TOTD: Tamara huffs
Excerpted from a private correspondence, in which the lady Tamara ridicules me for my snail’s-pace process of getting to know new fragrances: Why the hell are you so slow!? I got some more samples today and immediately put on 5 different scents.
If it doesn't move me in the beginning , I kinda lose interest, on to the next! But sometimes it works out that I get intrigued and then pursue it further, like a slow start that can either lead to a B-lister movie or a full-on blockbuster. It depends. I just love to huff my arms and hands I guess.
Or my shirt, my hair. I'm odd.
Do you find yourself resisting that act as you go about your day? I say go for it.
What about you all, dear readers? Do you slowly acquaint yourselves with new samples or try to smell as many as possible as quickly as possible, thrilled at the new sensory input?
CREDITS:
Image from Trautenfels castle ( Styria ). Museum: Naive painting on a farmer´s wardrobe showing lover hurrying to his girl using the snail´s post.
I'm thrilled with good sensory input but if you're trying out new samples that might not be always the case. :) If the first I put on is not thrilling, I lose my momentum.
ReplyDeleteI sound so manic.
ReplyDeleteLike a perfume bully almost- "You like this? NO? Now smell this!" shoving your nose all around.
ha.I prefer to think I'm just enthusiastic. ;)
Right now I'm smelling last night's Champagne de Bois on my neck, Cuir de Lancome on my robe and Vetiver Tonka on my hands.
Yum.
xoxo~ T
I can usually tell within a few minutes if I like it, within an hour if I "get" it and I begin to know what I want to write. I usually wear something new to work, think about it, workout and shower, wear something new, write about A or B before bed. Some perfumes confuse me and I have to wear them twice or 3 times before I can really write.
ReplyDeleteAnd yeah, I huff my wrist all the time, and I try to hide it now that a friend asked to me "Just how many times a day do you do that?"
Wrist huffing? YES. Although if I'm testing something I'm dubious about, I put it on that little web of skin between thumb and forefinger, on the back of my hand, so I can scrub easily if it turns out badly. Bonus: it doesn't look so weird to other people when I'm sniffing that spot. Not that I, um, care.
ReplyDeleteI can't sample multiple things at a time. I don't feel I'm giving enough mental space to each one, especially if I'm going about my day with work to do. Then, too, I never review anything without wearing it at LEAST twice. I try for three wearings before a formal review, but I usually don't bother for my Scent Diary posts. For example: "Testing Rossy de Palma today, a nice greenish rose that goes soapy. This thing is supposed to be a 'dark, bleeding rose.' It's so NOT." A 2-sentence comment doesn't, in my mind, require multiple tests, but a full review does.
I usually wind up testing 3-4 new things a week anyway, even with the slow pace. Which is fine. There's no rush... and if I don't actually *wear* the scents I loved enough to buy, I find that I get snarky.
Well, now...the honest response is, it depends.
ReplyDeleteIf you look early in my blog posts, you'll find one that refers to the advantages of a morning yoga routine...the spot behind your knee is another great "skin spot" for testing scent. So, when I'm in a particularly absorbing mood, I've been known to have 5-6 things on at once, trying to not put anything that will conflict too much with another in too close proximity.
That said, it's been a while since I've been quite SO hungry, so to speak. I wonder if that's a part of my evolution that will disappear permanently, or will come back again on occasion?
Truth be told, I've always had a general preference for spending time with before coming to a conclusion. Kind of like I am with people--you can't be quite sure what has not yet been revealed. :) So, I am reluctant to discuss a scent other than as "initial impressions" until I've been around the block with it a few times. If I'm going to write about it, I will stick with a "quick review" unless I've given it 3 or more rounds. Or something profound happened.
As for huffing, well, sure. Anytime. Easy. I huff others, too; kind of a perfumista behavior marker. (Crud, I used that word "perfumista." Haven't commented on that post of yours, but I struggle with the label, also.)
There are clearly "heavy input desired" phases, and times when I want to focus. And even times when I want--dare I say--no input at all.
So, I cycle. Works for me. Once upon a time, I tried to analyze that for meaning, but now I just leave it under What I Am and move on to other things.
When shopping, I keep on sniffing until I can't distinguish jasmine from patchouli.
ReplyDeleteBut when I own the samples, I spread them out, wearing only one a day, and sometimes letting a sample wait for weeks while I wear from bottles instead. And it often takes me a long long time to decide to actually buy something.
I'm with ChickenFreak. In the stores I spray a lot (always in the same order on wrists and arms so I can remember what I tried), but at home, I try one at a time and live with it during the day, unless it's a scrubber! I'm slowing the time between first test and purchase, as I'm finding that in most cases, I like a scent most the first time a try it and less after that. If it's still good after about 4 wearings, then it can go on the "must have" list. And my DH laughs at me all the time for huffing - but it's part of the fun!
ReplyDelete