Haunted by perfume

The other day there was a post of Victoria’s on Bois de Jasmin which got me thinking.

I realized that I can’t smell perfumes consciously while at work, trying to work out notes for a review for example, as I just can’t focus on that many things. And in the evenings, I’m usually tired so it’s much slower and not as efficient.

As it was Corpus Christi day on Thursday, this being a holiday in Croatia, I took Friday off in order to get some sleep and rest.

It seems my subconscious mind thinks I had quite enough rest, as wherever I go, I smell traces of perfume. That shouldn’t be so surprising as I have samples and decants lying everywhere and I decant perfumes in the house, but I never actually had traces of perfumes come at me unexpectedly as I was reading or just doing chores around the house. Especially as I haven’t done any sampling or decanting recently.

But these days, it seems wherever I turn, some perfume is teasing my nose. I guess being home and rested did its thing – my mind seems ready to smell again and more. Because if I am catching those wafts from forgotten drops of perfume (anyone who did some decanting knows you usually end up with perfume not only being in the bottle), when on most days I usually don’t, it must mean my mind needs the fragrant stimulation (possibly that my nose is getting a bit better too?).

It also makes me smile more often – as perfume always does.

All I need to do now is find a way to stimulate my mind into writing down what it perceives…

Especially if the hauntings continue. 😉

Tagged: I've been thinking, perfume, perfume thoughts

12 thoughts on “Haunted by perfume”

Suzanne June 1, 2013 at 20:11 Reply

Rest helps everything. I think a good many bloggers deserve medals simply for managing to write while working their main jobs outside the home. So pat yourself on the back, Ines – I’m not sure I would be blogging about perfumes at all if I was still working some of my old jobs, especially the ones in fundraising, which required so much writing to begin with and countless meetings.

What kinds of scents are you wearing lately, btw?

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Ines June 2, 2013 at 12:21 Reply

Thank you Suzanne, that made me feel better. 🙂
As for my scents lately, it’s been a bit difficult. I was all prepared to enjoy summer perfumes and then the weather turned cold (quite for this time of year) so I’m a bit lost. Si Lolita, Santal Blanc, David Yurman (I have to write about that one), Mahora – those come to mind as most recent.

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Beautiful Things June 1, 2013 at 22:15 Reply

How interesting!

It’s fascinating how the mind works. Some years ago I got talking to a woman in a bar & immediately I started remembering a family holiday. It was most odd. It was only a day or two later that I realised why I’d been thinking about the holiday when I was talking to her. In the airport on the way to the holiday I’d bought a can of deodorant which I’d used throughout the holiday. She’d been wearing the same deodorant! The memory of it had lain buried in my subconscious all that time.

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Ines June 2, 2013 at 12:23 Reply

Unbelieveable! I mean, I know it can happen but how incredible to actually read a first hand experience of it. 🙂
I noticed in my case, my subsconsiousness usually picks up sunscreen smells as those transporting me back to my childhood past. 🙂

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laniersmith June 2, 2013 at 01:54 Reply

I find the key to writing for me is to grab a feeling or emotion from the perfume and listen to it for a few days. To percolate like coffee and then when I get the key. A mental picture or a place or face I sit down and a sentence and that usually opens the door to the rest of the review.

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Ines June 2, 2013 at 12:24 Reply

Lanier, that’s what I usually do – wait for the inspiration to strike but sometimes that takes a rather long time. 🙂
I would like to try and be more diligent, like Gaia, who recently wrote about how she made it a daily obligation and sticks to it. I’d be happy with 3-4 days of the week.

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James Dennard June 2, 2013 at 02:53 Reply

Glad you had a chance to rest, Ines. I find that when I don’t wear a fragrance for a couple of days, this helps me notice more natural scents as well as other people’s fragrances. I guess my nose needs regular rest 🙂

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