From Donuts to Delirium

If you are familiar with my blog, you may recall that I sometimes write posts which I categorize as “Cake & Culture.” Well my pets, here’s a new segment I’ve started up: Beauty & Bon Bons. These posts will revolve around some kind of beauty aspect and end with a delectable little morsel. The following post, How to Wear Perfume, is my first in this series. Hope you like it!!

“What do I wear in bed? Why, Chanel No. 5.”– Marilyn Monroe

I have to admit, I am not much of a perfume wearer. I have a few bottles, but I don’t actually wear them. Usually when I do buy a perfume, it has something to do with the pretty packaging or an awesome free gift (I am a sucker for those free gifts). But perfume itself, it just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe it is because my mom didn’t wear much of it (though she too is a sucker for the pretty bottles and the free gifts), but I just never grew up with an appreciation. Most of my memories of perfume have to do with being in my grandmother’s (who also doesn’t wear perfume) building  and  being trapped with old ladies in the elevator who were just absolutely doused in the stuff. As a little girl I have memories of holding my breath, waiting for the elevator doors to open and let the fresh air in. So mostly, perfume makes me think of old ladies and feeling ever so slightly claustrophobic. Not the best association, is it? Scent and memory, however, have an intrinsic connection. This is something I learned when I recently went to a talk at the Victoria & Albert Museum given by Roja Dove.

Who is Roja Dove? Someone pretty fabulous, I’d have to say. He is a perfumer, an expert on the history of perfume, an author, and a charismatic and engaging teacher. It was such a pleasure to attend his class and learn a little something about a subject which has always been a bit of a mystery to me. The subject, however, was incredibly vast. I have a feeling that in those couple of hours we had only just begun to scratch (and sniff LOL) the surface of the topic of scent. I did, however, learn some interesting tips which I thought I’d pass on to you:

*When you first try a perfume, the scent you start off with, is NOT the scent you end up with. In fact, they may differ enormously. Upon first spray, the scent a perfume gives off are citrus notes. This layer of fragrance evaporates into the air, and about a half hour later, the scent you end up with, may have little to do with that initial spray. So, what I’ve learned is it is ridiculous to buy a perfume after a girl behind the counter sprays a bit on your wrist. No matter how fab the freebie daaaaahlings, you have to walk away and  see what the perfume is like a bit later. That is the true and lasting scent of the perfume.

*Perfume is NOT meant to be sprayed on the neck and/or decolletage! Perfume should be sprayed in areas where your body secretes oils. Roja Dove made an excellent point: why would you spray an alcohol based perfume on a such a sensitive, delicate patch of skin? That is exactly what that skin DOESN’T need. As the years go by, that skin goes crepe-y and wrinkly all by itself, there is no need for us to speed up that process by adding drying alcohols onto it, right? Besides that, in order for the scent to “stick” to us, the oils in the perfume need to react with the oils from our bodies.  Those are not oil producing areas. Dove recommended a great place to spray scent is in the dips of our clavicles. This way, when you move your head, you have the pleasure of enjoying your own perfume.

*If you want to feel sexy, and make others “see” you as sexy, wear perfumes which use a lot of white flowers, such as jasmine (the queen of the white flowers). White flowers contain large traces of a chemical called indole, which the subconscious finds very “animal.” Our primitive limbic systems associate indole with sex and sexuality, but when in great quantity, it can also be very off-putting. If you want to appear more demure, then opt for perfumes which rely more heavily on roses. I wonder if this is where the idea of the demure “English rose” comes from. Talk about flower power eh? Hmmm… I think I’m going to go with the white flowers daaaahlings, you see, housewife needs a new pair of shoes…

*Be a tester snob. You know those little white sticks of paper that the perfume girl sprays the perfume on? Well, that tester (known as a “blotter” in the perfume industry) can tell us a lot about the perfume. Often, perfume houses tart up their testers with colours or pretty designs. These are not serious perfumers. Any couloured testers are infused with inks which will distort the fragrance. If your testers make a little watermark when sprayed with perfume, that means the “glue” that holds the fibres of the tester paper together, have broken down. Those would be cheap and poorly made testers. You are not going to smell the true scent, but the degenerating glue mingled with the perfume. Perfume houses that take their perfume seriously will have serious testers.

*Perfumes prices can range drastically, but the most expensive perfume you will ever buy, are the ones that you don’t wear! Such a good lesson.

Now for the bon bon section of this post, first we need to define: what is a bon bon exactly? Well, according to Wikipedia, it “refers to any of several types of sweets, especially small candies enrobed in chocolate.” It is a must have in every woman’s beauty arsenal. Why? Because when you feel good, you look good, and we all know that chocolate covered treats are redolent with the feel good factor, no?

Last week I was in Selfridges and I came across these little curiosities. They are called Bouchees (meaning “mousse”) and are made by a company called Cote d’Or. I’ve never seen these before, so I thought I’d give them a try. They are little elephant shaped candies covered in milk chocolate with a ganache of hazelnut, almond and cashew praline. And hey, isn’t it fun when candies are shaped like little people or animals? I love pretending I am biting the head off something . My verdict after maiming that poor little elephant? Off with his head!!!

Mr Elephant was tasty, but if I had to score him, I’d only give him a 7/10. For something referred to as a mousse, I was expecting something a little more soft and velvety on the inside, but I found the ganache to be quite solid. For that reason, it didn’t really live up to my expectations. I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy another, but that being said, I wouldn’t say no if I was offered some more .  Have you ever had one of these, if yes, what did you think?

Speaking of yummy chocolates, don’t forget, Steve from Weird Combinations and I are making truffles and we would love to have you join in the fun. We are going to post our delicious creations on May 30th. If you want to make truffles with us, email me so I can fill you in on the details.

So… do you wear perfume on a regular basis, and if yes, do you have a signature scent or favourite perfume?