Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.
Today is Friday, July 23, and it is my late parents’ wedding anniversary. If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you may have read this post before, My Mother’s Last Perfume, in which I wrote a bit about their long, but not always happy, marriage. Nevertheless, I honor this day because without it, my sisters and I wouldn’t exist! And because my parents made the effort to stay married until the ends of their lives and, in their own ways, they cared for each other. Their happiest times were when they traveled together, which they loved to do; and I too love to travel with my husband, though my marriage is a much more content one than my parents’, I think.
I also have some excitement to share — I’ve been asked by an accomplished playwright in my city to collaborate with her and a composer to create a “fragrance score” for a new experimental musical they are writing! I had taken part in a playwriting group she led over several weeks, pre-pandemic, and we had talked about how fragrance could and should be used more in theater. This is such an interesting creative project, I’m very excited about the possibilities. I will be the creative director for the fragrances, of course, not the actual perfumer. We are applying for a grant to develop the production, so I hope to include in the budget some modest funds to commission some scents from a perfumer eventually. For now, I think we’ll be able to use existing scents.
What are your thoughts on combining fragrance with other arts? I love reading about Dawn Spencer Hurwitz’ collaborations with the Denver Art Museum. And the ways actors can use fragrance for their own performances are also fascinating: How Performers Use Perfume.
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities 
Congratulations on your new project! That sounds really exciting. My son is having his senior portraits taken today, so we’re passing another milestone on the way to an empty nest. Today im wearing Nicolaï Cap Neroli for my Favorite Friday. I wore Neroli Intense a few weeks ago – this one has a lot more going on – mint, rosemary, a bunch of other flowers…. Good stuff.
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I like several of Parfums Nicolai’s scents but haven’t tried those two yet, so thanks for the recommendation! Wow, the senior portrait really is a milestone. I’m glad he’ll get a normal senior spring!
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Well done and congratulations on the new project. Very cool!
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WOW OH! The new fragrance curator job sounds wonderful.
I have a girlfriend here in Oz who does a lot of ambient scent for museums, hotels, stores and homes. She is also a candlemaker who does candle creating work currently for some really cool companies, mostly on the down low. It’s an incredibly interesting part of the scent game.
Did you ever see the movie Polyester: The Scratch & Sniff Movie? They gave out a card to everyone and you were told when to scratch & sniff each section of it for fragrant highlights.
Portia xx
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Definitely exciting project for you. Keep us posted on your progress. I’d love to know how this works as a project.
I re-read your earlier post on your mum’s last perfume. She sounds as if she was her own woman, a fiery horse. And you sound like such a wonderful daughter. Today is an anniversary of an important personal event for my daughter.
My SOTD was Bronze Goddess, which I love in the heat, and following my evening shower I had some sort of brain fart and rooted out CK Euphoria. I don’t think I’ve worn this in at least five or maybe more years. I know I’ve had it for about 13, it was a present from my niece.
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Love Bronze Goddess in the heat! I always wear it when in Hawaii on a vacation.
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What a beautiful post about your mother!
Congratulations on your new project! I hope to read more about it in your future posts.
I’m bad in matching anything with anything, so I never think about any arts’ intersections. But since I love perfumes, I appreciate any attempts to incorporate perfumes into any other events.
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I think it’s wonderful that you honor your belated parents’ wedding anniversary. My parents just celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary last month.
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Wow, 63 years is impressive!
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