My love of interesting perfumes came back to bite me last night. I joke at times that my sense of smell must have been intended to make up for my lackluster hearing and squinty vision, but it's a double-edged sword. Wear the wrong perfume on a day when my sense of smell is keener than normal (thirtysomething hormones are the gift that keeps on giving, sigh) and there's a very real possibility that I'll end up with at least a mild headache.

I came up with a disturbing, yet accurate, description for what the wrong perfume did to me last night. It felt like someone jammed a closed umbrella up my nose, and kept opening and closing it inside my skull. (This made it very difficult to focus on what was, otherwise, an extremely good dinner. Sorry, Jeff. Thanks for getting me home quickly.)

However, I should note -- this perfume in question is not a bad one. It is a very good one, and a very unique one, but it is not meant to be worn by me. It's either a 5ml or an 8ml decant spray bottle, and I would be willing to give it away to someone who could wear it and love it. First person who contacts me with snail mail info gets it. (It's been claimed - thanks.)

L'Artisan's "Tea For Two"
The Perfumed Court: A spicy Oriental blend of Lapsang Souchong tea with a surge of fresh spices like ginger and anise, blended with cinnamon, honey and vanilla

It was marketed as a women's fragrance, but I'd call it squarely unisex; this scent practically screams out for a guy in a thick, comfortable sweater. When other people wear it, I smell equal amounts of tea and smoke, with hints of spices, but on my own weird skin chemistry I get nothing but smoke, smoke, smoke. Thus the painful headache.

Part 2 of this entry, "So what exactly IS it that you wear?" will follow shortly.