Pop Culture Fun Series: Dev, Master of None

So I recently finished the new Netflix comedy Master of None created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang. I've been a fan of Ansari's for awhile beginning with Human Giant, loved him on Parks and Recreation as the absurd Tom Haverford, and last year read his book Modern Love a surprisingly smart and funny book. I say surprisingly smart because I am a fan of comedy writer books but frequently have found many actually can't write a book and Ansari actually wrote a decent book about modern dating that was funny and shockingly backed up by real research. So to say I was excited for Master of None is an understatement. I like an Ansari he is funny, his humor can be dirty, and yet he seems to be genuinely not an asshole. After reading Modern Love I knew he could tackle issues with an excellent humor perspective that could be smart and sharp and what I think makes Ansari so great is the guy has a clear sense of empathy. I mean the guy can tell dirty jokes with the rest of them but he is not a derogatory asshole.

So as I expected Master of None definitely is about modern romantic relationships, it tackles lots of other issues as well such as race representation, but the main underlying theme of this show is modern romance. That is okay, especially when it is done well. Dev is a romantic, Aziz Ansari is a romantic, and Tom Haverford is a romantic, hell Ansari wrote a book about modern dating this is clearly a zone he likes to be in.

So as I watched Master of None it also became apparent to me that this show has a clear sense of style. Dev is a stylish guy, he is a guy who is into sensory experiences, especially food, his apartment (however unrealistic for New York) is clearly been decorated with care and a sense of intellectual romanticism. His first date with Rachel involves taking her all the way to Nashville. Dev of course wears perfume, in fact as I watched more I clearly knew that this character would have spent time making sure these perfumes represented his character well. They would be stylish but definitely romantic, in fact they would probably classic and yet not run of the mill. In fact I have a scene in my head of him and Arnold roaming around Sephora while Dev tries to find the perfect perfume and he is making Arnold smell all this stuff.

Dev's everyday scent is Atelier Cologne's Vetiver Fatal it has that plum note that appeals to the gourmand in him and yet the fresh earthy citrus aspects of vetiver wears excellent in New York. The scent is neither too fresh nor too off-kilter, it just smells really good and makes for an excellent everyday wear without smelling like everyone else. The scent is unobtrusive but has character, excellent if you are constantly interacting with people like an actor does.

The scent though that represents Dev to me the most is Guerlain's L'Instant pour homme. This is Dev's going out scent. It is combination of romance, gourmand, and intelligence all of the things Dev wants to represent. it is a extremely likable never aggressive scent. The cocoa note of course speaks to Dev's love of food and the sandalwood is an excellent all around smell but not intense and overbearing. It's romantic but never tries to be a lothario.









First image from Complimentarycritic.com
Second image from cimg.tvgcdn.net
Third image from ateliercologne.com
Fourth image from makeupalley.com

SOTD: D&G red cap

If there is a scent that Juno would wear with her peacocks in tow, I imagine D&G's red cap would be the one. Loud, brash, and utterly feminine in the most rightious sort of way. It has a really rare combination (at least to my nose) of using basil with peachy aldehydes creating a really amazing entrance for a big soapy womanly lily supported by sandalwood. Very va va voom without going into the territory of amber, high indoles, or super musk. I'm having such a weird white floral craving right now.

image provided by http://www.photos-site.com/a.html

image: Mujer con plumas by Flor Garduno 2000

SOTD: Bois des Iles

Quote of the Day: Nothing is as simple as we hope it will be. -- Jim Horning
In the middle of summer I am utterly in love with the autumnal delight of Bois des Iles. As much as everyone describes it as an autumn fragrance, I think this works perfectly year round, there is a transparency to this scent that pushes it to be a year round fragrance, and the sandalwood is so perfectly cool that well here I am wearing it in the middle of the summer. I think tomorrow I am pulling at Ava Luxe's Royal Parvati to go with this sandalwood jonesing and I admit I have also been smelling my bottle of Burberry Brit Gold which is a sumptious sandalwood which is most definately meant for the colder months.

image provided by www.nocloo.com

Image: Songs and Sonnets by Charles Robinson

SOTD: Bois des Iles by Chanel

Quote of the Day: And remember, no matter where you go, there you are. -- Earl Mac Rauch, from "Buckaroo Bansai"

To say I had a long weekend is an understatement. I attended two graduations (the big one being my boyfriend's), a graduation party, and took my father out to lunch. And to top it off last night I ended up getting awful stomach cramps. I'm feeling much better now, but that was not fun.

So I am finally trying out the legendary Chanel Bois des Iles, so utterly lovely and soothing, the first time I have ever wanted to call a fragrance aromatherapy aldehyde. This has one of the most beautiful notes of sandalwood I have ever smelled. It is also the first time I have ever wanted to associate a Chanel fragrance with fairytales, Chanel for me has always been thoroughly modern with clean precise edges, but Bois des Iles is Chanel's take fairytales, crystal clear but wonderfully soft, like sunlight through crystal.

And because I finally like Coldplay again (I really hated their last album) and I heard it all over the radio stations, and because I think it is the perfect song for George R. R. Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series, Viva La Vida:



image provided by http://www.animationarchive.org/2005/12/media-kay-nielsen-twelve-dancing.html
Image by Kay Nielsen from Twelve Dancing Princesses
video uploaded by daniloprudente

SOTD: Sage Machado Pearl

Sadly I have to work the whole entire weekend so I am choosing to go with a comforting scent, Sage Machado's Pearl. What is wonderful about this scent is that it is one of the few non-gourmand vanilla's out there, the sandalwood and musk perfectly balance it, making it a perfectly fluffy white cloud of scent.

Quote of the Day: It's not true that life is one damn thing after another; it is one damn thing over and over. -- Edna St. Vincent Millay

image provided by artnet.com

Twilight by Yoshimasa Tsuchiya 2005

Ava Luxe's Midnight Violets

(above thee Beau Brummel)

Notes: Violet, Blue iris, Orris, Earth, Black hemlock, Galbanum, Pink pepper, Cinnamon, Cedar, Sandalwood, Incense, Wood balsam, Moss, Civet, Cashmere musk. On the website she says this is for both men and women and I can believe. I think there is some definite inspiration from Balmain's Jolie Madame in this, what it doesn't have is the sweet gardenia/violet banana middle or the leather/asthtray note in the dry down. The violets are subdued and other wise the woods and incense take over with the galbanum bringing that note of harsh green soapiness. This definately has a chypre quality running through it but a bizarre hint of creaminess (which i can only assume comes from the cashmere musk and sandalwood). This would be lovely on a man; of course my perfume dream is to smell Jolie Madame on a man. The earth note runs strongly through this and the cedar definitily has its moment. Overall this is a smoother more approachable version of Jolie Madame, but does not lose the qualities that make Jolie Madame unique and wanted by those discerning few. A lovely earthy violet scent. Now to find a man to wear.

Madini Santal Blanc

Going with Madini Santal Blanc as my fragrance for today. A wonderfully grounding scent that can be worn by a man or a woman, woods with a hint of herbalness on me, unfortunately this does not become a divine creamy sandalwood on me that so many others espouse of it becoming on them. This is purely gentle dry woods on me so clean it invokes the whiteness of a crescent moon.