“You’ll use that stuff til it’s used up!” my budget-minded better half admonished me when he heard I was thinking of spending money on something as frivolous as a new smell. But how could I content myself with anything less than a perfect perfume, now that I knew there was an art to this stuff?
— Emily Gould of The Paris Review discovers the world of perfume via Sanchez & Turin's Perfume: The Guide. Read more at On The Scent.
great essay, thanks for the link
I liked it too.
Fun rea
Argh smartphone! I meant to say, fun read, but it made me sad that her S/O would say something so harsh to her and that she’d write about it so blithely.
I thought that was sort of odd too, but it may not have been said as harshly as we’re thinking, right?
We can hope. Sometimes I feel like the pendulum has swung too far back.
Perhaps the SO was referring specifically to a bottle that they had purchased for the author? Having said that, I get what you mean with the pendulum comment and very much agree.
You know, I read this, like, six times and didn’t realize that it was her *partner* who’d said to her that she had to use up the stuff she had. I thought first it was her mother, then a voice in her head.
No, I can’t imagine someone saying that to someone else. That’s why women need to keep finances of their own even after they’re married.
No seconds on porridge, either.
I really liked the essay, though – it’s a great story of discovering perfume through Turin and Sanchez, and I bet a lot of people have done just that. I remember when I bought the book it opened my eyes to a lot of classic perfumes and a lot of great vocabulary for them.
I think we’re making some big assumptions here — we know absolutely nothing about their relationship or how they handle their finances, and there’s surely nothing wrong with couples working together to be careful with money.