sel marin?
Hi, darlings! Musette here – again – since po’ Tom is getting dental work. And we all know how that feels. So let’s send him some Dental Love.
I feel like Pharaoh today – beset by floods, hail, even worms!!! (that’s the Midwestern version of the serpents, y’all)….seriously, in the time it took me to type that sentence it went from mild rain to heavy rain to HAIL – and now we are getting snow AND rain? SNAIN? SROW? Something – but it’s bizarre. Moses! I’m sorry! I swear. Get your people the hell OUT of here! G’wan! Git! Here’s a box lunch for the trip.
I Think You Will Like It
That’s what I would’ve said, anyway. Alas I am not Pharaoh, so we are stuck with this Apocalyptic weather. And none of my customers likes me today so I amused myself by watching The Ten Commandments. I’ve had a ‘thing’ for Yul Brynner since I was 10 …but now? watching his hot, bowlegged self tell Anne Baxter that, as his Queen “I think you will like it”. Well. Alrighty, then.
So. In honor of Yul and because I’m feeling silly I decided to create some Perfume Commandments. I get to be Pharaoh, Moses, the Burning Bush, you name it. And because I am feeling even Crazier than usual I am going to just makes some stuff up, delivering an edict…or just messin’ witcha. So hop on board the Ark of the Perfume Covenant, let’s sail to fiery Mount Mitsouko and let’s see what gets etched on our flacons.
1. Thou Shalt Wear What Thou Wants – you like JLo Glow? Wear the hell out of it. I once followed a gal down 3 aisles at the grocery because she smelled so good! Guess what? Yup. JLo Glow. Smelled like toilet cleaner on me. Smelled GREAT on her. If you are really a snob (and who isn’t) and you’re worried what people will think, dump it into a vintage bottle….make something up, see if folks fall for the idea that it’s a rare, 1930s Chanel prototype that you got at an Estate Sale in the Hebrides.
2. Thou Shalt Not Blind Buy. Unless you are a collector or you know a House like a mother knows her child, test first. That’s why Floyd made Surrender to Chance and the decant/split groups on Google, FB et al. Of course, if you have Warren Buffet money, go ‘head. And if you buy vintage Chanel No5 or Amouage Gold and you hate it, I’ll email you my address!
3. Thou Shalt Buy for Wear. This applies to full bottle purchases and it’s my own OCD issue, since I’m personally over collecting (so ymmv. Hey, I get to be the burning bush here!) . In the early stages I was acquiring perfume just to have it – now I’m winnowing down to stuff I actually wear (plus a box of vintage Must-Haves…which I also wear)…which brings me to…
4. Thou Shalt WEAR THY PERFUMES. What’s with the ‘I’ve got it shrinkwrapped in a dark closet in Sauron’s basement’?? Maybe I’m cruising for a beatdown but ..when I get like that I go find the hoarded perfume and spray the living daylights out of it. Take that, hoarding tendency! Again, ymmv. I know some of you will fight like the zombies are coming up 7th before you Open That Bottle. So it is written, so shall it be. Oh, Yul…
Ice, Ice, Baby!
OMG! You guys. Our street looks like a creek out there – and we’re at the top of a slight rise! OMG! The property across the street has a 3’deep LAKE on it. I hope the town’s sewers can handle this sudden influx – history is not on our side, alas. We shall see. In the meantime, it’s Muck boots to the rescue! With the ice cleats. Because ….remember that 3″ layer of ice? (don’t ask me why Jaws is here – it made sense then…)
Okay – back to the Perfume Commandments:
5. Thou Shalt Give It A Whirl. Unless you are a migraineur or on your way to a meeting, take a scentstrip – and if you’re really feeling adventurour, let an SA spritz you. Worst case is 20 mins later you find yourself in the bathroom, pumping the soap dispenser. If I laid out all the bottles I’ve dismissed for no good reason I could walk from Greenland to Iceland without getting my feet wet. Which, as a perfumista, is kinda weird. I mean, that’s the whole point of this, right? To seek out new perfume worlds, to boldly go where…wait. That’s a whole ‘nother movie. With lasers. Hey! Maybe that’s why I put Jaws up there?
6. Thou Shalt Have Fun. This is PERFUME. It’s not an organ transplant or the cure for some grievous disease. I know I’ve said this before but it bears repeating – as a species (or is it as a culture?) the minute we fall in love with something we seem to want to categorize it and quantify it and assign ‘expert’ opinion to define it – and that’s all fine and dandy…as long as we remember that it should still be fun. Otherwise it feels like doing taxes. And that sucks.
7. Thou Shalt, on occasion, Be Perverse in Perfume. Yeah. Really. See ‘Fun’ above. Moses was under a lot of stress, what with the Golden Calf and talking to blazing shrubbery, not to mention that whole Red Sea thing…and that itchy red blanket? Imagine if he’d worn Fracas or Carnal Flower, to offset the drama. And Yul? He could’ve lightened up, big time, with Bubblegum Chic, told Nefretiri to get OVER it already and all those fish could’ve gone about their business. Just sayin’. So every now and then, pick something totally CRAY! and wear it!
8. Thou Shalt Cut Musette a Break. 45mph winds, pouring rain, I’m bouncing off the walls here, my customers are giving me hives …and ….well, I’m just a Poor Ol’ Crazy. With delusions of Biblical Perfume Grandeur! LOL!
Moses OUT!
but wait!!! Moses BACK! I figure, since you are nice enough to deal with my babbling, I’ll throw in a giveaway – some niche samples from my Commandments drawer (Thou Shalt Pay It Forward). Throw something fun up in the comments. Bruno is taking over Carmine’s random.org duties and he’s sooo excited!
Great post! I broke Commandment number 2 a few weeks ago….I have since then, learned my lesson and will faithfully heed it! Hope you’re feeling better! I find that spritzing on my favorite perfume usually helps make things a little better! 🙂
Fun post, I wanna win it Moses.
P.S. You and me both on the Yul Brynner obsession. I will wantch ANYTHING he was ever in.
Ahem – I conveniently ignore Commandment No. 2 but since most of my purchases are vintage frags from eBay let’s just say I am working on it, ‘k? 😉
Doing well on No. 4 though – just cracked open my precious SEALED bottle of L’Arte di Gucci last weekend and GAVE SOME AWAY. How’s that for breaking the old hoarding habit? 😀
(No need to enter me in the draw, thanks!)
I’ve gotten bad about breaking Commandment #2. Ironically enough, I was really careful about it when I first fell down the proverbial rabbit hole, but I think I’ve gone backwards! I sort-of blame TJ Maxx. 😛 And I at least used to say that I only blind-bought if it was cheap enough that I wouldn’t care too much if I didn’t like it, like the $8 bottle of Bijan EDT at the aforementioned TJ Maxx. Not so! I recently blind-bought a lightly used 100ml bottle of Guerlain Derby, which set me back a nice chunk. But (!!) I was helping out the original owner by buying it, and compared to the cost of a new bottle it was a steal, so those might be redeeming factors. Also I was in observance of the 10th Commandment (Thou shalt ignore gender designations), so there’s that.. 😛
Dear Miss A, I lurve you.
Having achy heart lately, but you cheered me up. Mwah.
Great post! I’m in total agreement with the 10th commandment. I try stuff for men all the time! Spicebomb is one of my absolute favorites. Thanks for the giveaway!
#2–Did my husband put you up to this??? I have a bad habit of blind buying lower-priced scents, because y’know, it’s practically like MAKING money to pay $35 for a bottle of something discontinued (which, if I love it, will immediately become very expensive and hard to find) rather than spending $85 and up for 2 teaspoons of a niche scent.
Naturally, I have too much stuff and some of it I just don’t like. Thank goodness my kids don’t yet have any taste and are thrilled when Mommy gives them a spontaneous “present.” My oldest has a large collection of perfumes that I hate, but they smell cute on her.
Love this post! and thank you for the draw!
1, 2, and 3 are great and I’ve gotten down with them over the years.
I have been working hard on 4, and 5 an 6 also.
7 looks like a great idea! and 8 is genius.
Love this post and love you all. Perfume rules, rule! Gonna layer my Mito Voile today with vintage Fracas to help my daughter clean her room. Just because!
Hope the weather gets better for you Musette, if its any consolation, we’ve got 80mph gales and heavy rain forecast for tomorrow. I think they need to change the name of this season from ‘Winter’ to just plain ‘Wet’!
I kinda combined 6 & 7 at work once. I took a sample of Secretions Magnifique into the office (they all know about my crazy fume obsession) and dared them all to have a sniff without telling them what it was meant to smell like. I had so much fun watching all the different reactions – the looks of recognition then revulsion then horror, then the retching – then the childish sniggering. 🙂 Way, way too much fun, and highly recommended.
I officially have the cold from hell, so to make myself feel better, I dosed one arm in Kenzo Jungle Elephant and since I couldn’t even get a whiff of cloves, decided to break out the Carnal Flower.. According to hubby, I now smell like a Javanese brothel, but a trickle of scent broke through, and that is all I wanted.
My personal commandment is Thou Shalt Not Buy Perfume Until Rent is Paid. I have a couple of hundred saved for a new scent to celebrate being cancer-free for 5 years but because of work closures from the weather, it may be going towards rent. I’ll know Fr..
You made me spill my coffee, Moses! I have a commandment too: Thou shall not feel vain about your perfume habits.
Because we are making love, not war, and fomenting the arts with our elf-like hobby. Actually, I wish the guys in charge could take a hint from our little international community.
And pllllease, a picture of Bruno!
My brother got me Salvatore Ferragamo (he blind chose it at a discounter) and it was one that I had sampled and really liked .I ended up asking and getting a big sister size bottle too(100 ml).Last Christmas knowing that dinero was a bit tight all round I asked for minis of Wonderstruck /enchanted/Juicy C. and some Demeters .He got me a box set of Wonderstruck Enchanted at Ulta AND (excellent little brother that he is )he entered my info so I got the points (it also allowed them to look it up so I could return it for full value -I only wanted a pretty mini bottle for sampling not a new FB fav!! Last years’Bday I got a Sephora card .Have I got a great little brother or what?
Please send some of that snail, slow… whatever my way. We are parched here in California. Rain is so rare my water loving lab refuses to go outside when it is even misting.
I’m a bit late but my commandment: if I’m going to give away perfume (usually to my nieces), make a small decant for me so I don’t kick myself later in case I change my mind.
If you are anything in person like you are in your writing, life must be one wild ride!
Yul! Oh, my. Way back when in the olden days I saw him in the King and I on broadway. I got tickets to see it b/c Annie was sold out for months. Didn’t expect to like him (too old, too bald, too much of an accent), but he was quite appealing.
My commandment is Thou shalt keep your preciouses out of the sunlight so they live a long and lovely life.
Hope you dry out soon, Musette.
The Perfume Commandments are very sage advice for all perfume enthusiasts. Like many, I have battled with the urge to save my favorite perfumes “for best.” Unfortunately, as we all know, special occasions are usually not as often as one would think. So, I have made an effort to wear what pleases me no matter how expensive or hard-to-obtain it is. However, I recently noticed that I have a strange little hang-up: A fear of something bad happening while I’m wearing my ultra-favorite perfume and causing it to have a negative association and to be rendered repellent from then on. Weird, I know. This has happened before and now it’s become a niggling little fear. A phobia? Not quite sure how to fix it, but it’s a real thing. It’s my kooky little secret. So with shaky hands, I will spray my Attrape Coeur and hope for a great day. And a great day to all!!
Cristine,
I feel the same way about perfume and bad days. I envy some of the others that find comfort In a perfume on a rough day and if it’s just a little foul weather I do find some perfumes uplifting. But, if I know I’m going to be stressed or dealing with drama, I won’t wear a favorite scent for fear of the associations. Similarly, I typically won’t wear anything to bed. I’ve had bouts with insomnia in the past and won’t risk a scent disturbing my sleep. Wish I had a solution for you. Hoping for many more good days than bad for us both.
I am sorry but there is no chance of me not making more blind buys. I just love to break that commandment. Must be my little rebellious streak. I am pretty good keeping the others.
We’re getting the rain/snow mix now. It’s an awful mess.
LOL! you REBEL! 😀
xoxoxoxoA
Hey Musette, lived in NYC as a child, and one day my dad spotted Yul Brynner either going in or coming out of Zabars. He was a dashing guy with presence! I’m currently having difficulty using what I have…must heed your advice pronto (thanks for the reminders).
I love the word ‘dashing’ – and it fits YB to perfection! Dashing. Love that. Where have all the dashing men got to, I wonder…
xoxoxoA
Heeee!! I, too, had an enormous crush on Yul back in the day when I was a pre-tweener, or whatever they call them these days. I was even willing to forgive him his baldness, as I felt it added considerably to his cache.
I actually saw him in an old movie last weekend, where he played the pirate, Jean LaFitte, and he HAD HAIR. It was probably studio hair, not his own, but it didn’t diminish his sexiness at all.
My personal tendency is to get the ‘good stuff’ and hoard it, too. I broke myself of that by instituting a ‘tradition’ that consists of my wearing each and every one of my fragrances – no exceptions! – in alphabetical order from A to Z at least once a year. I can only do it once a year, because (blush), it takes me @5 months to go from A to Z. Yup, I’m that bad what with all the samples and splits and decants, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera (didja see what I did there….channeling Yul as the King of Siam?)
Other than that, I’m pretty good about the other commandments. I share copiously with everyone on my mission to scent the world, I’m more than willing to try anything new (I carry towelettes and I’m not afraid to use ’em!), and I’ve been known to borrow my boyfriend’s cologne on more than one occasion. One actually made it’s way home with me (but it’s ok, he didn’t much like it. I hope.)
OMGosh! I LOVE the idea of that tradition!!!! Excellent!!!
xoxoxoA
I think right now the idea of having any fun at all sounds important to me. I have been working so much, but so so much that I actually haven’t gone out to have a drink in probably 6 months if not a bit more. I don’t have time to enjoy perfumes the way I used to either. Granted I don’t have the economic means to do so, hence, the three jobs and the no fun life situation. I need to have FUN!!! and I need a perfume to inspire me to do so.
You need YOU to inspire you to do so. And I know you have fun and joy inside you!!! Beauty is all around you, xtopher. On your way to Job3 (Yikes!) take note of a soft breeze or the laugh of a child. And booya! There you go!
xoxoxoxoA
How witty you are! We were without power last evening for over 3 hours…It made for quite an interesting evening
with my 96 year old dad!!!!! Thanks for the fun post and giveaway. Cindi
jchoppes[at]otmail[dot]com
If your dad is 96, he probably remembers what it was like to have no power! LOL! Seriously!!! At 91, my dad remembered pantaloons and outhouses, horse-drawn carriages for deliveries…it really was cool to hear him recount that stuff! Give your dad a smooch for me!
xoxoxoxoA
I am a migraine sufferer sadly. I tend to get hit in the head by certain scents in spite of my desire to persevere and learn. In this regard sometimes I just cannot give it a whirl. It happens to me, true story, that sometimes just walking around, a girl passes by me and the trail of her scent (usually anything too fruity and applied without regards for humanity) hits me like an ax in the middle of my brain. I get nauseous. I have to run for safety but it is too late. The migraine is there already. I need to heed your commandment and actually wear my perfumes. Sometimes I abandon some of my perfumes for some obsession.
I hope the weather gets better on your end!
Noooo! Oh, honey – ouch! Have you tried acupuncture? I had not-quite-migraines but bad enough to require Fiorinal (old school) to keep them in check. Acupuncture ripped them right out of my head – and they stayed gone.
As long as we don’t get frogs raining from the sky I think I’m okay!
xoxoxA
I love your commandments yet I do not love the worm experience which, in fact, scared the mother out of me. Once the image of worms passed a bit, I laughed hard at your post. I like perfume perversion or perfume to perverse situations. I feel for the horrendous weather misery you are undergoing. I am in NYC and it was terrible yet right now it is not thaaaat bad. The streets are still slushy, ugly, wet, uncomfortable. How to perverse NYC??? Today it will be my task to find a scented way.
okay. I’ll freak you out just a tad more, shall I? The worm was In My House. Yesh. It was over where the plant stand is, so I just scooped him up and put him in the jalaps but ….it was weird.
NYC. sigh. Even slushy, ugly, wet and uncomfortable…still fabulous!!!
xoxoxoA
Great commandments, Musette, dear! Lordy, girl, I so look forward to reading you every time. And although I quail at commandment #5, I will obey! (Not too much to ask, since I almost never venture into the department stores anymore. 🙂 )
Wearing Mona di Orio Vanilla something-or-other today. Seems everyone is having horrific weather, and it is Pot-Hole season here in New England. Smooches to Bruno.
Thank you, My Queen! That Mona Vanille is stunning. It took me forever to get into her work – now I am a major fan!
xoxoxoxoA (and Bruno)
I’ve got my own way of obeying commandments 6 and 7: this girl wears BRUT! (And, it smells fabulous on me.)
OMGosh! I would LOVE to smell that on you!!! It’s probably like the reverse of El O and Fracas, courtesy of Neil Morris (who taught me about Men and Big White Flowers). It smells divine on him and drives womenses WILD!!! I’ll bet Brut smells stunning on you!
xoxoxoxoA
baruch atah perfumista! (vanilla, shark-shark, baby!) ok. there. got that out of the way. 😉 let me see how i am adhering to this delightful new cult! #1 i am finally allowing myself to experience synth classics but i am a naturals devote. so i do what i want! #2 there are a few houses i would blind buy from, but mostly if i didn’t look at where the little hole on the sprayer was pointing and now have fragrant and useless eyes. among these: Strange Invisible Perfumes, JoAnne Bassett, Providence Perfume Co, but let me not play favorites. (i totally play favorites) #3 the idea that there is perfume lying around this house unused is like saying there’s a rock of cocaine just sitting on an addict’s coffeetable.. you know… for future use. (you people make me slightly ill and totally amazed. how do you DO that??) #4 see #3. #5 i’m learning!! i’m dipping my toes into some famous houses that my hippie, earth loving, is that a SYNTH!?? mind set will allow. #6 & #7 — can i just do that across the board? fun & perverse. i think that’s what my high school year book said… #8 YOU’RE IN LUCK!! there IS a Biblical perfume, from Intelligent Nutrients you can find it at their website or at the store in the Mall of America. where are #9 & 10? does this mean that if my brother is holding out on a bottle of 1990 formula Parisi from Aveda that i can stone him and take it away? Does this mean that if someone tells me Jean Nate is the height of artisan perfume i can sell them into slavery? and lastly, is Tom bringing enough laughing gas for the whole class? 😉
You are a goofball! Yes. Yes. yes.yesyes and yes!
And he’d better!!! 😀
xoxoxoxoA
HA #1 describes me almost too perfectly! When I buy something I like, I make sure other people know it! I always wear the same perfume (which happens to be Bond No 9’s Central Park South) until it runs out. And when it does run out, I go buy more. When I like something, I love it! I get too nervous changing my routines, which include my perfumes. I should probably go into a Bond boutique soon and have them help me find a different scent to spice up my life.
Personally I think you are smart, knowing what trips your triggers and taking steps to avoid it! If routine helps, by all means stick with it! There’s no right or wrong way to enjoy perfume, imo, as long as you enjoy it! I go weeks in No 5 or Gold. Really. Sometimes it’s just Too Damn Much Trouble to change. So I don’t. And if you love it, wear it!
xoxoxoxoA
Musette, you rock! This is why I love the Posse so much – the wonderful reminder that all of this is supposed to be fun!! I’m particularly guilty of fear of spritzing. If it doesn’t smell interesting enough on the test strip, I’m ready to pass it by. BUT when I get brave and put it on the ol’ body I am often pleasantly surprised. I’m also a bit of hoarder (actually, make that hide-er, if my darling spouse knew how much perfume I really own, oh man I would have some ‘splaining to do!) but I’m getting better at spraying joyfully TODAY!
Go Bruno!
You know what I used to hoard? Stationery. Yeth. Isn’t that weird? I would buy gobs of Crane’s note cards….then I would write thank you notes, etc…..on……scratch paper? Wth? That was so wack I just had to cut it out. Can you imagine?
All this stuff should be fun, imo. Sometimes it gets to us and triggers Teh Crezeee – but beat it back. Back! I say!
xoxoxoxoA
Thou shalt part with your unwanted samples! Pass them on to someone who may appreciate them; don’t keep them just because you can’t even part with the stuff you don’t like. That’s hoarding & strange!
Oh, yes! An excellent commandment!!!!!
xoxoxoA
Best commandment ever !
Absolutely brilliant, Musette! You’re on fire. I particularly love Mount Mitsouko.
The Blazing Shrubbery often finds Herself on Mt Mitsouko 😉
xoxoxoA
I love trying samples of new things. Just wondering if it’s ok to smell different each day, tho it’s ok with me! Maybe just plain old fun and OCD ! Loved your post!
Honey, you can smell different each HOUR, if you’ve got some No 4 toner. Or you can wear the same thing for a month straight. It’s up to you and it can change as you do! This is not an exam! Go have fun – do something completely crazy and ENJOY IT!!!
xoxoxoxoA
xoxoxoxxoA
I love it! And good for NeenaJ for wearing Bronze Goddess in the middle of Feb. I’m going to wear something great on this grey day, and the end of a school vacation week where we didn’t go anywhere which as anyone with kids knows, gets very old by Friday! Maybe one of my Amouage samples, they always lift me up. And a commandment for me, Thou Shalt Use Thy Samples Instead Of Just Buying More More More!
I wore EL Bronze Goddess yesterday because after all the rain and snow and frakking ice of the week before, it was nearly 70 degrees and sunny here! So, thank you for Commandment #1. As for #2, I took a leap of faith and blind bought Barbara Bui based on the notes and reviews and love it! I think taking a small, calculated financial risk (BB was about $30) can be a thrill in and of itself with great payoff potential.
And, on the fun note: “Moses supposes his toes-es are roses but, Moses supposes erroneously… Couldn’t be a lily or a tappy daffodilly. Had to be a rose because it rhymes with Mose!”
LOL!!!!
and of course – a $30 blind buy can be cool. I was thinking more the $300 type. Those hurt.
xoxoxoA
Got not a lot of fun to share here. After suck biopsy results BF is now Carmined, getting whatever he wants. Loved the post, wish I always followed the commandments!
Oh, oh, my poor darling. I am so sorry. My heart goes out to you. Squoo the commandments, except …well what the commandments are really saying. Life is to live – in the moment.
Love to you and know we are thinking about you and wishing you only the best.
xoxoxoxoxoA
Michelle, so very sorry to hear this. Seconding Musette, thinking of you and sending up prayers.
Great post! My brain doesn’t want to wake up today, so I can’t be terribly witty. But I do like Yul Brynner!
of course you do! How can you not? Yul is YUL!!!
xoxoxoA
I guess it’s hard not to hoard. I’ve had FB acquisitions at almost a complete halt for a while now though, so that keeps things in check and I use most things. Or I try to! Even getting through samples is difficult when they get to a certain number… 🙂
I think folks who become passionate about something tend to collect, which can run perilously adjacent to hoarding…hard to tell sometimes. As long as I’m comfortable using a scent I don’t consider it a hoard. If I can’t bring myself to spritz it, then I know something’s amiss in my little lizard brain….
xoxoxoxoA
Musette, you’re hilarious.
I think that many of these (brilliant) commandments will only work on the more seasoned perfumista, since I broke ALL of those rules when I started out. Especially the one about hoarding. And having fun. And giving it a whirl.
Even now I break #1— I used to love SJP Lovely but haven’t it worn it in years. I should give it a go now, and see what I think compared with all those niche offerings I’ve tried. I imagine I’ll be embarassed by it, but who knows? Maybe I’ll fall in love all over again.
Giving it a whirl is so important, because so many things seem like things that I wouldn’t love. Like Shanghai Lily. It’s Tom Ford, and I’m not a huge fan of his, plus it’s LILY. But on my skin, it smells like a tropical island, a vacation, a dream. Like sunned skin and relaxation and sun. Did I mention sun? It wafts all day. That stuff is brilliant. And I never would have tried it if I had thought about it first, since it doesn’t sound like my cuppa.
Amen to the Shanghai Lily — it’s great, isn’t it? Glad to see it has another fan.
Oh wow, now I need to try Shanghai Lily – I had totally dismissed it because, well, the word “Lily” was in the title. When will I learn…
See? LOL!!!! Even the Burning Bush needs to course-correct sometimes! LOL! I had COMPLETELY dismissed Shanghai Lily – because Lily. xoxoxxoxoA
Ladies, ladies, skip right over the Lily in the name and just come on aboard the TF Shanghai train! 🙂
Who doesn’t love Yul Brynner? And how about “Thou shalt tolerate the SAs”?
I always tolerate SAs and am always gracious, even when I am about to give them Very Short Shrift. That job’s gotta suck on nearly all levels, especially as our economy still straitens us….omg. can you imagine? 8 SAs and 2 customers……yikes!
And Yul. Universal Hottie!
xoxoxoA
Crazy weather here too….but I have hope ….I’ve heard birds singing the last few mornings so I think spring is coming or maybe I’m delusional. Great post, Musette!
During that crazy blizzard-y rain/snow/sleet??? I had THREE pairs of cardinals on my feeder. At one time! I nearly plotzed! Either Spring is nigh or the Apocalypse is. One or the other.
Three cardinal couples. At one time. Unheard of, at least on my feeder.
xoxoxoA
🙂 Told you March was spring!
Oh Musette, you crack me up every time! I agree with all your commandments and several comments that add new ones. Haven’t seen ol’ Yul in a while but Turner Classic Movies 30 days of Oscar has been saving my stir crazy sanity. Sunday was Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, A Place in the Sun and Streetcar Named Desire, back to back – talk about intense! All that steaminess was, um, a great way to warm up. I received a bottle of vintage Chanel 5 in a swap this week and that’s a good diversion too. I shall not speak to you about the weather because it is unspeakable, the end.
bffrppttpssplft! (that’s me, drooooooling)…how’s the vint? Is it fabulous? edt? parfum?
the weather is absurd.
talk about the 5!!!
xoxoxoxoxoA
Musette, Musette, Musette! You’ve got me spewing again today — except this time it’s not tea, it’s oatmeal (not a pretty sight or easy to clean off a keyboard, let me tell you). Love your commandments and think they are spot on. Thanks for a grand day brightener! I am keeping the prayers and hugs coming for you, dear.
ew! LOL!!!
xoxoxoA
Yo, ‘Mosette’ about no8. What kinda crazy do ye have in mind? I could do with some crazy. And not like Secretions Mags- that’s just vile. Crazy like wearing force field strength Bandit and plonking myself amongst a group of 16 yr old girls? 🙂 I’m sure there’s a subtle difference between crazy and offensive, I just need some recommendations…
And TaffyJ- that’s frickin hilarious! I’ll never look at Yul the same way again!
Naw. Just, on occasion, wear something you wouldn’t normally wear (for that occasion). Again, NO MEETINGS – this is not the time to experiment. But…you’re going to the grocery store. Normally you would wear Calyx because Calyx. So…soak your poitrine in Bandit! Just Because. Nobody’s going to die and you won’t get fired. But it’ll free you up from the rigidity that we so often set up for perfumery (this is a hot/cold weather scent; I would only wear this one to weddings – that sort of thing). Doing that, imo, helps keep perfume in its place.
And I love TaffyJ’s mother forever for that one, don’t you?
xoxoxoA
Musette,
What a fun, entertaining post. My DD and I watched “The King and I” in the last year and really enjoyed it. She had never seen it before and really got into it. I hear you on the wild weather. We’re supposed to have thunderstorms today. That’s crazy for February. I loved your commandments. I agree with them all. The one I need to work on the most is number five – give it a whirl. I pre-judge scents based on the list of notes. “Patchouli? Vanilla? Meh. I won’t like it.” I’ll try harder this year not to be a perfume snob and just give it a try, at least on blotter paper. 🙂
We had that scary thundersnow! Now it’s 45F and bright sunshine. If Dennis Quaid sets up his climatology base across the street I’ll know we’re in for it!
I don’t read notes anymore. I really don’t. Because I have hoist myself on my own petard waaay too many times, doing that. Now I just spray. That’s why God invented Clinique No4 toner, don’tchaknow.
xoxoxoxoA
Haha !
Reading the 8 (? where are the other 2 ? ) commandments above, I felt as the biggest sinner, I don’t know if I find mercy… I did all the wrong :(Including being sprayed with an unknown fragrance before entering the concert hall. My friend got a horrid headache, so did I. My neighbours .. may sentenced me to death)
But, in the last two years I tried… I mean TRIED not to… My willpower didn’t help me, but the dramatic shrinking of my income did.
So, I managed no more to buy compulsively, unsniffed, I begun to wear quite everything I have (except the favorites… the discontinued… I am afraid they go off if too much air goes in… ouch!), therefore I wore the ones I don’t really like (Oops… that’s no good)
Can I be forgived, though?
Do I deserve the niiiiice samples in the draw? Do I ? Pleeeaaaaseeee, forgive meeee !!!
I promise no more to 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8 !
I promise.
PLeeeaaasseeee 🙂
Go, my child, and Sin No More. 😀
And for heaven’s sake – cut it out with the Not Wearing of the Good Stuff. That’s like eating off paper plates whilst the good china gathers dust. As will you, someday (as will we all) so spritz ye perfumes whilst ye may, sweetie.
xoxoxoA
Oh thank you ! What a relief ! 🙂
I will (hardly) try to.
Saving the best stuff for a “very special occasion” is, I admit, one stupid thing. That “v.s.p.” may never appear.
Yes… How can I teach myself that TODAY is always a special occasion, and I have to use my fragrances liberally? And no more treasure them for the future?
How defend the fear that a certain dear ‘fume will disappear from the market (or, it already disappeared) and my bottle will never be replaced?
Please, Moses, tell me! Show me the Way!
At the very dawn of My perfum. Obsession, I greatly enjoyed vintage hunting.. Still do occasionally.
The hoarding is so hard to beat for Me when it comes to sealed stuff!
If I open them, Ill probably use them up and Will never find another one.. And on it goes 🙂
The stupidity of owning a vintage guerlain , and not even knowing what it smells like !
I hope your commands Will stick with Me and make Me sell off a ton of stuff.
If you don’t want to sell them Lotta, just USE them! Truly. xoxoxoxoA
An ark might be necessary over here as well. Great post. I’m guilty of disobeying commandment 6. I spend so much time at work that even when I’m at home I use spreadsheets for everything. I should just be more impulsive and have fun. Thanks for the reminder.
I got a spreadsheet-y for awhile. You know how I got over it? I would take a shower (this was at night – do NOT do this on the way to work), go to the perfume armoire and close my eyes, grab a bottle…and spritz the daylights out of myself! OMG! sooo freeing! Vintage Fol d’Arome? Foom! Spritzed. Charlie? ditto. I now just grab and spray at least 3x a week to FORCE myself to not get caught up in the Crayzay.
xoxoxoxoA
You may be focusing on the wrong bible story. What you want to do is build an ark, and put some runners on the bottom, just in case. And why can’t we build a pipeline for water instead of oil, since you’re getting all our precipitation?
I will endeavor to obey your commandments, and whenever I feel bad about not keeping notes in a spreadsheet, I’ll remember No. 6.
I wish we could. Ours is melting too quickly so it’s all runoff anyway. I’m hoping not but I’m thinking there will be new wars fought over water………..alas..
And..I thought about the ark – but it was too grim.
And I had Yul on the brain. Yes. The brain. Yes, that’s it. The brain! LOL!
xoxoxoxoxoA
Scratch scratch little Bruno!
It’s the pharaoh here. I’m stressed because of this moses business.
Call the scribe, the sesh, and have these hieroglyphs painted on my personal pyramid:
“Though shall not fall prey of backup fury, let the limited editions go and let the discontinued perfumes rest in peace”
Got that? good. Now send the handmaids buy that last vanille absolument bottle… it’s being discontinued you know? I didn’t need any when it was in production, but it seems the one bottle I bought out of panic is not enough!
Lol! (yes, pharaohs Lol… don’t remeber the exact hieroglyph though… must be a hyena or something…)
Anyway, if you want to talk me out of the vanille absolument thing, I’m all divine pharaonh’s ears…
nah, Pharaoh, go ahead and get it – and when you go in your closet a year from now and are all ‘why the living hell do I have 3 bottles of a perfume I don’t even WANT?’ you can sell it on the eeeB.
Sometimes the itch is about the panic itself and can only be assuaged by the purchase. That’s okay – as long as you aren’t spending the dinner money on it…..okay?
😀
xoxoxoA
I love this post! On the commandment one… When I was about to pay for some cosmetics at the mall, a gal behind the counter showed me their budget line fragrances and asked me if I wanted to try one… Well, I said yes and bought one (OK, this was against commandment 2). It was yummy! For the price (1.25 euros for 20ml), this wasn’t bad at all. This got to be the cheapest fragrance I’ve got but I don’t care, it smells lovely and I enjoy it 🙂 There! I said it. I admitted!
Babydoll! You didn’t break either commandment. You tried it! You liked it. You bought it.
That sounds like a fabbo deal and it’s yummy? Well, then!!!
Good for you! and what the heck IS it?
xoxoxoxoA
ps. one of my faves, Fresh Lemon Sugar, cost $22. I couldn’t be happier!
My beloved Mother used to say that Yul B. was bald because he rubbed his head on women’s bellies.
Honestly.
I. I . I .
taffyj, I don’t know what to say.
Except I love your mother to pieces for that visual. Completely and forever.
xoxoxoxoxoxoA
xoxoxoxoxoxo!
What a fun post! #4 reminds me of a friend who had a bottle of Opium (about 6 or 7 years ago). She was saving it for a “special occasion”. I told her to start wearing it and enjoying it, but she refused. It had been sitting around for about 10 years already and had become vintage. Later that same year, it was stolen by someone house-sitting for her.
Oh, that’s terrible! My thought is always that Life is too uncertain to hoard. Which is why I don’t. I don’t mind leaving stuff – we all leave ‘stuff’ (the most obvious being our corporal selves) but wouldn’t it just chap your cheese to look down (or up) and see that vintage No5 get thrown in the trash by your sister’s teenager, because it’s Old Lady and Who Cares?
xoxoxoxoA
Ah, that sounds like the weather we’re having here. I’m tired of it!
So, completely random comment. Yesterday I found an old bottle of perfume my brother got me years ago. Brothers really shouldn’t give sisters perfume, at least not my brother. He got me Tommy Girl. I know alot of people like it,but its never been my thing at all. So I try it again. Now I remember why I always hated it on me. It smells, to me, just like those plastic covered diapers from the late 80s-early 90s. They had a sickly sweet chemical lysol-ish smell. So that’s what I smelled like yesterday. It was not good!
But at least you Gave It A Whirl! Now you can put/give it away with a clear conscience!
and btw – were my brother Christopher Chong or Franco (Luckyscent) I would be thrilled for them to give me perfume. My ‘actual’ brother? Yeah…not so much..
xoxoxoxoA
Welcome to Bruno! I’d love to see a picture of him sometime 🙂 In honor of this post, I shall go right this minute and try one of my many samples that I have for some reason not yet tried at all (and this pile just keeps growing…) Please do watch out for the slick ice/rain!
I’ll post a picture – he’s adorable! In my house, a 70-lb dog is a ‘little baby’ dog, so he’s the Baby. Tough little buckaroo, though. You’ll like him.
Spritz away, Nemo! xoxoxxoxoA
OMGoodness JGlow is a great story…
I definitely need a reminder to lighten up and be less of a niche-nerd!
but please don’t play any tricks if I win 😛
LOL! I promise!
xoxoxoA
Oooh…. I’d forgotten about that little sample of Bubblegum Chic I have stored away – now I know what I’m wearing tomorrow!
And, I think I’m going to need it. i”m not too far away from Musette in Northern Indiana, and made a poor shoe choice this morning. It was supposed to be 50 today, 50!!! (They lied) So, while I knew there would be puddles, I thought I could make it to work ok in tennis shoes (so tired of heavy boots). After slogging through 3-4 inches of water, I could feel my socks squishing with every step. I should have had galoshes, with ice cleats.
Tomorrow it’s back to heavy boots and coat with a shot of Bubblegum Chic to lift my spirits
Holy Cats and Crackers, spiker! You know better than that! The dreaded Ice/Water combo will ALWAYS get you. I wore my Muck boots, that’s how much I dread that stuff. And good thing, too, as I ended up in a 5″ puddle of water at the library. Seriously – up to my shins!
Dry those tootsies, sweets!
xoxoxoA
Ah, Musette, you crack me up! I love your crazy, crazy writing. Can I add another commandment? Thou shalt, completely and utterly, disregard the gender the marketers have decreed and assigned to the perfume.
DING!DING!DING!
and here we have it, folks: THE TENTH COMMANDMENT!
xoxoxoxoA
This post made my day (and the fact that no kitties hurled in the car on the way to Mom’s which is unheard of). I would be happy to take some of the flood off of your hands-dry as a bone here and fires everywhere. Gonna have to work on the 5th commandment.
Yikes! on the fires! Yikes. Do take care.
And….a caveat on Number 5: Pick the time and place. It should NOT be a situation you can’t wriggle out of so: no meetings/dates/weddings/etc…. This should be a Thursday 5p on my way home from work, stopped in at Saks kinda moment. You hate it? You’re home in an hour. And in the shower.
xoxoxoxoA
Adhering to Commandment #1 today, instead of the expensive Cartier Panthere, I have found a civet sister in the incredibly reasonably-priced La Nuit by (get this) Paco Rabanne. Both smell mostly of civet on me, but one is $200 an ounce and the other is about $30. I will wear my La Nuit proudly and hope someone follows me around the grocery store!
LOL! Lemmetellya – 99% of the time? The folks I follow around (because they smell FAB)? They are wearing some $30 scent. Go figure. xoxoxoA
OK, potentially dumb question, in observation of the commandments, is there a good place for a facebook abstainer who lives in Canada to get in on splits?
Great question, jjlook! I have the same, but for Europe… I was turned down rather rudely the last time I asked if I could join a split in the comments of a blog… 🙂 I hope there are some tips available!
I’d like to know for the US as well. I’ve thought of using Facebook ONLY for perfume purposes, and trying to maintain plausible deniability with relatives and people I went to high school with. (“It must be some other Laurel. Of course I wouldn’t deny your friend request.”)
Commandment Number Nine: there are NO dumb questions. CAN/International/US – there are a couple of great places for all – Google Groups has a couple of scent groups. I am not active on any of the pages but I do know they exist. Here’s a good place to start http://www.basenotes.net/threads/304518-what-happened-to-scentsplits-website. FB really is the new hotbed of splitting, it seems.
xoxoxo
The link from the basenotes forum has closed, as has the google group (at least the one I found)…
sad days for facebook abstainers?
John Derek, baby, John Freakin’ Derek. 8 years old and completely in his thrall! Most kids my age anxiously awaited the yearly showing of The Wizard of Oz, but not me; oh hell, no, give me Joshua over those whacked out flying monkey ANY day! And it was such an event, because we had to venture down off the mountain to go and watch it at my aunt’s house ( She had electricity AND a TV, and we had neither.)
Man I love that movie. Love the scene where the handmaidens are throwing gowns around for Miss Ann to choose, Yoshibel getting rescued, etc. etc. etc. (Ooops, wrong movie, but another classic with Yul!) As I have gotten older, I have to say I think Edgar G Robinson sort of steals the show. He is SO perfect in his part!
No need to enter me, as I have sworn an Oath Before God to cut back on my sampling so as not to generate any more lemmings, at least until I have saved up enough dinero to get me some Violet Fumee and Iris Nazarena.
Damn, wouldn’t you just LOVE to snuffle some Violet Fumee off Yul Brenner/John Derek’s 10 Commandment era neck? (Although, Yul is clearly a Yatagan or MKK kinda guy) (Or perhaps Black Afghano?)
We need a Scent-the-Stud thread!
I. Had. NO. Idea that was him. I imdb’d him and…. great snackawackas! And Edward G. Ed.ward.G. – such a great part! That really is a fun movie, innit?
xoxoxoxoA
Scent-the-stud sounds like a lovely idea.
Yes!
Brilliant!!! I’m far too tired to write something clever in reply. Thanks for making my day, Musette!
Glad to do it! xoxoxoA
I absolutely loved this post. Perfection! I promise to have fun and not take everything so seriously, especially with perfume.
good for you! it’ll be a whole lot more fun, I promise you! xoxoxoA