(I originally posted this in 2020. But anyway, until I can find my original most offensive post to the perfume community ever…this will have to suffice. The thing is…it’s the grandiosity, pompous arrogance and lies of the perfume community haters I can’t stand most. The woman who called this house modest may have meant well…but if I recall correctly her tone suggested disdain from above, socially speaking. As in, this well respected perfume aficionado could own several $85 million Dollar homes personally… And in reality she might not even own her own home at all out of financial lack. …She’s not true old money. Certainly not more than F. Scott Fitzgerald. And she’s definitely not a billionaire. …And there are actual billionaires (not just Bill Gates) who could buy multiple homes like this. It’s a thing… So…why the condescending tone about F. Scott Fitzgerald?!? …I’d like to think I read the tone of her review wrong. Maybe someday when I’m feeling less stressed-out and I’ve got the perfume community in better perspective I’ll be able to see her tone as less idiotic and abrasive.)
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Ok. I have to write about something that’s been bothering me for over a week. I’ve hesitated to write about it because it’s about a blog post written by a very lovely and quite respected perfume expert. I highly doubt she reads this blog but on the off-chance that she does I didn’t want to discuss it and risk offending her. I found her article while I was researching La Pausa a bit more last week… Her article was very nice. Absolutely spot-on…except for one minor detail. (I don’t want to “out” her by directly referencing her blog so I won’t.)
…Honestly, I’m exasperated from holding back though. For whatever reason it keeps popping up in my mind and I need to write about it. So, here goes:
This house. The author of the blog piece I read discussing Chanel La Pausa called this house…modest. Modest!! It’s just over 5,000 sq. ft., has 7 bedrooms, 6.5 bathrooms and was listed in 2014 for $3.9 million. Modest?! Good golly…
See…I think I know where she was coming from in writing that. Kind of? She’s comparing this house to other homes in Great Neck, NY that are worth over $20 million or maybe even more than $80 million? The sort of massively sprawling, palatial estates Gatsby and Daisy were said to have lived in (she was referring to Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby in her piece as she thought Daisy would have worn La Pausa and she discussed this home as the above home is where Fitzgerald lived with Zelda when he wrote Gatsby in 1922) but…even in comparison to those near-palaces it’s still a nice house. *thinking face* It’s not a mansion from a fairytale but it’s also not…modest. It’s nice.
*sigh* There are many very wealthy people who choose to live in homes like the one above because they’re lovely but not ostentatious and hard to maintain. Maybe considering what some of those people could purchase a nice house is a modest house but…unless you’re contributing to the upkeep of a truly historic landmark it’s really, genuinely nice to have just a nice house. *shrug* A modest house? *shrug*
I also hesitated to write this post because I think some people reading could think I’m being tone deaf. The thing is, I think it’s the opposite. Because I’m also trying to say that if you’re not contributing to cultural heritage and history who really needs (for almost any reason) this house:
Yup. That’s the real $85 million estate that the fictional Gatsby lived in (in Luhrmann’s film at least). I mean. *rolling eyes* If you’re meeting heads of state or you’re courting the most beautiful woman in the universe (in your grand imagination)? I guess. *shrug* But…I suspect most people, even very wealthy and elite people (said in a silly voice), would find this sort of place a bit much. It’s amazing, but…
Oh well. Maybe if I had $400 million to waste and the world wasn’t falling apart I’d see the light.
*shrug*
*smile*
Honestly though, I like the modest one. I just like it… Regardless of cost. For real. What about you?
Maybe I shouldn’t wear La Pausa if I don’t want Daisy’s lover’s house or even her house. Ha! No, I’m kidding. The Chanel iris note really does suit me.
…Gosh, if you wrote that post and you’re reading here please don’t take this post the wrong way. I really do like that writer’s perfume blog. And it’s unlikely she reads my blog. Right? *shrug* Whatever, I guess. Sorry? *sincerely apologetic smile*
…What about you? The modest one or the others? No judgement if you like the idea of the Long Island version of a palace. *smile* I’m sure moonlit walks at one of these homes would be otherworldly. Hmm…
Ok. Here’s one more thought: La Pausa is the version of Daisy inspired by Ginevra King and Chanel No. 22 (yes!) is the part of Daisy inspired by Zelda. *smile* Zelda as Daisy (at the very least) is Chanel No. 22. More than I ever was because I’d bet that she would have embodied all of the notes anyone could ever smell in any way shape or form in No. 22. Ha!
Actually, to be really honest, Ginevra seems more like someone who would wear something by Floris maybe? But…Ginevra’s more La Pausa than the Zelda Sayre in Daisy. ? (King and Sayre were the two ladies who Fitzgerald based Daisy on.) Anyway…
Keen to Cross the Pond 
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