You can treat horror with horror, poison with poison, or just add a little levity with some sugar.
Suddenly, sharp citruses and vetiver feel unutterably wrong : I need cushioning. And yesterday – by myself, not much energy, I just lay on the bed and watched the Kanye West documentary to delve into a different atmosphere – to indulge in another time and space – before heading out to take back some DVDs, my one errand of the day before meeting the D after work for some tempura.
If it feels frivolous talking about perfume at this time ( and it does ), perfume is also a buffer zone; a protector: we can’t just walk around raw.
And I feel like scents that are optimistic and fun: easygoing; floral: sweet. I surprised myself in the afternoon by how strong the urge in me was to be DOUSED, despite the fact that I knew I would be getting on public transport. Perhaps Sunday’s somewhat epic diatribe on here had left me feeling squeezed out and in need of coloration : I woke up craving the complex and the rosy, a bit 80’s, and on one arm this spritzed myself rampantly with MCDI’s L’Aimee: a niche neo- Estée Lauder Beautiful ( which for me is a true comfort scent for some reason, even though I know I sometimes mocked it back in the day); on the rest of me I sprayed on Sarah Baker’s exceedingly pleasing and emboldening light/ dirty rose, her first perfume, Leopard.
Both of these perfumes have about a million notes, and that’s what I wanted : a true ‘composition’. Leopard on me is a fresh, musky rose violet with a strong tinge of cardamom and sandalwood, and a rather sexy, animalistic loukhoum-like undertone (civet) that makes me feel a bit horny and pleasantly riled, even if The Other proclaims it to actually smell a little bit like cat piss ( must be the cassis).
I personally felt delectably armoured and scented up as I proceeded to the bus stop, despite the fact a little girl kept turning around and her mother unembarrassedly opened the window. The point was, this combination made me feel cheered and veneered, and I will definitely be wearing it again.
Today, the same mood grips me. I suddenly recognized a yearning to spray on Escada’s ridiculous Cherry In The Air, which I have been rather enjoying this afternoonfor its simple, sweet sour fruity cherriness, alongside – because I am in the mood for contrasting abundance – another perfume from the Sarah Baker sample box, Charade : a rich woody ambered floral ( tuberose, jasmine), powdered and desserty, over a more joss-sticked, sloe-eyed patchouli leather finale that reminds me a little of Yves Saint Laurent Belle D’Opium, as well as the soothing, almondy, Arab liquid attars I used to sometimes pick up during my travels.
The Black Narcissus 
Loving the idea of rose-violet with cardamom. Will put Leopard on my list to try.
Wearing Versace Eros pour Femme from my duty-free samples stash today. Bland floral fruity nothingness. I usually like Alberto Morillas/Oliver Cresp creations but this is boring to the point of obnoxiousness.
‘Boring to the point of obnoxiousness ‘ – a brilliant summation of so much dross from duty free.
Leopard’s drydown is a little gentle/nothingy, but the first spray is gorgeous – a proper spray and go out feeling excited sensation : fresh and intoxicating.
I love that you perfumed yourself with abandon and went out fully armoured. That’s the way to do it.
I perfume myself religiously, it’s the only way I can tolerate the world at this moment.
A fantastic sentence and I know exactly what you mean. It literally IS like an armour, isn’t it?
It truly is!!