I FINALLY FOUND IT!!!!

[ceebee_eebee]

Thanks to an incredibly helpful comment thread on bois de jasmine I was given a bunch of recommendations for perfumes that Effie Trinket might wear. If you recall, this question is what got me into perfume sampling in the first place (which has been an amazing, if expensive, new hobby). And you know what?

I FINALLY FOUND IT!!!!!!!!

The perfume that I believe Effie would wear is Insolence by Guerlain.

It's classic with a twist of something bright and fruity and the whole thing changes by the minute, but it also has those smells I associate with cosmetics. I feel like it would blend beautifully with her wigs and powders and become something uniquely HER. Perfect blend of BRIGHT BRIGHT BRIGHT but underpinned with other, richer things. In other words, EFFIE!

Here. Have some reviews that describe the scent better than I can.

Oh man, I am SO HAPPY right now! \o/

Comments

[rydra_wong]

ZOMG YAY!!!

ETA: And what a fantastic thread.

[ceebee_eebee]

Right?! I love that website and I was so psyched by how helpful everyone was. I got such great recs.

[cadenzamuse]

Yay!

Also experiencing weird dissonance because I don't identify with Effie really at all but Insolence sounds so fascinating that it's going in my Surrender to Chance wishlist. If you don't mind my asking, what makes Effie so significant to you? I'd love a new perspective on her.

ETA: Did you try the EDP, the EDT, or both? (If both, which did you like better?)

[ceebee_eebee]

Firstly, I got a sample of the EDP. I haven't smelled the EDT, but my experience with sniffing Guerlains is always that the EDP is superior. I'm psyched that you are gonna try it! Looking forward to seeing what you think of it.

Next. Well. Where do I even start. In the spirit of full disclosure, she is what got me into the Hunger Games in the first place. I would see pics of her on tumblr and I immediately fell in love with her style and it made me go out and see the first movie and then read the books and it's been madness ever since. I cosplayed as her, I RP her, it's safe to say it's full obsession.

As to WHY? God. Ok. To me, she is the most fascinating character in the Hunger Games universe because she is the connection between what we know is going on in the Districts and what we THINK is going on in the Capitol. There is this sense that the people in the Capitol are a homogenous evil enemy, but Effie makes it clear that this view is a gross oversimplification. I'm not saying she's a hero, far from it. But she's not a monster. She is the product of the Capitol but because she is part of the Games she knows too much to ever really be comfortable as part of the Capitol again. She KNOWS it's all propaganda. And it means she is terrified. She knows what she is allowed to think, she knows what she is permitted to say, and she's built up her entire identity within the confines of that. It's all about the image she projects and she buries everything else because even THINKING forbidden thoughts is too dangerous. She isn't a hero because she is too afraid to challenge anything about the way she lives her life or the system she's a part of. But she understands how broken and deadly that system is. To me, that is absolutely fascinating.

On top of that, we see all the little things she does to try and make the games less horrific for the tributes. All the luxury she pours onto them, the foods and clothes, the gorgeous surroundings. She tries to make it less painful for them in her small, shallow ways. I think maybe she's actually managed to convince herself that what she does is a kindness that makes up for her complicity. There's a quote from Elizabeth Banks about how Effie understands that she's surrounded by horrors but she isn't willing to pay the price that would be necessary to challenge those horrors and that she is going to end up on the wrong side of history. What draws me to that is the feeling that in her situation, most of us would like to believe we'd be rebels, but most likely we'd be passive collaborators like her. And the kind of fear that comes with that and the constant double-think. Well...yeah. I find her endlessly fascinating.

Does any of that make sense? Plus, she just LOOKS awesome. <3

[umadoshi]

Hi! This isn't directly related to this post, I'm afraid, but would it be all right if I added you to my circle?

[ceebee_eebee]

Of course!

[umadoshi]

Thank you! ^_^