Just Stop and Smell the Roses...

Let me tell you all about the first time I bought perfume....its kind of a funny story....:-)

I'd just finished working a couple weeks at EFY as a counselor (side note: best job EVER!) and gotten my pay checks. I was a worry free college student and didn't have too many bills so, needless to say, I had money burning a hole in my pocket.

I decided that it was about time that I graduated from cheap Bath and Body Works body spray and get something really nice to make me smell lovely. I hiked myself over to the mall and shimmied right up to the perfume counter at Nordstrom's. This is where our story really begins.

So I'm standing there, trying on every kind of perfume known to man. You have to do that ya know? Some perfumes might smell great on those little sample strips, but they could mix funny with your own skin smell. FYI. So for the first spritz I started on my wrists, moved up to my forearms for the next kind, and so on and so forth. By the time the little gay perfume counter attendant found me, I'm pulling up my shirts sleeves to use my shoulders!

*we interrupt your usual programming to give you a little more in-depth information on the perfume counter attendant*

This guy was the stereotypical gay guy. Extremely well dressed, including the odd long-toed dress shoes, crazy awesome hair, a little bit of rouge (maybe a little eyeliner and mascara), high flambouant speech and little well-manicured hands that were flapping all over the place.

*we now return you to your previously scheduled program*

"Oh thank the Lord!" He squeals. He then announces to the entire store, "I've got a sample girl over here!!"
I'm feeling a little self-concious at this time. Having never bought perfume before, I was already out of my league and now we have about 12 people staring at us and he just keeps it coming.
"Some women come in here and I just CAN NOT get them to try on the perfume! They wear the same ole' stuff for years and never bother to see if they like anything else! SO BORING!!! Oh my gosh....show me what you have tried!"
With this he proceeds to grab my arm and just start sniffing! This kid had a nose like a bloodhound. He was naming off the scents I had put on better than I could, and I even had them written down!
"Fabulous! Tell me which ones you like! You've already tried on all my favorites!" He again squeals (do flambouyant gay guys do anything but squeal?).

So I'm trying to tell him which ones I like and don't like. I tell him,"Umm....I really like this one that I sprayed on the inside of my right elbow.....and I kind of like this one over here on my left wrist.....and I'm toying around with liking this one on my shoulder, but although it smells great, it kind of reminds me of a grown up perfume. I'm not sure I can pull that off."
Just as soon as these words had left my mouth, he gets this look on his face like he is about to teach me a valuable lesson. I'm ready for it.

"Oh Lordy my little honey! You aren't a child anymore!" He exclaims as he is making all sorts of hand guestures. (Here comes my favorite part of the day!!!) "You are a WO-MAN!!" While he does a high in the air finger-snap emphasizing the "woman" word.

Did I buy the perfume? You bet your butt I did! Not only did I buy the "WO-MAN" perfume (which was quite expensive), I also bought 2 others and he sent me home with this bag STUFFED full of samples of other perfumes that I didn't have room on my body to try on that day.

I finished out my EFY summer with these wonderful new scents. I saved my "WO-MAN" perfume for the dances (yes...counselors want a little crush action every week too!) and guess what? On average, I bet I had 4 guys tell me each night how freaking good I smelled!

I've thought to stop by Nordstrom's perfume counter and thank that little man that changed my perfume life so drastically. He has never been there. I'll bet there was a war between perfume counters and he was carried away by the competition. Seriously, he was that good.

The hubby doesn't seem to like my "WO-MAN" perfume. He has never complimented me when I am wearing it. In fact, for the longest time I couldn't figure out what Ryan liked the smell of. He would tell me how good I smelled, and I would think, "I'm not wearing any perfume! What in the heck is he smelling?" I think I've finally figured it out. Aussie hairspray. $3.50 a bottle. He's such an easy pleaser!