A few nights ago I had a few friends over for dinner and we ate duck breast rubbed with fresh mint, ground coriander seeds, and pepper, with an olive and vermouth pan sauce. One of my friends brought field greens, complete with strands of chickweed and wild violets. We drank single-vineyard Oregon pinot noir and were on top of the world. On the other hand, tonight it's raining and work was a drag. I'm home alone and craving a box of macaroni and cheese. For me, this dichotomy applies to perfume, too. Sometimes I want something that is well crafted. Other times I want something, well, Kraft-ed.
When I'm tired and crabby and yearning for comfort, I reach for the dulce de leche ice cream equivalent of perfume. I don't want a complex perfume that unfurls over time with layers of surprising beauty. No, I want something that will make me slightly nauseated if I overdo it. I want a cashmere blanket, a Duncan Hines cupcake, a Barbra Streisand People of scent. I want the "I've seen the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice so many times that I've memorized key scenes" fragrance.
One of the perfumes I reach for when nothing will do but second best is Lorenzo Villoresi Alamut. It is buttery, warm, and powdery, like a pile of French toast with a sprinkling of confectioner's sugar. Another perfect, second-best scent is Chopard Casmir, a vanilla-soaked oriental bomb. Caron Nocturnes, S-Perfume 100% Love, and Molinard Habanita are other perfumes I choose when I want to be lulled rather than intrigued. When the mood strikes, I can't get enough of them.
Many of these perfumes — well, maybe not the 100% Love — have had mixed, or even lousy, reviews, just as Pop Tarts wouldn't be reviewed well by a pastry chef. But when you're on a road trip and the radio will only get the local country western station, what tastes better than a shared package of Pop Tarts washed down with gas station coffee?
It's tempting to be clever and name beautiful scents that masquerade as cheesy. Thierry Mugler Angel, for instance, pretends to be trashy but is, in fact, art. (Jeff Koons might be the fine art equivalent to Angel.) Love's Baby Soft, however, is pure, stultifying, comfort. Cost or niche status don't have much to do with it, either. For instance, to me Serge Lutens Clair de Musc is a divine second-best scent.
Let's raise a fragrant wrist to the second-best perfume. Sometimes Mitsouko needs too much from us — in fact, at times like this the whole chypre category can sit on the shelf for another day. Sometimes only the second best is tops.
This was so interesting, Angela! First, I agree with your sentiment. And I know we share a love for the mad-n-cheese scents. Also, we overlap frequently on the kinds of classics we love. Having said that, what is striking about this post is, I wouldn't have picked any of your scents (no offense) — what I mean is, I am fascinated by what different responses you get when you ask, what are your comfort scents? A lot of people list leather, which isn't on my list. And I find, say, Versace Dreamer very much a mac-n-cheese scent, but many people cannot bear it. I love: Kraft-ed. Light Blue, anyone?
For me the comfort scent is Coty's “Muguet des Bois”, which I keep coming back to over the years. There is nothing that expresses Spring like this one, and will bring it back to me no matter what season of the year it is.
I tried to list mainly comfort scents that are the “Rodney Dangerfield” scents, the scents that “don't get no respect”. Love and respect don't always go together for me, after all, at least for perfume and some other art forms.
Now I'm going to have to try Versace Dreamer for sure. What other R. Dangerfield comfort scents do you like?
Tocade is my go-to comfort scent. Um, er, and a lot chypres. :)But what of Omnia? Not mentioned in the LT/TS Guide (?!), frequently reviewed as un-smellable – perhaps this is my most Krafty scent.
Another one I need to try! Don't tell anyone, but sometimes Diorissimo is too much for me. Muguet might just be the answer.
But Tocade is well respected! Do you have any trashy comfort scents?
I like Omnia, too. To me it's like a cookie with a little nutmeg but without the weight of sugar and butter. It's a good one to drown in when the brain can't take anything demanding.
Angela, I have two comfort scents that I keep coming back to: Simply by Clinique and Laura by Laura Biagiotti. For some reason these two never feel wrong.
Mmmmmm….mac and cheese…sounds perfect for this rainy, cold day in Boston. My comforts scents are E'Coudray Jacinthe Rose or Velvet Tuberose by Bath and Body Works….the latter I bought mostly because the limited edition bottle sold at Christmas kinda looks like a knock-off Bond 9 bottle. Now I know I have a box of mac and cheese here somewhere….
It's great to have a few “go to” fragrances, but I wouldn't call these mac and cheese scents. Well, maybe Simply. You guys are too classy for me!
Now we're talking! Bath and Body Works is the Kraft of the fragrance world, in my opinion. Next time I'm at the mall I'm having a sniff of that one.
Today was one of those days for me, perhaps because I had been oscillating between a few Chanel Les Exclusifs samples over the weekend–they definitely require more of a commitment from the wearer.
My easy scents are Bulgari Eau Au The Vert and Amazone Light–in fact I often put them on after showering in the morning, and then apply my “real” perfume for the day a bit later.
My “low-rent” fragrance is Balmain's Vent Vert; I was embarassed to see that Turin gives it one star!
Maybe one test is whether or not you're embarrassed to own up to loving the scent (when you need it's comfort). Coco isn't embarrassing–at least, not to me. But surely you have a little Oscar de la Renta hidden away somewhere?
Great topic, Angela! For me, a great rose scent is total comfort food. I just got the neatest purse-size spray of SL Sa Majeste la Rose and that's really doing the trick right now: for a damp, mild, dreamily-melancholic spring day in Vancouver, between love interests, pining a love that was much more a matter of wishful thinking than anything else, the sweet, voluptuous sentimentality of a super-duper, full-blown but quite linear juice like this is great, undemanding escapism. If I go out to dance my cares away, I'll put on a big sprtz of FM Lipstick Rose for the unabashed, tongue-in-chic, sexy camp of it!
Another load of classy scents! I know Vent Vert was stiffed in the guide, but it was by Germaine Cellier, so how bad could it be? The Bulgari and Hermes are classy choices, too, although anything with “light” in the title (excepting Shalimar Light) might qualify as a Rodney Dangerfield scent.
Isn't 31 rue Cambon gorgeous?
Both Sa Majeste and Lipstick Rose are terrific scents, but not particularly Krafty. Let's see, what would be a Rodney Dangerfield rose? Maybe Stella? Or a YSL Paris flanker?
I think I'm going to have to accept that NST readers have too much taste to go to second rate scents for comfort.
Great question! Well, a pleasure could be guilty if it belies a lack of taste, or willful disregard for taste, in a forum loaded with people with discerning taste (in other words, here). In that case, a second best perfume could definitely be a guilty pleasure.
I salute your choice of Brit Gold!
Green chypres are one of my favorite categories of perfume, and Vent Vert is right there with them. This post is all about celebrating fragrances that “don't get no respect”, so let's hear it for Vent Vert, whatever the formulation!
Actually, I didn't try Cambon; I am leaning toward 28 La Pausa which struck me, on first sniff, as really weak and insipid.
I wore it to bed last night (while reading The Guide), and had a very amusing revelation: something in it reminds me of one of my earliest perfume loves: L'Air du Temps! Ha!
That's one I haven't tried yet (so many perfumes, so little cash…), but I do like L'Air du Temps.
I agree. I think some of their reviews are mean-spirited, flip and glib to an irresponsible degree. And trust me, as someone who is often accused of being hyper-critical, so I know from whence I speak.
And now I am wondering if Rodney D. had a favorite fragrance. I loved that Phyllis Diller wore Chamade; did Rodney wear something equally as classy?
I agree – sometimes I just don't want to think about the perfume. And sometimes I just don't want to be reminded of how much I like it – as on a day when I just don't have time to keep smelling my wrist. But some of my favourites can play that role – Chanel No 5 is like that for me. Also Paloma. I find it is the 2nd best favourites that keep up their demands from me – do I really like it or not? will I finally buy a bottle? do I really like that funny note in the dry down?
Can't believe how obvious it is: Bath & Body Works Brown Sugar and Fig. Heh heh. I have the spray, the lotion … I keep feeling like I should feel shame, but I don't, somehow. One of the Ralphs (Wild? Maybe Hot) smells just like BBW Fig. I wear it to bed all the time, also the Demeter Egg Nog. There's a Kraft-y scent for you. Our Esteemed Robin told me to try it and she was right.
Okay, Angela, I can go Kraftier. Howzabout YSL Baby Doll? Very Irresisitble? (Okay, I know, I'm the only girl in the world who loves it!.) Crabtree & Evelyn's Evelyn Rose? Yeah, I see what you mean: it's gotta be at least slightly embarrassing to confess it, or you're cheating at mac 'n' cheese. I was playing it far, far too cool. Thanks for calling my bluff!
Great post!
Well well… I was thinking that macaroni and cheese is my ideal comfort food, though here in Italy a big creamy cheeseburger might be regarded as a more trashy (in a good way, at least for me) comfort dinner. So, my cheeseburger scents could be Versace The dreamer (perfect but not so trashy imho), Angel (ok, the juice is great, but the bottles definitely enter trash territory), Gucci Rush, maybe Ambra del Nepal.
Another one I tried only once but I remember thinking as a good possible comfort tv-macaroni-gossipy tabloids-don't want to do the dishes scent is Agent provocateur eau emotionnelle.
Thanks for the fun!
Yes! Perfect! I think I need some Brown Sugar & Fig bubble bath. I'm feeling a trip to the mall this afternoon….
Perfect! I always huff some Baby Doll when I'm at the perfume store, and Very Irresistible is another fabulous choice. Both of them almost paralyze with brainless satisfaction that would be insupportable most days.
Great question. Rodney feels like a Brut man to me, but who knows?
If I could get my hands on it, I'd like to give Alyssa Ashley Musk a try during my mac-n-chz moments. Well-done article, Angela. I remember reading about SJP's obsession with Baby Soft and feeling a tremendous sense of relief that even perfumistas can “slum” a bit. Turin and Sanchez addressed the issue of perfume snoberry in the introductory essays to the book as well…I believe Tania wrote that the perfume-lover's final stage is one of transcendence above mere price-stickers, right?
C, you might want to check out the conversation going on over at Perfume Posse today about Perfumes: The Guide.
But, for the most part, I'd like to keep today's post a Guide-free zone. After all, there are so many trashy perfumes to celebrate….
Aww, Ange, I don't feel quite so embarrassed! Thanks. Yes, all of these that we're talking about — the true-blue mac-ers — fall in to the Guilty Pleasures camp. Funny that they're all . . .PINK!!! Which is totally a guilty-pleasure colour for me. Speaking of pink roses, and guilty pleasures, and undemanding, second-string fragrances, I DO love Clarins Par Amour Toujours, with very light, girly pink roses and fresh pink grapefruit. Okay, and if I was to confess the most embarrassingly lovable pink scent I own, it'd be. . .Escada Sentiment!!!! Don't shoot me!!! (AND I'm fifty years old, just to add to the EF — embarrassment factor). Thanks to you, Angela, for a great, cheery article and thanks also to all the fearless confessors out there!
Oh Robin, you're going to win a prize here for best Krafty scents, that's for sure! And what a great observation about juice color.
Is it hard to get a cheeseburger in Italy? A good one?
Your Krafty scents are pretty classy, in my opinion, although they do sound awfully comforting. Your non-trashy perfumes must be marvelous!
Totally understand re desire for Guide-free zone! Sorry about that.
Back to Les Exclusifs: for those in Seattle, Tina Marie, the Chanel SA at downtown Nordstrom, is very knowledgeable, and generous with samples.
SJP liked Love's Baby Soft? Hey, good for her.
Anti-snobbery can so easily become a form of snobbery. It's a tricky line to walk. I guess the key is just to love what you love, as far as you are able to ignore everything else that goes with the juice: the packaging, the perfumer, the company that made it, the price. I'm the first to admit that I'm swayed by a pretty bottle or the rumor that Deneuve wears it or something like that.
No problem! If we were sitting face-to-face with cups of coffee, I'm sure we could pass at least an afternoon in heated conversation about the guide.
Thanks for the tip on Les Exclusifs. I've got to get up to Seattle soon.
I *love* your Koons-Angel analogy.
I'm having one of those days today: I'm home sick and I'm just not up to appreciating a Caron. Before I head out to buy some chicken soup (or maybe even mac n cheese!), I'm going to put on some CK Euphoria or maybe a dab of Lakshmi NYC's Parvati, a really sweet-and-simple vanilla-musk oil.
Today it'raining here in Florida and I reached for my go to comfort scent, PG's Musc Maori. It's like a chocolate malt with chewy, velvety dried apricots on the side. It's heavenly and when I wear it I wonder why I bother buying anything else. (Shame on LT and TS for not reveiwing any PG scents in their so-called Guide… it's only one of the best if not THE best new perfume houses to date. Tsk Tsk!
Yeah, it's one of the fragrances she'd mix with CdG Avignon and an aromatic oil she'd bought on the street in NY. At least, that's how Burr reported it in his book.
Anti-snobbery snobbery! I love it, and you're so right. I fall into this trap occassionally, for instance, dragging my feet at the prospect of going to a well-recommended restaraunt once I find out that it's a (small) chain. Ahhhh well. We are so fortunate that we have the luxury of “appreciating” inexpensive things as though they are novelties.
I like a good hamburger, too. There's a restaurant within walking distance of me that has a great hamburger with a homemade bun and homemade bread-and-butter pickles. Delicious.
K, how have you been? I've missed you here.
I really, really need to get to know PG better, and Musc Maori is at the top of the list. (I do love Corps et Ames.)
For some reason I'm remembering Bonne Bell Musk as part of the mix, too.
I can be a real anti-snob snob, too. People should slap me when they hear me touting tabloids and margarine like I'm So Much Better Than They because I Was Raised in a Trailer.
That sounds perfect! I hope you're feeling better soon, J. Maybe that Euphoria will burn the germs clean out of your system.
I'm 2 babies deep now and Ilife's never been as crazy or as much fun!!!
I read you everyday, I just never have time to comment
Thank you for putting into words something I've considered many times, yet never put a name to. I can look at my 'fumes and easily separate them into first tier and second tier and what I'll call 'schlub' scents. Schlub scents are for going to the grocery store, carpooling the kids, playing tennis, cleaning the house, lounging around with a good book, etc. And yes, they are scents I'd seldom dream of advertising that I'm wearing but that just make me feel really good.
One of my favorite mac-n-cheesies (and also the cheapest) is Coty's Vanilla Musk. It's strange I should like it because I don't much care for musk or for vanilla scents, but the combo just works for me. Second to VM is Kenneth Cole's “Black” for her, which is a sweet, delicate, easy floral. And one more is Moschino's “Cheap and Chic” because I love the super tacky Olive Oyl bottle and the way it smells of circus peanuts and childhood.
Apparently he wears Gendarme: http://tinyurl.com/4sngqf
Angela, do you find Paloma to be very animalic? I was thinking of buying a bottle at TJ Maxx, but I tend to magnify those kinds of notes, and I really don't care for them. I've read things about it that I liked, though, so am wondering.
Oh, guilty pleasures! There was this one summer a while back when I wore Escada Ibiza Hippie – almost all through the season. It smelled like blackcurrant jam and it was just so… simple. I still have the empty bottle stashed in the back of the perfume drawer and whenever I get it out to smell, it just puts me in a good mood.
I think I would guiltily want another bottle, but it's kinda hard to find. Although the latest Escada summer stuff – Moon Sparkle, I think it is – smells almost exactly like it. Oh, mac-n-cheese, so temtping…))
P.S. Great post!
Ok, I actually have quite a few, now that I give it some thought. Yves Rocher Bourbon Vanilla body lotion is wonderful stuff, but at certain times I have a real fondness for the edt, too (on days when the frankincense in PdN Vanille Tonka clamors too much.) I also love Calvin Klein Truth and really want a bottle (I only have a mini.) And Armani Sensi is a total couch cushion of a comfort scent. Great post as always, A!
That's about as far from Brut as you can get. Rodney, man of olfactory surprises, may he RIP.
I do find it animalic (the EdT less so), but not nearly as animalic as Jicky or Shalimar, and not particularly musky at all. I smell a tarry, asphalty note in it that I really like against the rose.
Wow! Well I guess you're busy all right. Well, it's nice to hear from you, and kiss the babies for me.
Definitely the same idea.
I love the description “circus peanuts and childhood”.
I used to work with a woman who wore Vanilla Musk, and I remember really liking it on her. Must try that one again.
I tried Charlie again a year ago and almost had to burn the sweater that was accidentally sprayed, too. But your description sounds wonderful: licorice and dirt. I'm definitely trying it again (but keeping my cardigan well away from the spritzer).
“Moon Sparkle”? Where do they get these names, anyway? They remind me of the names my friends and I would give our imaginary horses when we were kids, names like Rainbow Princess and Pearly Starshine.
But you have some real mac and cheese perfume winners here!
It's so nice to see all the Kraft-like perfumes people wear! Thanks for sharing yours.
I haven't smelled Truth in ages. On the list it goes.
Sigh… I was hoping you'd tell me it stinks to high heaven of civet. Oh well, at least it's only $30. I wanted to try Jicky, though, and you have probably just talked me out of that, which would no doubt have cost me a lot more, so all is well.
What a tasty article, Angela! I just called the hubby to tell him we're having macaroni & cheese for dinner. He'll just have to deal with it. I stopped trying to explain things to him years ago.
The mac n cheese scents for me always hark back to the 80's/90's— Paloma Picasso, Coco, Fendi, Opium, Animale, Magie Noire, Gio, Jil Sander No. 4, Chaos, Poison, Paris. When scents were big & bold & we weren't afraid to douse ourselves in them! The 'me generation', or maybe the 'smell me generation'…Wasn't that a great time for fragrance? We didn't know enough yet to worry about being politically correct or 'green', but we were happy & we smelled damn good.
Well, I bought my last bottle of Tocade for $12 so I thought it might qualify. But I think I just remembered something Kraftier. I just tried and loved something called Cuba Gold that costs $9 and comes in a hysterical mock-cigar bottle (I think it might be the original or masculine version of the Cuba Jungle Snake or whatever it was called in the slideshow of hideous bottles that Robin recently posted.) Smelled just plain good and demanded absolutely nothing of my brain.
There is another one in my collection an oriental/vanilla: Mirabai by Chopard. It is a very warm soothing fragrance and I keep loving it.
Wouldn't 'my mac n cheese scent' be a just wonderful addition to the Perfume Lexicon?
I forgot a supercomfort scent, which technically is just a body lotion, but I find its fragrance fairly strong and persistant: Rancé Lait pour le corps Huiles de céréales. I't's a recent discovery for me, since I never used body lotions as “scents” before. I find it really cozy in a I'm-going-straight-to-bed-after-i've-eaten-this-rice-pudding way.
I can't believe there's another vote on here for the dreamer, from italy, no less. I keep waiting for them to d/c it. By the way, if you are looking for a good laugh, look up Robin's review of it on here (a he said/she said with Marlen, some time ago.) She loathed it. Diplomatically, of course.
Cuba Gold sounds terrific! (The name “Cuba Jungle Snake” on the other hand is a groaner. I don't think I've ever seen it around. I will definitely keep my eyes open for it, though. Shaped like a cigar? Love it.
I bet there are a lot more Dreamer fans out there. Hiding, of course.
I really do like Paloma. Better than I like Jicky. Let me know what you think of it.
L, he'll thank you once he fills his bowl with mac and cheese.
Those whopper 1980s scents are strangely comforting, even though it seems like they'd be exactly the opposite. I wonder why? Maybe because they were so primary and they're so familiar.
M, that ones sounds delicious. Like a pudding.
Lotion is a great way to wear scent to bed, especially if you take a bath in the evening. I've been loving the scent of a rosy Weleda body lotion.
I am so glad you mentioned Velvet Tuberose – this is my Kraft-y scent! And I'm so glad Angela posted this piece. There's no reason our guilty pleasures should make us feel, well…so guilty.
Eeeek!! Angela!! The more I get down from my SL and FM fancy-shmancy pedestal, the more shamelessly low-brow my second-string affections become. How's this: Rockin' Rio!!! AND it's PINK!! And I adore it!! And Anna Siu Love!!! And Dolly Girl!!! Guerlain Lovely Cherry Blossom!! ALL PINK and juicy and suitable for my DAUGHTERS!!! Dare I admit to the world, let alone myself, just how deep I can sink when I'm jonesing for Kraft Dinner??? You GOT me, babe. ;-D
Wow, it's funny, I was just thinking this morning how some days all I want in a scent is something cheap and cheery, and then I read your post!
I really enjoyed reading this, you not only captured my sentiments about fragrance, but you made me hanker for a winter time (it's cooling down now in Australia) road trip in the country (even though I'm off to Europe next week) with this evocative line: “…when you're on a road trip and the radio will only get the local country western station, what tastes better than a shared package of Pop Tarts washed down with gas station coffee?”
A couple of seasonal Mac & Cheese comfort scents:
Spring: April Fields by Coty. Hard to find in stores, but since I'm not a vanilla fan, this one is worth grabbing when I can find it.
Fall: Attraction by Lancome. I think this one might fall in the “no respect” category, as it has disappeared from Lancome counters altogether in North America. It sold poorly here but is still sold in Europe apparently. I just love it – a mix of iris and patchouli (and I'm a patchouli hater!!). This is the only scent others have completmented me on. It's a cozy soft woody fragrance.
You go, girl!
I'm with you 100%. And now I'm doubly determined to try Velvet Tuberose.
Attraction sounds really nice. Is it anything like the Le Labo iris? That one has some patchouli, too.
Great list! You know, I just tried Tresor for the first time a few weeks ago, and I liked the vetiver in it. For some reason I'd been expecting a so-so aldehydic rose, but I was pleasantly surprised.
Angie, this is so liberating!!! THANK YOU
Great topic! BTW I absolutely love Kraft Mac & Cheese – when I was living in Paris my mom used to mail me just the cheese packets (to save on postage) so I could satisfy that craving.
My mac n cheese scents are Burberry Brit Gold, Pink Sugar, Gucci Envy Me II and Gucci edp II (and sometimes Escada Hippie Ibiza too!). My comfort scents that are a bit pricier are Cuir Beluga and Jasmin de Nuit. Vanilla/amber scents relax me.
Great choices! All suitably Krafty, except Cuir and JdN, of course. Jasmin de Nuit really is a good comfort scent, although I had never really thought about it that way.
Thank you! I like Attraction too, from the time it first came out. It's a subtle, fairly “safe” scent and I like the body lotion as well.
Also SJP Lovely…especially the body lotion, which is nice in and of itself.
I love Very Irresistible on days when I feel tired, or in need of comfort. Likewise, Betsey Johnson, Serendipitous, Pink Sugar, are other “cheesy” scents that I need on rainy, miserable days.
And I LOVE Kraft Mac n' Cheese, too!
You're welcome!
All terrific Krafty-type scents. And isn't it true that sometimes nothing is better than a nasty box of mac and cheese? I have got to try Betsey Johnson, too. The bottle is so adorable.
I love these posts because I hear of so many scents to try! Once again, Attraction goes on the list.
What a great post Angela! There are some days when eye makeup is just too much of a chore, and I go out baggy-eyed and bleary. I second the Chantilly vote, although I haven't worn it in years. It was a favorite in my early teens. Now, the second-tier scent would be Jo Malone Jasmine and Mint, which, as Linda Richman of SNL's Coffee Talk might say, is neither. Discuss. I loved the original Vent Vert, but haven't worn it (or seen it) in years. I'd also go for the Crabtree and Evelyn fragrance that's India's Front Porch or Summer House, the one that smells of spider lilly for about seven seconds. It's actually pretty nice if you don't think it through. And L'Occitane's Feur D'Orange, which is really just a woody vetiver. But the first blast is all orange and some spice.
second best…guilty pleasure…hmmm…I do have a fav second best, when I just want to spray something on – Coty Wild Roseberries. Simple, cheap, uncomplicated, orange-y rose. But my real guilty pleasure, when I want to play with something loud, is Cabotine. (And it also removes ink stains!) Fun post, BTW.
my favorite second best (or third best) fragrances are both lotions. I love Essence of Beauty (from CVS) lotion in walnut whip and Burt's Bees Milk and Honey Lotion. I like Escada Moon Sparkle sometimes too it's my Kraft Mac and Cheese.
A couple of scents that I find very comforting that are not exactly comparable to “The Cheesiest” are Jardin Sur le Nil and Bvlgari The Rose. A food I would compare them to is a really good French onion soup- not cheap and greasy, but intensely comforting.
It's funny, I've grown out of many of those kiddie foods–Cheetos, Oreos, etc. But I really like Mac n' Cheese, especially when I'm just too tired to bother with “real” cooking. Even if most of my “real” pasta recipes are just as easy.
As with perfume, sometimes you don't want that complex, intellectual scent, like L'Heure Bleue or Chanel no. 22, you want China Rain. Or EL Bronze Goddess. Something that doesn't over-tax your brain cells!
Same with me. I love to cook (and love to eat), but sometimes mac and cheese is what I want most.
Oops–forgot to add: Is there something to my theory that perfumistas are all “Pride & Prejudice” addicts? I adore the book, the BBC version, and even have warm feelings for the newest film–its the streamlined “a la Ellena” version compared to the BBC's classical perfumery style, to use a perfume analogy.
Not too sure – I've never tried any of the Le Labo fragrances (no access to any where I live). Attraction was really the only Lancome fragrance I've been able to wear. I have learned that I do like a bit of iris mixed in with my fragrances, but I can't wear it by itself. I tried Hiris, and loved the soft elegance of it, but unfortunately it also smelled of turnips on me.
Great article! I love the Man-n-Cheese analogy! A few of mine: Gaultier2, Sensual Amber by B&BW, Lovely by SJP, Vanille Amande by CSP, Kenzo Jungle L'Elephant.
LOL just realized I typed “Man-n-Cheese”…that would be an entirely different article, wouldn't it??
I too, love The Dreamer. It is a great, easy to wear scent that I love to wear to work. I personally wouldn't consider it a b class perfume but I guess it is under appreciated. I do agree that some days all you want to wear is a simple perfume.
Loved the article…thank you! B&BW fragrances hate my skin…bummer…I love them but they definitly don't love me. The only one that doesn't turn into something that resembles a bad experiment from HS chem. class is their White Tea and Ginger..smells great and makes me smile. But the real Mac & Cheez is Fruits & Passion Pear & Linden. When I need something sweet (and don't want the “experiment gone bad” effect) this is the one for me. One I'd love to add to the list though I doubt I can afford to is CdG Hinoki. The small sample was wonderful…felt like I'd died and gone to Dad's old woodshop.
Pinaud Clubman Bay Rum, Yves Rocher Neonaura Cocoon lotion, Dragon's Blood or Mayan Gold scented oils, English Leather, Yardley English Lavender, Natural food store amber oil, and Alba Organics cocoa butter hand & body lotion.
With the P&P comment, I was mostly thinking of a friend who watches it compulsively when she needs comfort, although I like it, too, of course, and Colin Firth is a handsome guy. I'm not wild about the Keira Knightly version, though. That girl needs some acting lessons.
Another vote for The Dreamer! I love a good, underappreciated perfume and will look it up right away.
I had the exact same problem with Hiris, as much as I wanted to love it. The Le Labo iris works on me, though, and Iris Silver Mist does, too, most of the time.
Eye makeup is ALWAYS too much of a chore for me (I'll always wear lipstick, though).
I love the name “India's Front Porch” or even summer house. Those citrus-spicy scents are very comforting. Thanks to Erin, I just discovered Kenzo Jungle Elephant and find it really comforting (although not particularly Krafty).
Another vote for Moon Sparkle! I still can't get over that name.
I've had the Burt's Bees lotion before, and it really does smell nice. Works well, too, I thought.
A totally different article, but an intriguing idea!
I see you listed L'Elephant, which I just commented on above, too. It's so comforting.
Have you tried SL Chene? That one smells like pure, hot, oak to me, although it definitely doesn't quality as a mac and cheese scent.
Fruits & Passion Pear & Linden sounds like a winner, though. In fact, any scent with an ampersand in it is probably a good bet!
Great choices! I could practically smell them as you listed them.
My dog ate a whole container of Alba Organics cocoa butter once. Somehow he got the lid off and licked the jar clean. It was not pretty.
Hee! Hee! Not anymore, but I wore it all through highschool — that and Gloria Vanderbuilt. Just loved that swan bottle…
Seriously, I need to to go to BBW and get myself a Krafty education.
Yes, I have. Love it top and middle (wish I could stop time and fix it there)but as it approaches dry down it does this weird scorched cotton thing that is quite pronounced and truly unfortunate. The Pear& Linden by Fruits & Passion was quite a treat /suprise/happy accident … one of the few sweet things I can wear *sigh*.
My perfumes are more frommage than sillage. I like the quirky stuff that never gets the top marks. Sometimes when the scent is too perfect, it's wearing me. More work than I want from a personal product.
Cheezwiz, I LOVE Attraction, too!! It's totally a Rodney Dangerfield scent in North America. So glad you mentioned it; I'm going to wear it tomorrow just because of you and Angela!
It really does sound like that's where the best Krafty scents are.
Everyone seems to know about Attraction but me! I must remedy that.
Well, darn it. Still, finding a cheaper scent that you like better is a real plus.
Lettuce and salsa! Hilarious! Dogs are such scavengers.
“More fromage than sillage”–funny! I know what you mean about scents that wear you rather than vice versa. Sometimes I'm just not up to what my perfume expects of me.
I love that kind of aromatherapy, I wear something new every day.
Yes, that's exactly what it is: aromatherapy.
Paloma stinks of civet to me – knocks Jicky into a cocked hat imho in that respect – but that could just be my skin. For example, Miss Dior, Lanvin Rumeur and 24 Faubourg smell of rotting badger corpses on my wrist in the drydown – or something unpleasant anyway.
hahaha. well said! for me, i think BBW cocnut lime verbena would fall under that category, along w/ benefit maybe baby
I can imagine Miss Dior getting a little gamy, but Rumeur and 24 F? Your skin is truly a skank amplifier! And I know exactly the smell you're talking about when you write “rotting badger corpses”.
Gosh, BBW is a regular cornucopia of Krafty fragrances!
Velvet Tuberose is really nice (mostly I love Bath and Body because you can try on their scents without the sales rep either frowning, hovering, or a combination of both!) but it was soooo strong on me! I tried it right around Christmas and I was tempted to roll my windows down becaues it was overwhelming my car. Of couse, I drive a tiny Chevy Metro, so maybe that's it.
I'm the only girl I know besides my mom who has an Escada tester ribbon hanging from my rear view mirror. Haha…
I think my confort scents are probably Sonia Kashuk (sp.) No. 1, sometimes the original Burberry, and *sob* Mary Kate and Ashley West Coast! Okay…I can feel the layers of perfume snobbery dripping off…and to think I harrassed my sister for spritzing with a tester from Victoria's Secret! And this is the same 10 year old sister who request Chanel No. 5 from the sales rep while we were browsing…with no IDEA how iconic it is!
I got a scented page of Tresor, so when I went perfume-sniffing I tried to sniff some and the stupid bottle they had out had a seriously defective atomizer!! Argh! I asked for a sample but was told they didn't have any. No Lancome Tresor testers? Are you kidding me? Ah well…I'll just go back and annoy them again sometime soon. Either way, there's just something about that fragrance that's very earthy, and feminine without being girly at all…smelled divine, but also very, I don't know, personal. Maybe that's the best way to describe it.
I just tested Moon Sparkle out for a friend's sister who's getting married in June. It didn't exactly float my boat…it was very sweet and I choose my sweetness carefully…but he like it. I did, however, point him towards this blog, saying that we'd just been discusing wedding perfumes. He also went mildly crazy when I told him Demeter has a grass scent…haha…another convert to the dark side!
This is a hilarious post! So many responses – so much banter – I love it! Does Amarige by Givenchy count as Mac-n-Cheese? This is my all the time go-to scent when I'm not sure what to wear, don't want to put any thought into it, and just want to smell pretty/sexy. (And it only take 2 spritzes and I'm out the door 'cause Amarige is potent stuff!).
I'm also embarrassed to admit that I love Angel mostly because it's SO ULTRA popular, but I don't think Angel should be considered mac-n-cheese, it's just embarrassing for a perfume snob!!
Hurray! You've completely embraced the spirit of the post, and I salute you.
More and more, though, I know I've got to get down to BBW!
That sounds like a great description. It's a scent built to be popular, what with its rose and sweetness, but the vetiver adds something unexpected. Definitely see if you can find a tester that works!
Good work!
Angel is too important to be considered a mac and cheese scent (in my mind, anyway, even though I probably won't be wearing it anytime soon), but Amarige just might fit!
I'm glad you liked the post.
I do like that – “a skank amplifier”! Miller Harris's L'Air de Rien, which is supposed to be skanky to start with, was positively obscene on me, and Delrae's Amoureuse, now I think of it, was another dead badger special. As for mac n' cheese scents, may I put forward Hugo Boss Femme (the pale pink one), which someone described as the perfume equivalent of a girl band. Oh, and thanks to whoever edited my accidental duplicate posts yesterday!
my friends and I watch Sex And The City for tv comfort, I wonder what the perfume equivalent for that is?………………I do love pink sugar as a mac-and-cheese fragrance
We sell cuba gold in my store in australia and let me tell you, the gold is the best of a bad lot- definitely mac and cheese
Then it's a definite must-try! Plus that bottle sounds great.
I think Pink Sugar is a great match for SATC.
I wonder if it's indolic jasmine that is so dead-badgerish on you (besides the usual suspects like civet and musk)? That would explain both the 24F and Amoureuse. Hmm.
Anything called a “girl band” scent is mac and cheese material, for sure!
I bet you are right about the indolic jasmine – Chandler Burr talks somewhere about their rotting stench in “The Perfect Scent” and I remember thinking that's what I get with it – Amoureuse was truly gross on me. He also likens Miss Dior to “the armpit of a woman who has not bathed in a week”. Yup, that's me! I can even curdle No 5 on a bad day. There is another type of nasty niff I cannot quite identify – sorry, this is getting off mac 'n cheese a bit though Amarige has been mentioned in this thread as a Krafty contender – it is the nauseous, chemically, plasticky smell I get in the drydown of Amarige and right from the off with Caron's Narcisse Noir. I would love to know if that is down to my skankifying skills or an objectively definable ingredient!
I can't speak for Amarige, but I know Narcisse Noir has a goodly dash of civet in it as well as some slightly indolic jasmine–at least, the parfum does.
today was exactly the 'kraft-comfort day' for me. back to work from a short holiday, lousy work discipline and weathe, i opted for lolita lempicka – L. with the immortelle, just the right amount of comfort mmmh
it reminds me of cake so much
That sounds perfect to me (and so does cake, to tell the truth).
Nice article and I know exactly what you mean. I turn to several BBW smells – Black Raspberry Vanilla and Coca Cabana mostly. Seems like my comfort scents are vanilla-heavy – I have a couple of Perlier Caribbean Vanilla colognes (Coffee Vanilla and Mango Vanilla) that I find quite soothing. because the vanilla is not a sugary one, just dark and sweet. Flower Bomb, even though it cost an arm and leg, is pretty Krafty for me. I just tried crazy lillibelleule L'Olfactive 129 and it might be a contender – I felt instantly happy; not sexy or exotic or even cute – just happy to be smelling sweet.
OMG, I have so many lotions that a friend who was visiting my bathroom called out, “Tama, you are a lotion whore!”. I mostly use lotion and am hard-pressed to find a “plain” one for when I want to wear a perfume I don't have a matching lotion for. Have lots of body washes, too. Lotion is great for bedtime, especially something warming like ginger.
It sounds like you have a terrific grasp of the second-best perfume and how perfect it can be when the time is right. I'll have to try the Crazy Lillebellule that you mention, too!
It's amazing how hard it is to find a good, unscented lotion. Sometimes I actually use a shea butter unscented lotion made for pregnant women to rub on their bellies. It's really moisturizing and doesn't interfere with whatever perfume I feel like wearing to bed that night. But I know the lotion will be too heavy for summer…
Thanks! I wore the 129 to work today and had my coworker take a whiff – she is not into sweet either but she loved it. I got 8 samples from Lucky and so far that and the CdG Carnation are the winners – only 1 is sniffed but untested – Tauer Le Maroc Pour Elle.
Funny, I could always wear Diorissimo (been awhile) but Muguet du Bois makes me queasy. Funny how our noses work, isn't it?
Le Maroc pour Elle is really nice. I hope you like it.
And skin chemistry, too.
I have traditionally liked Nivea even though it has a little bit of scent. It doesn't really interfere. Sometimes the really unscented ones still smell kind of chemical-y. I also use Perlier's Honey body cream when I wear sweeter fragrances – it has a very subtle smell that goes well with especially vanillas.
I tried it this morning – I like it – I smell like a Middle Eastern gift shop in a good way. I think the sample will last a long time – I have on a drop and it is enough. I can see wearing it more when it is chilly out, too.
Those sound like great recommendations, thanks.
It definitely is a powerful scent, and a drop will definitely do the trick!