Tag Archives: Guerlain

Should your collection contain classics?

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume May 3, 2021 Comments: 13

Even if you don’t like them or plan to wear them.

I dreamt of Chanel 5 last night, and how it smelled great on a woman in my dream. And then (still in the dream) I wanted to try it on myself because I wanted to remind myself of how it smelled. Now I want to do it for real.

Didn’t get to do it in my dream but it got me thinking.

Photo by SAZRELLA STUDIO on Pexels.com

Should I (as a retired perfumista 😀 ) have classics in my collection even though I know they are not really what I would wear?

Because having them would give me an instant reminder of what they smell like and why they are classsics. I would basically need only samples or miniatures for that purpose.

What do you think? I’m leaning towards yes.

The more complicated part is which perfumes would those be? Some of them are so changed from their original formulas that they don’t count, some no longer exist which makes having them an exercise in futility, and what actually constitutes a classic nowadays? A cult following?

I wonder what are your thoughts on the subject and which ones would you recommend?

I do think I’m fine with the Guerlains though. 😀

My top 15 perfumes

I've been thinking, Joint blog project, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume October 20, 2020 Comments: 16

To grab when the building is burning. 😀

I decided to participate in an impromptu series of other bloggers (Vanessa, Tara and Undina) and must say it was fun to think about the 15 bottles I would hurriedly gather. The only problem being they are not in the same place but let’s ignore that part. 😉

I had a problem with the last place. It was a tie between two perfumes so instead, I added an imaginary bottle (a perfume I wish I had).

In no particular order but how they appeared in my mind (and two are decants but I would grab them instead of a bottle of something else).

  1. Guerlain Shalimar
  2. Guerlain Jicky
  3. Guerlain Cruel gardenia (yes, I see a pattern here) 😀
  4. Penhaligon’s Artemisia
  5. Aedes de Venustas Iris Nazarena
  6. Frapin Caravelle Epicee
  7. L’Artisan Parfumeur L’Eau d’Ambre
  8. Ramon Monegal Cuirelle
  9. Shiseido Feminite du Bois
  10. Honore de Pres Vamp a NY
  11. Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess
  12. Chanel Coromandel
  13. Frederic Malle Bigarade Concentree
  14. Puredistance M
  15. April Aromatics Tempted Muse

The Jicky issue

I've been thinking, Paris, Perfume shopping, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume August 19, 2018 Comments: 3

If you remember, some time ago I asked for help with opening the golden Jicky casing. I finished my bottle and wanted to remove it from the gold in order to be able to get a new one.

Optimist that I am, I thought that would be easy.

A friend of mine went to Paris this week, and of course I asked her to check the Champs-Elysees Guerlain store in order to purchase a bottle of Jicky.

Turns out there is no Jicky to be had for my golden cage. 😔

I mean, I certainly hope that is what the sales assistant meant when she told my friend that the series is discontinued. Because the other possibility is unfathomable. Right?

So, does anyone know if it’s only the Jicky in gold casing that is being discontinued? I’m still being optimistic. 😉

And if so, where could I possibly find a bottle before they are all gone?

My secret Shalimar habit

Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume July 4, 2018 Comments: 8

It’s not a secret that  I am a huge Shalimar fan.

I still chuckle at the irony of that, each time I write it, due to shal2

the fact that I hated it the first time I tried it.

The bad thing is that experience has shown Shalimar not really being appropriate for work. And that is where I wear perfume the most.

So, in order not to take away from myself the pleasure of smelling Shalimar, I put it into my routine of changing bed sheets.

All I can say is, it’s a win-win situation.

I spray my matress with several spritzes of Shalimar each time I change the sheets

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This is what Shalimar in bed feels like

and then I go to bed with a light misty feel of Shalimar in the air. And the best thing is it lasts for a few days!

The upside to this? Additional one I mean.

I change my sheets quite often nowadays.

Ok, that didn’t come out as it should have. 🙂 But you know what I meant.

Golden Jicky problem

Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume May 13, 2018 Comments: 3

Please help?

I’m pretty sure that when I bought my bottle of Jicky I decided on the golden outerwear because it was a refill.

Turns out I have no idea how to open it. 😀 I do hope it can be opened?

If someone knows how to do it, please let me know.

sdr

Or if anyone has some Jicky they want to swap, let me know that too. 😉

Traveling in France – Paris

Paris, Perfume shopping, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume January 14, 2016 Comments: 25

In December I finally had a chance to visit Paris again, even if it was only for two and a half days. It was a quick getaway that happened at exactly the right time to re-charge my batteries before work hit me hard for the rest of the month.

I arrived on the first Sunday of the month and the optimist in me thought to visit museums for free. 🙂 This is the closest I got to a museum – this is Rodin’s. Louvre and Musee d’Orsay were out of the question, the queues were unbelievable! Still, just walking in the gardens of Musee Rodin was a beautiful experience.

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So, since my free entrance to Louvre was out of the question, I decided to pay for it and used most of my Monday to stroll around it. I seem to have been fascinated with staircases this time around but I’ll post just one picture of them (ok, maybe two). 🙂

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There are so many beautiful things to see in Louvre. I’ve been there once already, my first time in Paris, but I really wanted to visit it again.

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The jewelry on display is “magnifique”!DSC_1394[1]

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This time I was actually able to snap a rather ok photo of Mona Lisa.

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It is not a worthy trip to Paris if you don’t visit a perfume shop and this time, my perfume wanderings took me to Jovoy (no pictures from there but a perfume did come back 😉 ) and to Caron which had an amazing Christmas display in their window. I didn’t buy anything there but the SA was amazingly nice and cooperative and explained everything. I went away with arms smelling of many perfumes and a sample of Poivre.

Honestly, I feel old French perfumery is calling me back to its folds. I seem to enjoy it more and more.

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Of course that no trip to Paris would be complete without a visit to Guerlain. This time a friend and I decided to visit the famous tea room (Le 68 Guy Martin) at Guerlain and it was the first time I discovered what the French insolence feels like. You see, you need a reservation for the place and we didn’t have one. But as it wasn’t really full we somehow managed to convince them to let us in for tea and cake.

That was misstep number 2. You see, you cannot come around 2 for tea and cake. 😀 Because that is lunch time. As we were very haughtily informed. Still, they obviously made an exception in our case.

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And since I didn’t know if taking a photo of my dessert would be misstep 3, I took it quickly so it’s not the best one.

That said, once we started eating our dessert and being so obviously appreciative of it, the chief waiter (one being frenchly mean to us) actually appeared with a smile on his lips. Honestly though, this was I believe the best dessert I ever had in my life. And I can’t even remember its name and can’t find it on the restaurant’s menu either (some kind of chocolate profiterole).

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My Guerlain visit ended with a purchase of Shalimar tea. Again the optimist in me thought I’d buy more than just Shalimar tea, but once I saw the prices, additional tins were out of the question. 🙂 Oh well, at least I tried one of them with my dessert. 😉

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’sDSC_0348 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.DSC_0349

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. 😉

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.

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.