Tag Archives: perfume thoughts

Hope

Croatia, Perfume thoughts, winter, World of Perfume January 7, 2022 Comments: 15

That’s what I’ve been feeling with the start of this year. I don’t really know why. The last two years have felt like so much is happening and nothing is happening at the same time. I guess much news was happening, but our lives were mostly stagnant (that is my perspective). I know my life was stagnant.

Speaking of hope, I don’t want to do another post where I hope I’ll start writing more. I don’t know if that will happen but I know I am not ready to let my blog go.

But to get back to hope.

I think many of us weren’t aware of how hopeless we felt in the last two years. I know I didn’t even though I knew I didn’t feel like myself. Getting lost in life is something I believe many of us face at some point in our lives, even without a pandemic.

What I did to help myself was to regularly journal and include 3 things I am grateful for each time I write. From the smallest things like enjoying my coffee, to bigger stuff like being grateful for the family and friends. And eventually new year rolled along and I felt differently. I finally feel like I can get my life back on track.

Today helped move that idea along. 🙂

Finally I went for a hike and enjoyed some snow. Followed by a great lunch with a friend and then a beer with another. Walking home from that beer we realized there is a new perfumery in town and even though I was ready to walk away (shame on me!) my friend said lets go in (because she knows me). On top of the amazing day I had, I got to feel like a little child in a candy shop. 😀 I don’t remember the last time I went into a niche perfume store. I enjoyed the experience and loved the lady working there because it was obvious she was having fun with us.

The name of the shop is Belodore and the one in Zagreb has amazing staff.

I don’t actually have a message to share with you – just the hope I feel. And pictures taken today at Sljeme. I love both winter and snow.

Wishing all of you a hopeful and healthy year ahead!

Perfume Consultant

Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume April 22, 2021 Comments: 10

That would be me. 🙂

Honestly, I am a bit proud now. Yesterday I managed to find two matches for someone. I’m especially happy because it was for a friend’s daughter who is 12 (going on 70) and all I had to go on was something neutral, that she can wear to school and that won’t bother her nose like all other perfumes she smells all the time.

The really helpful part is I know her since the day she was born so I could add some more ideas about what might suit her. I’ll tell you what I chose for her to try and what she finally selected (which were also the ones I thought she might latch onto).

As I was selecting perfumes from my collection for her to try and for me to get an idea what she might like (because neutral can be so many things), I realized I don’t really do neutral, no sillage, nobody knows I’m wearing perfume stuff. 😀

Still, I managed to locate some things that could fit the bill.

This is what I took for her to try:

Eau de Cartier – because it really is unisex, although not really very quiet

Puredistance Antonia – I sort of sneaked that one in not expecting her to like it for herself, but to give her an idea of quiet elegance

Different Company – Un parfum de Sens et Bois – a completely forgotten sample I accidentally found and loved for her

Serge Lutens Bas de Soie – I always think of iris as being the soft, quiet flower

Rue Rance Eau Sublime – a forgotten bottle I only recently realized I enjoy immensely

Any Tauer Penta Verdant – green=neutral? sort of, but more to see whether she would associate the two

Romea d’Ameor The Great Inca Priestess – one I really like and only had a sample of (have no idea why they don’t have a webpage?)

I wonder what you think would be her choice(s) among these?

She loved both Sens et Bois and the Incan Priestess. Which are honestly so very easy to love and smell perfect on her.

Then we went in search of where they can be bought. It turns out they are not so easily obtainable in Croatia. But it also got me thinking how the proliferation of perfume brands and perfumes had two really bad impacts (at least in my case).

  1. I lost all will to try and follow what’s happening in the perfume world because who can keep track anymore
  2. But while I was still trying to keep track, I ignored the beautiful perfumes I already had at home, which are really pieces of art how well they are done, and it doesn’t seem they are given the praise and love they deserve (this is just my opinion, maybe I’m completely wrong)

Then again, I always thought that The Different Company wasn’t given the love it deserves. Now I think the same for the Inca Priestess.

Feels like a special day

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume June 27, 2020 Comments: 13

Although on the outside it looks like a normal summer weekend’s day. But for me it feels special.

After a long time, I finally feel enthusiasm regarding a new perfume release. I’m blaming Cookie Queen and Tara for this one. But I’m already in love with the idea of that perfume. I love the name, I almost love all the notes, and as it’s a Chanel Exclusif (I love several of them), I don’t think this one will disappoint. I can finally say I’m eagerly awaiting to try a new perfume.

And then, in the middle of reading that review, I receive a post pingback. That hasn’t happened in a long time. It turns out my Shalimar habit stuck with Undina and now she has a post up about other possible nightly perfume habits we (perfume lovers) might have. You can go and take a look at what other people think of wearing perfume to bed.

To end my perfume-related day, the cake I made for a friend’s birthday turned out great. I’m mentioning the cake now because I received the recipe several years ago from another perfume blogger.

That is why it feels like a special day – everything today seems to be saying it’s time to enjoy the perfume world again.

P.S. Now that I look at my post it seems to be all over the place. 🙂 But who cares, it’s a perfume-world day for me.

Quarantine perfume log #1

I've been thinking, Leisure, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume April 1, 2020 Comments: 10

Although it’s not actually quarantine (at least I don’t think so), even though it feels like it after 5 weeks of working from home and rarely leaving my apartment the last three weeks. I think. Days and weeks pass away and they all look the same.

So while at home, although not having as much free time as everyone seems to think people do (I mean we work from home, my days do not suddenly have a whole bunch of free time), I felt like writing a bit about the perfume related thoughts I’ve been having.

As you can assume, being at home most of the time, I don’t really apply perfume much (almost at all). But I’ve come to all sorts of realizations.

I guess it happened the world over, the search for disinfectants and rubbing alcohol. I wasn’t searching for the alcohol as I had a small bottle at home, but when my mum asked if I can find any, I gave her mine. Several days after that, it dawned on me that I have a lifetime supply of alcohol. 🙂

I saw the perfumes in my hallway.

So, now I have no worries when it comes to running out of rubbing alcohol as both eau de toilettes and eau de parfums contain more alcohol than it does.

Which brings me to the fact that my phone now smells phenomenal. 😀 I’ve been using Jicky to disinfect it with.

My bottle of Jicky

Continuing the Jicky train of thought, my soap is lavender which incidentally doesn’t remind me so much of Jicky, but of Shalimar. I don’t know why my nose makes that jump, but I think it might be the reverse engineering. I remember, quite some time ago, when I recognized traces of Shalimar in Jicky. I wonder now if the fact that lavender soap comes smelling sweetly of vanilla, my nose is going reverse on the perfumes.

And now while checking to see if I ever wrote about Jicky or Shalimar, I came across this great post. At least I think it is great . 😀

Once more a big thanks to Asali for coming up with ideas for it.

Is perfume world going bananas?

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume February 28, 2019 Comments: 4

I had to put this title as it was the first thing that came to mind when I saw the name of the new L’Artisan Parfumeur release – Bana Banana.

That said, I would actually love to smell it! 😀 I somehow believe it might be the type of perfume that makes you smile and just lets you enjoy yourself without any fuss while wearing it.

The site only has the page in French so far and this is what the description says: Une Banane Ambrée, composition baroque, rare et généreuse : le mariage d’une guirlande de jasmin et d’un bouquet de bananes confite.

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Basically it’s an amber banana composition (a combination of jasmine garland and banana jam). Might sound strange but I believe it will work.  I have trust in Céline Elena’s work.

Quick translation of the notes mentioned  would include: jasmine flower, violet leaves, nutmeg flower, iris, and tonka bean.

So, what do you think? Do you want to try it?

I don’t like it at all

I've been thinking, Perfume review, Perfume shopping, Perfume thoughts, Sample of the day, World of Perfume August 26, 2018 Comments: 3

I just realized my love of perfumes is back but my writing skills aren’t.

I can write about things but I’m drawing blanks when it comes to perfume. I’m really not happy about that but I lost the practice and now it will take a while to get it back.

In this post I’ll try to explain why I love the perfumes I’m writing about.

I’ve been wearing April Aromatics’ Tempted Muse before my vacation and loved it so much that the decant is gone. Btw, thank you Asali for sending it – you really know my taste. 😀

Which brings me to Undina’s post and her explanation how perfumes are thunked.

Discover-Muse

Of all the muses out there, the one that speaks to me is Urania (surprise, suprise)

My decant is done but the perfume is definitely not thunked.

After a long time, I used up a decant and now I know I want a bottle of it. It’s kind of funny that when I look back at the bottles of perfumes I fell in love with, ones that I purchased in the last few years, they were all perfumes that I labeled completely wrong with my nose.

For example, the beginning of Tempted Muse reminds me a lot of Jicky and therefore I concluded the perfume must contain lavender. Turns out, that’s not one of the listed notes.

Notes: Frangipani, tuberose, jasmine, rose otto, tonka bean, sandalwood, ylang ylang, pink grapefruit, vanilla, anis fruit accord.

Which brings me to the seductive one.

On summer vacation evening I went out for a stroll along the seaside and as this was a quick weekend getaway I brought no perfumes and just fished out of my purse one of the samples I  always have there for backup. Turns out it was Andy Tauer’s Une Rose de Kandahar.

What an amazing perfume to wear on a hot summer night!

I would never have guessed it and feel a bit ashamed. I always felt ouds were too much for heat which is the opposite of where they originated. Luckily, I found out for myself how great they work in heat.  I could smell it wafting off of me all the time but in an easy wave that is enjoyable to smell. You’re not sure where it’s coming from but you like that it’s here and want it to remain in the air around you.

Notes: Apricot, cinnamon, almond, bergamot, Bulgarian rose absolute, rose from Kandahar, bourbon geranium, tobacco leaf, patchouli, vetiver, vanilla, tonka bean, musk and ambergris.

Being true to the introduction, I cannot describe it better than that it’s a rose oud but I’ll work on that. 🙂 I mean out of all these notes, in the drydown I get vetiver in addition to the beginning of rose and oud. Which also isn’t a note of this perfume (oud) but hell, obviously the base notes combine well to give that impression. And that makes it even more amazing.

Now that I wrote this, I realize that it’s the small niche brands I’ve been enjoying the most lately. Little gems of novelty brilliance in the sea of sameness.

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. 😉

Decants – optimism and irony

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume April 24, 2017 Comments: 10

I know I’ve been MIA for a really long time (I’d rather not think about how long) and I can’t say I’m back, even though I would love to, but I will certainly try to be back. 🙂

So, in my wish to get back to writing about perfumes and just generally enjoying them more, I did a switch the other day, finally bringing out my spring and summer bottles and decants – only to have weather suddenly change back to winter. It seems to be getting back into spring luckily though.

But that’s not the point of this post.

Going through my decants, I realized I have some unnamed ones. And I am the person who didn’t label them after decanting them. The optimistic past me thought my nose and brain were so good I would remember what I decanted. But the optimistic me forgot how bad I am at remembering names. And I suck at remembering names – ask anyone who knows me.

The irony of me thinking I would remember what I decanted years after the fact, knowing how unable I am to remember names wasn’t lost on me.

So, imagine my surprise when I smelled a decant and knew that I could remember this perfume because it was so very familiar to me. But the name just wouldn’t come no matter how much I smelled my arm. And it was a perfume I really loved at one point in my perfume story.

So I let myself not think about it anymore and went on with chores.

Honestly, I love lightbulb moments and I wish I’d have more of them. My nose and my braing finally made the connection half an hour later.

It was Chinatown by Bond No 9.

A brand and a perfume I totally forgot about. I don’t read blogs much anymore but it feels like no one ever talks about Bond No 9 anymore (and I know the brand is probably responsible for that).

The thing is, I don’t really care what kind of brand is behind that perfume because I realized I still love it and think it’s absolutely wonderful in all its sweet, gourmand glory. I guess it evokes the initial gidiness of learning about a new obsession of mine (perfume), at a time when my life was much more carefree and optimistic. And now I think about it, it was quite a long time ago. 🙂

I don’t want to lose my newly found perfume optimism, but I feel old when I think about stuff like my old carefree days. 🙂 Luckily, it just makes me laugh at myself. Besides, I am not that young anymore – and the irony is not lost on me here too, because I feel younger in my mind than I did in my 20s. Probably because I don’t take things so seriously anymore even though I feel more serious. glass

I realized I never actually reviewed Chinatown. It won’t happen today either but I would actually love to talk about it a bit more.

So here’s me hoping the perfume that originally got me into loving niche is the one that brings me back into enjoying perfumes and writing about them again.