Karyn Good

About Karyn Good

I grew up on a farm in the middle of Canada's breadbasket. Under the canopy of crisp blue prairie skies I read books. Lots and lots of books. Occasionally, I picked up a pen and paper or tapped out a few meagre pages of a story on a keyboard and dreamed of becoming a writer when I grew up. One day the inevitable happened and I knew without question the time was right. What to write was never the issue - romance and the gut wrenching journey towards forever.

What Scent Attracts You?

I love perfume. You’d think I’d have a particular scent that I wear. But at the moment I’m scent free. In fact, I haven’t worn perfume for some time. Unless Pledge counts, or Pine-Sol.  I didn’t worry about spritzing on perfume to do arts and crafts or car pool. Also, there were so many scent free places that it hardly seemed worth it. But, gosh, I’m finding that I miss the sense of comfort and beauty that comes from dabbing on your favorite perfume. Maybe because I shy away from any other kind of scented product, I miss having a much loved perfume. Or two.

 

In my twenties Opium was one of my favorites.

A legendary fragrance for the woman who adores Yves Saint Laurent. An oriental and spicy harmony. Sheer sensuality, a voluptuous, provocative and controversial fragrance with notes of Mandarin, Jasmine, Lily of the Valley and Vanilla.

The other was Cinnabar.

Cinnabar Perfume by Estee Lauder, Launched by the design house of estee lauder in 1978, cinnabar is classified as a refined, subtle, oriental fragrance. This feminine scent possesses a blend of incense, flowers, spice and amber. It is recommended for evening wear.

Then I had children and I don’t know…things changed. Something about that time in my life changed what scents I was attracted to and suddenly my favorites didn’t have the desired effect. Hum. Maybe my hormone levels altered my skin’s chemistry. I don’t know. Now, years later, I’m back in the market for perfume.

Choosing a perfume might seem like a daunting decision given the range of choices. But this is one choice that’s completely visceral. While so many of our choices are governed by reason, it’s refreshing to have to make a choice that is purely emotional. Governed by nothing more than, “I don’t know why, but I love it!”

Perfumes have ‘families’. You can start by deciding what family attracts you. Maybe you’re target family has more of a Florals personality – feminine and fun-loving. Could be, like me, you’re drawn to those Orientals scents – exotic and mysterious. Then there’s Fresh and Clean – invigorating and dynamic. Citrus makes me think summer and sunny days – fresh squeezed and sharp. Woody – a power scent – mossy with shades of romantic.

Keep in mind this is not a decision to be hurried. You can’t smell a strip of scented paper and decide it’s the one for you. Or pick one because you fell in love with the packaging. Don’t you adore those pretty bottles? Not to mention the commercials. They’re enough to make you run out on the spot and buy it. Risque, sexy, romantic, bold – perfume commercials definitely invite a reaction.

No. You need to test it out on your skin. Decide on a ‘family’ and start sampling. Note that perfumes have top notes, middle notes, and base notes. Top notes last for the first 5 minutes to half an hour, by then the  middle notes of the perfume’s ‘family’ emerge. Finally base notes show themselves. They give the scent weight or holding power. So dab a little on your skin in a couple of different places and wait it out. We all know about pulse points.

Smell equals memory. Our ability to remember a smell is greater than our ability to remember what we’ve seen. Whether it’s your grandmother’s perchance for Chanel No. 5 or her chocolate chip cookies, those scents pull you in, bring back memories. Memories are how we pick the right family fragrance, choose what attracts us. So why not choose a perfume to help create memories.

A woman’s perfume tells more about her than her handwriting.  Christian Dior

So how about it? Do you wear perfume? What’s your signature fragrance? Or do you prefer to go sans scent? How about a favorite memory centered around smell? What scents attract you?

 

I Do Love a Man in a Suit

You know how they say a suit is to women what lingerie to is men?

You won’t get an argument out of me!

After all, The Suit walks out our door every morning on his way to work. After twenty-two years, it still works for me.

What about you? To shy to share? What about your favorite hero? What would he leave the house in: Three Piece Suit, Head to Toe Leather, Uniform all the Way, or Cape and Spandex, Baby?

My New Home and Other News

Welcome to my new website! I’m so thrilled to finally show it off. Huge thanks to Jo at Glass Slipper WebDesign for doing all the work. She is wonderful to work with and very helpful, especially if you’re a luddite like me. I’m learning the ropes here at wordpress, like I said I’m not tech savy, but I’ll get the hang of it. Eventually. So, please, take a moment and have a look around. Let me know what you think.

In case you’re interested, a little bit about the color purple, one of my favorite colors. A rare color in nature, it lends itself to mystery and intrigue. Often associated with royalty, of which my characters are definitely not, it is also the color of passion and romance. And I’m a huge fan of those two things! Which leads to the sexy couple in the corner. Hot, yes?  They’re having fun over there wrapped up in each other?  I think so.

How about you? What’s your favorite color?

Other NEWS

I’ve signed on to do a reading at our local Chapters. I’ll be reading from our anthology Love, Loss and Other Oddities: Tales from Saskatchewan. Look for us there on Saturday, April 21. More details to follow.

Saskatchewan Romance Writers Anthology

Timing is everything isn’t it? Or ask and the universe will provide? The March edition of the Romance Writers Report arrived with the following handy article: The Art of Reading Aloud by Janet Mullany. I need all the help I can get! I’m grateful not to be doing this alone, but with fellow members of my writing group, The Saskatchewan Romance Writers.

I’m also busy booking my first Virtual Blog Tour with the help of the wonderful ladies at Goddess Fish Promotions. My first one ever! There will be prizes and everything. So excited. And just a little bit nervous.

Schedule to Follow

That’s it for now. Hope you enjoyed your look around my new home. Come back again!