Friday, November 09, 2007

Orange You Glad?

Until today, what did I know about bergamot? 1. It's some kind of flower that flavors Earl Gray tea. 2. Since Earl Gray is a British tea, bergamot probably grows in India. The colonies and all.

Wrong on both points. Bergamot is actually a citrus fruit grown in the Calabria region of Italy, whose peel's essential oil flavors Earl Gray tea, one third of all men's perfumes and half of all women's. Bergamot essential oil can also be used to treat depression. This makes perfect sense to me. The smell of citrus, especially pink grapefruit--there isn't a happier smell.

Try and stay sad--we defy you


At first sniff, our next stop on the scent journey, Divine Bergamote is flowery but not soapy the way Osmanthus was. The dry down (I know now what this means! In normal people's talk: what a perfume smells like a few hours after applying) is rather soft and pretty, but a few hours after that, totally gone. Jamming my nose into my wrist ten hours after application, I can barely smell the faintest hint.

So far both of The Different Company fragrances disappear quickly. In my readings, I have discovered that sprays have more staying power than dabbed on perfume. I really don't know why this should be but multiple scent sites speak authoritatively about this difference, so they must know something I don't know. Sort of like how I taste wine and never ever ever think, "oaky, with hints of cherry, tobacco and chocolate," but the crazed oenophiles do, which by the way is pronounced "eena-file." Thanks to the addition of audio to online dictionaries, now I know the word sounds as awful as it looks.

Back to smelly things, this site says perfumes are only supposed to last for four hours. This is not long enough--who carries perfume with them during the day? I can barely remember to pack a lunch and bring tampons when I'm menstruating, now I have to haul around perfume, too? But I also learned something--people with oily skin hold perfume longer than those with dry. I typically put perfume on the wrist and neck. But after reading this article I should instead apply it here:

Time to get the socks out

No comments: