D.S. & Durga: HYLNDS – Smitten without even smelling them

Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume May 17, 2013 Comments: 16

I admit to having a certain romantic propensity toward warrior types of men and I can’t help it, after reading the description and notes but be smitten by the stories and images those have conjured in my mind.

See for yourself:

BITTER ROSE, BROKEN SPEAR

Aromatic materials from the lands of the Red Branch knights and their travels to prehistoric Scotland – smelted iron, larchwood, thistle – emboldened with bitter rose and amberdsd rose

From Ulster fort to Argyll’s holy top, Red Branch nights, proud chiefs in wool, faded dyes – rowan berry, bitter rose, hunt in wood-of-wonders, melancholy thistle, for feasts, water-of-life, Caeawg’s amber wreath, smelted iron, wine-in-horn, now broken spear and empty hills

Notes
HYLNDS embers, wild mountain thyme, cubeb
MDLNDS bitter rose, thistle, nutmeg
LWLNDS smelted iron, amber larch

ISLE RYDER

A call to the fabled isles of archaic Norse and Celtic myths. Resinous Norway spruce and fir cones with narcotic jasmine, island wildflowers, honeyed mead and bulrush straw.

dsdisle

To the Blessed Isles, past the Manx seaman’s myst and thundering valour, past Balor’s blackened bulrush, the Summer Raider in ashwood shyp, his northern woods, saps, cones, honeyed mead, wax, golden gorse, meadowsweet, to inner loch, of inner isle, always ryding west

Notes
HYLNDS poplar bud, fir cones, meadowsweet
MDLNDS golden gorse, jasmine, norway spruce
LWLNDS mead, woodruff, bulrush straws

PALE GREY MOUNTAIN, SMALL BLACK LAKE

A chilling air of wood, water, stone, and shrubs that grow on a mythic mountain in Armagh.
dsd pale
Up pale grey mountain, through silver fog, bracken, bramble, dry heather shrub, past gravestone pile from forgotten time, facing west in whipping wind, the small black lake keeps witch’s ring, where the doomed king looked out to sea, Fenian blood in turf, the chilling quiet, the cry of hounds

Notes
HYLNDS fog-on-stone water, pepper, lichen
MDLNDS heather shrub, beechwood, bramble flower, marsh violet
LWLNDS coastal air, chilled water, purslane
Images and descriptions from: DS & Durga

Perfume shopping in Zagreb – TOP

Perfume shopping, World of Perfume May 14, 2013 Comments: 11

There is a new niche place to visit in Zagreb! 🙂 And, it’s one that is right on me routes around the town. The address being Tomiceva 4.

You can check their facebook site too.

It opened yesterday, when I learned about it from my Zagreb perfume crowd – so of course I went to check it out today.

The place is rather small and cosy (when compared to other niche destinations in Zagreb) and at the moment, you are greeted by Borut, the lovely SP who I first met at Viktor Koncept.

It might seem like there aren’t many lines there at the moment (the number will definitely grow once Croatia enters the EU) but I had to stop smelling at some point as my brain decided to process what I’ve smelled so far.

So, here are my reflections so far.

I am happy to say it seems L’Artisan’s Caligna will be available here (and I might get to try the tester even sooner, hopefully next week).

I finally got to test Blood Concept and even though I’m not sure I would wear any but my own group (A – strangely likeable) and realized again that I pretty much suck at rebus because I had to have the name +MA explained.

Also for the first time I tried A Lab on Fire perfumes – What We Do In Paris Is Secret is my favourite of the trio. The more I smell it, the more I fall in love. Well, I’m predisposed to it just by seeing the name. 😉 It is very romantic and seductive.

JHAG Mad Madame had the most intriguing opening and is the first JHAG perfume I liked from the start and the next time I’m there, I’ll give it some arm space (didn’t have any left today).

The more I smell Byredo line, the more I like them. I am not a fan of Inflorescense (or whatever is the name) but I quite like La Tulipe.

Of the LM Parfums I only tried O de Soupirs and I admit, it smelled much better on the blotter than on me.

A lovely surprise was Eight & Bob which I find a rather lovely concept and a perfume I will try at a later time when in passing.

So, from memory, here are the lines that can be found at TOP:

Juliette Has a Gun

Escentric Molecules

Parfum de Nicolai

Blood Concept

Naomi Goodsir

LM Parfums

Byredo

Eight & Bob

A Lab on Fire

LaDuree Beaute

L’Artisan Parfumeur

I am such a freak – when it comes to Harry Potter

I've been thinking, World of Books May 10, 2013 Comments: 19

People who know me are aware of that fact but I surprise myself now and then.

Btw, actually two people who I know independently of one another, learned they both know me because one of them mentioned Harry Potter in passing. So, there you have it. 🙂

But what I want to discuss today is actually something else. I re-read the series for the umpteenth time 2 days ago. And when I say umpteenth, it means more than 10.

Honestly, I actually thought there wouldn’t be anything new in the books this time around. Well, I was, ofharry course, completely wrong about that.

This time around I found new funny moments, realized that Charlie Weasley actually never appears in the movies even though I’d say he plays a big enough role in the books to merit one. I was amazed I never wondered what happened to Harry Potter’s grandparents (none of them seem to be alive).

Those were just some of the things going through my head while reading this time (I’ve also been figuring out many twists in the book which I previously ignored).

But the thing that makes me think I’m a bit freakish when it comes to HP is the fact that each time I finish it, I want to start over. Straight away.

And it ruins books for me for a while. I want to start reading something new but nothing I pick up just seems to be as good and reading-wise fulfilling as HP.

It will pass with time (it always does) and I seem to have found a book to tide me over in the meantime (P. Briggs: Frost Burned).

While waiting for summer – Figue Amere by Miller Harris

World of Perfume May 7, 2013 Comments: 21

smokvaI did some perfume wardrobe re-organization last weekend and came upon an almost empty decant of this perfume. And before I use the last drops, I realized it would be the perfect time to talk about it.

“Figue Amère introduces a curious contrast of fleshy fruit and astringent salt, this sun-soaked fragrance captures bitter green figs and sea air. Top notes of bergamot and mandarin contrast with narcissus poeticus, rose, green violet leaves and angelica, which gently fade into a heady base of cedar, amber and seamoss.”

True to the description, the initial smell of this perfume opens with the smell of fig tree wafting on a salty sea breeze.

There are some milky undertones to the perfume, as it seems someone is picking those figs by the sea (the milky sap that figs produce). I find it strange that only now, when I decided to review this perfume after finishing my decant, is when I realized I can smell the floral undertones in it. I find the peeking narcissus and the lightly bitter feel of angelica to work greatly with the sweetness that one would associate with fig but which you would be hard-pressed to find here. Ok, this sounds strange now. 🙂

But I cannot describe it better at the moment.

There isn’t much development to the perfume, it settles down after a while and the initial breeze is no longer in the air but you can smell it on your skin. It smells like the sun is setting down and what you thought of as the sunny aspect of this perfume (the salty, warm breeze) disappears and the greenery surrounding you is allowed to breathe in the still warm summery air.

I always enjoyed wearing this perfume but until now I didn’t realize how good it actually is.

I’m slowly becoming a convert to Miller Harris perfumes (I admit to initially dismissing the line).

A springtime search for flowers

Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume May 3, 2013 Comments: 18
Spring garden

Spring garden

Is loosely the name I gave the little perfume presentation I will be holding on May 21. 🙂

I still can’t believe I was asked if I wanted to talk about any perfume related subject I chose, as part of an informal group of perfume enthusiasts meeting every third Tuesday of every month.

I still haven’t had a chance to go listen to someone else and now I will be the one talking.

My idea is to bring around a dozen perfumes featuring a flower note that can be easily distinguished and to ask the participants to figure out which flower they are smelling. After that we can talk about the perfume and then move on to the next.

I am very much looking forward to it and I hope people will enjoy our little flowery search.

It’s an open thing and anyone can come so I hope people show up.

I’ll post my choices and how it went afterwards.

 

 

Veni, Vidi, Vici – and I’m conquered

World of Perfume April 29, 2013 Comments: 24

If it’s going to take me this long to write future reviews, I’ll be posting one every quartal. 🙂

It took me a long time to decide to finally post my thoughts on these three as I like them a lot but didn’t feel I could describe them fairly enough.  Soon there won’t be anything left to test so I better tell you now what I think of them:

Here is the quote from Histoires de Parfums site:

Veni represents the earth, which in many ways still remains a mystery to us. It is nurturing as much as it is wild, forcing us to keep our senses sharp, all the while pushing our limits.
Vidi, the wind, carries us over seas and oceans, allowing us to rise above mountains and to take our gaze and spirit beyond the horizon.
Vici, embodies fire, which translates into passion and power. It encourages mankind to create as well as to destroy and our mastery of it requires wisdom as much as well as strength.

 

Veni

in my mind, Veni comes very close to the description above. It is very reminiscent of dry, summer land and I can imagine an army crossing it during early summer while the smells of green hasn’t yet been burned out by the sun, accompanied by lavender and other herbs wafting on a warm, green breeze. And there must be an orchard nearby, as there is definitely a fruity, lightly citrusy tinge to it.

When I say herbal, it is to signify the spicy notes that work so well with the green notes in this perfume, I can smell the cardamom but the idea is what I described.

And even though I am the first one to forgo depicting a perfume as masculine or feminine, in today’s tuscan2sense, there is a definite masculine tone to it. Which makes it perfect for me.

The warmth of the earth and the sweetness of the plants growing on it, making this smell lightly fougerish and then woody, I am definitely conquered by the approaching perfumed army.

 

Top Note: absolu cardamom, cinnamom, galbanum, lavander
Heart Note: carnation, saffron, guaiac wood
Base Note: vanilla, toffee, patchouli oil, musk, ambergris, oakmoss

 

Vidi

The notes, the description, my first smell of this – all these made my think there was no way I would like this one. Water and ozone effects?! Please.

Well, I admit I was wrong. Not in so much that I would wear it, but I would certainly enjoy it on a man. as again this one has a definitely masculine tinge to it. And even though I know when I say that smelling the ozone/metallic and watery flower notes, that are also lightly sweet would make one run the other way thinking Cool Water is about to appear, that would be wrong. It somehow works and I’m blaming it all on cardamom. 🙂

It is generally a note I like a lot and is a common note going through all three.

This is the one I have the most problems wrapping my mind around. I mean, aquatic notes aren’t supposed to smell good. Never mind how you spice them up and give them a light saltiness. Right?

 

Top Note: cardamom, ozone effects
Heart Note: plastic rose, cyclamen, water effects, saffron
Base Note: immortal absolu, musk, ambergris, vanilla, white wood

 

Vici

Honestly, I don’t see much fire in this perfume (except the one burning in my soul to own it). It is a bit reminiscent of Veni with its soil-like angelique note (and iris root) in combination with cardamom and the green notes. There is still a summery feel to this one as well. So the army I keep imagining with the names of these perfumes must be riding through some wonderfully smelling countryside.

But this one is also the most serious one with the bittery nose-pinching in the beginning and no underlying sweetness, reminiscent of battle fields before the battle with its green and hay like hues.

Eventually the serious beginning mellows to more meadow-like feel of rest, with galbanum mellowing summer meadowdown and incense letting the flowers out to play in the meadow. Not that there seem to be many flowery notes in this perfume, but that is what it smells like to me, more floral in the drydown than before.
Top Note: angelical roots, cardamom, pink peppercorns, basil, galbanum, aldehyde
Heart Note: rustic lavender effects, céleri graine, iris concrete, osmanthus absolu, essence incense
Base Note: patchouli oil, musk, vanilla, cedar, raspberry

 

Samples were provided by HdP.

Enjoying the smell of season

I've been thinking, World of Perfume April 23, 2013 Comments: 14

I was thinking of the title in the vein of “Oh, the smell of spring is the loveliest” but then I remembered I do that every season (most recently with the smell of snow) so I decided this one was better. 😉

prolj2
The thing is I really enjoy the smell of each season. And I am possibly thinking I enjoy this one more because the winter was both long and dark which is not usual here. And the spring, now it has arrived, is both sunny and warm. The days lasting suddenly so long…

 

These days I am walking home most of the time, enjoying the various scents in the air. There’s been a little rain and the sunny warmth has made the grass suddenly grow tall. So now you can smell it being cut around the city. Everything is in bloom and so far I haven’t discovered what smell it is, but one of the trees I pass by smells candy-like.

 

Well, it’s probably vice versa, it’s probably a fruity tree in bloom but it’s wonderful. And that is just one of the smells. The air is truly fragrant and the best thing – it is warm.

prolj3

 

Each spring I’m on the lookout for a perfume that encapsulates spring and each year I end up empty handed.

There are many perfumes I associate with spring (Odalisque and Coty Fatale for ex.) but I would love discovering one that smells like spring in my mind.

Many try but fail somehow (Byredo Inflorescence I’m looking at you).


While the search continues, I’ll simply enjoy my fragrant walks when the season is upon me. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. Is it just me, or does anyone else feel this incredible need to rest and re-charge?

P.P.S. If you’re wondering why there haven’t been any book reviews recently, that’s because I’m re-reading the HP series. 😀

Life

I've been thinking, World of Perfume April 17, 2013 Comments: 32

I feel bad for not writing about perfume for so long. But that will come too.

What I want to write about today is life.

The last three years of my life have been difficult. I don’t want to go into details but the fact remains I went through many downs and not so many ups – in the end getting here where I am now.

At no time have I felt mad at god/destiny/people around me, I just went with it all being part of life. In these years I also feel I have been rewarded for my perseverance. Possibly not in the same amount as I feel I suffered, but still rewarded.

And then today it all seems to have coalesced into the idea of life.

My day today has been not so very different from many I’ve had in these three years. But it feels like the trying times might have come to an end.

I laughed from the heart, completely carefree today and I was aware of it. I don’t remember the last I breathed a gentle fragrance – April Aromaticstime I felt so carefree.

Today was also the first time I went on a ride on a motorbike with my boyfriend this season. The night and the smell of spring in the air are, in my opinion, the best perfume in the world.

I also cried today when I saw the picture of the boy killed in the Boston marathon bombing. I am also aware of the fact that there are many tragedies like that happening all over the world that we are not aware of. I try and not get depressed each time I remember that. But my heart weeps regularly.

I found true pleasure in opening the packages awaiting me today, decants from a great friend, a romance book I won and a swap package containing perfumes I never tried.

In spending some quality time with my parents.

Having a glass of wine with friends.

Laughing carefree with all of them even though I know they all have serious problems they are dealing with at the moment.

Life will give you the bad (and the worst) but if you take notice, it will also give you the best and the fulfilling. And you have to take it all. The only choice you have here is how you approach both.

I can’t say I am grateful for the bad, but I do know I wouldn’t appreciate the good so much otherwise. It’s life.

 

 

P.S. And yes, I did have enough wine to warrant a post like this. 😉

Vienna calling!

Perfume shopping, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume April 16, 2013 Comments: 22

I was in Vienna this past weekend and had a wonderful time. 🙂

As you could have read on Olfactoria’s Travels, Birgit’s recap of our meeting, let me tell you what it looked like from my perspective.

Firstly, the reason I decided to run the Vienna City race is because it would enable me to finally meet Birgit in real life. As reasons to choose a race to run go, I think mine was rather good. 😉

Donnerbrunnen_Fountain_Vienna_Austria

I was actually almost late registering for it, I was on the waiting list as I wasn’t aware of the fact that so many people want to run it and you shouldn’t leave your registration to 3 months prior to the race.

The first thing to do on my arrival to Vienna was to pick-up my starting number so I could proceed to meet Birgit and Sandra without any worries.

One thing I learned so far is that when you meet with perfumistas, no time in the world is enough to talk about everything that’s on your mind. Which is exactly what happened. And I always get sidetracked by many things and forget to say half of the stuff I wanted to.

So, after sitting down for drinks, the girls took me to the most lovely little perfume shop you could imagine – Le Dix-Neuf. Which I would also recommend if you are a guy and want to take a look at beautiful Austrian women. 😉 The SA there was everything you could imagine, and quite pretty I should add.

She took me through one Viennese line of perfumes and one from Berlin, but unfortunately, I don’t know the names of the lines (Birgit might though).

In the end, I tried on my arms the Opus VI which I found would fit me great in winter and Byredo’s Inflorescence which smells absolutely lovely and springlike but only in theory. I wouldn’t want to smell like that personally.

Spring garden

Spring garden

Here is also where I parted ways with Birgit and Sandra, after getting extremely good instructions on how to get to Pure Day Spa in order to try the new Malle (people are rarely this good in giving instructions on how to get someplace in my experience).

I limited my curiosity to just the Malle line (forgoing all the beckoning cosmetics on display) and realized I really like the French lover too.

But my main reason for going there was to try Dries Van Noten. Even before trying it, I was pretty sure the chances were high of me taking it home with me. It seems I was correct. 🙂

I just can’t tell you what exactly it smells like. I was sure it smelled floral when trying it in Planet Spa, then when I came home and applied it for work, I smelled the sandalwood that’s in there but I still have no idea in my mind of what exactly am I smelling, I just know it is incredibly lovely and likeable.

Start of the race

Start of the race

On Sunday, I ran in the VCM, my half of the marathon. The weather was gorgeous and the race was an incredible experience. Running with so many people, always in a crowd, I never experienced anything similar. And the atmosphere was so enthusiastic and supportive.

Which is why my heart broke yesterday when I learned of the bombing in Boston. My heart goes out to everyone affected by this terrible tragedy.

Runners are like perfumistas in so many ways but the most important being – they radiate positive energy. We shouldn’t have that forcefully taken from us (the humankind).

Photos taken from: http://cuabroad.cua.edu/programs/austria/vienna-european.cfm and http://www.vienna-marathon.com

Impatience isn’t a virtue but it might be a teacher

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume April 9, 2013 Comments: 20

Many people around me think my greatest fault is that I’m stubborn. But if I were to say what my greatest fault is, I’d say impatience, closely followed by pride (which can easily be misconstrued as stubbornness).

If you are wondering why am I talking about my faults instead of perfume (or books) it is precisely my impatience what I believe is not letting me enjoy perfumes as I should.

It all came to me when I decided to put on Santal Majuscule the other day (after having reviewed it when it came out), only to realize in my mind, it’s not really a winter perfume (it’s how I thought of it)

Impatient for this littel gem

Impatient for this little gem

but more of a cold spring perfume – perfect for the time we are having now (it would probably work in autumn too).

I cannot describe how perfectly it felt these few days I’ve been wearing it. Which is something my impatience didn’t make me realize at the time I decided to review it.

And the fact that I look at my VAST collection of samples with what now seems dread is not helping my impatience.

So many times now I said I would start writing short reviews of samples, one each day, and that was my impatience to go through those samples at its best. I hate the fact that I am not familiar with them and they just lie there pretty much forgotten.

The truth is, perfumes don’t approve of impatience. You can try and force your way through the growing perfumes you have/want to try, but then it stops being pleasure. And if it’s a chore, you slowly stop doing it when you feel you can get away from doing it.

That is what wearing Santal Majuscule showed me. I liked it a lot when I reviewed it but it wasn’t a perfect fit at that time. Now it is.

There are several perfumes at the moment I am impatient to write about, but they won’t let me. They know I like them and now they are waiting for us to get to know each other without hurry, just for pleasure. Otherwise they won’t let me write (the words aren’t coming).

And they are right. Because if I don’t let go, I won’t enjoy myself.

Words will come later.