December 15, 2020 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

Portia’s 2020 Noted Things

Hey Crew, 2020 has been so unexpected. Here in Australia it started with bushfires, then we got floods. The world got C19 and we watched the USA plunge into anarchy. Brexit has been exactly the shit show that any person with an ounce of rationale could see coming. While all this was going on my business collapsed completely, leaving myself and the five drag queens who work for Turbo Trivia jobless for months. Many people whose lives were previously affluent, the world over, find themselves in dire straits and it’s terrifying to watch and live.

I’m one of the seriously lucky few. Jin continued working through the whole crisis, though only about 2/3 of his regular income. He has been incredibly generous with his money, gave me a weekly stipend and paid for all our groceries. The Australian government gave me a Job Keeper handout that kept me paying my half of the major bills. Quite a turnaround from being the major breadwinner in the house and my ego took a small battering.

For any of you doing it really hard in these times my heart goes out to you and wish you a speedy financial recovery in 2021.

Portia’s 2020 Noted Things

There were the usual squizillion launches this year and I was fortunate enough to get to smell quite a few of them. Libertine Parfumerie in Sydney is Australia’s largest niche distributor and they have kept me in the loop. PHEW! Here are a few fragrant things that I really loved.

Amouage Meander comes in a celadon green bottle and had me sold before I even smelled it. Thankfully it is as beautiful as it looks. Dark, resinous iris with interesting floral highlights. I’ll grab a bottle when I’m more flush.

Amouage Interlude Black Iris is mainly powdery iris and amber with a very generous nod to the original but nowhere near as iconic, large or as resinous. I was given a Press Bottle and am loving it.

Etat Libre d’Orange Spice Must Flow is a take on the rose/oud/incense trope. HUGE! For most perfumistas it will be an unnecessary addition to their wardrobe because it’s not a very new story. I really like it though and it smells different in village than up close. Worth a sniff.

Le Lion de CHANEL was the biggest hype train here in Sydney of the year. A Shalimar style offering with extra labdanum rich amber in the whole fragrance. Many people find it leather or incense heavy too. A different ride for every wearer. To make it less of an investment I hosted a split.

Maison Crivelli Fleur Diamantine from 2018 made it’s way to my nose. WOW! One of the most beautiful fragrances I’ve ever smelled. Sparkling white floral with rich warmth and surprising minty undertones. It’s a freaking knockout and very high son my full bottle wish list.

Miller et Bertaux Pimiento is the first cut of a capsicum/bell pepper on a summer day. This oddball design duo always manages to create beautiful, weird surprises. The base is a little generic but the opening and heart are fabulous. Libertine gave me a Press Bottle of this beauty too.

Trussardi Behind The Curtain Piazza Alla Scala is a powdery leather. Beautiful but not stunningly original. The racing green bottle with the greyhound cap had me at hello. Thankfully it smells amazing and I found it on an Australian discounters for an amazing price.

So what were the things that grabbed your attention in 2020?
Portia xx

December 12, 2020 by Undina

Saturday Question: What Is Your Favorite Perfume Decade?

I don’t think any single year got as much of “bad publicity” as 2020, and deservedly so I must add. So, I doubt it will ever be remembered as anyone’s favorite year in any respect, including perfume releases (though, I hope we’ll see soon everyone’s “Best of 2020” lists). But one year is not much either in anyone’s life or in perfume lifespan, so let’s step back and from afar look at decades, including the one that is being concluded by this blighted year.

Saturday Question #42:

What Is Your Favorite Perfume Decade?

You can choose by any criterion, be that the most perfumes from that decade in your collection, decade from which your most favorite perfume comes, a decade you think was the best for perfume industry – or any other way you want to look at it. Just tell us your reasoning.

Decades start from XXX1 and end with XXX0, e.g., 1981 – 1990 (otherwise, in the first decade AD there would have been just 9 years, not that I expect too many votes for perfumes for those times).

My Answer

Having a luxury of my perfumes being recorded in a database, I was able to count how many perfumes from each decade I own (I included only bottles, both regular and travel sized). Would you guess, which decade produced the highest count? The current one. Did you guess?

But while it is completely understandable that I accumulated the most perfumes from the decade during which I’ve been blogging about perfumes and reading all the perfume blogs, I don’t consider this decade to be my favorite: if anything, it’s a decade when dear to my heart niche perfumery got flooded with uninspired and jump-on-the-bandwagon-type releases.

So, I decided to see what decade produced the most of perfumes from my “Never want to be without” list. And my answer is: 2001 – 2010. In general, that list is quite diverse, but eight perfumes that I love, including my second all-time perfume love and the reason I went down the rabbit hole leading into the Perfumeland – Ormonde Jayne Ta’if was release during that decade.

What Is Your Favorite Perfume Decade?

December 11, 2020 by Undina

Lipstick Extravaganza

What would possess anyone who does not have a YouTube beauty channel to buy 6 (six!) statement lipsticks these strange days when most of the time we spend not at home is either exercising or wearing masks (or both)?

I blame Laura Mercier (brand) that discontinued/reformulated my decade-long favorite tinted moisturizer and Tara (A Bottled Rose) who introduced me to Liza Eldridge’s blog… 7 years ago.

For many years my makeup routine was so minimalistic, and my attention was so focused on perfumes and lipsticks, that I wasn’t really interested in any makeup-centered blogs. And being a complete Luddite when it comes to YouTube, I steered clear of that medium for the longest time.

As my last tube of Laura Mercier Tinted Moisturizer SPF20 in Porcelain that fit my skin perfectly was nearing its end (while already being past expiration date), I got completely baffled by the idea of finding a new suitable product without being able to go to a physical store and try it on my skin. The solution I found was to check swatches and comparisons online and try to find what beauty blogs write about different foundations.

The more I looked, the more often I was coming across YouTube videos. So, I tried watching some, but it was such a mixed [makeup] bag of presenters… And then I remembered that Lisa Eldridge was such a talented makeup artist, and that I liked her videos back when I was following her… So, of course it made sense to see her recommendations for a type of a product I tried to choose.

I came to Lisa’s site and YouTube channel right at the time she was about to re-issue her legendary True Velvet lipsticks. I read about them two years ago when she launched them first. But back then buying a lipstick without trying it at least on my palm was a non-starter, and the collection was quickly sold out anyway. This year with ALL lipsticks (and other makeup items) being sold this way, I suddenly got an urge to … well, speaking our perfumista language, blind-buy one of the True Velvet lipsticks.

As I waited for the release date, I kept watching her presentation of the different colors, swatches on different skin tones and reviews for the previous releases. And I couldn’t decide which one I wanted to buy. So, when the time came, and the color that I liked the most (Velvet Affair, probably the most neutral of them all) was sold out within the first day, I threw my usual caution to the wind and bought just six out of 15 lipsticks in the release.

Do I like them? I do. And I don’t. I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve ever worn matte lipsticks before, so partially my dissatisfaction comes from seeing on my lips something I’m not used to. Also, wearing a “full coverage” lipstick when working from home seems a little out of place, while I really enjoy wearing more sheer ones. But the more I wear them, the more I like them: beautiful colors, very pleasant feeling on my lips and extremely nice metal packaging with a magnetic cap. And now I like choosing every day which lipstick I’ll put on, play with different lip pencils and try different methods of application. Of all shades that I’ve got, the most “dramatic” of them, Velvet Decade, I like the most, which is ironic since had I managed to buy Velvet Affair, I might have never even tried Velvet Decade.

Just in case you were wondering, as of now, seven shades are still available at the brand’s site (no affiliation).

Images: My own

December 5, 2020 by Undina

Saturday Question: What Perfume Is Really Noir?

Have you ever heard anyone complaining that perfume called [Something] Light or [Something] Fraiche wasn’t light or fresh enough? I haven’t. But with rare exceptions, most of the reviews for [Something] Noir ends up mentioning that perfume in question does not live up to the proud “Noir” part of its moniker. So, I got curious: What perfumes in your collection or out of those that you have tried don’t cause cognitive dissonance?

Saturday Question #41:

What Perfume Is Really Noir?

My Answer

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was … Noirvember.

After playing on this month’s name a couple of times in the past (Perfume Diary: NovAmber and I did it again: NovAmber 2018), I thought of using this new variation to wear in November perfumes with the “Noir” as a part of the name.

I started with the list of such perfumes that I have. My database showed that I either have or at least used to have at some point enough perfumes with that name to sustain me for longer than a month. Unfortunately, most of them were samples that I tried at some point and didn’t like much, so even if I could dig them out from wherever that final destination for such samples that I call “Library” is, I wouldn’t have enjoyed wearing them – and with enough negative things going on in our day-to-day life I decided against making that sacrifice “in the name of science” (besides, who would have patience to read through 30 even one-paragraph descriptions for random perfumes?).

But since I liked the idea (well, mostly I liked the Word), I collected only those perfumes that I either liked or wanted to try again. And while wearing them and writing down my impressions, I realized that out of eight perfumes that I went through for this mini-project, just two or maybe three didn’t feel like a misnomer – Tom Ford Noir Pour Femme (I previously wrote about it in Mr. & Mrs. Tom Ford Noir), SixScents Parfums Nappa Noir (my story here) and maybe Ormonde Jayne Orris Noir.

I’m not sure what makes these three “noir” (and we all understand that when talking about perfumes, we do not think of a literal translation of this French word), but they somehow fit into the image in my head, most likely created by the Film noir genre, definition of which itself is still being debated.

What Perfume Is Really Noir?

December 1, 2020 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

December! WTF

Hey there Undina’s Looking Glassers. Portia from the sweltering heatwave that is Sydney, Australia. We have already had two 42C/110f days and today was the official start of summer. Hot is an understatement, especially coming out of nowhere like it did. How on earth have we already arrived at December 2020? WOW!

First day of December is always a little melancholy for me. It’s World AIDS Day. For anyone who lived in or around the gay community in the 1980s and 90s it is a day filled with quiet sorrow. It’s also filled with some of the most extraordinary memories of fundraising, community coming together, marching, getting our government on board (Australia was one of the first acknowledges and responders) and partying like we wouldn’t see tomorrow. For so many people that was the bleak truth. We lost nearly a whole generation and the gay community has never really recovered. Fortunately, getting HIV is now far less of a death sentence and people are being medicated into effectual remissions. Also, with the discovery of PrEP the transmission rates have slowed too.

It’s been so hot I’m having trouble trying to get my head to think of things you in the Northern Hemisphere could all be wearing to snuggle up to. Here are a few things you might want to spritz if you’d like to remember what summer feels like through scent.

Lys Soleia by Guerlain

The ultimate tropical white floral. Smooth, creamy and elegant. Nothing makes me feel more in tune with summer. Fruity white flowers, yang and vanilla with a bare hint of salt.

Mandragore by Annick Goutal

This is another of the weird ass Annick Goutal fragrances. Spearmint, pepper, star anise and ginger combine in the most cooling and refreshing gourmand I’ve ever met. Sweet, tart and spicy but like a cool wash.

Pichola by Neela Vermeire Creations

Another white floral, this time spicier, sparkling and backed by vetiver for depth. It may not be the most summery wear but it will always remind me of times spent staying in the Lake Palace in Undaipur, surrounded by the glittering Lake Pichola.

Pimiento by Miller et Bertaux

If you dream of that scent as you cut into a bell pepper/capsicum, then this is that make believe and magical first cut. All the reminders of summer salads, happy, healthy meals full of fun and laughter. A job I loved to do growing up.

Sakura by DIOR

OK, OK, OK! I know. Cherry blossoms are spring. Sure, but this is much more than blossom. Here we have the cherry fruit, roses, some soft woods and musk. A perfect summer spritz if ever there was one. Surprisingly long lived.

Scent by CoSTUME NATIONAL

Soft white flowers sit atop an amber and stuff base. A perfect fit for sweaty nights, trying to sleep under the ceiling fan. The base is dry and smells like a cross between electrical sparks and drilling concrete.

Hopefully some of these can help you get through the dark and cold of winters up north.

Do any of them sound like a good fit for you?
Portia xx

November 28, 2020 by Undina

Saturday Question: Have You Bought Anything This Black Friday?

I wouldn’t have even asked that if it weren’t for the fact that I saw numerous European brands and sites offering Black Friday discounts. It means that this “plague” keeps spreading.

Saturday Question #40:

Have You Bought Anything This Black Friday?

Of course, first of all we’re curious about any perfume-related treasures. But fess up anything else interesting you bought during this bizarre year’s Black Friday Sale event or still plan to buy (a Cyber Monday is still ahead of us).

My Answer

I don’t think I’ve ever went to a B&M store on Friday after Thanksgiving: I just could never think of anything I wanted (not even needed) bad enough to participate in this American pastime. But this year since all the sales came to me, and I could browse through them leisurely from the comfort of my office chair, I was tempted. Speaking of office chairs: I really need a new one. But I can’t imagine how to buy chairs online… Has anyone had that experience? How did it work out?

But I digress. Black Friday Sales. I don’t have a long “to buy” list of perfumes. So, I checked all the “usual suspects” places that carry those few that I want to buy – and either there are no sales there at all (I hoped Olfactive Studio would have either some % off or at least some attractive samples offer. And since they didn’t, I wasn’t in a hurry to buy those “shots” yet), or had an offer that wasn’t for the size I wanted (so, I’ll keep thinking about Dusita’s Splenderis), or…

I recently realized that I liked and wanted to get Tom Ford’s Rose Prick. While I consider this perfume name still juvenile, but I have to admit that I liked perfume a lot, and after going through a sample, I realized that I’d like to wear it. And I even see it on sale. But that ugly pink bottle… And when I was almost ready to click on “Check out,” I came across a slightly better looking and a more reasonably sized travel bottle of it. A “not in stock” travel bottle that is. But now I know that it exists, so I’ve stopped… And now I’m not sure whether I want to spend money on 50 ml of perfume in that “it’s a girl!” colored bottle…

Have You Bought Anything This Black Friday?

November 26, 2020 by Undina

Holiday Gift Mini-Guide 2020

I’ve been thinking about doing this post for a while, and suddenly I realized that we’re almost out of time: with the volume of products delivered via all possible carriers, and with many places heading into the next wave of lockdowns, it’s hard to predict how long any of the purchases will roam this season. I recently had a box traveling from somewhere around LA to South San Francisco’s sorting facility, then to somewhere in Minnesota and then again to South San Francisco before arriving at my place 15 miles away from that last mentioned hub. So, it might be that we have days rather than weeks before it’s too late to bring some holiday joy to ourselves and our loved ones.

One more “complication”: probably more than half of my readers live either in Europe or in Australia, so some of my recommendations wouldn’t probably work for them (but some would). And I thought that they still might spark some ideas. None of the links are sponsored or affiliated.

* * *

For many years we kept talking how niche brands should be releasing perfumista-friendly bottles. And some of them listened. So, I’m including several brands in my list.

Olfactive Studio has just recently released many of their perfumes in 15 ml bottles (available in the US and in Europe). These might be too expensive for a blind buy/unsolicited gift, but if you like any of these, you’ll get a chance to get something beautiful for yourself. I plan to find some of the newest “shots” under my tree (Iris Shot, Violet Shot and Rose Shot are especially calling my name). But if you haven’t tried this collection yet, then this sample set might be a good idea (you’ll get $25 off your next purchase of a 100 ml bottle).

Masque Milano has also launched 10 ml travel sizes for their perfumes. Currently available from their EU site, but they ship Worldwide. I already have in my collection a couple of perfumes that I love from this brand, otherwise I would have been tempted.

Ormonde Jayne is now doing mixed travel sets 5 x 8 ml. These are not “mix-and-match” but the combinations are good (if you like the brand), and an occasional one or two you do not care for should be not that hard to do in a split with fellow perfumistas. I would have bought the Set 3 if I hadn’t owned already 4 out of 5 perfumes.

I think, Parfums Dusita released their 7.5 ml travel bottles last year, but now they are available from Luckyscent. This is one of travel bottles about which I’m hesitant: while I like an idea of an original bottle, it is slightly less than I’d like to have of perfume that I like (Splenderis), and at the same time it’s twice more expensive per ml than a full bottle. But if I cannot find a decant to buy at a better rate, I still might consider it at some point.

Since perfumes are more likely to be gifts for ourselves, let’s see what can be either a shared pleasure (if you buy it for someone in your household) or would make a sensible gift.

Tauer Perfumes has released this year perfume in a soap again – Data Miner, Mandarines Ambrées and Majestic tuberose are available from the brand’s site with Worldwide shipping.

Bruno Fazzolari (Fzotic) has also created several soaps. You can buy a set of three soaps – Honey Cedar, Black Suede, Toasted Lilac or one of each.

If a soap bar isn’t something you normally use, as some of the readers mentioned in comments to one of the Saturday Questions, Thymes has a very season appropriate Frasier Fir hand wash. And if you’re a fan of fir scent, they have an extensive range of everything fir scented, including hand cream, linen spray, room spray, reed diffusers, candles in multiple different sizes and even laundry detergent.

No gift guide would be complete these days without a new wardrobe item – a mask. Even though wearing those relaxed not only make-up routines but also perfume wearing restrictions, one might opt for wearing perfumes proudly not only on their body but also on their faces.

I found one design by Loralee Lewis. I’m not familiar with the brand, but reviewers seem to like these. On the picture (see below) I recognize Miss Dior and Prada Candy, but the rest aren’t too familiar, which, most likely, speaks to how well I know mass market perfumes. If you want something more subtle, Etsy offers this one (I recognize Shalimar and J’Adore bottles). Or if you want an even less obvious choices, here is another one with unidentifiable vintage bottles.

And just in case you have some time on your hands and consider remodeling, here is an idea: “Perfect for bathrooms and bedrooms alike, this romantic wallpaper features fancy bottles of perfume. A colorway emphasizes its classic style.” My guess: Chanel (probably 19), Guerlain Shalimar (EdT or Initial), Marc Jacobs Daisy EdT, Miss Dior, Elie Saab Le Parfum and one of Guerlain’s classic bottles (not sure which perfume). Not sure I recognize tall bottle to the left from Chanel.

Are there any perfume-related items in your nearest holiday future?

Images: from the sites to which I link for each of the products cropped or compiled by me

November 21, 2020 by Undina

Saturday Question: Do You Instagram?

I thought of this title as a joke. I was going to start by explaining that I realized there was no such verb. Sure, these days we all google something, at least hear about people tweeting fake news and periodically unfollow people who don’t amuse us any more on different platforms. But instagramming? So, I wrote the question in the title and then … googled to check. Yep. According to Merriam-Webster, Instagram is a verb.

Saturday Question #39:

Do You Instagram?

Do you have an account on Instagram? If no, why? (And you can skip the following questions.) Do you post pictures there? If yes, how often and do they have anything to do with perfume? How often do you visit Instagram? Who do you follow? Do you @tag people? Do you use #hashtags in your posts? If yes, why? If no, why? Do you actively seek new people to follow? Have you ever bought anything based on the advertising that you see there? If you finish your feed (if it ever happens, of course), do you look at their “suggested” content?

And, finally, unless your account is for private communications, what is your Instagram name? If you want, post a link to any of the pictures that you published there and wished more people would see it.

My Answer

I’m relatively new to Instagram: my account is just slightly over two years old. In these 2+ years I posted 57 pictures – less than a picture a fortnight. For a long time I couldn’t get over a thought that a picture had to be of something extremely interesting, rare or exceptional in some way to warrant sharing it with others “as is,” for the picture’s sake and not as an illustration to some topic (read “many printed words”).

For my partial conversion, I “blame” mostly my very first guest writer, hajusuuri, who, in addition to being an avid Instagrammer (No, this one is not a real word. Yet.), would often link to her daily Insta posts from the NST’s SOTD thread. I would tap from there to see a picture, then would see pictures from others or recognize names in “likes” and realize that I “knew” those people. So, I’d follow them, and the next time I get to Instagram to see hajusuuri’s SOTD picture (sometimes with a cute toy cat or one of the dozen (?) of owls she must have accumulated by now), I would have more pictures to go through.

Later, I decided to use Instagram to publish pictures that would go with the current post: I often have more pictures I like than I need for the post, so the Insta post would serve a double purpose: to announce to people who go there more often than to their mailboxes that I’ve published another post (though, Instagram doesn’t make it easy to “link out”) and to get one more picture “in” (it’ll show on the side bar of the blog, next to the post).

Unless I happen across hajusuuri’s link on NST (if she posted it and if I had time to read the thread, none of which happens every day), I visit Instagram 2-3 times per week. I made a couple of purchases being reminded by an IG ad about products I already had an intention to buy (I’ll leave details to another post). Mostly, I follow perfume people – similar to what I used to do on Twitter 8-9 years ago or FB 5-6 years ago. I do not look for more people to follow, but add anyone who I know from other platforms. On principle, I stop when I reach the end of my feed: while I’m fine watching ads when I look through my friends’ pictures, I refuse to help IG make money on me browsing pictures they think might interest me.

I rarely tag anybody. And I do not think I’ve ever used a hashtag. Ever. On any of the platforms. I’m not sure whether people actually use those to find a content and people to follow, but since I’m not trying to grow my “audience” there, and I’m not sure that anyone who doesn’t “know” me would follow my “link in bio” to this blog – and blog readers are the only audience I’m interested in – I’m reluctant to “Germanaize” language even when posting pictures of the #cutestcatever (see the Instagram window on the right (web) or below (mobile)).

My IG name is undina_ba . How about you?

Do You Instagram?

Disclaimer: this blog doesn’t use any affiliated links or benefit from any of the G-d awful ads that some of you might see inserted tastelessly by the WP engine inside the post and/or between comments. Encouraging readers to post more comments does not serve any purpose other then getting pleasure from communicating with people who share same interests.

November 17, 2020 by AustralianPerfumeJunkies

Portia: Perfume That Got Away

Hi there Undina’s Looking Glassers. Do any of you share my shopping madness over the C19 period? It’s crazy! I’m earning less than the last 20+ years but it seems EVERYONE is going through their closets and selling off the unworn, unloved and unexceptional. Here’s the kicker though, some of those frags have been on my list for YEARS! They are being sold for a lot less than retail. Who cares that there are 5mls missing, or the box is dented, or there is no box? Don’t look at me, I couldn’t care less.

No, I’m not going to tell you all the things I’ve scored. Sorry. It’s too embarrassing. I will tell you though that I’m still on the lookout for a bottle of Greg Lauren for Barney’s. I had a decant which has long gone and I miss it a lot. One of my buddies was selling one on FB not so long ago but I missed out on it because she was only sending CONUS. I could easily have had it sent to mates in the US but……. NOW I’m kicking myself.

Does anyone even remember this salty vanilla beauty?

Greg Lauren for Barneys New York

Notes are extremely simple: Tonka bean, Vanilla, Marine notes. The whole is MUCH more than the sum of its parts though.

By the time I got my decant it had already been DCd and people bragged about the bargain prices they paid. As little as US$20 in its final mark downs. I would have bought 20 bottles for that and happily worn it as my signature scent.

Sadly it was not to be.

I’m sure every one of you has a similar story about a different fragrance.

What are the perfumes that got away from you?
Portia xx

November 14, 2020 by Undina

Saturday Question: Do You Use Scented Hair Products?

It feels that we just discussed perfumes we associate with people we love – and here we are, the next Saturday. But since it’s a weekend, I won’t complain.

Saturday Question #38:

Do You Use Scented Hair Products?

We’re not talking shampoos, conditioners or styling products that have a scent while you’re using them but disappear within minutes after that. The question is rather about products that leave a scent trace for a noticeable period of time or are specifically designed for scenting hair.

My Answer

Until recently the only hair product with a distinct scent I used was Moroccanoil Hair Treatment, and, as I told in the Fantasy Vacation Scent post, I was using that product rather for its scent than functionally.

But then earlier this year, while searching for a bottle of Fresh Cream Warm Cashmere by Philosophy (I wrote about it in the post Got Milk?), I read in some reviews that the Fresh Cream dry shampoo smelled great and similar to perfume. Since I like perfume and use dry shampoo from time to time, I decided to try this one. I like it – both as a product and for how it smells, but when I use it, it’s extremely hard (if not impossible) to pair it with any perfume. But it is perfumed enough to wear it on its own, if you like the scent. And it stays on your hair for at least 8 hours.

The news about collaboration between Byredo and Ouai came right when I was on my last drop of Mojave Ghost perfume sample. As I was considering the purchase of a bottle, and, as I said, I am using dry shampoo, with the price of it being the same as for Ouai’s regular dry shampoo ($24), the purchase of this one wasn’t even a question. I went to Sephora as soon as the store in our area opened and got a spray of the limited edition Ouai Super Dry Shampoo x Byredo Mojave Ghost. I love the scent, and I like the product. I pondered for a while whether I should get 1-2 more cans of it, or if I should rather add those dollars towards getting a bottle of perfume… When I went to buy another one, it was completely sold out everywhere. Of course, now Byredo sells Mojave Ghost Hair Perfume ($75 for 75 ml), but I could never explain to myself what would be a justification for buying hair perfume in addition to or instead of real perfume: how much perfume do you need to spray into your hair to do any real damage from the amount of alcohol that will get into contact with it?! Now I’m definitely saving that money for the future perfume purchase.

Speaking of hair perfumes… Even though everything stated above is how I feel about that type of products, recently I caught myself being drawn to … not one but two such products! One is from Ormonde Jayne – Ta’if Hair Mist. I do not need it since I have this perfume in 4 different versions already (and a back-up bottle), but I want it just because I love that perfume, and it’s my number two all-time favorite. So, at least it’s more or less logical (and I’m still not sure I’ll end up buying it). But the second one is completely illogical: Chanel No 5 The Hair Mist. Why illogical? I do not like No 5 in any version. I’ve never liked it. But at least once a year I approach it again thinking that maybe this time… Have you seen that cutest 1.2 oz frosted glass bottle? I do not need it. I will not buy it. But I want it.

Undina's Looking Glass

Perfumed Reflections of Life

Portia’s 2020 Noted Things

Portia’s 2020 Noted Things