What the Hiatus?

I was in the middle of writing a post reviewing Tim Gunn's new book "Gunn's Golden Rules" when the phone rang. I tripped and spilled wine on my laptop keyboard, causing it to go on the fritz.

This event capped a day in which I had an adverse reaction to medication in the morning and my car stalled in traffic in the afternoon. I was about to receive a first-hand lesson in Gunn's Project Runway catchphrase
"make it work".

At first, I thought about all the wonderful ways I could "make it work" without having a functional car and computer. But in the end, I just went batty.

Oh sure, I managed to catch "Dial M for Murder", one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock films and enjoyed walks around the lake outside my apartment.

However, the cost of that was missing the inaugural weekend of J Crew's online factory outlet, which featured the hits from the past few seasons at bargain prices.

But really, I was staring down the barrel of a $400 car repair bill. Putting the purchase on my J Crew card would be ignoring the lessons of karma.

I bought a new laptop to replace my beloved yellow one, now covered in white wine. In addition to the color, my new laptop lacks the bells and whistles. Since it's a making it work week, I'm thinking of tricking out my new laptop with either a Da Vinci or Botticelli print.

"Making it work" was a hard lesson to learn. If I master it, maybe it will get easier.

Am I Bleu?

I am a perfume whore. The shelves of my two bathrooms are lined with scents ranging from Annick Goutal’s Passion to Jo Malone’s White Jasmine and Grapefruit.


I like my scents warm and smoky (Jo Malone’s Black Vetiver); they should come from a storied fashion house (Chanel No. 5); evoke a mood (Jean Patou’s Joy); or have been worn by a legendary Hollywood actress (Audrey Hepburn & L’Interdit).

Bleu de Chanel by Chanel only meets one of these requirements. It is a woody aromatic which features labdanum, nutmeg, ginger, sandalwood, patchouli, mint, jasmine, grapefruit, citruses, vetiver, incense, cedar, and pink pepper.

Most intriguingly, it’s a male fragrance.

I gladly missed the 1990s trend of unisex fragrances. Men should smell like fresh cut grass and public library books and women should smell mysterious and powerful. There is nothing sexy or interesting to me about a woman who wears a man’s scent…until Bleu de Chanel.

Released last month, the name is taken from a Chanel fragrance in the 1930s. The advertising features a yummy French actor (Gaspard Ulliel) and is directed by Martin Scorsese.

It’s not a unisex fragrance, but it smells like a man I might like to know – sophisticated, intelligent, active with a slight rebellious streak. And then I thought…those are qualities I might want to develop in myself.

But if I can’t have the man and I don’t have time for rigorous self-improvement, I can always have Bleu de Chanel.