tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-58733912604126211502024-02-02T02:50:25.086-06:00mossyloomingsthis used to be a blog about more than perfume, but really, who am I kidding?Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.comBlogger90125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-75045906269024289302011-06-26T09:07:00.004-05:002011-06-26T10:26:12.797-05:00Summer favorites list, and signing off, at least for a whileI might as well admit it: as my reluctant and sporadic posting suggests, I have lost the will to blog, folks. I still love perfume, and love reading all my fellow perfumistas' clever and fascinating perspectives on perfume. I love reading about new discoveries and vintage treasures, but I think I may have reached a saturation point in my own life with perfume, and writing about it in this format isn't the joy it used to be. Perfume is still a solace, a delight, a charm of protection, a call to the hunt, and a disquieting mystery. I think I just need to explore it in different ways, and am not very articulate about the experience right now.<br /><br />See you on the (other) blogs!<br />Aimee<br /><br />Here's a summer favorites list to sign off with:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kiehl's Original Musk</span><br />For some reason this used to smell very powdery and uninteresting to me, but now it's just the right mixture of sweetness, salty skin, and hippie funk.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Givenchy Le De vintage eau de toilette</span><br />I've been a fan of the reissued "Mythiques" version of Le De for a year or two now, but I never had the chance to try the vintage until recently. It's a lovely, slightly melancholy, minor-key garden-herb jasmine in the eau de toilette.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ormonde Jayne Champaca</span><br />As always, I find the basmati rice and creamy florals in this scent to be supremely comforting but never boring. It makes me feel luscious!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Gucci edp II</span><br />This is a new and oddball scent in my collection, but for some reason I keep falling for it. Berries and greenery, then it disappears. But for some reason, it satisfies my heretofore-unheard-of craving for a light berry summer fragrance for the office.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">L'Artisan Parfumeur Dzing!</span><br />Great in the winter, and scarily great in 100-degree summers, this is the furry masterpiece I never want to be without.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Vero Kern Onda extrait</span><br />When I read the notes list, at first I thought: mace? Like the medieval weapon? Like that sledgehammer spice that seems to pop up only in brick-weighted holiday fruit bread? Nope, like velvet, this is. A more dangerous, transporting, and seductive use of spice and vetiver I have never experienced, and it works in the summer just as well as in the winter.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Givenchy eau de toilette, vintage</span><br />Let's see, there's oakmoss, more sweet, bergamot-tinged oakmoss, with a little tender florals in there somewhere. And oakmoss. The perfect summer cologne for those of us who can do without the citrus.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Annick Goutal Un Matin d'Orage</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">eau de toilette</span><br />Resisting the urge to hoard much more of this right now. The bitter shiso and petrichor in the topnotes just hooks me every time. Then it subsides into an unsweet but somehow creamy and green floral. Definitely not a perfume to buy unsniffed, but I'm addicted to it.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Miller Harris Un Petit Rien eau de cologne</span><br />A more translucent and summery version of L'Air de Rien, or "the lair" as I like to call it. Still very recognizably the skank-monster's little sister, but she opens the windows to let some fresh air in once in a while.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Donna Karan Chaos eau de parfum</span><br />Tangy chamomile, woody cinnamon, and musky, nongourmand cardamom are the strongest impressions I get from this strange but compelling perfume. I have to admit after comparing it to my tiny sample of Dawn Spencer Hurwitz's sadly discontinued version, Anarchy, I find the DSH slightly better blended, because the cinnamon quality is a little less linear and overwhelming in Dawn's version. But nonetheless, this is a great example of one of my favorite categories: oddball comfort scents.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-64892410329157333092011-05-06T09:20:00.001-05:002011-06-26T10:30:00.601-05:00Wanting What I Have<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPh9OTXHc4hsvHhxeKcb9UpQFuPQQ4sa_oIBrekX0HJhudNpUd8Zfc7DOHKkeGCmaJEbi-KHixgVLmw_jCtju5m11d1mZvFnhA7wylm0t0A-u1-Zhw3fZiywLbXy1qZ8V6cHPzTsAfWU/s1600/treasure_map.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZPh9OTXHc4hsvHhxeKcb9UpQFuPQQ4sa_oIBrekX0HJhudNpUd8Zfc7DOHKkeGCmaJEbi-KHixgVLmw_jCtju5m11d1mZvFnhA7wylm0t0A-u1-Zhw3fZiywLbXy1qZ8V6cHPzTsAfWU/s200/treasure_map.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5603602965726447714" border="0" /></a>I am a lucky, lucky woman, both in life and my perfume hunt! I have been thinking this week: I can't even believe I've had the good fortune to own two different bottles of Lanvin Scandal, in two different states of preservation. I haven't been wearing them nearly enough. I'm taking advantage of the cool, spring weather here in Austin to wear the better-preserved of the two. Whereas one is<a href="http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com/2008/10/in-which-our-heroine-takes-drastic.html"> tarry leather cat-o-nine-tails studded with clove buds</a> that I wear in winter, the one I've been wearing recently is the soft floral leather everyone talks about when they talk about Scandal. It's a supple, <a href="http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com/2008/07/lanvin-rumeur-scandal-arpge-andr.html">bring-the-Bentley-around-I'm-going-to-town floral leather</a>.<br /><br />I have plenty of many wonderful perfumes. A collection many would be envious of, even. Why do I keep wanting more and different smells? Sometimes it seems like pure greed. For instance, I realized the other day that that bottle of Rosine's Secrets de Rose I'm so coveting? It has nothing on the gloriously weird rose in <a href="http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com/2008/08/magie-noire-lancome-grard-goupy-with.html">Magie Noire parfum</a> I already have sitting in my cabinet. That almost-certainly awesome leather I've never smelled yet? Can it really hold a candle to the <a href="http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com/2008/09/some-fall-favorites.html">Cuir de Russie parfum</a> and vintage Lanvin Scandal? I already know the answer to that: hell, no, it can't. I bought Etro Gomma as a blind buy before I realized that. Thank goodness for return policies! And take that lovely white floral on my wish list: Van Cleef and Arpels <a href="http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com/2011/04/van-cleef-and-arpels-gardenia-petale.html">Gardénia Pétale</a>. Is there really any reason why I would choose to wear it over Balenciaga's <a href="http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com/2008/06/la-fuite-des-heures-balenciaga-cellier.html">La Fuite des Heures</a>, or the reissued <a href="http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com/2009/06/dewy-vs-raspy-givenchy-le-de-mythiques.html">Le De</a> Givenchy, Ormonde Jayne's <a href="http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com/2008/02/tropicals-in-winter.html">Champaca</a>, or Goutal's <a href="http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com/2010/03/annick-goutal-un-matin-dorage.html">Un Matin d'Orage</a>? (Hmm, I might still have room for another white floral in my collection...) Finally, why do I find myself lusting for Agent Provocateur at all, when I have so many lovely chypres and musky sexbomb orientals that I barely wear them? I won't bore you with starting a list--just take <a href="http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com/2009/04/my-top-12-of-summer.html">Miss Dior</a> alone. Sometimes I don't know why I bother with any other perfume at all, and I've stockpiled enough to keep myself marinating in vintage Miss Dior for years to come.<br /><br />You can say it's all about the new experiences, the journey, and that's why we keep craving new things. And I know enough about myself now I can say finding the holy grail perfume is not the point. But sometimes even a devout perfumaholic needs to say: enough's enough--I have to give my attention to appreciating what I have already!Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-40792994070990362772011-05-02T10:10:00.001-05:002011-05-02T10:11:01.649-05:00Two Very Different Spring Flings: Week-end à Deauville and L'Heure FougeueseTwo spring perfumes I've been testing lately are Week-end à Deauville and L'Heure Fougeuese. These are very different takes on a spring perfume. One is an uncomplicated month-long holiday in a bottle, and one is brainy and rather challenging for me. Both are worth a test, though!<br /><br />Week-end à Deauville, Parfums de Nicolaï<br />I th<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig45neV70BhDZ2ItpEXCJFXrKfvN6xK3glBvoGFvGkn4Dm8t0qnCIj5r9SrsajBxuO2PIaVHNU9LoZfy9VPoUfjjSUe992v6WlFH6Uh8eLx2Xy6JUv_BIQReNa9viwjjeS3fVsGfCdh58/s1600/islefofwight.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 126px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEig45neV70BhDZ2ItpEXCJFXrKfvN6xK3glBvoGFvGkn4Dm8t0qnCIj5r9SrsajBxuO2PIaVHNU9LoZfy9VPoUfjjSUe992v6WlFH6Uh8eLx2Xy6JUv_BIQReNa9viwjjeS3fVsGfCdh58/s200/islefofwight.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602135178333200274" border="0" /></a>ought I'd get lily of the valley out of the gate, but instead I get a men's cologne opening. A soft, classy one, to be sure--salty sea air keeps it from starting out as an Eau Sauvage clone or from having any relation to those chemically "brisk" notes of cheap violet leaf colognes. Then the lily of the valley sneaks up on you, but at the same time something warm and mossy, so this is no screeching lily whatsoever. Those of you who are LotV-averse, the floral element here could almost be a water lily or cyclamen. A gentle floral, a bit aquatic, but nothing "China Rain"-ish. Oddly, even though this is purported to be a lily of the valley, it's mainly the hint of mossy undergrowth that reminds me of the structure of vintage Diorissimo, not any resemblance to its iconic LotV. The light-green mossiness purrs away on my skin for a nice long while for a cologne. Uncomplicated and lovely.<br /><br />Octavian of 1000 Fragrances <a href="http://1000fragrances.blogspot.com/2011/04/weekend-deauville-patricia-de-nicolai.html">likes it lots</a>, too. <a href="http://ismellthereforeiam.blogspot.com/2010/02/parfums-de-nicolai-week-end-deauville.html">So does Abigail</a> at I Smell Therefore I Am.<br /><br />Verdict: Makes me ache for a European beach holiday to wear it on.<br /><br /><br />IV: L'Heure Fougeuese, Cartier Les Heures du Parfum<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQvJG1boKIzz6el3lGJvHrLtZAzw3O9qU-BSTB7Z2jcg7VFk4OQmo4mCRx6PIQj5ZcLYDsrzUKTJLfWYc82NozPNT3QbFd4yzHPaiQ6_-oZmZeZwpBZ2fDGA4rHmd_PpQJRy2245HTi4/s1600/hayloft.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFQvJG1boKIzz6el3lGJvHrLtZAzw3O9qU-BSTB7Z2jcg7VFk4OQmo4mCRx6PIQj5ZcLYDsrzUKTJLfWYc82NozPNT3QbFd4yzHPaiQ6_-oZmZeZwpBZ2fDGA4rHmd_PpQJRy2245HTi4/s200/hayloft.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5602135380866604066" border="0" /></a>I know that the top notes are supposed to be a tannic mate tea, but it smells for all the world like bitter, dried-up orange peel to me. Then it turns into a recognizable tea, but not any tea I'd like to smell like. (Actually, the only tea I'd like to smell like would be jasmine tea.) Not a very pleasant smell for me, sadly--just dank tea. Then later it morphs into dank hay, like a hayloft that's gotten rained on and a little rotted.<br /><br />Don't get me wrong--I love weird scents, I love to drink tea (the danker and murkier and more fermented the better), and a hayloft in the rain is one of the most romantic places there is. But frustratingly, the magic just isn't there on my skin.<br /><br />Grain de musc<a href="http://graindemusc.blogspot.com/2010/09/mathilde-laurents-lheure-fougueuse-for.html"> loves it</a>. <a href="http://perfumeposse.com/2011/02/02/cartier-lheure-fougueuse-patty/">It's on Patty at Perfume Posse</a>'s best of winter list. It's even got narcissus, which is a new obsession of mine. Drat.<br /><br />Verdict: This certainly is a compelling, evocative spring smell, but I want to visit this damp hayloft, not smell like it.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-801408543498708592011-04-19T11:54:00.009-05:002011-04-19T20:23:52.557-05:00Vero Kern Onda extrait: An oddball balm<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5VJW7edsziInzyFwckIg53p9TtQZZwhMDyLViJC4pu3Pf8IA_kOA_DRXEbJ26zHKFN2oQaNf06poo0aJypkR-7G3dpuDHZZ3F3CQiTiDzfAlNmT9Po2iNpr9PPvI1LFYQDWkINo_6X-8/s1600/scotlandmoors.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5VJW7edsziInzyFwckIg53p9TtQZZwhMDyLViJC4pu3Pf8IA_kOA_DRXEbJ26zHKFN2oQaNf06poo0aJypkR-7G3dpuDHZZ3F3CQiTiDzfAlNmT9Po2iNpr9PPvI1LFYQDWkINo_6X-8/s400/scotlandmoors.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5597345214131600210" border="0" /></a><br />On a whim I sprayed some Onda on this morning from a sample I've had sitting around for a while. Totally wasn't thinking about how very wrong it could be on a humid spring day here. But it's not. I absolutely love it. Want it. Need more of it. I could get very hooked on this stuff, and I know there are others of you out there in the perfublogosphere. It seems bitter at first, but warms into a thing of somber beauty. It's just what I needed as a balm right now, 'cause I'm feeling a bit banged up: my knee is keeping me off my bike, and I sliced my fingers this weekend pretty good, so I'm all bandaged up and sore.<br /><br />There's an extraordinary quality to Onda. It's quite magical. Here's how it feels to me: You've just rolled around on the moors under an early evening sky, casting spells with the loamiest, peatiest, most fertile, most gorgeous dirt you can imagine. Upon contact with your skin, this dirt instantly vaporizes into the warm glow of single-malt scotch. It's like the glow you get drinking scotch, only all over your skin. That gets you all hot and bothered, what with the glow and the loamy dirt and all, so you call your boyfriend over to your peaty moor, and after getting it on, you curl up together in his leather jacket, which is warm from his body.<br /><br />Fantasy bubble squashed when you once again realize: "Gosh, it's pretty seriously expensive!" I'm gonna get a sample of the EDP to try that out, too, then decide which one I can't live without.<br /><br />Onda by Vero Kern has notes that include: vetiver, ginger, mace, coriander. It is available on <a href="http://www.veroprofumo.com/">Vero Kern's own website</a> and on <a href="http://www.luckyscent.com/shop/section/1/item/44201/brand/Vero_Profumo/Onda_Extrait_de_Parfum.html">LuckyScent</a>. Anyone want to do a split of this stuff?<br /><br />P.S. I also just realized that the far drydown of Onda transmogrifies into nearly a twin of Habanita's strange, insistent vetiver-powder accord, which for some reason just endears it to me even more.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-79825402019961197432011-04-17T20:00:00.000-05:002011-04-18T08:31:34.960-05:00Mary Chess Tuberose Roman Bath Oil<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1PdZPPteVNFbVJZjeczrhrxNJgR_ZPQdj-nygv3L_rm5J8wXMOIgF0ccyhM56hRuVD_8lE4RXKjJeYQaiJSh99KSdNR7fZQFhjY5iSu8Q8ilDp1cb6jXZgZOZUH5ezVBBkPj0tZ3BYM/s1600/lana-turner.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 161px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1PdZPPteVNFbVJZjeczrhrxNJgR_ZPQdj-nygv3L_rm5J8wXMOIgF0ccyhM56hRuVD_8lE4RXKjJeYQaiJSh99KSdNR7fZQFhjY5iSu8Q8ilDp1cb6jXZgZOZUH5ezVBBkPj0tZ3BYM/s200/lana-turner.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5595090670975954882" border="0" /></a>Mary Chess Roman Bath Oil in Tuberose is the flower in all it's gas-huffing, man-eating, waxy, sultry glory. This was the infamous Lana Turner's signature fragrance, and I absolutely believe the stories that she ordered it by the case and had a baby cow if anyone in her vicinity wore it besides her. Look at her over there--she's about to pull some of your hair out if that's Mary Chess Tuberose she's smelling on you.<br /><br />Luckily for me, Lana isn't around to snatch the bottle I found at an antique mall recently. I didn't know anything about it, and bought it on the reputation of Mary Chess perfumes having an extremely high percentage of natural oils. And yup, this is uncut, unadulterated tuberose, probably darkened in character (not oxidized, though--the oil is still a viscous buttery yellow) and intensified by age. It's almost unbelievably high-octane, even for this jaded smellophile. Unlike Serge Lutens's Tubéreuse Criminelle, whose gasoline-fume opening eventually settles into pretty, sniff this tuberose and you'll understand what a lady with a shady past would truly wear. Feverish, unsweetened, even a little bit bad-tempered. I highly recommend it if you can find it.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-1069505420709030382011-04-07T08:56:00.001-05:002011-04-07T08:56:30.533-05:00Van Cleef and Arpels Gardénia Pétale - Summer is almost here!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9gS08Q2SaGaLrBG9bCUARtEvqWevilenqnLUAhipfGVyv8Qwgkc8sILFf2XE8_fReMNn8t7RiCS4MpDUxrMUyLX5mGIaxWq3cINN67e82_hOMwv7Nw8DPm80HYq51IzLrInJSFOyvjOU/s1600/sweatynights.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9gS08Q2SaGaLrBG9bCUARtEvqWevilenqnLUAhipfGVyv8Qwgkc8sILFf2XE8_fReMNn8t7RiCS4MpDUxrMUyLX5mGIaxWq3cINN67e82_hOMwv7Nw8DPm80HYq51IzLrInJSFOyvjOU/s320/sweatynights.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592838402480005522" border="0" /></a>I don't know why I picked this picture except that I thought it was funny and illustrated the manic mindset of everyone here in Austin; we're all trying to enjoy every moment of this lovely spring weather before it turns hellishly hot. The perfume I've been sampling also teeters between fresh spring and sweaty summer, it seems. Part of my swap haul that I received from the lovely Sherri during that Perfume Posse swap a while back included an unanticipated decant of Van Cleef and Arpels Gardénia Pétale. I never would have tried it otherwise, and I'm so thankful I was gifted with it! I want to twirl around in a big circle skirt when I wear this. It's a self-confident gardenia that's alternately leafy, buttery, pretty, and mushroomy raspy. It dries down to a lovely jasmine with a tinge of coconut milk on me.<br /><br />Has anyone else noticed that raspy quality in the GP? There is a similar velvety/raspy textured nap in another well-behaved floral I'm really familiar with: the new formulation of <a href="http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com/2009/06/dewy-vs-raspy-givenchy-le-de-mythiques.html">Le De Givenchy</a>. I really love that dewy jasmine fragrance, and even have a backup bottle. Both GP and LDG are both perfectly ladylike florals, but they have character and laugh lines that I admire.<br /><br />In fact, GP is so pretty that you may think I'm nuts, but there is a distinct possibility that the thing I like most about this perfume is its trace of Les Nez's Manoumalia man-eating, sweaty, shroomy tropical florals in all their richly pollinated glory. Whereas Manoumalia goes all out, of course, GP just has a little shading of that. Since I can't afford both, the awful question becomes: which do I get? Ladylike, or balls-to-the-wall floral? I'm thinking that maybe I need a full bottle of the more reasonably priced Manoumalia, but another decant of GP when I go through the one I've got. What do y'all think? Which would you go for?Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-50422957371650800532011-03-29T08:27:00.000-05:002011-03-29T13:57:29.466-05:0080s Designer Originals: Princess Marcella di Borghese, Calvin Klein original cologne, Gianni Versace original parfum<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYlfa03U8vOLnU_tow96JAfNSH4X1QPdB3JqHdxQAArJ3k4a0yR06LtIwZaMBpmGvWSUCVY14VIBCFKn1eyp-OSZlXZjoq78XWqw1xOh5Pki5dOXPyejZsD1uTjkKMCMEuoGDKzmhSVc/s1600/bride9.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFYlfa03U8vOLnU_tow96JAfNSH4X1QPdB3JqHdxQAArJ3k4a0yR06LtIwZaMBpmGvWSUCVY14VIBCFKn1eyp-OSZlXZjoq78XWqw1xOh5Pki5dOXPyejZsD1uTjkKMCMEuoGDKzmhSVc/s400/bride9.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5589151081097154578" border="0" /></a>Today's three-way review sounds like a weird fume-nerd joke. Three 80s perfumes with the big shoulder-pads and war paint walk into a bar: an aldehydic floral chypre, a fruity chypre, and a fruity-floral oriental.<br /><br />A while ago I received my sample (won in a draw from the adorable meg at parfumieren, who wrote about it <a href="http://olenska-parfumieren.blogspot.com/2010/11/thrifting.html">here a</a>nd <a href="http://olenska-parfumieren.blogspot.com/2011/01/adventures-in-decantingplus-my-first.html">here</a>) of Princess Marcella di Borghese. First impressions are of some lily of the valley flowers soaked in nail polish remover, and as it settles into the heart notes, there's a ravishing puff of animalic narcissus and oakmoss. Sadly, there's also something slightly screechy and off. It may be the the acetone that Meg points out in her review of Di Borghese, or it may be a make-up accord of rose, iris, and lily of the valley that has gone off slightly with age. Frankly, it makes me a bit headachy. But the payoff in the heart notes, once they settle, is pretty extraordinary, if short lived. I've been absolutely fascinated to try scents with narcissus in them, and now that I know what to smell for, I can definitely detect the dirty hay quality of narcissus along with the iris, which thankfully develops its way out of the makeup powder. As it dries down, it suddenly mutes itself and leather-purse-interior scent comes to the fore, then it's gone but for the wispiest traces. I think all the money went into that lovely narcissus in the heart notes.<br /><br />The original Calvin Klein fragrance is at first just "perfumey," which is what I call it when a perfume has wonderful top notes creating a complex little halo effect, but gives me a overstimulated headache in the bargain. It has a provenance that suggests early, before-they-started-pumping-out-flankers artistic credibility that makes it worthy of seeking out for the jaded perfumista. Add in a favorable review from one of my favorite bloggers on vintage perfume, who calls it <a href="http://yesterdaysperfume.typepad.com/yesterdays_perfume/2009/02/calvin-klein-perfume-1978.html">indispensible</a>, and I was sold on the first cheapo eBay bottle I found. It was $20, so, ya know, not bad for a blind buy. After a few seconds, this fruity-floral chypre mellows into a surprisingly pleasing, slightly raspy concoction of fruit and florals, not at all as hollow-cheeked as many dry 80s chypres. It dries down to a beautiful soft tonka and sweet oakmoss. The off bit in this case is a plasticky quality that the fruit develops near the dry down. I like the top notes and dry down of Calvin Klein better, but the heart of Princess Marcella (that narcissus!) is more appealing.<br /><br />In comparison to both, the original Gianni Versace is altogether warmer and more oriental in style, glowing with personality and quality materials. It is much more roundly ambery than either. This is why I love reviewing perfumes by comparison. When <a href="http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com/2010/02/gianni-versace-vintage-parfum.html">testing it on it's own</a> this winter, I did not register just how ambery and golden it was. In fact, the amber gets to be a bit cloying for me after smelling it alongside more nimble, quicksilver chypres like di Borghese and Klein. Keep in mind that I'm not an amber fan. But finally the amber lifts its heavy cloak and you catch glimpes of some naughty leather and myrrh. This one is very nice in the far dry down.<br /><br />So there you have it: three designer 80s perfumes, and between them they make up one well-designed perfume. Wish I could go all Dr. Frankenstein on them.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Image is of Jennifer Beals in The Bride, a campy and awesome 80s remake of The Bride of Frankenstein with Sting playing the doctor.</span></span>Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-8687422647871358792011-03-18T08:46:00.007-05:002011-03-18T09:50:16.206-05:00Fresh Funk: Un Petit Rien by Miller Harris<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgKfXvuuefglgsAxnXyyWppx9I43VFX4E1TI91O82JZGJ4WUhOqfNPxvRM_tgAOO6wLWhyphenhyphenFJ96LKEX9FeMQopE-GWyc3KyLl6p7qwZJCZrcmLEPl479NVGg9pH-0S3vrlSrEud-vmYjaM/s1600/vinesinwindow.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgKfXvuuefglgsAxnXyyWppx9I43VFX4E1TI91O82JZGJ4WUhOqfNPxvRM_tgAOO6wLWhyphenhyphenFJ96LKEX9FeMQopE-GWyc3KyLl6p7qwZJCZrcmLEPl479NVGg9pH-0S3vrlSrEud-vmYjaM/s320/vinesinwindow.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5585428275277039842" border="0" /></a>Gosh, it takes a while to pull myself back into perfume reviews after the past couple months of moving madness. It takes a discovery that changes my viewpoint, or a desire long held and finally fulfilled, to really get me to write any more. But I'm happy to say that Un Petit Rien scores on both points. I've been intrigued by this flanker to Miller Harris's L'Air de Rien for quite a while now, but have been unable to find anywhere to get a sample, and very few helpful reviews online, except for <a href="http://www.katiepuckriksmells.com/2010/04/miller-harris-lair-de-rien-and-un-petit.html">Katie Puckrick's review</a>. So I finally broke down and bought a bottle during my latest Beauty Encounter order. I'm happy to say it is a win!<br /><br />Being a dirty-musk lover and someone who really wants backup bottles of Serge Lutens's Muscs Koublai Khan and Annick Goutal's Musk Nomade, along with many more, I've always felt it was a moral failing on my part that I couldn't wear L'AdR. Too much bum-crack, and too much of a fetid lair, not l'air. So Un Petit Rien seemed like the perfect solution, but I kept finding reviews that suggested it was a completely different, blander cologne version of L'AdR. Common sense beat back the yearning for a L'Air I could get with.<br /><br />Well I needn't have worried. UPR is all up in L'Air's business, with unsweetened neroli to lure you into the musk and slightly ambered oakmoss of it's musty base. It's still a creaky old manse-turned-hippie-squat with moldering books and "stale joss sticks" (as Luca Turin says), but this one is out in the country with wholesome wafts of from the barnyard coming through the windows, along with some encroaching, shaggy green vines. It has a similar quality to <a href="http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com/search/label/eau%20fraiche">Dior's Eau Fraiche</a>--the juxtaposition of good, fresh dirt and citrus with a distinct funkiness in the base. In UPR's case, it's all the awesomeness of L'AdR, but without the year's-worth of dirty underwear in the corner.<br /><br />You can find Un Petit Rien in the states at MiN New York (which has a retail website) and at the Beauty Encounter website. It is an eau de cologne, so it has less tenacity than L'Air, but I don't find it thin or lacking in oomph at all.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-37252235565785240762011-01-18T22:10:00.003-06:002011-01-18T22:41:53.384-06:00Moving Day Comfort Scents<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rkxz0rhQlJUPzVKWdaa1a_ev06yRX812gv2kFZJ6-Vt6Zah-RqOr59m3N9tWOmOpwIdzjsDXbJ3AadUx89qxXF1Ij6XvKoCv2W2HgMDPsgPoHKsnZRjp0r8R5GjrmfbEP_n_pO7ohBI/s1600/MovingBoxes.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rkxz0rhQlJUPzVKWdaa1a_ev06yRX812gv2kFZJ6-Vt6Zah-RqOr59m3N9tWOmOpwIdzjsDXbJ3AadUx89qxXF1Ij6XvKoCv2W2HgMDPsgPoHKsnZRjp0r8R5GjrmfbEP_n_pO7ohBI/s200/MovingBoxes.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563744794987263922" border="0" /></a>I'm moving this weekend--I'll be living with a man-type person for the first time in about six years. This has awesomely exciting prospects and some daunting ones, too. But hey, my books and my perfume are already over at his house, so I'll just have to go through with it, now! It's a new adventure and most of me can't wait, but I'm one of those who also struggle to let go of the comfort of the old and familiar. So as I say "off to goodwill!" to my old life and living in the total chaos of mid-move, I'm craving soothing things, needless to say. Fitting, then, that my comfort scent is one that reminds a lot of people of cardboard and circus animals -- Dzing! by L'Artisan Parfumeur is my bestest bud right now, keeping me from getting all "grrr," myself. And L'Eau d'Ambre by the same company and Ormonde Jayne Woman are the supportive, snappy sidekicks. Can you tell I've been watching a lot of <span style="font-style: italic;">Buffy the Vampire Slayer </span>as distraction while I'm packing?<br /><br />I'll be back with a real perfume review in a few weeks. Until then, do me a solid and send me some "just get rid of that sh&^**##@t" energy, wouldja?Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-21685636355953853482010-12-22T09:46:00.005-06:002010-12-22T09:58:15.378-06:00Happy Holidays and see you next year!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BWByCW_vwt6P16kQMRCQu_BufqXIJr6oKsVbx_eJdDi9FYFIzhfrDi1lP8z7NIEg-lIWe6lSPE60FgQXK0c28PD5fSfGPxr5u3jYhrCIwvDP2h_GD92SslGPnj7kHTo5XSPpy0ysLWg/s1600/cute_kittens_christmas_card.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BWByCW_vwt6P16kQMRCQu_BufqXIJr6oKsVbx_eJdDi9FYFIzhfrDi1lP8z7NIEg-lIWe6lSPE60FgQXK0c28PD5fSfGPxr5u3jYhrCIwvDP2h_GD92SslGPnj7kHTo5XSPpy0ysLWg/s320/cute_kittens_christmas_card.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5553533740356216914" border="0" /></a>Have a wonderful holiday, everyone! I plan on seeing my mom and step-dad, going to some parties, hanging out at a cabin in the woods, and relaxing away from the computer as much as possible. I hope you all have joyful and fun holiday plans, too!<br /><br />I think my holiday perfumes will probably include a lot of my new crush, vintage Beloved by Prince Matchabelli. I also really want to wear Comme des Garcons Avignon out in the woods. And since I won't be going to work for a whole week, I'll probably wear a lot of skanky wonders, like Muscs Koublai Khan. I'll also be enjoying my new set of travel sprays I finally got in the mail from Ormonde Jayne--I finally broke down and bought Champaca at their Thanksgiving sale. Basmati rice is just as comforting a scent as any old vanilla! OOOhh, and I will be testing a lovely set of Amouage perfumes that I got from a way generous swapper (thanks, Sherri!) during the Perfume Posse swaparama over Thanksgiving.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-6263412185234764222010-12-09T08:40:00.010-06:002010-12-09T13:17:22.999-06:00Fifi Chachnil, Or, A Flirty Angora Sweater Scent Is All the Tobacco Manliness I'll Ever Need<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5y9lCO2OJLTIdwju5_ftdDMAX31ApLsrOf9LpIzQtFNzrT9C5q4c-aVRqBBq39c0iGTlSJ3RbybE1b8vVYXhaWg9O6vpqGZuz7rfpAByxV28CscOyfaAJuIIZ0YsG-vS0nRv5AxXf1e0/s1600/angorarabbit.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5y9lCO2OJLTIdwju5_ftdDMAX31ApLsrOf9LpIzQtFNzrT9C5q4c-aVRqBBq39c0iGTlSJ3RbybE1b8vVYXhaWg9O6vpqGZuz7rfpAByxV28CscOyfaAJuIIZ0YsG-vS0nRv5AxXf1e0/s320/angorarabbit.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5548760260791701266" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />I've finally gotten around to testing Fifi Chachil's eponymous fragrance, and I've realized that all my searching for the perfect tobacco scent was an eyes-too-big-for-my-stomache situation. I kept trying tobacco scents and never found the right one. Tabac Aurea is lovely but too sweet, La Via del Profumo's Tabac is too butch, Hilde Soliani's Bel'Antonio is too brooding ... you get the picture. An all-out tobacco scent is something I really *thought* I should like, because I love the smell of a pipe-tobacco store that I used to visit in Harvard Square. I didn't really want a tobacco scent, though. I wanted the tobacco backdrop setting the stage. This is why I love Habanita, and that's -- O-KAY.<br /><br />Fifi Chachnil edp is straight-up pin-up girl in the top notes, but the coriander keeps it from straying toward the gooey, and its green-spicey tartness bridges the tobacco with the rest of the girlie notes. It doesn't rely on the amber except to create a slight angora-sweater fuzz around that tobacco. The only thing that is a tiny bit disappointing is that in the far drydown, I get mostly amber, not the lovely melding of amber and tobacco that I smell earlier in the scent's development. I love the juxtaposition of tobacco and rosy floral, and I think I can put my tobacco hunt down for good.<br /><br />Some other reviews of Fifi Chachnil are at <a href="http://perfumesmellinthings.blogspot.com/2005/11/perfume-review-fifi-chachnil.html">Perfume Smellin' Things</a> and <a href="http://legerdenez.blogspot.com/2006/02/fifi-chachnil.html">Legerdenez</a>.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-21701110721740806672010-12-07T15:55:00.004-06:002010-12-07T16:15:54.793-06:00Obvious perfume observation of the day (OPOD)My obvious perfume observation of the day: many body lotion formulations of amazing perfumes just don't work at all. I'm curious about which you all feel do and do not work, if you have experience with such weighty and significant matters!<br /><br />Body lotions that seem to work: florals or chypres without dissonant or aldehydic topnotes, like Joy de Patou, or Le Dix by Balenciaga. Both of these have wonderful body lotions. My Miss Dior body lotion is gooooorrgeous.<br /><br />Body lotions that don't work: aldehydes or salicylates seem to be particularly difficult to pull off in body lotion form. This is just a guess on the actual cause of the problem, but both YSL's Rive Gauche and Lancome's Magie Noire body lotions were nasty and urinous on me. It could be just a problem with the quality of the ingredients, though. Chanel #5 in the body oil is just...weird, and not at all like the perfume. It doesn't smell bad, exactly, just...oddly loud and herbal. Some fruits can be a problem too, as revealed in my much-longed-for Philosykos body lotion, which smells distinctly like cat pee for a few minutes after my shower. Ew.<br /><br />I remember the discussion of formulation problems for the different versions of Sarah Jessica Parker's Lovely in <span style="font-style: italic;">A Perfect Scent</span>, and I am guessing that lotion formulations are prone to disaster. Does anyone else have this problem? What body lotions do and don't work for you?Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-80179515657105924512010-11-29T09:25:00.004-06:002010-11-29T10:15:02.797-06:00YSL Rive Gauche and cool weatherHi all! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. I feel a somewhat recharged after being as lazy as possible for the last three days. After a flurry of activity to get the dear bf into his new house, and get said house prepped for my having my mom and stepdad over for Thanksgiving dinner, we spent the large portion of the last three days lazily bonding with the new place. What is it about being in a bright little house and having light surround me from windows on all sides that just makes me so happy? It was really a great break.<br /><br />So CyberMonday, here I am at work, glorying in the rediscovery of Rive Gauche eau de toilette during the cool weather today. I have a bottle of the eau de toilette (even the recent eau de toilette is amazing, though not quite as naughty as the vintage parfum) that has been languishing sulkily in the back of my perfume cabinet. I finally pulled it out today. It's so sad to me that this stunning fragrance just does. not. work. for me in the Texas heat 90% of the year. But hooray, today it does! In cool weather, those famous shimmery-cold aldehydes part to reveal something velvety in the basenotes. The velvet is unfortunately buried by the metallic topnotes in warmer weather. But now that I've read <a href="http://www.peredepierre.com/2010/11/rive-gauche-yves-saint-laurent.html">Dane's wonderful review in Pere de Pierre</a>, I'm convinced: it's a yeasty chypre! And y'all know <a href="http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com/2010/10/does-this-perfume-exist-ive-been.html">how much I'm into yeasty and bready</a> right now.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-5966505131971586982010-11-01T10:19:00.006-05:002010-11-01T10:42:00.975-05:00SOTD: Dioressence + Philosykos body lotion<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKcA-pPXQTs8HRH3Q6N8xwuSZ8U-A-9DDVSgCu59ayk9gJLYTOa_qQP8-rl0TyAq-2IjmeNr3DMopUP1g6C3QYPjEqWZcvLOWMFReMgBL7cAVcP-DTLhFSTYPFSBmR9DcTRWyfp9wU00/s1600/dioressence.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKcA-pPXQTs8HRH3Q6N8xwuSZ8U-A-9DDVSgCu59ayk9gJLYTOa_qQP8-rl0TyAq-2IjmeNr3DMopUP1g6C3QYPjEqWZcvLOWMFReMgBL7cAVcP-DTLhFSTYPFSBmR9DcTRWyfp9wU00/s200/dioressence.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534606905341233522" border="0" /></a><a href="http://mossyloomings.blogspot.com/2008/09/dioressence-dior-guy-robert.html">Dioressence</a> (I have an older edt bottle like the one pictured, but it's not exactly vintage) layered over Philosykos is an unexpectedly soft, awesome combo for a Monday morning.<br /><br />I am fascinated by Dioressence; my bottle must still contain a smidgen of that vintage glory so vividly described by the extraordinarily talented Angela at <a href="http://www.nstperfume.com/2008/01/30/christian-dior-dioressence-vintage-new-perfume-review/">Now Smell This</a>. It does have an... um... unUSual undertone more than likely caused by cinnamon and patchouli. You spray it and it conjures a magical carpet made of pillows, but then a few moment laters, you start to wonder what, exactly, that funk IS that you're lounging in. Pillows made of roadkill, maybe? Yikes.<br /><br />Philosykos body lotion likewise has a bit of a challenging opening--there's a distinctly urinous quality to it when you first smear it on, but that goes away in a few minutes, and I like it very much otherwise. I bought the lotion online, hoping it would be a perfect complement to my solid version of the perfume without splashing out on an entire edt bottle. I can definitely say the formulation is a high-quality, emollient, ungreasy lotion that feels wonderful. The scent, after the unfortunate first few minutes, is lovely--a slightly woody and creamy whisper. Sadly, it doesn't satisfy my need right now for more! more! Philosykos. Sigh. The solid, the lotion, AND the edt may be in my future.<br /><br />Anyway, you'd think that putting these two challenging scents together would be a recipe for disaster, but the creaminess of the Philosykos tames the Dioressence a smidgen, without ruining the luxurious distraction from Monday morning that it provides.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-43048907632232096502010-10-12T09:33:00.009-05:002010-11-09T15:53:10.080-06:00Does this perfume exist? I've been searching...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqK-Um6_yZpQ5YZRckExpBqIcXMzrf5J6MbKabjQ-ZSdSYUyrCaMHL6mVTtxVJm1fGmENT1d7wBZuU5ldvcCaaqovfGZYTiwJ2mFVRRy0OkKhrHcpCQJbnpQAPXGuc270Fq5Z1B_q7g4/s1600/Bread_in_Boudin.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTqK-Um6_yZpQ5YZRckExpBqIcXMzrf5J6MbKabjQ-ZSdSYUyrCaMHL6mVTtxVJm1fGmENT1d7wBZuU5ldvcCaaqovfGZYTiwJ2mFVRRy0OkKhrHcpCQJbnpQAPXGuc270Fq5Z1B_q7g4/s320/Bread_in_Boudin.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527192841734025154" border="0" /></a>I have a holy grail perfume in my head that I don't think has been created yet. It's what I'd call a baked-bread chypre.<br /><br />I've been collecting perfumes for a few years now, and have yet to come across it. Vintage Guerlains such as Mitsouko and L'Heure Bleue have a yeasty quality on the right day, but I have something a bit more buoyant in mind. The new Mitsouko edt is like catching a whiff of baked bread and jasmine incense wafting down the street, which I really like, although it's a bit unsatisfyingly linear. Chanel's Bois des Iles is an incredible gingerbread sandalwood in an explosion of aldehydes. And of course there's Bois Farine, but that's more of an limp, unbaked, wet flour smell, which to me makes it completely unappealing. Some iris materials have a powdery, bready quality, but usually they have a sweetness to them that are more patisserie than boulangerie. Mitti attar, which is an attar made of baked earth from India, has an earthy and dry dark bread (rye bread? pumpernickle?) scent, and of course real Santalum album, or East Indian sandalwood, can have a chewy, balsamic, bready facet to it.<br /><br />I've always loved the smell of beer and yeast, too. I remember childhood drives to Milwaukee, and getting that hit of yeast from the brewery as you entered town. That was a magical moment when I was young, since I was more used to the godawful rotting eggs smell of sulfur that permeated paper-mill towns in central Wisconsin. Yeastiness is a human smell, too. Muscs Koublai Khan has it; it smells like eating warm monkeybread naked under the blankets, after doing (ahem) other things. The dear boyfriend has a clean, yeasty smell that I love, too.<br /><br />So because of all these lovely associations with bread, I have this totally imaginary baked-bread chypre perfume all composed in my head: it has the smell of bergamot in the top notes, a heart of baked bread, smoky narcissus, iris, and animalic ylang ylang, and a base of dry sandalwood, civet, oakmoss, benzoin, and styrax. Because it's my imaginary holy grail and only exists in a world where I'm Queen of the Fucking Universe, the perfume's basenotes must dry down to an old leatherbound books and baked bread accord.<br /><br />I don't know how an accord of fresh baked bread would be created, and it's certainly not a common one, that I can tell. So to all the perfume world: please tell me if anything close to this perfume exists! Or tell me: is this a disgusting idea to everyone but me, which is why it hasn't been created? Do you have a holy grail perfume that hasn't been created yet?<br /><br />By the way, in searching for a photo for this post I came across this awesome blog post about a bread recipe that I'm going to try:<br />http://www.ceresandbacchus.com/2006/12/02/Holey-Bread-the-no-knead-phenomenon/<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">UPDATE:</span> According to the lovely Elena at PerfumeShrine, <a href="http://www.perfumeshrine.blogspot.com/2010/11/serge-lutens-jeux-de-peau-new-fragrance.html">Serge has heard --nay, anticipated!--my desires</a> and has a new fragrance that smells like toast. Can't wait!<br /><br />Photo came from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bread_in_Boudin.jpg">here</a>.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-47126116745208824822010-10-06T14:06:00.005-05:002010-10-06T14:44:56.469-05:00SOTD: L'Artisan Parfumeur Dzing!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid5Uw0IR5dPX675JUvJ5d_hpEQstnOlOXCa0B4aVUgKjPwk8P2lxHIZhczXGNly_bTaqY0JSwHVyOiBEvOKfsNTzGQFuRZg4QnDCZjMG3AqA13WG-oAmDP7ItVYPygUw4LRsgi6U-HRJM/s1600/circustentraising.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 224px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid5Uw0IR5dPX675JUvJ5d_hpEQstnOlOXCa0B4aVUgKjPwk8P2lxHIZhczXGNly_bTaqY0JSwHVyOiBEvOKfsNTzGQFuRZg4QnDCZjMG3AqA13WG-oAmDP7ItVYPygUw4LRsgi6U-HRJM/s320/circustentraising.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5525019893754235666" border="0" /></a>It's another spoilaciously beautiful, crisp fall day here in Austin, Texas. I'm wearing Dzing! for work and feeling majorly rebellious, counting the hours left before my ladies cruise (a weekly evening bike ride organized by a friend) tonight and the Austin City Limits music festival this weekend.<br /><br />Dzing! was inspired by the smells of the circus--cedar chips and hay, animalic funk, leather, and caramel apples --and it has an awesomely incongruous combination of sass and sex. A carny's appreciation for the odd, libidinous, and reckless, let's say. With a dash of bad judgment and a soupçon of wayward foolishness. It's perfect for my anticipation of the music festival, into which I plan to dash headlong.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-44913990570964785722010-09-22T10:43:00.007-05:002010-09-22T11:38:32.298-05:00SOTE: Cuir de Lancome SOTD: Chanel Cuir de Russie parfum<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTiTeSoZ1ITvYe94hjRHlRBG7zt6ossw9d2Lm1EzV-ydLiyenGadfesbZPmZBsrbqmWexJPtHRxURDxTf6CLN4cM-fegNOV4ApPrXDujpVmi6HyYn0QY9vUmCBNyYehejQiHVN21acAK8/s1600/heatherkamikboots.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTiTeSoZ1ITvYe94hjRHlRBG7zt6ossw9d2Lm1EzV-ydLiyenGadfesbZPmZBsrbqmWexJPtHRxURDxTf6CLN4cM-fegNOV4ApPrXDujpVmi6HyYn0QY9vUmCBNyYehejQiHVN21acAK8/s200/heatherkamikboots.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519773644852352402" border="0" /></a>I'm on a leather kick lately. And a boot kick. Wore my gorgeous new rubber boots and Cuir de Lancome last night to get out for a drink with a girlfriend. We had such a blast, and it was so lovely to get her out of the house and get her laughing. She's a new mom, and the sleep deprivation and anxiety has really been getting to her.<br /><br />The minute I woke up this morning, I knew the scent of the day had to be Cuir de Russie. So I have that luxurious thing on, and my leather wedge boots that lace up in the back. I feel much better than yesterday. Every time I wear Cuir de Russie, I think all I ever want to wear is leather scents, and I go on a rampage looking for yet more. But it really is so rare to find good birch-tar-based leather scents. My other favorites are the saffron-infused suede of Cuir de Lancome, the extra-tarred, extra-cloved vintage Lanvin Scandal parfum, the endearingly furry leather of L'Artisan Dzing!, and the heavenly burnt rubber of Bvlgari Black. I would love to get some of Heeley's Cuir Pleine Fleur, but am worried that when I want the luxury leather thing, I'll inevitably go to my Cuir de Russie.<br /><br />I'm probably weird, but my nose doesn't really read the isobutyl quinoline-based scents as leather. They are more like ashtray. Not that I dislike ashtray -- vintage Cabochard parfum is my favorite ashtray scent, and the recent Diorling reformulation is a close second. But I just can't do Bandit. Well, maybe I will someday when a bottle of the vintage parfum falls out of the sky and into my lap.<br /><br />But until that day, what should be my next leather, do you think? What's your next leather scent going to be? Knize Ten? Etro Gomma? Serge Lutens Cuir Mauresque? Maybe I should wait for <a href="http://www.nstperfume.com/2010/09/11/lartisan-parfumeur-traversee-du-bosphore-new-fragrance/">Traversée du Bosphore</a>?Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-62944820510096768412010-09-21T15:42:00.007-05:002010-09-21T16:45:57.402-05:00SOTD: Amouage Ubar<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULcyGQOuRNW5hF60TS0BsqHWqY4IQJYB1N493TEiplrVX1O5Qg0iR_6i8Udmjwqz9AJu6lzjbzTHU_vufVdljK-lknqojIDpmKLoHVNRjIVOgdtaABN0V1SF2EOQuRJJEMUUV7smFY2s/s1600/st-george.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhULcyGQOuRNW5hF60TS0BsqHWqY4IQJYB1N493TEiplrVX1O5Qg0iR_6i8Udmjwqz9AJu6lzjbzTHU_vufVdljK-lknqojIDpmKLoHVNRjIVOgdtaABN0V1SF2EOQuRJJEMUUV7smFY2s/s320/st-george.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519483611661369602" border="0" /></a>Emotional upheaval again. Shaking with anger and rejection? Check. Barely clinging to composure in the office? Check. So I pull out my stash of perfume samples from my purse. Whew! I find a great scent to help stoke one's inner turmoil and nobly restrain one's more uncivilized urges: Amouage Ubar.<br /><br />The soaring lily of the valley, the basso leathery civet, the succulent rose and jasmine in between the two -- it's just balanced perfectly and on the grandest sustainable scale, it seems to me. It practically confers noblesse on the wearer. It's grandeur makes you pull yourself upright and keep hold of the raging conflagrations inside. It's a liquid version of winning your spurs -- hmm, maybe you can deal with it all. In fact...you ought to be knighted for your surpassing self control! OK, maybe that's taking it a bit over the top. Again.<br /><br />Amouage Ubar is ridiculously expensive and beautiful. I got my tiny sample from The Perfumed Court, I believe. You can find other, much more informative reviews at <a href="http://perfumesmellinthings.blogspot.com/2009/03/amouage-ubar-perfume-review.html">Perfume Smellin' Things</a>,<br /><a href="http://perfumeshrine.blogspot.com/2009/06/amouage-ubar-fragrance-review.html">Perfume Shrine</a>, and <a href="http://www.nstperfume.com/2005/05/19/fragrance-review-amouage-ubar/">Now Smell This</a>.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-28763150877528743012010-09-20T14:07:00.003-05:002010-09-20T14:10:36.495-05:00Serge Lutens Sarrasins<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8kk7dRo-cwdPuoA4iZdE_mMmDQXHN2AN6eAd1UNSnfaNhv4gN-PbNa2ilzGMlLArsEp_klY_BW9DuXXIA9huk983EMaTecuWjer77k3b4EJuWF1GTuuJ26QiFt1wMsQAO4BvoQITNbM/s1600/moorishtile.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 316px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA8kk7dRo-cwdPuoA4iZdE_mMmDQXHN2AN6eAd1UNSnfaNhv4gN-PbNa2ilzGMlLArsEp_klY_BW9DuXXIA9huk983EMaTecuWjer77k3b4EJuWF1GTuuJ26QiFt1wMsQAO4BvoQITNbM/s320/moorishtile.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519064025688866770" border="0" /></a>On my first test of Sarrasins, the initially lovely, juicy bergamot and jasmine top notes (for a few moments on a par with Montale's Jasmin Full) turned into a plasticky grape soda on me, sadly. As it dried down, however, it started to grow on me. That first try may have been an unfair assessement, given that I tried about a half-dozen perfumes in the span of an hour on that particular day.<br /><br />Now that I try it again on a day when I haven't been overdosed with perfumes, I love it much more. A delicious, subtle, musky, sweet-savory leather reward awaits those patient enough to sit through what seems at first to be merely another restrained, middling-sweet, barely indolic jasmine. The effect sneaks up on me. It's a perfume equivalent of beautiful Moorish tilework that, though it first may seem to be only a humble necessity, can attain a breathtaking artisanal opulence. Sarrasins is low-key and unintimidating for a jasmine perfume, but like those meditative geometric patterns in Moorish tilework, its effect is a harmony that transcends its unassuming materials.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;"><a href="http://boisdejasmin.typepad.com/_/2008/05/sarrasins-2.html">Bois de jasmin</a> says: </span><span style="font-size:100%;">"Sarrasins includes notes of bergamot, jasmine, carnation, woods, musk, coumarin, patchouli."<br /><br />Perfume posse has a <a href="http://perfumeposse.com/2007/08/15/serge-lutens-sarrasins/">great review</a> of Sarrasins, too.<br /><br />Sarrasins is only available in Paris and samples are available at various perfume decanters. Just chalk it up to the days/weeks/paychecks I'll have to spend at the Serge Lutens shop once I finally get back to Paris!<br /></span>Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-78447670388108394992010-09-09T09:06:00.005-05:002010-09-19T20:09:01.400-05:00SOTD: Chanel #19 extrait<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ITRfzDyqYh74v5Yh9n_5eO_wxU_xbSct14ZSzsSMF3OhvnnN0CgQUs4CHxZScmX09qX95SQ2SlAI00U0iUl9FHBicXH4NhWyP4fQeEd8N0UTGadIxO9Y5d9zoJXKtAJvJx-qAfSKezE/s1600/Dense_Seattle_Fog.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ITRfzDyqYh74v5Yh9n_5eO_wxU_xbSct14ZSzsSMF3OhvnnN0CgQUs4CHxZScmX09qX95SQ2SlAI00U0iUl9FHBicXH4NhWyP4fQeEd8N0UTGadIxO9Y5d9zoJXKtAJvJx-qAfSKezE/s320/Dense_Seattle_Fog.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5514914936492538226" border="0" /></a>Confession: I have what I would consider an extravagant amount of Chanel #19 in extrait. And for someone with an already ridiculous collection, that's saying something. Before getting such things was as obscenely expensive as it now is on the flea bay, I bought two (why on earth did I think I'd need two???) 1-oz flacons of extrait. It was early in my perfume obsession, is the only way I can account for such silliness. Now I know better: if I have a half ounce of something I absolutely love in extrait, I'm pretty much set for life on that one. When I have a lot of something, I feel the need to wear it frequently in proportion. With #19 this is difficult, because it just doesn't go that well with sunny weather, and, um, well, I live in Texas, of all places. Not to mention the buttoned-up quality of the scent, which has often been described as having a bitch-on-wheels kind of severity. I only wear it to work, because it just doesn't fit with my weekend life in laid-back Austin. But today! In overcast, post-Hermine, muggy weather, I biked to work in #19, and it was perfect. So for today at least, I'm a bitch on wheels, wearing #19 to kick some editorial ass.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-54617399970074561972010-09-01T07:18:00.005-05:002010-09-19T20:08:43.274-05:00SOTD: Caron Narcisse Noir extrait<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjJjYmOUd3IMCBc7M-JdEUsGfzBUbsyO6yPc1cSsSep9vxSSVqafR44R4MxoQ4IqsA0R-eNfGwipWzOwTr37-GQmvt9DwVigDSrOCDH73b4kdH7hdJbJb_3Dj4yjAoywDS8zCujPDM5k/s1600/gloriaswansonsulking.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 254px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfjJjYmOUd3IMCBc7M-JdEUsGfzBUbsyO6yPc1cSsSep9vxSSVqafR44R4MxoQ4IqsA0R-eNfGwipWzOwTr37-GQmvt9DwVigDSrOCDH73b4kdH7hdJbJb_3Dj4yjAoywDS8zCujPDM5k/s320/gloriaswansonsulking.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511923006806836274" border="0" /></a>The scent of the day, in my current recalcitrant mood, is the expansive, sweetly terrifying Narcisse Noir in extrait. I don't think my bottle is vintage, because it has that soapy rose heart with which many recent Carons have been marred. But I don't care. It's the big, sloppy, honeyed orange blossom opening that drew me. Maybe the story about Gloria Swanson having the movie set of <span style="font-style: italic;">Sunset Boulevard</span> sprayed down with this narcotic hot mess matches my own sulky mood today, as I drag myself off to my own, much less glamorous workplace.<br /><br />Luckily for my coworkers, Narcisse Noir pulls itself together as the rose gives the emotional orange blossom a talking to, and by the time I actually get to work it'll have dried down to the somewhat incensey and synthetic sandalwood base.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-7440643078933989532010-08-26T09:12:00.008-05:002010-09-19T20:08:03.389-05:00The Foggy Hour and the Frugal Perfumista<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib9miOKAIRHfuHIFLsQyrNy4FTZW-4tBPx1eQ0QYYToHfvPFPY8LX9jo5whCSLWDYQEsD2ZuI1I3ibhPKYQBr7QOH_91mqNErsPNP05lo9FLYs-c9O-W9SRpTPzoe4ZF30wJXrHVKg-k8/s1600/Foggy_morning_at_Twin_Peaks_11.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 213px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib9miOKAIRHfuHIFLsQyrNy4FTZW-4tBPx1eQ0QYYToHfvPFPY8LX9jo5whCSLWDYQEsD2ZuI1I3ibhPKYQBr7QOH_91mqNErsPNP05lo9FLYs-c9O-W9SRpTPzoe4ZF30wJXrHVKg-k8/s320/Foggy_morning_at_Twin_Peaks_11.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5509722150333609618" border="0" /></a>I just came back to Austin from an impromptu five-day trip to San Francisco, where I stayed with very kind friends and enjoyed a few days away from the miserable 100+ degree heat. From 100 degrees to 60 with a three-hour JetBlue nonstop flight! It was awesome. Highlights were many, and included: going on a pilgrimage to Muir Woods via ZipCar with a critical stop at the In-N-Out Burger in Marin (the people-watching is awesome), <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/dynamo-donuts-and-coffee-san-francisco">Dynamo Donuts</a> in the Mission (the Caramel de Sel donut blew my mind), City Lights Bookstore, <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/ten-ren-tea-time-new-york">Ten Ren Tea Time</a> in Chinatown, getting good sushi and udon at a neighborhood joint (impossible in Austin) called <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/we-be-sushi-san-francisco-2">We Be Sushi</a>, getting in some wonderful geeky friend time playing Settlers of Catan and listening to Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings with my hosts, and the list goes on!<br /><br />I did what I could to buy some new perfume, but it just didn't happen. I talked to the very sweet SAs at Diptyque, who sent me off with some samples. Vetiverio may get a review soon. I used up the entire Eau de Néroli sample on my winter pajamas, which smelled musty after bringing them out of storage for the trip, and it was very nice and not a thing more to be said about it, really.<br /><br />At Barneys I tried the new L'Artisan Parfumeur, Coeur de Vétiver Sacré, but didn't have my wits about me to ask for a sample, so all I can report is a very nice first impression, darnnit. I know how much I hate it when other people make slight mention of eagerly anticipated new releases, so I'm sorry! I also finally tried Lutens Fille en Aiguilles and was impressed. I expected the fruit compote aspect I'd heard about to ruin my enjoyment of the dry pine needles and incense, because I'm just tired of that stewed fruit thing in Lutens fragrances. I wore the original Féminité du Bois to death in Boston, and it just doesn't work in the climate I now live in. So further testing in Austin would be required, but I really thought the Fille en Aiguilles was excellent--the fruit just gives it a tanginess to offset the dry qualities of the fir resins and incense. I almost pulled the trigger on a long-desired bottle of Une Fleur de Cassie, but after teasing the SA and deciding against it, I may have redeemed myself by helping her sell a bottle of Sel de Vetiver to somebody else.<br /><br />At Saks, the highlight was Dior's Bois d'Argent. They were very lovely SAs at the Dior perfume counter. Oh WOW, that stuff is so breathlessly beautiful and just keeps going and going... gah, I almost whipped out my credit card for an entire ridiculously priced bottle. It was a close call, but decant it will have to be. I also had a quick sniff of the new Eau Claire de Merveilles, and liked it very much. The original Eau de Merveilles is another perfume I can't ever wear again after loving it to death at a different point in my life, but I suspect that once the Eau Claire hits discounters I may be happy to have a bottle of this.<br /><br />Well you may not be able to tell from this report, but I actually spent very little time on perfume sniffing in this trip -- it's not a huge thing in San Francisco, from what I could gather. But I did have another perfume love on the trip. I brought a travel-sized decant of my vintage L'Heure Bleue parfum, and as I suspected, it went perfectly with the foggy weather and gave me a chance to love on it during my vacation from the heat. A spicy, sweet, baroque masterpiece to complement the grey fog.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-64666192680479490622010-08-04T15:00:00.005-05:002010-09-19T20:06:06.356-05:00Two Sandalwoods: DSH and Eden Botanicals<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjztI8t7T4euEUwL0RhMt4gLW0p-_sUT_phUMWq0CTTpDE5YDoF79EeJEaExTCOc0LX1RFm6CebMQPuJSWToULmp5KSQ9oOMHGBn1mG1IvvYng7_WFMJ9TAq7mOub7c3gZv6i6DXtTInrk/s1600/sandalwood.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjztI8t7T4euEUwL0RhMt4gLW0p-_sUT_phUMWq0CTTpDE5YDoF79EeJEaExTCOc0LX1RFm6CebMQPuJSWToULmp5KSQ9oOMHGBn1mG1IvvYng7_WFMJ9TAq7mOub7c3gZv6i6DXtTInrk/s200/sandalwood.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5484565962310366290" border="0" /></a>I've been on the hunt for sandalwood, and have been sampling two oils that purport to be sourced from East India. As I understand it, the production and harvesting of true Mysore sandalwood is now so restricted as to make it, if not impossible, at least highly unlikely as a commercial perfume material. Of course sandalwood doesn't only come from the Mysore region or even India for that matter. But having heard so much in the blogosphere about the differences in sandalwood quality, it made me highly curious about said material, so I found some on which to train my shnozz.<br /><div><br /><div>DSH Mysore Sandalwood<br /><div>Impressions: initially pale, astringent cedar-shavings; dusty floral undertones; austere. This is the "white musk" version of sandalwood. I can no longer find this on the DSH website, but when I ordered the sample I believe the description indicated this was a sandalwood essential oil, not a blended scent. If so, it may be very low in concentration.<br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Eden Botanicals Santalum Album essential oil<br /></div><div>Impressions: powerfully rich, creamy and comfortingly scratchy all at the same time; slightly plummy undertones; seems to give off a comforting, heated glow more than a sillage. OK, you can easily figure out my preference: this is amazing stuff.<br /><br />What's also amazing about the Eden Botanicals oil? I have a teensy amount of very old, dark, congealed vintage Bois des Iles parfum, and pretty much all you can still detect of its once-certainly-breathtaking beauty are the base notes. Those base notes, I swear, have a distinct similarity to this stuff. Am I tripping? Can I say for sure this is the real deal? Nope. But I have decided that my little vial of this oil stays with me in my purse at all times, and the dear boyfriend periodically gets whiffed right out of bed when I accidentally overapply at bed time. Oh well, he always comes back! And in the mean time, I have my santalum album to keep me warm.<br /></div></div></div>Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-78410994874915449372010-07-29T08:58:00.007-05:002010-09-19T20:01:47.676-05:00SOTD: Encens Flamboyant and Private Collection layering<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcGMImw2huJmPZpa61FHCuywsU2GYZmqw66aBmK8NiTzhkcpi-ikcs3QD3faYSMllA3Janv-4NWLrGsHNNOQQJBKTJ4XRbSO0DUPKzhmqKuBCy0Qma_7guxTFByE59wBEfFwa2I7CqzA/s1600/Swedish_Pine_Forest.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 207px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjcGMImw2huJmPZpa61FHCuywsU2GYZmqw66aBmK8NiTzhkcpi-ikcs3QD3faYSMllA3Janv-4NWLrGsHNNOQQJBKTJ4XRbSO0DUPKzhmqKuBCy0Qma_7guxTFByE59wBEfFwa2I7CqzA/s320/Swedish_Pine_Forest.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5499331393401962802" border="0" /></a>This morning I'm really happy I layered Annick Goutal's Encens Flamboyant with Estee Lauder's Private Collection parfum. I initially loved Encens Flamboyant, but it's now only in the heat and humidity that it really appeals to me. Otherwise, it's just way too insistently sweet, ashy pine needles. And the fir sap quality of Private Collection that used to seem so prominent to my nose is now overwhelmed by the florals. But put the two together and it's a magical, dark fir-tree forest. Another combination that works well is the EF with Molinard Musc, because the musk is sweet enough that it doesn't clash with the EF, but quiets it's strident "pine tree! pine tree! pine tree!" I've been feeling from it lately.Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5873391260412621150.post-75686622667718233172010-07-10T08:26:00.011-05:002010-09-19T20:00:55.964-05:00Yesterday's Magazette Article: Fabulous FragrancesHi all! Just dropping to share a perfume article titled <a href="http://www.yesterdaysmagazette.com/page_5.html">Fabulous Fragrances</a> that my great-aunt Madonna (not Ciccone!) and I wrote. She is a talented writer who finds interesting stuff to write about at every opportunity, so when she found out through the family grapevine (a.k.a. my mom) that I was all perfume obsessed, she suggested writing an article about perfume. And yes, in the article, that's a picture of just one shelf in my perfume closet of crazy. Here are a few more pics of my closet:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjced66aj8-UMEktbdU6bmGrMM2TPo8UnV152gCo-kOiUmSgtpgKArpNHqqB5I-AJVBGNiEg7UUaz0BePa_OjFFbaW0TRSL4GDZeT3sjH3N7qsGjrojNINqCvCEZYrm0_teN_yG3qEUOs8/s1600/IMGP3821.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjced66aj8-UMEktbdU6bmGrMM2TPo8UnV152gCo-kOiUmSgtpgKArpNHqqB5I-AJVBGNiEg7UUaz0BePa_OjFFbaW0TRSL4GDZeT3sjH3N7qsGjrojNINqCvCEZYrm0_teN_yG3qEUOs8/s200/IMGP3821.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492272703787189186" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkM0SQ1VBOovbAyTqYUciJBph128EzPNe1F8eMVL-B8pUYikn-UuDhuxLSh4SP56W0GV6rR2wB6Zu7bl2s8SmknzzZlMKLekKNb9my2G3cCvpA56dsRCFob83QFfG5K1uJZDT6gDNRhRY/s1600/IMGP3813.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkM0SQ1VBOovbAyTqYUciJBph128EzPNe1F8eMVL-B8pUYikn-UuDhuxLSh4SP56W0GV6rR2wB6Zu7bl2s8SmknzzZlMKLekKNb9my2G3cCvpA56dsRCFob83QFfG5K1uJZDT6gDNRhRY/s200/IMGP3813.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492272135583639938" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUm4XrfTLilQmH5wt51Ec23FpHTPzM9zW_AL-lULBFTBAYbV_zVBoH5tscCUb7Zfig5YiPevCXA_8uZyy8n2khzePQx4DkTmDzxyL8OX9eaPniB8F5AC5rzuxHnBe6rtbxcL-UqsxI5E/s1600/IMGP3823.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinUm4XrfTLilQmH5wt51Ec23FpHTPzM9zW_AL-lULBFTBAYbV_zVBoH5tscCUb7Zfig5YiPevCXA_8uZyy8n2khzePQx4DkTmDzxyL8OX9eaPniB8F5AC5rzuxHnBe6rtbxcL-UqsxI5E/s200/IMGP3823.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492272307932138274" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93Q33h5qq1klavC8FaEAYZIc15Qoq2buGoJ-quVnYV5RTDqUcr-O-3_VmWhnyKWizBbXiMSpt6nN1KTHZ6DYB6-cWFsILw1c8Psh0SsR9oAC9Dil1FrBSHHmjRIHuOzqCyDhm1CO2cts/s1600/legalion-set.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi93Q33h5qq1klavC8FaEAYZIc15Qoq2buGoJ-quVnYV5RTDqUcr-O-3_VmWhnyKWizBbXiMSpt6nN1KTHZ6DYB6-cWFsILw1c8Psh0SsR9oAC9Dil1FrBSHHmjRIHuOzqCyDhm1CO2cts/s200/legalion-set.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492273510447029154" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ycnS_11EfzEDavxayNS-DJV3KZr4-RMexvUn7ZuAb7msUKE_XPIyFM4d_vIyBYgRcY2LMMZAHGjI823DQOQIqoqAXMvIv_223UEcBpTEBmZ796Pjuh3h8f0-owJH9-wZ6FtIqhsRHWs/s1600/lanvinset.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ycnS_11EfzEDavxayNS-DJV3KZr4-RMexvUn7ZuAb7msUKE_XPIyFM4d_vIyBYgRcY2LMMZAHGjI823DQOQIqoqAXMvIv_223UEcBpTEBmZ796Pjuh3h8f0-owJH9-wZ6FtIqhsRHWs/s200/lanvinset.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5492273169762478914" border="0" /></a>Aimée L'Ondéehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15619463860968145376noreply@blogger.com8