I know that it’s Sunday already. But I didn’t want to miss the week completely, and I had absolutely no energy to do any posts yesterday, and today my creativity is still somewhere AWOL. Hence, I’m here as that songwriter who sings everything he sees.

Saturday Question #129:

Have You Had Your COVID-19 Yet?

If yes, how bad was it? How long did it take to get back to normal? Did you lose your sense of smell or taste? Did you wear or test perfumes while sick?

My Answer

My vSO and I came back from our trip to Germany with my vSO’s mother and COVID-19. Luckily, she seems not to be affected, and we’re trying our best to keep it this way, though it’s extremely hard to do while trying to “onboard” someone who knows nothing about how most things work in the US house, isn’t familiar with our food and doesn’t know where is what. But we manage somehow.

The first 2-3 days were the hardest, and now it’s just flu. Kind of. I can master some energy to crawl from the bedroom to the office (I just can’t stay in bed the whole day) or to the kitchen, but not for much more. I haven’t lost the sense of smell or taste, but I noticed that it is skewed somewhat. I’m not wearing anything, mostly because I’m constantly getting either hot or cold sweat, so I don’t want to introduce any irritants. But in the last couple of days, I’ve been testing new perfumes I got in the mail. I’ll have to re-test them once I get better. And Rusty has been a great moral support for both of us (though, we’re being very careful around him since we know that pets might also get infected.

How about you?

Have You Had Your COVID-19 Yet?

I love figs. Usually, by now I would be getting fresh figs and eating them with goat cheese and wine or making flatbread with prosciutto and red onion (and eating it with wine). But for some reason this year we still haven’t had figs at the local farmers market. And those that I see at stores just do not look appealing enough for the price. Speaking of prices… It feels like everything suddenly got 20% – 25% more expensive. Very annoying.

Saturday Question #126:

Do You Wear Fig Perfumes?

Do you have strong favorites? Does this note attract you in perfumes, repel or leave you indifferent?

Do you like eating figs?

My Answer

I don’t think I either like or dislike fig perfumes. I can wear them. But I wouldn’t be tempted much by reading about another fig perfume.

Many years ago I did a couple of posts for my Single Note Exploration series. My first favorite, Sonoma Scent Studio‘s Fig Tree, about which I wrote in the first post, is long gone, and I haven’t repurchased it. I have a couple of drops in my bottle of Jo Malone‘s Wild Fig & Cassis, but I don’t want to finish it because I cannot replenish it – stupid, I know: it will spoil eventually. How do I know? Because another perfume that I kind of liked, though I’ve bought it mostly for the bottle, Premier Figuier Extrême by L’Artisan Parfumeur has gone off. Well… Now I can keep it outside as a decorative object not risking it being spoiled by exposure to light.

The only fig perfume I still wear from time to time is Ashoka by Neela Vermeire Creations. Of course, it’s much more than just fig perfume, and I enjoy wearing it, especially in summer.

How about you?

Do You Wear Fig Perfumes?

Summer is a perfect “salad season”: all herbs and leaves are “in season,” all vegetables are local, and some of them are quite tasty. But what about herbs in our perfumes?

Saturday Question #125:

What Is Your Favorite Herbal Note?

Do you have one? Do you own any perfumes with that note?

My Answer

I’m more of a floral gal, but I can think at least of one herbal scent that I like in perfumes – mint.

Mint is quite a mundane scent, widely used in teas, chocolate, chewing gum and beauty products. And still I find it appealing in perfumes.

Annick Goutal‘s Nuit Etoilee is probably the only full bottle of perfume that has mint as a prominent note. But there are several more that I wouldn’t mind owning. One day.

How about you?.

What Is Your Favorite Herbal Note?

Just to avoid going through the argument that any perfume is for anyone, and there are no rules about who can wear what, I’ll do this disclaimer: I’m talking about the style of perfume that traditionally is considered masculine where you live.

Saturday Question #123:

What Is Your Favorite Masculine Perfume?

Do you like wearing it or smelling it on someone else?

Bonus: even though usually I’m trying to limit your answers with the requested one, three, five or ten (based on the topic), and usually you “go overboard” with your choices, today I give you a carte blanche to name any number of “runner ups” in addition to the top one.

My Answer

I thought of this question while reading several people’s comments to the last week’s question about the best-known perfumes for the brands that I suggested. I was surprised by the fact that I wasn’t even thinking about masculine perfumes while coming up with my answers. And after they brought it up, I agreed that this perfume was, in my opinion, even better-known than the one I thought of. But the main reason why it surprised me that much was that it was actually one of if not just the most favorite masculine perfumes for me.

Hermes Terre d’Hermes. I love this perfume on my vSO. Had I known years ago that brands reformulate their perfumes without changing names or packaging, I would have bought several bottles of the original one. But even the latest one that I tried was still quite nice. I don’t wear it myself: I always thought about it as his perfume.

Other masculine perfumes that I like a lot but do not wear are Tom Ford Moss Breches and Gucci Rush Men – both sadly discontinued.

The picture of Rusty has nothing to do with masculine perfumes, but I decided that it was a while since I posted any of his photos on my blog (and not all of my readers follow me on Instagram… where I do not post that often either).

How about you?

What Is Your Favorite Masculine Perfume?

In our lives, we all go through periods of anxiety, uncertainty and disturbance – be that of an internal nature or imposed by circumstances. Can perfume help? Or is it better to stay away from favorites (not to associate them with those times) and avoid the rest (not to contribute to the general annoyance)?

Saturday Question #104:

What Is Your Most Calming Perfume?

Do you have a perfume that in your mind would have a positive calming and relaxing effect on you?

My Answer

I started thinking about this because the last couple of weeks weren’t the easiest for me, and at some point, I felt like perfume (or maybe just trying to choose what to wear) was contributing to my general unease. In such minutes I didn’t want to wear anything “loud,” edgy or too original. I wanted something pleasant and uncomplicated…

The answer I came up with surprised me: Tauer‘s limited edition When We Cuddle And I Can Smell My Perfume On Your Clothes. With one of the most bizarre names and absolutely non-perfume bottle, I would have never tried it in the first place if it weren’t for my friend and perfume twin hajusuuri who shared with me a decant. I liked it right away, it didn’t take me years. But it wasn’t fast enough: it was sold out and disappeared. But I really enjoy this almost simplistic blend of vanilla, benzoin, musk, patchouli and amber. I’m not sure if it calms me down, but it definitely doesn’t irritate me or make me think about the scent I’m wearing.

How about you?

What Is Your Most Calming Perfume?