It’s a beautiful day! Our beautiful Guest Poster, Marla, is here!!!
Marla’s Holiday Chairs
I still love to travel, whether by plane, train, or boat (not by car, though, ugh). Airport body
scanners put me off a bit, but, having left my modesty behind with motherhood, I can manage.
And I recently went on my very first cruise ever, a 20-year delayed honeymoon with my hubby.
We had a great time and I’m experiencing Cruise Withdrawal Syndrome even as I type….
In the past ten years, more of my friends and acquaintances have come down with what I call,
as a catch-all-phrase, Olfactory Intolerance. Some have become allergic; some have developed
scary autoimmune diseases and strong odors can act as a trigger; some have adult asthma.
These problems pose real ethical dilemmas for perfumistas, and we’ve all struggled with them.
During travel, whilst crammed into tight spaces with other members of my species, I’ve been
opting for solid perfumes, sometimes making my own. They are very comforting to the wearer,
yet barely perceptible 5cm from the body.
My mainstays in the solid perfume category were/are Crazylibellule and the Poppies, and
Pacifica. Tibetan Mountain Temple accompanies me on every journey. Crazylibellule, while they
were still in business, went to the gym with me every day. I was so sad when the company
folded in 2010, and I bought up a bunch of their remainder stock, which is now all gone. I also
learned to make my own solid perfumes. Thanks to the fragrantly bountiful and generous
Musette, I’ve rediscovered the Libellules in the form of Le Soft Perfume.
Last year, Isabelle Masson, the founder of Crazylibellule, returned with a new lineup of twist-up
solids called Le Soft Perfume. The fragrant cylinders are housed in the same paper batons
decorated with whimsical designs and colorful patterns. And happily, they cost around $25
(US). Hurray!
I’ve been test driving “Nemamiah”, which is a sprightly floral citrus gourmand. The notes are
mandarin, orange, passionfruit, mango, apple, musk, and amber. It’s really not an ambrosia
fruit salad, I swear! It’s a genuinely soft waft of delicious fruit, gentle musk, and cozy amber.
And cozy is what I want when I’m standing in a 2,000-person passport control line! What about
you? What fragrance do you wear in a travelers’ queue?
Hi, Marla! I’m the opposite, I love road trips and detest flying, but when I need perfume comfort in small spaces my preference is a dab of Shalimar in the cleavage. That’s where I always dab perfume bcs I can smell it but others can’t….I’ve not had much success with solid perfumes but I would imagine Mandy Aftel’s are wonderful. Too spendy for me, too.
That’s a great tip, Rosarita, thank you! I’d forgotten the “decolletage maneuver”! 🙂 And Shalimar is never wrong.
Songes definitely wins the Traveling Perfume Contest today, Tiffanie! Thanks for your comment- I love EOs, also, in fact I collect them. Which do you find most calming while traveling?
I often carry little 5 ml bottles of essential oils when I travel – lavender, ylang-ylang, peppermint, and a blend of citrus oil, too. They are a nice pick-me-up and don’t have great sillage, so I’m not scenting an entire room, just my personal space. Sometimes I simply open a bottle and hold it for a few minutes to let the scent waft around. And the oils I wear fade after a couple hours so I can reapply something else when I feel like it’s time for an olfactory boost. 🙂
But, like thegoddessrena, I do keep the big scents available for when I’m in need of a great fragrance. I have a favorite travel atomizer filled with Songes that goes everywhere with me.
Happy holidays and safe travel to everyone!
I don’t care about other people when I’m travelling and am more likely to wear something big that I can’t wear to work since its my day off/vacation equals freedom–I like Songes and Terracotta Le Parfum
Hi, Rena!
I love your choices!! Have a wonderful holiday!
I’m getting on a plane in 3 hours, and I’m planning to wear a little bit of either A La Nuit or Chergui — just the littlest bit dabbed on! — to calm me down. I didn’t realize Aftelier had solids — I might have to check into that!
Hi, Heidic! I find a little dab of Chergui to be very cheering and calming, too. And jasmine perfume has well-researched anti-depressive properties; Big Pharma has been studying jasmine for a few years now (so they can make the big bucks from it). I’d rather wear the perfume!
Eldarwen22, you are on target with small dabs of extrait, this works very well for “personal space” perfuming. I have a few roller balls, also, including one of Lolita Lempicka Midnight, which in spray form is a powerhouse, but with the roller ball, much more discreet!
Jicky is one of those that’s great for traveling. Also no 19 in edit form. If you apply with a light hand, any extrait form of perfume. Roller balls can be great too. Solids are not my thing, so it’s a light hand with my spray bottle.
Hi, Portia, I’m sending you big holiday hugs from my sand dune! Diptyques are indeed gorgeous, I’ll have to find the Patch NYC, TCs, and Fragonards. Mandy Aftel makes some amazing solid perfumes, but they are generally out of my price range for something I wear to the gym or airport. I don’t care for car travel because I am a taxi mom and driving people and other mammals around is a huge part of my daily life. When I am en vacances, no steering wheels for me!
Welcome to Perfume Posse. Thanks for such an interesting article on Solid Perfumes. Though they don’t float my boat there are more and more appearing on the market. The ones from Teo Cabanel are gorgeous and there are Diptyque, Patch NYC and Fragonard too that have caught my eye lately.
Why don’t you like car travel?
Portia xxx