Perfume thoughts

Woohoo!! It’s amber time!

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume December 29, 2014 Comments: 6

And vanilla and oud. 🙂 But amber is the note that first comes to mind when it’s cold outside.

That said, this morning I wanted to celebrate this wonderful sunny and w Golden amber close up backlit shows crystals hite day (the snow is still unmelted) with Ambre Sultan, only to not be able to find my decant. So I decided to put Ambre Precieux on. I’m very happy with that choice. If I smell a waft from afar (and not on my turtleneck), I catch what I would call a flowery hint. It’s basically wonderful.

And amber fits perfectly with this cold weather, it just makes you feel warm all over by smelling it.

My other ambery choices will include MdO Ambre, Ambra Nobile by Nobile 1942 and Le Labo Labdanum 18.

With a special mention of Caravelle Epicee, which I don’t actually count among ambers but theoretically it is, so it goes on the list. I mean, there are so many other things going on in there that saying it’s an amber perfume doesn’t do it justice.

I still find that to be one of the best winter perfumes ever. At least for me. It hits all my spicy, warm, gourmand-y buttons. Plus, it smells really sexy.

P.S. That was my first ever perfume review. 🙂

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume December 8, 2014 Comments: 11

I had coffee yesterday with some of Zagreb perfumistas. That is always cause for smelling more perfumes and as we met opposite Top (niche perfumery), of course I tried some perfumes prior to seeing them.

The things is, I am either too sensitive to those synthetic (white?) musks or the whole industry is going down the drain.

I sprayed two perfumes on my arms yesterday, Xerjoff Al Khatt and Byredo Mojave Ghost.

Honestly, I thought both were great and enjoyed smelling them. Al Khatt doesn’t really smell like a straight-in-the-nose oud but is rather easy and lovable and Mojave Ghost is cool, if I would describe it in one word.

The problem with both is that they end up in synthetic muskiness and are therefore completely unwearable for me.

I really can’t tell if I am too sensitive to those molecules but honestly, I don’t really care. I hate the fact that so many expensive perfumes end up smelling like that. Aside the fact that they are expensive, they really use some expensive ingredients so adding those synthetic musks is like a punch in the nose for me after enjoying the beginning. 😦

I just wish everyone would find some better alternative on how to keep perfumes lasting.

The sunny side of life – Monegal’s Kiss My Name

Perfume review, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume October 21, 2014 Comments: 13

I apologize for the disappearance. Life gets rather busy sometimes. And interesting. 🙂

That said, the weather here’s been interesting as well. After a summer that resembled more of an autumn, we were in for some warm sunny weather. So this time around I turned to some white flowers by Mr Monegal. Ever after hearing him speak several weeks ago, I’m more and more leaning toward acquiring several more of his perfumes (Cuirelle is always a huge hit whenever I wear it).
So, I’ve been wearing Kiss My Name rather often. It makes me think of the sunshine and happiness all in one (hence the title). The brightness of neroli just adds to the experience of the sunshine. And then tempered with tuberose and jasmine… What’s not to give you an instant smile? 🙂
I’d say Mr Monegal has mastered the art of seduction through perfumes.
I am certainly succumbing to more and more of his wonderful creations.

So now that it was sunny and warm, I was wearing Kiss My Name a lot, a Monegal version of white flowers..

Notes: tuberose, iris, egyptian jasmine, tunisian neroli and tolu balsam.

A very refreshing start with neroli, based on jasmine and tuberose and I’d swear some kind of fruit. My guess would be peach. and then tuberose slowly leaves its nice position to let neroli and jasmine take center stage, all the while lurking in the background.

I admit the iris is playing hide and seek with me (rather well as I haven’t found it yet) but the tolu balsam is what I’d say gives the wonderful longevity to this perfume and the warmth to the notes that can sometimes be shrill.

And that’s basically it. An overwhelming feeling of happiness and warmth due to white flowers.

It seems though the enjoyment of the warm and sunny is finished for this year. Tomorrow the cold weather begins…

P.S: I can’t help it, that makes me instantly think of “Winter is coming…” (Game of Thrones) 😉

Ramon Monegal in Zagreb

Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume September 2, 2014 Comments: 13

Oh yes, that did just happen! 🙂

Organized again by Juraj of Bl’eauOG, we were in for a great talk made by Mr Monegal. In French! I really was very happy with the fact that I spent so many years learning it because I could follow what he was saying without any problems. And he had LOTS to say.

I’ll try and give you the highlights. One thing that I’m upset about though, when I had the chance to ask him questions, I couldn’t come up with a single thing. Now that I’m home writing this, I have a full head of questions I would really like to hear his answers to. Oh well…

Basically, what I believe is the most important thing he said and one that resonates through his perfumery and his approach to clients is that we all don’t know how to use our nose for anything that is not stomach related – e.g. food. And it’s a learned thing, conditioned by our culture as babies can smell their mothers but then, at some point, we all forget to use our nose for enjoyment and identification of the world around us (like animals do).

He said that one of the main reasons for using perfumes is communication and nowadays people don’t have an olfactory image (like we do with the clothes we wear). They are not even aware that something like that exists. Well, we obviously are, but there were many people present today for who I could tell he was saying new things. And for him, that is the main reason perfumers came out of their labs – to educate the public of the importance of knowing the terms and recognizing the olfactory image.

Mr Monegal also explained his idea of why a perfume is like a book – with the introduction, the main part and the end. And how different notes communicate different things. I really enjoyed the idea that he so obviously espouses about it all being about communication.

I learned a lot about some notes which I’m not going to repeat here. Just that I wasn’t aware it was so difficult working with iris as it doesn’t have much longevity (and what with how expensive it is, it’s good we even have iris perfumes). 😉

I’ll leave you with one gem I really liked. There is no good/bad perfume in his mind, it’s all about the olfactory image again and the fact that perfumes can be either well worn or not well worn (depending on what you want to express with them and how they fit you). I actually like that idea as I definitely know that I cannot wear some of the perfumes I own at any time I like (Serge Lutens’ I’m looking at you).

I got to try Dubai Next To Me and I like it a lot and I basically fell in love with Impossible Iris. 🙂 The name is a reference to how difficult it is to work with iris (the longevity issue again).

A mini bottle waiting for each of us

I’m not gone just a bit MIA

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume July 20, 2014 Comments: 32

Dear readers, I feel like last couple of years all I do is plan on writing more and it always seems like I write less. 🙂

I don’t really have a good explanation why that happens as I have many perfumes in my queue I would love to write about, it just seems that life has some other plans that unfortunately intervene in the meantime. Life is usually unpredictable like that. 😉

The last few months have been rather tumultuous when it comes to my life, what with the quantity of work I had to do, what with separation from my long-term boyfriend, and then finally with enrolling to get my driver’s licence. And that is just the three largest things that come to mind.

As none of that is finished yet, I am sincerely hoping I organize my time and mind in a manner that allows me to write (and smell) more.

That said, I will be finally getting some well deserved peace of mind and rest when my vacation starts on the 30th (of July). Luckily, that is not far away.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some general perfume thoughts I’ve been having lately:

I’m not really happy with the new L’Artisans even though they are Duchafour’s work
I am rather happy though with Cologne du Maghreb and finally understand Andy’s idea of spraying your body with a lot of cologne, works like magic! 🙂
The Scented Hound sent some amazing perfumes for me to try (and I did), now all I need is to give them more time and write about them
The longer I’m in this perfume world, the more I am starting to lean towards old style perfumery – French classics are taking over my heart
Helped by the new Coco Chanel biography I’m reading (well, I just started) – I have a feeling it will be a good one
Also, I really, really want to find an old version of Chanel 5 (see previous bullet) 🙂
And Paris has been on my mind lately for several reasons, perfumes, Coco Chanel and I’m re-reading Angelique, La Marquise des Anges after I saw the new movie (beats me why it got such bad reviews…)

P.S. The picture is of the weather we have once a week here (give or take a few days). It’s also a bit what my life has been like lately. Which is why I loved this Portia’s post where she hid a little gem of a sentence in about loving yourself.

Life is about to get better and more fragrant!

My summer perfume staples

Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume July 7, 2014 Comments: 14

During the last few years, several perfumes have come into my summer rotation and stayed there. 🙂 Of course, I don’t use only these, but these are the ones I use the most.

For the beach

Bronze Goddess – ever since it came out, it’s been in my rotation, along with the body oil that comes with it.

For work (when it’s not too hot)

Vamp a NY – I find it a perfect combination of flirty but nice and very likeable (many people have commented on it smelling great)

For hot days when almost nothing works

Eau de Cartier – which as probably everyone knows is the perfume equivalent of Gin and tonic (with lots of ice if you ask me)

and Pamplelune – with its zesty refreshing feel

For balmy evenings

Guerlain Mahora – well, I’ve been applying this for those evenings when I’m going out. Seductive and velvety. Perfect!

(I linked to Kafka’s review of it – I really enjoyed it and have no review of my own – shame on me)

So tell me what are your summer staples? I am always open to adding to my list, especially if you have more cooling choices.

By what I smelled lately (or read about), Nuit Andalouse, Cologne du Maghreb and Terracotta le Parfum might be joining the list…

Sylvaine Delacourte and Jan E. Vos in Zagreb

Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume June 21, 2014 Comments: 7

Yes, you read that right! 🙂

There was a great perfumista event today in Zagreb, organized by Juraj of the Bleauog.

I don’t want to sound dismissive of Juraj’s part of the event (but I know him and talked perfume with him before). He talked about perfume history and changes that happened in how perfumes used to smell and how they smell now but for me the highlight of the event was hearing Mr. Vos’ talk about how Puredistance came to life and how synchronicity has played an enormous role there (synchronicity being something many perfumistas believe in) and then Mme Delacourte, as the last guest/speaker.

Before that, we heard an interesting theory by Zoran Kurelić who argued that Luca Turin’s Guide was a decisive moment in perfume history and changed, in a good way, the perception and ability of people to discuss perfume more easily and using a common ground. Whether you agree with what Luca thinks about a certain perfume or you don’t, The Guide is something all of us have read. (somehow Tanya’s name got forgotten in all that) 😉

Mr. Vos says for himself that he is a doer and someone who loves beauty. It was fun listening to him talk about how Puredistance came to life and how he built it with the idea of long term luxury however long it takes as they don’t advertise but they have certainly built a great relationship with bloggers.

Listening to Sylvaine Delacourte was definitely a treat. 🙂 It is obvious she loves what she does and does it with passion. She certainly made me wish I had a job at Guerlain. Somewhere where I could work close to her. 😉

Her favorite perfume is L’Heure Bleu and she’s been loyal to it all her life (well ever since she discovered it). Closely followed by Cuir Beluga which is a perfume she made with her preferences in mind.

My knowledge of the perfume world seems to be limited as I wasn’t aware of the fact that L’Art et Matiere line was her brainchild. And if I ever win the lottery, I’ll go see her for a bespoke perfume (which I’ll then have 2l of and my own private formula).

I loved how everyone today, while answering questions, said that they don’t believe in masculine or feminine definition of perfumes as they are meant to evoke emotion. So whatever works for you, is meant to be enjoyed.

Unfortunately, all my hopes were dashed in the end when I asked Mme Delacourte if there is a chance of Guerlinade ever getting re-released. You can guess the answer to that. 😉

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.

Comfort zone – tuberose and vanilla

Perfume review, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume June 17, 2014 Comments: 11

Or, to give it a name Watch by M. Micallef. Or, Time for Love.

Although it seems tuberose might be a figment of my imagination as it’s not listed in the notes but I see people on Fragrantica thought they smell it too. Ylang-ylang as well, but I’d say what I think of as tuberose could also be jasmine + ylang-ylang (sometimes I mix the two). But ylang-ylang isn’t listed either. 🙂

I had more fun smelling this while not looking at the listed notes. 😀

I cannot say it’s a breathtakingly novel perfume. Or that it will be loved by the masses (although you never really know but as it came out in 2002. and costs and arm and a leg, that’s a safe bet). 😉

What I can say is that it offers me comfort all day long as when you have tuberose and vanilla in a perfume, you can be pretty sure the longevity will work in its favor. 🙂 I’m guessing amber and musk help too and luckily the musk used here is one I am fine with (I don’t think they used too much).

Unfortunately, I can’t say much about the fruit and the peony except the fruit obviously works well with the sweet notes, and peony works well with the white notes. I also can’t help but wonder if there is some opoponax in there as well, as it has that special smell I always associate with my childhood play-doh equivalent.

No wonder I find it a comforting perfume…

Top notes: jasmine, vanilla and mandarin. Heart: fruit and Chinese peony Base: amber and musk.

P.S. I knew I’d forget something. 🙂 This lovely perfume came to my through Asali who knows my perfume tastes better than I do at times.

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.

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…

All I am – a redhead

Category Archives: Perfume thoughts

Woohoo!! It’s amber time!