Most of my students no longer wear masks, which has changed my approach to classroom scenting. This term I have not really been wearing perfume – it hasn’t felt right, and I don’t want to waste it. That doesn’t mean I have chosen to go ‘odorless’, however ( is such a thing even possible in any case ? Some of my colleagues smell delightful, others clean and pleasant – I can recognize which fabric conditioner they are using; some just of natural human, while a few teachers, as in the school I was working at yesterday, smell frankly nauseating, as though they have been wearing the same yellowing white shirt for months).
Given that I always have the fear that at heart I smell like lamb kebab, the olfactory goal for me has been ‘pleasantly soap’ – a simple, warm floral deodorant spray that will not offend anybody, along with my Scent Of The Season, Nivea Soft – a gorgeous jojoba based hand cream that came out this year and smells of roses, osmanthus and lily of the valley and all things venerably soapy, and which I also espied on the desk of one of the young dandyish administrative staff, who always smells dreamily immaculate. The man has excellent taste.
This pleasant and easy combination has been my go to for a few months now – I feel calm and mellow in it; but then sometimes, obviously, you do just fancy a little spritz of something else as well to up your game, to galvanize the moment, whether it be on the back of the hand for personal pleasure during an afternoon lull in the day, or a few generous sprays after work to consolidate the spirit with an extra dose of elevation.
I realized last week that Dusita’s Douceur De Siam – a balsamic rose de mai perfume from 2017 that I always liked but hadn’t actually really worn – works perfectly in this precise context I am seeking.
It’s interesting. If you are wearing anything earthy or heavy, spiced or classic vintage on your person and then try Siam on another wrist, in contrast, with its green violet leaf champaca ylang top accord underscoring the rose main theme this creation comes across as feminine and ‘pretty’; yet if you come at it from a different angle, from the pure as the driven soap perspective, the perfume has a rich, Mysore sandalwood undertone, that smells even a little bit oudish (probably the Thai chalood bark accord used in the scent alongside some vanilla absolute) which feels much more decadent and masculine, but not intrusive. The beautiful rose oils in the perfume rise above everything in the blend ;the overall impression smooth and pleasurably subdued, yet surreptitiously full bodied and sexy. My bottle is in my coat pocket this week : I imagine I will be putting some more on again bit later in Yokohama.
Speaking of which, it was glorious to be strolling along by the sea in Yamashita Park on Sunday, the most beautifui afternoon, roses everywhere, not a crow in sight ( or at least not that I was aware of). Japan at this time of year can be spectacular, see-sawing between chilly melancholia pre-Christmas sensations, and warm balmy days that suspend you in sunlight. Days when you just drift along, living in the moment, forget (most of) your troubles and then stop – literally – to smell the roses.
Loving the fur trimmed kimono pic.
I haven’t seen 8×4 products in years.
Nivea’s new Soft cream is great, it’s suitable for face and body too. Nivea’s Fresh Energy deodorant that is lemongrass scented and Protect & Care deodorant that has the familiar powdery cold cream scent are excellent products too.
Douceur de Siam sounds lovely, I’ll put it on my list to try.
Glad we both love these kinds of smells : Douceur is unfussy without being simplistic; warm but delicate, and goes PERFECTLY with the above mentioned type scents – definitely worth trying
Must try that hand cream. 35 years of nursing has left me an obsessive hand washer. My mitts look like they belong to Nefertiti’s mummy! An agreeable scent is a bonus
At least Nefertiti’s bust in Berlin is astoundingly mesmerizing, even if she has to keep her mitts in mittens.
I have deep respect for nurses and anyone in the medical profession : otsukaresama deshita
Sounds heavenly! I want to be there.
I haven’t worn anything remotely roselike for a long while, but did manage to procure a sample of the Guerlain Rosa Rossa from Jarrolds the other day. (It’s OK, but nothing more.) We have Nivea Soft over here and it’s as cheap as chips. I think lots of people are put off by the fact that it’s made with mineral oil, but you can buy great tubs of the stuff as well as the tubes, and use it anywhere, including the face. I’ve always loved the smell of all Nivea products (German, natürlich), but my favourite is the original, in a blue tin. It’s beautiful.
Have a rose tinted weekend. x
This was such a mood-lifter to read, N. Love those small, everyday details weaving scent into the course of living life. I think I would love Douceur. And roses in December? That would be heaven. We are in cool rain, fog, all bare branches and the world of blooming things asleep for weeks and weeks yet, except for stray rhodos and viburnum, probably much like Solihull.
For some reason, vintage Samsara edt has been the thing I’ve been reaching for lately. Not my thing, and yet at the moment it is just the thing. I love that about scent, and having a deep and wide enough collection to have all that choice, and the decades of experience to know what will scratch a specific itch.
Samsara fulfils a specific need for sure. I haven’t been able to find my bottle – I think I probably gave it away to my mum in the summer – and have had to sniff at Nikos Sculpture instead. Sometimes we just need a full bodied Mediterranean woman.
As for Siam – I think you would be like me. It doesn’t transport you as such, and there is a slightly troubling oudy note underneath, but I was thinking of you actually wearing it one day as it reminded me a bit of the Montale Aoud Damascus we both like, just clearer and rosier. Great as an everyday moodboosting nervestrengthener.