hortus conclusus

  Radioactive violet/orris topnotes with an incense base that reminds me (unsurprisingly) of Comme des Gar ç ons’ incense line—a resinous smoky frankincense with a ground of patchouli. There’s a greenness too that rides the middle of the scent, a grassy powdery vetiver. This is harmonious, sophisticated, and olfactorily challenging perfumery; indeed, it’s what one would expect from this house. As it dries down, a peppery woody accord emerges from the violet smoke. This is one of those fragrances that evokes a color, or even a color palette, in my mind. I see green, violet, of course, and a shimmering, opalescent gray! It strikes me as very French, very fin de siècle. It is the color of Nancy, the home of French Art Nouveau. The glasswork of that town was famous for its emulation of nature, and I’d say the kind of nature that decays, and subsides into the earth. Consider this vase, for example. And this bed: The bed is a gorgeous memento mori: the moth is born and flies into the...

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.

Hi all! I am working on the second installment of my medieval perfume story, trying to finish a draft of a dissertation chapter by Friday, teaching 3 hours a day, grading papers and finals for the super-intensive medical history class I have been TA-ing for the past three weeks, and frantically preparing for our upcoming anniversary voyage to Morocco and Spain (starting Saturday) so today’s post will be regrettably short. Luckily, you are all probably familiar with the lovely Eau d’Hadrien , so I needn’t go into great detail, only present my impressions of it. It really is lovely is Eau d’Hadrien ; its nose-tingling lemon zest—yes, a little like a lemon drop—reminds me of my trips to see concerts with my mother. She’d always buy me lemon drops at the orchestra hall,  although she was fundamentally opposed to ‘store-bought’ sweets. That was the only time I was allowed to ‘buy candy’, and so the flavor of those lemon drops always reminds me of our happy and frequent visits to the...

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...

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 ...

I really like J-lo’s Deseo . I know we are supposed to scorn celebrity fragrances until they convince us otherwise with some exceptional quality or other, but I have liked this fragrance from the get-go. You know how a pineapple’s acidity makes your tongue tingle in that weird way that only pineapples can accomplish? Well, Deseo makes that same thing happen in my mouth when  I smell it—isn’t that strange? It is pineapple on me, but not in a bonne belle type of way. It is pineapple in a difficult, acidic, slightly green, sour sort of way. I really love the composition, actually—lots of painful pineapple sitting atop a lovely chypre structure, with a little green coconut thrown in to make consumers realize (if they haven’t already, the dullards) that it is ‘tropical.’ I don’t think of this as a ‘fruity floral’ at all in fact—more of a sour chypre. And then, there’s the bottle. I LOOVVEE this bottle. At first, I thought: tacky. Then I thought: hey, it’s kinda cool how it is desi...

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...

There has been a lot of bad press about Detroit and its environs lately, but I must say, it is a great place to shop for perfume. I have had a great time this past week exploring the little specialty boutiques, as well as the big stores packed with scent. It is a welcome change for me from my small upstate town, which is nice in its way, but has absolutely nowhere to sniff things! SO here, my list of must-dos in Detroit for perfumistas. First, one simply must head off to Birmingham, a gay-friendly suburb of the big city filled with locally-owned upscale boutiques as well as a few chain stores here and there. There you’ll find two very pleasant venues for sniffing. Well, actually, these shops are more than just pleasant. I had a great time in both of these charming boutiques, and found myself wishing I lived closer so I could enjoy the sniffings offered in Birmingham more often. The first, Lori Karbal , is  an adorable, well-curated beauty supply and clothing store. I spoke w...

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