Darling, up here in the aerie, getting myself in gear to write, sort of like stepping into a cold lake one inch of body at a time - I guess I'm about up to my breasts now - excruciating - so I'd better plunge in. Just back from the CSA farm and putting away loads of beautiful produce. And now I'm inhaling the crook of my arm - Miss Dior - and my fingertips redolent with the scent of cilantro, parsley & dill. The fragrances aren't dissimilar to me - I go back & forth between arm and fingertips, inhaling, considering deeply. Miss Dior is, I suppose, a fresh green scent at its base, though with a sweet floral overnote certainly; the green herbs I just finished handling - placing allotted handfuls of each from the CSA bins into separate glasses of water - are reminiscent - minus the intoxicating alchemy.

***
13 July 2008, Belle to J

"In New York I eagerly accepted the soft job fate offered me - it consisted mainly of thinking up and editing perfume ads." -- Lolita, Ch. 9.

"Miss Dior Perfume by Christian Dior, Launched by the design house of Christian Dior in 1947, Miss Dior is classified as a refreshing, woody, mossy fragrance. This feminine scent possesses a blend of rose, gardenia, sage, and other green florals. It is recommended for daytime wear."

And for the modern Lolita, an "updated" Miss Dior, called Miss Dior Cherie.

"This is a modern fragrance that captures the timeless couture spirit of Dior. A new interpretation of the original Miss Dior fragrance, Miss Dior Cherie combines pure couture spirit with the audacity of youthful, playful notes for a fresh approach to a timeless classic. Notes of chic, green tangerine, violette, and pink jasmine mingle with soft patchouli, musk, and delectably sweet strawberry leaves and caramelized popcorn for a delicious scent that's truly irresistible." [online ad copy for the perfume]

Caramelized popcorn?

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13 July 2008, J to Belle
I had forgotten that Humbert wrote perfume ads at one point, but as soon as you mentioned it, I remembered... The text of the perfume ads is interesting to see after all these years, but hard for me to translate since I'm not familiar with the language of perfumes. The comment that Miss Dior is recommended for daytime wear, suggests the ad was not written by Humbert and certainly not written by me. The combination of your soft cheeks and hair, that white wrap-around sweater, the smell of Miss Dior--and your hands and lips running all over me--is overwhelming...

... Once, we were engaged in our love play in a grassy place not far from that stone bench (I have a picture of you sitting on it); it was a rather exposed place, actually, but it was dark, so we felt comfortable. I was kissing your nipples, and you had a sudden climax... I never forgot that, and I never saw it again with anyone else. It was one of many manifestations of your extraordinary capacity for giving and receiving love...

13 July 2008, Belle to J
My dearest, Miss Dior - recommended for daytime wear when a lot of action will be going on in secret, verdant spaces such as croquet lawns and froggy pond banks and I-95 and the Merritt and the sun remains relentlessly high in the sky and simply refuses to set.

Also "daytime" as a metaphor for innocence, purity, and idyll (my origins). Darling, I don't remember the stone bench offhand but I do remember my incredible capacity to climax with you (caramelized popcorn indeed)...

***

Right. Such excitement in my CSA haul, another arrowhead cabbage, head of romaine, limpid salad mix, zucchini, squash, 4 ears of corn, beets with their greens, quart of peaches, ripe cantaloupe...

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The Hamptons has its tall privet hedges
Columbia County has its canyons of corn

xoxo