A place where summer still lives...

This weekend I went to Split to attend a friend's wedding.

As I went there with my girlfriends, of course I had the best of times. I was also lucky enough to enjoy a couple of days of summer as Split is located on the Adriatic coast, south enough to still enjoy warm days when the temperatures are over 20 degrees Celsius and the sea is as well (around 22).

Of course I took a swim while I was there - I can't believe I could actually enjoy a swim in the middle of October and that the sea and air were warm enough for it to be an enjoyable experience. :) (actually, it was rather hot in the sun)

Here are some of the photos I took:

Split Riva

 

View from Kaštel Stari

 

View from Kaštel Stari

From the beach

I'm back in Zagreb and even if I wasn't aware the summer is long gone here (the cold is a good sign), my morning choices of what perfume to apply would be a good indication - vanillas are somehow on the top of the pile. :)

I didn't disappear, I'm here and I smell great

(at least I believe I do). ;)

It's been a hectic few weeks and there are still some things I need to finish before I can say I finally closed several of my projects (some extremely long-term).
But the greater part of work is done and the things I have left to do are those that will bring me a feeling of strength, inner peace and fulfillment.

Before the race

Most if it will become apparent if I'm successful at it, after the next weekend when for the first time in my life I plan to run the half-marathon in Zagreb.
What worries me about that is that the last two weeks, due to many obligations I had (from the beginning sentence) stopped me from attending the trainings regularly. Out trainer told me that I shouldn't worry, we did run 20km once already, just to take it slowly - I mean, I will not be racing anyone, I'm a complete beginner and for me the biggest success is actually finishing. But, still, I worry.

Well, you'll know soon enough how well I did as I plan letting everyone know about the enthusiasm I will feel after running for so long (here we're talking about more than 2 hours as I'm a really slow runner). :)
And I know there will be enthusiasm as that is exactly what I felt after running 20km for the first time and how I felt after finishing my first ever race of 12,4 km - the photos are from that day.

To get back to smelling great. :)
I attended an ISO education this whole week and as I was around new people in a relatively small room, I took more care than usual to what I was going to apply.


Just before the finish line

I can say that Cruel Gardenia always works for me as a great choice when around people in a work setting. It has a mellowness to it that makes anyone who comes close to you consider you less serious than you might appear.
As I was told by one of the attendees on the last day, I completely changed everyone's initial thoughts about me being very strict and serious and looking like I'm going to only work and not have any fun at it.
So, in cases like that, a mellow perfume that is so easily liked seems like a good strategy.
The other perfume of my strategy was Iris Nobile by Acqua di Parma. Similar in the effect as Cruel Gardenia, only iris based.
I'm still wondering how different people perceive me from how I think of myself.

And as the nights are getting colder and colder, I'm finally again wearing Shalimar to bed. :)



P.S. I firmly believe the camere used for taking some of these photos adds weight. ;)

Thriving niche sub-culture in Zagreb

And I wasn't even aware of it until now! :)

I mean, I knew there must be people in Croatia who loved niche perfume as there are 3 perfumeries in Zagreb carrying niche perfumes but I never met those people who shop there and love those perfumes.
Until now.

As I'm not really a strong character, saving money is not something I am good at. Or at all. So, after spending way too much money on perfume in the last 3 months (I can't even bear to count how many bottles I acquired during that time), I figured it was time to get some of it back.

Therefore, I decided to sell off some decants from my bottles as there is no way I can possibly use up all of them, and I listed them on a Croatian forum.

What can I say?! I learned there are people here who can't wait to get their hands on some of the things I have. :) Which is a sentiment I can relate to.

Not to mention that they have some things I'd love to have so I predict some swapping in the cards as well.

Perfumes forever!



P.S. We really should come up with a good catch-phrase or a slogan for our fragrant community. ;)

I breathe in.... and relax

I've probably said this many times in my posts but I can't help being surprised again and again when it happens.

The feeling comes upon you at the strangest times, you breathe, you realize there is a smell in the air you would like to smell better, you breathe it in more fully and then you feel your body relax. The stress sort of siphons out of your body and you smile without meaning to.

It can happen anywhere and with any kind of smell (well, a pleasant one).
Breathing in the smell of freshly baked bread, sensing the seasons in the air, a new perfume discovery that not only makes you let go of all your stress but also sends pleasant shivers down your spine, the lingering perfume of a passerby, the freshly cut fruit and vegetables (especially at this time of year) and grass any time of year, in my case also snow, the freshly washed smell of shampoo in the hair....

The list goes on and on, but the important thing for me is that there is no other sense that I can use which will enable me to relax in the space of one breath.

I just wish I could utilize this consciously. :)

How I manage to forget this, I have no idea

I guess it comes down to this: I don't sample (test) any of the perfumes I have and then, a couple of days goes by, life takes all my energy and I have no more left to use for testing a sample (in order to write about it).

So, after several days pass in such a manner and the only perfume I smell is the one I apply in the morning and then forget about, it somehow slips my mind and I forget how much perfumes help with easing one's (stressed) mind.
And that is exactly what they do for me. No matter how much I like them or not, the fact is, when I smell a perfume, I can feel my mind easing off the stress and my body relaxing.
I wish I would remember for future stressful times that I don't need to apply perfume in order to write about it, I could just apply different things to my arm in order to get lost for a bit in this beautiful universe.

Although, honestly, I'm not that surprised that perfumes are the last thing on my mind (for testing and writing purposes) - so far, this has been a very difficult year, for me mostly because of the workload, but also full of bad news not applied to me directly, but hitting very close.

Perfumes and books (and now running) help me deal with all of this, I just wish I wouldn't keep forgetting how big a role perfume actually has in helping with stress.

Oh well, hopefully now I've put it down in writing, I won't forget it soon. :)

Random perfume (and other) thoughts

These are the things that don't require a post of their own but that keep going through my head lately:

• After falling in love with Chypre Palatin, I cannot but think about Denyse's book The Perfume Lover and what she mentions there of her talks with Bertrand Duchafour - that he would do so many different and strange perfumes but has no financial backing for them (I now wish Mr. Duchafour could win lottery so he can create whatever he pleases and of course make it available)
• And speaking of Mr. Duchafour and Denyse, I really want a bottle of Séville à l’Aube

• I'm looking forward to reading Alyssa Harrad's book, Coming to my Senses, I haven't read any of the reviews as to not influence mine
• Then again, I am looking forward to reading many books once my vacation starts (just 2 more weeks to go!) :)
• While I'm on the subject of books, there is way too much of them I want to read and not enough time in my life to do it

• Speaking of reviews, it's a minefield out there in the perfume community if you want to review a perfume that just came out, and you were lucky to receive a sample, but don't want to be influenced by what other reviewers wrote (especially if you're slow like me)
• I'm still amazed by the perfume synchronicity happening - a perfume seems to find its way to you at the right moment when you need something exactly like that (latest case, Mito)
• Hopefully, with my vacation nearing, I'll be able to write more perfume reviews as there are many perfumes I'd like to talk about (Chypre Palatin being on top of the list)

• I also need to read my posts before I publish them because when I get to them later, I find really stupid mistakes I made while writing them

• They might tell you (they being your trainers) that it's not easy to lose weight while running, but everyone else will think you did - you might lose a little bit but the rest gets re-arranged so everyone will think you actually lost quite a bit (I'm not going to talk about rising energy levels now which you get too)
• While I'm on the subject of running, as with everything else in my life, I am slow but I get there in the end - you just need to let me do it in my own rhythm

OK, I'm off to finish the book I'm reading at the moment (re-reading Kresley Cole's Lothaire).

The fragrant air in Zagreb

I must say, I don't remember ever so vividly smelling and remembering the period when the linden trees were blooming in Zagreb.

And I'm only just becoming aware of the fact, that along the chestnuts, those must the most common trees around Zagreb. Because when you're walking (or being driven on a motorcycle) you pass through these wonderful linden-smelling parts of the city.
Each time that happens, I try and inhale as much of the scent as I can, it is just so full of memories for me.

So, is it just me or does linden smell a bit wistful to you?
It is quite possible that is just my state of mind...

Stuck in perfume limbo

I'm blaming it on the weather (and possibly fatigue and stress, but mainly weather).

The spring started here even before the calendar said so, and then went back-tracking into something resembling more autumn and now  we're finally getting the sun and warmth, and now we're hitting almost summer temperatures which is coming as quite a shock to many people (the instant rise from cold into summer).

I had started contemplating spring perfumes sometime in March when the spring first showed its face and then I got stuck, as the temperatures fell and I needed to wear my coat again in order to feel warm enough.

So now it's very warm, I've skipped my spring perfumes and I'm at a loss what to apply each day (like I've been for the last month and a half).
I've sort of lost my perfume (wearing) thread.

Not to mention the fact that most of my summer perfumes are hidden somewhere in the depths of my closet ...

If not sooner, I'm hoping the next trip to Paris will deal with my perfume limbo. After all, Paris helps with any problems you might have. ;)

I've been thinking

As the title says, I've been thinking about discontinued perfumes all day today, prompted by Birgit's find of a perfume shop with vintage treasures.

My mind went mostly the way of discontinued Guerlains but it could be applicable to any company still in existence and producing perfumes.

The way I figure it, it all revolves around money and economy. Economy being the operative word here. One I hate sincerely. Because you cannot possibly convince me it's in my best interest to follow economic principles that can't be understood through common sense (which is most today). And honestly, the banking and economic systems in effect today seem very far away from common sense to me. That especially includes banks. Basically, any institution that makes you pay for the mess they made of the world we live in today.

Ok, I'll stop with the rant - this really is about perfume. :)

So, I was thinking, most discontinued perfumes went that way because of lack of sales (making enough money as the company deems profitable). I say most, I'm aware some can no longer be produced due to unavailable ingredients.
But basically, the perfume goes into alcohol so you don't need that much of the original formula to make several hundred bottles.

What I've been thinking is, many discontinued perfumes have fans that would love to get access to bottles of their favourite perfumes.
So, why not make smaller batches of those perfumes and  not place them into boutiques but make them available at order? You wouldn't need to ship them to boutiques and basically, only hardcore fans would buy them straight from your headquarters. I'm pretty sure you could even put those in simple bottles, just as long as fans would get the juice they wanted.

And I believe even eBay wouldn't be a problem because anyone could order a bottle for themselves and those that went on eBay would mean that the seller would have to go below the original price, otherwise anyone could get a bottle for the usual price from the company. So, I don't think many of those bottles would appear on ebay.

Basically, this sounds sensible to me (bear in mind I have no economic knowledge).

What do you think? Are there huge holes in my idea I can't see?

Hoarding

Sometimes the most unexpected things occur to me.
Although, I probably shouldn't call them unexpected. It's just the fact that they haven't occurred before that makes them unexpected but then again, every idea anyone has could be called that. :)

Basically, I realized I hoard my samples and decants.

Especially decants.
They are rather small to begin with (compared to bottles) and are either 5 or 10 ml of perfumes I like, and would like to know better (so I can review them).
But that same size makes them rather fleeting, when compared to bottles, so I'm scared of using them, in order not to use them up before I get the chance to write about them.
I realize it's rather stupid, because if I wore them, I'd have a better chance of actually talking about them than now, when I'm hesitating of wearing them in order not to use all of what I have.

That is also why this winter I've been rotating 5 bottles I have in order not to spend any of the decants I have. Which I guess contributes to the winter blues I'm experiencing, but hopefully, now I'm aware of my perfume hoarding tendencies, I'll be able to combat them with spraying decants with abandon. :)
After all, they are a legion. :)

Does this happen to anyone else?

Being careful around SL perfumes

It hit me this morning when applying Rousse.

It's not only Fleurs d'Oranger you need to take care when you decide to apply, as Birgit  explained the other day.
Many Serge Lutens perfumes are mischievous, not exactly beasts, but creatures they could be. Everything is working fine until one day you put the perfume on, and it smells off. I'm pretty sure this has happened to many of you but the only perfume house which perfumes do this to me is Serge Lutens.

I will have to employ some investigative methods  to discover why exactly does that happen but I think I know.

*psssst*

I believe they know when you are applying them without being sure it's the right perfume for that day as you're thinking, today this might work.
They know...

That is what happened to me today.
And that has also happened with Fleurs d'Oranger, and Cedre, once with Serge Noire, Fille en Aiguilles and Boxeuses (I'm pretty sure it will happen with some others I decide to wear without being sure it's their perfectly right time).

I tell you - they know your heart wasn't in it when you sprayed it. And they take revenge.

The sweet smell of fall...

This year, autumn has taken its sweet time in arriving. :)

Practically, until week ago, we've been having summer days - I think that was the longest I remember of having such sunny, warm days.
This September in Zagreb was the warmest since the start of measuring temperatures (some 150 years ago), so I guess that tells you a lot.

I'm not one to enjoy the summer heat, but the warm, balmy days we had, suited me fine. The only problem was that my fall/winter perfume collection kept beckoning, and I kept giving it a wide berth. The time to wear it just wasn't right.

Well, now it is. :)

My collection got turned around so that the perfumes that warm me up are now close at hand, and those that cool me off, are having a vacation.

I also noticed that my mood for perfume these days leans toward the more masculine of the warm genre. Dry, herbal patchoulis, dry woods, sniping orientals.
I guess you might say I'm not in a mellow mood these days... ;)

(which is mainly caused by work and me finally starting to learn to stand up for myself - I hope...)


Pic is mine - the Versailles gardens. :)

Your favourite perfume moment(s)?

I'm finally reading Essence of Perfume by Roja Dove and can't help but ponder the subject.
Not that I don't ponder perfumes as a subject regularly. ;)

But at one point, it hit me.

I have a favourite perfume memory!

It was the moment I smelled Shalimar and fell in love (that wasn't even close to my first try).
Closely followed when the same thing happened with Vent Vert and Chanel 19.

Do you have a favourite perfume moment? More than one?

Some of my thoughts for the freshly anointed (a.k.a budding perfumistas)

There's been a lot of posts written about advice for budding perfumistas, so this is not advice, these are the things I learned in the process of becoming one. :)

1. Once you start calling yourself a perfumista (perfume lover, perfume geek, however you want to call yourself), IT'S FOR LIFE. There is just no way you are going to go back to that time in the past when your nose could distinguish only the most common things. And dismiss them in the next instant.

2. However do you start, ordering an army of samples and getting lost in their perfumed sillage or taking time with one by one, it will still take a couple of years of constant smelling for your nose to learn enough so you can finally smell and name the nuances.

Take your time, the journey is lovely and fragrant.

3. After learning this works for me, I actually read it on one of the perfume blogs as proven fact. Nowadays, when I smell anything, I breathe in several quick breaths instead of one long one. Pretty much like a dog sniffing out something. :) Works much better.

4. Once the fragrant world opens its doors and lets you in, you will be joyfully smelling everything in your path as you probably won't be familiar with the smell of so many things you live surrounded with. And you will start cataloguing them in your mind.

5. Your sense of smell will improve and you'll be able to detect whiffs of things people around you won't be able to smell.

6. Don't got for naturals if you haven't had previous experience with essential oils and are unfamiliar with the way they smell. Naturals are a perfume category for itself.

7. Pretty much the same goes for vintage. It takes time to understand and like perfumes from days past. But you will. :)

8. The perfume community is full of the most lovely people you are ever going to virtually meet (and some of them you might actually meet in real life). Finding beauty in such an ethereal thing like perfume is not something many people actually appreciate and my thoughts run in the vein of perfume people being positive and optimistic to find and actively search for beauty in those little wispy whiffs.

9. Frustration with mainstream will abound. But sometimes, a gem will be found among those shelves of synthetic fruity-florals (or whatever the current vogue).

10. At one point, you will be sure samples procreate and have children of their own. Beacuse they will take over every free space you have (and those that aren't free, too).

11. Don't worry if at one point you lose all enthusiasm for smelling and you feel you'll never get it back. It happens. It also never lasts long. :)

12. Thanks to Undina who reminded me - NEVER SAY NEVER. :) You might think you don't like a perfume family or a single note, but it's just a question of discovering the right perfume that will open the door into the previously forbidden smelly teritorry (you just wait and see). :)


P.S. I plan on updating the list when something new occurs to me.

Thinking about perfume

That's what's been on my mind lately. Perfume thoughts of all kind.

The fact that your traveling friends can bring wonders from around the world without you having any shipping costs. The fact that it still costs a pretty penny getting a bottle from Paris (because the same bottle costs a pretty penny).

Also, have you noticed how at all times if you take care to follow these things (and even if you don't), there are numerous possibilities of acquiring perfume for less money than what's in stores? For one, I always seem to stumble upon Carol's Niche boutique sales (like the blizzard one yesterday). So close after my Paris bottles is really not something I though I'd be doing, but I just couldn't skip it. And besides, I've been happy about it ever since.

One thing I learned about scents is, the more you let go, the more happiness they bring. Josephine from Notes from Josephine had  a recent post about awfulness of January which I seem to be feeling as well. The only thing sure to make me smile is perfume (and pilates and zumba but they do not happen as often).
And then I came to a sudden realization after smelling one Roja Dove perfume and all the outlaws. The more you let go of your conscious mind in trying to register what you're smelling, the more the universe of that perfume opens up to you.

First time I smelled the Roja Dove Unspoken, I now realize I was prejudiced by the swapper's opinion (she said it wasn't his best and didn't really like it). Today, I wanted to smell anything, just to let my mind wander around it and I let go. And I stepped into the universe of Unspoken. I do realize that this cannot happen with every perfume one tries, some of them don't even have a house to let you in, let alone a universe. But Unspoken does. And all of the Outlaws do. It might not be the universe the appeals to you but it's still a universe.

Now I've written this, it feels like I might be exaggerating. But when I say a universe, I mean a world of its own, and universe just sound better (and looks better in my opionion). :)

I do want to talk about perfumes I've been smelling (and the rest of Outlaws) but for some reason, I can't. I can talk about perfume generally but each time I sit down to write a review, it doesn't feel right.
I know it will soon but at the moment I seem to be enjoying perfumes privately.


Pics by: http://www.apod.nasa.gov/ and grand_universe_by_antifan_real

Perfume thoughts

Hopefully, this post brings an end to my post draught lately.
My mind is just scattered all over the place and I have some serious trouble both concentrating on any type of mental work or remembering things I'm supposed to do (I'm writing all sorts of notes these days in order to remember to do everything).

I saw on some other blogs that the autumn perfume picks started appearing. I wish I could do one as well, but as with my mind, my nose is all over the place and I'm still not in an autumnal frame of mind completely (even though the weather is, for over a month now).

I have no problem getting into summer or winter perfume frame of mind, but both spring an autumn sneak up on me and I'm left wondering what is appropriate and it's a hit and miss kind of wondering.

In my mind, it's like this: Is autumn appropriate time to start with all those warm winter scents I have or am I supposed to ease my way into some seriously warm orientals and woods with something less heavy? And what exactly is less heavy? Which then leads me to thinking I might need to buy something more autumn-like even though I'm still not sure what would that be.

So, these days, I'm easing my way into autumn with some ambers (which seems a good color choice for autumn) and some patchoulis, but those that are more dry and earthy so I can still warm them up before it gets too cold.

Yesterday I also realized what a labyrinth of choices the perfume world presents and I still get lost in it regularly. To give you an example.

I've read wonderful reviews of Fendi Theorema all over the blogs and I got a sample of it last winter. I tried it then  and I liked it very much and contemplated the need of a bottle.
So, yesterday, in my autumnal review of which scents are appropriate and which aren't, I put Theorema on one arm and another oriental (which is coming up for review quite soon) on another. And it started in Theorema's favour but it didn't last long.  I finally understood that other oriental and why it got some serious love and even though I wouldn't mind wearing Theorema if someone gave me a bottle since it is perfectly nice and easy to wear and just feels right, but in comparison to the other one, it will never bring forth some serious feelings from me.
And there are enough perfumes out there which are going to make me feel strong about them so I decided not to buy any of those that don't do that anymore.

We'll just have to wait and see if I actually manage that. :)

Drunk on perfume

I finally realized what happens to me when I'm in a niche perfume store. I get drunk. And I mean seriously tipsy by all the fumes wafting around while I'm trying perfumes even when I temper it with coffee (like in real life, coffee helps a bit when you're drunk).

I couldn't resist anymore so I went to Victor Koncept for some serious perfume sniffa-tour. And that's exactly what I did. So, of course I overdoses and got extremely giddy and forgot some of the things they told me so I asked twice. Like for example, when is the rest of PG line coming (end of this week) which is bad. Really bad. Because I tried their tuberose and patchouli and I seriously like them (and they weren't even on the top of my PG list to try! So, I'm thinking, tuberose is not for this time of year, and I have enough patchoulis so I can test the rest next week without problems. Because I have high hopes for some other stuff coming in. But their patchouli is so great. It's a dark chocolate patchouli, deep and warm and if not black, then very close to it.

I also managed to try Byredo Palermo - a must try more before next summer. It's a different take on summer cologne/citrusy stuff and that is what I like (bitter orange or something like that got me). Baudelaire is also one I'll try again. I like the Tulipe but it's not for me.
After reading some nice things about Penhaligon's Bluebell, I finally tried it. :) I can see what might make people like it - it's bottled sprimg meadow. I'll see in the spring if we are going to it hit it off.

This time around, I took enough time and didn't have to rush so I got some samples to try as well. Yeey! That is also how I got drunk on perfume. :) But I don't mind.
I mean, I was a bit light-headed when going home and couldn't stop smiling due to giddiness but I really deserved a trip there. It's been six months since my last time. Unfortunately, it's not going to be that much until my next visit.

Do you want to know what I bought?

After discovering just last week I love amber, L'Eau d'Ambre by L'Artisan came home with me.
Along with - Molecule 02. Yes, I'm very susceptible - I'm sure everyone saw the Luckyscent 5 sexiest perfume choices clip. And, honestly, I tried it before and just couldn't understand (again!) what the fuss is about. It turns out that the tester is not what's in the bottle and the stuff only works correctly when sprayed on skin and not on paper strip. So, I bought it unsniffed basically but I'm checking the effect as soon as tomorrow. :)

P.S. I was surprised at how many people were at Viktor Koncept, usually when I go, I'm the only one. Also, I really had the time of my life and didn't want to leave, everyone was very friendly and we discussed so many things (they again let me try something they only received to try and still don't have at the perfumery).

Perfume thoughts

I have a really good excuse for not writing more often since I got back from my vacation. It's not that I don't sniff perfumes every single day and write notes, it's the fact that my home laptop is broken so once I get home, the chances of me writing a post are practically non-existent.
Hopefully, that will be remedied very soon so I'll try and write more often.

In the meantime, I'm in the throes of a terrible shopping madness and want to wander around doing just that all the time. Of course, that means that after work, I head straight home, especially taking care to not go near any perfume stores. And I cannot tell you how much I want to go into one and sniff all the new niche things they acquired in the last few months.

If you know me (from reading my posts this last year and a half), you can probably guess I won't be able to hold out much longer. And I'm preparing a list of things I want to try - some in Viktor Koncept and some in Institute Parfumeur Flores.

The problem is (yes, I am a shoppingholic) I can't walk out empty handed. First, chances of trying several scents that I know are on the list because I read good reviews and not liking any of those enough to want it are again practically nil, and then finding something I really like and not buying it?! Impossible.

Have I recently mentioned how I'm trying to save money (or not spend so much)? I'm just very lousy at it so maybe I should stick with stuff I am good at - like spending money. :)

Anyway, I seem to be going through a period where almost all the things I try I like very much so I have several scents I am going to talk about soon.
I noticed how once I loose my momentum (or things fall out of schedule), it is terribly hard for me to get it back. It goes for everything, writing, pilates, my eating schedule. So, I'm trying to learn some self-control.

While I'm doing that, I'll try and write more often to get more practice.

Perfume thoughts (from the seaside)

Each year as I prepare to go off to my vacation, I leave with so many plans as to what  I will do once I'm there enjoying all the free time. I'm old enough to know by now if it never succeeded before, the chances that it might this year were pretty much non-existent. Oh well, I'm the eternal optimist. And I managed to prove to myself I am as lazy as I appear after my vacations. :)

Once the house was clean and I put my feet up, that was the end. Laziness took over and still has its hold on me. I had so many plans about writing about all the many samples and decants I took with me (like I said, optimist), and I've been smelling them and wearing them, but I just have no will to write about them. I don't even take notes. I just enjoy the sun and the books and sniff my wrists to make the summer enjoyment more profound. And that's it. I still have several days of this left (not that many, I'm back to work on Monday) but while I'm here, I'll enjoy those last few days of not doing anything to the fullest.

One thing I love about spending vacations at the seaside is the fact that nothing smells as carefree and relaxing as a summer sea breeze. It is better in June though while the greenery is still alive, now it's a bit fried and dry by all the sun beating upon it. But it's still wonderful.
And then one day my first week here we had a real summer shower. You know the one that smells of wet dust, herbs and has a slightly metallic tang to it. Everything just smells better when sea is its background.

My batteries are full and I'm ready (as much as I can be, I'm always sad when my summer vacations end) to get back to my usual routine and that also means writing. I can't wait actually. And one thing I realized here when spending time surrounded by many people who visited us here is that I have a serious problem talking coherently. I just got used so much to writing my thoughts that now it seems I need to concentrate better when I want to sound as a person capable of coherent talk. :) Oh well, sea and sun will do that to you.

I'll post some pictures when I get back (I have some really nice ones) and until then, just this one which I took yesterday of a beach on the island of Krk which is right across from where we are  and this beach can only be reached by boat.

Perfume thoughts

I feel like a glutton. A perfume glutton that is. As with any other worthwhile sin, you can't do much else while in the throes of that sin. Hmm, that didn't sound very polite. :D

Anyway, I'm aware I haven't written anything about perfume in a while which doesn't mean I haven't been smelling anything, quite the contrary but most of the things I smell, evoke in the best case scenario, a sentence (that usually isn't very positive so I'm not writing them down).

It seems sometimes I'm lucky and I go days on end smelling great stuff - some of it I can't wear but I can still tell it's great and I'm glued to my wrist smelling that greatness. And then comes a period where I start going through some of my accumulated samples and I'm left wondering if it's me or there really is some stuff that shouldn't have seen the light of day (or acquired some place on my arm to be more precise). I'm in such a period at the moment so I decided (just now) for today to just spray on me stuff I know I love to mitigate the effects of the last few days.

Plus, and this will now sound whiny, I'm seriously exhausted. There is still a week left of work and then I'm off to a 3 week vacation (this year I'm taking everything necessary to stay in touch with the virtual world and my friends there) so I'm really looking forward to it. I just need to survive these last days before it's sun and fun for me.

I still have no idea what perfumes I'm taking with me - I know for sure I'm not leaving without Bronze Goddess. :)