This ‘N That: Going Out and Maison Louis Marie No. 04 – Bois de Balincourt

Well this was a week. After being hermetically-sealed in my house (well feeling like it) for the past two years I actually ventured out. There is going to be a City Council election in town come June and a couple of my friends are running- one as a newcomer and one for his 5^th term. Other people ranging from incumbents to rather, let’s just say interesting? people are running as well, but okay. So this past weekend were campaign kick-offs, where candidates have a meet and greet with speeches, coffee, nibbles and all at the homes of others to chat with voters. I went to two of them, one on Saturday and one on Sunday.

Now this was sort of a production, mainly due to my own laziness and parsimony. My car got smacked into in a parking lot (the person fled) which eventually meant that the drivers door no longer opens. So the procedure to drive the car is as such: get in passenger side, start car. Use a mop to depress brake pedal so convertible top can be powered down. Hop over into drivers seat and drive off (I am too tall {yes, tall. That’s my story and I am sticking to it} to slither through with the top up.) Add in a slow leak in a new-ish back tire that has to be pumped up, gas being $6.50 a gallon, and my work commute being “go downstairs”  made excuses to not go anywhere requiring more than shanks mare way too easy. But these required wheels.

So I got over it.

Both days were postcard-pretty in LA: warm but not hot, a gentle breeze, cloudless blue skies. Both events were in the backyard and were lovely. It was so nice to see people face-to-face (well, face mask to face mask for the most part) that I have not seen in a couple of years, and to take a short cruise through the hills on a beautiful day with the top down. Just to charge the battery on the car, mind you.

In the mean time one of my coworkers mentioned that another always smelled really good and she had asked him what we used. He told her it was an oil from Sephora by Maison Louis Marie called Bois de Balincourt. Seeing on the website that it was only $15 and free shipping I thought “why not?” (you’re forgiven for thinking “why not get your freaking car fixed rather than frittering away money on yet another ‘fume purchase?”)

Notes (from the Maison Louis Marie website)

Top note: Sandalwood, Cedarwood

Mid note: Vetiver, Nutmeg, Cinnamon

Base note: Amber Wood

Being an oil it does stay close to the skin- no bad thing in my opinion. I do find that it does kind of go through a brief and somewhat disconcerting phase on me where it smells precisely like the citronella candles we used in New England in a wholly futile attempt to keep mosquitoes away, but that’s not a bad scent memory for me, so I coped. None of the individual notes really stand up and shout. The scent also comes in bath, body, and home products so every aspect of your life (except perhaps your car) can remind you of someone else’s ancestral home. No bad thing, says I. Will I buy? Maybe not. It’s nice, but not necessary.

The other thing I did was get my hair cut. At this point, mowed would be a better word. I had not for a good 7 or 8 months- mainly because of that lazy thing. Even though my preferred cheapo barber is right on the corner. However since my hair was getting a bit much, resembling Barbara Bain’s in the second series of Space: 1999 and I had these things to go to I decided to at least look somewhat human. You can see and diss the difference in the photo.

I will be getting out more- another friend (Portia met her) is being installed as Mayor again next week and there are various things going on with the upcoming election that I would like to attend. I’d almost forgotten in the pandemic how nice it can be to be outside and see friends, and sometimes how important it can be. One friend I saw had been ill and I was glad to see them as feisty as ever.

And so readers, cyber-friends and all, I want to thank you for making the last two years a lot more bearable. I don’t know what we all would have done cooped up in our sterile koo-koo’s nest if we didn’t have the interwebs to give us at least the illusion of being connected. Now that we can (we hope) get out a little more, let’s enjoy the sunshine, and stay safe.

Bois de Balincourt is available from the website or from Sephora, where I purchased. Photos are mine.