Let's Talk about Scents

I have a pretty well-developed sense of smell… maybe even over-developed, I’m not sure, because I don’t know how others smell things, obviously. Some scents can send me into The Zone, and others (for instance, frying mushrooms) can make me actually nauseous. So I've always been really choosy about things like perfume. We won't even talk about food smells 🙄

My favorite perfume in the whole world is one I discovered when I was working on contract in Saudi Arabia (another story for another newsletter) back in 1990… yes, I was there for the start of Desert Storm. I’m digressing. ANYWAY! I discovered this one perfume, it was called Amouage; it’s since changed as they added more perfumes to their line, and now it’s Amouage Gold for Women. It’s made in Oman, and combines a multitude of scents. In fact, they have an interesting Our Story page, if you’re curious check it out! Here’s their description of Amouage Gold:

Top Notes: Rose, Lily of the Valley, Frankincense.

Heart Notes: Myrrh, Orris, Jasmine.

Base Notes: Ambergris, Civet, Musk, Cedarwood, Sandalwood.

Amouage is grossly expensive… back then it was, I think, $185; today  it’s $395 for 100 mL. Back then, it was presented in a cut lead crystal square bottle, trimmed with 21k gold plated trim (most gold used in Saudi Arabia and surrounding countries is 21k), and topped with a dome, mosque-like. In fact, I’d wanted/hoped to go visit their Visitor’s Center in Oman, but… then Saddam invaded Kuwait. So, yeah, didn’t happen. But, I did buy one bottle before returning to the US, because, I’d thought about that perfume for months, yearned for it! And finally decided that I absolutely had to have that perfume, just once. About 10 years ago, I thought to look them up on the internet, and wound up getting a second bottle… my last! But I use it very sparingly, and even though that original bottle has run out, it's kept its fragrance and scent layers on the spray top, all these decades. It’s simply amazing. It's also very strong, so the tiniest spray is all that's needed, and the scent will stay, and the layers linger, all day and into the night. And yes, I sprayed some on to luxuriate in the fragrances while I write this!

So here’s where things get weird. There’s a men’s aftershave that I've absolutely loved ever since I was a teenager. It’s called Brut, and I can identify Brut on total strangers, LOL. Seriously. Once I passed a guy on the sidewalk when I was visiting NYC, and got a whiff of Brut, and I did a U-turn right there, midstep, and trailed along after him. I actually took about 5 steps, before I pulled myself together and told myself, WTF are you doing? So I forced myself to turn back around and continue on my way. But I did that. Seriously. I did. Now I have my own small bottle of it that I keep on my nightstand, and on nights when I can't sleep (chronic insomnia and PTSD here), I splash a little on my wrists and I dab some on my pillowcase. The scent makes me feel warm and comforted, and it helps me drift to sleep, soothed and safe.