Saturday, March 20, 2010

The Tell-Tale Smells ...

Oliver B. is posting two blogs in one night. This particular blog is a special edition just for a special reader who asked a question that did provoke some thoughts within me.

The question asked was whether I had ever written a blog on scents in your home. While generally I would not comment on this in a blog, I did think to myself that the smell of your home can play a lot into your style. The daintier you are, the more likely that your home will have some flowery, powdery scent. Conversely, the more masculine you are, the funkier your home might smell. Have you ever noticed that even the cleanest man will have a "man smell" home? Never fails.

But Oliver B. is here to help the men pick out a scent that will not put their masculinity in jeopardy, but will at least allow a woman to walk into your home without immediately running away. I myself prefer the Meadows & Rain scent from Febreeze Air Effects. Why? Being a country boy, I like the smell of open fields and the way it smells during a rain ... that fresh smell of Meadows & Rain reminds me of my younger years. I'm allergic to chlorophyll (which makes plants green, so clearly it's everywhere) so I don't spend a lot of time in open fields like I used to as a kid. This smell is a memory refresher ... and with my apartment smelling like your everyday clean air, it doesn't call my gender into question. So, I would recommend something basic for men as a smell. The regular scent, or something that's rain, or plants, etc. Your home should basically smell like you opened the window and let the apartment take in the scents of the outshine environment (assuming the outside environment is natural and not big city garbage and urine). Lavender in a man's home is the quickest way to say I have a vagina actually. Do you have a vagina? You do if your home smells like lavender. I would also say that for fruits, flowers, powdery scents, and even the infamous Vanilla & Baking Febreeze Air Effects. Let the women have these scents ... you'll be fine without them.

I realize that many people don't use Febreeze, but rather prefer Neutra Air, Glade, etc. I do not advocate one product over the other. But, since I am familiar with Febreeze I use it as a reference. You can use any brand you like, just stick to the guidelines I have set forth.

I cannot stress enough to men that you must have some scent in your home. Trust me guys, we have gone nose-deaf to our smells after years of funk. By the time we got to high school, any chance we ever had of knowing how bad our rooms, apartments, homes, smell while living alone were gone. But they do smell ... badly. It's a fact. At least once a week, usually a Saturday, I open all the windows of my apartment and air out the place. Then after 24 hours of an air-out, I spray a little Febreeze in each room. While there are certain weeks I may have to give an extra spray mid-week, I find that this helps keep my place from smelling too much like a guy's apartment. It's hard to entertain (friends, Romans, countrymen, etc.) with a funky apartment, so you should always have your special scent ready for the occasion.

Remember that a stylish man is not a perfect man, but a prepared man. Go get your scent and be prepared.

Here's to great smelling homes. Cheers!

The Ghosts of Old Hollywood Return ... Again ...

As I opened my March issue of Vogue, I came across this marvelous Dior ad. I have always been a fan of Christian Dior. And now I'm even more of a fan because of these ads. Oliver B. has been truly starved of beauty in the recent issues of many fashion magazines. Everything has become so futuristic, cold, structural ... mechanical. Where is the beauty? I need beauty! And now I have it. Just look at this wonderful ad from Dior. It is definitely a blast from Hollywood's past. A wonderful throwback to old Hollywood glamor. If you pay attention to the ad the model is styles a lot like Lauren Bacall.

What I enjoy about this ad is a reminder of femininity that used to exist in our world. Don't get my wrong, I'm all about Sasha being Fierce, and divas being the female version of a hustler, and women who want to play a LoveGame or two, but I also enjoy some feminine glam. The days where a woman had class and sophistication, and a grace that today you may only find in black-and-white films. I miss that in women. I am grateful that the fashion houses are ready to celebrate glamor again ... and beauty. I was starting to see too much glamor and not enough drama. Oliver B. needs drama!

Christian Dior is not the only house celebrating Old Hollywood. Armani has an ad featuring beautiful long pants, reminiscent of Katharine Hepburn (who made women wearing pants fashionable at a time when all women wore dresses. St. John also has a little black dress that screams Meet me later for drinks, Mr. Gable. The list goes on ... the March Vogue issue is filled with beautiful clothes that scream of an era where women were women, and men were men. It's amazing how far we fell during our revolution of fashion, and how quickly we retreat every few years to old Hollywood to remind ourselves that we still need those beautiful dramatic garments of a oft-forgotten era.

If you ever need an example of the retreat, just look at several of the gowns worn by the stars at this year's Academy Awards. The sharp lines of last season's couture have been shaved down to curves. Now we want clothes that tell a story rather than summarize one. Didn't those sharp lines just seem to cut you off mid-sentence when describing them? I miss details, and gaudy jewelry that was offensively large. Insult me with your bold & beautiful wares ... I can take it.

Here's to style ... and to Old Hollywood. Cheers!