Summer swimming among books

Hello everyone - I'm finally back! :) Well, I've been back for a week now though it already feels more like I never left. I would never have guessed how much work can suddenly appear the moment I return from my vacation... Besides, it wasn't possible for me to write last week - I had to do something about my blonde hair before returning here (sun and the sea do turn me into a blonde each year). So, now I'm a redhead again and have a little bit of time to share my summer memories.

I managed to read more books than I thought I would, but less than I wanted to. Around 12-13. Not sure at the moment. I have to say that James Rollins and R.E. Feist head the list of my top reads lately. I love them both, especially Rollins because you can actually learn a lot from his books. And it's all fun. :) I highly recommend it to all who read Dan Brown and thought: "Oh, I'd like some more of this!" or "This is awful, I expected so much more!". James Rollins is so much more and in somewhat the same manner. Do give him a try. :)

Some of the more memorable days this summer was a visit to Jablanac, a town nobody really cares much about because the ferry will take to the island of Rab from there, so everyone just goes on. We spent a lovely afternoon there, taking a stroll and visiting one of the more famous coves in Croatia: Zavratnica. I didn't know there was a sunken ship there (you might see some contours on the photo).

The photo of Jablanac harbor:

Entry to Zavratnica:

The contours of the ship:

Leaving island of Pag for mainland (on the ferry):

That's it from me today. No perfume related thoughts - they are to come later in the week (thoughts on Boadicea line).

Btw, since I returned it feels like I lost my ability to differentiate between smells properly. Is it possible beacuse I rested my nose for almost 3 weeks, it will take some exercising it now?

Before I leave

I thought this day would never come. :) Finally, 3 weeks of sun and sea. And after the week I had, all I can say is, I deserve it. I worked real hard these past 10 days (including the weekend) and now I can leave without any worries. Including the one when is my sister going to give birth to my second nephew. :) I'm proud to say that yesterday I became an aunt for the second time, my little nephew is 3550 g and 52 cm. Can't wait to see him later today (and my sister as well, the birth didn't go all that well, but she's getting better).

I so wanted to talk about a perfume today but I just didn't manage the time to sniff anything (that's how busy I was). I'm happy to say that I got the Boadicea Lucky scent sample pack and I'm taking it with me to be perused sometime in the next 3 weeks. Along with some other samples lying about on my desk.

What I did manage to do is gather books I plan on taking and now it seems I should cut back a bit on those since there are some 25 of them (and that's more than the days I'll be on vacation) - I like to read but I'm not that fast and I don't really need so much choice. I think I'll leave with 20 - it's only me and my boyfriend, so there's enough space. :) I can already see him clutching his head in shock. :) Happens every time.

One of the samples I sprayed on today after reading all the reviews - EL Jasmine White moss, and what can I say? It's nice and wearable and if I had it, I'd definitely put it on, but my knees do not go weak like after smelling Amoureuse (that's definitely a discovery) and if you want to know more about JWM, there are some great reviews at Grain de musc and Perfume smelling things.

Btw, I always thought summer was a dead season, but there seem to be giveaways wherever you turn. I do hope I win some. :) Eternal optimist.

I wish you all a great summer (what's left of it) and I hope when I'm back I'll have a lot to talk about (in terms of both books and perfume) with some summer photos.

Picture : Dreamland by SteveCampbell

Harry Potter 6 - the movie

- possible spoilers -

This is going to be a short venting of my frustrations. I finally saw the movie yesterday and I got out of the cinema angry. I remember when the book came out and I read it, I was totally shocked - it was dark, the ending was completely shocking and depressing and I couldn't wait for the last to come out. The series grew progressively darker and culminated in no. 7. The movies so far have kept with that. But not this one. If you haven't read the book, I believe the movie will be just fine. But for all of us fans, this is, mildly put, - disappointing. Not mildly put - it makes me angry. There are so many things missing that are in the book, which I understand, it's never possible to film everything and some things need to be changed. But to completely remove the grand finale battle and change the whole tone of the book, I find that unforgivable. What were they thinking?! The movie actually ends on a positive note?! There is no reason that I can find that acceptable. My guess is that they probably wanted the movie to be viewable to all of public, but in my opinion they completely missed the point of the book. I certainly hope they are not going to repeat anything similar with the final book.

Hopefully, this will pass by tomorrow because today I plan on re-reading the book 6 (and then the 7 as well), just to calm down a bit. :)

If you haven't read the book, see the movie and then read the book, and you'll see what I'm talking about. If you read the book and love it, I wonder what will you think of the movie.

The picture is of Luna Lovegood, one of the more fun characters in the book. I absolutely love her.

Pic by:www.filmofilia.com

Jo Malone Ginger & Nutmeg

Sometimes I wonder where did I misplace my brain. I keep telling myself it's just stress and that I need a vacation when some of the more obvious things hit me in the face after a lot of time has passed since the point in time when it was actually obvious.

Like the fact that I needed something light and fresh for the summer heat and kept going through my collection finding nothing that warms my heart and cools my head. Most of the summer fragrances I have do one of those things, but I wanted something that would do both. So, I looked at other blogs, read through reviews, ordered some things, swapped for some things, tried some at my local stores and sniffed some great things and found some new loves, but nothing that would fit both categories I wanted at the same time. That is, until I started putting my wardrobe into some semblance of order and found a full bottle of Jo Malone Nutmeg and ginger (that's the original name, in my mind it's always ginger and nutmeg). After buying it last autumn in Paris of all places, people kept telling me they are not terribly happy with Jo Malone because it doesn't last. That is a problem when you have eau de cologne though. :) I for one was thrilled to discover it (after I stopped being angry with myself for forgetting I have it). I don't mind reapplying in the middle of the day although it's not that it completely disappears, it just dries down to cedarwood and sandalwood and stays close to skin.

This seems to hit all my spots. :) It's a spicy eau de cologne. I love the citrusy openings and find spices highly addictive.

Notes: neroli, lemon; nutmeg, ginger, lilly of the valley; cedarwood and sandalwood.

There's no depth or wealth of notes and discoveries, it just goes through the stages and smells great and light. I don't get the lilly of the valley though and get more cedar than sandal, but I don't mind, I enjoy it completely. :)

On the other hand, I finally got a sample of Delrae Amoureuse. All I can say, wow! There you have all the depth and discovery missing in my edc.

Notes of tangerine, cardamom, tuberose, jasmine, cedar moss and honey by Perfumed court.

I read awhile ago a great review by Grain de musc and I knew I had to try it. I love it! It's wonderful and new while smelling oldish at the same time (like a modern version of an old perfume). I was having problems figuring out what is that first note that hits the nose, what I came up with was that it smelled like parsley. :) I guess I'm a bit off since the opening is cardamom -tangerine, but hey, I tried. I did get the aldehydes (finally!). Those aldehydes have been bugging me for a time (couldn't smell a trace of it - couldn't distinguish it). Now I know where to practice. Anyway, I did get the citrusy thing, thinking that it was perhaps bergamot (but no, tangerine). I got the whole floral middle, thinking it was mixed with civet, but no, that was honey. :) Now in the drydown, I can smell the honey quite clearly and I like it. It balances nicely without getting into the "territory". I totally fell in love with the pricklishness of the structure. This feels like something a slightly brazen girl would wear, and though I don't think of myself as such (though sometimes I wish I was), I am definitely getting myself a bottle.

Image by: www.jomalone.com

End of the week

This has been a really hectic and tiresome week for me and the fact that is almost impossible breathing outside (due to heat and humidity) didn't help at all. Thank god there's AC. :)

Just two more weeks and I won't have to rant about working and heat, I'll be enjoying myself - swimming, reading and sun bathing in the amount my skin allows. That's not much though. :)

Today I was wondering, do perfume samples produce sample children? Because I decided to clear out my drawer at work where I put all those samples I plan on sniffing and didn't have time at home, and it seems that in the last month or so, those work samples grew to quite a number. I'm not mentioning the ones at home. They probably already have grandchildren. ;) I got asked by a colleague who saw me putting them away if I sell perfume. :) What ever gave him that idea?

The other day we were discussing swapping and I was explaining all the possibilites there are (swapping, splitting and buying online) when my boyfriend came out with: are you telling me there are not enough perfumes in Zagreb that you can find to your liking? Hell, no. How exactly do you explain to someone your growing love for SL creations? And the fact that most of those are only sold in Paris (or online) and no, there is not something similar in all those Zagreb stores carrying the same brands everywhere. Lately, I just avoid those conversations, let people think I'm odd swapping with the world and contemplating my next perfume purchase.

I concluded this morning that life is fun (beautiful and fun was the end conclusion) and that is how I am going to approach it from now on all the time. For example, it's funny how I said I am not going to buy any bottles until after the summer, and I sort of ended up with an ordered package from Rei Rien. And day after that I discovered I want a bottle of Cristalle (that's still unbought, but considering what I wrote two lines before, it probably won't stay like that for long).

Ok, I pretty much just rambled today but my brain can do no better today. I'm looking forward to a weekend of resting with a book or two. :)

P.S. I reserved my tickets for Harry Potter on the first day of showing here!! Yeeey for me! :)

Image by: www.enjoyfrance.com

Perfume thoughts

Unfortunately, lately I sense a definite lack of time in my daily routine. Have no idea why suddenly there are so many things requiring my attention, but the only thing is to go with it, it also will pass. If not sooner, when I leave for my (well-deserved if I say so myself) vacation.

So, experiencing a serious time problem, the only thing I have time to write about are sentence or two about scents I've tried recently.

Foremost in my head is the fact that I'm heading down the new bottle road after reading a review of Chanel Cristalle edt by Vetivresse (July 9) - I tried it yesterday, and it hit all my buttons. One of the loveliest green scents I tried in a long time. And I so wanted to try and save my money... Or at least not spend so much.

I finally got my hands on Tea for two by l'Artisan and although I loved the opening (I'm very much into tea in any manner it can be experienced), the drydown was too sweet for my taste. It's not actually that sweet, but I'm more of a salt person, so too sweet for me is probably normally sweet for everyone else.

I keep saying how much I love Lucky scent's sample packs, and I'll keep saying it. :) They are great. My last one contained samples of Amouage Reflection masculine and feminine. I really liked Masculine version, it smells like a male version of Amouage Lyric. Which is good because I love Lyric (not so much the price though). The feminine Reflection is some aquatic, light thingy that left me completely cold and not impressed.

Yesterday I was contemplating how much my nose has changed during the last year. I'm nowhere near having even an average knowledge of perfume but I seem to enjoy more different scents than before, and appreciate notes I don't find wearable but that seem to be well incorporated into a scent. I know I tried L'Artisan Ete en douce last year and dismissed it straight away (I'm not going to say what I though of it then), yesterday I tried it again and found it lovely. I'm still not sure I'll be wearing it anytime soon, but it seems I'm on my way.

Picture of what I wait to see in person in 2 1/2 weeks. :)

New author discovery

I haven't been writing much about books lately (not having enough time to actually read them) but I finished one from a new author (new for me, haven't read anything of his before yesterday) and I am happy. :) With the book, with the fact that there are more and with discovery. I am talking about James Rollins and Map of bones. I don't know how many of you read Dan Brown and were interested, but in my opinion this is better. This one revolves around the 3 Magi (the ones who visited Christ) their bones, secret societies, lost gospels and all other interesting facts and ideas we are never going to know for sure. M-state gold (anyone heard of that before?) features prominently and I actually learned a lot. If you're into thrillers, I highly recommend this.

And it came around the time there has been a lot of religious debate in my life - usually with friends. Do you believe that when the time is right, you get/find the information you are looking for? That seems to happen to me a lot. And the final word by Mr. Rollins at the end of the book is from Matthew: Seek, and you shall find. Well, couldn't be more true if you ask me. This book has opened some new horizons for me, I just have to find the time to go explore them (several books are mentioned and I plan on getting my hands on them). :) The only problem I face a chronic lack of time, but hey, who needs sleep? ;)

I have the second in the Sigma series (by Rollins) at home, so soon I hope I'll be able to share my happiness over another of his books.

Picture by: digital.friscolibrary.com

Two short reviews (rainy garden and vanilla)

Yes, I finally got my hands dirty with some new fragrances. Today I testes L'Artisan's Vanilia and AG Un matin d'orage. I've read a lot about Un matin d'orage so I knew I wanted to try it, but Vanilia sort of flew under my radar, being a vanilla scent. I have a strong dislike of vanilla, after smelling a whole lot of vanilla car smells that keep making me sick.

Vanilia notes:vanilla flower, ylang-ylang, vanilla bean, amber, sandal.

Well, it certainly does not fit my vanilla image but that's good. That's actually more than good because I think a bottle of this might be coming my way. :) It starts like sweet, white flowers with a light green-fresh undertone. I read a review at Now smell this and Robin mentioned the slight smokiness. After I read that, I did smell it but I don't think I'd get it on my own. I like smokiness in my scents but those tend to be unmistakeable. :) After a while, it settled onto a salty, white vanilic flower with a hint of smokiness and bark. Absolutely wonderful. Such a comfort smell. And I keep wondering where did the saltiness come from?

Un matin d'orage notes: gardenia, magnolia, lemon, perilla leaves, ginger, jasmin sambac, champaca, sandalwood.

Although I'm a city girl, my grandmother had a garden and I spent many wonderful days playing there with my sister and cousins (coming home dirty and going straight into the bathtub). :) But I do remember the smell after a downpour. This does it complete justice. I get the whole aquatic-ozonic opening (more ozonic than aquatic if you ask me) and it smells of wet flowers, greenery and earth, and that ozonic layer making it seem you're standing there just afterwards. I find it fascinating when perfumers manage to catch that one moment and give it form. I'm not going to break it down into notes, I love the wholeness of it and the fact that the ozonic hint does not disappear after the initial appearance. Now, after all this, I don't think I want to smell like it but I'll be using the little sample I have to smell it again and again.

Picture by: www.gardening.savvy-cafe.com

A bit of everything

I'm just going to go through things I want to say, in order to clear the jumble in my head.

I tried Elixir de Merveilles on me and it is nice, but wasn't as uplifting as when tried on a strip. It's fresh and citrusy (unfortunately chocolate is not prominent enough for me) and the drydown smells like oranges (turning somewhat to orange juice) with a nice but barely there incense hint. I'll definitely be wearing my decant but I'm not sure I'll be buying a bottle.

This morning I made a mistake - I put on a perfume I swapped for last summer and well, it almost made it into scrubber category, but I'll survive today and never spray it on again. I'm talking about Yuzu Ab Irato by Parfumerie Generale. It smells like a strong lemon lollipop (having that artificial candy lemon smell). I'm all for citrusy fragrances, but this one is just not me.

Notes by http://www.nstperfume.com/ :yuzu, spearmint leaves, pepper, magnolia, jasmine, hyacinth, absolute of thyme, hyssop, myrtle, and bamboo.

I finally got a package containing Bal a Versailles (been on my list of things to try for a while) and while I did spray it on yesterday, I was so busy the whole day I wasn't able to give it my full attention. But what I fleetingly got, I liked very much. :) More to come...

Now, onto something non-fragrance related. I don't know how much people follow Croatian politics (or politics in general) but our PM resigned yesterday. And while that is not a strange thing by itself, PMs resign often enough following scandals - at the moment, the only scandalous thing in Croatia is the fact that due to our governments politics, Croatia is facing bankruptcy. And getting into European Union seems to be further away than ever. There were enough scandals over the years which would force other PMs out of their offices, but ours would never. Now, when we face the biggest crisis since independence and war, now he decides to leave. Does this seem like he's a rat abandoning a ship to someone else as well? Well, I'm not going to dwell much on that, it's frustrating as hell, and I never liked him. I hate when people are full of themselves and know what's best and all they do is perfect. He was an awful PM if you ask me and I sincerely hope whatever happens now, whoever comes next will do better.

That's all from me today, hopefully tomorrow I'll be happy when I put my perfume in the morning. :)

Picture from:www.viette.indigofiles.com

P.S. I was looking for a picture of a lemon lollipop but it turns out there is a flower with that name, so I took the flower instead.

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

Murphy in action

I have no idea how Murphy's law came into being, but my life certainly shows aspects are being run by it. :) In a couple of hours, I'll be off to the seaside for a week off and guess what - it's going to rain half of the time! Of course, this week has been very hot both here and at the coast, and from tomorrow on, we can expect a significant drop in temperature and rain. Well, I have a close relationship with Murphy, so I tend to forgive most of the laws in action. Including this one - I'll have my books and I'll be able to sleep as much as I'd like, besides, after Wednesday, the weather should improve, so I figure I'll get my place in the sun.

The good side of this is that I'll be able to utilize my arms for testing all those samples that just keep piling up on my desk, in my drawer and all other places where I put them imagining that I'll remember where they are a week later. :) The other day I found a box of samples I completely forgot I had. Anyway, if my arms are not going to smell like sunscreen, I'll sniff as much as I'm able.

The other problem that appeared lately is the fact there are so many samples I tried and loved, and I don't have any of them in a significant amount and I'm not planning on buying any perfumes any time soon (that's what I tell myself) - and all those summer fragrances I have are just not cutting it this year. I mean I like them still very much, but I had enough of them for now and I want something more now. Okaaay, this doesn't sound good for my wallet (credit card account). It's really good that MUA exists. At least swapping helps a bit, although not completely.

I figured, if I start wearing one sample each day, I might try them and write short reviews while wearing them, but that's a double edged sword. First, it's summer so I might randomly select something not compatible with the heat, and secondly, if I don't know what it smells like and I put it on, what if it's something absolutely awful that needs to be scrubbed off? But if I was brave enough to tell a hairdresser I visited for the first time to do whatever he felt was right (and he did, and it was absolutely wonderful and bravely short), I can do this as well. :) I'll go first with those I have an idea what they might smell like. That should satisfy my need for smelling new things and not make me forced to choose from my stack of summer scents.

I hope everyone has a fun week and that there are several packages I expect waiting for me when I come back. :)

The picture is what I hope my days are going to be like the following week. :)

Being strangely busy

I don't know if that ever happens to other people, but before I went away for the long weekend, there wasn't that much work to be done. OK, I had my standard stuff to do, but not too much. Suddenly, since my return, it seems I don't know what to start first and more things just keep piling up and need to be done before Friday because next week is the week when there are 2 state holidays, so everyone will be off someplace where there's fun in the sun (including me). :)

I'll be at the seaside again for a week to enjoy myself and in the meantime I'll post some of the photos from the lovely weekend I had.

I managed to go through the rest of the Sookie Stackhouse books I had (there's only no. 9 left but I don't have it yet) and I wasn't terribly happy with the end of book 8, I turned the page and was surprised to see there's no more. Although, after a while I thought there was no better way to end it. It definitely calls for a next one to be read. Soon I hope. :)

I'm already assembling books for the next week - I'll of course take more than I can actually read - so I'd have a choice, but I think I might read some 5-7, so of course, I'll have at least 10 with me. *grin*

I did take some samples with me to try but in the end, I enjoyed the smell of early summer - the rosemary, sunscreen, sea and fig trees. The place I go to is called Smokvica (which is diminutive of fig) so there are fig trees everywhere and they already have fruit (as in ripe enough to be eaten) - too bad I don't like figs.

And to my suprise, the scent I used when I wanted to wear something was Bath & Body works Chocolate amber which doesn't smell much like chocolate to me (just a little bit a not for long - more like dark chocolate truffles), but smells nice and warm in a sunny way and now that I checked the notes, it is a bit clearer to me why I like it so much. :)

Notes: pineapple, red berries, lemon, honey blossom, rose, jasmine, dark chocolate, honey wood, patchouli, vanilla orchid and musk.

Now some photos:

How it looks when I go in:

The view of a garden nearby:

More sea view:
My beach accesories (the bag contains the book and sunscreen):

The white oleandar in our garden (there's a pink one as well):

Notes by: http://www.nstperfume.com/

Quickly before I leave

Finally the long weekend I've been waiting for has arrived. Tomorrow is Corpus Christi day and Croatia being a Catholic country, it is a state holiday. Anyway, nobody is going to work on Friday and it's going to be a mass exodus today. :) The forecast is perfect, the sea temperature has gone over 20 degrees Celsius, so I expect 4 days of reading, swimming and a bit of sunbathing (not much for me I'm afraid).

Before I go, I wanted to write about re-discovering my old time favourite, Eau de Cartier. I had a little bit left in my bottle and every time I smelled it to see if I was going to apply it or not, I stopped after smelling the bitter green opening. I always thought the opening smelled like a parsley-celery-earthy-slightly lemon peel bitter thingy. I've read that some think it opens like a gin and tonic smell which is somewhat true if you consider that tonic has all this herbaceous notes. Anyway, it gives freshness and cool to my summer days. And I bought a new bottle yesterday since Martimex has 30% discount on their fragrances. Just lovely. :)

While I was there, I tried the new Versace - Versense. Terribly funny! It makes sense only if you want to smell like your laundry while you're ironing it and can smell the softener and humidity all rolled into one. I couldn't believe, but that's what it smells like. And you get some fruit in the opening. :)

Notes Eau de Cartier: yuzu, bergamot, leaves, flowers, musc, lavender, amber, patchouli, cedarwood.

Notes Versense:

Top Notes: bergamot and green mandarin, with fresh and luminous accords with fig zests, citruses with fruity aromas.
Heart Notes: sea lily, with jasmine petals, cardamom.
Base Notes: woody accords of sandalwood, cedar, olive wood and musk.

Picture: the view from the terrace. :)

Anyway, I hope everyone will enjoy their weekend whether it's a long one or not and I'm back on Monday.

Etat libre getting under my skin

I find the beginning of the name quite appropriate (don't know what I think about the orange part). :) Being free of constraints people and society put on you is quite liberating (if you can achieve that state that is). Lately, I would like to feel liberated from pretty much most of the things in my life that are not of my choosing. Yes, I did choose my job but only because I have to earn my living, can't go through it without money unfortunately. And therefore, I'm also obliged to follow so many rules that come with having to go to work every day. By that I mean, not being able to vacation as much as I'd like (and I believe I need). But this has gone in a completely wrong direction than I wanted.

Today I wanted to say that Etat Libre d'Orange made me happy again. I can't help it, I just find their whole concept fun and honestly enjoy sniffing their scents. It is definitely a fun, happy experience when you combine it with their ad copies.

Anyway, I tried today Vierge et Toreros and Divin enfant . Of the two, I prefer Virgin and torero, but can't say the other one is bad.

Vierge et toreros notes: bergamot, poivre, cardamom, muscade, tubereuse, ylang-ylang, cuir, base animalis, costus, patchouli, vetiver.

I believe I'll definitely get a bottle of this. I love the opening, with bergamote, pepper and cardamom (what an interesting combination) and it just gets better. I finally got those animal notes at the end and they are perfect. I think I feel that way because they remind me of how my father sometimes smells after a long day (the tabac is what achieves that, my parents are both smokers and I can't do anything about it).

VetT goes pretty much through all the notes listed (well, I'm not sure about costus, don't know what that smells like, but if it smells gingery , then it's there). For some reason, before the drydown was complete, the animal notes/tubereuse combination did bring blood into my mind, but it wasn't the smell of blood so I'm wondering at the idea a little. Interesting nevertheless.

Divin enfant definitely took me back to my childhood. It smelled at the beginning like the rubbers (erasers) we used to have in school (they always had the same sweet smell) and after going through the notes, it seems that it is the marshmallow accord (that is my guess at the guimauve accord).

Notes: fleur d'oranger, accord guimauve, rose, accord moka, cuir, ambre, musc, note tabac froid.

The ad copy mentioned marshmallow and my guess was it was the note I couldn't find the meaning of. It seems almost all Etat libre perfumes end in some way sweetly, as is true of this one as well. I like the fact that I could detect some tabac and after that cuir and coffee and that it took me back to my childhood. I even enjoy the ambery sweet drydown. I didn't get the rose, though...

There are still some samples left for me to try and I do look forward to them. I know they will at least make me smile. :)

Notes by: http://www.etatlibredorange.com/

Image by: http://www.etatlibredorange.com/

Stress, books and Etat libre

This has not been a good period for me. I'm not going to go into details, I don't want to bother you with the bad news I keep getting and the stress I've managed to accumulate, but instead I'll talk a bit about what I do to relieve it.

I already thanked my colleague profusely for giving me the Sookie Stackhouse series to read. I'm already on book 3 and I'm enjoying it terribly much. :) It's a somewhat lighter and more humoruous version of Anita Blake and something that came at the right moment. Anita Blake is a bit hard to go through because she's always doubting herself, people around her (mostly boyfriends), her choices, her religion... And meanwhile, she just has a lot of sex. Sookie on the other hand takes what life throws at her with, well, what I suppose is a Southern view of the world. Tries to look at the bright side of life most of the time, when necessary gives in to grief and just enjoys life as much as she can and deals with trouble with a big smile. It's easy and fun to read and you go through the books quite fast.

Reading is what de-stresses me most. :)

Being so deconcentrated these days and very much tired, I don't feel my nose and brain are up to the task of sniffing efficiently. So, I'm slowly going through my Etat Libre d'Orange samples and finding them nice, fun to read the stories and mostly easy on the nose, although I managed to take out several with the strawberry note and generally of sweet disposition.

Today I tried Jasmine and cigarette and I got a lot of jasmine and it smelled to me like it was mixed with lilly of the valey but that note doesn't appear on the list (jasmine absolute, tobacco, hay, apricot, tonka bean, curcuma, cedre, ambre, musc). I didn't get any tobacco or the smell of cigarette and after a while some hay. It smells nice though, I like it - I'll try and swap for this.

I also tried Delicious closet queen and not reading the story first thought it was feminine so I got a bit surprised with the opening that smelled totally masculine. Well, it all got clear after I read the story for this one. The notes are: violet leaf, iris butter brut, atlas cedre, patchouli, vetiver,, dynamone, rose absolut, irisy strawberry (that's my translation of original), santal, cuir, tonka bean, opoponax. I don't know what violet leaf smells like (probably not like violets since I didn't find any) and I'm not sure what of the listed notes might smell citrusy but I got something of the sort at the beginning and thought there might be some lavender in it but I was wrong. I liked the opening more than the drydown, although it isn't bad. It's just, well, sweetish. I don't know how many of their perfumes feature a strawberry note but to me that smells more like strawberry candy than a real strawberry.

I managed to go through Nombril Intense which starts as a salty-sweaty oriental but quickly loses the belly button opening note. It strikes me as having an old perfume feel to it.

Notes are: patchouli, Peru balm, vetiver, poivre noir absolu, opoponax, bergamote, carrot seed, ambrette grain absolut.

The Vrai blonde made me wonder what exactly do they mean by fine de champagne because I didn't get anything champagny from it - it smelled sort of florally sweet, slightly powdery and creamy. Nothing spectacular.

Notes: aldehydes, fine de champagne, rose, peach, poivre blanc, myrhhe, patchouli, suede.

Rossy de palma was ok, I thought I didn't like roses in my perfumes but that is slowly changing. This was a nice green, fresh version of the rose (in my opinion) with a smoky undertone later and some patchouli. It's actually a wearable rose for me.

Notes: benzoin, patchouli, encens, cacao, rose de Bulgaria.

And the last one for today, Encens and bubblegum is totally true to its name. Although I got less bubblegum than in Charogne (can't say that's bad). I'd say it's a fruity bubblegum.

Notes: peach, strawberry, vanilla, lilly of the valey, fleur d'oranger, musc, essence and resinoide d'encens. It's totally girlish, as in 12 year old girlish. Fun though. :)

So you see, not much from my nose and brain. I do hope that will change soon. Until then, back to Sookie. :)

Notes and image by: http://www.etatlibredorange.com/