Not Just Another Pretty Face in the Stands

I grew up in a “no-odor household:” my parents would wrinkle their noses at the slightest hint of fragrance. I resorted to spraying “Charlie” (purchased because I was in love with a boy named Charlie and I thought Shelley Hack looked gorgeous in this print ad) in the air and quickly walking through it.

I rarely got away with that, and it quickly lead to living a fragrance-free life. Oh, I had collected perfumes here and there (White Linen, Shalimar, Miracle) but application was sporadic and took a bigger dive into oblivion when I started raising children. Since I never left the house, I thought, ‘Why should I try to smell nice, look nice?” But I recently grew out of that funk and lately have noticed the pleasure fragrances have given me in the most unexpected places. There was the clerk at the local Alsup’s who when asked what she was wearing, responded with a huge grin, “Sexy by Victoria’s Secret”, and the woman who sat behind me last night at a basketball game who smiled wide when she responded to my inquiry with “Opium.” Even though I may be with myself and the dogs during the day, I have started touching my neck and my wrists with the slightest whisper of fragrance, most recently the newly released Chanel Les Exclusifs.

I read about the line at my once-a-day obsession - Blogdorf Goodman. My favorite is 31 Rue Cambon. Before coaches wives balk at the price, I found a site - Fragrant Fripperies - where you can order samples. It was perfect for someone with a tight budget and limited access to sampling fragrances. So, now when I lean over the sink clearing away breakfast dishes and the soothing smell rises above the Palmolive suds, it reminds me that I am a woman, and that gives me pleasure. What are some of your favorite fragrances?

Share This

I am a self-professed weather baby. The slightest hint of bad weather and I’m pulling kids from soccer fields, baseball fields, football fields, swimming pools, you name it. I have no less than three weather radios and scanners in addition to emergency alerts programmed to deliver up-to-the-minute reports on my wireless device so I can receive thunderstorm and tornado warnings and flash flood advisories. My favorite all-in-one weather radio is this one from  which also serves as a cell phone charger and can be hand-cranked if necessary. After the tornadoes skipped off to another county, and I put the L.L. Bean radio away for another day, I looked back on the day and remembered a brief noontime visit from a neighbor that notified me of another brewing storm that was forgotten during the hectic Texas afternoon. Our neighbor had appeared on our doorstep amidst the three barking dogs who think they live at our house, holding a simple blue 3×5 index card with six familiar names on it. They were the names of our neighbors who will weather on without their husband and father who left for Iraq earlier that day. Her request was simple: please pray for them. Sometimes the best and heartfelt alerts are those delivered face-to-face, hand-written and personal. I will remember her visit long after the countryside dries and the simple blue index card will not be deleted from my inbox like the many alerts I received today.

Share This