perfumista friends | All I am

Quick perfume thoughts

I've been thinking, Perfume review, Perfume thoughts, Short perfume review, World of Perfume June 11, 2015 Comments: 20

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 😉

Amouage Opus 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 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.

Meeting Nat of Another Perfume Blog

World of Perfume August 7, 2013 Comments: 21

Honestly, I really didn’t think I would actually get a chance to meet a perfume blogger in my home city. 🙂

I mean people don’t usually choose to visit Zagreb when deciding on what European city/country to visit but luckily for me, Nat and her husband decided to spend some of their vacation at the beautiful Croatian seaside so Zagreb found itself on their itinerary as well.

I got to meet with Natalie, twice, first when she arrived and then again when she was leaving which was great, as the first time I got to know her and answer her questions about Croatia and the second time around, I got to hear of what it was like for them spending a vacation here.

What can I say, I certainly hope they share their thoughts on Croatia to as large a group as possible. 😉

Those of you who met Natalie probably already know what a lovely, beautiful person she is. We certainly didn’t lack subjects when we met and I was so very happy that when we visited Top perfumery, our host Borut provided us with some yet unreleased perfumes to smell (he is just a great perfumista himself with a large knowledge of perfumes).

zg1

So that’s a place you need to visit once in Zagreb.

I was very happy to learn on our second meeting that I installed a bit of a curiosity in Nat and her husband when it came to Croatian drinks and I also realized that in their commitment to try them all (or as many as possible), they landed upon one of my favourites called Pelinkovac (meaning done from the plant mugworth/wormwood – I needed a dictionary for that one).

I know you all know what an incredibly lovely experience it is meeting perfumistas in real life but I still need to say it.

It was great fun meeting Natalie and I certainly hope we get to see each other again.

But you know, I cannot but help thinking that recently that trend has been on the rise so I have feeling we all might be meeting each other more and more often in the future.

And that is just such a happy thought for me. (I could probably do a Patronus on it!) 😉

P.S. If you’re wondering where did the Patronus part come from, I am, again, re-reading Harry Potter. 😀

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

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

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