Pointless Perfume Review: Aesop Tacit

I needed a break from all that oud, which even yet inhabits my clothes and cuff edges, permeating everything like some terrifying fabric softener from which no washing escapes. Don't approach me now unless you are brave, cos all the showers/baths/pods can't get rid of the mingled oud and musk and gawd knows what else currently heralding my arrival anywhere. A lot of these fragrances cost a fortune, and now I understand why. Beautiful or not (and many are beautiful) They last and follow you around for years.

Tacit was a pleasant change. Tacit's nice, indeed Tacit might well be a buyer for next year, cos it definitely is a sunshine summer cologne style fragrance. My favourite for summers has been Un Jardin Apres La Mousson (https://www.hermes.com/uk/en/product/un-jardin-apres-la-mousson-eau-de-toilette-V22938/) which is a very cooling watermelon/ cucumber/ ginger combo, great as an escape from boiling streets full of exhaust fumes and dust, but La Mousson is an eau de toilette, so it doesn't last long.

By contrast, Tacit makes me think of a beachside city like Sidney, or maybe just anywhere on the med. It's not a complex perfume, mainly citrus, but manages to avoid that screech of cleaning fluid that hits me right between the eyes with a day long headache. This is more yuzu than lemon alongside a pleasant basil tone, fresh and herbal, stays close to the skin, doesn't asphyxiate neighbours in their own houses, boss wont be clutching at his desk drawers for painkillers or anything else he keeps there. Having said that, some might find Tacit a bit bland. Me, I think it's ever so well behaved but that's not a dealkiller.

La Mousson works for baking cities but in a place with more damp in the air like, ooh, anywhere in Scotland, a brighter, dryer scent might be very nice. I'll keep this tester for good weather. If it still suits, maybe I'll swap out Tacit for La Mousson, or maybe I'll just get both.


https://www.libertylondon.com/uk/Tacit-Eau-de-Parfum-50ml-R049682006.html?istCompanyId=53594fab-416e-42ab-b3ca-8816d2013fe8&istFeedId=6894997c-21a2-4de5-ad8c-4f4c2b36367d&istItemId=irwwrxait&istBid=t&gclid=CjwKCAiAiKuOBhBQEiwAId_sK2cpaPKOmSGZRKreUWfN2AlJjy3F28EUNcxrpZPA1S2HM98vSY4YZhoCgq4QAvD_BwE

Junk, rubbish, and satire

The tendonitis seems to have cleared up, but yesterday was not easy. I made up for it by doing almost nothing.

We've watched a lot of junk TV and thoroughly enjoyed it; The Witcher 's great fun with excellent monsters! Cowboy Bebop suffered a bit from being watched just after it, but still... Then to crush my heart and soul, I watched Don't Look Up.

It's clever. It had funny moments, and Mark Rylance's performance was stellar, but the whole thing depressed me because I think we're ever so close to this. The Guardian review was intensely annoying ( https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/dec/27/look-away-why-star-studded-comet-satire-dont-look-up-is-a-disaster) because, oh, I don't know, people aren't nice and we are supposed to sympathise with them to get the message? Beyond the eponymous, who recalls the characters in Strangelove? When did satire become about liking characters? Satire is mean and sharp, it is mockery. Satire is not warm and kindly, it has no reassurance, it is not seeking to woo, nor is it about coaxing us into right minded thinking. Satire ridicules, that is its basic nature. Gentle satire is an oxymoron. I daresay there are exceptions to that rule, but right now none come to mind.

To quote the critic talking about a certain scene;

'...As the first instance compelling an audience to invest in any of these characters or the beliefs they represent, it’s the only time Earth seems to be worth preserving.'

The earth only seems 'worth preserving' if you like the humans on it, cos there's nothing and no-one else worth thinking about, right? There, right there, is the problem. Make us like them so we care about them? The film is not about them it's about us. And there are moments when we are shown other forms of life on earth, all that might be destroyed... I found it very distressing.

But no, damn, let's forget that jive. Armageddon will be humanity's selfie.

Maybe the tendonitis has made me crabby. Or maybe the guy's just a bloody idiot.