What’s your EBP?

I had planned a bright, cheery Lipstick Monday post for you all, but a nasty spring cold has put the kibosh on some of my retail homework for it. And of course, with a stuffed-up nose, no new sniffage either. So this is as good a time as any to pull out “What’s your EBP?”

As you all probably know by now, it’s not some kind of official-speak, as in, “Hey, Joe, what’s your ETA to your next delivery stop?” It’s Emergency Backup Perfume, and it was coined by lovely Posse reader AnnieA on a post several years ago. It’s something a lot of us probably do without even thinking about it. We apply a scent at home, then put the spray or vial or mini bottle into to-go mode and head out the door. And after a busy day or week (or in my case, sometimes months), we forget to take them all back out again.
So now that spring is (hopefully) pretty much in your backyards (autumn for you folks in the Southern Hemisphere), what scents are creeping into your repertoire, and therefore, your purse, briefcase, backpack, etc.

As for my EBP scents, I’m toting around decants/samples of my recent loves, Amouage Ubar and Guerlain Encens Mythique (so good on chilly spring mornings and evenings), but I know they’ll leave the purse soon to be replaced. I’m also test-wearing little decants of Chanel Misia and Amouage Sunshine. Neither was love at first sniff for me: Violet often doesn’t agree with my skin, which made Misia a bit off-putting at first, but I’m still giving her time; Sunshine I found quite interesting because of its unusual form of brightness. Is it just my quirky nose or does it remind any of you a little bit of that B vitamin smell, a.k.a. that orange wonder Le Feu de Issey Miyake from back in the late ‘90s? I know many folks really liked that one and were very unhappy when it was discontinued. Maybe Sunshine will take off for me in very warm weather; until then I’ll keep wearing it, but not sure if it’s one that I’ll need to restock.

So do have a peek at the bottom of your purses, backpacks, briefcases, etc., and share your EBP scents: What vials, decants, bottles, etc., are rolling around in there?

As always, a word of caution: I try to keep my EBPs in a plastic zip-top baggie in a feeble attempt at organization, but also mostly because I’m deathly afraid of leakage. Having once had the lining of a handbag stained this way, I’m not eager for a repeat performance. And it is nice to have your scent choices all together and see them at a glance, instead of spread out loosey-goosey in the bottom of your purse, which is what I used to do, before said accident.