Seattle Yogini

Commonalities

Thought for the day:

One thing we all have in common is our uniqueness.

So, what DO I smell like?

Over the past two months I have gathered a few wonderful scents (see previous post, Sensual Geekdom).  A commenter wondered what I bought, so here's the list so far:

From Essenza, I have purchased three flavors of L'artisan Parfumeur:

-  La Chasse aux Papillons  Chasing Butterflies!

This is the scent that made my husband sigh and coo...definitely a good response!  A sample of it had made it's way into the bundle I brought home from my first foray into the wonderful world of Essenza.  It was a good thing, too, because the scent I had covered my forearms in, the scent which I loved so much I was sure that nobody could dislike it, made him wrinkle his nose and make puking noises.  Not.  Good.

This is a testament to the importance not only of test-driving any desired scent with your loved ones before purchasing it, but also wear it a few different times for yourself.  You see, I doused myself in it again a couple of weeks later, reminiscing about how much I had loved it, and after about ten minutes realized that...actually...it wasn't that great after all.  Hormones?  Hunger?  Hydration?  Who knows how many things affect our sense of smell.  Before plunking down $100+ for a bottle of lovely, wear it in a few different situations, temperatures, and times of the month (wink, wink) to be sure you really want to smell "like that".

With strong notes of tuberose and other floral wonders, it is easily interpreted as "pretty", which is fine by me.  I wouldn't say it's my favorite scent ever, but I like it okay, and he clearly loves it, so it's an easy option for general use.  I wouldn't use it much before teaching, since many students are sensitive to scent and as the studio warms, perfume becomes stronger.  Still, for a bit of that "when she walked by, I got a whiff of nice flowers" approach, this is my floral of choice.

-  Safran Troublant  Saffron Spell

Spicy (but not "oriental" - at least to my nose), smooth and subtle, this one was described as one of the shop gals' "double hug scent".  She said that she thinks it smells good (said with a "meh" kind of attitude), but she really wears it for the response it evokes in others.  As in, friendlies give her a hug of greeting, and then exclaim that she smells sooooo good, and come in for another squeeze.  As a big fan of the hug, that was (almost) enough to sell me on the scent, right there.  I test-drove, and took a bottle home...hoping my hubby wouldn't wretch (this was while he was out of town).  I feel like this is a scent that is non-intrusive enough to wear all the time, obviously in moderation when I need to be around the studio.

- Méchant Loup   "Big Bad Wolf"

Holy moley, I love this one!  I read somewhere (probably on Invisible Magnet) that some professional perfume people recommend that we choose scents that contrast with our natural scent.  I would take that one step further and say that it is much more interesting to wear a scent that contrasts with one's personality (or at least, how others perceive one).  To that end, this spicy, foresty, earthy, smoky, sexy (especially after hours on the skin, the leftover smell is drool-inducing, as far as I'm concerned) has become a favorite for me.  I really look forward to wearing it in the fall and winter (it's the hint of smoke, reminds me of weekends at a cabin in the woods).

I know that I smell like geraniums.  Actually, it isn't that I smell of geranium, it's more like my laundry detergent smells of geraniums.  Anyway, it's what people close enough to me to make such a comment say I smell like - as in, "I just thought you smelled like that".  Tee hee!  That's always a relief to hear, because I think I tend to smell like warmth, kitchen smells, soap/shampoo/lotion, clean sweat (which is, indeed, different from stinky BO sweat) and musky woman-ness (ah, the joys of hormones) - the misunderstanding and fear of which inspires companies like Masengill to continue making scary products for women's "freshness".  But I cover these "natural" smells with hygiene and subterfuge.  Ha ha ha.

I also know that I am what people call "cute", and generally I am considered "sweet".  To me, that means that a sweet smell like, say, Bulgari Femme, while lovely and highly recommended, is not a good smell on me.  I bought a decant.  I think it smells great, but on me it is so freakishly sweet and, frankly, predictable, that I couldn't bear it.  Mechant Loup, on the other hand, is surprising and very "grown up" smelling on me.  It's the comparable to a fabulous gothy girl wearing the Bulgari.  Absolutely nothing wrong with it, but it might be surprising the the noses in the room.  :-)

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There are other scents on the way, thanks to the wonderfulness that is The Perfumed Court.  Two more from L'artisan: 

Mûre et Musc

and

Thé pour un Eté.  I have a decant of the Mure, and the Thé is on the way...both are light and summery (particularly the The), though the musk in Mure can definitely carry it into cooler weather.  The Thé reminds me of the scent that everyone is working to re-create in Tom Robbins' Jitterbug Perfume (my summer read of the moment).

It's Jasmine, with a hint of citrus, and a "something else" that rounds it out so much that it isn't truly floral nor is it truly citrus.  It is, however, truly sublime.

I also ordered a quartet of samples that I just wanted to smell without hunting the city for them:  Lady Vengeance by Juliette Has a Gun, Cruel Intentions by Kilian, Love by Kilian, and 8 88 by Comme des Garcons.  The 8 88 is to much of a man smell for me (though I do love to wear some men's cologne), the Lady Vengeance is waaaaay too...well, "not me" - though it is very interesting.  Neither of us like the Cruel Intentions, and Love smells nice (might be too sweet for me) but I haven't test-driven it yet.  Rob asked me to stop changing scents each day because it was freaking him out a little bit.  I can understand, so I've been wearing Butterflies for a few days straight to give his nose some floral love.  You know what's really cool?  Those four samples came in a little velvety bag and their smells mingled just enough that I really like how the bag itself smells - more so than any one of the samples.  It figures.

One of the things to be aware of when it comes to scents is that not all fragrances are natural (many are synthetic) and your body's reaction to the ingredients can be startling.  If you are sensitive or are generally concerned about how much of your cosmetics you're actually - literally - soaking up, then do your research!  Not all of the fragrances in L'artisan products are natural, but they mostly are.  As a European company they also follow different standards than American companies (the American motto seems to be "use it till it's proven dangerous...then make excuses for continuing to use it"  whereas generally in Europe there's a "let's err on the side of safety" - in cosmetics and in the production of food, for example).  If you are pregnant, I recommend eschewing all fragrances, even essential oils (unless you are working with an aromatherapist who knows what s/he's doing when it comes to the physiology of pregnancy).  We ingest more than we know, and we are constantly slathering things all over our bodies...things that adults may be able to process and eliminate, but that may have frightening affects on a developing baby.  Okay, here ends my public safety announcement.

What do YOU smell like?

Variety and Super Powers

I didn't give specifics about this while it was happening, but I spent most of June and all of July (for a total of 6 weeks) as a "geographical bachelorette".  Rob just got home this past Sunday, having spent a summer quarter in Montana mapping rocks for his UW geology degree.

Anyhoo, we're loving being back together.  I just thought I'd touch base here and share a snippet:

Him:  Ummmmm, where'd that bag come from?  (What he's really trying to get at, but is too well-mannered to say directly, is that he thinks my new purse is ridiculous and wonders what on earth I was thinking to bring it home...having paid money for it.)

Me:  Oh, you know, Nordstrom, Macy's, something like that.  When I went shopping with C.  (I am answering the stated question, although I am fully aware of the point he is struggling not to make.  It is my super power.)

Him:  Oh.  pause  It's a fun color.

Me:  Mmmmmhhhhmmmm  Nodding in agreement 'cause he's so right!

Him:  Why do women have so many purses?  (Ahhhhh, now we're getting somewhere!)

Me:  Well, I guess it's because we really want variety.  It's the same with shoes...but not with men.  We want one man, but a wide variety of shoes and handbags from which to pick and choose.

Him:  Oh, I see.  (He smiles to himself.  It is his super power.)



****Photo is of a purse similar to my new one, from the Tignanello website.