If you’re a fan of citrus colognes, you soon discover nuances in this effervescent perfume genre. Citruses can be classically austere (Hermès Eau d’Orange Vert), sexy (Thierry Mugler Cologne), exotic (Guerlain Eau de Cologne Impériale), or impeccably elegant (Thirdman Eau Moderne). But if you enjoy colognes only when the mercury levels rise and anything else seems too heavy, they all may smell, well, lemony. That’s why the new Annick Goutal cologne trio–Eau d’Hadrien, Néroli and Vétiver–is great for those who are not sure what they like, but are curious to learn more. It has three distinctly different scents which are easy to wear all year round.

Cologne collections are nothing new, of course. Hermès has one, Atelier Cologne made its name by blending all sorts of things with citrus, and half of L’Artisan Parfumeur’s fragrances can be worn as fresh colognes. The simplicity, on the other hand, is what I enjoy about Annick Goutal’s play on the lemon, orange blossom and vetiver themes. The lemony Eau d’Hadrien smells zesty. Néroli is a mass of white petals. Vetiver smells of driftwood and sea breeze. All would fit equally well for both men and women. All three are well-crafted, but of course, I have my favorites.

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One thing that never tempts me at the fragrance counter is the expensive selection of scented creams and the other matching body products offered in perfume sets. The trained sales associates will usually pitch them as “making the perfume last better” or “being a great value,” but I remain skeptical. A good fragrance should linger well on its own, and my hard-earned money can go further by being spent on something more useful (like another bottle of perfume!) Body lotions and shower gels can easily be sacrificed, especially if my budget needs to be kept in check.

That being said, I still love the ritual of applying scented lotion to my skin. In the evening, I massage away the fatigue accumulated during the day, enjoying the sensation of fragrant cream melting under my fingers.  It’s such a simple pleasure that it feels wrong not to indulge oneself.  The good news is that perfumed lotions are easy to make, and as long as you don’t require fancy packaging, you can enjoy your perfume in a variety of ways.

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I rarely encounter a tuberose fragrance I do not like, so I quickly deduced that I would like Arquiste Parfumeur Flor y Canto. Flor y Canto presents tuberose on a tableau of marigold and aims to paint an olfactory portrait of a day in August in the year 1400 when during “the most fragrant festival in the Aztec calendar, the rhythm of drums palpitates as a wealth of flowers is offered on temple altars. Billowing clouds of Copal act as a backdrop to the intoxicating breath of Tuberose, Magnolia, Plumeria and the intensely yellow aroma of the sacred Marigold, cempoalxochitl.” (I will admit to a struggle in pronouncing “cempoalxochitl.”)

I fell for the story and I normally don’t. The mention of marigold and the promise of something mysterious was too exciting. Unfortunately for me, the most exciting part of Flor y Canto remains on paper. It’s a tuberose and plumeria fragrance–plumeria smells like jasmine, peach, and coconut, and it’s rather linear and at times approaches bubblegum sweetness before it dries down.

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It’s spring (at least, in theory), and it’s time for de-cluttering and paring down. Some of you mentioned that your perfume wishlists are getting longer and longer and asked me to run a thread in which all of us can give our recommendations on how to streamline our choices.

Please post your wishlists and comment on the wishlists posted by others! Let’s see which fragrances we loved and which we found disappointing. Of course, perfume preferences are a personal matter, but we might as well have some fun with it.

Happy Easter! We wish you a great holiday weekend, and we will return on Tuesday.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin

As much as I love tea, and would be more than happy to drink almost any tea you could put in front of me, I must admit that I am not typically a fan of flavored teas. Most of the time I find them to taste artificial, with the flavor overpowering the natural flavor of the tea leaf. However, many tea-loving Bois de Jasmin readers have recommended various flavored blends from Le Palais des Thés. My curiosity was piqued and, eager to test these teas myself, I ordered the Teas and Flavored Blends Box Set.

Much to my delight, all of the teas are scented delicately enough to accent the flavor of the tea, but strongly enough to be clearly tasted. I like some more than others, but overall, I’m happy with the purchase. The beautifully boxed set includes twelve screw-top metal tubes that each contain enough tea to prepare about six cups. Also included is The Théophile Guide, a small paperback book complete with detailed information about tea history, preparation, and detailed descriptions of all the teas sold by Le Palais des Thés.

I found the samples to be generously sized and conveniently packaged, with brewing time and temperature labeled on each one. All in all, this set would make an excellent gift for a tea lover, and could be equally appreciated by someone new to tea or to a seasoned tea drinker. Below are my impressions of each tea in the set, which includes Thé des Moines, Thé Vert à la Vanille, Thé du Hammam, Fleur de Geisha, Thé des Fakirs, Thé des Alizés, Thé des Amants, Blue of London, Thé des Lords, Thé des Sables, Thé des Concubines, and Thé des Songes.

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