Week off is over

So. I'm back from my week off. And no, didn't get either much sun, or much sea. I actually got into the sea once. Yesterday. And that's it. Now I have to wait another 5 weeks to go for a real holiday. But, since there's so much work to be done in the meantime, I guess the time will fly. The eternal optimist, me. :)

The important point is that I rested, slept enough and read. Not that I read as much as I usually would, sometimes I relax by doing a lot of house work. And my boyfriend's house is well, big enough to provide one with days of house work. So, for two days I relaxed by cleaning. Unfortunately though, this is not something I have any influence on. Most of the time, I don't feel that cleaning the house is going to relax me, quite the contrary. :)

Anyway, I got enough rest to survive the next 5 weeks and when I returned there was a nice package waiting for me on my desk. My MUA fix.

I got 3 decants, Missoni EdP, CSP Eau de Biarritz and Hermes Elixir de Merveilles. If I knew how much I was going to like Elixir, I would have sprayed it on my arm to see what it smells like on me, this way I'm smelling the strip and hoping it will be as wonderful on me tomorrow when I try it on. All that talk of orange-chocolate opening (which I read after smelling it) would have one thinking it is something too sweet but on the strip, it really smells citrusy enough not to be sweet and reminds me of cologne. Since it seems I lean toward 'masculine' smells, the cologne idea appeals to me. And I know I shouldn't be writing about it smelling it only for half an hour, but I had to share my discovery.

I did try the other 2 today (I'm smelling my wrists for quite longer than Elixir strip) and neither of them made me smile. I mean, I like them well enough, Missoni reminds me of summer at a seaside town with this bitter-harsh note which my guess is a combination of bergamot, dewy rose and bitter orange and I love the part where chocolate wafts in (after Chocolate amber by Bath & Body works, I'm all for dark chocolate notes).

Eau de Biarritz smells like a white summer day (white sunlight if you understand what I'm trying to say) in a Biarritz type of town, very chic and expensive but summery fresh with some aquatic hints but nothing I'd find disturbing (I usually can't stand those).

Notes for Elixir by Perfumed court: orange peel, vanilla, tonka bean, sandalwood, incense and ambergris. This is a more gourmand version that is heavy on the chocolate and orange.

Missoni EdP: Italian bergamot, nespolo, magnolia petals, peonies, dewy rose, bitter orange, kaki, gianduia chocolate, amber

Getting notes for Eau de Biarritz proved difficult, all I found was features notes of magnolia, ylang-ylang and Indian sandalwood.

Picture by : www.europeword.com