Tag Archives: winter

Skiing – the best reset

I've been thinking, winter, World of Perfume January 13, 2019 Comments: 2

From season to season I forget how great skiing is to reset you from your everyday life. I guess any physical vacation would do that but when you enjoy winter and snow as much as I do, skiing is the best.
I spent the week in Austria (part where the weather was absolutely amazing) with friends and their families. I had the most amazing time that passed so fast I had no time for reading or doing anything else I thought I would have time for (like perfume).

I don’t know what is it about snow and winter that speaks to me but spending my days in the snow and enjoying the snowflakes falling onto my face and being able to taste them while skiing was the most perfect vacation I could imagine. And then unexpectedly dancing the night away was the most satisfying experience of my week.

I knew that being physically active is the best way of staying happy but I kind of forgot during the days of my back pain.

I am so very happy to say that yoga helped and that I skied for a week without any pain.

Hopefully you all get to enjoy snow this winter and in the meantime I’ll leave you with some photos of last week.cofcofcofcofcofcofoznordavdavdavdav

Snowflakes

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume, Zagreb February 12, 2018 Comments: 4

Are the kisses of winter.

I only realized this today, walking home while snow was falling.

I’m a winter child. I have always loved winter and especially snow. There is that special smell in the air before it starts falling, crisp and clean, like the snow itself.

Just one more reason to love snow – because it smells right.

But today, walking while snow falls on my face, I realized snowflakes feel like little kisses of winter. They lightly fall on the face and feel like little butterfly caresses all over. I especially enjoyed those touching my eyelashes because nothing can actually touch your eyelashes so softly. And one fell on the top of my nose and remained there as a drop to remind me winter loves to kiss the tip of my nose too.

I can’t help it, I’ve been waiting all winter for snow to fall in Zagreb, and now it did, it feels like a present for my birthday month.

One that came with thousands of winter kisses.

Woohoo!! It’s amber time!

I've been thinking, Perfume thoughts, World of Perfume December 29, 2014 Comments: 6

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 wGolden amber close up backlit shows crystalshite 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.

My other ambery choices will include MdO Ambre, Ambra Nobile by Nobile 1942 and Le Labo Labdanum 18.

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.

P.S. That was my first ever perfume review. 🙂

 

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Croatia, World of Perfume December 28, 2014 Comments: 12

It seems this year the winter waited a week after officially starting to actually start. albeit, it gets wintery cold here much earlier usually than what the official date is. That said, after the extremely warm weather we had, snow has fallen and the temperature went down.

People hate it when it snows in the city, I, on the other hand, couldn’t be happier. 🙂

It gets more quiet just because snow muffles the sounds of the city, the air smells of winter and snow and you can make snowmen!

So here are some photos of the city today.

 

DSC_0505

Park Zrinjevac (night)

DSC_0502

One more of Zrinjevac

DSC_0495

Zrinjevac during the day

DSC_0494

My realization that rubber boots with good lining are actually perfect for snow

 

Winter 2012 Top Fragrances & Other Stuff

Joint blog project January 27, 2012 Comments: 14

I always enjoy participating in joint blog projects as they make me organize my thoughts on a certain subject and it’s fun to take a look back and see what my top winter perfumes and other stuff wore.
Thanks to Helg of the Perfume Shrine, today you can check some of the winter favorites both here and on the other participating blogs (the list is below). 🙂

So, in no particular order, this winter I’ve been enjoying the Voluspa Winesap Apple Spice candle in the evenings. I light the candle, and curl in my favourite armchair with a book. This winter has seriously sapped my energy levels (not the weather, but the period) so this is my way of relaxing and enjoying some down time.

On the plus side, when the candle burns out, I will have a beautiful cup to put in some of my favourite decants. 🙂

This winter, I also found out that if one is to go by perfumes, I had a completely wrong idea of what India smells like.
I have been lucky to test the Neela Vermeire perfumes (proper reviews to come soon) and I was completely taken by surprise by the perfume interpretation of India.

For some reason I thought that all the spices and notes will turn into an oriental perfume fullbodied and heavy.
Instead, what I found is the warm, summer air saturated with all kinds of smells but at the same time breezy and light-hearted. I can’t wait to be able to wear them once the weather turns slightly warmer, I believe the cold we are having these days would kill their light happiness.

And that brings me to the fact that this winter, I’m all for warm and sweet when it comes to my perfumes, so I’m wearing vanillas and ambers and Shalimar in the evenings.

L’Artisan’s Vanilia and L’Eau d’Ambre, MdO Vanille, Un Bois Vanille by SL and of course, Ambre Sultan.
Among all these ambers and vanillas, a strange little cinnamony gem also found its place – Un Crime Exotique.

Those are my go-to scents when I want to feel wrapped up in my little warm cocoon where the world can’t get me (and they work rather well in that context).

As does my first ever cashmere sweater! 🙂 Ok, so I might be late to that party but I just never thought there is a type of wool out there that could work with my extremely sensitive skin when it comes to clothing texture. Not to mention that the price wasn’t exactly making me eager to buy one.
All I can say is, I might not be buying cashmere sweaters regularly, but they will slowly start appearing more and more in my wardrobe.

And last but not least, my list of top stuff couldn’t be complete without a mention of an alcoholic beverage. 😉
This winter I discovered my favourite cognac and cognac house. Not that I’ve tried many but Frapin are my clear favourite. Not surprising though as I love their perfumes a lot as well (if they can make such great perfumes, imagine what they can do with cognacs which they’ve been making for 20 generations).

And here are my fellow participating bloggers with their thoughts on winter favourites:

The Non Blonde

Perfume Shrine

Katie Puckrick

I smell therefore I am

Under the Cupola

Waft by Carol

Apples and wine pic by http://www.gasparic-pejzazi.com/

The smell of winter

I've been thinking November 14, 2011 Comments: 14

Finally, it arrived.

Not the actual winter but the hints it’s giving out before it comes.

The smell of snowflakes in the air.

The cold that smells blue.

The anticipation of air turning and sun blazing white.

Ok, so I really didn’t smell the snow in the air (but I don’t think it can be far now) but the rest is here.

We’ve had  a long summer and a strange, humid autumn that made everyone sick and today, finally, the air is bracingly cold, the sky is finally showing signs of losing the clouds and the smell of winter is in the air.

I love the smell of each of the seasons but I especially love the smell of winter. After all, it is my season (as I was born in winter).
I hate being cold but I can’t help feeling that when I smell the winter in the night air (as it seems it’s always night now), I feel at ease and comfortable.
There is something in this cold, night, starry air that feels as much me as it can.

I still don’t know why that is that I feel winter is the time of year when I feel most comfortable with everything. Walking in the cold and enjoying Christmas decorations (which are almost here) and then coming home into the warmth and enjoying being comfortable and cocooned in it – not to mention all the perfumes making me feel warm and fuzzy and happy.
The truth is – only the winter perfumes make me feel truly happy and truly me. 🙂

But, even though this might sound like I will be writing more often than lately, I do think it won’t be the case as some of my personal (delayed by me) obligations will have to take precedence over everything, so I believe I won’t be writing as often as I’d like, but I hope that I’ll be here at least once a week until Christmas (and the rush) passes.

%d bloggers like this: