"Maktub", she said. "If I am really part of your dream, you'll come back one day."

The scent of serendipity: Jul et Mad

Not every one cares about the brand behind the perfume. Or the brain behind the perfume, for that matter. And sure, if I discovered olfactory marvel from a perfume house I did not feel strongly for I would still find the perfume extraordinary and wear it. But I do prefer to feel that there is also a person and intention behind the perfume that I can relate to and like. This could be explained with my day-job in PR and communication. I started out as a copywriter so I am interested in storytelling of course. But more than that, I am interested in the special stories that I believe can be found in anything if you know how to listen and how to search. And that’s why I got into communication in the first place. To search, find and tell. 

For this reason there are some perfume(r)s that appeal more to me than others, there are some brands that I feel more comfortable with and more curious to discover. I appreciate a personal declaration and intention, expressions of curiosity, passion and purpose. I appreciate the generosity of those who share more than their product, for example the way Carlos Huber of Arquiste connects all sorts of life dots in his interviews. Or how Jean Claude Ellena invests so much energy into writing books that give the reader unique insight into the life and mind of a perfumer. I appreciate the world of Mandy Aftel enormously, such passion and endless curiosity for the craft and a generous dedicated ambition to share it. Byredo’s perfumes became so much more special to me when I learnt about the red thread with Ben Gorham’s recreation of memories and places. There are many examples, I realize I leave important ones out by stopping here but it has already taken me too long to get to the point. (Then again, that is not really relevant in perfume reflections, the journey is the point.)

First time I read about Jul et Mad I instantly loved the story. Who wouldn’t? It is enough to know that Jul and Mad in “Jul et Mad” are a couple who met and created perfumes together. Yes, I admit in my world creating a perfume together is the most romantic thing any people in love could do. This kind of story only works though if it comes with perfumes that really deliver, otherwise it becomes a somewhat awkward branding concept.

So who are these two perfume makers and lovers? Julien, comes from a science environment with thorough knowledge in neurosciences and biology. This background is combined with an entrepreneurial spirit that has led him to communication companies specialized in the scientific field. He is also a traveller at heart. Madalina, left her native Romania to go to NYC in order to pursue a future in the beauty industry. The first step was the Cosmetics and Fragrances Marketing program at the Fashion Institute of Technology, followed by work at several luxury brands. So far – two separate stories about two separate ambitious individuals who have not yet met. (I can relate to both for various reasons so what happens then gives me double goose bumps).

This is where the magic starts… One day the both find themselves in Paris and in the same café. I know no details of what happens here more than the result of this encounter – Madalina leaves NYC and moves to Paris for love. These two find each other’s hearts but also a share path, which is the creation of perfumes that tell the story of love. The name seems rather inevitable, Jul et Mad. With the help of Dorothée Piot of Maison Robertet they have so far created three fragrances: Stilettos on Lex, Amour de Palazzo and Terrasse à St-Germain.

Stilettos on Lex is the olfactory story about Madalina’s life as a single woman in Manhattan. It is an interesting one, this super feminine blend of independence and softness. I have worn it to work, cinema, girls’ talk-about-life-dinner and a date. On me, this fragrance is really soft and I appreciate the way in which it is sweet without trying to please. It is very easy to wear and manages to combine a soft romantic feeling with something more urban and mischievous. I don’t know how else to describe it. I really enjoy wearing it, but for me it works better in a private context than at work.

Notes
Head : Lemon, Pear, Davana, Plum Liquor


Heart: Lily of the Valley, Violette Leaves, Rose Absolute, Heliotrope, Iris, Carnation


Bottom: Musk, Madagascar Vanilla, Indonesian Patchouli, Atlas Cedarwood

The second fragrance in the story is of course Terasse à St-Germain… The Moment that changes it all. And this is where you can tell there must have been many candid personal conversations between Julien, Madalina and Dorothée Piot because this is a completely different feeling. Just like Stilettos on Lex combined different sides of femininity, Terasse à St Germain sparkles with different energies in a special meeting. Soft, bouncy, sweet, playful. When you know that this is the meeting between two persons you can find that duality blending. And it is so happy, so extrovert.

Notes
Head : Grapefruit, Tangerine, Rhubarb


Heart: Freesia, Lotus Flower, Blue Rose


Bottom: Musk, Sandalwood, Indonesian Patchouli

The third fragrance, Amour de Palazzo tells the story of the couple’s trip to Venice… If you feel any of the seduced infatuation that I feel for this city you will recognize much of that feeling in this perfume. It is dark, flirtatious, deeply sensual and seductive. It is the scent of the beauty of no turning back now. This has nothing of the cashmere softness of Stilettos on Lex, nothing of the playful sunny conversation of Terasse à St-Germain. This is just pure seduction.

Notes

Head : Four Spice (pepper, cloves, ginger, nutmeg)


Heart: Absolute of Violette, Atlas Cedarwood, Leather, Indonesian Patchouli, Labdanum


Bottom: Musk, Oud, Amber, Papyrus, Animal Castoreum

Three completely different perfumes, which could very well be the base of a perfume wardrobe if you add something more work-oriented. I love how they all emerge out of this love story because they are quite different reflections of the energies that exist between lovers. These perfumes remind me of the variation I have appreciated in my own most memorable romantic relationships. How both persons could be many aspects of their personalities and switch between them. The freedom and playfulness that a relationship that stimulates such variation creates.

I really like the background stories that come with each of the perfumes. In fact, I would almost have preferred to have only those and the notes. It seems to me that there are two different tonalities in the Jul et Mad communication, and personally I prefer the more poetic one which to me carries more of the personal serendipity of this beautiful story. I leave you with the three stories and the wish that all may find that soulmate to create with at least once in life.

She's back! I can guess her presence behind me by the clacking sound of her high heels on this legendary Lexington Avenue… I turn, and it is her, indeed, with her determined walk, her tall silhouette more real than ever… Pleasure for the eye, trouble for the soul… 
A mysterious aura accompanies this almost immaterial apparition while walking, so beautifully, so elegantly… Who is she? Where is she coming from? A divinity descended from a different world? An animated sculpture carved by the tools of what genius? The perfect image from a silent dream, if it wasn't for the regular percussion of her stilettos…
As in a spontaneous homage, the crowed steps aside to let her pass… Heads turn… Is she aware of it? Nothing indicates it. She seems ignoring the passers-by, her expression is serene, her regard soft but determined… Was that the shadow of a smile floating on her lips? Royal, superb, her image fades away, vanishes. Nevertheless, she offered me the most attaching gift: her unforgettable perfume. On her magical path she left the trace of a subtle fragrance, yet imposing… an obsessive, rare perfume that floats, nostalgically, like the memory of a Lost Paradise. 
Dream or reality? Enthusiasm or despair? All she did was to pass by… The contouring of her figure and the sound of her high heels marked my spirit… I now invoke my luck, hoping that one day I will cross again her magnificent allure on this same legendary avenue…
Her image disappeared, but during her short passage she offered me the most attaching of memories: her perfume…


Paris. Tender sunlight and bright fresh air of springtime. Saint-Germain. A pleasant noise of the conversations all-around floats over the café terrace. From her table, in perfect quietude, she watches the passers-by… when suddenly she observes this elegant silhouette, virile and relaxed, crossing the boulevard in front of her. They look at each other… They are captivated… It's intense, magnetic… He approaches… keeps regarding her… A moment of inattention, the sidewalk missed… A false step he transforms rapidly in a gracious reverence, accompanied by this charming smile… a bit embarrassed, a bit amused… Everything lasts no more than one second, the handsome stranger walks away… 
His passage leaves a void behind him, and this emptiness, daydreaming, she already fills it with wild and fascinating perfumes inspired by the picture of the young man… Fusions of subtle yet present scents, atypical but almost recognizable, a soft mix but virile at the same time, of a complete ambiguity and yet of an incredible simplicity: the very essence of a growing passion.
A delicate and refreshing breeze, in perfect accordance with the spring fragrances surrounding the terrace, brings her back to reality… She finally looks away from this sidewalk where the seducing silhouette escaped her insistent gaze… 
Then, suddenly, the perfume of her reverie embalms the air, but rather real this time. The beautiful stranger turned around and approaches, also real. He plunges his regard into hers, he walks straight towards her. 

It is truly her… her, Venice, revealing itself to our first avid regards as the unrestricted décor of a dream theater. High facades come out nude from the dark waters of the Grand Canal, slightly veiled by the mist of dawn, nude, but rapidly ornamented by the marble garlands of their bays. The three annunciating sounds of the ball will soon be heard; the costumed guests will animate the ballroom and the balconies with their multicolor embroideries and silks. 
Will the day put an end to this magical night? In the penumbra, an interlacing of winding narrow streets and canals traversed by bridges. Hand in hand. Drunk with love. Drunk from dancing for so long. We wander through these labyrinths charged with history, trying to recover our spirits after this enchanted night: the long passageways of the magnificent palazzo we just quit, its ballrooms richly decorated, so beautiful under the lights of their gigantic suspended chandeliers. 
The first signs of the dawn envelop the so well-called "Serenissima". The rich and heavy perfume of precious wood and leather furniture, shone and polished by passing centuries, mix agreeably now with the pleasant and cocooning fragrances coming from the surrounding gardens, the humidity of the old stone and the lagoon that follows and surrounds us… We walk aimlessly… Dream or reality? It doesn't really matter… Here we are in perfect harmony, we feel free, free to love each other, free to taste as one the same happiness… free to appreciate the instant… Every single gesture, no matter how simple, is now charged with profound significance.


PS: Love this – Jul et Mads pinterest. Fun way to share inspiration and references. 

PS: All images in this post from Jul et Mad.

Sweat, tennis balls and summer love

To wear The Soft Lawn is to spend a day in the bubble around a young (at any age) Crush on The Tennis Teacher. It smells like the sweat on your (and his) warm skin, like the moment when you open your racket bag and feel that strange aromatic blend of old and new, of artificial and animalistic smells that the sports world has. It smells like the deodorant and your nice flowery shampoo as your hair gets messier and messier. It smells like smiles and sweet attraction combined with performance adrenaline. 

It smells of the tennis ball travelling fast from one side of the court to the other, just like the unarticulated thoughts that follow it do. From him to you, from you to him. It smells like the dust swirling and the smiles and the laughter and the fresh air and the feeling of sweet moist summer evening air waiting for magic to happen.

It smells like releasing the racket, the way the air between a sore palm and the warm sweaty overgrip smells. You wonder if you’ll have blisters tomorrow, you won’t but it feels like it. You wonder if it is time to change that wrap overgrip. You wonder if you look ok or just red and sweaty and hair like a tornado, you wonder how he can look this amazing after the entire day and if his smile means that you have improved your serve and he thinks you are kind of interesting. You are. He does. The drydown smells like getting on your bike to go somewhere together. Like the cool air on your calves and the warm air vibrating from your blushing cheeks. There are some sensations that love and sports have in common. For a brief moment this charming perfume smells like a secret shared cigarette and you wonder how that happened. Ooops. Then warm cantaloupe dripping between fingers down on asphalt. The candy-like innocence of an English lush park and textures of the carnal city on a date. Much like the contrast between fragility and darwinism in a kiss. Like sneakers and warm skin and fearless curiosity.

It is not easy to create a fragrance that is romantic, sporty, edgy, contemporary, classic and utterly charmingly mischievious.

There are moments with this perfume that remind me of Molecule O2 and L’Imperatrice (a Fragrantica search does not reveal that these would have anything officially in common) which are fragrances that I like because of their way of being light in a slightly weird way, breezy with integrity, sweet but in an unpleasing way. There is hommage to the most elegant way woody notes are used in classic fragrances that have been designated at men and beautifully stolen by women. You find those feelings here, but combined with that superweird and absolutely wonderful tennis ball smell that really is there. It is an uncomplicated complex perfume, a comfortable adventure you could say. And so much fun.

This perfume puts me in such a good mood that it’s almost bizarre. It makes me blush and laugh and send flirtatious text messages and feel like going out to fill my lungs with fresh air. It also makes me think of the summer I spent playing tennis on one of the loveliest outdoors tennis courts I have ever seen, in Hagaparken in Stockholm, and the exact feeling I had when looking up from the ball to enjoy the beauty of the place (lush trees and water) for a moment. One of those evenings I tore off a cruciate ligament and I haven’t played since. I have missed a feeling that this perfume gives me back again. For all the reflections above, but maybe particularly for this, I am grateful.

The Soft Lawn can be ordered from Imaginary Authors directly and it is also part of Olfactif’s brilliantly curated Vignettes of Spring selection. You’ll find a great interview with Josh Meyer, the creator of the perfume on Olfactif’s website.

Anna Karenina of Green Gables

I often help someone find a signature scent or create a perfume wardrobe for example by finding additions to their work fragrance that smells to safe for romance, or their romantic fragrance that doesn't feel right for work. Or an upgrade, for example when someone has been wearing the same favorite perfume for 5-10 yrs (not at all unsusal) and feel that they still like it... but have outgrown it. Then we look for something similar, for example the same heart notes, but something more complex or mature or dark added. As we walk through life our inner child often stays the same, but we go through experiences, challenges, times - that add shades to our personalities. Shades, depth, complexity. When you wear a perfume that is right for you, it will reflect many parts of who you are. Then you get that feeling of you just smelling like you because someone created a beautiful formula that defines some of your characteristics with fragrance notes. This is a very different feeling from "wearing a nice perfume" that lies on top of your skin like a pretty fabric. There is nothing arbitrary about what feels right. Not in life, not in perfumery.

Finding those perfumes that really match is not easy. The market offers an abundance that is over-whelming even to the most passionate and curious perfumista. But it is worth it, and once you learn how to navigate and recognize the patterns in your preferences it is not as complicated as it looks. For myself, I choose to ask for guidance so that I can find perfumes that I have not discovered where notes that I like have been used. I ask for stories about them and I ask for help to discover new brands. I don't look for someone to help me choose my perfume as I have trained myself now to translate thoughts and aspects of my character to notes and types of perfumes. If you feel unsure about such things, talk to someone who is skilled and really takes the time to help you find a perfume for the creative you or the you that wants something comforting or uplifting or mischievous or escapist. For a true perfume expert these are not strange questions. Choose the right advisor.

I am sure you have been in the situation where you just love a perfume that someone is wearing, you go buy it... and... anticlimax. It doesn't feel like you thought it would, it is not as amazing on you. You wonder if your mind and memory played tricks on you. This is not unusual. But it is a great reminder of two things - perfume is like a relationship - it is not about you and not about the other - it is about happens in between, in the space that is the together.

Perfume sensations are created in the meeting between a formula and a person's skin. And every person's skin is different. There is nothing objective about perfume. The other thing is - do not make hasty decisions. It does not matter how skilled you are, you just do not know what a perfume that is composed with top, heart and base will smell like in an hour of five on you. No one knows. The super-charming person who sells it to you doesn't know even if she or he is an expert and amazing. Take your time. Get a sample if you can. Get ten samples of ten perfumes with sandalwood if that is what you are looking for. Take your time. Apply the perfume, take a coffee and come back in an hour. And don't be disappointed if your friend's magic potion smells boring on you. Or different. Be curious. You'll find your magic potion, maybe there is just some little detail that needs to be different for you. Try to detect what the difference is - does it smell sweeter in him/her? Does it smell more flowery on you? Try to remember the difference and ask an expert.

Skin, painted by Sir Lawrence Alma Tadema

I will give you an example. I have been wearing Ambre Narguilé for some years. Or to be honest, I bought it a few years back and wore it a lot during two years with mixed feelings. I adore this perfume. It is a masterpiece to me. But, I found myself often thinking that it was too overwhelming and not appropriate in many situations. And later on I felt that it lacked something for me to feel really comfortable with it, it was too sweet. It lacked integrity or a mature nuance. So in the last two or so years I have not been wearing it at all but I smell the bottle sometimes to use as reference when searching for similar compositions. Among perfumistas this fragrance is well-known. Still I have not met anyone that wears it a lot. Then comes a man. He says he really likes the perfume, I think "Really?" and feel how in my eyes he becomes slightly more like a baklava than Omar Sharif.

He introduces me to Serge Lutens' Ambre Sultan, and I am amazed because this - is the darker version of Ambre Narguilé that I have been wishing for.

Tillya Kori Madrash, Samarkand

Then he brings out another of his favorites, a completely harmless airy Gatsby cocktail party apple lemonade lunchtime careful kiss on the cheek sorbet and dancing on a meadow in a perfectly cut flowery organza skirt kind of story. Bois 1920, Sushi Imperiale. It smells like the first kiss on a summer day in 1939, followed by raspberries on a straw before looking at the wild horses and the sunset. Immaculate linen vest and smile like a young Sinatra though. It's Rat Pack meets Anna Karenina of Green Gables. I fall like a rock sliding down a rainbow of course and get instantly addicted to this potion. A couple of weeks later I order it from MiN. It is on its way as we speak. I can't wait. I will wear it like nothing else matters more than raspberries on a straw and immaculate linen vests and Green Gables are the perfect place to be flown to the moon and then share an apple stolen from the strange neighbour's tree.

   

I meet my friend for coffee again, he is wearing the darkest most intriguing strange thing thats smells like a love affair on the way to Samarcand and words that cannot be spoken. "What are you wearing?", I say. He answers, "You have it, Ambre Narguilé". It is a mystery to me where the carnal alluring notes disappear when I wear it. Same perfume. Completely different experiences. On me it is Christmas dessert and the Nutcracker, on him a secret night in Venice, a 19th century emerald shining from a décolletage at the opera. Forbidden. "Warn me?"

I have more examples, oh so many more. Of perfumes that surprise and confuse and alter as they evolve on one person's skin or another's. Of the infinite mysteries that create a love affair between the nose and the mind. This is one of the many reasons why perfumes fascinate me.

Come, let's dance!

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.

What does a G minor chord smell like?

I had a conversation the other evening about scents and music with a friend from Swedish band Diablo Swing Orchestra. Two of my favorite topics in life, so you can imagine my mind went all the way to eleven. (Sorry, musicians’ joke, some of you might catch the reference).

Music and perfume are related in so many ways, after all it is not by coincidence that the language of perfumes with notes and accords is taken directly from the terminology used to describe music composing. I don’t know how you feel about this, but for me the bond is much more profound and omnipresent. As with any language connected to any of our senses, I feel that the language that scents “speak” also has rhythms, paces, vibrations, textures that can be detected in music. Listening to music I associate the instruments, moods, transitions etc with scents and I feel instant affinity between certain fragrances or smells and songs. These associations are of course very personal and subjective, so any other person would be likely to make other connections than I do.  With some persons that I have helped find signature fragrances, or created fragrance wardrobes for, their music preferences have been a very valuable tool in the process after I felt like I grasped their way of "sense-translating".

I don’t know how many of you share this way of thinking. I’m guessing I am not alone in this and I would love to hear your reflections. So let me start this topic by sharing some of my reflections from the conversation I had with singer/composer/musician Daniel. These are not revolutionary thoughts or ground-breaking associations. Some are quite obvious, others less. But I do find the interplay between sound and scent very inspiring and helpful so maybe these reflections will be useful to some of you.

Daniel Håkansson, Diablo Swing Orchestra

Let’s take for example instruments. Drums, I love drums. I am perhaps slightly obsessed with drums. To me drums are resinoids, some woody notes and animalistic. Drums are never flowers in my mind. Never moving or floating. Other sounds, like for example a cello can have something very mobile, alive and almost painfully transient about it. For an olfactory exercise – here’s a mind blowing reference to play with:

Diablo Swing Orchestra – How To Organize a Lynch Mob

My associations are not always directly from music to scent, sometimes they go via color, texture and pattern. Details in a song will feel like white dots or like a string about to burst or like a sweeping caress. Some ingredients will share one of these characteristics. It is highly subjective, but completely unarbitrary. And just like instruments or accords can be dissonant, a scent accord can be in conflict. To me the smell of dissonance is sour or like bitchy little flowers.

I like to use music as inspiration for fragrance composing in my mind… This spring there is one specific bridge that I have crossed a gazillion times as it takes me from my work to my favorite coffee bar. Many many of these walks I have listened to the song ‘Undisclosed desires’ by Muse while creating a fragrance in my head. I used a poem to remember the transitions between top, middle and base. (If you google "Trisiagion et L'Ame" you should be able to find it if your are curious). I would like to make this fragrance someday so I don’t want to talk it apart beforehand. My point is this, sometimes a specific song brings ideas of colors, characteristics, tonalities, opacity or denseness etc… that can be directly translated to notes and in this process music can serve as inspiration, storyboard and reference.

Can scents be used as an inspiration tool for musicians? Just as music can be used to augment olfactory thinking, I am convinced that scents can benefit the music composing process. Scents work with the brain in a very powerful way. This has to do with the human anatomy, the passage between the scent and the brain is short and direct. I will look into this more so I can provide you with a better more thorough explanation but until then let’s just embrace this fact and the possibilities it creates. We have the obvious aroma therapeutic aspects, such as citrus as uplifting. But how can we go a step further? My idea here is that by surrounding yourself with mood scents you’ll be stimulated to balance the music you create or to add a certain atmosphere in a helpful way. For example when looking for a way to add softness or desire or savageness or depth to a melody. Say if you want to make the music darker, I am sure that incense or animalistic notes would help your mind find the way.

So, what about G minor? This was the question that triggered the conversation the other night, “what does G minor smell like?”. Take a moment to think about it and then I will tell you my thoughts.

G minor. This is where I go with my brain – the sound smells like a plant to me. Not a flower, not a spice, not resinoid, not animalistic. It is something that moves and lives. Like the strings on a guitar it stretches, vibrates. My first specific scent associations were the way that air smells between the lightnings during a thunder storm – wet, sweet, angry and vibrant. But also new. The idea that comes to my mind is vetiver. Solid but flexible, alive. Dark and light at the same time. Rooted and reaching out.

Thank you Daniel. For the music and for a great question.

Infatuation.

Scents are a constant flow of infatuations for me, but every now and then something comes my way that really takes my breath away. Not that often though. I like many many perfumes, I love several. But then there is another level and when that happens it is magic. Recently I tried several perfumes from Pro Fvmvm. They are all exquisite but one of them was instant love. I have many feelings related to this particular perfume (I have decided not to tell you which one it is, as I wish that you get to know this perfume house and do not want to influence your preferences)... admiration, inspiration, safety. Also addiction. I look forward to putting it on and have slept with it on a few occasions…and keep smelling my own skin when I wear it. Almost have to force myself to use other perfumes as those days at this moment feel slightly “lost”. It is indeed a love affair.

It is with great pleasure that I dedicate a post to expressing my admiration for this Italian luxury perfume house and I do hope that it will lead to some amazing love affairs also for some of you.

Pro Fvmvm fragrances are hand-crafted perfumes that are created with a mix of natural and derivative raw materials. Pro Fvmvm say, “A perfume made up totally by natural essences has a less “gentle” scent, while one based solely on synthetic substances lacks “heart”. The perfumes have a very high percentage of essences; as a consequence, when vaporizing a high concentration of oil remains. 

 Pro Fvmvm recommend applying the perfume in the décolleté and the back of the neck by vaporizing the perfumes, waiting 10 to 15 seconds and then gently massaging the area in order to permit the essence to blend with your skin.

Storage
I really appreciate and like how Pro Fvmvm inform about storage of their fragrances. Storage is so important and yet talked about so little. Every box of perfume from Pro Fvmvm has a leaflet that signals the correct way to store it.

Truly handcrafted fragrances are devoid of chemical conservants and must therefore be stored away from heat and light. Fragrances for sale are therefore stored in protective cases and once bought by the customer, need to be stored away from heat and light. Direct sunlight and exposure to heat sources can damage the perfumes. Storing perfumes in the bathroom should be avoided as thermal excursion can damage the product. The best place is a cabinet where temperature and humidity are constant and the products are protected from light.

Day 11 by Kilian: Liaisons Dangereuses, mon amour...

Saving the best for last. My 11-day quest with By Kilian has come to an end. My relationship with this perfume house though, no... never. J'adore. The black, the creation without compromise, the elegance, the dance between sweetness and darkness. In my ideal olfactory world everyone would one a Kilian fragrance and they are so diverse, even if with a clear concept, that I really think anyone could find a favorite here.

So for my grand finale I chose my first love. Liaisons Dangereuses - typical me. This fragrance was my first encounter with this brand and I almost missed a flight from Amsterdam because of it. It would have been worth it. I love this fragrance. When I experienced it for the first time about a year and a half ago I was infatuated. It is sweet but with integrity, easy bit sophisticated. It is like a floral but so fierce. I never wear florals, to me this is one even though if you look at the notes..it's really not. And it so very very romantic in the word's most dignified, playful and urban sense. To the formula.

I am in awe of this creation by Calice Becker. This is one of the most beautiful fragrances I know of. And I have seen it blend perfectly with different people that normally would not choose the same perfume. So I recommend it to anyone. I have never experienced it on a man though, so that thought makes me curious. I have a notion that the musk would create something interesting when blended with a man's body odour.

My conclusion after these 11 days is that I have found two new fragrance loves. I have also found in two other ones very nice scents for people that I love. And if possible my admiration for Kilian creations is even bigger.

Try it. Kilian's olfactory world is a great way to travel.

Kilian Day 7: Iscious

Fragrance no 7 is described with these words by Kilian, "An inspiration from the Marshmallow. A pure sensual treat." I didn't read it however until today (I wore the fragrance yesterday), and it makes me smile. The description feels more than adequate as I felt a bit like this the entire day. Or no, I did not feel like this, but I felt like I smelled like this.

Holy Sweet, Stockholm

The roses, honeysuckle and the caramel are like a romantic embrace. There is something about the feeling that this fragrance creates that makes you think of women like in the old movies. Of blushing cheeks, soft skin, light red anticipating lips, blossoming cherry trees, skirts that swoosh on a summer's day and crushes. Total utter impeccable sweetness. And... as much as I love seeing it and it makes me smile and fills my heart with marshmallows...it's just not me. Well, ok, it is a part of me... Yes. But not enough parts to define me in a way that I am comfortable with so not a fragrance that I can "stay" in.

However...there is a person that is the embodiment of all the things mentioned above. Also she of course has many many other sides and is a more complex person. But. She has that very very very special kind of romantic sweetness that you find in so few people these days. You have met her before on this blog, Karin. Karin can carry blush, blossom, swoosh, caramel and rose with a credibility and contemporary touch that no one else that I know can master. So, my Love. don't be shy-sample now belongs to her, it's  a really lovely match. Perfumes like this are made for women and womanisciousness like Karin.

Kilian Day 5: Tempted to break the rules

After some floral confusion for a few days everything fell into place today.

I am not at all ready to let this go and wear a new fragrance tomorrow. I am in the middle of a love affair. So I am breaking the 11 days with Kilian and one fragrance per day rule. But this is my game so I can. I'll be back with reflections around this liaison extra-ordinaire tomorrow.

The love the joy!

Kilian strikes again.

I am limitlessly happy to be introduced to this love-affair between oud, benzoin and vanilla.  For more praise for Kilian see my previous posts, this one and this one.

On perfume and work meetings with your lover

I think it began in school, when we read about Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir.

They started my fascination with couples that share both heart and brain. The couples that, apart from the romantic bond, physical attraction and private journey, also take an active part in each others professional and intellectual developments and platforms. And by that I don’t mean couples that work in the same office or company. I mean something much more intimate and profound. Sometimes one is the leader or guide, sometimes the other but with power balance.

It’s not what suits everyone. But for me, it is what I aspire to be and have, regardless of whether it is during 2 months, 2 years or 20. Just as it is important to have your own mental space in a relationship, it is also a beautiful gift to see your passion and goals embraced by another person’s soul and mind. I believe in this as a way of enriching relationships, as a way of building relationships, as a way of discovering the designated nature of a relationship and as a way of preserving the non-transient values of an ended romantic relationship. 

The perfume world has a few examples of couples that share both private passion and perfume passion. The first one that comes to mind is of course Luca Turin and Adriana Sanchez. Adriana Sanchez had a blog, and scientist Luca Turin was one of her readers. One day in 2005 he posted a comment. They met and started talking about their mutual passion for perfumes and fragrances. The conversation eventually led to love, marriage and a book. In 2008 they released “Perfumes – The Guide”. 

There is a really nice interview with the couple where Tania Sanchez says: "We made a bet as to which was the worst fragrance in the whole book." They must have so much fun together. There are so many ways to have fun together.

Another perfume couple is Lynn Harris, the founder of Miller Harris and her husband Christophe. They met... in Grasse, (of course!) though at that time he was not in the perfume business. Today however they develop Miller Harris together. Lynn Harris and Miller Harris deserve an entire post. Her story is beautiful and inspiring. In this article about her she says:

 “Somebody looked over me, and this guy was so persistent. And it was love at first sight. He's like my guardian, he's very patient and a very special person to me. Best of all, I could share my love of fragrance with him, which is not true of many men.”  In their home, he cooks becuse she can’t have hands that smell of garlic at work.

Speaking of marriage. The name of Givenchy’s Amarige is the anagram for “mariage”. The bottle was inspired by a blouse that Hubert de Givenchy created for his muse Bettina Graziell. (Notes: neroli, rose wood, violet leaves, citrus notes, gardenia, mimosa, melon, peach, plum, cashmereon wood, tonka Bean, vanilla. Nose: Dominique Ropion.)

There are several perfumes that were made by a nose with the heart. In the Byredo range, there is  Blanche, which Ben Gorham created for his girlfriend when she was sensitive to strong scents. A famous dedicated perfume is Le Parfum de Thérèse which was created by Edmond Roudnitska in the 1950's as a tribute to his wife. For a long time the only person who could use this scent was Thérèse as the composition was a secret. After many years however, she shared the formula with Frédéric Malle. It is still made and sold by his perfume house as a fragrance for both men and women.

Speaking of marriage - and of sharing passion and creativity. There is a recent interview in Swedish Dagens Nyheter with director Jonas Åkerlund who often works with his wife, Bea, a renowned stylist. They prefer to work together as they inspire each other and reflect each other’s creative and aesthetic worlds. In the interview Jonas describes how they both make each other better at work, and how their private life is at its best during shared projects because when they are separated they are “apart, not in sync and in different worlds”. I think this describes it so very well.

One of my favorite creative couples is jewellery designer Efva Attling and her wife singer and writer Eva Dahlgren. Both of them are extremely strong, talented, sensual, inspired and successful in what they do. In an interview with Eva earlier this autumn Efva was asked to describe her and said: "We have the most fun when we travel and meet people. Then we also become new to each other and find new things to tell each other about. We talk about everything, It’s possible that I talk more about my business than she does about her writing. I never insist on finding out more, I let her tell me things if she wants to. We really fill eachothers gaps. I have evolved enormously." The last sentence is my favorite. I believe we sometimes underestimate the value of the feeling in relationships. I think it's not unlikely that Efva Attling could make a fragrance. It is likely that it would be made with great care and very elegant.

You might think that this post went off topic or that I lost the red thread. Well, I like to live life with many threads of different colors and many red ones as well. They are all part of the same pattern. And hey… this is my blog.

The next post will be on giving your beloved perfume for Christmas. I think you will understand then why I wrote about these things tonight.

I leave you with a good night in the form of one of the most beautiful songs ever written in Swedish. It's by above mentioned Eva Dahlgren. Why does not someone make films about fragrances that look like this? It is not a very far-fetched idea... The song is "Vem tänder stjärnorna" which means "Who lights the stars". Sleep well.