Don’t you love lists? I do, so here goes – my favorite things of the past months:
1. Perfume:
Cartier L’Heure Fougueuse and Aftelier Wildflowers: Both these perfumes are a much needed escape into Summer. The hay note that is prominent in both makes me swoon and gives me pleasure and calm.
For a quick boost of both mood and confidence these are still favorites – Atelier Cologne Bois Blonds and Trefle Pur. Please, bear with me mentioning the Ateliers for the umpteenth time. 🙂
Finally for enjoying the last cold days Alahine is just the right choice.
2. Books:
I am currently re-reading Mandy Aftel’s Essence and Alchemy. It is such a beautiful and insightful book, if you haven’t read it yet, you should. Reading it makes me cherish the beauty of perfumes even more.
For your fiction fix I can recommend an old favorite I have dug out for the fifth time, I think. John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany: It is perfect in every way.
3. Beauty:
I love perfume, no surprise there.
What I also love is lipstick and lip gloss and lip balm and lip stains and… you get the idea. I can safely disclose here – I have more than one lipstick. 🙂
Current favorites are:
Shiseido Shimmering Rouge Lipstick – a slim and elegant tube filled with a truly moisturizing, creamy and softly shimmering lipstick in gorgeous and wearable colors. I have it in Alabaster and Lounge.
Hourglass Femme Rouge Lipstick in Embrace, so elegant, makes you feel very Old Hollywood.
4. Music:
Don’t fear the Reaper! Can’t get this out of my head these days…I wonder why???
Totally incongruously, as many say who know me, I love this:
And finally, this look into my past, I played the Viola in a string quartet in my home town. With this quartet by Dvorak, we won a price once upon a long time ago. Still one of my favorite pieces, relaxing and elating at the same time.
What do you love at the moment?
Olfactoria's Travels 
After few perfume-testing weeks today I wear my Vetiver Sacre by L’Artisan again. I love it in spite of the bad reviews on the web : it’s my latest comfort scent. A misunderstood understated beauty.
Since I went on perfume purchase ban (see your post earlier this week…) I get the kick from shopping lipstick or gloss and London is the perfect place for that : my newest favorites for everything make-up is “Suqqu” (the sister of Kanebo) and Rouge Bunny Rouge. Or the versatile Lip and Eye pens from Nars.
I’m an avid reader, schleping piles of books with me all the time. Since last January there is no more schleping : I LOVE MY KINDLE !!!
Latest music is Syd Matters, a group reminding me the good old Simon & Garfunkel.
I was in cinema yesterday and went home happy : I loved the “King’s speech” !
My bussiness trip this week confirmed to me that love at first site does exist. I still love it with unchanged enthusiasm, utterly and comletely, in spite of everything : LONDON.
Ah, so many lovely things!
I had a major RBR phase too (thank you Zuneta! ;)), great products!
A kindle is a great thing, I am not sure I want to give up my books though, to hold it, to smell it, it is something else than an electronic device, as practical as they are.
London is a wonderful city, I look forward to my next trip in April it is really soon now, yay!
Glad you had a good time there last week. 🙂
I kinda love Zuneta as well. Perfect customer service !
No, I don’t want to give up books entirely: it’s going to be like pefumes – I’ll buy only those I really really really want to have. I simply have no place at home for the quantity of books I read, also during my travels it’s easier to carry a Kindle, thank books. Plus, I collect cookbooks – those I don’t want to have on my Kindle either.
Have you heard that Ms. Jo Malone is considering to start a new company ? The company Jo Malone was sold to (I think) E.Lauder few years ago, so Jo has nothing to do with the recent releases. I’d be happy to have her back…
Yes, I have heard of Jo Loves, as the new company is called. We will see if we love what she loves… 😉
I didn’t know you were a musician. Wonderful! Do you still play? I love Dvorak too, but Brahms is “The King” for me.
I cannot wait to try Cartier L’Heure Fougueuse. I have yet to try Mandy Aftel’s line (why have I not??) but I did read her book. I loved it. It was dreamy bedtime reading.
What a fun idea for a post. Would you mind if I did a “My Favorite Things: Spring Edition” post? I could link to yours and I bet others would follow on our favorite blogs.
I don’t play anymore. 😦 It is too bad to let something like that go, but if you don’t have the time to play regularly, it makes no sense.
Of course you can do a similar post on your blog! Great idea! I already made a Winter Edition and an End of Year 2010 Edition of My Favorite Things. It would be great if it would catch on! 🙂
Do it JE! I can’t wait to read it 😉
Oh I love lists too, fun! Sounds like you’ve got a couple of ear-worms there B 🙂 As for the Ateliers’, never apologise for raving about a new perfume love, if you can’t do it here, where can you? I’ll have to check out the John Irving book, I really should read one of his.
Here is a snap-shot of me at the moment:
1. Perfume: Still loving Une Rose, my last full bottle purchase. I can’t believe it took me this long to find out how great it is. Apart from the composition itself, it’s such great quality and you only really need a single spray.
2. Beauty: Just bought L’Oreal Color Riche Shine Gelee Lipstick in Lovely Plum. As well as being super shiny, it’s incredibly moisturising which is great for me.
3. Books: On about page 5 of “Just Kids”, Patti Smith’s memoir about her relationship with photographer Robert Mapplethorpe in 70s New York.
Also working my way through “The Book of Perfume” by Elisabeth Barille and Catherine Laroze. It’s a large coffee-table style book that I bought second-hand. What I like about it is that the writing is so poetic.
4. Music: Currently listening to Joan As Policewoman’s new album “Deep Field”. Her “Real Life” album is one of my favourite records of all time.
Looking forward to reading others’ comments. Nice idea, B.
I will wear Une Rose tomorrow, in your honor! 🙂 You always remind me of it annf then something comes in between, but now with my new “enjoying the moment” philosophy, I take the time and immerse myself in the glory of Une Rose!
The books you read sound very interesting, must look for that Perfume book, is it still in print? Will search for it right now.
John Irving is so great, I also love Garp, The Cider House Rules and Hotel New Hampshire very much.
Thanks for the Irving recommendations. Hope you managed to find the Perfume book, looks like Amazon.co.uk has 2 new copies for about £40 and decent second-hand copies for ar0und £30. It is a beautiful book.
Enjoy Une Rose tomorrow and think of me!
I am wearing Une Rose already as my sleep scent, it is really wonderful and Mr.O is not complaining as of yet. Let us hope for a “smells okay” which can be considered high praise! 😉
Off to Amazon.co.uk…
I love “A Prayer For Owen Meany”. That one and “Cider House Rules” are my two favorites from Irving. Right now I’m reading “Dubliners” by James Joyce, one of my favorite writers.
For music, I’ve become a big fan of Paul McDonald, one of the American Idol finalists. He’s been my favorite all season and I’m just now getting around to listening to music that he has already made.
Good to see other John Irving fans here, James 🙂
I have to look up Paul McDonald, he isn’t yet known over here (at least I don’t know about him).
Irving is a hit and miss author with me. Aside from the two I’ve already mentioned, I liked “Widow For One Year” and “Garp”. Most of the rest aren’t that good to me.
As for Paul McDonald, here is a link to the youtube channel for his band- The Grand Magnolias.
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheGrandMagnolias
Thank you for the link!
There are some Irvings I don’t like that much either. 😉 Hotel New Hampshire is very good. I think about it every time I walk through Krugerstrasse in Vienna (it is in part set there).
I did like “Hotel New Hampshire”, too. Hotels that have character are fun to stay in for me. I’m not much of a fan of the chain varieties.
You are right of course, but I have a soft spot for Motel 6, theirs were the only hotel rooms I could afford as a young girl traveling through the US, so I glorify them in my memory, plastic bed covers and all! 🙂
I love how eclectic your music tastes are 🙂
Yeah, I am all over the place…;)
1. Perfume
Ecstatic over my new bottle of Memoir, and also really enjoying my bottle of Calamity J. (drained a spray sample and a vial of this!). Also spending time with the Ormonde Jayne set—which seems to contain lots of white/tropical flowers. I haven’t been turned off by anything in the set, but my favorite is still Woman, followed by Ta’if and Tolu. TMI?
2. Books
Usually I have multiple books going at the same time, so I’ll only name the top two: Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnely, by Allison Weir (one of my favorite authors), and Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care.
The Howe’s are preparing mentally!
3. Beauty
I’m loving orange lipsticks right now: I’m crazy for the color Orange!
4. Music
In my iPod I have three Akitsa albums… you can read the description I wrote of “La Grande Infamie” to get a feel for the music 🙂
Dee,
I was sure you’d make those three OJ’s your favorites. 🙂
I am glad you are enjoying Memoir so much, for me Lyric might be the Queen of the world scent.
Aha, Dr Spock!!!! Nothing prepares you…:)
Will check out Akitsa.
RE: Dr. Spock…
I believe you! Mr. H and I are using it more for talking points and discussion (he has his own copy) so that we can get a feel for our approach to parenting—I think we’re going to be alright! 🙂
I am sure you are!
Paul for one would love to stay with you, since you are much nicer than I am. 🙂
LOL, he wouldn’t think that for long! I make Jo Frost (Supernanny) look like a push-over 🙂
Although, it will probably be harder to stay firm with my own little parasite… 😉
I am way less firm with other children, no need to monitor their behavior. 😉
Wheee…I’d love to do a Favorite Spring Things! What a great idea! This spring, I love…Bandit to wear and waft. She grows nicer every time I try, I swear!
Teint Idole, by Lancôme. I can’t imagine how I ever did without it! I swear, I don’t look a week over thirty…five!
Reading Keith Richards’ biography, ‘Life’. What a…life! Great book, and I don’t even like the Rolling Stones – I’m much more of a Beatles kind of gal.
Which brings me to…the next thing I’ve rediscovered – my favorite opera of all time – and I grew up with opera. Mozart’s ‘Don Giovanni’. So stunning, it breaks my heart every time I hear it. 🙂 And another Mozart favorite, because I used to play it a very long time ago – his Concerto for Flute and Harp in D-major. I played flute for over fifteen years, and I can still remember every note!
T, I will try the Teint Idole, but I’ll leave the Bandit to you! 😉
Don Giovanni is indeed stunning, I love this opera. It was actually the first I ever saw in Vienna’s State Opera House twenty years ago. It has been too long that I last heard it.
a very big honor to be on a list with Eminem — love his music — I have created a few of my perfumes listening to it very loud. I always create perfume listening to loud music.
Working creatively to loud music is the best way to do it! Glad you enjoyed my list, Mandy! 🙂
I’m also a lipstick sort of a person, and loving the lipstick from Hourglass 😀 The shade I wear is “Icon”.
There’s so much buzz around the new Cartier fragrances, but I can’t seem to find anywhere to sample them! Everyone makes Fugueuse sound so good, but I’m still not sure how much of animalic skank I can take…
At the moment I’m wearing Amoureuse- the first perfume that made me really love Niche houses, and letting it cheer me up in this wet, rainy day with Nina Simone in the background. Mmmm…
There is no amount of animalic skank I can take, there is none in Fougueuse, so don’t worry. The equine and barnyard associations come mainly through the hay note. It is worth a try. You can try them at Cartier boutiques.
Icon is a fierce and beutiful shade, that, Amoureuse and Nina Simone – I get a great picture of you in my mind. 🙂
This is my very first visit and post. I found your site while looking for reviews of Jeux de Peau, of which I have gone through two samples of in two days!
Anyway, thought I’d chip in:
Scents: (of the last 3 months) OJ’s Woman, Chergui, Orchidee Vanille, Cadjmere, Incense Rose, Ta’if
Beauty: I’m always looking for the perfect lipstick/stain/gloss. Lately, I’ve been doing the drugstore brands since 1) I already have way too many “lip” accessories and 2) I think, much like finding the perfect perfume, I will never find the perfect lip color!
Books: I haven’t touched a book in a while, but I have been trolling NHK, CNN, BBX, Al Jazeera, etc – completely taken in to the current state of affairs in the world
Music: Oddly, I’ve really become taken with a particular song that I play a couple of times a day — it came out several years ago, but I’m adoring Kiss From a Rose by Seal
Welcome, Kym! I am glad you found my blog! 🙂
Jeux de Peau is really beautiful, isn’t it?
Thank you for sharing your favorite things. I have just worn Ta’if yesterday, it is gorgeous. And I hear you about the perfect lipstick, it probably does not exist, but the search sure is fun! 😉
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