Kerou-Whacked: Part 4 (and Serge Lutens Chergui)
So today was a bit of a getting to know you day for us and the Kalispell area.
We spent a lot of time in the car (unfortunately, because the windows were dirty [anything that even approaches the road is dirty in the winter here] so I couldn't aim the lens at the glass and snap any decent photos), but the snow has been falling in a light powdery drift all day, which made for a kind of mesmerizing drive, especially when I'm the one sitting in the back seat, zoning out on the scenery.
Speaking of scenery:
"Bambi, it's cold outside!"
"I call zis: 'View From Ze Back Patio Porch'! Eet has a nice ring, oui?"
And, of course, after driving around for hours, the car was covered in a thick coat of dirt, grime and slush, so it was back to the car wash. But wait! What's this? A huge plastic blue cow? WE MUST STOP HERE!!!
The sentinel that stands guard over the Blue Cow Car Wash in Kalispell.
No, really -- I'm serious!
And so we did. I promptly spilled from the car to take photos while the BF patiently drove the car through the wash. This time, the twenty five layers of dirt came entirely clean and our mechanical beast emerged glistening. I was there to greet them both at the finish:
If I know the BF, he's thinking, "Are those cloths scratching the finish?"
I know it seems like I'm now the official chronicler of car washes, but it's about the only time the vehicle rolls to a halt and I can escape. That and gas stations. I'll soon have a huge collection of gas station photos, just you wait.
UPDATE:
See? I told you!
"Is it art or is it life? I can't tell the difference any longer."
AND ALONG COMES SERGE LUTENS:
Since yesterday was a Penhaligon's day, I figured I should get some Serge Lutens face time while I'm on the road, as well. Chergui seemed like a good choice (and how!).
Chergui is beautifully warm, dusty and sweet in a raw, natural way. I think The Non-Blonde sums it up best when she writes: "Chergui is an equal opportunity beauty. Not an androgynous unisex, but a scent that works beautifully on both male and female, creating an intoxicating atmosphere around its wearer without resorting to a gender cliché."
Penhaligon's Elixir and Chergui have this in common, the ability to function just as easily for both men and women without raising an eyebrow or baffling bystanders. Its listed scent notes are honey, musk, incense, tobacco leaf, hay, sugar, amber, iris, rose and sandalwood -- it's like the Goldilocks of fragrances, where every element is balanced just right, with the hay element perhaps the most surprising (and yet the most effective) aspect of the fragrance, preventing Chergui from dropping the honey-flower bomb and then skedaddling for cover.
If you're looking for an earthy, sweet scent with a swirl of Middle Eastern exoticism (rose, sandalwood, incense) across a stretch of American farmland (hay and tobacco leaf), then Chergui is going to be your new best friend.
I love the drydown -- a brilliantly warm, snuggly and honied slab of earthen goodness. If this is the smell of a southeast wind in Morocco, then I'm long overdue for a trip to the North African desert.
8 Comments
Well in the same fashion that you don't want dirty shoes... you don't want a dirty car.
said:
Exactly! Unfortunately, I'm discovering that a dirty car is an inevitability in a Montana February. Where's The Porter when you need him? ;)
I grew up in rural Michigan and am starting to remember how slushy and grimy the winters can be in a climate where there are actual seasons -- but all we need is a fresh snowfall to "clean" it all up, and lo and behold! I woke up this morning to a steady fall of white flakes covering over all the dirt and sludge.
Well, Elixir sounded fantastic yesterday, but it went right out of my head and I ended up wearing Fumerie Turque today - deliberated between that and Black Tourmaline and FT won out. It is smelling fantastic.
As for winter, yes, it is dirty and slushy and gritty - and in March all the trash and dog poop come out of those melting snowbanks. :-0
said:
Funny that we both reached for the Serge Lutens yesterday. I've tested Fumurie Turque a couple of times and it doesn't work for me (there's something in it that just capsizes the boat and I'm never able to right it), but Chergui is such a good fit that I can stop shedding scalding, disappointed tears over my failure to connect with Fumerie Turque.
"As for winter, yes, it is dirty and slushy and gritty - and in March all the trash and dog poop come out of those melting snowbanks."
Uh . . . thanks for making the seamy side of winter that much nastier. *shudder*
Hmmmm,
Bambi, Evergreen Tree, Blue Cow and last but not least a Hot Pepper! I envy you and your BF driving that Hot Pepper. :)
And Tara cracked me up with what comes out of the snowbanks when they start to melt. ewww and lol.
Where is your final destination on this road trip?
I chose an SL as well today... A La Nuit. I prefer this fragrance in the cooler months and it's been cool here in So. Cal. these past 2 weeks.
Happy Road Tripping!
~Dawn
A good Serge Lutens? That's *not* Miel de Bois? I can barely conceive of it.
I love the pine trees and was all agog at their symetrical, perky, Christmas card beauty, then I got to the blue cow and I am agogger. Possibly for a different reason.
Ah, both enchanting in their own way, the natural beauty and the udderly unnatural.
Sorry.
said:
Dawn -- the Hot Pepper is a joy to drive. I've always considered road trips sheer torture, but the first time we took the Cayenne on a long trip, I was, like, "Oh, I think I could learn to like this!"
We were a Serge Lutens trio!
We're not actually certain where else we'll be headed. Since we're already untethered from the home base, it's kind of anything goes.
said:
"A good Serge Lutens? That's *not* Miel de Bois?"
I know it's hard to believe, but there actually are a few good Lutens perched amidst the overhyped dreck. Chergui is now one of my favorites, and I was able to score a bottle of barely used Ambre Sultan this past week for a great price, so I think I'm pretty set on Serge Lutens for the rest of my life.
And perky is exactly the word for the trees around here. They're so hardy and cold resistant that nothing gets 'em down.
Udderly unnatural. *groan*
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