Just very busy as I recently started a graduate program. I haven’t bought any new scents lately, but on a recent trip to Lake Tahoe and the Napa Valley in California, I inhaled air that was as heady as perfume. In Lake Tahoe, the air smelled of sun and pine, truly amazing. Unfortunately I seemed to be a little allergic to the pine (or something else), as I was sneezing a lot! In Napa (actually the Alexander Valley), grass and grapevines mixed with eucalyptus for an unforgettable scent. Of course someone has already made a perfume inspired by the area. I’ll have to try it.

I was inspired to post by this New York Times article about Louis Vuitton and Dior establishing perfumeries in Grasse, the center of the perfume industry. I’ve always thought of contemporary designer perfumes as generic scents designed to give customers at the lower end of the income spectrum something to buy. Sounds like they’re starting to put some real effort into them–perhaps with an attendant rise in price. We shall see.

Here are some pictures from my trip–you’ll have to imagine the scents of the fields, vineyards, and mountains.