I am a lover of beauty, a happily married introvert, an empath and INTJ. I have an inquiring mind, dozens of perfumes, and thousands of books. Many things make me happy. I like to share some of them, and hear what makes other people happy. Thanks for stopping by!

Mindfulness is something I am trying to cultivate in my life. There are many competing claims on my time and attention: family, work, etc. As my children are now teens/young adults, I am working to carve out some time for peaceful reflection and creativity in my life, in spite of a demanding, sometimes pressured job. Blogging is one way for me to do that. I sometimes use this blog also to cultivate positive thoughts through practices like “What Went Well Wednesdays”, when I write down three things that went well that week. Please join me, in the comments! I also blog occasionally about gardens, gardening, garden books, art in gardens and garden photography at Old Herbaceous.

If you wish to contact me about this blog or fragrance-related topics, the email I use for those purposes is (all one word) the wise kangaroo at A O L dawt com. I don’t check it daily, so please be patient! This blog is a hobby; I don’t make money from it. I welcome samples; I do not do sponsored reviews, and I review fragrances I like. I have bought 99.99% of the fragrances I own and my reviews are independent. While I don’t mind saying candidly what I think about major brands’ fragrances, my rule with small independent or niche houses is that if I don’t have anything nice to say, I don’t say anything at all. But no one should assume that the absence of a review is a condemnation, because it may be that I just haven’t gotten to it yet.

Photo: davidaustinrosesusa.com