Okay, so you are likely thinking that I am the laziest perfume reviewer in the West these days and your likely right. Work, and the work at work has been pretty ongoing, and most days lately I’ve been just hitting the cabinet and revisiting some old favorites.
You’ve all been no doubt bored rigid with my tales from the front lines of remodeling, of which there aren’t much in the way of an end in sight. Our painters were here, having to be convinced that all four sides of the iron railings of the balcony should be painte the new charcoal; while the two-tone effect of charcoal on the front and back and the old hunter green left on the sides may be a kicky design element in their minds, it’s not in mine. I also do not wish to be dealt with as if I am being impossibly churlish to ask that the entire front of the building be in the new platinum grey, and that the old salmon pink covering most of the north side of the building is neither a trick of the light or an hallucination on my part. But whatever. Adding the cherry to the sundae of the day was my neighbor, who seems to think it completely appropriate to speak to people as if he were royalty being forced to deal with serfs of less than average intelligence but depthless impudence. Since said neighbor has the intelligence of a toaster if none of the charm, I could barely restrain myself from suggesting he could do us all a favor by donning an asphalt overcoat and taking a midnight nap in the carpool lane of the 405.
At least the landscapers are doing their stellar job. Love them.
So in the evenings I’ve been going back to the comfort zone. Not the usual suspects like lavender. No, I’m finding my comfort in heavy hitters from previous decades and the previous century. This evening (after the Royal Interview) it was liberal application of Uncle Serge MKK. Some find it scary. I find it comforting. Earlier in the week it was PG Coze, and Estée Lauder Youth Dew bath oil (vintage, off ebay, but I ordered some from Nordstrom so I will do a comparison soon.) Yes, despite the fact that it’s going to hit 90° soon I’m still going to be hitting the comfort zone.
So what do you turn to when the going gets bumpy? Let me know in the comments.
Picture: my closet taken with my iPad.
Lady Vengeance from Juliette Has a Gun comforts me, and the name makes me smile.
For me Mon Peche from a very vintage bottle and a similarly old Narcisse Noir. Good post!
Okay. I was walking The Girl this afternoon and spied a nice, short tree limb…picked it up …and immediately thought ‘omg. this is the PERFECT weight for bashing the hell out of somebody’s head!’. I don’t think there’s a perfume for that. But maybe Mitsouko? The pre-reform-but-not-vintage – you know, the one with that gasoline punch in the middle? Yeah, that.
xoxoxoA
Making me sputter coffee wildly in public!!!
I’m sorry you have to go through the travails of the remodel, but I am enjoying your storytelling! Laughter is a balm these days.
I love heavy, musky scents (MKK is a great one!), enveloping scents, or else those with lots of aldehydes for stressful times: Azuree, Rien, and No 5 EDT all get heavy use when I need to block out the world. 🙂
SL’s A La Nuit calms me right down, along with many of the old-school vintage chypres like Mitsouko or Miss Dior.
Remodeling seems like a true pain. That said, I’m very curious to see the side-by-side Youth Dew comparison! Been considering picking up some vintage YD for a while now. I love those old-school whoppers.
I always seem to reach for Shalimar or vintage Bal when I need some comforting scent. Sometimes I will go for Feminite du Bois for comfort but not often.
I’ve been a touch moody lately, so I broke into the Serge as well, but in a completely different direction! I doused myself in iris silver mist, and perked right up. I decided to feel mysterious instead of bitchy.
Hello there, funny post. Fragrance is a great escape and pick-me-up. Writing a post for my blog on good cheapies and one of the fragrances I am writing about is 4711. I find citrus scents are often a great tonic. R