Christmas 1994, Tarragona, Spain - An ancient outpost of one of the world's great civilizations, Tarragona, Spain, home to impressive Roman ruins, is the city where I first spied a hunky Spanish model in the Jesus del Pozo Quasar poster. The black and white image accented with glowing blue bottle was posted everywhere - at bus stops, in street marquees...I finally found an opportunity to test Quasar while browsing one of the local department stores and wasn't disappointed.
A week later while shopping in Barcelona, after continued viewing of the sexy Quasar man and unable to shake the memory of the unusual men's fragrance, I broke down and bought a bottle. The rest is a fond scented memory. Walking through the Barrio Gotico, relaxing on Las Ramblas,
gazing at La Sagrada Familia are now memories accompanied by the aroma of newsprint, banana peel, lavender, juniper, moss, sage, rosemary, geranium, white woods and musk. Everytime I smell Quasar, I'm brought back to breezy winter days and a Spanish romance, paella and sangria, and one of my favorite vacations.What is your favorite scented memory associated with a vacation abroad?
p.s. - the hunk mentioned is the one pictured in the photo on the box.
7 comments:
sigh, now I want to go to Spain
And, I love the bottle!
OMG, when I read your entry and you set it up with the hunky model, I thought for sure your story was going in the direction that you met the hunky model... I admit, it was a little bit of a let-down.
P.S. I love that word, 'hunk'. :)
Rue - "hunk" certainly beats the ugly "beefcake" (always sounds a bit obscene to me)!
Quasar is such a wonderful scent - I'm sure a guy will seem hunky wearing it, no matter what he really looks like!
Trying hard to remember a vacation-connected scent memory, but I can only think of vacation-connected food at the moment. Time for lunch, I suppose!
Two afternoons in Florence, which I SHOULD have spent at the Uffizi but instead devoted to the iPdF selection at the farmacia near there, with fragrance breaks taken across the cobblestone street, stuffing my face with yet another unbelieveable Italian dessert (their custard pastries! madonna!) followed by a jolt of espresso. Every time I smell my tiny bottle of Arancia Dolce it takes me back.
I went once to margarita island on vacation and was wearing (a small spritz was enough that time) carolina herrera's herrera for men and a small dab of yardley's lavander pomade on my hair...somehow that combo got stuck in my head!
another favorite would be the first time i went from chicago to boston...at the airport there must have been like 20 million people wearing CK One!!!
Now I remember - an afternoon in Paris, within the lilac and purple arabesques of the Palais Royal de Shiseido, with a young man in pristine, driven-snow shirt offering us scent strips and spritzes. He didn't speak - he sort of wafted or breathed words at you with inimitable elegance. And then we sat in the Moroccan café on the other side of the Palais Royal garden, drinking muscat and eating a chocolate and orange tart - and grabbing at each other's elbows and wrists to sniff at them like the demented fragrance addicts we were (and are)...
I remember being in Paris, with all the perfume shops, discount as well as exclusive, I never tried a drop. I was working furiously at the time, with a deadline that didn't allow for 'little excursions'. I regret it so much to this day. It wasn't until I was in Hamburg, when I walked into a small perfume boutique did I finally try two notables (at least for me anyway)...Gucci Envy and Cartier Declaration. I went for the Declaration at that time because it seemed to fit the mood of the air all around me. It was the end of Winter, and Spring was showing its signs, brisk, rather wet and woodsy air that made me take notice of Declaration's similar weather-in-a-bottle. If it were the dead of winter, I would've picked up the warm velvet jacket of Gucci Envy.
Post a Comment