Frederic Malle - L'Eau d'Hiver

A snowflake on the tounge that melts away in a few seconds. Ice cold cherries covered by a thin layer of hoar-frost. A small childrens winter pale skin, but with bright red cheeks. Lovikka-mittens. Dried flowers in washed out colors, brittle as old paper. The sun, small and dirt-yellow on an enormous greyweather sky.

Frederic Malle´s L'Eau d'Hiver (Winter water) takes me on a winter trip. It´s strange that such a subtle scent can make such a large impression. It´s like the perfumer Jean-Claude Ellena have manage to take every single accords smallest smellable part and turned it into a perfume. On em, L'Eau d'Hiver is so discrete that I can´t smell it if I don´t sit with my nose up close. Still, it´s surprisingly longlasting. I kind of expect that it would fade away and dissapear as quickly as a snowflake on warm skin, but no, L'Eau d'Hiver is going on for at least 6-7 hours on me.

The topnotes are a little sweet, with some cherry (heliotrope) and citusnotes. In the heart notes I can detect almond, something milky and a dash of vanilla. Sublte but very soft floral notes comes and go, I can´t really tell what flowers, on me they become a very well blenden vague floral note. There is something in L'Eau d'Hiver that reminds me of Bois Farine, but much more subtle.

L'Eau d'Hiver is that kind of scent that you can wear when you shouldn´t wear any perfume at all. It is so discret, that it is that kind of scent you wear mostly for your own sake. I doubt anyone can actually figure out that you wears a perfume, if you haven´t drenched your self in it...

I do like L'Eau d'Hiver, even though I generally prefers perfumes with a little more power in it. For me, L'Eau d'Hiver would be a great bedtime scent, really comforting to sniff at when I try to sleep.

pic: Sjöfartsverket

Rest in peace, Robert.

Earlier today I found out that one of my fellow perfume lovers had died. I never learned to know Robert closer, but he was an extremly intelligent, creative and interesting person. His personal perfume reviews didn´t leave anyone neutral, for good or bad. Except our common interest of perfumes we was in about the same age and as me Robert was a devoted punkrocker during his youth in Boston.

I so hope that you have found the peace you longed for, Robert.

Frederic Malle - Une fleur de Cassie

Some flowers get a lot of attention. Roses, lilac, jasmine, tuberose, sunflower, lilies, tulips, dahlias and cherry blossom. Others not so much. Still, most flowers deserve some attention and when watching a dandelion a little closer you discover that it´s a really beautiful, lively and happy little flower. Maybe we don´t want it in our gardens, but a field with thousands of dandelion in the sun, isn´t that beautiful?

Frederic Malle´s Une fleur de Cassie, haven´t really anything in common with dandelions. Still, this scent makes me think about those kinds of flowers that is easy to forget about when you think about flowers. Not only dandelions, but thistles, scented mayweed, hawkbit, buttercup and mugworth. There is something with Une fleur de Cassie that makes me think about those slender little flowers close to the pavement. Flowers that no one but a 2 or 3 year old would like to pick.

On me Une fleur de Cassie wears very discrete, almost elusive, but still with a strong present. Something in it smells dirty, animalic and almost pale greyish. The flowers smell seem blanded, with elements of cucumber, water and something oily. But there is also a sweetness, a pale golden feeling and deep down inside, a happy, unbeatable spirit. Une fleur de Cassie has charm, but of the silent, whispering sort. A scent that don´t demand a lot of room, but still show to be much stronger then I first thought.

Yes, first I wasn´t shore about Une fleur de Cassie, but when I used for the second time I had to surrender for it. I belive that Une fleur de Cassie is one of those scents that you either like a lot or don´t care for at all. Now, when I´ve decided to like it, I realise this will be another fave from Editions de parfums, and really, I can´t afford an other favorite from that line. :P

Good lasting power, but discrete sillage, at least on me. What do you think about Une fleur de Cassie?

Pic: Pioneer woman

Chanel - Coromandel (Les Exclusifs)

I have noticed that "several" established, skilled and talented perfume bloggers seem to be strucked with some kind of perfume tiredness now and then. That is not that strange, if you live with perfumes the kind of way that is necesarry to write review after review. Personally I not at all tired with perfumes, but when testing scents I can realise that I am really longing for that kind of scents that have that little extra.


Since I try a lot of scents I have discovered that I can test 20 or 30 perfumes in a row that are nice, well made, good ingrediences, but all of them lack that certain something that makes a perfume standing out in a crowd. Most perfumistas I know of have those magical kinds of scents that dances, glow, whispers, caress and tells stories on your skin. Scents that you couldn stop smelling and that you wish to go on smelling like that for ages. These scents can be different from each other as day to night, but they have in common a certain charm, a personality that makes you return again and again.


That Chanels Coromandel is one of those scents come as a big surprise for me. Usually Chanels scents don mixes well with my skin chemistry, and apart from Chanel No 5 Eau Premiere, they all have a scent of wet diapers in common on my skin...


Well, Coromandel is as far from wet diapers as possible. This is in all way a cozy, soft and also interesting scent. The one thing about it that isn so good would be the price tag and the fact that it is quite hard to get.


With Coromandel I feel totallt contempt to just be, I don have to sniff it all the time, I can feel it surrounding me with a strong precense, even though I would say it has quite an average sillage.


Coromandel is a rich, sweet, full bodied scent with notes of wood, incense and amber. The opening is a warm, slightly animalic amber. The amber in Coromandel is both mystic and living but also soft and powdery. Coromandel is one of those scents that changes a little between every time I sniff it.


Some time the element of incense is more prominent, but after that I can feel that the woody notes are dominating. During this time of year I don think Coromandel is as its best, but I sure it would be lovely during the cold and dark months that are on their way.


The drydown is soft, woody and warm and with some kind of soft spicy scent. The patchouli note recognised by others are not at all strong on me, just barely there. Coromandel has great lasting power, I can still smell it on me skin at least after 10-12 hours.


Coromandel is a must try for all lovers of woody and oriental scents. I really, really likes it, but for a perfume with THAT price tag I must admit that it dont really reaches all the way, but almost. It has charm, presence, high quality ingridiences, but lack a little of originality.

Carthusia - Ligea la Sirena

My back is much better now, and that is a relief. The worst thing is that I don´t know why it get bad, so now I don´t now what to avoid to stop it from get back. Besides that, everything is good, my kids will go back to school in a coupple of days and middle daughter are off to Markaryd (in southern Sweden) for studies. And oh, our usual computer aren´t working right now, so I have to bribe my youngest son to have some time at his computer.

Some coupple of years ago I scored a almost un-touched vintage bottle of Carhusia´s Aria di Capri at Tradera (Swedish Ebay), I´ve got it for a really good price, as I remember maybe 7-8 euros. It was a really, really good price, Aria di Capri is a well made perfume with quality ingrediences, but however, it didn´t suit me that good, on me Aria di Capri smells a little masculin and it was soon swapped. Oh, I wish it had been a bottle of Ligea la Sirena instead...

A perfume interested friend of mine has just recently bought a bottle of Cartusia´s Ligea la Sirena, and she got it for a really good price, without testing it before, I decided to buy a decant unsniffed and I don´t regret it.

Ligea la Sirena is most of all an opoponax scent, and usually I like opoponax in fragrances so I had high hopes for Ligea la Sirena. But, when I tested it for the first time I was quite dissapointed at first, the opening is sharp and very soapy soapy. That means soapy in not a good way. not like soaps on a luxury hotel or all natural soaps made of the finest and most caressing ingrediences, but instead you know that cheap smelling kind of soap at a gas station... Honestly, this soap note was so bad at the beginning it was close to a scrubber...

But, thankfully this note is quickly fading and I can smell sweet and juicy notes of mandarin, and some time later also opoponax. The soapy note is still present, but blended with citrus and opoponasx it isn´t disturning any more. About 20 minutes later Ligea la Sirena smells so good that I forget about the naughty opening.

Opoponax is a kind of note that has the ability to smell both powdery and wet on me at the same time. The powdery note in Ligea la Sirena is warm, feminine, woody and easy to like. The wet note (something in opoponax makes me think about swimming pools, but in a good way) makes Ligea la Sirena credible as a scent for a mermaid (sirene). Ligea la Sirena is an allring, sensual and also kind of playful scent. Opoponax is anote that makes me happy, but Ligea la Sirena is even better, it makes me kind of a little in love with myself. Like someone smelling that good must deserve to be loved.

Ligea la Sirena is a seductive scent, warm, interesting and mystical. But also relaxed and natural, like a scent for pillow fisght with a person you love and trust enough to be totally relaex and comforatble with, and the pillow fighting leads to some wrestling that leads to... well, you now...! There is something with Ligea la Sirena that is both very playful but also not giving in without a battle.

If you´re familiar with opoponax since before, you know it´s a multi faced note, with both powdery and wet aspects, but also woody, smoky and sweet. Shortly speaking, opoponax is a soft, warm, easy to like and full bodied oriental fragrance. If compared with Imperial Opoponax (another opoponax favorite) Ligea la Sirena is sexier, smells more expensive and also mystical. Imperial Opoponax feels like a funnier scent, and with that swiming pool note more apperant.

Ligea la Sirena has really good lasting power, at least 7-8 hours. Sillage is also good, but not to much. It´s must try for everyone liking opoponax, but also for everyone that usually are found of oriental and woody scents. It´s hard to not sniff your wrist all the time when wearing Ligea la Sirena. But, it still has a little left to be one of those magnificent master piece perfumes, even though it might very well end up as one of those on you! Absolutly worth sampling! Over all I think Carthusia is a perfume house that deserve more attention. Anyone that have tried anything except Ligea la Sirena or Aria di Capri?

Pic: Clickz.it

Out of order...

Now it´s one of those break downs again, and this time it isn´t because of some lovely friends or relatives visiting. No, I´ve got a serious back breakdown and can´t sit for longer then 5-10 minutes at the time. Anyway, now I´ve got me some painkillers and piled up a lot of crime novels and caressing myself witj some drops of Ava Luxes Midnight Violet so I guess I´ll manage...

Hope to see ya all soon again, until then there is after all several other nice perfume blogs to read.

Tuberose - Polianthes Tuberosa

Every time I goes in and out through the front door I can feel a wonderful scent. It´s a rather weak, but still very alluring scent. Since it´s so alluring most of the times, I bend down to feel the scent even better.


Usually I wrote about perfumes here, but sometimes I can write about some other things like scents I remember from my childhood or some travels or other special occations. Sometimes I write about general toughts I´ve got considering perfumes etc. Of course perfumes itself are the central piece in my hobby, but over all I find scents and fragrances very interesting.


Indoor I feel inspired by the idea of using fragrances in home decorating, so much in fact that I bought a scented candle for about 50 euro and litterary burned the money! Since I´m also interested in plants, flowers and gardening I spend some money on that hobby to. And this spring I´ve got my lovely tuberose-bulbs...


In fact they have been very easy to care for. From three bulbs, one is blossoming right now (the one next to the front door) and an other is soon blossoming, while the third one (the only of the three that is planted in a pot of it´s own) seem to have develop a plentyfull of greenery instead of flowers. From this I learn that tuberose plants don´t want to much attention in form of water and manour. Tuberoses are relatives to hyacinth, and they don´t want to much attention either.


And the smell? The smell! Oh yes! From some distant, I can smell similarities to Carnal Flower, but a very weak Carnal Flower. In the floral scent there is elements of green and some menthol like notes, the eucalyptus note in Carnal Flower is very genuin. I dont have much experience in natural tuberose scent besides my own plants and among the tuberose scents Ive tried Carnal Flower is closest to the real thing. The chewinggum note you can sense in many tuberose fragrances I can=t find in the actual flower.


Of course it smell in a different way when I lean closer. If I held the flower in my hand and smell close up I can almsot feel that burning sensation reminding of jetfuel and turpentine also common in some tuberose scents like Tubereuse Criminelle. This burning scent is the top note of the actual flower and it is followed by a multifaced floral scent with elements of creamy alsmot tropical, sweet notes and there is also a kind of tranquilising scent, almost reminding of clove but much weaker. Depending on when in the blossoming they smell a little different, even the buds have a scent, even though it is weak. The flowers almost over blossomed have that humid, almost rotting scent of decay you can also find in some tuberose scents.


You can figure out that I have spend some time close to my tuberose plant, and soon tuberose No 2 starts to blossom as well! I think I could sit besides a flowering tuberose plant for hours and be totally contempt with just smelling. There is not totally wrong that the scent from tuberose is narcotic and arousing.


Longvity, well yes, I strated to sense the smell from the buds about 2 weeks ago and still counting, so the lasting power is huuuuuge! And for being a 100% natyral smell I say the sillage is great to. I recommend everyone that have a least a balcony to grow their own tuberose plant, it is easy and considering what you got for your money, it is a bargain.


Tuberose can not stand cold, so when autumn comes I have to dig my plants up and try to store them during winter. I use to keep my dahlia bulbs in the refrigerator during winter and I think I will try the same with the tuberoses. And then I just have to wait and see.


I understand that most of you read this blog because of the perfumes, but do you have other interests that borders to your perfume hobby? Is there even a certain hobby that your perfume interest was born from?

Sorry for the lack of some signs during this artcle, something is fishy with my keyboard.


Pic My own tuberose plant