Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Distraction

So, as part of the whole "my body is a fertile temple" thing I have been trying to switch to all natural skin care and body products. And laundry products. And cleaning products. You name it, I'm switching it.

With some things I have been more successful than others. For instance, natural cleansers and moisturizers are pretty easy. Fabric softener and dishwasher rinse aid too - to my mind they don't have much of a job to do, so it doesn't matter if the natural product doesn't function quite as well as the synthetic one. But deodorant was one of my last hold-outs so I have been poisoning myself with good old antiperspirant for a long time. Not that it probably makes a difference as far as getting pregnant, but I don't like to leave any stone unturned just in case. You never know, it could be the last little piece that makes a difference. OK, don't laugh. But if we really are being assaulted by all these toxins and radio waves and other unnatural things, maybe just reducing the amount will help our bodies get back into line again.

Now, sure, I tried some natural deodorants. But they left me stinking by the end of the day. Not to mention sticky and uncomfortable. And some of them had me stinking by the start of the day - they just had some weird compounds that didn't react so nicely with my skin chemistry. Awful stuff. But I finally found one that works reasonably well on me. Except it has a different smell than I am used to, even though it is a floral scent it has some other things mixed in that it can't quite hide, like lichen. It's not a bad smell at all. Just...different. So naturally my thoughts turned to perfume. I have not been a huge wearer of perfume, but want to step it up as I would like that extra security blanket of something that will go well with the deodorant and also provide a bit of help with the whole "smelling nice" thing.

Except of course now that I am (mostly) all natural, I figured it should be a natural perfume. So I started googling to see if I could find any. And, oh my. There is a whole world out there of perfumistas and fan sites and review sites. And niche perfume houses and cult fragrances. And yes, little tiny places making natural perfumes. All of that. And once I started reading about this stuff, I just couldn't stop. It's quite addicting, really. You read a review, and realize that your own thoughts of "that's nice" or "blech, too chemical-y" or "soapy" really don't even begin to scratch the surface. So I'd read a review and start getting interested in the synthetic fragrances too. I mean, these people are smelling things in perfumes that I just don't recognize. So I've been digging out old samples that I've got free over the years and comparing my impressions of them with the reviews. Uh, yeah. I'm still at "flowery" or "soapy" but whatever. I know which ones I like and which ones I don't.

But, I have to say, it's been a lovely distraction from all matters ovary-related. You can get quite obssessed researching this stuff. And I took the plunge at the weekend and ordered sample sizes of a bunch of perfumes from some fancy-schmancy retailers, and got an email that my first order was shipped yesterday. Squeeee! I am so giddy with excitement! Who knew you could even order samples? Not me, that's for sure. Of course it makes sense if you're buying perfumes from the internet but I'd never thought about it before. I am nervous too, I mean, some of them are really different from the mainstream perfumes and I'm not sure if I'll fall head over heels in love with the most expensive perfume evah (probably a yes on that one, knowing me), or if I'll put something on and be so repulsed by it that I want to vomit.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

that is pretty interesting. I think my deodorant would set off some geiger counter. It's one of those hard core, full of chemicals, comes in a box it is so strong deals.

But it works.

I can't wait to read your perfume reviews!

But really- I can't wait to hear abouT THE CALL

Anonymous said...

Ah, perfume. My favorites are, of course, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and I highly recommend you join the forum for recommendations as well as, um, freebies imps, which you can then swap for other imps (check ebay, too). Then there's Talisman/Madini and Attar Bazaar, two other faves. If you like amber oil, Attar Bazaar has an amazing Persian Amber that lasts and lasts and lasts... Finally, if you've got dosh to splash around, there's DSH (I find her rather alcohol-y) and my other favorite, Ava Luxe. Oh, and Bathed & Infused, which is great for body products and soap.

Erm, I'm a bit of a junkie when it comes to soap and perfume, and I have other, uh, sources. For, y'know, stuff.