Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2010 Debriefing, Part 2


LOCATION OF OPERATION: New York City PRIMARY MISSION: To attend Sniffapalooza Spring Fling 2010 and address key representatives of the fumiverse. Sat Apr 10 -- Primary Mission Morning: The Sniffapalooza scene is in full swing when I arrive at Bergdorf Goodman’s basement beauty hall at around 10:30am. It's like some alternate universe key party, with glitter-eyed pleasure-seekers swapping perfumes instead of wives. I’m on my own, and feel a little shy as I “excuse me” around the throngs of happy huffers crowding the counters. But as I make eye contact, and then small talk, and then instant connections with fellow perfume pilgrims, I realize I’m in a virtual village of “my kind of people”. All 140 of us. In no time at all, I'm united with blog buddies melisand61 and Jake. Melisand61 had brought her teenage son, and teenage Jake his mom, but somehow they'd reconfigured into a whole new “fume family” by the time we meet. Kind of like when wild gorillas adopt random young ‘uns. Or like that documentary where the zebra gets confused and becomes best friends with the hippo. Or like Disney’s The Incredible Journey where the lost cat and those two dogs band together to find their way home. Or...maybe just like two human beings, bonding over their love of perfume. This is 16-year-old Jake’s first Sniffa, and while he’s wide-eyed, he certainly isn’t clueless. After all, it’s safe to say that Jake’s the only boy in America, and probably the entire world, wearing Caron Tabac Blond to high school. Then I run into Laura, a charming connoisseur I’d met last year hunting and gathering at the Scent Bar when she was visiting from DC. She helpfully points out New York Times scent critic Chandler Burr chatting to fumies in a quiet corner, and I sidle over to introduce myself. I’m excited to meet Chazzy B, since it was his books The Emperor of Scent and The Perfect Scent that had given me the final shove into full-blown perfume zealotry a few years back. Chandler does an unreadable almost-double-take when I say hello, followed by a inscrutably uninflected, “People send me your video reviews all the time. And I watch them.” The “and I watch them” hangs in silence, with no editorializing. This is a little unnerving. Even Luca Turin had thrown me a bone with his jokey “you’re doing the Lord’s work” comment in a recent email exchange. But I persevere, whipping out my little digital video camera and requesting a quick interview. Chandler’s a real sport, graciously and thoughtfully answering my off-the-cuff questions. (Due to poor sound and lighting, the quality’s too shabby even for YouTube, but I’ll write it up for a future blog post.) Mark Behnke, Basenotes’ “New in Niche” columnist, gets drawn into the conversation, and before long he and Chandler are hashing out the pros and cons of recent releases. Annick Goutal Ninféo Mio? Miles of smiles. Donna Karan Iris? Pained face-squinching. As my priority is chatting with the fine citizens of Sniffaville and hobnobbing with Karens Dubin and Adams, any real interaction with actual perfume is limited. Anyway, I’m lucky to have access to most of this stuff in Los Angeles, so I’m not frantic about shoving every nozzle I see up my nose. I make an exception for Dayna Decker’s line of natural fragrances, which has me at “squelch!” “Squelch!” is the sound of me dipping my crocodile-hide fingers into DD’s shea-buttery body cream, perfumed with any one of their 10 vibrant perfumes. I immediately glom onto Bardou, a garden-green rose with dew-drenched leaves and a sneeze of pepper. My perfume pen pal Dan often makes fun of my love for “ancillary products”, as he, the perfume purist, calls them. But if a fragrance I enjoy comes in goo form, why not pounce on the opportunity to moisturize along with smelling good? I snap up the Bardou “Essence Crème”, which, truth be told, is more of a beautifully fragranced body product than a proper perfume. In other words, the scent doesn’t last for more than an hour, but it does quench my dry skin. I refocus on “proper” perfume once I spy the in-store Guerlain boutique. Bergdorf Goodman is one of the handful of locations in the US with an comprehensive selection of Guerlain perfumes. They stock the hallowed classics (including parfum versions of Mitsouko, L’Heure Bleue, Jicky and Shalimar), the more recent (as in “within the second half of the 20th century”) beauties (my favorites Derby, Attrape Coeur and Vetiver pour Elle among them), and L’Art et La Matière line. I was about to say L’Art et La Matière is Guerlain’s version of niche (and let’s not forget Les Voyages Olfactifs line here, too), but with so many of Guerlain’s range unavailable beyond an Idylle here and a Shalimar edt there, the entire line pretty much seems like niche to me. But before I can get oogly-eyed and wild-nosed over my elusive Guerlain prey, I notice my Sniffa herd drifting away from the Bergie’s watering hole and on to fresh grazing pastures. It’s time for lunch at Opia, with a full menu of speakers -- including me. Gulp! Coming up: Lunch with Chandler Burr Read Part 1 here.

13 comments:

  1. I'm always up for reading about good body products and if they come smelling like one of the perfumes I like, all the better. My skin would get very angry if I didn't keep it hydrated.
    Can't wait to read what comes next! :) And you talked to CB!

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  2. Sniffa makes even the most experienced fumies a bit wide-eyed. And I agree, Jake (*waves*) is anything but clueless. On to vintage Mitsouko during AP Chem, right?

    One of the nicest things about Sniffa is that create-a-family aspect. Each time I attend, I cavort with old friends and make new ones. As you mentioned, it's hard to do much sniffin' when you're busy talking with so many like-minded people.

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  3. Well, sheesh, people talk about "skin scents"...what better way to get under (okay, into) your skin than with a lotion containing scent? (We know that most are "scented" anyway...so the choices should be either no scent, or happy scent, right?)

    Actually, I find it interesting how some "scents" that are available either in a spray liquid or skin lotion can be more appealing in one form than the other. Apothia Velvet Rope, for example; love having the lotion in the arsenal. Not as fond of the perfume.

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  4. BTW, I know that by "skin scent" the connotation is along the lines of "smells like your own skin but better" and sometimes "wears close to the skin (and smells somewhat like skin)." I was just stretching a bit, in order to get to my point.

    Maybe I'll need some lotion for that stretching.

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  5. "Chandler does an unreadable almost-double-take when I say hello, followed by a inscrutably uninflected, 'People send me your video reviews all the time. And I watch them.'"

    I can picture that reaction exactly. I'm looking forward to reading your reaction to his lunchtime rant. :)

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  6. I was blogging about Sniffa last night as well
    ( http://www.saludspabar.com/blog/ ) and was rolling on the floor when I got your news feed, and read your recap also with references to Willy Wonka. Aren't we from the same generation! Did you have smelly stickers? It was truly a magical day. I had the opportunity to listen in on your interview with Mssrs Burr & Behnke and enjoyed the debate. I'm so glad to meet you Katie and thank you for what you do! - Kelly Podorsek

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  7. Hi Katie! I've been looking forward to your new Sniffapalooza Spring Fling installment! I always love to read about Sniffa through the eyes of a first-timer, as it really was a magical and life-changing event for me first time too.

    You're so right about the create-a-family aspect to Sniffa, and this summer our first wedding will be taking place! The happy couple met on our trip to Florence two summers ago!

    Looking forward to your next recap!

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  8. I'm not one for smelly goo products mostly because I'm a terrible fume-slut and go from one scent to another in one day. Yes, in ONE day! I don't want any detection of sloppy seconds.

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  9. Bloody Frida, I know well of the "sloppy seconds syndrome", because I also wear several perfumes in the course of one day. Either because I'm evaluating a bunch of stuff, or cuz I'm just a plain ol' fume-floozie. But if I'm going out (and away from the temptations of my collection), applying perfumed cream is a safe bet. And I'm intrigued that the Dayna Decker line also has some kind of space-age fragranced body gel that moisturizes and makes you gleamy. Thought it might be good for bare legs in the summer.

    ScentSelf, exactly the same as you, I find that certain iterations of perfume work better for me than others. I'm on record as preferring Frederic Malle Carnal Flower in the "body butter", just cuz the schmearing lessens CF's somewhat overwhelming intensity.

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  10. SaludScents/Kelly - enjoyed your comprehensive Sniffa post - go have a look, everyone! I'd been burning the candle at both ends and was too pooped to do Sniffa Sunday, but I do regret missing out on meeting CB I Hate Perfume's Christopher Brosius. (I didn't have smelly stickers - perhaps I was deprived as a child?)

    Karen, that Sniffa romance tale is a doozy! Get a couple more of those under your belt, and you can start sneaking it into the fine print of your event's press releases: "Try upcoming releases from Chanel and Serge Lutens, tour Aedes de Venustas' perfume fairyland, meet your soulmate, eat delicious confectionery from 2 Chicks With Chocolate".

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  11. Jake and Melissa, wonderful to meet you guys. Though it felt more like a "continuation" than an actual "meeting".

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  12. I'm not usually a betting woman, but I'd be the first to plop a bankroll on Jake being the only one wearing Tabac Blond (expensive tastes there, kid!) and on you being able to take Keiko Mecheri down! :) Wish I'd been a mouse in the corner watching that encounter! lol

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  13. Dorrit, you've got some winnings coming your way!

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