scent diary: 46 posts

Merry Christmas! I hope you had a wonderful celebration. Coup de Coeur in French means love at first sight or crush, and I have been thinking of all the things that were my small coups de coeur this year–discovering blue tinted teas, orange blossom scented Moroccan pastries, Belgian violet sugar, and how delicious pine buds can taste (and smell) when steeped in honey. Such little pleasures have done a lot to lift my mood on days when nothing went right. And of course, there were books, music, and scents. This year certainly hasn’t been easy for many, and I hope that as it draws to a close, I want to thank you for visiting Bois de Jasmin and for making this place so special.

Also, I can’t even begin to enumerate how much I’ve discovered thanks to all of you. I look forward to more in 2017.

You can write about anything you wish in this thread, but those who would like to use the Scent Diary to sharpen their sense of smell, I will give a short explanation. As I wrote in How to Improve Your Sense of Smell, the best way to sharpen your nose is to smell and to pay attention to what you’re smelling. It doesn’t matter what you smell. The most important thing is to notice whatever you smell around you. It’s even better if you write it down. So please share your scents and perfumes with us.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin, coeur de crème

What were your scented summer highlights? What interesting fragrances (bottled or otherwise) have you discovered?

For most of the summer I was on the road, but even so, I tried and fell in love with Hermès Eau de Rhubarbe Écarlate and Néroli Doré, by Kilian Moonlight in Heaven, Antonio Alessandria Fleurs et Flammes, Rubini Fundamental and The Different Company Adjatay, a deliciously dark leather.

The best discovery, however, was courtesy of an eight year old who took part in a perfume class I organized for children in Ukraine. She combined blackcurrant and orange, with a generous dose of rose–no prompts from me, I should add. The result was dramatic and complex.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin

Happy New Year! I am in the mood for softness, so I dipped into my bottles of vanilla, violet, mimosa and musk perfumes, trying to find ones with the most velvety and comforting finishes. Cacharel Noa stood out instantly for its enveloping trail of powdery flowers and vanilla, but my other discovery took me by surprise. It happens to be Miller Harris L’Air de Rien, a dirty orange blossom. Yet for all of its salacious air, it feels as soft as a cashmere wrap or a kitten’s belly.

New year means a new start to our Scent Diary. As I wrote in How to Improve Your Sense of Smell, the best way to sharpen your nose is to smell and to pay attention to what you’re smelling. It doesn’t matter what you smell, good or bad scent. The most important part is to notice whatever you smell around you. It’s even better if you write it down. You can use the space here for just that–sharing what perfumes you’re wearing and what scents you notice around you.

Photography by Bois de Jasmin

My grandmother’s Easter bread is a lacy confection of butter and sugar. Glazed with chocolate and decorated with flowers, it looks like a Byzantine mosaic. Redolent of bitter cacao and violets, it doesn’t just smell good. I realize with a thrill that it smells like a complete perfume–the top note of violet, the heart of hazelnuts and wheat, and the lingering backdrop of musky chocolate. Take this idea, refine it into an accord–a combination of several perfume notes that becomes more than the sum of its parts–and voila, you can use it to create a new gourmand genre. Sounds fanciful, but this is how perfume is made.

On the face of it, it seems as if the gourmand genre has captured every dessert, from crème brûlée (Aquolina Pink Sugar) to cupcakes (Vera Wang Princess), from rice pudding (Tommy Hilfiger True Star) to raspberry macarons (Guerlain La Petite Robe Noire). You can have your chocolate with cinnamon (Pacifica Mexican Cocoa), with caramel (Thierry Mugler Angel), or with honey (Tom Ford Noir de Noir).

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Soon after the blooming mimosa groves turn the hillsides in Provence bright yellow, splashes of color liven up the streets of Brussels and the florist displays. A bouquet of mimosa is like a box of bonbons–the ultimate treat. It smells like violet, cucumber peels and almonds, and although the scent is delicate, it fills the whole apartment. This morning mimosa is my scent of the day.

What fragrance are you wearing? What scents do you notice around you?

More on mimosa and how it’s used in perfumery: Mimosa, Cassie, and Honeyed Almonds

Photography by Bois de Jasmin