Happy Friday, everybody! I have been AWOL from the land of nail polish for many months, and my renewed obsession with perfume has taken over.
I had been on a bit of a perfume hiatus for about three years, from 2014 to late last year, mainly because I was having kids and wasn’t fussed with scented things at all for that period. Now that the kids are both bigger tots, I’ve revived my interest in perfume.
The kids are loving it, as well. They enjoy testing a scent on their shirtsleeves while I’m browsing the testers in-store; Peanut (who’s now 4 and in kindergarten!) always picks an interesting-looking bottle and claims that it smells the way it looks. So something like Versace Dylan Blue “smells like blueberries!” (No, it doesn’t!) But, by default, everything smells like “Strawberries!” or “Potato juice!” I don’t understand that last one, either. Olive, who is now 2, does a little dab to mimic me sniffing my wrists, even though she’s not wearing any scent.
So, I’ve spent the last nine months or so catching up on all the new department store releases I’ve been able to get my hands on.
I found many new loves in both the designer realm (Love by Chloé, Jean Paul Gaultier Classique Essence de Parfum, Lanvin Me), among the drugstore offerings (Elizabeth Arden Untold Absolu, Jessica Simpson Fancy, Britney Spears Private Show), and in that space between (MAC Créme d’Nude and Velvet Teddy, Aramis Calligraphy Rose). I’ve even discovered a few beauties from decades past (Chanel Cristalle EDP, Chloé Narcisse, Elizabeth Taylor Diamonds & Rubies).
Niche-land, however, is where I’ve yet to explore further. I’ve dabbled a bit (Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille, Etat Libre d’Orange Fils de Dieu, Berdoues Assam of India), but there’s a massive world of niche out there that seems exponentially larger now than it was when I last visited it.