Imagine seeing a friend in person after almost fifteen years apart — perhaps gray hair and wrinkles will startle you, or you’ll be amazed at how unchanged he is, or how your friend has finally learned to dress (no more neon colors, chicken-sized athletic shoes, or gym pants).

I’ve not “seen” (or smelled) my old flame Etro Magot¹ since 1998 — back in the day we were very close, in fact, Magot was once all over me. After an affair that lasted a good two years, Magot went his way, I went mine, and I never thought of revisiting that “relationship” till now.

"Original" Magot’s fragrance notes² were lime, lemon, tuberose, jasmine, iris, lavender, clove, peach, vanilla, cedar, patchouli and musk. I remember Magot as a dark, intense Oriental perfume — a fragrance that went from a syrupy brew of flowers and spice to a rich, opulent powder-house of peach-saturated patchouli, amber and oak moss.

My old “beau” has changed...

Italian niche line Etro will launch Paisley, a new perfume for women that pays tribute to the brand's iconic paisley pattern (used on everything from cashmere scarves to board shorts), in August...

I've never been to Milan, so I'm not able to envision Via Verri, the location of the first Etro boutique. I'm aware, at least, that Milan is a style capital, so I understand Etro's premise that its latest fragrance release, like the Etro brand and Milan itself, embodies "a hedonism expressed through the refined codes of beauty, good taste and simple elegance."

Via Verri 2010, launched in October 2010, includes notes of bergamot, iris, rose, jasmine, white pepper, cardamom, amber, and musk. This is the third iteration of Via Verri: Etro featured limited edition fragrances under the same name in 2006 and 2008. (For a useful summary of all three versions, with photos, see this write-up on Perfume Shrine.) My first thought, upon sniffing Via Verri 2010 from a paper blotter, was that this fragrance should have been released for spring rather than autumn. When I tried it on my skin, I became even more convinced of this idea. Via Verri opens with a zingy lemon-bergamot note, and its central phase is a cluster of green notes that evoke wet, leafy vines dusted with some peppery dirt...

Etro is not a widely available brand in London. Liberty usually has a decent selection, and currently Fenwick, just up the road, is featuring the brand. The only other way to get hold of Etro scents is to visit the Etro shop, just off Piccadilly.

It’s quite an easy shop to miss; the name is visible only on the canopy, which cleverly hides the shop name stencilled on the window. You’re also likely to be dazed by the profusion of designer goodies on either side, including Bottega Veneta next door...

Spring! Finally. It isn't summer, but it's almost summer, and if, like me, you detest the cold, that's very nearly the best thing about it. The absolute best thing, of course, is the flowers. My list is heavily weighted towards the "pretty floral" fragrance category, and it's also heavily weighted towards niche, and expensive. Sorry, it just worked out that way. Hopefully, my fellow bloggers did a better job on the diversity front: see Bois de Jasmin, Grain de Musc, Perfume Posse and Perfume Smellin’ Things for more top 10 lists. Meantime, here's mine:

CB I Hate Perfume Black March: the smell of spring, and the perfect thing to wear on a warm, rainy April day, although there's something about it that can tend towards the melancholy. If you can't afford it, you can make do with Demeter Dirt — someone called Black March the high def version of Dirt, and that's apt...

My first niche perfume purchase was a bottle of Etro Vetiver Eau de Cologne way back in 1990. I bought Vetiver, along with some wonderful Etro soaps, at Etro’s Beverly Hills boutique, and I became an instant Etro fragrance fan. Over the years, I’ve owned several bottles of Etro Vetiver, Sandalo and Magot; I’ve also enjoyed bottles of Messe de Minuit (the fragrance that helped launch the Incense Revolution in perfumery) and Patchouly. In the early Nineties, Etro’s perfumes smelled exciting, rich and different to my baby “department store-trained” nose and a new, expensive, niche perfume passion was born. Etro led to Comptoir Sud Pacifique, which led to Jean-François Laporte (L’Artisan Parfumeur), which led to Creed, which led to Czech & Speake, which led to Penhaligon’s…on and on to this day.

Etro Vetiver, by perfumer Jacques Flori, was released in 1989 and lists notes of artemisia, clary sage, cypress, cedar, tobacco and Bourbon vetiver. Etro Vetiver opens with green artemisia and sage; the herbal, forest-y notes are strong and clear — invigorating...

As it is for many people, fall is my favorite time of year. Perhaps this is because around here it is the most fragrant season: the cool, damp leaves send up a sweet, cidery rot, I could swear there is always a tinge of woodsmoke in the air, and the evergreens seem sharper and straighter as the deciduous competition flames out. Early every morning, after bumping around and out of my pitch-dark apartment, I take a deep draw of cool air and wonder if this smell is a regular olfactory hallucination, since I live in an urban neighborhood with bylaws against bonfires and no apple orchards for miles. Whether I am susceptible to seasonal scent suggestion disorder or not, I love the colors and skies of autumn, and the weather is often invigorating enough for me to look fondly upon the hooting, rowdy herds of schoolkids that suddenly appear on every sidewalk. Even if fall doesn't make you feel this disgustingly cheerful, you can still spend your season of mists and mellow fruitfulness in gorgeous perfumes. Please comment with your own fall favorites and let me know if you've sampled the new Serge Lutens Fille en Aiguilles. I haven't tried it yet, and am wondering whether it will be added to my current autumn Lutens rotation of Chêne, Santal Blanc and El Attarine.

Etro Shaal Nur: Rather like a more contemplative, citrus-tinged Habanita, this is an airy, incense-smoke version of Molinard's classic vetiver-vanilla. While not being particularly strong — it's better sprayed than dabbed — Shaal Nur has impressive projection...

It was puzzling, though, that my parents kept returning there. "Table wines are cheaper than Coke," my father explained, when I asked why they kept going back. (Perhaps this brief, thrift-related response helps clarify that my parents are not of Italian descent and therefore returning to visit the mother country; Scotland is the land of our fathers.) Since my parents are not enthusiastic photographers, I tried to determine the attraction of this region listening to stories of their travels...

Pegaso is named for the line's symbol, the mythical winged horse known as the pegasus. The fragrance is meant to be an olfactory evocation of the villages of Tuscany...

Like yesterday's Garofano, Dianthus centers on carnation without qualifying as a soliflore...