One of my loves for life - pilates

I'm at a sort of crossroads when it comes to my training routine.
For some 7-8 years I've been going to my local gym for pilates and occasional workout class but always pilates.
And it took me some time to achieve what I thought was a balance, I wasn't as pilates-fit as our trainer but I felt good changes in my body and actually grew a whole centimeter. :)

But for years now, I feel like I'm only maintaining the level I achieved and I can't seem to cross it. Then it dawned on me.
We are a large group there (at least 20, usually more) and our trainer only instructs us, she doesn't go around improving our posture and setting us straight in positions we are supposed to achieve.
And I want to improve - I can feel my spine losing its mobility just for the 3 months I've been away from it.

So, I've decided since I love doing pilates, to go to a real pilates studio and exercise in a small group of 5 where the trainer is always there to make you do the exercise right (and basically torture you). :)

There were 2 studios that  I decided to try and now I'm having a problem. I mean I decided to go to the second one, where they do straight Pilates pilates and not STOTT pilates which seemed interesting to me when I went for a class there.

One of the things I love about both pilates studios I've been to, is that the atmosphere is completely different than from the gym. They are more oriented to the individual and it feels more welcome and you feel like someone is actually paying attention to what you do.
Of course, this is going to cost me twice as much as my usual gym card did, but I'm willing to try and see if it works (and from the 2 classes I've been to, I can't see how it won't).

Hmmm, if you were wondering how did I get to explaining my pilates studio choices from pilates being the love of my life, well it's easy.
I love it so much and I saw that what I did wasn't getting me anywhere, so I decided to change my routine pattern that was a normal part of my life, and go for something new and more demanding.
I am ready to face my new pilates life. Beacuse I love it so much.

And I hope after a few months of training in a little group and learning better pilates postures, I will go for an instructor course.

Beacuse this love of my life brings more fullness to my life the more I invest myself in it. Isn't that what true love is about?


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

Short foray into mainstream

It's not often I visit Sephora as it's not close to my usual places but today, I was at the exact spot and had 10 minutes. :)
So, of course I took the chance and went in search of a spray of Chanel 19 Poudre.

Basically, I won't go searching for it again. I am very disappointed. Not that it's bad for the general, youthful I'd say, public, but it holds no candle to the original. It feels exactly like what Guerlain did with Shalimar, only their flanker is much more wearable to a lover of Shalimar than Poudre is to a lover of Chanel 19.

Not to mention the fact that after 10 minutes, I could no longer smell it on my arm. Poof! It was gone.
Notes I could find: neroli, galbanum, jasmine, iris, white musk, vetiver and tonka bean.


I also got to finally smell Jimmy Choo (which for some reason I keep calling in my mind Jimmy Chang, have no idea why...).
I thought it was perfectly nice and acceptable and would probably make a good gift if you have no idea what the woman in question loves (and she isn't a hardcore perfumista). I'll give it some skin time next time around.
Heart notes: Tiger Orchard

Top notes: Pear Nectar, Sweet Italian Orange
Base notes:Toffee, Indonesian Patchouli


The surprise of the evening was Bulgari Jasmin Noir. The only problem is I tested it on paper and Bulgaris usually fail in contact with my skin. What appears on paper is nowhere close to what appears on me. So, I'll give this another go on skin. 
At first, I couldn't detect any jasmine, but then it slowly appeared and being upset with Poudre's disappearance, I forgot to follow but I will definitely give it another go. The idea I got wasn't noir though. :)

Notes: green plants juice, gardenia flowers, Sambac jasmine absolute, sateen almond aromas, dark notes of precious wood, liquorice absolute and accords of Tonka.

The last try for the evening was Kenzo's Flower Tag. And with it, my enthusiasm for discovering more mainstream evaporated. Yep, a fruity floral. A sweet fruity-floral.

Top notes: mandarin, black currant, rhubarb

Heart: peony, jasmine, lily of the valley
Base: tea, musk, vanilla

Your nightmare fragrance? Inquiring minds want to know...

My collaborator Asali came with a very good question today, one I haven't yet seen posed anywhere and I like the challenge of answering it. :)

So, the question is, what would be the notes of your nightmare fragrance?

Here is Asali's nightmare fragrance:

Top: Aquatic/ ozone/ tequila (or the wodka note of Ambre Russe!)

Heart: lychee, watermelon, Lily (the indolic-cats-piss-one) and an overdosed Tuberose (like the IPdF)
Base: OUD, and the synthetic white musk. Somewhere in there you can throw some dill and star anise, and I'll be sure to get ill from sniffing it.

I'm almost with her on the notes of her nightmare fragrance, but I adore Ambre Russe (and have to re-smell it now because I've missed the wodka part). :)

Here is mine:

Top: aquatic note, synthetic fruit (berries and peaches usually),
Heart: watermelon, cheap almond note, milk
Base: Synthetic white musk

I shudder just thinking about it.

So, let's hear it - we look forward to the possibilities out there. :)



P.S. I reserve the right to add a note or two to my original thoughts.

Tess Gerritsen: The Silent Girl

I thought it was only perfumes, but it seems to now apply to books I read as well. I want to talk about them and my mind is full of ideas, but when it comes to writing them down, nothing smart comes out.  Well, nothing even remotely close to what is in my head at least.

I really should learn how to turn my thoughts into better stories. I'm sure there are workshops that can teach you that (I mean, nowadays there are workshops for practically anything).

So, this is the latest in the Isles & Rizzoli series. Btw, both Rizzoli and Isles from the TV series weren't even close to what I imagined them in my mind, but I can work with Rizzoli actress. I like the way she looks and portraits Rizzoli. The Isles actress is not as strong and cool as the real Maura Isles from the books (at least from my perspective).

One thing I realized about Tess Gerritsen's writing when it comes to this series is, that lately (I don't remember that was happening in the beginning), there seem to be mythical/fantastic parts of the story creeping in but I know that in the end all that will have a realistic explanation. And it always does.
The best thing about it though, is that I can't guess the explanation. :) Or, who did it. Or, when it seems all clear, something new gets added. Absolutely thrilling!
And I do mean that. I've read enough crime stories and thrillers that when I watch TV,  I know who is the killer just watching the movie/series for 5 minutes.
So a book where I think I know, only to be proven wrong, and then I seem to be right but for all the wrong reasons, and I completely miss one of the biggest mysteries that gets explained in the end, well, I think those are the traits of a truly great storyteller. :)

And as you might have learned by now, I'm not going to go into describing the story. I'll just say that from my perspective, the Silent girl from the title, is the one I forgot about keeping track but who kept the story together and was silent for decades.


P.S. Please, don't start reading the series from this book, start at the beginning.

P.P.S I spend so much money on books, I do wish someone somewhere would feel sorry for me and send some over (of the kind I usually read). :)
Was that very selfish to wish for?

I smell nice

That's what I kept thinking yesterday evening while on a drive to our evening destination. :)

I was wearing Vamp a NY, which always works for me, and catching whiffs of it around me, kept bringing a smile to my face until I realized, I smell nice.

Ok, so that might sound redundant, I mean, I usually wear perfumes I like, so of course I'd smell nice to myself but it just never hit me that I enjoy the way I smell.

I enjoy catching whiffs of my perfume of the moment.

I smell nice to myself. :D

Olympic Orchids, part I

As I announced the other day, I want to finally put to words my thoughts on some of the less known perfumes out there made by people who obviously have a perfume vision unique to themselves.

One of those people is Ellen Covey aka Doc Elly of Olympic Orchids.

I'm ashamed to say that I've been sitting on the samples she sent for months now, not even getting around to smelling all of them, but now my vacation is over, and I feel I should be rested even though the heat here won't let me feel rested, I can finally start reviewing perfumes that I ought long time ago.

So, I'll go through them in batches, which means they'll be a bit shorter and here is the first. :)


Olympic Amber

Notes: labdanum, vanilla, benzoin, incense, resins, patchouli, and woods

Being a fan of labdanum, you'd think I'd recognize it when featured in a perfume. :)
For me, this is a raspy, lightly fruity, green-spicy amber. Not sweet and actually rather serious.
And in the beginning, amber is sort of hidden under that bold opening.

Which brings me, almost Ellen's perfumes seem bold to me. She has a signature of her own that you can recognize after smelling several of her creations and it's like nothing I ever smelled before. Can't say if it's in any way connected with orchids because the only ones here don't have any kind of smell.
Out of all the notes listes, the only one I can smell on its own is patchouli in these little, cute whiffs while the amber feel broadens.

Although as I said, this isn't a cuddly amber. Quite an achievement if you ask me.


Carolina

Notes: longleaf pine, hay, tobacco, lavender, green grass, magnolia, kudzu flower, honeysuckle, star jasmine, and tonka

Sometimes I wonder why I even review perfumes when there seem to be a lot of notes in there that I have no idea what they smell like.
I think for me, one of the easiest ways to know if a perfume is great is when I can't tease out the notes. Which seems to happen a lot with Olympic Orchids.

The best I could come up with for Carolina is that it's a flowery sweet, sunny and refreshing as a spring day with barest fruity whisps in the air.

I don't appreciate sugary sweetness in perfumes, but when the sweetness in there is from blossoming flowers, well, I'm on my knees. It's one of the best smells in the world if you ask me. I honestly couldn't figure out the notes I was smelling - they were combined into a perfectly lovely experience.
And here is the description Ellen wrote which seems more appropriate than my words:

"A dreamy scent of the American South that takes you from a day spent among sun-warmed longleaf pines, grassy fields, magnolias, and kudzu flowers through a warm, humid night sweetened with the scent of honeysuckle and star jasmine, always with an undercurrent of tonka-rich tobacco curing in the wooden barns and historic red brick factories."



Gujarat

Notes: saffron, tulsi, lime, tagetes, jasmine, rose, cardamom, cumin, fenugreek, ginger, curry leaf, turmeric, mango, spikenard, olibanum, vetiver, patchouli, choya loban, black agar, and sandalwood

Gujarat is among my favorites from the line. But that one is not for the weak hearted (or cumin-phobic). Not that you get a lot of cumin, just the underlying musky warmth of it but I still need to warn people as I can tell it's cumin, so I'm sure other people would too.
I hate it that my starting line is about cumin because that's such a minor player in this. This is a spice fest of the most luscious kind.
As you can see from the list of notes, there is no lack of spices in there. Which again brings me to the fact that I have no idea how most of those spices smell like. I do know though that they combine into a powerfully attractive mix to me.

The perfume starts for me slightly menthol-like with warm spices (here is where I detect cumin underneath) and lightly fruity as well. It practically emits warmth from where you apply it.
Again, I can smell the floral sweetness and the idea of what I come to call Ellen's signature.

By the time I can detect mango and oudishness, I am thouroughly glued to my wrist.
Which brings me back to the fact that I saw black agar listed here and oud listed on one other of Olympic Orchids perfume together with black agar, and I somehow thought it was the same...? Obviously, I need to learn a lot more. :)


Olympic Rainforest

Notes:cedar leaves, green sword ferns, rhododendron, forest mushrooms, beebalm, myrtle, oakmoss, black spruce, balsam fir, and Port Orford Cedar wood

This is my last Olympic Orchid for today.
This is the one that smells of lavender, and pine needles, of woods and fern. The whole deal.
It starts refreshingly and invigoratingly, it makes you breathe in fully and then lets you enter the underbrush of the rainforest, as it smells grassy and ferny to me (again barest fruity whisps, I seem to amplify sweetness in these perfumes).

One of the best things about perfume is that you learn a lot. I kept smelling this menthol-like freshness (many things piney smell menthol-like to me) and it turns out cedar leaves come from an evergreen, coniferous tree. And as I've never seen a cedar tree in my life (there aren't any here), of course I didn't know that.
The perfume then goes on to smell like you've entered the rainforest, lightly sweet fungi smell, slight dampness and rottiness of leaves and underneath all that, the smell of fern.

It gets less and less sweet until you are left with flowery cedar woods (I really don't know where am I getting all this floweriness from).


Pics taken from http://www.fragrantica.com/

Feeling gluttonous and ready to write

Luckily for me, the gluttony is only perfume related. :)

I feel so very lucky because in the last month or so I received so many wonderful packages, some from swaps, some I ordered, and some just because perfume people are very generous.

I'm nowhere near to smelling them all and I feel it's going to take some time before I even smell them once, let alone write about them.

But, and I hope the feeling lasts, I feel eager and ready to write about many wonders I've been smelling recently so I hope to get on with it soon.
The only problem I have at the moment is the intense heat here so coming home and sitting behing a computer writing is not even remotely comfortable (no AC there).

Hopefully, the heat will dissipate somewhat (and soon!), although judging by forecast, not much but at least it won't be 37 degrees Celsius in the most humid town I've ever been to. I actually don't feel well most of the time.

Anyway, I want to get some reviews done about perfumes and people who deserve more recognition and about some perfumes that get recognition without any help. :) Many of which landed in my lap without much work from me.

Like I said, I feel very lucky. :)



Pic is mine.

Vacation is over, work awaits...

And when I say work, I mean WORK. :)

I have many things I need to do this fall, and I'm glad to say I didn't start on any of them on my vacation. After all, vacation is vacation, and getting frustrated by the slowness with which I'd be getting anything done seemed to me the opposite of what vacation is about, so  the last 3 weeks was all about me doing things I like and that relax me and not thinking about anything remotely work/study-related.

I'm proud to say I'm very good at that. :D

I can't say I didn't get my rest and that my batteries aren't full and ready to tackle my workload, it's just that I don't really appreciate the fact that I can never really choose how to spend my days as I do need to work to be able to actually spend my day leisurely these 3 weeks that I can.
Sometimes I really, really wish I were rich.

Basically, I spent my days, reading, cooking, swimming, enjoying solitude, and for a while children's antics (my boyfriend's nieces were there for a few days, they are incredibly great and tiring at the same time, I should think like all children). :)

I only got to read 10 books (which is not as much as I usually can). But of those 10, 7 were the Harry Potter series so I consider myself lucky. Although a bit depressed as well. It's one of those stories that makes you lose yourself in it, and when it's over, you can't believe you have to go back to life where there is no more of that world.
Yes, I'm on of those people who can get lost in fantasy. And believe me, it doesn't make for easy living.

This is it for my get back post - here are some photos of my vacation.

Seagulls in Klenovica:

View through the trees from the terrace:

View from the little beach:

Rosemary in bloom:

Clear, blue sky:

P.S. I was going to post the photo of my favourite bathing suit but as it only displays my behind, I decided against it (taken by  my boyfriend of course). :)

Musings on the subject of Harry Potter (again)

There is a good saying in Croatian that I cannot translate into English and retain the same idea. But the gist is that while everyone talks about different subjects, the person in question always returns to the same.
In my case, that would be Harry Potter.
Well, it is the season after all, what with the last movie playing. :)

Since I'm on vacation, and I obviously needed it (vacation that is), as the only thing I can read at the moment is HP. Not being interested in reading is in my case a serious sign that I am stressed out. So, I'm de-stressing through HP, as that one always works.
And here are my musings on the subject:

• The HP series ALWAYS works when I need to relax and find peace and calm in my life.

• I hate the fact that the movies made me forget so many details from the books (especially beginning, as I usually skip that and read the longer books).

• I don't know how many times I re-read the series, but I seem to be getting all the hints as to what is to come, only now. I can see where certain points in the story are going to come back later on as important details as to what exactly is happening. And I think Rowling is a genius the way she incorporated those little hints all over the books.
• Books are much better at getting Harry's tragic and black childhood understood. Movies cannot transfer that bleakness onto the screen. Nor everything going through Harry's mind. Which brings me back to the question how much can people actually get from the movies.

• I need to learn to read more slowly. Because I think that is the reason why I missed many little gems and hints hidden in the stories.

• I wasn't sure movies ought to have had so many fun moments (especially later on) but they are there in the books as well. And I laugh much more this time around reading. I'm frustrated much more too, though.

• Bravery is something you are born with. So is the ability to be a true friend.

• I wish there was more of the backstory what happened between Hermione and Krum.

And, I'm off!

Work is done and luckily I won't have to think about it for the next three weeks.

I mean, I am taking my laptop with me because it's no vacation if I can't enjoy my favourite blogs.

But mostly, it's going to be fun in the sun (well, more like reading in the shade) but you get the idea. :)

It's pretty much the highlight of my year, when I get to relax and unwind, not worry about my calorie intake, exercise regime, work, people relations etc.

I'm taking my Kindle with me, lots of stuff to smell and review (hopefully) and all of my bathing suits which have now reached a critical mass - so I was very economical this year and didn't buy a single one! And I found a beautiful one!

I do hope weather returns to the sunny heat it's supposed to be at this time of year, and no more of this autumn vibe.

Pic is mine. :)

Smitten by vetiver - Mona di Orio Vetyver

Basically, you all need to smell it and then go buy a bottle (or a decant, the bottle is quite expensive and I'm not one bit grateful to MdO for making me want to buy it). But boy, it surely smells great.

This is by far my favourite vetiver. I am completely smitten by it. I keep testing it in order to get better

ideas of how to describe it but nothing worthy comes to mind. I am simply in love. :)

Notes: Bourbon vetiver, blue ginger from Madagascar, Virginia cedar, violet, cistus labdanum, clary sage absolute, tonka bean, musk.

I don't think any of my readers have any doubt now that I am a huge Mona di Orio fan.  I love her creations but some, I love more than the others. Those are also the most difficult to describe. I spray my little vial of Vetyver and I think I'm going to concentrate now, and describe what I smell, only to be disarmed and seduced by it and then I come up with only rudimentary notes. But nevertheless, here they are. :)

It's a sunny, dry, hay-like vetiver but the hay is interspersed with flowers and therefore smells a bit sweeter than hay usually does. But at the same time, the vetiver is giving it a  masculine vibe underscored by cedar. I think the ginger again is more in line with the sweet and feminine side of this vetiver.  The fact that it is all there makes this a perfect unisex perfume for me. Not that I ever take those labels into account.
It's a warm, snuggly vetiver, one you smell and then do everything to come closer and keep smelling it. I never thought I would say this about vetiver, but this one seduces you by making you weak at the knees.
I keep sighing deeply trying to describe it. :)

Eventually, it does veer into a more masculine vetiver, losing some of that initial floweriness (which  I have no idea why I keep referring to as such, as notes don't really list any except violet).

This is not a refreshing vetiver, it is a vetiver in line with the summer. It does nothing to cool you but instead makes you feel warmed by the sun somewhere in the flowery summer fields.

Lee Child: Die Trying

As I've been reading for 25 years now (since I learned to read, I never stopped, so you can pretty much calculate my age from that), I must say I haven't yet enountered such a character as Jack Reacher and this type of a crime/action story.

I find I have problems decribing what exactly do I mean by this. It's true that Jack Reacher has qualities that might be a bit stretched as to be ascribed to one human only, but that might only be my non-military perspective. I honestly don't know if military around the world employs such geniously varied and intelligent characters, but I keep thinking if they were so smart, they probably could choose better than military.
(am I prejudiced against military or what?) :)
The thing is, Jack Reacher did choose in the end against military and now drifts around USA and keeps getting into trouble completely accidentally. Which is how we get to read so many novels about him. :)

This one was really interesting as it got into the militia problems and the ways that might escalate into a national (and possibly then a world wide) issue.
The thing that I consider a testament of very good writing is the fact that when Reacher ends up killing some of the really bad characters, I felt vindicated. :) I couldn't stand those people still being alive and creating so much misery and doing torture. Does that make me a bad person? I mean, I know it's fiction but, god, they really deserved to die. And not so fast.

And this came on the heels of the tragedy in Norway. What's wrong with some people?! I just have no words to describe the depth of my disappointment in the mankind. And I can't learn to live with it. I cannot forget or bury the knowledge and go on like everything is fine with the world. It obviously isn't.
I mean, the novel I read is fiction, but what happened in Norway isn't, and what happens in the novel isn't really stretching the imagination far from some of the things that already happened.

I know we are never going to live in a Utopian world but I do wish we'd get at least a step closer to it and not always getting a step farther and farther away.

When perfume speaks, you can only listen - Pentachords by Andy Tauer

I am happy to be able to host a guest post by Asali who was recently a lucky recipient of some Pentachords samples and I feel lucky she wanted to share her experience with us by writing a post. :)

Three samples from Andy Tauer’s new line Pentachords arrived at my door some days ago. Two of them would not leave me alone, but kept telling me to write, so I did.

Andy Tauer did the perfumer’s answer to the painter’s restricted palette, and wanted to show how to create beautiful and innovative fragrances out of only five ingredients. 

Let me start with Verdant which is an edt with notes of (in his own words) dewy leaves, suave leather, brown tobacco, sweet earth, vibrant amber. This fragrance is quite unlike any green scent I ever smelled before. It is definitely earth and leaves, both moist and heavy with scent. It’s not aiming at transparency nor is it a stylized picture of nature forced into a little neat pastel. This smells like nature when you’re out walking in the rain drenched woods in your mac and wellingtons.  The leaves I find are more soaked than dewy and have, together with the rain-wet soil, the slight sense of bitter decay.

Doesn’t sound good? Well, it is. It’s rather marvelous. Because the tobacco sets in and gives the scent warmth underneath the dampness, and the leather makes you feel well equipped for this kind of walk in the forest. The slight bit of amber in the base feels like the anticipation of being home again. For me personally, this fragrance evokes memories of my childhood spent in a daytime forest kinder garden, with no playground and actual playthings, just the grounds and the forest at our disposal. This was in the late 70’s, and I suspect the memory connected with this smell of woods after the rain together with the scent of pipe tobacco which hung in the smoking caretaker’s clothes, to me breathes comfort and safety.

 White is an equally surprising white fragrance, which gives the extreme quality bourbon vanilla scent off, so that it almost has a whiff of sweet tobacco, it’s both a tiny bit fluffy and at the same time retains a low sense of gravity, and again the sensation almost of damp earthiness .  In contrast to Verdant, and although I think Andy Tauer was inspired by a winter morning run for this one, I feel very much like this fragrance is the one you put on as you’d wrap yourself in a comfy shawl, once you’ve returned home from your country walk. You hang up the damp clothes, make a cup of vanilla scented tea, and comfy yourself up in the sofa with a good book, ah, and then just enjoy.

The violets then kick in, but only after a substantial amount of time with the vanilla, so beautiful and a bit powdery and yet so earthy and rich, a real surprise after the bourbon vanilla. The dry down of ambergris and warm wood, is the lovely base on which the two main players are resting. I like the way as you read the notes, and kind of second guess the fragrance, only to be proven utterly wrong. White has notes of Bourbon vanilla, orris root, violet blossom, amber gris and warm wood, and it’s lovely.

May I suggest if the ‘wildlife’ of verdant is a bit too much for you, that you might try layering. Oh, yes, I know the whole idea was to restrict the perfume to 5, but they do go awfully nicely hand in hand. Both have 8+ hours at least.

The picture I get from both fragrances, the stories they tell, the time travelling is so vivid, so beautiful I can only encourage everyone who reads this:  Do go and try all of the Pentachords, I’m sure you’ll find they will tell you your own story, if you’ll let them.

Toronto/GT​A Fragrance meetup

I'm sorry to say I can't participate and I do wish a similar thing happened here so while sharing thoughts with Daniel, who is responsible for me posting this, I came to realize if I ever wanted to participate in a meetup of fragrance afficionados, great chances are ,I would have to be the one to organize it. :)
Oh well.

For all of you who are close to Toronto, you already have an organized meetup so just go and enjoy yourself.

Here is the info:

Date: SUNDAY July 24th, 2011
Location: Noor Boutique, 176 Cumberland St (Yorkville), 416-928-0700 (http://noorboutique.com/]). Nahla and Fred are the friendly owners
Time: Around 12pm/Noon to about 3:30 or so, but drop by any time. We may move around the area to some other locations at some point. Let’s see how things go and decide at the time.
To Bring: yourself &significant others / friends, any industry books or magazines, business cards, samples/decants/bottles to share/trade, etc.

original thread here - http://www.basenotes.net/threads/280392-4-Toronto-GTA-Fragrance-meetup-SUNDAY-July-24th-12pm-noon-at-Noor-Be-There!

The heat has hit - my cooling choices

We've been having a real heat wave the last few days (ok, today is an exception but it won't last).

So, I wanted to share the perfume that work for me when it's so hot outside I need a perfume to cool me off.

My latest cooling discovery is Jardin du Poete by Eau d'Italie and I decided not to fight it anymore. :) It should arrive at Flores by the end of the month so I'll be giving one bottle a loving home.  and if the heat persists quite a lot of sprays.

There's already been much talk of Guerlain's  Vetiver (the masculine one). My boyfriend hates it, but I love it.
Here is a review from Perfume Shrine where both masculine and feminine versions are discussed.

One of the things I keep forgetting I have and forgetting I like amid everything else is Eau de Cartier. It's a little sparkling gem that refreshes like the gin and tonic many compare it to.

Aqua Allegoria Pamplelune - Well, I have only a little bit left of this wonderful grapefruit scent and I really need a bottle of it but it doesn't seem to be available here (or maybe I'm not looking right).
This seems to be a hit and miss as grapefruit is such a note.

Charmes et Feuilles by The Different Company has become a staple for me from spring all through summer. What better to cool you off but some mint?

And the last one, Mona di Orio Lux, the one that feels best in the languid heat of the evening as it doesn't put a freshness into your step but instead make you enjoy yourself languidly in the evening.

Please, if you have some ideas of your own, I can always use more diversity and coolness in my perfume collection. :)


Pic is mine and that would work great in the way of cooling as well. :)