And the Winner is....

INES !! INES !! INES !! INES !!


Ines, please contact me with your shipping details.

I decided to send all three to one individual to make things easier for myself ;-)

However, a note to everyone else, please stay tuned. There will be another really good free drawing coming up soon...



*pic above not the actual items

TWRT 2.14.10 and Free Giveaway!!

So I tried teaching myself to knit this week. I couldn’t even do a double cast on. I had yarn wrapped up all over my hands. A complete disaster. I called the local yarn shop (sounding dismayed) and she told me to stop in anytime (kind person). I’m thinking it’s odd that no one in my family ever knitted (or sewed or made anything crafty). Not a single grandmother, aunt, great-aunt Sugar, not one. Come to think of it, it’s also rather extraordinary that so few in my family wore perfume as well. I’m making up for these perfume-starved relatives big-time.

I received Heure Exquise in edp this week. It’s fairly different. Not sure I like it better than the edt but I do love it. It’s got a play-doh note where the edt doesn’t.

I wonder why two of the Hermessence perfumes are missing from the Hermes website? Rose Ikebana and Osmanthus Yunnan are not there.

Who was it that recommended I try Roja Dove Scandal? C’mon step forward. One of you out there is the enabling culprit. I LOVE it. I didn’t realize it was so expensive though. Even with one kind soul offering to split it with me I’m considering whether I want to spend that much for 25 ml. It’s over $500 for a 50 ml bottle. I do love it though… (you know I’ll cave sooner or later).

I haven’t reviewed it and I’m not sure I will but I also love Ormonde Jayne Tiare. I need to confess that I don’t like Ormonde Jayne. I’ve tried nearly every single one and they all dry down to a cheap synthetic musk. But Tiare is different. Tiare is old school fruity chypre yet modern. Definitely worth trying this one.

American Idol: I think Ellen is going to work out well. I supply nicknames to all my favorites, so far I like “Peacock earrings”, “the girl with brown teeth” (surely said teeth will be whitened if she makes it to the final 12?) “the waitress,” “son of ganstas” and “bluesy hot guy” the best. I think it will be a girl this season.

Parks & Recreation: Even though I’m the only person watching this show I just need to say it’s so great (I’ve said this before and if I keep it up maybe more will tune in).

I admit that I bought a bottle of Alexander McQueen Kingdom this week. I figured I ought to get it over with before the prices are sky high. I have a bottle but it’s for The Posh Peasant so it isn’t mine – this will be mine.

Dinner of the week: I made goat cheese raviolis (not from scratch, but still). The sauce was deeeelish - mostly a white wine sauce but I added pesto, lemon and roasted garlic to make it scrumptious. And some early spring peas and asparagus tips.

Brian and I agree: Maison Francis Kurkdjian fragrances aren’t rocking our worlds. I like APOM Pour Femme but I expected to be overwhelmed to the point of needing to lay down. This didn’t happen. I wanted to love them, but this might be a case of reading too much advance praise.

Why is Guerlain’s Mayotte (formerly known as the symbol Mahora) so unloved? I haven’t worn it enough times for a review but it seems very pretty to me.

The Office: It’s strange that the company is Sabre and not Dunder Mifflin. But how funny is Kathy Bates as CEO? As good as The Office still is, it’s not hitting those highs from back when Pam & Jim were crushing on each other. The new receptionist, Erin, is truly an enjoyable quirkfest.

Free Giveaway: Crazylibellule and the poppies sent me four solid perfumes. I’m keeping one, the one I tried, but I’m giving away the other three. One is Musc & Patchouli; the second is from the Divines Alcoves Collection called “tot mon prince” which means “you my lord” in English and the third is Vanille Lemon Pie. Depending on how many comments we receive I’ll decide whether I’ll send to three different people or whether one person will receive all three.

Please leave a comment and I’ll draw the winner(s) on Wednesday, 17 February. You must have commented at least once before...

Happy Valentine’s Day to one and all!

Parfums de Nicolaï: Week-end a Deauville

Week-end a Deauville (WaD) is a pleasant surprise. When I read about the two springy launches from PdN last year I was most interested to try Violette in Love. Violette in Love was nice enough but it didn’t knock any of my favorite violet fragrances off their pedestals. I took my sweet time getting around to buying a bottle of WaD and lo and behold this is the easy winner of the two.

Why do perfume houses do this to us Americans and make certain fragrances exclusive to Paris (or Europe?). Is there a financial/profit issue I’m not understanding? For instance, I’m trying to get a bottle of Roja Dove Scandal and the Roja Dove website is under construction and I don’t think the other stores that carry it ship to the U.S. Week-end a Deauville is another one of these non-exports. So, this is another reason why it took me a lot longer to try this little gem.

Weekend a Deauville is a bright, cheery, sparkling, effervescent, dry citrusy floral chypre (enough adjectives for you?). It reminds me of Chanel Cristalle except without the sharp galbanum claws; in comparison WaD is a gentle little pussy cat who is so darn adorably soft and purrs so happily on my skin. I like Cristalle but sometimes she just claws me up a bit. I don’t think The Scented Salamander was as taken with WaD as I am. She describes it as simply pretty and nice for a casual weekend getaway, making the name perfectly fitting. I agree with The Scented Salamander where she writes that this is an unusual chypre in that it’s casual. Most chypres strike me as rather formal fragrances, too, but WaD is resolutely fun, fresh and flirtatious; words I would not normally use to describe a chypre.

For a citrusy chypre, WaD’s longevity is exceptional. Usually citrus notes are the most fleeting but here the combination of citrus and galbanum last and last. This is a huge accomplishment in my book. Week-end a Deauville begins citrusy and green and actually stays this way. The florals are lily of the valley, hyacinth, mimosa and rose and I don’t detect any of these individually, and the overall floral thrust seems an early spring bouquet – delicate and charmed.

I’m quite taken with Week-end a Deauville; so much so that if I had tried it in 2009 it surely would have made my favorites of the year list.

Notes include: essence of Italian bergamot, petit grain from Paraguay, galbanum, lily-of-the-valley, rose, mimosa, pepper essence, pink pepper, clove, oakmoss absolute and styrax balm

TWRT 2.7.10

This Week's Random Thoughts ~

I’m still tempted to use 2009 as the date. Why is ’10 so hard for me?

I’m truly pleased that many readers enjoyed my week-long tribute to Annick Goutal. This house deserves all the accolades it receives. One commenter, Dain, made me laugh when she called this week of reviews: Justice.

Does anyone know where to find Guerlain Habit Rouge L'Extrait (parfum/extrait)? I’ve been looking – I know for sure it exists but cannot find it.

Lovely little gem of the week: Hermes Caleche Fleurs de Mediterranee. This is a soapy, aldehydic nummy fest. Not particularly similar to the original Caleche.

American Idol: Thank goodness the crappy part is over. Next week we’re onto Hollywood. Is this when Ellen D. shows up? Hope so. I read a rumor that Howard Stern is being considered to replace Simon next year. Wow, the combo of Ellen and Howard would be odd. I can’t imagine Howard leaving NYC to be in LA for such a stretch of time, though. He’d miss Beth and Scores.

The above pic are the limited edition Grossmith bottles. I’ll include a pic of the normal bottles below to be fair. But the LE bottles make me lose all financial sensibility and want to order them pronto.Beverage of the week: I’m still hooked on Diet Dr. P - but I ventured out with some Boylen’s Birch Beer and it was unusually good.

Luckyscent sent me a sample of By Kilian Rose Oud (they just sent it – first time this has happened to me). Rose Oud is probably going to be a huge hit for rosey oud lovers if they aren’t disturbed by the silly price tag. I’m not an Oud-girl so it’s hard for me to judge but this doesn’t conjure band-aids at least. I think it might even be nice – less syrupy than the Montale’s.

It has snowed and snowed and snowed and snowed here in Santa Fe. I knew it snowed a bunch here, it’s a big skiing town and the elevation is higher than Mt. Washington in NH...but still. My dogs are pugs and the snow is up to their shoulders making it distressing for them to do their business outside.

I’m excited about Donna Karan Iris.

Finally got a bottle of Ormonde Jayne Tiare and Orris Noir. I haven’t worn either long enough for an accurate assessment but Tiare reminds me of a tropical Diorama. Diorama is on my mind since I discovered it recently and fell in lurve but I think there’s something similar here. The newer packaging from OJ is quite nice. Lovely to display these bottles. (I need to stop using the word “lovely.” Seems so teeth-clenched to me).

Um, does Amouage Epic Woman remind anyone else of Serge Lutens Chypre Rouge?

I now officially pump my own gas. I know you think I’m mad for not having done this prior to moving to NM; but lemme explain... in MA full service was always an option (which I took) and in NJ there was *only* full service. So, after spilling gasoline all over myself about 2 wks ago (yeah, I used to like the smell of gas, once you wear it, believe me it’s not a nice smell) I now know the ins and outs of pumping gas. I feel accomplished and self sufficient. (!)

I can’t put words to exactly why but seeing the bikini spread of the Octo-Mom in one of those gossip rags was disturbing. And, good for her if she hasn’t had any work done but she certainly looks like she’s had some stuff done. I mean seriously, how could those massive stretch marks vanish in one year? And how can her stomach be completely flat after giving birth to 8 babies one year ago (on top of many other kids before that)? She does remind me of Angelina Jolie – I think it’s the lips and the kid obsession.

Jean Francois Latty, in house perfume for Teo Cabanel, has created a new fragrance for the house. It launches in a month or so. They are keeping the fragrance a secret but I’m giddy with optimism since Alahine is my HG.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

Annick Goutal Grand Amour: Effortless Grace

Day 7, the last post in my week-long tribute to Annick Goutal

I’ve had the most difficult time with this last post. I want to write about so many more AG perfumes but this is it, the last one, and I had to make a choice. So I chose Grand Amour.

But first, I want to leave you, dear reader, with a few parting thoughts about the house of Annick Goutal, so please indulge me. Perhaps a normal fragrance customer (you know, those odd souls who have less than a dozen bottles of perfume) would immediately understand the sheer beauty of fragrances from Annick Goutal because it takes just a sniff to instantly recognize the exceptional quality and artistic creativity captured in this line. But then there’s “us,” the fanatics, the connoisseurs who have sniffed so many beauties that we’ve become jaded and bored and require so much more than simply “pretty” from our perfumes. But I ask you, is it not an enormous accomplishment, worthy of high praise, for a small artisan perfume house to create exceptionally beautiful, exquisitely high quality perfumes, time and time again? Annick Goutal is not driven by the latest fad and is never derivative or just blah. What is that you say, Annick Goutal is not edgy enough for you? Well, I would ask if have you tried AG Vetiver, Sables, Eau de Fier, Ambre Fetiche, Musc Nomade, Un Matin d’Orage, Vanille Exquise or Mandragore? The house of Annick Goutal has something for everyone – edgy, unusual and classically beautiful. And, I don’t think it’s just me, but I’ve worn nearly every single fragrance from AG and never has there been a sour or unpleasant note. Clearly, the house knows how to make perfume.Anyway, back to my last review: Grand Amour. Grand Amour was created in 1997 for Annick Goutal by Isabelle Doyen. Annick Goutal wanted a fragrance that expressed the devotion she felt for her husband, to capture that feeling of true and tender love. Grand Amour is a perfume for a lady, it is not one of the “daughter” perfumes, not particularly light or girly, but not heavy or overdone either. This is the perfect fragrance for a woman who has come into her own, and knows true love. Grand Amour is an airy blend of hyacinths, lily, honeysuckle and rose with a base of amber, myrrh and vanilla. I smell mostly hyacinths and honeysuckle, which is good for me, because I’m not usually enamored by lily. The hyacinth note is dreamy and reminds me of Guerlain Chamade, mostly because this is the only other perfume I’m familiar with that smells of hyacinth. Grand Amour is more casual in comparison with Chamade, there’s a stronger aldehydic formality to Chamade; Chamade is the beautiful woman with a full face of make-up and glamorous couture ensemble while Grand Amour is the natural beauty who knows her lover finds her even sexier without make-up lounging in her white eyelet baby doll pajamas.

Grand Amour starts off all hyacinth and honeysuckle with a tender green leafiness as a foundation for the florals. It then unfolds slowly but surely to a less green and more pronounced rose note toning down the succulent hyacinth and honeysuckle brigade. Once Grand Amour dries down it turns into a gorgeous soft ambery myrrh scent, ever so slightly powdery and delicate. Inexplicably, I think of Grand Amour as a floral for those who don’t usually like to wear florals. It’s feminine but still subtle. It’s pure class and grace.

I apply Grand Amour lavishly. About 6-8 sprays last 4+ hours on me and I have the eau de parfum. Unfortunately I can’t compare the edt with the edp because I’ve only ever purchased the edp. Typically I prefer the edp concentration because I like a more potent perfume.

This concludes my week-long tribute to Annick Goutal. In the past I’ve also written reviews for Sables, Vanille Exquise and Ce Soir ou Jamais.

PS: If anyone from Annick Goutal is reading, I think you should make more limited edition bottles! I have ideas for so many gorgeous bottles :-) Also, some new perfume suggestions: a mimosa scent would be a dreamy addition to your Soliflores Collection. Also a dry green chypre, an aldehydic oriental and a tuberose-fl-oriental (think sultry vixen) would be a great addition to the line. And don’t forget the boys, surely they could use an edgy leather.

Annick Goutal Ambre Fetiche: Exceptional Amber

Day 6 of Annick Goutal Week

The Annick Goutal Les Orientalistes Collection is an excellent addition to the Goutal brand. Since the houses' fragrances consist mainly of florals, a quartet of orientals was most welcome. All four of the offerings from Les Orientalistes collection are fantastic with my favorites being Ambre Fetiche (#1) and Encens Flamboyant (#2).

The amber note is a chameleon in perfumery. Amber essential oil doesn’t exist, it’s not a real thing in nature; amber is not strictly ambergris (ambergris may be a component) nor does it have anything to do with fossilized tree sap (i.e., amber stones in jewelry). Amber is, in fact, a man-made accord, which usually consists of varying degrees of labdanum, benzoin, tonka, ambergris and oppoponax. Some amber fragrances are really sweet and blended with heavy doses of foodie vanilla – these are usually cheap smelling Bath & Body Works type stuff and not the amber fragrances I seek. I physically crave deep, incense-y, dry, resinous ambers during the fall and winter. Some pefumes that fall under my favorite amber category are: Parfums d’Empire Ambre Russe and Sonoma Scent Studio Ambre Noire. I like, but don’t love, Serge Lutens Ambre Sultan, because there’s a bit too much cedar in this for me, and I think Ambre Fetiche blows it away, it’s more fierce.

If I’m not feeling like wearing my most outrageously decadent amber, namely PdE Ambre Russe, but still want something deeply rich yet wearable my go-to amber is Annick Goutal Ambre Fetiche. Ambre Fetiche is a phenomenal brew of frankincense, leathery birch tar, dry woods, smoke with a touch of powdery (iris root) amber and vanilla in the dry down. At times, Ambre Fetiche seems less about amber and more about incense and woods. I happen to adore the strident initial blast of frankincense, birch tar-ry leather and smoky dry woods. If you were blind-folded you would never guess Ambre Fetiche is brought to us by Annick Goutal because there is *nothing* demure about it. The reviews on Ambre Fetiche are mixed and I think (once again) this might have to do with sampling practices. Ambre Fetiche must be sprayed and sprayed liberally to get the full effect. This is not to say Ambre Fetiche is fleeting because it’s anything but – it easily lasts 6-8 hours on me and the farrrr dry down is just as breathtaking in it’s own softer way as the start.

Even though there is nothing gourmand about Ambre Fetiche I always have the desire to lick my arm when I wear it. I noticed a review from The Non-Blonde, where she feels the same. There is something deeply carnal and subconscious about Ambre Fetiche. It feels familiar, like a scent I’ve known all my life and perhaps in past lives. I think it’s the resins, incense and dry smoky woods that call to mind a time long ago, when we anointed ourselves with precious salves, ointments and oils in ritualistic ways. I think of Cleopatra. For those who love this sort of fierce amber I’ve described, Ambre Fetiche is an absolute must. But keep in mind there are two sides to Ambre Fetiche, the fierce start and then the gentler dry down where it becomes a dreamy woody-amber.

Notes are listed as: frankincense, labdanum, styrax, benzoin, iris, vanilla and leather

Photos of Ambre Fetiche bottles are the brilliant works of Nathan Branch

PS: Did you notice the guy in the Cleopatra image licking her thigh? Well, the scent of Ambre Fetiche gives him the urge to lick, too.

Public Service Announcement: The Last Few Bottles of Vintage Tabarome

I know there are many of you who long for Vintage Tabarome. I received this announcement just today

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WARMING CLIMATE THWARTS RARE FRAGRANCE MADE SINCE 1875

LAST 50 BOTTLES TO BE OFFERED TO DEVOTED CLIENTS

The CREED fragrance company of Paris (www.creedboutique.com) is pleased to announce that 50 bottles of the rare fragrance Vintage Tabarome will be offered to the public starting March 9. Twenty-five bottles will be offered at CREED at 794 Madison Avenue in New York City (1-877-CREED 44), and 25 will be offered at www.creedboutique.com, the official online CREED boutique serving the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Presented in 1.7-ounce shatterproof sprays wrapped in caramel Italian leather embossed with CREED’s crest and etched with CREED’s Paris address ($405 each), these are the last bottles of Vintage Tabarome CREED will offer.

Originally created by Henry CREED in 1875, Vintage Tabarome -– also sometimes known as Private Collection Tabarome or Tabarome Prive –- is a fragrance of depth and character that commands a strongly dedicated, niche following to this day. Yet with the earth’s warming climate, creating this blend of more than 60 natural ingredients is increasingly difficult.

The quantity and quality of natural ingredients available to make Vintage Tabarome no longer meet the standards of the CREED family. Speaking recently from France, the family said that rather than use “substitute” ingredients yielding an inferior result, they would stop all production of Vintage Tabarome with no plans to resume.

The 50 bottles offered starting March 9 are the personal reserve of the President of CREED North America, who used it for VIP gift-giving and performance recognition. In response to numerous requests from clients seeking rare Vintage Tabarome, he has generously agreed to release his supply for the enjoyment of clients.

Based in Paris, CREED (www.creedcollection.com) is the world’s only privately held luxury fragrance dynasty. Founded in 1760 and passed from father to son since then, CREED has served more than ten royal houses, leaders in all fields and the discerning public for 250 years.

Annick Goutal La Violette: Violet Perrier

Day 5 of Annick Goutal Week
La Violette is a beautiful green violet fragrance. It is not an overly candy-sweet powdery plastic thing which I find with many other violet soliflores.

Awhile back I wrote a piece called The Indies Saved Violet for me because at the time I couldn’t stomach violet fragrances and especially not most typical violet soliflores. After some coaching from Brian, I began trying violet fragrances and found I loved La Violette. While Annick Goutal’s La Violette isn’t nearly as edgy as the indie violets I described in my earlier piece, it still remains one of the best of the old school violets. The only other violet soliflore I like as much as the Goutal is Penahligon’s Violette.

Annick Goutal created a series of soliflores in the early 2000’s to include Neroli, Le Chevrefeuille, Le Jasmin, Le Muguet and La Violette. I’m a little confused because I thought Tubereuse and Rose Absolue were part of the Soliflore Collection but they aren't listed as such. I have already written glowing reviews for Neroli and Le Chevrefeille both of which I believe to be the very best in their categories. Le Chevrefeuille is the best honeysuckle fragrance in the world. It smells like honeysuckle iced tea. And it’s heavenly in the summer. Le Chevrefeuille seems simple but I imagine it's not simple at all to make such a beautiful honeysuckle fragrance that doesn’t smell like air freshener. Honeysuckle isn’t a note that translates well in perfumery but it’s sheer perfection when created by Annick Goutal.

La Violette starts off with a blast of violet and violet leaves. It’s green and purple at once. There’s a hint of fruity raspberry and a dash of violet flavored candies. Once dried down La Violette becomes a tad powdery and also a tad more candied – I happen to love this smidgen of powdery candy-ness – it’s just enough to make La Violette charming without being trite or the likes of something a 9 year old flower-girl at a wedding would wear. There’s a dab of clove in the base, if you’re looking for it. Overall I’d describe it as Violet Perrier – it’s fresh, clean, effervescent, green and delightful.

What am I comparing it with? Well, these are the violet soliflores that I’ve also tried: Borsari Violetta di Parma (too plastic-y), Serge Lutens Bois de Violette (go ahead, call the perfume police, I must be crazy but I dislike this combination of cedar and violets), Norma Kamali Violette, L’Artisan Verte Violette (lasts for 11 minutes), i Profumi di Firenze Violetta di Bosco (too cologne-y and masculine), Keiko Mecheri Genie de Bois (ditto what I wrote about the Lutens), Guerlain Meteorites (too powdery), Calypso Violette (too sweet), Histoires de Parfums Blanc Violette (too fleeting and somewhat drab) and so on. The Goutal Violette reaches the perfect pitch of crushed parma violet flowers and leaves rolled in Italian violet candies called Violetta Pastiglie Leone

I find the longevity of La Violette to be shorter than the other Goutals I’ve reviewed this week. If you apply lavishly it’s reasonable – probably lasting about 2.5-3 hours on me after 6-8 sprays.

There is something delightful, charming and cheery about violet fragrances, and Annick Goutal La Violette hits every note effortlessly.


Above photo taken by Susan/The Well-Seasoned Cook on Flikr

Dior Ambre Nuit

The fourth in a series of colognes initiated and originally curated by Hedi Slimane, one time bad boy at Dior, Ambre Nuit had some steep competition. Cologne Blanche, Bois D'Argent, and my favorite by far, Eau Noire, were basic but rich, presented in almost industrial looking, over-sized bottles. They were made to be worn generously, using a grade of ingredient which made a little go a long way. The colognes were hard to find and filtered out into the market the way niche lines do, primarily by word of mouth. The perfumers involved delivered some of their best work, indicating the kind of artistic freedom a niche line typically provides. Bois D'Argent was Annick Menardo at her best, revisiting themes and motifs she'd explored more commercially in Hypnotic Poison (also Dior), Bulgari Black, and Body Kouros (Yves Saint Laurent). Francis Kurkdjian hadn't done much at the time, unless you consider how many units two of his earliest creations, Gaultier Le Male and Narciso Rodriguez Her, moved off the shelves. His Eau Noire remains, for me, the most skillfully imaginative use of the immortelle note in fragrance, and was ample indication, way back in 2004, that Kurkdjian had the strength of vision and a recognizable enough fingerprint to create his own line.

Slimane had strength of vision too, and helped to make Dior Homme stand out in a marketplace where name alone increasingly mattered less. Perhaps he was a bit too visible. He left Dior in 2007, and the indication until now was that the line, at least vis a vis fragrance, lost not just the sense of vision he'd provided but any vision whatsoever. Their next moves seemed more like stumbles. Dior Homme Sport, while perfectly nice, was a fairly insipid flanker to Polge's brilliant Dior Homme. Packaging it in the same bottle seemed majestically ill-judged. It was hard to imagine pale, pencil thin Slimane on a treadmill, cigarette dangling out the corner of his mouth; intentionally or not, this was the picture Sport drew. Fahrenheit 32, also perfectly nice, was either a step back or a standing in place.

Until now, the cologne series languished. It lay so still I thought it was dead. Word of Ambre Nuit filled me with cautious dread. Surely the world could do without another synthetic amber. They'd already taken the edge out of Dior Homme, grafting a little red racing strip onto what felt like a spaceship by way of a Bentley. Surely someone with the freedom to use his head realized that bastardizing sleepers this way did the line as a whole no favors, whatever the immediate gain by association. Maybe the series was better off dead, but no one seemed willing to protect its grave from vandalism.

There was every reason to expect the worst, and things beyond Dior have gotten equally grim, especially in terms of masculine fragrance, so the quality and pleasure of Ambre Nuit isn't just a surprise but a real blessing. To call it cologne is an understatement. Like the others, Ambre Nuit lasts better than most toilet waters. It feels and smells rich and textured. The clear liquid is packaged in honey-colored glass. It sits comfortably between masculine and feminine. François Demachy has created in Ambre a spiced rose which makes as much sense on a woman as a man. And what a rose. In an interview with the Fragrance Foundation, he listed rose as an exact scent he would one day like to capture. "Just when you think you know everything about [it], there are always new things to discover," he said. Ambre Nuit isn't by any stretch a photorealist rose. It doesn't aim to be, but it feels like some kind of discovery along that path Demachy is traveling.

In the same interview, he admitted he has yet to master the use of cumin in fragrance. While admitting it can work wonders, he hasn't discovered the right proportions. I don't get the sense there's cumin in Ambre Nuit, but it offers ample evidence that the perfumer uses spice notes carefully and intelligently, practicing restraint where others exercise indulgence. Ambre Nuit feels just right in any number of ways, resulting in an infinitely satisfying wear. The dry down doesn't offer much development. Ambre Nuit is in the end what it was from the beginning, a song you play on repeat all day because you love it so much. There are resins in there, those spices, rose, a nice, mellow amber. The fragrance has the soft feel of leather to it, adjusted by woods and patchouli. It isn't a show-stopper. It isn't incredibly cutting edge, though it is without a doubt more interesting than 99 percent of its mass market peers. It strikes an interesting, precarious balance. Demachy addresses the need for vision as perfumer at Dior, but seems well aware of the need for the walk along that tightrope.

Dior is a context, ultimately, and any story Demachy wishes to tell must somehow serve to advance that larger narrative. He's interested in refining parts of the story, essentially. "I'm not saying I have a particular vision of perfumery," he says, "but at Dior certain types of perfumes are expected and, most of the time, created." What the brand has sometimes lacked is more of a hand-crafted feel, in his opinion. Despite their current vogue, perfumers aren't an elite but an imaginative group of skilled artisans, assigned the responsibility to create not just effect but substance, a synergy between the two poles. More personal, hand-crafted products might not sell very well, but they provide a backbone of quality and in their own ways provide subtext to the brand, adding detail and nuance to the sweeping plot points of the master narrative which is Dior. Ambre Nuit shows a lot of respect to the line but has the good sense to demonstrate some amount of idiosyncrasy as well. What it adds to the story is character.

Annick Goutal Eau de Ciel: Pure Innocence & Memories

Day 4 of Annick Goutal Week ~

Eau de Ciel, along with Petite Cherie, is the quintessential innocently pretty Goutal. If I hadn’t already sniffed hundreds of fragrances in my lifetime I might not realize what a masterpiece of loveliness Annick Goutal created with Eau de Ciel. But I’m here to say I’ve sniffed many, many, fragrances and very few come close to the delicate, bucolic, greenery that is Eau de Ciel. Perhaps you don’t long to smell like sweet grasses, hay, linden, violet leaves, rosewood and iris but I occasionally do and Eau de Ciel takes me gently by the hand and skips with me down the dirt paths and trails of my childhood on a damp spring day.

Eau de Ciel opens on a gentle green note. This isn’t a bitter galbanum green but a delicate sweet greenness evoking meadow grasses and hay. It bears mentioning that Eau de Ciel is an incredibly natural fragrance, to the point that it doesn’t just evoke but replicates the scent of a spring day. I feel as if Annick Goutal has captured the air, like a butterfly in a net, on the most idyllic day and bottled it. It seems improbable that this aroma is man-made. Eau de Ciel makes me think of an English countryside. When I was a teenager in the late 80’s I was obsessed with British pop music. Morrissey, The Smiths, The Cure, The Clash, New Order, Radiohead, This Mortal Coil, Ian Astbury from the Cult, these were my heart throbs. I spent a summer in England and the memories and love of everything English will remain in my heart forever. Eau de Ciel, even though I wasn’t wearing it at the time, reminds me so strongly of this summer. The privet hedges, ivy, wildflowers, teensy violets strewn across the meadows, bales of hay, mossy stones, this is Eau de Ciel. And odd as it may seem, Eau de Ciel reminds me of a particular cemetery in England where my cousin and I used to sneak off and smoke cigarettes and meet boys. The smell of this cemetery was green, mossy, damp yet sweet, and it wasn’t creepy to hang out there – it was peaceful. This also ties into a song by The Smiths, Cemetery Gates, but I digress…

Eau de Ciel is one of those fragrances where you need to spray yourself wet. But once you lavishly spray yourself it lasts all day long. As much as I’ve described it as a delicate, gentle green floral I still think it’s easily unisex. On a man, the green freshness would likely be the most obvious aspect. The gorgeous base note of Eau de Ciel is rosewood and this is one smooth and precious rosewood note. Many describe EdC as a violet fragrance and while violet is present it’s mostly violet leaves and it in no way does EdC bear any resemblance to a candy-sweet or powdery violet scent.

Annick Goutal lists the notes as: Brazilian rosewood, violet, Florentine iris and lime blossom. Lime blossom is also known as linden in English and Tilleul in French - this isn’t a citrusy scent; lime blossom is a floral note.

Click to listen to The Smiths Cemetery Gates

A dreaded sunny day
So I meet you at the cemetery gates
Keats and Yeats are on your side

A dreaded sunny day
So I meet you at the cemetery gates
Keats and Yeats are on your side
While Wilde is on mine

So we go inside and we gravely read the stones
All those people all those lives
Where are they now?
With the loves and hates
And passions just like mine
They were born
And then they lived and then they died
Seems so unfair
And I want to cry

You say: "ere thrice the sun done salutation to the dawn"
And you claim these words as your own
But I've read well, and I've heard them said
A hundred times, maybe less, maybe more

If you must write prose and poems
The words you use should be your own
Don't plagiarize or take "on loans"
There's always someone, somewhere
With a big nose, who knows
And who trips you up and laughs
When you fall
Who'll trip you up and laugh
When you fall

You say: "ere long done do does did"
Words which could only be your own
And then you then produce the text
From whence was ripped some dizzy whore, 1804

A dreaded sunny day
So let's go where we're happy
And I meet you at the cemetery gates
Oh Keats and Yeats are on your side

A dreaded sunny day
So let's go where we're wanted
And I meet you at the cemetery gates
Keats and Yeats are on your side
But you lose because Wilde is on mine