Jessica

Keep Calm and Wear Perfume

tarter.jpg

So, what’s new?

[ironic pause]

Wherever you are right now, I hope you’re staying safe and healthy. If you’re practicing “social distancing” and/or staying isolated at home, I hope you’re finding some calm and comfort in your favorite pastimes…reading? writing? wearing perfumes that you haven’t tried in a while?

I, for one, am going to take advantage of my “working from home” situation by wearing a different fragrance every day, particularly the ones that I tend to neglect because they aren’t office-friendly. (Nahéma! Bond no. 9 Broadway Nite! Youth Dew!)

I might even have more time for blogging, since I won’t be spending any time on mass transit for the next few weeks (or longer?)…

I just came across this excellent illustrated post about historical scent-based “remedies” for illness and plagues on the Wellcome Collection website. I heard two staff members from the Wellcome Collection give a presentation on their online engagement at a conference a few months ago, and their website has been a favorite of mine ever since.

Here you go:

“Deadly Stinks and Life-Saving Aromas in Plague-Stricken London” by Amelia Soth

I’ll be back soon with more posts, probably not on this topic — but in the meantime, be well!

Image: Albert Lloyd Tarter, “New York seen through the porthole of an arriving ship, bringing the plague,” 1940s. Pencil drawing. Credit: Wellcome Collection. Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

 

 

6 comments

  1. What an informative and uplifting link to the Amelia Soth report. Shall we pause to ponder that the thieves and the most altruistic tend to go about their business? As a receptionist, I keep (a hard to get) tub of Clorox wipes handy for meeting areas, wash my hands frequently and also practice “social distancing.” I did fold up a cootie catcher as work slowed down on Friday; you know, just in case. Perfume wise I became fascinated with Guerlain’s Insolence edt some weeks before C19 made the news. I like and wanted the Serge Mansau bottle but my online order bought the edp. I thought it was a good deal (and it was in the “saucer” bottle) so I used it and I was smitten. Still wanted the edt and so got a tester but that lead to a flanker (My Insolence). Now I am spending the weekend in a cloud of fruits, violets, and sandalwood. Best wishes and prayers for good health and healing to all!

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    • Kathy, Initially I thought I might write a post about fragrance and plagues, but I really can’t improve on that article from the Wellcome Collection!! so I thought I’d share it, at least!

      Stay safe and healthy in your workplace! Maybe we all need to make some old-school cootie catchers… 😉 And I cannot fault your choice of fruity violets!

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  2. I smiled at the Youth Dew exclamation. I wear the bath oil version every day, but the bath oil version applied to pulse points doesn’t have the same throw as the spray (at least, with my body chemistry, which may be affected by my dry skin). Plus, I put it on at bedtime after my bath so it’s worn down to a socially acceptable level by the time I wake up. Cinnabar, its louder Estee cousin, can be a challenge to wear at home by yourself! Instead, I now sniff the Cinnabar bottle and look wistful. It’s not Cinnabar’s fault: Cinnabar is a Judy Garland-level belter in a world of delicate, baby sinuses like mine requiring whispery lullabies. Maybe, in a better world, Cinnabar sings “The Nose Who Got Away” full blast on a sound stage overseen by the sympathetic direction of a combination George Cukor-Luca Turin director. Here’s hoping you have a pleasant work at home duration.

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    • I used to have a co-worker who wore Youth Dew and had been wearing it for ages — and it was subtle and warm on her, just enough to notice when we hugged. I don’t think it behaves that way on me — not the edt, at least!! because I tend to get shocked faces when I wear it in public. hah! Well, this is our moment.

      I *love* that imagining of Cinnabar in the spotlight!

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  3. I’m using these WFH days to re-test as many neglected samples as possible and either finish them or put them in the “pass on” pile. I’m reminded of my early perfumista days when I was testing at least 4, sometimes more (dependent on their longevity) perfumes per stay-at-home day.

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