Almost as Good as the Real Thing

Today's weather is not so great - it's already chucking it down with rain outside and it's supposed to do that for pretty much the rest of the day. Waaah.

Before I left for work this morning, I spritzed myself with a couple sprays of sunscreen - obviously not because of the weather but because I really like the scent. It reminds me of sunny days off and since today is the exact opposite of that, I thought it might be a good mood booster...

Nothing fancy, just basic Target brand spray sunscreen, but it works really well and smells amazing.

 ...which got me thinking about fragrances and wondering if anyone out there makes a sunscreen-scented perfume. Surely Demeter or someone else must?

A quick Google search reminded me about CB I Hate Perfume, who makes a fragrance called "At The Beach 1966" and describes it as:

The prime note in this scent is Coppertone 1967 blended with a new accord I created especially for this perfume – North Atlantic. The base of the scent contains a bit of Wet Sand, Seashell, Driftwood and just a hint of Boardwalk. The effect when you wear At The Beach 1966 is as if you've been swimming all day in the ocean.

 Um, yes please.

A couple years ago Amy and I bought a few of their 2ml sample sizes. I got "M4 A Room With A View" -

This perfume captures the scent of the hills above Florence - the vineyards, the wild grass, the finocchio, the hot dusty Florentine earth. And of course a torrent of Violets...

- and it smells exactly like that. It's got some sort of Harry Potter-level scent magic going on, so I can only imagine that the sunscreen-y, beachy smelling one delivers as promised as well. I've got to try it.

signature scents

about a week or so ago, amy and i went to saks fifth avenue in search of a new fragrance for her. when i was in new york a few weeks ago, i tested diptyque's new fragrance, 34 boulevard saint germain, at space nk and i thought it would be a good fit for her.

notes of sparkling blackcurrant, green fig
leaves, fresh rose pepper and citrus,
Egyptian geranium and tuberose, as
well as warm woods with a touch of eucalyptus.

unfortunately, saks didn't have it in stock. we ended up speaking with a sales associate who showed us the by kilian fragrances, and i've kind of fallen in love with them. i'm not even looking for a new fragrance! (i'm still happy with miss dior cherie - it still reminds me of paris). but the packaging is amazing and they're so dramatic and dark and perfect.

my favorite is one called "back to black"

Back to Black is an olfactory trip to Arabia – or perhaps to the exotica-mad 1920s, when Caron gave Tabac Blond to sultry, cigarette-smoking garçonnes. The tobacco accord is slyly evoked through the herbal, faintly animalic scent of chamomile laced with honey; the honey in its turn conjures faintly floral aromas. Throughout its development, Back to Black runs through a palette of subtly gourmand flavors, from ripe, almost fermented raspberry to the dry cocoa powder of patchouli, along with almond and vanilla, without ever veering into tooth-aching sweetness thanks to the bitter, cooling effect of cardamom, coriander, vetiver and moss. It stretches out languorously on the skin for hours, displaying its dark facets, leaving you hungry for more Arabian nights in its amber glow.

when i tested it at the store, the honey scent was so stunning! the saleslady sent us home with samples and when i wore it the other day, it smelled less honey and more powdery on me than anything. hmpf. i'm not giving up on it yet, though. how can i, with a description like It stretches out languorously on the skin for hours,? (!!) that definitely warrants at least one more wear.

we also sampled "sweet redemption" which hadn't been released yet (but is available now):

the innocence of orange blossom... the roughness of the sour orange leaf absolute... the sweetness of the vanilla absolute. The dry down is composed with a strong balsamic, almost religious, accord built around myrrh, incense and benzoin.

those bottles! those descriptions! i love reading them. just think - someone gets paid to sniff perfumes and write those. i want that job.