citrus

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Citronelle & Geranium

Bottle and box with cute flower drawings, in front of a can of Deep Woods Off and a tube of Skin-So-Soft body lotion.

Holy shitballs, it works.

Mosquitoes LOVE me. The little vampiric assholes feast on my flesh like I am manna from above.
So I am always looking for a good smelling repellent, and while Diptyque actually makes no claim to Citronelle & Geranium being proof against the bloodsucking fiends, it boasts lemongrass and lemon eucalyptus. Both are effective bug deterrents, and along with citronella, can even kill the little effers in large enough doses.

This “summer body spray” goes on comfortingly strong, with that invasive green citrus that immediately stops the annoying tinnitus whine that is not “just in your head.”
In a half hour or so, orange blossom and neroli ease in to soften the sharp sting of the lemon leaves, for a glorious insect free afternoon.

Would it stand up to the fanged pterodactyls that live in Vermont marshes?
No. You need DEET for that.

Is it as sweet smelling and nostalgia inducing as Avon’s iconic Skin-So-Soft?
No, but it’s a lot less oily and doesn’t stain the clothes.

Is it pricey?
Yes, especially when compared to a can of Off from the drugstore.
But since hats with full netting aren’t apropos for garden parties anymore (a shame, that) it might be worth it for fancy outdoor events when waving and slapping and swearing and welting and itching seems undignified.

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Poison Ivy

Black bottle with white ivy illustration and silver cap, and dark green flocked silk leaves

Velvety green roses and lily-of-the-valley out of the bottle, soft in personal space for an hour, then sits with lime sherbet dust on the skin for a few more.

This one is the last of the newest TokyoMilk Dark set. I’m not so impressed with this release–First Base is good, but the other three seem weak in both performance and creativity.

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Dreamy soft song…

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Oh Ma Biche

Teal blue promo card featuring bottle with a doe, and sample spray. And some fairy lights to make my photo fancier.

Perfect for young teen things who still decorate their bedrooms with twinkle lights and ruffled throw pillows, but whose musical tastes are surprisingly quite refined.

Opens with orange juice and pink pepper, then settles into a nice peach Hawaiian Ice–that really wants to be a Bellini when she’s old enough to drink–inside social distance, and ends after a few giggly hours of sheer vanilla musk on the skin.

Cute and lighthearted, but not silly.

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Isla Crall is a very impressive young woman.

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Endymion

Tiny Penhaligon’s apothecary style bottle with navy blue tassel, and a mandarin.

Sweet oranges out of the bottle, with a bundle of lavender that hovers inside personal space for fifteen minutes.
Then, almost suddenly, the coffee hits, like it was spilled onto the skin, and it’s marvelous–supported by gruff spices and leather, almost grumpy, in a normally-nice boss arriving to work late way.
(How can a scent seem both surly and comforting at the same time?)

Lasts an hour or two, a little longer on cuffs.

The guy usually fusses when I wear men’s cologne, but this one he likes.

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A new one by a master. Both surly and comforting and so, so, good.

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Match Point

Spray vial and dark green promo card, on a pile of generic Tums.

An after-the-gym scent with rolled up French cuff manners and an odd but soothing undercurrent of stomach antacid tablets.

Opens with sweet limes and and warm spice, then settles to a hand span off the body with a nice mess of gentian–herbal, bitter, sweet–almost medicinal and a little mysterious–bolstered by a faint green brush of patchouli and vetiver.

Very sniffy on the skin for a comforting 4-5 hours.
Wear on Taco Tuesday.

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A soothing Tuesday song.

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Starfruit & White Flowers

Mini 4711 flask with bright yellow and gold accented label, on a dish with starfruit.

Starfruit & White Flowers is a lovely fruity floral, with crystalline green peachy-citrus notes, their sweetness carried deeper by the gardenia-neroli mashup. Pretty and linear, projects across the room for 10 minutes, then settles to the skin over the next half hour.

I’ve enjoyed most of the 4711 Acqua Colonia offerings, but this one is rather special–delicate, refreshing and cheerful, and even a bit sexy in a see-through summer evening sundress way–
–but there’s also a crisp sugary vibe that works for daytimes in winter, too.

Very sniffy and maybe a little addictive.

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Just in case you haven’t heard this one–

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Junk

Small glass pot of purple solid perfume with black lid.

Oh, Junk, how I love you–one part Tiger Balm, one part black currant cough drops–you heal my soul with comforting ’70s vibes of beaded doorway curtains and rusty VW micro-buses, JOB rolling papers and Aquarian tarot decks.

The solid is much preferable to the spray, so it can be rubbed into the skin like a curative salve. Apply every four hours or as needed.

My little pot expires next year. I cannot wait until someone asks me what I’m wearing, so I can nonchalantly say, “Just some old Junk I had.”

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Pure Poison

Mini bottle with white fade up to the black collar and purple lettering, casting iridescent shadows.

A jasmine bomb with a 2 mile blast radius.
Pull the candy orange peel pin and white flowers go nuclear, a dense gardenia fog with ambery woods fallout underneath, that flattens every other scent in the vicinity.

Brilliant and a little frightening.
Wear in winter with an open carry permit.

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Urban Hero

Mini flask of pale green eau on a brown leather jacket.

Leather with nice manners.

Peppery sweet limes ease into smooth wood, wrapped in a bomber jacket with a satin ambergris lining.

Not pushy, but not a pushover, either. The spicy citrus stays light and refreshing in personal space, but the animalics laying just above the skin have some weight.

I’d chat him up if he sat next to me on the subway–

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