Rational Insanity
By Bryan Mari Argos

Perfume

I love perfume. I have a variety of them on my dresser and it gives me pleasure to spritz some on every once in a while, just so I feel good (and smell good at the same time). Although I am not really a perfume klutz (as in, I spray on lots of it everytime I go out, because even without perfume, I don't smell bad anyway – yabang!), I like playing around with scents and discovering the emotions they evoke. Emotions, you say? Yes, emotions. I wear perfume because they give me that feeling of lightness and satisfaction. With the perfume buff that I am, I would like to share to you guys a couple of things I have learned from my years of perfume-addiction.

There are two basic kinds of perfume; the ones for the guys and the ones for the gals. Scents with “pour home” stamped on their bottles are for the guys and “pour femme” are for the gals. I don't really understand the mechanics of gender sensitivity in perfume but I have developed a style in wearing perfume. For me, the “for men or women” labels say only one thing – that these are scents the particular sex wants to SMELL and not to WEAR. Therefore, if you would like to attract guys, I suggest you wear perfume designed for guys because these are pleasing to male noses, and vice versa. I've also learned that once we open our fragrance elixirs for the first time, we really have to use all of it within three months, otherwise, the alcohol begins to spoil the scent molecules in the perfume and we end up smelling like denatured alcohol.

I have this habit of buying small vials of cheap scents everytime there is a special occasion. I use the scent just for that one time and I seal the bottle. Whenever I want to recall that particular event or occasion, I just twist open my little vial and, presto, an instant whiff of wonderful memories! Scents are the best way to bring back memories. I don't throw away my empty perfume bottles because I sniff at them every now and then just to remember the nice and happy times I used to enjoy while wearing that particular scent.

I like floral and sweet scents. There was this one time when my uncle in Manila, who works for an international flavors and scents Manufacturing Corporation sent me some chocolate essence for coffee. Instead of using that essence on my coffee, I diluted it with some alcohol and used it as perfume. I smelled yummy during those days. Oh and here's a nice trick I reserve for the summer: I take some lemon, lime, or orange peel, then I put them inside a small bottle spray, then I pour in about 1/8 cup of vodka and ¼ cup distilled/purified water. I spritz this on whenever the summer heat makes me feel a bit sticky, which reminds me – when my grand aunt returned from Europe about 3 years ago, she brought home with her original “Cologne” cologne from Cologne, Germany. The stuff smelled just like the concoction I make with the lemon peel and the vodka, fresh and sooooo coooooool! Talk about olfactory euphoria –Anyway, expensive perfumes aren't really the way to go if you just want to smell good because no matter how many bottles of perfume you waste on yourself if you don't maintain good hygiene, you will still smell terrible. On the other hand, with good hygiene, we can all smell and feel good even without perfume. Take it from me, I only use perfume when I go out for special occasions or social functions. The problem with these gatherings is that everybody has perfume on and you are suddenly plunged into a scent overloaded phantasmagoria!

Do not wear perfume when you have someone around you who is hyper-sensitive to scents. I hate these people who spritz on perfume especially right when an aircon bus or L300 van arrives at some destination. They are so inconsiderate, to the point of almost suffocating the other people inside the van or bus.

Remember – the rule with perfumes is that “less is more”. Perfumes are not bottled in small bottles and have controlled atomizers for no reason at all. We should use scents sparingly instead of spraying every nook and cranny of our bodies and clothes all at once. One or two spritzes on our pulse points would be more than enough. The more perfume we put on, the more terrible we are bound to smell.

Be rational; be insane…every once in a while!TTFN!

Hello to Anne, Welcome to the RI Barkada! Mr. Bobot, I am so sorry I wasn't able to dig into the Aliwan festival, I was terribly busy, I hope you understand. Hello to my dearest readers, Chan, Vic, Vincent, and Rex, Alex, Arvin, Corz, Jim, Kiara, Malikh, Audrae, Franz, Hendrick, Janice, Jay, Jim, Jonathan, Mark, Marz, Mel, Pres, Nhonoy, Niel, Piper, Rheavil, Joey, Alma, Rodolfo, Ecker, Ryan. Hello also to a new addition to our RI Barkada, Roni, thanks for the great comments, to Miss Dieter of Lapaz, to Ian of Bacolod but who is in Iloilo right now, to Narle, Sunny and to Anuj of CMC, I love you all! Byers! Salamat gid sa mga walang-hintong text and reactions nyo! Catch Rational Insanity in TNT's online edition, check us out at www.thenewstoday.info, text me at (0920)9254269, or email me at prague@eudoramail.com.