I wrote Winter Perfumes with the Magic of The Nutcracker for the FT magazine last year, but recently, I was musing on one of my favorite aspects of perfume–a fantasy aid. An instant fantasy aid, I should add, because it takes only a spritz to create your own reverie. This is the topic of my article.

As a former ballet dancer, I can’t think of winter without associating it with the magic of Hoffmann’s tale and Tchaikovsky’s music. For me, the season has a strong whiff of rosin on ballet slippers, but it is a time of fairy kingdoms, groves made of candied fruit and coffee-scented dancers. My pointe shoes are rarely in service these days, but my Nutcracker fantasies find their expression in perfume. Please read the rest by clicking here.

If you wish to play dress up with perfume, what fragrance do you chose?  

Photo via FT

The fabric store in Leuven, a charming town in northern Belgium, smells like hot ironed linen and wool. I come here to buy a piece of colorful cotton for napkins, and I leave with two rolls of Belgian linen. One is the color of wheat husks and summer hay and it feels pleasantly rough under my fingertips. Another bolt is white like freshly fallen snow, and I use a lipstick red thread to embellish it with flowers and leaves.

Scent Diary is a place where we can share fragrances we encounter, good and bad, perfumes we wear and the scents around us. It’s a way to sharpen our sense of smell, but also just to enjoy the fragrance hobby in a richer way. Whether you write down 1 recollection–“I smelled coffee this morning”–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.

I look forward to your scent diaries!

Photography by Bois de Jasmin

Are you feeling under the weather? Pat explores a range of scented cures. (Bois de Jasmin will be back to its regular schedule on March 6th, Friday.)

It might start with a slight headache, or a small case of the sniffles, or just feeling somewhat unbalanced, then it progresses to general malaise and aching limbs. Time to face up to it, you’re sick, and you might as well cancel everything planned for the next three days to a week. Your best friends will be a cup of hot tea, a box of tissues, and a warm comforter on the sofa. Perfume won’t even be on your radar.

But what about when you start to recover and take an interest in life again? Just as you wouldn’t attempt a three-course meal before starting with a bowl of hot chicken soup, you won’t want to go right back to wearing a heavy application of your vintage Mitsouko. Transition fragrances are in order, and here are some of my favorites.

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Our European perfume box is ready to make its next round. Thank you, Awfulknitter! So, if you are in Europe and would like to participate, here is how you can do it. And whether you’re participating or not, please read Awfulknitter’s perfume descriptions below.

How does it work: To enter, please answer these questions: 1) are you in Europe, and if you’re a winner, can I share your email address with Awfulknitter? ; 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 wearing today? I will pick the next person to receive the box via a random number generator. I will announce that person in this spot and contact them via email. Aurora is the person to receive the box!

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.

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Our US perfume box is ready to make its next round. If you are in the States and would like to participate, here is how you can do it. And whether you’re participating or not, please read Snowyowl’s perfume descriptions below.

One organizational note: when you’re ready to ship your box onto someone else, please send me the full list of samples in the box and your perfume notes.  Organizing these boxes takes some time, but with your help, it can be much easier.

How does it work: To enter, please post a comment answer these questions: 1) are you in the USA, and if you’re a winner, can I share your email address with Snowyowl? ; 2) do you agree to pass the box onto someone else within two weeks or so (add a couple of your own samples and share your sampling notes with the rest of us)? and 3) what perfume are you wearing today? I will pick the next person to receive the box via a random number generator. I will announce that person in this spot and contact them via email. Claire is the next person to receive the box.

When a winner is ready to pass the box onto someone else, they should get in touch with me. Please include the full 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.

Continue reading →