SOTD: Juste un Reve by PdN

Sample of the day, World of Perfume May 27, 2010 Comments: 7

It’s been a pleasurable day smelling this on my arm. 🙂

But, it’s been a bit problematic getting the notes.

Notes by PdN: coconut, apricot, jasmine, tuberose, sandalwood, vanilla

Notes by Luckyscent: jasmine, rose, iris, hyacinth, monoi

As you can see, not much overlap (what an understatement). For me, it’s a mix of both, even though I didn’t locate rose and jasmine but hey, nothing new there.

I saw this mentioned as a perfect summer scent – for me it’s more than just a summer scent. Yes, you cannot skip the summer with coconut and monoi but the florals are quite a bit important as well. At one point, they are all you get.

For me it started fresh, irisy and floral, slightly grassy-sweet and happy – it brought a smile to my face. Imagine my dismay when reading notes by PdN and seeing no iris. But Luckyscent helped with that.

This one gives you a feel like you are smelling your skin warmed in the sun – you smell the perfume of flowers and tropical stuff, and you are smelling it warmed in the sun (even though I’m in the office all day).

I kept looking for the apricot but in the end I decided it combined itself with sandalwood perhaps to give this an aura of apricot suede powderiness (this sounds wrong).

Anyway, this all gives way to some flowers and I cannot claim I smelled hyacinths but I did smell flowers of a particular type I recognize. It could be that the real life hyacinth and the perfume one differ sligthly…

But the end is just as great as the rest, sweet monoi and salty iris turning into coconuty and salty smell of sandalwood. It’s at the same time simple and brilliant. Not simple as an easy, straight-forward thing, but easy as in, it gives off a feeling of being easily wearable and enjoyed.

SOTD: Fig & Vetiver by Anthousa

Sample of the day, Short perfume review May 26, 2010 Comments: 8

I’m starting my sample of the day with a sample that’s been standing on my shelf for quite some time since after smelling it for the first time (a long time ago), I decided it was great and wanted to use it but save it at the same time.

I either mistaked liking it so much with the other Anthousa sample I have (Citrus Sorbet) or the other fig scents I smelled in the meantime have made me more picky.

Notes: green fig, bergamot, mandarin, cyclamen, fresh berry, peach, osmanthus, rosewood, black amber and vetiver.

There’s no way you can miss the fig. And for me that’s the best part – the green, fresh, light and summer feeling.

Of all those fruits listed, I am now wondering how come I got only slightly citruses and then after that flowers and that’s it. The flowers get a bit shrill on me and I really don’t like it when that happens (although I know some people do).

So, no, I can’t say I will be wearing this fig (I might have smelled some vetiver at one point but can’t be sure). The opening is a lot like Philosykos but the rest doesn’t even come near. It’s not bad but it’s just not that great either.
This was quite painless, I think I’ll be able to stick to my samples of the day posts in between real posts. I do have to do something about all those samples…

Matthew Reilly: The Six Sacred Stones

World of Books May 25, 2010 Comments: 2

This is the second book in the Jack West Jr. series (James Bond go hide somewhere and never come back). 🙂

Intelligence, physique, morals, and a lot of luck – Jack West has it all (ok, he’s missing a part of his arm, but he’s got an artificial one that works better for him than a real one would).

Anyway, in this book we are again following the characters we got to know so well in the previous Jack West book, where they saved the world. Now they have to do it again because that was just the beginning (and you cannot start reading from here, you have to start at the beginning).

The pace of the book is typical Matthew Reilly, fast and furious and unstoppable. I forgot to say this in my last review but the pictures of the places they visit really come in handy (and not just that, they are actually necessary for better understanding who is going where and doing what).

I still wish though that at the end of the book there would be some information on what in the book are actual facts. Because I am sure there are many that would surprise the reader. But ok.

I know people who are absolutely unable to read fiction. I know, what is wrong with them?! 🙂

I was reading today a really good post from Desert Book Chick on How to write a killer book review and she talked about characters and characterisation so that got me thinking (and hence the fiction non-afficionados). I don’t have a problem with characters in Mr. Reilly’s work but I’m sure some people might. Especially since in this book we meet Jack’s father and some other family members of other characters. Most of which all are not just bad but evil in the manner that they think their way of thinking and doing things is the best and only way. Which combined with non-existing morals leads to evil things. And some very troubled thoughts on my part as to what kind of people are leading this world (some good quotes on that appear in the book).

And I’m going to end on a note regarding my favourite books of all time (which might be Mr. Reilly’s as well).

The main (good) group of characters uses code (of course) to contact each other when apart. And what books and characters they use? Those from The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Just that would be enough to make Matthew Reilly one of my favourite writers. The action plot helps too.

I’ve been thinking…

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, Sample of the day May 25, 2010 Comments: 5

It seems that’s all I do lately when it comes to perfumes. I think of them, ocassionally dig up a sample and sniff and write about it even less. I think it’s all connected to my perfume samples scare from the other day (which is when I realized it, I think it lasted a bit longer).

I love reading what other perfume bloggers are sniffing and thinking about possibilites of me trying so many different things, but it lately all remains in my head. Which is not a good thing when one is writing a blog. Kind of defeats the purpose. 🙂

So today, first I decided to go in search of some summer decants I have accumulated and put everywhere (we are having summer temperatures these days, which are going back to spring for the weekend). And while I was locating them and just sniffing the openings, I got an idea.

Well, it’s more like defiance against all my samples. And it will force me to write more regularly and to learn more effectively.

I’ve seen many SOTD posts, and even though in my case they will get called the same, they will actually be sample of the day. That way I will go through most of them in some kind of an organized manner, even if all I write is a sentence. Or two words. Ok, that has never happened before but you never know.

We’ll see how it goes. Being constant in my obligations is not something I am known for. 🙂

Charlaine Harris: Dead in the Family

World of Books May 23, 2010 Comments: 2

Finally! I got my copy late Friday afternoon and wasn’t able to start reading it until Saturday (and had no pressing stuff so I finished it yesterday evening). I feel like someone lifted a little burden I was carrying since the book came out and I didn’t have it. 🙂

This is not going to be only about the book – I was thinking a lot about the series I was able to watch in between the last book two books in the series. I wasn’t particulary thrilled with the choice of Sookie (Anna Paquin) but now, I think they got it absolutely right. And I’ll tell you why.

When I started reading the series, I thought of Sookie as this really nice blonde girl who just happens to have a problem (she can hear other people’s thoughts) and that makes everyone think she’s a bit crazy (only her friends consider her normal). Anyway, she sounded stereotypically blonde in most ways. And it hit me with this book. I mean I changed my opinion of her character before (she is terribly nice but goes through a lot of bad things) and then I was thinking about the series and who could have starred as Sookie instead of A. Paquin. The problem with blonde actresses is that they all seem nice and gentle and in need of protection, without that inner core of steel which Sookie obviously has and Anna is portraying wonderfully.

So, I’m also looking forward to the new season of True Blood. 🙂 It actually took for me watching the series to realize how dark and bloody these stories really are. It’s never that dark in my head.

On to the book. Since I love the series, I enjoyed it very much – I love the fact that Sookie and Eric are in love (even as complicated as he is). And I loved the Bill surprise in the book (definitely didn’t see that one coming).

The rest was a less bloody Sookie story than I keep remembering from previous books. Maybe that’s because it’s been a while since I finished the last. I mean, there is some bad stuff happening but after the ending of the previous one (where there is the Fae war), this one was a walk in the garden for Sookie. So, the ending was a bit anti-climactic for me even though it ended with a serious fight. Well, it’s Mrs. Harris who has put the bar so high with the previous one.

This doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it – quite the contrary. I will be awaiting the next one with the same anticipation as this one. Can’t help it – I love the Sookie world. 🙂

P.S. The previous books I read weren’t mine, a colleague lent them to me. In order for me to explain how much I enjoy them, I plan on buying the whole series to be able to enjoy them again at my own leisure.

Pic by: www.charlaineharris.com/

Discovering attars

Perfume thoughts May 20, 2010 Comments: 4

I might have been a bit wrong on the Al Mas by Amouage and Sedra by Haramain being the same. Similar, but not the same. And now I don’t know how to proceed. Attars are a completely new area for me and I seem to have ideas regarding attars that are wrong. 🙂 Well, they were right for the first 3 I tried, and then I tried Attar Mubakhar and it turned into this soapy, sea-like thing (which I seriously don’t like and enjoy) but after a while it really wasn’t that bad (as in smelling too much of soapy sea) and I can start with that.

It turns out (at least for me), attars are shapeshifters. Usually with perfumes you can guess where they might evolve and what you might expect. But all the attars surprised me (pleasantly I must say), including the sea one. That was a real surprise.

Anyway, I thought that attars were all dark and had this desert-like base, dry but at the same time full-bodies, arid and spicy. Strange actually. I really need (and want) to experience the desert.

So, I decided to try Sedra and Al Mas at the same time to compare them and see if my initial thought were correct. Of course, it would be extremely inconvenient to have these 2 smelling the same for such a wide money difference. Honestly, I lean toward Al Mas. 🙂 But that’s probably because Sedra displays more rose than Al Mas and I’m still not a fan of rose.

First off, let me say that most of attars I tried (less than 10 so far) are these oudish, rose, dark thingies. So, no wonder I thought smelling them apart that Sedra and Al Mas were the same. The truth is, smelling them side by side, Sedra starts more bitter (as in rose) and oudish than Al Mas. I would never thought I’d say after my first try of Al Mas that it was mellow, but it was more mellow than Sedra. I thought it had some cedre hints but I was wrong – one of the notes is sandal (that is the most similar I could find). I couldn’t find any notes for Sedra, all I found was that it was oriental and spicy.

When first smelling Al Mas, I thought the rose was prominent enoght but when compared to Sedra, it really does not make any kind of important appearance. This rose in Sedra also makes it more feminine than Al Mas, which seems very unisex and more oudish than Sedra. Also. it seems more competently blended. This sounds wrong now – what I wanted to say is that Al Mas is so round and complete, nothing peeks out strongly while in Sedra I can smell the rose quite well.

And then it started. First, I got this camphor/minty? note in Sedra which I have no idea where it appeared from some 2 hours into application. And then also some fruitiness peeking out. Al Mas remained a warm background on my other arm at that time. And then it hit me for both. They seemed to have blended with me (or more precisely my skin). It was like I rubbed them in, which I didn’t and anyway, that would be obvious from the start if I had done it. My guess is, my skin absorbed it and it just became part of me. I loved that part because I almost never feel the perfume becoming one with me, it is always a part that is with me not me.
I am really glad I have some more attars to try. I don’t think they would make a good choice for
everyday (work) wear but they are something.

This perfume love of mine sometimes scares me

Perfume thoughts May 18, 2010 Comments: 9

Like yesterday for example.

I was home looking for some samples to add to packages and at one point it jus hit me. Oh my god! I have so many samples, they are going to run over me and leave me for dead!

Ok, so maybe not dead but exhausted or just depressed because I don’t see how are they going to run me over if I don’t take them in my hand and try them but there are so many! And the amount is just going to grow and grow. And I have no idea how 80% of them smell like even though I tried them. It really scared me and then I got depressed. Every once in a while I read about one of them and take it out to smell it. If I cannot make my mind, I put it back for another try. But while I’m doing that, I’m also swapping and ordering stuff, and new samples arrive. And find a place to live their life somewhere near me but probably hiding so I wouldn’t find them when I need them (even though I try and put them at places where I’ll be able to find them).

And what happens yesterday? I try looking for stuff that I already put aside for swapping extras and suddenly there are samples wherever I look. They really scared me. I guess we can live in peace if some of them are hiding and I don’t need to be aware of them most of the time.

I think I’ll stop now and not go back to reading what I wrote because just thinking about it makes me sound like a lunatic. 🙂

But! I’m a lunatic with a new perfume fixation. Ok, so it’s not really a fixation, more of an interest in a certian area. Like attars.

I got two Amouage attar samples last week, Al Mas and Homage, and even though attars smell a bit different than what I’m used to, I wanted to try some more and of course, I ordered some.

From Arabian Bazaar. They were the first site that came up when I browsed for attars and they have sample packs (2). So I oredred both (and can I just say I’m their first Croatian customer).

And I got very surprised – I ordered on Thursday (5 days ago) and the package was waiting for me today when I got home. 🙂 Talk about fast.

Of course, there wasn’t much time for testing yet, I just put on 2 of them randomly and turns out one of them smells quite a lot like Al Mas by Amouage (for quite a lot less money). Honestly, it actually smells even better to me (hope lightning doesn’t strike me).

Sedra costs 58$ for 30ml. I couldn’t find Al Mas but Homage is 270 E for 12ml. And for that money, I’m likely to think it’s not compatible with my skin chemistry because otherwise I would have to say it’s really not good (it smelled a lot like I put something pickled on my skin for quite a while until getting relatively normal).

Kim Harrison: Black Magic Sanction

World of Books May 18, 2010 Leave a comment

And another installment of Rachel Morgan is behind me. 🙂 I really like the world this story is set in (genetic modifications in tomatoes killing a lot of population so that the witches, vampires and the rest of non-human species get public in order to help with the problem).

Anyway that’s the beginning of series and in no way has anything important to do with this book only to give people who haven’t read any of the Rachel Morgan books an overview of the world.

I noticed this before but I’m putting to words now, even though I enjoy the books and the characters and I never know where the story is going to end up (which is probably the consequence of what I’m going to say next) – I cannot for the life of me get in the head of any of the characters, but that is especially the case with Rachel Morgan. I just cannot understand her reasoning and that is probably one of the reasons I never can guess what is going to happen, i.e. what is she going to do next.

Btw, I couldn’t help but notice the opposites in this book with Anita Blake. Rachel has a chande to deal with some trouble by killing those who are doing it but decides against it at the last moment and deals with the consequences – which are manyfold and make her life even more complicated. And Anita has to kill in order to keep all her loved ones alive – of course, I don’t mean to judge any of the characters who have to kill. Rachel is not a vampire executioner so she never meant to do that in her life and is basically a good witch (or not a witch, it’s debatable what exactly Rachel is) – but even using demon (=black) magic does not make her a bad person because any kind of magic can be used for both good and bad. What I still don’t get is how come that reason never came up in Rachel’s problems, especially in this book where white magic is used for some bad stuff.
So, basically, you get another set of Rachel’s problems, very interesting ideas, previous bad guys turning not good, but positive, and some previous ok guys turning seriously bad (some of that was expected but some definitely wasn’t).
If you enjoyed previous books, you will like this one as well. I wonder what else can be in store for Rachel in the future since this book finally ended on a positive note.

And the winners are…

Uncategorized May 17, 2010 Comments: 3

Since it seems the Random.org requires payments now (at least I wasn’t able to find a free version), I did this the old fashioned way, putting names in a bag and taking two out:

1. La Bonne Vivante
2. Beautiful Things

You won samples of Puredistance I so please contact me with your addresses. 🙂
Hope you enjoy them.

Matthew Reilly: Seven Ancient Wonders

World of Books May 15, 2010 Leave a comment

I’ve been a Matthew Reilly fan since the first book of his I read (I no longer remember which one it was, but I bought everything else I could at the time). And now after some years have passed, I finally read another of his books and enjoyed it a lot.

But, you should bear in mind that Mr Reilly has a specific way of writing not everyone might enjoy. I once read somewhere that he tries to re-create the action movie atmosphere in his books, and honestly, I think he does a good job with that. Of course, ending sentences in the middle and making you read the following line with a bombastic statement helps. 🙂

I loved the way this book explored some ancient history mixed with myths and how Mr. Reilly used it to create his own story. I just wish he would follow the example of James Rollins and state at the end what parts of the story are actually based on true facts. That is always a fascinating reading and I’m sure the readers would be surprised by the stuff they read as true.

Anyway, the book offers a lot of action, a lot of lucky coincidences and just plain James Bond/Indiana Jones abilities in one person who for a change is Australian this time (MR is Australian as well). I am really glad to see his country put in a special place by this book and I loved the ending.

I also loved the mention of the Da Vince code – that book is just part of our culture now. 🙂 I still can’t understand what the fuss was about because nothing new was said in that book but I guess the public was unaware of many things before it (but that’s a completely different topic).

In the end, even if you don’t find Mr Reilly’s type of writing something for you, all I can say is when I start his books, I cannot stop until they are done (even if I started reading something interesting before it – like I did with this one). Action packed – his novels really are.