Getting Your Mojo Back: Pop Psychology for the Perfumista

Is that a thin layer of dust I see on my Feminite du Bois?  When was the last time I  posted my SOTD? Am I wearing one?

Yes it happens to even the most dedicated perfumistos. The“lemmings” leave, you admire the woodwork on your vanity more than your cherished flacons and you  pretend you are not at home when the UPS man shows up at your door; you are officially suffering from fragrance fatigue.

Perfume is a passion.Most likely its not your profession and  its not your life.  So examine what may be causing the scent blues:      

  • Illness, anxiety, professional issues
  • Too much to do and not enough time
  • The weather can alter your mood
  • no time away from the computer or your iPhone.
  • You are on fifth sense overload. According to Perfumer Maurice Roucel, only professionals should test more than three fragrances at a time. "Its like training for a marathon", he says, "You have to work  up to it. No matter how much you love fragrance, do not think of your skin as real estate."

   So how do you get your Mojo back?

 

 

Visit friends…in person. Read a book. Play with a child. Take a walk..even if its raining. Smell a REAL rose. Make Love. See a movie by yourself. Use your mind to the full, get  all your senses back, smell, touch, taste, sound. If you can do at least one or two of these activities  just a few times a day for the next few days, you just may see a difference in the way you feel about fragrance. And yourself.

Michelyn Camen, Editor in Chief 

 Dedicated to Jen Meade "may the force be with you" 

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9 comments

  • Michellle Hunt says:

    Yes!  What a suitable post for today…this certainly relates to perfumistas as much as it does to other creative types.  NOTHING feels worse than to lose that "spark"….these are all great suggestions for renewing yourself.  Dare I say, sometimes I need to take a break from fragrance for a few days, and re-discover it all over again with a fresh olfactory palette. 

  • I agree!  I go outside and 'visit' my plants a few times a day to refresh my eyes and my nose.  Pet your dog or your cat, get your sense of touch involved.

  • I think Michelyn was onto something with the stress. Also, I think my schnozz was busy fighting off a cold.

  • Nose fatigue is a real thing, and overload can cause someone to shut down.  I keep my home as scent-free as possible: no scented laundry or dish soap, no scented shampoo, soap or other bath product, no scented candles, no room sprays except for a rare occasion, rare incense burning.
    When I do wear a perfume, it is like a jewel on my skin, or in my hair, and I appreciate it for its beauty and rarity.

  • Anya… I did many of the wonderful things on the mojo list. I visited family for a celebratory get together. Enjoyed looking at the beauty of a perfect violet orchid … Touched it’s satiny blossom which is without scent!

  • Wow Michelyn I feel like you read my mind & are speaking right to me. I am choosy right now, only simpler scents appeal. An ennui.
    Anya- I think you are so right. “a jewel on the skin”. That’s exactly what I like 🙂
    I adore your writing Michelyn, so evocative and so sincere- truth.

  • Michelyn, you are lucky you were able to get out and visit people yesterday.  I truly was in front of the computer until 11 PM, due to many deadlines.  Today will be having lunch with a friend, and having some medical tests that are merely checkups, but at the oldest building in America, a Spanish monastery that was brought over brick-by-brick by W.R. Hearst, so I'll explore the grounds a bit for relaxation.

  • Oh no, Michelyn! That's the worst!
    I totally agree about anxiety zapping the pleasure out of scent, and exercising always helps me. Good luck overcoming it!