What kind of color is this? A green? A blue? Turquose? Gray? What I see is a watered down mint green. A once chirpy 50-ies housewife that, as times goes by, is left by her husband, alcohol intake goes through the roof, ends up indebted with no friends is about to end up on the streets. Somehow she gets accepted into a rehab program and that’s where we find her now. Sober, after many years of not being so, she’s attending group therapy sessions, wearing slippers and an old robe. Sounds sad? In many ways it is. But it’s also a new beginning. Finally, she gets some distance from her former life and manages to see things fro what they are; how she tried to hide the drinking, the denial about her husbands affairs, the energy that went into keeping up a facade of having a successful life. It’s time to let those things go. What’s left of her is Grayed Jade 14-6011.

The whole rehab thing made me think of detox and that made me think of teas, preferably green and herbal ones. There are lots of tea based perfumes out there, in some ways they are the Birkenstocks of perfumeland. Very comfy to wear, not cheap, grounding and highly unglamorous. Drama is not happening in Birkenstocks. I have tried something like 5 tea based perfumes this week and they were all very nice but I feel totally gagged by the experience. I can’t think of a single thing to say about them. The color of these scents were all watery aquarelle version of browns, beiges and tans. The one most Grayed Jade 14-6011 was Elizabeth Arden Green Tea which starts with a cool mint boosted citrus/rhubarb note which renders it slightly on the bluish side of green before it continues into non-descript water floralness. And I’m sorry, I just can’t do better than that.

I also revisited the old stalwart Chanel No 19, to some, the essence of boardroom bitchiness, to others the wire mother. It’s one of those scents I haven’t ever thought I’d be able to wear as I’m way to soft. But this time it was different. I could almost taste, during the green galbanum start, the feeling of entering that boardroom, completely overrunning everybody else, forcing things my own way. And then, a few hours later during the icy iris phase, the feeling of watching the members of that same boardroom with contempt, knowing that I’m so right and they’re so wrong. I have to get myself a bottle of it. And a boardroom, to go with the perfume. And some people, to go with the boardroom.

This has been one of those very hazy weeks. Stress building up in various areas, kids keeping me awake all through the nights, me in a state of semi-flue but not sick enough to stay in bed. I had a very clear plan to wear perfumes inspired by Grayed Jade 14-6011, but now, some days later, I can’t even remember half of the scents I wore. I hope next week will be better. If nothing else, I did drink a lot of tea though.