11 years ago - 04/16/2014

Be still my beating heart!

I am finding that my love of perfumes is expanding in a most unusual direction. I have for many years now scorned the modern and very generic "fruity/floral" fragrances that have flooded the market. I do not have disdain for sweet perfumes, I love Gucci Eau De Parfum by Gucci, now sadly discontinued, or the sweetness of a rose in Moment de Bonheur by Yves Rocher. I have even been tempted by the juicy lychee in Miracle by Lancôme. However, the sugary berry or candy sweetness of recent perfumes haven't impressed me in the slightest. I used to quite like Black XS and Black XS L'Excès by Paco Rabanne, but then I stopped smoking and suddenly found it too intensely sweet! So I am rather perplexed with what is happening to me .

Since the weather has started to warm up this spring, I have suddenly found myself craving sweetness in my perfumes. The sweetness I used to reach for would be rose and citrus, but now...horror of horrors, dare I say it? Sweet fruity perfumes are calling to me...even ones with a slight candy vibe to them! Oh I am a philistine! I am lost! I bought Pink Sugar Sensual by Aquolina - I know I should run and hide my face from all who wear classic beauties, but the truth is I'm really loving it. I then went a bought DKNY Golden Delicious Intense, which is gorgeously sweet but with a sharp bite to it. I am now looking to buy something else with a sweet gourmand note...me? I don't like gourmand, this isn't me! But it seems that now it is.

I am a little lost, I don't know where to start, it is a new journey for me! I am pleased in one way that I am able to enjoy more types of fragrances and I will be expanding my collection, but it does feel weird to be the woman who loves leather and aoud to go looking for sweet gourmand perfumes. But hey, life's too short to be negative about it, so I embrace my new found desire and quote William Mountfort's Zelmane: "Ha! hold my Brain; be still my beating Heart."

Pink Sugar Sensual by Aquolina

DKNY Golden Delicious Intense

ScentFan 11 years ago

Great blog, Dark Matter! I looked at your collection the other day and if you've gone over to the candy side, I fear I'm not safe, either. Woe is me! :)

Sorceress 11 years ago

As Dulcemio said, once you've gone over to the dark side, there is no turning back. You've begun to crave, you must admit, if only to yourself, that you indulge. You are amongst friends here. We do not shun you. We embrace you with open arms. We, too, have been down the deepest, darkest paths. We soliloquize to make ourselves feel better. Yet, look around you. You are not alone. Once one comes out of the closet and does embrace their purest moments of desire, it is but a moment of freedom that will allow one to pursue more freedoms than they will have ever imagined. Welcome to the Dark Side, DarkMatter. We welcome you.
Very appropriate photos, too.

Piapedersen 11 years ago

Well, isn't it a marvellous feeling to discover new land? Gorgeous pics, btw. I have a theory that taste changes over the years, due to body chemistry - we are female, after all - and due to the sense of smelling slowly fading. Therefore, to me, it makes sense that when one stops smoking it has huge impact on the way one experiences the world of fragrances. A big hooray for you - I quit ten years ago, and that became the best decision I have ever made. No comparison, I shall only suggest one perfume for you to try: Allure by Chanel. This has so many layers and stages on my skin that it is a perfume I wear when I can pay attention to it. Hard work but worth the journey :)

Sweetgrass 11 years ago

Congratulations on quitting! :) It's a real achievement (I know from current exp), so dousing yourself in some vanillic sweetness is entirely appropriate and you needn't feel like you're crossing over to the dark side or something. Also I have found seasons to affect my tastes so maybe it's just the call of the spring :D

Dulcemio 11 years ago

oh, and I love the accompanying photos to this article. They are artsy and kinda sultry. Very fitting.

Dulcemio 11 years ago

Wuh-oh. I'm sorry to have to tell you that once you've craved, you will likely soon cross to the other side, and then, basically, you'll be one of us. Once you start dipping your toe in that pond, gradually, insidiously, much of what you have previously disdained ("why on Earth would someone want to smell of vanilla??") will seduce you and rob you of your ability to resist. My fragrant trajectory beginning with my teens through middle age was basically this: Charlie---> Aromatics Elixir---> PR Eau de Calandre---> Chanel No. 19. To say that I looked down on what I now know are sweet, vanillic orientals would be an understatement. Then, I found the forums. Began to dabble in the sweet stuff, and now I'm hooked. Completely hooked. Welcome, DarkMatter, we've been waiting for you.

Be still my beating heart!

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