Happy holidays! I wish all of you a wonderful holiday season, filled with happiness and excitement. Hope that it ushers in a great new year. I am taking a break for a few days to spend time with my family. I will be back next week with new reviews, and of course, with the usual “Best of 2011” post. Meanwhile, I would like to hear from you if there are any specific topics or reviews you would like me to cover in the new year. Painting by Russian artist Boris Kustodiev, “Snow Covered City,” 1917.

Perfume is a blend of different materials that is more than just a sum of its parts; it is a composition with its own unique character. Character in a fragrance means the impression that a perfume creates: vibrant and uplifting like citrus colognes or opulent and seductive like oriental fragrances with rich notes of vanilla, musk and spices. Each perfume is like a person– the character it possesses is created by its specific traits, which in the case of a scented blend is determined by materials and their proportions. In the same vein, just like some people have stronger characters than others, fragrances differ in terms of their distinction and individuality.

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The weeks leading up to the winter holidays are intensely aromatic for me, as I start experimenting with new recipes for pastries and cakes. I hardly even need to wear perfume because as it is, everything gets permeated with the scents of vanilla, lemon peel, ginger and rosewater. Winter holiday baking is a relatively new tradition for me, but I plunged into it with zeal. I strongly associate winter holidays with Vienna, where I spent some of my student days: Christmas decorations glittering in the snow covered streets, the seductive bitterness of hot chocolate, Strauss concerts at the elegant Kursalon Wien, the light-hearted exuberance of being exam free!

As much as I love the modern city, I also have a passionate interest in the Vienna of the fin de siècle when the Hapsburg Empire lost much of its grandeur. No longer the capital city of a powerful empire, Vienna became an imperial residence. It is fascinating to consider that this period of political and social crisis in Vienna produced some of the most extraordinary movements in art, music and psychoanalysis and attracted a fascinating mix of artists.

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Dolce & Gabbana is launching its collection of six new fragrances. The Velvet Collection will be exclusive to Saks5th Avenue. “Six scents, each bearing reference to specific olfactive influence coming from the designers themselves: sweet, wood Velvet Vetiver, raw seductive Velvet Wood, luxurious Velvet Patchouli, sensual Velvet Sublime, decadent Velvet Desire and rich, hypnotic Velvet Love. A collection where tradition and innovation collide in profound accord.”

Velvet Wood

“Inspiration: Lacquered wood. Rich ebony wood offers profound depth, with warm resinous notes yielding to attractive benzoin and a refined black leather. Sophisticated and exotic, abundant with visceral ardor.”

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

Ormonde Jayne is a small brand with one of the most solid fragrance collections on the market. The fragrances have a distinctive character, whether effervescent florals like Sampaquita or voluptuous orientals like Tolu. There is enough diversity to make the range fun to explore, and the quality is invariably impressive. That being said, I am not that fond of the latest fragrance, Tiare. While pretty and elegant, it lives in the same universe as Chanel Cristalle—a crisp, champagne-like floral.

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