Perfume meeting in Stockholm 16/10 and some other things.

On Saturday 16th october we´ll have another perfume meeting. I suggest that we meet at NKs perfume department around 12. Any non-swedish speaking that is interested to come can either contact me with a comment or by mail if you want to know more about this.

Later today my parents are coming, and I will not write so much on the blog the coming week.

I also realised that I have had this blog for two years now. Time goes by. I looked at my old bloggings and found a pic on my perfume bureau, and it has happened a lot with my perfume collection since that, and it haven´t get any smaller. Of course other things then my perfume collection also has developed, I can detect more notes now, and different styles and perfumes that are similar to other perfumes. When I started with the blog it felt like I was writing right out in the air, but now it feels like I´m writing to friends, which I do, at least partly. I know there is a lot of people reading and never leaving any comments. Please, stop by and say hello some time.

M.Micallef - Time for love (watch collection)

A while ago I realised that I don´t at all love scents with tuberose. I love Frederic Malle´s Carnal Flower and I like some other tuberose scents. But, ther must be other tuberose scent out there that I could love I thought. L'Artisan´s Nuit de Tubereuse was quite close, if it wasn´t for that masculine note, apart from that I do like it a lot. But I want more than like...

A perfume friend of mine mentioned M.Micallef´s Time for love /watch and said that it smelled wonderful of tuberose vanilla taffy. Of course I become curious, I have some favorites from Micallef like Gaiac, and I do like their Patchouli as well, but however, they also got scents I don´t care for at all. I wondered where Time for love would end up?

I ordered a sample from Aus Liebe Zum Duft. But, honestly I wasn´t at all impressed the first time I tried it. The very chewing gum smelling opening was a big dissapointment, it is huge and all I could think of weas a giant lump of chewing gum. Hmm, there wont be a split bottle of this I thought. Then I had it on for the rest of the day without caring for it that much until my youngest daughter got home from school and asked what I was wearing cause it smelled so jummy... and I sniffed and yeah, she was right, it really smelled jummy now!

I had to test it the next day again, and now suddenly everything fell on it´s place. Wow! Of course the giant opening of chewing gum is still there, but now I´m kind of enjoy it since it´s a part of an extremly wonderful scent. But when looking up the notes for Time for love, there wasn´t any tuberose mentioned, the top note is peony, followed by jasmine, vanilla and fruity notes and ending up with musk and amber. Well, knowing that peony part I can actually smell the peony, it is some floral notes more spicy and rosy then the tuberose in the opening. Still, to me the opening is pretty much about tuberose and nothing else.

After a while the vanilla chime in, this is so nice. The chewing gum note wears of, but still leave a kind of chewy feeling to the scent, making it remind of incredible delicious vanilla taffy with some tuberose and jasmine flavor. Time for love is an ideal blend between comfort-and gourmand scent.

I can´t detect much of the fruity notes, but there is something minty remaining from the opening, making it a little icy and interesting. Now the jasmine also starts to get more present, at first I missed the jasmine totally, but now I can clearly smell a very soft, papery and sheer jasmine in it, really nicely done. I kind of regret that part of not splitting a bottle of this, I think actaully I must have a part of this (a big part that is).

Also the first time I had this on I belived it was linear and with not much development, but after discovering the nuances in it I realise it is much more complex then I first thought. Despite this complexity it is must of all warm, comfy, sensual and soft. The base of musk and amber of course makes Time for love deep, lively and sensual. But, I think of it more like sensual and caressing then sexy and erotic. It´s hard to make a perfume with this kind of notes not sensual, but apart from that, this can be as far from Carnal Flower it´s possible to get and still have the scent of tuberose. I guess this is also the reason for me to love it. I belive Time for love could be my next big tuberose crush.

Time for love have great sillage and good lasting power, at least 6-8 hours on me. Not much of a scent for men though. This is a must try, but remember it can take a few wearings before you get it.

Oh, another tubeose scent that I´ve missed is fracas, even thoug I have tried it, I cant say much about it, I must return to Fracas and try it out for real.

Pic: Taffyworld.com

Weil - Zibeline (vintage)

Fur isn´t exactly the world´s most popular garment, at least not in our time. Maybe the fur as a symbol for wealth, elegance and power is bigger in some other countries, but not really in Sweden. But, about 80-90 years ago, the fur wasn´t as questioned as today, even though, of course, not all could afford to own a fur garment. Still, a lot of common women in my grand mothers generation own at least a fur hat or maybe a fur stole. Fur was grand, modern and maybe gave a sense of luxury for a hard working farmers wife with 4 or 5 kids.

weil was originally a fur company that decided to start making perfumes as well. The fragrances was intenden to be worn together with furs and the first scents also had fur-inspired names such as Zibeline, which means mink. Zibeline was first created in 1927/8 (I find different years mentioned). Of course I become really curious when I found a vintage bottle of Zibeline and for a good price also. I just had to buy it.

My bottle looks like it is from the 50'ies or even earlier than that, when I have compared it to other vintage-Zibeline bottles. Anyway, it was un-opened and untouched, even with the cellophane left around it, you can imagine how exciting it was to be the first one opening this treasure? Imagine that it has been forgotten in a cupbord for ages and ages. I think it´s amazing.

It is a splash bottle, so I decided to decant a little from it with a pipette. And then I tried it for the very first time. And this isn´t bad at all. The opening is filled with purling and spritzy aldehydes as good as new, the citrus notes in the opening are fresh, juicy and tart and I can´t really belive they have stayed this good for about 50 years. Usually citrus is a little sensitive for aging, but it´s impossible to notice in this bottle. Also in the opening I can tell this going to be a soft, warm and golden scent.

I don´t like all kinds of vintage scents,some are dated and others aren´t really my kind of scents being to dark, strong and kind of murky even. But, Zibeline is in the cathegory of vintage scents that I like. It has some similarities with Shalimar, but softer and more floral, but that warm, golden feeling they´ve got in common.

In the heart of Zibeline the flowers bloom as if they where all new and fresh, it´s soft and powdery iris, gardenia and jasmine with some papery feeling and the most gorgeous ylang-ylang you can imagine, it has creamy, peachy and even cherry fresh elements, making Zibeline a scent with almost gourmand qualities. I have said it before about some of my vintage faves, but I say it again , perfumes like this are not made anymore.

The basenote in Zibeline with some sweet honey, amber, tonka and civet giving it a golden, heady, warm and extremy rich character. The flowers slowly retires and leaving a soft, feminine and powdery scent bledning extremly well with the warm notes. The civet is noticeable, but not dominat, giving Zibeline life, depth and a soft animalic-sensual glow, without being dirty or too animalic. Zibeline in this version can be worn even if you´re usual a little bit skeptic against animal notes.

Zibeline has medium sillage and good longvity, about 5-6 hours, my version is a parfum de toilette. Of course you should try Zibeline (vintage) if you have the opportunity.

Pic: Women in fur stole

Oh, I forgot. Diana please contact me.

It seem my e-mail had some kind of hickups lately.

So I haven´t received any e-mail from one of the Andrea Maack-winners, Diana.

Please send me your address again (if you have tried to send it) so I can send you the samples.

Serge Lutens - Bas de Soie

I like all kinds of fragrances, even though the biggest chanse to find something I really like usually is among oriental, war, sweet, heavy, woody and gourmand scents. Beacause of that I surprised myself a little when I bought a bottle of Serge Lutens -almost- new Bas de Soie, unsniffed. Oh, well... not an entire bottle really, it was a bottle with little left on Ebay for quite a nice price, but still it was a large enough expence to be a little exciting.

For some reason Bas de Soie captured my attention. According to what I found out about it, it was a pure, clean, aquatic floral, not what usually get´s my attention. Well, my bottle arrived together with the little leftovers. I had to try it at once, and well, I do liked it. I liked it a lot and would love to have more of it, and unfortunatly I swapped away 5 ml of it for something that I didn´t liked as much also.

Anyway, Bas de Soie isn´t so clean. It even has some similarites with an infamous scent from Etat Libre d'Orange, namely Secretions Magnifique, but wearable. Bas de Soie makes me think about water nymphs, slippery, wet, pale, nude bodies in dark water with long hair meandering around the face, neck and body. A starngly erotic, but cold almost fish-like smell, that still manage to be alluring.

But wait for a second, that sounded a bit disgusting? It isn´t, I promise. It is good, interesting and complex in a way I ´ve missed with other "clean" scents from Serge Lutens.

The top note is a bouquet of hyacinths that slowly unfolds on my skin, hyacinths in pale nuances of ice pink, ivory white, piercing blue and cooling violet. It´s also the scent of stems, light green, crispy in a vase of cold, clear almost purling water... In this bouquet there is also a sharp, acrid note hidning, something that gives it an edge without being to much. When the notes warms up, the green dissapears and the floral notes gets warmer and this part of Bas de Soie is so good. Together with the strong flowers there is a note of lipstick, a shiny, creamy almost sticky lipstick in some cold icy pink color. Almost at the same time I discover a note of apples, and this is such delicious apples, crfips, tart, green apples with white and juicy pulp.

The notes of flowers (hyacinth that transforms to iris) are beautiful blended with lipstick and apple. I wonder if that could be any rose and violet in Bas de Soie, giving that lipstick note? In the end of this phase, the note that remind me of Secretions Magnifique become more and more prominent. It has some metallic elements as well, but avoid being uncomfortable. But I suspect this note can be hard to enjoy for some.

I certainly not regret that I bought my little part of Bas de Soie unsniffed, even though I would do fine without the basenote. The base isn´t that comfy on me, in the end that weird aquatic, metallic note is all that remains on me. It is discrete and stay close to skin, but when this is all that is left of Bas de Soie I just put another scent in top of it. This aquatic note does best hidning underneath a lot of other scents.

To me, Bas de Soie is more a springtime scent then an autumn scent, so I think I´ll save what´s left of it until next spring. Bas de Soie has great sillage, especially from start and medium longvity. I think of it as a scent for women, even though I don´t find it 100% feminine.

Have you tried Bas de Soie? How is it on you? And am I the only one curious about Boxeuse? Maybe some of you allready have tried it?

Pic: Draper, The Water Nymph

Andrea Maack - Smart

The little sample of Smart didn´t get here in the first place, but Andrea was kind enough to send me a new one. Both the scents and the design are stripped, clean, "nordic" and cool. Still I get a swarm of impressions from them, maybe the minimalistic style gives room for my own impressions much more then the opposite? What ever it depends on, it is really interesting to try Andrea Maack´s scents, Smart isn´t an exception.

Still I thought, during my first try, that Smart is the one among them, reminding the most of common perfume, but then I had to question myself, it is far from THAT common, even though it is somewhat easier to approach then the other two. The notes of Smart is, violet leaf, jasmine, vanilla, white musk and buckskin.

Smart is, on me, the most linear scent of the three. It smells quite the same from the opening until it fade away. The violet leafs gives a soft yet spicy violet green feeling to the scent, and the jasmine is soft and gentle but very present. The note of buckskin is very fascinating, it smells like rubber sometimes and then it smells like soft skin. Together with the green violet and jasmine it makes me think about a crazy fetsih party somewhere out in the wet springtime forrest. Maybe not the best place for that kind of party, even though rubberclothes can be quite handy in wet marshland with flowering little violets...

Smart is a wet scent, I think of wet and shiny, but also soft, natural and wild, a scent with antagonism between the artificial (the fake skin/rubbery notes) and the natural consisting of violets, jasmine and vanilla. Tha vanilla in Smart is quite discrete, but if you can forget about the violets and jasmine for a while, it has some similarities to Bvlgari Black, even though a little more feminine, but also sharper and edgier. Still, Smart is suitable for both men and women in my opinion.

Despite Smart´s minimalistic style, it makes me think about bombastic, overloaded and kitchy style like Prince´s 80'ies classic, Purple Rain. Smart could very well be the scent for that video. Or curvy baroque furniture, painted in gold and with fabric of deep purple velvet or magenta colored leopard print. Jewelry so loaded with fake glitter that they are almost to heavy to wear. Synthetic wigs in impossible colors and as impossible hairstyle. Shoes with impossible to walk in heels and design. Shortly, kitch, kitch and kitch.

Yet, there is that part of Smart that returns to the wild, to the nature, little violets, jasmine scent from afar and a cozy, laidback feeling.

All the scents from Andrea Maack has something to say, a story to tell, but the intersting thing is that they, probably, tell a different story for each person wearing them. Smart, together with the other two, is a must to try if you have the opportunity. They are all well made and have similarites, yet they are very different from each other also. Maybe Smart is the easiest to wear among them, Craft is cold on the outside, but warm beneath and Sharp has a soft and warm surface, with something cold lurking downunder.

Smart has good sillage and lasting power.

I guess that not to many of you have tried any of them yet, but which of them are sounding the most intersting to you?

Pic: Prince, Purple Rain

Annick Goutal - Ninfeo Mio

Is it something that I really miss in my collection that is green scents, I have some light green ones like Comme des Garcons 3, but non of that heavy, lush green kind.

On teh perfume meeting in May I tried a lot of scents, among them was Annick Goutal´s new Ninfeo Mio. The top note was really impressing, but the basenote kind of drowned among all the other scents I tried. Anyway, I´ve gone around thinkg about it and hoping that it might be the scent to fill in the missing lush, green in my collection. So I ordered a spray sample of it.

And yes, the opening is as gorgeous as I remember. This is green in square, most of all I think it smells like nettles on me, nettles, and juicy early summer grass and soma almost sticky new leafs. All taht is sprinkled with a light touch of citrus that making it stronger and gives it a livelyness and tartness.

According to me, the opening of Ninfeo Mio is a masterpiece, I can´t think of any other green scent that I have enjoyed so much. Totally amazing, I ma so hocked up on Ninfeo Mio for about half an hour. The bursting green top note is followed by gentle notes of flowers (only hints, not strong at all) and something soft and a little milky, and I´m still with it... until it´s... uuuh... what is happening?

Unfortunatly there isn´t anything good happening. Some note or combaination of notes makes Ninfeo Mio go sour on me. Something smelling like brimstone and something harsh and piercing shows up. I didn´t noticed this when I tried it in Stockholm, and it´s such a dissapointment. I have notice this sourness with some other Goutal´s as well, some of the florals and the whole oriental line of Annick Goutal. What on earth is it in the scent that makes them behave like this?

But, I have to admit that Ninfeo Mio smells good from start to end on my husband, his skin chemistry seem to agree really well with notes that don´t agree at all with mine.

So despite Ninfeo Mio´s crash on my skin, I do recommend it. The sillage is medium and lasting power is good, at elast for an Anncik Goutal. If you usually like green scents and have skinchemistry for it, this might be a winner.

pic: publicdomainphotos

Perfume meeting in Stockholm again!

This may not be the most beautiful spot in Stockholm, but still one of the most well knowned, at least Sergels Torg (sqare) or "Plattan" is really hard to miss when visiting Stockholm.

Several blog readers and perfume friends have wonder if it isn´t time for another perfume meeting again? And since the one we had before was so mych fun, of course I think it´s time for another one soon. I hope you´ll join us!

Here are some dates that´ll suit me: Saturday 9/10, Saturday 16/10 and Saturday 6/11. Around 12 will work for me this time to, since my train arrive around 11.15.

Maybe we´ll just do as we did the last time with perfume testing and a cup of coffee, if anyone have some other good suggestions, please let me know. I don´t know if many of you feel like bringing your own scents and let others test them, but I´m sure we can work something out.

New participants are very, very welcome, we had a really great time last time, even though my head spinned thanks to all the fragrances I´ve tried. You don´t have to worry about age, style or your expereinces with perfumes, last time we where all different kinds of people, and the more different, the funnier and more interesting I belive.

Leave a comment below if you feel like joining us, please also mention which day that suit you the best, maybe we can agree about the date that suit the most of us.

I´m really looking forward to meet you!

pic: webcam.se

The result of the draw!

Diana

solocha

Bellatrix

Lizzie

Ylva

Lotta

Julia

Helle

Ulrika E

lovethescents

Hanna

kjanicki

Susanna

steff

pklagrange

Therese

Habit Man

Em

Ines

sue

Maria G

Susanne B

Anonym

Nilla

Timestamp: 2010-09-13 07:10:44 UTC

Congrats to Diana, you have won a sample of Sharp and a sample of Craft and a little surprise sample. And also congratulations to solocha, you have won a sample of Craft and a surprise.

Send your addresses to my hotmail and I´ll send the samples to you. Thank you to all the particiapnts of this drawing, I´ll have an other soon, I wish you better luck then.

L'Artisan Parfumeur - Nuit de Tubereuse

To find pictures of men and flowers wasn´t that easy. Most pictures I found was with a male holding a boquet of flowers behind his back and looking innocent. Really sterotype and not at all what I wanted. Then I looked among homoerotic artwork, and now I found some males with flowers, problem was they was a little too erotic, so I settled for this one above, maybe he´s a little to cute, but at least he´s wearing some pants...

I´ve tried to figuring out L'Artsian´s Nuit de Tubereuse for a while now. It is another of those scents I´m having some problems to get to know. But so, one day, I get it! Nuit de Tubereuse is a masculine scent, and a masculine tuberose which isn´t the most common thing.

Besides that masculine thing going on, I belive I recognise something in it from some other scent, but I can´t at all figure out which. Have you the same feeling, maybe you even know what scent it reminds of, please let me know.

When I started to get used to Nuit de Tubereuse I almost belived this was another tuberose scent that I could like a lot (this far Carnal Flower is my only BIG tuberose crusch). It is really tuberose, but also a very different take on tuberose. It is soft and in a way shy -for a tuberose scent- still it has almost killer sillage and great lasting power. Sounds weird? Well, I know, but still it has kind of a soft aura even though it sounds impossible.

There is soft greenery in Nuit de Tubereuse, a greenery that smells "hollow", but in a good way. Soft species that softens the sharp tuberose and the tuberose has company of other flowers, gently whispering in the background.

But suddenly, there it is! The masculine note! When I well had discovered it, I can´t stop thinking about it, and realise I don´t like Nuit de Tubereuse as masch as before I discover the masculine note. Usually my skinchemistry fails to lift up masculine notes, even in scents supposed to be masculine or unisex, so this is quite a surprise for me. I can only think of one other floral scent supposedly feminine scent acting the same way, namely Carthusias Aria di Capri, which is a bold and well made floral with masculine elements.

What is masculine and what is not is a matter of taste, and I´m sure a lot of women wears Nuit de Tubereuse without any sign of masculine notes. I really wish that I was one of you!But I have discover that the masculine note don´t shows when I spraying it on clothes, usually I don´t wear perfume at my clothes, but in this case I can make an exception. As is smells on my clothes I wish it would smell on my skin.

Do you have other experiences with Nuit de Tubereuse? I´ll test it on my husband, I think that masculine note wil be really interesting to smell on him. So, Nuit de Tubereuse is a lush, multifaced, lively, full bodied, masculine floral. The sillage is huge and longvity is great.

I really, really recommend Nuit de Tubereuse to men that is interested to find a floral scent suitable for men. Also of course all of you usually liking tuberose, this is a must try, a very different take on tuberose by Bertrand Duchaufour. I also suspect that the masciline note that I can smell, is behaving very different on different types of skin, it isn´t that big that not a lot of women coudl enjoy wearing this as well.

Pic: Bidgood

A little draw!

It´s about time to have a little price draw.

The rules are really simple. Just enter a comment before monday morning 13/9 and I draw two (this goes for the Englisg as well as the Swedish blog) winners with Random.org.

What can you win? Well, one winner gets a nice sample of Andrea Maack´s Sharp as well as a small decanted sample of Andrea Mack´s Craft, also I´ll throw in some surprise sample.

The other winner will get a decanted sample of Craft, and also some surprise.

So what are you waiting for? Leave a comment and wish for luck, I belive that Andrea Maack samples aren´t that easy to find.

Good luck!

Thierry Mugler - Womanity

In a few days Thierry Muglers latest offering, Womanity, will be launched in Sweden. The 10:th of September it´ll be a release-party in Stockholm. I´ve been curious about Womanity all summer, since I read about it long before the launch in Sweden. Anyway, I hadn´t manage to get me even the smallest sample of Womanity.

Then I read that some trendy girl in Stockholm had been chosen to be Womanity´s spokesperson in Sweden and will have a release-party for the celebrities, and I have to admit that I become a bit jelaous that celebrities would have the possibilty to try it before me! What to do?

I posted a little message on my FB-wall, and less then 20 minutes later, sweet Loukia in Greece offered me a sample of Womanity. Oh, that what friends are for. Thank you, dearest Loukia. Overall, that never stops to amaze me, how friendly and generous perfume lovers are.

Usually I appreciate most scents from Thierry Mugler, Alien is a big fave and Angel Liquer de Parfuem is amazing, several of Thierry Mugler´s male scents are also really good, so I had some high expectations on Womanity. Also, the fact that caviar was involved in the fragrance made me very curious. I´ve read that it isn´t actually the smell of caviar, but rather a kind of copy of the caviar molecul structure. To me, that sounds oddly appealing.

Well, how is it then? I have to say that it´s really, really odd. The opening is a really sweet and also tart fruity mis, where I can smell mostly grape fruit. Not anything I would care for, it smells similar to so many other fruty blends available now. This not so nice top note is soon blended with an aquatic note, but no caivar though. When smelling Womanity up close I can feel some fruity mix, something aquatic and later on also a slightly milky character I guess depending on the fig.

This scent isn´t anything I care for at all, it is so mediocre and boring that I almost forget that I´m wearing a scent at all. Is it also very weak, so when I take a walk with husband and I dog I´ve almost forgot that I´m wearing Womanity...

But then, taadaa... kind of right out from nowhere I can suddenly feel the smell of Angel... Where did that come from??? I sniff my wrist, but there´s no sign of Angel there. Just the same boring scent of Womanity.

But then, a while later I can suddenly smell the most delicious vanilla cookie, sprinkled with just a hint of cardamom and cinnamon... (reminding a little of L de Lolita, but much softer and weaker). But, up close, Womanity still smells the same... this is starting to be very frustrating.

The next time it happens, I´m prepared. Now I immediatly recognize the scent of Alien. But just barely, and it´s gone in a blink.

It seem like little bubbles of Alien and Angel (and that vanilla cookie smell and others as well) are hidden within Womanity, bursting suddenly and letting their scent out, but just for a very short moment. It´s kind of like watching a 3D-movie without 3D-glasses. I also recognise the structure a little from Frederic Malle´s Dans Tes Bras, but it´s stronger and more obvious in that.

I suspect that it is in fact these scent bubbles that are similar to the molecul structure of caviar. You know the way a caviar grain burst between your teeth? I belive that the idea behind Womanity is well thought out, but somehow they don´t reach all the way. The basic scent of Woamnity is boring and bland, and the bubbles are so weak that I suspect a lot of people never even discovers them... And if I want to smell Alien or Angel or vanilla cookie, I can much better use those scent then Womanity.

I do suspect that Womanity can be a really interesting scent on the right chemistry, so it´s porbably worth trying anyway, just in case... And even though I have had it for a little while now, I don´t feel really finished with it. I belive Womanity can be one of those scents that grows after a while.

The sillage is really odd, and longvity is good. I guess Womanity -despite it´s name- could work on men too. Have you tried Womanity, what do you think about it?

pic: beut.ie

Andrea Maack - Craft

With notes of aldehydes, elemi (a resin with scent of spicy citrus), cold metal, ice, cedarwood and patchouli, Andrea Maack´s Craft sounds really intriguing. But, I didn´t really think that I would like it, since metallic notes in fragrances seldom seem to mix well with my skin chemistry. I was almost sure that I would like Sharp better, but then, when I tried Craft I got really surprised!

Craft is a really unique scent. Somehow it´s like a scent beyond the post-modern, a scent created for science fiction, space ships and cyborgs. With the aldehydic opening notes, it´s like being greated by a steamy cloud with a tart metallic scent. Like being lost in a foggy forrest with metallic trees and articial citrus fruits hanging from the metallic branches. Or maybe, this is how it smells like in Starship Enterprices hallways? Or is it the perfume that seven-of-nine put on each morning before shs ready to face another space adventure?

Well, somewhere right there I realise that I LIKE Craft a lot! One of few scents with dominant metallic note that actually work well with my skin chemistry. At first Craft is cold, wet, tart and extremly strange, but also interesting, exciting, unique, but most important, wearable. It is far easier to like then I first belived. Somewhere on the way to the heartnotes I detect a scent so much like those tart, papery flying saucers candy, so spot on I can even taste them in my mouth.

Like Sharp, Craft is also a white kind of scent, even though with elemenats of metallic and a hint of lightest green. While Sharp is soft and soothing on the surface, but with something evil/poisionous going on underneath, Craft is the other way around. Cold, wet and strange on the surface, but slowly warming up on my skin.If Sharp is layer on layer, Craft is with the notes parallell developing. It´s in the top notes and for the first hour I think of Craft as a cold scent. When it slowly warms up on my skin a warm, aromatic, woody, earthy and slightly green scent occurs. Still something otherwordly is present, but in a way that ewokes my imagination and curiousity.

During this phase in Craft, it´s like I´m slowly have worked my way to the heart of the spaceship and found out that there´s a giant, wonderfully scented tree that enpowers the spaceship instead of a more common motor (come on, this is sci-fi, anything is possible, at least theoretical). Or is it the little space kids that are having a lecture in biology and growing little miniature trees in petri-dishes?

-Does trees and plants really smell this good for real miss, a little space student wonders.

However, I discovered that I after all are more found of Craft, than of Sharp, even though harp in a way smells more "me", but also is more demanding to wear. Craft is easier to like and also not reminding of any other scent I´ve tried.

Craft has a huge sillage, especially at first when you get surrounden by a humid cloud smelling of citrus and metall. The sillage however are becoming much less dominant when the warmer notes of patvhouli and cedar wood occurs. Craft has good lasting power, even though Sharp has even better. Craft works really well on men too. Craft, as well as Sharp are really a must try scent. It´s not that often this different scents also is so easy to like.

Which is your favorite scent with metallic notes?

pic: seven-of-nine, geeknews

Andrea Maack -Sharp

Andrea Maack is an Icelandic artist that in her work is interested to interfer or complete the visual dominance in art. Andrea has chosen to do so by creating three different fragrances, Sharp, Smart and Craft, that olfactory correspond and mimic other of her artwork, like pencil drawings. With her perfumes Andrea has chosen to enter the commercial sphere and they´ll be launched worldwide. Andrea is fascinated ny the thought that people around the world will wear her art, and every single perfume bottle will be like people having their own Andrea Maack installation in their homes. Not only the scent itself, but also the bottle, the protecting pouch and the box is part of the artwork. You can read and learn morea bout Andrea Maack, her art and her perfumes here: http://www.andreamaack.com/

http://www.andreamaack.com/EauDeParfum.pdf

I have to admit that I´m very, very happy to evaluate these scents of several reasons. First of all, I think it´s really nice, that Iceland, a country not at all on the perfume map, finally have got some representation in the world of perfumes. That the line between art and the commercial interest that runs pretty much everything in perfume industry is getting thinner is interesting. The fact that we´re living in a visual dictatorship, but that it´s possible to interfer with it´s dominance is also very interesting. That these scents are very interesting and unique don´t make it any worse either...

I get Sharp as a very white scent, it´s white on white on white, but with little differences in nuances. Notes for Sharp: orange blossom, angle skin, sweet vanilla, white musk and soothing softness.

Yes, I think of Sharp as soft, powdery, unresisting and feminine, but below the surface there is something sharp (as the name suggest) and edgy lurking. Is Sharp a baby farmer? Or a sweet poison blender? A beautiful, but evil queen that sucks the life out of little children? Or Snowwhite´s cruel stepmother that have poisoned the juicy apple?

For me, the scent Sharp holds a story, a multifaced fairytale. The different notes are piled in layers, and each one is only briefly exposed. Flower petals resting on matt, white paper, on skin as pale as snow, a note of something medical, sharp, poisonous, narcotic and even though I almost experience the scent as repelling I am also extremly attracted to it. The "poison" note is very subtle, and gives Sharp am un-expected character and makes it very unlike most scents.

However, I find that Sharp has some similarities to Dior´s Hypnotic Posion, but like a version with the real thing. The papery floral notes has something in common with Van Cleefs & Arpels Gardenia Petale, but much more complex.

Sharp is in a way beyond comfort, softness and smoth vanilla, but a scent that demand my attention while I´m wearing it. I feel being in some kind of Tabula Rasa-situation, and that I can fill in the contents myself, it isn´t given. I guess this is what I would have wished Nasomatto´s China White to smell like. Sharp has an element of almost icy coolness that feels very comfy amon the mostly warm notes. Sharp is also quite a sweet scent, but that tart medical note wears out the sweetness quite well.

Sharp has great lasting power and could stay with me for a whole day, but however, it is a demanding scent and I can feel like I´m having an "overdose" after several hours with Sharp. It´s manage to evoke a lot of imagination and questions, and I discover new elements every time I try it. The sillage is quite huge, you´ll get notice when you´re wearing Sharp!

Soon, Andrea Maack´s fragrances will be launched in Stockholm, and every perfume lover should try her scents. The price is very affordable for this kind of scents. This is fragarnces that you really, really, really must try! What will you fill your Tabula Rasa with?

Don´t miss the drawing for some Andrea Maack samples coming up soon!

Pic: Andrea Maack

When I think about Iceland...

I guess that I´m not that unique when I think about Iceland.

I think about:

- going there and bathing in hot springs

- going there and riding on Icelandic horses

- the volcano Eyjafjallajökull that got an eruption this spring and mesing up all the air traffic over Europe.

- the talented and pretty Icelandic singer/artist Björk.

No, I don´t think that much about perfumes in connection to iceland, not until now that is... Soon, there will be a review or two about some very, very special Icelandic perfumes. The thing is that I can´t decide what to write about them and how to start, cause they´re really something special.

CoSTUME NATIONAL - 21

It has been a while between my bloggings, mostly because our computer have chrashed and I have to beg my son to use his computer. And since the schools have started and middle daughter is off to Markaryd I have started with the big autumn cleaning, which is fun but quite time consuming.

But, I´ve got a lot of wonderful and interesting perfumes to write about, actually I´ve got so many right now that it´s hard to know where to start.

Returning readers might remember that I tried a perfume at NK when we had our perfume meeting, a perfume that smelled wonderful, but that I couldn´t remember which it was. I suspected two scents, Laura Merciers Marrons Glaces and Costume National´s 21. I´ve tried Marrons Glavces a while ago, but even though it had some similarities to the one I searched for, I was almost certain that it wasn´t the one I was looking for.

Then I´ve ordered a sample of Costume National´s 21 and you can guess that I was so curious when I sprayed it on. But, uhu? Uhu uhu uhu? Nope, hmm.... I had to admit that the opening of 21 isn´t at all anything like the mysterious scent from NK. But, despite the differences I discovered that 21 was a really interesting scent.

Top notes of milk, amber and safron is soon to be followed by oakmoss and wonderful warm spices like clove and cinnamon. 21 smells both very good and a small, small part disturbing. The oakmoss is used with light hand, but I think that it gives such a nice twist to 21 and make it go from comfy gourmand to something different and unique. During this phase I like 21, but not 100% as I said, it has some weird elements. It is complex, both strong and soft at the same time. Very much gourmand, but at the same time woody, spicy and the oakmoss ledning it an almost smoky character. Over all I think Costume Nationals scents deserve much more attention, Scent Intense is a favorite of mine and now it seem 21 will go that way to.

About half an hour after applying the scent, I realsie I sniff my vrist obsessive, and yes... there we got it! The mysterious scent from NK! Yes, yeah yeah yeah, there it is! Still the warm, creamy, smoth and soft scent that I remember from NK is mixed with some harsh oakmoss and wood, but more and more the wonderful scent from NK is shining through. It proved to be the base note of 21 that stayed on my skin and in my memory that day!

And the base note remind me a lot of a Chilean drink called Colo de mono (monkey tail). A drink consisting of milk, coffee, spices and some liquer (rhum or preferable pisco). In Chile you drink this around Christmas and it´s really good. Of course it´s thanks to my sweet Chilean sister in law I come to know this drink. And Costume National´s 21 reminding of this drink with milk, cinnamon, clove and sweet, lush and creamy. No booze though, but we can pretend the oakmoss is some kind of booze?

21 has good if not marvellous lasting power, about 5-6 hous on me. The sillage is great, but not to much. The scent is both complex and challenging, but also very soft and comfy. The oakmoss makes it stay on the right side of sweetness and making 21 work even for people not usually found of sweet and gourmand kind of scents. 21 is also suitable for men and people in all ages. Shortly speaking, this is a little gem that must be tested! And while you´re at it, I suggest you try a glass of Colo de Mono also.

Serving 4: 4 big cups of strong coffee

1 cinnamon stick

4-5 cloves

seeds from a vanilla pod

2½ dl brown sugar

2½ dl boiled, whipped milk

1 tsk cinnamon

1 dl liquer (pisco, rhum or vodka)

What else is coming up on the blog? I will have a drwaing soon, don´t miss it. And I suggest you think a little about what you think when you hear the word Iceland. And of course there will be reviews, Annick Goutal´s Ninfeo Mio, Serge Lutens Bas de Soie and L'Artisan´s Nuit de Tubereuse among others. And I think something really, really vintage will show up here also soon. So, a little this and that, as usual.

stora koppar starkt kaffe

Pic: Colodemono