Covid Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I will be spending it alone in my studio apartment in Los Angeles. It’s a weird year to celebrate on an already weird year, so I think it is somewhat fitting. This really makes me ponder – what does Los Angeles mean to me now? It is home for me now, of course, and I like it here now. I always say I never thought I would ever live here, but here we are. I am in a contemplative mood, I guess, because of all that is happening this year, and I am sampling a perfume named after this city.

Gallivant’s Los Angeles is, much like the city, a hodge podge of notes. Look at the list: eucalyptus, clary sage, mandarin, pineapple, narcissus, tuberose, guaiac,  musk and heliotrope. When I first blasted it, I have to admit that the note that was most prominent on my skin was pineapple. However, it wasn’t a juicy one- this one felt dry on me (perhaps because of the eucalyptus) The perfume is kind of odd, to be honest, because the mixture feels like the notes don’t blend well together, but they happily co-exist. It is definitely a ‘warm’ scent, and in my opinion more akin to colder months. it is leafy but herbs make it tropical-ish, but not really. The dry down is most intresting: on my skin it is a candied tuberose that is kind of synthetic but still smells real. There is a mint note here that settles in, and is kind of distracting but I can’t help wanting to look for it.

Over all, Gallivant’s Los Angeles is somewhat of a keeper. It’s strangely addictive, but I can’t figure out why it appeals to me. Maybe it mirrors how I really feel about the city.