Out of order...

I´m sorry about the lack of posting lately, but I´m not feeling well. Have been feeling strange since beginning of april and have had no idea why.


Sleeping issues, poor apetite and felt generally uninspired, tired and off. Not even new fragarnces has manage to caprute my interest, rather the other way around, new scents have felt "to much" and I´ve prefered the well known and familiar comfort scents during this period.


Anyway, now I think I´ve got a clue about what I suffer from, it can be a thyroid inflammation a condition I have had before even though it´s many years ago. Should have recognise the symptoms, but they´re rather diffuse and vague in the beginning and since I´ve been really healthy the last ten years or so I feel very un-used to being sick... I leave to the doctors to figure out if it´s really another thyroid inflammation and hope I can see one as soon as possible, even though the nurse I talked to didn´t had any time to give me the coming week. :(


I really hope for a speedy recovery. Until then I hope it´ll be a guest post about male fragrances from a well known brand by Habit Man and also I have some new fragrances to present that I hope to get around to in not to long time...

Blood concept A AB B O

Do you know what blood type you have? Mine is O+, and I know that since they blood typing pregnant women and also beacuse I once tried to become a blood donator. Unfortunatly my blood vessels are very thin/narrow, so it took like forever to draw blood from me, so I decided to end my short career as a blood donator after the first and only attempt.


Some Italian guys have created a new perfume line, Blood Concept, and they presented it at the perfume exhibit in Milan about a month ago. Every blood typa has it´s own fragrance, A AB B and O. You can chose the one you like the most or go with the one for your blood type. I´ve got a kit with cardboards of the "scratch and sniff-type". It´s nicely presented even though I don´t belive they smell as they would do on skin.


To be honest I´m a little relieved, I´m not much of a blood romantic. Yes, Gary Oldman did look nice in Dracula, but I´ve never been that interested in the pop cultural Dracula nor his cousins the vampires. Yes, I read "Confessions of a vampire" back then, but non of the followers...


Youngest and oldest daughters have a weakspot for vampires though, and I had a very awkward movie experience when I saw one of the Twilight-moives with youngest daughter some time ago.


To make things even worse, the smell of blood is one of the most offensive I know. Maybe, because I´ve raised five wild childs that have occationally manage to get head injures and belive me, the way to the emergency room with a heavily bleeding kid in mine lap isn´t exactly my idea of fun. No worries though, most head injuries (at least on my kids) looks much worse then they really are, a lot of bleeding from a relativly small skalp wound.


However, Blood Concept´s fragrances don´t smell that strange (at least not on paper).
O which is my blood type, actually smelling really nice, the metallic (or bloody note) note isn´t that obvious, it´s more of a warm, sweet, berry fragrances with a leathery base. This I would´nt doubt to try directly at my skin.


AB with notes of aldehydes, aluminium, pebbles, cedar and metal is interesting. It´s very unique and the metal smells sharp, clean and modern rather then rusty or bloody. This one I would prefer to test on my husband first. ;)


The same goes for B, which is the most powerful of the four (on paper), bold notes of patchouli, artemesia, vanilla is mixed with fruity, tart notes and of course the metallic one´s. this metal is more on the rusty side, but it´s like the other notes hides it a little.


A on the other hand I wish no one close to me ever try on skin, it has a green, aromatic scent with tomato leaf and basil, that really underscores and lift up the smell of "blood". On paper and a fast sniff, I can control it, but I don´t feel like I ever would need to sniff it again.


Despite my aversion towards A, and hesitation about AB and B, I find Blood Concept to be interesting. The test kit is also cool and if you can find one I do suggest you to try them. The fragrances are really, really different and have some resemblance with Etat Libre d'Orange and Nasomatto, so if you´re into that kinds of fragrances, you really should check Blood Concept.


You can find more information about the brand here: http://www.bloodconcept.com/EN/index.php

Pic: Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder, Dracula

J. Eisenberg - Le Péché

I´ve wrote about some of Jose Eisenberg´s fragrances earlier:

http://perfumenerd.blogspot.com/2009/05/jose-eisenberg-rouge-noir.html

http://perfumenerd.blogspot.com/2009/05/jose-eisenberg-rouge-noir.html

After two years I have to admit that Rouge & Noir is my favorite of them, it´s moodlifting, cozy and unique. While J'Ose is a must try for everyone looking for a dark, smoky and slightly masculin fragrance.


Even though Eisenberg have had several well made and interesting fragrances it seem like brand perfumistas often miss. Now Eisenberg has released a bunch of new fragrances and I hope they´ll get some attention.


I have tried three of their new scents, Tentation, Love affair and Le Péché and among them, Le Péché was the one capturing my attention the most.


Most of all it´s the note of hibiscus that attract me, while wearing Le Péché I wonder why hibiscus isn´t more common in perfume. I know that hibiscus is used in Costume Nationals fragrances, Scent, Scent Intense, Sheer and Gloss and among them I really like Scent Intense.


It´s something voluptus, arousing, radiant and on the border to vulgare with hibiscus. The colors are strong, the shape is bodacious and the cocky stamen speaks for itself. In Le Péché, the hibiscus is accompanied by osmanthus and orange flower, that creates a lush, heavy, tropical, sweet, velvety ground of flowers, thnaks to the osmanthus the fragarnces don´t become too heavy. The opneing on Le Péché is summery, pretty, blushing and make me want to dress in chock pink with frills and colorful accesoars.


Le Péché could be a fragarnce both for showgirls in Las Vegas or at Moulin Rouge, Paris as well as a scent for fragile temple dancers at Bali or even, a much to maked up transvestite in Barcelona. There is something filled with joy in Le Péche, but the fragrance also have a darker and more mysterious core.


The heart is filled with amber, jasmine and vanilla which lessen the magnetism of the open, but also make Le Péché softer, warmer and a little powdery. Under the feminine notes you can also sense a darker, even masculine strike in Le Péché, a thrilling counterpoint to the vibrant opening and the soft, feminine heart. Eisenberg´s fragrances often hides an androgyn twist, a flirt with both sexes that is discrete, yet prominent when noticed. The base is filled with vetiver, musk, sandalwood and patchouli.


Le Péché is different, yet without being hard to wear. Also it´s a fragarnces that is young at heart, still most likely to attract women with their prime youth beind them. This is also typical for Eisenberg, and something I really like. Eisenberg´s fragrances is perhaps high end rather then niche, but they have found their own little place and make it theirs in an obvious and personal way.


Another good news is that the fragarnces now is offered in 30, 50 and 100 ml bottles.
look for your self: http://www.eisenberg.com/


Le Péché has good lasting power and good sillage, and I think it´s amust try for anyone looking for fragrances with notes of hibiscus, also Le Péché is a perfect scent for hot summer evnings and nights.


Do you have any good suggestions on other fragrances with note of hibiscus?

Parfumerie Generale - Tonkamande

Now and then I can buy a Yankee Candle in the scent Clean Cotton and put it in my combined bathroom/laundry room, I think it smells fresh and cozy, but usually (very unusual I would say) that not the kind of scent I like to wear as a perfume. Until now, that is.


Parfumerie Generale has recently launched two new limited editions, Praline de Santal and Tonkamande. Praline de Santal smells odd to say the least, but it´s not for me, it gets almost weird, like a very chunky/chewy müslibar dripped in sticky dark syrup. Yet, branflake or strong rye note isn´t THAT commonly used in fragrances, so if this sounds interesting you should at least try it.


Tonkamande on the other hand, oh lala, so beautiful, so clean, crisp and yet warm, sweet and powdery gourmand also.


Partly it smells like old scool bed linen, when people (women mostly I belive) really made an art out of washing their bed linen.Like it smelled in the washhouse when my mother mangled her sheets in the huge stone mangle, when I was about seven years old. People younger then me maybe not even remeber those? Well, Tonkamande also smells like crisp, white bed linen at a really luxurious hotel. Sparkling, clean, white and fresh.


Also Tonkamande brings a feeling of walking up a sand dune during a perfect summer day, reaching the top and look out over the never ending blue sea and the perfectly golden beach below and realise that you (and your best company of choise) will have the perfect beach totally for yourself all day, even though it´s the best summerday.


This kind of fragrances has been made before, but I haven´t got so many referenses to "clean scents", for instant I´ve hardly try any of the popular Clean-fragrances. Even though i think Pierre Guillaume manage to create a perfect clean fragrance, there is more to it, then that.


Beneath the surface of clean whiteness and a perfect beach, there is also a delicate element of the most delish, melting and powdery littel almond cookie you can imagine. sweet, mellow and so good, but Tonkamande is far from being to sweet or too gourmand. It has a rather dry almond note (very likeable). OOOOOOOh this is so good. I can hardly stay away from my small sample and I sure wish I could afford buying a big bottle of it and drench myself in it (or at least with it) during the rest of spring and all summer.


I think it´s kind of funny how my preferences is chagning over time, today i bleive it´s possible to find at least one perfect fragrances even in the most obscure and far from myself fragrance cathegories. tonkamande happend to be the perfect scent for me within the clean type of scents. I can´t reallu understand why I love it so much (after all it is a very clean frag), but sometimes you just let loose and go with the flow...


Good sillage (even from my dab on sample)this is not a shy skinscent, lasting power is good (about 8 hours on me). I do recommend it to everyone liking clean scents, but also if you don´t, give it a try, maybe a surprise waiting for you. Also the combination between clean and gourmand is quite different. Tonkamande is rather feminine, but don´t let that stop you, if you´re a guy. Maybe not the perfect scent to the leather outfit though, or perhaps just the right!?


Fow now I don´t have any money, but you bet I want a FB of this or at least half a bottle if I find someone that would like to split.


As you can udnerstand it was a total surprise to me to become so impressed, do you have aperfume love that is far from your usual preferences?

Brecourt - Contre Pouvoir

We´re having easter break now and finally the weather is a little better. Spring cleaning in the garden and the cowslips has buds, the early tulips is almost over blossomed and under our garden table (behind some pots) we manage to wake up a sleapy little hedgehog.


Lately I´ve tried the scents from Brecourt, and the two I come to like the most is both intended for men, even though i found them both to be perfect unisex scents. My favorites among the women fragrances, Haram and Ambre Noir has also obvious unisex qualities.


Contre Pouvoir that I´m about to review today is true piece of comfort. The opening is very powerful and strong with hints of lavender (not listed, but I still smlle it, even though only for a short while, strong cigarlike tobacco, spices, sweetness, warmth and a dash of darkness. In the opening, Contre Pouvoir, reminds a little of A*Men.


The oomf in the opning is soon mellowing to a softer mix of cardamom, wood and some tea with grapefruit underscoring it. The grapefruit note isn´t that noisy, just a litte freshness added to the wood and spices.


The wood smells sunwarmth, smoth, soft and like it has been impregnated with cardamom. This is an extremly pleasant and cozy combo. Within the woody spicy heart of the perfume you can sense freshness from grapefruit and nice aromatic tea. During this phase, Contre Pouvoir is a mostly blonde woody scent with soft spicy and gourmand features. Just like Mauvais Garcon, Contre Pouvoir is a fragrances that will be perfect to wrap around myself when autumn comes (even though I prefer not to think about autumn right now!).


Durin drydown Contre Pouvoir becomes much darker, blacker and more interesting. This is probably thnaks to licorice wood (!?) and vetiver. The base is more masculine then the opening and heart, yet not enough from stop me to wear it. The cardamom still hangs in there and also becomes darker eventually.


Contre Pouvoir is a must try for everyone liking cardamom in perfumes and also if you fancy A'Men and it´s flankers, Contre Pouvoir is a good and economic alternative.


The sillage is good and longevity is about medium (4-5 hours on me).


Among the other offerings from Brecorut I like as i said, Haram and Ambra Noir the best and they´re slightly similar to Mauvais Garcon and Contre Pouvoir in style, warm, spicy and oriental kind of fragrances. The rest of the line up is a little more un-even, but I belive Eau Blanche and Eau Trouble (with note of carrot) could be really pretty and interesting on the right person.


Coming up, something new from Parfumerie Generale and also presenting some news from José Eisenberg.



Pic: Beach wood, flickr.com

To open or not to open, that´s the question.

I´m sorry for the lack of posting lately, but sometimes things just get to much and this week has been that way. I´ll write something more about Brecourt also, but not today.


Instead of that I´ve got a question of delicate matter I would like to share with you.


Not long ago I won three little bottles of "perfume" on Swedish Ebay, they weren´t that good described and the pics was´nt that good either. But from what I could see there was mini bottles of Cassandra by Weil, Chinchilla by Weil (that wasn´t in fact a Chinchilla, but the much more common Antilope) and also a mini of Flair by Yardley. The Cassandra bottle looked untouched. Well, I´ve got the bunch for about 18 € and I belive it was quite a good deal.


The problem os the bottle of Cassandra. And the that the cellophane is still intact (but very fragile though), the box is in perfect condition and the juice itself is pure extrait! Of course I´m more then curious to find out how it smells and I allready love Zibleine from Weil. And I know that the feeling of carefully open the brittle cellophane, the box and slowly bring out the bottle would be... very, very cool.


But, what if I could sell it to a vintage collector instead? I wonder how much i could get for this rarity? It´s a bottle of exrait in priestine shape and with a perfect box that looks MUCH older then my old bottle of Zibeline. I can´t find any information about this version of Cassandra, so I guess it´s pretty darn hard to find.


As you all know I´ll destroy a big part of the value if I open the box and even more if I dare to open the bottle (which is also probably fragile at least the screwer). If I love it, I wouldn´t care that much, but if I don´t? Also I´ve heard that pure perfume or extrait gets easier spoiled then eau de parfum and eau de toilette, so there is also a danger that it has turned bad and can´t be used as a perfume any more. For a collector it´s more the piece itself then the juice that matters.


The only information about notes I havefound at The Perfumed Court, and they are: anise, styrax, fruits and some floral, doesn´t sound 100% me, but not really the opposite either.


That´s why, dear readersm i´ll leave the desicion to you. Should I open it or should I try to sell it? Another option is of course if any of you feel a crazy urge to buy it from me for about 1200€, I think we can meet an agreement if that´s the case. ;)


So leave your vote in the poll, and I would also love to hear why you think as you do, so leave a comment also. :)



Pic by me

Brecourt - Mauvais Garcon

Brecourt is a new french perfume house, but Emilie Bouge is anything but a beginner in perfumes. Emilie has a history as a perfumer for other companies before Brecourt and also, her family has a past in the perfume industry.


Emilies grand parents runned a perfume buisness in the heart of Frances perfume producing, Grasse. Unfortunatly the company slipped out of the family, but with Brecourt Emilie writes a new chapter in her familys perfume story. Brecourt combines the knowledge of frecnh perfume tradition with modern spirit.


I´ve been lucky to receive a very nicely presented press kit of all the Brecourt fragrances, which are 11, and I think you could find something for all tastes here.


On me, especially the warm, spicy and woody scents becomes really nice. And Mauvais Garcon is one of my favorites among them.


Mauvais Garcon is one of the fragrances that is supposed for men, but in my opinion it works at least as good at women. Mauvais Garcon has notes of cedar- and sandalwood, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and tonkabean. As a scent, Mauvais Garcons becomes a soft, caressing and skinclose gourmand. Both cedar and sandal are of the soft, velvety kind in Mauvais Garcon. The spices are light and the vanilla is of the cockie kind, without being at all too sweet. The woody elements in Mauvais Garcons really deserves to be called blond wood.


Mauvais Garcons smells similar to a common cookie in Sweden known as vanilla dreams. Even though similar to vanilla dreams, this is a soft and innocent kind of gourmand, the sweetness is just perfectly blended. The cinnamon and nutmeg is used with caution, in way that deepens the vanilla withoput over running it. The fragrance is rather linear, even though the basenote is mostly like an extremly soft woodyness.


Nothing with Mauvais Garcons is complicated or edgy, this is pure and simple comfort and so cozy.


On me Mauvais Garcons last about 3-4 hours and the sillage is discrete. Intended for men, still very suitable for women too. As a gourmand it has such an delicate approach I would like to call it a gourmand for people not usually that found of gourmand fragrances. And of course for those of us that love gourmands as well.


You can find Brecourt also at Indie Scents: http://www.indiescents.com/brands/Brecourt.html

On the company home page you can order full bottles as well as samples:
http://www.brecourt.fr/index.php



Pic: vaniljdrömmar

Slumberhouse - Vikt and Ore

Another post-apocalyptic figure that have been roaming around in Australia is Tank Girl. As the name suggest, the main character drives a huge tank which also serves as her home. Even if the world in Tank Girl is rather devastated, the mood in the comic is anything but gloomy, rather the other way around. Tank Girl is a mishmash of anarchasex, refreshingly ironic and overall morbid, satiric and pleasantly dysfunctional.


Of course, also in the Tank Girl future, whit lack of water, perfumes probably wouldn´t be the first thing that come in mind. Still, Slumberhouse manage to create fragrances whit such an edgy (post-)modern twist that make me think of these kind of lovely, disturbed characters. They matches since they both are made with a sparkle in the eye, great personality and innovative ideas.


At first I was a little bit afraid of Vikt, since metallic note can become horrid on me. But, the metal in Vikt isn´t of the rusty, iron (smells almost like blood to me) kind, but rather like steal in motion. Like metal that slowly warms up an old mechanic engine dripping of thick, slippery motor oil. And that smells good that is!


With elements of oudh, resins and ravensara the metallic motor scents mixes and becomes softer, warmer and even a little sweet. I also feels something floral in vikt, even though I can´t find anything floral listed (maybe ravensara have floral aspects?). Oudh contributes with a soft and mellow smokiness. Vikt is a quite complex fragrances, and the different notes swirls around in a interesting way, even though the scent itself is quite linear. Vikt has medium staying power and also medium sillage. A must try for anyone looking for different and thrilling fragrances.


Ore is more soft, organic and smooth. But, also very, very screwy and odd. It´s partly inspired by Carmes lip balm (which I haven´t tried), but it´s so much more than a lip balm scent. There is a soft scent reminding of some kind of lip balm (to me it reminds of a certain Swedish lipbalm, maybe it´s similar to Carmex?). Jummy. It´s creamy, sticky and a dash of milkyness. Add black pepper, cocoa and gaiacwood! Shortly speaking, a very personal and different take on gourmand. And also, my personal favorite from Slumberhouse. Ore isn´t like anything I ever encountered in perfume. I´ll need more of this! :)


The cocoa in Ore smells dark, aromatic and slightly bitter, just like whole crushed cocoabeans rather than some soft chocolate. Ore is both mood lifting, comfy and also a little sexy in a strange way (just like Tank Girl).


Longevity and sillage as the others from Slumberhouse. Ore is the most feminine of them, without being that feminine. Ore would work on people in all ages looking for a different, personal and cool gourmand. Ore is among the most different I´ve tried, and without loosing in wearability. I really hope to wear Ore a lot during autumn and winter.


I´m sure Tank Girl would love both Vikt and Ore. And I´m sure you´ll regret if you don´t get some samples of Slumberhouse scents!


Which Tank Girl do you prefer, the comic or the movie? Imagine having a mutant kangaroo boyfriend!?







Pic: Tank Girl, Jamie Hewlett

Slumberhouse - Jeke

Mel Gibson is one of those middle aged, well known actors that manage to make a fool of them self lately. Mel, is maybe not in the dignity of Charlie Sheen in doing so, but not far from it. But if we try to forget about nowadays Mel Gibson and instead goes back in time, all the way back to 1979. There we can find a young Mel Gibson, starring in the Australian movie Mad Max.


In case some of you haven´t seen it, Mad Max is taking place in a dystopic future, mostly on Australian highways and in the desert. Law and order is a joke, and people are fighting about the rare sources of gasolin. Mel Gibson plays a young, disillusioned cop.


Well, I kind of realise that no one would have even the remotest interest in perfumes during these circumstances (except of maybe some rare survived perfume nerd), but still the new indieperfume line, Slumberhouse has manage to create a fragrance that would have suited Mad Max Rockatansky (what a name!) as a hand fits a worned leather glove, namely Jeke.


I´m really impressed. Jeke might not be really my kind of fragrance, but there´s no doubt about this being a well made fragrance with integrity, sentiment and soul (and what a thrilling dark sould that is).It´s powerful, masculin, darker then dark, interesting and still much easier to wear and enjoy then most scent similar to it that I´ve tried.


Jeke is brimful with dark, aromatic tobacco, real deal patchouli, I can sense smoke, leather and even whittered asphalt (if only in my imagination maybe?). Jeke is raw, genuin and still I find little glimpses of sweetness in it, some soft woody notes and a hint of juniper. Maybe there is hope after all?


Still, most parts of Jeke is heavy, saturated and concrete, I can´t find any soft and light top notes. Jeke makes me want to wearf my old leather jacket and my most worned old Dr Martens. Still, Jeke is a little to heavy and domination for me to wear casually. On my dear husband it smells incredible good, sexy and dirty.


Jeke is fairly masculine, still women that like heavy, dark tobacco scents with elements of charred wood and dystopia should of course give Jeke a try. Jeke has medium longevity about 4-5 hours on me, and medium sillage. Jeke also makes me want a Mad max-marathon, besides the first movie there are two followers as well, and at least part two was also quite good. Of course wearing Jeke.


You can order Jeke and other Slumberhouse fragrances (and samples) at http://www.indiescents.com/brands/Slumberhouse.html

Also you can find out more about Slumberhouse here: http://slumberhou.se/


This kind of indie lines makes me really happy, and I sure hope Slumberhouse is here to stay.


What dystopic, post-apocalytic future vision is your favorite? Movie, litterature och comic? Do you have any fragrances you associates with that kind of fiction?


Pic: Mel Gibson in Mad Max

Hermes - Iris Ukiyoé

I´ve so many interesting fragrances to write about, that I sometimes don´t know where to start. But, now it´s maybe about time to tell you a little about Iris Ukiyoé that I bought about a month ago in Stockholm.


Iris Ukiyoé is the ninth and latest addition to Hermes Hermessence line, a line of exclusive fragrances all created by master perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena. I´m not a 100% fangirl of Jean-Claude Ellena´s work, some of his scents is much to light, subtle and aquatic to suit me well. But, i also have some big favorites among his work, such as (also for Hermessence), Ambre Narguile, Bois Farine for L'Artisan and also the two kind of similar, L'Eau d'Hiver for Frederic Malle and Paul & Joe´s Blanc.


Anyway, Iris Ukiyoé was love at first sniff for me. It IS aquatic, but it´s like the water have it´s very own, dark turqoise color. And iris fragrances in water color, but watercolors that is strong, bold and colorful. the opening is very citrusy, but also accompanied by something with a slightly plastic scent, but plastic in a good way. I do occationally like some plastic notes in fragrances, probably because it reminds me of the scent of a newly opened barbie-or other plastic doll (I loved to smell them right out of the box), a scent filled with joy for most little girls and a scent that stay in our memory for a long time.


No need to get panicky though if you don´t like plastic notes, it´s only there for a very short while. in a copple of minutes it´s transforms to a soft, caressing and pleasant floral scent. A dense, but still airy floral scent, like the scent from thousands of fragile, velvety petals. People that knows the scent of real iris, says it smells like this. I have no ide, but I think it´s a very unique scent, not earthy/rooty as some irises or violet or powdery as others.


Iris Ukiyoé is very happy, spirited and moodlifting kind of iris scent, when trying it in stockholm I become happy every time I sniffed it on my hand...


A strange thing is the scent of caramel/fudge that occurs after about an hour. One of the participants of the perfume meeting said it smelled like caramel/toffee on me. But that was when I was eating a fudge brownie so we belived it was because of that.


But the strange thing is that I´ve noticed that toffee note over again. It has almost made me mad. Have I some left overs from a vanilla-or gourmand scent still lingering around on my wrist or on my top? Or, do Iris Ukiyoé really smell like caramel on me?


It IS Iris Ukiyoé! Now I have showered, and put on a clean top and even clean jeans (after all i can always spill a drop or two when I decanting) and yes, the vague fudgy note is still there. I can´t find any notes responsible to this scent, there is no vanilla, no amber with tonka beans and definitly nno cheap synthetic caramel notes in Iris Ukiyoé, still I discover a faint note of milky fudge. Maybe it´s easier to get if I tell you that I discover some closeness to Bois Farine in Iris Ukiyoé?


No wonder why i like this one so much. :) In the drydown I get (besides the fudge) a soft, delicat rosy scent. Pale and perfectly soft petals and that small hint of caramel. Just perfect! Iris Ukiyoé has good lasting power, about 6 hours on me and good sillage. A must try for everyone that´s found of Jean-Claude Ellena´s perfume making and also a must try because of it´s unique and different take on iris.


Those of you that have tried Iris Ukiyoé, is there anyone out there except of me, that get´s that weird (but good) caramel note? Apart from that, do you have any favorite among the Hermessences? Or other fragrances created by Ellena?




Pic: June Rollins

Ginestet - Botrytis

Do you like honey? I´m not a honey lover, even though I use honey occationally in food and baking. Pure and natural honey have a very special taste and aroma, if you put your nose in a honeypot you´ll discover that the actual scent is really special, complex and without doubt, animalic. Yes, you can smell a faint urine like scent in there.


Maybe that´s why honey in perfumes often seem to be covered up with a lot of strong, spicy and dominating notes?


Well, anyway in Ginestet´s Botytris I can´t find any of that odour. still, Botytris is filled with warm, golden and aromatic honey. Honey so soft, light and sweet. In the opening there is nothing else then this lovely honey note.


Some where in the fragrances Botytris becomes more saturated, filled with -not so loud- spices and a delicate, subdued tobacco note. Botytris is a fragrances for us that like it sweet, but it´s not THAT sweet, only just enough (according to me). Eventually it become a little darker and I can also smell some ambra and vanilla, still honey has the main role from start to end.


During drydown, the honey in fact dries down and becomes powdery, dry and very delicate. Now, botytris smells like the most amazing honey caramels with some vanilla and mouthwatering spices also. Such a perfect and enjoyable comfort scent...


Botytris is some kind of noble rot that infest grapes and then contributes to give the wine a very special and deep sweetness. Ginestet offers besides of Botytris to toher wine inspired scents, Sauvignonne and Le Boise. Besides that, Ginestet is probably more known fore their wines then their perfumes.


Botytris is a must try if you´re looking for a softer take on honey. I do recommend it to anyone with a liking of sweet and gourmand fragrances. Will probably work well on men too. Botytris has OK longevity, about 3-4 hours on me and the sillage is medium. Botytris would be a perfect comfort scent during autumn and winter.



Pic:honeycomb, greenhealthspot

Caldey Island - Island Lavender

Some time ago I was looking for perfumes at Ebay. one headline captured my attention, "Rare, niche, Caldey Island lavendel, made by monks". I read the descrition and found a lot of interesting information. Luca Turin apperantly called Caldey island lavender "The best lavender soliflor on earth". Which of course, didn´t make me less curious, even though I haven´t read The Guide.


start searching on internet and soon realised that Caldey Island perfumes wasn´t that hard to get. Caldey Island is a small island situated off Pembrookeshire, Wales coast. The first monastery on the island was founded way back in the 6th century and since then several different monastic orders have had monasterys on the island. During some periods the island have been abandoned.


The recent monks are cistercians and arrived to Caldey Island in 1929. During the 50'ies the monks started selling lavender bunches to visitors. Some time later they start making their own lavender perfume as well, made of lavender and other herbs picked on the island. The perfume become very popular with visitors.


During the 70'ies the monk decided to outsource the perfume making. Today, the belgian perfume Ivo jacobs is the nose behind the present formulation of Island lavender. The island today have no actual perfume making, but the monks fill up the bottles on the island and make the outer packaging and so on. However, the monks have start growing lavender on the island again, and sell small bunches of it to the tourists...


I really find this story to be both touching and interesting, a bunch of monks on a far away island making a living of selling perfumes and chocolate(!). From Easter time and until autumn it´s possible to visit the island. Besides the monastery, Caldey Island also have the best sandy beach in Pembrookeshire, and the whole island is as a peaceful retreat. there is also a small village at the island. I would really enjoy visiting Caldey Island some day. You can read more about Caldey Island, the monks and a little this and that here: http://www.caldey-island.co.uk/


For about 10 € I got my very own small bottle of Island lavender, and of course the monks have a webshoip where you can buy it and other things such as soaps and chocolates as well.


But what about the fragrances it self? well, I´m not a big consumer of lavender scents, but occationally I just need to have a lavender soliflor to calm down and relax. At those moments Island lavender is just right. The opening is clear, fresh and yet not cold. During development, the lavender becomes dryer and softer and I also detect other herb, even though I can´t say exactly what other herbs. it has also an airy feeling.


Caldey Island lavender is mostly a lavender soliflor and smell as one shortly spekaing. If it´s the worlds best I can´t say. It´s good for what I want it to and that´s enough for me. Longevity is short, really, but at that time I´ve allready fallen in sleep. :P


I do recommend Caldey Island Lavender to everyone. Not because it´s the most amazing fragrance ever, but because "everyone" cab afford a bottle of their own, for about 10€ (comes in different sizes, very moderate prices and low shipping rates as well). And because it feel very pleasant to support a gang of hard working monks on a small island...


Pic: Caldey island

Atelier Cologne - Vanille Insensee

I hadn´t tried anything from Atelier Cologne, but I got a sample of their latest offering, Vanille Insensee in a recent swap.


Mmm, mmm and... mmm, this is really thrilling. Somewhere hiding in all the dark smokiness of Vanille Insensee there is actually some vanilla. To find it I have to be a smoke-fireman for a while...


i don´t have any good smoky fragrance in my collection. Smoky notes are a bit difficult to me. Smoky smoke, often with birch tar can easily become to sharp and even headache inducing on me. Incense smoky can turn in strange directions, like Messe de Minuit that becomes sweet coca cola on me, Comme des Garcons Insence line smells more like room fragrances then perfume to me and my latest finding, Oriental Lumpus have so much insence in it that it turns on my insence allergy leaving me with my eyes all watery and red. Serge Noir is to dusty and grey and Patchouli 24 (27) from Le Labo becomes very monotone after about 18 hours and have to be put down by a dip in the water.


Vanille Insensee might be the perfect smoky frag for me! I don´t know why it becomes SO smoky on me, the name isn´t related to insence, apperantly it means something like Vanille Insane.


Notes of lime, coriander, jasmine, vetiver, oakmoss, oakwood, vanilla. Probably it´s a mix between really smoky vetiver and a grey, duty oakmoss making the smoke soft, comapct, on the border to dusty/powdery and very comfortable. i belive jasmine and vanille contributes with a little sweet softness, but over all this is an unsweet, dark, saturated and very smoky scent.


Vanille Insensee is a cologne absolut 15%, I´m not totally sure what that is. But probably diluted to 15% fragrance essences. Yet, vanille Insensee has a really good staying power, after 12 hours I still smell some smoky vanilla. The sillage is great (I´ve only got a dab on sample). Maybe you can guess it´s a cologne thnaks to it´s airy and somewhat light character even though filled with such heavy notes. How a scent can be both heavy and airy at the same time might be a contradiction, but Vanille Insensee is that!


I´ve always thought of smoky notes to be a little thrilling, a little film noir and kind of mysterious. Vanille Insensee fullfils that with ease. Vanille Insensee is really nice on women, but I think it would be great on men as well. If you´re looking for a smoky fragrance with some sweetness, you should give this a try.


Do you have any favorite smoky fragrances?





Pic:beneaththerose.blogspot

We have a winner!

List Randomizer

There were 16 items in your list. Here they are in random order:

Pärlbesatt
Ylva
Bellatrix
solocha
Maria
kjanicki
a.k.a Warum
Alice
Carina
Cymbaline
Hanna
Natalia
Ann
Nilla
Ann (E)
Catterina
Timestamp: 2011-03-24 07:19:14 UTC


Congratulations to Pärlbesatt that have won a bunch of samples to test.


To comfort the rest of you I think there will be another drawing soon and mayvbe another small surprise for faithful readers. Don´t miss that!

Untitled - No 8 (Brent Leonesio)

Luckyscent have given 8 perfumers the possibility to create 8 different scents. Brent Leonesio is the nose behind Untitled No 8 and also the creator of indie brand Smell Bent. Smell Bent has a wonderful, humoristic style and offers perfume oils and also eau de toilettes to really great prices. I´ve tried and also reviewed some Smell Bent fragrance and you can find some of them here: http://perfumenerd.blogspot.com/2009/12/smell-bent-hungry-hungry-hippies-and.html
Since Smell Bents perfume oils was such a pleasant surprise, I was of course curious about Untitled No 8 as well.


With notes of narcissus, fur, feral musk, oud and leather you expect an animalic fragrance and that is what you get and plenty of it too. It´s like being trapped inside Noah´s Ark with all the animlas and all their poo too.


usually I´m not that sensitive to animalic notes in perfumes. Muscs Koublai Khan becomes a well behaved and easy to handle champion horse compared to untitled No 8. Untitled No 8 is foamy sweaty, pungent leather and if that isn´t enough top it of with a heft dose of shit. And not just some dry horse manor with the smell of half digested hay, this is real shit. I have spend time with my youngest grand child toay and he pooped 4 times, and that smelled very much like the dominating note in untitled No 8, but Untitled No is a little more complex and mixed with other strong, animalic notes besides the shit.


Untitled No 8 is too much feces for me to feel comfortable. In a distant it smells kind of good, but any closer sniff makes me almost nauseous.


After a while the smell of poo becomes more in the background and Unititled No 8 becomes a soft, yet erotic and still dirty animalic musk fragrance. Untitled No 8 is a perfume oil, with good lasting power but not so big sillage. Even though the base is quite pleasant, the road leading to it isn´t worth it to me.


Even though Untitled No 8 doesn´t really working on me, I still recommend it to anyone curious about animalic notes in perfumes. I´ve tested it on both husband and oldest son and the shit was quite dominant on them too. Still I belive it could smell quite nice on the right person...


Have you tried it? What do you think about it? Do you tolerate animalic/dirty/skanky/body odour notes good or bad? I´m somewhere in between, some work really magical on me, while others (like the musk note in L'Air du Rien) become so unpleasant.


Today I´ve got a parcel from a fairly new French perfume house, so I´ll try them out and then review them here. And soon I´ll be reviewing a really pleasant smoky fragrance and also so indie scents all the way from USA is coming up shortly...


Pic: Noah´s Ark, Edward Hicks.

A small draw to celebrate the spring!

Finally it feels like spring it´s on it´s way. I really hope this lovely sunny weather stay with us for a while. Now it´s time for springflowers and no more snow!


Now, when winter is going towards it´s end, I also start to feel for some other kinds of fragrances. Today was the first time since last summer I longed to wear Bond No 9´s Coney Island. Do you have any spring or summer fragrances that you feel it´s finally time for?


Some of the scents I´ve been writing about from around Christmas until now I won´t use as much during spring, while others will be so nice to wear in warmer weather. I belive I´ll use Cruel Gardenia with pleasure during april as well as several of Ormonde Jayne´s fragrances. Frazer parfum have several perfumes with a kind of refreshing feel and I think they´ll be beautiful during summer. When (or if) I comes to London I´ll go to Roja Dove´s at Harrods and ask how much a bottle of Frazer Parfum is...


Puredistance I that I wrote about just days ago will be so nice during spring and summer, so will Iris Ukioje that I bought when I was in Stockholm.


Some of the fragrances I have wrote about isn´t that easy to get, so I will give away a small set of samples to one winner (here and the Swedish blog).


The winner will have: One sample (1 ml) of Femme by Rochas (vintage), one sample (1 ml) of Shalimar (vintage), one sample of Cerchi Nell'Acqua´s White Out, one sample (1 ml) of Sigilli´s Claudiae, one small sample (0,5 ml) of Guerlain´s Cruel Gardenia, one small sample (0,5 ml) of Iris Ukioje and one small sample (0,5 ml) of Puredistance I.


Leave a comment below, and I´ll draw one winner at thursday 24th of march, tell me something about spring or winter favorites.


Good Luck!





Pic: krokus i snö, J.Larsson

Puredistance - Puredistance I

Puredistance is an exclusive perfumehouse situated in Vienna, Austria. Puredistance offers three different perfumes, Puredistance I, Antonia and Puredistance M. Anne Buzantian is the nose behind Puredistance I and Antonia, while Roja Dove has created Puredistance M. I have been lucky enough to evaluate Puredistance I.


Sometimes when I encounter a really beautiful perfume I can feel that I lack words to describe it true, but with Puredistance I it´s almost like the other way around. It IS beautiful, but when wearing it I get a current of impressions, associations, thoughts and feelings that is so overwhelming it´s hard to know where to start and where it will end up...


Imagine there was a way of capturing the scent of the Garden of Eden or maybe the Elysium (Elysian)Fields and then put the wonderful fragrance in some kind of big, transcluent bubble. Something like that is what I feel when putting on Puredistance I. I am in a perfect scented bubble, a bubble filled with clean, paradisic air, like the smell of that air, but even better...!


The opening of Puredistance I is airy, light, elusive, vibrant and filled with emotions. I experience the sillage as huge, but never intrusive or heavy, it´s like I wrote before, like the air in the most pleasant garden, but better. At the same time Puredistance I is like a shiled against all surrounding scents and odours, it makes me imagine that this is the way the world smells.


But, how does it smell? The opening is slightly tart with soft citrus notes and a hint of black currant, a smallest dash of greenery and then comes the rose, the most adorable rose scent you can imagine. Roses so gentle that they are sailing on thw wind like a ballon, roses so soft as the most perfect veil, roses in a rosegarden blossoming in the faint light of dusk. Weak, but ever present, soft, but so intoxicating and so incredible romantic it´s hard to imagine, this is roses beyond masterpice, this is roses on the border to miracle...


I have allready decide which perfume to wear when the first of my children gets married. And now, I also know which perfume I should wear if I ever was to be married again (of corse with the same loving man I married almost 22 years ago). As a matter of fact we have talked about renewing our vows, and with Puredistance I it feels even more likely that we´ll do that in the future. Nowadays a lot of people spend really much money on their weddings, and I suggest them to spare a part of that budget for the perfect wedding perfume, Puredistance I.


Puredistance I never gets heavy, sweet, cloying or dominating. Still it has, despite of it´s softness and airyness, an extreme hereness. It´s floats around you as the most perfect cloud, and it does it for hours and hours.


Like some others (but only a few) fragarnces I´ve tried, Puredistance I is a slow perfume. It takes time to warm up and mature on your skin, to caress and enchant. You´ll be accompanied by the sheer and airy notes for a long time, where they eventually become more saturated, slowly colored with golden hues and a serene warmth. The airy rose gets accompanied by the softest, golden and perfect powdery mimosa. Now, the sillage also closes in, become close to skin, sensual and intimate. By now, there is several hours (6-8) since I put on Puredistance I I can almost fool myself that i smell this wonderful for real. In this phase Puredistance I is both very close to skin but also send of little, pleasant whiffs of rosy mimosa, smoth amber and light vetiver.


Puredistance I is so beautyful it deserve only to be worn at the most special occations. As a perfumista I have a big collection of different scents that I can wear depending on mood, occation or color of my clothes. Puredistance I is such a wonderful perfume it somehow deserve to be worh as a signture scent. A perfect scent, loved and totally admired by it´s owner. Puredistance I is really much to beautiful and perfect to be waisted on a volatile perfume nerd!


Puredistance I has a very good, without being disturbing, sillage. The lasting power is more then good, this is a fragrance that evolves slowly and still after more then 12 hours it smells quite strong on me. I think it can last at least for a full 24 hour!


Puredistance I is a must try if you get the chanse, and you must really try it if you´re looking for pure, romantic, beautfiul and well made perfumes. Also if you´re looking for that one perfume for a very special occation, such as wedding, you must give Puredistance I a try!


to me, Puredistance I isn´t an every day scent, but a scent to wear on rare and very special occations, such as wedding anniversery and like. Of course Puredistance I have made me curious to try Antonia and Puredistance M as well. Maybe some of my readers allready have tried any of them?


You can find more information about Puredistance and their wonderful perfumes here:
http://www.puredistance.com/



Pic: Macro flower, flickr.
bubble

Guerlain - Spiritueuse Double Vanille

It´s impossible not to have expectations on a perfume that -by some- is knowned to be the worlds best vanilla fragrance. i tried it briefly during one of our perfume meetings, but all I could discover then was a pleasant vanilla. Eventually I got the chanse to test it a little more carefully.


And wow, what a total surpise it was! I´ve read about dark tobacco, even darker rhum and a smoth but unsweet vanilla, and then what I get is something totally different. Honestly, during the first half an hour-an hour of my first testing I was confused and even belived that I somehow had get the wrong fragrance...


On me, Guerlains Spiritueuse Double Vanille starts with an obvious cedar note. A very much concrete cedar note, like being very small and sit on top of a big wooden crave. The note of cedar is so genuin I can almost feel how the wood feels and hoiw it would sound if I knocked on it. Anyway, inside the wood cradle is a brimful glass of ice cold vanilla vodka. The wooden note with pencil and a thad of warmth blends with cold, pure and perfect vanilla vodka. I can even taste it in my mouth, usually I don´t drink any kind of vodka early tuesday mornings, but I´m sure feel to when I smell this fragrance...


During this phase of Spiritueuse Double Vanille, the proportions is about 90% cedar wood and 10% icy vanilla vodka. How on earth do they manage to make the vanilla so cold and refreshing??? At some point in the heart note I can smell a smoky note, or not really smoky, rather like glowing wood, the cedar wood is evolved to being inside a traditional woodfire sauna. The vanilla element is now more present, sweeter, softer and warmer.


Somehaow the glass of vodka has been transformed to a glass of smoky whisky. Some powdery notes comes alson, something reminding of powdery dark raw sugar. I can´t dicover any tobacco at all on me! The vanilla is much more full bodied now. Spiritueuse Double Vanille smells incredible good, incredible complex and constantly changing to me. It´s like heading out on adventure in a magic vanilla world without having an idea about what to come next.


Never has a vanilla scent that I tried so whole heartedly fit in to the term "a vanilla for grown ups" as much as Spiritueuse Double Vanille, it´s filled with alcohol, smoke and soft sensualism. Finally a vanilla scent I won´t pass over to my youngest daughter, at least not until she is 18 or 20 or even 35!


The powdery, smoky and extremly well made heart goes on for about 1-1½ hour, then the fragrance slowly goes to rest. But, to me it has two different bases. One of them, still very much alive, has elements of sweet raisins, dark rhum and a very soft, saturated, sweet and dark vanilla. Spiritueuse Double Vanille goies from sensual to vibrant erotic according to me. I can´t stop sniffing myself, totally enchanted by this magnificent fragrance. This hold another 3-4 hours, fading little by little.


If putting on some Spiritueuse Double Vanille before bedtime (which is actually quite stupid since I smell so good I can hardly sleep) I can still smell it softly whe I wake up. Nothing left but a subtle vanilla floral, but the fragrances lingering on my skin like a distant caress.


I have to admit that I´ve fallen hard for Spiritueuse Double Vanille, about as hard as i falled for Cuir Beluga. I´m sure my decant won´t last long and then I´ll need more of it! I "can´t live" without having a stash of Spiritueuse Double Vanille.


Sometimes I feel for a pure and simple vanilla, and then Ava Luxes Vanilla Musk is a big favorite, but when looking for a more grown up vanilla experience, Spiritueuse Double Vanille is a must try. Hefty sillage, good lasting power and I recommend it for men as well. A little warning though, I´ve read reviews and comments about it and as with other scents it´s not as good on everyone. It also seem to be very different on different person, so be sure to get a sample before buying (as usual).


For you that allready have tried it, love it or hate it?



Pic: grey goose vodka crate

Guerlain - Cruel Gardenia

Some time ago I swapped a decant of my Cuir Beluga for a decant of Cruel Gardenia from the same Guerlain line of fragrances, L'Art et Materie. At the first test I just noooooo, I have swapped one of my most loved fragrances for something I can´t wear!


It smelled so odd on me, something in it reminded of pale little fungus rather then flowers. there is also an element of paper in Cruel Gardenia, that thick and high quality kind of paper, but still... fungus and paper, not exactly what I expected from Cruel Gardenia. But, at least interesting, for sure.


Some hour later my youngest got home from school and just "Oh, you smell so good" mmmmmmm, "Really? Don´t you think it smells kind of like fungus" "Maybe, but very delicate fungus". Since she´s the only one close by that at all can tell different notes apart I tend to listen to her.


As you realise, some time later I´ve been used to Cruel Gardenia. As a fragrances it doesn´t remind of anything else, which means that when I´m in the mood for Cruel gardenia, nothing else will do. While Cuir Beluga pretty much is the perfect comfort scent for me, a fragrances I use often. Cruel Gardenia is rather interesting, demanding, beautiful and with loads of personality.


Cruel Gardenia makes me think about an almost ancient Russian noble woman, living in exile at the French Riviera since almost 100 years back, she´ll be 104 next time and have lived through Russian revolution as well as world war I and II and a lot of other great events. She has been married four times and have more kids then she remember and guess if she can tell you a good story?


Cruel Gardenia opens with a prominent yet beautiful and interesting fungus note on me. Soemthing like pink or pale fungus, as beautiful as any flower, like that kind of fungus I think Cruel Gardenia smells. There´s also a soft fruity note, not sweet, just fresh and juicy. And then the papery note, not heavy leathery books, just soft, thick and perfect paper. the papery note makes a core where the other notes circulate around slowly.


Some half an hour in the fungus note softens and become more flowery and also spicy. This is an enchanting, magic, dreamy and beautiful floral note. Cruel Gardenia is loaded with nostalgia, longing, elegance and a fragile beauty. Yes, I can wear Cruel Gardenia, but actually I belive this would be a perfect fragrance for any women about to become 100 years old. Cruel Gardenia evokes the feeling of long lost times.


Cruel gardenia feels lees Guerlain like then most fragrances i´ve tried from Guerlain. A lot of Guerlain fragrances have a concrete, stable feeling with both feets standing safe in a bath of guerlinade. Cruel Gardenia has breaked free and floats away with her head in the clouds...


Further in to the fragrance Cruel gardenia becomes sweeter, spicier and really, really goos, still it´s the opening that make me wants to return to it. cruel Gardenia has medium sillage and good longvity, yet quite discrete in the end. This is a scent for thsoe of you looking for a personal, dreamy and romantic fragrance.


I´m happy to have my decant after all, but I doubt I´ll buy more of Cruel Gardenia. There are several left for me to try among L'Art et materie, among them, which is your favorite(s)?



Pic: gardenia clahadine.com
fungus flickr.com

Guerlain - Djedi (vintage)

Birdwatchers can go a long way to spot a bird that haven´t been watched in our country since the beginning of the 20'ieth century. they bring extreme binocculars, cameras and a book where they can hopefully can mark that they´ve seen the rare bird.


Perfumistas on the hunt after a certain vintage fragrance aren´t far from bird watchers. Some of us (more often male perfumistas I think)just have to own a full bottle, while others thinks it´s OK just to swap for some drops of the sought after scent. I belong more to the second kind, other perfumistas can hunt for the expensive bottles at Ebay.The perfume I´ll write about today is one people really are on the hunt for, namely Guerlains Djedi...


Djedi is one of the most rare fragrances from the house of Guerlain. One single ml can cost as much as a full bottle of a less rare perfume. Originally Djedi was created in 1926 (or 1927), but Guerlain released a limited edition of it in 1996. My precious drops is from an original bottle before the re-realese.


On me Djedi starts with a cloud of smoke and it is a strange, greenish kind of smoke. The top note is so dry and jagged I feel all dry in the back of my mouth when smelling it upclose, still it smells strangely good at the same time. Dry, rough, different and really good. When the smoke has settled down a little I can feel the civet very clearly. This is a comforting civet, as soft and warm as a cats fur. I have never encountered such a perfect civet note in any other perfume.


Djedi is also grassy, aromatic and with a light and subdued tart element. I guess it´s probably the vetiver that manage to be both earthy/smoky and grassy/green at the same time. Probably diffrent kinds of vetiver have been used to get this effect. Apart from the opening I don´t really agree with Roja Dove that says that Djedi probably is the dryest fragrance of them all. My skin manage to find a soft, powdery sweetness even in Djedi, and in my opinion this is partly what makes Djedi such a great fragrance. The sweetness and powder comes from a muted rose. And the rose makes all the difference in Djedi. On me, the leather is hardly noticable.


Djedi is amazingly complex and I suspect it can smell very different on different people. My skin often brings forth sweetness in fragrances, so I manage to find sweetness even in Djedi (which, to me, is a good thing).


Djedi feels like a scent that is half a great classic a typical, rich, animalic chypre vintage from the house of Guerlain. But half of it manage to be (and this is a frag created 85 years ago!) like something created today in some edgy and beyond modern niche perfume house. One part aging, faded beauty and one part thrilling, modern and on the edge. With only one of this parts, Djedi would have been either hard to wear or slightly dated, but combined they create a timeless masterpiece.


My drops are of perfect quality, over and over again I encountere vintage fragrances which smells like the raw materials was prepered last week, not years and years ago. This is to me pure magic. For sure, sometimes the top notes can be a little off, but just wait 20 minutes and the fragarnce is all good to go.


¨The drydown of Djedi is surprisningly soft, green and powdery. It´s hard to get my nose of the little spot where I put the drop of Djedi, and while smelling it I realise it might be the last time I ever wear Djedi. Djedi is a rich, different and all together wonderful fragrance, but I wont spend that much money to get more of it...


Have you tried Djedi? What do you think about it? I know some perfume nerdas avoiding it, and other vintages just to avoid falling in love with scents that is both hard to get and often very expensive. I´m more of the bargain kind, sometimes I find vintage bottles for practically no money and if no one else find it, well of course I buy it.



Pic: surreal portrait

Marcel Rochas - Femme

I was supposed to write about Chanel No 5 today, but I chickened. Why? Well, the fragrance itself is an icon and furthermore worn by the icon of icons, Marilyn Monroe. It´s hard to avoid Marilyn when thinking about Chanel No 5 and how could I write anything that isn´t allready written about any of them? Maybe I give it a new try some other day...


Instead I´ll write about a fragrance, if not as well known at least it seem to be very loved by perfume nerds like me. Femme by Rochas.


There are so many perfumes out there that would be loved if you only get around to try them. Femme was one of these until about a month ago (when I bought that mixed lot at Swedish ebay). And you can guess that I´m really happy that Femme was a part of that lot?


My bottle is marked with Marcel Rochas paris, which according to vintage connoiseurs means that it´s older then bottle with only Rochas marked on. This is on the cap, my bottle have no print on the bottle itself.


Still, I don´t exactly how old my version is, maybe from the 50'ies or 60'ies? The scent itself is in perfect condition (or in fact better, it smells divine!) the only thing not so good is that it´s an eau de colgne which on my skin has really poor staying power (only a coupple of hours and my skin usually holds scents rather good). Thanks to this I´ll need a vintage femme in a little stronger concentration, like an eau de toilette at least. And I´m sure this time I´ll not get it at bargain price!


Femme by Rochas was created by Edmond Roudnitska during world war II (1943).


Femme opens really, really strong with a kind of dark, full and heavy on oakmoss top note. Usually I don´t tend to like that kind of openings, but in Femme I find it to be wonderfully dark, mysterious and animalic with elements of some sweetness and warmth. This kind of opening usually make me want that the rest of the scent opens up quickly, but in Femme I would like the bold opening to keep on going if it wasn´t for...


If it wasn´t for that the part that comes there after are so much more comfy and great that I just want to sit with my nose attached to my skin. It´s lots of cinnamon, cinnamon that smells darker and more thrilling then common cinnamon thanks to that other spices underscores it without reveal themselfs (at least not on me). It´s juicy, sweet fruits, peach and plum so ripe that they´re mouthwatering. It´s also the wildest flowers with a scent so arousing, heavy and spicy that they are almost narcotic. Glowing, redishbrownpurple flowers with a warm inner glow. Oooh my, this smells so incredible good! Dark, heavy, magnetic and erotic, yes in this version Femme is for sure a masterpiece.


You can imagine that an eau de cologne should be a somewhat thin scent experience, but it isn´t. I´ve noticed that most vintage eau de cologne (the one´s I´ve tried, which in fact isn´t that many!) have a richness not far from nowadays eau de parfum. It´s not the strenght that is the problem, it´s the longvity.


After the wild, glowing heart note, Femme goes to rest on my skin. I can smell soft leather, oakmoss, sweet vanilla and some ambra, but this is only for a short while. Half an hour later it´s really difficult to find any leftovers from Femme. Since it smells so incredible good it´s easy to put on some more and some more and, well you get it?


Is is someone that have tried (or even own) a stronger version of vintage Femme? Or have you tried both the vintage and the modern one? Should I try the reformulated one as well? At least they can be found for really good prices...


I wish I had a Femme that last for a whole evening...


Soon I´ll write about a vintage Guerlain. And there after some luxury fragrances in the higher price range (which indeed the vintage Guerlain also is). So lock up your wallets and don´t blame me if they break free!



Pic: bloglovin

Ormonde Jayne - Osmanthus

There are few fragrances that makes me miss summer as much as Ormonde Jaynes Osmanthus. Over all most of Ormonde Jaynes tropical inspired fragarnces has a very summery feeling to me.


In osmanthus you find the combination of citruses with flower, a combo I usually likea a lot. One problem with that kind of scents is that they can have very short and fleeting staying power, another is that the soft and whispery start is followed by way to heavy and dark basenotes that doesn´t seem to match the rest of the fragrance well. Osmanthus have neither of these problems and the very soul and heart of the scent remains true from start to end.


Osmanthus is much more then just a cute, citrusfloral for summery wear. Osmanthus feels both moodlifting and sensual at the same time. Osmanthus has "it". Among all Ormonde Jayne fragrances, Osmanthus feels like the most youthful, but still manage to be a fragarnces that suits women in all ages. It is partly timeless, but still with some retro vibes that makes me think about slender women in long white dresses and parasolls from the time somewhere around the early 20ieth century. Osmanthus is romantic, saturated, happy and very beautiful.


In Osmanthus you can find notes of davana, pomelos, osmanthus, jasmine, vetiver, musk, cedar and labdanum. There is a note that shows up and to me it smells like a softer version of tobacco. This makes the fragrance a little caramellised, and it´s so gorgeous. Could it be the davana? Even though it´s listed as a top note... (My skin pick up sweet notes very easy)


Towards the base, the florals become less flowering and come to rest, becomes softer and dryer, the citrus fleets away and vetiver contributes with a vauge greenish and dry feeling.


Oh, how I wish that the summer comes soon! I belive that Osmanthus, but also Champaca as well as Frangipani and Tiare comes much more to their right in warmer weather.


Osmanthus has good lasting power (6-8 hours) and good sillage (much more noticable then the shy Champaca). If you love citrus and flowers you must try Osmanthus. I belive everyone, both men and women can find at least on favorite among the wonderful perfume treasure of Ormonde Jayne´s.


Osmanthus, Champaca and all of the others are well made perfumes with high quality ingrediences and a big sense of belonging. Still, my personal favorite is Ormonde Woman, which you can read about here: http://perfumenerd.blogspot.com/2009/10/ormonde-jayne-ormonde-woman.html


You can find out about Ormonde Jaynes line of fragrances and gorgeuos (at least they seem gorgeous to me) body products here: http://www.ormondejayne.com/

This month Ormonde Jayne also offers a complimentary 10 ml purse spray of Osmanthus to everyone that buys a full bottle of Osmanthus parfum or eau de parfum. Here´s a link: http://www.ormondejayne.com/enews/2011/mar/030311_oj_march_promo.html?utm_campaign=March%2B-%2BPurse%2BSpray%2Bpromo%2B2011&utm_source=emailCampaign&utm_medium=email


Do you have any personal Ormonde Jayne favorite? And what about the bath oil, has anyone tried it?


Coming up: Some classic fragrances and there after some really luxurious scents.




Pic: osmanthus
Kröyer

Ormonde Jayne - Champaca

To test Ormonde Jaynes fragrances is a little like having a private stay at a peaceful and unknown South Sea Island. Many of Ormonde Jaynes fragrances have got inspiration from wonderful tropical flowers like tiare, frangipani and champaca. But they are representating a tropical paradise far from bright colored cocktails, coconuts and hoards of tourists. All of Ormonde Jaynes perfumes seem to be filled with elegance, beauty and holds a longing away from gloomy European winter and also, our stressed out modern life style. In most of Ormonde Jaynes fragrances (both the more tropical, but also the "western" like Ormonde Woman) you can find a hide away, a serene retrat that caresses you in a quiet but also obvious way.


Ormonde Jaynes scents are kind of laid back, delicate and truly beautiful. Among those smoth and peaceful fragrances I think Champaca is the most comfy, soft and caressing. Champaca has a quiet charm, thats maybe in a more loud company isn´t the first one to get noticed, byt afterwards you realise, Champaca is the one you can´t forget about.


Champaca has notes of neroli, bamboo, champaca, fresia, basmati rice, myrrh, green tea and musk. It smells of a restrained, quite fleeting fruity sweetness, the floral notes are complex both arousing and some drier haylike notes. The note of basmati rice makes Champaca to an extremly comfy and cuddly scent. While wearing Champaca you feel comfortable in the same way you do when you have spend some wonderful hours on a luxury spa.


During the basenote a wionderfully creamy powderyness occurs. And this is little of a common house note in Ormonde Jaynes scents, like they all share a common ground. This creamyness becomes even more interesting -to me- since there is no vanilla present, which makes this a very special, unique and personal kind of creamy. The creamyness of Champaca is soft, caressing and sensual. And in different from a lot of other comfort scents, Champaca don´t feel like an autumn/winter scent, no in my opinion it´s perfect for summer wear.


The drydown feels like put your softest favorite sweater on at a warm summer night after a day filled with summery sunshine.


Champaca has good lasting power (about 6-7 hours on me) and medium sillage, it´s stronger early on and become more of a soft skinscent during dry down. I recommend Champaca to everyone looking for a sunny, fresh, beautiful and comfortable floral. The basmati note is a wonderful element and really nice to experience without being particulary foody.





Pic: flickr

A short report about our perfume meeting.

As usual a really nice day with other perfume lovers. My youngest daughter tagged along and behaved quite well (I had to bribe her with a stop at LUSH).


This time we managed to buy a travel set of Hermessence, the other two times they haven´t had any Ambre Narguile. I got me a small bottle of Iris Ukioje, which was a surprise to me, love at first sniff! More about it later...


We visited COW where I put on some Dulcis in Fundo and realised that I need more of this! Everything was just great besides that our train home was more than an hour late!!!


It was as usual so nice to meet and we had a new participant also. I hope we´ll have another meeting in a coupple of months.

Perfume meeting on saturday and some waiting in line.

This week the kids are having winter break, unfortunatly the weather has been a little to cold, even though some days have been sunny. Anyway, I´m not much of a winter sport type, but I enjoy getting out in the forrest with husband, kids and dog.
So far we have mostly indulged in indoor activities like reading and baking.


On saturday it´s time for another perfume meeting in Stockholm. We´ll meet at NKs perfume department at 11.30 and I hope my train isn´t late. I had hope to manage to visit that shop that offers vintage perfumes, but a friend told me they´ve closed. :(


Apart from that I have a cute little line up of perfumes waiting to be evaluated and reviewed. Among them for instant the Ormonde Jayne fragrances which is so nice to learn to know better, also I have at least 3 vintage treasures that want´s my attention as well as a pile of samples from Montale and Neil Morris.




Pic: insect dolls waiting in line

Guest post, LUSH - Honey I washed the kids

Hello! My name is Felicia and I´m Annelie´s daughter, I´m 13 years old, and a beauty addict, and I´m going to write about one of my favorite companies: Lush!
Some of you might already know about Lush, some of you might not, but Lush is a company that started in England and makes bath and shower products. Lush is against animal tasting, and use only eco-friendly and fresh ingredients in their products. The good thing with Lush is that they have a huge variety of diffrent products that usually is booring or in worst case, doesn´t smell so good!!!! But Lush makes it fun to take a bath or a shower. But the only bad thing about Lush is that it can be kind of pricey for a small chunk of soap or a bottle of schampoo, but it´s worth the money. The list of amazing products is long but it´s still not hard to pick my favorite: Honey I washed the kids!


Honey I washed the kids is a soap, and if a soap is a teenage girls favorite product from a brand that have, bathbomb,bubblebars,showerjellies( a kind of soap that is like jell-o), perfumes and much more it must be pretty good. It smells like honey toffee and is simply perfect! HIWTK is a best seller and I know why.


The soaps from Lush all have diffrent qualities, some have exfoiliants in them, some are specielly made for dry or oily skin. HITWK is very creamy and works best for sensitive skin, and it moisturises a bit, but not as a body lotion would, and the best thing about it is that the scent stay on your skin, but it is very subtle and it´s almost only yourself who can smell it. On the top of the soap there´s honey comb, like real honey comb, and it exfoliets your skin, the good thing with that is that you can choose if you want to only clean yourself or if you want to exfoliate as well. As soon as you buy a slice of HIWTK you just want to take a shower as soon as you possibly can, that´s how good it smells.


Pic: Honey I washed the kids, LUSH

Cerchi Nell'Acqua - White Out

Even though I really like Jolie and Waves from Cerchi Nell'Acqua, White Out is probably the fragrance among them all that makes me most happy and that also feels most "me". :)


While Jolie partly is a little to discrete and Waves a little to loud, White Out is just perfect. Oh yeah, this fragrance makes me so happy! It´s at least as complex as Waves, but while Waves has obvious retro vibes, White Out feels modern and innovative. But absolutly not modern like in hard to wear or too peculiar. Only like a fragrance that feel very much in phase with the time and relevant and soooo very soft, wonderful and yet with that little special something making it special and unforgettable.


As the others from Cerchi Nell'Acqua it has a very round and soft character. In the opening White Out is very much about vanilla, a soft, smoth and creamy vanilla that soon enough gets accompanied by a cooling scent that I can´t really pinpoint. Kind of minty, but without tothpaste vibes, maybe eucalypthus or menthol, it´s not fresh or aquatic, but rather a dry and cold scent that maybe could be blended with some flower (fresia?)? This cold note don´t actually smell so much, but contributes with an over all feeling of cold and stops the vanilla from being too sweet or ordinary vanilly.


On me the vanilla holds center part for a very long time, it´s like the other notes moves around the vanilla. The cold scent/feeling seem to build a bridge between the vanilla and the toher notes and makes them all tag on to each other. If this sounds strange I´m sorry, but I can´t explain it any other way... The result is a sort of warm cold feeling that stays pretty much through the entire development. Like falling snow on a soft and warm wolf if I would be a little way-out.


Besides the vanilla, the sweet and warmness of White Out could be something very discrete and fruity hiding within the vanilla. Some half an hour in the fragarnces I also starts to feel the woody notes, one interesting aspect is that the woody note also feels very soft and smooth, like beachwood, silvery pale and softened by the ocean for years (still what the woody note intact though). The patchouli is very discrete and doesn´t really smell like patchouli, but rather contributes to the woody note, after some time I also detect something reminding of oakmoss.


Shortly speaking, White Out is an amazing, complex and also very comfy fragrance. Really good lasting power (at least 8-10 h) and noticable sillage. White Out works on both women and men. I recommend White Out to anyone looking for a personal and different take on vanilla. Actually the hole line of Cerchi Nell'Acqua is very mych worth trying, and I sure hope it reaches outside Italy soon.



Pic: Inside igloo
snowcovered wolf