Plant Paint

After a few years of buying second-hand imps from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s sales forums, scraping together fragrance samples from Sephora and department stores, I decided recently that I would need a real, big girl perfume. La Petite Robe Noire was good on me, but too fruity and gaudy – and I didn’t like the packaging or the name, I’m not too proud to say. Shalimar – too old, maybe in another twenty years.

So the search goes on.

BPAL has taught me about notes and how they work on my skin. While most BPAL scents smell great on the dry-down – and I’ve been getting better about which ones will work on me and which ones won’t – they tend to powder out too quickly. Smoke notes, which I have come to loathe, throws far and hits hard. I like Oriental notes – incense, amber, sandalwood, resins, vanilla, etc. Green is good, florals are iffy, and fresh does not work. Smoke does not work but tobacco does. My sense of smell is improving. I need more work.

But so goes my journey to find the ultimate perfume. Shalimar is a good place to start, and I aim to keep a good, working travel log as I gather samples, test them out, and decide which one to make mine. I am young. I have time. I will change. If all goes according to plan, my career will bar me from wearing any scent to work, but there is no harm in indulging in leisure.