polls: 59 posts

What perfume would you have liked to receive as a gift this holiday season? Are you giving a scented gift to anyone this year?

I hope that Chanel Coromandel is among my fragrance gifts this year, because after going through several decants, I decided that I am ready for a full bottle. The scented presents I am preparing include Cire Trudon candles and Estée Lauder Private Collection Jasmine White Moss body cream.

What are the fragrances you reach for in the winter for a comforting, enveloping, cashmere wrap-like scent?

Today’s topic comes from a Bois de Jasmin reader, Anne, who is looking for your suggestions on winter fragrances. Please share your favorites, and also, any ideas of what fragrances Anne might like; she usually wears Prada Infusion d’Iris and almond scented body oils (Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse, Roger & Gallet Huile Amande Persane). She is looking for something more substantial for the colder months.

My own thoughts were: Flower by Kenzo, Frédéric Malle Iris Poudré, Guerlain Iris Ganache, Christian Dior Hypnotic Poison, or for something classical, Guerlain L’Heure Bleue.  My favorite comforting winter scents are usually warm amber or incense based, such as any fragrance from Annick Goutal Les Orientalistes: Ambre Fétiche, Myrrhe Ardente or Encens Flamboyant. I also enjoy Christian Dior Mitzah. 

If you want to suggest your own topic for “Perfume Discussions,” please email me your suggestions at editor at boisdejasmin dot com

Photograph by CumulusHumils via flickr.com, some rights reserved.

What strange, bad scents do you like? 

In perfumery, the worst smells can have the best effects–the inky, moth ball fragrance of indole lends a natural, velvety note to floral compositions; aldehyde C-11 with its dirty hair facet makes rose accords rich and lush; animalic notes lend a surprising sensuality to woods and resins. Thinking about it made me wonder about preferences for scents that are considered by most to be bad or unpleasant: skunk, hot asphalt, gasoline, mildew, etc.

My own good-bad favorites include the musty smell of decaying leaves in the fall, the rotten onions and cheese of durian (a notorious tropical fruit,) and the pungent sweetness of pen ink. I also love the smell of jet fuel on the airport runway; although these days with the boarding taking place via covered passageways, one rarely gets to be on the field itself.

Photograph of fallen leaves via wikipedia commons.

What are your favorite books (do not have to be perfume related)?

Nikki, one of the commenters here, suggested that I run a thread on favorite books, whether perfume related or not. Since I love books and spend most of my free time reading, I gladly agreed. Of course, when I began to think of my own favorites, I realized that I could write a whole essay on this topic. In the end, I limited myself to only a few favorite selections, the books that I have re-read several times and look forward to revisiting again and again.

anything Agatha Christie
anything by Gogol
Bulgakov’s Master and Margarita
Sébastien Japrisot mystery novels
Tolstoy’s War and Peace
Bunin’s Life of Arseniev

And anything by Elizabeth David, whose food writing I love.

My favorite book on perfume is Michael Edwards’ Perfume Legends, which is unrivaled for its depth of information.

I fell asleep on a fall day colored crimson and burnished gold. I woke up on a winter morning veiled with snow. I can hardly make out the familiar landscape of parked cars, white houses and old trees through the graceful dance of snowflakes. We skipped fall and jumped straight into winter, or perhaps we will go back to summer given our completely bizarre meteorological record this year. So, I decided that I will take advantage of the cold by lighting up the fireplace, making a big pot of tea and wrapping myself in my favorite red blanket with Nabokov’s Speak, Memory. Yet, once this fantasy materializes, I immediately want to get up, put on a warm coat and step into the shimmering, dancing whiteness. As I walk through the empty streets, it all feels new and surprising—the black arabesques of tree  branches, the occasional splash of a red maple leaf, a snowflake that touches my cheek like someone’s surreptitious kiss.

In the cool, crisp air, the fragrance that I love the most is that of incense. Its contrast between citrus like brightness and warm smokiness is very dramatic, but the character is serene and calming. I wear incense year round, but once it starts to cool down, it becomes a staple in my wardrobe. My favorite incenses are airy and bright, rather than heavy and resinous, particularly since they lack the obvious liturgical associations. Incense accented blends are also elegant, and their intimate sillage makes them good daytime perfumes when one needs to be conscious of other people in close quarters. Below is a selection of my favorite incense (and incense-accented) fragrances, from the lightest to the richest.

Poll: What are your favorite incense fragrances?

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