I love several scents from the (I think) rather under-appreciated Parfumerie Generale.  Indochine promises to rocket to the top of the list.  Which is strange, since reading the description of “spicy, powdery woods” I would normally think either snooze or scrub.

It opens with a perfect balance of pepper and sweetness and I swear Mace (the spice, not the stuff police spray at miscreants) as well as cardamom and comb honey.  It smells the way I wish chai tea lattes taste: today in Los Angeles it was in the 60′s with wind and I think if I could have gotten away with it I would have just spent my entire morning meeting with my wrist glued to my nose and occasionally moaning.  But that would have looked weird.  The middle adds a powdery aspect and vanilla until finally settling down into a honeyed vanilla wood with just a touch of skin.

I think that PG really does some of the best gourmands out there (coming from a gourmand-hater), perhaps because they keep theirs justthisside of smelling like the dessert cart.  It’s also, like many PG scents completely unisex.  If I had a Sig Other this would be the holiday gift for him so I could snuggle in and smell (and who am I kidding, poach like crazy).  As it is I might have to actually fall from my months-long streak of not buying more and purchase.

$95 for 50ML at LuckyScent, where I sampled.

Image: Luckyscent

First off, I can’t believe that it was the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 this week. I would love to visit the memorial at Ground Zero in New York; the pictures I saw of it were wonderful. It looks like a powerful reminder of the lives that were lost that day ten years ago.

I’m afraid that some of the other memorials out there aren’t as successful.

We had a dedication of our own 9/11 memorial that included a beam from the WTC. That beam is very moving: seeing solid steel twisted like taffy brings it home. Seeing lookouts on the (former) MCA Building across the street and sharpshooters on the roof of the library reminded me that it’s a post 9/11 world.

I lived in New York for a while and I could see the twin towers from my front windows. I remember that pretty much from any subway stop below 42nd street, I knew that I could find due South by looking for their mass. It’s still weird to go there and not see them.

I’ll talk more about them at my blog and not natter on here about them. If you’re interested, click through.

The weather: last week was beastly hot (and there’s going to be on more if history repeats itself) but we’ve tipped the scales and are into autumn. The days are getting shorter and the evenings cooler. I know, I know you’re all thinking “cry me a river, bub” since we’re rather lightly touched by winter. But I still find myself gravitating towards heavier scents. The Montales and the crazier Uncle Serges tend to come out. What are you reaching for these days?

Speaking of Uncle Serge, Octavian at 1000 Fragrances states that De Profundis is the swan song of the redoubtable Mssr. Lutens.

If that’s the truth, I don’t quite know what to do with that news. So many of his scents are ones that I never want to be without, yet I always thought that the treadmill of 4 new scents a year was crazy. While I don’t exactly mourn the idea that there will be no other Vitriol d’oeilett that fact there there might not be a new Serge Noire sucks..

(edit) a Facebook post by my scent twin, The Non-Blonde states that there will be a March release, as she was told by the manager of the Paris boutique. I’m glad that those two won’t be the coda..

And finally, my life is being controlled by a three dollar piece of plastic. If you have a Honda or Acura, yours might soon too. On Memorial Day Sunday I came home and parked the car and noticed that the brake lights were on. After much head-scratching I ended up pulling the fuse that controls those lights and hit the internets. Here’s how the brake lights work on Honda/Acura: when you’re driving the car the brake pedal compresses a small switch like a doorbell. When you press the brake pedal, the switch releases turning on the brake lights. For some reason only known to Honda, they decided that bare metal touching this switch is unacceptable.  They drilled it out, filling the hole with a plastic plug. One that fails. So I had to take time off from work and get the little plastic doohickey. After much swearing and straining, I managed to get it in.

But better yet, they also decided that they needed to have one on the clutch: basically the same idea in reverse.  when you depress the clutch the top of the pedal presses the doorbell switch that tells the car that it’s okay to to crank the starter.  The little annoying plastic bastage broke this weekend.  I found the corpse in the footwell and AAA had to push-start the car so I could get it home.  So it was another trip to Honda of Hollywood and now I’m going to have to figure out how to put it in without A) breaking fingers, B) entirely disassembling my dashboard or C) paying someone a few hundred bucks to disassemble my car to pop this G-D $3 piece of plastic in there.

Color me annoyed..

Sorry, guys and gals, I had a longer post planned for today, but one crisis, and then
another (cracked oil pan in my car), prompted a slight change of plan.
So in the interest of brevity, here’s a fun fantasy post for Wednesday.
If you had to limit yourself to only one perfume house and could wear only three scents from that house, which would you choose?
I know there’ll be some Guerlain lovers weighing in, as well as fans of Chanel, Serge, etc.
As for me, it would be tough, but with price and availability (location-wise at least) no object, that made
it a little easier. I also took into consideration the weather/seasons to ensure that I had a great scent to
wear no matter what time of year it was.
All things considered, I think I’ll go with these three from Le Labo:
My beloved sunshine-bright Tubereuse 40 (I know you guys are sick of hearing about it); the yummy
warm vanilla incense of Vanille 44; and the elegant, calming simplicity of Gaiac 10.
Can’t wait to hear what your picks are!

I’m thinking today about better living through chemistry.

(No, not THAT kind of chemistry!) The magic of perfume, of course.

As I mentioned in the Posse’s Top 10 of summer earlier this month, Le Labo’s Tubereuse 40 is, without a doubt, instant liquid happiness for me. It lifts my spirits, puts a smile on my face and

makes me feel 10 pounds lighter. Too bad I can’t afford to wear it every day.

Dior’s Escale a Portofino and Prescriptives’ Calyx have similar (albeit somewhat less powerful) effects on me, and as I have a greater supply of those, they will have to pick up the slack for the remainder of this long, hot summer. (Which, where I live, could easily continue through early October. Grrrrr.)

Anyway, I’d love to know what scents give you an instant boost when you wear them. And do you use them frequently, or save them for special circumstances or events?

Can I get a collective “Hallelujah!!”?

Yep, it’s that time of year again: back to school.

Now those of you who don’t have kids may not

care, but for those who do, it’s a pretty big day.

As much as we love them, it will be nice to get a break

from the frequent refrain of “Mom, I’m bored” that the

end of summer often brings. And it will be good to see

them get back into a routine.

My son heads back today, even though it may seem awfully

early to you. (It does to me, too.) But that “first day” will be here

for everyone else before you know it.

Here’s a look at scents that might work for several

back-to-class scenarios:

For the mom or dad for whom summer has gone on justa little too long: By Kilian’s Sweet Redemption (sweet relief,

perhaps?) or even A Taste of Heaven (of course you miss them,but ahh, that peace and quiet is nice, isn’t it?).

For those with little ones heading off for the first time:

Divine’s L’Infante or By Kilian’s Love and Tears (they were

just in diapers yesterday – how can they be in kindergartenalready?).

Oh, no! In all the excitement, they’ve left their lunchbox,

backpack, etc. at home and you’re already late for work:

Sacrebleu!

For dealing with diehard sleepyheads on that first morning,

i.e., “Go away, Mom, I was having the most wonderful …”

thump – head hitting the pillow again: Montale’s Sweet Oriental

Dream

When your daughter finally does get up, who will youencounter at the breakfast table: Miss Charming or

Lady Vengeance?

Let’s think positive and assume it’ll be Miss Charming.

To go with her carefully chosen outfit: Dior’s New Look 1947.

Speaking of teens, what else might they be packing: Encens et

Bubblegum, or, heaven forbid, Jasmin et Cigarettes.

And with that, ahem, more mature crowd, there’s not likely

to be much goodbye affection for the parental

units: Take comfort in Kiss Me Tender or Love Comes From Within.

When they come home that afternoon and you ask, “What did you do

at school today?”:  Jacomo Silences will get you prepped for the

noncommittal shrug and mumbled, “Nothing,” that might beforthcoming.

Helping your college-age son or daughter move into a dorm or

apartment? Heeley’s Menthe Fraiche to keep your cool

during the move-in madness. When tempers flare and things

get ugly: Step back with Vol de Nuit’s Evasion.

And when it’s all over and you’re heading home: Jubilation 25

with a spot of Champagne, Gin Fizz or Elixir of your choice.

OK, enough silliness. What scents remind you of back to school

or have you thinking ahead to fall?