel awful if my comment caused you to hold back. Just enjoy!
Very interesting, Spiker and Solanace. I’d not thought about teachers and how they interact with fragrance. That could be a whole ‘nother post 🙂
Yep, I really think I’m educating the young when I wear my ole Guerlains. 🙂
Thank’s for your seet answer. Not feeling (kind of) guilty anymore. 😉
Love, love love Champagne, I have a small bottle of the original EDP that I parcel out at special times. The weather here has been so beautiful the last few days – sunny, 70’s and no humidity, I’ve been enjoying all my summer scents – Zeta, Orange sanguine etc but looking forward to my fall scents – Gathering Apples, Balmain’s Ambergris, and Un Bois Vanille!!
Lucky you, Lynne Marie, to have such nice weather! Highs in the 70s is the stuff of dreams for me. Although I can’t complain, as it’s been 90 and under most days, which is pretty good for us. Glad to see another Champagne fan! Enjoy your lovelies.
Like most teachers, I’m doing my best to shut out of my mind the sound of the returning crowd. So I’d go for some really intimidating stuff. Black Aoud, perhaps…
I do sympathize with teachers, Fernando. After a peaceful summer, you get dropped back into the craziness. Hope your re-entry isn’t too rough.
It is bittersweet, I get to get back to routines and get some well needed structure in my life but at the same time I won’t be able to sleep until noon. Haha
Edward, I feel your pain — it sure was so nice to sleep in. But take heart, summer will be here again before you know it.