For the perfumista who cooks, the Chef’s Essence Set from Aftelier, a collection of 13 essential oils and absolutes that Ruth Reichl calls “magical in its ability to reproduce the true flavor and aroma of fruits, spices, and herbs”. Includes blood orange, ginger, saffron and litsea cubeba, among others. $225…
The aroma of baked peaches sprinkled with sugar is what Pêche de Vigne releases upon being lit. The luscious, mouthwatering scent fills the air quickly, conjuring preparations of a peach cobbler. At first, it is a fragrance of ripe fruit ready to be sliced and arranged under vanilla scented crumbs. However, it deepens quickly to attain a sugared quality as well as a touch of milky richness. It is as if caramelized peaches are layered with apricot scented cream.
Peaches are among my favourite fruit, and I associate their scent with summers spent on the Black Sea coast. For this reason, Pêche de Vigne has a comforting and relaxing effect on me. While the scent is gourmand, it is not overly sweet. Yet, I do not tend to burn the candle for more than 30-40 minutes at a time, given the fact that the fragrance is rather potent. Half an hour more than suffices for scenting a room, which makes Pêche de Vigne one of the longer lasting candles from Côté Bastide, beyond its stipulated 60 hours of burning time…
With apologies to those who hate iris and so have been bored stiff by the iris-fest this week, here are a few more iris fragrances worth considering:
Frederic Malle Iris Poudre: Created by Pierre Bourdon, and featuring notes of bergamot, rosewood, ylang ylang, carnation, magnolia, jasmine, lily of the valley, violet, rose, aldehydes, iris, musk, amber, vanilla, sandalwood, and ebony. Iris Poudre starts as a sweet, velvety, and very lady-like floral blend…
When it comes to candles, the scents not only should be interesting, potent and lingering, but also should serve an aromatherapeutic function. Figuier by Côté Bastide is a perfect relaxing candle, with the scent that conjures associations with sunny days of summer. The white wax is permeated with the aroma of verdant leaves, young twigs and sticky green figs. This is not a honeyed scent of a ripe fruit, but a spicy crisp fragrance of a green fig that oozes milky sap onto the hot stones underneath the tree. A hint of green almond adds a pleasant subtle sweetness that swirls in the air like a gentle Mediterranean breeze…
Peach is not usually one of my favorite fragrance notes, as it too often smells overly sweet and synthetic when used in perfume. Anything that smells like fruit roll ups, I’d just as soon not wear on my person. Here are a couple of peach fragrances that don’t smell like they were formulated for the pre-teen market:
Péche de Vigne by Côté Bastide: This is not a complicated fragrance, but it smells exactly like a freshly cut peach: juicy, but not nauseatingly sweet. It is said to have a hint of apricot, but I can’t smell it. It is a body water, and it comes in a whopping 8 oz bottle for around $38. The lasting power is about what you’d expect from a body water — dismal — but you get lots of it for a reasonable price, so you can afford to splash more on every hour…
Stella McCartney in conversation with Alexandra Shulman (video, talks about new scent L.I.L.Y) http://t.co/VAKYigvK "French parfumier Guerlain on trial over 'race slurs'" article at Telegraph http://t.co/lVDxoZMi Vote for NST's Mood Board on FB and win a Zoya Nail Polish collection! http://t.co/MXHMN7I3