November 2011: 24 posts

Those who are contemplating their holiday shopping might like to know that Guerlain counter at Bergdorf Goodman is offering free shipping on any of their products from December 1 to December 6th as well as a free gift with $100 purchase.

What strange, bad scents do you like? 

In perfumery, the worst smells can have the best effects–the inky, moth ball fragrance of indole lends a natural, velvety note to floral compositions; aldehyde C-11 with its dirty hair facet makes rose accords rich and lush; animalic notes lend a surprising sensuality to woods and resins. Thinking about it made me wonder about preferences for scents that are considered by most to be bad or unpleasant: skunk, hot asphalt, gasoline, mildew, etc.

My own good-bad favorites include the musty smell of decaying leaves in the fall, the rotten onions and cheese of durian (a notorious tropical fruit,) and the pungent sweetness of pen ink. I also love the smell of jet fuel on the airport runway; although these days with the boarding taking place via covered passageways, one rarely gets to be on the field itself.

Photograph of fallen leaves via wikipedia commons.

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

“I’ve loved Chinese screens since I was eighteen years old. I nearly fainted with joy when, entering a Chinese shop, I saw a Coromandel for the first time. Screens were the first thing I bought,” said Coco Chanel in one of her interviews, as quoted by Claude Delay in Chanel Solitaire, 1983, p.12.) The dark lacquered wood of Coromandel screens with their unique luminescence was the main impression of those who visited her apartment at 31 rue Cambon in Paris. Their unique blend of opulence and austerity, of dark sheen and bright gold embellishments was the inspiration for the fragrance of the same name from Les Exclusifs collection: Chanel Coromandel.

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Part 1: Florals ~ Rose
Part 3: Florals ~ Lily of the Valley and Violet
Part 4: Florals ~ Blends
Part 5: Essentials
Part 6: Orientals

It is easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of floral variations. This need not be the case. Once you know what rose, jasmine, violet and lily of the valley smell like, you already know a fair bit and have a nice foundation to continue with your fragrance explorations. Almost everything else would stem from these notes.

In continuing my guide on building a perfume wardrobe, I will resume the discussion of floral fragrances, with the focus today being on jasmine. In marketing descriptions, jasmine, orange blossom, gardenia and tuberose are called white florals, which is a vague and confusing term. Rose, carnation and lilac can also be white. What unites the flowers in my group today is their jasmine character of apricot jam, banana peel and an inky touch of indole. The jasmine group also offers the most examples of prominent floral notes used in masculine perfumery.

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Every culture has a saying the gist of which is that the little joys make for the greatest happiness. Yet, as one’s routine threatens to overwhelm, even simple pleasures become something that one needs to carefully plan—a visit to the museum, an afternoon of doing nothing, a candlelit dinner. Nevertheless, there are certain things that are essential in the course of my day. They are my sources of inspiration and much more. They allow me to be aware of beauty at its most essential, and whenever the pressures of work or life threaten to push me over the edge, I only need to turn to my talismans to get things back on track.

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