Dear Michelle,
It's all right if I call you Michelle, right? I feel like I know you well enough. After all, I'm not the only person I know who has fallen asleep and dreamt of hanging out with you and Obama. In one of my friend's dreams, you were barbecuing and wearing a Duke University jersey. In my dream we were at St. Sulpice in Paris and a priest was explaining how we were really cousins. (Don't worry, it was only a dream. I'm just glad there weren't giant ducks or submarines or something like that.) But I'm not writing to talk to you about dreams. I want to discuss something more important: perfume.
I understand that you recently bought a bottle of Boadicea the Victorious Noble Eau de Parfum. I've been lucky enough to smell Noble, and it's a wonderful rose scent with a sophisticated patchouli and amber dry down. I wouldn't mind having a bottle of it myself. But since you're First Lady, I see broader horizons for you than the perfume output of a British hairdresser. You undoubtedly have big things on your mind, what with being a razor-sharp attorney, mom, and target of public attention. So, to save you time and to bring you maximum olfactory pleasure, I've chosen a few perfumes for you to put in the cabinet next to Noble:
Jean Patou Joy extrait: This is an easy choice. Joy parfum is a deep, glorious pleasure. On your skin it will show you the pure delight and beauty of roses and jasmine, but marbled with carnality and the memory of heartbreak that gives the emotion joy the edge it needs to be real. If you aren't used to classic perfumes, it might smell old fashioned to you. But you wouldn't call Rembrandt old fashioned, right? Besides, Joy was reportedly a favorite of Jackie Kennedy, from the first American Camelot. Joy is a shoo-in for greeting foreign dignitaries. Tell your staffers to track down a bottle that's at least a few years old. Word on the street is that the new stuff isn't the same.
Coty Sand & Sable: I've noticed how you like to mix the high and low, what with your J Crew sweaters and all. The next time you slip on an Armani gown, try a spritz of Sand & Sable. It's a party of white flowers and good times at the beach. I think your athletic physique and forthright attitude would complement a layer of womanly tuberose and gardenia. Maybe you're tempted to try Frédéric Malle Carnal Flower instead. Hey, everyone is wearing that these days. Sand & Sable is more chic and a twentieth the price. Make it part of your personal stimulus package.
Guerlain Vol de Nuit: Everyone needs his or her signature Guerlain. For you I'd choose Vol de Nuit. You're one of the few people who could get away with wearing the sharper Eau de Toilette, too. Vol de Nuit is strong, linear, and dreamy. Although it's a scent with presence, its warm wood and tonka let it blend with whatever else is happening. This is a good perfume to take on the road. It is suitable to meet with everyone from Bono to President Sarkozy.
Chanel Eau de Cologne: Washington, D.C. is a steam bath in the summer. Sometimes you'll need something to cool you off, something that burns away quickly but leaves you feeling like you've downed an icy gin and tonic. Since in your job you need to stay sober, I recommend Chanel Eau de Cologne. Keep it in the refrigerator and splash it on whenever you need refreshed.
Bvlgari Black: They say you and Obama have regular date nights. This is the fragrance to wear when it's just you, him, and the posse of Secret Service agents. It has a spicy kick that men seem to love, and its rubbery-leathery-musky body is strange and compelling and makes you want to smell it again and again. And yet it's definitely a perfume in the grand sense. I almost suggested another mankiller, Amouage Jubilation 25, but I see you more as a Bvlgari Black gal. Angelina Jolie is, too, so you'll be in good company.
Michelle (it's still o.k. to call you that, right?), these five perfumes would make a good core fragrance collection for you. But I'd love to introduce you to others, and as you get used to fragrance you might find that you want to explore the world of scent. Call me, o.k.? If I'm not home, be sure to leave a message. In the meantime, I'll see you in my dreams.
Sincerely,
Angela
Angela, this made my day! lol.
I can actually totally see her in Joy! She needs to take your advice!
Thank you! And, hey, everyone needs to take my advice! (Just kidding.)
Beautiful article Angela! I am wearing vintage Joy extrait today! And I love all of these perfumes (haven’t tried the Sand and Sable-tho)….hope she has a perfumista friend to put this and these perfumes under her nose…
I have a feeling she’s not a huge perfumista, but I’d love to introduce her to the Pleasures of the Nose (not that she doesn’t have enough on her plate already).
Maybe not yet.
But she has cracked the door. Now we are here to open it all the way for her. Maybe she’ll see your post.
I’m sure I’ll never be close enough to smell if she’s followed any of our advice…
Lol…yeah good point!
Oh, now there’s a job for you…perfumer to the stars (and diplomats). They have people who pick out everything else, right? I love it!
Wouldn’t that be fun? Perfume consultant?
Angela this article is priceless. I wish I knew a sure-fire way that Michelle (it’s ok that we all call her that, right?) would see it! Touche.
Maybe one of her staffers cruises the blogs and will tip off Obama with this shopping list for Michelle’s birthday.
Angela – you know I love VdN – but my Guerlain choice for her would be Jardins de Bagatelle. I’ve always thought it as tres tres confident, elegant, and womanly, and yet like a great sunny day. Michelle is like all of these things!
But if I were to suggest an “I am first lady hear me roar” fragrance, it would be Hermes 24 Fauborg which is just gorgeous, esp, of worn in a discrete dose!
OMG – Angela – Please help! What in god’s name is going on with the boadicea website? I can’t figure out how to make it stop!
It’s one of those dumb “must have Flash” websites. I don’t know why they do that.
Do you think Jardins de Bagatelle would be too subdued for her? It would be great for all those functions in the Rose Garden. But 24 Faubourg! I see that as more of a conservative fragrance. Although it is very classy, just like Michelle.
Hmm – I never thought about it as being subdued, as it always seemed so exuberant to me. But perhaps. I don’t normally read most orientals as conservative, rather as “elegant”, but maybe it would go along with those pearls and a ball gown rather than for every day.
It would be a perfect ballgown scent! Especially on a spring night, I think.
“This is the fragrance to wear when it’s just you, him, and the posse of Secret Service agents.”
Ha! Love this Angie…can I call you Angie?
What a great article to start the week. How can we scheme to make sure Michelle reads this??
Hugs!
Hopefully none of the posse have fragrance allergies! If so, they can be detailed to Joe Biden, I say. And you can call me whatever you want, as long as you call me (is that a Mae West line? Not sure).
It is Mae West.
Although, a lot of quips that are attributed to her were really lines from films she was in. (Unless she ad-libbed a lot, which she could have, who knows.)
I wouldn’t be surprised if she ad-libbed a fair amount. She sure seems like the type to do it!
I love her, and miss the days when actresses had that kind of moxie and style. (Not that I was around then, but you know what I mean.) What kind of perfume would Mae West have worn? I’m thinking something spicy…
Of course I think of Femme, since the bottle’s shape was supposedly modeled after her posterior. But something spicy and fruity, too, I think, and seductive. Femme just might be a good fit.
Oh, Joe…..now he’s a good ad-libber. So I’ll call, just don’t forget to bring along that S&S when I do, it’s been a long time since I’ve smelled that one.
I’m not sure what scent I’d put Joe in. I’ll have to think on that one.
Agreeing with Trish, here. “When it’s just you, him, and the posse of Secret Service agents” — priceless.
Thank you!
What a wonderful post! All excellent choices (I forgot you were a fellow S&S fan) and I agree with your reasoning on all of them. And you’ve reminded me I really need to dig up some Chanel EdC…
In your steamy reaches, some Chanel EdC would be great. But don’t forget to try the Jean Nate again!
Great post! I think Michelle is a fabulous First Lady and I like your reasoning for your choices. I haven’t tried all of these, so your post also gives me ideas for scents to seek out (the Chanel EdC sounds good… I like anything that you can compare to a gin and tonic on a hot day…).
Angeliques sous la Pluie is a good gin and tonic scent, too, I think, but it’s less refreshing and more of a real perfume.
Hi Angela and happy Monday!
I love all your recs for Michelle, what a wonderful article. I think Amouage Lyric would be lovely on her too!
Lyric’s incense might make it nice for when she visits foreign religious sites, too. Or the Middle East–hey, why not curry favor with a local scent?
This is a beautiful letter/article, Angela!!!! I would also add Creed’s Love in Black/ Love in White.
A nice duo for her!
Great post! Loved the list…and I get the Sand & Sable, even though I end up not being able to feel the love myself.
I’m thinking maybe the American First Lady ought to also have a Lauder on her list. In the same way she could carry off Vol de Nuit, perhaps she could wear Private Collection? I’d go for Azuree or Alliage for her, myself.
It’s funny you should say that, because I thought of Private Collection Tuberose and Gardenia instead of Sand & Sable for exactly the same reason! She should have something firmly American to wear. In the end, the Sand & Sable won out for its drugstore pedigree.
I would simply die of happiness if I found out Michelle Obama wore the same perfume on date nights with the Prez as I do with my boyfriend. She’s prettimuch my life role model.
Great post Angela! I think she should wear Chanel No. 5 Eau Premiere when she has days off to hang out with the girls and play in the organic garden…nice and warm and sunny for laid back days.
Hey, good idea! When she’s romping with Bo, she could try a little Bandit, too.
Oh, yeah. She’s very Chanel No. 5, esp. in her little black sheath dresses. Love Michelle O!
So true–she dresses in such simple but classic shapes. Still, somehow No. 5 itself seems less right than Eau Premiere.
This entire post is great. The subject of people’s dreams of the famous (and infamous, too, I suppose) is entertaining. Btw, someone in the UK did a survey on, and then published an entire book of ordinary Britons’ dreams about the Queen. No, I haven’t googled it yet, but once read a few quotations in some celebrity-chasing magazine. Some saw her as a mother-figure, natch, others had her dropping in chummily for tea. . .
Fascinating! I’d love to read that book. Seriously, though, I know at least three people besides me who have had Obama dreams.
This is a great topic. I have wondered about the type of fragrance Michelle Obama would wear, and was disappointed to learn that she bought a British brand. Since she is the First Lady, and a style icon who wears American designers, I think she should promote American fragrances. What would be your picks for Michelle from among American companies/designers?
Sand & Sable and the Estee Lauder Private Collections. How about the Donna Karans, too? She’d be killer in Black Cashmere and cozy in Cashmere Mist.
Yeah, or Chaos, maybe. I think she’d be great in the incense-y scents. Today I’m wearing Ava Luxe’s version of Chaos, btw.
Chaos is a good one. Maybe for when she’s on a state trip to Russia during the winter.
LOL! I enjoyed your “letter” to the First Lady so much!
I thought that instead of Vol de Nuit I think Evasion would’ve been better, or even Guet Apens since rose and amber might be the notes that float her boat. Hell, even Nahema! Woohoo! Too bad she didn’t walk through the Guerlain boutique while she was in Paris.
In the years I’ve lived through the small number of First Families I’ve witnessed, the Obamas are the most down to earth and most real!
I can definitely see Michelle liking some rose and amber from time to time, but I guess I was thinking of the “no joking around” Michelle that might go for Vol de Nuit. I bet she’d be wonderful in Guet Apens, though–you’re right!
Great post, and love the Sand & Sable mention! I wore it in high school and hadn’t thought of it (or smelled it) in years.
There’s something nice about wearing fancy clothes with drugstore perfume. Sand & Sable is a good one.
This has given me some pause for thought.
Mrs. Obama supports American designers, so perhaps we should match her to some American classics?
How about EL Private Collection Tuberose Gardenia? Narciso Rodriguez’s eponymous fragrance? Or KM Peau de Peche?
I admit I love French fragrances, but somehow the older classics don’t seem to suit her modern, up-to-the minute persona. I’m thinking more recent classics like Nahema or Samsara, Enlevement Au Serail or Coco, even Allure. I bet she would love some of the other Chanel Les Exclusifs like Coromandel, Bel Respiro or 31 Rue Cambon.
What do you think, Angela?
Hugs!
Badgeley Mischka’s original fragrance comes to mind, too.
I could see that, too. Great suggestion!
And you are so nice to call her “Mrs. Obama”. I still like to make believe that she’s my pal and call her Michelle. Sigh.
Great and very thoughtful suggestions, R! I agree that she’s 100% modern–it’s my own bias for vintage that’s peeking through here. And you’re spot on with the suggestions for American scents, too. I wonder if she’d even enjoy something edgy like a Comme des Garcons scent?
What a great combination of wonderfully humorous writing and good, solid advice! I loved it!!
But….I have to take issue with calling Vol de Nuit linear – at least on my skin it goes through about six different phases! Probably the least linear scent that I own.
I love Vol de Nuit, but it sounds like Vol de Nuit loves you better!
I think a great everyday scent would be Calyx–fresh, forward, welcoming….seems just right for our Michelle (can I call her that?) and think how much fun the girls would have trying out Mom’s perfumes!!
Calyx! Great suggestion for an everyday scent! I hadn’t thought about the girls trying her perfume, but I love the image.
What a great post! I so agree, although I haven’t thought of Sand And Sable since Michelle (I can call her that, right?) was in patent-leather Mary Janes and gloves. I love the suggestions and the reasons.
You know, Presidents have food tasters when they go out, I don’t think it’s odd to have a perfume-smeller. Don’t want to be caught with a scrubber.
I’d love to be Mich–uh, Mrs. Obama’s–perfume smeller! I could sleep on a cot in her dressing room (with my cat and dog, of course) and be on the horn with perfume sellers all around the world until I found the best perfumes for her. I’m thinking Violet Noir (above) would be my first call–she has some great suggestions.
Hello Angela,
Oh my gosh how I laughed! I enjoyed reading this article so much that I made my husband read it too. It is fantastic, informative, and as always~your wonderful sense of humor laced throughout. It also gave me a couple ideas for future sampling. Thank you!
Ok, I have a question and ONLY if you have some spare time. If you know your childrens teacher really really well would it be appropriate to purchase a perfume for them? They have shown such kindness to our boys that I want to give a more personal “end of school year” gift.
Thanks again for article~wouldnt you just flip if she sent you a response?! Take Care, Yvonne
What? You mean “Bunky” isn’t Michelle Obama’s NST name? Darn it, well maybe the next comment….
I bet your teacher would love perfume. If you felt it was too personal, you could always make it an eau de cologne. Dior Escale a Portofino would be fabulous, for instance.
Oh Lord, this made me laugh. I think this is the beginning of a new weekly post! It’s like the Monday Mail, except it can be a Tuesday Mail for First Ladies of the world and Celebs!!!! Dead or alive!! If Marilyn Monroe were alive today, and wanted to create her own celebrity perfume, what would it be…………
I reckon Mrs Obama would LOVE Ormonde Jayne!!!
Oh, I didn’t even think of Ormonde Jayne! They are so original and high quality (just like you know who) that they’d be a good match.
Quick query…….i have foudn bottles of Bulgari Black available on line quite cheaply – but they are all EdT. Did it only come in that concentration? Is it worth trying in EdT instead of EdP etc?
My bottle is EdT, too, and it smells great to me!
I loved reading this.
She really should contact you. Maybe the link for this post will somehow, slowly be handed around until it reaches someone in the white house … what first lady wouldn’t want a personal perfume selection expert?
Hey, that’s what I think, too!
Casting my vote for 1000 de Jean Patou for Mme Obama.
Hmm, strong, classy, beautiful–good choice!