I’m declaring 2018 my “Year of Fun”…in all things — food, travel, clothes, music, movies, books, even perfume. I’m in the mood for smiling, and today’s two subjects, I thought, might make me laugh.
Kudos to the inspiration for Fort & Manlé Confessions of a Garden Gnome!1
One does not often consider the humble nobility of the garden gnome, and yet his stoicism in the face of the ever-changing seasons is, in its own way, quite beautiful….
I grew up in the South and was often called Honey Child, always by adults my grandmother’s age (mostly by women). I got in the habit of using the term myself, even as a little boy. I still use it when I’m riled up about something and/or intoxicated. Friends use the term around me, in exaggerated fashion, when I’m pontificating or “hogging the stage.”
“Hunny CHIIIIIIIIIIIIIILD!“
I think Hiram Green Slowdive* should have been called Honey Child…
I always seem to order myself “a little something” on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, My Birthday Eve, the first day it hits 70 degrees in Seattle, on Winter Solstice (I live in the Pacific Northwest…I’m OWED for these dark days!) You get the gist, right? I reward myself often, because I’ll die some day and that’s when my ‘rewards points’ expire!
A go-to present-to-self is, many times, fancy soap (I’m not a fan of bath gels). My favorite soap brand right now is Savon Oriza, from Paris-based perfumery Oriza L. Legrand.
My first Savon Oriza purchase remains my favorite (so far): Jasmin d’Espagne. This soap presents fierce, sweet jasmine…
The backstory of Aesop’s latest fragrance, Hwyl, is a hodgepodge (to which I’ll contribute). Hwyl is a Welsh word (pronounced, rapidly: WHO-will); according to the Oxford English dictionary, it means “a stirring feeling of emotional motivation and energy.” Yet, Hwyl’s perfumer, Barnabé Fillion, when asked by Philippa Morgan in Vogue Arabia, “How would you describe Hwyl in one sentence?” responded “The silence and verdancy of an ancient Japanese forest, and the wind in the canopy.” Hwyl reminds ME of India — the scent of altars and old-style Ayurvedic apothecaries. To each his own…
We all have our “pet” perfume houses. For me, a “pet” house would be niche, and small niche at that. One of my favorite perfume pets of the last few years has been Zoologist. Late this year, two new perfumes have joined the zoo: Camel and Elephant. Each perfume gets inspiration from animals — and places — I love…