The Niff of Nihilism

[smokingboot]

Before this virus thing nearly killed me, I had a strange experience courtesy of theoclarke. I do not know this gentleman nearly as well as I would like to, I met him through mutual friends at a party and have found him to be an excellent chum in all things. So when he recommended the perfumes of Commes Des Garcons to me, I decided, in the spirit of olfactory adventure, to seek them out.

I love getting lost around Bond Street, where everything glitters in a slightly less cheapncheerful way and the allure of shop windows has mortgage eating capacity; Sothebys, Bulgari, Van Cleef and Arpel, Cartier, times and worlds I always associate with my mother. Away past all these wonders, I went to the Doverstreet market, to find the home of Comme Des Garcons, where I found a pyramid of perfumes. I tried Odeur 71 because it's got the most irresistably peculiar marketing, a perfume 'for an alien on an olfactory odyssey across the earth.' Apparently Odeur 71 incorporates smells such as 'photocopier ink, burnt out toasters, tyres, dust on a lightbulb...'Wow. I had to try.

And yes. It really does smell of electric short circuits and tyres, manga future, metal landscape. I'm impressed that they could do it, but they needn't have bothered on my account. It's anti-fairy, wear this and no hippy will ever cross your threshhold again. For some it may be worth the 70 quid they're asking. I personally discover I am not as sophisticated in my tastes as the gallant theoclarke considers. In the end I'm an old softy whose cutting edge is easily blunted by prittifings. I left CdG, niffing vaguely of burnt out white goods, and lurched my way towards illness without a single fairy guardian, all of them mortified by my eau de cold ironing board.

The weefee are back now, saving me from the edge of pneumonia. My temperature is now normal, and an awful lot of gunk seems to be emigrating from my lungs. Time to pull myself together and think. There is stuff to do.

Comments

[theo]

Gallant? Moi? Wow!

CdG is, as you say, utterly anti fairy but it is fascinating in its oddness. Who would have thought that there is a viable avant garde in perfumer?

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

I certainly found it an interesting experience:-D

[kol.livejournal.com]

70 quid to keep hippies at bay?

I can see why people would pay for that.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

Bad karma man! *waves patchouli joss stick at you*

[thalinoviel.livejournal.com]

If you want to spend immense wedges of cash of perfume and keep your fairies, go to Penhaligons. It's posh but so so nice. If you've ever encountered bytepilot smelling faintly of citrus & bergamot, that's from there.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

Well now, I have noticed that occasionally the Duke does indeed carry a subtle inhalation of bergamot and other luscious woods and herbs, I had no idea that said scent came from Penhaligons. The thing I recall about Penhaligons was that they used to do the only fragrance that even came close to capturing bluebells. I love bluebells, but only pluck them in very special circumstances, because I want their scent to carpet my world and fill my head for as long as possible.

Thank you for jolting this memory! A visit to Penhaligons may well be in order!

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

Come to think of it, Odeur 71 might well intrigue bytepilot, or it may just smell too much like a colder greyer version of his workshop.

[sixtine.livejournal.com]

I guess the clue is in the name; their perfumes smell 'like boys' or boytoys.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

They are touted in the main as unisex fragrances - Commes Des Garcons in White smells like a Christmas air freshener, all orange/cinnamon/fir trees etc, very pleasant and innoffensive for anyone, anywhere, possibly excepting very hot weather. I was surprised at its homeliness, the boss will like it, the boy next door will like it, his sister will like it, mum, dad, gran and grandad will like it. So why don't I like it? CdG don't seem to do allure or sexy. They do interesting and that's not enough for me. Male or female, I want perfume that beguiles.

[hybridartifacts.livejournal.com]

Wow- interesting scent idea.

[smokingboot.livejournal.com]

They do interesting scent ideas, very different; for example they do one (I think it's called 888) which is based on trying to create the smell of gold - metallic? luxurious? In the Great Gatsby the eponymous hero talks about his beloved and the way she smells of money...

I don't know if this is truly pushing the boundaries of scent creation or merely very clever marketing!