RSS FeedEau d’Elevator (Or How I Learned To Identify Chanel No. 5)
The holidays this year reminded me of a small reason I like living on a higher floor in my downtown condo and having a slightly longer ride down from my crow’s nest. Is it the groceries getting exponentially heavier as you ascend? No. Maybe it’s stopping on a half dozen floors before being released during morning rush hour? Nope. You can find a tick mark next to the plus column thanks to a little puzzle I call Eau d’Elevator, identifying the fragrances donned by night outers. Bear with me on this one…
Many guys I know, present company included, get dazed and confused when buying fragrances for a lady of interest. It’s the brightly lit counters, the blending of aromas, the pulsating music, the purrrrrfectly made up and unflinching sales clerks…a perfect storm of bewildering sensory overload. Recite after me with a French accent…”Would you like the eau de toilette, the parfum, the eau de parfum, the elixir, the purse refillable, the lotion, the body veil or the gift set?” Men all over America can be heard responding quizzically, “Uhhhh…give me a minute or twenty please.” Forcible inhalation of a fragrance for a sixteen floor ride in a non-ventilated room the size of a closet quickly reinforces what works or doesn’t. It makes the shopping experience at the downtown Macy’s a bit more…productive. I call that a good outcome for us guys (and their gals too).
In conclusion and after checking my olfactory database, I say to the brunette on six, I’m guessing Burberry Brit. To the blonde on nine, I bet it’s Givenchy Ysatis. To the tossed black hair on eleven, I’ll venture YSL Opium (according to the secret decoder ring that came with The Rules, YSL stands for Yves Saint Laurent). And to the mystery woman who lives in (visits?) my building, it’s most definitely Chanel No. 5. How do I know? That scent resides in it’s own place in my brain as the first scent I ever bought for a very special lady. And for invoking those memories, I thank you.
P.S. The New York Times now has a perfume critic, Chandler Burr. His regular column, Scent Notes, can be found at www.nyt.com or at his homepage, www.chandlerburr.com.
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Comments
A women is supposed to spray the area near her and walk through it. Most women spray the pulse points. The ones to watch out for are those with their “signature scent.” The longer you wear a scent the less the wearer can smell it; so they really dose themselves. The ones who are going clubbing decide to spray heavily, it’s their way of dressing up. No one is supposed to smell the scent unless they lean in. I wish this was how women and lets’ be fair here men would wear it. There have been times I feel like I am choking from leftover scent when I am stuck in an elevator; I try not to breathe. Living in condoland it’s bound to happen.
That experience isn’t unique to men– I’m a girl (though I prefer to wear men’s cologne), and I get overwhelmed trying to find a scent I like. The last time I was on a 7-day cruise I went to the duty-free shop every evening and sprayed on a new scent; after partying that night I had a pretty good idea of whether I liked it or not, and by the end of the cruise I was able to decide on a cologne I liked (John Paul Gautier’s Le Male).
I can tolerate even the most sweetest perfumes; I’m talking chocolate and honeysuckle levels of sweetnes. But the one thing I can not stand is the smell of cologne fighting a losing battle with b.o. It’s called “washing downstairs” guys. Learn it. Live it.
#2-
I certainly agree. There are many many many people who have no understanding re: the proper way to wear a scent (men and women).
As for the subject of the post, it is clear our author has quality tastes. I recently returned from the parfum capital of the world and brought plenty of scented gifts for special people this holiday season, including Chanel 5, Opium, and Burberry.
If any ladies are looking for a new scent (or gentlemen looking for a Valentine’s Day gift) – I’m trying out Caleche by Hermes. It’s not for everyday, I use mine only in the evening and stick to Chance by Chanel for the daytime.
Yes, Valentine’s Day. Don’t like to celebrate it myself, but CVS has the conversation hearts out already and my hubby is a sucker for those chalky little nuggets.
Uh oh….
This is highly relevant to the folks wearing too much perfume…
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20080108/sc_livescience/whysomewomenweartoomuchperfume
I also like Chanel Chance – and Chloe Narcisse, Thierry Mugler Angel, and the men’s version of L’Eau D’Issey by Issey Miyake. And anything by Annick Goutal. In case anyone was wondering. LOL 
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On New Year’s Day morning, our condo elevator had quite a few scented souls in the downtown version of the “walk of shame” — the “elevator of shame.”