Category Archives: I’ve been thinking

Theory and practice – Fragrance Republ!c

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume June 19, 2014 Comments: 8

Or, in theory, I like the idea of Fragrance republ!c, in practice though, I’m not really thrilled with the way they smell.

I received three of them (not as a paying member but as a blogger) and I admit to being rather underwhelmed. The three I received (01/02, 01/03 and 01/04)  all overpowered my nose with the smell of the now standardly used, shrill, clean musks and the lovely opening all of them had was forever lost to my nose.

That said, everyone else who tried them, loved them.

Including my father who is now the proud owner of two of them. 🙂

If you’d like to know more about the general concept, Undina summed it up quite nicely.

 

 

Repeating myself – linden in the city

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume June 13, 2014 Comments: 4

I noticed I had the same post up last year around this time, when the linden trees were in full bloom, we were experiencing a heat wave and the air was humid and hot and full of the smell of linden blossoms.linden

The same thing happened this week and all I can say, I breathed it in as deeply as I could and let the smell bring a smile to my face.

I honestly forgot from last year how unbelievably great that smell is. 🙂 So not to repeat much of what I said last year, I will just add, I want to find a perfume that can reproduce it.

I’m wearing Zeta now and although I enjoy that perfume, it is not the smell of humid linden city air…

Quotes

I've been thinking, World of Perfume May 29, 2014 Comments: 8

On pain and suffering.

Because I’m just in the mood for some. 🙂

 

“The wound is the place where the Light enters you.”
― Rumi

 

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.”
― Khalil Gibran

“Suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. I have been bent and broken, but – I hope – into a better shape.”
― Charles Dickens, Great Expectations

“We are never so defenseless against suffering as when we love.”

Sigmund Freud

“Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.”

Khalil Gibran

“Adversity introduces a man to himself.” –Unknown

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”
Helen Keller

“There is an ancient tribal proverb I once heard in India. It says that before we can see properly we must first shed our tears to clear the way.”
― Libba Bray

“We are healed of a suffering only by experiencing it to the full.”
― Marcel Proust

“The deeper that sorrow carves into your being the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter’s oven?”
Kahlil Gibran

My top 5 spring notes

I've been thinking, My top 5, World of Perfume May 10, 2014 Comments: 17

I like this top 5 series because it’s much easier coming up with 5 things than with 10. 🙂 Unless you’re choosing your top 5 perfumes for life.

When I think of spring, I think of green, dewy grass and spring flowers. Asali did a great lilac post a few days ago but for some reason, I never think of lilacs when I think of spring even though I adore the smell.

My first idea is always green (grass) when it comes to spring. It still surDSC_0875prises me how difficult it is for me to find perfumes that smell green to my mind and are not chypre/galbanum variants because even though I think of galbanum in those terms, I would love a perfume that reminds me of dewy grass. If anyone has any suggestions, I’m open to all.

And then, the flowers. You can’t have spring without flowers and in this case, my first idea is somehow always iris. I have no idea when irises actually bloom but they are among first spring flowery perfumes I decide to wear.

Closely followed by the most perfect grass of this world – vetiver. So far there wasn’t a vetiver perfume I smelled and hated. I just think I have a natural propensity towards that smell. 🙂 (there is a top 5 vetiver perfumes post in the making)

One note I unfortunately only smelled in one great perfume and would love to wear more during spring is narcissus. I absolutely love the smell of L’Artisan’s Fleur de Narcisse and I wish from the bottom of my heart they would bring that perfume back. I wasn’t aware of it when it was available and only got to try it later but it is perfect. If there is another great narcissus perfume out there, I’d love to try it.DSC_0871

And the last, but not least (although if considered by the amount of wear it gets…) – the loveliest smell of the little white flower – lily of the valley. I both love the smell of it in Diorissimo and it will always remind me of my mother who adores those flowers. I also wish that annual Guerlain release of Muguet wasn’t so awfully expensive.

 

 

Pics have no relation to notes I mentioned but were the first spring flowers I saw this year some time ago so it seemed fitting.

Wings for Life World Run

I've been thinking May 5, 2014 Comments: 15

Was an event happening yesterday in 34 countries around the world and all I can say that I am proud I participated.

In Croatia the run was in Zadar, starting at the Greeting to the Sun (I find the name strange in English but that’s how they call it on their site) and then it went on by the coast towards south.

The naive me thought that meant we would be running along the sea coast but that wasn’t the case. Still, it was a good run (you could see the sea in the distance and sometimes close by).

Now I see I started talking about things I didn’t plan on. 🙂

What I wanted to say is that we were all running for people who can’t. That was the motto of the race: Running for those who can’t. 

All the money is going into research of spinal damage and when they say all, they do actually mean all. All entry fees are being pooled into the fund, the event was funded by Red Bull and no amount of fee is being appropriated for the cost of organizing the races.

Being part of an event like this was very important to me because I have a friend who broke his neck two years ago and although his recovery was miraculous (he was only 17 at the time), he is someone who, unless they find a magical cure, will never run. So my run was for him.

The next year’s event is already planned for May 3. I urge you all to participate because it’s the most unusual race.

You run as much as you can. Because the Catcher car starts chasing you half an hour after the start and once it passes you by, the race is over for you. 🙂

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The winner in Zadar being caught by car (also, the main trainer in my club – we are all so proud) Pic stolen from Wings for Life Croatia Facebook site

The good thing is that it doesn’t mean you have to run back, you only need to get to the nearest shuttle stop and the buses are there to take you back.

It makes for quite an experience. 🙂

And here are some pics, some made by my fellow runners website and one mine.

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In the bus going back

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Happy before the race

wings1

Happy after the race (that buff look is not good on me) – you can see the sea in the background

The Vogue connection

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume May 1, 2014 Comments: 8

Turns out I get most of my perfume news out of the French Vogue. I wonder what that says about my perfumista proclivities… love rose

But, I must say that the new Reminiscence perfumes, White Tubereuse and Love Rose sound rather appealing.

Well, in my case, whenever I hear the word tuberose, it sounds appealing. 😉

Notes for Love Rose: start of citrus fruits, a refined heart of fusing rose, iris and jasmine absolutes, over an enticing musk base.That musk base doesn’t sound that promising, I have to say.w tubereuse

Notes for White Tubereuse: tuberose, ylang-ylang, cinnamon These notes, on the other hand, sound very promising. 🙂

 

One other perfume that sounds appealing as well (if only by name) – Extatic by Balmain.

extaticNotes: nashi pear, rose, osmanthus, orris, sharry baby orchid, woody-leathered trail (that was the best I could get out of the Balmain site).

Since I really like Ambre Gris by Balmain, I tend to think this might be good as well.

 

 

The French Vogue says Reminiscences are going to be 78 Euros per 50ml.

And Balmain site says Extatic is 42 Euros for a 40ml bottle.

My top 5 authors

I've been thinking, My top 5, World of Books April 28, 2014 Comments: 21

Last week I talked about my favorite perfume houses and this week I’ll talk about my favorite authors. Although this list might change every once in a while.

J.K. Rowling – Well, if you follow my blog, this can’t come as a surprise. 😉 I am a huge fanrowel of the Harry Potter series (I admit, I haven’t yet read any of the other novels she wrote). I find the world of HP so well written that I keep going back. Especially at times of stress.

Kresley Cole – She’s on top of my list of paranormal romance authors. She’s really good at what she writes and the steaminess of her scenes is undescribable (go read and see for yourself).

James Rollins – The list wouldn’t be right without  mentioning  the thrilling action packed novels that are in my opinion so much better than what Dan Brown writes. And the mysteries and legends that he can weave into the story at the same time making them believable is incredible.

Marija Jurić Zagorka – She is my favorite Croatian author and my first foray into the historical romance genre which she wrote in the first half of the 20th century. Her novels are still very popular and will probably remain so for many generations to come. The bad mjzthing though, for some reasons her descendants won’t allow her novels to be translated into foreign languages so we, fans, need to wait for the requisite time before the novels are no longer copyrighted.

Jane Austen – As I am a huge romance fan, the list wouldn’t be complete without the original woman who started it all. Pride and Prejudice being of course my favorite (I admit pride is one my flaws).

So, who are your top 5 authors?

The smell of candy in the air

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume April 1, 2014 Comments: 12

This candy to be precise (PEZ):

pez

Basically it’s a lightly sweet smell permeating the air close to blooming trees.

As my knowledge of trees and plants is somewhere around kindergarten level, I can’t tell you what trees those are, but my guess would be some wild/decorative kind of fruit trees. Whatever it is, the air is rather warm these days so the smell wafts around you as you walk and all you can do is breathe it in and smile as childhood memories beckon with a grin of their own.

I grew up with those candies and even though I still remember the smell, I don’t really need to as now my nephews are the ones who are growing up with them.

So, tell me, who else remembers PEZ candy (and the accompanying dispensers) from their childhoods? And their powdery fruity smell?

 

P.S. It just never occurred to me before now how the smell of those candies was actually reminiscent of the smells in nature.

(I guess someone did a really good job with those aromas)

Sharing the perfume bug

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume March 6, 2014 Comments: 22

I can’t really say I shared the perfume love as what I chose requires more getting used to than what people generally smell in mainstream stores (god, that sounds so condescending). 🙂

Anyway, yesterday I shared my love and a little bit of my collection with my female colleagues. I already had several perfume-y coffees with one who then spread the word. So that is how yesterday I ended up giving them a crash course through what perfumery offers if you know where to look.

I admit to being ambitious and offering them 22 perfumes to try. 😀 That was mean of me. 😉 And they did!
I never expected them to find anything to love among them, my goal was to make them understand how many more notes and possibilities exist out there and that they should try and figure out if they possibly like something and might want to discover more.

What I learned surprised me. 🙂 It seems people  (women in this case) are fed up with sweet perfumes. That was what everyone kept saying, I don’t want anything sweet. And the general consensus on what they found good was also surprising (although it shouldn’t be as I love it as well).

DSC_0839

I made them cheat sheets with all the perfumes so they can take notes for themselves

That was Monegal’s Cuirelle. 🙂 Closely followed by Tom Ford’s Tuscan Leather. 

I shouldn’t get surprised anymore that Cuirelle is such a hit among people who smell it. Especially after reading Birgit’s interview with Ramon Monegal where he said his favorite perfume is “true leather”. It’s obvious he knows what to do with that. 😉

It was a boisterous gathering (all perfume gatherings somehow end up boisterous) and we laughed a lot. I heard some interesting adjectives being ascribed to perfumes:

– smells like toothpaste (for Vamp a NY)

– lemon peel! (Bigarade Concentree)

– Terrible! Smells like sweat. Just too much. (Tubereuse Criminelle – I had to bring that one for shock effect) 😉

– Toilet cleaner (Tuscan Leather) – actually have no idea how that came about…

We agreed to meet again with a selection geared more toward spring and summer in a couple of months.

I definitely hope to keep this up until their perfume vocabulary upgrades from: It’s interesting/ok/sweet/too much, to – Oh, I smell white flowers/amber/green stuff, etc..

That’s not asking too much, is it? 😉

 

Lost in a sea of books

I've been thinking, World of Books March 3, 2014 Comments: 9

The other day I talked about how I’m behind times in the perfume world and news reach me (if they reach me) months after everyone else has heard them. 🙂

It seems that when it comes to books, I’m even worse.books1

These days, the only way I will hear about a good (new) book is if there is a movie being made out of it (and some of those aren’t really that good either).

I have a pool of authors I follow and read, whatever they publish, but adding to that pool is rather difficult.  Even when I find a book blogger I share tastes with, some of those reviews just don’t sound that appealing to me.

I also sometimes wonder how many people are actually intrigued enough by my reviews to read a book I found great…?

In the haystack that is the book world, finding your needle is very difficult. And the blurbs don’t help. The only reason I wanted to read World War Z was because I really liked the movie and thought the book must be better. Then I read the blurbs for the book and wasn’t very sure about my choice. Luckily, this time around, I decided to ignore them.

The thing is, that book is one of the best new books I’ve read in quite a while and I wouldn’t even know it existed unless for the movie.

That’s why I’m a bit sad now. How many more books like that are passing  me by because I don’t know where to look? Or who to trust?

Do you have a way of figuring out what books ought to be on your TBR pile? And how do you select from the pool of new authors those, whose books might be worth reading?

Or is it basically luck?