hortus conclusus

From a private correspondence between me, LBV, and my perfume friend Tamara. In this installment, Tamara struggles with her expectations and certain realities while searching for true love. I bet you all can relate. I certainly can. “I'm about to go to the dreaded mall this morning to go see if I like Laura Mercier's Minuit Enchanté cause from what I've read about it, it seems like it's right up my smelly alley ….” a few hours later: “But you know what I did? I went to try the L.M. Minuit Enchanté and what the hell! It was a screechy mish mash of notes; it was (and still is) painful cause I'm trying to give it the full on it deserves (poor  nasty thing) but bleeech ! I am so glad I didn't have to pay for that sample. But I do have it  now if you’re interested, ha! Sooo I take it back what I said before...no I don't . I'll ADD to what I was saying before. I don't just love decadence, I also love earthy and green. Whoooweee girl, I c...

So, the lady Tamara and I have been thinking of splitting some Tauer bottles. This is a difficult proposition because, well, I’ll let Tamara speak for herself: What's goin’ on with me is that I'm in a torturous state with my perfumania; it is so hard saving for my Tauers. Like, almost overbearing is my longing to get on to my next fix! October is far away, I've been saving for a month already,  with no  samples, decants, mini's, nada.* SIGH* And now with the sale going on at BeautyHabit (25% off till 8/13 type OPRAH at the coupon code box) ha. I am lemming like crazy! I've gone back and forth , mumbling to myself about "Do I want this? How about this? No don't get anything!" Like a damn crazy layday. Here's what I keep obsessing over- L'Artisan Verte Violette Parfum Del Rae Mythique 10 Corso Como and most of all Parfum d Empire! Aaaaggghhh! Have you heard of this line? I am wanting Cuir Ottoman (jasmine, iris,res...

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. ...

“I do have an amazing relationship with fragrance but it ain't monogamous; I cruise from here to there and get my thrills while I can, encounter a couple losers that don't satisfy my insatiable lust or calm my wandering heart, but all the while I'm searching for FB worthy love. It's the best…” “La Demande En Mariage” by Frédéric Soulacroix courtesy of artrenewal.org

Excerpted from a private correspondence, in which the lady Tamara ridicules me for my snail’s-pace process of getting to know new fragrances: Why the hell are you so slow!? I got some more samples today and immediately put on 5 different scents. If it doesn't move me in the beginning , I kinda lose interest, on to the next! But sometimes it works out that I get intrigued and then pursue it further, like a slow start that can either lead to a B-lister movie or a full-on blockbuster. It depends. I just love to huff my arms and hands I guess. Or my shirt, my hair. I'm odd. Do you find yourself resisting that act as you go about your day?  I say go for it. What about you all, dear readers? Do you slowly acquaint yourselves with new samples or try to smell as many as possible as quickly as possible, thrilled at the new sensory input? CREDITS: Image from Trautenfels castle ( Styria ). Museum: Naive painting on a farmer´...

From an email sent to me from my perfume pen pal, Tamara: Ok...so I gotta tell yah what happened to me today! I got a generous sample from a new PPP [perfume pen pal] of mine- God bless her! In these samples is thee infamous Mitsy edp! And whoa bebe, I'm excited to try her on for size. I've read so many threads on her and reviews galore. I am ready to dive into her legend that is alive and well in  Perfumistaland. I'm puttin' on my 'big girl panties' for this one! I get her on me. And.. It's Mitsouko Mayhem to my nose. I recognize the smell of too many a lady in a too small office, so much peachy spicy Mitsouko love these women had! Where is that love now- on me?  She is murdering me, assaulting me with her delicious d eath moan. I do my best to fend her off- "Be nice Mitsy, love ME Mitsy!" I try to scream at her but she attacks my open mouth , I shut it and quit huffing her. But to no avail- she clobbers me  nearly t...

Excerpted from a personal email written to me by Tamara, my guest commentator: Things that make you go hmmmmmmmmm? :p Bvlgari Black is not bad but I do not want to smell like a vanilla condom. Amen to that, Tamara! CREDITS: Paintings, both entitled “A Priestess” by John William Godward Courtesy of Art Renewal Center at www.artrenewal.org                        

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

As I have been writing this blog over the past few months, I’ve been thinking that I need an alter-ego, someone really different from myself, who can say things that I wouldn’t say to spice things up around here. I have a {bad} habit of getting a little too in my own mind, ranting along about crap that mayn’t interest everyone, getting into gloomy moods, and so forth. I was about to invent and pretend to be a second poster, a character who was exactly not me, but then a real person showed up...my perfume pen pal, Tamara. Tamara is a kind, thoughtful, hilarious woman from the Pacific Northwest who adores fragrance. Some the things she says make me laugh, because she’s so dead on. Other things she says are very tender and sweet. I have grown to look forward to our frequent perfume-related correspondence, because she always  has something to say that I wouldn’t. So, it is my pleasure to introduce to you, dear readers, the new feature here at hortus conclusus : TOTD , or Tamara o...