If I were to select one scent to represent this year for me, it would be iris. Its dove-grey leitmotif ran through 2021 for me, whether it was the majestic Serge Lutens’s Iris Silver Mist or the baroque iris twist in Guerlain’s L’Heure Bleue. I smelled new perfumes for work, but I kept returning to favorites and classics. I would spend days wearing the same fragrance like La Myrrhe or Mitsouko, studying their nuances and the play of notes, the way a jeweler might appraise a precious stone. This made me understand perfumery, classical and modern, so much better than sampling one new thing after another. And it reminded me how important it is to slow down. It’s no wonder that in many languages, from French to Japanese, one “feels” or “hears” fragrances, as well as smells them.
For this reason, I don’t have a list of Best of 2021. Another reason is that 2021 brought too much loss to unravel it month by month and look back. I don’t regret that it is over.
Of course, there have been some wonderful discoveries and encounters. As I mentioned before, meeting many of you face to face has been a delight–and a highlight of the year for me. I knew that I enjoyed teaching, but stepping back into the classroom, even the virtual one, was such an inspiring and exciting experience. “When you share what you know, you receive back tenfold,” my grandmother used to say, and she was one of several teachers in our family. I can’t agree more with this.
In the end, the best of 2021–as is the case year after year–is people. Family, friends, this community of generous, warm, and supportive people. Thank you for visiting, reading, and above all, sharing your stories!
As for a New Year perfume, I plan to wear L’Artisan Mimosa Pour Moi. It’s now discontinued, so I’m cherishing whatever remains in my bottle. In the middle of winter, it smells of spring and hope.
Happy New Year!
What was your favorite fragrance discovery of 2021? What perfume will you wear for the New Year?
Image: Kawase Hasui, Zojoji Temple in Snow, 1929.
60 Comments
Karen A: Happy New Year to you and all BdJ readers! Yes, a very challenging year for most. Small joys helped so so much. This year I stayed with tried and true fragrances, quiet extraits – Coromandel, Bois de Iles, No. 5 and Chamade and Coco during the holidays. I just wanted fragrance to be close and calm.
May 2022 bring joy and happiness to everyone – gardens blooming, new places to visit, and most of all good health.
Thank you Victoria for an island of beauty and calm. December 31, 2021 at 9:01am
MaureenC: Thank you for your beautiful writing throughout the year, it has contributed to keeping us going. I plan to wear Vero Kern’s Onda on New Year’s Day. I bought a bottle (which I really couldn’t afford at the time!) just after she died as a a way of remembering an amazing perfumer and remarkable woman. I’m so glad I did. December 31, 2021 at 9:36am
Tara C: I did the same, also with no regrets. December 31, 2021 at 5:14pm
Caro: Dear Victoria,
I loved meeting face-to-face and learning a little bit about perfumes with you. To enter the new year, I will be wearing Carnal Flower. I found about it reading your blog and fell in love after wearing it for the first time. Carnal Flower makes me feel joyful and gorgeous, and it’s somewhat reminiscent of summer and New Year’s Eve in the Southern Hemisphere.
I wish you a Happy New Year! December 31, 2021 at 9:46am
Allison78: Happy New Year! My favorite discovery is Violet Ida by Miller Harris. With notes of bergamot, carrot oil, orris, heliotrope, vanilla, and amber, it’s really beautiful. It doesn’t get too sweet, lasts a long time, and I’m still getting to know it. I also love Damasq, a rose perfume by Dawn Spencer Hurwitz, which is one of the best rose centered scents I have ever tried.
Thank you for your beautiful writing and videos this year! December 31, 2021 at 10:03am
rosarita: Dawn has a magical touch with rose! American Beauty is another DSH rose that’s wonderful. January 1, 2022 at 11:04am
Gabriela: Happy New Year to you Victoria and all the people from this perfume and beauty community.
Small pleasures. Tonight it will be about that: music, children and people I love.
Good idea, will wear Carnal Flower!
Salut, cheers, saúde!!! December 31, 2021 at 10:41am
Dorothy Van Daele: I have so enjoyed your writing this year, partly as a peaceful oasis and as a welcome reminder to enjoy the many things I can. I love reading about what other readers are wearing and trying. I buy samples to try some recommendations, including La Myrrhe. I wore Histoires de Parfums yesterday and Alaia the day before as the weather here turned dull and showery with the penetrating cold that comes with dampness. On New Years Day, Kiki, my favourite Vero Kern perfume because it’s fun, playful, tropical. Today? Le Cri perhaps for the slight sharpness it brings. Happy New Year wishes to all. December 31, 2021 at 10:50am
Filomena: Happy New Year Victoria and to all subscribers who read your wonderful blog and watch your videos! 2021 was not a good year for me in many ways, but at least I am still alive and can smell the roses (and iris, jasmine, etc.). I will be wearing one of my iris perfumes (iris is my favorite note), perhaps my newest acquisition, Iris Malickhan by Maison Crivelli, or my all-time favorite Guerlain’s L’Heure Bleu. May 2022 be a happy and healthy year for all of us. December 31, 2021 at 11:34am
MaryAnn Popper Hardy: I’m still holding on to hope that something very big and wonderful will happen in 2022, something as wonderful as the events have been terrible in 2021. But…A small bright “something” in 2021 was discovering an unopened bottle, for sale at a very reasonable cost, of the original, 1980’s PERRY ELLIS. This beautiful golden eau de toilette arrived safely from a boutique parfumerie in Quebec all the way to the Pacific Coast, and it was as captivating as it was when I was in graduate school and wore this in the winter and Lauren in the summer, with Miss Dior on special occasions. Once standing in line at a theater I caught the whiff of this favorite of mine, and when I caught up to the wearer, I whispered, “Are you wearing…Perry Ellis?” She smiled and said, “Yes, don’t you love it?”
And then when my last bottle was gone…so it was for all of “Perry Ellis” fragrance, and all I had left was an outstanding black wool ankle-length coat with the Perry Ellis label. The coat has never gone out of style, nor has it shown its wear. But moths…
So with gratitude for the pleasure it gives me, I’ll wear Perry Ellis today and Miss Dior this evening when we sit together for aperitifs, with fingers-crossed that we can find something outstanding on Netflix to keep us awake until midnight! December 31, 2021 at 11:37am
Kimberly: Bless you Victoria! My discovery this past year was finding your blog and educating myself about perfume. I now have a wonderful collection of perfumes and it has become a teasured journey to spend time with each and every one of them. Early spring of 2021 I read one of you blog posts on perfumes featuring mimosa. I decided to buy Mimosa Pour Moi. I am so glad I did. It is a beautiful fragrance and I too will be wearing it this spring. Happy New Year and Happy New Year to all contributers! I look forward to an exciting 2022 with Bois de Jasmin! December 31, 2021 at 11:45am
Cathy Beshore: Happy New Year Victoria! I have not had a chance to comment on many of your posts, but I find so much comfort in reading them. I am wearing Samsara today. Earlier in the week, it was Hiris, Chanel No. 5, and L’Heure Bleu! I have been on the edge of purchasing a bottle of Mitsouko after reading about your love for this fragrance. It sounds so lovely!!
Anyway, wishing all of the sweet, kind readers here a Happy New Year as well. We are having our traditional meal of pork and sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and mince pie for good luck! December 31, 2021 at 1:15pm
Rhinda: Happy New Year Victoria and to this wonderful perfume lovers community!
I’m grateful for all of you imparting your knowledge about this pleasure we share.
Focusing on the very simple things in life meant more to me than I would ever realize during these last years. Perfume was my first curiosity as a young girl and it still holds a strong interest in my life. Maybe even more so.
Thank you Victoria. Everyone take good care of yourselves. December 31, 2021 at 1:42pm
Amy Kritz: Happy New Year, Victoria, and thank you for all your wonderful writing. You have been a calming influence in my life for many years now! My precious bottle of vintage Miss Dior, possibly my favorite perfume if I could settle on just one, helped me get through another difficult year. I am wearing Fracas today, because I first wore it in early spring many years ago, when my college roommate introduced me to it. It’s a little early for spring but not for hope. December 31, 2021 at 2:08pm
Elizabeth Le Glaire: Happy New Year to you and all in this community!
I endured tremendous loss in 2020 but was too busy to give my own feelings much attention. 2021 , I was passive, a little anti social, and grieving. I’m more myself at the end of this year and look forward to 2022.
I have worn a great deal of Iris perfumes too…it seems to comfort my loneliness …it makes loneliness beautiful. And musks….also transportive and supportive.
I appreciate your knowledge and generosity of spirit in sharing.
Thank you for everything. December 31, 2021 at 2:27pm
Perfumelover67: Thank you for such a delightful blog, Victoria. Even though I do not comment often, I am a faithful reader, and I enjoy your beautiful and uplifting writing.
I will welcome 2022 wearing Masque Milano L’Attesa, one of my favorite iris perfumes.
I wish you all a healthy, joyful, and peaceful New Year. December 31, 2021 at 3:02pm
AnnieA: Masque Milano L’Attesa is my favourite iris, and I started wearing it regularly when we were sent back to work in person. January 2, 2022 at 9:43am
Perfumelover67: My favorite iris is still SL Iris Silver Mist, which I wore yesterday in New Year’s Day. L’Attesa is my number two, and I am thinking about getting a bub of a bub. So much I love it! January 2, 2022 at 10:02am
Fazal: Happy New Year but, most importantly, a Safe Year to everyone. It is so hard to remember the best discoveries in a given year but some that impressed me include:
1. Givenchy Pi Neo : not recent release and already discontinued for years but I discovered it this year. I love original Pi but avoided flankers until I smelled Neo on someone.
2. Annayake Undo : I actually got first bottle in 2010-2011 something but did not wear it until I got another bottle for good price this year. I think the scent captures Japanese spirit well.
3. Dali Le Roy Soleil : I got a small bottle due to good price and due to artistic cap that features Dali’s art. I expected it to be a typical 1980s/1990s release but it turned out to be rather a novel composition. Not everyday wear but the scent has mysterious aspects.
4. D’Orsay Le Dandy EDT: I had wanted an EDT somewhere around 2014 but never got it as a good deal never came. Then it was replaced by an EDP which people said was inferior to the original EDT. Luck has it that a good deal appeared this year and the auction went almost unnoticed. Wore it few days ago for the first time and I am so glad I have it. It is a boozy composition (I don’t enjoy most boozy compositions and Bentley Intense’s popularity is still a puzzle to me) but still a bit distinctive from other boozy compositions that have appeared over the last decade or so.
Two boozy compositions I really enjoy are Escada Pour Homme (first boozy fragrance I got and fell in love with), Lubin Idole (both original EDT and EDP that replaced it are awesome). Le Dandy is not up there with Escada and Idole but it is def. one of the better ones I have smelled. Not sure if it is still being produced.
4. December 31, 2021 at 4:15pm
Fazal: Forgot to answer the second question. I have not decided what to wear for New Year but seem to be gravitating towards Rochas Man at the moment. December 31, 2021 at 4:26pm
Nataliya: Dear Victoria,
Happy New Year 2022. Thank you for the amazing blog, it is so nice to find so many soulmates in perfumes. My biggest discovery this year was la maison Guerlain (as I was not a big fan of La Petite Robe Noire I neglected this brand for years) due to your wonderful reviews and particularly Mitsouko that I purchased after reading your comments.
Today I am wearing Angélique Noire by Guerlain that came as a sample of my Mitsouko purchase. I am absolutely enchanted by its musky and warm scent that wraps you in the warm layers in this gray winter day. Budmo! Santé! Cheers! December 31, 2021 at 4:41pm
Tara C: Happy new year and thank you for this oasis of calm and beauty in what has been one of the worst years of my life. May 2022 bring us all the happiness and health that 2020 and 2021 have not.
I am celebrating tonight in Spell 125. December 31, 2021 at 5:19pm
Old Herbaceous: I hope 2022 is much, much better, and that Spell 125 works some magic for you. December 31, 2021 at 10:51pm
Heather Hart: Amen Victoria! 2021 was quite the year. I am happy the year will be over soon and I feel grateful to be surrounded by my family and pets. I am wearing my favorite iris perfume-Chanel La Pausa 28 Eau de Parfum. May 2022 bring everyone much happiness! December 31, 2021 at 5:22pm
Marian: Mis mejores deseos para todos ustedes.Un fuerte abrazo December 31, 2021 at 6:59pm
Amalia: Happy New Year! I wish a covid free 2022! December 31, 2021 at 7:12pm
matty1649: Happy New Year to everyone.
Wishing you all good health and happiness.X December 31, 2021 at 8:10pm
Old Herbaceous: What a lovely post! I hope you will continue to offer your online classes, as I would love to attend in 2022. For New Year’s Eve, I’m wearing one of my all-time favorites, Chanel No. 22, in hopes for a wonderful 2022 for all. Thank you for this beautiful, informative blog where I have learned so much. December 31, 2021 at 10:49pm
Jeanne: My new discovery in 2021 was Iris Cendre. ByNaomi Goodsir. I love it and bought it without trying first. No regrets! Also bought a small bottle of Dior Homme Intense to wear as it’s iris, vanilla, cocoa, and lavender (vetiver too)! Unisex to my nose and wonderful in cold weather. My bottle of L’Heure Bleue edp arrived today. I haven’t had a bottle of LB for 15 years, so I’m getting reacquainted. Happy New Year, all! December 31, 2021 at 11:59pm
Miwa: All the classic perfume names here inspired me to go check my older fragrance drawer, from which I pulled out my forgotten treasure, Rochas Alchimie. The little orange frame-shaped crystal on the top of the cap makes this pumpkin-shaped bottle look like a magic lamp. So, here is a wish, a wonderful, joyful, and healthful new year to all of us! January 1, 2022 at 2:36am
Miwa: * flame-shaped. Sorry! January 1, 2022 at 3:24pm
Deanna: Wishing everyone a Happy and Healthy 2022.
New discoveries came from Bois de Jasmin member Valentyna who generously not only sent me a vintage Arpege but also sent samples of Lutens Fils de joie and Chanel M Intense, loved them and then of course I had to buy them…
Wearing EL Tuberose Gardenia today, haven’t worn it for ages and surprised to find its more tuberose than gardenia! ( more than I remembered)
Hoping Victoria will be offering more workshops in this new year. January 1, 2022 at 3:53am
Anastasia Alevizou: Happy new year dear Victoria!!!
Thank you for the overflow of beauty, art and joy that you generously share!
Let’s all be optimistic and enjoy the simple things in life! My scent is Champs Elysées, Guerlain, another mimosa dominant fragrance, it is so joyful and optimistic!
My favourite discovery of 2021 is Xian by Ormonde Jane, a warm nutmeg beauty!
Καλή χρονιά and thank you! January 1, 2022 at 3:59am
Anastasia: Oh! I shouldn’t forget! One of my most loved discoveries of 2021 has been Mysore Sandal Soap! Thanks to you Victoria! What a pleasure using and smelling this exquisite sandalwood soap every day! January 1, 2022 at 4:16pm
Rosie: Like many others here, 2021 was a really tough year for me, with several bereavements, including my beloved Dad.
Boisdejasmine, the community and Victoria’s beautiful and inspiring writing has been a little island of respite for me, a little twinkling light in dark times.
Last night I wore Coco for a cuddle with my children, and some party games with them and their Dad.
Thankyou Victoria, I appreciate your sharing that you too have had a sad and difficult 2021, and that despite this you continue to give so much to your readers.
May 2022 be full of joy and hope for us all. January 1, 2022 at 4:12am
Aurora: A Happy New Year, Victoria and everyone. May it be filled with joy or at least better than the last.
A highlight was Victoria’s classes I learned so much.
I wore Georgio Red for New Year’s Eve. January 1, 2022 at 4:17am
Aurora: *Giorgio of course January 1, 2022 at 5:55am
Hilde: Happy new year to you Victoria and all those who join this fragrance community.
The latest time I was a bit absent because of personal problems that caused almost a depression, but I keep this blog in my heart.
I will post my fragrance discoveries of 2021 later, although there is one fragrance I want to mention that was not immediately a discovery, but which I became in love with after long time and many tries: Guerlain Après l’Ondee. And I think that is what I am going to wear in the beginning of this new year. January 1, 2022 at 5:01am
Kathy: I loved meeting you, and like many others mentioned here, your class was one of my highlights of 2021. You made me see and notice so many different notes and nuances and now when I wear my favorite perfumes I perceive them differently. You’re a gifted teacher, truly! Would it be possible to cover florals in your future classes?
I had bouts of depression and anxiety in 2021 and I didn’t wear too much perfume then. I was worried to have bad associations. Then I wore Naomi Goodsir Nuit de Bakelite a lot. It’s happy and bright. It made me feel good. I also wore SL Tubereuse Criminelle. We don’t have many perfume stores here, and I have too much perfume to buy anything new. Old favorites served me just as well.
Happy New Year to Victoria and to this lovely community! January 1, 2022 at 5:33am
AnnieA: I’d previously learned in my perfume journey that when it comes to a tough day wearing an often-worn scent won’t ruin that scent.
During the Tough Year of 2020 I alternated between Dusita Douceur de Siam and Bvlgari Eau Parfumee Au The Bleu. Happily, I do not loathe them now even after I started expanding what I was wearing in 2021.
Echoing the good wishes to everyone for a health (and beautifully scented) 2022! January 2, 2022 at 9:52am
masha: Bvlgari Pour femme is my new go to, always perfect- just enough to lift and lighten the heaviness of the world with out being trite or false, true grace and beauty. Wishing you all a year of truth, grace and beauty. January 1, 2022 at 7:23am
Alityke: My scented discoveries of 2021 have been rediscovery of fragrance blogs, including BdJ. So beautifully written, often wistful, frequently inspiring. My other is a new discovery about me. I have passed through the snobbery stage of being a fragrance hobby-ist. I no longer chase the new, the weird, the costly or the fashionable. In fact I’ve developed a positive aversion for even trying anything that is “aspirationally” priced. The flip side to this personal evolution is I have discovered the joy of cheap thrills & classics. No5, Coco, No19, Cristalle EdT, No22 are all in my wardrobe & have been worn on repeat in 2021 as have Mitsouko, Nahema, Pamplelune & Lys Soleia.
My cheap thrill discoveries are L’Aimant, the first Mauboussin, Adam Levine & Avon Soft Musk.
Yesterday I wore No5 for it’s calming beauty & today I’m wearing what I hope will become a classic, the apricotty suede of osmanthus used so beautifully in Bottega Veneta EdP. Spring in a bottle.
May all who read this have a happy & healthy 2022 x January 1, 2022 at 7:38am
Cathy S Beshore: I LOVE L’Aimant! I wish I could still find it. It is such a comforting scent and one my Mom wore! January 2, 2022 at 4:13pm
Safran: Happy New Year, Victoria! I wanted a happy and sunny scent to start the year and wore Le Rivages des Syrtes from Parfums MDCI by Patricia de Nicolai. One of my all time favourites. The two new (to me at least) fragrances I loved the most this year were Mal-Aimé by Parfum d’Empire and Impermanence by Christèle Jacquemin. Both surprised me in their uniqueness, while being very wearable. Both give me a certain strength and calmness, very much needed last year. Cheers Safran January 1, 2022 at 8:18am
Shelly Rubinstein: Happy New year Victoria and all of the community. Your posts have brought such pleasure over the last few years and have helped so much in the last 2 years. I wore Gallivant Bukkara on NYD and today for a seaside walk Prada infusion d’Iris. I have enjoyed rediscovering the original Dior EAU Savage from my husband’s side of the dressing table and have worn bottega veneta original, le fix Balenciaga and Lalique Nilang at different times during the year. All the best for a happy and healthy 2022. January 3, 2022 at 11:04am
Mingzhe Wang: Happy New Year!!! It’s always so wonderful to see a new post from you, Victoria! I would say 2021 was also the year of iris for me! I started to have a renewed appreciation of my bottle of L’eau D’Hiver which has only a little bit left (new bottle ready to go too). This is the bottle of perfume that really got me into perfume. After sitting on my shelf for a few years now, I started using it again. It was also the year that I finally blind bought Iris Silver Mist after reading so much about it. I do not regret it one bit! Along the way, I also discovered Goodsir Iris Cendre, Iris Nobile by Acqua di Parma, and Dior Bois D’Argent. 2021 was a challenging year to say the least, but the scent of iris definitely comforted me! Today on New Year’s Day, I will wear Bois Farine by L’Artisan. Wishing everyone a wonderful and much better 2022 ahead! January 1, 2022 at 1:37pm
AnnieA: L’Eau d’Hiver is lovely and calming. Need to dig out my travel spray of it… January 2, 2022 at 9:45am
Mingzhe Wang: Isn’t it so wonderful!! January 2, 2022 at 1:11pm
KarinaNL: Happy New Year from the Netherlands, Victoria and all! I have been reading this blog for several years now, but this is the first time that I make myself the time to post a comment.
For New Year’s eve I wore, as usual, YSL Yvresse (from a 10+ year old flacon, very similar to the original Champagne), as this fragance is pure joy and glamour for me and keep it for very special occasions. Today I started the new year with Dusita Anamcara, which along with Cavatina from the same house, have been my best perfume discoveries of 2021.
I wish everyone a very healthy and happy 2022! January 1, 2022 at 4:35pm
KarinaNL: Happy New Year from the Netherlands, Victoria and all! I have been reading this blog for several years now, but this is the first time that I make myself the time to post a comment.
For New Year’s eve I wore, as usual, YSL Yvresse (from a 10+ year old flacon, very similar to the original Champagne), as this fragance is pure joy and glamour for me and keep it for very special occasions. Today I started the new year with Dusita Anamcara, which along with Cavatina from the same house, have been my best perfume discoveries of 2021.
I wish everyone a very healthy and happy 2022! January 1, 2022 at 4:46pm
Frances: Happy New Year to you Victoria and to everyone at Bois De Jasmin. I wish you all the best and as we say, where I come from, Pace E Salute, Peace and Health. 2021 has been a difficult year indeed and I hope that 2022 will be better. Wearing fragrances and reading about them has been a great comfort, especially on sleepless nights. With Insolence, which I was wearing on Christmas Eve, I also enjoyed iris alot (I mentionned once that to my nose, and on my skin, it smells alot like the first formulation of Infusion d’Iris by Prada). But it wasn’t a discovery. My true discovery of the year was Jean Louis Scherrer eponym fragrance. Such a beautiful, elegant and sophisticated scent! It was a blind buy and I don’t regret it. I have the EDT and I’m looking to buy the EDP next. Then I rediscovered Shalimar. I used to wear it a few years ago but the batch I bought last february is really wonderful. I bought the body lotion too and pairing them on New Year eve and today has been a delight. Another rediscovery is Habit Rouge. I gifted it to my father. This classic has been his signature fragrance on and off for years now, but laterly he was more into Aqua di Parma Colonia Intenza. He almost forgot, and I almot forgot, how glorious Habit Rouge is! Of course I had to “steal” a little bit of Habit Rouge for myself. It remembered me of my teenagehood when I used to sneak into my parents bedroom to steal a little bit of Habit Rouge before school. I felt so cool. This scent is so captivating and heart warming, smelling it around and wearing it myself has been a real treat for the holidays.
Again, I wish you all Une Bonne et Heureuse Année! January 1, 2022 at 7:44pm
Zazie: Happy 2022 to you, Victoria, and to all Bois de Jasmin readers.
Thank you for all the inspiring posts: the perfume talk but also the many other interesting topics you shared with us the past year…from Japanese pottery to Bollywood movies you have ignited many sparks of curiosity!
Thank you, it is a precious and treasured gift.
(While in 2021 I’ve experienced my share of losses and sadness, as many have, I confess I’ve loved the past year perfume wise, and am enthusiastically diving into the next, with a brand new sample set to play with.
To explore new brands through their official sample sets is something I started doing in 2020 and consolidated last year. It is a wonderful way to explore a brand’s vision, have fun, and to be more aware of which FB are really worth buying. I think it is also a great way to go if you are on a budget)
Wish you all a healthy and prosperous new year! January 2, 2022 at 12:51pm
Marianne: To Victoria and the lovely community that you’ve gathered from around the world, thank you for the kindness, gentleness and sheer knowledge of perfumes that you’ve enabled me to connect with. All the very best for the new year. I’m sitting here in the late evening with the cat dozing beside me, a vase filled with roses from the garden in front of me and the flickering light of the candle I’ve burned during this Christmas and New Year season … Fir Pine and Spruce by Myrtle & Moss. The scent has become more and more soft and complex as it reaches its final third. I have a Floris Forets and also a Jo Malone Mimosa and Cardamom to light later, generous Christmas gifts. I haven’t tried either before. I’m still under the thrall of candles!
On New Year’s Eve I wore Floris Jermyn Street. It was a hot day and warm night, right for this cool, clean, herbaceous scent.
Warmest regards,
Marianne January 3, 2022 at 6:53am
Poppy: Thank you Victoria for your wonderful,informative website;many good wishes for 2022.Listened yesterday,Sunday,2/01 on France Inter Radio to an interview with Jean Claude Ellena,40 minutes of fascinating insight to this great perfumer’s mind and art.anyone interested can get it on F Inter’s website for 7 days,programme title:L’embellie at 10.10 January 3, 2022 at 9:33am
Valentyna: Finally I have a chance to sit down and write my comment to this post, which resonated within me as soon as I read it few days ago.
First of all I am happy I discovered your blog properly last year (I read it from time to time during last few years, but never actually followed it), and also thank you for starting your youtube chanel, it was what brought me here again and made me so curious. I enjoyed our spices class and now can’t stop eating allspice, haha!
I feel you are so right about appreciating classics and discovering their numerous facets. Last year I treated myself to Mitsouko extrait and thanks to your video (“how to smell peach in Mitsouko”) I am enjoying discovering its different nuances! Yeserday I tried Miss Dior Originale edt, its modern version (so much despised by Luca Turin) and was very impressed: I think it’s still very rich and “proper” chypre, classical, multi faceted and overlooked these days. Green brashy clary sage/galbanum opening, so daring and full boar! Floral honey jasmine heart with loads of orris root (so rich it evoked many Guerlains to me, including L’Heure Bleu, Shalimar and even animalic civet of Jicky in the end!!!), it’s very complex and enjoyable as a work of art. A little too heavy for me personally to wear, but nevertheless a wonderful experience! Victoria, could you please recommend any more classics which are so complex to (re)discover? (I already have and love Chanel no 5, Dior Poison (such a heaven!!!),, Magie Noire..) January 3, 2022 at 9:45am
Gentiana: Hello, dear Victoria and all Bois de Jasmin community! Wish You all a much more better 2022, health, happyness, best results in all You start to do! I share what Victoria told about the past year, it wasn t a good year, it ran away very fast, though. In 2021 I wore most of all the Acqua di Parma Iiris Nobile, Iris Nobile Sublime and Acqua Nobile Iris. Sadly, they are discontinued…. I look at my bottles like treasures… Other go-to fragrances were Prada’s Infusion Iris, both EDT and EDP version, Silences by Jacomo, Chanel Allure, and Comme de Garçons 2. In the cold days of autumn and winter, ELDO Putain de Palaces, Sublime by Jean Patou or Mon Parfum Cheri by Annick Goutal gave me warmth and cozyness. For the New Years Eve I chose the absolute timeless beauty that is Rochas Femme . January 4, 2022 at 3:04am
Eudora: Happy New year to Victoria and the lovely community of perfume lovers. Reading the comments…
1. Victoria, you’re one of the best things of our lifes! ❤️
2. The year of Guerlain. It was for me and now I see a trend.
3. This was sadly a sad year for A LOT of people…
For that reason, again, I wish you all a happy 2022. January 4, 2022 at 10:33am
rickyrebarco: Happy New Year to you. I’ve been enjoying my Serge Lutens’ fragrances more and more this year as well. I find I’m migrating to the classics, the Chanels, Lutens and older Guerlains. \
Thank you so much for the wonderful classes on perfumery notes. They were all so wonderful and really helped me to identify notes in perfumes and in every part of my life. January 9, 2022 at 9:53pm
carole macleod: Reading your blog helped me deal with 2021-I’m sorry you experienced so much loss. My beautiful cat, Marmalade, died of old age at the start of september. he was the last cat my mom owned and he was the most loving beast I’ve ever known. The night he died he snuggled, and I combed out all the knots in his long fur. I didn’t know it was so close to the end of his time.
I went back to Eau d’Hadrien this year, and really got comfort from SL Louve. Let’s hope for better things from 2022, even if it’s an uneventful year.
Thank you for leaving up all the historic posts and replys-they were a real comfort 🙂 January 10, 2022 at 2:38pm
john: Sorry to be so late to the party! We have a lot of post-Christmas events this season (New Year’s for us is immediately preceded by a wedding anniversary and followed by a birthday), so catching up with your blog has been a bit of a delayed pleasure. Like most pleasures set to one side over these past two years, it is a restorative and humanizing one. Thank you so much for keeping it going! There are fewer fragrance blogs than there used to be, and fewer still that offer anything like the mix of patience, curiosity, passion and expertise that appears here. I am very sorry to hear of your experiences of loss and hope that the creative and communal aspects of blog writing as an extension of your practice have been an aid rather than a burden.
I did not explore many new fragrances this year, but the few I did were wonderful. My personal favourite fragrance discovery of 2021 was Aimez-Mois Comme Je Suis, the first ‘masculine’ composition signed by Caron’s new nose, Jean Jacques. Unable to obtain a sample, I blind-bought it (something I almost never do), and have been delighted to get to know it. Initially I was a bit uncertain (with its ‘blue’-ish ginger opening and ambroxan lurking in the base, it does feel more contemporary the the other Carons in my collection), but now I love its mix of warm nutty vetiver and tonka more and more as come to appreciate its excellent blending (something I tend to notice increasingly as time passes). My wife is a fan too.
My other gamble was to buy a bottle of Diptyque’s Fleur de Peau for her for Christmas. I sought it out based on connections with some of the fragrances she already wears (the mix of iris and musks of Glossier’s You, the strong role of ambrette seed in Balenciaga B.) and am so glad I did. What a beautiful, comforting scent! This is the lighter ‘multi-purpose’ spray formulation (made to apply it to the body or the bedspread, towels, etc.) Fittingly, it feels both domestic and green to me, with plush, dry powdery musks but also green notes of iris, ambrette, lily of the valley and something that smells to me like geranium (unlisted, so perhaps just present as a mirage — anyway, it is very comforting.) I look forward to tracking down the perfume next.
I hope This year is better for all of us, but in the meantime, sharing joy in the little things helps. January 12, 2022 at 2:45pm