In Your Opinion: 314 posts

While surrounded by perfume bottles and sample vials, I sat down to sum up 2014, I quickly realized that writing anything resembling the best of the year’s launches would be impossible. As much as I tried to keep Bois de Jasmin going, my year was overshadowed by the events in Ukraine, a country where I grew up and where I still have many friends and family members. As my anxieties and worries increased, tracking down new fragrances became less of a priority.

Then again, how is it even feasible to try most of the 2000+ annual releases? So, Patricia, Elisa, Andy and I decided that instead of the usual “best of 2014”, we will tell you what new perfumes we have discovered, regardless of when they were launched.  I may not have explored as many 2014 debuts, but I still wore plenty of perfume and whenever something new and interesting came my way, I was happy to discover it. If anything, I became more convinced how essential small pleasures are in helping us maintain balance. Calling perfume a luxury misses the entire point. The dose of beauty it brings is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. I think that many of you agree, because my article In the Defense of Guilt-Free Pleasure was the most read piece on Bois de Jasmin this year. (You also enjoyed the story of the Rose Harvest in Grasse, tips on Improving Your Sense of Smell, an overview of Best Jasmine Perfumes and a visit to my Childhood House in Poltava.)

Bois de Jasmin wishes you a wonderful start to 2015 and hopes that the new year will bring you much happiness and joy. We look forward to sharing more stories and perfumes with you.

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Bois de Jasmin will return on Monday, December 22nd. Today we have our “Recommend Me a Perfume” thread. You can use this space to ask any questions about perfume, including fragrance recommendations. If you’ve asked for a recommendation before, we would love to hear how your search went and what you’ve discovered.

How does it work: 1. Please post your requests or questions as comments here. You can also use this space to ask any fragrance related questions. To receive recommendations that are better tailored to your tastes, you can include details on what you like and don’t like, your signature perfumes, and your budget. And please let us know what you end up sampling. 2. Then please check the thread to see if there are other requests you can answer. Your responses are really valuable for navigating the big and sometimes confusing world of perfume, so let’s help each other!

To make this thread easier to read, when you reply to someone, please click on the blue “reply” link under their comment.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin

Our European perfume box is ready to make another round. Below, Hamamelis is including her sampling notes and the list of perfume samples in the box. So, if you are in Europe and would like to participate, here is how you can do it.

How does it work: To enter, please answer these questions: 1) are you in Europe? ; 2) do you agree to pass the box onto someone else (add a couple of your own samples and share your sampling notes with the rest of us)? and 3) what perfume are you most interested in trying? The thread is now closed. The next person to receive the box is Anka.

When a winner is ready to pass the box onto someone else, they should get in touch with me. Please include the list of samples and your sampling notes (what you’ve discovered, what you’ve liked/disliked, any observations you care to include).

To check the progress of our boxes, please click on the Traveling Sample Box tag. Shipping restrictions and customs fees make it hard to send perfume in some countries, so if you’re interested in having a sample box within your region, please let me know.

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Happy Thanksgiving! Hope that everyone is enjoying a nice holiday break. My reader Eliza asked if I could poll you on your most versatile perfumes, the ones that you can wear anytime, anywhere, summer or winter. I thought that it was a fun question, so I would love to find out.

Some of my favorite choices would be Guerlain Après L’Ondée, Chanel No 19, Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist and Bois de Violette, 4711, Atelier Cologne Orange Sanguine, Hermès Osmanthe Yunnan, Olfactive Studio Lumière Blanche. I can wear these perfumes anytime, rain or shine, and they always feel just right.

And of course, you can use this space for our usual Scent Diary, sharing fragrances you encounter, good and bad, perfumes you wear and the scents around you.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin, the central square of Brussels, Grand Place, beautiful even on a rainy day.

Bois de Jasmin will return on Friday, November 7th. Today we have our “Recommend Me a Perfume” thread. You can use this space to ask any questions about perfume, including fragrance recommendations. If you’ve asked for a recommendation before, we would love to hear how your search went and what you’ve discovered.

How does it work:

1. Please post your requests or questions as comments here. You can also use this space to ask any fragrance related questions. To receive recommendations that are better tailored to your tastes, you can include details on what you like and don’t like, your signature perfumes, and your budget. And please let us know what you end up sampling.

2. Then please check the thread to see if there are other requests you can answer. Your responses are really valuable for navigating the big and sometimes confusing world of perfume, so let’s help each other!

To make this thread easier to read, when you reply to someone, please click on the blue “reply” link under their comment.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin