I’m heading on the road for a few days to the mountains, visiting colleges for my soon-to-be (two weeks!) high school senior. Mercy, how did this happen? Anyway, several of those we are scouting are in the mountains (the rural Southern mountains, not the snow-capped beauties shown above). So my travels aren’t likely to offer much in the way of sniffing, unless we’re talking maple syrup and late-summer apples, so I’ll have to bring my own.
So thinking out of the box, I wonder: What are the best scents for a late-summer road trip that’s to cooler climes and isn’t the beach? This is a pretty new experience for me as DH is a diehard beach lover.
When en route, it needs to be a fragrance that works well in the enclosed space of a vehicle, is easygoing (for the passengers’ sakes) and makes you feel good – especially important if you’re the primary driver. And while we’re in vacation mode: What to pack in your purse or suitcase?
With slightly chilly nights ahead in the mountains, I can probably get away with some slightly warmer scents: the elegant Arquiste Ella and Ormonde Jayne’s Vanille d’Iris come to mind. And for the sunny — but not hot — days and maybe even some rain, Annick Goutal’s Nuit Etoilee with its crisp, forest-and-pine vibe might work nicely, as would Frederic Malle’s Eau de Magnolia. No fancy restaurants or nights out where we’re going, so no blockbuster, big-glam scents needed. But who knows? Maybe I’ll live large and dangerously, poke around and throw together a hodge-podge of samples, etc., and see what sticks (or works) when I get there.
What about you? When your destination is not what you’re used to, what do you pack, fragrance-wise? Do you slip in some comforting old favorites, or go out on a limb and take some edgier choices? Or a mix of both?
What about Vero Kern Mito in voile de parfum? Or simply Chanel no.19? Bulgari eau parfumé au thé vert or thé bleu would also work well in the car.
I’m not one to ask for recommendations about scents heavy on fir or pine, since those often remind me of functional products from the 70s.
Le jardin du poète is lovely most of the year, some prominent thyme note if I remember correctly.
We are lucky in Norway when it comes to education in that most colleges and universities are public and tuition fees thus really low. Qualifying for entry can be hard, so there’s still some social bias. I hope your journey gives some answers about the different places!
I was just on a road trip and wore Le Parfum d’Thérèse in the car, which seemed pretty, not overwhelming, and just interesting enough that I wasn’t bored. Once out of the car, I brought out the Germaine Cellier big guns, though.
When I think mountains, I think trees and forests, so maybe a woodsy scent like Tam Dao which also has the virtue of being calming and serene to me. Or a skin scent like Eau de Merveilles since you’ll be in the car together. Have a wonderful time visiting colleges with your son, Ann. I did the same thing with my DD last year. She wanted to go to an urban school, so we visited Philadelphia and Richmond, VA and had a great time. I just ordered a petit four box of four samples of Ormonde Jayne scents for the first time, and Vanille d’Iris was one of them. I’m eager to try this line!
I’m not that adventurous, as you’ve probably figured out 😉 and travel is stressful AF, imo, so I always wear the scents that I can rely on – I just drove from one side of WI to the other, having first had to get up to WI in the first place – and I wore great lashings of No5.
However, were I to be adventurous, I might layer vintage Arpege over the vinty dusting powder. Or… maybe Carnal Flower over the body cream…
wait! I wear those all the time already! Nebber mind. I suck at ‘adventurous’
Have a wonderful trip! Weird to think that little boy is on his way to college already! xoxoxoxo
I never know what I’m going to feel like wearing, so I bring an assortment of decants: floral, oriental, incense and gourmand are my usual choices. Your choices sound good!