Friesin

Aramis enters the bookstore and is a bit irritated, having already seen books titled "Toxic Masculinity" and "Don't Be a Man" out of the corner of his eye as he enters.
Yes, well, one thing was undeniable, he WAS a man.
A man in his prime. Raised in America in the mid-60s, named after an aphrodisiac root, as his mother Estée never tired of pointing out, though he would have preferred a musketeer as a namesake...
With brisk steps he approaches the sales counter, where a tall blonde is smiling at him. "Hello, how may I be of service?" Aramis sees her take a deep breath to inhale his scent, he experiences this reaction often, nothing new to him.
"I'm looking for a book on scents, if you could point me to something? "
"Of course, why don't you come with me, we'll go up one floor."
Closer than would be seemly, she walks up beside him and leads him to a secluded part of the store to the shelf of books on perfume.
"What exactly are you looking for?" she asks him with a sly grin.
"Well, I want to decipher my scent, I don't have the tools to do it though."
Now she doesn't hide it anymore, with her eyes closed she inhales deeply and with relish.
"Mhmm, they smell so different from the men who usually come in here, spicy, tangy and incredibly sexy," at this she approaches his neck.
"And they like that?" "Yes, very much I also detect leather and a note like, um, a warm man's body." Now they are so close that Aramis can count the freckles on her nose. She glances up, swallows, opens her lips slightly, and without a second thought, he grabs her hips, pushes her against the bookshelf, and kisses her deeply as she wraps her arms around his neck.

Well, there doesn't seem to be that much of a hurry with the scent analysis....then I'll take over for a minute:

The gifted Berhard Chant created Aramis, a multi-dimensional fragrance, in 1964.
Aramis appears ambivalent, it can radiate closeness and familiarity but also distance and even arrogance. Exuberance versus seriousness, an invigorating game for nose and brain.
In the United States, it was the first advertised men's fragrance that was also offered in department stores (no longer just perfumeries).
An old-school chypre, carefully reformulated, still tells of sex and closeness and demands a certain amount of self-assurance from its wearer.
As a leather chypre Aramis starts with aldehydes and a fresh bitter herbaceousness, which probably comes from the mugwort. Clove and cumin bring spice and that 'warm-body vibe' that's often described as sweaty - that's not how I perceive it.
Sandal, patch and vetiver bring a small innocent twist in the heart note, which, however, is soon broken by Castoreum (synth.Bibergeil).
Hence comes the animalic-sensual suede accord, which perfectly complements the spices and sinks together with them in a bed of moss.
The unassuming matter-of-factness with which Aramis presents its sensuality and sexiness is impressive.
Especially since our noses are often surrounded by shower gel and yummy scents.
In an interview, Roja Dove calls Aramis 'One of the 5 fragrances that drive women wild.'
I can only say, right he is!

So, okay, now it was official, he was starting to completely lose it. The third day in a row he sat here now, in this tiny bakery, ate blueberry muffins, which he would try to work off on the treadmill later and drank the third coffee, although his heart was already racing like crazy before, and why all this, why?
Because of her ! Of course, only a woman managed to turn a previously quite intelligent, clever, eloquent man into a mopey, dimwitted silent.
By chance he had walked in here last week, and then he saw her. No makeup, pen in her bun, flour on her cheek, worn-out Chucks, and to put it kindly, she hadn't seen a treadmill in a while.
She wiped her hands on her dirty apron and asked " Well, what can I do for you?" "Um...." Do good ??? He could think of a lot of things that she, well.
" Would you like a coffee and a muffin ? They're just coming out of the oven."
"Um..." " Go ahead and sit by the window, I'll bring it right to your table."
She had done that, given him a smile that he could no more forget than her green eyes, her curves, her smoky voice, and her scent, oh, her scent.
Nothing she did seemed effortful, completely at peace with herself and her surroundings.
He couldn't forget her, he had to keep coming back. And very soon, he was sure, he would approach her too, um, soon.

*WHO knows why one is reminded of a particular woman and not another one? Givenchy gives memories to men * Advertising slogan Givenchy III 1970

Around 'Givenchy III' from the year 2007 it is to go today. A successful 'resurrection'' of the already 1970 issued mother.
Here in the forum, the fragrance is often described as 'elegant', which prompted me - the tablet anyway on the lap - to look at what is offered in the online department store because on the subject of 'elegant' so, there we have : * How to be a Parisian wherever you are.
* Even more elegance à la Francaise
* Why French women look younger
* Ballerina Body
And ugly cell phone cases.

Alright, so we learn: elegance has to do with French women, thin, bendy bodies, and cell phones.
No wonder I don't know anything about elegance.

A friend interviewed on the subject says elegance is a will to form - and style. The conscious decision to make something appear effortless. And I agree with him and now understand why 'Givenchy III' is so often described as elegant, this fragrance seems effortless !
A fragrance composition, devoid of any ordinariness and full of harmony.
A crisp, bright chypre start. Followed by discreetly interspersed flowers, in which only the hyacinth stands out clear and cool. Bittersweetness lays on the dreamlike oak moss, supported by patchouli. A green-soapy finale. Beautiful, unstrained and wonderful - ELEGANCE.

"GERLINDE, what a sight you are, I almost didn't recognize you ! "

"Yes, well, Helga, I've brightened up a bit, I've got a DATE today."

"Oha, and for that the perm and the dashing pink streak ?"

"In the picture of the woman said - 70 is the new 30 - and they know well. Bijanca from
'Haarmony' has split me, do suffer ? "

"Yes,you look top! The lurex sweater with the glitter wings in the back, is that from home shopping ?"

"Exactly, and nice and stretchy, it can be quiet 'n Schnitzel more tonight.
The pink ballerinas and the skull chain I also got from there, all done with one call.
But now I have a problem, so I come to you. I still need the right fragrance!
And because you always stocked the shelves at Schlecker, you know your stuff in that area."

"Of course, I already have an idea! I just have to get it out of the guest bathroom, wait a minute...
here..." spray, spray.


So, now it should come, the reckoning with 'Loulou' by Cacharel. Because actually I know from the past no perfume that has annoyed me more than this.
None, which would have fit better into my drawer 'sweet over-excited water for completely over-excited women'
would have fit. Ergo, for the type Gerlinde....
As far as the prejudices, now to the fragrance, with recently somewhat more objective view and nose for
Fragrances.
Sweet, sweet, sweet, that is still the first association, totally "over"- WELCOME to the 80s !
'Loulou' is a child of her time. Designed in 1987 by Jean- Guichard for Cacharel.
Inspired by Louise Brooks role of Lulu, from the movie ' Pandora's Box' (1929) .
This Lulu, is the symbol of allurement. She captivates both men and women. She deliberately uses her femininity and sexuality to seduce.
Guichard composed 'Loulou' with precisely this aim, to mirror allure and seduction.
Right at the beginning, a basket of fruits and flowers spiced with anise and cinnamon, full speed ahead !
The lily stands out. Like a kind of syrup put orange blossom and ylang-ylang to it.
Now you can almost grab the scent, so thick and rich it lasts for hours.
'HERE I AM !' seems to be Lulu's cry 'behold my lushness and feast upon it! '
In the base, vanilla and resins come in, incense I can also detect. They settle on the skin like an Ottoman dessert, so here's another one out behind sensuality! The sweet seductress has nested.

'Loulou' became a bestseller. Loved by the young women of the 80 /90s. Advertised with the slogan 'Loulou, c'est moi'. The model in the look of Brooks with a dark bob, fresh from the shoot. This hit the zeitgeist . 'Generation Golf' and 'baby boomers' wanted fun, loud, flashy and bold. And sweet seduction, as long as it came out of the bottle, was gladly worn for show, it also suggested independence...
Gerlinde was in her early 30s when the fragrance was 'in', so now it's a good opportunity to wear 'Loulou' again on her foray tonight.... Grab it you, Tiger !


*Loulou is still available to buy, for small money. Lightning blue art deco style plastic bottle.
I would never wear it, but it was fun to track it down a bit and it's not that annoying...

What I find really good about aging is the arrival
I do not mean to be happy when the condition is enough to arrive (that too!) .
No, I mean the arrival in life and with himself.
You've managed it so far somehow - without it being explained to you how it works - this thing with life.
It could have gone better, but also much, much worse.
Slowly you realize that living in the subjunctive is bunk, as well as it's a waste of energy to bother with "could have" and "should have".
I know by now that I'm not a better or happier person when my sheets are bright white and my dentist's bonus book is full of stamps.
Of course, I have a list of to-dos and I'm not standing still now because I think myself and my life are unreservedly awesome. But I can now better renounce perfectionist nonsense, which the world often wants to instill in us as a duty. Part of that is self-optimization-and we're getting closer to the real issue-the fragrance.
To stay in the subjunctive, as a cliché northern German, I wish I had a dark complexion, brown curls down to my butt, and glowing eyes.... Well, is not, and will also nothing more.
BUT, I could, with the help of the right scent, transpose a bit of that southern hot-bloodedness
to the Frisian neck.... I could, I did, but it doesn't fit.
That's not to say Insomnuit can't be worn by everyone, just personally I feel dressed up with a scent of this type.

'Insomnuit' was created in 2016 by Aurélian Guichard for Robert Piquet.
I will not pretend to have completely penetrated the fragrance, even though I have already been attested incompetence in this forum, I will leave the 'perfume optimization', and only describe my fragrance perception.
We have here an iris-heavy spice. The predominant iris is soft, almost velvety but still impossible to ignore. Tonka and a rum pot plum come around the corner with this ' let's -salsa- dance' move and at the latest now you understand the perfume name.
Sweet it is, loud and sexy and then oud comes in too. Surprisingly, however, the Animalik helps to save the fragrance from'm Verkitschen and gives him a foundation.
Woods I perceive no, but a continuous light cinnamon and leather note.
As tonka slowly quiets, the base becomes warmer and more restrained.
This is a really well done fragrance, who loves the iris and is not afraid of rum and tonka, will be happy for hours.
For me, it lives up to its name and leads to sleepless nights- but not the good kind...

I leave it like that now ;-)

Salt on the skin, wind in the hair, the sound of waves in the ears, that's what I call happiness !

Come on, take off your shoes, feel the sand between your toes and finally let go !
Yes, we must go back - but not now, no one can take this away from us.
Take my hand and let's dash along the hem of the wave until we run out of breath and then we'll skip stones .
Here I want to be, with you at my back and my nose in the wind.
For we mustn't forget what it feels like to break free!
And now kiss me to taste your finally smiling, salty lips.

Sel de Vétiver (The Different Company) is the first fragrance for me with real sea-association.
I've smelled aquatics that tried to achieve that fresh sea stereotype with citrusy ingredients.
Or algy brackish water scents that made you think of a broken washing machine rather than the sea...
Like a bad imitation, it often seemed to me, an image without soul, it never touched me.
Céline Ellena, however, has managed to play with vetiver- ylang-ylang and iris notes in such a way that the result is simple to name, a day at the sea. Absolutely authentic. And not a Mediterranean bikini day, but an Atlantic rubber boot day. Nothing is sweet or bright or lemony fresh here, no, here the wind comes from the front and blows through properly. In its luggage, sand, beach grass and spray. Cardamom and lovage I recognize as a spicy substructure, which probably also suggests the sensual impression as well as the originality, because that's where the fragrance develops on the skin.
And over everything is salt, wet sea salt, iodine, almost oily.
For me, 'Sel de Vétiver' is like a work of art, I can name the colours, but they don't do the picture justice. It's not a decal, not a clumsy attempt at a cliché. It's real, touching, wonderful.

For anyone with sea-sickness, this is a perfect fragrance.