Some rainy days inspire me to match their cloudiness with watery,wistful fragrances like Guerlain Apres L’Ondée or Frédéric Malle L’Eau d’Hiver. Other rainy days, particularly ones that fall after an especially beautiful sunny weekend in May, provoke me to counteract the forecast with something bright and euphoric. Lately I’ve been using a patterned magenta umbrella that cheers me slightly whenever I open it, despite the gloom and damp of the day’s weather; the right fragrance can have a similar effect on my mood.
This week, my anti-gray fragrance is Sarah Horowitz Perfect Bliss, for which the perfumer Sarah Horowitz-Thran was inspired by the floral arrangements at her own wedding. The composition for Perfect Bliss includes top notes of blood orange, mango, and papaya; a middle accord of gardenia; and base notes of vanilla, patchouli, cedar, and musk.
I like Sarah Horowitz’s lists of notes, because they usually reflect just what I’m smelling in the fragrances themselves…
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Nearly two years ago, I reviewed some fragranced soaps from a small brand called Anjolie Ayurveda. I was impressed by them on various counts: their natural scent blends, their high quality, their artistic packaging, their interesting back-story. I don’t think I’ve come across any other soaps that quite compare to these. I was happy to learn recently that Anjolie had added scented body butters and body oils to its catalog, and the unpredictable warm-to-cold, dry-to-humid weather of the past few weeks has given me a good opportunity to test the moisturizing effects of these new products.
Anjolie Ayurveda’s Aromatherapy Body Butters are offered in four scents: Lavender, Neem Tulsi, Sandalwood Saffon, and Neroli Lemon. I was drawn to the Neroli Lemon because I’m a great fan of neroli in general: I find it cheerful, cleansing, and calming all at the same time. Anjolie promises that “neroli brings a romantic and sophisticated air while lemon adds bright citrus notes” to this blend, and I agree. It’s a simple, satisfying fragrance. The Body Butter’s formula feels more like a thick cream…
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The latest release from luxury fragrance house Amouage is Beloved, a tribute to the “elegance and complexity of the modern woman” (in general) and the classic sophistication of women who shop at Bergdorf Goodman in New York (in particular). Beloved was developed for Amouage by perfumer Bernard Ellena and includes top notes of jasmine, purple rose, lavender, clary sage, clove bud, chamomile, and cardamom; heart notes of ylang-ylang, violet, everlasting [immortelle], cistus, benzoin, olibanum, and patchouli; and base notes of cedarwood, sandalwood, castoreum, civet, leather, musk, vanilla, maltol, and amber.
Although I always enjoy shopping for fragrance and cosmetics at Bergdorf Goodman, I’m probably not the quintessential “Bergdorf woman,” however you may picture her. On the other hand, I do have a longstanding personal and sentimental connection to the place: my great-grandfather and great-aunt both worked at Bergdorf Goodman, as a tailor and couture seamstress, respectively. My love for spending time in New York department stores is apparently a product of nature as well as nurture. Can I, as a not-so-glamorous customer at Bergdorf and a mostly-modern woman, enjoy Beloved? I certainly can…
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While Robin has been trying and reviewing Nuit Etoilée, the newest fragrance release from Annick Goutal, I’ve been revisiting Goutal’s La Violette this week. La Violette was developed by perfumer Isabelle Doyen and was originally released in 2001. It has come and gone from the Goutal catalogue over the past few years, but it was recently re-released as part of the company’s quartet of soliflore fragrances, alongside Le Mimosa, Le Muguet and Rose Splendide.
La Violette really does concentrate on the idea of the violet flower; even more, it suggests the crystallized sweetness of candied violets. Its opening is a pure violet note with an aldehydic clarity. The violet soon develops a sugary veil that lasts through the fragrance’s development, although there’s also a light green note and just a breath of spice in the heart to balance out the confectionery effect. La Violette never feels chilly or sharp; overall, it’s a friendly, almost flirty violet…
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Diptyque is having a busy spring. The company recently previewed a new look for its niche-classic line of Eau de Toilettes; meanwhile, it has introduced a new “language of flowers” theme for its floral products. The Diptyque website currently includes the “secrets, myths, and legends” behind twelve flowers featured in its personal fragrances and home fragrances; freesia, for example, is “a symbol of femininity and grace…often used during wedding ceremonies. When offered in a bouquet, it embodies the pureness of a new friendship and invites a strengthening of the bonds.”
Ofrésia, released in 1999, is Diptyque’s tribute to freesia. It features an “atypical accord of immaculate freesia heightened by black pepper.” (In its “Language of Flowers” discussion, Diptyque also informs us that “freesia does not yield fragrant molecules so the Nose must recreate its delicate, wholesome scent with accents of jasmine, bergamot and rosewood”; this may or not be a reference to Ofrésia’s composition.) The pepper note in Ofrésia is nose-ticklingly distinct; it gives a little zing to the fragrance’s central notes of green leaves and smooth while petals. In the early stages of the fragrance’s development, I’m also catching a spicy note with an almost cinnamon-like fuzziness…
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