Perfume, Portrait, Power

Perfume, Portrait, Power on a Sunday Morning...


O rats, I've been AWOL again.

I have all these little thoughts pinging around in my head but I just can't seem to organize them.

But here are a couple of things that have caught my attention this past week.

THIS video:

I've written about perfume before and how I crave the power of a signature scent. I've pretty well settled into Ce soir ou Jamais.  I am also anxiously awaiting the arrival of Hermès new scent, Galop d'Hermès, out this month.  Who knew roses melted my butter? Certainly not me. Roses bring up visions of little old ladies and floral sofas covered in plastic.   Maybe roses have arrived and thrown off their old person mantle. Or maybe I am just a little old lady now. 

Anyway, this video just leaves me in awe. It's an ad for a perfume I have never experienced but man! I want THIS power from my perfume! If only a spritz  could enable me to shoot lasers from my fingers. If only.

If you can't see the video, click here.

I promise it is worth it. 

And THIS portrait. (Can a picture of a bird really be called a portrait? I guess so.) Isn't he awesome? 

Such a powerful glare.  Not only is it a magnificent photograph, the bird himself has a pretty bad-ass rep. A deathlike stare combined with a machine gun staccato call-all while he EATS baby alligators for lunch! Plus in one of natures little perverse whims, he poops his legs to cool himself down. Power plus eccentricity. A perfect storm? 

Portrait of a Shoebill

Sorry, I don't know who to credit this photo to....

So I guess the theme of last week was power. And I was attracted to it. Because both of these things are power full. 

Until I get my brain coordinated...hugs and kisses and machine gun noises.

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Also, Happy Labor Day holiday to all and many thanks to the people that do the jobs that most of us wouldn't want to. The jobs we don't aspire to. But also the jobs that need to be done. Thanks to the janitors, the trash men, plumbers, (Where would we be without plumbers? Knee deep in crap, I tell you) dishwashers and busboys. Thank one of them this week. 

Follow Up Friday: Smells like Teen Spirit?

Follow Up Friday:Smells like Teen Spirit?

O dear.

Yesterday's post had to do with No. 36: Find a Signature Scent.

Then this morning, thanks to the blog Life in the Boomer Lane, I was alerted to a study in the American Journal of Political Science.   The official title is "Assortive Mating Ideology Could Operate through Olfactory Clues".   (Huh?)

Basically a study was done that exposed people to the body odor of either "strong conservatives" or  "strong liberals".  People tended to love the smell of those that had the same political ideologies. And they were leery of those whose political beliefs did not jibe with their own.

Apparently this is not such a groundbreaking study after all.

Way back when:

Bizarre matchmaking: The article from a 1924 edition of Science and Invention magazine recommends smelling your partner's scent via a hosepipe attached to a capsule they are inside. If the smell isn't 'too objectionable', you're a perfect match!

So by choosing Ce Soir ou Jamais as my perfume, am I attracting someone like minded? Repelling people whom I might otherwise have a great deal in common? Attracting political crazies? Maybe this perfume has something to do with my recent neighborly interactions?

I may be meddling with biology here!  Consider the consequences. 

That perfume I wore back in the 80s? Is that why I am married to the person that I am married to? 

Yikes! I don't even remember what perfume I wore. I no longer wear it because I no longer like it. What are the implications? 

Could we alter someone's opinion of us just by switching fragrances? 

Maybe I should give up a signature perfume and find an assortment that I can wear depending on the occasion. 

What would a right wing conservative perfume be? 

And the "let's go smoke a few then tie dye some t shirts" perfume? 

Wonder what cologne Hitler wore? Ahh...according to this, he refused to wear cologne. Was that so his true political ideas could shine through? 

My mind is boggled. 

No. 36: Find a Signature Fragrance or Two

No. 36: Find a Signature Fragrance


Wow! This one was hard.

But I think I have it nailed.

I wrote about my reasons why I wanted a signature fragrance here.

It's about power as much as smelling lovely.


I tried a few for a while. Some I liked enough to hang onto the idea of at least.

CK One- very gender neutral and fresh and summery. Light.
Ralph Lauren's Romance.  I got good reviews on this one. People frequently told me I smelled good.
But after a bit, I tired of it.
I still have a thing for Jean Naté powder in the summer.

But the winner is Annick Goutal's Ce Soir Ou Jamais. It means "Tonight or Never" in French.  Right there, the name is the perfect reason to wear it.  Don't you love the idea? Tonight or never....the possibilities.

Ce Soir ou Jamais

It should have a ribbon and label but I've lost those in use. 

And it's odd. Tea rose based. Not a scent I ever thought I would take to. But I love it. There is something else there, also, but what? I don't know.

I've been wearing it all summer and can see it holding up just as easily in the cold weather. Maybe even better.

But the clincher?  After walking out of the post office one morning, my great mail lady dashed out behind me.
"Nancie, what perfume is that? It reminds me of a day at the beach."

A day at the beach? Sign me up!  
A scent that will make someone run out of a building to inquire about?
Again, sign me up.


I still want to visit the custom perfumer.

But for now. Ce Soir ou Jamais.

Numèro 36 est fait.