culture

Perfume Chat Room, November 1
by

Perfume Chat Room, November 1

Rabbit rabbit! Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, November 1, All Saints Day, and we’re still having the kind of weather I associate with what used to be called “ Indian summer” in New England. Cool nights, warm sunny days, clear skies with little humidity. My roses are blossoming again for the fall, with the cooling temperatures, and they’re so pretty (fragrant, too). To coordinate, I’ve been wearing some autumnal rose scents, including Mizensir’s Rose Exaltante and some Aerin samples I got a while ago at Nordstrom’s.

Munstead Wood rose and friends

Last night was Halloween and we had quite a few cute goblins visit. My favorites are the toddlers who have to be coached on how to say “trick or treat”. Our neighborhood goes all out for Halloween; we block off a couple of streets to cars, and it’s a very safe locale, so families from other parts of the city often come to walk around and ring doorbells.

We’ll be setting our clocks back an hour in the US tomorrow night, which is always a bit of a jolt. Now that Halloween is over, everything everywhere all at once seems to be covered in Christmas decor. Are we skipping Thanksgiving? We’ve now officially begun the annual forced march through the holidays, from Halloween to New Year’s Day. I do love the holiday season, but it’s a lot of work!

My husband and I are planning another trip in late February and we’re thinking about Munich and Salzburg. Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions?

Happy November, everyone!

Perfume Chat Room, October 25
by

Perfume Chat Room, October 25

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, October 25, and we’re back from our short beach trip, which was lovely! I’m enjoying another sample I got from the Jo Loves boutique in London in September: Jo by Jo Loves. Fragrantica classifies it as a “citrus aromatic”, which seems about right. Notes include grapefruit, lime, bitter orange, black pepper, vetiver, mint, guiac wood, cedar, and hedione. I happen to like a grapefruit note, though I know some do not, which is good because that is the strong opening accord. I like the way the citrus notes engage with each other, with lime and bitter orange playing hide and seek with the grapefruit. As it dries down, I smell more of the vetiver and mint, which bring an attractive green tinge to the composition. Basically, Jo by Jo Loves smells to me like a spicy, woody grapefruit! It is wholly unisex, in my view, and I think many men would enjoy it as a fresh cologne that doesn’t smell like everyone else’s. I’ll have to ask my son what he thinks!

Next week is Halloween in the US, but many of the parties celebrating Halloween will take place this weekend, when all the young adults can costume themselves, drink, and generally shed their inhibitions. I’ll be staying home, thank you! I do love the actual night of Halloween when the children come trick-or-treating. Our neighborhood goes all out for Halloween; we block off a couple of streets to cars, and it’s a very safe locale, so families from other parts of the city often come to walk around and ring doorbells.

Do you have any scents you associate with Halloween? I’ve enjoyed some of the offerings of Solstice Scents, which can be very spooky, such as their Riverside Hayride. Happy Halloween, everyone!

Perfume Chat Room, October 18
by

Perfume Chat Room, October 18

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, October 18, and we are at the end of a short beach trip. Weather has been spectacular! We had a great view of yesterday’s “supermoon” too, and several lovely sunsets and sunrises. I love going to the beach in the fall. The temperatures are much more bearable than they are in a Southern summer, and there aren’t many people. We can leave sliding doors open (with screens) and enjoy the sound of the waves. On this trip, we’ve seen quite a few dolphins as well as the usual birds. The one thing I do miss from visiting New England beaches are the beach roses. You really don’t see them down here, and they smell so wonderful!

Sunset over the salt marsh
Beach roses in New England

We will drive home tomorrow, stopping along the way in one of our favorite historic towns. Do you have any special plans for this weekend, fragrant or otherwise?

Perfume Chat Room, October 11
by

Perfume Chat Room, October 11

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, October 11, and I’m still working my way through samples I got in London during our recent trip! Today I am enjoying Jo Loves‘ Golden Gardenia. It’s very intriguing, as it is a white floral, somewhat sweet and narcotic, but it has notes of suede, cardamom, incense, and elemi that spice it up in a nice balance with the white floral vibe. White florals aren’t usually a favorite category of mine, much as I love floral scents generally, as they often smell overpowering to me. And I think Golden Gardenia could smell overpowering if applied with a heavier hand than mine. That said, I’m really appreciating its lovely blend, especially as the gardenia opening doesn’t hang around too long. It doesn’t disappear completely, but it recedes as the spices and suede come forward. Very nice! I was also glad to find out that Jo Loves now has a US website and warehouse, so American customers can easily order from them.

Jo Loves’ Golden Gardenia

My return visit to the Jo Loves boutique on Elizabeth Street was a happy one, not least because I love Elizabeth Street. It is also home to legendary niche perfume boutique Les Senteurs, which any perfumista visiting London should not miss. Their staff are very nice and knowledgeable, and will happily help one try a number of the unusual fragrances they carry (for instance, Cloon Keen and Papillon creations, for which they are the only UK stockists). There is also an extremely pretty tea shop up the block, Peggy Porschen, where I fortified myself (again) during a day of perfume tourism.

Les Senteurs, Elizabeth Street
Peggy Porschen tea shop, Elizabeth Street

I can’t believe it has been a few weeks now since we returned from London, but those have been eventful weeks in the US, with Hurricanes Helene and Milton following each other in quick succession, wreaking havoc in the Southeast. We were lucky to have very little impact here from Milton’s visit a week ago, and Helene’s before that, but western North Carolina, western and central Florida, the northeast of Georgia, and parts of South Carolina were badly affected and declared to be disaster areas. It will take years for some areas to recover, which is heartbreaking.

My lovely hubby is away again for work, but we plan to take a short trip to the South Carolina coast next week, one of our favorite spots for over thirty years. Luckily, that particular area is unscathed; let’s hope it remains so!

Do you have any trips planned for this fall, big or small? Any new fragrances to report?

Perfume Chat Room, October 4
by

Perfume Chat Room, October 4

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, October 4, and it has been an eventful week! Not so much personally, but since last Friday, my part of the US has seen untold, unimaginable damage from flooding and winds arising from Hurricane Helene. Western North Carolina, a forested, mountainous region with many rivers and creeks, saw floods that were the worst on record, even including a massive, historic flood in 1916. My own region got the most rainfall in 48 hours that it has had since the 1880s. Rescues and repairs are ongoing; everyone from the federal government agencies to local volunteers, and every group you can imagine in between, has offered resources and support. My favorite volunteer group to date is the troupe of pack mules and their keepers, who were trucked to a staging location and are packing supplies up the mountain roads that vehicles still can’t travel.

Mountain Mule Packer Ranch to the rescue!

On a lighter note, this week I’ve been trying out another of my bargain beauty purchases from London: Brocard’s Color Feeling Purple. Wow! This one’s a real keeper, and what a bargain at 15 pounds! It is a sweet violet fragrance with a blackberry accord that mingles beautifully with the powdery vibe of violet and iris. The perfumer is Dominique Moellhausen, whose family owns a Milan-based company that has been in the fragrance industry for over 50 years, both creating fragrances and selling raw materials and aromachemicals.

The notes listed on Fragrantica for Color Feeling Purple are: violet, blackberry, iris, heliotrope, oakmoss, cedar, amber, vetiver, orchid. It opens with a blast of violet and blackberry, and as it dries down it gets warmer and more powdery. I really like the blackberry note combined with violet. As the scent dries down, the violet remains dominant but the fruity blackberry note is slowly replaced by powdery iris and heliotrope. The drydown is warmed by the notes of amber, vetiver, and oakmoss; I don’t really smell cedar, and I never know what perfumers mean when they say there’s a note of “orchid”, since many orchids don’t have a distinctive scent and those that do, mostly smell to me like vanilla (vanilla comes from an orchid plant). Bloom Perfumery, where I bought this, describes the scent on its website as “holding sugared violets candy with leather gloves.” I’m not perceiving leather very much at all, but the longer it dries down on my skin, the more plausible that becomes. Color Feeling Purple has a more complex, interesting progression than one might expect from an inexpensive fragrance.

What a pleasant surprise! Have you tried any fragrances lately that surprised you?

Brocard’s Color Feeling Purple; image from Bloom Perfumery
Perfume Chat Room, September 20
by

Perfume Chat Room, September 20

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, September 20, and we are back from London! What a great visit we had — especially me, since my dear husband had to work and I got to play. I have a lot to share with you in upcoming posts; I visited Harrods’ Salon de Parfums for the first time, as well as Liberty London’s Fragrance Lounge. I also went to Les Senteurs, Jo Loves, Jovoy, and Bloom. Among other cultural experiences, I saw the National Gallery’s exhibition of Van Gogh paintings, “Poets and Lovers”, which was wonderful. I met lovely people who shared their insights with me and helped me try some wonderful scents. What a generous community fragrance lovers are!

Right now, I’m fighting to stay awake, so this will be a short post, but do share in the comments any recent fragrance experiences or discoveries!

Sunflowers by Van Gogh
Perfume Chat Room, September 13
by

Perfume Chat Room, September 13

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, September 13, and I wish you all the best of good luck today! I’ve never really understood why Friday the 13th is supposed to be unlucky, but here we are. I’m happy to share the recent announcement below of an online (Zoom) Bois de Jasmin class with Victoria and Luca Turin. I’m sure this will be most interesting, and it’s for a good cause. I will not be taking part, because I’ll be on my way to London! I have a full week planned of cultural outings, which will include seeing the cinema release of the National Theatre production of “Prima Facie” with Jody Comer, which I’ve been dying to see and which hasn’t been announced for any showings near me in the US. And yes, there will be at least one perfume-related outing — a trip to Les Senteurs with my friend who lives in London, at her request. And since we’ll be so close by, a stop at Jo Loves too! Stay tuned for any more additions to the list …

Jo Loves fragrance boutique at 42 Elizabeth Street, London.
Jo Loves boutique

Since I’m currently in Ukraine, I see the dire need in my local community for the most basic things. While there are plenty of charities and government-level programs, the only way to ensure that money goes to the people in need is to locate those communities and help them directly. I’ve been doing this ever since my arrival to Ukraine two weeks ago.

  • Raising money for local school to supply their bomb shelters with water.
  • Purchasing art supplies for the free-of-charge art studios that rehabilitate children suffering from post-traumatic shock.
  • Supporting animal shelters run by the individuals I know.
  • Working with local outreach programs to respond to the lonely elderly and their needs.
  • Supporting local cultural preservation projects and traditional crafts.  I will share more information about these and other projects as I continue my work.

Full disclosure: 50% of the funds raised will be donated to these charitable initiatives. The rest will cover our time and my Belgian tax obligations.

The session will take place online via Zoom and will last for 1 hour. If you have questions for me and Luca, you can email them beforehand. You’ll receive full instructions before the start of the class. No recordings will be made available for these sessions. Thank you for your understanding.

Location: Zoom
Class duration: 1 hour
September 14, Saturday, 18:00-19:00 CET (12:00-13:00 EST)
50€ Book Now

For more information on Bois de Jasmin classes and other course offers, please visit the Perfume Classes page.

Do you have any special plans for this weekend, fragrant or otherwise?

Perfume Chat Room, September 6
by

Perfume Chat Room, September 6

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, September 6, and my birthday month has begun! I love the month of September. Because I grew up in New England, where school usually starts after Labor Day, and because I was born in September, I always associate the month with new beginnings. It is also the month when the heat usually (finally!) breaks and we get some respite from the heat and humidity of August, even here in the Southeast. It’s still hot enough that when I wear fragrance (which I do less in the extreme heat), I’m still choosing “summery” fragrances. Today it is Les Parfums de Rosine’s Bulle de Rose, which I bought in a travel spray when we visited Paris this past February. It’s very light and pretty, but tenacious, which in this case I view as a virtue.

Last week, the New York Times published this nice article about perfumer Christine Nagel, in connection with the launch of her latest fragrance for Hermès, Barénia. Apparently it is the first chypre fragrance Hermès has launched in several decades, and I do love a good chypre, so it’s on my list to sample during our upcoming trip to London.

I’m guessing that synesthesia may be a useful trait for a perfumer, though one would still have to have a highly sensitive and trained sense of smell.

Speaking of highly sensitive “perfume people”, I’m sure many of you read “Bois de Jasmin”, the longstanding fragrance blog by Victoria Belim. She’s a wonderful writer and has recently had a book published, a memoir of her roots and family in Ukraine (“The Rooster House”). Victoria has recently returned to Ukraine, where she is trying to help meet the needs of the people who have stayed in spite of the ongoing war. I’ve been following her updates on her Facebook page. She is in Poltava, which recently suffered a major missile attack that killed dozens. Victoria is safe, though shaken. As I look forward to my own hedonistic travel, I’m thinking of her and so many others in war zones, hoping for peace.

What are you looking forward to in September or later this fall?

Perfume Chat Room, August 30
by

Perfume Chat Room, August 30

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, August 30, and I’m looking forward to an upcoming trip to London. As usual, I’m tagging along on one of my husband’s work trips, which I’m always happy to do! I haven’t made up my mind yet about all the things I want to do, but one option is Portobello Road’s markets, which I’ve never visited and have always found intriguing. If you have suggestions, please share! I do have a friend who has lived in London for many years; maybe I’ll see if she’s interested in going with me.

Also on my list is Fortnum & Mason, which I’ve never visited, and maybe a return visit to Jovoy Paris. And of course, if I’m at Jovoy, why wouldn’t I stop by my favorite store in London, Liberty? I’m hoping to see some theater and art exhibits too, but I’m not buying any tickets in advance after last September’s cancellation (which I don’t regret doing at all, given our son’s situation, but we weren’t able to use some tickets I had bought. Luckily, my nice friend could!). If the weather is nice, I’m always up for a visit to a garden. Maybe Syon Park this time?

I might see if I can stop by the new digs of 4160 Tuesdays, a favorite brand of mine. I was able to visit their former location and meet Sarah McCartney, who is just as fun, nice, and creative as one might hope from sniffing her fragrances and reading her website. Speaking of Sarah, she was just featured in a great article in The Financial Times, by Hannah Nepilova, which is well worth reading. It’s about her work scenting performance arts, such as a new opera that will open next month.

Is there a possibility that, between all the visual and musical stimuli, such subtleties of aroma might go unnoticed? McCartney believes that “even when we don’t positively register it, smell contributes to the atmosphere of a room.” Besides, “smell activates a part of the brain that wouldn’t otherwise be used . . . I’m not hoping to add something extra to the opera, but rather to fill in the missing part that everybody has forgotten about.”

Do you have any suggestions for my London trip, fragrance-related or otherwise?

Perfume Chat Room, August 23
by

Perfume Chat Room, August 23

Welcome to the weekly Perfume Chat Room, perfumistas! I envision this chat room as a weekly drop-in spot online, where readers may ask questions, suggest fragrances, tell others their SOTD, comment on new releases or old favorites, and respond to each other. The perennial theme is fragrance, but we can interpret that broadly. This is meant to be a kind space, so please try not to give or take offense, and let’s all agree to disagree when opinions differ. In fragrance as in life, your mileage may vary! YMMV.

Today is Friday, August 23, and the weather is finally cooling off a bit. My poor roses, which have been gasping for breath and water for weeks now, seem to be sighing in relief and gearing up for a fall flush of blossoms. I planted several new-to-me varieties in large pots this spring, and it has been interesting to learn their growth habits and needs. The one characteristic all my roses have in common is that they must be fragrant. I just don’t see the point in growing roses that aren’t fragrant; I know many people do, because they are more focused on color and shape, but I’ve found I can have all three: lovely color, shape, AND fragrance.

I’m still wearing light, summery fragrances, as it still gets pretty hot during the day though we get some relief overnight. A recent favorite has been Patricia de Nicloai’s Rose Pivoine, which one of my lovely regular readers here sent me. You know who you are — thank you so much! I’ve been loving it! Top notes are ambrette, raspberry, red currant, and bergamot. The heart is rose oil and absolute, mixed with violet, iris, peony, and pepper; the base is sandalwood and musk. It is meant to evoke a bouquet of fresh roses and peonies, with green leaves as companions. It is lovely. I think I still prefer Nicolai’s Rose Royale, but Rose Pivoine is excellent, especially in hot, humid weather.

Parfums de Nicolai is launching a new set of gourmand fragrances next month, “Les Gourmandises.” I don’t often gravitate to courmand fragrances, but these do sound intriguing. I’ll be in London after their launch date, so maybe I’ll see if I can sample them at one of my favorite London fragrance boutiques.

Bouquet by Bloom in the Box

Have you started switching over to autumn fragrances, or spring fragrances if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere (looking at you, Portia!)?