Scents of Summer

Jeckle just came back from the Hellenes, and during her layover in Dubai, she was kind enough to pick up a bottle of Chanel No. 5 for me (technically Heckle and I are supposed to share it, but the scent isn’t really in the realm of the chocolate-y fragrances that Heckle prefers). So while I am testing it out on my wrists, I was inspired to write a fragrance entry. Well, inspired is a rather strong word. Obligated may be a more appropriate term.

I’ve been keeping my nose open while on vacation hoping to enjoy some of the scents of the city: Paski’s head after he’s been shampooed with Johnson’s Baby Shampoo; the scent of a big fat raindrop falling on a hot corrugated metal roof; the scent of coconut milk and gabi leaves, hot and steamy; the scent of traffic – rubber, gasoline, asphalt, the heady fragrance of trees, flowers and grass in one particular spot in Ateneo (the “bus stop” near Bellarmine), the mix-and-match smells of a high-end department store, where perfumes sold and worn are tempered by the coolness of air-conditioning; the incensy fragrance of the new mosquito repellants out in the market; Winky’s distinct car smell, a mish-mash of upholstery, Freon and Dune by Christian Dior.

I did deliberate long and hard about the fragrances I would take with me to the tropics (though I wish I had taken Black Aoud with me to experience its mileage in the heat). Where I am now, it technically isn’t summer anymore. However, I am on my summer vacation, and the the humid-y monsoon-y, botanic-garden-conservatory-y climate is very different to what I am used to the rest of the year. When seasons change, it is a good time to re-try scents that you’ve dismissed a few months ago (probably during the height of a blizzard). I found, to my pleasant surprise, that some of the scents that I thought I had outgrown bloom in this combination of heat, wind, dust and rain.

Editions de Parfums Carnal Flower –Rumor has it that Frederic Malle, the genius behind Editions de Parfums, named this beauty in honor of his aunt, the actress Candice Bergen (she starred in Carnal Knowledge). The top notes evoke a very green tuberose, smelling of stems and leaves as well as blossoms, melting into a white heart of tuberose, gardenia and orange blossoms. I have not yet smelled real tuberose…I am only familiar with man-made interpretations of the scent. While tuberose is not an easy scent to pull off, Carnal Flower seems to be more approachable than most, and as much as an attention-grabbing whore as the rest. Resist wearing it during a snowstorm – it somehow turns into bubblegum.

The Different Company Sel de Vétiver – Salt, sand, and sun. Who doesn’t love the beach? Thank God for a beach-y scent that does not smell of coconut or suntan lotion.

Serge Lutens Un Lys – White lily, vanilla and musk. Elegant and refined in cooler weather. Heady and even a bit skanky when it’s hot. I remember sniffing it at my beloved perfume store (*waves to Miguel*) and pronouncing within two seconds that I needed a bottle of it. My friend J (who is very hot indeed) runs off with a bit every time he is in my room (don’t deny it, you strumpet! I can smell it a mile away, hahaha!).

Editions de Parfums En Passant –“In Passing.” I had never smelled lilacs until I moved to the States. On campus, there are several lilac bushes, and when I reached up to smell them, my heart stopped for a millisecond, then started to beat a more joyful tempo. Olivia Giacobetti, who created this scent, is said to have envisioned a walk through the town on a rainy day, passing by a florist’s on one side and a baker’s on the other. This is a true lilac scent, but if you try hard enough, you can smell a little bit of baguette as well. I prefer big, bold scents, but there are days when a more restrained beauty is just what I need.

The Body Shop Minteva – A green and refreshing scent. I swear I can smell basil and mint in it. I used to wear it to picnics in Central Park in early summer, when Roomie and I would grab our books, lie down on a blanket on the grass, and let the sun warm our winter-weary bones. Too bad I already gave this away…

Bvlgari Petits et Mamans – A comfort scent that smells of baby powder and chamomile. I find that I fall asleep pretty fast when I wear this. My babies should all smell like this. Except for my little perfumista prodigy who will be asking for Mitsouko extrait by the time she’s two years old.

Bond No. 9 So New York – Also known as the perfume that smells like a Starbucks drink. I did get that chocolate-y-coffee vibe, though I think New Haarlem, also by Bond No. 9, is a much better coffee scent. It is a heavy, cool weather fragrance, so use sparingly. Now that I am wearing it in warmer weather, I get a fruitier scent, as if I am eating ripe golden plums (and not bothering to wipe the juice trickling down my face) and chasing them down with a cup of coffee and cream.

Suckered!

It’s been raining the whole day due to a weather disturbance northeast of the country, so Paski and I are indoors boring each other to death (if you don’t know Paski, please refer to the Puppy Love album in my photos page). To keep us from falling into a downward spiral towards dementia, Jeckle suggested that we watch a movie that she worked on a couple of years ago called I’ve Fallen for You (yes, because that would keep my brain properly stimulated).

Jeckle works with a local film company, so she can buy original DVDs at discounted prices. In fact, I have a rather extensive Piolo Pascual collection. Or, rather, Roomie kidnapped my extensive Piolo Pascual collection. Her favorite movies are the ones in which Piolo is half-naked, because I believe they haven’t produced one where he is fully naked. If they have, please let Roomie know as soon as possible.

And because there’s only a bit of Piolo to go around, we occasionally receive movies that do not have Piolo in them. My friends and I claim that we’re not scared, but we usually have difficulty sleeping after watching a Kris Aquino horror flick. (Lesson learned from watching Feng Shui: don’t watch it unless there’s daylight and at least 10 people in the room). There’s the teen romance genre, the cinematic equivalent of reading a Sweet Dreams novel – it was fun when you were ten, but when you’re thirty, you can actually feel your brain cells dying. But because I support the Filipino film industry that puts bread and butter on my table (ay hinde, Star margarine lang pala), I watch these movies on original DVDs, and invite my friends to watch along.

And before I totally lose my train of thought, let’s go back to the movie in question. No, it’s not the Piolo-fully-naked one. Get your mind out of the estero!

I’ve Fallen for You is obviously a teen romance. Title pa lang, no. Would you really name a sophisticated film featuring cowboy on cowboy action after a sappy Jamie Rivera love song that everyone, including the author, knows the lyrics to? I think not, little puppy.

So where was I? Girl thinks she passed the UP College Admissions Test, only to find out that Boy, who has exactly the same name was the one who passed. She needs to fool her parents into thinking she is an Iskolar ng Bayan, so she decides to take up Boy’s invite to join a bike race and win a pot of money to finance her education. They encounter a lot of obstacles, of course, including, but not limited to, the fact that her father and his mother had an unresolved romance in the past (oh, dear LORD).

Then, I was sitting in the dark, munching on my lenguas de gato, when Girl’s mother, played by Lotlot de Leon, began telling her sob story about her being the second-rate replacement for her husband’s one great love. (“Hindi ako yung one great love ng daddy mo, pero siya ang aking one great love”).

And I’m like, waaaaaaaaah! Don’t cry Lotlot, (sniff, sniff). It’s okay…mahirap talagang makipag-compete with Chin-Chin Gutierrez (wipes fake tear). Dammit, yung eyeliner ko. Tahan na Lot. At least you’re a better actor than Monching. You may not have inherited the Superstar’s genes, but you are doing her proud. I don’t care what happens to Boy and Girl…you go right ahead and smack Albert Rodriguez...Martinez...whatever!

I’ll say it before anyone else does.

SUCKER!!!!!

P.S.: I would just like to reiterate the call for the fully-naked-Piolo movie. And if Piolo happens to be reading this…you know you love me. XOXO.

Announcement: Please don't use my cell to contact me in the next 8 days...

...because the cellphone will be taking a vacation to the sun-drenched island of Santorini, care of Jeckle. Here are some of the places where the cellphone is going...

Asar, di ba?

So, in order not to kill Jeckle with the roaming fees, please desist and resist from texting or calling my Manila phone.

Thank you for your consideration.

The Gang's All Here!!!

That's a heck of a family photo...

As the Doctor would say, "It's absolutely brilliant!"

My students think that my favorite show is The West Wing but that's not quite right. While Robin Hood is on hiatus until the fall, Doctor Who would be my hands-down favorite. Dorky, I know. But if a show has been running for the last 45 years, there must be something going on there, right? I've definitely seen worse shows...even Dr. House watches General Hospital.

The opening credits of Doctor Who usually consists of two names -- that of the actor playing the Doctor (that would be the hysterical David Tennant) and that of his companion (the even more hysterical Catherine Tate). But when I started watching the episode The Stolen Earth, to my delight, there were not two, not three, not four, but six names in the opening credits! They just crammed them all in there!

There were actually three shows crossing over each other in order to save the universe! Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures were coming home to the mother ship to kick ass. To quote Donna (or Martha, I'm not sure now) , it was an "outer space Facebook!" This was going to be huge. Huge!

And the question that all the fans were asking was: is David leaving?

By the end of the episode, I was literally tearing my hair out. The Doctor was mortally shot by a Dalek (it’s a long story, I know) which kick-started the regeneration process (the Doctor is dying, he changes his cells to heal them, etcetera, etcetera, resulting in an entirely different looking Timelord). The show has been running since 1963 (there is actually a Guinness record going on here) and regeneration has been used as a plot device to explain the fact that many different actors have taken the role of the Doctor.

So anyway, David regenerates, then…cliffhanger!

Bollocks, bollocks, bollocks!!!

So after a week, the BBC finally puts me out of my misery. What happens to the Doctor? In the final episode of the season, we have three Doctors! THREE! I can tell you that the universe was saved, but the rest you can watch on youtube.com. The finale is actually composed of three episodes: Turn Left, The Stolen Earth, and Journey’s End.

A pleasant surprise at the very end of the finale. A short trailer for the Christmas special showed the return of the Cybermen, and a shot of my other favorite David, David Morrissey. The two Davids were last seen singing and dancing in the highly entertaining Blackpool (refer to video page). Let’s see how much damage they do on Christmas 2008.