Monday, March 5, 2012

Dream State Sniffing



Back in December, the sole of my stupid shoe met a slick spot, and I fell on my, well, left knee. I didn’t think it was that big a deal. I iced it, rested it, compressed it and even had a few physical therapy sessions, but it got worse. The upshot of all this is that I had to have knee surgery last Friday. Arthroscopic, but they put me under, anyway. The only good thing about surgery is that you get good guilt-free drugs afterwards; Percocet, Narco, you know. Those.
So there I was, in the Hall of the Mountain King, I mean, um in bed for days, sternly forbidden to get up unless absolutely necessary. What to do, what to do. Couldn’t read — the pills made it too hard to concentrate. TV’s upstairs and stairs are definitely out. 
So, I had myself quite a delirious little sniffing party.
We all have those vials and samples and decants, and they’re all over the place, and we really mean to get around to truly experiencing them, right? And never do. But here I was and here they all were and here was an envelope with hundreds of paper strips in it. And I thought, what if I sniff all these again, but in a sort of hallucinatory way? (As if I had a choice, hah!) No “notes?” No analyzing, just breathing the smell, living inside it for a few minutes, being here now or there then or whatever; of course!
Here are some of my notations.
Diptyque Eau Duelle: a knife on a pillow. Sharp and plush.
Cumming (hey remember that one?) dark and basement-dank. That would be the suburban basement where the Goth Kid, 30, still lives.
Cartier L’Huere Defendue: Channeling Pierre Guillaume: spice leather dark rich, great!
Cartier L’Huere Fougeuese: Davana! Yeah! Like “Safari” without the ice-pick sweetness, savannah, open prairie, grasslands.
SL Chergui: tobacco mint basil booze.
Shalimar PDT, Vintage: grrrrr….more resin less sweetness. 
Divine Folie (perfume): dry, cold, stern.
A Tase of Heaven, by Kilian: mint ice cream
Jicky, Guerlain EDT (modern) Fecal, fast
Chanel No. 19, vintage: faint at first, sharp bladed jonquils later
Amrytis, Mona di Orio: What exactly is this supposed to be? (Later): What exactly is this supposed to be?
Derby, Guerlain, modern: A really great bathroom spray
Coze, PG: patchy hay, nutty musk, Humboldt County
…and so on.
You know what? It’s really hard not to think in terms of “notes.” 
I guess we have to be forced to slow down now. This is a pretty good way, if you don’t count the surgery part.
More than once the DH found me, passed outasleep with paper strips sticking out of my nose. 
Hey, the knee’s a lot better now! Down to only one crutch, which I hope to throw away tomorrow after I see the Doctor P.A.!
And back to Advil, damn it.



All samples obtained by purchase or swap.

Photo, of my actual nightstand, by Olfacta.

15 comments:

Michael said...

Sorry to read of your accident. Hope your knee is better and that you make a full recovery.

Carol said...

hahahaaa! Sorry, but this post had me giggling!!!

Heal well!

Perfumaniac said...

I'm sorry to hear about your knee. Hopefully the surgery will take care of you. And there's always the drugs!

It's humbling to be injured. Over the summer, I effed up my right ankle/foot and was limping for a good 3 - 4 months. It still hurts! And just as it started feeling almost 100%, I twisted my left ankle. (Damn these New Orleans streets!)

As we get older, healing time's even worse. But hey, you got to check out some perfumes! I'm surprised you didn't like Amyitis! Maybe that's the one you fell asleep on? ;-)

Anonymous said...

You poor thing! I hope all is mending well and you make a good, full recovery.

I was curious about Cumming but 30-year-old Goth Kid's basement suggests it may not be my thing.

Look after yourself,

cheerio, Anna in Edinburgh

Mimi Gardenia said...

Get better soon Olfacta !

Vanessa said...

Sounds like the recovery process is progressing well, for even if the drugs you are back onto now are a bit mainstream, the scents you are testing in your recumbent sniffathon surely aren't! That Mona di Orio - what is it?, I agree! I didn't care for it, I know, though I tested it in my early, even less adventurous days. : - )

I love the image of you lying with paper strips up your nose!

Blacknall Allen said...

So sorry about the knee, hope you're back without a hobble or wobble soon. Cumming really did give me the entire Highland Fling experience-peat you know really smells peaty and unforgettable once you've gotten enough of it on your rubber boots- which I did as a kid. Way whiffy! Get better.

Olfacta said...

Hi Michael -- Thanks! Doing better.

Olfacta said...

Hi BF -- Good to know it made you laugh. At least I'm off the crutches now!

Olfacta said...

Hi Perfumemaniac -- I can't get a grip on the Amyritis, even know. It's supposed to be a green fragrance, I think. My decant may have been from an old bottle, who knows, but it really doesn't smell like, well, anything specific. Very transparent.

Feet are worse than knees. I think they have more nerves. I know they hurt worse!

We were in New Orleans for a couple of hours visiting family a few days after I fell down. We drove through the quarter on our way out. It killed me not to be able to take a walk!

Feel better!

Olfacta said...

Hi Anna -- It really is very Goth!

Olfacta said...

Hi Mimi -- Thanks!

Olfacta said...

Hi Vanessa -- Yep, that was me, like a fumehead dragon. Maybe I'll use the Amarytis for summer -- keep it in the fridge.

Olfacta said...

Hi Blacknall -- I don't think I've ever actually smelled peat or a peat fire but I think the Cumming actually was based on that Idea. The Goth-kid-in-mom's-basement is an image I keep coming back to with these dankish scents. I think every town in the US, no matter how small, has at least one.

Thanks!

Anne said...

Great blog! I've been looking for some perfume-oriented ones, and yours is great (and funny, thank you)! I'm a new follower! ♥♥
Best,
Anne