Monthly Archives: April 2010

Bal d’Afrique – it’s your turn

World of Perfume April 7, 2010 Comments: 7

After wearing it for some time now (in really small and carefully applied quantities), I think it’s time to tell you what I think of it. The Bal’s turn has finally come.

Notes:

Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Neroli, African marigold, Bucchu

Mid: Violet, Jasmin petals, Cyclamen

Base: Black Amber, Musk, Vetiver, Moroccan cedarwood

OK, the notes are here but I don’t know where to start. First, I want to warn you to try it sparsely for the first time because this is one serious sillage monster. The other day I put 2 small sprays on and put another sample on my wrist but that was no use, I couldn’t smell what was on my wrist. I think this is the most heavy sillage perfume I own. I’m not much into sillage usually but I can live with this one.

I have quite a lot of notes on it, but the thing is, it still sort of escapes words. It has many faces, and I think I will keep discovering them.

Yesterday for example, the opening reminded me of cotton candy, in a good way.

Anyway, it starts so strong I have problems distinguishing what I smell (ok, I have problems until the end but I’ll get there). 🙂

It starts citrusy fresh but not in any cologne manner, I think the flowers subdue that citrusness and it’s just this strong, slightly sharp, floraly-sweet, happy and spring-like scent. And this is not even close to describing how it smells.

By now I’m used to that sharpness , it used to scare me because I associate that with musks that get stuck in my nose and won’t go away, but it never happens here. I do believe it is the musk-neroli combo that gives it this sharpishness but it’s really well done.

As it progresses, I keep getting upset because it smells complete, I cannot make a not stand out. I realized that there was a juicyness hidden inside it and kept looking at notes trying to find a fruit. This is where google comes in handy – bucchu is some kind of a plant that smells of blackcurrants. Yes! Something finally appeared out of this ball.

It really is a strange concoction, it’s fresh but not airy or light, it is sweet but not girly, it is serious but it is flirty as well.

In the end, I smell the amber and musk but cannot access cedar. I know other people smell it but I just can’t. I think it cannot get through the amber and musk on me.

Pic and notes by: http://www.byredo.com/

Laurell K. Hamilton: The Killing Dance

World of Perfume April 6, 2010 Comments: 2

This is the book where I can say Finally!!!

After being celibate for so long, Anita finally has sex with someone in this book (those who have read know but if there is someone who hasn’t I don’t want to spoil it).

And I did say just now finally but at some point during my first time through the series, I kept thinking it started turning into porn and not being supernatural crime-thriller stuff.

There was no sex before because if she slept with Richard, and Jean Claude having the same opportunities to woo her, that would put her in a somewhat sticky situation and Richard wanted her to see him shift before they sleep together.

Well, she sees him shift. And she also sees him go against his boy scout mentality and kill the pack leader (sorry for this spoiler) which goes completely against what he stands for.

There is also a new vampire in town (just visiting) who needs Anita’s help. Especially so after it seems that the three of them formed a triumvirate of power. Ok, not seems, they actually do form it and it’s going to land them in so much trouble later. 🙂

Of course, what else would one expect in Anita’s life but more trouble whatever choice she makes.
There is so much more happening in the book that can never all appear here, and while writing this I realized that all Anita Blake books are filled with a lot of stuff happening. Never a minute to take a breath.

Laurell K. Hamilton: Bloody Bones

World of Perfume April 6, 2010 Leave a comment

Like I said in my previous post, this book has some months passing somewhere in the fantasy world.

Here is where we get to meet fairies for the first time in Laurell’s world (later she started writing another series that deals with fairy world, Merry Gentry series).

I don’t want to give away much details because first, if I start, I will just keep adding another and another, and I don’t want to tell you much about the book, it should be read.

But I’ll give a few teasers. 🙂

Jean-Claude and Anita come up against some new types of monsters (some of which are vampires but are just eeww and plain evil. And this time, the bad guys are actually stronger than they are (meaning Jean-Claude, Master Vampire of the city of St. Louis and Anita with her faith and guns – you can’t use a cross unless you are a believer).

So, the plot gets complicated again, I actually forgot how much until I read the book again, and in this one Anita actually gets offered something by a vampire she cannot refuse. And that’s as far as I’ll go. 🙂

Laurell K. Hamilton: The Lunatic Cafe

World of Perfume April 6, 2010 Leave a comment

I was lazy the last few days so I’m 3 books behind with reviews of Anita Blake. 🙂 Now is the time to fix that.

As you might be aware, Anita is by now dating the Master of the City and Richard, a werewolf alpha (not yet pack leader though). In this book, she is helping the police with some nasty murders while at the same time being asked by the leader of the pack Marcus to help find 8 missing shifters. And not tell the police which she is helping with some shifter murders that some of the shifters are missing. Complicated?
At the same time, she gets in some pissing contest with the sheriff department (they are all agressive idiots, but some are cunning). Anyway, the standard troubles follow her, as well as slowly getting a new enemy, Raina (Marcus’s lupa, werewolf partner – she is just evil).
With some help and threats from Edward (they are always considering what would happen if they really had to fight against each other).
And I just realized I shouldn’t do this to mayself in the future, I got confused now about which is the book that has that problem in the time passing by too fast (it’s the end of this, and the beginning of next).
What else I can say – the usual Anita stuff, dark, bloody, and very interesting (honestly sometimes she is just too funny). 🙂

Happy Easter!

Uncategorized April 4, 2010 Comments: 6

Easter in Zagreb (picture is mine).

Hope your day is filled with family laughter, great food and fun!

When things don’t go right

Uncategorized April 2, 2010 Comments: 10

I promise I will write about perfume soon. But before that, I just have to share some thoughts.

First, I was coloring my hair yesterday and had an epiphany. It wasn’t actually an epiphany but the bulb did light up in my brain. After a couple of years of using a towel.

First, a question for English native speakers – something that’s bothering me for years now. Does a couple of years mean exactly two, or does it like in Croatian (when you translate a couple into Croatian) it means exactly the same (two people in a relationship) but when applied to other things, like years for example, it means several, not only two? What is true in English because I’ve seen couple of months translated as two so I’m wondering now.

Ok, on to my realization. You see the picture. I have this towel that’s created for using solely on your hair. So, whenever I color my hair, I use that towel so I wouldn’t color any of the usual towels. My towel also has a rubberband thing that sort of ends up on the top of your head when you put the towel on it and I always just pull the end of the towel through and leave it all unfastened (because the idiot me didn’t realize it could be fastened). Until yesterday when I realized that the rubberband is supposed to be used as such and wound it 3 times around the tip of the towel to keep it strongly in place. Such an idiot! I cannot believe I didn’t realize this before. Does stuff like that happen to someone else as well?

And then I had another bad surprise. I started another Anita Blake novel. Which starts at St. Patrick’s day (that is the first sentence and spring is described). It also gives flashbacks to the last book saying the stuff from that book happened 5 weeks (or around a month ago). And the story in the previous book happened before Christmas and ends up with what she bought (after the big fights) to each of the characters. If someone has an explanation for this, I would love to hear it. I didn’t realize this first time I was reading the series, but now it just upsets the hell out of me. I will still read the book, but someone should have paid better attention when this was published.

Anyway, on to some good stuff. The color turned out great, fiery copper red. I love it.

The weekend is going to last 3 days which is always great news. It’s not going to be sunny or warm but spending it with family will make our hearts warm and that is most important.
Coming soon with a perfume review. And btw, even though I should really think of my budget now, I think there is no hope for me. I love TDC Charmes et Feuilles and need Amaranthine as well. Anyone has any of those and wants to swap?
And here are 2 pictures of my hair, and yes they were both taken today but they don’t look like the same color. In reality, it is exactly in between. It’s not this strange violet/magenta note, neither is it orangey like in the second picture. It is those two together (if you can picture that).