On This Day – and Every Day:  A Profound Thank You to all our Veterans and  standing (and reserve) Service Men and Women. 

“Anita, you know how I feel about Diorling. However I don’t expect miracles anymore. The old house of Dior is part of the past.
You might find the same structure but the ornaments are different. I see it like a different fragrance that happens to have the same name Diorling. “

This was the wise intro to a conversation I had with the beautiful Celina regarding the new (2011) version of Diorling.   Most of you know my deep and abiding love for the original  – I have at least 4 early-ish iterations of this beautiful fragrance, which has been reinvented several times, since the 1963 Paul Vacher chypre creation which is full of leather, oakmoss and patchouli.  Angela did a great comparison here back in 2008 and mentions a host of reformulations in the past (gasp!) 45 years!  I was 11 in 1963, way too young to know Diorling – and Dior was not my mother’s House.  So I came to the party way late and, like so many latecomers, full of rabid desire for the good times I missed. And several of the vintages I have hint of good times, indeed!

It’s weird to think of 1963 as vintage – that makes ME vintage, alas!  But there you have it.  And if I go down that Vintage Path of Comparison we will be here all day, with me lamenting What They’ve Done To Diorlingblahblahblah….and you know what?  I need to get over it.  Celina urged me to approach the 2011 version on its own merits…and after hemming and hawing about it, I did – sort of.  Okay, I approached it first by comparing it to an 80s-ish version, which was, actually not all that great a version.   It had a soapy quality to it, though the leather showed up quite early and stayed a bit longer than I expected – but it wasn’t as much fun as I would’ve liked.   My Snob Self was stunned…..becauuuuuuse….well, okay!  I admit it.  I PREFER THE 2011 VERSION!  There.  Ya happy?    The thing I exhort all perfumistas to retain, that Beginner’s Mind, slammed shut in my own brain, as I condemned the new version out of hand.   Well. Hoist on my perfume petard and all that.  I decided to quit while it was ahead – no way in the world could it compare to the earlier versions.  So with Celina’s gentle suggestion dingling around in my brain, I took a shower and started anew.

The new version, by Francois Demachy, is a flat-out chypre, with little pretension to leather, though it shows up halfway through the midpoint.  If I were to compare it to the original I would call it Reverse Diorling as the leather comes after the floral – but I’m not comparing, am I?  This one has a little bit of bergamot fronting it, with the jasmine, patchouli and leather following and dancing around…it’s got that ‘new’ Dior Chypre smell to it, as if the whole reissue group is taking its cue from Diorella  (and Michel Roudnitska).  There’s a hint of the lemony-bergamoty-leather from the original Diorella but it’s not as lemony-leather as Bandit.  If I were to compare, Bandit’s lemon-leather is an ivory-handled straight-edge razor, whereas the new Diorling is ….hmm…maybe a nice mother of pearl pocketknife.  Both can kill you but the former will likely scare you to death first.  Thesmooth bergamot comes sneaking back in during the drydown and is supported by a nice little (emphasis on little) hit of leather.  And it has decent, wallpapery, longevity.   I spritzed it at 8p and was surprised to find it still with me at 8a.

I know I’m stompin’ around this tune and not really getting to the point, which is “dangit, does it smell good and would you wear it!?“  and the answer, blushingly enough, is yes.   Not FB but I certainly don’t bemoan my decant. And blushing because I had to be (sweetly) scolded into Doing My Job, which is to rate a perfume on its merits, not on my own prejudices.  And…..well, with the name and all it can’t help but be  a reissue of one of my most beloved frags – it’s like I feared falling in love with another Rottweiler, now that my Georgie is gone.  And that’s just dumb (no dog can take his place but there is always room in my heart and home for another. ).   This is most definitely not the original Diorling but as Celina pointed out, I don’t think they were aiming for that.  I think (hope) they were setting out to issue another in their Chypre series and did so without embarrassing themselves overmuch (as they did with Diorama, imo).  2011 Diorling actually smells more like a Roudnitska now, rather than the original Vacher.  And that’s weird – but not too shabby!

And now a question for you:  are you still in possession of Beginner’s Mind?  Do you think it’s even necessary for a Perfumista, once s/he’s gotten past a certain sniffage point?

You can get it at SFA for $90, 3.4 oz.     My decant came from a split.

by Musette the Mystified

I was going to write about chocolate and flowers today but I can’t.  I need your help, my dearest Posse.  Here’s the scoop:  After months of lobbying, my company has been invited to a very important corporate meeting.   Yay!  As important, if not more, I will be meeting with a key player from the company with which we have formed a strategic partnership – this  is one I am very excited about – we are entering the next phases in Renewable Energy and this partnership will allow us to explore broader avenues of design and fabrication...blahblahblahyoudon’tcareIdon’tblameyou… butit’sBig Doin’s….

…..so I’m stoked.  Can you tell?  But I don’t know what to wear, perfume-wise!  I’m torn: usually I go with what makes me comfortable, which is Mitsouko.  But I found out that Mitsouko, coupled with my rather assertive nature, can be a bit unnerving to guys – and this is NOT what I am looking to do here.  Carnal Flower ? To va-va-vooom, I’m thinking.  It has to be something I can wear like a favorite couture jacket but has that ‘oh, honey’  feel of a fleece hoodie.

I’ve narrowed  the options to the following:

Vintage Parure (well, that’s a ‘duh’ .  It’s ALL vintage, as Guerlain has not seen fit to see the light)…I love the silken combination of bergamot, plum and rose, wrapped in all that green…but it doesn’t last long on me (weird, yes). I tend to apply sparingly – perhaps if I spritzed a tad more – but what if I over-spritz.  Is that possible?

Cuir de Russie parfum – perfection beyond pearls.  But is it too ‘dressy’?  This is an energy plant, not a Mad Men boardroom – at some point I will be donning a hard hat and steel toe boots.

vintage Diorling – elegant as all get-out, not as lush and louche as the Chanel – but does the concept of leather in a fragrance translate in a room full of men wearing Dockers?

I discarded the gorgeous Cartiers Brillante and Fougeuse – the former is too stilettos and cocktails and the latter, if you are not nuanced in perfume, conjures up ‘horse’.  I don’t want them wondering if I just fell out of the hayloft.  These folks know haylofts. Both Cartiers do better in the City.

Liz Zorn’s Centennial.  I have been wearing it a lot and getting lots of compliments but I dunno…..maybe too sex-peachy?  I love it but it hangs right on the knife edge, where contemporary Femme fell over (remember that awful time I wore contemporary Femme and a fuzzy sweater to a conference?  I felt like I’d shown up in last night’s negligee!)

The Oddball Choice:  LeLabo Iris 39.  Cool, confident…but maybe TOO cool?  These are extremely conservative people.  I am not.  At all.  I am a complete Alien in this environment, from an ethnic, gender and attitude standpoint.  And they are writing the checks.  So I have to make sure I don’t just Wack myself out of contention here.
Weirdo:  vintage Diorella.  It would be grand – but I tend to be over-aware of it (it is SO strangely beautiful).  I always wonder if folks (read: regular guys) ‘get’ this one.  El O often sniffs towards me (from a distance) when I wear it,  like a dog does when he senses a pack of coyotes near…

Last Ditch Perfection:  Amouage Jubilation 25.  ’nuff said.  But is it enough?  Or is it too much?  Can it bridge the bespoke jacket/fleece hoodie chasm and bring me to that level of perfect comfort I so desperately need?

My hand strays, yet again, to vintage Mitsouko edp….but it’s wa-ronnnng!  Forbidden Love, there.

So….what are your thoughts?  I have many, many more scents (yah,  quelle surprise and all that) but these are my default comfort armor choices.  If you were in my steel-toe boots, which would YOU choose?   Is there some scent I’ve missed that will hit all my Corporate requirements and still make me a happy, secure, comfortable alien?  What is your ‘default perfection’ scent for events such as this?

I have today to make the decision, tomorrow I am on the 8-hr road to Cornville.  Helllllllp!

Sorry about not having the ginger thing this week.  I’m traveling and forgot to grab all the great ideas for ginger scents and bring them with me.

But I grabbed Dior’s new Patchouli Imperial and Shalimar Initial parfum instead.

Dry patchouli lovers – rejoice!  Dior’s version is gorgeous, very chypre. Notes they list are sandalwood, coriander and patchouli. This presents a dilemma for me. I’m not a patchouli lover, though it works for me occasionally. The coriander in this renders it really beautiful for me, and though the patchouli is a slight annoyance, I’m getting past it because of the coriander.  The patchouli is cool and dry, and the coriander and sandalwood warms it up, leaving it this oddly balanced scent.  In the end, it leaves me mixed.  Objectively, it is beautifully  made and should have a lot of fans.  personally, it’s a hair too much patchouli.  But that shouldn’t scare you off because I’m a little sensitive to it and still find myself loving it even though my patchouli-colored annoyance.

Shalimar Parfum Initial, on the other hand – you know, Shalimar is a scent I think it so great, a masterpiece. It is completely unwearable on me, it turns into a powdery mess that no one wants to smell unless they are doing a baby bottom diaper changing line – and like that!  Now I have a Shalimar I can wear in Parfum Initial.  Do I not sound excited?  It isn’t exactly dumbed down, but it is reworked, all the powder seems to be back in the Johnson’s bottle.  It’s pretty, easy to wear, Shalimar for those skeered of Old Lady Perfumes.

Not being able to wear Shalimar does not equal that I want it changed like this. All of its personality is gone, and it’s another run of the mill nice modern scent out there.  Pity.

So samples of both of these to five commenters.  Yes on patchouli for you or no?  Which scents are your favorite patchouli.  Can you wear Shalimar or is it a mess on you like it is on me?

Patty

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?