SOTD: Eau d'Italie, Paestum Rose

OK, I realized today I will have to give Havana Vanille another go. Because it's obvious to me that whatever Mr. Duchafour creates, I'm going to love it. :) There must have been a mistake in my nose when smelling HV because it just can't be. :)

As you probably know by now, I'm not a huge florals fan, rose especially, but there are always exceptions, and this is one of them. Oh, I really like this one (I think that the boozy opening helps). :)

Notes: davana, cinammon,, black pepper, pink pepper, black pepper, coriander, black currant buds, Turkish rose, peony, incense, osmanthus, elemi, tea, papyrus, benzoin, myrhh, opopponax, vetiver, patchouli, cedar, wenge wood, amber, white musk.

As you can see, there is a wealth of notes which I do not plan on getting entangled in. I love the beginning and I didn't miss the rose this time (probably because it's there in the title). It smells boozy (having this rum, thick quality to it) and slightly sweet. Of the notes in the beginning, I can smell the particular juiciness of black currants and the pink pepper - which I believe I am smelling due to the process of elimination. I've been finding this around a lot and learned to recognize the particular scent it brings with itself so I think I know it now (it gives the rose in Very Irresistible the same type of freshness). Anyway, I get a healthy dose of tea (I tend to lean toward black but that may be caused by black currant buds).

It smells like an idea of a wet rose, not aquatic but more like a rose inundated in fresh water. Quite lovely really. And totally wearable for me (I'll try and locate a decant on MUA).

I lose the black currant and most of the rose in the drydown but I'm left with a drydown that is quite nice but doesn't come close to the opening. I mean, it's easy on the nose and smells warm and dry (all that wood, incense and benzoin which I love) but is only a drydown.

Pic and notes by: www.luckyscent.com

SOTD: The Six Scents, series 2, No. 2 Ende/Anfang

I'm not sure if it's the strenth of this or something is wrong with my nose but after two hours on my arm, I can barely trace it. Maybe applying it a bit lavishly might help (although it seemed weak from the start, so I re-applied it after some 15 minutes).

Btw, the name means End/Beginning if you are not familiar with German (have no idea why they named in in German...).

Notes: purple ginger extract, vetiver oil, cedarwood, guaiacwood, cardamom, coriander seed, birch tar, sandalwood, beeswax absolute, patchouli, myrrh.

It started great, spicy and I thought incensey but that turned out wrong, as you can see by the notes, but myrrh could have turned me that way.

I smelled it first without reading the notes (as I always do) and since I doubt my nose all the time, I thought I was projecting sandalwood and cardamom under the influence of yesterday's sample, so I wrote down only cedarwood. But still felt good after reading the notes. :)

What can I say, I enjoy the opening and I like the broody masculine dusty woods later but I wish they were stronger in sillage and longevity.
I will be hoisting this off to my boyfriend, I know I will enjoy smelling it on him.


Pic by: http://www.amazon.com/

Katie MacAlister: Playing with Fire

I've read several reviews regarding Katie MacAlister's books from the dragon series so I decided to give them a go myself. Unfortunately, I couldn't start from the beginning because it's currently unavailable at my bookshop, but they had the first in the Silver Dragons series, Playing with Fire.

I blame the fact that the description of the world this is set in (it's our world) is not complete for me on not reading from the beginning of the dragon series because it feels much of this information is implied. But that didn't stop from enjoying a completely new type of story. I did have some problems with getting completely into it, but I think it again goes with what I just said about the world and characters that appeared in previous books and are obviously familiar to the reader.

Anyway, you have wyverns, demons, naiads, doppelgangers and I probably skipped some. I like the bantering the characters engage in and the steamy sex (and no foreplay for our wyvern hero because he is still too hot for his mate) - and while on the subject, I'd be grateful if writers would refrain a bit from writing hot sex scenes that are not realizable in real life. I wouldn't mind some but I don't think it exists in such a way. :)

The bad part is that the book ended with a cliffhanger and I don't have the second one (I do have the third, I bought it so as not to have to go looking for it after I get the second and finish it, only to realize the third was sold in the meantime).

It's an easy read that I'm sure feels more complete if you started from the beginning. But that won't stop me from finishing the Silver Dragons series before starting from the beginning - I just cannot stop now.

Pic by: http://www.katiemacalister.com/

SOTD: Mark Buxton Nameless

Only now do I have time to write about my sample and there's not going to be very much to say about it. It is a very nice masculine scent which I could steal if my boyfriend had a bottle but that doesn't move me like Juste un Reve did yesterday.

Notes: orange blossom, lavender, mandarin orange, cardamom, cinammon, coffee, clove, jasmine, amber, labdanum, woodsy notes, guiac wood, patchouli, cedar, benzoin.

It starts lavendery fresh with spice notes coming at the heels. I really enjoyed the opening, it reads as masculine but is thoroughly enjoyable if you are into spices as I am. Or even less than I am.

I hate saying this again but it reminded me of something else I smelled and liked but can't remember what (that seems to happen a lot to me).

It is a terribly nice scent, and I'm sure makes for a great present for a guy who is not very perfume savvy. It's fresh and spicy and enjoyable. I think most guys would like it.

I might be reading this wrong, because I don't smell that many masculines and can't really say if one is good or not, only how much I like it or not.

And after a while, this one had me wondering if each time I get a salty note from a perfume it's me, or is it a perfume (since it happened 2 days in a row). Luckily for me, my other arm was scent free and didn't smell salty, so it wasn't me.

Pic by: http://www.luckyscent.com/

SOTD: Juste un Reve by PdN

It's been a pleasurable day smelling this on my arm. :)

But, it's been a bit problematic getting the notes.

Notes by PdN: coconut, apricot, jasmine, tuberose, sandalwood, vanilla

Notes by Luckyscent: jasmine, rose, iris, hyacinth, monoi

As you can see, not much overlap (what an understatement). For me, it's a mix of both, even though I didn't locate rose and jasmine but hey, nothing new there.

I saw this mentioned as a perfect summer scent - for me it's more than just a summer scent. Yes, you cannot skip the summer with coconut and monoi but the florals are quite a bit important as well. At one point, they are all you get.

For me it started fresh, irisy and floral, slightly grassy-sweet and happy - it brought a smile to my face. Imagine my dismay when reading notes by PdN and seeing no iris. But Luckyscent helped with that.

This one gives you a feel like you are smelling your skin warmed in the sun - you smell the perfume of flowers and tropical stuff, and you are smelling it warmed in the sun (even though I'm in the office all day).

I kept looking for the apricot but in the end I decided it combined itself with sandalwood perhaps to give this an aura of apricot suede powderiness (this sounds wrong).

Anyway, this all gives way to some flowers and I cannot claim I smelled hyacinths but I did smell flowers of a particular type I recognize. It could be that the real life hyacinth and the perfume one differ sligthly...

But the end is just as great as the rest, sweet monoi and salty iris turning into coconuty and salty smell of sandalwood. It's at the same time simple and brilliant. Not simple as an easy, straight-forward thing, but easy as in, it gives off a feeling of being easily wearable and enjoyed.

Pic by: http://www.luckyscent.com/

SOTD: Fig & Vetiver by Anthousa

I'm starting my sample of the day with a sample that's been standing on my shelf for quite some time since after smelling it for the first time (a long time ago), I decided it was great and wanted to use it but save it at the same time.

I either mistaked liking it so much with the other Anthousa sample I have (Citrus Sorbet) or the other fig scents I smelled in the meantime have made me more picky.

Notes: green fig, bergamot, mandarin, cyclamen, fresh berry, peach, osmanthus, rosewood, black amber and vetiver.

There's no way you can miss the fig. And for me that's the best part - the green, fresh, light and summer feeling.

Of all those fruits listed, I am now wondering how come I got only slightly citruses and then after that flowers and that's it. The flowers get a bit shrill on me and I really don't like it when that happens (although I know some people do).

So, no, I can't say I will be wearing this fig (I might have smelled some vetiver at one point but can't be sure). The opening is a lot like Philosykos but the rest doesn't even come near. It's not bad but it's just not that great either.

This was quite painless, I think I'll be able to stick to my samples of the day posts in between real posts. I do have to do something about all those samples...

Pic by: http://www.fragrantica.com/

Matthew Reilly: The Six Sacred Stones

This is the second book in the Jack West Jr. series (James Bond go hide somewhere and never come back). :)

Intelligence, physique, morals, and a lot of luck - Jack West has it all (ok, he's missing a part of his arm, but he's got an artificial one that works better for him than a real one would).

Anyway, in this book we are again following the characters we got to know so well in the previous Jack West book, where they saved the world. Now they have to do it again because that was just the beginning (and you cannot start reading from here, you have to start at the beginning).

The pace of the book is typical Matthew Reilly, fast and furious and unstoppable. I forgot to say this in my last review but the pictures of the places they visit really come in handy (and not just that, they are actually necessary for better understanding who is going where and doing what).

I still wish though that at the end of the book there would be some information on what in the book are actual facts. Because I am sure there are many that would surprise the reader. But ok.

I know people who are absolutely unable to read fiction. I know, what is wrong with them?! :)

I was reading today a really good post from Desert Book Chick on How to write a killer book review and she talked about characters and characterisation so that got me thinking (and hence the fiction non-afficionados). I don't have a problem with characters in Mr. Reilly's work but I'm sure some people might. Especially since in this book we meet Jack's father and some other family members of other characters. Most of which all are not just bad but evil in the manner that they think their way of thinking and doing things is the best and only way. Which combined with non-existing morals leads to evil things. And some very troubled thoughts on my part as to what kind of people are leading this world (some good quotes on that appear in the book).

And I'm going to end on a note regarding my favourite books of all time (which might be Mr. Reilly's as well).

The main (good) group of characters uses code (of course) to contact each other when apart. And what books and characters they use? Those from The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Just that would be enough to make Matthew Reilly one of my favourite writers. The action plot helps too.

I've been thinking...

It seems that's all I do lately when it comes to perfumes. I think of them, ocassionally dig up a sample and sniff and write about it even less. I think it's all connected to my perfume samples scare from the other day (which is when I realized it, I think it lasted a bit longer).

I love reading what other perfume bloggers are sniffing and thinking about possibilites of me trying so many different things, but it lately all remains in my head. Which is not a good thing when one is writing a blog. Kind of defeats the purpose. :)



So today, first I decided to go in search of some summer decants I have accumulated and put everywhere (we are having summer temperatures these days, which are going back to spring for the weekend). And while I was locating them and just sniffing the openings, I got an idea.

Well, it's more like defiance against all my samples. And it will force me to write more regularly and to learn more effectively.



I've seen many SOTD posts, and even though in my case they will get called the same, they will actually be sample of the day. That way I will go through most of them in some kind of an organized manner, even if all I write is a sentence. Or two words. Ok, that has never happened before but you never know.



We'll see how it goes. Being constant in my obligations is not something I am known for. :)

Charlaine Harris: Dead in the Family

Finally! I got my copy late Friday afternoon and wasn't able to start reading it until Saturday (and had no pressing stuff so I finished it yesterday evening). I feel like someone lifted a little burden I was carrying since the book came out and I didn't have it. :)


This is not going to be only about the book - I was thinking a lot about the series I was able to watch in between the last book two books in the series. I wasn't particulary thrilled with the choice of Sookie (Anna Paquin) but now, I think they got it absolutely right. And I'll tell you why.


When I started reading the series, I thought of Sookie as this really nice blonde girl who just happens to have a problem (she can hear other people's thoughts) and that makes everyone think she's a bit crazy (only her friends consider her normal). Anyway, she sounded stereotypically blonde in most ways. And it hit me with this book. I mean I changed my opinion of her character before (she is terribly nice but goes through a lot of bad things) and then I was thinking about the series and who could have starred as Sookie instead of A. Paquin. The problem with blonde actresses is that they all seem nice and gentle and in need of protection, without that inner core of steel which Sookie obviously has and Anna is portraying wonderfully.


So, I'm also looking forward to the new season of True Blood. :) It actually took for me watching the series to realize how dark and bloody these stories really are. It's never that dark in my head.


On to the book. Since I love the series, I enjoyed it very much - I love the fact that Sookie and Eric are in love (even as complicated as he is). And I loved the Bill surprise in the book (definitely didn't see that one coming).


The rest was a less bloody Sookie story than I keep remembering from previous books. Maybe that's because it's been a while since I finished the last. I mean, there is some bad stuff happening but after the ending of the previous one (where there is the Fae war), this one was a walk in the garden for Sookie. So, the ending was a bit anti-climactic for me even though it ended with a serious fight. Well, it's Mrs. Harris who has put the bar so high with the previous one.


This doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it - quite the contrary. I will be awaiting the next one with the same anticipation as this one. Can't help it - I love the Sookie world. :)





P.S. The previous books I read weren't mine, a colleague lent them to me. In order for me to explain how much I enjoy them, I plan on buying the whole series to be able to enjoy them again at my own leisure.





Pic by: www.charlaineharris.com/

Discovering attars

I might have been a bit wrong on the Al Mas by Amouage and Sedra by Haramain being the same. Similar, but not the same. And now I don't know how to proceed. Attars are a completely new area for me and I seem to have ideas regarding attars that are wrong. :) Well, they were right for the first 3 I tried, and then I tried Attar Mubakhar and it turned into this soapy, sea-like thing (which I seriously don't like and enjoy) but after a while it really wasn't that bad (as in smelling too much of soapy sea) and I can start with that.

It turns out (at least for me), attars are shapeshifters. Usually with perfumes you can guess where they might evolve and what you might expect. But all the attars surprised me (pleasantly I must say), including the sea one. That was a real surprise.

Anyway, I thought that attars were all dark and had this desert-like base, dry but at the same time full-bodies, arid and spicy. Strange actually. I really need (and want) to experience the desert.

So, I decided to try Sedra and Al Mas at the same time to compare them and see if my initial thought were correct. Of course, it would be extremely inconvenient to have these 2 smelling the same for such a wide money difference. Honestly, I lean toward Al Mas. :) But that's probably because Sedra displays more rose than Al Mas and I'm still not a fan of rose.

First off, let me say that most of attars I tried (less than 10 so far) are these oudish, rose, dark thingies. So, no wonder I thought smelling them apart that Sedra and Al Mas were the same. The truth is, smelling them side by side, Sedra starts more bitter (as in rose) and oudish than Al Mas. I would never thought I'd say after my first try of Al Mas that it was mellow, but it was more mellow than Sedra. I thought it had some cedre hints but I was wrong - one of the notes is sandal (that is the most similar I could find). I couldn't find any notes for Sedra, all I found was that it was oriental and spicy.

When first smelling Al Mas, I thought the rose was prominent enoght but when compared to Sedra, it really does not make any kind of important appearance. This rose in Sedra also makes it more feminine than Al Mas, which seems very unisex and more oudish than Sedra. Also. it seems more competently blended. This sounds wrong now - what I wanted to say is that Al Mas is so round and complete, nothing peeks out strongly while in Sedra I can smell the rose quite well.

And then it started. First, I got this camphor/minty? note in Sedra which I have no idea where it appeared from some 2 hours into application. And then also some fruitiness peeking out. Al Mas remained a warm background on my other arm at that time. And then it hit me for both. They seemed to have blended with me (or more precisely my skin). It was like I rubbed them in, which I didn't and anyway, that would be obvious from the start if I had done it. My guess is, my skin absorbed it and it just became part of me. I loved that part because I almost never feel the perfume becoming one with me, it is always a part that is with me not me.

I am really glad I have some more attars to try. I don't think they would make a good choice for

everyday (work) wear but they are something.

Picture by: www.amouage.com

This perfume love of mine sometimes scares me

Like yesterday for example.

I was home looking for some samples to add to packages and at one point it jus hit me. Oh my god! I have so many samples, they are going to run over me and leave me for dead!

Ok, so maybe not dead but exhausted or just depressed because I don't see how are they going to run me over if I don't take them in my hand and try them but there are so many! And the amount is just going to grow and grow. And I have no idea how 80% of them smell like even though I tried them. It really scared me and then I got depressed. Every once in a while I read about one of them and take it out to smell it. If I cannot make my mind, I put it back for another try. But while I'm doing that, I'm also swapping and ordering stuff, and new samples arrive. And find a place to live their life somewhere near me but probably hiding so I wouldn't find them when I need them (even though I try and put them at places where I'll be able to find them).

And what happens yesterday? I try looking for stuff that I already put aside for swapping extras and suddenly there are samples wherever I look. They really scared me. I guess we can live in peace if some of them are hiding and I don't need to be aware of them most of the time.

I think I'll stop now and not go back to reading what I wrote because just thinking about it makes me sound like a lunatic. :)

But! I'm a lunatic with a new perfume fixation. Ok, so it's not really a fixation, more of an interest in a certian area. Like attars.

I got two Amouage attar samples last week, Al Mas and Homage, and even though attars smell a bit different than what I'm used to, I wanted to try some more and of course, I ordered some.

From Arabian Bazaar. They were the first site that came up when I browsed for attars and they have sample packs (2). So I oredred both (and can I just say I'm their first Croatian customer).

And I got very surprised - I ordered on Thursday (5 days ago) and the package was waiting for me today when I got home. :) Talk about fast.

Of course, there wasn't much time for testing yet, I just put on 2 of them randomly and turns out one of them smells quite a lot like Al Mas by Amouage (for quite a lot less money). Honestly, it actually smells even better to me (hope lightning doesn't strike me).

Sedra costs 58$ for 30ml. I couldn't find Al Mas but Homage is 270 E for 12ml. And for that money, I'm likely to think it's not compatible with my skin chemistry because otherwise I would have to say it's really not good (it smelled a lot like I put something pickled on my skin for quite a while until getting relatively normal).

Pic of Sedra by: http://www.arabianbazaar.com/

Kim Harrison: Black Magic Sanction

And another installment of Rachel Morgan is behind me. :) I really like the world this story is set in (genetic modifications in tomatoes killing a lot of population so that the witches, vampires and the rest of non-human species get public in order to help with the problem).

Anyway that's the beginning of series and in no way has anything important to do with this book only to give people who haven't read any of the Rachel Morgan books an overview of the world.

I noticed this before but I'm putting to words now, even though I enjoy the books and the characters and I never know where the story is going to end up (which is probably the consequence of what I'm going to say next) - I cannot for the life of me get in the head of any of the characters, but that is especially the case with Rachel Morgan. I just cannot understand her reasoning and that is probably one of the reasons I never can guess what is going to happen, i.e. what is she going to do next.

Btw, I couldn't help but notice the opposites in this book with Anita Blake. Rachel has a chande to deal with some trouble by killing those who are doing it but decides against it at the last moment and deals with the consequences - which are manyfold and make her life even more complicated. And Anita has to kill in order to keep all her loved ones alive - of course, I don't mean to judge any of the characters who have to kill. Rachel is not a vampire executioner so she never meant to do that in her life and is basically a good witch (or not a witch, it's debatable what exactly Rachel is) - but even using demon (=black) magic does not make her a bad person because any kind of magic can be used for both good and bad. What I still don't get is how come that reason never came up in Rachel's problems, especially in this book where white magic is used for some bad stuff.

So, basically, you get another set of Rachel's problems, very interesting ideas, previous bad guys turning not good, but positive, and some previous ok guys turning seriously bad (some of that was expected but some definitely wasn't).

If you enjoyed previous books, you will like this one as well. I wonder what else can be in store for Rachel in the future since this book finally ended on a positive note.

Pic by: www.kimharrison.com

And the winners are...

Since it seems the Random.org requires payments now (at least I wasn't able to find a free version), I did this the old fashioned way, putting names in a bag and taking two out:

1. La Bonne Vivante
2. Beautiful Things

You won samples of Puredistance I so please contact me with your addresses. :)
Hope you enjoy them.

Matthew Reilly: Seven Ancient Wonders

I've been a Matthew Reilly fan since the first book of his I read (I no longer remember which one it was, but I bought everything else I could at the time). And now after some years have passed, I finally read another of his books and enjoyed it a lot.

But, you should bear in mind that Mr Reilly has a specific way of writing not everyone might enjoy. I once read somewhere that he tries to re-create the action movie atmosphere in his books, and honestly, I think he does a good job with that. Of course, ending sentences in the middle and making you read the following line with a bombastic statement helps. :)

I loved the way this book explored some ancient history mixed with myths and how Mr. Reilly used it to create his own story. I just wish he would follow the example of James Rollins and state at the end what parts of the story are actually based on true facts. That is always a fascinating reading and I'm sure the readers would be surprised by the stuff they read as true.

Anyway, the book offers a lot of action, a lot of lucky coincidences and just plain James Bond/Indiana Jones abilities in one person who for a change is Australian this time (MR is Australian as well). I am really glad to see his country put in a special place by this book and I loved the ending.

I also loved the mention of the Da Vince code - that book is just part of our culture now. :) I still can't understand what the fuss was about because nothing new was said in that book but I guess the public was unaware of many things before it (but that's a completely different topic).

In the end, even if you don't find Mr Reilly's type of writing something for you, all I can say is when I start his books, I cannot stop until they are done (even if I started reading something interesting before it - like I did with this one). Action packed - his novels really are.

Pic by: www.matthewreilly.com

Kelley Armstrong: The Reckoning

It's been almost a week since I finished this and this whole week I've been thinking what to write about it.

After finishing The Awakening I was really anxious for the book 3, but now I'm sort of ambivalent. I read it really fast but it feels like something is missing from it hitting it with me. I still can't believe that the whole series happens in only 3 weeks or so.

I was already suspicious as to how much can happen in book 3 to resolve the whole situation with the genetic manipulation regarding supernaturals in the previous books and I think I was right (I will have to check what other bloggers thought of it).

If you read the first two books, you probably got an idea who is Chloe going to fall for even though she gets terribly surprised when she realizes it. :) Teenagers.

Anyway, a lot of things happen, some people get killed and it seems that the kids will have to keep hiding for the rest of their lives since it turns out the whole project had backing from a Cabal. And if you read anything of Ms Armstrong before, you know about Cabals and how ruthless they are. So yes, it feels like there should be more story to this Darkest Powers thrilogy. But I was also thinking that since we are talking here about the world K. Armstrong created and that the characters from the previous Otherworld books know each other and keep appearing in others' books, I guess we can assume we'll be seing more of Chloe and friends in some other books to come (I certainly hope so).

In the end, I thought there should have been some more elaborate closure but since Chloe's flight is nowhere near its end (even though the series is), I suppose we'll read more on that in the future so I'm not actually upset. And I did enjoy the book after all.

To leave you with a final thought, I think that only young people can have so much trust in each other in so little time.

Pic by: http://www.kelleyarmstrong.com/

Swapping is so much fun!

I'm a bit late but it took some time to deal with the photos. Yesterday I came home to find 3 packages waiting for me through swapping. The strange thing though is that they were all shipped at different times so I don't even want to start thinking what do the people in post office do with our packages (I received one some time ago with a shoe imprint on it!).

The first one was from Germany with some Arabian oils I am trying to get to know and a new Italian house for me (and I still don't know the name - I'm just lousy with new names).

The second one, a more interesting from my perspective because there was some Ava Luxe, DSH, Roja Dove (which unfortunately arrived broken - maybe someone stepped on this one too?) and Van Cleef and Arpels from Canada.

And the last one, which probably seems like the smallest and containing nothing of any interest but you would be very wrong. Because two of the smallest vials contain precious (and by that I mean extremely expensive) drops of 2 Amouage attars (Homage and Al Mas).

Thanks to Susan from USA.

Btw, I really like the word attar, it connotes many things for me without me even knowing what exactly does it mean. :) So I did look it up today and got some basic knowledge on the subject. Just enough to understand that attar does not correlate to smelling oudish (which is what I somehow thought).

This was just a quick post, I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to smelling those attars (everything else as well, but attars are at the top).

Pictures are mine.

Puredistance I - my story

And where to begin this story?

How about, here is what true niche house and exclusivity are. One perfume, not many places to buy it in the world but available to anyone with an internet connection. Well, available might be putting it a bit optimistic - you know, the cheapest bottle goes you can buy is 165 Euros. But there are always samples...
Ok, this doesn't tell you much about what I think about it. I will try and do it justice but you know me, I sometimes (often) lack the words to describe things as accurately as they appear in my head, so I can only say I will do my best.

Honestly, the first sniff and my initial thought was, this is of the type of perfume I usually don't wear (due to the fact that I haven't actually smelled any of the classics I find wearable). And believe me, it won't take you long to realize it's a classic, even though not the classic as I seem to have understood it before Pure Distance I came along. You know, it's hard writing about something which creates new associations each time you smell it. :)

I will follow Suzanne's lovely example and skip the notes. They are really not that important, they can never describe the actual feeling. You might already be impatient to hear what that feeling is and now I'm going to say that the booklet I got with my bottle is completely correct and quote them:

"A lady stepping into a room crowded with people. Conversations stop. Everybody loooks at her. It is not here serene face.. there is the elegant, natural way she mover. And her simple, stylish white dress... So beautiful. Beautiful in a pure and natural way."

"The name Puredistance originates from this dream. What makes the lady stand out from the crowd is her understated elegance. Which is the essence of Puredistance."

I've been looking for the right words to describe this and then I read the booklet and there they were. But not only elegance. For me, Puredistance is exactly the way a woman seduces. It is a bit austere and cold at the beginning, with flowers hinting at femininity but not so much that you can be sure before she slightly smiles at you five minutes later. And still, you enjoy the company so much, the talk is gentle and intelligent, the atmosphere relatively relaxed but not really completely at ease. You can't say she likes you yet, you are already falling a bit for her and she is standing there elegant, relaxed and with a little smile curving her lips. But after a while, you can see the signs telling there is warmth underneath that smile and the woman behind that elegance is the one you will never find tiresome.

That is what Puredistance I smells like to me. It's there one minute, the next I'm wondering where did it go, only to find that it's playing with me, seducing me with each new sniff I take.

And just so you know how strong a character I am, it took 3 tries for me to fall in love, while my boyfriend only smelled it from the bottle and asked me instantly: Are you going to wear this? For me? (with that knowing look). :)

I wish I could have given you more with my review. You can always go read Suzanne's (she did it wonderfully).

I also had this serious doubt - you know, they were so kind to send me a bottle of this expensive perfume, what if I don't like it? But I shouldn't have had doubts. :)

And since people from Puredistance were so generous with me, I want to give you 2 samples from my bottle. Just comment and you will be entered. I can't give more, I already promised my good friend a decant. :)

P.S. I remembered while getting to sleep I didn't put the date until you can enter, until May 17 when I'll randomly select the winners.

The smell of matches

I have no idea actually how come I am talking about the smell of matches - I mean I do, but I still find it a bit strange. First, I read this morning Carol's review of XIII which is all about smoke and then, I smelled matches at a barbecue (another smoke smell) and realized I haven't smelled matches for quite a long time (everyone uses lighters these days) and that the smell of matches is actually quite particular.

Which got me thinking that even if I had smelled it before in a perfume, I probably wouldn't have realized it because the smell of matches just wasn't a smell I had a conscient thought of recognizing.

I really like the smell of smoke in my perfumes and today realized I love the smell of matches.

So there must be a note that might not smell exactly like matches but is close enough to it. I mean, there are so many perfumes out there with smoky notes, does anyone know of a one that has a note of matches' smoke?

Pic by: http://www.zuzafun.com/

Same thing each month

Ok, I'm warning you now, there might be TMI in this post so you might want to stop reading now.

Otherwise, you'll read a bit on my musings of a female life.

Since it's been more than a year of me writing this blog, I noticed certain things happening each month (or would that be cycle?). You know, the time of monthe when nobody better cross your path the wrong way or says something with the wrong intonation.
Well, it's that part of the month and I (again) have no wish to smell anything new and consider how much can I learn from it or how much I like it (and it's not that I don't have unsniffed samples at home). The only thing I want is some rest (ok, a lot of rest) and a book. And if there is a nice smell wafting around, all the better but I can't be the one who applied it or who thinks about what's in it that smells so good.
Does this happen to anyone else?
I also noticed that my English deteriorates at the same time (ok, not only English, my Croatian vocabulary is down to 20% of its usual size). And I cannot say a sentence without having to start over for it to sound normal and understandable. Couple of days from now, and I'll be back to my normal optimistic scenting self but until then, this is all you get.

And a quick note to say I will be giving 2 samples of something special next week when I will also be in my normal review-thoughtful mode.

Patricia Briggs: Silver Borne

The Mercy Thompson series is one I like and enjoy very much but now it has come to that point that I like and enjoy several of those type of series and it's harder and harder to remember what happened before since there is always enough of a gap between books that I read so much else i the meantime, I cannot for the life of me remember all of it.

But that is not important today, I remembered enough to be able to thorougly enjoy this Mercy installment. Mercy Thompson is a coyote shifter, not to be mistaken for a were animal (start reading the series if you are interested in what constitutes a difference). ;)

Anyway, this book is far enough in the life of Mercy that she is already mated with the werewolf pack's Alpha who happens to be her neighbor.

In each book she ends up in trouble so you can imagine her life is not exactly safe which comes to bite her in the back when friends are considered in this book.

This time the story revolves around the misterious book she was lent by the half-fae, bookstore owner Phin. As you can guess there is more to that book then meets the eye and it is quite interesting once you find out.

Of course, bad fae want it so there is some bad stuff happening along with the fact that Samuel (Marrok's son who lives with Mercy and is a lone wolf) is having a serious life crisis that resolves itself quite interestingly out. I loved that part.

There is a quality to Ms Briggs' writing that I cannot determine what it is but makes for easy, not too long but full of meaning reading. It feels like the story is much longer and the connection between Mercy and Adam finally clicked into place for me.

The only thing that scares me is that this was book 5, meaning the next one is book 6 where usually someone dies at the end and the book ends for readers with incredulity - how did the author dare do this and make me wait for the next book?!! - which is usually a year or more in the future. :) This is speaking from personal experience.

Pic by: http://www.amazon.com/