Just before Christmas I made an impulse buy - I cashed in all my Shoppers Drug Mart points and got a 10-fragrance sampler for $15 (regularly sells for $70). It also comes with a coupon to buy a full-sized bottle of the fragrance that I think is the nicest. Good deal, and these are the scents:
Marc Jacobs Daisy, and Lola
Givenchy Very Irresistible
Burberry The Beat
Avril Lavigne Black Star
Vera Wang Princess
Juicy Couture - Couture Couture
Calvin Klein Euphoria
Paco Rabanne Black XS
Hugo Boss - Boss Orange
This is going to be fun to try out the samples and see which one I ultimately select. Am kind of leaning towards Couture Couture, but the Marc Jacobs Lola bottle is an absolute work of art. Would I get it just for the bottle? No, but it's tempting. I've ruled out Princess as it's too young for me and I suspect Black XS is also in the same category.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Hello, Santa?
Dear Santa,
After much searching and experimenting, the following are 3 fragrances I would love to get for Christmas (not in order of importance):
1. Angel by Thierry Mugler
2. Daisy by Marc Jacobs
3. Essence by Narcisco Rodriguez
None of these fragrances is my signature fragrance, I am already using my second bottle of that one. They are all fairly new to the marketplace and have a few things in common.
First of all, the bottle: each is uniquely designed - Angel is sold in a blue eco-friendly glass star-shaped bottle which is refillable. Daisy has a leatherette flower attached to the bottle and is simple, yet very pretty. And Essence? It's in a unique mirrored bottle which gives it a contemporary look and really stands out among the plainer products like Chanel No. 5.
Secondly, the scents: Angel is strong, packs a whallop but it lasts and lasts for hours. A sales clerk in another store at the mall complimented me on it, so I know I can avoid the 'smells like an old ladies' closet' label because this scent suits me. Daisy has an amazing base note, is delicate and light, and I'm trying to figure out what's in it. And Essence....wow. This scent is absolutely drop dead gorgeous.
Despite being unemployed for much of 2009, I have been a really good girl this year, Santa. When I start to feel down about the lack of job prospects for a middle aged woman like myself, I spritz on perfume and it makes me feel happier. Not only does scent affect memory, it also affects moods by uplifting them - psychology in a bottle.
Thanks Santa, I feel better already.
After much searching and experimenting, the following are 3 fragrances I would love to get for Christmas (not in order of importance):
1. Angel by Thierry Mugler
2. Daisy by Marc Jacobs
3. Essence by Narcisco Rodriguez
None of these fragrances is my signature fragrance, I am already using my second bottle of that one. They are all fairly new to the marketplace and have a few things in common.
First of all, the bottle: each is uniquely designed - Angel is sold in a blue eco-friendly glass star-shaped bottle which is refillable. Daisy has a leatherette flower attached to the bottle and is simple, yet very pretty. And Essence? It's in a unique mirrored bottle which gives it a contemporary look and really stands out among the plainer products like Chanel No. 5.
Secondly, the scents: Angel is strong, packs a whallop but it lasts and lasts for hours. A sales clerk in another store at the mall complimented me on it, so I know I can avoid the 'smells like an old ladies' closet' label because this scent suits me. Daisy has an amazing base note, is delicate and light, and I'm trying to figure out what's in it. And Essence....wow. This scent is absolutely drop dead gorgeous.
Despite being unemployed for much of 2009, I have been a really good girl this year, Santa. When I start to feel down about the lack of job prospects for a middle aged woman like myself, I spritz on perfume and it makes me feel happier. Not only does scent affect memory, it also affects moods by uplifting them - psychology in a bottle.
Thanks Santa, I feel better already.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
The Search
By New Year's 2007, the search for the perfect new fragrance was well under way. One of the first perfumers I tried out was Dior. There were so many new scents from Dior on the market since I'd started wearing Miss Dior in the mid-1980''s: J'Adore, Dior Addict, Dior Addict 2, Miss Dior Cherie, and Poison to name a few.
Since one can't try too many scents on one's wrists and hands without confusing the nose to hell, I was pretty well limited to trying out about 4 scents at once, and spraying them on cards so I could remember what was what.
I started to get perfume samples while buying skin care products at Shoppers Drug Mart: Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker, A Touch of Pink, Versace, Bvlgari Jasmine, Givency's Ange ou Demon and Very Irresistible were some of the fragrances tested at home. My scent judge, my teenage daughter, would give me the thumbs up or down on a fragrance: "That smells like the inside of an old lady's closet!" was her comment on Versace. It was obviously a scent more suited for more mature females; I liked it but it apparently didn't like me.
So far the top contenders were Dior Addict 2 and Bvlgari Jasmine. The latter was particularly soft and feminine, something I could probably wear to work and not set off allergic reactions. Light floral scents have always seemed to suit me the most. Overassertive, heavy-duty scents like Dior's Hypnotic Poison made me feel almost nauseous after a while. Definitely not the type of scent I could wear now that I was (well) past the nightclub-hopping age.
But I was just getting started. The signature scent would not be from Dior, but from another famous French perfume maker, or rather, infamous.
Since one can't try too many scents on one's wrists and hands without confusing the nose to hell, I was pretty well limited to trying out about 4 scents at once, and spraying them on cards so I could remember what was what.
I started to get perfume samples while buying skin care products at Shoppers Drug Mart: Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker, A Touch of Pink, Versace, Bvlgari Jasmine, Givency's Ange ou Demon and Very Irresistible were some of the fragrances tested at home. My scent judge, my teenage daughter, would give me the thumbs up or down on a fragrance: "That smells like the inside of an old lady's closet!" was her comment on Versace. It was obviously a scent more suited for more mature females; I liked it but it apparently didn't like me.
So far the top contenders were Dior Addict 2 and Bvlgari Jasmine. The latter was particularly soft and feminine, something I could probably wear to work and not set off allergic reactions. Light floral scents have always seemed to suit me the most. Overassertive, heavy-duty scents like Dior's Hypnotic Poison made me feel almost nauseous after a while. Definitely not the type of scent I could wear now that I was (well) past the nightclub-hopping age.
But I was just getting started. The signature scent would not be from Dior, but from another famous French perfume maker, or rather, infamous.
Friday, December 4, 2009
The Seventies
Anyone out there old enough to remember Love's Fresh Lemon from the 1970's? Back in 1972, it was the hottest thing since sliced bread for teenage girls. I would head off to school in platform shoes, cuffed bell bottom pants smelling like a lemonade stand. Was I cool or what?
Fruit-scented sprays were all the rage in the early 70's. I recall once wearing a strawberry-scented musk to school in Grade 11, and my mother taunting me with the strains of "Strawberry Fields Forever" as my scent and I marched out the front door.
Then Love's Baby Soft came out. The baby powder scent was a huge sensation to my age group and I adored its soft, subtle scent. Baby Soft would waft into a room instead of taking it over.
Love's Baby Soft is still around to this day, but I think the Fresh Lemon is long gone. At least, it's been many years since I've seen it in stores. I am tempted to head over to Walmart and buy a bottle of Baby Soft for the first time in decades. I can relive old memories of teen crushes, high school dances, hilarious fashions and a special friend from Norway who spent the summer with me in 1972, introduced me to Love's Fresh Lemon and remains a friend to this day.
Often life goes in circles; Love's Baby Soft brings back my inner 16-year old and a simpler, less hectic way of life. Sometimes I miss that.
Fruit-scented sprays were all the rage in the early 70's. I recall once wearing a strawberry-scented musk to school in Grade 11, and my mother taunting me with the strains of "Strawberry Fields Forever" as my scent and I marched out the front door.
Then Love's Baby Soft came out. The baby powder scent was a huge sensation to my age group and I adored its soft, subtle scent. Baby Soft would waft into a room instead of taking it over.
Love's Baby Soft is still around to this day, but I think the Fresh Lemon is long gone. At least, it's been many years since I've seen it in stores. I am tempted to head over to Walmart and buy a bottle of Baby Soft for the first time in decades. I can relive old memories of teen crushes, high school dances, hilarious fashions and a special friend from Norway who spent the summer with me in 1972, introduced me to Love's Fresh Lemon and remains a friend to this day.
Often life goes in circles; Love's Baby Soft brings back my inner 16-year old and a simpler, less hectic way of life. Sometimes I miss that.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Searching for the Signature Scent
Starting out to find a new scent to replace Miss Dior was an interesting and fun experience. Miss Dior was launched in 1957. Come to think of it, so was I. This put me in the 'mature but not old' age ranks. It was time to find something new, something from this century.
The search was interesting because the human nose can discern maybe 4 or 5 different scents before getting totally confused and muddled. Sniffing coffee beans (many fragrance counters keep them on hand) resets the sense of smell, but after too many I started to get a headache. So every time I would buy toothpaste or whatever at Shoppers Drug Mart I would wander over to the fragrance section and spray two or 3 samples on my wrists. A couple more scents would be sprayed on little paper blotters.
One of the cosmeticians at Shoppers' (Nancy) is actually an acquaintance of mine. We both went to adult's ice skating for a couple of years when my daughter was starting school. Nancy has been a great help, giving me samples of this and that to try at home, which made the search simpler.
The fun part was the hunt itself. There was a staggering number of fragrances to choose from, with new ones being introduced constantly. Which scent would win me over and replace Miss Dior? How many fragrances would I have to try before I found The One?
Starting out, one scent I really liked was Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue, which was a popular scent of choice at work. Unfortunately, it didn't like me - the scent disappeared almost as fast as I put it on. Light Blue was relegated to the 'like it but can't wear it' list.
Around that time my daughter was given Vera Wang's Princess for Christmas. It's a lovely scent, and naturally I tried it on but something was amiss. I liked it, but realized that the vanilla-laden scent was too young for me. This caught me by surprise, but then again, I had been wearing Miss Dior since 1984 and that was 25 years ago. I'd aged as well: I was separated, living in a cosy little house with my daughter and cat. I had returned to the job market after being a stay at home mom, so new experiences and many life changes were the norm.
It was definitely time for "something completely different".
The search was interesting because the human nose can discern maybe 4 or 5 different scents before getting totally confused and muddled. Sniffing coffee beans (many fragrance counters keep them on hand) resets the sense of smell, but after too many I started to get a headache. So every time I would buy toothpaste or whatever at Shoppers Drug Mart I would wander over to the fragrance section and spray two or 3 samples on my wrists. A couple more scents would be sprayed on little paper blotters.
One of the cosmeticians at Shoppers' (Nancy) is actually an acquaintance of mine. We both went to adult's ice skating for a couple of years when my daughter was starting school. Nancy has been a great help, giving me samples of this and that to try at home, which made the search simpler.
The fun part was the hunt itself. There was a staggering number of fragrances to choose from, with new ones being introduced constantly. Which scent would win me over and replace Miss Dior? How many fragrances would I have to try before I found The One?
Starting out, one scent I really liked was Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue, which was a popular scent of choice at work. Unfortunately, it didn't like me - the scent disappeared almost as fast as I put it on. Light Blue was relegated to the 'like it but can't wear it' list.
Around that time my daughter was given Vera Wang's Princess for Christmas. It's a lovely scent, and naturally I tried it on but something was amiss. I liked it, but realized that the vanilla-laden scent was too young for me. This caught me by surprise, but then again, I had been wearing Miss Dior since 1984 and that was 25 years ago. I'd aged as well: I was separated, living in a cosy little house with my daughter and cat. I had returned to the job market after being a stay at home mom, so new experiences and many life changes were the norm.
It was definitely time for "something completely different".
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Gran Whit
Something from the past: Elsie Amy Davies Whitaker, better known as Gran Whit, was a great-grandmother of mine who passed away at the age of 100 in 1988. Why do I mention her? She represents my earliest known recollection of a distinct scent long forgotten.
Tabu by Dana - that was the only scent Gran ever wore, and she wore it liberally. When I was a young girl, she used to give me the perfume bottles when they were empty so I could play at 'making' perfume. I used to love looking at the pretty sapphire-blue teardrop shaped bottles with the exotic-sounding name...Tabu.
A year ago while shopping in Walmart, I came upon a not-bad selection of fragrances in the Cosmetics section. Some luxe brands were tucked away in glass cases, while the less pricey brands were on store shelves. I picked up a miniature bottle of Juicy Couture perfume priced at $9.33. This was one scent I had put on my "like" list during my search for the new Signature Scent.
Then I looked down at the bottom shelf, and there was a small box of Tabu by Dana. I picked it up, looked around, opened the box, unscrewed the lid and took a whiff.
In an instant I pictured Gran at Christmas - this vision of a 5 foot tall barrel-chested Yorkshire-born matron, reeking of Tabu, saying the Yorkshire toast in her loud, shrill voice: "Here's tiv us, all on us, me and all..." My grandmother would always roll her eyes to the ceiling during the toast and I used to struggle not to laugh. It was hard to tell which was funnier: Gran's booming, high-pitched voice, or the faces my grandmother would make at her mother-in-law.
I closed the bottle and the box and put it back on the shelf. The beautiful blue bottle was no more, replaced by a plain round glass atomizer. I was kicking myself for getting rid of the bottles Gran gave me until I saw the show Hoarders on A&E. So, I'll just keep my memories where they are, and no, I wouldn't buy Tabu anyway. It's in the "nope" section of the Signature Scent list because it belongs to Gran, not me.
"Here's tiv us...."
Tabu by Dana - that was the only scent Gran ever wore, and she wore it liberally. When I was a young girl, she used to give me the perfume bottles when they were empty so I could play at 'making' perfume. I used to love looking at the pretty sapphire-blue teardrop shaped bottles with the exotic-sounding name...Tabu.
A year ago while shopping in Walmart, I came upon a not-bad selection of fragrances in the Cosmetics section. Some luxe brands were tucked away in glass cases, while the less pricey brands were on store shelves. I picked up a miniature bottle of Juicy Couture perfume priced at $9.33. This was one scent I had put on my "like" list during my search for the new Signature Scent.
Then I looked down at the bottom shelf, and there was a small box of Tabu by Dana. I picked it up, looked around, opened the box, unscrewed the lid and took a whiff.
In an instant I pictured Gran at Christmas - this vision of a 5 foot tall barrel-chested Yorkshire-born matron, reeking of Tabu, saying the Yorkshire toast in her loud, shrill voice: "Here's tiv us, all on us, me and all..." My grandmother would always roll her eyes to the ceiling during the toast and I used to struggle not to laugh. It was hard to tell which was funnier: Gran's booming, high-pitched voice, or the faces my grandmother would make at her mother-in-law.
I closed the bottle and the box and put it back on the shelf. The beautiful blue bottle was no more, replaced by a plain round glass atomizer. I was kicking myself for getting rid of the bottles Gran gave me until I saw the show Hoarders on A&E. So, I'll just keep my memories where they are, and no, I wouldn't buy Tabu anyway. It's in the "nope" section of the Signature Scent list because it belongs to Gran, not me.
"Here's tiv us...."
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Hello, Bonjour!
Ever since I was a girl of about 6, I have had a love of perfumes and fine fragrances. Certain scents are engraved in my memory; just a whiff of something sweet can trigger specific memories of people or events - good, bad or in-between.
When I was about 8, I can recall trying to make my own perfume: I got a small glass jar with a glass lid, combined some water, baby powder, a few selections of my mother's colognes, and gave it a good shake. This milky-looking substance with a questionable 'scent' was then launched for sale. With a girlfriend in tow, I went to Mrs. Abbott's house next store and offered the eau de toilette for 25 cents. "Sorry dear, I just spent all my money on groceries," Mrs Abbot lied. Other neighbours had similar refusals.
My blog will be a combination of (1) Past and present events, and which scents triggered memories of those events, and (2) My 2-year search for a new "signature" scent, a daunting task of combing through a huge selection of fragrances at The Bay, Sears and Shoppers Drug Mart to replace the signature scent I'd used for over 20 years, Miss Dior. I erroneously thought it had been discontinued with the introduction of Miss Dior Cherie, but have since found out it is available online and in limited supply at The Bay before Christmas.
But by then I had found the "new one".
Which one did I pick? Stay tuned.
When I was about 8, I can recall trying to make my own perfume: I got a small glass jar with a glass lid, combined some water, baby powder, a few selections of my mother's colognes, and gave it a good shake. This milky-looking substance with a questionable 'scent' was then launched for sale. With a girlfriend in tow, I went to Mrs. Abbott's house next store and offered the eau de toilette for 25 cents. "Sorry dear, I just spent all my money on groceries," Mrs Abbot lied. Other neighbours had similar refusals.
My blog will be a combination of (1) Past and present events, and which scents triggered memories of those events, and (2) My 2-year search for a new "signature" scent, a daunting task of combing through a huge selection of fragrances at The Bay, Sears and Shoppers Drug Mart to replace the signature scent I'd used for over 20 years, Miss Dior. I erroneously thought it had been discontinued with the introduction of Miss Dior Cherie, but have since found out it is available online and in limited supply at The Bay before Christmas.
But by then I had found the "new one".
Which one did I pick? Stay tuned.
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