My home in the forest: revisiting Ormonde Jayne Woman

As I was choosing my scent of the day today, I was drawn to one of my favorites, Ormonde Woman. I wore it a  lot last Winter, and I associate it with the minor thrill I get when freezing cold air first hits my skin when I go outside. Despite today being relatively warm, Woman ushered in the mood and the emotion of Winter and a slight giddiness bounced around in the pit of my stomach. This fragrance, in all its evocative glory, is a harbinger of the cold for me, and I wear it today in celebration of the beauty of this time of year- when Fall ripens into Winter and I become the best version of myself. Intentions become clearer, my mind moves along at a pleasing clip and ideas are more likely to be brought to fruition.

When I reviewed Woman back in March, I had already figured out how much gravity and power this perfume held. It's one of a kind, and from the very first sniff, I knew that it was made for me. When I spray it, I experience its gifts: to be led by the hand into the forest where this scent lives, underneath the canopy, at the base of a massive oak tree with moss growing all around-- this is where Ormonde Woman lives, and this is my home as well.

This is where I curl up on the half-frozen ground- I am practically impervious to the chill. There are shades of brown and green all around me- a thousand colors with minute differences between them, but each so completely necessary to the scene. Each twig, leaf and insect is exactly where it should be, every inhabitant of every inch of space, living or no longer living, is accounted for and perfectly in place. A shimmering veil of dreaminess touches the hyper-real landscape.

Ever since I was a little girl, this has been my happy place. I picture myself here, sinking into the ground, becoming part of the glorious earth beneath me. Nothing has ever made me happier than knowing the peace I feel here, a place where fear does not exist. It is a place where I accept all the miracles and tragedies of nature for what they are, what they must be. It is a perfect place, my home in the forest. There have been physical places I've been to that are very similar to the forest haven in my mind (or heart?), so many times when I have been overwhelmed by the beauty around me. I have felt small in the presence of mountains and California Redwoods, and I try to keep that feeling with me always. To become small when confronted with great beauty (in whatever form) is a rite of passage for humans, and if you're not lucky enough to be around that beauty all the time, you can seek out an emotional shortcut. Mine has been found, it is Ormonde Woman. The forest in my soul is accessible by a single spray of an atomizer.

Do you have a particular perfume that serves as an emotional shortcut to your happy place? I'd love to hear about it.