Perfumed Primary Project: Florida (Orange Blossom - Lush & Jo Malone)

Currently Listening: "When I Get You Alone" - Glee Cast Version
Current Perfume: "Orange Blossom" by Lush

photo courtesy of allposters.com

Pour yourself a glass of fresh OJ dear NDC#5 readers, because it's Primary Day in the Sunshine State; which means another installment of The Perfumed Primary Project! I was very excited about a day devoted to the Orange Blossom! I have a fondness for it's sunny optimism while not being too saccharinely sweet. Seeking out orange blossom in the middle of January is a great idea to me, as the UK version of the Lush website says, it smells like...well, "liquid sunshine."

photo courtesy of en.wikipedia.org

Today I chose to go with Lush's Orange Blossom Perfume because 1) I REALLY love it and 2) I had a little sample vile of it in a sample pack I bought a few years ago. (Once I use up the sample, there will be a purchase of a bottle or a solid in my future!) Plus, part of my plans for the Perfumed Primary Project was to NOT GO BROKE DOING IT!

The notes listed on Lush's website are orange blossom, neroli, rosewood, ylang ylang, sandalwood & beeswax. On myself, I smell a large and happy dose of the orange blossom, and a little of both ylang ylang & beeswax. It wears in a very liner fashion, and has a surprising far reaching sillage.

photo courtesy of lush.co.uk

The Lush version wasn't my first Orange Blossom love; that place belongs the Jo Malone version. I remember buying a bottle of it from the Neimen Marcus in the Houston Galleria shortly after moving back to TX from NC to finish undergrad. Something about Orange Blossom (in both the Lush and Jo Malone incarnations) reminds me of my childhood. My sister put it well when first smelling the Jo Malone and saying, "It smells like being at the farm when we were kids..." I totally get it!   

** My paternal grandparents retired deep in East Texas to a "farm". It had a garden, and they sold their hey from the land (LOTS of land), and at one point had horses (before me I even think there were chickens). Instead of saying, "Going to the Grandparents", it could be "Going to The Farm". It was in the middle of NOWHERE! 

I don't think it's a direct link to any of the notes in the fragrance to my childhood experiences at The Farm, it's just an evocative thing.

Jo Malone sites its' Orange Blossom containing notes of clementine, orange blossom and water lily; It's got a bit of a lighter hand than the Lush incarnation, and a very small sillage. Between the bottles I've bought myself and the ones my Mom has gifted me over the years, I think I've gone through about four of the 30ml bottles.

photo courtesy of jomalone.com

I'm trying to do a giveaway draw for each of the Perfumed Primary Project posts. Since there's not enough juice left in my Orange Blossom vial to warrant a draw, so I went w/ the color orange for inspiration. Here's what's up for grabs:

"Diva In Training" from the Sephora by OPI Glee Collection

Instead of a Florida state facts trivia question, I decided to go with something Harry Potter question. Link, you ask? Well, if there was one place in Florida I'd want to visit, it would be The Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

Here's how this will work. Email your response to the following Harry Potter trivia question to dscharlieno5@gmail.com. (I find it only fair to do it via email as to not freeload on other people's responses.) The entry period will close Tuesday, February 7th at 8pm, and I will draw a winner at random. It's easy! I pay shipping costs. Giveaways are fun, ladies and gents!

Here's your question: What is the English translation of the Hogwarts school motto: Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus?

Happy Harry-Potter-Florida-Orange-Blossom-Trivia-Contest-Entering, dear readers!

*Currently listening: "Stronger" - Glee Cast Version
***What's with all the Glee today, Kathleen? Oh, I'm just a LITTLE excited about the "Michael" episode tonight!

 

NYC Perfume Shopping Loveliness

*Current Fragrance: "Eau Rose" by Diptyque
*Currently Listening: "Come on Eileen" by Street Corner Symphony

This weekend (+ Thursday night & Friday), the husband and I ditched the kids (cats) and headed to NYC. We were going to visit our good friends Bartles and James - who are also of Southern ilk - and understand our view on so much; (view in my world generally will always = some good natured mocking) but since they have real jobs - Al and I stayed in a hotel Thursday night (plus we got in really late) & I went perfume shopping on Friday.

Between my husband's ninja-like hotel deal finding skills and the points he acquired from staying in Nebraska for work for three weeks in August/September, we were able to stay at the Staybridge Suites on 40th and 8th for the price of about 4.61538462 cocktails. It was a lovely little hotel, and even at full price a GREAT value for those of you planning trips to NYC soon. For a city that's supposed to have TEENY-TINY spaces, I couldn't get over the fact that the kitchenette had more counter space that the "actual kitchen" in my Boston apartment.

Friday we woke up to rain. Well, somewhere between drizzle and actual rain. I armed myself with light boots, my Burberry bag that zips completely, umbrella, a cheery chiffon-ish floral print dress, leggings, cardigan (the dress, leggings, cardi combo is turning into my "uniform" and I'm ok w/ it), cheery lime green scarf, and dabbed on some Superworld Unknown. After checking out of the hotel, bidding the husband adieu, I hopped in a cab and was off....

First stop: Diptyque

I wish I could have gotten a picture of the storefront, but I got there in the middle of a downpour. (NOT in the mood to pay to have my iPhone replaced). The store was so pretty and cozy. I wanted to just at one of the high-legged marble-y tables, sip on a cup of tea and watch the world go by. 1) That would have been quite inappropriate & 2) I was on a mission: Al's Eau Duelle - that he chose as his daytime fragrance; the result of his Christmas gift of 10 samples scent finding experiment & a candle. I've been wanting a Diptyque candle for YEARS! So, for this trip I put one in both the budget and on the list. I ended up with Baies. I THOUGHT I was going to LOVE The' (I know..I know...I need to learn the correct way to do accents on blogger...), but there was something just not right about it for the mood I was in. Both 34 Boulevard Saint Germain and Rosa Mundi were strong contenders, but I decided to go with one of the scents Diptyque is really known for in Baies; I mean roses and blackcurrant leaves, how lovely is that!?!

Both photos courtesy of diptyque.com

The vibe of the store was sophisticated but chill, and the sales associates left me to do my own thing after I replied to their "can we help you with anything?" question with "Oh, I'm just picking up some Eau Duelle for my husband and a candle for myself." (I mean, this is a TOTAL everyday occurrence in my life, right!?!) The SA that rang me up had super-awesome finger-waves in his hair that were held in place by slightly contrasting bobby pins; which made me smile!

Stop number two: Aedes de Venustas

Oh, oops! They don't open until noon and it's 11:20! Well, I can swoon over the beautiful window. Come on, any storefront with a white taxidermy peacock in the window HAS to hold untold wonders inside.

I have a thing for peacocks and delighted in the brightly colored one by the register on the inside as well.

I walk around the corner and think, "hmmm...some more coffee could be good..." (because the two cups I had already drank at the hotel were just not enough), look up, and I supposed summoned by my inner Bostonian, was a Dunkin Donuts. "No. No," I told myself, "when in Rome...plus, there are always like three seats in a Dunkin, and you're looking to hang out for 40+ minutes." I ended up at a sandwich shop two storefronts down from Dunkin with ample seating and completely decent iced coffee (the Bostonian in me again) and whiled away about 55 minutes.


Back to Aedes: I don't really know how I first heard about them. I do remember Al getting me a bottle of Oyedo from them (over the website) for my first birthday of our marriage; which was coincidentally my first bottle of niche perfume. Aedes has served as kind of this Perfume Shop Holy Grail in my mind for years, so I'm SURE I looked like a deer in the head-lights when I walked in. (As Al and I talked about in conversation yesterday, "you know...neither of us will EVER be the slickest person in a room...") I was on a mission of sorts at Aedes: 1) Purchase the refillable travel spray of my beloved Liaisons Dangereuses and 2) a list to get as many samples as possible. The store in RIDICULOUSLY beautiful on the inside, (the storefront is a good precursor) but for some reason it took me awhile to feel completely comfortable inside. I felt very "country come to town." I think, as most things I conjure like this, was all in my head. While looking in the Serge Lutens cabinet, and sniffing things on my list, the gentleman in the shop suggested Gris Clair and made a sample for me. Then my Burberry bag got vicious, and knocked over a candle that came CRASHING to the floor. Broken glass, unsaleable merchandise....WOW! Not only do I feel like crap about it, I feel MORTIFIED! Luckily, the gentlemen in the store were very nice about it, but I vowed two things to myself: 1) Don't ask for any more samples - you just cost the store money and they're being very nice about it - asking them for anything else free would bring you bad karma & 2) buy something else small. (Small Kathleen, SMALL!) I ended up with a copy of the visually very pretty book "Quintessentially Perfume".

Both photos courtesy of aedes.com

** I had a lovely experience at Aedes, albeit somewhat overwhelming. I feel like shopping there needs to go one of two ways, 1) Go in, grab the bottle of what you need & go, or 2) Go in, with no preconceived plans, and get lost in the new and glorious smelling wonderment. Next time I visit, I'm going with way #2.

***I did walk out of Aedes loving both Tea for Two and Carnal Flower a lot more than I thought I did!

LUNCH TIME! I posed the question earlier in the day on Face Book for lunch recommendations in the NYU area. James suggested Chick-Fil-A, Bartles did some chowhound (I think) digging, and came up with Camaje Bistro. I ended up going with that since I would walk right past it. Small and love; I was the only patron at the time and enjoyed a cheese and charcuterie plate with a class of the house red to some Ella Fitzgerald playing in the background.

Next stop: Bond No. 9 Flagship Store

This was my most FUN shopping experience of the trek. I didn't walk in with a preconceived notion of what I wanted. I only put the following restrictions on myself, "You can buy something Kathleen, but ONLY a pocket spray or a solid perfume, no matter how much you may love something that's available in a bigger bottle!!!" (I'm glad I placed that restriction on myself, or I would have walked out with a bottle of New York Oud that smelled SO LOVELY on my skin!) The two SA's that I dealt with were just lovely. They were very excited and down to earth (read non-snobbish) and treated me with respect that I actually KNEW something about perfume. (So much so, I almost wanted to hug them as I was leaving! Yes..I'm huger.) The store was stunning and pretty big for boutique space. I ended up with a purse spray of Nuits de NoHo and a S$(T-ton of samples. I liked NDN for all the reasons I like Angel, and bought NDN because it didn't have the qualities that made me NOT love Angel. (Review of NDN coming later this week.)

After leaving Bond, I decided I was done perfume shopping (no Bergdorf's this trip), and was in the mood for ice cream! BIG GAY ICE CREAM SHOP IT IS! On my walk, I noticed this awesome building...I loved it enough for picture and blog posting.

Anyone know what building this is?

I want to move into the Big Gay Ice Cream shop & the shop owners to adopt me. SERIOUSLY!

I had the Salty Pimp: vanilla soft serve, dulce de leche, sea salt and chocolate dip. DELISH!

Yeah baby...I'm your Salty Pimp!

And so ends my perfume procuring expedition! The rest of the weekend was spent with the husband and dear friends, good food and drink and the resulting awesomeness and hilarity! The following are links of new to me NY things and a few repeats!

The Heidelberg Restaurant - Authentic German food and beer + adorable elderly men speaking German that melted my heart.

Barcade - Out in Brooklyn. Quarter-fed old school arcade games + a thoughtfully curated craft beer list.

Lobo - Also in Brooklyn, but quite possibly the best Tex-Mex I've ever had. EVER! Awesome white sangria, but my personal favorite is the jalapeño & serrano infused margaritas.

Ricky's - Nail polish is to James as perfume is to me. She described this place as "It's like if Sephora and Lady GaGa had a baby." I offered up "It's like Sally's Beauty Supply, but WAY hipper!"(I ended up adding four bottle of nail polish to my collection.)

Insomnia Cookies - Fresh cookies and milk, delivered to your doorstep from 9-3am! AWESOME!

Parlor Steakhouse - Brunch of supreme wonder.

*Currently Listening: "Grace Kelly" by The Wiffenpoofs

 ****Photos not otherwise credited are my own.

The kids upon our return, "Mom! Dad! Why the hell did you leave us & WHY do you smell like OTHER CAT!?!?"

Advanced Style Blog (I'm In Love)

So this post has nothing really to do about fragrance, but I think it's the most fabulous blog...EVER! While watching the Today Show, (click here to watch the clip from the show) there was a segment on the Advanced Style blog. I just can't get over these ladies! They're so insanely fabulous & self-assured; and in a world obsessed with youth, I just can't get over what a positive role model all these ladies are.

Please Style gods!!! PLEASE let me have the opportunity to see one of these women while I'm in NYC over the next few days! Thank you Ari Seth Cohen for this gem of a blog!

Oh yeah...don't forget the Perfume That Photo Contest while I'm away!

Start Spreading The News + Perfume That Photo Contest

*Currently Listening: "A Song for You" by Amy Winehouse
*Current Fragrance: "Giulietta" by Tocca

Boston's Got a Hold On Me.

Top o' the morning  my lovely No Disassemble Charlie No. 5 readers!

This is my last post until Monday. Once the husband is home from work, we are headed to NYC! Friday will be my day of fragrance shopping. I've got big plans! Diptyque, Aedes de Venustas, Bond No. 9 and the Guerlain Boutique at Bergdorf Goodman. Saturday and Sunday will be full of quality friend time with our dear friends Bartles and James. (I also will be trying to find an awesome sample to send to the equally awesome Ari from Scents of Self. I promise to be a better communicator & planner next time!!)

After years of friendship, I still can't remember - which one's Bartles & which one's James?

I have packed five small (yes that seams a tad excessive, for 3 1/2 days) close quarter friendly fragrances for the trip. Question now, which one to wear on the bus today. Thoughts, dear readers?

Pick me. Choose me . Love me. Need me!

Now - while I'm away, I'd like my blog reading mice to play.... I LOVE contests and perfuming situations that I'd never be in: so in my absence, I leave you with a little contest of the "Perfume That Photo" persuasion. I give you, this photo, of the lovely Ava Gardner...

Please submit your BEST (one entry per person please) idea via comment, facebook, OR twitter of what fragrance the lovely Ms. Gardner would be wearing in this picture. This contest will NOT be a random drawing, so go ahead - try and curry my favor! The winner, picked when I return on Monday, will receive a sample I would have procured in NYC. I'll be on the look out for some killer samples...so dazzle me with your retro-rific creativity. (Or a great Ava Gardner time travel story.)

Until Monday....Cheers, dear readers

*Currently Listening: "Tear Dry On Their Own" by Amy Winehouse
**Clearly digging Gaultier's Amy Winehouse inspired couture show. It was yesterday or the day before...?

Because She Can, Can, Can: Histoires de Parfums's "Moulin Rouge 1889"

*Currently Listening: "La Vie Est Belle" by MC Solaar
*Current Perfume: "Liaisons Dangereuses" by Kilian (I am getting my $4 worth out of this sample, and will be buying a bottle - ok, the travel spray - Friday)

Kitty!!!! Lay off the hallucinogenic hooch!

This past Thursday "D.F." gifted me with the remainder of my Christmas gift, a 14 ml bottle of Moulin Rouge 1889 by Histoires de Parfums. I'm not sure WHY it took so long for her to receive her order or where from; although I like to pretend that the bottle was being hand mixed and crafted JUST for me. :o)

I'm especially intrigued by the idea behind the Histoires de Parums line. The line's website explains, "[t]he first volumes of this collection were inspired by famous people who influenced their generation." (Mata Hari, Colette, Eugénie de Montijo, George Sand, Jules Verne, Marquis de Sade & Casanova.) However, Moulin Rouge 1889 isn't one of the original volumes, and wasn't inspired by a person, but "[t]he legend of the famous Parisian cabaret nights depicted in a bottle."

D.F. was right on the money when she said, "This one just seamed like you!" I'm a little obsessed with Paris & the idea of the Moulin Rogue (even though I've never been there): fell in love with the idea of Can-Can dancers since watching the 1960 movie "Can-Can" with Shirley McClain and *swoon* Frank Sinatra; got all wrapped up in the sweeping romance and stunning visuals that tempered some really bad acting in Baz Luhrmann's "Moulin Rouge" (I'm very much looking forward to the Christmas Day release of his adaptation of "The Great Gatsby this year); and early in my North Carolina days taking the husband (then boyfriend) to a Toulouse Lautrec art exhibit complete with a viewing of a Lautrec biopic. (That sentence may have even made Hemingway blush! Length, baby!) I'm into the whole Moulin Rouge / Montmartre thing, clearly.

 

 

Now back to perfume. :-) The HDP website lists the following breakdown for the notes:
Top - Tangerine, Prune, Cinnamone
Heart - Absinthe, Rose of Damas
Base - Irus, Patchouli, Musk, Fur

Notes from my perfume journal (and I'll try to type them out as close to how I write them as possible):
10:58 --> "It smells like my Grandma, Prune & powder...? But like, not in a bad way." Very quickly after - sweet but not cloying --> prune & cinnamon.

11:14 --> Rose & "spice", green yet earthy --> nutmeg, coriander, liquorice...which is prob. really fennel. Fennel's in absinthe right?

12:20 --> Sweet wood.

I love the stages of this perfume...a lot! The powdery old-world-ness when you first spritz it on, then the herbal (hallucinogenic) green-ness of the absinthe mixing with the rose makes me think of the smell of one an artist's studio in Montmartre as he drinks and paints a lady wearing rose scented perfume, ending with the sweet yet woody dry down that only hints to the memory of before.

Where would I wear this though? It's very specific in a good way. If I wanted to match a place to the perfume, I'd say here. To my Boston ladies that read this: anyone up for a girls night at Cuchi Cuchi? Although, honestly - I'd wear it any time I want to be transported. In this case transported to a very specific time and place.

For the record: absinthe has both fennel and liquorice in it. (Thanks to The Absinthe Buyers Guide for clearing that up!)

"I'm the Green Fairy."

 **Disclaimer, I've never had REAL absinthe. If I did...I feel that I would be haunted by Kylie Minogue.

I find the following video of Can-Can dancers at the Moulin Rouge in 1902 to be very enlightening...oh how we have stylized them through the years....

*Currently Listening: "La Vie Est Ailleurs" by Coeur De Pirate"

Fragrance Funny + A View Fit For A Cat

*Currently Listening: The Today Show on the TV.
*Current Fragrance: Florence by Tocca

After taking a blogging break on Thursday, I blogged all through the weekend...but with two good reasons: 1) The South Carolina edition of The Perfumed Primary Project. 2) The husband and I will be traveling to NYC this late Thursday - Sunday to visit our dear friends Bartles and James. I really do wish those we're their real names, but they're not! The lap top is not going, and neither is the iPad. Yep, totally expecting some withdrawal symptoms. I'll have my iPhone though, so it's not like I'll be living in Precambrian times... (And yes. There WILL be perfume shopping.)

Since I've been particularly "bloggy" the past few days, I thought I'd take a little break with some Natalie Dee humor. I've loved Natalie Dee since spending time in the computer lab near the end of my undergrad. I ran across this link when I was reading through an entry of Glass Petal Smoke.

So now, I give you . . . Natalie Dee's Periodic Table of Smellements!!

I don't have to be at work until 4pm today, and it's just one of those mornings where I don't want to leave the comfort of my bed for a good long time. The husband handed me my laptop and cellphone before leaving for work...I later stumbled from bed to turn the TV to The Today Show to watch the Oscar nominations, light a candle, grab some caffeine, grab the book I'm reading and crack the blind on the window that's closest to the bed.

I love watching people with their goings on in the morning on my street. It's relatively quiet, but does get some pretty good foot traffic. At the top, you can catch a bus, at the bottom of my block one train, and at yet another train where the street officially ends. Also, traffic uses the street as a cut through to avoid a particularly annoying traffic light... But yes, my street actually IS quiet! (Except when the firehouse uses it as a cut through for their trucks...)

I enjoy the morning light, and the people bustling from here to there with their coffee in hand...so much so in fact, I was going to post a picture of my view - but from a "Ummm...Kathleen, there are CRAZY stalkers in the world" perspective, I decided it was a bad idea. Instead, you get my kitty Ezra watching the world go by.

I'm feeling the need for a little extra kitty love this morning...so more pictures. (These will, at the very least make my Mom happy.) "Hi Mom! The grand-kitties say hi!"

Human watching is hard work. You weren't about to read this were you Mom? It makes a good pillow. *zzzzzzzzz........*

*Currently Listening: Local News

Beautifully Bittersweet

*Currently Listening: "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You" by Black Kids
*Current Fragrance: "Moulin Rouge 1889" by Histoires de Parfums

"Reviewing" things from my place of employment is a odd ethical territory for me. I (by COMPLETE personal choice) wear Lush's fragrances when I go to work (because it just makes sense, right?) and during a lot of my "civilian" perfume life. I never, ever, ever, EVER, EVVVVVEEEEERRRR want anyone to think that I'm getting some sort of "kick back" for favorably saying things about Lush products, and also feel oddly about reviewing things I've purchased for myself since working there. "Reviewing" this set falls in an interesting territory, as I did not buy it for myself.

My husband bought the sample set pictured above for my for Christmas, online; over a month before it was available in the store I work at. As the blog goes on, you'll pick up on that fact that I am a SUCKER for a sample set! There are so many fragrances out there and my mood shifts around so that I just want a little of everything at my fingertips and still be able to pay rent! (Sign....#perfumeworldproblems)

This little set is adorable and very diverse...
(I'll give them little descriptors that I would use if I had 5 seconds to describe the scent + gives me chance to be a little more creative and emotive w/ my words!)

1000 Kisses Deep - Drinking orange juice, next to an osmanthus plant while listening to the sweetest love songs EVER on your iPod.

B Scent - A bouquet of flowers, tied w/ a raffia bow...hanging out in a glass of lemonade.

Cocktail - Sitting at a bar with red lips, hair pulled up neatly but not severely in your prettiest (but not frilly) dress, sipping a cocktail. Nothing too sparkly but nothing too strong.

Dear John - A lazy breakfast in a small snowbound cabin in the woods with your beloved.

Ladyboy - I've nick named this one Porcelain, because I'm pretty sure this is a scent Kurt Hummel would wear. Yep. That's a compliment.

Love - It's giddy and substantive all at the same time; like an apple pie, but w/out the syrupy sweetness.

Superworld Unknown - Smells like my childhood, but looking at it now - through rose colored glasses. (but more on that later..)

The Smell of Weather Turning - Tut, tut...smells like rain! Seriously.

I have three particular favorites when worn on my skin...counting them down to #1 -
3) The Smell of Weather Turning
2) Ladyboy

Ladyboy's topnote is _ _ _ _ _ _ _!

1) Superworld Unknown

Like I said earlier, to me Superworld Unknown smells like my childhood, but looking at it now - through rose colored glasses.  The entire time it's on my skin I keep thinking, "limecottoncandyseaairbeach" (Yes Virginia, words DO run together like that in my head.)

The scent is actually named after a song by Swedish singer Karin Park called "Superworldunknown".

Why does this fragrance remind me so much of my childhood? (Also, I have to say, there's something more to it than just "lime cotton candy, lime, sea air, beach"; I get the notes of rose and sandalwood that are a light anchor to the base, giving the fragrance to me that nostalgic twinge.) I get very distinct flashes back to trips to the Old Strand Emporium in Galveston. One of my favorite places to visit as a child ever! (I blame/love you for my affinity for salt water taffy and spiced teas!) Couple how the fragrance "smell/feels" with the chorus to "Superworldunknown", and it starts to make a little more sense (in my mind)...

the rockets going down
the sun is up today
challenging the rain
in this superworld unknown
you just let her try
to shine before your eyes
in this superworld unknown

This is one of those instances where perfume gets really personal. I could explain it, but then - that's letting too much of some of the things I hold close into the public & thus quits being personal. Also - I'd yammer on for a very VERY long time sounds pretty damned crazy! One day there will be a book...one day... (not about perfume - well, maybe another one...hmm? - but about the personal.)

Long-ish conclusion: Thanks Superworld Unknown for giving me some sweet smelling rose colored glasses to look through and smile.

Short conclusion: Perfume...It's Personal.

Two words: Beautifully Bittersweet

*Currently Listening: "I've Underestimated My Charm (Again)" by Black Kids

Don't You Want Me Baby + Blond Ambition (I'm Giving Away More Stuff. YAY!)

*Currently Listening: "Obsession" by Animotion
*Current Fragrance: Nothing right now, but I'm thinking Superworld Unknown for work later today.

I wonder how many posts I can name after '80's songs...or '80's "things" (like Madonna tours?)....

As I mentioned earlier, Al's been busy - courting ten fragrances over that past two weeks.... For someone who has had the same single bottle of fragrance for 8+ years - I'm sure it's been a tad overwhelming. He has managed to narrow it down to three choices: Diptyque's Eau Duelle,  L'Artisan Parfumer's Poivre Piquant & Edition de Parfums Frederic Malle's - Musc Ravageur. (He likes them all enough to pop those samples into his travel kit.)


So now there are 7 samples all singing "Don't You Want Me Baby" inside a slightly tattered Christmas gift bag. Wow...THAT'S gonna freak the cats out!

You know, I've always loved this song by Human League...and dare I say I like the Glee version better. Confession time: In case you haven't figured it out...I'm a HUGE Gleek, and I particularly love the episode this song came from - "Blame It On the Alcohol". The scene where Finn explains all the types of drunk girls to Rachel is AWESOME! (Evidently the same way that Blaine Warbler's face tastes...I'm sorry - I'm confused..are you Blaine or Harry Freaking Potter?)

Normally Rachel Berry annoys the piss out of me, but I must say, there is something about her deluded self confidence that a sliver of me identifies with. (Yes, I know that some of you out there are now going, "sliver, Kathleen...sliver...REALLY...SLIVER!?!)


But anyway - I'm taking the Geranium Pour Monsieur for my own collection and I will find homes for Dirty and Breath of God through NOT my blog, since I got it through work and that crosses some ethical blogging lines in my book. This leaves the following four scents up for grabs:


1) Hermès - Eau D'Orange Verte

2) Diptyque - L'eu des Hesperides

3) L'Artisan Parfumer - Mandarine 

4) Edition de Parfums Frederic Malle - Bigarade Concentree 

In the immortal words of Young MC, "you want it, baby you got it!" 

Let me know if you'd like (and which one) of these samples, and the first four people to claim them...they're yours! Comment here, on the fb link or via twitter. Once we've got it figured out which one you want, email me your address and it'll be on its way to you in the mail. These are all lovely fragrances (in my opinion they're lovely - I mean, I tried to get my husband to wear them)! I really think all four of them could be worn by a lady or a fella! If you want one, but not sure what you want, comment that you want one, and we'll try to decide what you might like best! :-) Spreading good scents to others...this makes me happy. Actually, Happy with a capital "H".

I need to now move into a non-fragrance question while I have your attention, my lovely readers. A little something from Madonna's "Blond Ambition Tour" for transition music....

Sweet bacon frying in a skillet on a weekend morning! I FREAKIN' LOVE MADONNA! Don't even try to mock or belittle, because if you do, I will make you cry like a little boy! ;-)

For reasons unbeknownst to me, I woke up and the very first thought in my brain, "I should go blond." At first I dismissed it as a horrible idea, but I've been awake for about 3 hours now and it's still in my mind, so perhaps it's worth looking at. So - I'm asking the advice of all my wonder NDC#5 readers. Here's some reference photos...

Taken about a month and a half ago. This is about a half shade or so darker than my natural hair color. Mainly to add some gloss and cover the *cough* grey hairs *cough*.

 

Yes! Why thank you....I was f'adorable! I'm somewhere between 3 and 5 in this picture, before my hair started to turn. I think by the time I turned 20, I no longer had any vestiges of natural blond in my hair.

 So what do you think readers? No matter what I do, I'm not going to go it like...TODAY. Or even this month for that matter. I've started collecting a gallery of blond images I like & also know what salon in Boston is really good w/ taking people blond, and I've gone there for a cut and color before and was very happy.


Also I should add that my skin is pretty light, w/ pink undertones and my eye - a true blue/grey.


Have a great remainder of your weekend!


*Currently Listening: "Our Lips Are Sealed" by The Go-Go's

Perfumed Primary Project: South Carolina (Fan di Fendi)

*Currently Listening: "I Got Nothin'" by Darius Rucker
*Current Fragrance: Fan di Fendi

Happy Saturday, snowy Saturday!

It's G.O.P. Primary day in the Palmetto State, which marks my first "real" entry for No Disassemble Charlie No. 5's "Perfumed Primary Project." Looking for a perfume that I either had or could quickly get a sample of w/ notes of SC's state flower, Yellow Jessamine, didn't exactly leave me many options. (For some super nerdy reading on why the Yellow Jessamine is South Carolina's state flower; click here and have at it!)

Yellow Jessamine
Gelsemium sempervirens

For South Carolina's Yellow Jessamine, I decided to go with Fendi's, well...Fan di Fendi (I honestly did have that many options). Sure, there are TONS of jasmine fragrances, but I was trying to play by the rules and choose a scent with a yellow jasmine note somewhere in the mix. Fan di Fendi touts itself as "a fresh floral on a leather base". Here's how the notes break down (as according to Fan di Fendi's website) -

Top Notes: flickers of green with green tea, Calabrian tangerine, and petit grain from the Sicilian lemon tree, a vibrant zest of light

Middle Notes: ...flowers of the sun. Italian Broom absolute replaces the Damascus rose with the same femininity. The note is more solar like the Yellow jasmine accord.

Base Notes: Patchouli and the leather suede accord recalls the Cuoio Romano of Fendi creations, a supple leather with a very soft and velvety trail...

My thoughts: Here's what I jotted down...exactly -

11 am: Light yellow white spice

11:15 am: Generic but non offensive - but not really interesting...oh yeah, generic.

1:15pm: Sweet leather ---> close, CLOSE to skin; DEEEEEP sniffs.

I found Fan di Fendi to be pretty mainstream (i.e. generic). It didn't offend me in any way. To me the best part of the fragrance was the sweet leather base note that it left on my skin a little after two hours from initially spraying it. Very close and personal; and honestly after initially spraying it on me, completely unexpected!

For disclosure purposes, my sample of Fan di Fendi came from the Sephora store at the Prudential Center. What's that you say? You want the remainder of that sample sent to you? IT'S YOURS....IF you happen to be the first personal to properly fill in the blank for this South Carolina trivia question:

The walls of the American fort on Sullivan Island, in Charleston Harbor, were made of __________ logs. This was helpful in protecting the fort because the British cannonballs bounced off the logs.

While you contemplate or Google the answer, I leave you with the trailer for Shag. (The Shag is SC's state dance. See how much awesome trivia you learn from my blog!?)

*Currently Listening: "At Last" by Etta James (Rest In Peace)

Important Rocky Horror Picture Show Perfume Help!

*Currently Listening: "The Time Warp"
*Current Fragrance: "Moulin Rouge 1889" by Histoires de Parfums

I would like, if I may....

Holy smeared red lipstick! I'm so excited!!! Tonight, I'm going to see a live production of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" at Club Oberon with best friend of husband and boyfriend of best friend of husband & it's going to be freaking FABULOUS! I've been obsessed w/ TRHPS since Jr. High! But...readers...I need some help - what perfume is the right choice for "giv[ing] yourself over to absolute pleasure! Swim[ing] the warm waters of sins of the flesh!"?

I give you the following choices - click on the links for descriptions - I honestly picked them because of their names...because I don't have anything that smells like TRHPS. Now, if I had been thinking ahead, I could have gotten my hands on some Secretions Magnifiques!

For tonight, choices are....
1) Ladyboy

2) Liaisons Dangereuses


3) Lust


4) Superworld Unknown

Think and comment fast my pretties! I need to be spritzing or dabbing one of these scents on in six hours; by 9:30 EST!

A little inspiration for you....

Ezra looks spent. Perhaps he's been spending some time *over at the Frankenstein place*....

"Meow! Don't dream it! Be-eh it! Meow!"

*Currently Listening: "Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me"

Who's That Girl? Review of Thierry Mugler's "Womanity"

*Currently Listening: "I Feel Like Funkin' It Up" by Rebirth Brass Band
*Current Fragrance: Well..."Womanity" by Thierry Mugler

Admittedly this is going to be a distracting post to write as I am in the middle of making my first pot of chicken and sausage gumbo. It's the food of my people...and I'm currently letting it simmer & meld, waiting to see if I need to make another batch roux to darken and thicken it up.

Ok, this is not working! I can't focus on perfume at this moment. I fear that I'll end up telling you that "Womanity" has notes of ground sassafras leaves in it....

So until the gumbo's done, enjoy the video of Madonna's "Who's That Girl" - EVERY SINGLE TIME, I spritz on "Womanity", this song plays my head, which is turn normally means it gets played on my iPhone....

Back, and focused...for the record...the gumbo was excellent, y'all!

So, "Womanity." It was actually the second Thierry Mugler fragrance I've tried. I feel that if we're going to talk about any Mugler, we should say talk a little about "Angel." I initally bought a bottle of "Angel" probably around 9 years ago. I was in love with it's heady gourmand scent as we as its' striking star bottle. For quite some time it was my "I'm going out" scent. Somewhere along the way I developed a not so healthy relationship with "Angel." It'd like to think of it as a "patchouli and chocolate pound cake" - heavy, dense, on the verge of being COMPLETELY gluttonous. It was, I think, "the scent that launched a thousand gourmands". I feel the same way about "Angel" the same way I feel like mayonnaise, honestly. I say I don't like it, then I crave it, then I overdose on it (mental image of myself laying sprawled across the floor with empty mayonnaise jars and "Angel" bottles surrounding me...pretty damned funny!), and end up swearing it off again until I crave it.

Angel bottle - courtesy of sephora.com

Interesting life lesson going on in my brain that's both timely and topical...there's lots of "Angels" and mayonnaise in my life actually....hmmm....addictive personality much? Just a little bit? Maybe....? (Sorry for the stream of consciousness writing and musical aspergers tonight...)

Given my lather, binge, repeat habits with "Angel", you can see my reticence in wanting to try another Mugler fragrance; but "Womanity" was peaking my interest. It's the fig...I'm a sucker for fig. "Womanity" was released in 2010, and honestly been mindfully avoiding it since it came out...until about two weeks ago, when I went into Sephora and got samples of both her (can I call a fragrance "her"?) and Mugler's "Alien". Sadly - or maybe not so sadly - the "Alien" won't spray. The "Womanity" - as of about 20 minutes ago - is gone. I have a very strong both intellectual (as in taking the perfume apart in my brain) and emotional response to the fragrance. It's not a nostalgic emotional response, it's a very current one. It's a very "ooh, this is who I want to be right now" sort of reaction. It makes me stand up a little straighter, it makes me feel very "Who's That Girl".

Now, the video kinda mucks with the whole picture I'm trying to draw for y'all, so just scroll into about 2:30 into it, that's what I'm trying to get to..... It all makes sense to me somehow...but before I muse more Madonna...I should muse more "Womanity".

The Mugler commerce sight has the following to say about the fragrance: "Thierry Mugler Womanity is the first sweet and savory fragrance. Mysterious and unique, the perfume revolves around the fig - a symbol of femininity. The refillable bottle is a work of art. Notes: fresh fig, oceanic accord, fig wood and leaves."

Womanity bottle - courtesy of sephora.com

I can definitely say that "Womanity" would not be what I would first spritz on to "snag me a man", but I don't know if I really smell the "we are women, hear us roar" sentiment that Mugler seams to be peddling. I smell individuality. Which HAS to be why I feel all Madonna-y when I wear this! Particularly "Who's That Girl"! So in the lyrics of the song she's slaying the 'fellas with her "Senorita, mas fina"-ness. These lines: "Light up my life, so blind I can't see / Light up my life, no one can help me now". Translation (In Kathleen-Madonna-Womanity-ease): Burn so bright as yourself, you're blind to anyone's objections. Burn bright, sail your own fingerless glove ship through life." (I also can sell you on the fact that Fleetwood Mac's "You Can Go Your Own Way" ISN'T about a break-up if you want to listen...)

THAT dear readers is my point! That's how "Womanity" smells to me. Ok, it smells like figs, milk and salty things, yes and apricot too - and the "salty things" smell like if you had drift wood on the beach & captured it in a bubble along with a little sea air surrounding it.

Perhaps this quote about the fragrance captures the best what it does to/for me: "This is a musical fragrance that plays its notes on the emotions of the woman wearing it." - Thierry Mugler

You got that right, Mr. Mugler! I REALLY hope "Womanity" doesn't turn into mayonnaise for me though!

**This fragrance had me thinking a lot today about "personal style". So I did a little inventory of what I had on today - I'm kinda all over the place...I likes what I likes (and choose to spend the bulk of my $$$ on accessories). Read on, it's certainly good for a chuckle or two:

Boots - Lands End
Socks - Old Navy (I think)
Leggings - Macy's
Dress - Old Navy
Sweater - Wal Mart
Earrings - Christmas gift from my husband's grandmother
Bracelet - Consignment store on Newbury St. that has since closed :-(
Watch - Target
Scarf - Filene's Basement
Coat - Nordstrom
Sunglasses - Versace
Bag - Burberry

*Currently Listening: "369" by Cupid

INeKe's {delux} Sample Collection vol. 4: A Review

*Currently Listening: "Don't Leave Me This Way" by Thelma Houston (day of = TOTAL guilty pleasure music)
*Current Fragrance: Tocca's "Stella"

Wish I could have come up with a wittier title, but I got nothin.'

SQUIRREL! I'm listening to a playlist of everything I purchased over the holidays....which contains A LOT of my guilty pleasure music. This just came on - and when I looked up the video to post, found out that it had been re-released last year. I have very strong memories of hearing this song in my childhood, and then again going to to clubs such as (and I cringe as I type this) Cactus Canyon in my late teens and early '20's...line dancing and drinking way too many White Russians. Yet, I can't deny - there is just something I love about this song...

But I digress, and back to perfume! "D.F.", as I have mentioned really is a "Dear Friend", you know why? (Well, many reasons...but, I'm going with one in particular today...) Our friendship is in that place where we can say to one another "hey, for XYZ special occasion what I really want  <insert whatever your wanting at the moment within reason>." This Christmas I asked D.F. for INeKe's {delux} Sample Collection vol. 4 after reading about it on Scents of Self's "Holiday Perfume Gift Guide For Your Id". If you're curious about Ineke's background, please feel free to read up on her here. With seven scents to review, I'm trying my best to not let this post turn into an epic. Here we go...

The presentation and packaging is just adorable! I really couldn't get pictures to do it justice. I love how the beautiful script alphabet alludes to the alphabetic arrangement/theme of the set. (I'll show the inside of the set at the end of the review, as they are now arranged in order of my own personal preference.) The set contains seven fragrances; each in it's on little box, decorated in what I'd call the visual "feel" of the fragrance - both color scheme and artwork wise. But, the facet of the package that just takes it to a place of wonderful thoughtfulness (esp. for the price point) is that the actual perfume inside each little box is wrapped in a hand made looking, color coordinated tissue paper. Every time you go to put on a different scent in the set, it's like unwrapping a present. A-DOR-A-BLE!

Now, for the main course; the perfume! (Before I go into specifics about each scent, a few thoughts on the over-riding style of the entire set.) I find them to be refined and sheer. Not loud at all, even the scents with the headiest of notes, and with a not a terribly far reaching silage. If you like your perfume to wear very close to you; or would like to explore some stronger notes - esp in E, F, & G - with out wearing a "strong fragrance" these would be great to give a whirl.

A - After My Own Heart
"The scent of fresh lilacs floating on the early evening breeze"
Notes-
Top: Bergamot, Raspberry, Green Foliage
Middle: Lilac
Base: Sandalwood, Heliotrop, Musk

To me this screams, "very realistic lilac soliflore!" - but in a really nice way. It was pretty much the same way from beginning to end. Lilac, lilac, lilac - lovely lilac, though. This one hung out on my skin for quite some time. I found it to be very comforting. I ended up wearing this at my parents house on New Years Eve. I wasn't feeling well, celebrated in, and wanted something light, not overpowering, and comforting. This fit the bill.

B - Balmy Days & Sundays
"Lying face up to the sky, dappled light flickering through the place green of overhead branches."
Notes -
Top: Freesia, Leafy Greens, Grass
Middle: Honeysuckle, Rose, Mimosa
Base: Chypre Accent, Musk

Light freesia, but mostly a rosey-honeysuckle with a FAINT green dry down. Something about the chypre accent went plastic-y on me. To be honest, ON ME, my least favorite of the set. I really wanted to love this one too... I'll save it for the spring and see if it's more evocative in the weather it's actually looking to evoke. (Is that like "The Secret" model for fragrance wearing?)

C - Chemical Bonding
"Sparkling citrus + powdery soft = a flirtatious alchemy."
Notes-
Top: Citrus Blend, Tea
Middle: Dewy Peony
Base: Vetiver, Amber, Powdery Musk

The citrus and tea pop on top in a great balanced  and sparkling fashion. The peony is there, but ever so slightly. The vetiver and powdery musk are subtle and fit the overall feel of the fragrance in a way that I wasn't expecting, but positively surprised me. Sadly this one stayed on my skin the least of all of them. Bummer. :-( My skin also DRINKS IN citrus, for what it's worth.

D - Derring-Do
"Spring Rain, Fresh and Fearless. The first glimmers of light."
Notes-
Top: Fresh Citrus Blend, Rain Notes
Middle: Magnolia, Fougere Accents
Base: Guaiacwood, Cedarwood, Musk


This was the fragrance that started off 2012 for me. I literally work up on 1/1/12, rolled over, got this out of the box that was resting on my night stand, and spritzed it on; all before even sitting up. Given its' descriptive sentence - it just seamed like the right way to start the year. I got the top notes, and what I can discern out of the bottom notes. My nose doesn't really know what guaiacwood smells like on its own. On me, my nose misses the magnolia all together. I'd like to smell this one on a man actually. Poor Al is already wading his way through the ten samples I gave him to find a day time scent, though. I don't want to throw anything else in the mix right now.


**Sidebar: Al's scent deciding mission (with three left to go), for the moment it's between Diptyque's "Eau Duelle" & L'Artisan Parfumer's "Poivre Piquant". He said the most adorable thing about the Poivre this morning after wearing it for about ten minutes, "Would you be insulted if I told you it reminded me of Bojangles seasoning, a little...but in a good way.?!" No, dear - not at all! :-)


E - Evening Edged In Gold
"Basking in moonshadows trumpets of angels greet the night."
Notes-
Top: Gold Osmanthus, Plum
Middle: Angel's Trumpet, Saffron, Cinnamon
Base: Midnight Candy, Leather, Woods


If this was just a TAD less sweet, it would be LOVE! The top notes faded gradually on me. The saffron and cinnamon (I'm a sucker for both), wore very nicely. What I wish was there was less of the midnight candy (such a wonderful nickname for Night Blooming Phlox) and more of the leather. To me, the midnight candy note smells like raw sugar that is colored the darkest hue of navy blue...well, I guess its not raw anymore, but you get my point.  If you're looking for something sweet, dark yet sheer - you'd probably really love this. Like I said, just a TAD too sweet for me!


F - Field Notes From Paris
"Sweet-scented Paris afternoons, life measured out in coffee spoons."
Notes-
Top: Coriander Seed, Orange Flower, Bergamot
Middle: Tabacco Flower & Leaf, Patchouli, Cedar
Base: Tonka Bean, Leather, Beeswax, Vanilla


I know my ecstatic musings are going to give it away, so I'll go ahead and say it, this one was my favorite of the lot. It took me to the non-fashion-y part of Paris. (The Paris I have conjured in my mind, mind you - since I've never been there.) There drink excellent coffee, indulge in great yet not "prissy" food, gain some old knowledge from old books, befriend a dapper old man smoking a pipe..... Sorry, I just took a vacation in my mind for a little while, I'm back.....
So - this as the one out of the sampler where I could clearly make out each of the notes listed. The coriander seed gave it a nice spicy pop, and I think was a big part to the successful balance. It's just lovely! And in the sheer hand of Ineke's perfumery style - it stays on the side of lovely. Thinking of this formula in other perfumers' hands, it might not work in the "lovely" way - more "loud & heady". I'm actually going to wear this out today as I go on an andouille sausage and gumbo file finding expedition. I feel that it would be one of those good "sweater & scarf scents" that EauMG talked about a few days ago. I'm pretty sure a full bottle of this may be in my future. I can also see it as a great night time scent in the stickier summer months.


G - Gilded Lily
"Gilding the lily, with sparkling fruits, and cypriot woods."
Notes-
Top: Pineapple, Rhubarb, Grapefruit
Middle: Goldband Lily of Japan
Base: Patchouli, Oakmoss, Labdanum


I swear my nose read this one SDRAWKCAB! I got a LOT of patchouli! More than for my taste. This made me sad...I was looking forward to the "ping-ier" fruits mixing with the patchouli. It got a bit syrupy and medicinal on me; but in all honesty, I think I want to give this one some more quiet contemplation, and I may amend my thoughts.


All in all I thought this was a really great sampler set! The sheer refinement rang true throughout the entire set, and for the price point of $25, it is a great way to try several vastly different scents, that are all cast under...what I'm going to call the "Ineke style gauze veil". 


It is available for purchase both on the Ineke site, as well as at Anthropologie. The Ineke website also has a store locator feature divided by both country and state.

My personal order of preference: F, A, E, C, G, D & B

*Currently Listening: "Boogie Oogie Oogie" by A Taste of Honey