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New York, 7:23 AM
Tue Dec 1
67 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/29/09
11/29/09
But anyways, my problem with finding the right 'signature' scent (not that I've tried very hard) is that when I go to the perfume store, all the scents just morph into one homogenous smell so that I can't tell any brand apart from the other. Not to mention that what I like in scent often changes.
11/30/09
Before I had my children I would wear a combination of small amounts of Lotus oil behind my ears and on my wrists, a light spritz of Ralph Lauren's Romance and Nivea lotion. (Yes.--This sounds completely nutty but wait for the drop...) The combination produced a light.fresh exotic scent that worked very well in fetching comments from both men and women. Sadly, after I had my children I can't really put up with the smell of Ralph Lauren's Romance. Patchouli, Frankincense and Myrrh, and citrus oils are my favorite scents to sport now.
On the subject of how to deal with over-perfumers... If I have to regularly work with them or around them I will simply address the problem because it poses a health concern. Due to my awareness of how synthetic scents can agitate respiratory issues within others, I definitely play it safe and turn down the intensity of my scents when I am at school or out shopping.-Yet at a party or a night club, anything goes. :)
11/30/09
A party is someone's home. A nightclub is someone's workplace. If many people apply "anything goes" amounts of perfume or cologne, it becomes a stinky health problem even though each guest is only there for a little while.
I have nothing against scent use if it's tasteful - as in, if I'm sitting next to a person, I should be able to taste my food and not have all my food taste like my table-neighbor's overwhelming perfume.
11/29/09
I sometimes wish I had a signature, scent, though. I much prefer those little roller balls than perfume you spray on. Why don't more companies make transportable perfumes in tiny flasks with roller balls on them? It seems superior in every way. You can control how much you use and more accurate apply it to pulse points.
All I want is a perfume with that sort of bottle design, with no powdery note (why is a powder scent so popular?! It reminds me of deodorant!), and a dominating rose note. Is that so much to ask?? Apparently so, because I have not found it yet.
11/29/09
You're looking for a pure rose scent with absolutely no powder? Here are a handful to think about:
Eau d'Italie'sPaestum Rose, a soft, slightly spiced rose that is beloved by just about anyone who's smelled it, including the inimitable Chandler Burr.
Jo Malone's Red Roses, which is a crisp, pellucid rose with absolutely no fussiness or dusty powder. Burr loves this one, too.
Then there's S-Perfume's oddly-named but strangely beautiful watercolour rose, 100% Love. It doesn't smell like any other rose scent I know - it has a silky, light-as-air quality that is just beautiful. It was created by the grand dame of rose perfumes, Sophia Grojsman, and is one of her very best.
Good luck in your scent hunting!
11/30/09
You are a wealth of resourcefulness!
I don't suppose you would be willing to work your magic with the scent of rosewood, would you?
11/29/09
In the first few pages, a famous perfumier is talking about the difference between American and French taste in perfume and he comments on how attractive the scent of "an unwashed woman" is to the French, and the converse for Americans. Hence the tendency to "clean" smelling perfumes.
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11/29/09
As an aside: don't forget to avoid rubbing your wrists (and other body parts?) after spraying on perfume. The friction creates heat, which alters the molecular structure of the perfume and changes both the scent and the staying power.
11/29/09
11/29/09
I have a friend who has actually had to take a medical leave because her workplace does not have a scent policy and a co-worker uses a scent that is very noxious to her. We're not supposed to wear any "heavy" scents on the airplane, and most flight attendants I know don't bother to wear anything because 1) It could too easily bother someone and 2) It's just one more damn thing to carry around.
In non-flying life I sometimes wear Channel Mademoiselle or a BPAL scent. My current favorite BPAL is Danube. I'm almost out of my imp, I might actually buy a big bottle of it. My mom's signature is Opium although sometimes she wears pure Jasmine. My Grandmother loves Channel #5 and this horrid cheap Lily of the Valley eau de toilet. We haven't been able to find the Lily of the VAlley stuff for a while, much to everyone else's joy. She also smokes like a chimney, so unfortunately that scent kinda takes over. I do have some scarves of hers though that I'll never wash because they smell like her.
11/29/09
11/29/09
His Memory of Kindness is also incredible - nostalgic summer, bottled.
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11/29/09
It's nice to see that this is finally being taken seriously. Back in the 90's, I worked at a place where a number of people wore heavy perfume/cologne. When I told them about my asthma (very gently, I might add), they would ignore me or accuse me of exaggerating, lying, and being a bitch. I'm certain at least one of my co-jerkers upped his dose in response. Even when they saw me in agony, they acted like I was the asshole. By the time I ended that job (our whole division got laid off), I was on a whole slew of asthma meds to deal with working there, and as you can guess, depressed as hell. Now part of the problem there was that there was this whole corporate culture of passive agressive vicious behavior, but ignorance about the evils of perfume definitely played a role, because the people there who were smokers were always considerate of me (except for one asshole who joked about blowing smoke right in my face). Twas a fun job.
So, if a person who has asthma says your pefume/cologne gives them attacks, they're not lying or exaggerating.
11/29/09
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11/29/09
Whatever your scent, the surefire way to avoid choking those around you is to spray a mist cloud into the air & waft it in your direction.
11/29/09
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11/29/09
And I got a couple of sample hand lotions from Ulta - they were so strong that after using the restroom, I'd return to my desk, put them on, and have people coming from all corners of the office asking what smelled so good. Maybe it's just me, but at work, I do not want to be known for my *scent*. That's just too provocative for the workplace.
Take me out for a date, however, and all bets are off.
11/29/09
11/29/09
My Nana always wore, of all things, Charlie. That plus her Revlon powder makeup in Rachel and her obsession with moth balls and lemon Pledge...all those things make me think of her whenever I smell them.
11/29/09
Specifically, BPAL's El Dia de los Reyes relieves PMS cramping for me (it smells like mexican hot chocolate).
11/29/09