Hermes - Un Jardin

Almost as much as I love perfumes I love gardens, flowers, herbs and lush flowerbeds. I am also the outdoorsy kind, and love being out in the nature, to see the small changes in nature each day, when I am walking my ordinary round together with my husband and our dog. When a flower I´ve planted are about to bloom for the first time I am following the event from the little green bud until the fully evolved flower. The patchouli seeds that I´ve planted some time ago, aren´t really coming along that good, one tiny plant has come up, but after all I only need one to get me my own patchouliplant.

Even tough I love flowers, floral perfumes aren´t usually among my favourites, even tough there is exceptions. I was hoping that the Hermes Un Jardin-perfumes would be such an exception.

The names get my imagination going. Un Jardin En Mediterranee, Un Jardin Sur Le Nil and Un Jardin Après la Mousson, they are all created by grand perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena, in house-perfumer at Hermes. But, none of them is created for me.

The first among them that I´ve tried was Un Jardin Aprés la Mousson, a garden after the monsoon and I was hoping for wet greenery, stunningly beautiful lotus flowers and other oriental flowers, but on me Un Jardin Aprés la Mousson smelled liked pickled cucumber (commonly served to hot dogs in Sweden). In my imagination a garden after the monsoon smells nothing like a swedish hot dog wagon, but what could I know, I have never been in a monsoon garden.

There after I tried Un Jardin En Mediterranee, and it should contain some familiar scents since I´ve at least visit the mediterrean area. And yes, here it is dense, spicy greenery. Like mediterrean herbs in the late summer after surviving the heat of the sun during a whole summer, and tomatos and feta cheese! No, actually no feta cheese, that´s the only thing missing to get a really jummy greek salad. Un Jardin En Mediterranee makes me hungry, and I realise that I have everything I need for a good salad at home, except of the feta cheese, of course!

Un Jardin Sur Le Nil become my favourite among the three. It is an auquatic, fruity and adorable floral scent. It is both sheer and strong at the same time, perfect right now during hot weather. Even tough it has notes of carrot and fruits, it remind me more of a beautful garden than of anything I would like to eat. The only among them that actually makes me think of gardens... Unfortunatly I don´t manage to feel that Un Jardin Sur Le Nile is a perfume for me, even tough I like it. It is rather a suitable summer perfume for those of you prefering white summer clothes and rosé whine (as refering to yesterdays post).

Now all I could wish for is to smell Un Jardin Le Cercle Polaire (pardon, my bad french!). Yes, I know I am nagging about that, but I do miss some nordic inspired perfumes!

Missoni - Missoni

Usually I am a black dressed kind of person. During the cold time of year black is my first choise not only when it comes to clothes, but also in make-up and haircolour. Red, grey and white is the colours I usually complement all the black with.

But when spring comes around things start changing, first of I use to dye my hair in lighter nuances, like golden brown or, as this year, really red. So when the heat arrives I am transformed to a more colourful person, even tough I admire white and cool clothes I know that they aren´t for me. No, during summertime it is easy, colourful clothes that do it for me. I still wears black, but now together with turqouise, orange, tomato red, bubbelgum pink and bright purple. Jeans shorts, skirts and cool dresses. When it comes to make-up, mascara and moisturising lipgloss is almost the only I wear during summer. Ooooh, lovely summer!

If I had some more money it wouldn´t be impossible for me to wear a lot of beautiful summer clothes from italian Missoni, I am sure no one have missed their colourful patterns? Otherwise you can find copies for resonable prices also. That Missone also offers perfumes isn´t a secret, but I haven´t been interested in them until now. I read a review about Missoni Missoni http://www.peredepierre.com/search/label/Missoni and it got my attention immediatly. Partly because Maurice Roucel is the master behind this perfume, but also because it sound so interesting. Luckily enough I got a sample in a swap shortly after and...

Oh my gosh, it´s really great! Missoni is a summer perfume for us that prefers colourful and cocktails and barbecue parties before white and pastelle clothes, rosé wine and quinoa salads.

Missoni is like a wonderful fruit salad with a lot of oranges and sprinkled with high quality dark chocolate. Yes, it is quite gourmand, sweet, spicy and longlasting but also with cool, aquatic notes wich makes it a excellent summer perfume. Actually it smells so good I want to lick my wrist!

It isn´t that simple either, I find some salty notes in it and cool, soft floral notes, like a magnolia playing hide and seek between the strong notes of chocolate, orange and amber.

The base notes are strong and spicy and the chocolate deepens and become even darker, I can smell earthy and warm notes, like patchouli, even tough no one is listed.

Missoni is long-lasting and with medium sillage. A different and complex scent that probably can be weared all year round, I think it will be a warm and cozy perfume during winter. Missoni is a must try if you like complex, spicy gourmands. I will absolutly get me some more of it.

Humiecki & Graef - Eau Radieuse

Finally it´s hot! And it´s really hot, not that kind of cool, reluctant summer weather but really hot h igh preasure weather. All the guests has leave now, but at least we had a really nice day at the beach with sun, bath and buns.

Actually it´s so hot that I prefer to wear cool and refreshing perfumes. One newly found favourite in that category is Humiecki & Graef´s Eau Radieuse. It starts with almost an explosion of brisk, fresh and almost cooling notes. Most of all it smells of rhubarb, and a lot of rhubarbs that is and very like the original. I´ve got a feeling of siting in a forrest of giant rhubarbs, stalks breaking one by one and the smell of brisk rhubarb sap is all over the place. Very uplifting and refreshing.

The rhubarn notes wears of a little and there after comes notes of minty coolness and fresh, juicy notes of sap. The sillage is really powerful, and make me feel like I am going around with my own, very private, shady coolness around me, and gosh, is that nice when the temperature closing in to +30 C. It is like a big glass of bubbly, refreshing limegreen lemonade of some kind.

Eau Radieuse works almost better on men I think. On me it goes on to some kind of more male territory after some hours. But I have few perfumes that are so refreshing in the start, so in my opinion it also works on women.

On my husband I can clearly smell the note of banana peel. It makes the perfume both fun and interesting. On my husband it become deeper and more saturated, but not as cooling and not with as good sillage. Wears closer to the skin on him, but still with decent sillage.

The longvity is good, but I do prefer the top- and heartnotes, wich are the one´s that make Eau Radieuse differ from most other fragrances. When it is at it´s best, I am being transported to the lush shadow under a giant rhubarb leaf and that is a cool place to be.

Article about Etat Libre d'Orange at Fragrantica.

Still got some guests here, but most of them has left now. Tomorrow I am looking forward to writing a real blog article about a perfume that is perfect to wear when it´s hot (as it is here right now). But until then you can read my article about Etat Libre d'Orange at Fragrantica:

http://www.fragrantica.com/news/Etat-Libre-d-Orange-880.html

Quite a lot right now...

Now it´s summer break and our house is full. The middle daughter arrived home from Öland and my brother is also here. Next week my parents, sister in law, my niece and my sister in laws mother will join us to celebrate midsummer. Maybe the oldest daughter and her family will also come by.

It will be so much fun, but I guess I wont have that much time for my blog then. But don´t despair I have so many interesting perfumes that I long to write about.

Donna Karan - Chaos

Soon it´s time for summer break here in Sweden, my youngest son is finished with elementary school and my youngest daugther (she become 12 years yesterday) will change school and start a new school in the autumn, a school with new ideas and new ways of teaching. So it should be that time of year when I shoul wear fragile, cool and pretty floral perfumes. But even if the calendar says it´s the 10:th of june, the weather isn´t really there. Cold winds, grey skies and rain is what june has offer this far. So instead of having summer clothes and light perfumes I go around all wrapped up in sweaters, jeans and soft oriental perfumes.

A perfume just perfect for this weather is Donna Karan´s Chaos, I promised before to wright a little more about it, and today feels like a good day to do that.

Chaos have notes of chamomill, carnation, cinnamon, saffron, sandalwood and musk. It´s common to find rose in many perfumes with saffron, but in Chaos the rose has appereantly been replaced with carnation. I think it´s nice with a saffron perfume without rose, and also without sweetness. Or there is some sweetness in Chaos, but it is a held back and understated kind of sweetness. Chaos is overall kind of held back, but still very comfy, sothing and warm.

I write earlier that Chaos make me think of luxurious hotels, and I still think that. Chaos is the smell of luxurious environments, first class hotels and wonderful spa´s. Just for a while, Chaos allowe me to visit a truly luxurious spa, not that kind of modern minimalistic kind of spa´s, but the oriental kind. It is like being surrounded by warm marble floors, lowered bath tubs with mosaic patterns, towels so thick and soft you can use them to sleep on. On fragile shelfs of glass lighted candles stand besides beautiful flacons helding costly massage oils and herbal treatmens.

A fountain purls and flowering orchids scents the air. Chaos is the smell of soapy, warm luxury... and yet so much more. Chaos is a complex perfume, some days I have notice that the soapy character stands back and are replaced with a more woodsy and dry character. Maybe it´s because of the weather, or maybe depending on my hormones?

The woody kind of Chaos is also really nice, a little sweeter and softer than the soapy kind, but I prefer the sharp, soapy version really. Because it is in that I find Chaos to be most unique.

And the Chaos I´ve got is the new version, they stopped the production of original Chaos (why I cant imagine???) but it seem like the two versions are quite similar. I haven´t -yet- tested the first one.

Chaos have good sillage, but not disturbingly so, and good longvity also. The drydown is like a soft and warm caress. Chaos is really a must try! I hope to get my hands on a sample of the old version, would be really fun to do a side by side test. Anyone who have tried both vesrion? (Of course there is!) What do you think, are they alike or is it the original that is better?

Linga Sharira

When I swap perfume(samples) I use to have a coupple of perfumes that I really, really look forward to try and a coupple of perfumes that i think is interesting, but also maybe one or two not so interesting either because I never have heard of them or because they´ve failed to make me interested of some reason.

When the little parcel arrive I tend to jump straight to the most interesting ones, try them and go ooooh and aaaah, and sniff and smile or in some cases just shudder in dissapointment. Since I´ve got quite a big deal of samples in my mailbox the one´s I am not that interested in tend to remain untested for a time. Because more interesting one´s arrive all the time.

But, once in a while, when I am a little more curious and experimental I try some of the samples from the left over-box. It may be the most amazing perfume in the world! One can never be sure when it come to perfumes, and thats what so amazing with perfumes I think.

Linga Sharira was a small surprise sample that was enclosed in a swap some time ago. Together with some great perfumes as Estee Lauder´s Amber Ylang Ylang and L'Instant Guerlian it isn´t that strange that Linga Sharira wasn´t in center of attention. Until a coupple of days ago!

But oooooooh! And aaaaah! What is this amazing perfume!? It is different yet it remind me of some of my absokute favourite perfumes. A while it is ghostly like Ava Luxe´s Nude Musk, but then in the next moment it remind me more of Dolce & Gabbana´s Siciliy or maybe it´s Parfumerie Generale´s Felinilla, no most definitly Le Labo´s Labdanum 18. Honestly Linga Sharira reminds of all of these wonderful perfumes, it is like they´re all blended together in a most adorable way.

Linga SHarira is filled with light, creamyness, some tart almost brisk notes, something slightly medical, powdery. clean and yet something just a little dirty. The longvity is amazing, it´s still lingers around me when I wake up, and that is after putting just some tiny drops on at around 6 at night. Yes, just a few drops, it´s strong also. And sexy, sensual, magnetic and enchanting.

But what is Linga Sharira anyway? trying to find information on the net, all I manage to find was a site with hebrew, the google-translation didn´t get me much wiser. Just a little, appearantly it is an israeli women that all her life dreamed about creating her own perfume, and finally made it. And congrats, you have create a really good one! I have tried to make contact with the one I swapped the sample with, but still not got an answer from her.

My guess is that some of the notes might be; some citrus, vanilla, labdanum, honey, jasmine, musk and sandalwood. Whatever notes there is, it is amazing, lingering and glowing. I guess it isn´t easy to get, looks like it´s only available in Israel. Otherwise I would need more of it, or I still do, but I guess it can be some challenge to get it!

Sometimes when trying new perfumes and I´ve got 4-5 boring, not so interesting even badsmelling ones in a row I long for a well-knowned perfume, something safe and secure. When trying Linga Sharira I had recently tried about 3-4 not that speciel perfumes, Linga Sharira was a longshot, turned out to be a real treasure. When dabbing it on it was like see the light in the end of the tunnel, the test of boring perfumes was definitly over!

Thank you N!

If someone have any kind of information about Linga Sharira, please share!

L'Artisan Parfumeur - Dzing!

Have you been to a circus lately? The last time I was at a circus was when swedish Cirkus Cirkör performed in Umeå, but that was many years ago. But it was a memorable evening, especially I think for my middle daughter that was quite young at the time. The artist of Cirkus Cirkör is really talented and I saw that the mega-cicus Cirque Soleil will visit Sweden during autumn, but I am afraid the tickets will be really expensiv.

Cirkus Cirkör is so called new-circus without animals and sawdust in the ring. A traditional circus it was even longer time since I attend. I think my father got some free tickets for a circus show and gave them to us, but that was so long time ago, that even my oldest kids was really small then!

Well, circus and circus, L'Artisan´s Dzing! by Olivia Giacobetti is inspired of the circus and the scents you can find there. And sure, in Dzing! you find a lot of different circus scents, such as sawdust, pop corn, cotton candy, sweaty horses, worned out leather saddles and some elephant poo. Or maybe horse poo, but elephant poo sounds more interesting or at least bigger i think.

But who want´s to go around and smell like animal poo? Well, I don´t find horse poo to smell bad, it´s a aromatic, kind of dusty smell of mostly hay I think. That I like that kind of smell probably depends on the time I have spend in stables and cowsheds during my childhood.

But Dzing! is so much more than a smell of stable. Dzing! is animalic, sweet and with a deepth in it. Dzing! make me smile. It´s a true mood lifter. Besides it strange notes, Dzing! isn´t an intrusive perfume, but apart from so many others from L'Artisan it has both decent sillage and lasting power. Dzing! is great on my husband too! I´ve got a half big decant of Dzing! and this far it is one of few perfumes from L'Artisan I found worthy a big bottle. The bottle is really pretty, with a women riding on a tiger.

Dzing! is an odd perfume, very modern but also timeless. Suitable for all ages, you just have to be a little playful and don´t take yourself to serious. Dzing! is also good to layer, try it with some easy floral. I layered Dzing! with Fresh' Cannabis Rose some days ago, and the result was really good, some kind of fresh version of Musc Koublai Kahn (at least almost!).

Apart from that I have cravings for L'Artisan´s Bois Farine, I find it to be as unique as Dzing!, but... it has no staying power on me what so ever! I have to glue my nose to my wrist only to smell it, and that is so sad, because what I smwll is so nice and different. But why, oh why do it, together with so many other L'Artisan has so bad sillage and staying power??? Is there any other perfume out there reminding of Bois Farine. It´s that kind of nutty floury smell I am looking for.

Can you guess what this is?

Well, it is nothing less than my very own patchouli-growth. Wish me well please. This is so exciting, and I am so curious about if there will be any plants at all from them very littlest seeds I put in the earth.

Thierry Mugler - Alien

Changelings and children getting mixed up at maternity ward is something thats provoke our imagination, but in quite an unpleasant way. That changelings (traditionally a moppet changed for a human baby) exsists isn´t anything we belive today, but still it´s a theme inspiering writers and other artist. Children getting mixed up at maternity ward is more of an reality, even tough that also is becoming more and more unbelieveble in our modern supercontrolled hospital care. Still it has happened, the swedish writer P-O Enqvist had a cousin that got mixed up with another baby from the same village at the cottage hospital in Bureå a stormy night for about 70-80 years ago. Imagine what a stressful situation to love, care for and bring up a children, and realise little by little that yor baby more and more resamble the neighbor parents and vice versa.

Sometime I am convinced that there has been a mix up between Thierry Muglers Alien and his Angel! Shouldn´t the bright, shiny and beautiful Alien actually be Angel? While Angel that when it arrived with it´s strange and modern notes, was really an Alien? Or are they just two sides of the same coin? If there are angels, they would be seen upon as aliens, wouldn´t they? Angels ARE in fact aliens.

Well, no matter if Alien should be Angel, it is without doubt a beautiful scent. It is so beautiful, clear and piercing it can be hard to wear. This is jasmine so high tuned it can possible be, with the help of heavenly aldehydes. Alien as a note would be high pitched C. Not everyone can manage that! The sillage is enormous, I imagine people outside my house can smell it when they pass by. And the staying power is glorious, on me Alien goes on for at least 8-10 hours, even if it is a more whispery phase in the end.

Besides being high, clean and clear, Alien is also wet. I imagine ice crystals, space flowers and mandelbrot patterns that drips, melts and changes before my eyes. Even tough Alien is quite linear it´s almost experienced with sight... like being wrapped up in a thick dark purple velvet cape pierced with starlight...

Like other big floral perfumes, Alien is a challenge. Frederic Malle´s Carnal Flower isn´t something you usually wear casually, with it´s fleshy sensual and erotic character, people might belive you are there to eat them. Chanel No 5 are stunningly and sedatingly aldehydic from the beginning and after a while transforming to a hypnotic, sleepinducing sea of powdery florals. In that collection Alien is the one that is shining, luring but also elusive. Without air in outer space you wont last long...

I do like Alien, some days I just have to wear it. Or if it is Alien that wears me, doesn´t care...

The pic above is a purple alien, or was it a purple angel? Or are they actually the same thing?

Let me tell you a secret.

It isn´t a big secret, many of you maybe allready know about it.

My secret is Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/

Those of you allready familiar with Etsy know how really good Etsy is. Etsy is a site where you can find almost anything handmade. Most of the artist are situated in US or Canada, but a lot of them offers shipping to Europe as well.

And there sure are a lot of perfumes and perfume oils on Etsy, but also so much else that it´s impossible to count them all up. It´s only the imagination and creativity that limits what you can find at Etsy.

There are soaps, bath oils, bags, clothes, candles, dolls, glass, music, plants, quilts and wood objects and a lot of other stuff. Whatever you might find at Etsy, you van be almost sure that no one else got the same, at least not in Europe! You can find things for all ages and tastes at Etsy, and when you start surfing around it´s easy to spend hours there, just looking on one seller after another with amazing skills and creativity. Etsy is a super place if you´re looking for birthday or christmas-presents, just be sure to order a good time ahead, since the shipping from North America can take some time. The prices varies a lot, you can find unique presents for only a few dollars, but there are also more pricey objects to dream about.

When looking at Etsy, I feel an urge to buy a lot of stuff, perfumes of course, the perfumes at etsy are so far away from massmarket as possible, and if they don´t smell that fabulous, well it´s only a matter of some dollars. But I don´t feel an urge just to consume, I also feel an urge to create. To write is of course a creative occupation, but I feel inspired to do something more concrete with my hands. Like assecories, small bags and boxes amnd of course, most of all... perfumes.

Etsy is so much more than a web shop, Etsy is a place where dreams are made and sold. The global market can be frigthening, but if it looks like Etsy is just pleasing.

Anyone know of some similar site with mostly european sellers?

How should a man smell?

I think my husband always smells good, he don´t need any perfumes for it. I like how he smell in the morning, warm, cozy and soft after sleeping. When he comes home after the training, sweaty and hot, but still clean and fresh underneath. After a hot summerday at the beach or when he comes home with oily hands after fixing with the car.

I like to try perfumes supposedly for men once in a while and I do have some favourites among them, but honestly I prefer most men perfumes on a man, especially my man. Some unisex fragrances become wonderful on him, but just bland on me.

My all time favourite on my husband is Frederic Malle´s Musc Ravegeur. I know a lot of women using it and even having problems to imagine it on a man... but the they haven´t smelled it on my man. I really like my husband almost all the timne, but when he is wearing Musc Ravegeur he got an almost magnetic aura. And it works not only on me, female friends and relatives don´t want to leave his side and female shop assistants are never so helpful and friendly as when he wears Musc Ravegeur. His male skin chemistry make the most brutally animalic notes to show (Musc Ravegeur make our dog growl!) while they don´t on me! And my husband really loves Musc Ravegeur as well.

Andy Tauer´s Lonestar Memories isn´t at all bad either. Tary, smoky and even meaty. Somewhere in the distant a pine forrest. This is a perfume for a man with Clint Eastwood-eyes, and since only Clint Eastwood got them, it´s aperfume for everyone that wish for such eyes. On my husband Lonestar Memories turn out quite soft after a while, but on me only harsh and even monotone.

A'Men by Thierry Mugler is a perfume I cant resist, I really like to wear it now and then. This si strong, sweet, coffee, liqourice and a lot of other good stuff. Easy and youthful, still very manly. I am very curious about the new version, A*Men Pure Malt, is it someone that have tested it?

We have a small sample of Histoires de Parfums 1740 Marquis de Sade that is very popular. Clean, stiff and very black leather at it´s best. Work on women to that like strong leathery scents, I use to layer it with some soft vanilla. Sorry enough, it is only available in huge bottles and are quite pricey. But I guess we´ll have to get a decant of it when the sample is finished.

Geoffrey Beene´s Grey Flannel is also a favourite to me. It´s quite different from the rest. this i a perfume for an older guy, but with lot of confidence, style and elegance. A perfume to wear when dressed up in strict gentleman suit and sharp- sexy- gentleman shoes. This is for a genuine man, not for boys! Not for that straight forward hormon filled sexiness, but for the more laid back... it´s guaranteed to make a certain kind of women weak in the knees. One problem tough, my husband isn´t so found of it. He claims it is some note in it that remind him of some medicine he use to give to the patients. :(

To find Bvlgari Pour Homme Soir on this list is maybe a little unexpected? At least it was for me, we get a little sample in a swap and oh, it´s so charming! Fresh and kind of aquatic with a really nice tea-note, but underneath the fresh notes there are some really animalic basenotes, almost as magnetic as Musc Ravegeur. The sample went away quickly, and I feel an urge to get more of it as soon as possible! Don´t miss it!!!

J'Ose EdT av José Eisenberg is the male version and it is as sultry as the female version. This is a timeless sexy scent, works on a beautiful 25 year old as well as a handsome 60 years old. It has to be a man comfortable with himself and his sexyness tough. Really good, but forget about that I would wear J'Ose EdP at the same time, it would be as wearing the same clothes as my husband. Honestly I find coupples wearing the same outfit a little frightening!

Egoiste by Chanel isn´t in my collection but I have sprayed in my husband when stumbled upon it, and well, it´s great. Classic, warm and fierce at the same time. Mmmm.

Borneo 1834 works well on both me and my husband, but if we get more of it, I am sure to wear it more often since I like it so much.

Encre Noir, M7 and Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin aren´t yet tried, but I´ve heard a lot of good stuff about them. Do you think we should by some samples of them? Do you have some male favourite perfumes you think deserve to being mentioned? Perfumes don´t have any age, but there are some that works better on a 2o years old than on a male about 50. Do you have any tips on good perfumes for a fit and beautiful hunk of 51? ;)

PS. It´s isn´t the husband on the pic above, it´s a classic photo "Man in polyester suit" by Robert Mapplethorpe... but it could as well be my husband... kind of!?


PPS. Someone know where I can get my hands on a sample of Amouage`s Reflection Women?