by Elise Pearlstine

There is nothing quite so comforting as a dish made with vanilla, whether it is a rich, warm crème brulee or a dish of really excellent vanilla ice cream, especially if it is homemade. The vanilla bean is an ancient and popular flavor and fragrance ingredient. It is very difficult to describe without using the word ‘vanilla’ but I find a good extract or the beans themselves to have a fragrance that is warm, very sweet, balsamic, slightly earthy and very slightly floral. The odor can be tenacious.

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

I confess that I did not expect much from Shalimar Parfum Initial, especially when I read that it is supposed to be a modern fruity version of a jewel in Guerlain’s crown, Shalimar. Picking up a blue faceted bottle to spray the perfume on my wrist, I braced myself for a pink berry compote, the likes of which test remarkably well, and as a result, suffocate the fragrance market. What I experienced instead came as a surprise—a lighthearted, yet elegant blend, in which the velvety oriental notes of Shalimar are embroidered with the effervescence of sweet orange and tangerine.

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

There are some fragrances which I cannot approach as an impartial observer. They are either associated with someone I know or else are indelibly linked to some period of my life, and as a result, the moment I smell them, I cannot think objectively of things like top notes and tenacity. I feel inundated by memories and cannot even concentrate on the progression of THE perfume itself. These are the best fragrances for me, and even if they are not masterpieces, they are the scents that invariably make me happy. One such perfume is Annick Goutal Folavril, which smells like a cross between face cream and green tomatoes. If that sounds odd, you are right–Folavril is a strange creature!

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What is your most refreshing perfume? What fragrance makes you feel cool and uplifted?

As this summer has been alternating between rainy and infernally hot, I nevertheless have been relying more on my effervescent and refreshing fragrances. They brightened up the dull, grey days and made the hot and humid ones feel much more bearable.  So, here they are, my most refreshing perfumes, the ones that evoke a delicious sensation of ice cubes melting on skin: Prada Infusion de Vétiver, Hermès Eau de Gentiane Blanche, and Frédéric MalleAngéliques Sous la Pluie.

Photo: Frozen Strawberry by Carl Smith via flickr, some rights reserved.

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

Frédéric Malle Cologne Bigarade traces the life cycle of an orange in reverse—at first, it reveals the aromatic brightness of ripe bitter orange, then it transforms into a pearly white orange blossom before finally melting into a whisper of green leaves and twigs. It is a streamlined composition, with a fresh, resinous character of citrus rinds and young green leaves. While it occasionally strikes me as overly simple, there is no denying that on a hot summer day it is as refreshing as a glass of lemonade.

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