Happy Lunar New Year! We celebrated it with our friends, making dumplings and eating hot pot. At the end of the dinner, my friend served jasmine tea with fennel tea and cocoa nibs. The flavor was surprising–pleasantly bitter and warm, with a lingering spicy sweetness. The floral note of jasmine retained its dominance, amplifying the rose-like accents of chocolate. It was a lovely discovery to start off the new year on a good note.
Scent Diary is a place to write your observations about the scents around you. Whether you write down 1 recollection or 10 matters less than simply reminding yourself to smell. You can add as many comments as you wish. You can comment today or over the course of the week; this thread will always be open. Of course, do share what perfume you’re wearing or what particularly good scented products you’ve discovered.
While looking through my articles, I found this article that I wrote a few years ago but that still remains popular and often-read: A to Z Tips for Enjoyable, Affordable and Rewarding Perfume Hobby. If you have any tips to add, I’d love to hear them.
Photography by Bois de Jasmin
16 Comments
Valentyna: I absolutely love cocoa nibs! They are my treats! I eat them with honey and variety of nuts! Or on their own!
Did you say, you had tea with jasmine and cocoa nibs? Do you mean, water was poured over cocoa nibs as well as jasmine flowers? Or the cocoa nibs were enjoyed separately as a side snack?
I’m thoroughly enjoying the scent of white freesia in the vase, I bought 3 small bouquets and now they are fully open, missing spring makes me greedy and I buy many flowers. The other day i noticed that freesia scent is somewhat reminiscent to neroli. I tried researching it, but only managed to find that nerolidiol is present in red variety of freesias and not white. Anyway, I can’t “un-smell” that now! 🙂 January 23, 2023 at 12:44pm
Victoria: She steeped cocoa nibs in jasmine tea. Yes, the combo is wonderful. January 24, 2023 at 2:23am
carole macleod: Victoria before your blog I always used to smell everything-you taught me to continue in that vein, and I appreciate it so much.
Wearing Hermes Narcisse Blue scent-all the products lol – soap, shower gel, body balm and cologne. It’s giving off a floral scent on this cold rainy day-if I wear it in summer it’s more like hay and leather. Interesting how the same fragrance shows different aspects of itself in different conditions.
Every so often I hit the archives here, including the comments, to learn more and also to enjoy the way people here relate to each other. It’s considerate and funny, and I appreciate the tone of this blog 🙂 January 23, 2023 at 12:53pm
Victoria: Thank you very much, Carole. Your words mean a lot to me. January 24, 2023 at 2:27am
Ewan: Camporesi has a bit about chocolate and jasmin. One of the Medicis had a secret recipe for mixing jasmin and chocolate. I can send it if you want. January 23, 2023 at 1:22pm
Victoria: Oh, I’d love the recipe. Thank you very much. January 24, 2023 at 2:28am
donna m macdonald: I bought a new perfume yesterday. I knew I needed something more joyful to get me through the rest of the winter and chose Maison Francis Kurkdjian’s Amyris. It really captured my imagination and I love the lilting “bite” of floral endnote. It’s just the thing to go with my warm wraps. It’s as bright as my favorite hat – a hot pink cashmere beanie with sequins. January 23, 2023 at 2:01pm
Victoria: I like that perfume the most from his collection. It’s airy, luminous and yet wonderfully complex. Enjoy it! January 24, 2023 at 2:29am
Old Herbaceous: My most recent fragrance purchase is the “new” Mitsouko eau de parfum, the 2021 version. It’s lovely! Still not a safe blind buy, but I think those who already know and love Mitsouko will be pleased.
I find I am missing the scents that permeated our Christmas holidays: balsam and fir from the Christmas tree and Advent wreath, scented candles, spices from the cooking and baking I love to do when I’m a break from work. We don’t yet have pots of fragrant blooming bulbs out, and the amaryllis I do have in the house don’t smell. I think I’ll light a few candles again! January 23, 2023 at 5:01pm
Victoria: I am like you, those are the scents I miss. This in-between season is always grey and dreary in our part of the world, so I add some sunshine with scented candles or incense. January 24, 2023 at 2:30am
Anne: I see that you now allow ads on your site whereas before you said you wouldn’t purchase ads due to ethical reasons. January 24, 2023 at 12:15am
Victoria: I always relied on randomly generated Google ads to generate financial support for the blog. It says so in my policies. Nothing has changed in that. I don’t know what ads you’re seeing, as it depends on your internet browsing patterns. January 24, 2023 at 2:20am
Aurora: Happy Lunar New Year, Victoria, the jasmine and chocolate nibs tea sounds wonderful. Like many people this is the time of year I enjoy the list but your colorful and informative posts always brighten my day, also to combat dreariness wearing vintage GoBH Red, a guilty pleasure. January 24, 2023 at 9:21am
Victoria: That sounds wonderful! A bright, uplifting scent is just right during these grey days. January 25, 2023 at 2:56am
kat: I love cocoa nibs, I add them to my overnight oats, my rooibos tea (sometimes with a bit of vanilla) and when I feel adventurous to a stew. No new fragrance experiences – just a tip for those of us who need fans despite winter temperatures: perfume your fan, makes things a bit more bearable. And for those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about: perfume your scarfs or umbrellas and enjoy the chill 😉 January 25, 2023 at 11:48am
Ewan: Black PeErh with cinnamon is quite pleasant in these cold days – a little earthy and solar warm-me-up. January 29, 2023 at 9:28am