(not that they usually do me any good, I just basically follow my own way 😉 )
But, I woke up today with all the possibilities for this year clear in my head and with a strong urge to make them happen. Who knows, maybe now when I write them down, some of them actually happen. 🙂 I.E. I make them happen. 😉
1. Write more. Especially about perfume (there are many great perfumes I’ve tried lately that I want to write about).
2. Get organized – I have this feeling that if I get my different parts of my life better organized, it would make me faster when doing something and less stressed when I’m in a hurry
3. De-clutter all aspects of my life. I really feel I have too much stuff. Yes, I love shopping (I’m a true consumerist) but I would enjoy my stuff more if it didn’t get lost among all other stuff. 🙂
4. Figure out what is it that I want to do. Really want to do.
5. Do more yoga. Or pilates. It goes extremely well with running. And does wonders for my lower back.
6. Relax. I’m a really tense person who wants everything right now. I realized I have a problem enjoying the moment so I want to learn how to do that. Or just be more aware of it so I can enjoy life more. There’s no hurry. 😉
7. Keep on running. Ok, that’s nothing new but running helps me in so many ways that I just want to keep on doing it.
Yes, yes, I’ve been remiss in writing anything but here I am with something I’d like to share with you. I’ve been a huge fan of Burren perfumery ever since starting my perfumista journey. I like their perfumes but it’s actually their body products that I adore.
The last one on that list being Frond body wrap (Frond comes as edp as well but that’s less important now).
The important thing is how I smell after I shower and put on the Frond body lotion. It’s one of the more amazing body products I’ve tried in quite some time. In this case both because of the texture and smell.
First time I tried it I thought the smell was a bit too much. I have no idea what I was thinking then. 😉 OK, the smell is actually very strong but in my case I like it as I shower before going to bed so this comes as  my night perfume.
Here is what the Burren site says about it:
“A sophisticated, feminine perfume possessing warmth, sensuality and an underlying complexity. The freshness of cut grasses sharpens the rich scents of Wild Rose, Violet and Ylang Ylang with the soft Sandalwood base notes bringing depth and finish.”
In all honesty, that’s not exactly what I smell, or more precisely what you imagine when you read this is not what you smell for one simple reason – it smells like an old French perfume with one difference, it somehow smells clean at the same time. I’d swear there is some lavender hidden in there as well but you smell a slightly bitter floral bouquet which I find perfect for these hot summer nights we are having at the moment. Just the smell of this body wrap makes me feel cooler.
And now just to make you want it more, it is actually a wonderful body wrap, it makes your skin soft and it gives it a lasting moisturizing feeling. You actually get the best of both worlds, the perfume and a great body lotion.
No wonder I am in love with that lovely perfumery. So, if you’re interested, go check their site and you can follow them on Facebook.
After quite a long time, I finally got to see some of my perfume friends and we shared what we have acquired lately that each of us might like to try (I didn’t have much though).
So, here is what I remembered from the quick sniffs I took today:
Piguet Knightsbridge – a lovely, boozy, warm perfume for colder days, it really hit all my boozy-vanilla-amber buttons 😉
AmouageOpus IX – in the beginning it’s a monstrously dirty jasmine/something (and dirty coming from me is really something), 2 hours later it smells like a slightly bitter floral, rather nice
Mugler Cuir Impertinent – the surprise of the meeting (at least for me) – a really wearable light leathery smell with a rather green-herbal opening and undertones of Angel, I can see myself wearing it easily
Odori Iris – nice feminine iris with no big projection, actually a rather soft and elegant feel
MFK Â Oud – well, it’s anything but oud if you ask me (at least what I’m used to when it comes to oud), and if you take it like that, a rather nice perfume that works as edc just fine
TDC I miss Violet – also a perfume without much projection but with a soft side and easy smile. I had a bit trouble smelling it in the beginning as it was so light but later I got the lovely violet tones (and I get light fruitiness in the drydown)
There were also the Zoologist perfumes: Beaver, Panda and Rhinoceros and I am honestly pleasantly surprised how much I liked them.
Time flies and I have no good excuses for why I am not writing. I could come up with excuses but really, when you want to write, you find the time. So, yes, no good excuses (as I do want to write).Â
I do promise though to try and manage my time more efficiently and therefore find the time to write when I am not dead on my feet (that ought to help).
In the meantime I almost passed my driver’s exam yesterday. 🙂 Hopefully that means I’ll do it the next time round. Honestly, getting a driver’s license in Croatia is a rather long and a bit difficult process (just to warn you if it ever crosses your mind) so I’m hoping in my case it will be all over soon.
Perfume-wise, I discovered an old decant of Donna Karan’s Chaos and sprayed it one day to remember what it smelled like and completely fell in love. That said, the decant is empty so if anyone has any they’d like to share, please think of me. 🙂
(I’m pretty sure it’s the “new” version as I sincerely doubt I got my hands on the “old” one)
P.S. You can imagine how strange my life is at the moment when I can’t find the time to read?!
And vanilla and oud. 🙂 But amber is the note that first comes to mind  when it’s cold outside.
That said, this morning I wanted to celebrate this wonderful sunny and white day (the snow is still unmelted) with Ambre Sultan, only to not be able to find my decant. So I decided to put Ambre Precieux on. I’m very happy with that choice. If I smell a waft from afar (and not on my turtleneck), I catch what I would call a flowery hint. It’s basically wonderful.
And amber fits perfectly with this cold weather, it just makes you feel warm all over by smelling it.
With a special mention of Caravelle Epicee, which I don’t actually count among ambers but theoretically it is, so it goes on the list. I mean, there are so many other things going on in there that saying it’s an amber perfume doesn’t do it justice.
I still find that to be one of the best winter perfumes ever. At least for me. It hits all my spicy, warm, gourmand-y buttons. Plus, it smells really sexy.
Organized again by Juraj of Bl’eauOG, we were in for a great talk made by Mr Monegal. In French! I really was very happy with the fact that I spent so many years learning it because I could follow what he was saying without any problems. And he had LOTS to say.
I’ll try and give you the highlights. One thing that I’m upset about though, when I had the chance to ask him questions, I couldn’t come up with a single thing. Now that I’m home writing this, I have a full head of questions I would really like to hear his answers to. Oh well…
Basically, what I believe is the most important thing he said and one that resonates through his perfumery and his approach to clients is that we all don’t know how to use our nose for anything that is not stomach related – e.g. food. And it’s a learned thing, conditioned by our culture as babies can smell their mothers but then, at some point, we all forget to use our nose for enjoyment and identification of the world around us (like animals do).
He said that one of the main reasons for using perfumes is communication and nowadays people don’t have an olfactory image (like we do with the clothes we wear). They are not even aware that something like that exists. Well, we obviously are, but there were many people present today for who I could tell he was saying new things. And for him, that is the main reason perfumers came out of their labs – to educate the public of the importance of knowing the terms and recognizing the olfactory image.
Mr Monegal also explained his idea of why a perfume is like a book – with the introduction, the main part and the end. And how different notes communicate different things. I really enjoyed the idea that he so obviously espouses about it all being about communication.
I learned a lot about some notes which I’m not going to repeat here. Just that I wasn’t aware it was so difficult working with iris as it doesn’t have much longevity (and what with how expensive it is, it’s good we even have iris perfumes). 😉
I’ll leave you with one gem I really liked. There is no good/bad perfume in his mind, it’s all about the olfactory image again and the fact that perfumes can be either well worn or not well worn (depending on what you want to express with them and how they fit you). I actually like that idea as I definitely know that I cannot wear some of the perfumes I own at any time I like (Serge Lutens’ I’m looking at you).
I got to try Dubai Next To Me and I like it a lot and I basically fell in love with Impossible Iris. 🙂 The name is a reference to how difficult it is to work with iris (the longevity issue again).
It’s that time of year when we all want to write about our Christmas scents. A big thank you to Undina and Natalie for bringing us all together for another fragrant blogging event.
Today we are pairing Christmas music and perfumes and I just have to say it’s the best idea as I love Christmas music and well, you all know I love perfume.
My choice of music was Dean Martin‘s Winter Wonderland – the idea of winter wonderland paired with his voice makes for a perfect song to indulge in during this time (at least for me it does).
“Sleigh bells ring, are you listening, In the lane, snow is glistening A beautiful sight,We’re happy tonight. Walking in a winter wonderland. ..
…Later on, we’ll conspire,
As we dream by the fire
To face unafraid,
The plans that we’ve made, Walking in a winter wonderland. …
When it snows, ain’t it thrilling, Though your nose gets a chilling We’ll frolic and play, the Eskimo way, Walking in a winter wonderland.”
Â
I skipped parts of the song and just focused on those I will feature in perfumes. That said, I’m still looking for a perfume embodiment of snow I have in my mind.
Each time I consider a winter wonderland, I think of white woods and walking through them in the snow. I guess all the skiing did its thing. 😉
So, my perfect perfumes embodying the smell of a walk in the winter woods would be Serge Lutens Fille en Aiguilles, making you feel you’re still close to the cabin and its fire while also smelling the pines around you, and Winter Woods by Sonoma Scent Studio which is such an incredible depiction in perfume of exactly what the name says.
Then there are perfumes that might not smell like snow exactly, but they smell white and cold and sparkly, and come very close.
I find it funny that I would list Byredo’s Bal d’Afrique among them but I do. It smells white to me and light and when I smell it, I feel the same as I would when I breathe in the snowy air.
Then there is Le Labo’s Gaiac 10 , with its incense and cedar and it makes me think white and clean, and therefore snowy. It’s strange that when a perfume has an incense note that smells white, I am fine with it (otherwise it’s a no-no for me on incense).
My third choice for the tranquility of the white world (winterland) is Montale’s White Oud. It’s as serene and peaceful as a white, snowy landscape where you are alone to find peace.
And as we go back to warm ourselves by the fire, I always go back to Piment et Chocolat, a perfume to warm you up that you wouldn’t mind drinking by the fire either, and Festive, the one you might want to wear if you need warming up of another kind by the Christmas tree. 😉
Please visit my fellow participating bloggers for their choices on what songs smell Christmas-y to them:
I might not talk about leather perfumes much but I do love them. I just might not wear them as often as I might like as I don’t think my colleagues would approve as much as I do.
That said, I think Cuirelle by Ramon Monegal would never solicit any negative comments. Or at least it shouldn’t. It has become my go-to leather scent and I simply adore it.
Unfortunately for me, my decant ran out and the brand is not available in Croatia. But if I’m nothing if not persistent when it comes to something I love, so eventually a bottle will find its way into my collection.
So how does it smell? Heavenly.
😉
Notes: Somali Incense, Indonesian Patchouli, Bourbon Vetiver, Virginian Cedarwood, Cinnamon and Beehive Absolute.
I find it an incredible achievement that this perfume is well made that I, an incense-phobic never actually registered any incense-y problem in my nose.
Even smelling it now, knowing there is incense in there, I cannot smell it in its usual form. I can tease the buttery soft leather (the feeling of it, no buttery smell to it) and vetiver and cedar but incense is luckily missing from my perception.
Trying to tease the notes apart is a bit difficult, I thought there might have been some iris in here due to the most incredibly soft, leathery beginning of this perfume. It is just so seductive to my nose, it’s like a leather coat lined with incredibly soft fur, you just want to burrow your nose (well, all of yourself not just your nose) in it and never let go.
The fur lining the leather coat
The notes cannot describe the loveliness you smell. I thought there was a slight rum note in the beginning. Even though you can smell the incredible combination of woody notes smelling leathery, the only spiciness I detect is the one I attributed to rum. I’m sure cinnamon plays a huge role in that but I cannot smell it by itself. And I’m sure the beehive absolute is responsible for the amazing softness radiating from this perfume.
I would call this a perfect cashmere sweater perfume, along with some seductive leather on any part of your persona for a perfect fit.
That said, I’m not the person who wears clothes like that but I still find Cuirelle a perfect fit. Â It makes me feel like I’m wearing clothes like that feeling completely at ease in them.
Leisurely seductive, in a sneaky way. 🙂 You’re enjoying your time with Cuirelle and suddenly you’re snared and you cannot live without it. perfect fit.  It makes me feel like I’m wearing clothes like that feeling completely at ease in them.
I warned you – that’s what happened to me. Proceed at your own peril.
hite day (the snow is still unmelted) with 
We’re happy tonight.
All I am - a redhead 