Scentzilla!

November in Oregon is a curious time. Some years the weather is mild and aside from some grey rains, the weather is not so bad as things go. This year, and this week specifically, the winds from the Columbia River Gorge have been particularly gusty and steady. These winds aren’t just blasts of air, but almost like infrawaves of ice blowing so hard they cut into your bones. I am surprised and exhausted by the chill even when I only step out the front door and am met by a storm of dried leaves unsettled by the wind. There was apparently some sort of contest a while back to name these gusts, and I guess everyone decided upon the moniker “Chinook Winds.” Personally, I would have called the wind Mariah (hyuk-hyuk.)

I need a fragrance that can stand up to this late autumn chill, and have been reaching for Galimard’s Galimar parfum.

What I get from it is what I imagine some folks get from Tabu. But where Tabu induces me to vomit, not figuratively, but literally, Galimar dresses me in a glamor and sensuality that plain Jane me does not ordinarily accomplish. Galimar is a dense scent, one I perceive as a penultimate bombshell’s fragrance. It has a sexiness and richness that makes me feel like one of the screen sirens from long ago. Forget the fruity hard to reach prettiness of Marilyn Monroe and her Chanel No. 5. I want that hot beauty of Jane Russell.

Mellifluous patchouli and orangey nutmeg and lead down into hazy florals (orris and something vaguely rosy.) Jasmine is used for its mysterious indolic effect here, and causes me to feel just how animalic Galimar’s musk note is. (I am admittedly a fan of how Galimard employs jasmine in its parfums in general.) Cinnamon and warm very woody vanilla rise, giving the sensation of warmth where I have none in this sort of weather. While most of the year I absolutely must apply this parfum sparingly, right now I can lavish it on my skin to a very nice effect.

Galimard’s online site doesn’t fully list the offerings contained in their catalog, and the catalog doesn’t list the full range of products they offer in their shop in Cote de Azur. However, Galimar is one fragrance that can be found online, and is one of my favorites from the house.

Image top by Andrew Wyeth, from his Helga series, is from arrozaldalebre.no.sapo.pt. Second image of Jane Russell from poster.net