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/

Etat Libre d'orange and Luckyscent

First, I have to say who ever decided to start Luckyscent has my eternal gratitude. :) Especially beacuse they regulary have sample packages that are quite interesting (and most of the time I end up buying them). Therefore, I was very happy when I came home yesterday to find a little package waiting for me although for the life of me, I couldn't remember what was supposed to be in it. I'm quite forgetful these days.

Well, it was the Etat Libre d'Orange sample pack. Yeey! Finally. It is quite impossible not to stumble upon those scents wherever you read so I was very interested to see what it was all about.

Today I decided to take out 2 samples and see how will I like them.

The first I tried was Antiheros and I liked it just fine. The notes listed are 3: lavender, musc and bois (wood notes). It is exactly what you get and it smells great. I like that one very much - you cannot miss the opening lavender and after it subsides a bit, you get some musc and then a little wood and it just smells great. I would wear it definitely but I wouldn't think this might be feminine (lately I love scents that get termed as masculines but you cannot really tell that by smelling them).

I am not going to post all the text accompanying the scents, you can read it on etat libre site if you're interested.

The other one that came out of my bag today is Charogne. Beats the hell out of me how come it is called Beast in English when French wikipedia says it actually means carcass, but there you go. For this one, I was honestly tempted to put the whole text here, because it is about innocent flesh being plucked by the beast (with not very hidden undercurrents). Anyway, I thought it was going to be great, the whole innocent/beast juxtaposition, but it seems I was wrong. Or maybe, my idea of a beast is somewhat different from the rest.

The listed notes are: bergamote, notes de cuir, baies roses, gingembre, accord lys, ylang-ylang, jasmine, encens, vanille naturelle, ambrette absolu, notes animales.

It starts off quite innocently with the barest whiff of cuir and with a somewaht chewing gum idea and it keeps that innocence while vanilla, ylang-ylang make their come out and then I kept waiting for the beast, but it never showed. The perfume did progress to a somewhat less innocent idea, but if that was supposed to be a beast, it was a pretty tame one (and somewhat small because it would neither devour you or scare you). :)

Images by: http://www.1976.com.tw/ ; http://www.etatlibredorange.com/

New book series discoveries

I've been starting to get a bit anxious, even though my free time has dwindled to almost non-existing, I didn't have anything new reading-wise to look forward to. Sure, I have dozens of unread books at home but since they are already mine and I'm not in the mood for most of them, I was looking for something new and interesting in the manner of Kresley Cole and Kim Harrison. And just in time, here come Lilith Saintcrow and Charlaine Harris. LS name came to my attention after reading about her on Keri Arthur's site and browsing Amazon for similar books to those I usually read, and I am very happy I ordered the first book in her Dante Valentine series (Working for the Devil) and although I only started, I can tell I'm going to enjoy this one. :) The only problem, I have to wait now for the sequels to come (after I order them today). And yes, she is actually working for the Devil.

It seems I'm a bit late to Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series and I wouldn't have ventured even now if my colleague hadn't borrowed me the first 4 books in the series to read. And I was asking him how come he was reading that because I thought they were children's books? Which is stupid I know, because first, I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and secondly I also read Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. But the cover for Harris's books just made me think they are not something I might be interested in - just check the cover and the heroine's name is Sookie (it sounds like a little girl to me, but I'm wrong on that account) :

Anyway, it seems I was wrong about that one - I started reading it just to see if it's interesting.

I like it and the series already already progressed to book 9, so I'm set for some time to come. Btw, I do that a lot - read more than one book at the same time. At almost any point in time, there are at least two books I started and am reading according to how I feel at the moment. Currently, it's 3, the two I just described, and Sharing knife trilogy by L.M. Bujold. :)

And it seems that there's actually a TV series True Blood made after the books. Hmmm, I do have to read the books first before going to watch them though. There is absolutely no pleasure doing it the other way.

Images by: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/

Being pale

Someone might call it having fair skin but to me, I usually just look pale. And today's post is about the most perfect face tanner out there (ok, so I haven't tried that many but having found a great one, I don't need to).

Sometime early last spring I went to a promotional Chanel make-up thing and the make up artist was impressed with the whitennes of my tan (what was she thinking, I wonder?). So while she was doing her thing, we were discussing the "merits" of being pale which in her opinion made the geisha white look wonderful and thought I should try it. Although I didn't agree with her thoughts on the color of my tan, I have to admit she did a great job with the make-up. Anyway, she listened to my problem, and that was the fact that tanned skin just looks nicer and healthier as opposed to being pale (not, as a fact that you spend a lot of time in the sun) and that I am not able to procure a tan no matter what I do (even if I sunbathed a lot, which I can't do since my skin won't allow it, it is really hard for me to get any real amount of tan). What she proposed was to try Chanel's self-tanner for the face and gave me a sample to try. Me, scared of tanners as I was, especially using them on the face, I was a bit sceptical it might not apply as wonderfully as it should, so she told me to mix it with my daily moisturizer and try it first like that. The rest is history. :)

A month or so ago, I bought a second tube of Soleil Identite Golden (lighter version) and I look healthy. It has become a staple for me and I cannot imagine not having it around to use when I start getting too pale.

The thing is, it has never, ever made a mistake. You apply it and there is no way anyone can tell you put a self-tanner on your face. It has never streaked and more importantly, as I apply it on the neck as well, putting perfume afterwards had never made any difference to the color. All I can say, absolutely wonderful. What I've been wondering for some time now is, how come Chanel didn't produce a body tanner when they made such a great face product? And if it's possible to create a tanner that applies so well it never streaks, wth are some of the companies doing making products you can throw in the garbage after the first application, even if you are very careful with all the skin preparations...?

My pale, rosy-cheeked days are over (ok, so my cheeks are still rosy but it is not so bad when you have a light tan). ;)

Image by: www.chanel.com

My old/new singer infatuation

I am no longer a teenager (for quite a while) but it seems I never grew out of the "falling in love with someone I never met" (actor, singer...). It no longer happens that often, but I do get hit sometimes and well, I try not to sigh too much and too loud while watching videos. :)

It happened first with Darren Hayes a long time ago when he was still part of Savage garden and then a few years ago when I heard the Lady of the sea by Seth Lakeman. Feel free to click on the videos link and at the bottom of the list you can watch the video for the Lady of the sea. And maybe you will understand. Just the song and his voice were enough to make my knees go weak and then I saw the video. That is just plain mean. There is nothing sexier than a good looking singer whose lyrics speak straight to your heart.

The reason I am talking about him today is the fact that he has a new album Poor man's heaven out and I just saw and heard the first song from it, the Hurlers so I went back to the original infatuation video and renewed the love. Well, renew might imply I actually did it consciously as opposed to, having no choice in reality. :) I wish he'd come and sing in Croatia..

So, if you have a few spare minutes, go and listen. And tell me what you think. And what you think might be the perfume for this dark, sexy, green-eyed (I'm not sure if they are green or maybe blue, but I like green more) singer...

Image by: www.majorlycool.com

P.S. No, my boyfriend does not read my blog (his choice). :)

osMoz Les coulisses du parfum

For those of you who are not yet aware that I am a total beginner, this post should make it clear. :) I mean it's been only a bit more than a year that I have consciously started my perfume journey, reading, ordering, sampling, swapping... I already have so many samples and decants at home (and I only just began) that I just can't imagine what amount is that going to become in a few years. :) Honestly, I'm not bothered about the amount, I'm bothered by the fact that I don't have enough time to try them all anytime soon and keep good notes on them. Oh, well, I'll get there eventually (or at least half way there). :)

So, in the light of learning as much as I can, I ordered one of the Coulisses du parfum from osMoz and following my perfume bent recently, I decided that the one I'll spend money on is going to be Volume 3, Legendary woods and resins. Unfortunately, although I got it on Friday, I still haven't had time to properly sniff any of the scents.

Has anyone tried any other volume? I can't wait to see if after smelling them I'll be able to recognize those notes better (for some I still don't have a clue what they might smell like).

They come with this interesting brochure that I leafed through and found to be quite informative. Now, I don't feel like ordering the other two as well if there is someone out there who would be willing to swap samples of other volumes? Please contact me if you are interested.

Image by: www.osmoz.com

Quick almond thoughts

Ok, let me start by saying, I hate marzipan (and yes, that means I hate Mozartkugeln as well, marzipan and pistachio - yuck). So one would think I'd skip over perfumes having almond notes, wouldn't one? Nope, that can't be said about me. I ordered samples of Reminiscence Do Re Mi La series (they aren't actually called that I think, but that's how I remember them) and randomly choosing 2 of the 4 I have, both I chose had almond note in them. Even after I read that there is an almond note in them, it didn't register that it might be too much for me, what with all other notes (and there is a whole bunch of notes listed for all of them). Well, I was wrong. And even though they don't smell the same (Do Re and Mi Fa) they smell of almonds (in a way too sweet a manner) that all I can say is, thank god it finally washed off.

I am usually not a person who says bad things about anybody or anything, so I'll temper my initial comments with - if you like almonds and sweet perfume, you are probably going to love these. I don't think they are really bad, I mean I did get some fig in Do Re around that ALMOND, and I enjoyed Mi Fa's cocos citrus opening for the first 2 minutes (before what I thought of as cocos actually turned out to be almond mixed with citruses but not yet recognizable as almond for me). I would so much love to be a fan of sweet but I am not - I don't even eat desserts if they don't come as complete chocolate (Sacher cake is not that, having jam in it- whoever thought that was nice?! - everyone except for me it seems) or as a strudel. So, believe me, something that smells like a child dipped in marzipan and sprinkled with cookies and fruit, is not something that I will wear (I'm not going to say never, because, you know, you never know) ;) - but definitely not in the near future. Honestly, I can't say it doesn't smell happy, since it evoked a child in marzipan for me (and the only person not happy in that situation might be the child's mother) but, I think both of them call for a high sweetness tolerance.

Hmm, it now seems this wasn't so quick and not only on almonds and not really a review, but I had to get it off my chest. :)

Do Re

Head: Green Notes, Fig

Heart: Heliotrope Accord, Almond, Virginia Cedarwood, Sandalwood, Indonesian Patchouli

Base: Infusion of Madagascan Vanilla, Brazilian Tonka Bean, Siamese Benzoin, Musk

Mi Fa
Head: Sicilian Bergamot, Italian Mandarin, Florida Orange, Bitter Almond, French Lavender, Tunisian Rosemary, Indian Mint, Green & Ozone Notes

Heart: Neroli, Tunisian Patite Grain, Madagascan Black Pepper, Jasmine

Base: Brazilian Tonka Bean, Madagascan Vanilla, Virginian Cedarwood, Indonesian Patchouli, Sandalwood, Amber, Musk

Image by: http://ellenbarrett.wordpress.com/

Notes by: http://www.ausliebezumduft.de/

P.S. Is it possible that one note can dominate so much to ruin the rest? I mean, I could detect some other notes but only around almond.

Sampling Parfum d'Empire

My arms are finally better so today I decided to try the samples I ordered from Aus Liebe zum Duft. At the moment I can't really remember how I decided to order Parfum d'Empire (I must have read something somewhere, but I can no longer remember what or where). What I tried today are Cuir ottoman and Fougere bengale.

I'll start with Cuir because although I find it nice and wearable, it's not as fabulous as some others out there (primarily Cuir de Lancome which I love). It's just, you know, cuir-ish. It starts a bit sweet, nothing too much with a slight burnt aroma (all this being burnt styrax which I found on Aus Liebe zum Duft site) and at some point it gets really interesting, having this middle phase where you actually get hints of "Benjoin resine that massage the musky skin of languid bodies" by Aus Liebe zum Duft again, and I honestly thought, ok, this is it, it's perfect, and unfortunately, then all that went away and I was left with a light vanillish cuir. It is just, well, too soft for me.

Cuir ottoman notes: jasmine, leather, iris, benzoin, balsams, resins, incense

Now, Fougere bengale is another thing. And for someone who learns French for far too long, I am ashamed but I admit, I had to go and look up the meaning of fougere. That explained a lot! :) Sometimes I get to feel stupid at the most strangest of times. Anyway, it seems fougere is THE combination for me beacuse I just love the lavender oakmoss pairing.

The thing is, at the beginning this one roars fougere while in the drydown it simply says fougere (and since it tells the story of Bengalese tiger hunts, I find it completely appropriate). Thank God it doesn't whisper fougere. You get from it all the things all the sites list, lavender, gingerbread, oakmoss, the sweet, green, herbalish aspect given by lavender and oakmoss and my discovery today (= fougere). I kept thinking the drydown reminded me of something else, and after my discovery of what fougere means, I remembered, like Ilaun by Burren perfumery.

Fougere bengale notes:Lavender, tarragon, patchouli, geranium, tobacco, tonka beans, vanilla

P.S. For all those who, like me, don't know what's tarragon (or dragon's wort), it is a perennial plant that looks strangely a lot like rosemary and is used in cuisine.

Imageby: http://www.azurs.net/photoblogv0

Cloudy musings

After several days of almost summer heat, today it is cold and very cloudy and although I don't want to be influenced by that, it seems I cannot help it (much). I am finally getting better (physically) because on Monday morning I woke up to find my arms covered in rash and I was very upset. Because the day before I put on a self-bronzer nad I thought that was the reason. It turns out that the places that it appeared signified it had something to do with something I ate, not something I applied all over my body. Huh, that was a relief! :) The thing is I cannot use solariums any more, my dermatologist almost had a heart attack when she heard I went ocasionally because I am pretty pale and have a light skin tone (hence the wish to go) and I am prone to birthmarks (I even had to have some removed). Imagine then my fear that I will not be able to use self-bronzer just when I finally found a good one (by Decleor), I know that it's good because I already used it twice before so I did think it strange that suddenly it caused an allergic reaction.

Well, it turns out it's not that, although I don't know what is it that I ate that might have caused it. And I am still a bit upset because I'm waiting for my arms to clear completely and I'm not putting any perfume on to try, so I feel a bit depressed.

The other thing is, each morning I look at my perfume shelf and cannot choose anything with the feeling, this is IT. I am looking for a perfect spring scent and I don't have one. All of those on the shelf are great but none of them strikes me as the ONE. I was giving it some serious thought and what I came up with as what I would like it to smell is that it has to be warm and not in a summer or winter way, but in a spring way. I enjoyed the spring this year so much, smelling all those budding flowers and trees and that it the kind of smell I'd like. Warm like a spring day, sweet smelling of growing flowers and slightly wet grass, with just a hint of dust and traffic in the background... Am I looking for too much? Or, more likely, is it somewhere out there but I just don't know its name and where to look for it? Any ideas would be very welcome.

Today I'm wearing Belle en Rykiel EdT and thinking where did it go? It's one of the things I bought while smelling it on a strip and on me, it sort of disappears. OK, so I'm exaggerating a bit, it does not disappear but it is too close to the skin, and that's not what I like at the moment.

I promise I'll be more optimistic in my next post. :)

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

Your blog is F*ck!ng Fabulous Award

Well, I have to say reading new posts on perfume blogs has been a surprise today. :) Lovely Divina from Fragrance bouquet has awarded me a F*ck!ng Fabulous award and caught me completely by surprise (a very nice surprise I must admit). Now, all I have to do is explain the procedure, add 5 of my addictions and name 5 fabulous blogs.

Rules and instructions:

1. You have to pass it (the award) on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.

2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.

3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post.

Instructions: On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them. When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. To add the award to your post, simply right-click, save image, then “add image” it in your post as a picture so your winners can save it as well. To add it to your sidebar, add the “picture” widget. Also, don’t forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by emailing them or leaving a comment on their blog.

My addictions (huh, this might get embarassing):

1. Books. Ok, so not all books but the fact that I like to read a lot means I have a lot of books (and a serious lack of space) and I am not happy about the fact that 10 years from now it will be much more difficult to buy them as paper copies instead of just downloading them to my Kindle or whatever else might come along. And honestly, I am seriously addicted to Harry Potter and Kresley cole's IAD series.

2. Body and hair products. I simply have to try all the body lotions/creams/butters I can get my hands on (I have dry skin and use them up pretty fast) and even when I find something great, I just have to try something new. The same goes for hair - for someone with such short hair, I spend more time thinking about it and loving it than anyone I know (personally). :) Favorites at the moment: body - Korres, hair - Tigi.

3. Perfume. You knew that one was going to be on this list. :) This might sound superficial to someone not sharing this addiction but I honestly feel like the world has opened its doors and shown me new vistas that bring so much joy and learning into my life.

4. I'm trying to curb this addiction - underwear and bathing suits. Don't know where this came from but I simply love underwear and I mean all kinds: sporty, elegant, sexy, casual, whatever catches my attention. The same goes for bathing suits (and I blame VS site for that one). I have way too many for the amount of time I spend actually at the sea side.

5. And I'm up to five and don't know which one to put here. So, I'll simply list something I enjoy very much - whisky and wine. I love the taste of whisky (favorites being Johnny Walker Black, Jameson and Chivas) and enjoy very much a glass (or two) of good wine. :)

Ok, onto the fabulous blogs out there:

1. First and foremost, Divina's Fragrance bouquet. I simply love the poetic way she has of describing perfumes. I feel like I'm following a scented story when reading her reviews. Wonderful!

2. I smell therefore I am by Abigail and Brian. They bring simplicity (by that I mean they are easy to follow and understand) and love of perfume to their reviews and are great to read.

3. The initial blog that put me on my way Now smell this - for a beginner that one is a well of information on just about anything a beginner perfumista needs to know and also keep track of new houses, perfumes and shopping hints. :)

4. And following straight behind that one and also deserving for spiking my perfume interest is Perfume posse. The way they write about perfume shows how it becomes one's way of life (in a good sense) and gives you glimpses into their lives as well.

5. And last but not least, and a relatively recent find, WAFT by Carol - I love her short and to the point reviews that are often making me laugh. It feels to me that she brings so much joy into her reviews.