Postcard from Ukraine : L’Heure Bleue

In Sufi poetry the nightingale represents the yearning of the soul for the divine, while the scent of the rose to which it sings is the essence of perfection. We don’t have roses yet in our Poltava garden, but we have lilacs. On many evenings here as dusk begins to fall and every nightingale starts to pour its heart out to the moon, I stand in the darkness that smells of marzipan and wet petals and listen. Overhead the stars are so bright and dazzling that they appear alive. I make out the Big Dipper about to catch itself in the craggy branches of old lindens. Perhaps, like the nightingale I too am yearning for something.

blue evening

Photography by Bois de Jasmin

Subscribe

108 Comments

  • Karen A: Beautiful description of that magical time as nighttime unfolds. May 18, 2016 at 7:11am Reply

    • Victoria: It’s such a beautiful time of day, and when all of the nightingales are singing, it’s heavenly. Well, provided our neighbor doesn’t have a rowdy party complete with the latest pop hits. May 18, 2016 at 2:15pm Reply

  • Marina: Can relate to it, as I am originally from Ukraine. My favorite parfum May 18, 2016 at 9:17am Reply

    • Victoria: Where in Ukraine are you from, Marina? May 18, 2016 at 2:16pm Reply

  • Nick: I cannot wait for the linden blossoms to come. I am going to miss their unguent sweetness on hot pavements when I move to the tropics. May 18, 2016 at 9:19am Reply

    • Victoria: I also can’t wait for the linden blossoms. The perfume is otherworldly. May 18, 2016 at 2:16pm Reply

    • Mariann: ah me too. Not too far off now. Right now I’m enjoying the chestnut flowers. May 18, 2016 at 3:04pm Reply

      • Nick: Mariann, chestnut flowers have scents? What do they smell like? May 18, 2016 at 3:07pm Reply

      • Victoria: Me too. Since Nick asked, I went out to smell them, and the scent is green, sweet, and powdery. Like chalk soaked in sweet tea. May 19, 2016 at 6:36am Reply

        • Nick: Does that remind you of mimosa? May 19, 2016 at 10:54am Reply

          • Victoria: Not really. It’s a very different smell. Drier, less sweet. May 20, 2016 at 1:41pm Reply

  • Kelly: I woke to a warm wet morning here in South Fl. Spritzed myself with Apres l’ Ondee and started my day. With pleasure I read your post and was reminded of how I too love my L’HEURE Bleu in the twilight of my day – but in the middle , in the beautiful bright sun middle of morning promise and evening reprieve it is my Annick Goutal Ciel I reach for , Linden and hay …. Always brings a smile ! I adore Linden and am always on the look out for another rendition of its charm, any recommendations?
    Your blog is a favorite, thank you for your words and photos ~ May 18, 2016 at 9:35am Reply

    • K: Kelly, I live in South Florida & sprayed myself first thing this morning as well as through the night with Apres l’Ondee too!!! May 18, 2016 at 10:11am Reply

      • Kelly: Very nice to meet you ! May 18, 2016 at 10:13am Reply

        • K: Nice to meet you also. We are neighbors in a way… We both live in the same area of the same state! May 18, 2016 at 6:12pm Reply

    • Victoria: Thank you for a reminder of Apres L’Ondee, Kelly. It’s such a beautiful, wistful perfume.

      As for linden, have you tried Parfum d’Orsey Tilleul? May 18, 2016 at 2:18pm Reply

      • Kelly: I have not had the pleasure of trying Parfum D’Orsey Tilleul, yet it I have read many wonderful reviews of it . It is definitely in my seek and find list . Thank you for the reminder of it! May 20, 2016 at 9:08am Reply

        • Victoria: Definitely try it. It’s one of the best lindens. MAC Naked Honey was great too, but it’s gone. May 20, 2016 at 1:54pm Reply

  • Alicia: So beautifully written; this is truly a poeme en prose. And a poet answers it, in Verlaine’s words:
    Un vaste et tendre
    Apaisement
    Semble descendre
    Du firmament
    Que l’astre irise…

    C’est l’heure exquise. May 18, 2016 at 9:40am Reply

    • Nora Szekely: Beautiful 🙂 May 18, 2016 at 11:17am Reply

    • Victoria: Verlaine’s poem is perfect. An ideal illustration for the photograph. Thank you very much. May 18, 2016 at 2:19pm Reply

    • Notturno7: Thank you, Alicia😊and Victoria!
      Beautiful post💜 . I love LHB. May 19, 2016 at 2:50pm Reply

    • Solanace: So fitting! Thank you. May 20, 2016 at 4:36am Reply

  • K: This is one of the most beautiful posts I’ve read.
    So much conveyed in a short message with a beautiful photograph accompaniment.
    I’ve been feeling the same May 18, 2016 at 9:57am Reply

    • Michaela: Yes, indeed! An exquisite poeme en prose, as Alicia just noticed. May 18, 2016 at 10:18am Reply

      • Victoria: Thank you so much, Michaela. May 18, 2016 at 2:20pm Reply

    • Victoria: Thank you very much, K! Let all dreamers come together. 🙂 May 18, 2016 at 2:19pm Reply

  • Rita: Beautiful May 18, 2016 at 10:08am Reply

  • brenda: Good morning;
    I love how you remind us….in fact, teach us ….to be so cogniscant of the prescious, natural, free, and unique “things” around us…thank goodness for these moments you inspire….. May 18, 2016 at 10:32am Reply

    • Victoria: I try to slow down and not always feel like I need to rush, to get “one more thing done.” Such moments of reflecting and dreaming are essential. May 18, 2016 at 2:21pm Reply

  • limegreen: The image is a visual poem, I love how you were able to capture the vividness of the sky hues. Thank you for these postcards, Victoria!
    (I am a new convert to L’Heure Bleue, though Apres L’Ondee still towers over it.) May 18, 2016 at 10:36am Reply

    • Nick: Which concentration, might I ask, of L’Heure Bleue? May 18, 2016 at 10:39am Reply

      • limegreen: Hi Nick!
        The EdP, courtesy of Karen, lover of roses and Chamade. 🙂
        Are you really moving to the tropics or were you being poetic?
        Coromandel will smell very different, not bad but different in the warmer humidity. And no. 19 will bloom on your skin!
        (I agree with you about Hiris, a lovely marble iris. Do have the clear glass or cobalt blue bottle?) May 18, 2016 at 11:51am Reply

        • Nick: I haven’t really tried the EdP and the extrait I boldly asked the SA to decant. That sounds like you are starting to explore the classic Guerlain just like me. Oh, I am moving for my job; nothing poetic about research on kidney lol. Surely, it is going to affect how many sprays I can muster. I would reduce to once to see how the perfumes work amidst the heat. Oh? You’ve seen it? Speaking of which, I never put the link in here — you are good with google! I have the clear glass bottle, not the ‘vintage’ :)I can spray that liberally and it is not going to hit anyone’s nostril. May 18, 2016 at 3:23pm Reply

          • limegreen: Lol, nope on exploring Guerlain. I gave Mitsouko the old school try and it failed. I did a BdJ giveaway and while there were lovers there were some like me who could not wear it either.
            I don’t have skin chemistry karma with the house. Apres L’Ondee and Shalimar in the EdC, that’s about it. So LHB was a delightful surprise. I love the concept and imagery.
            What link do you mean?
            Good luck with the move!
            Learn to wear citrus and tea colognes for the heat! May 18, 2016 at 5:48pm Reply

            • Nick: I just managed to get the decants of the parfums. So far, I am struggling with Mitsoukoa and Vol de Nuit from the first sniff. Ah, I don’t remember mentioning about marble thing, but I did write about it, so I assumed that you saw it in my article of Hiris. Anyway, citrus colognes…I have Pamplelune and Mediterraneo. We will see! May 19, 2016 at 10:58am Reply

              • limegreen: Pampelune will be very strong in the heat. Have you tried Limon Verde in the same AA line? You sort of have to love the mojito cocktail vibe, without the mint. For more mint and mojito, go for Berdoues Grand Cru Brasil da Selva. My latest favorite refreshing tea cologne is Laura Mercier Tea Menthe Citron, matcha green tea and mint, and relatively a bargain so one can spray away.
                (As for Hiris, you mentioned the marble iris comment in an off-tangent conversation we were having anout no. 19 and iris. It was an interesting descriptive that I remembered. 🙂 ) May 19, 2016 at 1:23pm Reply

                • Nick: Limon Verde will be on my sampling list definitely. It seems also that it is widely available. Oh, thank you! May 20, 2016 at 1:19pm Reply

              • Notturno7: Good luck with the kidney research, Nick. It sounds fascinating.

                And yes, Mitsuko- it sometimes takes time to fall in love with this one. It felt too mossy at first but when I got the extrait, the dry down is heavenly and that was it for me😍
                And Vol de Nuit I love in colder weather or in the fall. They both have so much character or personality! May 20, 2016 at 5:07am Reply

                • Nick: Thank you, Notturno7. The Guerlinade, I suppose. I cannot quite get past the metallic radiance of the peach in other concentrations. The extrait, I agree, is the best way to sample Mitsouko. May 20, 2016 at 12:18pm Reply

              • limegreen: So since you mentioned it, had to look up your article on Hiris (found it by googling Hiris marble iris! 🙂 ). It was a delightful read, Nick. I enjoyed your inclusion of aroma chemicals in your fragrance reviews, very very helpful and very educational. How do you find out the aroma chemicals when they are not often listed?
                (I assume with kidney research you have expertise in biochemistry.
                I’m trying to figure out the aroma chemical thing so to avoid the ones that either don’t work on my skin or I just don’t like in fragrances. I definitely have identified calone (melon note) as one that I don’t like.)

                You wouldn’t know what aroma chemical or combination or aroma chemicals creates a “metallic” drydown? I often get this in white floral perfumes, from the expensive to the not so costly. Cartier perfumes especially have this metallic zing on my skin.

                P.S. Love the Carthusia citrus fragrances — Via Camarelle is my favorite (it has an unusual herb for fragrance, marjoram, but it works). May 20, 2016 at 11:54am Reply

                • Nick: Thank you, limegreen. I include the references in the articles. They come from books and academic journals about chemistry, odours, and perfumery. It can be difficult to understand even for someone with science background. I am not an expert here, but since I am very interested in this I have decided to write about them in a more accessible way to archive the knowledge. Even if the press material says osmanthus and peonies, the actual thing can contain jasmine and magnolia complexes. And, with ‘metallic’, I think of oranges and blood when I accidentally bit my own lips. It can also be the aldehydes. I cannot be sure from smelling the finished fragrance. So, the best thing is to trust your nose to figure out what affects you than to find that Iso E Super written there and avoid them. Otherwise, you could miss out on a great composition like Encre Noire! May 20, 2016 at 12:54pm Reply

                  • limegreen: I did see the references and appreciated your translation/interpretation of them! Thank you for the lucid and interesting articles!

                    I’m not one of those that minds Iso E Super but I do know that calone is too sickening sweet. That might be my problem with Mitsouko, the peach thing, whatever aroma chemical that is! (And yet I love the apricot tones of osmanthus.)
                    Have you explored the Nomenclature line? They don’t pretend to be anything BUT a string of molecules. (I was checking out the Iri_del in that line, iris of course!)
                    Best of luck with the research! May 20, 2016 at 6:38pm Reply

                    • Nick: I am happy that you find joy in reading them. Calone is, in fact, my favourite in Acqua di Gio. I am going to have to dig deep into Mitsouko and sniff my extrait decant. It is a milestone for sure, very difficult to discuss and judge even personally. If I remember correctly, Iri_del is similar to No.19’s structure but with more modern materials like the cucumber green of iris aldehyde, more violet sweetness,and an ambery twist instead of the leathery chypre accord. It actually contains almost the same amount of orris root oil, I think. I will have to smell it to see if the materials actually appear before my nose to decide. This is getting difficult to read with the long comment lines lol. May 20, 2016 at 7:30pm

                  • limegreen: Iri_del vanishes on me, a little longer than 28 La Pausa. I am enjoying my sample, even more so now that you have dissected it so eloquently!
                    Btw your earlier comment about Egoiste as a link to Bois des Iles intrigued me, so I snuck into the mens dept to test it. 🙂 lovely scent. May 21, 2016 at 4:23pm Reply

          • Victoria: Good luck, Nick! Kidney research sounds fascinating, and I believe that one can find poetry in anything. 🙂 May 19, 2016 at 6:39am Reply

            • Nick: Thank you, Victoria! May 19, 2016 at 10:59am Reply

            • limegreen: Hear, hear! 🙂 May 19, 2016 at 1:02pm Reply

              • limegreen: (On finding poetry everywhete and on anything) May 19, 2016 at 1:03pm Reply

      • Notturno7: I have only the extrait and just love it❤️ May 19, 2016 at 2:54pm Reply

    • Victoria: It’s really that mythical l’heure bleue, a brief, fleeting moment between dusk and night.

      L’Heure Bleue is a fragrance that took me some time to understand, but now it’s one of my favorites. Of course, Apres L’Ondee is a close sibling, but it’s still a perfume with a very different character. May 18, 2016 at 2:24pm Reply

      • limegreen: I will reach for ALO more often. LHB I plan around. 🙂 May 18, 2016 at 5:40pm Reply

        • Victoria: Apres L’Ondee is definitely more versatile for me. May 19, 2016 at 7:00am Reply

    • Nick: I agree, and that is what I find infinitely interesting about perfumery. It is always a delightful surprise when what I smell is actually what I never would imagine to be contained in the formula. It is a craft of illusion! I wonder what would be the extrait of 28 La Pausa with that massive iris already in the EdT. I have to re-smell the current Égoïste now that you have mentioned how lovely it is. May 22, 2016 at 4:01am Reply

      • limegreen: I never smelled Egoiste before so it was a delight, but it may be otherwise for you. I don’t think it will replace BdI for me, though it was interesting that there was that much vanilla tonka in the drydown. Did not expect it in a “masculine ” outside of Caron Pour un Homme. May 22, 2016 at 7:02am Reply

        • Nick: I have an old bottle of when before Chanel changed the cap, so I am not sure whether it has been reformulated. Since he was inspired by Bois des Îles, you are right that it could be that the gingerbread-vanilla combination is used in Égoïste. I am wearing it at the moment actually, going to the lake. It is 26C here! May 22, 2016 at 7:45am Reply

  • Nicola: Dear Victoria, such beautiful language accompanying such a stunning photograph. I do not think I have ever (even in the countryside) seen a sky that colour. May you realise your yearnings.
    On a slightly silly note – congratulations to the Ukraine for winning Eurovision 🙂
    Nicola May 18, 2016 at 10:53am Reply

    • Victoria: Thank you so much, Nicola! I was also moved by the color and I immediately rushed home to get the camera. Normally, I just stand under the lilac shrub and stare at the skies.

      Oh, believe me, all of us are thrilled. Ukraine has had wins before in that contest, but this year’s is especially wonderful. May 18, 2016 at 2:25pm Reply

  • Nora Szekely: Hi Victoria and perfume lovers,

    Last time I wore L’Heure Bleue (EDT from 2011) was for a role where I played a young woman from the Edwardian era. This lady waits for 5 years for his suitor to ask for her hand in marriage, so I felt this scent encapsulates that melancholy well.
    In the end it turns out that the man inherited some debts form his father and did not dare to propose before he paid them off. All ended well though, the couple was to marry soon.

    I love to wear this perfume at dusk when I’m alone. My living room window looks at some beautiful trees and lilacs and sitting there waiting for the sun to set is a magical thing.

    I recently bought En passant by Frederic Malle that has similar effect on me.
    I’m so grateful for these spectacular creations that not only scent my body but lift my soul. May 18, 2016 at 11:04am Reply

    • limegreen: How was the Jane Austen ball? What fragrance did you wear? 🙂 May 18, 2016 at 11:53am Reply

      • Nora Szekely: Limegreen, the Jane Austen ball will be on the 4th of June. I’m already overexcited. ;)I’m going to wear Penhaligon’s Lavandula, I tried it in March and ordered a big bottle straight away. I think, lavender is really suits the period and this scent is less masculine on me than Gris clair or Jicky. I find this perfume delicate yet distinguished, refreshing enough to not choke anyone in a crowded ballroom 🙂
        I plan to write a few lines about the ball and share a link of photos in the June Recommend me a perfume session. May 19, 2016 at 4:35am Reply

        • Victoria: I can’t wait for your report! 🙂 May 19, 2016 at 7:00am Reply

        • Michaela: Thank you for sharing, Nora, and have a great time at the ball!
          I didn’t smell Penhaligon’s Lavandula, but I trust this is the perfect choice. I like your description very much and I also think lavender suits the period very well. May 19, 2016 at 10:33am Reply

        • limegreen: What a clever way to wear lavender instead of just lavender water. As with the others, I look forward to hearing about the ball. Do have fun!! May 19, 2016 at 12:54pm Reply

        • limegreen: And En Passant is ethereal, isn’t it? May 19, 2016 at 12:55pm Reply

        • Solanace: Have a wonderful ball, and I’m eagerly waiting for the report, too. Your lavender choice is so thoughtful, you’ll smell great. May 20, 2016 at 4:52am Reply

          • Nora Szekely: Thank you, Solanace. 🙂 May 20, 2016 at 5:38am Reply

    • Victoria: Was it a theater play? L’Heure Bleue sounds like a perfect choice for your role. Few perfumes capture the spirit of the Edwardian era as well for me.

      Smelling our lilacs after the rain makes me realize how close En Passant feels to that scent. May 18, 2016 at 2:28pm Reply

      • Nora Szekely: It was a short scene centered around a regional tradition in Hungary. The gentleman offers a flower basket to the lady decorated with ribbons. It may also contain small gifts like perfume 🙂
        The basket is offered on the 1st of May and it expresses the feelings and the intention of a courtship. If the lady accepts it, it means that she’s willing to be courted by the gentleman.
        The colour of the ribbon refers to the nature of the relationship : white for brides, pink for short courtship, green for long courtship.
        My suitor was played by my boyfriend which made it even more special. 🙂 May 19, 2016 at 6:47am Reply

        • Victoria: Very romantic and charming! 🙂 May 19, 2016 at 7:01am Reply

  • spe: That sky is a beautiful shade! Your postcard and these comments make me realize how intertwined are yearning and hope. May 18, 2016 at 12:16pm Reply

  • Maria: I think we are always yearning for something, but we keep going with our days without exploring or trying to understand the nature of our yearning. Stopping to contemplate a beautiful moment always stirs my thirst for something more meaningful and fulfilling. I wish that sense of agitation also came with a bit more clarity 🙂 May 18, 2016 at 12:18pm Reply

    • Victoria: You put it so well. I also wish for more clarity. 🙂 May 18, 2016 at 2:47pm Reply

  • Phyllis Iervello: Beautiful photo and post! May 18, 2016 at 12:27pm Reply

  • Natalie: Are those nests in the trees? Late in the day to twilight is my favorite time of the day. I love the warm colors of sunsets. I do notice how birdsong increases at dusk. It is like they are all trying to get in one more song before the end of the day. May 18, 2016 at 12:37pm Reply

    • Victoria: They’re mistletoe, our bane around here. But they do look picturesque. May 18, 2016 at 2:49pm Reply

  • Alexandra Star: Precious .. simply beautiful .. Thank you! May 18, 2016 at 1:25pm Reply

    • Victoria: I’m very happy that you liked it. I was so taken with the color of the skies that day. May 18, 2016 at 2:50pm Reply

  • Elisa: When the trees turn into black silhouettes over the indigo sky: my favorite sight. May 18, 2016 at 3:28pm Reply

    • Victoria: The only sad part is that yesterday a neighbor cut down these trees for lumber. Despite the fact that they’re on public property. A very sad reflection on the dysfunctional way things happen around here. May 19, 2016 at 6:44am Reply

      • Michaela: That’s really sad. The note about loud music that may disturb all neighborhood is also sad. Totally contrasting with formidable pictures you repeatedly showed us and the rich, wonderful Ukrainian inheritance. May 19, 2016 at 8:05am Reply

        • Victoria: The music is alright, and it doesn’t happen too often. Plus, on the plain the sound travels very well, so there is little one can do about it. But the trees are another story. May 20, 2016 at 1:41pm Reply

      • Solanace: Ukraine seem so similar to Brazil, in so many respects! Here they cut trees just like that, too. Heartbreaking. In my university there was a single tree, a beautiful, centenary, huge ficus elastica. They cut it to build a parking lot. Yes. On December 24, so the students wouldn’t be there to complain. May 20, 2016 at 4:43am Reply

        • Victoria: Things like this make me very angry. And frustrated. May 20, 2016 at 1:45pm Reply

  • Tati: What a beautiful post. Thank you. Now I have a yearning for all things lilac. I’ve just moved to the desert, and although the days are hot, the sun glaring white, the dusks are unlike any I’ve never experienced. Vivid blue, the black silhouette of palm trees against the sharp moon. May 18, 2016 at 3:54pm Reply

    • Victoria: The desert must be extraordinary at night. I only experienced it once, but I still remember the colors and smells. Your description is striking. May 19, 2016 at 6:46am Reply

  • KatieAnn: So very lovely. Thank you for sharing. I have never heard nightingales sing. It must be magical. The idea that their song represents the yearning of the soul for the divine is both heart breaking and beautiful. There really is something about twilight that stirs something in us and triggers a yearning, isn’t there? I like to think that precisely because we can see all this beauty around us, that for which we yearn is already present with us. It is a comforting thought, anyway. Thank you again for such a beautiful postcard, Victoria. May 18, 2016 at 5:26pm Reply

    • Victoria: They are such small, plain looking birds, but their song is stunning.
      I love all of these comments, and yours is so moving. May 19, 2016 at 6:50am Reply

  • Solanace: Looking at the bright sky makes me agree with Kepler: the entire universe is alive.

    You write so beautifully, Victoria.
    I will look for the nightingales when
    I go to other latitudes. As a child, I lived for a while in Macapá, right in the middle of the Amazon. Will never forget the birds gathering over the square in front of our house as the sun set, flying in all directions, singing a thousand different songs. And a thousand different mosquitoes, too, lol.
    Have a wonderful time in Ukraine. May 20, 2016 at 5:13am Reply

    • Victoria: I realized not long ago that I love just looking at the sky. Our apartment in Brussels is quite high up, and the Belgian skies are so changeable and unusual–the north!–that I can observe them endlessly. There is something so hypnotic about the moving of clouds. May 20, 2016 at 1:47pm Reply

      • solanace: Metereology used to be a part of astrology, hence studied by astronomers. It seems a little inevitable that people who enjoy gazing at the stars will enjoy gazing at cloud formations, auroras, meteors and everything in between as well. Just like perfumistas usually like to garden and to cook! May 20, 2016 at 5:56pm Reply

        • Victoria: What a fascinating tidbit! May 21, 2016 at 2:37pm Reply

  • Aurora: It really is the magic hour, it seems you’re enjoying this peaceful time – except for the neighbours. I cross the street every morning to walk under the lilac trees and smell the glory while it lasts, it is too short, alas. Loved the photo. May 20, 2016 at 6:01am Reply

    • Victoria: So beautiful! Our lilacs are almost finished, so I will miss their perfume. May 20, 2016 at 1:47pm Reply

  • parker scout: So beautiful Victoria!

    As someone said, reading this blog helped me into appreciate and pay more attention to unique moments moments and things around us, as it happened to me right now! I live in the middle of a park with trees like pines, firs, oaks, hazels, magnolia, daisies…and returning from some shopping there was a couple playing violin and guitar. So, I seat in a bench and enjoy! May 20, 2016 at 6:15am Reply

    • Victoria: What a lovely vignette! I love moments like this. May 20, 2016 at 1:48pm Reply

  • Stefanie: So beautiful! May 20, 2016 at 8:53am Reply

  • Kelly: Although it took me some years to warm up to L’Heure Bleue, it remains one of my summer favorites . I find it’s powdery cool character a boon here in South Fl. I also love to spritz Eau de Fleurs de Cedrat right on top of the Parfum , I find it brightens it’s bleue mood while also refreshes during the heat of summers day. Needless to say , I love my Guerlains. Vintage Chamade was my first from the house. Ilove the pure Parfum both vintage and current formulation, I’m wearing it today ! May 20, 2016 at 9:21am Reply

    • Victoria: One of my favorite colognes, but I haven’t tried this kind of layering with it. Sounds very good. May 20, 2016 at 1:55pm Reply

  • Iuliana: Thank you, Victoria – I was about to write that it is the most beautiful moment of the day (for me), but it is probably note true: it is the most melancholically beautiful, and what about the gorgeous displays of deep velvety blue/navy! I find it very interesting that in French this moment of the day is called “enter chien et loup”. Someone mentioned linden trees. I discovered after moving last year they are lining the nearest street and when they are in bloom (in late June), that’s how happiness smells like :-). May 21, 2016 at 7:40am Reply

    • Victoria: Yes! Lindens smell like happiness to me too. I hope that you will enjoy them very soon. May 21, 2016 at 2:43pm Reply

  • Karen 5.0: A magical post! I wish we had nightingales here in the U.S. But we do have house wrens (tiny, with beautiful songs but beware their gangster mentality – there is a reason they are one of the most successful species in North America!) as well as my favorite tree, the black locust, lovely in blossom, fragrance, and appearance. As I do my daily long bike rides through wooded areas, I love mapping where I am according to the scents and sounds I recognize. May 25, 2016 at 11:25am Reply

    • Victoria: Our black locust blossoms are coming into bloom right now, and yes, so fragrant! May 27, 2016 at 5:48am Reply

What do you think?

Latest Comments

  • Hilde in Recommend Me a Perfume March 2024: Hi Aurora. Also many thanks for Your suggestions. The only one I have tried was Donna Karan Gold, but I wasn’t fond of it. But I must definitely try the… March 28, 2024 at 4:37am

  • Hilde in Recommend Me a Perfume March 2024: Thank You Sebastian for your suggestions. I own Lily Ambre myself (I like it), but I don’t know the other ones. I am very curious to try Rinascimento. March 28, 2024 at 4:26am

  • Aire in Recommend Me a Perfume March 2024: Aria is a mature, nice fruity chypre. Fiori is a gentle, soapy tuberose – old fashioned. I have it in parfum, edt, and edp. March 27, 2024 at 3:34pm

  • Aire in Recommend Me a Perfume March 2024: I know exactly your dilemma. Had a “debate” at a Alexis Hotel perfumery as they sold me a post- reformulation Amouage Woman Gold bottle, but had me sample the pre-reformulation… March 27, 2024 at 3:31pm

Latest Tweets

Design by cre8d
© Copyright 2005-2024 Bois de Jasmin. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy