CB I Hate Perfume. Secret History Series.

Review by Tom I have to admit that I was bewildered by the number of perfumes at Christopher Brosius' site; I was momentarily overcome by the exact same problem I sometimes have at the video store. What should I choose? I decided to start off with the Secret History series, about which he writes "The perfumes in this collection all speak of single shining points of time in my own life.", from the descriptions, we have some shared history going on, so I thought I'd start here At The Beach 1966 is written of as "The effect when you wear At The Beach 1966 is as if you’ve been swimming all day in the ocean.", with notes of "Coppertone 1967", and "North Atlantic". This means the dreaded aquatic. I'm not big on aquatics myself, since I feel that there's no real way to capture the essence of the ocean in a scent- or at least no-one has done it so far. The description of this scent I find almost eye-rolling as well, but I can forgive all of that, because the description is so very apt. Brilliantly, Brosius covers the fact that ocean smell is nigh unto impossible to pull off by covering it with the note of Coppertone and salty skin. I was really transported by this one: I was once again a 12 year old at the beach at Niantic, wet bathing suit at all. Of course, this scent makes for the most romanticized 12 year old in a wet bathing suit you can imagine, but since I am not 12, and not looking to [CheapShot] try to seduce R. Kelly [/CheapShot], I do not think that I will be getting a bottle of this one. But I do respect its beauty, and if there is someone who is looking for a simple, clean aquatic with great lasting power, then please click through and order. Winter 1972 is described as "the blue frozen scent of fresh snow and silver stars" I have not idea what notes are in it, but it does smell, basically, blue and frozen, slightly ozonic, with the ghost of woods and grasses waiting for spring to be released. It's not quite as successful as a concept as the beachy one, but it is very nice. Memory of Kindness is written of as his childhood memory of his Grandmothers garden, the tomato vines and loamy soil remembered as "a vast jungle of vines" with his child's eyes. I think this is the least ethereal and most interesting of the scents (well, maybe I just like it the best): the brightness of the peppery greens and the slight muskiness of the sun-warmed earth are both immediately apparent and absolutely perfect, managing to be allusive yet not obtrusive. As much as I respect the achievement, I don't think that I'd actually seriously wear any of these. They are interesting, exceedingly well done, and even evocative in a way that's so shockingly personal I almost feel as if I had an intimate relationship with this man. I can see these being the ultimate comfort scent: if I was ever seriously depressed, these memories of perfect childhood would perk me up better than Atavan... Like all of his scents, these are available at his website for $60 for the Absolute (oil) and $60 for the Water Perfume (spray). While these three are not going to be full-bottle purchases anytime soon, I will be revisiting him to test his others and urge you all to do the same. Brilliance always deserves to be rewarded.

The Perfume House – A Love Story

Article by Donna Hathaway Part Two – The Stories (NOTE: Part One of this article can be found at Aromascope – please read it first as background for this piece.) In the world of fine fragrances, there are many stories; about the essences that go into their creation, about the great houses and gifted perfumers that make them, and about the people whose lives are touched when they discover the beauty and artistry of truly great perfumes. The sense of smell is sadly undervalued in today’s world, but in the distant past of our species we depended on it for our very lives, and it is the sense most associated with memory. Just catching the slightest aroma of something from our childhood, or related to a vivid life experience that we had, will catapult us back to that time and place like nothing else. Music has a similar effect for many people, but scent is a visceral, intensely personal experience that hits our emotions and “gets us where we live.” During the many years that I have been a customer and ardent fan of The Perfume House and its owners, I have been privileged to hear some wonderful stories about the world of fragrance. The following examples are only a few of the many that have been told, to me and to others. I think one of the reasons I am so captivated by them is that it is one of the areas of life that shows humanity at its finest, the apex of beauty, culture and civilization, so far removed from the violence and discord that we are constantly being bombarded with both in our real lives and in popular forms of entertainment. It is a refuge for us the way fine art or music can be, a celebration of what people can accomplish if they turn their energy toward creativity and life-affirming pursuits instead of descending into brutishness and willful ignorance. It is also a celebration of the finest that Nature has to offer us, and reminds us that we must care for our world so that it will continue to yield such lovely and precious things for our enjoyment. One of the first stories that The Perfume House was a part of was the introduction of the Jean Patou Ma Collection of classic fragrances soon after the shop opened. Jean de Mouy, the chairman of Jean Patou, came to town for the grand presentation. Now these were all scents from the Golden Age of French perfumery and the glory days of the Patou house, when they were known as one of the very finest fashion houses in the world. (The house still created couture gowns until their last in-house designer, Christian Lacroix, left to start his own label in 1987, but outside of France they are better known for Joy perfume than anything else.) The print ads for their perfumes back in the early decades of the twentieth century reflected the fashions of the times. The Tsefalas’ artistically talented daughter created large standing posters for all twelve of the fragrances, each one a conceptual re-creation of the original magazine advertisement at the time of each fragrance’s original release, and each featuring a life-size figure of a woman wearing an ensemble in the colors and style of the ad. Needless to say, the gentleman from the House of Patou was favorably impressed. Since then, The Perfume House has been chosen at least thirty-six times for premiering a fragrance or line, either a world premiere or the first time presented in North America. When the Amouage line was introduced to our shores, the Sultan of Oman left his own country for the first time since becoming his nation’s leader. A thoughtful man of culture, refinement and intelligence, he said that he wanted to experience just once the greatest perfume shop in the world. The store was also chosen to present the House of Rancé fragrances Joséphine and Le Vainqueur (“The Conqueror”), which were recently reintroduced using 200-year old essential oils and made according to the original formulas as specified by the Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte himself, to be worn only by him and his Empress, and now available for the world to enjoy. (Chris told me there is only a few years’ supply of the vintage oils remaining, after which the perfumes must be made with modern materials.) These two Rancé scents are of the highest quality, and they have a romantic little secret: Napoleon had his perfumer create two perfumes that would complement each other perfectly, and that when the couple was together, a third fragrance as created that only they could smell. You see, the third scent was not the result of simply being in the same room together – it was only when they made love and their bodies were entwined that the two perfumes melded into a third and magical aroma. One of the highlights of the store’s exclusive releases was in 1991 for Caron’s Parfum Sacré, so called because it contains a triad of traditionally sacred essences – rose, frankincense and myrrh. It is the first and only perfume allowed by the French Perfume Council to have the word “sacred” in its name. It is now considered to be the greatest memory perfume of all time, for if one has ever been in a church or cathedral anywhere in the world, they have smelled the incense ingredients in this perfume, and the rose is an archetypal Damask of rare quality. In 1940, the formula for this perfume was finalized, using only the most precious materials, and the oils were put in barrels to age for fifty years. If they passed this test and were still perfect after that time, the perfume would be released and given a very high quality ranking. They did, and it was, but not right away; by tradition it had to remain in France for a year. The perfume was then accorded the honor of being named one of the ten greatest of all time in French perfumery. When The Perfume House finally obtained a preview bottle, it was only for testing, as it could not yet be sold. On the day of the official release, at 2:00 on a Friday afternoon, there was a mob scene at the store as customers lined up for it, and traffic tied up the neighborhood. This was all by word of mouth and by notifying existing customers of the impending release. As you can see, there is a good reason why the store needs no advertising budget. (Chris still has that original tester bottle on display. It came over on a plane with the president of Caron, who purchased a separate first class seat for the carefully wrapped and precious package.) The Caron story is romantic and evocative; others have humor or pathos. One of my very favorite ones is the best illustration I have ever heard of the idea of “unclear on the concept.” One warm summer day a man came into the store and asked Chris if he would like to buy some “ambergris.” Since this is a rare and costly ingredient (and setting aside the fact that perfume shops only sell perfume, they do not make it on the premises), Chris was quite taken aback, as the man was disheveled and dressed in dirty clothes. He stepped outside to satisfy his curiosity and was greeted by a most ghastly odor. The man had found pieces of a dead whale on the beach, and for some reason thought of the only thing he thought he knew about perfume, that ambergris from whales was used to make it. In the back of his pickup truck, parked right in front of the store, rotting chunks of whale blubber were rapidly festering in the hot sun and covered in flies. I laughed so hard I cried over that one. Then there are the stories that touch the heart. A great stage actress who had won a Tony Award on Broadway had to retire due to a chronic illness. She and her husband lived in San Francisco. The husband asked Chris if he could purchase a very rare bottle of a discontinued scent for her birthday, a fragrance that had a special meaning for her in connection with her award-winning stage role. She was very happily surprised when she opened her present that year. About two months later, the city of San Francisco had a major earthquake, and her china and crystal collection was destroyed, including the perfume bottle. Her husband begged Chris to find another one, though it was virtually impossible. He did find one at last – but it was not delivered immediately. He held it until her next birthday, so it would be even more of a surprise for her. Many famous people have visited the store, from the greatest perfume “noses” to famous authors to actors to diplomats to heads of state. Many have become friends or loyal customers, usually both. Even the most well known celebrities can be touched by something as simple as smelling a truly fine fragrance and appreciating its beauty. Several famous people have recently said the very same thing to Chris when trying the Private Reserve rose perfume: “My life will never be the same!” And indeed it never is, for any of us who cross paths with Chris and his enchanted shop. Perfume is so profoundly personal, and each one has special meaning to the wearer. I was going to ask Chris for a list of his favorites for this article – he said that would mean nothing to other people, as they are different for everyone, and besides, if he did not like them they would not be in his shop – he likes them all! Each one with its own story, each one unique and special, from a simple, inexpensive floral eau de toilette made from English bluebells to a flacon of pure perfume encased in Baccarat crystal and costing over a thousand dollars, every scent means something to someone Just wandering around the store looking at the array of beautiful atomizers and the sheer number of perfumes (about 1,600 for women now, and 800 for men) fires up the perfume lover’s imagination, for here are things once thought long lost, or rare things never even dreamed of. There are vintage scents in their original packaging, many of which were once sold in the shop but have gone out of production and are too precious to sell. Others are from the owners’ private collection of rarities and are truly antiques. Some are familiar to many: Indiscret by Lucien Lelong, Shocking by Schiaparelli, Fidji by Guy Laroche, and Carven’s Ma Griffe. Others reach even further back in time – Crepe de Chine by Millot, Nuit de Longchamp by Lubin, Fantasque by d’Orsay, and of course the real Coty originals such as Masumi, Emeraude and L’Origan, from long before the sad decline of the great Coty house into drugstore oblivion. (Vintage Rochas Femme, one of the true fragrance masterpieces, is locked away in a glass cabinet, but the shop carries the full Rochas line, and Femme is still around, though it has been reformulated.) There are even perfumes named Demona and Demonette, by Lola Beer, now lost to obscurity. (One wonders just how “dangerous” these two smelled; was it more or less so than Guy Laroche’s Clandestine?) One very special story happened just this year. One evening, as Chris and Christina were closing up the shop for the night, a man appeared at the door. He asked only what time the store opened the next day. Chris told him ten o’clock, and at five minutes after the hour the next morning five people came in, three men and two women. One of them was the man from the previous night. They said they had made a special trip to see the shop. Further inquiries revealed that they were Russian opera stars, in the U.S. for their annual concert engagements in San Francisco and New York, one night only in each city. They had been told back in Russia that the only place to go to find the Russian perfumes made for the Czars was here. (See my description of these in Part One.) He told them that they were not for sale, but they said that was fine, they just wanted to see and smell them. In fact, they had made a VERY special trip to Portland – instead of the transatlantic route they usually took, this time they had gone the trans-Siberian Pacific way and landed in Seattle and then hopped a flight to Portland, after which they had driven their rental car back and forth from their hotel to the Perfume house five times to make sure they would not get lost the next day! Needless to say, Chris was very happy to show them the Russian rarities, and they each bought something to take home as well. When it was time for them to go, they said they wanted to do something special to show their appreciation. Chris was afraid they would miss the only plane to San Francisco and told them they had to hurry. But they were determined, and told him they wanted to give him a gift “from the heart.” They formed a semi-circle around him, and then they began to sing. Mind you, these were the finest voices in Russia. Then a most wondrous thing happened – a ringing sound began and soon was joined by another, until high, lovely bell-like tones were echoing all around the room. (Chris said, “ I thought maybe I had been drinking the perfume instead of smelling it!”) What was happening here? Over the years, the owners have collected a number of fine Fabergé crystal eggs, which are placed in various nooks and glass display cabinets throughout the store. The pure notes and perfect vibrato of the singing caused the high quality crystal in the eggs to vibrate in response, and they continued to do so for about twenty minutes after the music stopped. The singers knew this would happen, and they smiled at the pleasure they had given back. Next time, they are going to arrange to come a day earlier so they can spend more time at the shop. The stories will go on, and so does The Perfume House, already the subject of many written stories and which is now is in the midst of yet another exclusive introduction to the North American market – soon it will be the only American source of the full Montale line, which is famous for its perfumes containing the rare and precious Arabian oud or aoud (agar wood) essence. As of this writing they have twelve of the perfumes, and two more arrive every two weeks. (In the typical French fashion of maintaining an air of mystery - they never let the store know in advance which two they are getting, just that they will arrive on the regular schedule.) This will continue until they have all thirty-six current Montale offerings, probably around Christmas. No more trying to figure out what time it is in Paris – you won’t have to call there anymore! I know this will come as very good news to many perfumistas. If you come to the store, you can now enjoy the luxury of comparing Montale Vanille Absolu to Serge Lutens Un Bois Vanille before you buy – the two displays are side by side. Now, that’s what I call a perfume shop! For those of you who cannot wait any longer, here is the list of the twelve Montales that are available as of this writing. Blue Amber, Oud Queen Roses, Wood & Spices, Sweet Oriental Dream, White Musk, Aoud Roses Petals, Vanille Absolu, Greyland, Patchouli Leaves, Soleil de Capri, White Aoud, and Chypre Vanille. By the time you read this there may be two more added, but don’t ask which two, as that is a secret to everyone except Montale, and they aren’t telling. That’s just another mystery, another intriguing story in the world of perfume. To visit The Perfume House on the Web: www.theperfumehouse.com (Final note: Any factual errors contained in either part of this article are fully the responsibility of the author, as I have relied on my own memories for part of it, and everyone knows that time can cast events in a golden haze of altered realities and nostalgia, to which I am ridiculously prone.) Image source: Patou Colony bottle, Guerlain L’Heure Bleue bottle, Elizabeth Arden Cyclamen bottle & Caron tester bottle set from fine arts auction site ragoarts.com

Revisiting: CB I Hate Perfume At the Beach 1966

By Tom I reviewed the Secret History series a little more than six years ago (have I been doing this that long?) and was a little put off by At the Beach 1966. I wrote then: I was really transported by this one: I was once again a 12 year old at the beach at Niantic, wet bathing suit at all. Of course, this scent makes for the most romanticized 12 year old in a wet bathing suit you can imagine, but since I am not 12, and not looking to [CheapShot] try to seduce R. Kelly [/CheapShot], I do not think that I will be getting a bottle of this one. I found it to be a great piece of perfumers magic unto performance art, but not something I could really see myself wearing. This past Sunday I was wandering around West Hollywood and decided to pop into ScentBar (I know, shock of shocks. My reaction to winning best actress in a musical or comedy, being released from prison or stubbing my toe would likely end in "pop into ScentBar". My reaction to Lotto winnings would be "buy ScentBar") and spied the water perfume version of this. I gave a spritz to my wrist and gave it a few minutes. I don't know if it's the fact that the water perfume isn't as concentrated but the scent slows down quite a bit. It's lighter and I can smell the white flowers (datura and tuberose I think) and the coconut along with the sea air and the wet sand. I still don't know that it's something I'd reach for much, but that's because salty and beachy aren't really my thing. (I prefer Miller Harris Fleurs de Sel with it's marshy goodness for that) I will write that it was perfect for this week in the 70's here in Los Angeles, and at $80 for 100ML I might just have to treat myself. The lasting power isn't stellar- I get four hours or so. But that's what re-applying is all about.. I tested and asked for a sample at Scentbar. Available at LuckyScent, cbihateperfume.com, and other stores. Image of Rocky Neck Beach in Niantic, CT from Wikipedia

Dzing! went the strings of my heart

By Tom Well, I was back in New York last week. Most of the time was visiting the Connecticut shore visiting my oldest and dearest friend at her parents rambling beach house, and wandering around visiting shops. What is surprising (well surprising to us city-snobs) is that there are so many shops that while smaller, rival any in the city. There was a cheese shop in New London that featured a heavenly Shropshire, ruddy with annato and beautifully veined, amongst other stand-outs. I honestly wasn't trying to puff myself up when I mentioned to the lady that owned the shop that she was rivalling my local cheese store in LA. Turns out she knows the owner, and gave me her card for when I visit the Beverly Hills Cheese Shop next! Six Degrees! I only had one full day in New York, which I will have to remedy next time. I did a run through Saks, skipped Barneys completely, never got to Le Labo or CB I Hate Perfume (the latter two hurt) and of course you read about my trip to Bergdorfs and the Lutens news. I am of course of two minds on this: I want my Lutens all the time, but I don't know that there isn't a little bit of cachet in the chase. The bell jars are spectacular, and there is something like a secret handshake quality about them. Anyone can get those admittedly handsome 50ml bottles; for this American anyway there's a furtive thrill breaking out that precious bell jar and dabbing away.. But perhaps it's only the two Bois and only in the 50ml bottles. As you know, Marina and I finally met face-to-face at the l'Artisan boutique. She is as charming as you would imagine, and as lovely, with crystalline blue eyes and cheekbones that Debbie Harry would envy. After a cappuccino in the park, overlooking those dreadful 5th Avenue in the 80's buildings that I could never live in (this the WASP version of kin ahora) and a nice chat that felt like we'd known each other for years, we went to the boutique. I looked at the home scent thingy that they had come up with, and it works wonderfully and smells fantastic. I am sure that in certain parts of the upper East side, (not West) Palm Beach and one or two Arrondissements it will do fine. For the rest of the planet, let's just say that price-wise Glade Plug-in need not worry. The boutique had some of the last of the small bottles of Dzing!, which I had neglected to either buy or review. After all this blather I will self-edit enough to write that on me its circus-showman opening is fairly fleeting; a burst of hay, leather, candy, animal and oddly, rose petals. It settles into a wonderful skin scent with a supremely elegant leather and a hint of vanilla and tea. Oddly for something that is meant to evoke the circus, for me it evokes one of a different kind: I think of the tea room at the old Bullocks Wilshire: expensive handbags, hot milky tea and the vanilla scented scones. Arrangements of genteel roses and the glow of genteel ladies who have been spending the morning at fittings and are settling in for a tea and the first of at least two dainty little glasses of sherry. As Marina has noted, Dzing! is not discontinued. Good thing! Oh, and l'Artisan? Open in Melrose Place. You're in a cupboard at Barneys. Image source, istockphoto.com.

Best of 2008 and a Prize Draw

Only once before have I been more glad to see a year come to an end. In my personal history, year 2008 will go down as the 2nd most horribilis. And that is saying a lot. There were very bright moments that I will remember forever, warmly and gratefully, the moments that I am happy I have got to experience. Still, I am relieved that it is over. Here is to moving on, to getting over, to patching up ...to new beginnings for all of us. To an easier 2009. This year, we at Perfume-Smellin' Things decided to see the year off by each choosing just one perfume we loved, wore and enjoyed the most in 2008, thus creating our Top 8 of 2008. We invite you to do the same in your comments: name one and only one scent that shone for you the brightest this year. Alyssa Etat Libre’s Jasmin et Cigarette is not the best perfume I tried in 2008, nor even the one I reached for most often, but it is the perfect accidental souvenir of a year marked by trips to the city, rough ideas on the verge of turning into something better, inchoate longings for an imaginary lush life, and of course, by perfume and cigarettes. I first tried it in the middle of a New York heat wave, stealing a sample from the tester at Bendel’s after the SAs pointedly ignored me. I’m surviving the winter with my decant. If the center of my dream holds, and I return to the city in the spring, a bottle will be mine. Beth In a year of so many lovely smells it is so very hard to choose just one, but choose I have. Hands down, Sali Oguri’s luscious chocolate drenched Persephone was by far the most original and deeply enjoyable perfume that I tried this year. Persephone makes me want to laugh , twirl and dance until I have to gasp for air. I love her decadent , wild gypsy nature but at the same time she is as restorative and earthy as a deep drink from a cool artesian spring nestled within the Middle Earth. She was my prayer for the dying as she helped my mother cross beyond the veil of this world. She entices my husband to nibble on my neck. She is simply....beautiful. Donna I have tried many really good fragrances for the first time in the past year, so this is a tough call. After much consideration I am selecting Chypre Noir by Ava Luxe. It is so very different from anything else I have come across. Deeply, profoundly green and dangerously sexy, it’s mysterious and intense, transporting me to a secret enchanted forest with just one powerful drop Kelley My pick for 2008 is Tauer's Incense Extrême. I haven't been this excited about a fragrance in quite a while. It is a minimalist scent with (if I remember correctly) only seven ingredients. Andy's website lists spices, powdery orris, dry cedar wood, and ambergris, supported by frankincense as the notes. There isn't much development just pristine frankincense made slightly more exotic by the other listed ingredients. This is literally a religious experience! Linda My pick is Andy Tauer's Vetiver Dance. It is the most multifaceted scent I encountered this year: sap-green lily of the valley with a salted twist of grapefruit peel, underscored by vetiver shifting from spicy and rooty to earthy and bittersweet. It's great for walks on the beach. Marina To be honest, I thought this mission of choosing one most favorite fragrance of 2008 would be truly impossible. But as I soon as I looked at the "most loved" shelf of my perfume cabinet, I had an answer. Of course, could there be any contest? The perfume that brought me most joy in 2008 was Guerlain's sublime Quand Vient la Pluie. Orrisy melancholy of Apres L'Ondee married to the happy, playful gourmandness of praline, a scent-chameleon that changes its mood according to mine. It is comforting when I need it to be, elegant when I have to be so, demure when requiered, flirty when appropriate. And always exquisitely beautiful. This is one of the most thrilling discoveries of 2008 and one of the gifts for which I will be always grateful. This year, in a super-short, recession version of The Award, it receives a Golden Colombina. Marla Jean Paul Gaultier's newest, Ma Dame, is just FUN in a bottle. Dreamsicles. Necco wafers. Now N Laters, hot pink vinyl plastic, Lorna Doone cookies, neon, and some odd touches of metal thrown in. There is absolutely nothing natural in this, but it's a potpourri of modern frivolity. At first I thought, "another synthetic fruity floral", but after receiving two samples from an enthusiastic German SA, I was hooked. I started smelling all the items above, and more. It's just quirky silliness, and, as sweet as it sounds, it's not cloying. It's one of the most humorous perfumes I've smelled in years. This will save me from the blahs of deep dark European winter for certain. And the bottle's fantastic. (How did they make that, anyway??) Tom Serge Lutens Serge Noire. I've found myself reaching for it more than anything else in 2008. It smells like being enveloped in the embrace of the best-dressed man at the ball. And a bonus one from Paul a.k.a Mr Colombina Fou d'Absinthe was my favourite scent of 2008 because it reminds me of my years Europe, yet somehow feels so right for New York.Its a fragrance I can't wait to get back to after I have obligingly gone through my rotation. We couldn't end the year without having one last prize draw, our biggest so far. We have three bottles to give away: Chanel Chance, Ralph Lauren Notorious and Vera Wang Look. Please choose ONE that you would like to win and let us know in your comment. The draw will end on 12am EST on Jan. 4th, 2009. Three winners (one for each scent) will be chosen randomly and announced in Jan. 6th. Happy New Year, everybody! To read other Best of 2008 lists, please visit: Bois de Jasmin, Now Smell This, Perfume Posse, Scentzilla Image is bottle by hermanturnip at flickr; some rights reserved.

Perfume Stars: Summer Favorites. Part 6

Perfume Stars: Part 6 is dedicated to favorite summer perfumes and ideal holiday destinations of the owners of and advisors from some of our favorite perfume stores. Aedes What are your favorite summer fragrances? “Miguel's favorite: Serge Lutens Gris Clair, layered with Piment Brulant by L'Artisan Karl's favorite: Serge Lutens Daim Blond and Montale Oud Cuir d'Arabie Robert's favorite: V.I.P.” What are the characteristics of your ideal summer scent? “For all of us it's a mood and feel good decision what to wear.” What is your favorite holiday destination? “Miguel: Paris Karl: Ibiza Robert: St.Tropez” BeautyHabit, Teresa Mitchell What are your favorite summer fragrances? “I could go on for days and days - as for me, fragrance is based on my mood and the environment - so favorites change week to week! I have limited myself to 6 summery scents that I simply can't imagine growing tired of EVER. I have not limited myself to only Beautyhabit ranges - these really are some of my personal favorites! Lisa Simon Monsoon Season Hermes Un Jardin du Nil The Different Company Divine Bergamote Cinq Mondes Eau Egyptianne In Fiore Bois d’Ete Parfum Solide Armani Prive Eau de Jade “ What are the characteristics of your ideal summer scent? “Fresh, clean and light. I also like a little spice or zest!” What is your favorite holiday destination? “Anywhere that I can relax with my husband and my 2 children is good - but I must say I am drawn to the seaside. I love beach vacations and a good book!” B-Glowing, Lisa James What are your favorite summer fragrances? What are the characteristics of your ideal summer scent? “Fresh, clean, crisp…..I prefer exotic white flowers, citrus (lemons and grapefruits) and white musks during the summer.” What is your favorite holiday destination? “Fiji!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I spent two weeks there some years ago and to date it has still been my favorite vacation. The people there are so joyful and relaxed. After about 3 days there you find yourself opening up and becoming like a local. It was a wonderful experience!!!” Les Senteurs, James Craven, Fragrance Advisor What are your favorite summer fragrances? What are the characteristics of your ideal summer scent? “I like something strongly floral or strongly oriental: I find citrus scents rather dull. So: Isabey's GARDENIA Dana's TABU Guerlain's JARDINS DE BAGATELLE Caron's N'AIMEZ QUE MOI Solange Azagury Partridge's STONED Annick Goutal's HEURE EXQUISE I prefer a scent that echoes the heat, that warms like the sun. What is your favorite holiday destination? “Hard Question!!!! a) Rural Suffolk b) The Sea - ANY sea! c) The Nile.” Luckyscent Franco Wright What are your favorite summer fragrances? What are the characteristics of your ideal summer scent? “Summer here in LA is hot, usually quite dry. I like to spend as much time at the beaches, particularly Malibu, so I can’t help but be influenced by salty ocean and sun tan lotion. That being said...coconut is always favorite of mine when it comes to fragrances on women during summer. However this season, I’ve been quite smitten with the latest release by L’Artisan: L’eau de Jatamansi. It’s fresh, crisp, light...transparent...but the surprise twist is the subtle, sexy incense drydown that isn’t overwhelming...and just seems to be the perfect compliment the grapefruit/citrus top notes. Last year, I’ll never forget working one particular Saturday...it was near 100 degrees and not one fragrance appealed to me at the time. We had just put the Escentric Molecules in the store, and I wasn’t sure what to make of it; at first my attention was focused on the bottle and design, but once I wore it...it was love at first spray. The clean sandalwood and brisk lime was so gratifying...ever since it has been my staple for warmer weather. I told Adam the following day: ”...try wearing the Escentric 01....” And he did...now it’s one of his faves as well.” What is your favorite holiday destination? “Holidays have been tricky for me....they are usually the busiest time of year for us at Luckyscent. 2005 was the first time I traveled during December, and my wife and I needed a quick getaway, so we went to Kauai. It was perfect...reminded us how fortunate we are to have a world-class island destination just 5 hours away.” Adam Eastwood What are your favorite summer fragrances? “Escentric 01 by Escentric Molecules is what I wear during the summer, which spans a liberal 5 to 6 months for me. I love the limey sandalwood and touch of pepper. The citrus blast is thoroughly rounded out by the woods which is just the right twist for my skin. Great for men and women, long lasting, a true gem. For women I love a nice clean musk for summer. I would recommend the Musc Bleu by Il Profumo or the Musk Musc Samarkand by Les Nereides. Musks soften and sweeten nicely tanned skin making it easy to nuzzle and generally breezy/sexy. All women have such unique scents of their own, it is nice when they simply spritz something musky to enhance that.” What are the characteristics of your ideal summer scent? “Clean, grassy, crisp, fresh and marine. Anything that evokes the time of the year when the air is warm and the trees slowly undulate under gentle summer breezes. L’Artisan Parfumeur Premier Figuier does just that. Originally developed to capture the sensation of sleeping under a fig tree on a summer afternoon, it smells as if someone has just cut several juicy branches and wafted them over your head while gently crushing the leaves.“ What is your favorite holiday destination? “Sailing in New York with my sister and brother in law. Once the train gets us out of Manhattan, the pace completely changes. The salty sea air mixed with the flavors of seaside taverns serving up seafood and locally brewed pints of beer. Crisp clean sea air mixed with a slightly herbaceous scent coming off the leafy shore trees drops my blood pressure immediately. Further stimulus comes when eating shellfish from a bucket while shirtless and smelling of waterproof Coppertone. Top it off with a bottle of ice chilled Heineken and I wont move until I absolutely I have to.” LuiLei, Amy Yang What are your favorite summer fragrances? What are the characteristics of your ideal summer scent? “I love the summers in New York. I adore how the city becomes less congested, especially during the weekends and I'm actually fond of our unique blend of humidity, heat and grime. And while I don't choose scents based on seasonality, there are some scents that embody the summer for me. Although Clarins discontinued Elysium, I still have a 1/4 of a bottle left. I always hesitate to use it but the fragrance brings to life strong memories of one particular lovely summer (over ten years ago). And because I adore amber, which can be heavy I often wear Ambre del Nepal by i Profumi di Firenze. It's beautiful amber, one that is not as weighty as other ambers - veil-like and soft, like summer cashmere. It's actually a fragrance that I tend to wear all year but it's my summer amber. And on this very hot day (almost 100) in New York I'm wearing Sel de Vetiver layered with Bergamote by The Different Company. I usually don't mix scents but once in a while I'll experiment to try to make something that I think of as my own. SDV reminds me of the way someone would smell like after returning from a walk from the ocean. I thought I'd tame the hearty grassy vetiver with the bergamot and it did. I adore the way it smells on my good husband. It is the fragrance that totally change my opinion about vetiver. In terms of what makes a summer scent ideal, I suppose it's figuring out if it's comfortable and making sure your summer PH doesn't clash alter the fragrance in a way that's unpleasant. And does it help you retain the memories you're trying to retain. It's a lot like wine pairing for me. I tend to think about time, place and manner and the people that are in my life at that moment. “ What is your favorite holiday destination? “My favorite holiday destination is the Yucatan in Mexico. I love how it smells, sounds and feel. I have a customer who told me Hesperide by Patyka reminds her of Mexico and that remark was such a gift to me. It's something I'll never forget. We haven't been there in two years but it's a place we've been to several times, and always in the summer (less expensive). Although people may think that Cancun and the Yucatan is too touristy, you can find lovely pockets where time travels a bit more slow. It's a gorgeous place if not just for the smells: tart bright limes, creamy coconuts, luscious mole, prickly chiles, green soapy cilantro and the salty sweet ocean . . .” The Perfume Shoppe, Nazrin What are your favorite summer fragrances? What are the characteristics of your ideal summer scent? “Here are some of my favorite summer scents: Fleurs d'oranger, A la Nuit and Un Lys - I love white florals in the summer because I find that it reminds me of my aunt's garden in Africa where she grew some of the most beautiful flowers that I have ever smelled in the world especially the night blooming jasmine and those roses. I used to walk 3 miles in the blazing sun just to go and smell these flowers. ( Absolutely crazy now that I think about it!). Summer is such a small window of warmth and sunshine specially on the west coast. L'eau de Circe, Brulure de Rose - those scents are also my favorite for the summer. They are a combination scents which represent fun and frolic to me (more so the L'eau de Circe). Brulure de Rose is this creamy scent infused with a gentle rose scent with vanilla that makes my heart rapturous! La Chasse aux Papilons is simply fun - put a smile on your face and lift it to soak the sun! Corps et Ames is also another favorite of mine! In the evenings I love Iris Taizo because here in British Columbia it cools down to make this scent sultry on your skin. Sometimes I feel a little daring and will wear Oud Rose Petals (cool evenings) So generally in the summer it is floral scents.” What is your favorite holiday destination? “I love Vancouver (my city) because you have the ocean, the mountains and magnificent parks (e.g. Stanley Park) where you can take a hamper and sit and eat and enjoy the sun and the mountains at the same time! It is considered to be one the best cities to visit in the world! Good food, good people and magnificent vistas! Cancun (Mexico) because it reminds me of Africa - the warmth, the ocean, the tropical fruits and lazy indolent days of doing nothing but sit, swim and relax! What person wouldn't want that? Seattle and San Francisco I just love because of wonderful shopping experiences, beautiful people. Love Paris too! Just to sit on the Champs Elysee and wait the people go by!” To be continued on Friday. Images courtesy of Aedes, BeautyHabit, B-glowing, Luckyscent, LuiLei, Les Senteurs, The Perfume Shoppe.

The First Perfume I Ever Loved... & a Prize Draw

Where perfume lovers are concerned, there might be some truth to Henry Louis Mencken's statement that one always remembers the first [perfume] love with special tenderness, but after that begins to bunch them. So to celebrate Valentine's Day, we decided to put the jadedness aside and to dedicate this post to our firsts... First perfumes we ever loved. Join us and list yours for a chance to win a 50ml bottle of Park Avenue, courtesy of Bond No 9. One commenter will be chosen at random. As an aside on other loves, what was the first city you fell in love with? For me [Marina speaking here], it was New York. I have lived in various cities over the years, but with none have I felt such an immediate and strong connection. Alyssa My first perfume love? Do I really have to tell you? All right then. It was a half-empty bottle of Elizabeth Arden’s Sunflowers discarded by a friend who clearly had better taste than I did. Though I instantly removed the spray nozzle so I could drizzle small amounts onto my arm instead of suffering through a full spritz, I adored it. I really did. I thought it smelled like the sunflower honey I’d once tasted, and like the sun-warmed scent of the flowers themselves—that vegetal, hay-and-flowers field smell. In my memory it still does, and always will, no matter how often you say the words acquatic or nightmare to me. What can I say? It went with my Benneton sweaters. Ashleigh There were a few before her; Love’s Baby Soft and Jean Nate come to mind, but the first perfume that I ever loved and could truly call the one was the 1985 rose masterpiece by perfumer extraordinaire Sophia Grojsman. Maybe it was my age (let’s just say I was no longer a non-discriminating junior girl that only had access to the Walgreen’s beauty counter), maybe it was the time, but one thing is for certain; I was enamored at first inhale. Not your mother’s rose, Beautiful by Estee Lauder is a vibrant, voluptuous bouquet that has sandalwood and incense at its base making it a lush and complex head-turner. There have been many perfumes that I have outgrown, changed my mind about and simply, don’t care for anymore, but somehow, Beautiful has endured. I wear it to this day with affection and inevitably, every time I do I am stopped by curious strangers that ask, “What is that Beautiful perfume?” Beth I fell head over heels in love with Dior’s Diorissimo when I was 18 years old. Granted, the only reason that I even tried it was because it was rumored to be Mick Jaggers favorite and at the time he was the fervent object of my desire. I’ve never regretted it. My husband adores it and one of the best tributes that it ever got was from my son who declared to me at the tender age of 16 that if he ever met a woman who smelled of Diorissimo that he would probably be a goner. Sure enough during the greening of the spring of 2006 he met a lovely young girl who was to be his very first true love. She danced up to him at one of the local street fairs with flowers in her hair and a stem of fresh lily of the valley clasped in her hands. The wanton charm of Diorissimo is that it is all at once modern yet classic, demure yet completely and passionately sexy. Diorissimo is still my very favorite and I’m fairly sure that this always will be. No other perfume has ever been able to weave that glorious green spell that continually disarms me, bewitches me and sends me dancing with light speeds into vast whirlwinds of passionate fun! Birgit When I think back to the days of normal perfume behavior, i.e. using one bottle until it is gone, then thinking (albeit not much) about the next, I mostly see a black hole. Nothing really comes to mind, I must have used several fragrances in those unenlightened days, but many are too atrocious to mention in a place like this.But thinking back again and again for the purpose of this post revealed one single, distinctive sphere-shaped red bottle. One scent that stands above the sea of unremarkable utility scents. Le Feu d’Issey.I loved it. It was different. The bottle alone was indicative of what was to come – something unusual. It smelled sharp, milky, spicy, flowery, musky…it has been a while, and I didn’t know how or at least didn’t attempt to describe a perfume then. Of course, as is just my luck, it is discontinued. The time was not ready for it, and neither was I. But one of these days, I will get lucky and snatch it up on eBay, to be reunited with my first love. And for the first time we will be able to talk. Donna My love affair with perfume started very early, with something I found in my Christmas stocking when I was no more than nine or ten years old. It was a cute little green pagoda-shaped jar of Avon Hana Gasa perfumed crème sachet. This was one of Avon's best fragrances back then, a really pretty fresh green floral with plenty of lily-of-the-valley, one of my favorite floral notes to this day. I felt so elegant and grown up when I wore it, especially since luxuries like perfume were rare in our household. Hana Gasa has been discontinued for a long time, but recently I found a full bottle of the liquid perfume online and decided to take a chance; I think I only paid about four dollars for it. To my delight it was still good, a sparkling green splash of delicate flowers in a bottle of that same shade of pale green with the pagoda cap, and I have been enjoying it as much as I did the first time. Who says you can't have your first love back again? Kelley My first love was L'Artisan's Incroyable. Not sure of the exact name, just Incroyable (incredible in French). It contained plum and blond tobacco. I first smelled it on my Uncle Steve and I asked him about it and got almost no information. Several months later I was at Stanley Korshak in Dallas and was chatting with a woman that had recently had foot surgery. We were talking about my search for my uncles cologne but knew almost nothing...no name, no brand...nothing. I mentioned my Uncle Steve had the exact same foot surgery. She asked if my uncle happened to be Steve Kelley (of course he is my uncle). She said she was friends with Steve and then she reached under the counter and pulled out a bottle of Incoyable and told me that she had sold Steve his bottle. Sadly, L'Artisan no longer makes Incroyable. Linda The first perfume I ever fell in love with must have been vintage Coty’s Emeraude – or the faint impression thereof. I was probably four or five years old and had been turned loose to play in my grandmother’s jewelry box, which seemed like a trove of impossible riches. Among the costume jewelry, souvenirs, and the few delicate gold items she kept in the jewelry box, she had a little gold-toned scent bottle with a filigree front adorned with red and transparent fake jewels – an item that seemed to have been secreted away from a mysterious harem somewhere. It was empty, but a powdery, exotic Oriental scent redolent with resins and flowers clung to its interior. I sniffed, and sniffed, and was transported. I refilled the bottle over and over with water, which, after four or five days, took on enough of the scent to scent my skin when I dabbed it on like a precious elixir. Sadly, she had no idea what fragrance had once graced it, as she had inherited the piece - so I remained haunted by its graceful ghost for years. It took me decades to identify it. Marian YSL’s Paris was the first perfume that stole my heart. I loved being wrapped in juicy roses and ambered violets and felt unabashedly feminine, romantic and seductive whenever I wore it. Not long ago I nostalgically sprayed some on and my daughter excitedly exclaimed “Mommy- that’s the way you used to smell when you kissed me good-night!” She looked so happy- it must have brought back memories of when our family was still “a real family” prior to my divorce. Those days are gone forever and I doubt I’ll ever remove the cap again from Paris' dusty crystal bottle. It used to be painful to know that “you can’t go back” but now, at long last I’m happy to say, I no longer want to. Marina Define love, right? My first perfume love could have been my mother's Madame Rochas, of which I was in awe, taken with its olfactory sophistication, the golden lace of its packaging and the fact that it was my mom's...Or it could have been Marina de Bourbon, gifted to me by someone when I was in my very late teens, which I faithfully wore and adored for many years ...But I am not sure whether my love for either was the love of perfumes themselves or more of the people associated with them. I believe The First Perfume I Ever Loved for the perfume itself was Farnesiana by Caron. I can place the moment that love happened in place and in time. I can still remember the aaah! feeling and the disbelief that such gentle, bittersweet, haunting beauty can really exist...It was a proper perfume answering to all canons but it was more than that, it was a story, it was an atmosphere. That fairy with soft eyes took my heart forever. The course of true love has never run smooth, we had our ups and downs, but Farnesiana is one fragrance I never want to be without. That is love. Marla The original Chanel Cristalle was my first real perfume love. I was a Southern California beach chick, like, okay? mall-hopping with my fellow Valley Girls and scoping for foxy surfer dudes, when I came across Cristalle at a Chanel counter. The SA tried in every way to dissuade the smitten teen (me) from buying a bottle, but I insisted. It was so very primeval, so green, so cold, so weird! It was as far from Love's Baby Soft, the current high school fave, as I could think of. I wore it practically every day throughout high school. I cried when they reformulated Cristalle.... Tamara They say you never forget your first love. That is true in romance and it is equally true in the fragrance. I remember with vivid detail my first perfume love. I remember saving my wrinkled dollar bills from my steady babysitting job to purchase her. I remember learning how to say her name. I remember bravely walking into the store, setting my sites on the opulent fragrance counter that I had frequented with my aunt, and asking for her. I remember feeling so grown up in acquiring her at a mere fourteen years old. I remember exploring her white, clean packaging, studying her curves and inhaling her fragrance. Yes, I remember … Her name was Anaïs Anaïs by Cacharel. I can conjure her scent in an instant, for she accompanied me nearly every day through my sophomore year of high school. She mentored me like a loving, big sister. A little powdery, a lot floral and definitely not sophomoric, her sophistication embraced my wholesome, naïve adole-scents. Yet, her lack of overly musky or animalic bases ensured her consistent appeal to my untrained nose. Cheerful orange blossom, sweet lily and springtime hyacinth underscored by sandalwood and incense, Anaïs Anaïs’ accords are always appropriate, even for my strict, parochial school days. If only the pains of growing up were not associated with her, I would reconnect with her, asking for another warm embrace. Instead, I will always remember … with love and adoration. Tom The first perfume I ever loved I suppose was Joy, since it was the scent my mother wore when she and my father went out. Although I have grown to love it independently of her memory, in some way it will always make me flash on her leaning over to kiss us goodnight before heading out to a dinner party or the theater with Dad, The fist scent that I fell in love with for my personal use and the one that started me off on this journey of being a scentaholic was Diors Eau Sauvage, when I was a teen. I smelled it first at the long defunct local department store Steiger's and was blown away by it. It was so fresh and clean and bright and happy smelling. I had to have it. I saved my allowance and did odd jobs for months until I could finally get on my Raleigh and pedal over to the Hampshire Mall and make my purchase. Although my first love has been supplanted by others I still have some and still wear and love it.

Into the Woods: Anat Fritz Eau de Parfum

By Tom Well the weather roller-coaster that is Los Angeles continues apace. Last time you tuned in (the 10 Corso Como review was written on 9/26) it was hot. The day after I wrote that review was the hottest day in recorded history in LA: the temps hit 113 when the official thermometer at USC blew up. The beaches weren't that much cooler: 111 in Long Beach and a chilly 107 in Santa Monica. I stayed at a meeting in a thankfully air conditioned room at Roxbury Park until forced out to the blast furnace that was my un-air conditioned hovel. The next day when it was merely 104 it felt like Canada. Of course the next week when the review actually ran, reinforced my reasoning to not have an AC unit: it rained intermittently Monday and Tuesday and poured Wednesday and temps didn't hit much higher than 60. This Columbus Day weekend the weather took its Paxil and it was gorgeous. So I went to ScentBar. I realise that that particular sentence could come after any life experience I might have, sort of like that game where you read your fortune from the cookie and add "in bed". For instance: "I had a appendectomy. So I went to ScentBar." "I was given the Nobel Peace Prize. So I went to ScentBar." "I was attacked by giant, man-eating clams. So I went to ScentBar." You get the idea. In any case, I cruised the "man" side of the aisles this time and flirted with the bottom shelf. For those who have never been, ScentBar helpfully arranges the scents by strength; top are lighter and the lower you go the, well, lower you go. First up on the lowers shelf was Anat Fritz, which I had heard of but not tried. According to Luckyscent the scent is an eponymous one from a Berlin-based designer who has a "desire to send all wearers to their own individual travels into the past". Apparently that means a trip into the woods. On me it opened in the best way possible: a warm, woody scent with bright lavender and vetiver. I think I smell immortelle in there, but it's not listed, and it's not Sables strength. Then it becomes a symphony of woods: cedar and sandalwood and a final addition of patchouli. It's very simple and very lovely and I was immediately in thrall. It reminds me somewhat of something that was on my mothers dressing table in the first phase, which if you've been reading for a while is high praise. After a while it becomes a handsome, smooth and paired-down scent that would be perfectly at home with a suit at the office or on a date. I don't think it needs to be restricted to the mens side either; if you're the sort of girl who rocks Chene for instance you would do well to try this. At the very least if you're partnered with a guy you could buy it for him and ruthlessly poach. $120 for 100ML at Luckyscent

Not Quite Foodie Sunday ! ~ Finding Your Signature Scent!

Writers Note: I realize that many reading this blog already understand the nuances of choosing a wonderful perfume for themselves. I was writing my normal Foodie Sunday, yet for some reason this wanted to be written instead. Perhaps this means that there are many more who are just beginning to discover our extraordinary world of scent. If that's you and you're reading this now, I wrote it especially for you! This is a lovely fragrant world that you've begun to explore, so have fun, sniff lots and don't be afraid to ask us questions. That's what  this blog is here for and all of us who write for it love to share our knowledge and our obsessions! ~ Beth Schreibman Gehring I adore perfume and I always have. By the time that I was 17, I'd amassed a collection of such enormous proportions that I needed a separate shelf in my bathroom closet for all of the bottles.    When I began to write, it came as no surprise that I started hanging out on perfume blogs  and was so incredibly flattered when Marina asking me to take a stab at writing for Perfume Smellin Things.  Because of this I quite frequently get requests to do one of my favorite things which is to help someone pick a signature fragrance for themselves.  It's amazing to me still how a new fragrance can delight and enhance your mood in so many unexpected ways. What's always surprising to me though is how difficult it is for most people to do this. I think that this is because  glossy  pictures in magazines do their job so well. We've all been there looking at the beautiful woman draped in an evening gown with a beautiful man looking hungrily after her and proclaiming her his "Obsession". Then we buy it , wear it and wonder why it doesn't make us feel the way that we thought that it would. Perfume is not one size fits all. We each have a different body chemistry, but more importantly we all have a different emotional chemistry, a fragrance template which I can discover fairly easily when working with a client by asking them a series of questions and then taking them shopping.  I really love my job! For example, there are some types of fragrances that I always love, regardless of how many different variations of them appear over the years. Yves St. Laurent's fairly irrepressible scent "Paris" is one of them and Christian Dior's classic perfume "Diorissimo" and Robert Piguet's "Fracas" are the others. All  three of these perfumes are warm sunny fragrances filled with fleshy white flowers, woods, enhanced with a bit of spice and herbal notes. All three are very appropriate fragrances for a lot of different occasions, whether they be a wedding or an afternoon tea, or even a casual morning strolling down 5th Avenue or along a sunny California beach with my husband. All three of these perfumes  can be worn with cashmere and pearls or a very bohemian bit of velvet, denim or lace. None of them are officious or overbearing, just fun and sweet enough to be extraordinarily flirtatious and yet without pretense.  These scents completely fit my personal fragrance profile, but I had to sniff through quite a lot of different perfumes to discover them which of course was very pleasurable!  I'm a woman who loves to have fun, but wants to keep it simple. My idea of a perfect date with my husband is a tandem bike ride along the towpath in the Cuyahoga valley in the spring when the wild violets are blooming. Bring a picnic, a jam-box  wireless speaker and the iPhone with my favorite Debussy in the mix and I'm one very happy wife. I love wonderful fresh food and gorgeous things but I don't want to feel uncomfortable at the table so instead of a really fancy restaurant I'd always prefer a convivial bistro atmosphere with great wine, flowers and plenty of good conversation. I'd much rather sit on the lawn with a picnic at Blossom than the pavilion. My favorite colors are earthy herbal greens, brownish pinks, soft lavenders and cream mixed with a splash of warm corals and turquoise. If I had to choose a favorite painter it would be a toss-up between Monet and Gauguin. I'm completely captivated by the seasons of spring and autumn . I think that it's easy to see how the three fragrances that I've mentioned can fit within this profile and because I've discovered what really works for me, I've stopped making expensive mistakes based upon a visual response to a bottle or an advertisement. Know that when you are shopping for a new perfume, the two biggest mistakes that most people will make is to pay attention to the cost of the perfume and what we call the fragrance pyramid, which is the list of ingredients from the opening notes, through the middle or "the heart" and then on to the base.  Most of the sales associates who sell perfume rely on the pyramids  too much . It's a bit like reading a recipe but not allowing for alchemy…that bit of magic that happens when the scent meets the skin or a glorious white truffle meets the skill of a very fine chef! When I take a client scent shopping, we spend a lot of time talking about all of the things that I've mentioned and then we begin; first by smelling certain families of fragrance on the paper sticks so I can see their subtle (or sometimes not so subtle!) responses and then we begin to slowly narrow it down, eventually getting to one or two choices that bring smiles and a resounding " Oh my god..that's exactly what I wanted and I wouldn't have chosen this on my own! " It's akin to placing your hair in the hands of a very skilled colorist who looks at your coloring, lifestyle and the way that you dress and then gives you a result that everyone thinks is your natural color!  You don't notice that you're wearing perfume and no one else should either. The right scent enhances  and it should whisper  "come hither"  but not scream "HEY LOOK AT ME !"  A perfumes silage or more simply put, the trail that a too strong or completely wrong scent leaves in its wake is more than a little unnerving because our sense of smell is the most primal way that we know someone. It's instantaneous without you being truly aware of it. We make snap decisions about someone without knowing it and this is usually why. With that thought in mind, I'd encourage you to notice how a fragrance makes you feel and the descriptives that come into your mind when you smell it. One of the most famous and notorious perfumes of the 80's "Opium" by Yves St. Laurent smelled absolutely wonderful on me at the time and now it has no place in my life because I'm just not that woman anymore. We outgrow fragrance, just like we outgrow certain friends or fashions. Perfume is one of the most  intimate of  fashion statements and it goes without saying that it should please you personally and if it doesn't provoke an inner giggle every time you put it on then give it a good home with someone else who will love it. If you wear a fragrance for the sake of simply wearing the newest or most expensive you're cheating yourself of one of life's loveliest experiences. Expensive doesn't always equal beautiful. One of my springtime "go tos" is a lovely little twenty dollar bottle of perfume by Pacifica; a soliflore (single flower) called "French Lilac".  It smells just like an old fashioned bouquet of lilacs. I love it and because it is so reasonably priced I can blow through the bottle with frivolous abandon. It totally fits my profile. You'll know when you've gotten it right because the scent will seem to become almost  a part of you. It will blend beautifully with your energy and you will wear it , instead of allowing it to wear you. Please note that the same goes for home scents and often when  I'm helping someone select a perfume, we choose the home fragrances, candles and reed diffusers that can compliment  the perfume that we end up with. I have many candles around my house that pull out different components of the perfumes that I love so that I always have a symphony of fragrance, almost like a beautifully layered wardrobe where many pieces compliment each other when worn together in many different ways. Herbal scents in the kitchen, tuberose and jasmine in the bathroom, gardenia and lily in the bedrooms and a tobacco and vanillin scent in the living room.  They blend beautifully without being overbearing.  So don't be nervous and instead have fun selecting a fragrance that's just right for you, making sure to take plenty of time to sniff outside of the box because that's where the fun begins! When you're wearing the right perfume/s they will make sense to you and everyone around you. This is where the old dictum "To thine own self be true" should seriously come into play. There's a whole huge world of gorgeous fragrance to explore so have fun with them all, listen to your nose as well as your heart and I promise that you'll find just the right one for you!

Spring Fling: Smell Bent Limited Edition Leisure Cruise

First things first: The winner of the draw for the Roxana Chocolate solids is varunner. Please click on the "Contact us" button to give us your address. You might remember last October when I reviewed a bunch of creations of young perfumer Brent Leonesio, the Los Angeles based nose behind one of the funnest (to borrow a Steve Jobs-ism) new lines out there, Smell Bent. His line runs on the ethos that perfumes should be fun and more importantly affordable. They're also really good. Just in time for the winter blahs to firmly take hold he has released five new limited edition seasonal "smellies" he calls "Leisure Cruise". They are: St. Tropez Dispenser: Listed notes are jasmine, coconut and musk. At first there's a big wallop of coconut before the jasmine, musk and aloe conspire to make this somewhere between CH I Hate Perfume At the Beach 1966 and Creed Virgin Island Water. Eventually the coconutty suntan lotion portion cedes to the jasmine and it goes more native. Makes me think of Dorothy Lamour. Maybe not the first thing I would reach for (I liked but didn't buy either of the other two), but if you're a fan of either Jasmine or Virgin Island Water you might want to give this a whirl. Monaco Dependent: Orange blossom and opoponax with "greens" are the notes from the website. There's a lovely grassiness to this that balances the other ingredients. I liked this one immediately and immensely; it's fresh green fields and light springy orange blossom would be more effective against seasonal affective disorder than a light-box and a Xanax. I don't know if it's Monaco, but I do know it's me. Brussels Sprouted is greener still: listing "sprouted greens, Himalayan cedar and deep, green musk growing fresh, wet earth". The sprouting greens stop just short of being minty; they really do smell almost like sprouts. When the cedar comes in the scent becomes dryer, then moister when the musk and earth notes drop in. Those of you who react to the earth notes in CB I Hate Perfumes as graveyard needn't be frightened; this is the freshest of the bunch, and certainly the most masculine. Thai'd Down is written of as "sparkling kumquat", mushroom, wood and pepper. I honestly don't get kumquat (although I think I last ate one about 10 years ago..), but there's definitely the blameless scent of fresh button mushrooms with just a hint of citrus. This is perhaps the most challenging of these initially, reminding me of Frederick Malle's Dans Tes Bras, another scent I was not moved enough to buy. But if you sniffed the Malle and lamented that you would have to choose between your phone bill and it this might be right up your cruise ship.. Bollywood or Bust was hands down my favorite. He lists rose, spices and sandalwood in there, but I smell a lot more: I think there's cumin (just a touch, this isn't Serge Noire) and I think a touch of mint or something that balances the darker spices and keeps it more vivacious and less vindaloo. It does get calmer and a little darker as it develops, but leaning in to smell it you'll get that bright opening again. I can see why he called it "Bollywood". It has something of the hyper-stylized feel of a Bollywood Musical; super-saturated with color, full of movement and just a little odd. These are limited editions and I don't know when they'll be history, so if you're curious, act fast. Samples are available at his website for $3.75 each. I received my samples directly from him. My godchild has already told me that she will absolutely DIE if she doesn't get mine so sorry, no draw. Available at the Smell Bent Website and at Luckyscent. $20 for 1/4oz. Image source, Smell Bent.