Olfactoria's Travels

Perfume News – By Kilian Asian Tales Flower Of Immortality

Posted on February 15, 2013 by Olfactoria

Luxury “niche” house By Kilian is releasing a third perfume in the Asian Tales line (there are also the L’Oeuvre Noire, Arabian Nights and In The Garden Of Good And Evil collections).

The first two releases have been the greatest disappointment in 2012 for me. Insipid, sheer and – dare I say it – generic, the first two Asian Tales did not capture my attention, but rather raised my ire.

So what will the third one bring?

Flowers of Immortality was created by Calice Becker, notes include white peach, carrot, iris, blackcurrant buds, rose, tonka bean and vanilla.

So far, so good. Sounds quite yummy. But I’m trying not to get my hopes to high, to avoid falling flat on my face again.

The thing with Kilian and me is this: I adore the bottles and the boxes, I can’t say I mind the look of the creator himself, but I haven’t found a perfume that is absolutely perfect for me. I like many of them, but for that kind of money, it should damn well be a perfect one, a true love.

So every time Kilian brings out something new, I get very excited and hope that this will finally be my bottle. (I do own a refill of Amber Oud, but that was a mistake, because I know I should have splurged for the regular bottle, since the refill just doesn’t strike my packaging fancy and therefore is hardly ever used. Stupid, I know.)

Completely gratuitous photo of Kilian Hennessy for your viewing pleasure.

What do you think of the line? Have you found your Kilian yet? Are you excited about this newest addition set to be released in April?

Here are some Kilian reviews to get you in the mood.

Image source: laprovence.com

Posted in By Kilian, Perfume News | Tagged Amber Oud, Asian Tales, By Kilian, Calice Becker, Fragrance, Kilian, Kilian Hennessy, Perfume | 70 Comments

All Chanel, All The Time – Finding Hidden Beauty Part VI

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Olfactoria

This time I did not have to venture far to find something beautiful – and this time it is Perfumista appropriate beauty too…

http://instagram.com/p/VirCOHPUtR/

Today on Valentine’s Day, I am honoring a great and ongoing love of mine and of many of you – Chanel.

http://instagram.com/p/Vq4UYpPUhw/

http://instagram.com/p/Viq0f8vUtD/

What else is so refined, so sophisticated, such an expression of all that is quintessentially French, quintessentially desireable and an image of pure elegance?

http://instagram.com/p/VirR9KPUtg/

Chanel makes me dream. Chanel is pure aspiration. Chanel lends itself to be the wall of projection for my secret identity.

http://instagram.com/p/VlYAYzPUl6/

Leave a trail of Chanel and walk taller, smile brighter. Leave a trail of Chanel and feel your own power.

http://instagram.com/p/Vq5XssPUiI/

Wrap yourself in a fragrant bubble of Chanel and be happy with yourself, love yourself. That’s all you need. The others will follow.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Posted in Beauty, Chanel, Photography | Tagged Beauty, Chanel, Photography, Valentine's Day | 53 Comments

A Ghost Poetic – Review: Carner Barcelona Rima XI

Posted on February 12, 2013 by Olfactoria

A perfume inspired by a poem… I’m all for that. This is a combination of two things that manages easily to tug on my heartstrings and in this case it does so incredibly beautifully and effciently. Consider me swooning.

Let us start with the poem, shall we?

Rima XI
(…)
– Yo soy un sueño, un imposible,
vano fantasma de niebla y luz;
soy incorpórea, soy intangible;
no puedo amarte.
– ¡Oh, ven, ven tú!

Rhyme 11
“(…)
– I am a dream, an impossibility,
empty phantom of mist and light;
I am incorporeal, intangible I am;
I cannot love.
– Oh, come, come you!”

Gustavo Adolfo Becquer

Rima XI was created by Sara Carner and Sonia Constant and includes notes of Guatemalan cardamom, Madagascan black pepper, Moroccan mint, saffron, Ceylon cinnamon, Indonesian nutmeg, coriander, Indian jasmine sambac, Virginia cedar wood, Australian sandalwood, vanilla absolute, Laotian benzoin, soft amber and musk.

Rima XI opens with a delicious roasted nuts on nougat accord that is plain, eye-rollingly gorgeous and makes me want to bite my own hand.

It doesn’t stay all gourmand all the time at all, though. Rima XI develops into a soft and tender, delicate, but still powerful spiced floral-oriental perfume that is simply adorable.

Rima XI shifts in and out, presents diaphanous spicy aspects and tender floral underpinnings, a no-nonsense woody side plays hide and seek with the nutty gourmand aspect from the beginning. I seem to smell iris from time to time, although the note is not listed, but it is iris I see before my inner eye again and again. Powdery soft, light grey and gauzy, this is a whisp of a scent worthy of poetic ghosts everywhere.

Rima XI might even have the power to break through my perfume lurch and make me keep wearing it, despite the fact that I already reviewed it.

Take a look At Vanessa’s beautiful take on Bonkers About Perfume.

Carner Barcelona is one of my favorite small houses, since they do many things right, in my opinion: small line, widely spaced releases, elegant packaging, and most importantly -gorgeous perfumes. That is what we want, isn’t it?

More Carner Barcelona reviews on OT: D600 :: Tardes

Have you tried Carner Barcelona perfumes? What do you think?

Image source: madisonperfumery.com, autoevolution.com

Posted in Carner Barcelona, Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Gourmand, Iris, Oriental, Spicy, Woods | Tagged Carner Barcelona, floral, Fragrance, Gourmand, Gustavo Becquer, Perfume, Poetry, Review, Rima XI | 45 Comments

Monday Question – How Has Your Taste In Perfume Changed?

Posted on February 11, 2013 by Olfactoria

By Tara

Have you noticed that your taste in perfume has evolved over time?

Did you start out liking one type of perfume and ended up liking something very different?

Are you pleased with the progression?

Can you think of examples of perfumes you couldn’t imagine loving but now adore?

Or have your tastes pretty much remained static?

My Answer:

In the early days when I discovered I loved chypres, that’s pretty much what I stuck to. I couldn’t imagine ever liking white florals in particular. However, several years down the road I am craving Dior’s New Look 1947 with its luscious tuberose and jasmine blooms. It’s just so darn pretty and that’s no longer a dirty word for me when it comes to perfume.

I also didn’t think I’d find a rose perfume to love because in my ignorance I thought they were old-fashioned and dull. Since then I have found a number of wonderful rose perfumes including Frederic Malle’s Editions de Parfums Une Rose, Tauer’s Une Rose Chyprée and Parfumerie Generale’s Brulure de Rose.

I am very pleased with this turn of events because it opens up new worlds of perfume and keeps things interesting. Not so good is the way my tolerance for sweetness in perfume has practically fallen through the floor. I don’t know why this has happened or if it’s a permanent change but I can’t even wear my much loved 31 Rue Cambon at the moment because the level of sweetness is too much.

How has your own taste in perfume altered?

Posted in Monday Question | Tagged Chypre, Fragrance, Monday Question, Perfume, Rose | 112 Comments

Perfume News – L’Artisan Parfumeur Brings Back Two Spring Favorites

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Olfactoria

L’Artisan Parfumeur’s spring limited edition releases are a much-anticipated event among perfume aficionados. This March, there will be two fragrances re-released from the brand archives, both much-loved and much-requested: Ananas Fizz and Côte d’Amour.

Ananas Fizz – Eau de Toilette

Ananas Fizz is a celebration of summer and of the Victoria pineapple, typical of the French Reunion Island, in the Indian Ocean. A mouthwatering cocktail of citrus and sunny fruits, topped with the unexpected and radiant presence of the pineapple blends into a deliciously fresh fragrance. Ananas Fizz takes you into a swirl of litchi, frangipani tree; vanilla and of course pineapple notes, and is to be used without moderation!

Côte d’Amour – Eau de Toilette

Like a voluptuous, caressing marine breeze, the inspiration of this iconic fragrance of L’Artisan Parfumeur is a stroll along the coast in Loire Atlantique, in the West of France. The soft caress of the sea air and the sand, the wonderful scents of the seashore, expressed by wild notes of the everlasting dune flower, cypress, pine trees as well as this iconic marine and salty notes, give this fragrance a personality like no other.

-from press release

Both will be available in 100ml EdT for around 55£.

I think Ananas Fizz in particular has many fans, so this is good news! Will you try the two? Are you familiar with them? Are you happy L’Artisan is going back to the archives to bring back old favorites for a limited time? Which L’Artisan scent would you like to see again?

I’d love to see Tea for Two back on the shelves, but since they discontinued it only recently (bad mistake!) I will have to wait, I guess…

Posted in Floral, Fruity, L'Artisan Parfumeur, Perfume News | Tagged Fragrance, L'Artisan Parfumeur, Perfume, Pineapple | 39 Comments

Calling All Angels – Finding Hidden Beauty Part V

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Olfactoria

I have been out looking for angels this week, I found plenty, but they all look terribly sad…

http://instagram.com/p/U0xYWbvUuT/

Sightless eyes, mouths open in a silent, anguished scream…

http://instagram.com/p/U0x2LmvUub/

They look scary and scared.

http://instagram.com/p/U0xtBMPUuY/

But they still look beautiful…

http://instagram.com/p/U0xk0_PUuW/

…from every angle.

http://instagram.com/p/U0yClpvUuf/

Beauty does not necessarily go hand in hand with happiness. Even in pain, beauty can prevail.

Posted in Beauty, Photography | Tagged Angels, Architecture, Beauty, Photography | 41 Comments

Springtime In Tokyo – Review: Guerlain Un Ville, Un Parfum Tokyo

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Olfactoria

Editor’s Note: I’m glad to welcome Sandra again with a review of another Guerlain. She took us to China last time, see her review of Guerlain’s Shanghai, now we get to travel with her to gorgeous Japan in springtime. Enjoy!

By Sandra

The dog days of winter are nearing an end. One way I know is that Chinese New Year is on February 10! Out with the Year of the Dragon, in with the year of the Snake!

Round about the end of January I start craving sunshine and warmer temperatures. We were blessed with some sunshine the past couple of days and with that the snow melted. Not only are the birds happily chirping away, I seem to have more pep to my walk and I look up at the blue sky with nostalgia and grin like the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland.

You see, I have delved into perfume closet and pulled out Guerlain’s Une Ville, Un Parfum Tokyo. I am smitten with this fragrance from start to finish.

Tokyo was created by Thierry Wasser and includes notes of violet, jasmine, cedar and green tea (according to Surrender To Chance) or green tea, hinoki cypress, cherry blossom and jasmine (says Monsieur Guerlain).

I find it is the perfect companion for the end of winter. It is a very green fragrance, but a young green. Not youth mind you, but the young green that we start to see in March around here. The pale green of leaves before they blossom into deep dark green.

From first application I get green, green, green. It is a green tea scent and if you are a fan of green teas, my advice is to give this little gem a try. The green tea I smell is an exquisite green tea from Mariage Frères called Neige de Jasmin where when brewed the jasmine flowers float to the top and look like snow.

After the green tea start, the perfume morphs into a lovely soft woody fragrance, which to me smells of a lush green garden after a spring rain. A fresh rain during spring always put a smile on my face. For the several hours that this perfume stays prominent, it remains fresh and preppy. This perfume makes me giddy and I look forward to the first buds opening on the trees.

I have never been to Tokyo, but have traveled to Kyoto during the autumn. Kyoto impressed me with the sheer number of temples and lush gardens to visit. I was grateful to see the brilliant autumn colours start kissing the trees, but I yearn to see parts of Japan in the spring to capture the cherry blossom season. During my university years in the Washington, D.C. metro area I was blessed to live through cherry blossom season on the mall.

I know that Guerlain has Cherry Blossom in the Les Parisiennes line, but somehow I feel that Tokyo captures the essence of spring in Japan better. I envision myself sitting under a cherry blossom tree, sipping green tea and being mesmerized by the pink petals floating all around me.

Sandra’s son Sean

Tokyo is one of my favorite perfumes for spring.

Posted in Floral, Fragrance Reviews, Green, Guerlain | Tagged Cherry Blossom, Chinese New Year, floral, Fragrance, Guerlain, Japan, Les Parisiennes, Mariage Frères, Perfume, Review, Thierry Wasser, Tokyo, Year of the Dragon | 32 Comments

Monday Question – Has A Perfume Ever Turned Bad In Your Possession?

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Olfactoria

We all fret about perfumes turning, we protect them from sunlight and heat, we are diligent about hygiene when decanting, we try to treat our babies as good as possible. And still we worry…

I want to hear from you today how often it really happens that a perfume turns bad, falls apart, evaporates.

Have you ever lost a fragrance this way?

Did you do anything “wrong” or do you think it was through no fault of yours?

My Answer:

I have had one perfume fall apart, unfortunately it was one of my favorites (Frapin 1697), I have later heard from the perfumer, Bertrand Duchaufour, that this is not uncommon with this particular perfume, and he blames the davana essential oil in it, which has a tendency for instability.

One other scent is unwearable in my collection, a vintage Shalimar EdT, that I already received in this state (from ebay). Well, that is the risk we all take with vintage perfumes.

But so far no recently made scent has turned while in my possession, I do keep my perfumes in a cool and dark closet and only rotate them out to be worn now and again.

Let’s see how often it really happens that perfumes go bad. I am very curious about your responses!

Posted in Frapin, Monday Question | Tagged Bertrand Duchaufour, Fragrance, Monday Question, Perfume | 97 Comments

Shrinkage – How My Perfume Wearing Habits Change

Posted on February 1, 2013 by Olfactoria

As the dear regular reader knows, my perfume wearing habits have changed significantly over the past months. I grew from voraciously testing and wearing at least three perfumes a day to steadfastly depleting an entire bottle of one single perfume in a few weeks.

Talk about shrinkage…

In the past weeks, my habits have changed again.

You must know, from November onwards until the new year, I was literally unable to wear anything else, but my beloved Hermès L’Ambre des Merveilles.

And not only because L’Ambre was that good. I just couldn’t stand anything else. I got a headache at the mere thought of something heavier. I felt almost repulsed by the idea of a strong and powerful scent on me. God knows why, but perfume suddenly was something I needed to keep away from me. Fortunately the one, L’Ambre, was still wearable for me, but nothing else came close.

That was a worrying situation for sure. What about my collection, what about all the money I spent… was it all worthless to me now? Would I never again be able to appreciate the beauty of, say, a Guerlain, on my skin instead of just intellectually?

The situation went on for so long, that I thought my perfume obsession was lost for good.

Then slowly, I started to branch out again. I tried this and that, always in the tiniest dose and worked a few beloveds back into my rotation.

The great majority of my collection is still off limits, the prospect of a major headache is still looming when I only look at certain perfumes, but I’m able to wear a few more now.

In my rotation these days are: Jour d’Hermès, Chanel Bois des Iles, Jo Malone Blackberry&Bay, Roja Dove Unspoken extrait and surprisingly – Frédéric Malle Iris Poudre. These perfumes are not obviously only of one particular genre of scent (i.e. only very lightweight ones, or only florals…), so I’m not sure why these work, whereas other old favorites like Cuir de Lancome, Amouage Beloved, Guerlain Cuir Beluga or Malle’s Carnal Flower languish untouched in their boxes, despite the fact that I love them so much (alas, only in theory these days).

Have you ever experienced something similar? Did you ever feel bothered by perfume for such a long time?

What are your favorites at the moment?

Posted in Chanel, Frederic Malle, Guerlain, Hermès, Jo Malone, Ramblings | Tagged Chanel, Fragrance, Guerlain, Hermes, Perfume | 98 Comments

My Very Own Kelly – Finding Hidden Beauty Part IV

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Olfactoria

When I think about beauty, some things instantly come to mind that stand for this elusive concept.

Like this woman for example:

Grace Kelly has a perfect first name: she is grace personified and grace is a big part of beauty. Grace was famous for carrying a particular Hermès bag, which was eventually re-named the Kelly in her honor.

A real Kelly bag by Hermès is very, very expensive and probably not suited to my lifestyle anyway, I probably would be afraid to even carry such a luxurious item.

But look what my dear husband has been doing on the sly for a while…

http://instagram.com/p/UbYFHSPUtm/

He didn’t finish it in time for Christmas, but allowed me to make photos of the nearly finished bag.

http://instagram.com/p/UbYelvvUuC/

He made it out of Hermès carrier bags. 🙂

http://instagram.com/p/UbYn2ovUuK/

http://instagram.com/p/UbY1lpPUub/

Now if that is not a beautiful thing, I don’t know what is…

Instagram images my own.

Posted in Beauty, Photography | Tagged Beauty, Grace Kelly, Hermes, Kelly Bag, Photography | 52 Comments