What is the Perfume Project?

This blog is a constantly evolving forum for thoughts on perfume, perfume-making, plants (especially orchids and flora of the Pacific Northwest) and life in general. It started out chronicling the adventures of Olympic Orchids Perfumes, established in July 2010, and has expanded in other directions. A big part of the blog is thinking about the ongoing process of learning and experimentation that leads to new perfumes, the exploration of perfumery materials, the theory and practice of perfume making, the challenges of marketing perfumes and other fragrance products, and random observations on philosophy and society. Spam comments will be marked as such and deleted; any comments that go beyond the boundaries of civil discourse will also be deleted. I am grateful to all of you, the readers, who contribute to the blog by commenting and making this a truly interactive perfume project.

Sunday, May 7, 2017

CELEBRATING A SUNNY DAY

After a depressing seven months of constant cold rain (that’s over 200 days and 200 nights my friends!), the sun has finally appeared in the Pacific Northwest. This sign that spring is here coincides with my having caught up on grading papers, shipping orchid plants, and doing some minimal clean-up of the front garden area. I still have to tackle my studio, but that is a project for summer “vacation”. The sunshine is like a special therapy to dry out everything that’s become water-logged and weighted down, including my spirits.

My blogging sabbatical is coming to an end this June, so I might as well try to slowly ease back into it with the next giveaway of another 100 g of miscellaneous samples. There are always some nice ones in the batch, which is a mix of high-end niche perfumes, all-naturals, designer fragrances, discontinued perfumes, mainstream stuff, and oddities. Along with the 100 g batch I will include a small spray of an indie perfume by a brand that shall remain unnamed here.


To win the haul, all you have to do is leave a comment on what kind of perfume you would like to wear during a 7-month period of constant rain.

[Photos are mine, take-in this morning's sunshine]

19 comments:

  1. I'm so glad that the sun has finally come out on your side of the country! I'm not a fan of rainy days, so I like to wear Carolina because it makes me feel like I'm outside in the hayfield on a sunny day.

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  2. There's nothing like Blackbird for me on cold rainy days! <3

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  3. I adore the rain (because I live in the dry South), but I'm not sure how to answer this one. The warm, steamy summer rain we occasionally get makes me crave green scents, my weird ones like Anya's Garden Pan and your lovely Tropic of Capricorn, and white florals that bloom in the heat. The bone-chilling rain y'all get would have me reaching for my heaviest incenses, ambers, leathers and really funky musks.

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  4. Frederic, Joey, Sharman, and Liz, Good answers all, to what is probably an unanswerable question. You are all entered in the drawing.

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  5. Anything green and verdant.Jasmine and orange blossom. I need to remember that better times are around the corner when it gets like that, although the cold rain can be kind of cozy under the right circumstances.

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  6. On cooler rainy days, I find myself drawn to perfumes with a bit of dirt in them, maybe because it smells like the rain. One of my favorite rainy day perfumes is Iris Nazarena, which has plenty of dirt and wet cardboard. Glad the rain finally stopped

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  7. Live in the Pacific Northwest myself, and have been reaching for ambers (Olympic Amber and Ambre Russe) and incense. Also your California Chocolate. Glad to see you back at blogging!

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  8. For rainy days I need something cozy like Olympic Amber, Myrrhe Ardente or Sahara Noir. I heal depression with woody amber and incense perfumes. I can't wait we will have also by us the real warm spring. I feel now realy sick because of bad weather.

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  9. That would be a lot of rain for this Sunshine state girl. Probably Sonoma Scent Studio Sienna Musk. A light veil of spiced musk to keep me warm and cozy.

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  10. Most likely either incense scents, or Oriental ones with musks, woods, and spices.

    We finally have spring. I spent three weeks in Salem, OR, where spring was in full swing- gorgeous trees blooming, camellias, and rhodies. Then coming back to north Idaho, it was like going back in time!

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  11. It depends on the season. For warmer rainy weather, I prefer an earthy, floral scent. Both Carolina and Cepes and Tuberose work nicely for me.

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  12. Welcome back! :) I love rainy weather (probably because we don't get much here) so I would wear Kingston Ferry, just to really enhance the rainy-aquatic mood. I'd also go for something smoky like MMM By the Fireplace, perhaps even layer it with a rich coffee/chai fragrance. So cozy!

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  13. Wow! So many comments! It makes me feel really good that people have not given up on the bog. Jocelyn, Yuki, Mary M, Julie J, Laurie B, Triniti, Tarena, thank you so much for your comments. There seem to be some common threads on what to wear in the rain (cozy!). All of the flowers are blooming here, and cherries are developing - the plants don't seem to mind the rain and cold.

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  14. Not the bog - the blog! Damned autocorrect. That's what happened when I tried to keep it from changing "blog" to "log"!

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  15. I would definitely complement the rain with Olympic Rainforest- so natural and wild smelling, and perfect for pairing with wild weather. Maybe layer some Blackbird, Golden Cattleya, or Alkemia Desiderata to brighten the mood.

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  16. I would probably want to wear something to brighten my mood ups during seven months of rain! I would wear lots of scents that my be geared more towards the summer! Like citrus notes and tropical/fruity scents like Guerlain Mandarin Basilica, Escada Taj Sunset to make me feel smell like I am on vacation!

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  17. A rainy day always puts me in a contemplative mood, So I'll go with something slightly melancholy like L’Heure Bleue.

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  18. I am overwhelmed by the number of comments! You are all entered in the drawing.

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