Scents

Thanks to August, the drippingest, sweatiest, holy-hottest month of the year here in sunny Washington, my perfume is not going the distance. In fact, after walking the first two blocks to work each morning, I notice that it has faded into obscurity (much like Ian Ziering's career. Seriously, where'd he go?).

I love my perfume. It's been my scent of choice for several years - my signature, if you will. Like my one dainty necklace and two rings, I wear it every day. I am simple and that's okay, dammit!

But I like the scent, and I like it to last longer than five seconds, so I've shelved it for a while - at least until I stop sweating like a bandit every time I go outside. As an experiment, I wore CK One this weekend. A little 'high school,' I know, but I love it. Thing is-- it was pretty strong. I don't want to smell like Macy's, I just want an idea that the scent was once there.

This morning, after a horrible night's sleep (the only excuse I have at this point), I spritzed on Clinique Simply, a small sample size from the brand's last bonus sale.

Ugh.

Within seconds, I realized my mistake. It smelled so much, well... simpler in the bottle. I tried to wipe it off before leaving for work, but it was too potent. Plus, I think it's in my hair. And now I am sitting here with a headache because apparently I am MY MOTHER.

The Lady has worn Chanel No. 5 for as long as I remember, and has only recently tried new scents. (Personally, I don't think that any smell as nice as Chanel, at least on her, but that's just my opinion.) She has a very refined sense of smell (nasal palate?), and pretty much hated each and every perfume/cologne that my brother or I would wear.

I never understood how she could get a headache from Steven's Drakkar (talk about high school!) or my Polo Sport (ugh. I can't believe that I liked it, either!), or from whatever gum we were chewing at the time. Really.

But now? I am the same. I can't stand it when my roommate burns incense (the headache is evil and immediate), I get sick to my stomach if I use the wrong clothing detergent, and the wrong perfume can ruin my day.

Of course, it could be worse. My poor friend Emily gets migraines from even the idea of certain foods. So I shall stop complaining.

I would like to discover a new scent, however. While I am extremely loyal to my perfumes, I wouldn't mind trying something new. After much caution, however. One can only have so many headaches before throwing bottles of perfume into the Potomac.