Fragrance Friday: Custo Barcelona L’Eau
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Fragrance Friday: Custo Barcelona L’Eau

It was a long week. My husband had to be out of the country all week on business and I had to resolve a very challenging situation at work with lots of ramifications. But now it’s Friday! My work challenge appears to be successfully resolved; and my nice husband is home, bearing gifts from Barcelona. For me: a large bottle of Custo Barcelona L’Eau. Lovely!

Custo Barcelona is a fashion firm that was born in Barcelona. Its style is young, funky, colorful and cheerful. So is its fragrance. According to various websites, CB L’Eau is supposed to be a lighter version of the original Custo Barcelona fragrance that came out in 2008. The same “nose”, Alberto Morillas, developed both. For L’Eau, the top notes are bergamot, grapefruit and galbanum. Heart notes are peony, jasmine and “exotic fruits.” Base notes are musk, tonka bean, woody notes. It smells very European to me but not French.   Catalan, perhaps! Definitely a citrusy floral with woody undertones: bright, cheerful, feminine, warm.

Custo Barcelona fashions, from Photoquivir 2015.

Custo Barcelona fashions, from Photoquivir 2015.

I love Barcelona, especially the Barri Gotic and the Eixample neighborhood. I love the food, especially the fresh seafood, the tapas and the different kinds of sangria.I love Antonio Gaudi’s architecture there, including the stunning Sagrada Familia cathedral, still unfinished; his signature curves, bright colors and fanciful patterns have clearly influenced later Barcelona designers like Custo Barcelona and Desigual. And Custo Barcelona L’Eau definitely evokes the city, with its playful vibe layered over complexities. It reminds me of the Parc Guell, a Gaudi masterpiece and fantastical park with gardens, mosaics and fanciful structures. The gardens contain fragrant herbs, trees, and flowers. Some of its trees are tropical; some bear fruit. The blog In Search of a Thousand Cafes describes it well, with many lovely photos, including the one above.

CB L’Eau starts off bright and juicy, but the galbanum top note gives it a green, herbal astringency that cuts the sweetness of the citrus notes. It slowly blossoms into a light, fruity floral — more flowers than fruits, which I like. This part of its progression matches the bright pink of the peony notes and the pretty bottle.

Custo Barcelona L'Eau

I love how the shape of the bottle matches the typography of the design house’s logo. The bottle is really unique, with its textured metallic inset of silver, asymmetrical cap and ombre tinted pink glass. The last phase of CB L’Eau is lightly musky, with sweetness from the tonka bean and dryness from the woody notes. I can still smell the base notes on my wrist ten hours after first spraying myself. All in all, a delightful gift from a delightful man! I’m grateful to have both.

Parc Guell benches: photo by TileMosaicGirl.com

Parc Guell benches: photo by TileMosaicGirl.com

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What Went Well

My “three blessings” this week:

  1. Our family realized there were a few days this month when we could all be away from school or work, so we’re planning a short, fun family holiday. Can’t wait! Because I would rather spend time with them than do almost anything.
  2. My helpful sister-in-law really loved the plant I got her as a thank-you for keeping one of our kids overnight, and I’m so glad. Because she made it possible for my husband and me to take care of other family members’ needs.
  3. The sun came out yesterday, which made me happy! Because it has been raining all week.

How about you?

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New Release: Elephant & Roses by Maria Candida Gentile

I don’t know that I will ever try this scent or have the opportunity to do so, but I love the illustration that goes with it so much, I have to reblog this post. Because Serenity Now is all about being mindful of things that make me happy, and this rose-covered elephant is making me very happy right now.

The Scented Hound's avatarThe Scented Hound

MPG Elephant Rose

WHAT I SMELL: Elephant & Roses opens softly with a wonderfully herbal thyme that is sweetened so slightly with osmanthus.  The perfume is light, soft and reassuring and unique in that it doesn’t start off with an oft seen bergamot or citrus blast.  After a few minutes, a warmth from the amber develops and it helps to push-off the herbal and floral notes, lifting them up from the ground and sending them flying towards the sky.  The rose begins to come towards the center, but it’s a lightly earthy rose that is anything but sweet and it’s very tender in its existence.  As tender as the perfume is, an anamalic note begins to appear to give the perfume some wonderful depth and a bit more of an exotic feel…which was already exotic from the beginning.  A vetiver and musk note brings the perfume to a more linear base, but helps to…

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People I Like: Pope Francis
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People I Like: Pope Francis

It has taken me some time to decide which people I would highlight on my page called People I Like. I like many people! Most are not famous; others would not know their names and they would not welcome publicity. But now I know at least one to list. Pope Francis. What an incredible visit he has had here in America. What simple eloquence, shining through his accented English.

Photo: James Lawler Duggan/Reuters, The New York Times.

Fragrance Friday: Cabaret, Cirque du Soleil
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Fragrance Friday: Cabaret, Cirque du Soleil

I love reading other people’s comments on perfumes. Some are full-length reviews by known “perfumistas”, others are anonymous comments on sites like Fragrantica.com.  Many are very clever and evocative. For instance, this comment about the eau de parfum Cabaret, by Gres:

It is a rose chypre, somewhat melancholy in feeling but still alive. Like a ghost…. Cabaret is a great name…it also reminds me of my theatre background. Fresh soft florals, mostly rose at the top, and the base is a very dry clay smell. It is cool and elegant with a transparent, almost dusty smell. I think of the atmosphere backstage at every show I have been involved in. Antique wood counters in the dressing room, waxy makeup and powder strewn across them. Vases and vases of roses and lilies. That musky smell of fresh sweat from dancers just coming off stage.

The image that immediately came to my mind was a Cirque du Soleil show I saw this year, called “Zarkana.” It is described as being set in an abandoned theatre that mysteriously comes back to life for an evening, starting with the appearance of ghostly white figures of performers like ballerinas and acrobats with white-powdered hair and stage make up. At the start, the huge stage is lusciously draped with great swags of crimson velvet. The pale figures emerge from the darkness after the curtain swirls upward. And at the very end of the show, the cinematic backdrop turns into a rippling cascade of deep red roses, while the same ghostly performers and other more colorful characters come out to take their final bows.  Maybe this perfume should be renamed Zarkana. Or at least Cirque.

Finale, Zarkana, Cirque du Soleil.

Photo: Cirque du Soleil.

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What Went Well

This week:

  1. I had a lovely visit with my elderly, fragile mother who lives in another state (a plane ride away). Nowadays those visits are always a little tinged with sadness as she doesn’t want to say goodbye and I wonder if this might be the last one, given her poor health, but we still enjoyed it very much. Because when I’m there, I can focus on her and just be with her, thanks to my wonderful husband who manages household and kids in my absence.
  2. We had lots of fun choosing childhood photos for our daughter’s senior yearbook page. Because she and her siblings were so cute and funny, and such happy children! Lots of happy memories, although she and the others have grown up too fast.
  3. I reconnected with two childhood friends during my weekend with my mother, one in person and one via email. Because I am trying to counter my introvert tendencies by remembering to reach out more to people I don’t see often.

I do this exercise, also called “Three Blessings”, weekly as a mindfulness/gratitude practice. What helps you focus on the good things in your life?

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Vanilla Fiesta: 11 Mini Reviews

The Perfume Magpie nails it again, not only with these mini-reviews but the wonderful illustration of the passed-out bird! LOL, I feel like this sometimes when I’ve gone on a sample-smelling binge.

thinkingmagpie's avatarThe Perfume Magpie

Magpie had a enough of vanilla... | Illustration by The Perfume Magpie Magpie had enough of vanilla… | Illustration by The Perfume Magpie

To tell the truth, I haven’t been a big fan of vanilla fragrances. Don’t get me wrong, I do love the smell of vanilla itself. I have a whole bunch of vanilla beans that I brought back from Zanzibar stashed in my kitchen cupboard and I sometimes open the jar just to enjoy their heavenly sweet smell. But I like vanilla in something edible, not in something I put on. I don’t enjoy smelling like a little cupcake.

Recently when I was digging through my perfume samples, I discovered that I had quite a few un-sniffed ones with vanilla as an important part of their compositions; they were all lying at the bottom of my sample boxes, buried and forgotten under the other little vials. I suddenly felt kind of pity for them. Whether I was feeling mellow in the…

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Fragrance Friday: Mink
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Fragrance Friday: Mink

Recently, I sampled Boucheron eau de toilette. And I did NOT care for it. Too strong for me, too heavy. But I had some on a test strip, which I took home to share with my daughter. I left it on a table in my bedroom. Over the next night and day, it dried down into a more pleasing scent — still not right for me, but strangely familiar. I just could not put my finger on what it evoked.

A day later, I had it! Although Boucheron was launched years after my parents’ social prime, it reminded me of their cocktail parties, when one of my jobs was to greet guests, take their coats and lay them neatly on the big bed in a guest room. Many of the women wore minks. And that is what Boucheron called to mind. Unapologetic wealth. Old school elegance. A statement perfume for women who wear statement jewelry. Not my style, but impeccably designed to a high, specific standard. Just like Boucheron jewels. I’ll pass, but thanks for the memories.

Photo: Philippe Pottier, 1957, from highlowvintage.com

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What Went Well

My “three blessings” this week:

  1. I received some new perfume that is making me foolishly happy. Because the flip side of how easily I can get sad is that it doesn’t take much to make me happy either, and I am working to focus on those things instead of the others.
  2. We received some good guidance on how best to help our bright child learn and master the materials in the advanced classes he is taking. Because we are able to send him to an excellent school that is a good fit for him, with excellent teachers.
  3. Our daughter is moving confidently into her senior year and college applications. Because she is focused, motivated and an all ’round good kid.
Where to Write?
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Where to Write?

Day 6 of Writing 101: where do I write? and what tools do I use?

I often write in the sunroom of our house. It opens into both the dining room on one side and the family room on the other; the other two walls are mostly windows. It’s a good place to write on my laptop, as I can be among the family activities and available to answer homework questions, for instance, but it is also very peaceful and somewhat apart. It has great natural light and the view is of trees and our garden. At night, I can hear the katydids and crickets outside the window.

I use a Macbook Air laptop to do most of my writing. I love this laptop! It is very lightweight and sleek, and I love how quickly I can find quotes, photographs, other blogs, publications — anything I could want to liven up my own writing. In the days when I wrote at a typewriter, I often had writer’s block because the perfectionist in me couldn’t bear to type words onto real paper until my sentences were close to perfect, or have to scratch out phrases. You can imagine how that slowed me down! Writing onscreen has totally liberated me from that, as any awkward phrase can be made to vanish instantly with no trace that it was ever there.

There are times, though, when I like to revert to the fountain pens I used as a child (required in a school I attended — yes, it was an old-fashioned European school), or some other nice writing instrument. If I write a personal note or card, or a poem, I do like the feel of pen, ink and paper together. I don’t, however, still use the Sheaffer’s “peacock blue” ink I favored for several years. Good thing I don’t yearn after it, because it was discontinued some time ago. Apparently it still has a cult following, though: Passionate About Peacock Blue Ink.  I’d better not dwell on that, or I might start yearning.