Hermès Twilly and an experiment
Well since both Portia and Cinnamon recently wrote about this who am I to break a pattern? Especially since I had some Nordy points and Nordstrom helpfully sells the small bottle. I’ve been hankering for it for a while and who wouldn’t. It’s called “Twilly” for goodness sake. It sounds like a wacky Aunt who still sports her Sassoon 5-point haircut, drives her Austin-Healy like she’s in a big hurry, and gets all the best tables in town. The lady that you wanted to grow up to be (whatever gender you are.)
Now Hermès has the rep of being rather classic unto inoffensive in it’s fragrances (save the pre-reformulation Eau de Hermès, which was so cumin-forward an old friend upon smelling it at the Rodeo Drive boutique squealed “EEEEEW! Old man funk!” loud enough to be heard in Pomona if not Paris. I’d bet she’s off the list for a Birkin..) I always wore the one in the green bottle, and have been buying it long enough that I don’t even think it had a name. (It’s Eau d’Orange Verte now and debuted in 1979) So I didn’t think this one would shake the rafters.
It didn’t.
What it did do was play around, and quite delightfully, with the ingredients. There is that zingy ginger in the opening and I get the same whiff of strawberries (fresh in my case) Portia does. There is tuberose in there but it’s distant and muted- like they’re in another room in the house. Ever present, but never overwhelming. There is also a lovely woody-vanilla drydown and a hint of smoke. Like Aunt Twilly might have had a quick smoke in the car on the way over. Sssh- don’t tell on her.
It’s not hugely long lasting and it’s not ground-breaking or in-your-face (or anyone else’s, for that matter). It’s a very French, very Jolie Laide sort of thing. Perfect for the end of summer and start of fall. Fragrantica has it for only a few bucks less than Nordstrom for the travel size, Surrender to Chance has samples in smaller sizes as well as other Hermès scents to try.
Now on to the experiment..
Among other things popping up in my Facebook feed I have been inundated with ads for shampoo-in hair dye. Now I have not colored my hair since the last millennium where I was dating a colorist who used me as his personal hair model and product tester. I never liked the process of bleaching and if I went dark, my hair grows so fast I’d have roots by the time I got to the car. But I caught myself in a gas station security monitor the other day (never a good look) and it looked like I had been caught in a sudden blizzard.
Now I am ready to embrace the Phil Donahue of it all but I found one on Amazon that wasn’t $60 and came in lighter shades. I wanted to start off with blond, figuring that it would wash out easier and that the dark brown or black would look like I dipped my head in brownie batter or tar, respectively. My natural color is a sort of dark ash blond/light ash brown, but these natural shampoo dyes don’t do that since I guess there aren’t mushrooms that color. In any case, what say you all? It’s a change. A little red (but these photos were taken in direct, harsh sunlight) but it will supposedly fade out. I do have quite a lot left so I will continue the experiment. I promise it won’t cause me to start quipping “once more unto the bleach, dear friends!” while getting a honey-blond bob.
So have any of you tried these? Thoughts? Share in the comments.
Images: My iPhone, Pexels, Wikimedia Commons
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