#SCENTsational Saturdays- #Fave #5- #Jovan #WhiteMusk

Unpredictable in spirit, pure in its essence. Exquisite in its delicacy. Alluring Jasmine, ylang-ylang, and honeysuckle blend with sensual musk, soft woods, and amber. The result is a warm and purely feminine fragrance.

Every time I wear this, I'm transported back to my early-20s. I was living on my own, working at a factory where I printed keys for laptops, ironically. When I wasn't working, I hung out in my apartment with friends, went to the movies or out to eat. Sometimes I went to the local American Legion to listen to live music and maybe get up and dance a slow song if the right guy asked me. That wasn't often and usually it was a handsome stranger who shared one slow dance rather than the current guy in my life.

My biggest concerns were paying the bills, buying groceries and finding a way to get to the laundromat when I didn't have work so I would have clean clothes in my closet and dresser. Honestly though, life seemed more carefree back then...even with bills to pay and work everyday.

Of course, I wanted to get married and worried about whether my current relationship would amount to a hill of beans. I knew I was wanted, needed, desired, but needless to say, it didn't work out and neither did a few others after that, but I was having fun and living life. Even with all the heartache I also associate with that time, I also have a lot of great memories, too. I guess that's what those early years were for though- growing and learning. I sometimes think I took the freedom of my early 20s for granted, but I wouldn't trade that time in my life for the world.

I think that's what Jovan's White Musk represents for me- a more youthful side of me- the side that doesn't feel like a "mom" or a "wife" even, but that young woman who was spontaneous and carefree and enjoying life in the moment. I guess that's why I still wear it- because it reminds me that I am a woman, I am beautiful and desirable and wanted. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Ladies, find that thing today that reminds you that YOU are a woman, your own heroine!

Men, don't let your women forget that you know this fact!

Hope you have a SCENTsational Saturday!

#SCENTsational Saturdays- #Fave 4- #DreamAngels #Heavenly

There is irony in the fact that this SCENTsational Saturday's favorite is

Victoria Secret's Dream Angels Heavenly.

 Capture the radiance. Live the dream. Love the romance of Dream Angels® fragrance. Luminous and sensual, Dream Angels Heavenly® glows in luxurious warmth. White musk, sandalwood, vanilla and white peony.

Several years ago, when my marriage was much younger, I'd told my husband I'd like a bottle of Frederick's of Hollywood perfume for Christmas. It was pricy, but I loved the fragrance on the little sampler sheet that was in my catalogs. I knew there wasn't a store anywhere close to where we lived, so I kept dropping hints for him to order online or from the catalog. We didn't really know each other all that well at the time, had only been married maybe a year, together two, so he didn't know how to take the hint, at all.

Imagine my surprise when he made a trip to the mall without me and came home with "a little something you asked for." He was so proud that he "found the perfume I asked for," and it even came with a small clutch (that's a purse) but I was beyond crushed. He actually thought he'd went to the right store and got me the right perfume. I thought the smell was just too loud and it gave me a headache and I burst into tears.

Now, I can't remember exactly what was said, but at the time, I was still coming down from the hormones of having a baby and I was so completely taken aback by the fact that he'd gotten the wrong thing, I took the immature route and fussed at him about it. How could he have gotten it wrong? I'd hinted and blatantly told him which one I wanted, had in fact told him he'd have to order it, but instead, he did things his own way.

It turned into a fight, and not a pretty one- if a fight can ever be pretty, because at the time, our marriage was so new and we were learning about each other all the time, finding out things we hadn't been aware of when we first got together....it was like balancing on shifting plates, similar to the tectonic plates that shift and cause earthquakes. It was shaky and scary and uncertain what might set us off.

Of course, he felt awful that it wasn't, in fact, what I'd asked for and after I had my big baby cry, I tried to accept the gift anyway as something unique that he picked out just for me. His intentions were in the right place, but I was left feeling that he didn't know me at all.

The irony in that, is that after nearly 9 years or so, I actually LOVE this perfume because I think of him when I wear it- not the messy argument about it, but the sensual aroma of it and the fact that it was a signature fragrance that I've only ever worn since he and I have been together. It's a scent that I associate with my husband, so I guess that good intentions gone awry do sometimes have a lasting effect- in a good way!

Has a significant other ever given you a fragrance or cologne you just could not stand? Or perhaps, given you a new scent that now, years later, inspires lovely memories and happy thoughts?

 Share with me...

Have a SCENTsational Saturday!