Victoria: 2669 posts

I receive quite a few emails every day asking me to recommend a perfume, and today I thought that it would be more fun if those who would like a perfume recommendation could post their requests  as comments in this thread. I encourage everyone else to reply to the comments and recommend fragrances that you think would be suitable. Or answer someone else’s burning perfume questions.

The contest for 3 samples is closed (I will announce the winner next week), but please continue giving your recommendations–there are several interesting requests towards the bottom of the thread!

Those who *want a recommendation* should wait till the next week for another round of this fun game. Thank you for participating!

So, let’s play!

Photography by Bois de Jasmin, lavender and a perfume display.

Hardie Grant publishing is releasing a new fragrance title called Le Snob Perfume. It’s part of its series of guides on various topics. The perfume book is written by Dariush Alavi, a blogger behind Persolaise.

A well-chosen scent can have a private conversation with its wearer for hours; it can punctuate the day with moments that range from moving to surprising to heart-breaking. The more we are able to understand the language in which perfume has this conversation with us, the better equipped we will be to discover and enjoy the experience of new fragrances.’

This book offers impeccable advice on all aspects of this artisanal product, from learning how to recognise olfactory categories to professional production techniques. Le Snob: Perfume includes indispensable advice from experts within the perfume industry on subjects ranging from selecting a perfume to correct storage. In addition, the book includes a directory of the world’s most sought after fragrances.

Witty, assured and informative, this book is the perfect companion for those on the quest for the perfect scent. Le Snob: elite guides for those in the know.

To be released on October 2012, £8.99, Hardback. Currently available for order at www.amazon.co.uk. Via press release

These past few days I’ve been waking up to cold, foggy mornings, and the idea of getting dressed and going outside seemed unpleasant. Just on Monday, I was tempted to break off my engagements and stay at home, wrapped in a warm sweater. As I made up my face and sipped coffee in a hurry, I imagined how good it would feel to make a cup of tea and jump back into bed with a favorite book. The best I could do before I braved the cool air was to spray on something redolent of summer.

And summer has been on my mind a lot, an Italian summer in particular. After a couple of work related trips to Italy, where the fall hasn’t even started, I came back to Belgium in love and yearning for the sun. Italy was the first place I visited abroad, and as I lived with an Italian host family as a student, it was my first immersion into another culture. My warm and generous host mom taught me to cook, to wear red and to tie my hair into a neat bun. But as work and family obligations piled up, my trips to Italy became fewer and fewer, until 10 years lapsed since my last visit.  Returning Italy reignited our love affair. Even Italian, which I thought to be long displaced by French, has resurfaced in my head. So these days I save money for my next visit, read Cesare Pavese, bake biscotti and track half way across town to my favorite Italian deli to buy some prosciutto, dry cured ham.  But the best way for me to get a dose of the Italian sun is through perfumes.

As I drew up my list, I realized that the fragrances  I selected were not just reminiscent of an Italian summer, they were perfect for cold and rainy days. If you’re longing for some sunshine or just want to something beautiful and uplifting, I hope that you will enjoy my choices.
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Autumn here in Belgium begins overnight. After the short interlude of an Indian summer, you wake up to an overcast, gray day and feel that the clouds are only a few inches above your head. The roses might still be in full bloom, the daytime temperature is still comfortable, but you already know that the rainy season is here. It’s telling that in the old Bruxellois dialect, there are numerous words for rain. It can be a delicate mist that looks innocuous but soaks you to the bone within minutes. It can be a lashing, cold rain that makes umbrellas obsolete, or it might just be a nagging drizzle that makes me feel sad for no particular reason and ponder the wisdom of bears that go into hibernation for the winter.

Since the winter here is nine months long, hibernation isn’t really an option. I’ve learned to do all of my chores on foot and shop at the open air markets which are run year round in each neighborhood, rain or shine. Brussels is made up of 19 communes, and if you love markets, you can explore different areas of the city based on your specific shopping needs. On Saturday, you can pour over the antique books at the market held at the Place du Sablon. On Sunday, you can buy spices and vegetables at the sprawling le Marché du Midi or walk along Rue de Brabant and feel as if you’re in Morocco. While les grandes surfaces (supermarkets) offer stiff competition, the vibrancy of the open air markets even on the dreariest of days is appealing.

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The idea of a love potion can be traced back to antiquity, and excavations at Roman and Greek sites reveal various artifacts that were used to charm, sway and spellbind. Today we still yearn for a potion that would make us more beautiful, more alluring. So, Dsquared2, a fashion house often described as having “va-va-voom sex appeal,” decided to cater to our ‘earnings’ and offer its own version of a love filter. Potion for Woman is the feminine counterpart to last year’s Potion for Men, and is described as seductive and sultry.

The disconnect between the promise and the execution is evident in the crass marketing image. Who on earth decided that this visual conveys anything sexy or alluring? When I’m not distracted by the hairy arm in the foreground, I’m baffled by the drunken look on the model’s face. She looks more like a victim than a temptress.

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