Scents and Sensibilities

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Fragrance Friday: Neil’s Book “Perfume”

I am in awe of the fact that Neil Chapman, author of the blog The Black Narcissus, has written and had published an actual BOOK! It is called “Perfume: In Search of Your Signature Scent”, and it just came out in the US (it came out a short time earlier, in March, in the UK). You can buy it on Amazon, where I had pre-ordered it; I came home from work earlier this week to find the package waiting on my doorstep. It is also available online and at booksellers such as Blackwell’s and Barnes & Noble.

As others have written, the book itself is beautiful, a hardcover volume with an Art Deco cover design in black, gold, and silver, and gold-edged pages. If you have ever read The Black Narcissus, you know that Neil is a wonderfully gifted writer with wide-ranging interests. His posts about fragrance include many cultural references and observations from his years living in several countries, from his childhood and youth in England, to his current home in Japan. He studied Italian and French literature at Cambridge University, and he now teaches English to Japanese secondary school students. His literary sensibilities suffuse his writing, but he also includes deeply personal reminiscences and a vast knowledge of perfume: history, ingredients, creators, etc.

Neil’s individual reviews of specific perfumes are grouped into categories such as “Green”, then by notes like “grasses, leaves and herbs.” (As a lover of green fragrances myself, I was thrilled that this is the first chapter!) It is a remarkably user-friendly format with an exhaustive index if one just wants to read one review of a specific fragrance. Neil has a poetic sensibility and lifelong love of perfume, both of which his writing reflects. As he says, “In its wordless abstraction, a beautifully made scent can encapsulate an emotion; smell, with its visceral link to the unconscious, is unique in its emotional immediacy.” His short reviews of individual fragrances combine information about their components and creation with his own reactions to wearing them, or memories of times when he wore them. Since his own perfume collection must number in the thousands, including many rare vintage perfumes, even the most profligate collectors of perfumes will find surprises and revelations. However, the book is also a very accessible guide for those who are just exploring fragrance, or, as he writes, “a guide through a world that can at times seem overwhelming.”

Bravo, Neil! I’m wearing Vol de Nuit in your honor today! To learn more about Neil, check out this interview on the blog “Olfactoria’s Travels.”

Thunking Thursday: My Burberry
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Thunking Thursday: My Burberry

This week’s sample thunk is My Burberry, created by Francis Kurkdjian. It is a pretty, fruity floral scent, very suitable for spring and summer. It doesn’t wow me, but it doesn’t offend either. I should confess that fruity florals just aren’t my thing — not surprising, since I am well out of the age range that fragrance companies are trying to attract with such scents. Here are some of the perfumer’s thoughts on this one: he wanted to evoke “the feeling of the light of London: clouds, wetness, rain, flowers.” The main floral notes are roses and freesia, “which is a little bit spicy and adds brightness. Then geranium leaves, which give an herbal, almost minty, vibrancy to the perfume. Then from the back note, there are patchouli leaves and quince—a fruit that is between a pear and an apple. Very British. It is not fruity, fruity. It is fruity floral. Then on top you have linen and bergamot.”

My Burberry is nice, but I have more interesting fragrances to wear. It would probably make a nice gift for a young woman who likes the trim image of a modern Burberry trench coat and its youthful classic style. I won’t be needing a full bottle for myself, though. Thunk!

Featured image from http://www.us.burberry.com

Scent Sample Sunday: Galanos
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Scent Sample Sunday: Galanos

Occasionally I find a fragrance gem online, for sale by a resale shop that has discovered the internet. This spring, my find was the first fragrance from designer James Galanos, an eau de toilette named, simply, Galanos. James Galanos was highly selective in all his choices, from the very wealthy women who were his preferred and devoted clientele (most famously, Nancy Reagan), to his refusal to license his name for almost anything: the two exceptions were furs, and fragrance.

There are only two Galanos fragrances: the first, eponymous one, and a flanker called Galanos De Serene. Both can be found in eau de toilette and parfum though both have been discontinued. I found an unboxed bottle of the first eau de toilette, for sale online, and I knew I would probably like it as I already had a small bottle of the parfum. The fragrance was created in 1979 and won a FiFi award in 1980, the one for “Women’s Fragrance of the Year — Prestige”. I have been unable to find out who the perfumer was; please comment below if you know! Angela at “Now Smell This” wrote a terrific review of Galanos, aptly comparing its appeal to that of classic vintage clothing.

There was only one catch to my purchase: when it arrived, the top of the sprayer turned out to be a replacement that didn’t work. I contacted the seller (from whom I had successfully bought a vintage fragrance once before), who immediately offered to send a replacement top or a partial refund. Since I was pretty sure I would be able to use a Travalo to get the fragrance out, the price had been very reasonable, and it really wasn’t worth the seller’s time to send a new top that might not work either, I took the partial refund and bought my first Travalo. Happily, it worked!

Basenotes analyzes Galanos as follows: top notes: lemon, orange, mandarin, chamomile, coriander, clove, and bay leaf; heart notes: lily of the valley, orange blossom, jasmine, gardenia, ylang ylang, rose, geranium, carnation; base notes: cypress, musk, amber, vanilla, tonka bean, vetiver, cedarwood, oakmoss, sandalwood, and patchouli. It smells to me like a cross between a floral chypre and a green chypre, with the herbal top notes in smooth balance with the floral heart notes, and its woody, mossy, aromatic base. It reminds me a bit of Estee Lauder’s Azuree, but with a more floral, 1980s vibe. The notes that “speak” to me most strongly are the carnation and geranium notes, followed closely by ylang ylang and gardenia, but the herbal notes are evident from start to finish.

James Galanos was famous for the craft of his designer clothing, often compared favorably to Parisian “haute couture” although his creations were ready-to-wear (but still VERY expensive). Galanos’ designs reached their height of fame in the decade of excess, the 1980s, and he used only the most expensive materials and finest workmanship, but you rarely see huge puffy sleeves or gigantic flounces on his dresses.

Gowns by designer James Galanos at Phoenix Art Museum retrospective exhibit

James Galanos gowns; image from Phoenix Art Museum.

You see elegant, feminine lines, often enhanced by exquisite embroidery. Nancy Reagan once commented about his dresses that “you can wear one inside out, they are so beautifully made.” His fragrance is consistent with that elegant, luxurious simplicity: understated, classic, of its era but also timeless. It feels like an elegant accessory, meant to complement the wearer and the outfit instead of outshining or competing with them.

Designer James Galanos in clothing atelier

James Galanos; photo by Getty Images

Although James Galanos retired in 1998 and died in 2016, you will still see his creations on the red carpet, since many stylish women wear vintage Galanos gowns to occasions like the Academy Awards and the Met Costume Institute Gala, where they are as elegant and timeless as ever. I wonder if any of the wearers know that they could also wear the perfect fragrance accessory with those beautiful gowns?

Do you have any fragrances that you think of as couture accessories? Favorites?

Just had to add this photo, taken in the early 2000s in San Francisco, when Mr. Galanos was delighted to discover a perfume boutique that still carried his fragrance:

Fashion designer James Galanos in Jacqueline perfume boutique, San Francisco

James Galanos with his fragrance; image from San Francisco Chronicle

Featured image: James Galanos vintage gown (1950s), www.etsy.com.

Thunking Thursday: Miu Miu L’Eau Rosee
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Thunking Thursday: Miu Miu L’Eau Rosee

Better late than never! This week I thunked my sample of Miu Miu L’Eau Rosee, a very pretty fragrance for spring which is the 2018 flanker to the original Miu Miu. It opens with sparkling citrus notes of lime, lemon, and bergamot, with a tinge of green from cassis (blackcurrant) buds. The floral heart is dominated by peony and lily of the valley, supported by light fruity notes of pear and peach. I don’t smell much of the rose note in the heart. The base is mostly a soft musk, with hints of spice, sandalwood and vanilla. This one falls into the category of “happy to wear it to finish the sample, don’t need a full bottle.” But I would love to be able to buy a coffret of minis of Miu Miu and its flankers, the bottles are adorable!

Scent Sample Sunday: Vraie Blonde
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Scent Sample Sunday: Vraie Blonde

For National Fragrance Day this past week, I chose to wear Etat Libre d’Orange’s Vraie Blonde, mostly for its note of pink champagne. It turned out to be a prescient choice, because we went to an engagement party last night for a friend’s daughter, and the happy couple was toasted with flutes of pink champagne! Vraie Blonde was created by Antoine Maisondieu in 2006 and it is still sold through the website and other retail outlets, so it has clearly found its fan club. The copy on the brand’s website says:

She has all the assets of platinum blond seduction. A full-fledged décolleté, shapely hips and a sensuous catlike walk. A perfectly curvaceous body in a sequined lamé dress, a Technicolor version of the American dream! Accords of ambergray, fur and white pepper evoke an excess of luxury, the flashiness of casinos, women in sheath dresses and Marilyn naked under a mink coat. Is she a real blonde?

To know the answer one will have to wait for nudity… Flushes of aldehydic notes fill the bedroom air, a tribute to the perfume the star wore at night, red-hot kisses enhanced by a bubbling thirst-quenching pink champagne note that leaves one panting. One feels like biting into this lovely sugared almond. Everything a brunette ever dreamed of!

Vraie Blonde is a FUN scent. It is bubbly and pretty and it doesn’t take itself very seriously. In fact, it reminds me of Jayne Mansfield, another platinum blonde bombshell and contemporary of Marilyn Monroe, in her most famous role: Hollywood star Rita Marlowe, in the comedy “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?” One of the funniest scenes in the movie shows her in a bubble bath, reading “Peyton Place” and shrewdly discussing her publicity with her trademark breathiness and mew, like a kitten, at the end of her sentences.

The film, based on a hit Broadway play in which Jayne Mansfield also starred, is a farce about how a hapless junior advertising man, played by Tony Randall, gets ensnared in a starlet’s scheme to make her TV star boyfriend jealous, by pretending that he is her new love interest. In return, she agrees to become the “face” of his client, “Stay-Put Lipstick”, as her own PR promotes her as “the most kissable” star in Hollywood. Yes, it’s a very silly film, but it is oh so funny! And a big part of the reason it is still so funny is Jayne Mansfield, who fully understands and uses the comic potential in her blonde bombshell image, even more fully than Marilyn Monroe (a gifted comedienne overshadowed by her tragic life and death). While Jayne Mansfield also died in tragic circumstances, people who knew them both often said that Monroe’s vulnerability was real and deep, while Mansfield had a more resilient, tougher attitude that allowed for more self-mockery.

In “Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?”, Jayne Mansfield basically played an exaggerated version of herself: a voluptuous, platinum-from-a-bottle blonde starlet whose ditzy exterior and mannerisms concealed a determined and strategic will.

Like the film, Vraie Blonde is a light-hearted romp. It opens with the sparkle and bubbles of aldehydes, combined with a soft, peachy top note that is just right and not too sweet. I also smell a light powder note, like one of those swansdown powder puffs sometimes found with vintage powder boxes.

pink powder puff

Swansdown powder puff, from VintageInTheShires, http://www.etsy.com

A pink rose hovers nearby, while a touch of white pepper spices things up — just like the 1950s calendar girls and centerfolds, who were considered naughty back in their day, and who now seem impossibly wholesome by today’s standards.

Blonde movie star Jayne Mansfield as a centerfold model.

Jayne Mansfield, centerfold.

Jayne claimed the color pink as her “signature” color, which was something starlets did back then. She took it all the way, in line with her exaggerated public persona: painting her Hollywood mansion pink and outfitting it with pink fixtures and lights, even pink fur in its bathrooms, driving a pink convertible, and of course, wearing pink frequently in public. In fact, her “Pink Palace” had a fountain filled with pink champagne!

As Vraie Blonde dries down, a synthetic ambergris note emerges, listed as “ambergray”, which provides a pleasantly sensual but light note of warm skin, with suede notes to evoke the luxurious furs we associate with Hollywood glamor of the past. The peach and rose notes persist, however, tinting the fur with shades of pink.

I’m really enjoying my Scentbird decant of Vraie Blonde! It’s a lively, charming fragrance with a sense of humor. And really, what’s not to celebrate about that?

Do you have any borderline kitschy fragrances that remind you of movies or other entertainment?

Christine Ebersole as Elizabeth Arden in the musical War Paint

War Paint; image by Joan Marcus for Town & Country magazine

Happy National Fragrance Day!
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Happy National Fragrance Day!

It’s National Fragrance Day in the UK! In fact, this whole week is National Fragrance Week. The Jasmine Awards have been announced, and if you’re in the UK, there seem to be many special offers, draws, etc., listed on the Fragrance Foundation’s website.

What will you wear today to celebrate fragrance? I’m thinking about Etat Libre d’Orange’s Vraie Blonde, which I just got in my Scentbird subscription, for its note of pink champagne. It’s sparkly and delightful!

Scent Sample Sunday: The Wearin’ O’ The Green
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Scent Sample Sunday: The Wearin’ O’ The Green

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! In honor of the day, let us rejoice in the “wearing of the green” — green fragrances, that is. I love green fragrances, as you might expect from a blogger whose nom de plume is “Old Herbaceous“, and my most difficult fragrance choice today will be to decide which of the many I own I will wear. (Another option might be to wear one of the fragrances I brought home from Ireland last summer, including some from the small independent perfumer The Burren Perfumery, but today I’ll probably go with a classic green). Today will be a celebration of “The Wearin’ O’ The Green”!

Green nymph Fantasia

Image from Disney’s Fantasia 2000; http://www.disney.com

Fragrantica did one of its wonderful “Best in Show” columns last year on green fragrances, which you can read here: Best in Show: Green Fragrances (2018). As the editor notes, “green” can describe a wide range of fragrances and notes, which can include: galbanum, patchouli, vetiver, grasses, mosses, ivy, and leaves (especially tea and tomato), lime, basil, rosemary, mint, and cilantro, green mango and apple, conifer needles, bamboo, and more. Many of the muguet fragrances I love are quite green. As I’ve already written a lot about so many of those, and will again later this spring, I’ll pass over them as a category for now.

Some of the classic greens I own and love are Chanel No. 19, Chanel Cristalle, Annick Goutal Grand Amour, Gucci Envy, Balmain Vent Vert (the 1991 version, by Calice Becker), Jacomo Silences, Estee Lauder Azuree, Clinique Aromatics Elixir.

My newer green niche perfumes include (of course) Papillon’s Dryad, Beaufort London’s Fathom V, Amouage Bracken, L’Artisan Parfumeur’s The Pour Un Ete, Laboratorio Olfattivo’s Decou-Vert, DSH Perfumes Le Jardin Vert. There are others, but many of them I own only in small sample sizes, so I’m not counting them here!

Green fragrances: Chanel No. 19, Cristalle, Papillon Dryad, on Liberty shawl

Favorite green fragrances

While I know that “green” fragrances are said to be the least favored category of fragrance, I know many of you also love them. What are your favorites? Do you plan to wear a green fragrance today?

Outdoor sculpture of the Mud Maid, Lost Gardens of Heligan, Cornwall

Mud Maid, The Lost Gardens of Heligan

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Thunking Thursday: Exceptional?

If you’ve ever ordered from the website Fragrancenet, you have undoubtedly received at least one sample of their “exclusive” fragrances: Exceptional Because You Are and Simply Belle. They throw those into every order, often with the dinky little plastic purse mirror or the (more useful) emery board for nails.

I never wear those samples; sometimes I collect them with little travel supplies like shampoo, to donate to shelters or clothing banks. But today, in honor of Thunking Thursday, I am wearing and thunking Exceptional. I’ll thunk it even if the vial’s not empty, because it is just — meh. It’s only $35.74 for 100 ml with the usual Fragrancenet coupon, but I have better ways to spend $35.74. For example, for the exact same amount, one can buy a 3 oz. tester of Jicky eau de toilette on the Fragrancenet site. I rest my case.

What is Exceptional like? It’s not unpleasant. It has a synthetic citrusy opening, followed by what one commenter described as “a musky little floral.” That’s about all, but it’s okay. I wouldn’t be able to pick out any particular flower notes without prompting — maybe a little freesia? And then a light synthetic musk that fades away within a few hours. I wouldn’t go out of my way to wear or buy this, but if I wanted a fragrance and this was all I happened to have in my purse, or the other options were too strong for where I was or what I was doing, I’d wear it.

Thunk! Have you ever actually tried this one, or its sister Simply Belle? Did you thunk anything more interesting this week?

Scent Sample Sunday: Brocard’s Mechta
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Scent Sample Sunday: Brocard’s Mechta

When I last stayed in London, I was able to visit the wonderful Bloom perfumery, near Covent Garden. I highly recommend a visit! They carry an amazing range of niche perfumes and the staff is remarkably friendly, helpful, and knowledgeable. I spent a LOT of time there and emerged with a few discovery sets, including a set of three floral fragrances from Brocard, the revived Russian perfume house. It holds three of the series “Gardens of Temptation”, 15 ml each. This set includes: Mechta, Elegantnost, and Luybov.

Brocard Gardens of Temptation set 1 Inspiration

Brocard Gardens of Temptation set “Inspiration”

The set contains three small, simple flacons, not the funky bottles pictured above, which are the full-size bottles.

Mechta is described on Bloom’s website as a “spicy mimosa”. Its composition is described as: top notes are violet, hyacinth, and grass; middle notes are mimosa, linden blossom, magnolia, and clover; base notes are musk, honey, and cedar.

On my skin, Mechta opens as a bright, grassy violet; no hyacinth that I can detect. One thing I enjoy about this opening is the absence of citrus, which makes it a little different. I do love a good citrus opening, but I like this scent’s different top notes. As it dries down, the mimosa emerges, and it is a soft, pretty, yellow mimosa.  In the process of reading for this post, I discovered a wonderful Russian fragrance blog (thank you, Google Translate!) called Parfumistika, and its review of Brocard’s Gardens of Temptation, which includes the brand’s own description:

… drops of morning dew glistening on the grass and unusual green bitterness of hyacinth. The sun rises, coolness recedes, and the bright, joyful smells of linden-colored, mimosa, magnolia and acacia are revealed in all their glory. A firework of flowers gradually turns into a warm, honey-musky trail.

My experience of Mechta is more soft than bright, but very pleasant. If you don’t care for intensely green scents, fear not — the only green I detect is the grassy opening, which gives way to the mimosa pretty early. I would describe Mechta as a soft, warm, yellow, light floral. It’s very pretty, and very affordable if you can find it. I look forward to trying more of Brocard’s fragrances!

Fragrance Friday: Perfumers Who Are Women
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Fragrance Friday: Perfumers Who Are Women

Happy International Women’s Day! In honor of the day, Fragrantica published a very nice article highlighting several celebrated perfumers who are women, and some of their creations: Perfumery: Women Creators. In the comments section, readers have started adding their own suggestions. In no particular order, suggested additions include:

Olivia Giacobetti, Liz Moores, Anne Flipo, Sidonie Lancesseur, Nathalie Feisthauer, Daphne Bugey, Vero Kern, Josephine Catapano, Shelley Waddington, Shyamala Maisondieu, Nathalie Gracia-Cetto, Sonia Constant, Christine Nagel, Mathilde Laurent, Sarah McCartney, Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, Mandy Aftel, Ayala Moriel, Laurie Erickson, Charna Ethier, Diane St. Clair, Claire Baxter, Marie Salamagne, Lyn Harris, Nathalie Lorson.

Do you have any favorite perfumers who are women? Any favorites among their creations?

Here are some of mine:

Liz Moores: Dryad; Christine Nagel: Twilly; Mathilde Laurent: Cartier Carat; Sarah McCartney: White Queen; Diane St. Clair: Gardener’s Glove; Marie Salamagne: Alaia; Lyn Harris: Terre d’Iris; Nathalie Lorson: Shiseido Zen 2000; Jo Malone (the person): White Rose & Lemon Leaves; Marie-Helene Rogeon, Clair Matin.

Featured image: Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, from www.denverartmuseum.org.