The one and only – Parfumarija

Perfume shopping, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume May 25, 2014 Comments: 10

I’m saying one and only as it’s not only Dublin’s sole niche perfumery, it’s also Ireland’s only niche perfumery as I’ve been told when I was there.

Personally, I love the name as it’s a play on words, perfumery is called “parfumerija” in Croatian (and most of ex-Yugoslav countries) and the owner’s name is Marija (she’s Macedonian) so there it is – Parfumarija.

I didn’t spend nearly enough time in there as my group was waiting for me, but the little time I did spend there was great.

I was greeted by a fellow perfumista/blogger Freddie who also has a youtube channel where he reviews perfumes. It was quite a lot of fun discussing perfumes with him. 🙂

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Freddie talking me through perfumes

He talked me through the novelties they have and through some perfumes I haven’t had the chance to try yet, as they aren’t available in Croatia.

He also gave me the new F. Malle to try – I can’t remember the name, but it is Carlos Benaïm’s new scent by F. Malle.

*Eau de Magnolia* by Lucas’ comment

It’s a magnolia perfume and honestly, the beginning didn’t really wow me due to my idea of magnolia watery-green scent smelling like botanical garden, but its development gets more and more interesting and I want to smell it again and give it more time and thought.

I tried the two MDCI I haven’t yet had the chance to try, Nuit Andalouse and Vêpres Siciliennes. I should’ve known a white creamy floral would win my heart in an instant, but realistically speaking, I really don’t need another one (even though that Nuit Andalouse has my name written all over it). 😉DSC_0186

For the first time, I got to try Ys Uzac line and I must say I was rather impressed. There were only 4 perfumes in the line, Pohadka, Monodie, Metaboles and Immortal Beloved. And in all the hurry I remember liking Pohadka and Monodie rather a lot, but I would need to re-smell the whole line again for a better memory.

It seems I was there only for the experience of a new perfumery but even so, I loved it.DSC_0184

I finished my quick smelling escapades by smelling Aqua Sextius by Jul et Mad which Freddie said reminded him of Womanity (luckily for me it didn’t). But I understand why he would say it.

I read Lucas’ take on Aqua Sextius and for some reason thought it would be too watery/ozonic for my taste. But no, it’s actually quite lovely and very easy to like and wear. Unfortunately, it’s also 230 Euros for 50ml of edp…

*Lucas informed me it’s actually extrait de parfum*

Parfumarija is also on Facebook if you want to follow them. And if in Dublin, go and visit them for a little bit of perfume fun. 🙂

The luck of the Irish

World of Perfume May 24, 2014 Comments: 10

So, I’m back. 🙂

It was a week of cold, windy, rainy fun. The Irish really like their pubs as it seems they are always full and not full of the tourists. 😉

I saw the Guinness brewery, the city in all possible ways (we walked it through and through) and visited the lovely villages of Howth and Bray in the larger Dublin bay area.

We also went to Belfast one day.

All in all, I had some great Irish beer (new favorite Galway Hooker) and some great fish and chips in Howth (highly recommend that fishing village) and also visited the only Irish niche perfumery but more on that in the next post.

I’ll leave you now with some photos.

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Oscar Wilde

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Guinness brewery

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Guinness lease for 9000 years

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Dublin spire

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Church bar

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Howth

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Howth

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Howth

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Beach in Bray

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Bray

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Fish and chips in Howth

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Belfast

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Belfast

 

And I’m off!

World of Perfume May 16, 2014 Comments: 19

My dear readers, tomorrow I’m off to Dublin for a week of leisurely Irish fun. 🙂

Yes, I expect that to include a lot of Guiness. 😉guiness

If I have the chance, I might post some pictures, but that is a very big if.

Talk to you soon!

Sláinte!

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

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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?

A new perfume blogger on the block!

World of Perfume April 25, 2014 Comments: 2

And all I can say is finally! 🙂

She’s been writing as a guest for several years at different blogs (here as well) and now she has a blog of her own.

So please, head on over to Asali’s new blog The Sounds of Scent to wish her a warm welcome to the blogging world!

 

Veronica Roth: Allegiant and Insurgent

Book review, World of Books April 23, 2014 Comments: 3

I don’t think I have that much to say on the subject of each so I decided to do them together.

There will be spoilers ahead.insurgent

I must say I now understand why people were a bit disappointed and angry with the books. I certainly didn’t see that ending coming. Although in retrospect, it’s not bad. Just not what I’m used to. I’m guessing at this point you can guess what happens in the end? 😉

I succumbed to reading these after seeing the movie because I wanted to know what happens next. Now that I know, I’ll wait for the movies to enjoy it better. I’m wondering though if Hollywood won’t feel the need to change the end…

Anyway, if you all wonder why people seem satisfied with the factions and there aren’t rebelling against them, you will get your explanation in book 3. I know I had my eyebrows raised at certain points because I kept wondering where their intelligence and morals were. The idea behind the books and the revelation in book 3 is a rather good one (albeit a bit reminiscent of The Maze Runner) but I somehow didn’t feel it was well enough worked through (or maybe it was just me reading fast trying to get to the end).

And the whole thing about Tris being Divergent? Nah, in the end I’d say she was Abnegation through and through. Which would also hold with the idea I got that in each book one of Tris’ divergence factions was more obvious than the others. She was Dauntless in Divergent, Erudite in Insurgent and Abnegation in Allegiant.

allegiantThe books are actually full of smart and deep thoughts, it’s just, they don’t need to be pointed out and rather obviously put out there (if not exactly pointed out). I read somewhere a critique of an author’s writing saying “Don’t tell us, show us.”. Here you don’t need to worry, you won’t miss any big statements/gestures being made.

I also got a bit upset with the relationship between Tris and Four – it makes no sense how they behave. At least from my perspective. I love that they are together but for the life of me I cannot understand them.

So, there you have it. I read the books and now I can’t wait for the movies to enjoy better what I’ve read. 😉

 

P.S. Was I very mean? 😉

My top 5 perfume houses

My top 5, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume April 21, 2014 Comments: 25

Well, Birgit beat me to it. 😦 Even so, I’ll go with the one I had planned several weeks ago and never published (now wonder people beat me to different things). 😉

So, as there are posts like these all the time (your favorite perfumes, notes, brands, perfumes from a brand, etc.), I wanted to share my preferences on the subject.

I have a hard time naming favorite perfumes as that changes all the time. Plus, there are so many good perfumes out there, I hate having to choose among them. I have enough love for all of them. 😉DSC00761

That is why I decided to tell you about my favorite perfume houses because even though I don’t like everything they do, I like/love most of their perfumes and look benevolently on others even when I don’t like them. They are also better represented in my collection. 🙂

In no particular order:

Serge Lutens – I’m guessing most perfumistas have Serge Lutens on their list of perfume houses they enjoy. I don’t think a special explanation is needed but to explain my reasoning – they are like a wonderfully intelligent conversation you might lead at the most unexpected places but one you really need to be alert for, otherwise you will lose your strain of thought.

Guerlain – again, some of the ingeniously great perfumes came from this house and they still come up with some great perfumes.

Ramon Monegal – now, I only recently discovered this gem of a perfume house and the more I smell their perfumes, the more I fall in love. Which isn’t surprising considering Mr. Monegal’s love for books which in my mind only means he knows what he’s doing when it comes to perfume as well. And the inkwell! I was sold at that. 😉

Histoires des Parfums – I always think they don’t get enough love and raving reviews because honestly, those perfumes are great, and very wearable. And not expensive either (considering what else is out there and how much it costs).

The last but not the least, the house that started my perfume journey – L’Artisan Parfumeur. They are also the house I would recommend every perfume newbie to start with as they make you fall in love with some amazingly down-to-earth notes.

 

I noticed in this list that my European heritage is rather obvious. 🙂

And of course I have special additions. 😉

Special mention goes to Dawn Spencer Hurwitz (being both an American perfume house and indie as well) whose perfumes I keep enjoying since the first time I smelled them. I’m amazed at the work Dawn does, both in its expanse and quality and look forward to smelling many more perfumes her artisan hands make.

And Frederic Malle which would have made the list if I were to mention 6 perfume houses. They’ve been steadily climbing my list of favorite houses for some time now…

P.S. Special thanks to Asali for the absolutely wonderful photos I could use for this post and my blog header.