Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Does anyone else wear any of the Krizia fragrances? Although some of the best in the collection have bit the dust, Krizia exemplifies such an ebullient and vivacious side of Italian perfumery that it should be explored for this reason alone. Thankfully, the elegant floral K de Krizia by the great Maurice Roucel is still around. Unfortunately, some of my favorites are gone*: Teatro alla Scala, a composition of amber and tobacco, the coffee laced Spazio Krizia Donna as well as the effervescent and sexy Krazy Krizia. The latter is particularly fun—imagine Guerlain Shalimar dressed up for 1980s.

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Frédéric Malle and perfumer Bruno Jovanovic collaborated on three new candles, which are already available at Aedes and Barneys. The collection include three scents, with a personal story behind each.

Chez Monsieur in Frédéric Malle’s words: “One of my assessments when working on scents for the home was that unlike traditional perfumes for people, home fragrances aren’t and shouldn’t be sexy. The scent of a men’s den is a slight exception to this rule, as one feels, when smelling it, the presence of its proprietor amongst the precious woods, tobacco and books. Spending time in my grandfather’s reading room as a child left a particular taste for this type of environment.”

Notre Dame in Frédéric Malle’s words: “Of my extremely short career as an altar boy in Paris I only re- member the giggles of my friends in the audience and the scent of incense.”

Marius & Jeannette in Frédéric Malle’s words: “The summer has a thousand smells and, among them, the scent of Pastis is one of my favorites. I was always fond of the cool, minty freshness of this anise drink, as it links Sénéquier (my favorite terrace in St Tropez) and the Café de Flore, Prévert and Pagnol. In order to turn the invigorating scent of this drink into a scent, Bruno Jovanovic added a floral freshness to it, therefore reinforcing its “clean” and refreshing personality.”

Each 220g candle is priced at $80. Via fredericmalle.com.

Perfumer & Flavorist recently reported the flavor trends for 2012 (information was obtained via Sensient Flavors, a company that specializes in such predictions.)  They sound interesting, and I am particularly curious where black garlic and peach-rosemary flavors might show up.

“Aji Amarillo—Native to South America, the orange aji amarillo chile flavor offers a profile that features medium heat and fruity notes.
Black Garlic—Popular in Asian cuisine, black garlic is fermented garlic that offers a sweet, syrupy flavor.
Coriander—The seed of the coriander plant, this spice is native to the Middle East, southern Europe and Asia, and offers a fragrant profile with citrus and warm spice notes.

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The other day my mother shared a story of me as a seven year old trying to make a lilac perfume. I collected lilac flowers, covered them with water and kept the jar by my bedside to observe the transformation. Within days the jar started smelling rank and its contents looked rotten, but I refused to give up. Words cannot describe how disconsolate I felt when I came back from school and found that my jar was thrown away. Fast forward a few decades, and I am still engaged in much the same thing—blending raw materials and occasionally coming up with a mixture that smells more putrid than pretty. That I have been exploring scents consistently for this long comes as much as a surprise to me as to anyone else, but as time goes on, I find more and more reasons to fall deeper into the rabbit hole.

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What are your hobbies? What activities does your ideal weekend include? What perfume are you wearing?

It is freezing today, and the moment I look at the thermometer, I wrap myself in Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan and a warm sweater. Although I pretend to be disappointed that we are going to cancel our weekend trip, I am actually delighted to have two days to devote to some of my hobbies: dancing, reading, watching old movies, and of course, cooking. Few things are as exciting as a loaf of bread rising just as it should in the oven. Or as fragrant!

Photo: a baguette I baked recently. My attempts are finally starting to look recognizably like baguettes, rather than brown knobby sticks.