Undina's Looking Glass

It was a good week: still great weather; many wonderful posts in those categories that I track (and then some) and a very enjoyable opening ceremony of the Olympics 2012. I read a lot of criticism about it but I had good time watching it. Though I have to admit that I watched it recorded so I had a luxury of skipping through all the advertising. What I didn’t miss was the information that Ralph Lauren promises that for the next Olympic Games our team’s outfit will be Made in USA (instead of China).

Lemmings

Victoria (Bois de Jasmin) reported the new Hermes L’Ambre des Merveilles perfume to be launched in August. Somehow I managed not to try any of Merveilles’ incarnations before so I decided that I would start there.

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Dee (beauty on the outside): In Equistrius, [rice note] creates a warmly tactile aspect to the cool, silky, powder of orris— not unlike a quick stroke on the heated neck of your mount after an elegantly executed passage.

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Natalie (Another Perfume Blog) found her leather perfume (Nappa Noir by Six Scents) but even if you’re not in the search for the one I’m positive you’ll enjoy an accompanying fiction story (I don’t want to give away anything so I’m not quoting).

Laughs

Kathleen (No Disassemble Charlie No. 5): Although my favorite part of the sniffing trip was her reaction to the Montale display. “What is, this…fancy Axe?”

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Marlen (The Perfume Critic) published a funny story about his visit to Coty’s office in New York.

Loves

Clayton (What Man Should Smell Like): I wonder if I presented Opus III to the version of myself that existed 10 years ago, would I screw my nose up and say, “I think this is weird”. Perhaps so- but there is something about the scent that 2012 me loves. My last year’s post Library of Amouage touches first five perfumes in the collection.

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Kathleen (No Disassemble Charlie No. 5): If the Marilyn Monroe that popped out of JFK’s Birthday cake wearing little more than sparkles and a knowing smile had a love affair with Clark Gable in The Misfits, THAT would be Tuscan Leather!

Leftovers

Susan (Fine Fragrants) is getting married. If you want to say anything to her here is the right place.

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Jessica (Tinsel Creations), an art historian by trade who you might know better from her weekly reviews on NST, on her own blog has interesting series of posts The Art of Perfume Ads.

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Judith (the unseen censer) created My Perfume Portrait page on her site. She says it was easier than it seemed to do once she took my page as a template. Melissa (She Blogs it All) has also just launched a similar page Perfume Talk.

Carol (bloody frida) has List of perfume bottles and Steven (The Scented Hound) shares with his readers The Scented Hound’s Fragrance Collection. They do not specify which perfumes are their absolute favorites but at least it’s clear they like these enough to keep in their collections. If you are reading this post and have your own blog think about creating something like that someday – I’m sure many of your readers (I am for one) would be really curious to have your tastes mapped out in a readable format.

Last week was very serious: I haven’t come across any funny posts or comments. And I read most of the posts not only on my reading list but from “news & noise” category as well! So please, if I missed something laugh-worthy – give a link in your comment.

UPD: For a smile read Susan’s (Fine Fragrants) Juicy Crittoure dog shampoo review.

Lemmings

Victoria (Bois de Jasmin): Santal Majuscule is […] a romantic and tender scent of warm sandalwood brushed with honey and scattered with rose petals. Never mind Scheherazade’s palace, her skin must have smelled like this–of milk, roses and sweet spices.

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Modesty Brown (Modesty Brown loves make-up): On selected dates from 27th July, artists will be available in Jo Malone Boutiques in the capital, to customise boxes with your favourite London landmarks. There is no extra cost for the service and as you can see above, the sketches look really striking on the signature cream and black gift boxes. There’s no doubt that this would make an extra special gift for someone. (you have to click the link to see a picture!) WANT!

Loves

Blacknall Allen (aperfumeblog by Blacknall Allen) muses on the pedigree of Coco by Chanel: Polge  thought he could  reproduce this atmosphere of richness, of muffled ultra-refinement, by fusing three existing Chanel formulas to come up with a correspondingly intricate and Byzantine mixture to reflect the subdued baroque richness of the late Mademoiselle’s decor, so he combined Bois des Isles, Cuir de Russie, and Sycomore.  Et voila, the resinous, slightly sweet woody oriental that everyone now associates with the successful excesses of the eighties.

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Denyse (Grain de musc) shares beautiful pictures and haikus for the Hermessence collection. For my favorite Vetiver Tonka:

And away it flows,
Robbing the sun’s bright light
Such is the source!

Find your favorite here.

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For those of you who scans through posts headlines to decide if to read it, I want to bring to your attention touching Angela’s (Now Smell This) review of the discontinued Dior-Dior perfume by Christian Dior. This one was my least favorite out of three that my mother had when I was a child and it is discontinued and practically unavailable so I could have missed this post as well. And I’m glad that I haven’t: perfume itself doesn’t matter. It’s hard to use a vintage, discontinued fragrance knowing that when it’s gone it’s likely gone for good. But enjoying a perfume sure beats simply having the perfume.

Leftovers

In case you missed, Sigrun of frafrancefanatic has moved her blog. New blog is Riktig Parfym.

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I like Atelier Cologne brand. I was an early adopter and bought two small bottles of their colognes two years ago. So of course I was thrilled to read that they will release two new perfumes this Fall – Rose Anyonme and Vétiver Fatal. And when they come to my local Neiman Marcus I will test them. But I’m mildly annoyed: did they really need to release two more agarwood perfumes? Well, yes, they did – how else do you justify nowadays raising prices 20-30% (two years ago I paid $55 for each!)? And it’s not even read agarwood!

Last weekend was filled with events – a short trip to Carmel with my vSO to celebrate an anniversary on Saturday (a post is coming at some point, I think); the First Artisan Fragrance Salon on Sunday (my post and pictures are here). Since I didn’t have time for my weekly round-up post for the last week here’s a double portion of those posts that made me laugh, created lemmings or reviewed my favorite perfumes.

Lemmings

Thomas (Candy Perfume Boy): Since its release in 2005 Mugler has released a plethora of Alien Editions, each of which has seemed better than the last, and it would be fair to say that the very latest edition ‘Alien Essence Absolue’ is the best yet, and they know it too hailing Essence Absolue as “The Supreme Perfume”. And, if it wasn’t enough, here comes news about four more upcoming limited editions: Thierry Mugler is set to release four limited edition leather interpretations of their most popular scents.

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Birgit (Olfactoria’s Travels) keeps creating Amouage-related lemmings: The many faces of Interlude Woman can seem chaotic at times, only to resolve themselves into recurring moments of perfect clarity again and again. The seemingly rivaling accords of almost masculine spices and woods and the tender, feminine florals dance a powerful choreography around a core that is imperturbable and stands like a rock in the midst of all that agitation. And once you think she’s done, here comes the second volley: Interlude Man feels like a strong man with a soft heart, someone to protect you, care for you, be there for you. Oh my, can it be that Interlude Man is my knight in shining armor?

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Parfumista (Parfumistans Blogg) reviews a perfume with an interesting name from the brand about which I haven’t heard before: Impossible Iris is high quality stuff, very versatile, it’s the perfect officescent, a sort of first-class Prada Infusion d’Iris Edp replacement. Impossible Iris is also the perfect “lunch at some elegant restaurant fragrance” or something to wear at a day time reception… If you want to know more about this brand and when it’s coming to the US read Carrie’s (eyeliner on a cat) interview with the perfumer.

Laughs

Speaking of lemmings…
Dionne: … it was amazing how quickly they [lemmings] quieted down once I stepped away. Conversely, I swear I heard a couple of them yell “CANNONBALL!” the moment I opened up my Google Reader.
Mals: Your lemmings yell “Cannonball!”?? Mine rub their hands together and whisper evilly. Then they go have mad lemming sex and multiply.) More in comments.

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Vanessa (Bonkers about Perfume): What were the owners of the store trying to tell their customers, I wondered? Interestingly, no other ornaments were used on any other items of furniture to suggest possible usage. There were no fruit bowls on the dining tables, no hats on the hat stand, no monks on the monks bench, for example.

Loves

Steve (The Scented Hound): Bombay Bling is a hard fragrance for me to describe. It goes on sweet and fruity, but in a very subdued and subtle way. Maybe it’s because there’s a tinge of pepper that hides behind the top notes, or maybe it’s the base of warmth that keeps the sweetness under control. In any case, the opening stage of this fragrance is lovely and embracing. In fact the nice thing about this scent is that as it wears the opening doesn’t really disappear it just becomes a bit more subtle.

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Madeline (AustralianPerfumeJunkies) reviews four perfumes from my favorite perfume house: AMOUAGE Awesome Foursome.

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Natalie (Another Perfume Blog) writes a perfect “thank you for visiting” letter to my new perfume love – Cruel Gardenia (here’s my story of falling in love with this wonderful perfume).

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Portia (AustralianPerfumeJunkies): On my skin I love the crackling, nearly burnt herbs and spices that fly and waft freely as soon as you spray Ambre Sultan, as if you’ve just thrown them on a very hot, dry pan over a campfire. It’s harsh, bitter, green, wood, vanilla and smoke all at the same time and it jumps up and assaults your nostrils, BAM!

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Birgit (Olfactoria’s Travels): Chypre Palatin is a very unique perfume. I don’t have anything like it in my collection and I love its total recognizability. This is a perfume you could immediately identify when you smelled it “in the wild”.

Last Friday when my vSO showed me one of the temperature maps of the US (similar to the one below) my reaction was:” We do NOT pay enough for our real estate!” (For those who aren’t familiar with the subject, take a look here). It was such a beautiful week here, in San Francisco Bay Area! Warm but not hot, breathy, with just enough sun to feel summer-y.

Here are posts that created perfumes lemmings, made me laugh or reviewed perfumes that I love.

Lemmings

Even though I still haven’t tried the last two perfumes from Amouage – Opus VI and Beloved, I’m lemming already for the next one. I definitely have a thing for dark blue bottles!

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Gaia (The Non-Blonde): People who dislike the popular pairing of coconut milk note with fig will rejoice at the Armani Privé interpretation. It also doesn’t have even a hint of creamy woods, or much wood at all. This is not the olfactory representation of the lush Mediterranean tree or the wonderful aroma of its leaves, green and sappy, giving much needed shade and relief on a hot summer day. Instead, Figuier Eden focuses on the ripeness of the fruit, sweet and juicy, paired with mandarin orange and what smells like peach tea. Once again I don’t understand why they stopped carrying Armani Privé line of perfumes in most places in the U.S.

Laughs

Sigrun (fragrantfanatic): Let’s start with the name, “1889 Moulin Rouge”, a legendary nightclub in Paris, mostly known for its can-can dancers. How might it have smelled in 1889? Like lots of warm bodies, probably. Some of them wearing the same skimpy scene costumes night after night at a time when hygiene standards probably did not include daily showers or dry cleaning. Is that something you’d want bottled? If you’re not some kind of Victorian bent pervert, sure, but most us would likely prefer living in ignorance on this one.

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Vanessa (Bonkers about Perfume): I am patiently waiting for the day when someone attempts to lick me wearing ANY fragrance. Or while not wearing any fragrance. I am ludicrously happy just to receive a compliment about my SOTD, as that is such a rare occurrence.

Loves

Angela (Now Smell This) reviews one of my favorite perfumes from one of my most favorite brands: This review is a cry for glamour and an entreaty to give Gold Woman a square sampling. Perhaps you’ve dared a spritz at a perfume boutique and were daunted by its Birgit Nilsson of a voice. Maybe you thought, sure I’ll wear Gold Woman — as soon as I get gold taps for my bathtub and a Persian cat. I get it. I can’t pull off Gold Woman most days. I suspect that most of my current readers have read four participans’ take on Amouage Gold Woman vs. Lancome Climat but if no – you might want to take a look, it was an interesting experiment.

Leftovers

I wasn’t sure if to put it in loves or laughs so it ended up in this section. You’ve probably heard already that Chandler Burr’s mystery S01E01 perfume was Prada’s Infusion d’Iris. I find it really ironic: a day before Mr. Burr unveiled his first offering I posted Alien wears Prada Infusion d’Iris in which I told the story of not being influenced by the brand, the bottle, the packaging and even the perfume itself but later falling for the picture from the ad campaign. As Katie Puckrik’s pen pal called it: “It’s the anti-Burr approach.”

Now, when you know what perfume it was, have you changed your original judgment of the project (whatever it was)?

Me? Whereas I can clearly see how Prada’s original bottle is more beautiful and attractive than CB’s “unmarked 50ml lab bottles”, I do not understand why

structure is virtually invisible; it is one of the most seamless pieces of scent work I know, almost unnervingly perfect. It has an astonishing olfactory texture, soft, cool, precise.

The beauty in this scent lies, in part, in the fact that it is designed to function while making virtually no noise at all. Wearing it makes you feel like you’ve walked away to a distant point and sat down in a cloud bank; it lends you the purity of purpose and the luxury of self-imposed isolation.

… is supposed to be considered less of “marketing techniques” than

was inspired by a quest for balance and harmony in a chaotic, contradictory world. […]

“A perfume is like a dream, a journey to Italy, an atmosphere, the clean fragrance of starched linen sheets against naked skin. It comprises familiar aromas, natural oils and priceless extracts. It imitates none of the current trends in perfumery. It does not follow in the footsteps of the established olfactory or descriptive stereotypes for perfumes for women, but is expressed in the contrast between extraordinary freshness, apparent lightness and a sort of delicate, yet sensual and strong veil that embraces the body and the clothing of the woman who wears it.”

Yesterday, while stopping at the local Nordstrom’s perfume counter to chat with a friendly SA, I sniffed the air and immediately asked if she was wearing Infusion d’Iris. She was. Infusion d’Iris Absolue, a sample of which I got from her to do a parallel test at home with the EdP version. So I was right not to play this game. I do not think I need that “blindfold” to appreciate perfumes: I like perfumes many other people completely dismiss; I cannot wear some perfumes from the brands I love and I stay completely cold towards many well-respected and highly acclaimed perfumes. I do not need Chandler Burr telling me Infusion d’Iris is a warm scent – for me it smells and always will smell cold and, I agree with Katie, standoffish.