Clive Christian fans - make yourself known!

I would love to hear from someone who has tried Clive Christians creations. If you are reading this please share your thoughts and impressions with me via comment or e-mail!

Clive Christian Releases The World's Most Expensive Perfume - Clive Christian No. 1 | Gilded Life

Image from GildedLife.com

After sun comes amber

I must admit, even a base note woman like myself can find pleasure in a perky summery fragrance. Not many, but a few. But I do look forward to boots, blankets and fuller blends. A launch that makes me curious is L’Ambre des Merveilles, a new interpretation of Hermès' Eau des Merveilles from 2004 that will be in stores in August. Eau des Merveilles was created by Ralf Schwieger and Nathalie Feisthauer but the new interpretation is created by Jean-Claude Ellena (as were L’Elixir des Merveilles and Eau Claire des Merveilles). Ellena often speaks of how a perfume's identity and character can be given different olfactive expressions. It is always interesting to study his creations, just take the EdT and the EdP of Voyage, and compare them for example.

Lovely detail with the two bases on the bottle of L’Ambre des Merveilles that can be used to create movement of the sparkly stars.

Scents of Poland

I have infinite amounts of scent memories from my childhood that are linked to Poland and my grand mother. From the smell of chicken broth when she opened her window as she saw us arriving by car from the airport - to the Lancôme powder in her handbag. My Poland is a Poland with so many olfactory codes and sentimental signs that go through my nose straight to my soul.

This summer I am spending some time in Sopot and the surrounding area. A place where my mother spent childhood summers and where I have been as a child as well. And so many scents... The fish restaurants by the sea, the corn, the grilled little cheeses "Oscypek" that you can buy as street finger food - and my favorite smell... Gofry. A kind of waffle that you can buy every ten steps, you get them with cream or ice cream, berries, chocolate what have you... I don't eat them but the smell of them that covers the entire coast in a soft vanilla embrace... It's divine. And then there is the pop corn smell by the beautiful outdoor cinema at the pier, the fruits, the homemade soups and pierogi, and the perfumes that leave a trail after all the dressed up people at night.

Oh, and today... the most amazing one. Driving to Krokowa there was this scent outside in the infinite woods. So poetic and so gentle. Sand, sea and warm pine trees. It smelled of innocence, eternity and fairytale.

My beloved Poland. How much you offer all senses.

"The poetics of perfume"

Been playing around with words as a tool for fragrance composing... And found a new olfactory-and-creativity-friend! Alexis Karl, Persona Très Cool!

You'll find my word world here: bodymadeluminous.tumblr.com/

image from www.facebook.com/scentbyalexis

Not everything is top-heart-base. Linear Scents!

Yep, it is true. Not ALL perfumes are created with top note, heart and base. Not all perfume experiences are designed with this narrative. Most. But there are other ways and we should all encourage the diversity.

Brilliant article from Perfume Shrine on linear scents.

Perfume Shrine: Perfume Term: Linear Scents ~Deceptive Simplicity

Vanilla fierceness

I love this. For being vanilla that is not trying to be cute. For being vanilla that a man can wear. For being soft and fierce. For being strong but undemanding. For feeling like the crème in the crème brûlée and like leather. For it's intimacy blended with a feeling of ancient heritage. I really love this admirable creation.

Risqué

One of my best friends is a flower queen. Totally. She smells of romance, dessert and petals. I have  been dying for ages to see if I can tempt her to leave the flowers or at least go in an olfactory direction that conveys some of her amazing fierceness. This is my first attempt. To be continued. No floral notes what so ever.

Voltaire La Petite Mort

Watched Wes Anderson's movie "The Darjeeling Limited" yesterday. Those of you who know your Wes will recognize this.

Two questions...
1) Your thoughts on this symbol and the movie and the relationship? Any thoughts.
2) Do you have other favorite perfume-in-film-appearances?

Let's talk about this. :)

5. Rebel with a cause.

My new article for My French Life examines our (mis-)perceptions around icon Chanel No 5.

You'll find the article here. As always - would love to hear your thoughts!

And if you want to know more about Gabrielle Chanel, you'll find a human encyclopediae here.

What does a love celebration smell like?

It is wedding season all over the place. Dresses, fabrics, cutlery, eye shadows, hair, scallops, wines, beloved relatives, impossible relatives, speeches, ribbons… But what about scents? Please correct me if I am wrong (I would be very happy if this is the case) but there really is not that much talk about the scents? By scents I mean the general scents like the location, the flowers, the food… But of course also your perfume.

So lets talk about this. If you like perfume, you will want to wear perfume for your big love celebration and you’ll want it to be perfect and special.

What should you think about? Two things: yourself and the other scents at your wedding. The other scents are for example the food, the flowers in your bouquet, other flowers and plants, the setting. Food: for example, if you have a very tenderly flavored menu you don’t want to miss out on that because of your oriental cloud. The flowers you will be carrying – you can create something really interesting here if you play with the scents in your flower arrangement so co-ordinate your perfume dealer and your florist. Other plants – well, if you are in a garden there will be many other aromas around you, they could be heavy flowers or pine or something else. Take this into consideration. If you are in a church it will possibly smell of incense so you might want to avoid carrying more of that.

pinterest.com/pin/246923992038946630/

Contrary to my usual guidelines, I would say that for your wedding day - don’t go complex. Choose something light, soft, intimate and personal but easy. There will be so much going on, so many people, so many emotions and hormones. If you are tired or need to calm your nerves you can of course use some aroma therapeutical ingredients, but generally, be gentle. Also, coordinate your perfume with your partners – the two of you will stay close to each other and it is more pleasant for both you and others of your fragrances are not in conflict.

This weekends aesthetique deluxe wedding: Margherita Missoni

If you, like me, are into the stories behind things you might one to look for perfumes that have been created in a romantic context. By nose couples, or perfumes created by a nose for a lover or commissioned for a beloved. Or other associations to your relationship, such as geographical places or spices that mean something special to the two of you. My top-suggestion is of course, if you can, create your own fragrance for this day.

But here is an idea: change your perfume for the evening and for the day after brunch if there is one. In the evening, whether you switch over to dance floor and bar mode or leave for your celebration-for-just-two, you might want to jazz things up a bit and go more seductive. Whereas for the day after when you will probably be slightly tired – leave the florals and spices and go for something super-uplifting like a nice citrus with few ingredients.

My general suggestion, is that you not neglect the olfactory aspects of your special day. People spend so much time, energy, effort and money on everything from wine to flowers to candles to ribbons to peanuts-or-olives and God knows what – why not make sure that the setting for your love celebration also smells right? It matters. Scents affect our minds, emotions and memories. If you make a conscious thought-through scent arrangement for your special day it can be one of your most beautiful ways to re-evoke the memories and feelings in the future

Why don’t I give you specific names of perfumes, you might wonder. Well – because I don’t know what your skin smells like or what you will be wearing or what kind of person you (and your partner) are or what scents you like, and its most likely not the same as someone else reading this. So see this as some guidance to get your mind started, and if you want a personal consultation please feel free to contact me.

I wish you a fragrant love celebration!

(Naturally you can use the thoughts above as inspiration also for a birthday or other celebration. Any party really!)