If I Could Have Only 10 Perfumes…

My collection has never been very large (at least by the standards of most perfume lovers) but I still have a lot of trouble playing the ‘pick only ten perfumes’ game- a favorite masochistic mental exercise of the fragrance community.
The game is presented in different forms- 10 perfumes for a deserted island, 10 perfumes to save from your burning house, 10 perfumes to wear exclusively for the rest of your life.

Anyone who collects has an idea why this is so difficult- and it’s really tempting to turn to logical shortcuts to make the list-making easier.  Which of my perfumes are the most expensive? The most irreplaceable? Which ones do I own in rare vintages? Which are discontinued and gone?

I went through my collection a few days ago with the goal of culling the perfumes that no longer *sparked joy* when I held them (Thanks Marie Kondo). And I came out with only a 5 mL decant of Montale’s Patchouli Leaves ready to be let go of (it’s a cruder, more brutish version of Chanel’s Coromandel, which I prefer- but both are excellent chocolate patchoulis, with the Montale feeling more resinous).  Even if I didn’t make significant inroads into diminishing my perfume collection, I reconfirmed for myself my love of and attachment to what I do have.

Stocking Stuffers for a Girl like Me

Pictured: My stocking and Dad’s stocking with Mom’s substitute stocking in the middle (her traditional one is getting a tad delicate).

My stocking is the best stocking ever because my Mom sewed it around the time I was born.  It’s also kind of obnoxiously large compared to my parents’.  Dad has a small pharaoh-themed one because he spent a lot of time in Egypt in his twenties. Mom’s is old and scraggly and red with peeling glitter glue that spells her name.  It’s quite lovely, really.

I decorated the whole tree today to surprise them when they get back from work, and also as some much-needed post fans therapy.  It’s the worst thing about college finals.  I don’t like Christmas nearly so much as I love the lead up and anticipation and carols and crowds and whole season.  So now I’m going for full on immersion.
And don’t worry, I’m not neglecting my pleasure reading! I’ve already finished With Borges by Alberto Manguel today (recommended) and was inspired to add many similar books to my To Read list (currently an overstuffed 436).

But back to stockings! I remember when I was little there was always the wonderfulness of unearthing from my stocking handfuls of gelt, fruit, and delicious Hershey Kisses.  One of the worst things about growing up, or at least the particular way in which I grew up, and my struggles with anorexia, was the loss of this happiness.  We have to let go of a lot of things as we get older, because things change and sometimes because we change.

But thankfully there are still little treats that can make you smile. For someone like me, I think the following little odds and ends are nice ideas.

Perfume: Five Favorites

Woooo, I’m behind!
With good reason- it’s midterm season at Yale and I had two this morning- the past few days have been 24/7 studying and existential crises.

My list for today is pretty simple, only an adapted answer to one of Now Smell This’s fun weekend polls.  Now Smell This is maybe the best perfume blog, I highly recommend it.
Here’s the prompt and my answers:

Paris Packed Perfumes

Hello hello hello (bonjour)!
I’ve been in Paris the last week so I haven’t posted at all- I haven’t been here ever before and I feel in some ways as if my heart has finally found where it belongs, so I’m completely unapologetic.

…Even if my heart felt exactly the same way in Venice last year.

I’ve made a lot of observations of the city and am hoping I can boil that down (or flesh that out) into one or two (or 10 or so) lists for your perusal.  In the meantime, I’m going to stick with something that takes little mental energy on my part, because my days have been long and my nights short.