"Yes, send the lavender-scented perfumes to Linphea! No! Not the lavender rose scented perfume!" Mercedes directed to her assistant on her headset, shaking her head in craziness of disbelief. "And keep the lunar rose perfume in Solaria's franchise! Just ship it back the day before the ceremony!" she directed, before hanging up. She was sweating her medium-tanned legs off. To make matters worse, she had to come up with a new scent for a dedication ceremony this weekend! She trudged over to her assistant's desk and filed some paperwork for her assistant. She then left.
Mercedes' POV:
You were probably wondering what I was doing. If so, listen up. My name is Mercedes, and I'm a perfume maker. Tonight, I'm attending a testing session for a new scent I need to make for a dedication ceremony that is dedicating all my past work. So now, I'm home and cooking some pasta for my family: Jesse, Fiona, Cloe, Sasha, Jasmine, and Yasmin. Yes, I have five daughters and my husband is Jesse. "Mom, my soccer game is at six tommorrow and coach wants every member's family there to take pictures." Fiona said, sipping her juice nicely. "Hun, I can't. Mommy's working tommorrow and I get off at seven, you know that." I said, disappointed. She has reminded me and her father since she got the captain role. "And besides, Mother's too busy planning my birthday, right, Mommy?" Jasmine asked, sugarcoating it. "Jasmine, don't sugarcoat it. And I heard from Mrs. Kumaro, that you were texting in class, again?" her father said, warning her. "I wasn't texting anyone, Daddy." she said, batting her eyelashes. "No eyelashing me, missy. Up to your room and study for your midterm on geography." he said, rudely. He didn't ever say anything mean to Jasmine. "But on another note, Cloe, how was math today?" he asked, sweetly. "Oh, Dad. All A+s!" she gushed, hoping to get a shopping trip. "Well, I guess this calls for a mall trip." he said, sipping his coffee. I pack my burka with my phone, some leftover pasta for lunch, a list of ideas, a water, and a bottle of spray that makes my breath smell great, kiss my husband and kids, and leave.
By the time I get there, my reputation consultant, Leah, my managers, Dana and Kelly, already in full lab coat regalia. I learned that from my friend, Stella. I said hi and we got to work. After 5 hours, I had nothing. "Nothing here inspires me." I explained to the girls, who were sampling some smells. "I like this," Leah said, holding up a test tube of the lunar lemon scent. She walked over to the flavor bar where all the scents are and picked up the vial of the raspberry scent, poured it in, mixed, and smelled it. She breathed out of her nose, which was a sign it was good. She then said, "It is good. With a few more tests, it could be the next big thing in cosmetics." I asked, "How many is a few?" "1 more day of testing." she declared, as she put the mix on the shelf. We cleaned up, and since we had another 6 hours till my limo arrives, we made a few more options:
* Cinnamon and vanilla
* Lavender, rose, and vanilla
* Cherry and rose
* Cedar wood and rose
* Vanilla, lemon, and cedar wood
After 6 hours, I packed up and left.
I was back home and now, the kids want to hang out on the couch and watch TV all night. I agreed, on the condition that they study for their tests beforehand. They came back with their homework done, and then they watched TV. I went to bed, knowing Jesse was at his job: at an oil camp.
Next day was hectic. Today we have to pick the final scent, test it, and ship it to the ceremony hall. First, we pick the scent. "I like them all," I told the girls that day, "but, if I had to pick, I would pick...hmmm..." I said, pointing to the corked vials in front of me, "I would pick...the...hmm..." I said, slowly choosing my pick, "I would pick a new scent, because these are non-inspiring." I said, groaning. I was uninspired by them today, but then, why was I so tempted to pick one yesterday? I don't see the logic and I am so sounding like my friend, Tecna. My crew groaned, and then Dana spoke up by saying, "Sweetheart, tommorrow is the day of the ceremony. I have a model coming to test," she gestured to the vials, "one of these. We do not and I repeat, DO NOT, have no time to make a new scent!" I was freaked out by her rant so much, I backed up. I composed myself and said, "I made the lunar rose scent in 2 seconds. I can make a new scent in 1 second flat." I was challenging her. I got out of my seat and got out my weapon: The Perfumerator X00. It was a machine that could match my perspective on perfume and replicate the perfume's DNA radius in 1 second. The end result was the scent's color squirting out like icing in a piping bag and it dissolving in a puff of air. So if you put noodles and raspberries in the side tube that comes in handy, you would get a nozzle full of strawberry blonde glue. Just don't put too many ingredients in, or the nozzle will clog or worse...combust. I said, "Meet the perfume-making machine of the century." and set the tripod up. I collected some tree bark shavings for the woody texture, some vanilla for moistness, some noodles for a note of mystery, and raspberries for good smell and put it into the individual tubes. I then put in the code standards that I wanted it to meet. It did just that and wheezed out some porridge-like mix into the bottle I laid out and it made itself into liquid. I cheered at my victory, and moved on. Next, we had to test it. The model, Nicole Ravens, came and we ran some tests:
* Heat treatment tests where we tested for the reaction of a fever
* Aluminum tests where we tested for the reaction of radioactiveness
* Urine tests where we tested for the reaction of pee.
* Allergy tests where we tested for the reaction of her allergies.
They were all coming out clean, according to the perfume ultrasound I made also. We thanked Nicole and she left. By that time, I received word that all my past work was being shipped to the hall now. I told the girls to handle the rest, while I went and got my speech and dress prepared for tommorrow. They said they would, I thanked them, and left.
I went home, prepared my speech, and now I'm working on my dress. It was sparkly quartz pink and sleeveless. It had a tube top on top. I finished that and went to bed.
The next day, I went straight to the ceremony hall, completely dressed. The kids and Jesse were meeting the crew and I at the hall. I got there ten minutes later, and I went straight to my dressing room. I had my dress and heels, but, no makeup. I applied some vanilla lipgloss and some smoky purple-black eyeshadow. Jesse and the kids came back and hugged me. I said, "Hey, guys." and I was going to say more but then I noticed my angels' outfits.
* Cloe: A navy sweater with a periwinkle top underneath. With it, she wore black skinnies and gold 4-inch platform wedges.
* Fiona: Her soccer shirt with blue tie-dye pants and pink sandals with socks.
* Sasha: A brown top with camoflauge baggies, two braided and crisscrossed black embellished belts, and black 9-inch boots.
* Jasmine: A orange halter top with a red long-sleeved top underneath, pristine sea blue skinnies, and leopard 5-inch boots.
* Yasmin: Blue halter top with light colors of bubbles on it such as white and navy blue, black skinnies, and 7-inch sea leopard boots.
"Gorgeous, girls!" I complimented them, as the bell rang for my cue. I hugged the kids and kissed Jesse, then I walked out, and did my speech. Then, we unveiled my work. And then, we auctioned them all off, and then, we auctioned off the first sample of the new scented perfume.
So, that's pretty much it. That's my day in the life of a perfume maker.
The End
