hortus conclusus

Hello, everyone! My beloved and I are back from our enchanting journey to Andalucia and Morocco, and boy are we jet-lagged! But I am brimming with stories to tell you all.… Today, I must compose my class syllabus for the Arthurian Literature class I begin teaching tomorrow, (I know, how horribly last-minute of me!) but tomorrow, the tales begin! Thank you all for commenting on my posts in my absence, and I look forward to delving into your own blogs’ backlogs (if you have blogs) over the next few days, when I find the time! Much Love, LBV train painting by Adolph von Menzel The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN 3936122202 . Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH.

Little Stars is another gorgeous orchid sc ent from this enormously talented perfumer, brand new on the scene. Ellen mentions on her blog that the orchid on which she bases this fragrance is night-blooming—that always a descriptor that intrigues us sensually minded perfume-folk. This one is a heavy, well-made dark spicy citrus floral, with a clove,citrus, and deep woods composition evocative of the most humid, tropical nights. The perfumer's notes suggest this is meant to evoke the nighttime in a steamy jungle, and I can see that. I love the spicy green woodiness of this one—it truly does smell ultra-tropical, and also almost holographically orchid-like. Very impressive composition indeed, with a really natural sense of balance and proportion. The synthetic oud and tea notes blend in seamlessly, opening up the scent experience alongside a delicious sour citrus--the whole top part of the perfume’s composition tends towards a certain soapy tanginess that I think is definitely uni...

I’m trying something a little different for the Scents of the Mediterranean Blogfest—in honor of Ines, who, I know, loves fiction, I have written a little story about the perfume trade in the Mediterranean in the 13 th century… Let me know what you think. Thanks to Ines of “All I am-a Redhead” and Elena of “Perfume Shrine” for organizing this fun party! The sun—God’s candle, some call it—shines on a busy scene in the 13 th century northern Mediterranean port city. Ships pull close to shore, and a multiethnic population of sailors, merchants, and dogsbodies energetically heave large chests out of the wooden ships’ great bellies. You can almost imagine the laden ships breathing a sigh of relief as their month-long indigestion is suddenly, finally cured. “Finally, that sharp point in my belly on the left side has eased off” your imaginary sentient ship declares to the larger more gruff neighbor to the west in the bay. You laugh indulgently at your private flight of fancy, a moment o...

Ellen Covey, the talented perfumer of the brand spanking new niche line Olympic Orchids , created this fragrance with a specific image in mind—an imp sleeping under a tree on a midsummer day.  I like the idea of such reversal—dreaming supernatural beings in the day in sharp contrast to Shakespeare’s famous dreaming humans in the night. This is a perfect fragrance for a sweltering summer day—it holds a mirror up to nature, so to speak, and really captures the ripeness and dirtiness of a summer day, while refreshing and cooling with a sour lemon/currant topnote that lasts throughout its lifespan. This is at its core an earthy fig fragrance, green and brown, and very summery, so of course I thought of Ines, the lovely blogger over at All I am-a Redhead , who adores fig fragrances. I bet you’ll lik e this one, Ines! A Midsummer Day’s Dream opens with and retains a very sour fruit smell—the notes say black currant, and I’ll buy that, but also mention I detect a strong lemon com...

As I’ve been hanging out on the blogosphere, commenting on posts and suchlike, I have been harvesting the more interesting captchas—you know, those things that interrupt you when you’re posting a comment to ‘make sure you are a human being.’ I love the way so many of them seem like they could really be words, could actually mean something. SO today, for your pleasure and amusement, I have put some captchas into sentences, some of which I find rather evocative, if I do say so myself. There’s no narrative here; each sentence should be taken on its own, although it would be interesting to try to write a story in captcha someday. Enjoy: When the Whebe had been fully Ingolpen …..the Wheedl increased grossly in Wigth . She was Foning him with her Nodlex . Every hardworking housekeeper deserves an Enseter to soment the Wynkoop . Cring the Polosmith crafted a Shlozorp with the Croofnh of his Moldha . Hunting Niati and Conih was the great hero Barinson’s favorite Iggesig ...

IN my other non-perfumista life, I am writing a dissertation on the medieval English outlaw   tradition, so this hilarious post over at “Geoffrey Chaucer hath a Blog” really tickled my funnybone this morning. Check it out, if only to marvel that this blogger writes everything in Middle English! I think it is especially fun to think about Robin Hood in the summer months, when the leaves are green and the birds are singing, and it’s possible to imagine a happy life among the greenwood trees, living off the land and an occasional deer. Question: is there a fragrance that captures the summer scent of a ferny deciduous forest? My go-to Robin Hood perfume (yes, I have one, why are you looking at me so funny?) is Wild Hunt , but that isn’t really high summer. Suggestions, anyone?   Images by Wyeth and Pyle, courtesy of the Robin Hood Project

Check out this amazing series of pictures of different kinds of alcohol under the microscope. (There are lots more at the linked web site.) What blows my mind is how much the images seem to express, in an abstract   way, each drink’s ‘personality.’ Each image really captures the spirit of the thing (sorry, couldn’t resist). I wonder what a similar series of pictures of iconic perfumes would look like….. Food for thought, anyway. Credits: Images of Margarita,  vodka, and tequila under microscope found at amusingplanet.com

I have been thinking about this question a lot lately, since I find that I ‘see’ fragrance in different ways depending on what scent I’m wearing and how much I have on. For example, if you only wear a little light perfume on your pulse points, do you imagine those spots radiating with scent? Or imagine the fragrance sitting on them as a different color or as a mist? If you perfume your body more heavily, do you imagine yourself wrapped in an invisible garment, which can be glittery, fuzzy, warm, etc. depending on the perfume? And on a similar line, how do you understand/mythologize/visualize your sillage? Do you imagine the scent you leave in your wake in literal terms, like the wake left behind by a boat? Or do you think again about clothing, about having a train flowing behind you? Or do you think of it in terms of music, of leaving behind the memory of a song? Scentshelf’s wonderful post over at Notes from the Ledge has gotten me thinking about all the unusual ...

I always thought sangria was a stupid invention. I mean, why would you add citrus to wine? It seemed all wrong. Ditto orange in chocolate, coffee, etc. Why take two intense flavor profiles which have little in common—and what they have in common isn't something you want to enhance, like acidity—and then push them together into some Dr.. Frankenstein creation. Such was my line of thought as I sat out on my back patio, sipping my husband’s homemade sangria, which is nice as far as such things go, when I spritzed on Andy Tauer’s newest creation Orange Star, to review.   In a moment of serendipity, it all came together. When I smelled that intense, superfesh, almost Tang-like orange topnote in conjunction with the fabulous Tauer resinous incense, which here smells fabulously bitter, but in a nice way, like a good juicy orange peel, I understood so much more than the fragrance itself. I understood what it means to go out on a limb, to try something intense, problematic, difficult. ...

This isn’t a real post today, just a link to the most amazing toiletries carrying case I have ever seen! (Made by Hermes in the 30’s, of course—who else, I ask you?) In a perfect life, this is what I travel with, and all my favorite juices are tucked snugly into their respective compartments. This has to be seen in its entirety to be believed. Go check out the full set of photos from Habitually Chic. This blew my groggy little mind this morning. How do you all travel with your fragrance? I only bring samples I haven’t tried yet to test, one for every other day, and usually buy  a bottle along the way …. Yours, La Bonne Vivante p.s. Don’t forget to enter my Tauer Perfume giveaway here ! CREDITS: pic at left from Habitually Chic.blogspot.com.  The beautiful image of leather luggage borrowed with permission from my friend THE TRAVELER

My dear friend Jessica, who has been a sweetheart and followed this blog from the very beginning, through some synchronicity always leaving encouraging comments  when I’m about to give up this foolhardy project, is a brilliant art historian who works on medieval Islamic art—cool right? She divides her time between Upstate NY, Minnesota, Morocco, and Spain. Her husband is a dashing young Moroccan man—I so envy her glamorous life. SO, as she’s been following this blog, she has noted, with a specialist’s eye, how often Morocco seems to come up in modern perfumers’ portfolios. I’ll quote her response to my giveaway of Tauer perfumes (you should enter! Go here ): “Seems like the man has a thing for Morocco, no? If I win I can't wait to see how much I think this really smells like the Morocco I know.” I doubt it would smell like the Morocco Jessica knows, the real Morocco—or at least her real Morocco, (since how do you make a smell that represents a whole country? I shudder t...

“A rose is the visible result of an infinitude of complicated goings on in the bosom of the earth and in the air above, and similarly a work of art is the product of strange activities in the human mind.”— Clive Bell , Since Cezanne , p. 32. Strange and wonderful is the perfumer’s art. I am thankful for it every day, since it brightens my life and gives me great joy. Like any other high art form, it can be cheapened, or made obtusely complex just for the sake of obfuscation. Not so with Swiss perfumer Andy Tauer’s Une rose chyprée , which is just as artistic as it needs to be, just as complex, as unique, as it should be, nothing more, nothing less. A real work of artistic maturity, in my opinion. Tauer’s Une Rose Chyprée boasts an intriguing  cinnamon nose-tingle, peachy depths, soft ambergris, salty shimmer, green labdanum, and a large dose of quality rose that doesn’t behave like a rose at all. The base is, as the official notes describe it –as ‘dark and resinous...

I don’t know about all y’all, but I really love getting my mail, and I especially like getting packages. Especially when those packages are from other countries. Especially when those packages are from really cool bloggers from really cool other countries. Especially when you get another really awesome package, on top of the exotic first one, and that is from another really cool blogger from an equally cool, non-northern locale. especially when….Ok, you probably get my drift! (I love looking at foreign stamps. These were beautiful) Today, I was blessed with two (2!) awesome packages filled with goodies for me, only MEEEE! The first, from the lovely, thoughtful Ines of the blog All I am-a Redhead , who not only gave me a sample of the rare, unique Puredistance, but also a cute chocolate and the beautiful Tam Dao , and the equally transcendent parfum sacre . So thanks, Ines, I feel very lucky!   And if that weren’t awesome enough, I got a package containing two jasm...

A drawing for samples of a brand new scent is going on at the Oh True Apothecary blog. Go check it out . And don’t forget my giveaway , if you haven’t entered your name yet. CREDITS: King Charles II, receiving gift of a pineapple from the Royal Gardener, John Rose. Painting, 1675, attributed to Hendrick Danckerts. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

It’s funny, but after I posted my rose drawing and giveaway in honor of my 90th post, I noticed that a lot of the other fragrance blogs I follow were also posting articles about rose fragrances. Isn’t it funny how something is just in the air like that, and a bunch of people are thinking about something simultaneously? Because so many bloggers have been writing cool things about roses this week, I figured I would link you, dear readers, to their lovely posts. Because there is no such thing as too many roses, right? First, Donna at PST narrating the battle of two epic rose fragrances here.   Signature Scent musing about the ubiquity of roses via Stella McCartney’s Nude here . At WAFT, a review of Frederic Malle’s Lipstick rose here . the non-blonde about her preferment of Stella’s peony scent Stella in II to her first rosy creation here . The Scented Salamander’s exhaustive review of Bond no.9’s new rose here . Enjoy, and I’ll post a review of some fruity rose sm...