Deodorant flavors

You wouldn't believe the amount of thought I've put into this topic. I would assume that most people don't really care or think about it that much. 

In any case, let's get to it:

Chronologically, the first deodorant I can specifically remember using and liking the scent of was Degree "Pure Rain." A few years ago they discontinued this flavor, which disappointed me greatly since I thought it was a lovely smell. As the English language does not have a good vocabulary for describing scents, the best I can describe it as is somewhat fresh and fruity. 

To my surprise, a month or so ago I noticed that this flavor had made a return and was labeled as "NEW" on the package. It isn't new. It's old and they decided to recontinue it for whatever reason. I don't know why they discontinued it in the first place. This new version nominally smells the same, but when I use it, I find that it ends up smelling too much like baby powder for some reason. The old version didn't do that. 

In addition to Pure Rain, at some point or another, I used another Degree flavor, orange flower and cranberry which I also recall smelled nice. Unfortunately, that scent was also discontinued. Degree also has a scent called "Pure Clean" or something like that, which I think I tried at one point or another, but I didn't like it. 

I have emailed Degree asking about why they discontinued Pure Rain and how the new version doesn't quite smell the same. I doubt they're known for their customer service (unlike, say, a company like Patagonia) so I'm not too optimistic about receiving a satisfactory answer on this front, but hey, it's worth a try. Because their website is terrible, I had to go find the direct email address for customer service instead of just using the contact form on the website. Also, for some reason, they wanted my address on the contact form, which I don't really understand. I decided to just put my school's address, not my home address. In the end, it didn't really matter because I had to write a direct email instead. 

Now, I usually use an assortment of Dove women's flavors. The first one I remember using is the cucumber scent, which smells like cucumbers like you would expect. It's a nice, fresh, crisp and spring-like smell. I was considering getting that flavor again recently, but I decided against it in favor of the chamomile flavor, which I think is more cozy and fall-like, seeing as it's fall now. In the spring I might get the cucumber flavor again. I have never smelled actual chamomile, so I'm not sure how accurate the chamomile scent is, but I like it. I suppose some might consider it an old lady-ish scent though. 

I also have a pear flavor, which I can't seem to find in stores anymore, which also disappoints me. It smells very distinctly pear-y, which I like. I like deodorants that have distinct smells, unlike this Dove pomegranate flavor. It smells fine and alright, but it's too vague. I don't have that problem with the chamomile or cucumber or pear.   

Right now, I have three different deodorants to choose from: Dove chamomile and pomegranate and Degree Pure Rain. There's a small remnant of the Dove pear flavor, but it's not really enough to be practical to use. I like having variety on this front, depending on my mood that morning when I'm getting dressed. Some days I might go for the vague/indistinct pomegranate flavor, or other days I might choose the chamomile. 

Scent and memory/associations
Pyschologically speaking, scent is very connected to our sense of memory. In my experience, this is most evident regarding certain people who smell like specific scents. 

Cases in point: one of my sister's friends, who smelled like Gain Lavender laundry detergent. A guy I knew in high school who once used his mother's cucumber deodorant because he ran out of his own, and I noticed the scent. Someone I met this year, who smells beautiful; he uses a particular deodorant that I just happen to really like the smell of (I asked him what it was just a few days after meeting him). Now I strongly associate that scent with him. I would almost use it myself, but a) it's possible he might find that odd, at the very least and b) it's possible that scent on myself would be too distracting. (I guess I could test it out on the weekend, however?)  

A possible theoretical downside here is that if something goes wrong and for some reason, I end up hating him, that scent might be ruined for me, but that's really getting ahead of myself. 

Other people's deodorant
I think I'd like to do a survey of what deodorant the various people I know use. I'm curious about what might end up being the most popular brands and scents and such. I also want to go to a store and smell all of the various deodorants for sale and take notes about which ones I like and dislike. Additionally, I want to compare the packaging and marketing for men's and women's deodorant. It'd be a bit of an analysis of material culture, perhaps. 

At the moment, I only have a small selection of deodorant on hand. I have my Dove flavors and Degree, and also one men's deodorant. The men's deodorant claims that you can "Feel clean, masculine and confident," whereas the Dove says "Our best care for beautiful underarms." What if women also want to feel clean and confident? And maybe even masculine? What if men want to have beautiful underarms? (I don't understand why men aren't also socially expected to shave their underarms. Then maybe they could have beautiful underarms too. They have way more hair there and it can look bad.) 

Can smells be beautiful?
I think they can. I haven't asked quite enough people about this yet, but so far, there seems to be a bit of a gender split on this: women tend to say that smells can indeed be described beautiful, whereas men think they can't. Sometimes I smell a soap when I'm washing my hands and think, "This soap smells beautiful" or, on the contrary, "This soap smells ugly." And of course, a person could smell beautiful as well.  

The Girl in the Spider's Web: Lisbeth's look

I am quite the fan of the original Stieg Larsson Millennium trilogy. I have a thing about not wanting to potentially ruin my positive opinions on things I like by watching/reading addenda to them that aren't/weren't part of the original series and/or were considerably altered in some way from their original form. 

This applies to any of the Millennium series books after Hornet's Nest, which was the last one Larsson finished. Maybe the newer ones are okay or even good, but I liked the originals and I don't want to take the chance of being potentially disappointed by a lackluster sequel that wasn't even written by Stieg Larsson. 

Imagine my surprise this evening while watching television and happening to catch a glimpse of a movie trailer. From the scenes I saw, I thought it vaguely resembled a Scandi-thriller type movie, like The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It turns out it was a trailer for the "sequel" (in a way) to that movie, which is actually based upon not "Played with Fire" but a new book that isn't one of the originals. That alone is reason enough for me not to see this new movie, but I also take issue with the recasting of the characters, particularly Lisbeth. 

It's quite possible that the new actress, Claire Foy, is a perfectly good and decent actress. This isn't about her acting ability (or lack thereof, perhaps, but I wouldn't know; I haven't watched anything she's been in), it's that she just doesn't have the right look for Lisbeth. 

Visually, I think they got Rooney Mara's appearance in TGWTDT just perfect for the character -- hair, face (which isn't something you can really change), clothing, etc. So I've been trying to figure out what doesn't fit regarding the recast actress. For one thing, her eyebrows just seem off, which could partly be because in TGWTDT, Lisbeth's eyebrows were bleached (I don't remember if that was specified in the books or just a decision made for the movie), which served to give her even more of a unique look. Aside from that, this new actress' eyebrows just look too... thin and refined. Too prim. Which is definitely not Lisbeth.  

And I think Rooney Mara just has a more... naturally mysterious look to her face, which is quite fitting for the character of Lisbeth. Thinking about it, a younger Jennifer Connelly (thanks, Requiem for a Dream) shares a bit of resemblance to Rooney Mara in TGWTDT. Here she looks vaguely Lisbeth-esque: 

Claire Foy seems to me to resemble... a combination of Rachel Maddow (MSNBC), Paget Brewster (Criminal Minds), and Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story). I have nothing against these people, but that kind of look just isn't Lisbeth Salander. Their facial features just aren't right. There's also something about her that just looks a bit too... old. I'm pretty sure that in the books (even though it's been awhile since I've last read them) Lisbeth is described as looking very youthful, even though she's an adult.

And the haircut they gave the new actress for the role of Lisbeth is just too... square. Too normal. It just looks like your average pixie cut or something. It doesn't look edgy enough. In fact, I can think of a normal person I know who has pretty much the same haircut. Mara's Lisbeth had a bit more of an interesting/unique thing going on with her hair. It wasn't a particularly conventional style. 

Overall, facially, I think Lisbeth's look should be softer, more unusual/unique/unconventional, more mysterious. Rooney Mara (along with the various makeup/hair/costume/character design/etc people) got it right. Unfortunately, this new actress, Claire Foy (and the other associated people responsible for how she looks in this new movie), did not. 
For your comparison/consideration: 

Not that I was going to even watch this movie anyways.     

For good measure, here are some other images of other funky Rooney-Mara-as-Lisbeth hairstyles from TGWTD: 

Selected missed connections, part deux

Because I have been too lazy/busy recently to really do any more Postsecret reviews, have something else that's sort of in a similar vein. I've taken to reading the local missed connections section on Craigslist, and here is a selection of some of the posts there that caught my eye...

curly-haired boy with a pocket square (Petworth Metro) hide this posting

© craigslist - Map data © OpenStreetMap

(google map)

kept ALMOST making eye contact with a curly-haired boy with glasses and a pocket square on a shared metro commute between Chinatown and Petworth. i kept thinking you were looking at me, but every time i worked up the nerve to look you in the eyes, you weren't looking AT me just in my general direction. and then you looked away. EVERY TIME! i was wearing a yellow dress and pony tail and drinking taro boba.

would it have been an adorable meet-cute if one of us just bit the bullet to say hi?
definitely.

will i see you again on the same commute?
probably.

would it be fun if you (or one of your friends who sees this) responded to this craigslist missed connections post so we could eat food and/or go to a park together?
let's see!

Tattoo Of Mountain Ridge (Arlington) hide this posting

© craigslist - Map data © OpenStreetMap

Washington Blvd.

(google map)

I saw you at the Giant on Washington Blvd yesterday (Labor Day Monday) and I noticed a very unique tattoo on your left upper arm and it looked like a small etching of a mountain top. I just returned from Monterrey, Mexico where I was continually consumed by the surrounding mountains. There was a gentleman between the 2 of us and I wanted so badly to approach you about your ink. If by chance you do see this or an acquaintance sees it and shares it with you, I would be very interested in the story behind it. Not only was the ink of interest, but your beauty also stunned me.

Your bright yellow hair wrap (Orange line) hide this posting

© craigslist - Map data © OpenStreetMap

(google map)

Your we're wrapping up your hair when I got on the train and you then had some fun trying to put your headphones on over the wrapping. We spoke for a moment, I listened to your music, and said goodbye when you got off the train. You have the most beautiful smile I have ever seen.

This one is from New York City, but I thought it could be interesting to take a look at the posts from there as well. Sometimes people post things that are more like poems and/or open, anonymous letters, like this:

I can't be your third hide this posting

© craigslist - Map data © OpenStreetMap

(google map)

Go ahead and paint over rust.
You might feel like you're creating
something new, changing the content, changing a life,
But paint flakes off in the rain.
Even dry, over time it will fade.
Spots of burnt orange will pierce through until the suffocated frame can no longer hold the weight of new layers.
The remains came first; they earned their name.
You twist waste and display it on walls in frames and during the day it makes you feel ok until eternal night falls and in a shared soil grave you both lay.
Stop beginning halfway while you willingly mute alterity plain;
You know.
True creation begins by breaking day on empty lots.
You're afraid of pain, so instead of wince you feign strength through stomached knots.

Oh, resist!
Stubborn fate, preserve rot, wait for the foundation to crack
In lightninged root stains;
But to agape ears this laconic verity will eternally ring
Beyond and within,
Trailing
That poorly oriented face.
At last, return home.
Shaken Free, hospitable chains dissolve and the disgraced spotlighting noema embrace recedes.
Combative fugue, you choose to wait--
If the floor can sink, it will.

Then dawn will force her undoing birth.
Violently centered or restored homecoming,
The same place.
If you aim to truly make, clear the space.
Turn remember to forgot, then watch!
Double-quick,
Fleet unthin,
Out of nought a nascent genesis.
Become!

--An instant,

A being,

Connected,

Overflowing:

Surprise!

I've been busy but right now I'm feeling rather fizzy in light of recent events this past week. To keep it short, I met someone. In person, the old-fashioned way (I think I'm over Tinder now?). That feels kind of quaint. Anyways, I realized that had we not ended up encountering each other again the next day (happily, coincidentally) when we were able to exchange phone numbers, those few minutes we spoke for the first time would've become a proverbial missed connection. 

That in mind, I decided to go and browse some of the ones that have recently been posted on the local Craigslist page to see what kinds of missed connections other people have had. This one was pretty striking:  

"you were there (everywhere) 

I remember when I first laid my eyes on you. It was a moment I did not squander. As soon as we made eye contact I knew there could be chemistry. I had the courage to speak to you. You were very accepting and kind. Your beautiful strawberry blond hair fell down the sides of your perfectly rounded cheeks. Your eyes were mesmerizing and your voice was tantalizing. You were very jocular and I loved how you sensed I was a nervous wreck and told me you "don't bite, unless you want me to". I stammered for most of our conversation and sounded like a bumbling local drunk stumbling out of a bar after hours on a late Saturday night. You were unbelievably quick lipped, witty, and intelligible.

I could not believe how open you were with me. You sat me down by the stool next to you. You told me about your day and plans for the near future. You told me about the things you hate. You told me about the things you love. You even told me about how you hated how you kick things over while you sleep. That smirk. Man that smirk. There was this way your eyes squinted just enough room for the sunlight to glisten through the slits of your eye lids. You would playfully swat at my hands while laughing. You would raise your brows up and down gleefully as you sipped on your latte that I would have given my life for to be that damned latte. 

I mustered up enough courage after two hours of non-stop chatting to finally ask you for your number. You took my hand and wrote it down with a pen. You signed it with a perfectly rounded happyface that could not hold a candle to your smile. I wanted to call you right away, but I didn't want to seem like a crazy person. So I kept my self-control under check. I waited for a few days. Few long days. Finally came that day. The day I was waiting for. With each number dialed I thought I would faint. My heart pounded against my sternum as it were trying to escape. Then a woman picked up and I squeezed out the weakest hello. It was your mother. She told me you passed away. Took your own life. She told me to pick up a letter you had written to me. Its beautiful. I wish I had contacted you earlier. 

You have changed me in ways I have never thought possible. I am confident. I am happy. I wanted to say thank you."

Someone's a good writer.