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, April 18, and it is Good Friday. I love Easter, but Good Friday is of course a solemn day in the Christian calendar, since it marks the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. One thing I love about Easter is the prevalence of Easter lilies, which smell so good. I don’t think I own any lily-forward fragrances, do you?
Happy Passover to all who celebrate, and happy Easter in advance!
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 Saturday, April 12, and I have another new fragrance by Parfums Dusita! The latest is Cavatina, a beautiful tribute to vintage muguet fragrances like Diorissimo, Muguet des Bois, and others. Listed notes include: top notes of bergamot, litsea cubeba, petit grain; heart notes of lily of the valley, tea rose, jasmine; base notes of ambrette seed, Siamese woods, vanilla. Additional notes mentioned on the website, presumably used to create the lily of the valley accord, include tuberose, ylang-ylang, heliotrope, and aldehydes.
As longtime readers here know, I adore lily of the valley flowers and fragrances, and in past years I’ve amused myself by writing a “May Muguet Marathon” series of daily posts during the month of May. (In other years, I’ve done a “Roses de Mai” Marathon).
I was curious about the litsea cubeba listed, and it turns out that it is an evergreen tree or shrub native to China. According to Eden Botanicals, its essential oil has “an intense, clean, fresh, sweet-green, lemon-like aroma with light woody-floral undertones.” Seems like a perfect ingredient to create a Muguet fragrance, since lilies of the valley share some of those fragrant traits.
Cavatina is a lovely muguet. It is light, floral, elegant. The bergamot gives it a little zing at the start, and it must be the litsea that adds the lemony note that I do smell in real lilies of the valley. The muguet accord is very realistic, even without the molecules that made Diorissimo a legend but are now banned or can only be used in tiny quantities.
I won’t be doing a May Marathon this year, as I’ll be traveling (including a trip to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show! If I did another marathon series later this summer or fall, what would interest you most?
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, April 4, and my roses have just barely begun to bloom. Right now I have lots of buds and two or three actual blossoms.
While I’ve been tending my roses, I’ve been reading a new book about them, and it has a whole section on the chemistry of rose fragrance. Very interesting! I know some of you are quite knowledgeable about this aspect of fragrance.
My current fragrance is still Rosarine by Parfums Dusita, which I’m getting to know. It’s a complex, multi-layered rose scent, starting out as a fruity rose, then becoming a musky rose, and finishing up as a woody rose.
It’s too bad that most azaleas and dogwoods don’t have a scent, because ours are in full bloom, though just starting to fade.
I went with friends to view the millions of daffodils in bloom at a location in North Georgia, and they do have a lot of scent! I also wore my beloved Ostara to match, and wondered anew why, why Penhaligon’s discontinued it.
Gibbs Gardens, Georgia
I know some of you have lost fragrance loves — which discontinued favorite would you most like to see return?
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, March 28, and last Friday was International Fragrance Day, which I totally missed! OTOH, I did visit the niche fragrance boutique that opened a few years ago in a nearby suburb, Indiehouse. I had first visited its pop-up store before it had its fixed location, and I’ve been to its intown location, which isn’t far from my house, but I hadn’t yet visited its main store. I’m delighted to say that it was lovely, with many interesting rinds, and the staff could not have been nicer.
Indiehouse fragrance boutique
I bought a discovery set I’ve been eyeing for a while, from the brand Grandiflora. If I can’t get to Australia this year, I’ll wear Australian fragrances!
Indiehouse fragrance boutique
The two sales associates were very warm and welcoming, and managed that great balance of offering help but then letting me wander around sniffing until I had a specific question. They were both knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and we had a great chat about Christian Dior, his sister Catherine, and the original Miss Dior.
I haven’t p,urged into my new discovery set yet because I’ve been enjoying the Rosarine by Parfums Dusita that I was “ given” in February. I’m using quotation marks because as usual, I bought it for myself then handed it over to my patient, nice husband to give me for Valentine’s Day! He’s a very good sport. Next up: Cavatina, for Mother’s Day, lol. The lilies of the valley I grow here (barely, they don’t seem to like the heat here) are already in full bloom and very fragrant.
Spring is in full swing now, and I’ve been very busy caring for all the roses and other plants I put in last spring and summer. All seem to have made it just fine through our erratic frosts, and I’m tackling the usual bugs and diseases early and preventatively.
Have you discovered any new stores, fragrances, or plants recently?
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, March 7, and we are about to leave Barcelona after a week in Vienna and Salzburg. While in Barcelona, I stopped by the Cathedral, which is as magnificent as always.
The niche perfume scene in Barcelona has changed in recent years. I was sad to learn that the legendary Perfumeria Regia on the Passeig de Garcia has closed as of the end of 2024. The business is now completely online. I haven’t found out what will happen to the Perfume Museum that shared its location.
The Basilica Galeria, which had a huge lower level devoted to niche perfumes, has changed location and has a much more modest collection of fragrances for sale. It felt as if they’re not restocking. I was happily able to buy two discontinued Ann Gerard fragrances by Bertrand Duchaufour, Rose Cut and Ciel d’Opale. Both are lovely.
El Corte Ingles, the big department store, still carries Chanel’s Exclusifs line at their big store in the Placa Catalunya. They also have No. 19 and Cristalle eaux de toilette, which generally seem to be more scarce even in Europe. I also noticed that Guerlain’s Les Legendaires line seems to have been pruned, in terms of what one finds in stores. I was happy to see that The Perfumery is still going strong, in its location near the Palau de Musica.
We visited Montserrat for the first time — what a beautiful and interesting site! I can’t imagine how people imagined, all those centuries ago, that they should climb those heights and build a basilica. I can’t imagine how they did it, either.
The Black Madonna of Montserrat
Altogether we’ve had a wonderful trip, and my husband’s company, which is what takes him to Barcelona for work, scored a huge success and everyone is happy. But I’ll be glad to get home to house, garden, kids (all young adults) and our elderly dog Lucy. Time for my garden to wake up!
How was your week? Any new fragrance discoveries? And hugs to alityke, whose DH is undergoing serious medical treatments.
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, February 28 (I started writing this on Friday but haven’t posted until Sunday!), and we have arrived in Barcelona after a week in Vienna and Salzburg. While in Vienna, we stopped by a truly lovely niche perfume boutique called Le Parfum, suggested here by a reader.
Le Parfum boutique, Vienna
While there, I tried two scents by an Austrian brand called Estoras. It’s “story” is that the founder’s grandfather, Prince Antal Esterhazy, went on an adventurous road trip with his friend Count Laszlo Almasy (“the English Patient”) to be the first to cross the Sahara desert in a regular automobile. The first three scents launched by the brand, all in Eau de Parfum format, are meant to evoke some of Prince Antal’s adventures.
The two I tried were Port of Alexandria and Shadows of Giza. I liked them both, with a slight preference for Shadows of Giza because it is more floral. Top notes are bergamot, hedione, wet stone, and basil; middle notes are iris root, white musks, and tea leaf; base notes are leather, patchouli, violet leaf absolute, moss, and amber. It is a musky, floral, leather chypre, while Port of Alexandria is an aquatic, salty, woody scent. Both have excellent longevity of several hours. Both are well made, interesting scents, but not superior to the many I already own. Their price is 230 euros for 100 ml. The third scent in the line, which was out of stock, is Chasing the Horizon, described as woody, spicy and ambery.
Now that we’re in Barcelona, and not changing hotels, I’ll probably do some shopping as well as actual tourism. I’ll be interested to see what Chanel fragrances El Corte Ingles carries these days. They used to have the whole Exclusifs line at their big store in the Placa Catalunya.
I can highly recommend Vienna and Salzburg as destinations! This was our first visit to each, and we loved both cities. In Salzburg, we stayed at the Hotel Schloss Leopoldskron, where the exterior lakeside villa scenes were filmed for “The Sound of Music.” What a lovely setting!
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, December 13, and we’re back from Tarragona, Spain. I didn’t post last Friday because that was our travel day; we had to connect through JFK Airport, so we left our hotel at 6:30 am local time in Spain, and finally got home around 6:30 pm Eastern US time. We were pooped! I was very disciplined and did not buy any fragrances, but I was able to sample Hermès’ latest, Barénia, in the Barcelona Duty-Free shop. I have resisted the hype both pro and con, and found that I like it. Not “love”, but a solid “like.” The words that came to my mind both times I tried it (coming and going!) were “fruity leather.” Not too fruity, and not too leathery — more like suede. It is well worth trying, if you get a chance.
Speaking of designer fragrances, I’ve been exposed more than I would like to the ridiculous TV ads featuring Johnny Depp in the desert for Dior’s Sauvage. I guess they’re airing a lot now because of holidays and gifts, but really — they are just absurd. I’ll have to watch one with our twenty-something son and see what he thinks. They definitely don’t appeal to my husband or me!
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 22, and here in the USA, it will be Thanksgiving next week! I do love Thanksgiving; how nice to have a holiday that is dedicated to expressing gratitude and giving thanks. I’m thankful for all of you readers, and for the privilege of being able to own and write about many fragrances and other interests. Of course, I’m always thankful for my lovely family, and thankful that they are healthy and happy. And I’m thankful for the privilege of being able to travel to lovely places! We’ll be back in Spain in December and then again in March combined with a week in Austria. I’ve never been to Austria, and I am so looking forward to seeing Vienna and Salzburg! I’m looking at calendars of musical events, now that I’ve nailed down hotels and a schedule. What an abundance of options!
It has suddenly turned quite cold here, after an unseasonably warm fall, so I’m turning my attention to warmer, cozier fragrances. One of my favorites for this time of year has become Bengale Rouge, by Liz Moores of Papillon Perfumes. And both of our daughters now have cats! This is Hazel, exploring her first Christmas tree:
Hazel
I love all the smells of Thanksgiving and Christmas: the baking, roasting, spices, fresh evergreens, etc. What are your favorite holiday smells, whether they are perfumes or not?
As Undina requested, here is a photo of the other family cat, Goose., in his Halloween costume!
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?
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?
Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities 