Mitsouko EdT by Guerlain
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Mitsouko EdT by Guerlain

Hi there ULGers, You may know that Shalimar is my ride or die perfume. It has been part of my life since childhood, Mum and a few of her girlfriends wore it. It still smells so good on and to me. Thing is, wearing Shalimar is a big deal and it takes a lot of attention. So what’s happened is that Mitsouko has become something much easier for me to wear. A Guerlain for all seasons. It’s less memory scent, less awe inspiring ride and much less distracting. Without making it less beautiful, tapestried or interesting. I can wear Mitsouko and go about my day. The reason you’re getting this post is because I just gave myself a lavish spritzing.

Mitsouko EdT by Guerlain

mitsouko

These are the commonly offered featured accords:
Top: Bergamot, Rose, Jasmine, Citruses
Heart: Peach, Ylang-Ylang, Lilac, Rose, Jasmine
Base: Oakmoss, Spices, Vetiver, Cinnamon, Amber

I’m writing to you from the past. Currently Jin, Anna Maria and her husband Johnny and I are on an adventure together. We are off to Singapore and Busan, South Korea. Yes, I’m hoping there will be updates once we return.

Mitsouko EdT! Jacques Guerlain’s 1919 masterpiece is a mind blowing, blowsy, retro hit of gorgeousness. Did you know it was the first fruity chypre? Its peach note, which I find smells like the lid of a tin of canned peaches, was groundbreaking at the time. While smelling dated AF it still smells brand new and bang up to date as well. Because it’s a style not worn by modern youth, it feels brand new, subversive and oh so elegant.

The fruits of Mitsouko are not lush and juicy but sharp, metallic and very sunshiny. In comparison to Shalimar’s regal overblown elegance Mitsouko is definitely the Princess Margaret of the family. I really don’t smell most of the noted parts, Mitsouko is her own scent. A glamorous melange of that not quite real peach, a bouquet and spices all drizzled over a labdanum rich amber and that lovely furry oakmoss.

The top and heart are lovely but what really makes me swoon is the dry down. Which lasts for hours and hours. That peach/amber/oakmoss meld, with all the bit players, combines to create such a harmonious beauty. It’s dry but fleshy, sparkling ands spicy yet furry, cuddly and scintillating.

Mitsouko EdT by Guerlain

I’m wearing a vintage version but even the modern bottle shown below holds a delectable scent. Not quite as fusty as mine, the modern is a clearer, sheerer, brighter concoction that feels slightly more in line with modern tastes. Though it still has the marvelous shape of the vintage.

I’m seriously glad we are in a new era of the art nouveau inverted heart bottle designed originally by Raymond Guerlain in 1912. It’s such an icon of perfumery and feels good in my hand.

Mitsouko EdT by Guerlain

Are you a Mitsouko fan?
Portia xx

 

 

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Saturday Question: What Was the Last Mainstream Perfume You Tried?

With shelves already full of niche bottles and cherished vintages (and with the market constantly flooded by new releases that often feel more prolific than original), it’s easy to lose interest in what’s happening in mainstream perfumery… Until one day you walk through a department store, pass a duty-free counter, or receive a sample with a purchase – and you just have to try it!

 

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

 

Saturday Question #291:

What Was the Last Mainstream Perfume You Tried?

Was it something you sought out intentionally, or did you just happen to come across it? Did you like it? Would you consider wearing it?

My Answer

I received a sample of Burberry Her Elixir de Parfum with a Sephora order. I didn’t request that sample, they just sent it instead of some beauty packet I chose during the checkout. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t have probably even notice it in the store. But since it was already there, I tested it. Twice. I didn’t like it. It’s cloyingly sweet in the opening, plasticky-fruity, quite artificial and not particularly tenacious… though that might not be a bad thing in this case. I wouldn’t want to wear it, but as a skin scent, it becomes tolerable about 90 minutes into its development. I wouldn’t mind a shower gel with that faint residual vanilla+sandalwood combo.

How about you?

 

What Was the Last Mainstream Perfume You Tried?

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NOTHING but APJ Scent Diary

Hi there ULG crew, I’m well behind this fortnight and really have come up dry. There are a couple of half finished posts that I’ll get to but honestly, my head is not in the game. I’ve started back writing the Australian Perfume Junkies Scent Diary. You might remember it from the 2010s? Each week I’d do a run down of my life with most of the perfumes worn. Throughout the Christmas break I was reminded of the series and went back to see what they were like. What a fantastic memory lane, it’s like journaling but to share. So many moments came flooding back. So I’ve spent the last week, or so, getting that up and running again.

Sorry there’s nothing today. It’s all on me. Of all the ball drops this feels like a pretty minor one. No one is dead from it and in 10 years no one will remember it.

I’ll be back again next fortnight with some perfumed adventure to share.
HUG
Portia xx

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Saturday Question: Are You Buying Any INeKE Perfumes Before They Are Gone Forever?

A couple of days ago, I received an email from INeKE Perfumer San Francisco with a subject “Last Call for Ineke Perfumes.” Ineke Ruhland, the owner of and the nose behind this niche brand, wrote the following:

Hello fragrant friends,

After 20 years of making perfumes, I’ve reached a new chapter in my life and will wind down my business over the next few months. As many of you know, I co-founded Ministry of Scent with Antonia Kohl in 2018. We sell niche and indie brands from around the world in our two San Francisco stores, as well as online at ministryofscent.com. This year we’ll also be opening a Perfumery Studio in San Francisco and selling raw materials to perfume makers online. We’ve been growing in leaps and bounds, and it’s more than a full-time job, so I’ll be focusing my efforts on Ministry of Scent.

She also mentioned that there were some remaining bottles of her perfumes produced in the last small batches, samples and sample packs for some of them. There is no sale going on, whatever is available can be purchased now. Some online retailers also have the remaining stock, but I’m sure it’ll disappear quickly once the brand closes.

 

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

 

Saturday Question #290:

Are You Buying Any INeKE Perfumes Before They Are Gone Forever?

Do you have any favorites from this brand? Will you miss any of them?

My Answer

When three years ago I featured the brand in my Brand Appreciation: INEKE post, I ended it saying that I was looking forward to their next letter – K. I am sad that it will never happen.

I have 3 favorite perfumes from the brand – Field Notes From Paris (its story is in the post linked above), Hothouse Flower (“H” for Hothouse Flower by Ineke) and Idyllwild (Light and Shadows: Ineke Idyllwild). I still have enough of FNFP and Hothouse Flower. My Idyllwild bottle is still 1/3 full, but if feels like not enough. I enjoy this perfume very much. Recently, before I learned the news of the brand’s closing, I wore Idyllwild and thought how great it was and how much I liked it. Besides, this perfume holds a special place in my heart because of the picture I took for the post (a shadow of Rusty “smelling” a shadow of Idyllwild).

Rusty and Ineke Idyllwild

Considering that, I wanted to get a backup bottle. It was sold out on the site, so I ordered a pack of 10 samples thinking that 15 ml in addition to what I have in my original bottle would be enough. And only after I started putting together this post, I thought of checking Ineke’s new enterprise – The Ministry Of Scent. They still have a bottle of Idyllwild. I wrote to the brand’s sales to see if I could cancel the samples order and buy a bottle instead. I hope they’ll agree, I’ll get that backup bottle.

 

How about you?

 

Are You Buying Any INeKE Perfumes Before They Are Gone Forever?

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Fifteen Years Through the Looking Glass

Fifteen years. It sounds significant. Undina’s Looking Glass has been quietly alive for a decade and a half. Over that time, I’ve shared thoughts on hundreds of perfumes, collected stories, and occasionally lost myself in pages and pages of notes that never quite became posts.

Anniversaries have a way of making time feel tangible, which led me to a small thought experiment that had been on my mind lately.

Many of my long-time readers come from the same generation as I do. So, chances are, my reference to a 40-year-old movie will not be entirely unfamiliar.

I was thinking about the Back to the Future trilogy. While the films are largely about trying to repair the past after it has been unintentionally altered by time travel, the second movie introduces a particularly tempting side effect: knowledge brought from the future, precise enough to be useful and dangerous enough to change everything. That’s where my thought experiment comes in. What if I could do something similar, but on a much smaller and harmless scale – and only perfume-related, so no early tsunami warnings or other world-saving abilities involved?

Back To The Future Car

The car from the movie (I took that photo at Universal Studios park, CA in 2000)

I could have followed the movie logic and traveled 30 years back, since I’ve loved perfumes for as long as I can remember. But that would have placed me well before I went down the proverbial rabbit hole, and I’m not sure that my almost-signature-scent self would have been receptive to any perfume-related advice, let alone able to act on it.

Fifteen years, on the other hand, seems like the perfect destination. I was enthusiastic, curious, and actively absorbing “perfume wisdom.” Advice given then wouldn’t have needed translation or years of patience before I could act on it.

The first thing I would tell myself is simple: some preferences never change, and tuberose will never become “my” note. This would have saved me countless hours of testing perfumes I would inevitably dislike.

Next, I’d give some guidance on how to approach samples: There will be more perfumes I dislike than like. I shouldn’t spend money trying to test a brand’s complete range unless I can do it for free. And I must not hoard samples of perfumes I dislike just to maintain a full set. I will never change from “dislike” to “love,” and they will quietly evaporate – or worse, I’ll retest them later and waste time rediscovering that I didn’t like them.

Perfume Samples

I’d also advise myself on “special occasion” perfumes. Many of the perfumes I’ll love will be naturally bold, loud statement pieces – that can’t be changed, and shouldn’t be. But there are only so many occasions to wear them, so if I really want to enjoy them, I should designate more occasions as “special.” Weekends or work-from-home days should be perfect for this.

Finally, as an “almanac moment,” I would tell myself to buy Tom Ford Violet Blond as soon as it appeared at any discount, not to wait for the best price, and Jo Malone Lotus Blossom & Water Lily, a limited edition that would never be reissued. And also… I would have probably whispered to myself to invest in liquid gold, vanilla, and sell those positions in 2018 once the price hit $442,000 per ton… No, I shouldn’t! Even in my small, harmless experiment, changing too much (and for profit!) feels like sneezing on a butterfly wing, and who knows what ripple that might set off. What if my meddling had gotten Duchaufour fired from L’Artisan Parfumeur, and suddenly Nuit de Tubereuse never existed? Oh, wait… maybe it wouldn’t have been that bad… But no. Best not.

* * *

Since my blogoversary fell on Saturday, I decided to combine it with my regular Saturday Question. Above was “My Answer.” Now it’s your turn.

If you had the same magical channel to your past self, what year would you choose, and what advice would you give?

Just remember: that one-way membrane can pass only perfume-related information.

Signorina by Salvatore Ferragamo
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Signorina by Salvatore Ferragamo

Hey there ULGers, Let’s go back to 2011. How is that suddenly 15 years ago?!? Salvatore Ferragamo brought out a new pillar fragrance that has now spawned many flankers but the original still remains available worldwide. At very reasonable prices in the discounters too. One of my girlfriends bought it blind last year and decided it definitely did not fit the scent profile she hoped. She passed it on and I thought we could share the joy. I remember this coming out. I loved the hefty bottle with the two tone grosgrain bow and golden ball cap. Super cool and yet also full of gravitas. A slightly clunky fit in my hand, can’t imagine how awkward for tiny hands, but it works fine for me.

Signorina by Salvatore Ferragamo 2011

Signorina Salvatore Ferragamo

Featured accords:
Top: Pink Pepper, Black Currant
Heart: Rose, Peony, Jasmine
Base: Panacotta, Musk, Patchouli

Zingy pink pepper, the scent of the early 20th century and the high pitched, sugar laden fruity screech of perfumeries dream of black currant are a sensational opening gambit. It’s bright, fun and almost sizzling. Not groundbreaking, even in 2011, but a joyous fizzy, fruity waft that smells exactly as I’d imagine a Signorina wafting out the door on the way to meet friends. We perfumistas probably eye rolled hard at how obvious it was. well, now, 15 years later it smells like a beautiful moment in time.

The bouquet in the heart is really just filler because that super sweet, lactonic musky base that smells like it tastes like a creme caramel but more robust and less slimy. The patchouli is shorn of all the earthy bits and has that very smooth 2010s quality, basically a little depth but definitely a backup player. My nose is smelling that sandalwood type creaminess that comes with vanilla.

Signorina by Salvatore Ferragamo

Signorina is definitely festive. Feminine but not SO girly that it precludes the dudes having a go. I’m thinking that it would be a seriously cool scent for a guy. Edible. Longevity and sillage are excellent. The first couple of hours I’m super fragrant and smiling at how lush I smell.

I’m not sure how much wear it will get around here but I definitely like it and will not be moving it on quite yet.

EDIT: Interestingly, I’ve left Signorina out on my desk over the last week after writing this post and it has become my first choice. It’s so easy to wear and very pretty. I’m going to wear it again this evening.

Would you wear? Did you wear, Signorina?
Portia xx

 

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Saturday Question: Have You Ever Sold Any Perfumes?

I missed you all. I hope you had great holidays and are successfully fighting off post-holiday blues. Holidays went by too quickly! We’re in denial and not ready to let our Christmas trees go. Historically, both back in my native country and later when we moved to the U.S., we would keep decorations until January 14, the Old New Year (aka Orthodox New Year). So, on the January 15 evening, for the first time since December, I didn’t turn on the lights on the tree in the living room, thinking that I would remove decorations over the weekend, … looked for a while at the unusually dark space where I used to see those festive lights… and turned them back on. And later that evening, I also turned on the lights on my small tree in the bedroom. And then I remembered coming across an interesting post on Instagram that explained why we should keep our decorations until February 2, Candlemas. It’s decided now! I’ll keep them up until Groundhog Day!

But now back to regular programming. A Saturday Question.

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

Saturday Question #288:

Have You Ever Sold Any Perfumes?

If yes, where and how successfully? MUA? eBay? Craigslist? Poshmark? FB? Have you ever had any issues with that? Do you plan to sell anything in the future?

My Answer

I have absolutely no talent when it comes to selling. As I usually tell people when the topic comes up: “I wouldn’t have been able to sell anything if my life depended on it.” I’ll tell you more: I wasn’t able to sell anything when my life kind of depended on that. It was a lifetime ago, but at some point, in a bad economic situation of post-Soviet times, my vSO’s friend suggested that we pull together some funds, buy Indian Instant Coffee in bulk and sell it on our version of a flea market. Times were tough, and we needed money. It was a good plan. That coffee was quite popular back then. You could say that it was “the” coffee. Our price was the same as (if not better than) other sellers’ prices for identical items… (sigh) Luckily for us, we liked that coffee.

Indian Instant Coffee

Moving continents and several decades, I did fine running a couple of splits; I barely managed several swaps; but nah, I still can’t sell anything for profit.

 

How about you?

Have You Ever Sold Any Perfumes?

Obvious Un Bois and Un Musc
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Obvious Un Bois and Un Musc

Hey crew, Welcome to 2026! Maybe you heard of Obvious perfumes? They have become a mass-tige brand here in Australia and worldwide. From the gorgeous David Frossard who you may also know as the Creative Director behind some other brands like Le Liquides Imaginaires and Frapin. I had bought a few boxed travel sizes from Surrender To Chance  just in case I needed a mental health distraction over the silly season. Fortunately not warranted this year but now I’m giving them a wear.

Obvious

Obvious Un Musc

Obvious Un Bois

Bergamot, Black Pepper, Ambroxan, Cedar, Papyrus Wood, Gurjum Balm, Vetiver

Opening is fresh hewn woods, sawdust, hot metal and electrical sparks. As we head for the heart there is the memory evoking hit of pencil shavings and some oil/petrochemicals. Dry down is dark woods, old, dry and a little leathery. Sounds ghastly, doesn’t it? It’s not. Un Bois is beautiful and interesting and takes me on a journey. After the first hour or so the heft becomes a comfortable whisper. If you like the woods but are intolerant of that 21st century, lazy, scratchy, well overpowering amber woods trope then Un Bois might be a better choice for you.

Obvious Un Musc

Bergamot, Ginger, Amarys, Vetiver, Galbanum, Musks

Un Musc opens with a very softly spicy white floral. It’s got that smooth as beach glass coolness about it and reminds me of some unplaceable garden smell from my childhood. That cool floral greenery warms through in a most unusual way. It becomes fleshy and ripe but still totally vegetal. I’ve never smelt anything quite like it but it does bear an attitudinal resemblance to Mona di Orio’s Vanille. They smell nothing alike but the fragrant personality is very similar. Un Musc is sexy, and alluring in such a gentle way. Dry down is soft dewy kin but better smelling than mine. Fecund and welcoming. Un Musc is SO GOOD! You have no idea.

Obvious Un Bois and Un Musc

Obvious is not a beast mode, envelope pushing, Tik Tok influencer driven house. They are a well made, not super expensive, good smelling brand. Very wearable and probably a good starting point for anyone a bit bored by the designer output but not wanting to wear crazy, challenging, over the top juice. These are finely made fragrances with a nod to sustainability.

Obvious also has a very affordable Discovery Set. 16 x 1.5ml spray perfume samples and a €33 gift voucher valid for the purchase of a perfume 100ml. Yes, the full price comes as a gift voucher! I think that’s bloody ripper.

Have you tried any of the Obvious oeuvre?
Portia xx

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A Postcard from Undina: Happy New 2026 Year!

Last night when I came to my bedroom I was enchanted by this tiny Christmas tree on my dresser. We have a large tree in the living room as well, but every year for the bedroom I decorate a small tree with tiny ornaments, some of which are about 50 years old. These were ornaments that I used as a child at my grandma’s place for my own small plastic tree. It felt festive and magical then, and it still holds this feeling for me now.

Happy New 2026 Year!

Speaking of the large tree, when I was decorating it this year, I dropped another blast-from-the-[Christmas]-past heirloom – a large glass bell. It shattered completely. I felt that sharp pang of realization of the finality of what happened and even cried. But as my vSO was trying to console me, I came up with something that helped. I proposed we thought of it as a mishap that absorbed some future bad luck protecting us from it. It comforted me.

I wish you all health, happiness and energy to maintain (or establish) your own positive traditions. And let a shattered ornament to be our worst misfortune.

Happy New Year!

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Sunday Question: Christmas and Perfumes – Did You Celebrate? What Did You Wear? Did You Give or Receive Any Scented Presents?

Winter holidays are nearing the end, and soon we’ll start waiting for next year’s season. But while we’re still in the current one, let’s talk about it.

 

Saturday Question on Undina's Looking Glass

 

Saturday Question #287:

Christmas & Perfumes – Did You Celebrate? What Did You Wear? Did You Give or Receive Any Scented Presents?

Please share your holiday stories – as much or as little as you’d like, whether those include perfumes or don’t.

My Answer

I’m sure I wrote about this multiple times, but I don’t expect anyone to remember or, if you do, to mind me repeating myself. While not being religious, I kind of celebrate Hanukkah, and for many years, on Christmas Eve, we celebrated the birthday of our Christmas cat, Rusty. Which we quietly did with my vSO this year as well. On Christmas Day, we went to our friends’ house for another celebration. But since none of us can claim this holiday, it was more like an extended family gathering without a traditional gift exchange. I wore Lancôme Climat and loved it, as always.

I’ve got a small perfume gift for Christmas: the Harrods‘ Beauty Advent Calendar that I chose this year had a travel bottle of Etat Libre d’Orange Uruk. But even though I was opening a box every day to see what was there, I decided not to use any of the gifts before the New Year. So, I still haven’t tried Uruk (and based on the notes, I do not expect to like it – but we’ll see).

For the New Year, our main celebration that includes gifts, I expect a bottle of perfume (as a present from me to me). This is my only full-bottle purchase this year! I will tell you more about it next year, once I officially find it under my New Year tree. Other than that, I do not expect to receive or give any perfume-related gifts.

 

How about you?

 

Christmas & Perfumes – Did You Celebrate? What Did You Wear? Did You Give or Receive Any Scented Presents?