From Providence Perfume Co, solid perfume balms: "Our vintage inspired solid perfume balms are blended in a base of pure shea butter, beeswax and oils. The soft buttery consistency is similar to the vintage solid perfumes popular in the 1950's and 1960's without the added petroleum and chemicals of the era. Solid perfumes are generously sized at 1/2 ounce and housed in thick retro glass tubs with distinctive silver caps evoking images of dressing table glamour. Solids are lavishly perfumed with natural ingredients and blended in artisan perfume fashion." In Chiffonade, Jazmina, Lilium, Moonflower, $36-39 at Providence Perfume Co...

When I choose a wine, I often take one of two approaches. I’ll select a wine that complements dinner, but doesn’t match it — a spicy Gewürztraminer or honeyed Chenin Blanc for Thai food, for instance. Or, I’ll choose a wine that blends with dinner — for example, a barely oaked Chardonnay with roast chicken. I tend to do the same thing when I choose the day’s perfume. On a rainy day like today with leaf rot in the streets, I might go for the complement and choose a warm, soft fragrance. Flower by Kenzo Oriental, maybe. But if I were going to choose a scent that feels like today in all its chilled autumn magnificence, it would be L’Artisan Parfumeur Voleur de Roses.

Michel Almairac created Voleur de Roses (French for “rose thief”) in 1993. The L’Artisan Parfumeur website lists its notes simply as patchouli, rose, and plum. That sounds right to me. Voleur de Roses smells like a Syrah-soaked rose washed over with wet patchouli, moldering wood, and cold plum. The wet has an almost metallic edge, like the ocean. The fragrance’s patchouli is one of its main features, so if you don’t like patchouli, steer clear...

What is it: one 100 ml bottle of L'Artisan Parfumeur Batucada. I wore it lavishly to write a review, plus I made a few samples. It's about 95% full.

How do I get it: For a chance to win, leave a comment telling me that you live in the US. Also, please tell us either a) a summer fragrance you like to wear in winter or b) where you'd like to go on your next vacation.

Be sure to use the “Post a comment” box; do not reply to another comment...

Many of you will remember that niche line L'Artisan Parfumeur used to do a limited edition unisex summer fragrance every year. Usually, it was something fleeting and happy meant for hot weather wear, packaged in a whimsical bottle and sold at a slightly lower cost per ml than the regular L'Artisan line. If the fragrance did well, sometimes it ended joining the regular line. So far as I can tell, they haven't done one since 2006, when they released Mandarine Tout Simplement.

Batucada, L'Artisan's latest fragrance, is not a summer limited edition. It might be the latest in the travel series, I'm not sure — and it doesn't really matter: the point is, it doesn't get a fun bottle and it costs about the same as the rest of them. It would have fit right into the summer limited edition line-up, though: it's cheerful and summer-y, and light-hearted in a way that we haven't seen from L'Artisan lately.

It was inspired by the Brazilian samba style of the same name, and by Brazil in general...

Two and a half years ago, perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour created ten fragrances. “Sure,” you might say, “And he’s created another couple of dozen since then. Big deal.” The thing is, he only made one bottle of each of these fragrances. L’Artisan Parfumeur put them on the market for $20,000 each. Now L’Artisan is producing eight of those fragrances for the masses for the relative bargain of $200 for 100 ml. Of them, Mon Numéro 10 piqued my interest right away.

L’Artisan Parfumeur’s PR machine says of Mon Numéro 10, “This last act will be explosive. After our travels, secret tributes and other sensual pleasures, this perfume is an explosion of warm, enveloping notes. Quite simply addictive. A heady, memorable ode to a highly sought-after note of oriental perfumes. Mon Numéro 10, with its eccentric, piercing mood, is like an evening gown that turns heads all on its own.”

Well. Does anyone else get an image of trains and bombs and evening dresses walking around without anyone in them? Let me simplify the description of Mon Numéro 10: it’s a spicy leather oriental. My thumbnail review? Leather cola...

L'Artisan Parfumeur will launch Batucada, a new unisex fragrance, in September. Batucada was inspired by the Brazilian samba style of the same name, and more generally by the flavors and colors of Brazil...

I’m loyal. My favorite summer fragrances haven’t changed (much) in years, but unlike most people on Earth my “favorites” are over 25 in number. I’ve reviewed and praised those perfumes already, so for this summer’s “top 10,” I’m expanding and tweaking the process to include non-perfume, but perfumed, products: things like shower gel, candy bars, candles and incense.

On summer days, it’s pleasurable to sweeten the air inside the house with a scented candle. A closed house coupled with air conditioning can make air stale indoors. Un-air conditioned air also benefits from some “aroma therapy.” I usually opt for lots of fresh floral bouquets inside during summer, but a candle comes in handy as roses, lilies and tuberose peter out in the garden. My candle of choice this summer is not floral or citrus-y, it’s the LAFCO New York Majestic Oak candle (in LAFCO’s House & Home/Dream Home Collection of 15 candles; $55). Majestic Oak (“Tree House”) has a smoky, raw-wood aroma, not cloying or oppressive at all (it contains oak, geranium, fir, vetiver, and light amber). While Majestic Oak burns, the air in the house smells and feels clean, and I’m invigorated.

I’m a fan of scenting the air outdoors too. I shun citronella-scented “garden” incense (soooo utilitarian!) and opt for something more exotic, like Nado Poi Zokhang “Bamboo” incense from Bhutan...

L'Artisan Parfumeur will introduce the Mon Numéro collection in June. The eight fragrances are variations of the semi-bespoke Mon Numero scents that debuted in 2009, and all were developed by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour. Each scent will be exclusive to a particular retailer or L'Artisan boutique, but the collection will also be available online...

L'Artisan Parfumeur is reissuing two fragrances that were formerly in the "Harvest fragrances" series, Iris Pallida (shown above) and Fleur d'Oranger. Both will be limited edition for spring/summer 2011, but they are no longer tied to particular floral harvests, and they are now in the usual L'Artisan packaging at usual L'Artisan prices...

Soaps & matching dishes from Fringe Studio, scented with a blend called Botanica (currant, blackberry and gingergrass). $24 each at Orange and Pear...