Comfort in Bottle

IMG_2329This has been an odd week. I won’t go into particulars but it’s been a week when I’ve been revisiting some of the scents (decants and FB) that give me comfort in times of stress, even when they’re not at all conducive of the weather- I don’t care if it’s nearly 80 out, if what my soul needs right now is to spend a late afternoon sitting in the rose garden in Beverly Gardens Park reading Armistead Maupin while drenched in Sables then, dammit that’s what I’m going to do.

Some of my comfort scents are ones that some people find scary- MKK, l’Air de Rien and CB I Hate Perfume Musk are high on the list. Some are sprightly things like Eau de Sud, Guerlain Vetiver or Patou Colony. Just now as I’m typing this on Thursday evening I’m wearing some of my decant of De Profundis. Perhaps not the most comforting scent with it’s funeral overtones. But it is lovely and I’m comforted by that.

It’s likely trite to write that scent can have a transportive effect: we all know they do, even if they transport us to a place we will only ever know in our imagination. I’ve tried scents that have made me feel like I’m in a Victorian garden, on the Amalfi coast bronzing, driving Mulholland with the top down smoking a Kool after getting properly boinked or just cuddling up in my boyfriend’s borrowed sweater.

So what are the scents you turn to when you need a little “Calgon, take me away” moment? Leave a comment..

Image: rose garden in Beverly Gardens Park from my iPhone. Scents mentioned, decant and full bottles were purchased by me.

  • Tora says:

    I think the phrase “smoking a Kool, while driving down Mulholland with the top down after being properly boinked, wrestling with reading Armistead and wearing Sables, had me in a literary/erotic tailspin. I forgot the question….Oh. Right. Comfort. Well, I’d like to be driving down Mulholand, with the top down wearing either Absolute Pour Le Soir or Kiehl’s Musc. Wait. I reconsidered. Les Nerides Patchouli Antique and MKK. Oh boy. I am still thinking of getting properly……

    • Tom says:

      One of these days I am going to drive Mulholland with the top down if I have to borrow a car to do it. Wearing Le Labo Musc since that’s what inspired the comment.

      If i’m really lucky I might have even been properly..

  • I prefer Atelier Cologne Vanille Insensee. This is one of my favorites. It smells so comforting. 🙂

  • Lynley says:

    Lyric when I just need a hug, it’s my ultimate comfort scent. Indolic jasmines like Nuda or A La Nuit when I’m stressed or need emotional strength. Vetiver for summoning cool, calm and collected me 🙂

  • Jackie b says:

    Reading in a rose garden sounds wonderful right now. We have lashing wind and rain here!
    Tough times call for the big guns…Epic, Cuir Ottoman.
    Or the defiantly weird like Hokkabaz, my latest crush!

  • maggiecat says:

    My week has been a little too…interesting…as well. When I need strength – Ormonde Woman. Comfort is usually an amber or vanilla, but this week it was Amouage Lyric and some soft musks. Hope life gets better for you soon!

  • aparatchick says:

    Sonoma Scent Studios Tabac Aurea, Andy Tauer L’air du Desert Marocain, PdE Wazamba, Les Nez Manoumalia, PG Indochine. They are my “I am now in a better place” scents. I hope you’re in a better place soon too.

  • Atelier Cologne Vanille Insensee has been a comfort scent for me when I need something nice and cuddly

  • solanace says:

    It’s gotta be warm and sweet. Shalimar. I always seem to reach for it when I’m feeling down. Putain des Palaces. And Rahat Loukoum, for the ultimate indulgent treat.
    Get well soon, Tom!

  • Musette says:

    Sweets, I hope this is a (quickly) passing phase – not the scents, just the ‘need’ for them – so many people are going through stressful times right now; it’s like some vague ennui has gripped the populace. In which case, sitting in the Beverly Gardens Park, drenched in Sables (or sables, or in sables, eating sables, for that matter) sounds like a perfectly fabulous thing to do!!!

    My comfort scents depend upon what I need them to do. If I need snuggly comfort, I go for Jub25. Summer cuddles is Jean Nate, which garners more compliments than any of my perfumes, no lie. Armor is Chanel No 5 or my standby, Mitsouko (which means folks had betta GET IT TOGETHER! dammit).

    Winter comfort is Epic shower gel and body cream and a nice crystal glass of sippin’ whiskey. But you knew that 😉

    xoxoxoA

    • Tom says:

      I haven’t seen a bottle of Jean Nate in years- I’m going to have to go find some now.

      That and some sippin’ whiskey.. 🙂

  • ncmyers says:

    I love the comfort scents you chose–I don’t think I realized how much ‘comfort’ to me is taking on a new persona, someone who doesn’t have to clean toilets or do laundry! I like my Chanel 5 parfum from the 50’s. Not even so much for the scent as the story, the history, the heavy crystal bottle and bygone ingredients. Transformative indeed!

  • Lizzy says:

    I definitely seek out comfort scents (and places, and FOODS) when I’m feeling low–or even just stressed–and mine tend to include notes that some folks loathe: lavender, rose, vetiver. Tom Ford Grey Vetiver is like a super-soft, body-warmed merino throw when life has chilled me. I actually find Chanel No. 5 soothing and uplifting rather than aloof or shril (ditto for Sonoma Scent Studio Jour Ensoleille–a great one when I need to pick myself up off the floor!). When i need to remember my independent self after spending too much time/effort adjusting my demeanor to suit the people/tasks at hand, I dig out what precious little I have left of Donna Karan Black Cashmere. After a frenetic day, I will often seek out something uncomplicated to ease into bedtime, like Lavanila Vanilla Lavender or SSS Cocoa Sandalwood.

  • Portia says:

    Stress means heavy white floral like Blonde or Mahora, a bit of Shalimar or if it’s really bad, JAZZ.
    I hope the stress is short and the life is rosier soon. Wishing you only good tom, you deserve it. If all else fails there’s a bed in Sydney you are welcome to occupy, small room but comfy.
    Portia xx

  • FeralJasmine says:

    Hi Tom, here’s hoping for better things in the future. My comfort scents depend on what kind of comfort I need. For relaxation of tension, Black Cashmere. For grounding and centering, incense scents. For elevation of spirits and uplift, orange blossom. To dismiss sad thoughts and concentrate on other people, dark growly jasmines. Can’t explain that last one, but it works.

  • poodle says:

    I turn to my incense perfumes in times of stress. Avignon, Cardinal, Trayee. I also like Baiser Vole because it reminds me of a bubble bath I used to have and there’s nothing better than a nice hot bath to soothe the body. There’s a lot of truth in that line “Calgon, take me away”. (do they even sell Calgon anymore?)
    I hope things start to improve for you soon.

  • jilliecat says:

    I am jealous of your Colony! I have never smelt it, but have often thought that I would like it; does it have any similarities to L’Artisan’s Ananas Fizz (apart from the pineapple, of course)?

    My comfort scent (thanks to a review by Victoria at Bois de Jasmin) is Cacharel’s Noa – all cuddly, soft and musky.

    Hope things get better for you soon, Tom

  • Tom says:

    Oh, I love that one..

  • kelly cross says:

    Bornéo 1834. So delicious and warm.The patchouli and dry cocoa. Ahhhhhhh. Mostly a cool-weather scent for me, but it could do on a summer evening for a bit of comfort.