A Spring Shower with Jo Malone

On a seasonably-warm-for-California Sunday morning, my roommate, C, and I stopped by Southcoast Plaza, a shopping mall located in the heart of Irvine.

As we entered the air conditioner-cooled interior, a discreet little shop caught our eye. Through the crystal clarity of the large display windows, we could see a myriad of square glass perfume bottles arranged neatly on white shelves and holding translucent fragrances. They emanated an incandescent glow that drew me.

I lifted my head to read the sign. Jo Malone: London was written in a clean script across white paneling.

C and I walked in. The bottles, stoppered with silvered caps, promised a feast for the senses because they looked so… clean. Fresh. The sales associate, lips curved in a wide smile, approached us.

“Welcome to Jo Malone,” she said. “May I help you with anything?”

We were, of course, just browsing. She didn’t turn her nose up at that. Instead, she gestured towards a large countertop to our left. It held the testers of all Jo Malone perfumes, arranged in a neat row from the spicy, the citrus, the fruity to the light green floral, the floral, and the woody.

Taking a testing strip of paper, she picked up the nectarine blossom and honey fragrance. “This is my favorite,” she explained as she spritzed the elixir.

I watched the tiny, glimmering droplets rush out of the bottle. Suspended in the air, they shimmered in a golden kaleidoscope of fragrance. Then, one by one, they evaporated, disappeared forever, their only legacy the scented tester strip on which some settled and the ghostly hint of the released bouquet that reached my nose.

She issued a strip to me and one to C. Although I had hungrily sniffed the air in a vain hope to absorb the evaporating droplets, I did not truly experience the scent until I brought the strip to my nose.

I was in a nectarine orchard. It smelled so fresh, so real, so edible. I saw in my mind the dew-misted nectarines, warmed by the sun, bowing the tree branches under their weight. Bees buzz around them, hungrily suckling up the nectar from the delicate nectarine blossoms that have yet to fruit. I wanted to reach out, trace the creamy petals with my finger, tug on the fruit until it would rest in my hand I could bring it to my mouth and bite into its juice-laden center.

“That smells so good,” said either C or I—I can’t quite remember.

The sales associate picked up the next bottle. “Try this,” she said. White Jasmine and Mint, Vintage Gardenia, French Lime Blossom, and Red Roses made their way to the tester strips and imbedded themselves in my olfactory memory.

“They’re great for layering! You can wear them on their own or spray them over each other for a truly personalized fragrance.”

She handed us a brochure explaining the proper procedures of layering fragrance with some suggestions to try out. Packed up for us eight perfume samples—including the coveted nectarine blossom and honey. Completed the gift with her business card and left us forever in love with Jo Malone fragrances.

I think what I love most about them is that they smell of purity. They are like spring showers—clean and refreshing, they bring with them the scent of nature. Alas, like spring showers, they come to an end rather quickly as well. Jo Malone fragrances do not have much staying power—at least that’s what I found with the colognes, the most diluted of fragrances.Although a bit disappointing at first, I’ve come to like this fact more and more.

Their ephemeral properties allow you to experience the newness of spring again and again.

Victoria's Secret--keepin' it edible

Victoria's Secret Vanilla Lace-- a sexy, welcoming fragrance. I love how it keeps its sophistication even though it smells like dessert! It has musk and orchid added to the vanilla and amber notes... and I'm not a fan of musky scents. Yet all I detect on my skin is vanilla and amber and I love it.

For a refreshing burst, layer it over (or under--your preference!) L'Occitane's lemon verbena eau de toilette.

L'Occitane: Lemon Verbena Eau de Toilette

What a sparkling, lively scent! I love it on hot days--and we get a lot of those here in Los Angeles. Just imagine: you drag yourself home through the hot Santa Ana winds. Sweat pours down from your forehead as you stumble through the door and head straight for the shower. A cool, refreshing downpour of water and you get out, spritz yourself with L'Occitane Verbena eau de toilette, wrap yourself in a fluffy white cotton towel, and enjoy the rest of the day in blessed air-conditioned indoors.

Whenever it's hot out, I try to wear this fragrance. It brightens up my spirits and makes me feel like a cool breath of fresh air--pardon the cliche-- during a parching day.

Layering it with Victoria's Secret Vanilla Lace perfume adds a certain dreamy sweetness to it. The vanilla and lemon verbena smell absolutely delicious in layered harmony.

According to their website, the notes are:

Top: Lemon, Orange
Middle: Verbena, Petit Grain
Base: Rose, Geranium

Tom Ford

Who has seen Tom Ford's new ad campaign by photogropher Terry Richardson? I'm no prude, but ... hardcore porn anyone?

(To see them, either Google Tom Ford or go to tomford.com and click on "sexually explicit images" after clicking "Beauty." It'll be under Tom Ford for Men: Gallery.) Yes, I checked them out. All in the name of research.

But I do have to say that I admire the boldness of his perfumes and their sensuality. But the question arises, what is more important in the perfume industry? The quality of the perfume or how racy the ads are?

The Perfume

A great, somewhat disturbing movie! Excellent costumes and set design. I heard that volunteers would spend hours every morning putting out garbage on set and hours in the evening, cleaning it all up. The actors themselves had to wear the same clothing for weeks without taking them off, insuring that they would relate to the stench of eighteenth-century France. They also weren't allowed to shower.

It's based on Patrick Suskind's bestselling novel--which I can't wait to read. Here's an excerpt from Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

"In the period of which we speak, there reigned in the cities a stench barely conceivable to us modern men and women. The streets stank of manure, the courtyards of urine, the stairwells stank of moldering wood and rat droppings, the kitchens of spoiled cabbage and mutton fat; the unaired parlors stank of stale dust, the bedrooms of greasy sheets, damp featherbeds, and the pungently sweet aroma of chamber pots. The stench of sulfur rose from the chimneys, the stench of caustic lyes from the tanneries, and from the slaughterhouses came the stench of congealed blood. People stank of sweat and unwashed clothes; from their mouths came the stench of rotting teeth, from their bellies that of onions, and from their bodies, if they were no longer very young, came the stench of rancid cheese and sour milk and tumorous disease. The rivers stank, the marketplaces stank, the churches stank, it stank beneath the bridges and in the palaces. The peasant stank as did the priest, the apprentice as did his master's wife, the whole of the aristocracy stank, even the king himself stank, stank like a rank lion, and the queen like an old goat, summer and winter. For in the eighteenth century there was nothing to hinder bacteria busy at decomposition, and so there was no human activity, either constructive or destructive, no manifestation of germinating or decaying life that was not accompanied by stench.

And of course the stench was foulest in Paris, for Paris was the largest city of France."

OH YEAH

Good commercial or bad commercial?

Youth-Dew-- sexy or sickening?

I'm torn. On one hand, I want to love Youth-Dew! It stands for so many good things. Before it, women relied on their men to buy them perfume. Which is nice and all--perfumes are expensive! But really, can we rely on guys to choose how we smell? If it was up to them, we'd all smell like steak!

So Estee Lauder decided to create a fragrance women could buy for themselves! And she created the bath oil Youth-Dew--which of course caught on quickly. Women now had the power to scent themselves.

It gained popularity faster than Starbucks and Coca Cola and voila! more than half a century later, it is still popular today. (And it's got no caffeine to addict crowds.)

This was Estee Lauder's premier fragrance and boy did it take off--in America, Europe, you name it! It did have a rocky beginning in France. Department stores there refused to sell it but Estee Lauder won. She supposedly-accidentally spilled some of it in one of the most prestigious shops in Paris and the customers loved its scent so much, the store agreed to carry it immediately.

To me, it smells clove-like: warm, inviting, and spicy. I don't detect rose or lavender or jasmine. Nothing but a warm mix of spices. I've got a pretty good sense of smell. So I leave it all to the mysteriousness of the scent.

But do I like it? It is...strong. One spray of it leaves a room Youth-Dew-scented for at least 24 hours. It clings to clothing with the strength of cigarette smoke.

I tried to make it my own. One time, I wore it to work during a gift exchange. I hugged my coworker once and I could see her trying not to breathe in. Just to check, I attempted to give her another hug--and she backed away. And I had only walked through a spray once! Imagine if I had applied it directly to my skin.

So in summary, it is a bold fragrance to wear. I love it in theory, but when I use it, it haunts me for days as it airs out.

I did get a good suggestion--the bath oil! It is supposedly more pleasant, more natural-smelling, less aldehydy. That's the way to go--and it is more reminiscent of the original.

Below is the break-down from esteelauder.com:

Fragrance Type: Oriental/Spicy

Top Notes
Rose
Jonquil
Lavender

Middle Notes
Jasmine
Muguet
Spices

Base Notes
Moss
Vetiver
Patchouli

Bulgari Omnia Amethyste

According to Bulgari, Omnia Amethyste's olfactive notes include:

Top Notes: green sap and grapefruit
Heart: iris flower and bulgarian rosebud
Base: Heliothrope and solar wood

I've been eyeing this fragrance for a while! Ever since I smelled it in passing in Sephora. It smelled strongly of lilac.

And when I saw a cute little vial for only $20, I couldn't resist.

Although there is no lilac in its notes!

I do smell the green sap--it is lovely, refreshing, and prominent! Reminds me of a green garden. And smelling like one is surprisingly pleasant.

As the top notes evaporate, a floral fragrance remains. I can't say I detect rose or iris in it. To be truthful, I'm not sure what iris smells like.

But it is a lovely scent. Underlying the development of the perfume is something pleasant, not quite musky but unusual (heliothrope?). Uniquely Bulgari.

One thing I'm not a fan of is Bulgari's describing the scent as reminiscent of jewels (amethysts in particular). Now I do admit I've never smelled an amethyst, and perhaps it is one of the most fragrant things in the world, but I can't seem to relate. Will update when I find some amethysts to sniff...

Miss Dior Cherie: Commericial with Riley Keough

Miss Dior Cherie: Commercial by Sophia Coppola

Pure White Linen

I've long wanted a so-called signature scent. A delicate wisp that would cling to my skin and clothing and be uniquely mine. It took me months to sample the perfumes that the department stores carried.

I knew that I wanted something as pleasant as Estee Lauder Pleasures, but something less widely used (Just ask anyone: they all know what Pleasures smells like!) I wanted something floral and fresh... something sophisticated yet young. Something that would make hot days cooler and cool days warmer.

Estee Lauder Pure White Linen spoke to me from the bottle. I spritzed my wrist with Pure White Linen and as the droplets settled, I brought it to my nose and inhaled. The scent of raspberry tickled my nose. I immediately picked up on the mandarin top note as well. Letting it settle, I felt it bond with my body chemistry and, as it warmed, the perfume released floral notes. I couldn't quite detect them at the time, but--after having done some research-- now recognize the notes of rose, gardenia, and honeysuckle. My favorite part is that after a tiring day, the perfume stays on my skin and smells amazingly of tulips. Showering brings out the scent of tulips even more. Below is an excerpt from Estee Lauder categorizing this perfume:

Fragrance Type: Fruity Floral

Top Notes
Italian Mandarin
Cool Fresh Air Accord
Raspberry
Dewy Greens
White Freesia

Middle Notes
Red Tulip
Rose Absolute
Wild Honeysuckle
Gardenia Petals

Base Notes

White Cedarwood
Patchouli
White Heliotrope

What scared me after bringing the perfume home was that it was so diverse in its notes that I kept forgetting what it smelled like. Can you imagine? I couldn't remember my own signature scent!

It must have taken me a week before I could recognize it--because it is so mercurial, always changing. Which is a good thing. It is never tiring.

Sparkling and refreshing, it is one of my favorites.

Did it become my signature scent? No. I've realized that I cannot commit myself to just one perfume. I require variety that would suit different days, different moods, different behaviors. I'm a perfume whore.

And this post is strangely anti-climatic.