Cashmere Mist: The Top 20 Women's Fragrances of 2011 - A Scents of Self Production

*Current Fragrance: Boyfriend by Kate Walsh
*Currently Listening: Sh-Boom (Life Could Be A Dream) by The Chords

By this time, we all know the drill - so I'm just going to jump on in. Today's specimen in the Top 20: Cashmere Mist by Donna Karan.

1) Prior experience: No, nope. Not even a little bit.

2) Thoughts now: For some reason, I didn't expect to like Cashmere Mist. I don't know why, and yes - I completely realize that just not expecting to like a fragrance for no good reason is both completely silly and outright snobbish. But, life is about growth and growing I am. I really did like Cashmere Mist a lot. I think it had quite a bit to do with the emotional place I've been of lately. (Nothing outward going on, always inward - nothing BAD, just mulling things around in my brain & hashing things out in my own mind. I'm CONVINCED that everyone has conversations with themselves in their own brain, and if they don't...well, I'm MUCH MORE ODD than I ever conjectured.) I found Cashmere Mist to be comforting, not in the big vanilla and amber hug way I so often find when I want to be comforted and "hugged" by a fragrance, but in a quiet, pretty and reassuring way....Cashmere Mist reminded me of my Mom.

My Mom, three Christmastimes ago, while they were in the process of rebuilding after Hurricane Ike. 

Isn't she adorable!?!

My fragranced memories of my Mom was a big inspiration of this blog, as I outlined in NDC#5's inaugural post. She wore Charlie when I was a young girl, and I would steal her almost empty bottles and hide them about my room, a fact that she didn't find out until reading my blog. (Also as I a young girl, I learned how to unwrap and re wrap my Christmas gifts with almost criminal-like precision and stealth. I've said before that I HATE surprises. My parents knew about this one, so I'm not divulging some deep dark secret today, sorry.)

But I digress, Cashmere Mist reminds me of what I remember my Mom smelling like when she wore Charlie, but less "sparkly". Wrinkle your noses up if you will, but this is a form of high praise coming from me. Cashmere Mist wore close to my skin and was quiet, like we had a secret conversation going on. Nothing elicit, just not anyone else's business type of thing. My Mom's about THE MOST steadfast person I know. Far from being aloof, she's not highly emotional. That being said, when she lights up she's like a little ray of sunshine and gets excited about things in the fashion of a 13 year old girl who has their bedroom done in all pinks and yellows (it's totally adorable and totally endearing).  My mom is not rash or judgmental, she looks at things thoughtfully and pragmatically. I wish I could be more like my Mom. I tend to be pragmatic in desperate attempts to shovel myself out of the proverbial s#(t that I have inevitably stepped in.

Again, digressing: Sephora (where I got my sample of CM) lists the notes as the following: lily of the valley, suede notes, bergamot, ylang, jasmine maroc, sandalwood, orris, amber, vanilla, cedarwood, patchouli and musk. I feel like the bergamot did a good job from turning the white florals into "Going to the Chapel" land, while the patchouli and wood played nicely with everyone. The musk isn't "musky" but clean and rounding. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the "suede notes"; fine at first, but as they wore on, got just a little to powdery in context for my tastes.
 
I think CM would be a good office scent, also perfectly suited for public transit. I'm starting to understand why it's on the Top 20, and feel like such a snobby witch for thinking I wasn't going to like it. Is it earth shattering in a way that Keats would have wanted to write epic tomes about it? (I just pulled Keats out of the air, no big referential statement.) Not everything needs to reinvent the wheel, there is big merit in being "fine" or "good" and I think Cashmere Mist does just that.

** If you've known me for longer than oh, say a year - I used to have BIG ISSUES, with "fine" and "good". I viewed them a "shades of grey" words and therefor mediocre. Sometimes, you are what you are. I have replaced my view of the middle not to be mediocre, but steadfast. See y'all, I'm evolving! :-)

Myself, Mom and my little sister waiting for the T when they came up for my first Christmas in Boston.

3) Could I see myself wearing this perfume? If so, for what ocassion? Yes, I could see myself wearing this. I think it's a good close quarters perfume as it had a very minimal silage. Crowded concert halls, church pews, family gatherings. I could see this working well for classroom teachers.  Wait....but back to me.....I can definitely see myself wearing this one to concerts at Symphony Hall. You're packed in there in quite close quarters and you want to smell nice, but you don't want to smell so strong that you hinder another patrons experience. On me CM also read "grown up" without being "old".

4) So Kathleen...would you actually buy a bottle? Yes. I'm not going to run to the mall and buy one now, but my eye will be out for a good discount opportunity.

5) What did Al think? Crap! I forgot that part. It's been a busy few days. I'll get that done over the weekend and report back on Monday.

6) What about the smelling strip? After spritzing the smelling strip at Sephora and storing it in a labeled back and taking it back out five days later...nothing. (BTW - Sephora, I don't really like your blotters, please make the blotter thicker. THANKS!)

Have a great and fabulously fragranced weekend lovely readers!

*Currently Listening: The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss) by Betty Everett

***Photo Credits: 1) thescentsofself.com 2) www.donnakaran.com and 3 & 4) my own

****Mom, I know you're reading this - on your way home from work, swing by the mall and smell some. I think you'll get what I'm talking about! Hell, buy yourself a bottle!