And here I was, just telling Grain de Musc "no how, no way." Too much camphor. Bad joke. A theme I've sounded many times over the past couple of years.
Today, something happened. I need to take notes on the context, just in case this is the only situation in which this one will fly: ❏ A late in the day shower. (Some days are like that. Other things get in the way. Advantage is, anything that gets tossed onto a wrist on a whim in the a.m. because I feel ready to give it a short whirl ends up getting a full ride. TC was NOT one of those...it was a Mariella Burani duo...more on that another time.) ❏ Temps in the 60's, high-ish but not outlandish for April in these parts. ❏ Huge trench being dug in my yard. Must consider the potential effect of watching one's planting handiwork nearly get decimated. Nearly. Surely extra hormones of some sort were flying. Might have been a factor. Will decidedly avoid trying to recreate that particular contextual element.
Anyway, I showered and, because it had somehow ended up in my drawer of tried & true "specials," I took out the SL Tuberose Criminelle. Yup, there was that opening...but it didn't make me yank my head back and look around for the Candid Camera. Hmm. Another sniff...yeah, that's the note...but it's not...all consuming....
I am totally digging this tube today. Feels like it catches the heady exotic aspects of the flower, while messing it up with other aspects of its reality. The "camphor" settles into just a sharp something, just like what lingers in the air around a number of tropical whites. Every other time, this one has been a viscous lipid with mothballs floating on top. A practical joke, if you will. Today, the joke is on me. Today, it is a joy.
I'll take it.
Maybe this will just be a solitary glimpse, like that one good time I had with Kingdom. But I'm glad to have had it, and wonder if perhaps this is what some of my 'fumey friends who love it live with every time they apply.
It's good to be reminded that patience can be rewarded. Sometimes.
But no way am I going to dig a 9' hole in the yard just to try to get beyond the joke. If the magic is gone, I'll live with the memory. To adjust what Rick said to Ilsa, "We'll always have April 13th."
Showing posts with label Kingdom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kingdom. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Guerlain Mahora
Sheesh, what a dirty mess of tuberose.
I keep on wanting to like this, or hate it, or something, but I keep on coming back with "what the....???" There is straight up tuberose in there, and dirt (as in earth), and then something dirty (as in skank), and then the tuberose shows up again, and then it's just all one big mess.
Part of me thinks I'm missing an in-joke, another part wonders if I'm missing out on a modern wonder.
It doesn't sqwark at me the way the tuberose Fracas does; it doesn't infuriate me in the way the dirty (skanky) mess Kingdom does. I don't get the "concept," in the way I see the tuberose joke in Lutens Tubeureuse Criminelle (even though I don't laugh at TC, or find it profound, or compelling). I don't know what to say about Mahora.
Wait, here's what I'll say: don't buy it. If you want an afternoon's distraction, let me know. I'll send you some. I'd like to know what you make of it.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Toes, or all in?
For those of you who have only swum in oceans or swimming pools, a few notes on lake swimming:
"Inland" lakes (aren't they all? but no, trust me, there are the big lakes, the Great Lakes, which I have come to realize need emphasized are really, really big--those of you who think of the middle as "flyover" would do well to think about a body of water that takes much time to cross on a boat, and remember it takes even your jet some time to cross over) are smaller lakes of various sizes, which generally fall within state boundaries, and can be seen across and traversed easily by boat, sometimes even rowboat.
Point being, the swimming is different. Not only do you float differently, but there can be ginormous temperature differentials on the inland lakes: water temperature varies according to season, according to depth, and even sometimes according to weather conditions. On the big lakes, the water is, generally, cold. The question for any lake is: do you go carefully, trying to discover and/or acclimate yourself to the temperature, or do you just charge?
No matter what your approach, your experience in the same pocket of water may be different one day to the next, one visit to the next, one year to the next.
And so it is with Kingdom. What I am about to say is not "I was wrong." My experience has been, almost every time, panties. But today I was decanting a generous sample for a friend--a friend who has enjoyed this, and so I was happy to share--and a generous splot of McQueen's controversial juice ended up on my hand.
Surprise! Today the cumin was nearly woodsy, and clearly just a layer among the package. I was getting a quick impression of something that was interesting both as quoting some vintage references, and also quite of the times. Cumin, woody spice, something floral...it was all there, and it was interesting. Not "beautiful," as some receive it, but really, really interesting, in a pleasant way. Meanwhile, I had just decanted DK Gold (following a tasting principle of increasing intensities), and THAT was also different than any of my previous experiences. In this cool/cold weather, Gold edp was almost creamy, with jasmine clearly coming through as much as the lily, and much less sharp green. (That green is sharper, and more metallic, in the EDP.)
So, today, I liked Kingdom. No promises for tomorrow. And honestly, I'll probably be more likely to reach for the Gold on an overall percentage basis. But I had to come clean about the experience, considering how adamant I am about the nasty element I usually get.
BTW, you already not to trust when somebody says "come on in, the water's fine," right? One swimmer's tepid is another's chilled. In the lake, or out of the bottle, your mileage may vary.
"Inland" lakes (aren't they all? but no, trust me, there are the big lakes, the Great Lakes, which I have come to realize need emphasized are really, really big--those of you who think of the middle as "flyover" would do well to think about a body of water that takes much time to cross on a boat, and remember it takes even your jet some time to cross over) are smaller lakes of various sizes, which generally fall within state boundaries, and can be seen across and traversed easily by boat, sometimes even rowboat.
Point being, the swimming is different. Not only do you float differently, but there can be ginormous temperature differentials on the inland lakes: water temperature varies according to season, according to depth, and even sometimes according to weather conditions. On the big lakes, the water is, generally, cold. The question for any lake is: do you go carefully, trying to discover and/or acclimate yourself to the temperature, or do you just charge?
No matter what your approach, your experience in the same pocket of water may be different one day to the next, one visit to the next, one year to the next.
And so it is with Kingdom. What I am about to say is not "I was wrong." My experience has been, almost every time, panties. But today I was decanting a generous sample for a friend--a friend who has enjoyed this, and so I was happy to share--and a generous splot of McQueen's controversial juice ended up on my hand.
Surprise! Today the cumin was nearly woodsy, and clearly just a layer among the package. I was getting a quick impression of something that was interesting both as quoting some vintage references, and also quite of the times. Cumin, woody spice, something floral...it was all there, and it was interesting. Not "beautiful," as some receive it, but really, really interesting, in a pleasant way. Meanwhile, I had just decanted DK Gold (following a tasting principle of increasing intensities), and THAT was also different than any of my previous experiences. In this cool/cold weather, Gold edp was almost creamy, with jasmine clearly coming through as much as the lily, and much less sharp green. (That green is sharper, and more metallic, in the EDP.)
So, today, I liked Kingdom. No promises for tomorrow. And honestly, I'll probably be more likely to reach for the Gold on an overall percentage basis. But I had to come clean about the experience, considering how adamant I am about the nasty element I usually get.
BTW, you already not to trust when somebody says "come on in, the water's fine," right? One swimmer's tepid is another's chilled. In the lake, or out of the bottle, your mileage may vary.
*****
UPDATE 11/23/08: Kingdom is back in the chatterstream. See the gents over at PeredePierre for their take on it, and hear Denyse at Grain de Musc place it according to her sensibilities within the comments section of her lovely review of Schiaparelli Shocking. Yup, that's me, asking her opinion--I love to learn from better noses than mine. But despite my bowing to Denyse's more experienced nose, I have to say that, for now, for me, Kingdom's "gousset" is still sewn into panties and not a blouse. Never a better example of Your Mileage May Vary than an individual's experience of cumin in Kingdom.
Monday, October 13, 2008
London / Paris
Are you familiar with the game "London/Paris"? It's a driving game. You drive on the side of the road appropriate to the city called. I was introduced to this "game" by the father of a babysitting charge as he drove me home one night. I believe he thought he was connecting with the younger generation. I was pretty sure that I was about to be disconnected from all generations I knew.
"London / Paris" came to mind this morning, because I started this morning's sampling with Creed Silver Mountain Water on my right wrist, then picked up the Chanel No 22 decant a friend sent me and spritzed my left. Aiy yi yi. It's kind of like having a floral syrup on my right, and powdery floral air freshener on my left. I don't think I'm helping either by running the sniffer by in quick succession, but I can't help it...kind of like not averting your gaze at a car accident.
I can't stop to do any serious picking out of notes or pay attention to dry down; I keep going back and forth, thinking things like "Grandma / modern teen" and "purposely dressed up / purposely dressed down." Paris! London! Paris!! London!! Gadzooks, I'm compelled to participate in this tennis match.
Clearly, I'm not constitutionally built to be an ambassador. I keep "hearing" the two different sides, but my head can't build a bridge. No wonder there's been so much trouble across the Chanel, er, Channel. We have two seriously different approaches to scent here.
Usually I don't finish these ruminations until the party's either over, or seems to have subsided into its final character. I may be at the sink before my last sentence. Hey, even something like Kingdon didn't drive me to scrub; I just held my arm at a safe distance, and revisited whenever ready. This particular experience has me bouncing back and forth like I'm some sort of voodoo doll being controlled by a maniacal outside force. Like somebody is driving me down the road, weaving back and forth across the yellow line. I'm outta here.
Somebody remind me I don't like this game next time, okay?
"London / Paris" came to mind this morning, because I started this morning's sampling with Creed Silver Mountain Water on my right wrist, then picked up the Chanel No 22 decant a friend sent me and spritzed my left. Aiy yi yi. It's kind of like having a floral syrup on my right, and powdery floral air freshener on my left. I don't think I'm helping either by running the sniffer by in quick succession, but I can't help it...kind of like not averting your gaze at a car accident.
I can't stop to do any serious picking out of notes or pay attention to dry down; I keep going back and forth, thinking things like "Grandma / modern teen" and "purposely dressed up / purposely dressed down." Paris! London! Paris!! London!! Gadzooks, I'm compelled to participate in this tennis match.
Clearly, I'm not constitutionally built to be an ambassador. I keep "hearing" the two different sides, but my head can't build a bridge. No wonder there's been so much trouble across the Chanel, er, Channel. We have two seriously different approaches to scent here.
Usually I don't finish these ruminations until the party's either over, or seems to have subsided into its final character. I may be at the sink before my last sentence. Hey, even something like Kingdon didn't drive me to scrub; I just held my arm at a safe distance, and revisited whenever ready. This particular experience has me bouncing back and forth like I'm some sort of voodoo doll being controlled by a maniacal outside force. Like somebody is driving me down the road, weaving back and forth across the yellow line. I'm outta here.
Somebody remind me I don't like this game next time, okay?
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