Violets & Rainwater, revisted

An open letter to Musette:

Dear Musette,

I so respect your thoughts on scent, whenever you go ga-ga for something, I automatically activate search->sniff->prepare to purchase neurons.  (Unless it's going your preferred skank path, which I continue to leave free and clear for you.  I've got my issues, as you know.  ;)  )  So, when you started waxing beautiful about Liz Zorn's Violets & Rainwater, I knew I'd better get sniffing.

Which I did, and found a lovely--beautiful in a quiet way--little true violet scent.  I tried it a couple of times over the winter, even bought a share, feeling that perhaps I would eventually use it to replace my decant of Norma Kamali Violette and use it for layering opportunities.  Simple.  Light.  

I was wrong.

I tried it on this morning, and BLAM, greenery!  And then, not very long until this creamy element enters the dry down.  Oh, my goodness.  I think that this is what some people find/love in the Guerlain violets, this nuanced but sweet violet.  (Vanillic sweet, not the mouse sex of Caron.)  And because I entered through the happy green door, I don't resent it for being some sort of pastille.  I'm still early on, and will be happy if the green returns head on, or if it continues down this creamy violet path.  I have my memory of the green...

Is this what happens with you?  You had mentioned dirt in the past, which I never got until today.  Just in the 5-10 minute opening, mind you, but there.

That's a whole other bottle in that cute but stylish canister on my shelf.  Not the watery violet I experienced in the winter.  Who knows--I've certainly been finding a lot of shift in my sniffer as spring entered this year.  Could be seasonal; could be evolutionary; could be I was just daft.  All I know is, I'm suddenly feeling VERY clever for shadowing you.

Your friend in scent,

SS

P.S. I know that shadowing can lead to big disappointments; I won't hold any bum lemmings against you.  (OTOH, I'll be sure to hang on to them for a while, in case what was bum becomes ba-dum!)

Sensory Overload?

Or deep cover?

Have spent a week wearing perfume, and reading all my favorite blogs, but have been plum out of writing.  Even though I have a couple of mostly composed posts in the hopper, awaiting attention, I could not turn to them for relatively painless content.

Life is full this time of year, of course, but I think my brain is taking a virtual "full breath." Things perfume have gone into deep percolation, and I can't really access the processing (or simple settling) that is going on.  I do know that I chose to wear a scent every day to work this week, which is not necessarily typical for me.  What?  gasp!?!  It's true...between being a person who needs to ramp into my sensory day, and working with highly sensitive peoples, I have to be careful about how I go about wearing scent to work.  And sometimes, it's not worth the effort.  Which doesn't bother me...I'm not one of those folks who feels like I'm "going commando" without an extra scent layer.

What did I pick to wear?  Let's see...here was an innovation:  Mandragore for a day I was worried stress might lead to a headache (again, a reason to avoid scent), but really did feel I wanted a layer of scent for finish.  (There we go, one of my inner conflicts; apparently, I don't feel wrong for not wearing scent, except on days when it DOES happen to strike me as a useful layer of armor.)  And you know what?  It was perfect, and who knew, given the cold weather.  It functioned as Eau Imperiale can for me (headache tonic), while imparting a certain subtle sense of being pulled together and functional in a "if you care to notice" way--perfect for the potentially difficult meeting I anticipated.  And I didn't worry that anyone would be put off by it.

What else did I wear?  I looked at Bois des Iles almost every day, since that is a faithful slam for me.  But no; I also wore Liz Zorn Violets and Rainwater, and who knew?  Either by the power of subliminal wishes, or a trick from Liz, I was surprised to find a leather note emanating from my skin by the end of the work day.  Hunh!! Now, I don't mind me a leather (Cuir de Lancome, I will have you some day), but I've got to tell you, title and test drive on this one did NOT lead me to expect this outcome.  But it was just right; don't confuse the fact that the flower smells sweet with the notion that it is not powerful and firmly rooted in the ground.

I took the easy route one day.  Showered with BBW Sandalwood Rose body wash, followed with a spritz of the same; that stuff has excellent lasting power on me, and really works well as a skin scent plus touch of something else.  Sometimes, I mentally review if an old faithful is the right choice for a given day, and the 8-Ball says "please try again."  But that morning was "signs point to yes," and the signs were right.

this just in...BBW offers to revive discontinued product for the sake of one needful customer...

...wouldn't that be nice???  

So, it wasn't a week to experiment, to try out new things...though discoveries were inadvertently made.  (The potential for leather.  In Violets and Rainwater.  Who knew?  Must follow up in other contexts.)  And it wasn't a week to articulate.  But I don't feel like I was in retreat...I was just...a little bit somewhere else.