Moving On, Too, and Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Media Cologne Forte

Well I am not moving on in the way that March is- I am not moving houses. I will state however that just reading about that gave me the fantods- I have piles and piles of stuff- books, DVDs, Tchotchkes, (perfume) and while all but perhaps the last could be ruthlessly abandoned ahead of a raging wildfire or plague of zombies the idea of packing it all up and actually moving it? Ugh. I am happy for March that her move is close enough that it seems some of it can be accomplished by hand-truck and a few nice men picked up from Home Depot. Not that I would not be able to pick up a few nice men at the Home Depot in Hollywood, but I am told that those pick-ups are for rather a different purpose. Not laying carpet but laying.. you get the gist.

No my moving on involves my car.  Avid readers of my scribblings and people with nothing better to do may remember the saga of my little car- a white high-mileage BMW Z-3 that I bought 7 or 8 years ago. Sadly it was bought just before a BFF, who would have loved a trip to Santa Barbara in it, top down, unexpectedly died so the first real road trip was to her funeral. It was a fun car- not great on gas but okay, and very trim, especially in comparison to the Cadillac I had previously driven (which Portia had been driven around LA in) It really helped to keep me sane during Covid- I could go on what I called “Covid Cruises” up the coast or along the length of Mulholland or the bends of Topanga Canyon in those days when the traffic was as non-existent as if there were zombie hordes waiting at the Shell station for when you had to refuel.

Bye old car- donated to KCRW

What it did seem to have was a cloak of invisibility: It was hit three times, the second to last by someone in a parking lot who fled (leaving the drivers door inoperable) and then by someone creating what could be a quintessentially LA accident: illegal exit from an entrance across traffic making a left without looking at anything except perhaps his phone, no doubt updating his IMDB page. He put a thumping dent on the passenger side, making that door only work from the inside, making the process of entering and using the car a long and surprisingly not comedic process.

Luckily his insurance cut me a check for the maximum of his liability since according to their estimates repairs would cost a few hundred more that his covered amount.

The new one. Jungle Red!

Long story short (too late, Tom!) it did cover 90% of the car I bought this week. It’s a few years newer model of the one I had, a Z-4. It’s lipstick red (not my first choice) so it cannot be ignored, if only by the Po-Po. Lucky I drive like a grandma. It does have a standard transmission, which was the only thing that I really missed about the Z-3- I am not commuting in traffic where an auto really makes it more pleasant. I like shifting myself. So it’s in the garage, insured and registered, and I can enjoy the heady luxury of opening the drivers door and sitting down, then using that same door to exit. At least until I meet the next inattentive Chad/Brad/Thad using his in-car TelePromptR to run lines rather than paying attention to the road.

So, I was testing during this week a sample which just popped up on my desk and which I frankly have no idea from where it came. I think my co-worker/work wife may have given it to me: Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Media Cologne Forte. Now I have somehow managed not to purchase anything from Maison Francis Kurkdjian despite really, really liking a lot of what they put out. They even are available in smaller, more reasonably priced sizes. But sometimes I do tell myself “no.”

Even when they make it really hard, and Aqua Media makes if realllllyyy hard.

Reading the notes (citrus, verbena, bergamot) one would be forgiven thinking “hasn’t this ground been covered before?” Well sure, but people have been making chocolate cake for a while too, doesn’t mean they should just pack it in. You would also be forgiven in thinking that there are ghosts of other scents in there: I smell whispers of everything from Eau Sauvage to Canoe. But the Eau Sauvage and Canoe from the 70’s when I was a kid in utero. I think it’s the fennel, with it’s earthy anise and dill notes that really make this one stand out. I can see where I could bathe in this- I went through that whole deluxe sample in two days flat, transported from an unseasonable rainy and cold Los Angeles March to a summer Sur La Plage, where I have 10% body fat, the summer sun miraculously never burns or ages, and I am piloting a small sailboat wearing a blue-and-white striped shirt, saying things like “come about” “trim that sail” or “more gin, less tonic.” For a cologne it actually has pretty good staying power, lasting several hours from the sparkly opening to the verbena-heavy finish. I kept respritzing to start the ride over, greedy Gus that I am..

Bumper stickers make it really mine..

Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Media Cologne Forte is available at several places including department stores such as Nordstrom, this comes in sizes ranging from 1.2 OZ for $140 through $435 for the whopping 6.7 OZ. TBH the large size is a bargain and I would likely go through it in about a month or two, especially right now. So short of Looto winnings I am afraid it won’t be happening.

Have you tried this one? A fan of the house? Bought a new car? Want me to stop dribbling on, oversharing? Well, say so in the comments..

Photos: Mine and Pexels