I Wish This Was an April Fool's Day Joke

...Really, Beyonce? I mean, I'm sure your new fragrance smells gorgeous, and this is coming from somebody who loves the last two Jennifer Lopez fragrances.

But... really, did you have to sample Cindy Crawford's tub scene from "Freedom '90" for this one? And haven't you done enough by covering "You Oughta Know" in concert?

Now that I think about it, you might as well sample the rest of my record/tape/CD collection from the Nineties, anyway. In fact, why don't you just go ahead and do that? I was already an awkward teenager back then; I probably don't even need the music to be reminded of the fact at all.

Let's start with this one, shall we?



You have no idea how many times my friends and I wore out Our Time in Eden and found it so profound. Now I see this, and I think of how self-righteous Natalie Merchant turned out to be. It's not for nothing that she has inspired the "have met/was bitch" meme on Tomato Nation.

Speaking of self-righteous and off-putting...


Sorry, Paula, but I needed to say it.

Which reminds me:



Of all the epic dance-floor anthems that came out in the Nineties, nothing says "Meimei at 16: drunk, underaged, and desperate for attention" like this one.

And finally, in the event that neither Shakira nor J.Lo are available to perform this song in public...



Happy April First, everyone!

Edited to add: Holy crap, I still can't believe that Jennifer Lopez has actually sampled "Lambada" for "On The Floor." Really. 

A Life Well-Lived

An obituary, from The Telegraph. 

A series of final tweets from @dameelizabeth herself, using her iPad, dated July 22, 2010:

I would like to add something to my earlier tweet. Always keep love and humility in your heart.

Never let yourself think beyond your means...mental, emotional or any otherwise. 

You are who you are. All you can do in this world is help others to be who they are and better themselves and those around them.

Give. Remember always to give. That is the thing that will make you grow. 

That is the thing that will give back to you all the rewards that there are. Don't do it for yourself, because then it becomes selfish.

Because then it becomes about yourself...which is wrong. Giving is to give to God. Helping is to help others.

Every breath you take today should be with someone else in mind. I love you.

In honor of Elizabeth Taylor, I have decided that I will not face this day without perfume.  

Our Time in Eden: The Polyvore Set

One of my many new writing projects involves a semi-autobiographical coming of age story set in Indonesia, where I lived during the early Nineties. Yes, I still can't believe it's been twenty years since grunge started taking a hold on popular culture, and I still think that there's a part of me that regrets a lot of the boneheaded things I used to do in the name of Kurt Cobain.

Like many of my writing projects, however, I have also begun the process of developing characterization through art-direction... and since it is a semi-autobiographical story, I might as well do a little wardrobe editing so that the folks in my story would wear the things that I wish I'd worn during that time, as opposed to the things I actually wore in the process.

my time in eden by meimei96 

This Polyvore set is chock full of items that I would have worn If I Had Known Sooner, which explains why I passed on the Doc Martens and Colors de Benetton in favor of espadrilles and Midnight Pomegranate. Then again, it's not like I'm denying the fact that I wore red lipstick with winged black eyeliner practically almost single day, so you can't say that I didn't try hard enough.

Which brings us to a new feature here on Domesticity.

Polyvore now has the Mini-Editor feature, which invites readers to put together their own Polyvore set on this blog. Think of it as taking a shot at doing your own set based on the given theme of each entry - like  Design*Sponge, but more interactive. You don't necessarily have to have a Polyvore account to work with the editor; in fact, you can even add more items if the selections (shown below) leave a lot to be desired.

And since the theme for this entry is "grunge," I'd like to see your own interpretation of the grunge years, for a change. Did you wear your Doc Martens with pride? Did you buy a lot of flannel shirts because of Eddie Vedder? How many fashion and music cues did you take from Sassy magazine? (Or did you even start reading Sassy in the first place, after getting sick and tired of all those side-ponytailed tarts on Teen and YM? Because truth to tell, by the time I was a junior in high school, I was more than happy to trade in my copies of Sassy for Allure and Entertainment Weekly.) Or did you miss it by a few generations, and would be more than happy to get creative with it in the first place?

That's our intro for this entry. Now get to work!


Get your own Mini Editor from Polyvore

The Ultimate Video Style Moment

Confession: I've been watching this video on an endless loop since last night. (It's for, uh, "research" for my NaNoWriMo project. And by "research" I mean "getting out of my writer's block.")



Some thoughts:

• Wait, this came out 20 years ago!?!?!?!?!!! And it was directed by David Fincher? Has it been THAT long ago? (All I know is that I was extremely let down by "Too Funky," which was supposed to be a follow-up to "Freedom 90" - and remains one of the big reasons why I still don't get haute couture.) 
• Oh, so many girlcrush-worthy supermodels here. Naomi Campbell has never been hotter, before and since, and Christy Turlington(-Burns) is just made of wowza. (Such a versatile face!) Then there's Cindy Crawford, of course - how could anyone not notice that mole? - and Tatjana Patitz, who I just found out is aging quite nicely... though I have to admit that those shots of her with the cigarettes are pretty hot. 
• On the other hand... Linda Evangelista? Still annoying. I get that she's gorgeous and epic and everything, but something about her just bugs. 
• Also just found out that Marcus Schenkenberg is not in this video (thank goodness - the guy ended up looking really grody, didn't he?)... which then begs the question: Who were those hot guys, and why can't I find them where I should?

And if you liked this one, you should see the semi-homage created for the D+G Fragrance Anthology advertising campaign, shown here. (Warning: Some butt-flashing may be involved here. Also, WTF happened to Claudia Schiffer's body?)

...I'll stop here before I end up with another Halloween Spectacular in my hands. 

Domesticity Reviews: The Fragrances in Meimei's Closet

Credit for this goes to a friend of mine who did this on his Facebook page.

For a quick refresher on which fragrances are which - besides the first three - click here.

Chanel Chance: Remember when you purchased me from Liberty House several years ago, when you got your first non-student job? And you do remember that the first day of your second term is coming up, yes? So it would help that you should wear the very fragrance that has carried you through every single challenge in your career. Pick me, and I will help you fulfill your destiny!

Chanel No. 5: But ah, my dearest bonne Chance, you are mistaken! I have taught Meimei everything that she needs to know about power and destiny! Never mind that I have repeatedly failed in attracting the right garcon for her (then again, so has your dearest sister Allure) but what can one do when one is 18 years of age and could only begin to grasp one's true mission in life! So much potential, Meimei, but it is never too late to awaken it once again.

Comptoir Sud Pacifique Vanille: Je suis desole, les madames de Chanel, but I've been Meimei's go-to fragrance for the last 10 or so years, and she just can't quit me. Maybe it's because she's now used to that flan-scented top note?

4711: Meimei once wore me when she acted as a judge for a trivia-quiz night at the Math department, and ended up earning more respect from the undergrads for being tough and knowledgeable. If she'd known earlier that my dry down smells better than that intimidating top note, she'd wear me more often.

Le Petit b. b. by Agnes B.: Hi, Mr. 4711! Can I help you with your top-note problem? I'm a little too light, but I can still help you!

Sand and Sable: ...COOKIES!

Caron Farnesiana and Pan Ame de Patou: Darling, why are you still saving us for special occasions? Is it because we make you feel like you should be wearing a dress all the time?

YSL Cinema: Well, you did wear me when you went to watch Cats, right? And I did help you get through that intermission with all those intimidating high-society folks in attendance - even if you were, in fact, wearing a skirt from Gap. Wouldn't it be nice if you'd wear me again with a more glamorous gown, and possibly a much hotter date?

Mysterious Blue Bottle from Kuri's Stash: Yes, you can wear me to work. And by "work" I mean Domesticity and NaNoWriMo, if you know what I mean... KIDDING! No, seriously, you can totally wear me to work.

The Body Shop Indian Gardenia: Well, well, I just realized that Meimei's beginning to like me again as a floral. Wonder if she'll let me help 4711 and Le Petit b.b. on their sillage problems?

Domesticity Mini-Reviews: Hair and Fragrance Edition

DISCLAIMER: All of these products were either purchased by or gifted to yours truly.

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- Human Nature Strengthening Shampoo and Body Wash with Aloe Vera, Pearl Powder, and Peppermint. The name is a mouthful, but take my word for it - this shampoo is The Truth for those of us with fine, flat hair. One dime-sized squidge is enough to keep hair bouncy for daily hair-washers; lathering up twice will take care of even the peskiest, most tenacious product residue. This is also the perfect shampoo for people like me who can afford to skip the conditioner every other day, as well. And did I tell you that the peppermint in this shampoo is 1) quite subtle scent wise, 2) locally sourced in the Philippines, and 3) a surprisingly luxurious treat after a hot day? That's how awesome this stuff is. (I'm still in the process of trying Human Nature's Gugo and Kalamansi conditioner - which is also available on the Human Nature USA site - so I'll let you know how this works out.)

- Sand and Sable by Coty. I admit that I was a little hesitant about this one, because of the cheesy implication that comes with any drugstore fragrance. (Two words: Vanilla Fields. Though that was more the fault of the snotty roommate who spritzed it in our dorm room like Glade.) But I had another impression of this one going in: Cookies! Yep, I was thinking about sable cookies with sand-like texture - and oddly enough, I did find some flour-like notes among all the jasmine and white florals in this one. More like mochi than buttery cookies, actually, but delicious all the same. YMMV if you try this, of course - I've heard people compare it to suntan lotion and cat pee - but as a grown-up fragrance for work days, this was pretty good.

Care Package Goodies, Pt. 1: The Fragrance Challenge

You know, I should challenge myself to start wearing and test-driving fragrances on a regular basis, now that Kuri has sent me all of these decants...

From left to right: Sand and Sable by Coty; Caron Farnesiana (mimosa and almonds? I'm in); an almondy-buttery fragrance that Kuri and I are still trying to track down, but smells really nice on me; YSL Cinema, and Shiseido White Rose, which is exclusive to Japan.

From left to right: 4711, followed by Barbara Bui and Agnes B. Le Petit b.b. (yes, Scribey, agnes b. pour les bebes), plus Body Shop's Indian Gardenia, PanAme Jean Patou, and Estee Lauder's Pure White Linen.

And then there's these...

On the left, a sample of Weekend by Burberry for Women, which Kuri and I are mourning because the bottle broke in the middle of transit (I blame customs in Manila for that one), yet left a gorgeous scent all over the packing material... I'm actually using the stuff to scent my closets, in fact! (Wonder if I should try the other Burberry scents next?) And on the right, without any doubt: my beloved Chanel No. 5.

Do I smell (pun intended) another ongoing series of blog entries here? 

As you can see, this is enough fragrance to last me through the rest of the year...  including the typhoon season, when the air is colder and not as overwhelmingly humid. But it does pose the challenge of comparing these fragrances with one another, seeing what works for my body chemistry (even though I know nothing about sillage and all that jazz) so I can use them as a jump-off point for future purchases in the horizon. This should be a lot of fun!

Pink Jasmine

Here's a sign I found at Plantation Bay Resort on Mactan Island, in Cebu:

To quote:

Most Filipinos are not aware that their national flower, the Sampaguita, is in reality jasmine. Strung on a thread, sampaguita is the Philippine version of a lei for welcoming visitors. Jasmine flowers tend to be tiny but highly scented, and they are used not only in the making of tea but also perfume. Chinese Jasmine Tea is really a green or oolong base with jasmine flower added for aroma. One of our shareholders is very partial to Pink Jasmine by Fresh (which is made with, of course, jasmine). Fresh also makes Cannabis Rose (which is made with - oh, sorry, just rose).

I haven't owned any Fresh bath products since college, but I can attest to the gorgeousness of the Pink Jasmine fragrance - sweet, classic, feminine, never too stodgy. I can also vouch for Cannabis Rose, too, which isn't as bright as the Pink Jasmine, but just as intriguing nonetheless.

The Mogambo Springs spa at Plantation Bay is also home to boughs of actual pink jasmine plants, such as this one below.

Fresh, however, is not sold at Plantation Bay... but that doesn't mean you can't get your pink jasmine fix in any way possible. A little clicky-clicky on the Amazon links below should be a good start. :)

What a Way to Start the Day: Chanel's Night Train

For those of you who can't wait for the new Chanel movie with Audrey Tautou, you can now view her new Chanel No. 5 ad, Night Train, at http://www.chaneln5.com/en-us/#/the-film.

The ad itself reunites Audrey with Jean-Pierre Jeunet, who directed her in Amelie and A Very Long Engagement - and Jeunet himself says that the ad is a way of closing out that particular "trilogy. " And indeed there are some themes in this ad that are also prevalent in the other movies: love, longing, serendipity... not to mention such exquisite, romantic cinematography. (Also? Hot guy. Woohoo.)

As one of those folks who lurve Chanel, and especially Chanel No. 5 (which I wore to death in high school... yep, pretentious), this is definitely a treat.

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Speaking of sweeping and romantic: Just found out that a certain couple named Maggie and Peter got married in Italy. Woohoo! And cheers, you crazy kids you. Now I'm off to find a new pretend-boyfriend for this blog... any suggestions? Or should I just continue the parade on the Hotties section of this blog? Also, is this God's way of telling me to get a real boyfriend? Discuss.

No Snarky Explanation Necessary

What else can I say? Well, I did finally get a sniff of Dolce & Gabbana's The One at Sephora the other day, and now I'm convinced that D&G are giving Chanel a run on the iconic-fragrance department.... not to mention my hard-earned cash, since I've been wearing Chanel Chance for the last seven years. Someday, when my cash isn't too hard to earn, I'll splurge on a bottle of this.
Although, to be fair, there is another fragrance that does come close...


Yeah, I said it: Deseo by Jennifer Lopez really does come close to replicating The One, at least as far as my nose is concerned. Come to think of it, J. Lo has been really doing well in the fragrance department lately, ever since she came out with Live. (Also: the Deseo for Men smells fantastic, too - so much that I'd buy it for myself!)
But alas, neither one is meant to be. Now I must go back to doctoring body sprays with patchouli...

Domesticity Retail Roundup: Special Nordstrom Wing (Post-Circus) Edition

After calling the new Nordstrom at Ala Moana a FREAKING CIRCUS in my last blog entry, I decided to return to the mall this afternoon, while the weather was still overcast and the spring collections at Old Navy and J. Crew bored the heck out of me. Here's what I saw:


- Do you see that lovely blouse above? That, my friends, was from Nordies' plus size collection - and not just plus size, but Michael Kors plus size. I'm still bemoaning the fact that the "Encore" section still doesn't have the same breadth as the one at Macy's, only because it's still kind of hemajang and still hasn't manage to strike the same balance between the conservative (helloooo, Eileen Fisher!) and the disco-hoochie-mama (lots of sequins, people) - but between Michael Kors and Caslon, we're looking at a modest but well-curated collection of plus size stuff here. For the record: My apple-shaped self actually looks nice in yoked tops like the one shown above, but I was just so floored by seeing Michael Kors for $99.50 that I forgot to try it on.

- Also flooring me in the fragrance section: Viktor & Rolf Flowerbomb Eau de Toilette. I'm a sucker for patchouli, so my uneducated nose immediately registered this one as sexy. That bottle, incidentally, was sitting next to a bunch of Apothia fragrances that I also liked. I also appreciated how the men's section now carries The Art of Shaving, which I thought was worth a try... and so did the other guys who were wandering around the men's section, as well.

- Speaking of getting suckered by brand names (and moving outside of Nordies)... How adorable was that Lululemon Athletica store, anyway? Women and men's sport wear, in a bright little store with the cheeriest-looking water bottles and (seriously overpriced, in my opinion) yoga mats. It's meant to be hip and crunchy at the same time, if you ask me, but... so cute! Even the tiny little thongs at the front counter were so cuddly.

- Williams-Sonoma: Still stocked with awesome. Chico's: Still not as stodgy as one might think.

- Weirdest store in Ala Moana: Ruehl 925. Yes, I know they're trying to make it look like a New York loft/club, but c'mon folks - did you really need that many stairs and walls inside the store itself? Did you really have to make it so dark and foreboding, like I was going to walk right into the set of Eyes Wide Shut if I wasn't careful? And did it have to smell like mothballs? Because I swear I felt like I was walking into a wall of mirrors inside there. Plus - hello, Hollister already cornered the market for "underlit clothes boutique that's supposed to feel like somebody else's home," for crying out loud, and at least their Ala Moana store has some TVs to break up all the seriousness. Really, this gives new meaning to the term "lighten up."

- And also: Hey, Ala Moana, great job with putting The Vitamin Shoppe outside the mall -- right on Kapiolani Avenue, across the street from KGMB-9... and next to the other streetfront stores that ended up being vacant (according to a Vitamin Shoppe employee, who made the same observation I did re: how people are having such a hard time finding them). Did the folks at GNC put y'all up to this? And don't tell me you did this because you wanted more people to get their exercise this way. Find more tenants for those other stores on Kapiolani, pronto!

Ooh, Ah, Oh Wow!: The Fragrance

With apologies (once again) to Ala Moana Center ... here's my favorite souvenir from the first few days of Hawaii's first Nordstrom store.

You may not be able to make it from the fuzzy webcam shot here, but it's a card advertising Antica Farmacista's exclusive Ala Moana home fragrance for Nordstrom at - where else? - Ala Moana Center. They were giving this away at Nordie's yesterday when I wandered into the store (you'll hear more from me about the new Nordie wing at Ala's later) and I couldn't help but sniff the delicious scent on the card.

On the card: Reminiscent of the lush humid nights experienced on the islands of the tropics, this signature scent, meaning "path to the sea," is a full floral experience. Night blooming jasmine, plumeria, tuberose, and gardenia create an intoxicating floral experience. Refreshing lush green notes and a crisp, clean infusion that brighten this luscious scent.
They got the "luscious" part right, for sure. The jasmine/plumeria notes, in particular, stand out the most on the sample that I got, but the overall effect reminds me of the most fragrant, most beautiful fresh-flower lei that I could ever get from anyone. It reminds me of warm hugs from aunties and kanakapila nights, complete with all-night-long ukulele jams and impromptu hula.
Best of all, though, it reminds me of graduation season... and in particular, my upcoming graduation for my Master's degree, in May. Knowing that I will soon be up to my ears in warm hugs and fragrant leis from people I love makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and this fragrance comes super close to capturing that. If you love jasmine and plumeria as much as I do - or if you just love all things Hawaii - you'll definitely love this.
According to the card, the Ala Moana scent is available "as home ambiance reed diffuser and as room and linen spray." Unfortunately, it's not on the Nordstrom site, and neither is it available on Antica Farmacista's - which means that the only way for anyone right now to be able to come up close to sniff this (and compare it to any other plumeria/jasmine/whatever fragrance you know) is to make the trek to Ala Moana Center. Definitely an exclusive worth checking out.

Domesticity Retail Mini-Roundup: Post-Black Friday Edition

Another year, another Black Friday passing with me in the red. The only "malling" I've managed to do so far was to pop in and out of stores to grab things that were already on my shopping list, like gifts for my family, school supplies, and the occasional fancy ingredient for the holiday meal. That said, here are some pleasant surprises I've found so far...




- Remember what I said in the last entry about the new Eau de Toilette collection from Gap? I finally got to sniff them today, and boy was I pleasantly surprised. My absolute favorite of the group so far is Velvet Bloom - the notes listed are muguet (lily of the valley), osmanthus (which I know is supposed to smell like fresh pineapple), musk and sandalwood, but to me it smells almost like a spicier version of Mukki by Fresh, with the chocolate-nectarine undertones. It's definitely a "casual" scent for those of us who, like me, are very much into oriental-floral fragrances that smell like exotic desserts. My other favorites in this line are the Mandarin Jasmine (citrus-floral, very feminine) and the Lavender Tea (crisp and clean, like a good Gap shirt). If I remember correctly, the one I really didn't like was White Amber - I think that was the one that smelled like bug spray to me.

- Speaking of scented stuff, I got this gift idea from one of my undergraduate co-workers at the school bookstore: It's not a bad idea to get a room fragrance for the college student in your life. Yes, it sounds like I'm advocating something something illegal here, but hear me out - I was in college, too, so I know that the day does come when your dorm room or dwelling of choice will inevitably start smelling like dirty socks. In my co-worker's case, he was getting tired of spraying Febreze, and he was living in a building where incense was banned (fire hazard) but candles were OK. It just so happened that I had a Glade Scented Oil Candle burner at home, so I grabbed that and a box of Apple Cinnamon-scented refills for him. Needless to say, he was thrilled by the thought - and it helped that the apple scent made him think of his home in the Northeast. For those of you who are not into Glade or apple-scented anything, you can also get guy-friendly candles and reed diffusers from Pier 1, Yankee Candle, Target, and Banana Republic.

- Books are also a no-fail gift idea for kids, especially those who love to read books. During a recent Scholastic Book Fair, I managed to snag a paperback copy of Jeff Kinney's Diary of a Wimpy Kid - the situations may be above and beyond the younger ones, but I like the fact that it's printed to look exactly like it was written by an actual kid on composition-book paper, so that you could use actual sentences from the book as samples for penmanship. I'm going to pack this with me as an alternative to the Nintendo DS for the nephew.

- And because it can't be said enough: GO BOWS!

So Hurry Down the Chimney Tonight

Yay, new Gap Holiday ads! (And you can find them here on the Gap Image Library.)

Aw, man, as if I needed any more motivation to post more photos of John Krasinski on this blog. Doesn't he look ripe for snorgling right now?

And speaking of snorgling... When I saw this photo, the first thing that came to my mind was, "Why the heck is Amy Poehler snuggling up to Patrick Wilson?" And then that's when I realized that the hottie in question was actually Will Arnett, which only makes their pictures together so funny and sexy at the same time.



And now for an honest-to-goodness review of Gap's unisex Individuals fragrance line. I'm not much of a fragrance reviewer myself, to be quite honest (I don't like to spritz myself sometimes) but I really was bowled over by these fragrances. My favorite is The Lover (red), a rich oriental that reminds me of the Product RED candle, but if I were to smell The Original (black) or The Natural (green) on a guy I liked, I probably wouldn't stop sniffing them at all. The new Bath+Skin line is also pretty good, too (I love, love, love Island Hop) but I may have to give the new EDTs a second sniff, since I felt like they were way too girly for me compared to the richness of Individuals.

Domesticity Friday: Playing With Fire

It was not enough for me to merely marry my great loves of snark and fine fragrance on this blog. Behold, I present to you...

POPOZAO: The Fragrance For Men

Luck is nothing without talent. Here is a fragrance for the man who has no shame in going on long guys-only trips to Las Vegas, Miami, and Tijuana without his wife and kids but still loves his family enough to stick with the craziness. Wear it and you'll feel no shame in seizing the day and rocking out with your confidence out. It's the scent you'd wear to play with fire.

Made with the unmistakable top notes of Cheetos and Red Bull, with a musky cannabis-tobacco drydown and a base of ginseng tea, menthol-eucalyptus, and stale beer. Eau de Cologne packaged in a handsome bottle clad in frayed denim and stained cotton with trucker hat cap; aftershave comes in bottle with white “Pimp Daddy” hoodie and matching trucker hat cap. Available at all Wal-Mart, Target, and Kmart stores everywhere, as well as selected pharmacies, gas stations and 24-hour convenience outlets.

Just in time for Father's Day! This special POPOZAO For Men Gift Set includes both cologne and aftershave, plus a complimentary home pregnancy test and a gift CD featuring choice cuts from the album “Playing with Fire.” Yours for $20 or $10 with any purchase of In Control Curious.

And if you thought this was messed up... well, let's just say that, if my side business of creating snarky perfumes continue throughout the summer, I should be employed as The Face of Deception (or at least the writing staff at a certain soap opera Which Shall Not Be Named) by next year. Mwahahahahaha.

*******

Things keeping me sane this week:

- Cleaning my kitchen and bathroom sinks. Nothing gives me more peace of mind like less scum in my home.

- The thought of seeing my cousins in the Philippines once again after not having seen them for six years.

- Dreyers Slow-Churned Ice Cream. Did you know that they just came up with a light version of Moose Tracks? Yummy.

- Switching off Kelly Preston's fembot-esque (and, I believe, Hawaii-only) PSA for Narconon so I could watch 1) the Diet Coke commercial with the guy dancing to that Bodyrockers song or 2) the Ford commercial where the girl pays for the hot guy's dry cleaning.

- Watching The Price is Right and thinking: Dang, did I really believe this was my favorite TV show when I was a kid?

The Case for the Temporary Entry (f. Sean Combs)

For some reason Blogger ate my last entry (as well as the revisions on my blogroll), so unless there's a chance that it has resurfaced in any form whatsoever, I'm going to post a little something here.

Anyhow, I just thought I'd share with you Sephora's list of notes for the new Sean John fragrance, which Diddy not-so-eloquently flogged on Letterman last Friday. I'm still not impressed by the marketing strategy for this product (implied multiracial threesomes? How very Tom Ford. Except, not) and that "Hot/ Sexy/ Fabulous" thing makes me laugh way too much, but I stand by my contention that it might actually smell good, even if the ingredients do make it sound like Expensive Rap Video (Featuring Sean Combs) in a Bottle.

That said: What's up with that name, anyway? I don't know about you - and maybe this is the Roman Catholic part of me talking - but the men in my social circle would think twice about wearing a cologne called "Unforgivable." Besides, the only thing more unforgivable than a Diddy fragrance would be a Kevin Federline fragrance:

PopoZao: The Fragrance for Men

Because luck is nothing without talent.

The Case for Scents and Memory

Continuing our discussion of fragrance from last week, here are a few more perfumes that bring up memories. Keep in mind that I probably wore some of these fragrances in copious amounts, sprayed at least twice all over my younger self several times a day. Between that and the smoking I used to do, it's a wonder my nose is still intact...

- Gloria Vanderbilt. The one with the swan on the bottle. Aw, man, this was the stuff of middle-school dances where I felt dorky about not having anyone to dance with me so I would go home crying. To this day I can't even look at a bottle without remembering that I probably spritzed this on while wearing elasticized acid-wash jeans.

- Colors de Benetton. This was the fragrance equivalent of the Swatch watch - everyone in my middle school had one, and it was colorful and awesome, so I pestered my folks to buy it for me. Not a bad scent, though.

- Lady Stetson. How did this tiny bottle come into my possession? Did I get this for Christmas at one point? All I remember is that it was actually quite feminine and woody, and I still wore it, even though the name itself conjures up cowboy hats and country music.

- Body Shop Dewberry. Or, as my cousins used to call it, "Dew Berrymore." Anyway, when I was in high school, people had a habit of carrying around their honking full-size bottles of fragrance in their backpacks so that they could spritz themselves after PE, or at least mask the fact that they've been smoking. This fruity/fresh scent, along with the Lady Stetson, was the one that ended up in my school bag most days, considering what I didn't want to carry to school...

- Chanel No. 5. My “I'm too sexy for 12th grade” scent, and one I had no shame about buying at a Duty Free on my Dad's dime. Yes, I even wore it to bed. With my pajamas.

- Joop! Nightflight. Talk about memories! My biggest crush-slash-almost-boyfriend back in high school wore this, and for years I went around trying to sniff it so I could remember him. I don't know where I can find it now (or the guy, for that matter - not that I care either way) but I do remember how deliciously sexy it was on him, kind of citrusy and herbal. No wonder I love it when guys smell good, even if it's just from soap.

- Davidoff Cool Water. On the flip side of the “nice smelling guy” coin was Cool Water, which for all its pleasant freshness could not shake off its subliminal association with most of the jackasses that I've met who wore this, be it with the popular guys in my high school or the one dude I made out with at the club back in the day. Incidentally, said jackasses mentioned were also heavy smokers, which probably explains why I could also never shake off the connection between Cool Water and tobacco.

- Guerlain Shalimar. The only fragrance I saw in the bathrooms of our friends' house in the French countryside. (Even the soap and lotions were Shalimar!) Timeless and ageless, thanks to the vanilla and lemon notes. The scent Britney and Jessica could only wish their signature fragrances would smell like.

- Coty Vanilla Fields. I have a love-hate relationship with this fragrance. The hate comes from an ex-roommate who spritzed this stuff all over the place, which was one of the numerous things that drove me nuts about her. The love comes from the floral and musky notes that emerge after you get past the vanilla, which is why I did end up wearing this for a spell back when I was working.

The Case for A Signature Fragrance

Okay, so I really haven't posted these last few days because I've been so busy to the point of "feeling so ADD" (which stops being funny when you actually do have it - no, seriously, I do; that's for another week to discuss) so I think it's just right for me to get hopping along.

This past week I've had fragrance on my mind lately, what with DeLush having their own roundtable discussion about signature frangrances in the last few days and Auntie Badger talking about her favorites in her daily entries. My main reason for discussing this, however, has more to do on the personal front, since my parents are currently traveling right now and they've been asking me if I wanted them to buy anything for me. (They do live overseas, but I will see them over Christmas break.) I told them about my not-so-secret affinity for duty free shops, where I often make my best beauty discoveries thanks to the wide array of exotic cosmetics available.

(And it's not always the expensive stuff, too - I once discovered lipstick sealant at Narita Airport back when I was a teenager. Shush.)

My dad, of course, is the kind of guy who loves to buy pretty things for the ladies in his life, but being a guy he thought that what I meant was that I wanted perfume. This led to a very interesting discussion about buying fragrance for other people, for which Dad... well, he doesn't exactly have a great track record on this one; let's just say it involved my sister-in-law and a certain fragrance by a much-hated celebrity, given to her as a well-intentioned Christmas gift. (In fairness, however, my gracious sis-in-law says that she has been wearing it more often and it does not smell toxic after a few wearings.) Mom, being the voice of female reason in the family, eventually explained to Dad and the rest of us that it really is difficult to buy any kind of fragrance or cosmetic without taking the body chemistry/ skin tone/ condition of the person involved into consideration, so unless Dad knows for sure that we have a particular preference for a particular brand (*ahem*StilaLushChanel*ahem) he should just stick to the usual pasalubong of T-shirts, candy, and toys for the children.

While this dialogue between our family continued on email, I was inspired to think back on that concept of the "signature" fragrance, especially in terms of what I have. I still have the bottle of Obsession that I bought in college, but the last few times I've worn it were during those times when I needed to be more assertive at work, and I haven't picked this up since. Chanel Chance is still there, too, and I've always liked this one, but I also keep forgetting to wear that; something about the summers here in Hawaii tend to magnify fragrances like this, which start off soft yet end up cloaking you in a huge floral cloud. (Despite smelling Chance on other office ladies in HNL, however, I still enjoy the scent, and my friends seem to like me wearing this.) And the stuff that I do end up wearing are drugstore body sprays and aromatherapy oils that I've picked up here and there. It's a far cry from my late teens and early 20s, where I would switch from cK Be (which I liked better than cK One) to Chanel No. 5 depending on my mood.

That leaves the closest thing I have to a signature fragrance so far: Mukki. I know that they've reformulated the fragrance in the last few years since I bought this, but I don't care: I love that it's sweet and pretty but not assertive or corny. I love the cute spray bottle. And I love the fact that people who smell this on me say that it's certainly "me." I've smelled the new formula at Sephora and I think it's a lot fruitier than the original, cocoa-scented one that I have at home, so maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to repurchase. That, or wait until I've used up the rest of the stuff at home - which would be fun, really.

I'll have more scent-related essays later during the week.