tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4157954197130918562012-01-28T05:56:13.665-05:00I Smell Therefore I AmAbigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.comBlogger6821100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-47954575476501904912012-01-27T01:07:00.001-05:002012-01-27T01:14:33.598-05:00Our Winter 2012 Top Favorites (and more): A Joint Blogging Project
This is my first winter in the southeast and goodness gracious it’s a mild one. Not a flake of snow, hardly any rain, and most days are in the 60s. I noticed a magnolia tree in my neighbor’s yard starting to bloom a few days ago. I know the weather isn’t usually so warm but after the record breaking hot & humid summer we deserve a nice winter.
Even though true winter temperatures elude me,Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-85755816779342381872012-01-24T20:31:00.003-05:002012-01-24T20:41:55.230-05:00Parfums Divine L'Inspiratrice: Perfume ReviewI’ve noticed recently that several of my all-time favorite perfumes fall into a similar category as Parfums Divine L’Inspiratrice. This category consists of fragrances which have a classical oriental structure but might initially seem boring, ordinary and definitely not groundbreaking. Let me digress for a moment to say that I am so tired of the “groundbreaking” label. Groundbreaking is used inAbigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-28959696056132479992012-01-17T21:49:00.000-05:002012-01-17T21:49:48.570-05:00Lalique Le Parfum: A Review<!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-72518006372420737762012-01-13T22:05:00.000-05:002012-01-13T22:05:15.685-05:00Kenzo Jungle L'Elephant: Perfume Review<!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-33548438795672135272012-01-07T00:57:00.002-05:002012-01-07T01:23:08.521-05:00Vanilla perfumes for those who dislike gourmands
If you’ve read here before you probably know that I’m not a lover of gourmand fragrances. I have two major issues with gourmands; 1. They make me hungry and 2. I’d rather not smell like actual desserts. The few times I’m worn things like Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille, Guerlain Spirituese Double Vanille or Guerlain Tonka Imperiale I find myself stopping at Starbucks for a latte and 3-piece Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-41700937468433635972012-01-03T15:41:00.000-05:002012-01-03T15:41:24.566-05:002012: Ringing It In
It's been a strange, eventful year. I haven't always had time to write. I haven't usually, I should say. And in many ways my feelings about blogging have shifted; whether or not permanently, I don't know. I started out with a real joy for blogging here, and a genuine enthusiasm for the things I was learning, not just on the shelf but from other bloggers. The last two years, especially, brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-67876336265467020522012-01-02T18:10:00.009-05:002012-01-03T12:45:49.550-05:00The Year That Was 2011
I wasn’t going to write a Best of 2011 list this year because there weren’t many that moved me. But then I decided to write something because I do enjoy ruminating upon the previous year through the perfume lens.
I encountered lots of mediocre to just plain good perfumes this year. Several are receiving high praise and plenty of buzz in the blogosphere but I found them to be average and a Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-57931916371501921282011-12-19T19:13:00.000-05:002011-12-19T19:13:15.880-05:00Amorvero: Back to My Roots
For months now, I've felt there's something wrong with me. I was kept pretty thrilled by fragrances for a good four years, consistently surprised, enthused, and engaged. It's been a real passion for me. Every day I packed a perfume bag the way some would pack a lunch. I'd sit at work sniffing one bottle after another. I'd have four to five different things on, making comparisons. I made brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-80455247285926323742011-12-15T23:47:00.000-05:002011-12-15T23:47:10.544-05:00TWRT 12.16.11
This Week's Random Thoughts ~
Note to perfume companies: I have an idea. Let’s not use the word chypre anymore since this category no longer exists.
I have been wearing Kate Walsh Boyfriend off and on all week. I like it. But I desperately want to tweak it! I want to amplify the patchouli-woods-chocolate to make it less of a vanilla fragrance. It smells good, don’t get me wrong, but I justAbigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-72232301169215886642011-12-10T22:51:00.001-05:002011-12-10T22:53:26.922-05:00Dior Mitzah
The recent 10 additions to Dior’s exclusive range have been met with lukewarm reviews at best. Each fragrance in Dior La Collection could easily be called “good” but what most perfume enthusiasts are reacting to is that fact that the exclusive range should, by definition, be a step above mainstream releases.
If Dior Mitzah was instead a new mainstream release from Dior, available at every Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-37994531932593704232011-12-08T22:48:00.001-05:002011-12-08T22:52:46.615-05:00Ahh, the smell of it! Calvin Klein ObsessionCalvin Klein Obsession for Women launched in 1985 when I was 14 years old. I remember how profoundly the Calvin Klein brand permeated 80’s culture. I remember the scandalous Brooke Shield’s jean commercials followed by the oddly androgynous and creepy child-porn Obsession perfume commercials. I never wore Obsession when I was a teenager. I was fixated on florals and florientals. It probably Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-91957899426244691732011-12-01T19:31:00.000-05:002011-12-01T19:31:25.870-05:00Draw Winner
The winner of the full bottle draw for the video "Fur" is Queen Cupcake. Thanks everybody for participating. It made for entertaining reading. Queen, please email me within the next week to collect your prize.
Choose from the following bottles:
Bond No.9 Lexington Avenue (50 ml)
Caron Bellodgia (50 ml)
Guerlain Samsara EDT (30 ml)
Parfums de Nicolai Vanille Tonka (30 ml)
Ava Luxe Queen Bessbrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-30474862747126367302011-11-24T09:23:00.000-05:002011-11-24T09:23:29.407-05:00Thanksgiving attire
Just a suggestion for Thanksgiving attire. Yoga pants are oh-so-forgiving on the waistline, right?!
Happy Thanksgiving! Don't eat too much (ha, ha)Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-81348852488328503272011-11-22T10:19:00.002-05:002011-11-22T23:36:26.658-05:00What Does This Woman Wear? A Full Bottle Drawing.
A friend I film a lot with, Savannah, got a fur coat from her aunt several months ago, and seeing as how she's not really a fur person, per se, making a movie seemed about the only good use for the thing.
Generally when I make movies it's a long haul, marathon type thing. It means months of preparation - planning, budgeting, casting, et al. The more I do it, the more I crave making films - brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-23001921676188396052011-11-21T21:20:00.002-05:002011-11-21T21:33:22.601-05:00Perfumes I ought to like... but don't Earlier today I tried wearing Jean Patou Sublime for about the fifth time. There are so many fantastic fragrances from Patou that I find it curious I don’t enjoy Sublime. From Sublime’s list of notes it seems like a perfume I would cherish (listed notes are orange, Mandarin from Sicily, ylang-ylang, lily of the valley, rose, jasmine, orange blossom, vetiver, sandalwood, oak moss and vanilla). Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-58316131541566664322011-11-18T01:15:00.005-05:002011-11-18T15:00:48.165-05:00This week's favorite thingsMOR Marshmallow Hand Lotion
Trader Joe’s Vanilla Cinnamon Tea
Dr Dennis Grossman Alpha Beta Peel
Walking with my dogs in the brisk weather
Annick Goutal Songes Body Crème
Planning the menu for Thanksgiving
New Silk Pillowcases
Homemade hummus on crisp (low-carb) tortilla strips
Wearing plushy pajamas and slippers
The smell of damp leaves & smoke from chimneys
Perfectly broken-in sneakers
Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-87348229709152629172011-11-08T20:41:00.001-05:002011-11-13T15:27:38.366-05:00Angel Appreciation
Can you believe Angel is almost 20 years old? Thierry Mugler’s Angel launched in 1992 and is far and away the most groundbreaking fragrance of the past two decades.
The first time I smelled Angel was December, 1997. I was Christmas shopping at Macy’s in the downtown crossing section of Boston. Angel will always smell like Christmas to me. I have never been able to sniff it objectively, my Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-83120401604444024672011-10-26T20:15:00.001-04:002011-10-26T20:20:39.200-04:00M. Micallef Gaiac
I go through phases. With everything in my life, my perfume hobby has taken me on some fun and interesting trails. This past year I seem to be entering a new phase which is quite the opposite of the last seven plus years. Over the last seven years I’ve been constantly on the hunt and in a collecting frenzy. Now I find myself wanting to reduce in order to dig in and enjoy my favorites. I’m Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-75062775755500543642011-10-21T14:38:00.000-04:002011-10-21T14:38:42.514-04:00TWRT 10.21.11
This week's random thoughts ~<!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-80953221366819119882011-10-20T20:28:00.000-04:002011-10-20T20:28:19.455-04:00Love, Chloe Eau Intense<!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-52784503125719592122011-10-19T10:31:00.000-04:002011-10-19T10:31:22.381-04:00More on the Wacky Things Those Persistent Sales Associates Say
The other day, I walked into Sephora.
What compels me to walk into Sephora at this point, where nothing grabs my attention, is something I probably need to look into, but I'll get to that some other time. Or not. One thing I can always count on at the place is the unique pushiness of the sales staff, who rush over the moment I enter and hover there with their headsets, as though I intend to brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-18110495247102400172011-10-13T18:49:00.001-04:002011-10-13T18:54:17.447-04:00Tom Ford Violet Blonde
Earlier this week, in anticipation of Tom Ford Violet Blonde’s arrival at my house, I was familiarizing myself with my violet collection. Among the other violets I already enjoy I came away professing my love for Norma Kamali Violette, which is something you should try if you’ve been looking for a nice violet floral.
But now Violet Blonde is here and I’ve been sniffing it all day. I've read Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-12762601837482496142011-10-10T17:51:00.000-04:002011-10-10T17:51:40.589-04:00Norma Kamali Violette: A true violet floral<!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-70655056604853910192011-10-06T19:46:00.002-04:002011-10-06T19:56:50.450-04:00TWRT 10.7.11This Week’s Random Thoughts~
I am a total loser because I’m really excited about all the new fall shows and, of course, the returning shows I love.
Fragrance, this week, was all about Canturi and Alahine. The weather is now becoming “fall like” but fall in The South is a totally new experience. Daytime temps under 80 and nighttime temps in the 60s are what makes a nice autumn day here. It’s Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-975135787844982212011-10-03T20:23:00.000-04:002011-10-03T20:23:10.913-04:00Canturi eau de parfum<!--[if gte mso 9]> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-51397699183192208632011-09-30T22:58:00.001-04:002011-09-30T23:00:53.108-04:00Agent Provocateur StripBrian surprised me with AP Strip as a gift. I had never heard of it and had no idea what the notes were or how it was described in the ad copy. I love blind smells like this.
Strip launched in 2007 as a limited edition. The limited edition part is what is so unfortunate. Many consider the original Agent Provocateur to be their best fragrance but I think Strip is easily the best from this Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-83581480797459230442011-09-26T16:29:00.001-04:002011-09-26T16:33:55.864-04:00Coming clean with myselfI realized yesterday that I dislike Bond No. 9 Chinatown. This is after years of thinking I loved it and that it was among Bond’s best offerings. Oddly, I still think it’s a neat perfume on others, and I still think it’s among Bond’s bests, but on me it reeks of waxy crayons. I picture red and purple crayons. Melted.
This got me thinking about all the other perfumes I've professed my love forAbigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com33tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-55906345840325294902011-09-26T14:13:00.000-04:002011-09-26T14:13:35.230-04:00Red FlagAbigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-90457905335036936932011-09-25T12:35:00.000-04:002011-09-25T12:35:34.018-04:00Colors de Benetton 1987
It's probably unfair to review this one, as the liquid currently sold under the name doesn't much remind me of the original version, a bottle of which I was lucky enough to find at a discount store. But the old Colors is such a great fragrance, especially for autumn, and so curiously forgotten, that I can't resist.
At one point, Benetton was, along with Esprit, an interesting anomaly at the brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-5168722762104568772011-09-17T13:51:00.001-04:002011-09-17T14:00:19.840-04:00Chanel 31 Rue Cambon
Chanel calls 31 Rue Cambon a chypre - sans oakmoss - and for a while I couldn't really see it. The fragrance is rich and gorgeous, for sure, and somewhat old school in character, but it lacks that earthy, vaguely animalic bitterness I associate with the chypre accord. Many "modern chypres" lack that, leaving me to wonder what exactly a word is worth if, eventually, it can be used to mean brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-85856343327184186472011-09-10T15:23:00.001-04:002011-09-10T15:51:26.715-04:00Perry Ellis for Men
When I was in my teens, Perry Ellis - the brand as well as the designer, the two of which were inseparable in my mind - represented something unique culturally. While not openly gay, Ellis and his sensibility felt that way to me. Something about him set my radar off; maybe the way he concluded each of his shows by skipping down the runway. You didn't see Oscar de la Renta skipping. Even brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-11456796493901166552011-09-08T10:28:00.001-04:002011-09-08T19:20:09.898-04:00Tabu: Things Don't Happen the Way They Used To
I don't imagine the Tabu you get at your local drugstore is anything but a remote facsimile of the original. And how could you expect it to be - at roughly fifteen dollars? I suspect Tabu was once something closer in spirit to Muscs Kublai Kahn by Serge Lutens, and in fact when I smell many of the Lutens fragrances I'm reminded of the way I've heard vintage Tabu described. I think of Francis brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-71281169498006513822011-09-05T12:22:00.000-04:002011-09-05T12:22:13.338-04:00Leather Fruit: CK One Shock for Him
The most shocking thing about CK One Shock is how good it is, compared to how mediocre it should have been. What of note has Calvin Klein done in the last several years? Secret Obsession, Beauty, and any number of interchangeable flankers have been disappointments - even the pleasures of Euphoria were pale in comparison to the brand's great fragrances of the eighties and nineties. Obsession, brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-35561440801063745862011-08-31T18:50:00.001-04:002011-08-31T18:52:52.239-04:00Prada Candy (aka Prada Infusion de Benjoin)Yes, I’m alive. I’m peeking out of my hot, steamy corner here in The South because I finally wore something I’ve been looking forward to for months: Prada Candy.
Sometimes I wonder about myself. I mean, why, exactly was I looking forward to Prada Candy so much? Within the perfume realm I’m an eternal optimist. No matter how many times I’ve been burned, I seem to keep a positive attitude and Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-26887046360486576632011-08-12T19:34:00.000-04:002011-08-12T19:34:30.279-04:00That Glass Tray Your Grandmother Kept Her Fragrances On
Some things are weirdly universal. For the past week or so, I've been interviewing people, all women, about their memories of the perfumes worn by their mothers and grandmothers. A few of these people know each other, but they'd never talked amongst themselves about the topic, and it was surprising how often the details of their memories corresponded.
All of them viewed their grandmothers as brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-37840294731511885422011-07-30T15:45:00.000-04:002011-07-30T15:45:08.093-04:00Shopping in LA: Recently Acquired
Los Angeles seemed more congested than ever this last time I was there. Even getting coffee at the local coffee shop felt like being stuck in traffic. Line for drink, line for creamer, line for sweetener. Lots of excuse me please. It was a hectic trip but a nice one, and going to look at perfume, whether at Luckyscent, Barney's, Fred Segal, or otherwise was always a welcome, if rushed, brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-38342124164941076382011-07-23T13:48:00.001-04:002011-07-23T16:19:10.080-04:00More Tassels, Please: Things I'm Liking Lately
1. Please, please, please, put more tassels on perfume. Put all kinds of dangly things - but tassels, if you can swing it. Nothing feels better on a perfume bottle. Nothing makes a perfume feel more like a perfume to me. And don't skimp. I like a nice, fat tassel. Something you can really run your grubby little fingers through. I have dozens of hundreds of fragrances. Less than one brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-54814755388913663462011-07-22T19:00:00.000-04:002011-07-22T19:00:43.653-04:00Mona Di Orio Vanille
In November, I reviewed Cuir, a fragrance I continue to love but rarely wear. Cuir was different in many ways than most of what I'd smelled by Mona Di Orio, which wasn't a bad thing. It was simply stronger and a lot more linear, and it felt more operatic in its singleminded bullheadedness than anything else she'd done, including famously skanky Nuit Noire. What you got at first was what you brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-32140595327129858592011-07-11T16:00:00.000-04:002011-07-11T16:00:17.801-04:00Hazy DayzThank goodness Brian has been keeping our readers entertained since I’ve been MIA for quite some time! Does anyone even remember me?!
I’ve moved, so I find myself in a different part of the country, the southeast, where it is insanely hot and humid. After two years in the high desert, I forgot exactly what humidity feels like. Oh... now I remember, it feels oppressive and wet and heavy and Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-671544886903285032011-07-08T00:29:00.004-04:002011-07-08T00:46:43.686-04:00Factice on Film: A Short Starring Voodoo, the "Perfume"
Here's another short in the Woman's Picture series, a snapshot companion piece to a longer segment which will come out next October based on the character of Ingrid, who appears in name only here but is an intensely felt presence.
At the time of the Ingrid movie's release online at Evelyn Avenue, Tableau de Parfums, perfumer Andy Tauer's ongoing collaboration with the project, will release itsbrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-1571734219071230312011-07-01T09:54:00.000-04:002011-07-01T09:54:45.289-04:00Stuff and Nonsense
This week I received a package of vials from Olfacta including all kinds of essential oils and absolutes. Most of them I'd never smelled isolated this way. There were: myrrh, frankincense, civet, labdanum, castoreum, tuberose, rose, jasmine. Many others. I couldn't help myself and poured many of them into a mix I'd made a few days earlier. The vials still smell, thankfully, so I can use brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-91054282797098645622011-06-25T12:26:00.002-04:002011-06-25T13:40:54.631-04:00Shifting Clouds: Organza
I keep thinking I must have written about Givenchy's Organza. It's one of my favorites - even though, until recently, I didn't wear it all that much. Weeks ago, a friend discovered a tiny bottle, probably 5 ml at most, in a flea market, and he wore it so much I was compelled to bring my bottle out of effective retirement. Suddenly, I saw Organza in a different light, the way you do when you brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-45365682606078479482011-06-23T17:20:00.001-04:002011-06-23T19:20:15.093-04:00Voodoo: A ReviewSo I decorated this bottle for a film we're shooting this week involving the discovery of a long lost fragrance in a vintage clothing store. The picture shows it with everything but the label, which I've yet to apply. Someone of facebook suggested the name "Voodoo" for this fictitious fragrance. After dressing up the factice, which is something like twenty inches tall, I started to think aboutbrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-26550885735208591342011-06-21T19:42:00.000-04:002011-06-21T19:42:54.021-04:00Ultimate Film Prop: The Perfume Factice
Lately I've been on a crazed hunt for an old perfume factice. You've probably seen these larger versions of well known perfumes in stores or online. Fragrance manufacturers use them to promote their lines - less so, maybe now, than at one time. Dummies don't seem to be displayed as often as they once were, and the older ones don't stay around for long, as the turnover is so high at the brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-73989777576475999332011-06-17T20:39:00.001-04:002011-06-18T11:43:50.234-04:00Balenciaga ParisLast night, I had a dream I was visiting my step mom, and we got in the camper and drove I don't know where. Somewhere with an indoor pool and a little coffee house and various dream situational things that made me nervous for no particular reason. All my dreams are hotbeds of anxiety. It's never anything particular. They're just suffused with this unnamed, lurking dread. I envy people whosebrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-85889664932062439062011-06-11T17:45:00.000-04:002011-06-11T17:45:36.017-04:00Slightly Stinky Cologne: A Snapshot from Woman's Picture
Woman's Picture: Snapshot 3 - Slightly Stinky from brian pera on Vimeo.
Woman's Picture is a film series I started this year, the episodes of which for the most part focus on women characters and their relationships with each other, with men, and with perfume. The first full length episode comes out in September, on evelynavenue.com, luckyscent.com, and a few other sites online, coinciding brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-77314039506772182802011-06-09T00:08:00.000-04:002011-06-09T00:08:06.875-04:00Serge Lutens: La Myrrhe
Is it just me, or does this Serge Lutens non-export smell foody?
I smell the myrrh in there, but it feels as if it's cushioned in some kind of vaguely fruity, slightly chocolatey something or other. Maybe it's the honey. Might be it's the almonds. Could be the "spices" listed in the notes. For me, La Myrrhe is a totally irreverent take on the idea of a myrrh fragrance, paying very little brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-60313157147902868482011-05-20T16:22:00.001-04:002011-06-19T14:50:34.735-04:00Old School Hermes: 24, FaubourgIt's ironic, I guess, that the current fragrance profile at Hermes is regarded as sophisticated, elegant, and refined, while the fragrances themselves are largely so wan and vegetal. I won't say the things in house perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena does for the brand aren't elegant, but they define elegance in a pretty different way than I would - in or outside of Hermes. This speaks to changing brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-26237438594243464162011-05-16T12:05:00.001-04:002011-05-16T12:05:48.820-04:00Valentine to Perfume: Woman's Picture and Tableau de Parfums
Woman's Picture Trailer from brian pera on Vimeo.
Here's the trailer to a film about three women called Woman's Picture. The film premieres in Los Angeles this July (details to follow). The film, and the website I've created for it, Evelyn Avenue, has a lot to do with perfume. Each of the women's stories in Woman's Picture revolves around the influence of a fragrance, in a way that gives brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-57350983875496065702011-05-14T13:19:00.000-04:002011-05-14T13:19:28.785-04:00This Week at the Perfume Counter: Good Enough for KimI'm always a little cranky when I show up at my favorite perfume kiosk here at the mall and the Russian women who own it aren't there. Recently, they hired two new employees, neither of which knows next to anything about perfume and augur a much more belabored conversation. The owners know their inventory well, no matter how far hidden behind boxes of Mariah Carey, Queen Latifah, or Polo Doublebrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-32210524131773238622011-05-01T17:22:00.000-04:002011-05-01T17:22:58.359-04:00Oscar de la Renta Esprit d'Oscar: Surprise SurpriseReformulations, sometimes (as here) referred to as "updates" or "modern interpretations" are rarely, in my experience, cause for anything but dread. So Esprit d'Oscar is a nice little surprise. I was, and still am, partial to the original Oscar de la Renta fragrance, known simply as Oscar, which was created in 1977 by Jean-Louis Sieuzac (he of Opium, Bel Ami, Fahrenheit, and Dune--all wonderful)brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-57809038420516361362011-04-28T21:26:00.001-04:002011-04-28T21:33:30.499-04:00A few perfumes I've loved this springParfums DelRae Debut
Having first met Amoureuse, I didn’t think I was a fan of DelRae’s florals. Then I met Debut and realized Amoureuse and I weren’t meant to be friends but Debut and I are BFF’s.
Debut is an early spring scent. Debut begins all sharp and citrus (lime, bergamot) but then unfolds into an obvious note of lily of the valley (and hyacinth which isn’t listed in the notes) with a Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-82803143181555316222011-04-27T12:43:00.001-04:002011-04-28T19:16:26.233-04:00My Last 5 In-Person, Real Time Perfume InteractionsYou might think that people comment on my perfume all the time. Alas, they don't. It's exceedingly rare that anyone says anything about it, and I wear, I imagine, quite a lot. The last week or so has been a bonanza of interaction. People at the store. People at the dinner table. On a park bench. Passing on the street.
Here's something else: I rarely smell perfume on other people. It's abrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-19284489619172110872011-04-26T16:27:00.000-04:002011-04-26T16:27:41.575-04:00Dioressence: Moss AppealDiorella, Diorama, Diorling, Diorissimo and Miss Dior seem to get the lion's share of appreciation when it comes to older Dior fragrances, and while I like several of them very much, I think my favorite is the newest of the old, Dioressence. Granted, of the lot, I've never smelled Diorling and Diorama in anything close to original form, and the Diorling reformulation is pretty pale compared to brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-78069449558168595822011-04-19T11:15:00.018-04:002011-04-24T11:58:03.260-04:00What Becomes a B-r-r-r-r-utalist Most?In a recent interview with the New York Times, Center of Olfactory Art curator and author Chandler Burr argued for the official re-appraisal of perfume as an art form, making the case, essentially, that a perfumer is an artist and should be regarded as one, and that when we discuss perfume we might consider it within a context wider than the commercial arena within which it has typically been brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-89484365372948710082011-04-07T22:07:00.001-04:002011-04-07T22:11:34.315-04:00Sonoma Scent Studio To DreamThis is the first time I’m breaking my rule of always spraying from the bottle and wearing a perfume 2-3 days before writing a review. Full disclosure: I’ve only sampled SSS To Dream from a dauber vial but I have worn it for 2 days and I’m blown away by it. I’m in lust for To Dream and cannot wait for my bottle to arrive, which, of course, is already on order and in transit!
Ms. Erikson, Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-6157057357525209382011-04-02T12:54:00.001-04:002011-04-02T12:58:39.878-04:00Alien Sunessence 2011: Edition Or D'Ambre
I don't know why--because they've largely been disappointing--but every year I look forward to all the various Thierry Mugler seasonal, limited edition flankers with the kind of excitement I imagine a teen feels waiting for the next installment of the Twilight franchise. The flankers for A*men have been more consistently promising, and I don't have many complaints there, but, aside from the brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-34857635486197207052011-03-22T22:04:00.000-04:002011-03-22T22:04:03.931-04:00Maitre Parfumeur et Gantier Ambre PrecieuxI’m a friend of good amber fragrances (“good” is obviously subjective, but I’ll explain more below). I find many amber scents too sweet and vanillic but I easily have a half dozen ambery fragrances I adore and don’t fall anywhere near the sweet/vanilla spectrum. It strikes me as odd that I’ve never reviewed MPG’s Ambre Precieux (MPG AP) since I find it to be one of the absolute best amber Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-51331249942136379042011-03-15T19:58:00.001-04:002011-03-15T20:01:11.858-04:00My Patchouli ProblemI admitted recently that I’ve given up trying to like vetiver and leather fragrances (aside from Tom Ford Tuscan Leather and some old classics that don’t register as Leather with a capital L on me like Bandit and Cabochard). You can add cedar to that list, too. Cedar is the reason I’m not enthused about a number of Serge Lutens fragrances which are considered among his very best (Bois de Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com34tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-86038534633746966812011-03-15T11:41:00.002-04:002011-03-15T13:27:23.984-04:00Overrated: I Smell Hypocrisy
I've been called splenetic before. I won't lie.
I had to look it up, and when I understood what the word meant, I didn't entirely disagree. This might lead you to believe that I'm a mean, nasty guy who keeps to myself. And of course I might be--mean and nasty. But the truth is, I love reading and talking to other bloggers. I love reading the various fragrance boards. I belong to a few of brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com45tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-21236773587909602032011-03-14T12:41:00.004-04:002011-03-14T21:59:33.074-04:00Eternity: Cleaning Up The Eighties with Calvin
Christy Turlington, saddled with motherhood, daydreams of a night out at Studio 54
For a long time, I regarded Calvin Klein's Eternity as its own sort of stand alone monolithic entity. In my mind, it sat on its own somewhere, out of context. It was so all over the place during the time of its release and for several years afterward and was such a brilliantly art-directed phenomenon that it brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-35729885806647607242011-03-11T23:33:00.004-05:002011-03-13T15:24:00.676-04:00Dior Hypnotic Poison Eau SensuelleJust gaze at this bottle. I do all the time. I love Dior Poison bottles, all of them, and I like to group the whole set together on an antique claw-foot circular mirror atop my dresser. I don’t think the Dior Poisons are the best perfumes of all time, although the original Poison cannot be ignored, and I wore the heck out of the original Hypnotic Poison back in the late 90’s, well before I Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-79935650064506401072011-03-10T17:36:00.000-05:002011-03-10T17:36:45.705-05:00Some Ouds: Bond no.9 Signature and New York Oud, Dior Leather Oud, L'Artisan Al Oudh, By Kilian Pure Oud, Juliette Has a Gun Midnight Oud
Oud has been trending, as they say, for well over a year now, but it isn't exactly something that gets my imagination roaming, and for the most part I've ignored all the latest iterations. I've smelled them, but they haven't been bottle worthy to me. This is probably the only time I'll write about them, yet I don't intend to make anything like a definitive statement. I'm not going to get intobrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-76419050361109087512011-03-10T17:23:00.003-05:002011-03-10T17:31:00.448-05:00Annick Goutal Le MimosaIt’s no secret that I’m a huge Annick Goutal fangirl. Early last year I wrote a week-long tribute about several of their most amazing fragrances. Annick Goutal, for me, is the epitome of quality, class, sophistication and beauty. Every single fragrance from Annick Goutal is exceptional quality and I can even appreciate the few I don’t like, which for the record are Mandragore, Petite Cherie Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-27283214817034389572011-03-09T19:33:00.004-05:002011-03-09T19:44:14.581-05:00L'Artisan Fleur de Narcisse: Nostalgia and Never Say NeverFor those who have moved to another state, another region or a different country do you sometimes have nostalgic moments when you remember so fondly an aspect of your former location? I’m originally from the northeast, from New England and now that I’m in the southwest I have been missing the gorgeous unfolding of a northeastern spring. I also miss the spectacular foliage during autumn in Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-50628998274917731092011-03-05T13:08:00.000-05:002011-03-05T13:08:26.518-05:00Well Being: Barney's Route du The
I was surprised to learn that this little gem has been around since 1986. I discovered it back in 1995 or so and, I guess, thought that my awareness had ushered it into being. It's bizarre to think the stuff was around when I was in high school, out making the rounds in the world. What's most surprising to me is the fact that Calyx, which is much better known--and which I had heard of in highbrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-12838232744996912142011-02-27T18:01:00.001-05:002011-02-27T18:01:14.643-05:00Kathleen Turner Demonstrates the Correct Way to Apply Perfumebrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-42938900936743175872011-02-26T12:14:00.001-05:002011-02-26T12:15:37.217-05:00Le Labo Aldehyde 44
Sometime last year, Abigail started raving about Aldehyde 44. At the time, I was just dipping into Oud 27and Rose 31, a few other Le Labo fragrances I'd been curious about. I was pretty thrilled with both of those, and I'm sure I'll review them at some point. I think I'll also revisit Patchouli 24, as I've realized, spending a few years with it now, how truly fantastic it is, and how little brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-899283845645442712011-02-24T12:25:00.003-05:002011-02-24T23:00:32.740-05:00Frederic Malle: Portrait of a LadyHave we all had our hissy over this one? Is it possible to discuss it with any objectivity now, or do we need more time? Remember just a few months back, how desperate so many of us were to smell this? The review Abigail wrote on Portrait was one of our most trafficked posts that month. Some people reacted orgasmically to the fragrance, once they finally laid hands on it. Many seemed brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-3482394340453920332011-02-19T20:07:00.005-05:002011-02-24T23:01:30.453-05:00Hermes Parfum des MerveillesHermès launched Eau des Merveilles in 2004. For years I have loved, or I should say I thought I loved Eau des Merveilles, but this was in theory. The truth is, I never, ever (ever!) wear the stuff. Honestly, all this time I thought I loved EdM but what I enjoy is the idea of it, not wearing it. The thing is, I still think Eau des Merveilles is wonderfully original and phenomenal in its abilityAbigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-51907820917086054532011-02-19T15:05:00.007-05:002011-02-20T18:24:07.401-05:00Scent and Sexuality in the Seventies
Sarah Moon for the Pirelli calendar
In case you haven't read it, there's a wonderful meditation over on Perfume Shrine about Anais Anais, the iconic perfume by Cacharel. Writing about Anais Anais several years ago, I appreciated its ad campaigns (old and new) but commented that the fragrance was pretty free of childhood associations for me. Reading the Shrine article, which features brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-5991941337914716782011-02-17T11:18:00.008-05:002011-02-17T16:24:14.572-05:00Three Faces of Habanita
On Valentine's, Josephine over at Notes from Josephine posted an ode to Habanita. It went:
Wood StainJust Lit CigaretteATV ExhaustRoot Beer with Dry IceBoard MeetingFresh LaundryDivinity
It's getting complicated with these older perfumes. There are now several versions out there. Sometimes several means many. I own three versions of Habanita--and each smells quite different. They're brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-37890252091391977002011-02-16T11:15:00.002-05:002011-02-16T18:13:43.659-05:00Scent of the Day: The Smell on My Sweater SleevesEvery morning, as I get ready for work--practically unconscious, mind you--I pull out a sweater and shove into it. The wrists are powdered with the memories of who knows how many days of perfume, and I love the smell--but I never consider stopping there. Instead, I move to the cabinet and pick something out for the day. This morning, I was in a hurry, and left without grabbing anything. brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-5675552549607892932011-02-14T12:32:00.003-05:002011-02-14T14:49:32.832-05:00Woman's Picture: Scent Memories On FilmSeveral months ago, I posted about Patou 1000, offering a bottle giveaway. I asked you to leave comments relating your earliest memories of fragrance and the people you remember wearing it. The comments were some of the most interesting and touching I've read online. Each one zeroed in on deeply personal stuff, relating perfume directly to memory and the primal stuff of childhood.
Since thenbrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-64359853548969820362011-02-14T10:42:00.004-05:002011-02-14T16:53:56.878-05:00If I Wanted to See Your Tan Line I'd Be Buying Your Drinks, Not Your PerfumeMy response to a post called Who Will Save us from the Vulgarity over at The Perfume Chronicles, one of my favorite blogs. Who Will Save Us talks about perfume advertising and marketing which uses sex as its, um, central thrust. The most recent example of this, taking it, supposedly, to the level of high art, is the project Petit Mort, a collaboration between a perfumer (Bertrand Duchafour) andbrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-11059870490749039842011-02-13T00:52:00.006-05:002011-02-16T12:42:45.040-05:00Yosh Omniscent RocksOne of the words from Luckyscent’s description of Yosh Omniscent eau de parfum is Feast. Omniscent is a feast. In my own words, had I not ever read Luckyscent’s description, I would have used cacophony. This got me thinking about how we have better and more accurate words to describe abundance and beauty for many of our other senses but not many words that describe the intricacies of our senseAbigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-15096042519044829312011-02-10T13:21:00.016-05:002011-02-10T18:13:34.396-05:00Introducing: An Ultra Exclusive, Limited Edition Fragrance
We here at I Smell Therefore I Am have often asked ourselves, "How can one capture the idea of the emotion of the sensation of a bodily function?" That is a mouthful, and quite a lot to think about. Sitting in our little production offices, our thinking caps screwed on tight, we've also sometimes pondered the age old question, "How does one collect a substance whose production can only be brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-51422182506614564122011-02-09T16:09:00.005-05:002011-02-10T17:50:52.634-05:00Laurel and Hearty: Laurel, by Comme des Garcons and Monocle
Comme des Garcon has produced some of my favorite things. Luxe Patchouli costs an arm and a leg, sure, but oh how I love it. I finally caved and bought some. Far less pricey, the original fragrances are still, years later, astonishingly good, and up until about 2005, there was no going wrong for me. The Leaves series, the Red series, the Sweet series. Incense (2003) was a real stand out forbrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-41903164784129787642011-02-06T11:18:00.004-05:002011-02-10T17:51:23.140-05:00Coze: Parfumerie Generale
It surprised me to discover I've never written a review or even really anything at length about a Parfumerie Generale fragrance, especially given the fact I like as many of them as much as I do. While I wouldn't say I like Coze the best, I do think it epitomizes perfumer Pierre Guillaume's style: sweet and woody, an earthier recombination of elements you find in the work of Christopher brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-89594091058343686572011-02-03T10:37:00.006-05:002011-02-10T17:51:56.437-05:00Knize Two: Fine and Dandy
For a while, Knize Ten was pretty hard to come by over here in Geographically Marginalized US of A. I did eventually find a bottle--at Perfume House, in Portland--but it was the last one. It felt sufficiently precious for something so difficult to find: a glass-stoppered, Fred Astaire-slender bottle in a wooden box. I was scared to use it, for fear of some near-future occasion when only Knizebrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-30594469689356431752011-02-01T15:50:00.006-05:002011-02-10T17:52:26.187-05:00Scent Memory: Paris by Yves Saint Laurent
There was a time during my teens when every girl seemed to be wearing this, which made being a girl seem very exciting to me.
Paris came out the year I entered high school. I'd been in public schools until then, out in the suburbs, but it was decided that I might be better off at a private school. I got picked on a lot. I'd moved to the midwest from Texas, with an accent to prove it. I brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-62625962655050161732011-01-28T18:18:00.005-05:002011-02-10T17:53:34.288-05:00TWRT 1.28.11This Week's Random Thoughts ~
It’s been a long time since I’ve TWRTed (sounds like one of those icky bodily function words like Snart) but I have a few spare moments today so I figured I’d bless ya’ll with my random musings :-)
I heartily concur with Brian’s sentiments below about luxury perfumes. I know from speaking with several perfumers that the supposed “rare and better” ingredients Abigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-44018343382460876982011-01-28T09:52:00.009-05:002011-02-10T17:53:12.594-05:00Losing Religion: When You Stop Smelling Jesus and Start Smelling a Rat
Reading reviews on selections from the Cartier Les Heures de Parfum line this morning over at Bois de Jasmin really got me thinking. In case you didn't read it, the post began:
"The deterioration of perfume's luxury status has resulted in some new marketing strategies on the part of high-end brands. The most obvious one has been to create niche lines within the main range that are brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-34820706436952859232011-01-24T09:18:00.013-05:002011-02-10T17:54:19.694-05:00People Really Love Patrick Petitjean and to Prove It I'm Going to Use His Name in This Post
Latest perfume sighting in a movie: the not at all terribly bad Pick-Up Artist with Molly Ringwald and Robert Downey Jr. In it, Downey lives with his grandmother in a NYC apartment. At one point, his grandmother has met a suitor in the park (remember those? Suitors, parks) and is getting ready for a date with him. Her vanity is full of perfume bottles, the brands of which I couldn't make out.brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-54452350611249961392011-01-24T09:11:00.003-05:002011-01-24T09:15:59.633-05:00Vent Vert Bottle WinnerTally is the proud winner of a one ounce bottle of Vent Vert. She just has to claim it. Tally, please get in touch with us by email.brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-79589584451709776982011-01-21T20:56:00.005-05:002011-01-21T21:26:08.303-05:00From "The Last Days of Brittany Murphy": The Hollywood Reporter, January 19, 2011"Simon joked that his wife's bathroom was 'her comfort zone.' He called it the 'Brittany-sized room,' reflecting her diminutive 5-foot-2 stature, and recalled how she spent hours sampling the cosmetics and perfumes that crowded every inch of counter space, critically studying her body image, sometimes singing to herself or writing bits of poetry in a journal, listening to music or paging throughbrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-55040724680757011632011-01-21T18:29:00.004-05:002011-02-10T17:55:08.116-05:00Skank You Very Much: Francis Kurkdjian's Absolue Pour le SoirI wasn't a major fan of the earliest offerings from Maison Kurkdjian. I liked them. I didn't love them with a 175 dollar passion. I didn't love them as much as the big-bosomed SA at Saks, who seemed to have taken some manager's admonition to sell "racks" a little too literally. Even her effervescent, busty personality couldn't persuade me to shell out for the scented bubbles Kurkdjian had on brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-4090863138038122922011-01-17T19:36:00.012-05:002011-02-10T17:55:56.625-05:00Going Out Without Your Underwear On: A Conversation with Nancy
I've known Nancy for about twenty years, I suppose. We lived in New York at the same time. We lived in the same apartment for a while, as well. She's very tight with another friend, D, which is how I met her in the first place.
It's only in the last year or two I discovered Nancy likes fragrance as much as I do. Nancy is a fantastic artist. She has a unique sense of style and a strongly brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-79172441077166609982011-01-16T13:23:00.002-05:002011-01-16T13:23:52.835-05:00A Dab Will Do YaMarilyn Monroe applies perfume:brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-29554956686538979942011-01-15T14:02:00.007-05:002011-02-10T17:56:33.028-05:00Balmain Vent Vert: Thoughts and Older Version Bottle Giveaway
1. Winter is hardly the time to properly consider Vent Vert, so let's not regard this as anything approaching a "review". Still, here's the thing. Here is A thing, anyway. I smell some of these Spring and Summer old reliables best during the Winter. Caps on those seasons, please, as they all do major things to the way I perceive certain fragrances or any fragrance at all. Summer stifles brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-54637206374077436772011-01-11T17:09:00.006-05:002011-02-11T15:58:17.421-05:00Paloma Picasso Mon Parfum
Watching youtube videos last week really stumped me.
There are what seem like thousands of tween girls reviewing their favorite perfumes online, if not their entire perfume collections. I'm in love with all of them--and addicted to watching them. It made me think about recent comments made by more seasoned bloggers alluding to the idea that there are way too many people blogging about perfume.brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-70131363277790464642011-01-06T21:24:00.012-05:002011-02-11T15:59:04.273-05:00"Hi Guys": The Week in Perfume Videos, with Elisa and Brian
BRIAN: I love the girls from like Delaware who walk you through Britney Spears Curious in their bathrooms.
ELISA: I haven't seen that.
BRIAN: Here's one that seems promising:
BRIAN: She's slightly morose, which really endears her to me. It's like, ho hum, this is my favorite perfume, and I'd get excited about it, if I were the kind of person to show excitement. I like her.
ELISA: OMG brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-7922859955812277382011-01-06T11:56:00.007-05:002011-02-11T15:59:46.877-05:00Kenzo Jungle L'Elephant: Herd MentalityYou're really in for a treat with Kenzo L'Elephant, if prunes and clove make your socks roll up and down. You might just need garters to avoid motion sickness. Sure, the pyramid lists far less pungent ingredients, like mango, heliotrope, and mandarin, but we're talking clove here, and prunes, so anything lighter registers subliminally at best.
Also in the mix: ylang ylang, cardamom, cumin, brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-45080046983949757532011-01-05T19:35:00.017-05:002011-02-11T16:00:33.209-05:00An Industry Roundtable on Fragrance Conducted Anonymously by some of the Key Figures in the Field
MODERATOR: I want to thank you all for coming.
PERFUME BLOGGER: Before we start, I'd like to tell everyone how important I am.
INDUSTRY EXPERT: I'd like to do that too.
PERFUME BLOGGER: I'd like it to be on record that I was important first.
MODERATOR: Duly noted. You're both important. Maybe we should move on. We're gathered here today because I thought that maybe one of you--maybe all brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-67942839964319611152011-01-05T16:23:00.002-05:002011-01-05T16:33:18.996-05:00Perfume in Literature: Secretions Magnifiques as Institutional Air FreshenerFrom A Single Man (1964) by Christopher Isherwood:"It would be amusing, George thinks, to sneak into that apartment building at night, just before the tenants moved in, and spray all the walls of all the rooms with a specially prepared odorant which would scarcely be noticeable at first but which would gradually grow in strength until it reeked like rotting corpses. They would try to get rid of brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-4431580420066783972011-01-04T20:10:00.004-05:002011-02-11T16:01:17.283-05:00Love, Chloe eau de parfum: Tactile and terrificHave you ever tried a fragrance, liked it, but didn’t think you loved it, but then found yourself “trying” it over and over again until you finally must admit you pretty much love the stuff? That’s what happened to me with Love, Chloe.
Love, Chloe is a 2010 release from the recently up-and-running again house of Parfums Chloe. The Fifi awards fawned all over their 2008 release, which was goodAbigailhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08164551758520564300noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-1853787974706873842011-01-04T10:33:00.006-05:002011-01-04T15:13:43.865-05:00Perfume in LiteratureFrom "Ceremony in Lone Tree" (1959) by Wright Morris:"The child was growing too fast as it was. Already the college boys were whistling at her. Up through last summer Maxine had been able to dress her in middy blouses and tunics, with bows in her hair to match the tennis sneakers on her long feet. With her pencil box labeled SCHOOL DAZE, and her notebook with the pyramid on the cover, she brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-64527592889194286342011-01-03T20:13:00.024-05:002011-02-11T16:02:04.602-05:00An Interview with Jack
You probably don't need us to tell you we have sort of interesting readers. I met Jack on Facebook, after doing a search on Paco Rabanne's La Nuit there, and we hit it off instantly. Jack treats his facebook profile like a perfume blog for the most part, posting vintage ads, his scent of the day, and observations about everything from why the kid in an old Arpege image is creepy to the fact brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-70235081242490942132011-01-03T15:22:00.016-05:002011-02-19T11:31:24.115-05:00The Family That Sprays Together: Some Hypotheticals Involving You, Your Loved Ones, and Smelly Stuff
Commingling with family around the holidays can be treacherous. Most of our families love us. Okay, so yours loves you. But even when there's no surplus of love, it can sometimes feel as though two entirely different species are coming into contact. By that I mean people who love perfume--a lot--and people who think it smells kind of good but only on someone in another building than the one brianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-415795419713091856.post-5550218281407688102011-01-02T15:22:00.003-05:002011-01-02T15:30:59.487-05:00Putrid, Wretched, and Loved by Millions: Smuggling Forbidden FruitThis week, Abigail talked about requests made by complete strangers that she not wear perfume in their presence during the holidays. Seeing this video on the dread fruit Durian reminded me of her comments. It also reminds me of my daily routine at work, where I hide perfume in my bag and sniff from the bottle furtively, lest someone in the next room cough or sneeze or clear his or her throat inbrianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14293853110472146382noreply@blogger.com8