Following great tradition started by two wonderful bloggers, Birgit (Olfactoria’s Travels) and Portia (Australian Perfume Junkies), once a week I or one of the guest writers will keep the lights on in this virtual leaving room, but I hope that you, my friends and readers, will engage in conversation not only with me or the other host, but also with each other.
Last week’s question collected 68 comments (I start thinking that I might have scared some potential commenters away by offering a draw for more perfume samples), so, there was no draw. but I decided to extend the time for the first draw winner to contact me with the choice of a decanter/samples site for the gift certificate.
Saturday Question #3:
What Are Your Top 3 Serge Lutens Perfumes?
I was torn between the desire to talk about the elephant in the room and inclination to maintain the normality. I don’t know what the next week will bring to the World, but for now let’s talk about something positive.
My Answer
This question was one of many that I planned to run eventually. It surfaced now partially because of the current situation and partially because of the last week’s Saturday question: while working from home, I decided to go through some of the samples that I had for years. The bag that I’ve got out first had a dozen of Serge Lutens samples that I collected over the years. As I was going through them, I was amazed by how much I liked most of them. And these were my “outcasts” – perfumes that I tried before and decided not to go beyond the sample. Today, years later, after having tested hundreds of modern perfumes, I got a new respect for this brand that at some point was on every perfumista’s mind and blog but recently seem to have fallen from grace.
Now it’s your turn. If we get to 100 comments, there will be a prize: a random draw for a $25 (or equivalent in pounds or euro) gift certificate to a decanter service of your choice.
What Are Your Top 3 Serge Lutens Perfumes?
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.
I’ll be adding something new in the end of this post during the next 7 days. Come back whenever you remember to read something new, see what perfume I chose to wear, share your SOTD (even if it has absolutely nothing to do with irises) or just talk to me and others.
Can you believe it’s Week 4 of the Month of Irises? I still have perfumes for the next 7 days, and I’m curious to see what others find to wear.
There were no more “takers” for hosting an Iris Day so I’ll be doing all the daily updates (but if anybody wants to take over one of the remaining days, you’re still welcome).
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Thursday, February 22, 2018
SOTD
I enjoyed wearing ChanelNo 19 extraitso much that I decided to stay with Chanel for one more day. I will be wearing No 19 EdP.
PICTURE OF THE DAY
Rusty got really interested with my origami experiments. I’ll try to add a GIF for tomorrow but meanwhile just a teaser.
Friday, February 23, 2018
SOTD
Following Lucas’s lead, Hedonist Iris by Viktoria Minya.
GIF OF THE DAY
If for nothing else, it was worth making those origami irises because Rusty was really taken by those. Probably I should make a couple more for him to play.
Saturday, February 24, 2018
SOTD
I’ve been postponing it, but it’s probably time to finish my decant of Iris Silver Mist by Serge Lutens. I think it is one of perfumes that has such an iconic standing that it is difficult for it to live up to itself.
WINDOW SHOPPING
Have you seen this already? A note pad from Japanese company Triad that reveals architectural models as you keep using it. I do not really use paper notes but I love the idea (and the color! and have you noticed those irises on the base?). If $123 + $21 S&H doesn’t scare you away, click on the picture to pre-order this Omoshiroi Block Japanese Landmark Memo Pad Kiyomizudera Temple, Asakusa Temple, Tokyo Tower notepad or one of several other designs (I’m not affiliated).
Sunday, February 25, 2018
SOTD
I decided to give Iris Silver Mist one more wear. While it was nice, I don’t think I like it more than several other irises I have or tried this month. So once I finish my decant (probably one or two more times), I won’t try to get a bottle. Maybe another decant.
Monday, February 26, 2018
SOTD
I wanted to wear Purple Rainby Prada on a rainy day. Unfortunately, February this year was dry. One day when it suddenly rained, I was already wearing another perfume that was tenacious enough to last me through the day. But now we have rain forecast for this Monday, so I’ll be wearing Purple Rain. I wish I had this umbrella to accompany it:
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
VIDEO CLIP OF THE DAY
Recently I was watching (again) Hercule Poirot series and was reminded how much I liked the song used in one of the episodes – Yellow Iris. Unfortunately, from what I managed to find, it had never been released as a stand-alone song, so all you can do is to listen to it in the clip from the episode (in which, by the way, there is a reference to the flower of the month – so I thought it was at least partially relevant). The song is beautiful, and I wanted to share it with you (and I’ll add lyrics under the video – in case some of the words are not clear in the background).
I’ve forgotten you,
I never think of you,
The way you walked, the way you talked, the things you used to say.
I’ve forgotten you,
I never think of you,
I couldn’t say for sure today
Whether your eyes were blue or grey.
I’ve forgotten you,
I never think of you,
Your smile, your touch,
Which meant so much,
Somewhere along the way.
I’ve forgotten you,
I never think of you,
I changed my mind , my love was blind ,
Now I’ve forgotten you.
Oh, what a lie!
I shall think of you,
Think of you,
Think of you,
Till I die
SOTD 2/27/2018
With just 2 days left in the month I’m going through the remaining list of my iris-centric perfumes choosing carefully what gets a wear within this project. I’m going with my first unsniffed purchase – Chanel No. 19 Poudré, even though I suspect it might be a little too cold for it.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
So we are on the last day of A Month of Irises project. After it’s over, I’ll probably do a round-up post with some statistics – so please, keep going, do not give up until the end of the month (and report back).
LINKS, LINKS, LINKS
I thought it would be very fitting to finish my updates for the month of irises, rainbows and perfumes with a link to Asali’s (The Sounds of Scent) review of the legendary Iris Gris perfume – At the end of the rainbow.
SOTD 2/28/2018
I started this project with a list of iris perfumes that had more than 28 scents, so it is not a surprise that I had a choice of what to wear for the last day. After going back and forth between a couple of contenders, I decided that Hirisby Hermès would be a perfect conclusion for the month: it is very office-friendly (and I have some meetings in a small office), it is a classic iris perfume, it is the last perfume featured in the picture of the introductory post for this project that I haven’t worn yet, and this mini bottle was a gift from dear Portia (Australian Perfume Junkies).
What are you wearing today?
Images: memo block and umbrella – from the sites selling the products, linked (no affiliation); the rest – my own
I’ll be adding something new in the end of this post during the next 7 days. Come back whenever you remember (WordPress doesn’t have an option to inform the subscribers about the updates) to read something new, see what perfume I chose to wear and share your SOTD.
So, we’re in the Week 3 of the Month of Irises. Do you still have more iris perfumes to wear? Do you feel like wearing them? I’m good on both counts, and I hope you’ll join me regardless of perfumes you choose to wear.
I’ve learned my lesson: no more riddles. I still have some topical bits and bobs to entertain you. And you’ll get to visit a couple of friendly blogs hosting one of the SOTD threads (that is if you actually see the update and follow the link I share).
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Thursday, February 15, 2018
SOTD
I plan to wear Gris Clair by Serge Lutens. I would like to wear it for a foggy day (or, dare I wish, even a rainy one) but since the forecast has sunny days for at least next 10 days, I decided to go with it.
PICTURE OF THE DAY
After trying to smell, bite and play with irises, Rusty finally generously allowed me to take a picture of him not moving or turning his head away.
Friday, February 16, 2018
DID YOU KNOW?
Iris Croatica (Hrvatska Perunika) is the national flower of Croatia – a home country of Ines (All I am – a redhead), who is hosting today’s SOTD thread. Visit her blog to read her thoughts on several iris perfumes and share what perfume you’re wearing on the last day of the work week.
Saturday, February 17, 2018
SOTD
Yesterday I didn’t have to plan and post my SOTD in advance (since Ines was graciously hosting that day), so I ended up wearing Bois d’Iris by Van Cleef and Arpels. It is nice woody and warm perfume (Vanessa, this might be an answer to both the project and your cravings) but either it actually disappears from my skin within a couple of hours, or I stop smelling it. I re-applied it 4 times during the day – which almost never happens to me even with Jo Malone perfumes.
So, Jo Malone it is for my Saturday’s SOTM. I plan to wear Orris and Sandalwood.
WINDOW SHOPPING
Remembering that weekends are slow, I invite you to do some window shopping with me. One of my favorite designer brands – Franz Porcelain Collection – a necklace from which Rusty helped to demo in my anniversary post, also makes tableware and home decor items. I like to look at them but I can’t imagine most of them in my day-to-day life – even if their price wasn’t higher than I would want to spend on any of that type items. But I can look at them, right? All these items are available from the Wildlife Wonders online store (no affiliation).
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Sunday, February 18, 2018
SOTD
Belles Rives by La Parfumerie Moderne (from a sample from a friend). I like it but I think it’s a tad more unisex than I’d like it to be. And, in my opinion, requires warmer weather to properly bloom. I’ll leave the rest of the sample to re-test it in a month.
Monday, February 19, 2018
SOTD
Ormonde JayneVanille d’Iris. I have not made up my mind about this perfume but something tells me I won’t go beyond the sample I’ve got.
KHOW-HOW
Have you ever tried making an origami? Here are instructions for traditional origami iris flower; and here for the leaves.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
Today Lucas (Chemist in the Bottle) hosts the Day of Iris. Please attend his very informative lesson A study of iris – from crop to perfume (and share your SOTD in the comments there).
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
DID YOU KNOW?
According to the Paula’s Choice Research Team (with the reference to the Botanical Dermatology Database), in skincare products orris root is used “primarily as a fragrant component due to its violet-like scent. It can cause sensitizing skin reactions and there is no research showing it has any benefit for skin.”
I read articles (in different sources including Vogue magazine) mentioning anti-ageing and other benefits to this ingredient in skincare products. But at this point I choose to believe Paula Begoun since, unlike it is in most of those other sources, she puts her name under her (her team’s) opinion.
SOTD, 2/21/18
Suddenly winter is back with a vengeance (4C/39F at night), and our heater stopped working right after the last store where we could get an additional portable heater had closed. A friend brought us his spare oil heater, which hopefully will be keeping Rusty warm tonight. So for the cold day at home while dealing with the heater repairman, I’ll wear Chanel No. 19 extrait.
What are you wearing today?
Images: Franz Collection – from the store I linked to above; the rest – my own
Strictly from the personal prospective, 2017 wasn’t a bad year: it had its share of unpleasantness and hardships but nothing to be really unhappy – so I won’t complain or even mention that. Instead, I would rather remember that year by good things that happened – short and long trips, wonderful time spent with my friends, successful projects at work and wonderful perfumes I got to test and wear in 2017.
As I usually do it in the beginning of the new year, I’m looking back to my perfume records and sharing with you my insights.
How I do it
Years ago I created a personal database (using MS Access) to hold information on all the perfumes I own or test. Whenever I get a new sample, I add it to the database – below I give an example of the entry form I use. I do not always get all the information but I add what I can find. Perfume name, launch year and notes are free-text entry; designer (brand), perfumers, notes and some other data points are coming from the pre-defined lists, so there can be no discrepancies.
Whenever I wear or test perfumes, I record it in the Perfume Diary. In the form below, “Purpose” is one of the choices for when/why I wore or tested that perfume, e.g., “office wear” or “weekend day” or “Work from home.” Type of use is either “wore” or “tested”; “Response” is a formalized evaluation of how I reacted to that perfume on that day – e.g., “Enjoyed it a lot” or “Mixed feelings” or “I hated it,” etc. And finally “My notes” contain a short free-form comment, whatever I want to write about that time I wore or tested perfume.
For those readers who haven’t been around when I was doing this series regularly, I want to explain what I mean when I say “tested” or “wore”: for testing I apply perfume to one area on my arms easily available for the repetitive sniffing. I can test two, sometimes even more perfumes at the same time. I do most of my testing in the evenings or while working from home. When I wear 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. After wearing a less tenacious perfume in the morning I might wear another one later. I wear perfumes mostly from bottles and decants; I wear perfumes from samples only when I consider buying a bottle or decant.
So, now when I explained how I collect data, let’s take a look at my 2017 in numbers.
178 Perfumes Worn
This year I wore more different perfumes than the year before – 178 (vs. 164 in 2016) from more brands – 72 (vs. 61) but did it less often – on 314 occasions (vs. 333).
Second year in a row Jo Malone was a brand I wore the most. I think it’s because these are my most “office friendly” perfumes. Neela Vermeire Creations made its way back into the Top 10 chart (last time it was here in 2014); while Le Labo fell completely off. The rest of the group just moved around but stayed on the chart, which isn’t surprising since I do not either update or expand my collection significantly any longer and keep wearing my favorites.
I tend to rotate perfumes I wear daily so I usually do not wear the same perfume even twice the same months – that’s how I go through that many different perfumes in a year. But I still managed to wear 67 perfumes more than once during 2017. Five perfumes I wore the most – Chanel No 19 (EdT, EdP and extrait), Lancôme Climat, Ormonde Jayne Ta’if, Krigler Lieber Gustav 14 and Armani La Femme Bleue.
Testing: Recording 300 and “carrying over” 1,000
This year was remarkable in regards to testing: in addition to the cursory testing of about 1,000 perfumes during my London – Barcelona – Stockholm trip (those didn’t go into my database – unless I scored a sample to bring back with me), I recorded testing at home 300 perfumes (vs. 275 last year) from 103 (vs. 100) brands. 134 of them were completely new to me (the rest I had tested before). I really liked/loved 24 of them, liked 20, thought that 56 were just not interesting and disliked 34.
Everybody knows that people in the Perfumeland* are wonderfully generous and kind – towards friends and oftentimes to other members of their group who they don’t know too well.
I got my first sample of Serge Lutens Chergui from Suzanne of Suzanne’s Perfume Journal (she had a perfect explanation why to wear Chergui in summer; unfortunately, after her passing the blog isn’t accessible any longer).
I liked this perfume though until recently for me it was a cold weather perfume. I finished Suzanne’s sample, then one more sample and was thinking of getting a decant, when Vanessa (Bonkers about Perfume) sent me her partial bottle of Chergui as an unofficial present for my birthday. I was happy to get it in a bottle: even though those take more space than decants, in the last years I noticed that I tend to favor actual bottles.
Several months later, while we were discussing samples exchange, Vanessa wrote to me that she would also send a box from Chergui that she recently found… As I read that e-mail in the office, I was anxious to get home: I clearly remembered that the partial bottle had come with a box…
I got home, confirmed that I wasn’t confused and even sent Vanessa a proof of having that box.
Vanessa had no recollection of how she came to own that second box; and since she had no use for it she used it to send samples to me, making the answer to the post office clerk’s question “Are the bottles in their original boxes?” at least partially truthful: the box was original indeed.
Chergui is one of rare perfumes honey in which does not go urinous on my skin. As I started thinking about this post, I wore Chergui a couple of times, and I have to agree with Suzanne: it wears nicely in the hot weather. Too bad I cannot use a back-up box to even better protect perfume from that heat. I’ll have to rely upon a more conventional method – an A/C. I couldn’t even interest Rusty in checking it out: he clearly didn’t think it was that interesting the first time around when I tried to make a “proof of life” picture shown above.
Speaking about back-ups… Are you getting any for your Serge Lutens favorites pre-repackaging/reformulation/moving to the Exclusives Collection?
Images: my own
* Of course, Perfumeland isn’t unique in that respect: people inside other groups with similar interests behave that way. But I’m writing about my current interests, so forgive me this … hmm… what would be the right antonym for “generalization” in this context?
First seven days of not only a specific theme but predefined set of perfumes. Surprisingly, it was much easier to do than I thought: I didn’t have to think about what I would wear the next day – it was already on the calendar.
I publish this post to sum up my impressions from the first seven perfumes and to remind you that for each comment, in which you tell us what rose perfume you wore that day (or any of the days before), you are getting one entry into the draw for two bars of chocolate from a local artisan brand (my choice) – milk, dark or mix (winner’s choice) sent anywhere in the world.
Just remember: one comment – one entry, even if you tell in it about multiple perfumes worn on different days. At the same time, two comments about the same perfume posted on two different days will give you two entries. What’s the catch? You’ve probably noticed that, other than standard WordPress’ ads, there are no ads or affiliated links on this blog, so I’m not trying to get any hits or clicks from my readers; I just enjoy your company and want you to come back more often – even if I do not publish a new post.
February 1:Neela Vermeire Creations Mohur Esprit de Parfum (Bertrand Duchaufour)
I know that it’s called officially Mohur Extrait now. But the sample I was wearing was from the period when it still had the old name that hadn’t become official. From the first trio of perfumes, Mohur was my least favorite: I didn’t dislike it but I didn’t feel I’d want to wear it. Mohur Extrait feels different than just a higher concentration of the EdP version: it’s deeper and smoother. And agarwood doesn’t jump out on me as it happened before with Mohur EdP. Just in case you’ve missed it somehow: Mohur Extrait is a limited edition, and I’m not sure if those gorgeous bottles will be available again once they are sold out.
February 2:Guerlain Rose Barbare (Francis Kurkdjian)
While I enjoy wearing this perfume from time to time, the small decant that I have is probably all I need. It is pleasant; it fits its Guerlain collection well; but, in my opinion, Rose Barbare is neither “barbare” (whichever English equivalent you choose) nor that much “rose.” I am not trying to say that there’s no rose in that perfume but smelling it blind, I would have never thought about it as a rose-centric perfume. But still, it’s a nice perfume to wear.
February 3:Serge Lutens La Fille de Berlin (Christopher Sheldrake)
I think it is a beautiful perfume. It was the second time I’ve ever worn it properly, and I will not be doing it again: I have ideological grievances against it. I decided to wear it on that day because it served two purposes: while it was a beautiful rose perfume that fitted this Month of Roses project, I used it as an anti-lemming perfume in NST’s community project. I do not feel bad if you choose not to read [into] this perfume pedigree or think of Marlene Dietrich while wearing La Fille de Berlin, but for me this is where our relationship with this perfume ends.
February 4:Amouage Lyric (Daniel Maurel)
According to the calendar, I was supposed to wear Tauer Perfumes PHI – une rose de Kandahar. I didn’t realize that my sample was empty: probably, it’s time to buy a travel spray. And since it was a weekend, and we were invited to the friends’ house for dinner, I wanted to wear something special, not just a quickly found replacement out of all the perfumes that didn’t make it to the calendar in the first place. So I moved Lyric to the earlier date hoping to find a replacement for it later.
A couple of Valentine’s Days ago I paired Lyric with one of the stories from my childhood (Ax +By = A Genetic Mystery).
This is one of classic Amouage perfumes that is worth trying even if one doesn’t like rose or Amouage perfumes: it doesn’t work for everybody, it shouldn’t (and can’t) work for everybody but it is a great illustration for opulence in perfumery. I happen to love Lyric, and I feel joy every time I wear it. I wonder though, whether I actually smell this rose as a dark one or is it a power of suggestion from the packaging?
February 5: By Kilian Rose Oud (Calice Becker)
Agarwood and I are not really friends. There is a handful of perfumes with this note that work for my skin (or at least for my nose when I smell them on my vSO) but most of them I rather dislike. Rose Oud is one of a few that are not bad, which brings me to the conclusion that it’s not real agarwood that makes up for this perfume’s price. No, I haven’t suddenly developed better olfaction abilities. But I remember that every time I thought I liked perfumes with agarwood, those were perfumes based on the “oud accord” (if any at all). I won’t probably go beyond the sample I have but I liked wearing it for the project.
February 6:Sonoma Scent Studio Velvet Rose (Laurie Erickson)
As with all Laurie’s perfumes, there is no doubt that it is a real rose you smell. More is going on in this perfume, but rose is at center stage from the big opening until the last curtain call, if I were to stretch that theater metaphor. Velvet Rose is very Sonoma Scent Studio perfume so if you like their floral perfumes, this one should work well for you. My bottle of this perfume is slowly nearing the end (so, 3-4 more years, and it’ll be done) – ask me then if I’m replenishing it.
February 7:Tauer Perfumes Une Rose Vermeille(Andy Tauer)
As I wrote in the post In the Search for the Perfect Berry: Raspberry, I cannot say that I love Une Rose Vermeille but I like it very much. It is fruity-floral perfume that is done the way this genre of perfumes should be done. It is a very strong and unapologetic lemony rose with the added raspberry sweetness. But unless you’re a [serial] monogamist when it comes to perfumes, do not go for anything more than 15 ml travel spray of this perfume: it is so potent that even that amount will serve you a decade.
I will be back in a week with a write-up on the next seven perfumes on my calendar. I hope you like rose perfumes (and chocolate).
As I was reading farewell posts for 2016 (or celebratory ones for 2017), I’ve noticed that many people were very unhappy with the year and were anxious to see it off. While I acknowledge all the madness and unpleasantness that the year had brought us, on the personal level I don’t have much to complain. All-in-all, it was a good year for me, and I’m grateful for that.
But let me show you my 2016 in numbers.
98% – 100%
Northern California finally got some relief from the drought we are having. It’s still not over, and a part of the state is still in miserable condition, but the area where I live got rainfall between 98 and 100 percent of historic average, which makes me happy (I’m not sure about Rusty, though: since the picture below had been taken, he’s developed an inexplicable phobia of umbrellas – so that he refuses to be in the same room with it. Now I have to dry umbrellas in the garage not to traumatize him any further).
164 Perfumes Worn
I wear perfumes on most of the days that I work from the office and on weekends. When I work from home, I tend to use those days to test perfumes instead of wearing my favorites. Since at the new job I get less WFH days, 2016 numbers for perfume wearing went up compared to 2015 (the difference is given in parentheses): I wore 164 perfumes (+8) from 61 brands (+5) on 333 occasions (+29). And before you ask: no, I do not own 164 bottles of perfumes; some of these are travel bottles, minis or decants.
Jo Malone with a Vengeance
For many years I have been a Jo Malone’s fan. It started long before my trip down the rabbit hole but during the first several years of my descent I was so mesmerized by all the marvels of the niche perfumery world that I wore much less of my favorite perfumes from this brand even though I own more full bottles from Jo Malone than from any other brand.
Since I wasn’t doing my monthly statistics posts this last year, I haven’t noticed the tendency, so it got me by surprise when my year numbers showed that Jo Malone was the brand I wore the most often, and it was the highest number for one brand in the last three years: I wore Jo Malone’s perfumes on 29 occasions.
Lucky Number 13
This is how many times I wore Lancôme Climat – my all-time favorite perfume in 2016. You might think it’s not a high number for perfume that I love my whole life: just 13 days out of 365… no, actually 366. But look at it from another perspective: this is the highest number for any single perfume I wore during any of the past six years.
Testing… Testing… 275, 100, 361…
Despite being very busy and wearing perfumes more often, in 2016 I did a lot more testing (compared to 2015): I tested 275 perfumes (+ 97) from 100 brands (+15) on 361 occasions (+134). Not all the testing I’ve done was for new perfumes, I do a lot of comparison testing (e.g., a new to me perfume with the one I own or two new perfumes against each other) or just re-testing something I’ve tested before. But I did test 118 new for me perfumes (+26), 31 of which were released in 2016 (+3), and I listed 10 of the new releases that I liked in the last post of the year.
Care to guess, which line I tested the most? Told you – “with a vengeance.” I was surprised myself, and I blame it on their Garden Collection: probably I just couldn’t believe I couldn’t find a single perfume to like in those cute green bottles, so I kept trying them.
A Year of Zen [Gardens]
A year ago I changed jobs and I got myself a desk Zen Garden, about which I dreamed for years. Looking back, I can tell that it was a good decision. On both accounts – the job and the garden. It was a challenging busy year but I enjoy what I do, I like my job, and I still had time for changing my Zen Garden at least seven times (I can’t find a picture of the very first one I made but it was more traditional than the next six).
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As you can see, I used all my favorite things – cats, perfumes, chocolates and holiday decorations. Yesterday I took off Christmas ornaments, and I’m ready for the next chapter in my Zen-gardening. Any ideas for what I should do next?
Several days ago Tara (A Bottled Rose) linked her great review of Serge Lutens‘ Boxeuses to my post from 2014 (Serge Lutens Boxeuses: Round One – I won). I remembered what I wrote back then in the conclusion of the story:
The year isn’t over yet and it looks like I’ll need to consider either changing my job or buying a bottle of Boxeuses…
Since the situation in 2015 didn’t improve, I welcomed a bottle of Boxeuses into my collection and it proved to be one of my Top 10 perfumes that got the most skin time in 2015, which on its own attests to what a year it was.
Yesterday I wore Boxeuses on my last day at my job of many-many-many years. The irony was that it wasn’t even just symbolic: I actually attended my last meeting of the type, for which this perfume was meant.
Changing jobs after that many years at the same place is a scary step. So even though I made this important (and long overdue) decision a while ago, it took me some time to go through with it. I liked many aspects of that job and people with whom I worked day-to-day. I’ll miss them. I’ll miss a great view from the window of my office. I’ll miss traditions I’ve created and fostered over the years (I’ve told on my blog a couple of stories before – about Halloween Nail Decoration contest and holiday ornaments). I’ll miss other small things that aren’t that important in the grand scheme of things but still are important on the personal level.
Next week I’m starting a new job. As with everything new, there is an excitement, worries and, of course, hopes. Even though I like Boxeuses, in future I hope to wear this perfume just for pleasure of experiencing the scent and not as a coping strategy. I also hope that maybe this time I will be able to make this beautiful orchid – a farewell gift from a coworker – bloom more than once. As the first step I should probably hide both from Rusty.
Because of the perfume, war clearly was on my mind that day.
When in my office’s vestibule I almost ran into a guy carrying a long box, my thoughts immediately went to the mall scene from Terminator 2:
I’d never seen him in our building before so I was suspicious:
– I hope it’s not a shotgun in there…
– ???
– In the box…
– Oh, no. Those are just fluorescent light tubes.
– Ah, I see. That’s reassuring.
We smiled at each other and, as I passed him, he dropped casually:
– Nice perfume!
– Thank you!
I was wearing Lieber Gustav 14 by Krigler. You might wonder how the perfume, notes of which include lavender, black tea, tonka bean, geranium, leather and sandalwood, prompted those violent thoughts.
I could have told you that it was because the perfumer created Lieber Gustav in memory of his daughter’s fiancé who had been killed in WWI.
Or I could have drawn a complex association “Lieber Gustav” -> “Ach, du lieber Augustin” song that in the war mythology with which I grew up stereotyped fascists played on their harmonicas during WWII. Or…
But everything was much simpler: I chose Lieber Gustav as a perfume for the NTS’s Gender Wars Friday community project.
While in the U.S. lavender is one of the most ubiquitous scents used in … everything (alongside with lemon/citrus, strawberry and rose), it wasn’t cultivated or widely used where I lived as a child. So until I moved to the U.S. in my late 20s the only thing I knew about lavender was the word itself. I’m not sure if that played any significant role in my affection towards lavender. Or maybe it was thanks to Yves Rocher‘s lavender oil that I used on pulse points when I or my vSO couldn’t sleep – and it seemed to help. Or was it a wonderful gift from a friend – “Do not Disturb” Lavender Spa Relaxation Heat Wrap* – that over years soothed many of my pains and left me feeling warm about that scent? Whatever it was, I like the smell of lavender – in body products, sachets and even food. I was surprised when I realized that I also enjoy lavender in perfumes.
In perfumes that I like lavender can’t be too “simple”: both Yves Rocher’s and Demeter‘s lavender scents went directly to the linen closet.
Before I tried Lieber Gustav 14, I didn’t know anything about either that perfume or that brand. I didn’t know the perfume had lavender as one of the main notes. A friend of mine gave me a sample and offered a bigger decant later from her bottle if I liked it, in which she wasn’t sure since Lieber Gustav isn’t too popular in the Perfumeland. It was love at the first sniff! I decided not even to go through that illogical stage of getting a decant but saving the last couple of drops and not using it up completely and at the same time not buying a bottle because decant hasn’t been finished yet.
With just the right combination of lavender, leather and woodsy notes Lieber Gustav is a truly unisex perfume. Leather in this perfume isn’t harsh or strong but it’s definitely leather, not suede. Lavender is aromatic but not medicinal. It’s the second perfume in my collection that I equally love on me and on my vSO (I haven’t tried it on Rusty).
Serge Lutens‘ Gris Clair is another lavender perfume that I like. In several reviews (both positive and negative) Gris Clair was called cool or even cold, which was very surprising to me because it wasn’t how I perceived this perfume. It smelled like lavender and heated… heated… but what? Not soil or grass or road – something cleaner. For a long time it bothered me that I could distinctively smell a certain note but even though the recognition was on the tip of my tongue (nose?) it kept slipping away. And then I found and re-read Christos’ (Memory of Scent) review of Gris Clair. He called it “hot iron note.” Of course! It’s exactly what I smell. And since I like ironing (yes, I know how strange it sounds for most people), I’m not surprised my small decant is almost empty. I’m not sure though what to do next: I recently tried another Luten’s lavender perfume – Fourreau Noir – and liked it even more than I like Gris Clair. And since it’s a bell jar perfume, I should probably save my lavender-allocated budget for it and get my hot iron note directly from the source.
Do you like lavender? Do you wear lavender-centered perfumes?
Images: all but the special edition Fourreau Noir – my own
*Do not Disturb wrap on the pictures is the “second generation”: after I wore out the first one I bought a new one here (I’m not affiliated).
A while ago I did a post on several perfumes’ performance under extreme temperatures. As posting a picture from my Bikram yoga studio was out of question, I used a shot of Kathleen Turner from Body Heat (and mentioned her in the post). Since then different combinations of “Kathleen Turner “, “hot” and “body” brought to my blog more than six hundred visitors – just twice less than my blog’s traffic from the word “perfume” among the search terms, which is ironic since it is a perfume blog. And, as I checked out, not a single visitor came to Undina’s Looking Glass by searching for “Serge Lutens” or “Boxeuses”, both of which were mentioned (and tagged!) in the same post with the hot actress named above.
It’s not my attempt to improve my search engine ratings or attract more visitors (I’m not sure if I got even a single returning reader from native search traffic) but rather a quest to improve the balance of these search terms out there that I influenced unintentionally.
Have you ever tried explaining to somebody who has almost no understanding in something that you know well why it takes exactly the amount of time you say it will and can’t be done twice faster? I do not write much about my day job on my blog but to give you a better idea of how I felt I want to mention that it’s a technology-related job in a non-technological company.
Last twelve months were extremely busy and stressful for me: we were working on a big project. It started with a series of meetings during which I had to fight for the realistic schedule. Preparing to those meetings was nerve-wracking: I knew the project would be a much more complex than my audience could comprehend or was willing to acknowledge; I knew they would be pushing for a shorter cycle and expecting an enthusiastic “Yes, we can” but I just couldn’t promise them something that wasn’t achievable.
One morning while dressing up for the Big Meeting I tried to choose what perfume to wear. Normally I would wear something discreet (e.g. Chanel No 19 parfum) but I knew that meeting would be a fight. Boxeuses! I do not wear perfumes as mood enhancers, I consider them ornamental. But in this case the name itself made me smile: it fit just perfectly!
I’m not sure what it was – a combination of the birch tar smokiness and dark fruit sweetness, an extra smile I got from the perfume name or my brilliantly performed presentation but I won that round and my schedule was approved.
Since then Boxeuses by Serge Lutens became my perfume for tough meetings. With that complex project my technical group was right on schedule while the data group, the manager of which was one of those pushing for unrealistic deadlines, spent extra seven weeks after that finishing their part. It took me a small-decant-worth number of unpleasant meetings and a lot of efforts.
…
The year isn’t over yet and it looks like I’ll need to consider either changing my job or buying a bottle of Boxeuses…
Images: Women boxing on a roof, 1938 – I’m not sure who is the author, but here I found the best information about it; perfume – hajussuri (from whom I also received the decant that got me through this year – thank you!)
Undina's Looking Glass 