64 Arts

Choosing a Signature Scent

64 Arts
Mom's Perfume Bottles, by Nancy JonesFrancis

image via Flickr, annieo76

Now that we’ve talked about scent memories and how (or how not to) wear perfumes, let’s get down to the nitty gritty and talk about how to CHOOSE a perfume!

Your first instinct when you want to choose a new signature scent might be to head off to your favorite department store and start sniffing away, but I’d caution against that for one minute while I talk about something completely unrelated to perfumes–or is it?

~~~oOo~~~

I love wine. Taking a road trip and see a winery sign? Chances are pretty doggone good that we’re going to take a detour if there’s any possibility of a tasting (a free tasting is best, but we’ve paid nominal fees for tasting flights, too). And I used to love going to the monthly wine tasting at the local ABC Liquors back in the day.

But here’s the thing: after a dozen different wines pass your palate, chances are you’re not tasting much of anything new with each sip, you’re just feeling no pain. And there’s really only so much that chutney over cream cheese and wheat thins can do to cleanse your palate.

~~~oOo~~~

If you think it’s tough to get a bad taste out of your mouth, have you ever tried un-smelling something unpleasant?

Exactly!

While there are ways to refresh your sniffer after a long day at the perfume counter (lemon slices and coffee grounds come to mind–but not together!), most f0lks aren’t going to be able to tell much about perfume #10 in a row and how it’s different from #1 or #3. And if you’ve tried them on your wrist or arm you could end up smelling like roadkill instead of roses.

What’s a girl to do? Her homework!

But this is the fun kind, and I’ve got a way to make it super simple so you know where to start your search without overpowering your schnoz.

Step 1: Pick 2 perfumes you’re already familiar with, one you like and one you don’t.

Step 2: Head over to Perfumania.com or a similar site and search for your 2 known perfumes. Look in the descriptions for the notes (the individual scents that make up the overall bouquet of the perfume or cologne) of each perfume and print them out or write them down.

Step 3: Use these notes of notes as your cheat sheet for choosing perfumes to try and those to avoid. The notes found in your least favorite perfume will be notes you want to avoid or be wary of when looking for a new signature scent.

Step 4: Search for the notes that sound most appealing from your favorite perfume and look at the other options that come up.

For instance: a favorite perfume of mine is Clinque’s Happy which has, among others, ruby red grapefruit top notes. Now, if I do a search for ruby red grapefruit I get a couple dozen possibilities to check out. But, if I look at the notes for each (or just some that appeal to me via their packaging–you gotta start somewhere, right?) I notice that one of these perfumes has a note I most definitely do NOT like: patchouli. Therefore, I know there’s no point in trying out B Exquisite. Daisy, though, might be a good choice except I’d have to see (smell) how potent the gardenia notes are–those can easily overpower.

At any rate, with a little searching under your belt, you’re now ready to head to the perfume counter or your local Sephora for a few well-curated choices.  You can start with spritzes on test strips and then choose 2 to try on yourself (one per wrist) to see how they interact with your own body chemistry.

This might not be the quickest search, all things considered, but with the price of a good perfume being what it is, it’s worth spending a weekend or two trying out a couple of new perfumes at a time before investing in a bottle you may regret.

~~~oOo~~~

Question of the Day: How do you go about picking a new signature scent?

Keep It Simple and Scents-able

64 Arts

Wearing perfume is a balancing act between making a statement and making a stench.

One girls ideal scent may make another sneeze, and the scent that smells fabulous spritzed in the air or on a test strip may smell like–well, let’s just say very unpleasant when it’s actually on.

So here’s a few guidelines for smelling like roses instead of road-kill:

  • Never wear a new scent out before a test-run at home. Scents react with our skin and body chemistry and change slightly from what’s in the bottle. Put it on and give it about an hour and then see what it smells like before committing it to your personal arsenal.
  • Scale up the scent based on the sort of occasion you’re wearing it for. Wearing only a spritz or a dab for work compared to all the pulse-points for a date, that sort of thing. And even then, figure that others will be wearing their own scents so the more people you’ll be around, the less scent you would want to wear to cut down on the olfactory cacophony.
  • Using multiple products (body wash, lotion and perfume) amplifies the amount of perfume you’ve put on and can get overpowering, fast.
  • We become accustomed to our own immediate area when it comes to scent. With that in mind, just because you can’t smell the perfume as strongly as you used to, doesn’t mean others are in the same predicament. If the bottle’s fairly new and hasn’t been stored in a sunny window or other heat-prone place, trust that it smells just fine and err on the side of caution.
  • Smoking and other factors can also dampen your sense of smell, making you prone to put on too much scent and overpower those around you.
  • There’s something to be said for having a signature scent, but don’t be afraid to change it when it becomes tired or your tastes change.

Now, two stories about perfume gone wrong and why it’s so important to be sensible about scents, both from the office.

We had a client come in, one day, who preferred natural products and essential oils. This day in particular she was sporting quite a lot of patchouli and, as the scent wafted it’s way back to my office (about, oh, 15 feet from the front counter and through my open doorway), I was overcome with a fit of coughing so bad I had to go back out to the alley for a breath of fresh air.

It’s quite unfortunate to have to excuse yourself from client interactions but sometimes the best thing is to just be upfront and try to stand upwind.

And it’s not only women that face these issues!

We used to rent space to another company in the our building and one of their salesmen was notorious for piling on the cologne in the morning. You could smell him coming 2 minutes before he walked in the door and 10 minutes after he left!

I once read that Jackie Kennedy spoke in a soft voice so that others would have to lean in to hear her, creating a feel of intimacy in their interactions. Perfume should be like that, too, I think. You lean in for an embrace and leave a subtle scent behind rather than shouting your presence to everyone in the room.

~~~oOo~~~

Do you have any tips or personal rules for wearing perfume?

A Year in the Life of Friends

64 Arts, Everyday Adventures

Yes, another RENT reference… indulge me?

This time last year we were playing around with tiny little tiles and various bits of sticky stuff (aka Mosaics) and I was angsting a bit over a friendship that had flat-lined over the last decade due to influences outside the friendship.

What a Difference a Year Makes!

After all that time, all that emotion, I bumped into my old friend in close quarters at an event in October. With just three words “Can we talk?” we picked right back up as if we’d never been apart. Her situation (and, therefore, the impediment to our friendship) had changed only she was afraid I was angry and wouldn’t want to reconnect–and to think I almost skipped that event!

We’ve gotten together a few times since then and this year, instead of feeling sad that I couldn’t wish her a happy birthday without breaking the no-contact request, I was sitting next to her as we celebrated her birthday at the Melting Pot, Saturday night.

And, this year, there was some art involved but so different than last year’s:

Friends Shadowbox
Friends Shadowbox, mixed media, 2011

Even though we weren’t talking and didn’t see each other for more than 10 years, we’ve had a lot of parallel experiences that just floor me: we’ve both been attending comics conventions, we both took belly dance lessons for a couple of years (different teachers and studios) and, of course, that pesky divorce thing.

And yes, I showed her last year’s art therapy. Which made me want to make something this year, for her, that had a whole different feel to it.

She has a thing for stars and I love creating dimensional art for shadowboxes–it’s so much more fun that a collage–and this one includes folded stars, star sequins, embroidered ribbon and scherenschnitte elements.

I’m happy to report it was received as intended and I’m looking forward to continuing where we left off.

Best friends really are forever.

For the Comments:

  • Have you ever fallen back in touch with an old friend?
  • How did it go? Had you grown apart or were the things that made you friends still there?
  • Is there someone you’ve been meaning to follow-up with and just haven’t? Why not?

the 19th Art: Perfume

64 Arts

After quite a long stint on the jewelry arts of 18 and 20, we’re hopping back in the middle of them to pick up the (lost?) art of perfume…

~~~oOo~~~

And now back to our regularly scheduled programing. The next art in the pursuit of the 64 Arts is

Art 19: The Preparation of Perfumes

But let’s take this from a different angle and start with the wearing of perfume and then get around to making it. After all, you can’t make it if you don’t know what you like, right?

Perfume–scent of any kind–was practically forbidden when I was growing up. Mom is very sensitive to any sort of scented products. No scented candles, floral air fresheners–even unscented hairspray was too smelly. A Sunday School teacher sold Avon and would sometimes hand out those little sample tubes as prizes for different things–I hoarded them like treasure. For me, they were.

The one scent Mom didn’t mind was baby powder and so, in Christmas stockings, I’d sometimes get a little bottle of Love’s Baby Soft. While some scents from childhood may evoke an idea of nostalgia and longing? This one, not so much. Still, you work with what you got.

Now, you might think that now that I’m an adult I could wear whatever perfume I wanted, right?

Have I mentioned that I work with my Mom?

And the only time, since high school, that I haven’t lived or worked with her I was working as a pastry chef–another time when wearing anything scented is a big no-no.

Recently I realized, though, that wearing perfume is something I miss. Not in the I used to do it and now I don’t manner, but more of a when I remember to–for going out or on weekends–sort of thing. Putting on perfume was reserved for special occasions but I started to think isn’t everyday special? Wouldn’t it be awesome if I treated the days at home as more than just a break from the office, more than just work at a different desk, but days for me, for my projects, for my opportunity.

Wearing perfume? It’s for me.

So these days I try to remember, even if I’ve got the luxury of spending of spending a Saturday in my pajamas drawing or crafting or researching my current projects, to spritz on a perfume to remind me that these moments are special.

These days my favorites are Mary Kay’s Velocity (part of their teen-focused line, but the citrus smell is fantastic!) or something from Clinique’s Happy line.

~~~oOo~~~

For the comments:

  • Do you wear perfume or think of it only after the fact?
  • What scents do you like or wish you wore more of?
Attached to a ribbon, ready for gifting or storing

Flowers in Your Hair

64 Arts

I’ve always been at a bit of a loss as to what to do with my hair. I usually keep it shoulder-length (having a short neck makes that shorter than the usual shoulder length) and if I don’t pull it back it it “curls” (okay, frizzes) unless I put a fair amount of taming product in it. So what possessed me to grow it out is beyond me, but I’m getting used to it.

What I’ve learned is that my hair really benefits from doing something with it, everyday, and the more I experiment the more I see that I need a little something extra to make things just right.

One of my current favorite hairstyles, especially for those days when I can’t get anything else to work, is a big fluffy bun (achieved by much teasing after it goes into the pony-tail) but I can never get it perfectly straight. You know what? It works off-center even better, as long as I add a little something to it to make it look deliberate.

Let me draw you a picture (literally):

Diagram of my go-to hair-do

Diagram of my go-to hair-do

Thankfully I have some bows and combs left over from the 90s that are simple enough not to look dated (I got rid of the sequins and lace ages ago) but I wanted more–not just for this hairstyle but others, too.

Comparing decorative and functional hairpinsDecorated bobbies and hairpins are very popular these days (just look at etsy to see all the styles available, plus headbands and fascinators, oh my!) and I’d purchased some from a local store to add to my stash. Something I noticed, though: the ones I purchased are so sturdy and so tight that if I put it not quite right the first time, I’m liable to ruin my handiwork trying to remove the hairpin!

I like my pins functional as well as decorative so, of course, I’m making some myself.

Floral Bobbies

Materials to make a set of floral hairpinsYou don’t need very much to make a set of floral hairpins for yourself. From a single spray of craft-store flowers I’ve only used 2 small sprigs: one in full and one in pieces to get 4 separate blossoms.

  • 5 Bobby Pins
  • Wire
  • Scissors* or Wire snips
  • 4 faux Pearls or Beads
  • Hot glue gun and glue (optional)

*You want a fairly fine-gauge wire so you can work with it without it kinking up too much. A wire that size can be easily cut with scissors but can also damage the blade so it’s best to use wire cutters or keep a pair of scissors that you only use for wire, just in case.

A lot of the bobbies and clips I see (though not all, of course) use just hot glue to attach the decoration and, frankly, I don’t trust hot glue alone to hold up to the level of handling I put my hair and accouterments through. So I prefer to sew or wire the ornaments onto the hardware and use the glue to help secure them further. Takes a little more work, but I think it’s worth it.

For the spray bobby:

Wire wrapped and ready to go Start by securing the wire (about 12 inches) to the curved end of the bobby pin at the wire’s center. For items that will be attached to the length of the pin it’s recommended that you flip it over and attach it to the longer, flat side rather than the shorter bumpy side that I’m used to having on top.
Securing the flower stem to the bobby pin Lay the sprig of flowers along the length of the pin and secure it at the top by wrapping the left-hand wire over the spring and through the loop of the pin and pulling back to the left, and repeating with the right, criss-crossing over the spray and holding it tight to the pin. Continue down the length of the pin, being careful not to trap the stems that branch off from the main stem (unless, of course, that’s the look you’re going for).
Flowers attached and ready for a trim At the end of the pin’s length and just before getting to the rubber tip, wrap the remaining wire tightly around the stem and pin three times and trim the wire close to the end.

For the accent bobbies:

Wired bobby pins ready for some flowers Cut 4 equal lengths of wire (6-8 inches, each) and secure each to the remaining 4 bobby pins as above, leaving the beginning wraps in the curve and twisting the wires together a few turns. Trim the ends of the wire to the same length.
Attaching the flower and pearl stopper Thread a set of petals (in my case there were two layers of petals plus a plastic stamen) onto both wires. The bead or pearl helps secure the petals and you can either thread it onto both wires going in the same direction or feed one wire in through the left end of the bead and one in through the right, the idea being to keep the holes on the beed to the side and more hidden, if you don’t want the wires to show as much. I notice very little difference in reality between the two, so do whatever works for you.
The 2 finishing options and how they affect the flowers Feed the wires back through the hole in the stamen and petals, going back down the bobby pin. To secure the wire back to the pin, keeping the flower in place, you also have 2 options. The first is to wrap each wire separately in the over-and-through method used above which allows the flower to be arranged facing up or along the side of the hairpin. The second is to weave both wires in, out and around the top of the bobby pin simultaneously. This method has the benefit of securing the flowers to the very top of the pin, facing up and out rather than parallel. I liked the differences so opted to do 2 of each. Trim the wires when you feel the flower is sufficiently anchored.

At this point I did add a drop of hot glue to secure the flowers and wires where I set them, a little extra insurance.

See how pretty they turned out?

Pretty Pink Floral Bobby Pins Floral bobbies threaded through hair Attached to a ribbon, ready for gifting or storing

(And major props to Todd who was willing to wear the wig I’d arranged with the flowers so I could get the picture I wanted.)

Of course, decorated bobby pins are only one option. Keep in mind, when making your own hair ornaments, that the larger the ornament, the larger the base, clip or comb that need to hold it otherwise your accessories could very well drag your hair down instead of lifting it up!