Author: Undina

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“My” brand and “not my” brand

 

As I was updating My Perfume Portrait I looked closer at my favorite perfumes from the brands prospective.

In my pre-perfumista life I didn’t even think about brands. I would try all new mainstream perfumes, no matter who’d created them, choose those I wanted to get immediately and those for which I would wait to buy online discounted. Over years I wore Dior, Givenchy, Yves Rocher, Elizabeth Arden and YSL. I might have owned a couple of perfumes from the same brand at the same time but I’m not sure.

The first brand I recognized as such was Jo Malone. I can’t say that all of their perfumes immediately became my favorites but I kept finding more and more perfumes I liked and wanted to wear. Even today Jo Malone’s perfumes dominate my collection with at least 2:1 ratio to any other most popular brands.

Jo Malone in my collection

But while the number of bottles might be a sufficient condition to qualify a brand as “my“, it’s not a necessary one. Taking into the account prices of modern niche perfumes as well as bottle sizes and the size of my collection, a couple of samples or a small decant sometimes is all I need to enjoy the perfume I like. And sometimes I simply have the feeling that the brand is just right for me.

Do you remember how it was for you in the beginning? For me it was an enormous amount of information – names, notes, perfumers and brands.  The first brand I consciously approached three years ago, when I was just starting my voyage into the unknown world of niche perfumery, was Amouage. My first samples order consisted of seven perfumes from the brand; five of them were hits. Amouage is one of “my” brands ever since – even though I can’t add all the perfumes I like to my collection as full bottles.

Rusty and Amouage Memoir

Among other brands that I consider in the same category (not counting new(er) brands with less than five perfumes in the line) are Ormonde Jayne,  Annick Goutal, Atelier Cologne, Tom Ford, Chanel and Dior (exclusive lines from the last two). I do not love or want to wear all of the perfumes from these lines but on average these brands create more perfumes that I (at least) like. These are “my” brands.

On the other end of spectrum there are brands, work of which I respect, find interesting and sometimes even love but in general I feel like those brands are “not my.” By Kilian, Guerlain, Tauer Perfumes, Serge Lutens or Frederic Malle are good examples of such brands. Even though I own several bottles and decants from all these brands, their perfumes don’t work for me more often than they do.

Perfume bottles

If you were to name just two brands – one that is totally you and one that mostly leaves you cold – what would those be?

 

Images: my own

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Orange Cats in My Life – Part III: Love from the First ‘Awww…’

 

When I published the first episode of this series in December I thought I’d be done with all parts within a month. But then something kept coming up. So for those who recently started reading this blog, here are the links to the first two episodes of Orange Cats in My Life – Part I: Found and Lost and Part II: A Grin without a Cat

 

I do not like going to movie theaters. I have multiple reasons for that but three main ones are: the length of modern films (who can sit straight through three hours of anything??!), not numbered seats (which for me adds anxiety and at least 30 minutes to an already insane time at cinema) and popcorn smell (I hate it).

For most new releases I wait for a DVD to watch in the comfort of my home with food (and smells!) of my choice. But some movies are just made to be watched in theaters. Titanic, for instance. Ok, I’m joking – I haven’t seen this one in a theater or otherwise. But once a year I find a movie that I want to experience on a big screen.

For three years Lord of the Rings films were my once-per-year cinema fix. But after the last chapter was over it was hard to find a suitable candidate. After some considerations the choice was made: Shrek 2. I wasn’t a huge fan of the first movie and the only reason for seeing the sequel that I can remember was that there were going to be two of my favorite singers – Tom Waits and Nick Cave.

The first time Puss in Boots put on his doe-eyed expression the theater went “Awwww…” and I could swear I heard not only women’s and children’s voices there. That was the moment when I fell in love with that adorable deceitfully innocent gaze.

Puss in Boots

I became obsessed – not even with the character himself but with that particular video frame. Once I found it (it took some time for people to steal it in a good quality and share with the World), this cuteness overload epitome literally stayed in my day-to-day life for years: I used this picture as a wallpaper on two (consecutive) laptops and two (once again, consecutive) smartphones.

A couple of years ago while moving to the next computer I decided that it was time to let him go. But every time I come across this transfixing gaze somewhere on Internet my heart sinks a little in that culturally acquired* “Awww… “

 

*I do not recall a similar exclamation or sentiment itself in my native language/culture.

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Winners of M.Micallef Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture Draw

 

I thought of bribing Rusty to help me with the draw but realized that choosing 10 winners out of 31 entries would take him forever so I decided that random.org wouldn’t be as cute but quick and accurate.

Micallef Draw Winners

The winners of the draw are (please check the screen names in comments since there were some similar names with different initials): hajusuuri, Christina Segal, civet, Juli B., Dubaiscents, taffyj, Natalie, Lisa B., leathermountain and susan.

You have until Sunday, July 28th, to send your US shipping address to Mr. Dame: jd at jeffreydame . com (you know what to do to get a proper address from this, right? If no, contact me)

And this is what Rusty was doing instead of choosing winners:

Sleeping Rusty

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M.Micallef Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture: The Oud That Wasn’t There

 

That day my morning started at 6:30, a good three hours before my comfort waking-up time and at least ninety minutes before I force myself into the regular work day, with a call from the office. While I was trying to ascertain the problem and decide who else to wake up, with a sudden clarity I realized what was that pleasant scent that haunted me from the sleeve of my bathrobe for a couple of days:
Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture by M.Micallef.

…

A PR person of M.Micalef brand had contacted me several times in the past offering samples for the review. I truthfully explained that I did not do actual reviews, even for perfumes I liked, if they din’t come with a story – and I never knew when (or even if) I’d think of one. But they still kept sending me samples that didn’t speak to me (even though I liked some of the perfumes). So when they’ve announced M.Micallef’s release of Le Parfum Couture Denis Durand and suggested to contact them for a sample I decided not to – since I felt bad enough not writing anything yet.

But I got Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture sample from the company anyway. I avoided reviews that started to appear on the blogs until I could try that perfume (sorry, guys and girls – in case you wondered why I didn’t comment).

When Le Parfum Couture arrived, I sprayed it, sniffed and told to myself: This is how agarwood perfume should be done! Not too much, not too sweet – just right.

The Oud That Wasnt There

How do you feel when you do a blind sniff, clearly smell some note but later find out the perfume doesn’t contain it? Since I don’t think much of my nose I don’t get upset when it happens. I was rather surprised – not as surprised as when I actually get the note right (then I feel both surprised and proud of myself) but still.

When I started reading other bloggers’ reviews, I discovered that I wasn’t alone: many reviewers reported smelling agarwood (oud) in Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture. If you haven’t read theories/explanations on what we all smelled in the perfume, I recommend reading the first two links below and choose which explanation works for you.

What I want to point out is that for all intents and purposes we can say that Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture has agarwood among its notes. How did I figure? Most modern perfumes do not use real agarwood anyway (as well as many other real notes but it’s a different story) so who’s to say that this aroma chemical or accord is less oud than any other one if we all smell it like such?

I wish I could take a picture of Rusty with that beautiful black-laced bottle. Maybe one day I will since I like Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture a lot. But for now I’ll leave you with a picture of a sample vial – one of the 10 that you can win if you live in the U.S. (thanks to Jeffrey Dame at Hypoluxe, an official representative of M.Micallef in the U.S.).

Micallef Denis Durand Parfum Couture Vial

To be eligible for the draw all you need to do is to leave a message saying that you live in the U.S. before 11:59PM on Sunday, July 21. You do not have to write anything else (but do not stop yourself if you do have what to say). I’ll choose winners using some random method.

Read actual reviews of Le Parfum Denis Durand Couture by M.Micallef:

Ca Fleure Bon, Now Smell This, That Smell, Kafkaesque, Chemist in the Bottle, The Scented Hound, Perfume Project NW, The French Exit, The Non-Blonde.

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Honor System Posting

 


This is the Honor System Virus.
Please send this to everyone in your e-mail address book, and then format your hard drive.
Thank You!
Parody of virus hoaxes, late 90s


A couple of months ago Puredistance held a drawing for samples of M and Opardu on the Kafkaesque blog. One of the conditions was that each randomly selected winner would “take a nice (creative) photo of his/her satin pouch and spray vials, and post that photo on either your Facebook status or on Twitter.” And since that was a future action request Kafka wrote:

Obviously, there is no way to check if you have or have not, so we’re going by the Honour System here. :) But it’s a tiny request from a wonderful perfume house that not a lot of people know about, so I think it would be nice to get the word out, don’t you?

I was one of the winners. Since I read that post, every time I think about the “honour system” I can’t help but smile remembering that old joke about the virus.

I couldn’t figure out any really creative way for taking those pictures so, as often, I just moved my photo shoot to the area where Rusty would have no problems inserting himself into the said pictures. I will post some of them on Facebook and Twitter, as was requested, but for my readers I present all of them here.

Rusty and Puredistance Bag

Rusty and Puredistance Bag

I tested M on my vSO. I like it on him; he likes it but says that it’s a little spicier than he’d like – not refusing to wear it though so it’s still a candidate for getting into my collection one day. If you’ve tried Puredistance M you know what I’m talking about. If not, I recommend reading reviews by Kafka (Kafkaesque), Birgit (Olfactoria’s Travels), Suzanne (Eiderdown Press) and Steve (The Scented Hound) – and then testing it.

Rusty and Puredistance Bag

Opardu is very pleasant and I would not mind wearing it but I’m not in love with the scent so probably the sample (or a small decant in a swap) will be the extent of my involvement with it. Other bloggers were much more enchanted by Opardu so if you haven’t tried it yet read reviews by Kafka (Kafkaesque), Suzanne (Eiderdown Press) and Birgit (Olfactoria’s Travels) – and then hunt down a sample: you might just love it.

Rusty and Puredistance Bag

I would love to hear your thoughts about Puredistance M, Opardu, Rusty or creative pictures but, just in case you’re in the mood for a non-perfume-related questions, I have one for you:

What was the most memorable computer virus you’ve ever encountered or heard of?

 

Images: my own

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Entertaining Statistics: June, 2013

 

Most of June I’ve spent either traveling or recovering from it so perfume-wise that month went like in a haze.

Since I didn’t want to bring samples with me in June I tested1 less perfumes than I normally do but I had a chance to sniff a lot of new perfumes both in Vienna and in Paris so most perfumes I tested this month were new for me.

For my trip (have you seen my pictures of linden blossom I took in Ukraine, Austria and France?) I took with me about 20 different perfumes but I wore2 only 14 of them.

What I realized was that living in the area with a great climate and adequate AC systems everywhere I’ve got a completely wrong idea about what perfumes would be suitable for heat. Not only I couldn’t enjoy many of my favorites I thought I would but also I discovered that hot humid weather disagrees with most of my perfumes: they would disappear from my skin within a couple of hours after the application and under the circumstances I didn’t even feel like re-applying.

For this month’s statistics I decided to look into how weather conditions affected my enjoyment of perfumes. I compared my reactions during this trip to the most recent pre-trip ones I had for the same perfumes.

June 2013 Stats

I still enjoyed the perfumes I wore on more occasions than not. And there was even one perfume – Diptyque Volutes that I loved much more wearing there than when I tested it earlier. But eight times of twenty the weather came between me and perfumes I used to enjoy at home.

Has anything like that ever happened to you?

 

Quick June stats:

Numbers in parenthesis are comparison to the previous month’s numbers.

* Different perfumes worn: 23 (-3) from 19 (-1) brands on 29 (0) occasions;

* Different perfumes tested: 24 (-4) from 17 (-1) brands on 26 (-4) occasions;

* Perfumes I tried for the first time: 21 (12);

* Perfume houses I wore most often: Jo Malone, Keiko Mecheri, L’Artisan Parfumeur and Le Labo;

* Perfume houses I tested the most: Neela Vermeire Creations and Xerjoff;

 

1 When I wear a perfume I apply it to at least three-four points and usually I plan to spend at least 4-8 hours with the same scent so I’m prepared to re-apply if the original application wears off.

2 For the testing I apply a perfume to one area on my arms easily available for the repetitive sniffing. But, most likely, I’m the only one who can smell it. I can test two, sometimes even more perfumes at the same time.

 

Image: my own

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Have Perfume Atomizer – Will Travel

 

Almost everybody in my surroundings knows that I am “into perfumes.” That’s how I got into my possession two different types of perfume atomizers. From there it was a short stretch to getting a couple more and putting them all to test – especially since I had this trip coming up with six flights two of which were longer than eleven hours.

I tested five decanting atomizers – plain bottle, Nordstrom Atomizer, Flo, Travalo and sen7. Ratings (where applicable) are on the 1-5 scale with 5 being the highest. My evidence is anecdotal; I do not claim a scientific approach or validity of the experiment.

Atomizers

Brand: No name plain glass bottle with clear top from SKS-Bottle
Capacity: 5 ml
Refillable from: bottles with removable sprayer, integrated sprayer and splash bottles
Ease of filling: 3
Material of the perfume container: glass
Leak proof: 4 (based on a dozen I tested)
Price, availability and options: $17.28 + S&H for 48 atomizers online
Pros: cheap per piece and works with all bottle types; made of glass
Cons: not as leak proof as other solutions: bottles from the same batch might be better or worse; for bad ones even parafilm doesn’t improve the situation – they leak during air travel (read “being mailed”); requires additional accessories to transfer perfumes from splash bottles; breaks easily.

Atomizer SKS

Brand: Nordstrom Atomizer
Capacity: 5 ml (it says 0.5oz on the page but it’s a mistake)
Refillable from: bottles with removable sprayer, integrated sprayer and splash bottles
Ease of filling: 3
Material of the perfume container: glass
Leak proof: 5 (based on two I tested)
Price, availability and options: $5 online and at Nordstrom stores, comes in 12 colors.
Pros: made of glass and protected by aluminum with anodized finish; great choice of colors; works with all bottle types
Cons: It requires additional accessories to transfer perfumes from a splash bottle and experience to fill it from a bottle with a sprayer.

Nordstrom Atomizer

Brand: FLO
Capacity: 4.7 ml
Refillable from: bottles with removable sprayer, integrated sprayer and splash bottles
Ease of filling: 5
Material of the perfume container: glass
Leak proof: 5 (based on one I tested)
Price, availability and options: $10-$15 online and in some stores; two sizes – 4.7 ml and 6 ml; 3 colors.
Pros: works with any bottle type without additional accessories; made of glass with aluminum cover and built-in funnel that makes it easy to fill it from any bottle
Cons: comes just in 3 colors; it’s bigger than other atomizers.

Atomizer Flo

Brand: Travalo Classic
Capacity: 4 ml
Refillable from: perfume bottles with removable sprayer only
Ease of filling: 5 (for bottles with a removable sprayer); 0 (for splash bottles and integrated sprayers)
Material of the perfume container: plastic
Leak proof: 5 (based on one I tested)
Price, availability and options: $10-$20 online and in many stores; two sizes – 4 ml and 5 ml, 10 colors, with or without the aluminum cover, spray or roller.
Pros: It’s really easy to fill from an appropriate bottle; it’s durable (plastic with aluminum protection cover), looks good, doesn’t leak even under pressure and allows you to have at least 10 travel companions (based on color choices)
Cons: It doesn’t work with a splash bottle; made of plastic; the place where it connects to a bottle picks up the scent (from filling in, not because it leaks) so potentially it’ll transfer to your pocket or a purse if you keep it in there; too expensive for the purpose.

Atomizer Travalo

Brand: sen7 classic
Capacity: 5.8 ml
Refillable from: bottles with removable sprayer, integrated sprayer and splash bottles
Ease of filling: 4
Material of the perfume container: plastic
Leak proof: 4 (based on one I tested)
Price, availability and options: $38 – $499 (contact them for pricing for atomizers with diamonds – I’m not kidding) online and in some B&M stores in Europe, comes in more than 20 colors, different finishes including sterling silver and rubber; with funnel or “easyfill  system”
Pros: works with any bottle type since it comes with its own funnel; polished gun-metal finish looks very stylish and protects great against breakage; it doesn’t even look like an atomizer; it’s extremely cute, pleasant for the eye and to the touch
Cons: perfume container is made of plastic; that plastic part’s strange shape resulted in me overfilling it and it leaked (at least I told myself that was the reason); the price is totally outrageous even before we go into precious metals option. But all that is nothing compared to the main complaint: it’s not that easy to use – I mean the actual use, once you managed to fill it in with your favorite perfume. It’s hard to get a good grip of to actually spray the perfume on yourself. So it’s a good thing it doesn’t break easily once it slips through your fingers.

Atomizer Sen7

 

None of the atomizers I tested addressed the issue of marking decants, which will be a problem once you make more than one in a similar container – even if you were to go with different colors. I used my label maker but those labels make atomizers less appealing. I’d recommend to manufacturers to look into some materials that allow creating a label by applying pressure with something like a stylus and then affixing that label to the atomizer or at least to designate some space on the atomizer for writing with a Sharpie marker: Travalo, Flo and sen7, it’s great that you spent time thinking on how to make your brand noticeable and recognizable on the bottle but I still care slightly more for the name of the perfume I’m decanting into those atomizers.

Atomizers

Conclusion: while simple atomizers are the most economical way of sharing or testing perfumes, when it comes to decanting favorite (“Travalo Worthy” – ©Vanessa) perfumes for my own use I will probably vote for Nordstrom’s Atomizers: they are small, made of glass (I prefer it to plastic) with protective cover, come in many different colors and do not cost one third of a full bottle price. I would have gone for Flo since it’s even better protected and is easier for refilling but three colors aren’t enough – even if I use those only for my all-time favorites.

Do you have any favorite atomizers? (share your links if different from those above).

 

Images: my own

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What we did in Paris… in less than 48 hours

 

When I planned a three-day … well, I won’t even call it a trip – stopover in Paris I knew it would be not enough even to scratch the surface of everything that this city has to offer to a tourist, a perfumista or a foodie (who I am not but just saying). But when French air traffic controllers’ strike gave me a chance to meet Birgit and Sandra in Vienna at the same time it ensured I would have to revise whatever modest plans I might have had initially for Paris.

From Paris With Love

The lady who rented us the apartment was a little strange: she refused to talk to me on the phone claiming that “I do not see the need to call me. You have all the necessary information, and I am an honest and respectable 61-year French.” Persuasive, right? But I went ahead and signed the contract.

I’m not sure how we would have got into the apartment if it weren’t for Vanessa of Bonkers about Perfume who came to Paris on a train earlier (the last-minute change of plans because of the above-mentioned strike) and offered to meet us at the apartment. She was entertaining the landlady and not letting her leave for some important errand while our taxi driver first maneuvered through the Friday traffic and then tried to figure out how to get to the required point on the one-way street (I refused to do it on feet with suitcases!).

After we got in and the landlady left Vanessa and I discussed for a while if the woman could be 60+. We both agreed that even for a Parisian who doesn’t age the same as us, mere mortals, the woman to whom we just paid money for the stay looked suspiciously young… My vSO and I agreed that we weren’t sure what would upset us more – having paid to an impostor or acknowledging that the woman we saw was actually 61.

***

They say: Be careful what you wish for. I’d add: be careful what you do not wish for.

While we were planning our itinerary for the rest of the day, I mentioned that I didn’t really need to go to either Guerlain or Serge Lutens stores since I were up to date with the most current offerings and didn’t plan of buying anything there. But since I was in Paris it was just plainly wrong not to take a look at those legendary places…

You can read more about the events that followed that day in Vanessa’s post (the link above) but from me here are two pictures of the famous stores taken from the outside.

Guerlain store in Paris

Serge Lutens store in Paris

Vanessa was such a great company that I didn’t want to let her go. But after the last excuse – helping us to book a taxi drive to the airport for the departure day – we had to say good-byes hoping to meet again one day.

The second (and the only full) day in Paris we spent alternating walking the streets and eating/drinking. In about eleven hours we covered a lot including an incredibly pleasant meeting with Neela Vermeire of Neela Vermeire Creations and the second in two days trip to Jovoy to finish the methodical sniffing Vanessa and I had to halt the day before because of the store closing and to purchase my vacation perfume.

Neela proved to be to the every last bit as nice as all interviews with and stories about her portrait her. I was glad she found time to meet with me despite her busy schedule. Now I look forward to testing the newest perfumes from the line – Mohur Esprit de Parfum and Ashoka – samples of which Neela was kind to bring for me.

Paris

It seems that my vSO enjoyed all the perfume-related interruptions during this trip. Or at least he was a good sport – and I’m grateful to him for that.

Oh, and if you were wondering what perfume I bought to remind me about this – my first – trip to Paris, I’ll tell you without asking you to guess: Bombay Bling! by Neela Vermeire Creations. As I said in my story about three perfumes from the line, “It is a full-bottle worth perfume for me.”

Rusty and Bombay Bling

 

Images: my own

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A Postcard from Undina: From Vienna with Love

 

Vienna holds a very special place in my heart: that was the very first European city I’d ever visited and I was completely enchanted by it. Since it was just an overnight plane change (back then hotel was included into the plane ticket) we didn’t plan anything. My vSO and I hopped on the bus at the airport and went to the downtown.

It was a wonderfully warm June evening. Almost everything was closed but we didn’t really care because we had no money to spend anyway. We walked curved narrow streets with old but well-preserved buildings, wide boulevards and well-maintained parks and felt as if we were transported into one of those historical books we’d read as children. By that time we both had been to Moscow, St. Petersburg and even New York but somehow Vienna stood out of all the previous experiences and was just magical.

Vienna St Stephen's Cathedral

A year later on the same route we decided to stay in Vienna one extra night, which meant paying for both since by staying longer than necessary we were forfeiting the stay paid by the airline. It was too expensive for us but we loved Vienna so much and wanted to spend more time there.

Vienna met us cold and rainy and everything was a little off: the room (in the same hotel!) wasn’t as nice as the one for which we didn’t have to pay a year earlier; on our walk in the downtown we kept looking for places to get warm so architecture outside had less appeal; and parks were much less attractive under grey skies and gloomy rain.

We still managed to get something from the trip but it wasn’t worth the money we paid for it. So even though I still thought of Vienna as of a magical city somehow for more than ten years our trail didn’t go through it.

I wouldn’t have stayed there this year as well if it weren’t for my long-time wish to meet Birgit of Olfactoria’s Travels. Our original plan involved repeating the perfect experience of an overnight stay in Vienna with a dinner in a pleasant company as a culmination. At the last moment circumstances changed and the dinner was canceled. But luckily there was the second negative – air controllers strike in France, my next destination, – so a double negative has resolved to a positive: Birgit, Sandra, my vSO and I met the next morning for a breakfast (it was lovely) and a quick perfume sniffing tour (an added bonus that understandably wasn’t planned for the dinnertime).

The weather cooperated and we had the most wonderful time – walking the streets and parks, dining at restaurants with Austrian cuisine and maybe even finding a new perfume love. Vienna is a wonderful city! Oh, and I have to say that none of the pictures Birgit showed to us do her justice: she looks even younger and more beautiful in real life.

Vienna Hofburg Palace

I wish most negatives in your life to resolve to positive!

 

With Love,
Undina

 

Images: my own

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A Postcard from Undina: From Ukraine with Love

 

This year in Ukraine summer started earlier and it’s unpleasantly hot and humid. But as an upside to that I’ve finally got to smell blooming linden again. Normally linden blooms in July; it’s even reflected in the name for that month – Липень (in Ukrainian linden – липа). But thanks to the weather it’s in full bloom now.

Linden Blossom

I’m not sure I can find the right words to describe this scent. All I can say: it is even more beautiful than I remembered and was longing for!

Early summer of my High school graduation year. Blooming linden trees in the downtown of the city where I lived. Bitter-sweet scent fills the air. Bitter-sweet feelings overflow me […]
I remember walking the streets, inhaling the bitter scent of linden blossom and wanting to be happy… It was a very abstract thought. I didn’t define what exactly “happy” would mean, I didn’t have any specific wishes; I just wanted to change that one component of my life. I was longing for a combination of a warm evening, problems left behind, wonderful bitter scent of linden and a feeling of a complete happiness.

Yesterday I went to my high school class reunion. It was an informal party picnic that left a rather pleasant impression. On my way home, as I was breathing in gorgeously gentle sweetness of blooming linden trees, I realized that I’ve got my wish granted: I am happy. Often people avoid saying something like that – not to jinx it. I’m saying it to acknowledge my appreciation for where I am in my life now. I’m grateful to everything and everybody who contributed to that feeling of happiness. And that “everybody” includes you – my friends and my readers. I took the picture for the postcard below thinking of you.

Uspenskiy Sobor And Linden

May your most special wishes come true!

 

With Love,
Undina

 

Images: my own