It seems like I’ve had less time lately to write (my apologies to anyone who may care… anyone? anyone? Bueller? ok, I’ll stop now), but when an obsession overtakes me I feel compelled to write a full post.
Well, I’m newly obsessed, so here goes:
If you asked me for a list of my favorite smells, I’d easily rattle them off by rote: vanilla, cedar, rose, iris . . . but I usually forget to mention my absolute greatest love: chocolate.
How can I forget it? I suppose, because it’s a given chocolate is delicious, right? But at the same time it’s frustratingly hard to find a quality chocolate perfume or candle. So I don’t bother to look anymore, because of the inevitable disappointment. Years ago I loved (and I mean, I treasured and adored) Comptoir Sud Pacifique Amour de Cacao. It wasn’t terribly expensive, I never grew tired of it, and it smelled exactly like chocolate. But apparently the scent has been discontinued, though I cannot for the life of me understand why.
But recently I was browsing on Neimanmarcus.com when I came across an unfamiliar brand called Montale Paris. And then I saw Montale has a fragrance called “Chocolate Greedy.” Aside from loving the name, I salivated at the promising description: “tonka bean, bitter orange, cacao cream, vanilla from Madagascar” (though I wouldn’t be able to tell you quite what a Tonka bean is used for…).
I promptly tabbed over to Ebay.com and bought a sample of Chocolate Greedy (the bottle costs $170 and I’m not quite crazy enough to buy it based on name alone).
One spray was all it took, though. I fell for it. As a bonus, my husband likes it and identified immediately it was “chocolate”. His ability to recognize the scent should speak volumes. How many times have I tried a product that’s supposed to smell like chocolate but absolutely misses the mark (too many)? Case in point, Philosophy Hot Cocoa 3 in 1 Gel. I’ve grown to like it, but it’s not an obviously chocolate smell, at all.
I ended up going back to Neiman Marcus and buying the full sized bottle (but I waited for GWP time, at least!), and then I was stopped dead in my tracks when I stumbled across the Montale Chocolate Greedy Candle! This calls for more exclamation points here, fyi!!!!! And hearts, too, maybe. . . But I won’t.
For real, I’ve been waiting my life to find this candle. I am keeping it (unlit) on the window sill immediately above where I lay my head at night. Sweet dreams, anyone?
The perfume has wonderful staying power. Thank you Montale! I sprayed Chocolate Greedy on myself this morning (just 1 spray), and I’m now sitting in my office at work enjoying my own deliciousness. (Because, I wear fragrance for myself, and if other people like it too, that’s nice. Hair flip.)
I’m so heavily influenced by smells. It’s quite amazing. A good smell lifts my mood. A bad one, with my crazy, sensitive, nose, makes me angry or sometimes even nauseous. :(( (Did I ever tell you that story about how I studied for the Bar exam using Mr. Sketch scented markers? Back then we wrote out our bar exam responses by hand –2 full days of essays and 1 day of multiple choice, thank you very much, South Carolina Bar Examiners — and I brought my Mr. Sketch markers with me into the exam to trigger my memory. I had written my study outlines repeatedly in a designated color/smell for each tested topic. It was 15 years ago, now, but I still remember “family law” was designated the red / cherry marker, “federal procedure” was brown / cinnamon, “equity” was black / licorice, “contracts” was bright blue / blueberry, and so on.)
But I love the smell of chocolate most of all.
And I love a perfumer who gives what it promises to give. Montale Paris names its perfumes honestly. Have you ever thought about how ridiculous it is to name a perfume something like, “Eternity,” “Romance,” or even stupider, a celebrity name. What exactly does Cher smell like, again? )? Anyway, with Montale Paris’ fragrances, you seem to get what you want to get.
In addition to Chocolate Greedy, Montale has a range of vanilla fragrances and I really want to try them all. I bought a Montale Paris discovery set (perfume sampler), and tried Vanilla Absolu and Sweet Vanilla. The descriptions are fantastic, and spot on. I am salivating at the Vanilla Cake description and wish I could find it in a sampler!
Take care, all. Smell ya later!
-JGG