January 27, 2023 by Undina

Twelve Years But Not Full Circle

Undina’s Looking Glass is twelve. I missed it by a couple of days – not because I forgot, and not even because I didn’t know what I wanted to write about, but I wasn’t organized well to do it in advance, and when the day came, there were some less pleasant but more important things to take care of. But since I still love holidays, birthdays and anniversaries, I knew I didn’t want to skip it.

Twelve years is a long term for almost anything in our lives: people get an education, move houses, open and close/sell businesses, change cars, jobs and even partners/spouses, get and lose furry friends and go through many other less significant life events in that period. So, keeping a perfume blog for 12 years is worth celebrating, don’t you think?

When I started this blog in 2011, I didn’t expect to get “free-range” readers. My initial intent was to have it as a sort of a visiting card for when I was commenting on other blogs’ posts – so that those blogs’ owners would know who I was and could return a visit if they felt like it. I love being a part of a community (and belonged to several great ones in my life, both real and virtual), and I thought that having a blog was the justify way of participating in Perfumeland’s community. MUA, Fragrantica or Basenotes felt too large and not personal enough (and the same I felt later about FB groups). But blogs felt just right.

Back then, a HUGE number of perfume blogs were active. I followed many of them, became virtual friends with some bloggers (and even met with several), and somehow managed to read dozens of posts every week. Many blogs had “blogrolls” as a part of the layout: one of the two prevailing platforms, Blogpost, provided it “out of the box,” listing all other blogs that one followed; and WordPress allowed adding those manually via the Links collection. So, many bloggers were building those cross-reference lists. My approach was slightly different: I put in my “Reading List” only those blogs that I followed and whose posts I always read.

In these 12 years, some blogs have gone silent, many disappeared altogether, and a much smaller number of new blogs appeared.

Only 12 blogs are left on my current “Reading List,” and even those are not all really active (but I still have hope they will stick around for a while longer). I also know of a few other blogs that still publish, but I didn’t find common ground with those, and since we do not communicate, I turned them off in my list.

Out of all the blogs that I used to follow and read, the 12 I miss the most (those that are still online are linked):

When I was thinking about this post a month ago, I planned to put Australian Perfume Junkies as my #1 blog that I miss: even though Portia is now one of the regular guest writers on my blog and Perfume Posse, I miss coming to the APJ for the weekly report on perfumes worn, food eaten and friends met. But I might be putting it back on my Reading List instead! If you missed it, Portia and Old Herbaceous of Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities are running some interesting collaboration that involves both blogs. It makes me happy.

But now to my list of 12.

Olfactoria’s Travels is one of the first blogs I read (the NST doesn’t count because I was reading it before I even knew what blogs were or realized that people commented on those posts). Birgit’s reviews were very elegant and composed. And it was her blog where our Saturday Question (back then, Monday Question) series started.

A Bottled Rose was created by Tara, who started as a guest writer on the Olfactoria’s Travels blog (and once posted on ULG). Most of you are probably familiar with her soft and thoughtful review style. Her blog became home to Portia (once the APJ went on hiatus) and Val, the Cookie Queen. Tara hasn’t officially announced the blog closure, but it has been getting “quieter” for the last couple of years, so it looks like she’s done (but one can hope, right?).

At least for a while, we were friends with Natalie from Another Perfume Blog. She posted not only perfume reviews but also perfume and fashion news and fiction stories. A couple of times, she participated in the blind-test games for my Déjà vu series (Episodes 2 & 4). She moved, moved on, and deleted her blog.

Suzanne’s Perfume Journal was an unusual blog. While Suzanne was highly social and outgoing and had many friends in the Blogosphere, her blog ran on a platform that didn’t support either comments or automated comments subscriptions. She manually added people who wanted to know about new posts to the distribution list. Suzanne wrote wonderful perfume stories and amazingly supportive and thoughtful comments on other people’s blogs. She passed away way too early. Unfortunately, her site isn’t available directly. But you can still get to her stories using the Web Archive’s copy.

I met Asali, the author of The Sounds of Scent, when she was a guest writer on another wonderful blog, All I Am – a Redhead (it’s still on my Reading List, and Ines is still around, but it’s one of the blogs that isn’t updated as regularly as I’d like it to). Asali’s blog, now moved under the “Private” lock, was unique because it connected her two passions – perfumes and music. She is the author of the picture that I use as my blog’s header. Asali is still present on Instagram, where you can catch from time to time her artistic perfume flatlays and photos of her beautiful black cat Vega.

Lavanya of the Purple Paper Planes is still around, but those who didn’t know her back when she was active on her blog might now be more familiar with her subscription service Boxwalla. I completely understand that running a small business should take up all the creative resources she might have. But I miss her in the perfume Blogosphere.

Beauty on the Outside was another “one of the first” blog that I started commenting on back in the day. Dee was active for a while, and some of her reviews were quite unusual (if you’re curious, read this Amouage Opus VI review. Then she went silent and came back, got silent again, and tried to come back again.

Victoria from EauMG was the one who ran her blog almost as a professional magazine: she published formal reviews, had a beauty series where she recreated makeup looks, and even tried to make some YouTube videos (probably a little earlier than it became “a thing”). She stopped posting on her blog, but you can still find her on Instagram.

My taste didn’t coincide with the taste of Christos (Memory of Scent), but it was interesting to read his take on perfumes I knew. I stopped following him closely once he started writing for the Fragrance Daily (I’m not sure what happened to that community: now it is just an online perfume shop). And then he stopped writing.

I felt that with Mals86 of Muse in Wooden Shoes, our background, lifestyle and almost every other aspect of life were very different; we didn’t “click,” but I liked reading stories about life and her kids that she shared in her perfume diaries. And she’s probably the only other perfumista who I know who liked Climat by Lancôme, my first and everlasting perfume love. Her blog is no longer available, but I still see her in NST’s SOTD threads from time to time (though I haven’t followed those for a while).

Gaia, The Non-Blonde, was probably the only blog I kept following (and even commenting on from time to time) despite her disregarding half of all comments readers left on her posts and rarely participating in conversations on others’ blogs. But she was one of the “founding members” of the perfume Blogosphere, so she was an exception to my mental rule not to engage with those who didn’t want to engage with me. Besides, she loved and shared her life with a lot of cats. Her unexpected passing (from an undiagnosed heart condition) made a big impression on me, and I pay more attention to my health than I would have without that awful life lesson.

There were many more blogs I read regularly and communicated with, and the last one I want to mention here isn’t the one I miss the most. The Perfumed Dandy blog was an odd duck. I had a feeling that the writer wasn’t a real person but rather a project run by at least one woman (but maybe a group). “He” didn’t sound like a man playing the role but rather like a woman playing the role of a man playing the role. I will probably never know it for a fact, so that blog got an “honorable mention” in this list for the mystery aspect.

* * *

Back to Undina’s Looking Glass.

I’m not done yet. Since I don’t expect it to go on for another 12 years, I will not consider it a full circle and keep going as long as it naturally goes. I love perfume. I love my blog. I enjoy talking to all of you, no matter how you got here. I notice when you disappear for a while and am glad to see you back. I want you to know that I usually read your comments the same day you post them, even if sometimes it takes me several days to respond. I’m not sure if you still want to read about specific perfumes, but I’ll keep writing about them occasionally (if I have a story to tell or something I want to share). Whether you care about this aspect or not (I did notice that those posts get fewer participants), I plan to continue my Sunday Self-Care series because it amuses me. I hope Portia will keep writing guest posts every couple of weeks, even with other APJ projects going. And once again, I invite any of you, my “free-range” readers, to use my blog as a platform if you have in you a story or two that you’d like to share but don’t feel like starting a blog for it. While his health allows, Rusty will keep being a part of this blog. And as long as you all come back to participate in the Saturday Question posts, I’ll keep coming up with questions for those.

This week’s Saturday Question is coming, so don’t think that this is it. But I wanted to offer you to guess: Links to how many blogs (both visible and hidden) do you think I collected over the years in my Reading List? Just a reminder: it has never been a list of all existing blogs, just those I read and communicated with.

Images: all blogs’ images are from the corresponding blogs; the rest – my own.

January 21, 2023 by Undina

Saturday Question: What Did You Not Know In Your Pre-perfumista Days?

I loved, owned and wore perfumes for most of my life. Recently, talking to a “civilian” friend, I realized that many things that seemed trivial and clear to me weren’t that for my friend. So, I thought it would be interesting to “compare notes” (some pun intended).

Saturday Question #149:

What Did You Not Know In Your Pre-perfumista Days?

When I say “pre-perfumista,” I mean when you were not reading perfume blogs or participating in FB perfume groups. It doesn’t have to be significant, just anything you can think of.

My Answer

I didn’t know that:

Companies can reformulate perfumes while keeping the same name and packaging. I used to think I had just changed my mind about the perfume I used to love.

Notes listed for perfume might have nothing to do with ingredients that actually went into its making. I believed that “rose,” “jasmine,” or “lily of the valley” (yeah, this is my favorite) essential oil was used.

Flankers of most perfumes were temporary/limited editions that would disappear in 6 to 12 months and never return. I kept looking for some of them on discounters’ sites. Oh, and I didn’t know the word “flanker.”

Now it’s your turn.

What Did You Not Know In Your Pre-perfumista Days?

January 17, 2023 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

Sand + Sable by Coty

Hi crew. Sand & Sable is a bargain Coty fragrance you can get at drug stores and online for a song. I can’t remember who first put me on to it but I’d like to thank them. It was a few years back. I was ferociously reading blogs, hitting links, searching for bargains night after night after night. On top of work, domestic duties, friends, travel and blogging daily for APJ (OK I had contributor’s doing a few days a week) and weekly for Perfume Posse. There were also guest spots on Olfactoria’s Travels and others. No, I can’t tell you how I did it all. When did I sleep?

Anyway, I had a bottle for years and a friend loved it so I gave it to them. Really, I never missed it because there’s so much other stuff here. Then it came up somewhere, maybe Perfume Posse? or NST? Suddenly I wanted it B A D! So in my next FragranceNet order I grabbed the small bottle.

Sand & Sable by Coty 1981

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Gardenia, Tuberose, Jasmine, Peach, Green Notes, Rose

Rich buttery white floral goodness. It’s so pretty and a little over the top on application. Sand & Sable is peachy, peachy and luxuriously breathy. An early adopter of the 1980s BWF that can hold it’s own against the heaviest hitters. It isn’t sophisticated but it does smell kind of arch and ageing starlet-ish. It could easily be the fictitious Summer Rain in 1939 film The Women.

Fruity white florals have long been part of the perfume oeuvre. After about an hour Sand & Sable is not terribly far from Madonna Truth or Dare and Piguet Fracas at the same point. It has decent longevity and continues on its buttery, fruity white floral way until it disappears.

Should you have it in your collection? Sure. If you love a white floral, like to have an easy spritz and go, want to smell quite different to the usual niche offering or even if you are on a budget and still want a spritz of joy. Sand & Sable is a pretty good pick me up for next to nothing.

Have you tried it?
Portia xx

January 14, 2023 by Undina

Saturday Question: What Are Your Top Five Green Perfumes?

Since I’ve been swamped recently, I don’t follow NST’s community projects any longer (not complaining – just stating the fact). So, I didn’t know this week’s topic (“True Colors: tell us your favorite color, and wear a fragrance with that color in the name, or that reminds you of that color, or that has juice in that color, or … ?”). But I got a suspicion it was related to NST and color when I saw hajusuuri’s IG post earlier today. And that was when I realized I wore four green perfumes this week. Spontaneously. In the middle of Winter. Without knowing about any projects. So, I decided why not to make it into the SQ.

Saturday Question #148:

What Are Your Top Five Green Perfumes?

Bonus question: Do you wear green perfumes all year round, or is there some particular season for them?

My Answer

I’ll start with answering the bonus question: as I explained in the post The Color of Spring (I used a photo from that post below even though not all of the perfumes on it made it to my Top 5 list), I associate green perfumes with Spring. But it seems this year, with its unexpected heavy rain in our area, I started craving green perfumes earlier.

My Top 5 Green Perfumes (not in particular order):

Chanel No 19 EdT
Puredistance Antonia
vero profumo Mito
Avon Deneuve
DSH Perfumes Vert Pour Madame

How about you?

What Are Your Top Five Green Perfumes?

January 7, 2023 by Undina

Saturday Question: Starting All Over Again: What 5 Perfumes Would You Buy First?

I “borrowed” the idea of this question from one of the beauty creators on YouTube a while ago, but thought it would be very fitting for the first SQ of the New Year (BTW, thank you everyone for wonderful comments last week: I will reply to each one of them, sorry for the delay). But to this week’s question. I know how hard it is for some of you to read through the exact description of what I’m trying to ask, or maybe I’m not being clear enough, which can also be the case, but I’ll try to do my best. My intent is not to cause the anxiety usually connected to the apocalypses-, fire- or a desert island-related choices. This question is not one of those! OK, maybe a little bit. But you’ll see what I mean.

Saturday Question #147:

Starting All Over Again: What 5 Perfumes Would You Buy First?

Imagine that you woke up in a parallel universe where absolutely everything is the same as in our universe. The only difference is that you do not have your perfume collection. Not a single sample, decant or bottle. You have money to buy any 5 perfumes that you used to have in your wardrobe as a bottle (travel bottles count). Those are “magical” money: they are not limited, but you cannot spend them on anything else but perfumes. And you cannot use that money to buy more bottles of less expensive perfumes—just 5. Later, you’ll continue to rebuild your collection, if you feel like that, or maybe you’ll return to your original universe. But since you don’t know when or if that happens, you have to decide where to start. These will not necessarily be you HG perfumes – you might decide to buy those later if they are readily available and instead go for something that you’d wear every day while saving for a “special occasion” favorite that sees your skin just a couple of times per year.

The only additional limitation is that the perfumes you choose should be possible to buy now. So, while those might be vintage perfumes, you cannot specify “vintage X in good condition” (“vintage X from eBay” would work) or wish for some long-discontinued unicorn that was last seen on eBay… never. But anything that can actually be had now is fair game.

My Answer

You would think that since I came up with that question and all those explanations above that I urged you to read, it should be easy for me to follow my own “rules.” Nope. I struggled. I considered changing the question to 10 perfumes. I thought of creative ways to group perfumes to sneak in an extra bottle or two. But I decided to be firm! So, here’s my list in alphabetical order (by brand):

Amouage Dia: it is my #3 Amouage perfume. I can’t choose #1 Ubar since it looks like it has been discontinued, and I can’t find it anywhere; I would have selected Gold, but I’m still persuaded that it smells very close to my all-time favorite Climat that already made this list.
Chanel No 19 EdT: I like extrait as well, but the EdT would be easier to wear every day.
Guerlain Cruel Gardenia: I know that for a hardcore Guerlanophile that might sound as a sacrilege, but for me it is still my most favorite perfume from this brand, though closely followed by Chamade and Vol de Nuit – both in extrait version and both almost impossible to buy these days.
Lancome Climat: Since it is still available from eBay in the La Collection reissue version, that would be my #1 purchase: even though I don’t wear it too often, I never ever want to be without it in my collection.
Ormonde Jayne Ta’if: This is one more perfume that I want to have in my life no matter what. So, the first opportunity I get, I’m buying it in any universe!

How about you?

Starting All Over Again: What 5 Perfumes Would You Buy First?

January 3, 2023 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

Boudoir by Vivienne Westwood

Hey crew, Back in 1985/6 I studied Fashion. Not the big, flash Fashion Design course at East Sydney TAFE or an Arts Fashion Degree. Nope. I went to a North Shore TAFE (Technical and Further Education) in Hornsby to do a Fashion Technology\y Certificate. We were taught the production of fashion with a very small design element. So the aim was to create someone with the ability to take a garment from drawing to product. Someone with the knowledge of procedure, pattern making, grading, fabric, fastenings, creation, sewing and the ability to interpret pictures. The fashion designers are notoriously inept at this. They have visions, we make them reality. We were perfectly trained to go into business, become a 2IC, sample machinist, pattern maker/grader, cutter or any number of jobs in the industry “FASHION” or even costume creation in the arts. At the time, with an extra short course a few of our crew went on to become important in the new computer world of laser cutting and design, just becoming reality. I was lucky enough to work as a Costume Designer for Children’s Theatre, Pattern Maker/Grader/Cutter for a menswear company and then a Machinist for a small, high end fashion and bridal store in Sydney’s uber trendy Paddington for a while. It was at this point that I realised I was generally too lazy and imperfect to ever want to make my own fashion house a reality and that working for other people was never going to make me happy or rich. Bye fashion. Hello DRAG! Still never made me as rich as I’d dreamed but the fun it has brought, the chances, friends, opportunities, unbelievable life has more than made up for it. It also presented an opportunity to make fabulous clothes without the need for perfectly straight hemstitching, the hand sewn finest zippers or any restrictions on reality. So that was an incredibly long preamble into Vivienne Westwood and Boudoir.

Yes, Vivienne Westwood died last week, most of you will already know. In the mid 1980s she was any fashion student’s obsession. We were taught that Vivienne Westwood always did it first, but she always did it worst. Her ideas would make big splashy headlines for their brilliant reconstruction of shape, size, fit, pattern and wit. Then that idea would filter to the luxurious fashion houses and be done perfectly. The 1970s Punk, chains, safety pins, hobble skirts, slashed and sloganed T Shirts. 1980s New Romantic, super platform, mini crini, tartan, and who can forget her Buffalo Girls look and McLaren’s song? By the time I got to London in 1994/5 Westwood was old guard fashion and the still functioning World’s End store on Kings Road had basically become a merch store with some fashion.

Boudoir by Vivienne Westwood 1998

Fragrantica gives these featured accords:
Top: Aldehydes, Marigold, Hyacinth, Orange Blossom, Bergamot
Heart: Carnation, Rose, Cardamom, Coriander, Narcissus, Orris Root, Jasmine
Base: Vanilla, Tobacco Leaf, Cinnamon, Sandalwood, Patchouli

This then brings us to 1998. The name Vivienne Westwood had been in newspapers and on TV for 28 years. It was part of our psyche and much of the outrageous and rebellious past had been wallpapered over with glamour. The remnants of naughtiness even gave it a cachet for the cashed up rebels without a cause and trustafarians. What better way to celebrate her elevation into mainstream that create a perfume? One that has most of the hallmarks of a modern aldehydic floral and some funk underneath. Boudoir was not outrageous or even over the top, A gentle, sweet, hark back to the perfumery of bygone eras but cleaned up for modern sensibilities and much more importantly; SALEABLE! Boudoir became de rigueur among the fashionista party set for a while. It was so popular that many Mugler Angel aficionados made the change, or added this to their spritz list.

I only have the extrait and it still smells unbelievably good.

My bottle is old. Over time Boudoir has stopped being notes to my nose. It is itself and no other. A sparkling, soapy, white/yellow floral with some sweaty greenery underpinned by a warm, rich breathy base, lightly spiced all the way through. Just a swipe with the glass stopper and the room fills with Boudoir in seconds. Happy memories. Longevity is right up there with Vivienne Westwood herself. Unless I swim or bathe this single swipe will continue through till tomorrow morning.

“The only way to halt Climate Change is to work with governments but that is impossible because governments are the problem” Vivienne Westwood

In honour of someone who has been instrumental in my life through music, design, fashion, and myriad other ways. Goodbye Vivienne Westwood and thank you.

Do any of you have a Westwood story you’d like to share?
Portia xx

December 31, 2022 by Undina

Saturday Question: What Went Well In 2022?

Dear friends, readers and accidental visitors, I’m so happy that I have this blog, and I can use it to say an enormous “Thank You!” to all of you for being with me this year, for providing support and giving me a reason to keep doing what I love doing (telling stories and sharing photos of Rusty) no matter how hard life outside of the safety of our Perfumeland gets.

Saying goodbye to 2022, I do not want to talk about anything negative that it brought – we all know major pain points, and I’m sure each of us had our share of personal challenges. It is essential to talk about those, share and get support whenever possible. But today, let’s think about good things that happened in our lives this year – no matter how small or insignificant those were. Try to think of as many positive moments in 2022 as possible. I challenge you! Can you think of 5? You do not have to write about all of them, some might be too personal, or you don’t want to “jinx” it by telling everybody. But try to come up with 5. And share with us anything you feel like sharing. It doesn’t have to be perfume-related, but if there is anything of that kind, please include it on your personal or public list.

And before we continue with the Saturday Question, I wish you all a Happy New Year! Let’s hope that when we meet here in a year, and I ask you the same question, your list will be longer, and it’ll be even easier for you to come up with the answer.

Saturday Question #146:

What Went Well In 2022?

One word, one sentence, a list or a Lord-of-the-Ring-type answer – anything will work. But I would love to read what went well in your life this year. If you feel up to it, tell us also “why” it went well (which, according to Old Herbaceous (Serenity Now Scents and Sensibilities) from whom I borrowed this idea several years ago, “allows one to pinpoint times when acts of one’s own or others contributed to what went well.”

My Answer

1. I enjoyed our trip to Sedona. We decided to keep the plans despite everything that interfered and ended up having fun and seeing some great views (more photos were in this post if you missed it).

2. My vSO’s mother got to safety with us (and we managed not to pass Covid-19 to her when we got it!). It took a great effort on our part, help from many wonderful people and a lot of luck.

3. This holiday season, more of our neighbors decorated their houses, which created a wonderful holiday atmosphere and elevated our spirit every time we went or drove by. I don’t know if it was just a coincidence, or if my little stunt last year with leaving anonymous “Thank you” cards for each decorated house worked. I’ll be writing more notes this year (and probably adding a couple of individually and safely packed chocolates).

4. Speaking of decorations, we took my MIL to see the unique street in the neighboring town, where they do special decorations every year, and people come to see it from all other towns. She loved it! The photo below is from this year, but if you want to see more, I have a slide-show in this post.

5. After our vet managed to extract 3 teeth in the comfort of our home, Rusty feels and behaves happier. We weren’t sure what to do since the dentist wasn’t sure if Rusty would be fine with full anesthesia. And it’s every time such stress for him when we have to drive him somewhere. So, when our vet suggested doing it at home using Gabapentin and some additional shot, we agreed. Rusty was “out of it” for a couple of days (see the photo!), but got better quickly.

6. Finally, I managed to find and buy Mito Voile d’Extrait by Vero Profumo. I had to break my “no-buy” almost as soon as it started, but I was looking for it for so long, and I’m not sure if it’ll ever be re-launched. The store, Campormazio, still has some of the re-released extrait and voile d’extrait (follow the link above), but I must warn you that their delivery cost to the US is obscene (and they don’t even subtract the VAT from the prices!). But Mito was so beautiful that I couldn’t pass on it.

How about you?

What Went Well In 2022?

and

Happy New Year!

December 29, 2022 by Undina

Pickles and Vintage Shalimar

It has been a while since Pickles visited us with a story about her human, but she’s back to help us to see off this year. (Undina)

* * *

Decades ago, when my Nana was in elementary school, her best friend’s mother, knowing of her love of perfume, gifted her a flask bottle of Guerlain Shalimar EDC. For a young girl with a modest perfume wardrobe of Avon and drugstore beauties, that was a prized possession. My Nana wore it to her heart’s content, but it was never replaced as there were always other shiny jewels in the world of perfume beckoning her. However, Shalimar always reminded her of her best friend’s mom, who sadly passed away much too young from breast cancer.

A few years ago, one of Nana’s pals from Australian Perfume Junkies surprised her for her birthday and mailed her the same flask as a birthday gift, knowing that my Nana had a strong scent memory attached to it. My Nana still loves how it smells and is secretly amused that she had the audacity to wear this bold and sexy fragrance out in public as a young girl. Her vintage formulation is from the 1960s and is certainly not as tame as the current one.

Personally, I really love the bottle and enjoy posing with it. I think it’s aesthetically pleasing to the eye and smells pretty darn good on my Nana too.

What are your thoughts on Shalimar? Have you ever received a treasured perfume gift from a friend?

Until next time, furry kisses and hugs,

Pickles Bella

December 27, 2022 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

Limbo Week

Hey all, I’m kind of burnt out. The Christmas celebration was 4 days and nights of stuff. It was fun but it was also a lot. We did it putposefully chill but still, so much in such a short time. It’s about 36C/97F and quite humid. Beautiful weather for short walks in the daytime and longer ones after dark with Paris.

Jin is, as always, the highlight of all adventures. I can’t even tell you how freaking adorable he is. So good with people, funny, charming and only very rarely a brat. We spent quite a bit of couch time watching The Hunger Games and other assorted movies. After he went to bed I watched the three seasons of Jack Ryan, excellent fun. Also, his Roast Pork Belly and Crackling this year were so freaking good.

Limbo Week

Now we are in that super weird Limbo Week between Xmas and NYE. Today we basically did nothing. Ate, watched TV, I have been catching up on some blogging that needs completing (like this).

My most worn fragrance over the Christmas period was Rahele by Neela Vermeire Creations. It is so beautiful. Osmanthus and leather with some bells and whistles. Bloody good shit. If you liked it, loved it but didn’t purchase, or if you have only a few ml in your current bottle I have it on very good authority that it’s on the chopping block. Yes, I bought backups.

So that’s it. Got nothing else. Enjoy the last few days of 2022. I hope your 2023 is full of the good stufff and very little of the other.

Tell me your plans, resolutions, hopes and dreams.
I love to chat with you all so much. It’s you lot that keep me blogging far past my use by date.

Hugs,
Portia xx

December 24, 2022 by Undina

Saturday Question: What Is Your Favorite Animalic Perfume?

OK, folks. Since last week many of you totally disregarded the SQ’s instructions not to talk about perfumes that would be under your Christmas Tree this year, there is no reason to ask that question (but feel free to share your perfume wardrobe newcomers if you didn’t do it yet). So, today’s question is inspired by Rusty’s birthday (a separate post is coming).

Saturday Question #145:

What Is Your Favorite Animalic Perfume?

I’ll leave the interpretation to you – it might be an animal-derived ingredient (natural or artificial), animal-related name or any other characteristic that would allow you to classify that perfume as such.

My Answer

If I were to think longer, I would have found more perfumes to name (so I look forward to reading your comments). But the first perfume that came to my mind when I asked myself this question was Papillon Artisan Perfumes Bengale Rouge. I wrote the story about this perfume three years ago (Rusty played a significant role in it). For those who weren’t around back then but don’t want to read it, I’ll quote myself:

I thought I was predisposed to like this perfume. I was wrong: I loved it. Since then, I looked up the notes more than once (sandalwood, Turkish rose, honey, vanilla and sweet myrrh), and I still can’t really make them out. But does it really matter? Bengale Rouge is perfectly blended, elegant and complex perfume that purrs on my skin – maybe not as sweet as Rusty sitting on my lap but warm and comforting nevertheless.

I still have half of the decant a generous friend shared with me. But when it’s finished, I’ll want more.

How about you?

Undina's Looking Glass

Perfumed Reflections of Life

Twelve Years But Not Full Circle

Saturday Question: What Did You Not Know In Your Pre-perfumista Days?

What Did You Not Know In Your Pre-perfumista Days?

What Did You Not Know In Your Pre-perfumista Days?

Sand + Sable by Coty

Sand & Sable by Coty 1981