When they do not match, I am all too likely to overlook something I would love. Lalique's Perles de Lalique is a good example. I see a white bottle, I think white flowers. I think white flowers = done to death/boring. Perles to me is a golden tobacco brown, and I love it to pieces. I would put it in a bottle with a leaf motif, with the leaf being of autumn turned coloring. As much as I adore this scent, the bottle disappoints. It was my first Lalique scent purchase and to come from the legendary glass works, the bottle is only so so. I bought it purely for the scent notes and reviews, in spite of the bottle. Conversely, White Soul by Ted Lapidus, is also a contradiction; but one I don't mind. The bottle is a delight. Tactile, shaped, single diamond, gold lettering - it works! This is a bottle I would be attracted to for it alone, blanc or not. Golden scent, touches of gold, hmmm... maybe this isn't as contradictory as I thought. Maybe this is just subtle perfection. Sometimes you don't know what you desire until you see it.
I do know that I desire red. Deep, passionate, burning into the essence of your very being red. Hermes Rouge, Trouble by Boucheron, these call to me on a primal level. I don't have them yet, but they are a'coming. Unfortunately, my lighter complection does not lend itself to wearing this amorous shade and I have a driver's license photo to prove it. But for scents, I can let myself go. I am buying those scents untested and if it is only for the bottle on my dresser, so be it. I do love the notes, and I did read reviews, as my budget isn't as madcap as my heart. Samsara by Guerlain is a double whammy. Red and Guerlain. How could it not be my first Guerlain? (Though far from my last, but so much as been written about this House that I tremble and so a passing reference will have to do). Other colors call out as well, purple, violet, peach. Blue tends to be a whoa, as I am so not an aquatic woman, in the olfactory sense at least. Midnight Poison looks great with my collection, and Angel is a long time fave, so I can safely say I am not anti-blue: but my cautionary sense goes up when I see it. I think we all have some stop signs in what we prefer scent wise and the color that might indicate it.
Mostly, vintage bottles remind me of what drek we have to wade through today, but there is the occasional modern masterpiece. Can I write an ode to the Alien bottle? And all of the many flankers? Has there ever been such beauty this side of a century? It glows, it shimmers. As I write this I see a corner of the bottle glinting and calling my name. Sorry, Alien Sunessence Saphir Soleil, I already applied Hypnotic Poison Sensuelle this morning. No direct light on my collection, and yet it picks it up anyway. What glory.
One bottlery feature (if this isn't a word, don't bother yourself, it should be) that is not dicussed nearly enough is the spray. I will go with splash for a parfum or of course, a vintage. Other than that, give me a spray and make it fine, please. Let me be able to control the compression, so that the size of the blast is not contrary to my choice. Please, no squirts that always seem to end with drippy fingers. This is so important, but all too frequently ignored. The cost of the perfume has almost no bearing on the quality of the nozzle, why would this be? This morning's application of Hypnotic Poison Sensuelle is an unfortunate reminder. Stick, stick, SPRAY. Maybe the pump needs priming? For the main part I eschew celebrity scents, but I happened to smell Hilary Duff's With Love in the store and when I found it at TJ Maxx, I spent all of ten dollars on it. My splurge gained me something I really enjoy and that includes the elegant (enough) bottle with a spray that employs just as smoothly as I could want. Discontinued though, perhaps I should go stock up....
