Scentsibility

Let me tell you something about myself: I love cologne. Or perfume. I’m not sure which.

Two days ago I was telling a new acquaintance that cologne was one of the items I couldn’t live without when on trip, and she was like, You mean perfume? Honestly, I don’t know the difference between the two. Nor can I tell eau de toilette from eau de parfum. I do know one is more potent (and therefore more expensive) than the other. I guess this is a long-winded way of saying I’m no fragrance connoisseur. But yes, I do love scents.

Probably too much because two weeks ago, I bought twelve bottles of cologne.

Well, they were small bottles (I think 10ml). Sherwin and Candy gave quite a strong reaction when I told them about this. I said I couldn’t help it, they all smelled good. Candy said, getting two bottles is understandable but twelve?! We were having a conversation about my unbelievable spending habits. I did agree with them, in fact. After all, twelve bottles of cologne are definitely too many for one person to buy in one go. (Two goes actually — I bought six on separate days). I told myself I would start curbing my spending habits.

Two days later, I found myself buying another fragrance.

I couldn’t resist! It was a deo spray that was a perfect match to one of the twelve colognes I got.

Anyway, this is for real now: I am not buying another fragrance this year. And that’s probably because the one fragrance I desire right now is well over my budget:

It’s Maison Francis Kurkdjian Aqua Universalis. (Totally had to Google that!) Here is the product description from www.franciskurkdjian.com:

A water for all uses, for everything and everyone, a scent crosses between skin and fabric, between sheets and air, big and small, men and women.

A water that adds a delicate waft and supports an olfactory connection throughout the house.

Olfactory Description
Bergamote and Lemon from Sicily - White Bouquet (Lily of the Valley and sweet mock orange) - Light and Musky Wood

I get easily swayed by cologne write-ups. I knew I wanted this the moment I read the product description in a magazine. The down side? It’s P9000+. But that didn’t stop me from going to the department store to check it out.

JB and I surveyed the cologne bottles on display. Each fragrance had an accompanying wine glass containing its essence; I considered this to be a thoughtful and practical setup. A saleslady came over and asked me what perfume I was looking for. I could only say, Maison Francis because I didn’t know how to say the rest of the name!

She gave an approving look, as though she had expected me to say it, and whisked me off to the shelf where the perfume line was displayed. This particular perfume I was looking for (Aqua Universalis), she said, was the best-seller of the line. She sprayed each of the Maison Francis Kurkdjian scents on a paper cone for me. I thought Aqua Universalis truly was the best of the lot. The saleslady offered to spray it on my skin and I gladly offered her my wrist. Of course I wasn’t going to buy this perfume but I was going to smell my wrist the entire evening. After all, it isn’t every day that my skin comes in contact with cologne priced at almost ten grand.

While looking at the product line I saw these other bottles:

At first I thought they were additional perfume variants but then I noticed a bubble blower inside each bottle. Sure enough, they were bubble makers, the saleslady confirmed. Scented bubble makers, might I add. For real! Here is the product description from www.franciskurkdjian.com:

This house of perfume also loves children.
To discover the world of scent while having fun,
a first edition of perfumed bubbles.
Twist, blow, marvel.

Well, I certainly marveled at the price tag which read P2000+. This is, without question, the most expensive bubble maker I’ve ever laid eyes on and the most frivolous conception of perfumery I’ve ever encountered.