SOTD: None

It was hot. I was distracted. No scent was worn today.

Image: By Joe Mabel. Wikimedia Commons.

SOTD: Serge Lutens A La Nuit (MORE POWER!)

Yesterday, I (incorrectly) predicted that Caron Alpona would "drown me in essence of sticky orange liqueur." I said it as if it would be a bad thing. Drowning, smothering, or knocking down the wearer is usually undesirable behavior in a perfume.

Serge Lutens A La Nuit is an exception. I applied three sprays, and three sprays is enough to surround me with a fog of jasmine thick enough to require, if not a knife, at least a potato masher. I'm breathing in jasmine with every breath. And I want more.

This is the first perfume that has allowed me to understand the "more power" philosophy of scent. For years, I've been reading posts from people who demand to know how you can call yourself a perfume wearer if you just apply a wimpy spritz or two. Five spritzes! Seven! Fourteen! I recall people on Basenotes swearing that they've worn fifty. Normally, I just humor the crazy people and back away to a place with more oxygen. Today? Mmmm, fifty.

Don't worry - I won't put on even a little bit more.  People are coming over tonight, and they probably need to breathe.  And tomorrow I'll be back in the "less is more" camp. But today, for just a moment, I think I get it.

Review Roundup: Is here.

Image: By Alan Light. Wikimedia Commons.

SOTD: Caron Alpona

After the unexpected hot-weather success of Parfumerie Generale Aomassai, and of Issey Miyake A Scent, I thought I'd try another scent that strikes me as inappropriate for hot weather - Caron Alpona, a rich spicy bitter-orange perfume.

Nope. Failure. It didn't fail for the reason that I expected. I thought that it would drown me in essence of sticky orange liqueur, but it turns out that the problem is that the heat burns it off in less than an hour. For that hour, it was just fine, though it didn't undergo any special hot-weather transformation, like the other two did.

Review Roundup: Is here.

Image: By Joshua Hammond. Wikimedia Commons.

SOTD: Scentless Saturday

No perfume today. Mostly napping. In the sun. I like summer Saturdays.

Image: By Stephan Brunet Macphreak. Wikimedia Commons.

SOTD: Issey Miyake A Scent

I haven't worn this in a little while. I remembered it as being a little ruffly-feminine, and I've never been the ruffly-feminine type. It seemed particularly wrong for today, when the temperature was expected to flirt with one hundred degrees Fahrenheit, and the air was unusually humid, and I expected to be rushing around in the resulting hot soup.

So, naturally, I wore it. And it was perfect. Much to my surprise, in the heat it develops an aspect that goes nicely with, well, sweat. The combination makes me think of salty lemonade. Weird, but good.

Review Roundup: Is here.

Image: By newleaf01. Wikimedia Commons.

SOTD: Nothing

Park. Cello Man. Barbara Michaels novel.

It was a good day, even if I did forget to put on perfume.

Image: By Linda Spashett. Wikimedia Commons.

SOTD: Parfumerie Generale Papyrus de Ciane

I love Parfumerie Generale. I love "green" perfumes. So I was excited when Parfumerie Generale came out with Papyrus de Ciane, a green with jasmine and galbanum and vetiver and so on. I'm eager to write up a proper review.

The problem is, I can't smell it today.

Now, I don't mean that I can't smell anything, the way that I can't smell anything with some of the l'Artisans. When I first sprayed on Papyrus de Ciane, there was a modest amount of scent, with a very distinct "top notes" fizzy vibe. I waited eagerly for the middle and base. And then, even with four sprays, the whole thing just vanished.

Hmph.

Review Roundup: Is here.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.

SOTD: Parfumerie Generale L'Eau Rare Matale

This fragrance is oddly perfect under almost any circumstances. In autumn, smoke and tea are always welcome. In winter, the vapors and the charred wood cut through the emptiness of the cold. In spring, it's sharp and bright and has that bug-killing vibe. On a hot day like today, all the heat of the charred wood vanishes, replaced with a breeze-like mood.

It's sober enough to feel appropriate on a formal occasion, but not so ornate or pretty that it's out of place with muddy garden gear. It would feel a bit out of character with a swoopy sundress, but in a pleasantly contrasting way, like a fine suit accessorized with a Mickey Mouse watch.
Review Roundup: Is here.

Image: By Bestvintage. Wikimedia Commons.

SOTD: Jo Malone White Jasmine & Mint Bath Oil (And Vacation)

I'm on vacaaaaaation!

The idleness started today. Saturday was party prep. And Sunday was party. (Fried chicken was involved. Of course.) So today is the first day of serious idleness. Park. Books. Dinner. Cocktail. And now I blog, in a rambling manner perhaps slightly influenced by said cocktail. (Lemon drop. Mmmmmm.)

I spent the day largely unscented, except for the above-mentioned Jo Malone White Jasmine & Mint Bath Oil. I'm tragically out of ElizabethW Rose, and I decided that I really ought to use up some of my backlog of bath potions before ordering any more.

It's an odd scent - as a perfume, it smells like, well, jasmine and mint, with maybe a faint trace of soapy sparkle. But in bath water, it smells like soap. Specifically, like really nice laundry detergent, the kind that you imagine when watching people blissfully bury their faces in snowy white towels in television commercials for detergents, rather than the dreadful white musk that the laundry detergent usually really smells like. I like it, but I'm puzzled about the drastic difference.

And now the laziness will resume.

Image: By Alpha du centaure. Wikimedia Commons.

Pre-vacation pause

Vacation begins next week. A connected vacation; me travel away from the Internet?! I don't think so.

Cleaning up of many, many loose ends happens this week.

I have, therefore, been dreadfully absent from the blog.

I'll be back. Saturday. Yep.

That is all.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.