Dior's J'Adore: The Top 20 Women's Fragrances of 2011 - A Scents of Self Production (Calice Becker Week - Day 2)

*Current Fragrance: A spritz of J'Adore for reference.
*Currently Listening: The Today Show on TV.

Happy Tuesday, all y'all! (No Scenting Glee: Part 2 today, you'll have to wait a week to find out what fragrances I think Kurt, Blaine, Quinn, Puck and Mercedes would sport.) Today's the day where Calice Becker Week and The Top 20 Project collide (but in a totally awesome way)! Let's jump right in.

1) Prior Experience: I've definitely blogged about J'Adore before! (From December 2011)

Growing up and living my early adulthood in SETX (South East Texas - I won't type it again), it's not like I could just waltz into a Dior boutique. BUT....I could buy perfume at Dillard's...ooooohhhhh...faaaaancy! I can say with ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY that I bought my first bottle of J'Adore in 2000, the year after it was introduced. I remember this because it was during my run for Student Government President during my Junior year of undergrad. I didn't run because I had any lofty political aspirations or anything. The guy was going to run unopposed, and well, that's just CRAP! So in one of my moments of "mighty proclamations" I went and filled out my application to run, so that was that. Oh...make no mistake about it, I lost...MISERABLY, which deep down inside I knew I was going to...but that wasn't the point. The point was to run.

Anyhow - I'm sure I bought the J'Adore because it was Dior, and it smelled very "adult" to me. At the time I was on a strict rotation of Bath and Body Works "Sun Ripened Raspberry" and Victoria's Secret "Strawberries and Champagne." Looking back now at the notes - I'm pretty sure the rose and the blackberry musk did it for me, as well as the clever clever advertising of something like, " J'Adore is a fragrance that celebrates the renaissance of extreme femininity and the power of spontaneous emotion...." Yeah, that would have pretty much done it for me at the time.

So, now in my minds-nose (I've decided that's a term) I equate J'Adore w/ a lady-like version of being "balls'y", I tend to wear red with it a good majority of the time. (So fair warning, if you happen to smell me wearing J'Adore, I have a clear purpose in mind...which given the day...could vary, but will be carried out with steeled determination.) I don't think that it's the fragrance that I'd just pick up now in the store if I were going to buy something, but I still love it and it has special place in my heat, and there will always be bottle on my vanity.

Sorry, I couldn't get that to format into "centered" for some reason, so it looks a little strange.

2) Thoughts Now: Reading lots of perfume discussion, I now know what there have been several reformulations of J'Adore. Spritzing  my bottle on now - that I bought at Filene's Basement about two years ago, it smelled decidedly more puny than my 1999 bottle. Perhaps I should explore J'Adore L'Or or J'Adore L'Absolu, or maybe hunt down some "vintage juice" through one of the decanting websites. Anyone have any success with any of these ideas?

3) Could I see myself wearing this perfume? If so, for what occasion: Yes! Without a doubt! I've work J'Adore for every solo recital I've played, and I'm not going to rule out that my recital playing days are over. It's my ladylike/ballsy/gettingshitdonebutstillbeingaladyatthesametime perfume. I use it sparingly, but when I do year it. I find it to be very affective on my state of mind.  

4) So Kathleen...would you actually buy a bottle: I have one that's 3/4 of the way empty, and I'll always have a bottle of J'Adore in my fragrance wardrobe. It just smells like a very specific part of my life as well as serving a very specific purpose. But as I explained in "#3", I'll be a bit more particular with what type of formulation I buy next.

5) What did Al think: He's always enjoyed J'Adore on me.

6) What about the smelling strip: DAMN IT! I keep forgetting to do that!

*Currently Listening: Still the Today Show
**Photo Credits: 1) thescentsofself.com and 2) wallpaper-s.org