Friday Guest Post: Sniffing With New Friends

(Today´s guest poster – Shelley!  Talking about our good times at the Chi-Cocoa Scentsation in September.)

Three Perfumistas walk into a bar…

Well, 30+, not 3.  The bar was part of a film production house.  And despite the fact that almost nobody knew anybody else at the start of what at that point was a very long day, no punches or punch lines ensued.

In the best demonstration of how conventional wisdom just isn´t always so wise, I fully enjoyed the time I spent with a big space full of people who, until that morning, I had never laid eyes on in my life.  Tall, short, outfitted in sheath dresses & full jewelry or jeans and a sweater, able to discuss the implications of “headspace technology” or still clarifying what a drydown means.

Of course, it doesn´t hurt to have piles of chocolate out on the table, good eats on the counter, and a little vino by the glass.  And we were all wiped, having spent the day putting our sniffers through quite the workout, with monsoon windsprints marking the space in between huffings.

But wait:  there was a piece de resistance to our pampering — not one but two set ups of samples from niche perfumers, one of which came with the perfumer herself.  In one anteroom:  a range of Neil Morris scents, including… Burnt Amber, Spectral Violet, le Parfum d’Ida, Izmir, Cathedral, Afire, Burnt Amber, Dark Earth, Gotham, Spectral Violet, Clear, Flowers for Men: Gardenia…and yes, the anxiously awaited Prowl.  In another anteroom: a set of Historical Fragrances, Soivohle´ blends, and LZ fragrance accords… along with La Liz (Liz Zorn, on left in photo) herself, answering every question that came her way.  

Aside:  I had been waiting nearly a year to try Spectral Violet.  Who knew that Burnt Amber would divert me?  (Well, maybe I should have; I do tend to like ambers.)  But it was Prowl that took the cake for me.  That´s now at the top of my “order these samps” queue…

Let´s see, was it a bit decadent to have a sort of personal perfume party? Yes.  Was it nearly overwhelming to have such an embarrassment of scent riches?  Yes.  Was it the best idea since niche perfumery/scents for layering/sliced bread/if we can send a man to the moon, why can´t we have a private perfume party?  Heck, yeah.

I mean, c´mon:  you could go to the perfumer´s display, sniff, have a nosh, go back and apply a sample (or two or three) to explore skin chemistry, and check out the drydown with a couple dozen new best scent friends, go back AGAIN and if it was Liz, ask questions about what was going on with the blend/drydown/philosophy of the scent, AND still leave the joint with vials of samples to further test drive at home.  Seriously.  Online swapping and begging samps from your favorite perfume rep is great and all, but wouldn´t you rather just have it waiting for you…with eats and a pleasant party down the hall?

While I had no idea at 8:00 that morning what was in store for me, I know that at 8:00 pm, with my shoes off, my feet up, surrounded by a bunch of folks I would happily invite to share a cuppa in my kitchen, booty from the day in my bag, fresh samps on my arms and in my hands…I was happy.  And that would have been true without the chocolate.

I don´t know who Riley is, really, but I´m pretty sure I was leading his life, at least for one night. 

(PS – from March – today’s photo of Liz Zorn showing her stuff courtesy of Musette, and don´t forget to check the other photos if you haven´t, they´re in the photoblog at left!)