All Autumn in a Day

My Queen!

it’s been stinkin’ hot these past few weeks and it’s  been great because I have been able to fool myself into thinking we’re still in Midsummer, even though the dahlias, those regal harbingers of Autumn, are beginning to bloom and (gasp!) children are Back. In. School. (which just seems weird, btw.  Back in the Jurassic Era, we didn’t go back to school until well after Labor Day annnd…we got our revenge on the pub-lick school kids  who laughed because we were a week behind in Summer closing.  Such sweetness to go hang out in their playground while they were in class  (but careful to skedaddle before they let out for recess).

Of course, it was all a dream.  Autumn is almost here and there’s not a damb thing I can do about it.   Last week it decided to send an emissary, see if I was prepared.  I was not.  In one day, it dropped from 90F to 65F, with a chilly, torrential rain – and stayed cold for 2 days.  LAYERS!  Real Layers, not just a modesty something thrown over a tank top.  Chilly AF!

And then it swung back up to the low 90s.  Alas, the damage had been done.  The light is …different.  Now everything, even the hot, steamy Summer deluges, feels…anticipatory of Autumn.  And I HATES it!  To every Season (turn,turn,turn) and all that  hooey.  But from a perfume perspective it was intriguing.

And…now?  Now I’m in a light jacket.  Chilly post-rain, again.  Greying skies with just a hint of blue.  Alas, a paler blue.  A new clutch of hummingbirds are at the feeders now, with their travel-skinny little bodies, bulking and resting up for the next leg South.  No matter how I try to fake it, Autumn is nearly upon me.  And, Lor’, have I tried to fake it.   I wore Fresh Sugar Lemon in an effort to dispel the chill, to no avail.  Lemon quails before the chill.  So I applied a bit of Agraria Bitter Orange cologne, in an effort to shift into my beloved late-Spring-in NY mode.  Um, no.

I finally gave in to the seasonal shift and spritzed a bit of Amouage Ubar (the current iteration.  My adored vintage is for late October/early November, when the idea of a Saturday morning breakfast of coffee & warm cinnamon rolls is so appealing).  The current iteration is gorgeously spicy but keeps a bit of coolness that works well in this extremely mercurial time/temp.  Contemporary Ubar is a perfect transition scent, as is Neela Vermeire’s Trayee (in my world, Bombay Bling is for those Zero at the bone February nights).  L’Origan.  Jubilation 25 body crème (pair it with Mitsouko.  You’re welcome).

In a few weeks the soft blues of Summer will fade…and they’ll be replaced by that unbelievably brilliant blue that is only found in Autumn.  I’ll trade my light cotton tops for something with a bit more heft to it and the capris will give way to trousers in shades of khaki and grey, presaging the Black of Winter.  I’ll start wearing No5 again.  And Arpege.  Vintage Arpege.  oh, yum.

For now, I’m going to enjoy the chilly mornings that can zoom to inferno-level afternoons, knowing that in due-enough time I will be seeing the shift to Chilly All Day.  The hummingbirds will all be gone and the Season will have ended, turn, turn,turn.  Until then, though, I’ll be in Ubar.  Trayee.  l’Origan.  Jubliation 25.

Any other suggestions for these 50s-80s days?  What do you wear when the mercury swoops & dives?  Tell me – I’ll have The Girl pull a couple of winners for some goodies out of the Messy Amoire!  And how’s your weather where you are?  How’s the light?

Oooooh!  And I haven’t forgotten about  Love Tuberose WINNERS!

Tami H

Cara Sutcliffe

Maren

gmail me (evilauntieanita) and remind me what you’ve won – I’ll get a sample out to you asap!  Two weeks starts:  NOW!!!