Les Exclusifs de Chanel in Zagreb!

Honestly, I thought at first that someone made a mistake in publishing a little article in one newspaper I accidentally got hold of.
Then I googled it and amid all the wrong hits, I found again a little article saying that Limoni opened a Chanel perfume boutique  on Novemeber 15.

So, yesterday I went to check. :)
And sure thing, it's there! And the Exclusifs are there too! :)
They only have perfumes and for the first time, a boutique here actually has them all in pure parfum strengths as well.

The address is Mesnička 1 - here is the map.

And the SAs seem nice - the one I talked to was helpful, smiling and perfectly enthusiastic (just the right amount).

It seems I love Gin-tonic more than I knew - Juniper Sling

Well, I might not be fast but I get there in the end. :)

I have to admit I received the samples of Juniper Sling quite a while ago (measured in months, not weeks) and I wanted to write about it but the time never seemed right.

(I should also mention there are quite a few more samples I received waiting their turn)

The thing is, I kept thinking that this was not the right season to talk about a perfume I considered a summer one.
But you see, the thing is, this perfume is the equivalent of gin-tonic. And although that might sound as a refreshing drink, it's not a singularly summer one, is it?
I mean, I can imagine having one this time of year too. Easy and sparkly, refreshing and calming after a hard day.
And before anyone starts thinking I consider alcohol as a solution, I don't. I just believe it helps unwind from a work-day and lets you relax a bit.

And that is what Juniper Sling does for me. After the initial burst of junipery gin-tonic freshness to perk you up a bit, it actually relaxes me.
I breathe it in and I can feel my mind and body relaxing with the exhale.

For me, it smells bitterly sparkly, slightly herbal and very juniperish (or anyway of a evergreen tree - I still have a hard time distinguishing between them).
The smell itself doesn't change that much - it retains that gin-tonic spiced with juniper feel but at the drydown it gets more into skin scent teritorry, acquiring a salty tang underneath, less sparkly, more musky. Perfectly relaxing.

I honestly didn't think this would get under my skin - I guess I just wasn't aware of the fact that I was a gin-tonic lover...

I'll leave you with the video made for the release - I really loved it. :)

Head notes: Cinnamon, Orange Brandy, Angelica, Juniper Berry
Heart Notes: Cardamom, Leather, Black Pepper, Orris Wood
Base Notes: Brown Sugar, Black Cherry, Vetiver, Ambrox



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

Little help would be welcome :)

A friend of mine, Ankica of Bellatrix perfumes would be very grateful if anyone interested in (natural) perfumes could answer a little questionnaire she has up on her site:

http://bellatrixperfumes.polldaddy.com/s/naturalperfumes


Thank you!

How do you know you're a Guerlain Girl?

Compiled by Asali and Ines.


1. You know where the flagship store is located.

2. No visit to Paris can pass without the visit to the afore-mentioned store.

3. You know which Mr. Guerlain did which perfume (and frown upon those who don't differentiate).

4. You recognize when other people waft Shalimar/Jicky/Mitsouko/insert Guerlain of your choice - this only counts if you recognize more than 5 different ones (don't have to be those mentioned above).

5. Even those older Guerlains you can't wear as they aren't you, you appreciate them and the way they were made.

6. You own at least one Guerlain perfume in several variations.

7. You hunt down vintage Guerlains (and are jealous of people who find them).
 
8. You try to recruit people for the Guerlain appreciation club, and smile a little condescendingly when they say that it "isn't quite them", saying "oh, don't worry, you'll get there".


9. At least one holy grail is a discontinued Guerlain.

10. You use words like guerlinade and bee bottle as frequent as you use the words sillage and base note.

11. More than one (or two, or more?) Guerlain perfumes feel like "home" to you.
 
12. You bemoan the fact that some of the best ones are discontinued or re-formulated.
 

13. You look at batch codes before you purchase Samsara/ Shalimar etc. from the Bay.


14. You think of Thierry Wasser as the "adopted son" and rightful heir to Jean -Paul. :)
 
 
I'd say if you find yourself in 10 of these statements, there is no doubt about you being a Guerlain Girl (as we're writing this from our female perspective).
 
Let's hear it - do you have anything else to add? :)

Contemplating Christmas perfumes

Not to say that I'm contemplating what perfumes I'm going to wear around Christmas but I feel this very strong need to wear some of those evoking Christmas time - now. :)

It's dark, cold and frosty outside and I can't help but want warm, spicy, Christmasy fragrant perfumes wafting around me.

And of course, when I realized that is what I wanted, I also realized I don't have that many ideas on the topic.
Here are those that came to mind (you will probably notice they are all by a single perfumer):

Piment et Chocolat - spicy and warm, lightly chocolatey

Festive - evoking fir trees and fun in the warmth of a fire

Nourouz - smelling of juicy pomegranate and holiday warmth

Gingembre - I could use the smell of baking cookies

I could also include Sienna, smelling very cinnamony, and Cimabue smelling clove-y.

Ok, so these are the ideas I had but I would like to enlarge my choices if possible, so please, ideas and suggestions are very much welcome.
You can tell from my choices what I would generally like in my Christmas perfumes but I would love to hear what are your associations when it comes to perfumes that evoke Christmas for you.

What is happening?

It seems my blog is turning into my thoughts on everything else but perfume but I can't help it at the moment.

Spurred by reading for my thesis, news from the world and just some thoughts of my own (which do tend toward depressing these days), I can't help but wonder where are we as a world headed?

It hit me 5 minutes ago that my life dependant on resources outside of me was in a downward spiral and as optimistic and positive as I am, I must confess that at this point, I don't see the trend either stopping or reversing.
Quite the contrary, it seems to be accelerating toward the deep end.

So, that is why I asked what is happening? But more to the point, why are people so mean and selfish as to have brought this upon the world at large, and more specifically, my own country?
Croatia is the slowest European country to start coming out of the recession, meaning, we still haven't begun to climb out of it, and talking to everyone here (who still has work), it doesn't seem it will happen any time soon.
I won't go into details why that is so, but it has a lot to do with the mean, selfish, hypocritical and just plain bad people.

Basically, if I am starting to think it can only get worse, and I have a good job and live relatively protected from the worst of this recession, how do other people fare?
And not just here but all around the world?

And as I'm being honest here, I really wish I wouldn't worry about things like this. It's hard for me these days to feel truly happy and satisfied with the world I live in, this is only making me feel worse.

And the bottom line is, is there anything I can do about it? On a larger scale than being part of an ignored demonstration...?

The smell of winter

Finally, it arrived.

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

The smell of snowflakes in the air.

The cold that smells blue.

The anticipation of air turning and sun blazing white.

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

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

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

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


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

Paris - here I come!

I'm practically bursting to announce this to everyone - I'm going to Paris! :D

In 3 weeks and 2 days no less - for a 3-day weekend but any amount of time in Paris is fine with me.

And all this is thanks to Asali who convinced me it's no point in delaying these kinds of things, who will be there at the same time so I'll meet up with her, and who obviously knows when is the right time to prompt people into such undertakings as I found a return plane ticket for quite a reasonable amount of money (and a wonderful hotel to stay in too, at least it seems so from their site).

I'll be sure to take a lot of photos and describe in detail the fun everyone will have. :)

Until then, some pics from the last time I was there:

Wrong season but I need some energy (Eau Dynamisante, Clarins)

Clarins was always a company for good cosmetics and I never got the urge to try their scent. It always felt like a splash edt that they had and could sell along with the creams.

Now I know better. :)

I got a sample in a swap and from the instant I applied it, I felt better.

To me it smells like a really good cologne, exactly the one that I would fit into my collection as it has all the hallmarks  I find lovely in perfumes.

It has an energetic citrusy opening (the peel one along with the sparkly soda feeling) and what I like to call evergreen freshness.

Then, it also has a light spiciness to it so it's not completely innocent.

All that time you can smell the light sweetness and warmth in the base but on this summer day, you are refreshed and feel cool because Dynamisante is taking care of you.

It's not spectacular, innovative, strong or perfumey for that matter, but it's energising and dynamic and refreshing. It doesn't pretend to be other than that.

And I won't pretend I don't need a bottle for next summer. :)


Top notes are orange, coriander, caraway and amalfi lemon; middle notes are rosemary, carnation and cardamom; base note is patchouli.