Saturday, November 13, 2010

little sniffs, upgrading, low lighting, a lament

Scores of today:

Mystere eau de parfum - Rochas
Madame Rochas
Femme - Rochas, the "new" version with the black cap. Unfortunately at another store when I bought -
Amour Amour - Jean Patou (sweet spiralled bottle with gold cap)
- I stumbled into the old version of Femme (lacy cylinder with gold cap), shrugged my shoulders and went, "Too bad! I already purchased you today!" But now I want to relive those few minutes and put
everything in its proper place.
From a previous jaunt: Eau de cologne fraiche - Christian Dior, so beautiful in its houndstooth bottle.

How many of you believe in upgrading your perfume collection? Is one bottle of simple eau de cologne enough? Or must you rush out and scream, "Vintage! Eau de parfum! Parfum! Original, more more!" I myself believe I should exercise moderation because I make a fool's wage, but am I too cautious? Should I splurge, have doubles, triples? No. I don't want that answer. One is enough. (Except on the subject of Shu Uemura, an obsession felt solely by me. Uemura addicts: out of the closet! I don't want to hear about eyelashes! Let's talk about his other areas of expertise!)

* * *
I have started work at a . . . scent-free office. Yes, it is horrific to me. I work cheek by jowl with other typists, two of whom claim to have asthma, one equipped with a fan (and turns it on in November) and who scowls at her neighbour's hand lotion. It is saddening - at my previous workplaces I loved sailing in on a cloud of Le Dix or Safran Troublant, smelling my wrists whenever I got bored or discouraged, perfume being my perk-up, my endless friend, my comfort during drudge or annoying customers or fatigue from shopkeep standing. Now I apply faintly, with a meek hand, perfume that I know won't last long or can be mistaken for shower-freshness - Lann-Ael or Heeley's Menthe Fraiche respectively. That above-phrase isn't a slight to them - I'm so happy that they exist and at least give me an hour of illicit joy. It breaks my heart that I have to be away from my darlings for five days out of the week. I love my scents, I only feel half-there without them. I miss scanning my collection in the morning and choosing who will be my friend for the day, who will complete the mood I want to be in, who can change me, lift me, elate me. Yesterday I gorged myself on Fendi's Theorema and today on Arpege - oh, the cursed work week! I miss you, my perfumes, I can't believe bureaucracy is denying me your pleasures!

3 comments:

Katy Josephine said...

Great post! No, I don't believe in 'upgrading' per say, but I do believe in 'rotating.' It makes me feel like I am contributing to the world of perfume to assess my collection every six months or so, determine a few give-away items and replace them with different perfumes. After all, there are so many perfumes to experience in my short lifetime!

Your scent-free office? That sucks big time! I totally feel your pain and don't know what I might do if I could not lovingly pick my perfume each day, just as you describe it.

To make up for this travesty, perhaps you can enjoy with abandon your Scent of the Evening. Best of luck.

Perfumaniac said...

I wonder if there's a way to just dab a bit under your nose so that only you can smell it? I do this when I'm in a stinky environment (and I don't mean GOOD stink :).

Honestly, I think it's kinda fascist to keep people from wearing perfume. There's no scientific evidence it harms others!

punkrockperfumeparty said...

I have wearing enough perfume in the nights to embalm someone from afar. Gluttony!