Jitterbug Perfume Shame

Today, I attend a conference and end up sitting by a colleague who worked with me when my role was different in the hospital.  We lost touch, but have no trouble picking up right where we left off.

At one point in the conversation, my friend says, 'what are you doing outside of work these days?'

I talk about family, recent travel, and then reveal my perfume hobbit (hobby + habit = hobbit).

Pausing for a brief fantasy about perfumed Hobbits...

'Wow, that's so cool,' she says, and begins asking me all sorts of questions about perfume.  

Because of Inner Critic - killjoy that he is - I'm always surprised when non-perfume people want to engage in conversation about this obsession.  As of today, I will expect a positive response and be surprised when that doesn't happen.

'Have you read Jitterbug Perfume?' she asks.  

What the hell?

Jitterbug Perfume, by Tom Robbins, is a perfumista cult classic.  How is it that she has read this and I haven't?

Responses to her question race through my mind:

'Yes, of course.'

'As soon as I finish The Emperor of  Scent.'

'I just started it last night.'

'What perfumista hasn't read Jitterbug Perfume?'

All lies, of course.

What I say, instead, is the shameful truth.  'I tried to read it awhile ago, but the print was so small that I got annoyed and quit.'

Crickets.

Then finally, she says, 'What about a book on tape?'

Well, maybe, but that would require paying attention and silencing the chaos in my head.  I can imagine listening for 30 minutes only to realize that...what was I saying about Hobbits?

Reading actually suits me best and Jitterbug Perfume is the next book on my list.

Just as soon as I find it in large print.

Picture from opusoils.com

It Runs In the Family

This is our son, JD, taking a break from his own weekend home improvement project.  On our way to buy carpet, we stop by to see the progress he is making replacing his deck with the help of his stepfather-in-law. 

JD is a perfumista at heart ( I could say 'perfumata,' but if perfume is not gendered, neither is the description of a perfume lover).  

It's possible that, growing up with a mother like me, he simply had to embrace perfume to stay sane.  But still.

He's no poseur.

Our trips to Nordstrom to play with perfume are memorable, and he always seems impressed that I can score new samples to challenge his developing nose.  

JD prefers sporty, aquatic scents, like Claiborne Sport and Givenchy Insense Ultramarine.  He also has an open mind, and at 26-years-old, his nose has room to grow.

Saturday morning, he and SFIL come to borrow B-man's extension ladder before starting their project.  As we are standing in the driveway, having two separate conversations (me with JD, B-man with SFIL),  he says, "I've been reading your blog a lot lately."  

This is a change from his occasional drop-ins of the past.

He goes on, "I'm always disappointed when I open your blog and there's an 'Ode' because I like the story posts so much."  

JD always says exactly what's on his mind.  In fact, he may be the most authentically honest person I know.  It's one of many unique characteristics I love about him.

'Yeah, I can understand that,' I say, silently delighting in the fact that he has become a regular visitor.  

Thanks for following my blog, son.  This short story post is just for you. 

Photos my own

Thinking Outside The Box

Today is home improvement day. 

B-man and I have decided to re-carpet our lower level and re-furnish our living room.  

Instead of just replacing what we have, this is an opportunity to do everything different.

To inspire new thinking, DSH Vetyver is the

Scent of the Day.  With its gasoline/leather/musty attic/second hand smoke opening, Vetyver settles into its namesake slowly...unlike many others.

Armed with a feisty perfume, I am ready to shake it up.

The excitement of home improvement is dampened by the tedium of buying the products.  Let's take carpet, for example.

B-man is doing most of the decision making, dealing with both sales people and installers.  He has a much better eye for these things, so I trust his judgment and know that, by the time it gets to me, he has done all the hard work.  

After spending hours filtering through carpet possibilities, B-man brings home three samples and I pick one in under three minutes.  He is amazed by this.

I'm like, 'what, it's just carpet.'  

We're not talking about cheese, after all.

Then, there's Paige.  I keep forgetting we have a furry toddler that loves to act up for strangers.

Paige looking so very innocent with her toy monkey

The guy that measures the rooms comes to our house this morning.  Paige doesn't like it.  She barks, but not in a bare-your-teeth 'I'm going to kick your ass' way.  No, it's more of a 'bitch, what are you doing on my turf?' sort of way.  

Measuring Guy doesn't know the difference and looks all nervous as I go downstairs to interrupt B-man's workout so that he can handle the whole carpet prep thing.  Then, I make Paige stay upstairs with me, sitting at my feet.  She looks mournfully over her shoulder with eyes that say, 'you so don't get me.'

Later in the day, Paige gets to stay home and Think About What She Did while B-man and I go place our order for the carpet.  We're waiting for B-man's favorite sales person and it's hot, crowded with other people who are also mingling in Carpet Hell.  The hotter I get, the more I can smell us.

B-man is wearing Azzaro as his SOTD, which is a lovely compliment to Vetyver.  But as we stand there, waiting in the heat, all I can think is, 'god, we reek.'  I envision everyone else in the store thinking, 'what reeks?'  Then they plan an attack and we can't get out and...

An idle mind is the devil's workshop.

Mercifully, B-man's guy gets to us and we purchase the carpet and decide to look for living room furniture later, when we feel fresh and inspired. 

We end our shopping with the most important errand of the day, buying cheese.

Thinking outside the box is hard work.

Pictures from fotosearch.com and B-man

Ode to Femme by Rochas

Diesel Fumes

Peaches with Cumin

Pecan Pie

Petunias

Vagina

Kettle Corn

Mahogany

Picture from minifroufrou.com

My Top Ten Transition Perfumes

Call it Autumn Syndrome.

This time of year, between summer and fall, messes with my mind.  

Suddenly:

- My clothes all suck

- Hair decisions  (to cut or to grow) are too complicated

- I eat fresh fruit (I don't even like fruit)

- Everything smells different

Once fall arrives, I settle into a warm, 'gathering in' phase, which is my favorite time of year.  Until then, to help with this seasonal shift, I rely on my Top Ten Transition Perfumes:

Poeme - gently guides the butterflys out and the dragonflys in.

Cabochard - a wild fire being swatted with leather belts.

Knowing - a rose chypre 'bite' that mirrors the crisp air.

Moschino Couture - green apples in cedar barrels.

Yatagan - pine needles on the ground with fallen leaves.

Sonia Rykiel Woman - autumn's first wearing of a suede jacket.

L'eau du Navigateur - coffee in Central Park on a cool, clear day.

Rose 31 - both dirty and effervescent.

Ambre Sultan -  herbal amber that must be a Virgo.

Black Aoud - the atmospheric smell of moving planets.

Today, in response to my general restlessness, one of my colleagues said, 'you do this every year.'   Just before I stick my chin out, like a defiant 2-year-old,  to say, 'do what?,' I realize she's right.

Thankfully, fall is just around the corner.

Do you have transition perfumes? 

Photo by autumn-pictures.com

Help - Perfume Party!

One way to use the perfumes I have (and quiet Inner Critic) is to share them with others.  I'm planning a perfume party later this month and thinking about how I want to categorize/group/display them so that my guests can make sense of my collection.

Possibilities considered:

By fragrance family (oriental, floral, chypre, etc.)

By perfume house (Guerlain, Hermes, L'Artisan, etc.)

By year (vintage to current)

By gender (I avoid this categorization in my own life, but it may make sense to others)

The crowd will be a mix of women and men; some that have a keen interest in perfume, some that are just beginning to experiment and others looking for a new signature scent.  

Still hoping to uncover at least one perfumista among them, I want to offer abundant sampling in the most appropriate and logical way.

What do you suggest?

Picture from fotosearch.com

Why Isn't Anyone Talking About Perfume?

B-man and I attended a wine tasting last night.  We have belonged to this group for 20+ years and have enjoyed varying degrees of activity.  

Recently, however, we have become more selective in the tastings we attend. 

This is partly because my work is very 'people heavy,' and the last thing I want on the weekend is to endure an event that feels like an extended cocktail party.  

Plus, I'm a homebody.  My idea of the perfect evening is cooking, and enjoying wine, at home with B-man and Paige.

Paige doesn't drink that much.

B-man is a bit more social and enjoys getting out and hobnobbing. Together, we balance each other out.

Last night's tasting was held at a Mexican bistro, new in town, located in an industrial warehouse.  We had never been there, but the invitation said, "this is not your basic burritos or enchiladas, this is what the wealthy people eat in Mexico."   

I found this reassurance to be pretentious and unnecessary.

Don't be dissing my Taco Bell.

For me, perfume accompanies all wine tastings, even though Inner Critic follows me around and tries to talk me out of it as I'm getting ready. 

Perhaps it does create a distraction from the 'nose' of the wine, but who can really object to lightly applied Jardin en Mediterranee?  If you're that sensitive to competing aromas, perhaps you should drink wine at home.  

With your own dog.

Our table for eight was an interesting crowd.  We talked about travel (ours to Denver, theirs to Southeast Asia), reading (they actually read books, not just blogs), our children, our work and all manner of social chatter.

At one point, I leaned over and whispered to B-man, 'why isn't anyone talking about perfume?'

He responded with the don't-make-me-snort-wine-out-of-my-nose laugh.

Actually, I think it's a fair question.  I would much rather hear someone's thoughts about perfume, as it relates to wine and food, instead of their most recent experience in an Australian airport.

Next time, I might bring up the topic myself, just to silence the table.

Photo from Winewaves.com