Raise your hand if you think January sucks, too.
Yeah, yeah, I know; it's a new beginning, it's the calm after the holidays and it's chock full of hope.
Typically, I'm an optimist. For example, I know that when the 'hey, dumb ass, you have a flat tire!' light comes on in my car, it's just because it's cold. Silly car, I think, smiling, everything's fine.
The light always goes off.
And if my food is slow in arriving at a restaurant, I can give the wait staff a break for a fairly long time. My food isn't out yet, I tell myself, simply because they are trying extra hard to get everything right, just for me.
That's how damn cheerful I am.
All the other months.
But January? Even I can't Pollyanna myself out of this one. It's colder than hell, I'm chubby from eleven days of 'holiday festive' and my hair's bugging me.
All I really want to do is stay home, channel surf, eat cheese, artichoke hearts and kettle chips - all together - and look forward to Happy Hour.
Everything else seems pointless.
As I listen to others during the day (well, pretend to listen), I have to concentrate so the 'who gives a shit?' fog horn in my mind doesn't actually show on my face.
Plus, I'm swearing more than usual, which is quite a bit.
The one thing that doesn't totally suck about January is that I sometimes reconcile with perfumes I haven't worn in a long time.
This year, it's L'Artisan's Tea for Two. We've been on again/off again for awhile now (mostly off), but when I applied T42 this morning, it actually made me happy for just a minute.
In January, that's no small thing.
What perfumes are getting you through this month?
What perfumes are getting you through this month?
image from www.geh.org
I'm such an optimist that I was told once by a friend that she would never survive a relationship with me (because I would get on her nerves).
ReplyDeleteFor days now I'm complaining to my friend that I have no idea what's wrong with me because everyone gets on my nerves, I'm depressed and angry at the same time and just want to be left alone, to pretty much do what you described up there (read and eat and sleep).
But I think my hair looks good and I have Shalimar Ode a la Vanille. ;)
Great post! I'm actually fine in January; I always look forward to getting away from the excesses of the December holidays and back into a routine. It's February and March that kill me; winter seems exhaustingly endless in those month.
ReplyDeleteI've been wearing a little Tea for Two, too, lately. It's one that I like to apply very sparingly, and then it's beautiful. Wears gorgeously on my cashmere scarf.
I'm in a terrible mood today, but this cheered me up a bit, especially the "Who gives a shit" fog horn. TELL ME ABOUT IT.
ReplyDeleteIn my morose stupor this morning I arbitrarily chose Miller Harris Geranium Bourbon. Rose/geraniums scents in general make me happy, and it's doing what it can. I think I maybe should have gone for a full-on comfort bomb though.
Greetings from the frozen North East! Boston REALLY sucks right now...and it sucks even more that my office doesn't shut down for a measly 2 feet of snow that got dumped on us in 24 hours.
ReplyDeleteLike you I find myself digging around for smells that will have the same effect as a hot bubble bath or tomato soup with a grilled cheese (how about just grilled cheese, in the tub....with red wine?). Right now my go-to is Jasmine Emperitrice Eugenie by Creed. It goes totally rancid on me when it's even a little humid out but right now it thaws me from the bone marrow on out. Freaking love it.
Also love SL Clair de Musc. However. I'm almost out and have been on a perfume buying hiatus so I'm reluctant to spritz through the rest too fast. What sucks more than January? Not having extra money to blow on new perfume!
This year I want Spring to come already!
ReplyDeleteWhat perfumes... I am goint to try some, and also the one for man Arabian Nights, I am excited about it.
I was going to mention February and March, but I see Suzanne got there first. Mid-February, then a revival, then a slam the third week of March. It's gotten to be nearly clockwork.
ReplyDeleteProbably why I enjoy starting seeds indoors, when I do. A way to say "fie" in the face of the calendar, to declare I will see April and May again.
I agree with the blankness of January, though. I guess that's why white was on my mind, again. The options of what to do with it are therefore wide...heck, I'll even venture into aledehyde territory, which is generally a risky venture for me. But hey, I'm bored...just not yet down.
Good luck. Can you get a narcissus bulb, and force it indoors?
Thank you, Josephine, for cheering up a dismal January day on my end. I suspect it's because unlike December - which does have all that 'holiday festive' to commend it, after all - January really IS...the pits, the depths, the dread and dead of winter. In February, we know we have a max of 29 days and March to look forward to. But January seems to drag on, and on, and on, and..on.
ReplyDeleteSo today, to put me in a good mood, I wore SL 'Fleurs d'Oranger' and it worked beautifully. (It usually does). So do Bellodgia, and Rosine's Une Zeste de Rose. And if I'm in for a day where the F-word will be used a lot (you're not the only one!), incense anything calms the savage beast...(yours truly!)
January is a good month for hyacinths of the soul, however you may find them!
Never could get a hang of January either. It's like the Monday of the year, meh. ELdO Like This puts at least half a smile on my face these days. And, strangely, rose perfumes.
ReplyDeleteJanuary does suck, indeed. It being the month of my birth, I feel I should like it, but as your fog horn sounds "who gives a shit".
ReplyDeleteI've been spraying Roger and Gallet Thé Vert (a bad mood fixing fragrance)almost everyday. It's takes some of the gray out of the day.
Josephine - your blog got me thinking...about winter antidotes! So I went looking for my own...
ReplyDeleteInes, January changes us, huh? I'm just trying to ride out the month, knowing things will get better in February. Give yourself permission to do what you want, including enjoying your new perfume!
ReplyDeleteHi Elisa - 'Morose stupor' is perfect - that's exactly how I feel this month! Have not tried the Miller Harris you mention, but I can imagine it would add some peppiness to my day, too. Must try.
ReplyDeleteGretchen, hello! Mmm...tomato soup with a tuna melt is my 'mommy food' fix. But I love the idea of red wine in the tub - that could work, too. Isn't it interesting that a perfume that doesn't work other times of the year can be perfect in January? Hang on for February!
ReplyDeleteHi Vintage Lady - I'm hoping for Spring, too! Hope you like Arabian Nights - that may be your January comfort perfume.
ReplyDeleteHey Suzanne - if I can get through January, February and March are easier. Although it does get depressing when it occasionally snows in mid April. I can imagine Tea For Two is beautiful on your cashmere scarf. When it's right, it's just right!
ReplyDeleteScentScelf, I love the idea of a narcissus bulb in the house. That may definitely cheer my mood.
ReplyDeleteAldehydes are risky, indeed! I'm feeling funky enough that I may actually find one I like.
March 1st is the marker of new hope for me. No matter what is happening then, I can look ahead and know that Spring is coming. January just bites in general.
Tarleisio, glad I'm not alone in my January angst! The month has dragged on forever, already. The perfumes you mention are beautiful and I could see how they would soothe your soul. I haven't considered incense perfumes as January antidotes, but love the idea!
ReplyDeleteMarina, 'Monday of the Year' is exactly right! You have mentioned Like This enough that I will have to try it. Like you, rose perfumes work for me in the winter, too. January is almost half over - I'm hanging on for February!
ReplyDeleteHi JoanElaine - sorry your birthday is in January...not my favorite month at all. I have some peppy, go-to perfumes that usually cheer me up, but I'm reluctant to wear them when I'm so cranky. This makes no sense, but I don't want the memory of my mood now to impact how I feel about them in the future. Just biding my time til January's over.
ReplyDeleteTarleisio, I'm glad that my gloominess could prompt a productive idea!
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say that my hand is raised high on the whole January Sucks program. Oh god it seems like there is no end to unhumanly cold temperatures and inversion air. Yesterday it was 42 degrees here at one point...a freaking heat wave. It gave me a little boost of hope to run around town in just a heavy sweater and NO JACKET! I too have been struggling to get back into eating healthier after the glut of holiday naughties. I have been telling myself that it must just be um.....PMS or something that has had me craving grease and chocolate.......for the last two weeks.
ReplyDeleteRegarding fragrance, well its more about what I am not wearing. A few days ago I glanced at Cabotine, the personification of spring and summer to me. I thought "Wow I will be glad when the weather feels right to wear that again."
Baby Sis
Baby Sis - good to see you! Glad you're raising your hand in solidarity. The inversion, and red air days, are getting on my nerves. I get the craving thing, except it's salt and carbs for me (could I eat any more Cheetos?).
ReplyDeleteCabotine is beautiful on you and I'm looking forward to smelling it again - thanks for stopping by!
Well, all you January-haters (there are so many of you, I can't say you're all wrong) can just come and cheer ME up next month. I never have trouble in January - like Joan, it's my birthday month and there's always something nice to look forward to, even if it's only cake. I notice that my August-born sister - hey, I hate August, does that count? - *always* got cooler presents than I did. Also, my husband goes back to teaching at the university in January, and things get more cheerful when he's not doing farm stuff full time.
ReplyDeleteBut February... in February it's been cold and brownish-grey and muddy and gross forEVer, the snow is no longer novel, and I find myself staring at windows, not out of them, thinking, My God, WHEN WILL IT END? I do sympathize with that.
In January, there are tuberose perfumes, many of them, to investigate. This is a good thing.
Muse, hi, it's great to see you! I've noticed you are doing a 'tuberose thing' lately, and I've never associated that particular note with January. Huh. It could work.
ReplyDeleteAnd you're right that February is dreary, but March 1st signifies the beginning of Spring, so I can tolerate it. It's also our wedding anniversary, which is cool.
I can imagine that your sister actually did get better gifts in August. After all, by the time January gets here, we're all so 'gifted out' that it's hard to get up for another gift event. Sucks, but true.
Great phrase, 'staring at the windows, not out of them.' That's me right now.
Perhaps not quite a perfume, but I enjoy burning agarwood during cold winter months. It seems to compliment cold temperature well.
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