top 10: 56 posts

Spring awakens and excites. As the weather oscillates from chilly gusts of rains to languid sunny warmth, I find my mood shifting likewise. Yet, whatever surprises spring may offer, I nevertheless find it an enchanting period of transition. It is the anticipation of the balmy days of summer, of new adventures and of memorable discoveries that fuels my spirit every spring. As for seasonally appropriate perfumes, this season I realized that what drives me to change my fragrance wardrobe is not the weather, but my mood. I have been craving fragrances that are joyful and uplifting rather than challenging and cerebral, pleasing and affable rather than edgy and complicated. The plush oriental favorites from Guerlain (Shalimar, L’Heure Bleue, Tonka Impériale), fruity chypres (Gucci Rush) and fruity florals (Frédéric Malle Le Parfum de Thérèse, Parfums de Rosine Rose D’Été) have been a constant presence on my vanity table for the past few months, rain or shine.

With my Top 10 of Spring 2011 list, I would like to share with you several fragrances (and one delightful fragrance related activity!) that never fail to put me in a good mood. Since everyone has their own ideas about what makes a fragrance joyful, I would love to hear which of your favorite perfumes give you a rush of happiness and pleasure.

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I love how winter forces me to slow down and dream. I love how it transforms the gray city landscape into an etude in white and black. I love its holidays, its scents and its sounds. So, I forgive it the cold that numbs my limbs and makes my nose as red as Rudolph’s, the hassle of flights canceled and trains delayed and many other inconveniences. Yet, like all passionate relationships, my love affair with winter has its ups and downs. When the sun is gone for too long and the snow storms alternate with icy rain showers, my affection for winter’s caprices is tested. With little to do but embrace the harsh winter we have been having on the East Coast this year, I have turned to my favorite winter activities and my perfumes for solace and comfort. My fragrances have been my saviors, warming me up when I needed an extra layer against the chill and reminding me of spring when the dull, gray winter light began to feel oppressive.

Candelight Dinner For Two : Cartier L’Heure Fougueuse for me / Prada Infusion d’Homme for him

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So, without further ado, my 2010 highlights!

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

If I were given Bleu de Chanel in a blank vial, I would have pegged it as a Hugo Boss flanker: a competent, commercial, focus group winner. Indeed, it is almost a shock to realize that this is a major masculine Chanel launch. While Chanel masculines are not of the same caliber as its feminine fragrances, they are invariably memorable: the velvety plum of Egoïste, the orange tinted woods of Antaeus, even the spicy warmth of Allure Homme. Bleu de Chanel, on the other hand, does not charter new  directions; instead, it relies on the market winning combination of citrus, aromatics, marine notes and woods.

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Each year I fall in love with autumn anew. The near-miracle of an overnight transformation of leaves into a variegated tapestry of gold and sienna, the mellow scent of bitter chrysanthemums, the melancholy music of rain playing in the fallen foliage… All of these changes in the weather prompt me to change my fragrance wardrobe as well in order to match the new scents in the air. Although some of my favorites continue to dominate my selections—Annick Goutal Neroli, the ethereal orange blossom, is my favorite morning fragrance year round; Frederic Malle Carnal Flower is one of my constant passions — some fragrance make their reappearance this time of the year. Below is my list of current favorites, in no particular order.

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