hortus conclusus

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 don’t know about the rest of you, but I am suffering from a glut of ‘ista’ suffixes. First, there was barista—annoyingly euro showoff, but ok…. Then there was the rise of the ‘fashionista’. Ok, what des that mean? Someone who likes fashion. Um hmmmm, like someone who is ‘fashionable’ or ‘fashion-conscious’ or trendy? DO we really need to call them ‘fashionistas’ if we have all those other ways of putting it? Something about the tone of that word just strikes me as wrong. Too Sex and the City , or something. Then of course, there we are, the ‘perfumistas,’ and maybe I’m biased, but this one makes a little more sense to me since there really wasn’t any kind of name for our group of weirdoes before—smell-obsessed? Nah. interested in perfume? Eew. perfume-lovers? noooooo! etc. SO I was willing to stomach the obnoxiously ubiquitous neologism for the time being, since it worked as a descriptive noun for our folk. But then, ‘recessionista’ happened… and a whole slew of similar new splic...

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...

ZUT ALORS! It is time again for a riddling perfume bottle to sing you a little song! Who can it be this time? Kudos to the first to guess correctly: I’m the best of a lot of second rate spinoffs from a first-rate perfume house, I guess that’s the tradeoff when the bee-bottle people must needs pay the bills; they must create potions that give girls sweet chills of delight when they spritz my citrus elixir. They’ll think; it’s like breakfast, or perhaps in a mixer for cocktails, that juice, so sour and so ruby. That’s me indeed; I’m the fruit with the mostest, acidic and pulpy, I please every hostess-- on her skin, in her belly, it is all the same. By now I imagine you have guessed my name. If not, I’ll give you another sweet hint: I come in a bottle with a netting of glints of gold so special you’ll shell out the lucre for me though I’m named for a medieval genre of literature distinctly au passé now. You’ve guessed me, I’m sure, so I’ll take a bow ...

My beloved, who has been away on a business trip for two weeks now, sent me this in an email last night as a sweet gesture. I was charmed, of course, but now I’m musing about the way Frank can seem both interested and uninterested in what he’s singing at the same time.  Can you guys do that? I know I can be both into something and not all at the same time…..

Let’s all go to the seaside together, shall we? We can splash in the surf, make sand castles, drink green coconut milk and talk about fragrance! What scents do you all associate with the beach? image found on http://misswallflower.tumblr.com/post/760203127

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...

Jameel is ready to go on a postprandial stroll, so he calls ringingly out to his friends with a fresh green citrus shout! Once they have all convened, he opens the hike through the southern Mediterranean citrus groves with a brace of bitter petitgrain or neroli,  but then, just as quickly, he kicks up some dust, then squats down in the middle of the dirt path. He Isn’t going anywhere till he gets his lemonade. And a brandy and a cigar. For he is a well-travelled and coddled sophisticate, this Jameel , even if he is a bit indolent. Credits: James Tissot , the holiday, courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

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 ...

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                        

Some of you may remember I really liked the mystery a nd dark depth of Ormonde Jayne woman , but complained that its longevity left too much to be desired to justify Full Bottle Status? And then the lovely Mrs. Trefusis recommended OJ man to me in the comments, suggesting that might give me the satisfaction I crave? Well, a long, lingering encounter with OJ Woman’s masculine counterpart has lead me to conclude that this is the real candidate for possession! As witchy as Woman, but considerably more bold, this is a soft, sweet, dusty, cardamom, vetiver, birch tar party. A good, mysterious scent, perfect for any shaman you know, or you could wear it yourself, whoever you may be. I see it as definitely unisex, as well as well-composed—no component or note stands out from the rest in the composition. T he oudh--sometimes a stand-out centerpiece in fragrances in an annoying way-- is blended in here very well—it does not scream oudh. Rather, I find myself wondering—what IS that faint woo...

Behold, a venerable and dangerous bottle of perfume is riddling. Who will be the first to name her true name? You should search for me in your dreams: Morpheus is my father, he who pushes at the seams of your consciousness when you are asleep or perhaps when you’re under my red sway so deep. Sunk in your couch, or on a Chinese bed while visions of courtesans dance through your head, inhale me and transport yourself to a land where the texture of silk brocade smooth on your hand Reassures you when you feel you’ve flown too far on the wings of my namesake, floral bliss in a jar; remember the poppies that made me, the resin so sticky and black and heavy as Heaven and know me, for I am more than iconic the scent of the 70’s,  I know its ironic, for nobody used me all that much, they’d all moved on to a heavier touch but I represented a golden time long gone by when respectable gents visited dens to get high and lounged in a s...

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...

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...

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...

Hotlanta Linda , please contact me so I can send you your discovery set of Tauer perfumes! Yours, la Bonne Vivante CREDITS: Triton Blowing on a Conch Shell . [1] Etching. 198 × 165 mm. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam (Inventory number RP-P-1878-A-925).

Welcome to the fourth installment of my new feature here on Hortus Conclusus , in which a perfume bottle sings a little riddle, and it’s up to you to guess which bottle of perfume is riddling. Hark! The bottle speaks: Although I delight in barroom raunch, I’m not recommended to those with a paunch. You must be quite lean, and perhaps somewhat mean, to wear me; I pack quite a smokey, dark punch. That is the problem, and also the solution, but also, my white flowers suffer no dilution! They swim side by side with the ciggies so snide, I’m retro-ironic-- t’was my author’s intention. Who am I? CREDITS: Franz Von Stuck “Sphinx” courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

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...

It’s still really hot here, so I am making lots of cold soups. Here are some more recipes, for those who are also suffering this heat wave. Cold sweet corn soup. Slice the kernels off at least 4 ears of fresh sweet corn and blend with 1 sauteed onion and 4 sauteed whole garlic cloves, 2 tbsps. lime juice, salt and pepper to taste, and the liquid of your choice—cream, milk, evaporated milk, chicken stock, or buttermilk. Blend till relatively smooth-textured. Open a can of chipotle peppers, and drain out the juice into a bow l, reserving the peppers for another use. blend a bit of the reserved liquid with olive oil, and then drizzle this on top of each bowl of cold corn soup, adding a dollop of sour cream as well! Enjoy! Kurt’s Cold Cucumber Soup (one of my favorites ) in a blender, 2 peeled cukes, chopped a bit enough buttermilk to make it blend nicely one clove of raw garlic dill a tsp. Worcestershire sauce Salt and pepper to taste. Serve cold, wi...