Misadventures In Perfume

Last night I delved into the little bag of treats- the samples I got from Luckyscents. The little vial was Zagorsk by Comme des Garcons from their Incense series. I should have taken a whiff before putting this on. Maybe that would have saved me and my sensitive stomach. But I didn't.

The first thing I smelled was of something synthetic burning. It reminded me of a very muggy day on that particular part of the NJ Turnpike where you can smell the stench of several power plants and factories. The middle notes were only a bit better- burnt wood and more burnt wood. I let my husband smell my wrist and he commented that it smells medicinal and plastic, like a band aid. I agree with him. As it dried down, the Russian incense became more prominent, but the overall aroma of it was still wrong.

We were in a hurry to go out, so all I could do is wipe it as well as possible and apply a heavy dose of Valentino V Absolute, which was just as bad an idea (why do I even have this stuff?). It sort of drowned Zagorsk, but I still had a whiff of polluted smoke in my nostrils for the entire evening, the Valentino thing was the second mistake (again: why? why? why?)  resulting in an upset stomach by the end of the night (the second mojito might also had something to do with it, but my reaction would never have been so bad if it wasn't for stomach turning quality of Zagorsk).

This overload of bad wood has made me crave sweetness today. So I decided to sooth myself with something that I knew must be the opposite of Zagorsk. Another sample I had was of Des Filles a la Vanille Je t'aime, a scent that normally would be too fruity and candied for me, but today I was willing to give it a try. I desperately needed something warm and friendly, which Je t'aime definitely is. It's also non-complicated, syrupy and very lacking in depth and notes. I'm already getting tired of the berriness of this scent, but it did the trick. I'm almost cured from the lingering nastiness and ready to resume wearing something that actually smells good.


Late Edit: I'm laughing reading this. Zagorsk has turned into a great love. A full bottle is now residing in my cabinet.