It's Fashion Friday!: A Highbrow Nose

           All joking aside, I don’t like to toot my own horn. Now I am really chuckling to myself

on the inside since I am sitting in an airport on my way home from an audition where I did exactly that. What I mean is that I am at heart a fairly modest person. So, when I tell you I could sell someone his own foot it is because that is a fact, not because I am bragging. (I must also interject that I wouldn’t do that, and that is one of many reasons I am no longer in the luxury retail business). That being said, I can’t remember the last time I was out-charmed at my own game. No one has “sold” me anything in a long time, that is until this past Sunday.

Eau Lente Eau de Toilette 50 ml $88

            Chicago is one of my favorite cities. I love walking around near the river and the Wrigley building – the architecture is so much different that what you see in New England. I had passed over the river and was walking north, and I was hot. Of course, it’s me, so, I knew the location of a small mall-like building where I could pop in for some air-conditioning (and a walk through Nordstrom). I don’t usually stop in the fragrance section because I already have a bunch of fragrances that I wear and like. (When I found some allergy medications that allowed me to wear them without sneezing or getting headaches it was a pretty exciting day). The Nordstrom on Michigan Ave happens to carry Diptyque, however, and that is not something I can get in Mass.

Limited Edition Minä - Infini $65
"woods, incense, and spices" 

            Some of you may know of Diptyque because of their candles, a cult favorite for years (Isn’t that an odd saying? “Cult favorite.” I don’t think the Moonies used Diptyque candles, and they probably weren’t burning them in Waco TX either. I guess that’s one of those superficial monikers the thinking folk aren’t supposed to overanalyze). People who don’t belong to cults also enjoy Diptyque candles - my mother got one for Christmas, and it has been pleasantly wafting through our family room for months (she’s savoring it). My favorite would have to be the Feu de Bois candle, which smells like firewood. Yankee Candle can take their food-scented candles and eat them. If I want my house to smell like baked goods, I’ll bake something. UGH. Those cake-scented candles are the worst. I feel sick just thinking about them. I’m straying from the path…

            What really swept me in and held my nose hostage were the parfums, and the fact that Michael kept spraying them for me to breathe in while telling me the stories of each one. Product knowledge is a dangerous weapon. When I encounter a skilled seller I must put myself on the offensive – beat them at their own game. I sell the seller the idea of me NOT buying anything, so that I don’t end up leaving poorer. They don’t know what’s happened when I’m done. They’ve played the game right, asked open-ended questions, and done all of the engaging like they were taught, but where is the sale? I have to tell you that I lost this battle. Michael won. Michael won with his charm, and his ability to keep me standing there for at least a half hour, and because these fragrances just smell INTOXICATING. Each one is distinctive and alluring, and not a single one smells like the cheap sorority girl you sat next to at the bar last night.

L'Ombre dans L'Eau solid perfume $48

            I tried on their newest one, Eau Moheli – it was absolutely divine. I can’t even remember what it started as because I am so taken with the light floral scent it faded to by the end of the day. Philosykos, a fig scent, is one of the most interesting fragrances I’ve come across, and not a thing like anything you would find in pedestrian locations such as Target or Home Goods with the word “FIG” printed across it. This was delightfully sweet, and yet not overpowering. It didn’t smell like food, it smelled like sunshine. I also really enjoyed L’Ombre dans L’Eau. These all come in Eau de Toilette, in simple bottles with sketched artwork. There are a variety of sizes for some as well, so people like me, who wish to have many fragrances at their beck and call, can get smaller ones and buy a few. Some even come in solid perfumes to be rubbed on the pulse points. The packaging for such is a near inch in diameter lustrous, black coffer, so heavy in your hands it just feels rich.

            I didn’t purchase any of the prior scents. Michael directed me to a collection of citrus notes we had not yet sampled. These were the pièce de résistance. Citrus is perfect for summer because it’s not heavy. The last thing anyone wants

L'Eau des Hesperides Rollerball $48 - lovely packaging,
isn't it?

to smell in 95-degree heat is an over perfumed 95-year old woman (or the Abercrombie & Fitch store). I was already wearing something at this point, and like I’ve said, I’d been out charmed, so I was going to be purchasing a fragrance without trying it on. This is generally a bad idea, especially for someone like myself who, as I’m sure I’ve mentioned, when sprayed with Chanel Chance ends up smelling like a freshly powdered donut. Michael actually sold me the one he liked, L’Eau des Hesperides, and not the one I would have picked, and my arm has been glued to my nose since. Charming AND skilled. If you like to smell good, I highly recommend you investigate the Diptyque fragrances. And since you’re probably going to have to order them anyway, you should give Michael at the Michigan Ave Nordstrom a call.