hortus conclusus

A spicy floral—round, nutty, nutmeggy anyway, delicate woods—I loved this one the minute I smelled it—Actually, this whole line had me shaking my head in wonder, asking: how does she do it? Definitely sweet, but dark as well, and it smells foggy somehow, as if a fragrant steam were rising up from my hand, comforting as a cup of hot java. I could see this being a great comfort in the dark winter months-its exotic tropicality, yet almost holiday-oriented spiciness creating a truly winning combination. Nutmeg botanical plate engraving by William Miller for William Archibald. from Encyclopaedia Britannica 5th Edition, at the Encyclopaedia Press, For Archibald Constable and Company, and Thomson Bonar, Edinburgh: Gale, Curtis, and Fenner, London; and Thomas Wilson and Sons, York, 1817.

All the samples I ever buy are usually 1.5 ml to 2.5 ml. All because I need to be able to spray them to get a real sense of what it is, that I simply cannot get from merely dabbing. It's a divine but horribly expensive habit! Especially if I end up not liking them. (sigh............) But can I tell you about what I LOVE (yes I'm shouting in caps) I fell in desperate love with two comfort beauties this weekend, Sarah. And really I blame this wretched weather we've been having. Because all I want is for summer to kiss my face and warm my skin, but I'm inside sniffing and bemoaning the rain. And in the beginning of my perfumista journey I never liked "sweet" or comforting smells. But as it happened almost 7 yrs. ago I had my youngest daughter Olivia and lo and behold I could handle them--I craved them. She made me sweet. Aww. Ha! And that's saying something, having four daughters! I need strength in my scents but also, as it turns out, comfort. ...

Bella indeed! I have received a bunch of samples from A Wing and a Prayer natural perfumes, and I was stuck by the simple beauty of this lovely herbal/citrus/floral. Verbena dominates—I get that sharp twinge of freshness you get when you brush or rub the leaves of the lemon verbena plant, married to a bright citrus topnote. Later on, Bella becomes less herbaceous and more floral, rounding out and opening up to a delicate rose-verbena fragrance that smells very fresh and true to life. I actually feel as if I were in a garden when I wear this. I also have to say, I have NEVER seen packaging as beautiful as this. I took pics and I want you all to see how much care and love these perfumers put into their work. Every element of the multi-part package was carefully, lovingly, and beautifully wrapped, and it came complete with ribbon and lovely, expensive note, hand-written, of course, because this niche company does things in style……   The main event, Tallulah B, was w...

Elena of Perfume Shrine recently sent me a bottle of Andy Tauer’s latest creation, Carillon pour un ange! Of course, thrilled and so eager to smell the new lily of the valley composition—which is bound to be delightfully challenging and unique coming from Tauer--I tore open the dainty box and sprayed it on my waiting wrists! Lo and behold, an angel of the Lord came down and  glory shone around…..well, noooo, but I did gasp in surprise and wonder at the brilliance of this new fragrance. It is golden green—I can’t think of another way to de scribe it but in color. That famous bitter, almost oily, Tauer  citrus peel, an intense grassy  green, and a lush, wet, overwhelming Lily-of-the-valley. This is damp gorgeousness, and not an everyday perfume—it is too decadent for that. I find myself thi nking about gold filigree, baroque symphonies, in a lush contrapuntal swell of color, sound and memory. Breathtaking.   CREDITS: Stained glass windows in the Maus...

Olympic Orchids’ Luzonica is a sour/tropical/musty/dusty beast of a fruit salad. I find it to be larger-than-life, vibrant, and intense—tropical fruit (pineapple?) spliced with tuberose and orchidesque flowers. It is very unique indeed, and exciting! The musky vanilla base is VERY sexy on my skin, drying down to a salty, animalic floral which really does seem dangerous! There is also a slight bubblegum quality to it, especially in the opening, but it doesn’t push the scent into the Lolita category as far as I am concerned. This is just a surreal, tropical, sexy floral that thrills me and gives me wee palpitations of the heart! I am definitely a fan of new perfumer Ellen Covey’s compositions, no doubt about it! She clearly has a fabulous imagination, and a creative nose. I am having a blast reviewing and enjoying her portfolio. CREDITS: Rousseu’s “Tiger in a tropical Storm” courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

I am a very lucky girl, I remind myself almost every day, especially when the annoyances of slogging though a busy graduate life seem especially irritating. I have a family who loves me and I love them. I have many interesting and intelligent friend s, who enrich my life daily. I have an interesting job, and I work on something that inspires me. I get paid to go to school and get a doctorate. I have many hobbies that keep me from getting bored. And I have a wonderful husband who loves me and spoils me rotten. I have nothing to complain ab out. Our 5 year wedding anniversary is on Friday, and as my husband came home from a three week business trip yesterday, we found ourselves exchanging gifts early, impatient to see the smiles of delight on each others’ faces. Granted, my present to him was not hideable—where, I ask you, does one hide a leather armchair in a small condominium? My husband’s presents to me were very sweet and thoughtful. First, a pair of Montana sapphire stud earr...

well, here we are again—the night of the full moon, the night of my discontent. As usual, I am up at an ungodly hour, musing about this and that, to the great detriment of my students tomorrow morning, who will have to deal with a zombie TA… Ah well, I guess this kind of sleeplessness reminds me I am human, and a little bit nuts. Speaking of madness, I have found one of the best depictions of lunacy—and here, it is as literal as possible—on my new favorite show, “The Mighty Boosh” which is positively surreal, and beyond hilarious. IN each episode, the moon emerges in the sky, only to ramble meanderingly through a series of bizarre non-sequiturs—well, you have to see it to know what I mean, so luckily someone has posted a “Best of the Moon” montage on youtube. There is a long tradition of depicting the man in the moon as a madman , and Noel Fielding’s (my GOD right now, but more on t hat below) latest interpretation is but the latest of these. Perhaps you may remember the clas...

I have been away visiting my best friend and his cousin, who owns a French bakery up in Crown Point NY, which is right on the border, practically, of Quebec. I had a blast helping Yannig (his name is an old Breton one, from his dad’s side)  to bake his  artisanal bread in the great stone oven he built by hand, even though it was like 110 degrees in the bakery. To the right you can see Laurel, my best friend Robert’s girlfriend, getting ready to load unbaked dough into the oven. When the oven door opens, a blast of fragrance explodes out with the incredible heat, redolent of woodsmoke, whatever spices and fruits may be in the bread and pastries inside, and the yeasty, supremely comforting fragrance of baking bread. when the bread comes out of the oven, my nose can differentiate between the different kinds; Crown Point Bread’s signature pain rustique,with its hearty, full, wheaty smell, the more delicate, tantalizing odor of baguettes, and, the absolutely ...

L' Heure Bleue. I am twitterpated by her pensive softness. She is lovely and melancholy and I want to give her a home right by the fire come late fall. Everything about this scent is perfect. I know some people can't handle what they perceive as "G'ma's here!" But I am enamored by the spicy carnation, fluffy violet and creamy rose and tuberose. And the drydown is what I crave the most. I know she stands for the The Blue Hour in twilight and I get that but for me she fits right in with my tender dreams of spring on a brutal, grey /blue day in the heart of winter when each afternoon bleeds into the next with no change in sight. We can console each other till the dawn.... Aaagghhh there I go again, waxin poetic to yah! Fragrance gets that outta me everytime. Written by Tamara CREDITS: Viktor Vasnetsov, “Snow Maiden,” 1899, in Tretyakov Gallery, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

I’ve been hanging out wi th my two cellist siblings a lot this summer and it has gotten me thinking about cellos. Well, cellos and people. Well, cellos, perfume and people. You see, to me the cello is the instrument that most resembles the human voice. In shape, it most resembles the human form. Its voice is mostly male, its form mostly female, and thus it is fundamentally androgynous, a quality which has done much to keep it in the collective unconscious of pop culture. Even the act  of playing the cello is intimate in a way unlike any other player’s relationship with his instrument. The female player titillatingly holds the cello between her thighs when she performs—my sister has trouble finding black clothing appropriate for performance for this very reason—and their union results in the birth of music itself. The male cellist, too, is locked in a creative embrace of his beloved. The color of the cello—as well as its tone—is the richest warmest honeyed amber, in one of the mos...

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...

I just received a pack of the Scented Djinn’s line of perfumes, and I am very impressed with Sahar— This is seriously quality juice! Something about it reminds me of Thai food-in the best way possible—that sour lime and woody/sour/aromatic lemongrass-ginger combo is true to life here. So, as an adventure in sinaesthesia suggestion, I’d say give this a go the next time you go out for Thai food! I bet that would be awesome…. Sahar boasts a citrus/lemon/bergamot sharpness on top of a round, full floral/green accord that is truly luminous. On me, the white flowers come out, and create that Fraca s-like yeasty butteriness that I love oh so much—but unlike Fracas , which is full-bore floral, this is green and fresh! Sweet, tart, woody, lovely, yes…. I do not think of the Sahara Desert when I smell this—rather, as I said, of Thai food and fresh, sour, green things. It is not a dry fragrance, as its name might lead one to believe, but rather, a moist and lush affair. In the drydown—som...

I recently got a full set of samples and some soaps from a brand new niche perfumery— Olympic Orchids —and I have to say that I am quite im pressed with the perfumer Ellen Covey’s nose and vision. As I told her: I just got your package today, and I must say I was blown away! I had a feeling your work would be good, but I had no idea HOW good. I was literally shaking my head in wonder and amazement at the balance, the craftsmanship of each scent, everything. I will be writing about your whole line on my blog. Not to mention buying some FBs for myself when my budget expands. thanks so much for allowing me to experience your work. I see great things in your future as a perfumer. Here’s the deal: I really think everyone should give this line a try. I was impressed with every single thing I smelled, and I do intend to review them all over the coming weeks. SO here’s the first of many, a rather telegraphic review of Olympic Orchids Red Cattleya : This fragrance is fruity—real...

I have to admit I’ve been a little nervous about reviewing this perfume for my Tauer giveaway (enter the drawing here ) for several reasons. A: it has been reviewed often by better noses than I (although I know that’s no excuse, since I seem to have no trouble reviewing other famous scents). B: it has such a devoted following that I might alienate my readers if I say something they don’t like (not a problem, I think, since I love it as well) and C: how can I present L’air du Desert Marocain in a novel light? I thought maybe I would wait until I go on my August trip to Morocco, then talk about LDDM through my experiences there. But then I realized I couldn’t really keep you all waiting for the draw all summer. So, I’ve bitten the bullet, friends, and am sitting down to write about Andy Tauer’s most acclaimed creation. To put this scent to the test, I invited friends over for a Spanish/Moroccan feast at my place. I decided I would wear l’air du desert all night and see how it playe...