Today I will be testing out Serge Luten's Un Lys. Yesterday I sampled it but not on skin that was clean (Iris Taizo had been there first) I liked what I smelled though and seemed like something nice for a long day; baking berry pudding cake, work, dinner with family and boyfriend, and movie with boyfriend. I'm thinking I might test out Donna Karan Gold later on this week to do a comparison. It is the time for lily scents. I suspect I will be putting on something different for dinner though because Un Lys has a notoriously short life span. Possibly Euphoria or Magnetism.
Quote of Day: It was such a lovely day I thought it a pity to get up.-- W. Somerset Maugham
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L'Ete by James Tissot
So about a month ago I got a sample of Parfumerie Generale's Iris Taizo and well I tried it a couple of times but I admit at those times my nose was slightly stuffy, but each time I the scent that came to my nose was heavily spiced civety amber (which is something I am just not into these days) and well it turns out my nose wasn't wrong even when slightly stuffy. I admit now I can smell a slight hint of powder that must come from the iris, the civet quality is most definately there in its pungency, but over all this scent is amber on me. While I don't abhor it, Iris Taizo is most definately not me; which I am quite happy with because the price on Parfumerie Generale's scents went up quite a bit.
Quote of the Day: The price one pays for pursuing any profession or calling is an intimate knowledge of its ugly side.-- James Baldwin
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Listening to the Waterfall in the Autumn Woods by Hsu Kuo-Huang 1998
Today is a day for comfort scents, the weather once again has become cool and there is hints of overcast in the sky. So I am going with one of my ultimate comfort scents: Bvlgari Omnia, this one doesn't get too much love because I believe it features a musk that many are ansomiac too. This is when it works for a wonderful creamy woody slightly spicy musk that surrounds the wearer in a nice cloud of warmth. To keep the comfort going after work I suspect I will be baking bread. Hope everyone one has a lovely day.Quote of the Day: Humor is everywhere, in that there's irony in just about anything a human does. -- Bill Nye, Interview with Wired.com, April 2005
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Redwood Vortex, Napa California by Lisa Eisner 2005
After wearing so many spring scents I had the sudden need for something sweet, most of my scents seem to much on th heavy hitter side or too gourmand, but then the wonderful resinous Un Bois Vanille reached out.
Quote of the Day: Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there. -- Will Rogers
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Daughters of the East by Saira Wasim 2007
Going with the one of modern marvels of fragrances today: Chanel's Coco Madamoiselle. This scent in pure parfum remindes me of orange trees; ironically the notes listed do not feature orange, but the blending of bergamot, vetiver, and patchouli achieves the instant image of orange trees to me.
Quote of the Day: Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example. -- Mark Twain, Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894)
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Pink Rose, Floribunda by Pieter Johannes A. Wagemans
Happy Easter Everyone! Should you wonder where the heck the rabbit comes from, well it is a symbol of fertility for the goddess Eostra, another symbol of her's is the egg. And as you can see she also had a direct part in the naming of the holiday, Eostra=Easter. Going with the sunny happy Bvlgari pour femme as I visit family.image provided by artnet.com
Rabbit by Wayne Thiebaud 1970-1971
There is no getting arount it: It is gorgeous outside! And tomorrow it is even supposed to be better; I have been looking forward to this weekend for so long it isn't even funny, after working all last weekend, the idea of a shopping day is really luxurious. A big part of this is last year i went through a phase of getting rid of a lot of clothes (this was in Autumn) so naturally I got rid of a lot of warm weather clothing and now well I don't have any warm weather clothing. My destination today is H&M, Sephora, and Ikea (still need house stuff). To go with gorgeous luxurious day I am wearing Chanel 22; which is dry aldehyde white floral perfection (honestly I really wish there was more fragrances that used aldehydes and white flowers together, the aldehydes tame the white florals and bring a gorgeous sparkle).
Quote of the Day: You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.-- Michael Pritchard
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White Peonies by Sarah K. Lamb 2004
So spring has truly begun and now I am bringing out the wonderfully effervescent Kimono Rose by The Thymes. This truly is a happy scent featuring berries, jasmine, and clementine; this is a balmy spring morning with dew on the greenery.
Quote of The Day: Too much of a good thing is wonderful.-- Mae West
Today I am going with Ava Luxe's lovely Rasa. This is a lovely musk that highlights a dusky rose which is supported by what I could swear is myrrh and musk. There is something wonderfully exotic and dark blue about this scent to me.
Quote of the day: Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water. -- W. C. Fields
Today is cloudy and so back to something comforting and sweet: With Love. I still can't believe especially with my snobbery that I like this little fragrance represented by Hillary Duff, but it really is good. I suppose I must remind myself that really it was perfumer that created this scent, but the reality is image does mean something when it comes to fragrances, I mean look at the the world of niche fragrances? I just remind myself: If it smells good it smells good (okay I will never wear a Paris Hilton fragrance).
Quote of the Day: "I like a cook who smiles out loud when he tastes his own work. Let God worry about your modesty; I want to see your enthusiasm." — Robert Farrar Capon
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Leaving Downy Cloud Island by Amy Sol
Quote of the Day: To achieve the impossible dream, try going to sleep.-- Joan Klempner
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La Toilette by Pierr Loius Gatier
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Implicate Order by Eleanor Miller
Once again work today, but luckly it is sunny outside, I must sound like a repeat offender with this constant choice for SOTD, but it is just lovely: Prada Infusion d'Iris. I can't escape its lovely tastefulness or that it is perfect for the season. It is a smart scent that never enters rigid.
Quote of the Day: "Most books on witchcraft will tell you that witches work naked. This is because most books on witchcraft were written by men. " — Neil Gaiman (Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch)
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Beast In Me by Mat Collishaw 2004
It's occurred to me that lately I have been cooking a lot of rice comfort foods, last month I made the ever comforting arroz con leche (this recipe a variation of Mexican rice pudding), but this month I have found my self making the savory comforting creamy side of rice: Risotto. Risotto is the perfect comfort food for spring, it is creamy and nourishing, but not heavy unlike winter comfort food, it shows off spring produce perfectly and is enlivened by winter citrus. Last week I made Nigella Lawson's Lemon Risotto; this woman really can do no wrong when it comes to comfort foods, this was gorgeous lovely creamy lemon offset by hints of earthiness with the addition of fresh rosemary. Here's a link to the lovely recipe Nigella Lawson's Lemon Risotto. Last night the risotto love continued with something I had been itching to make forever but had never found a recipe that met my needs: Asparagus Risotto. My first encounter with Asparagus Risotto was with Trader Joe's frozen Asparagus Risotto, which I will say is lovely, but expensive for such a small amount and so the years have gone by with me looking for the perfect Asparagus Risotto recipe, when a few weeks the perfect recipe fell into my lap, provided by the awesome website http://www.simplyrecipes.com/. And here is the recipe that last night the ended my quest for an Asparagus risotto recipe: Asparagus Risotto.
Just a note to those making risotto, always make way more stock than is called for or have hot water on hand, the arborio rice you buy will vary highly in how much stock it takes to cook. In both recipes I used Trader Joe's arborio rice and it required much more liquid than the recipes called for.
Wish to some day get a hold of other Italian rice varieties that are used in risotto.
Also the Asparagus Risotto truly shows off the wonder of risotto in that it can be so creamy with no cream added.
image of arborio rice provided by http://vegeyum.wordpress.com/2007/12/16/basicrisotto/
On the most part I am the sort of tea lover that needs a cup of malty assam in the morning with a splash of milk or the wonderfully malty and spicy mix of Masala Chai with milk. There is something luxurious in seeing the transformation of dried tea leaves unfurl and create an elixir, that I will admit I am addicted too. Still my variety of tea changes through out the year, in the dead of winter smoky Russian Caravan and exceptionally malty Irish Breakfast grab me ( I still keep my Assam through out the year). Yet with the coming of spring and summer my tea has to change, that is when I change over to green teas and my favorite is the Japanese blend Genmai Cha. This I will say is more a spring tea than a summer tea in that it features a very unique ingredient that warms a drinker up on cool spring days: roasted kernals of rice. The roastiness of this tea is exceptional, it is comforting and soothing, and on cool days of spring it warms, yet it's lovely jade green color reminds you of the new spring greenery surrounding you.
It is also a lovely broth for breakfast rice. I admit I often have leftover rice from the night before and a perfect way too use it up is to warm it up, pour Genmai Cha on top, and add a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds and a sprinkle of salt. It is a comforting and light morning breakfast that is great option for those that do not like sweet nor heavy breakfasts.
image provided by http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=487669&in_page_id=1770 meet the worldest cutest little pig and his voracious appetite for tea.
Today I am waiting for my new full size mattress to arrive and with a window of 9 am to 1 pm I haven't really had the time for a shower, so I have opted for the ever refreshing and cool-headed scent of Acca Kappa White Moss. Believe after gets I am taking a shower; I have spent my morning moving around large pieces of furniture and did work up a sweat. Besides I want a warmer more sensual scent for later on; the skies are grey today and will most definately let out rain later on.
Quote of the Day:
Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.-- Andre Gide
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Rocks by Lynne Drexler 1979
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Sensual by Royo
Googling osmanthus was a bad idea because here is what I found and now most definately want to smell:
-Kyoto candle by Tocca http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P42934&shouldPaginate=true&categoryId=1722
- Osmanthus soap and roll-on fragrance from mi-spa: http://www.mi-spa.com/Osmanthus-pr-62.html and http://www.mi-spa.com/Dry-Perfume-Roll-on-pr-26.html
-Ormonde Jayne Osmanthus: http://theperfumedcourt.com/Products/Ormonde-Jayne-Osmanthus__ORMONDEJAYNEOSMANTHUS.aspx
-Red Flower Japan: Kinmoxei Wild Lime Silk Oil http://www.beautyhabit.com/product2970.html
-Hove Tea Olive (what osmanthus is called in the Southern US): http://www.hoveparfumeur.com/ProductsfortheWoman.htm
-Hermes Hermessence Osmanthe Yunnan http://theperfumedcourt.com/Products/Hermessence-Osmanthe-Yunnan__HRMOYPG.aspx
-Ayala Moriel's Kinmokusei http://ayalamoriel.com/index.cfm?PageName=Scents&View=Details&PerfumeID=23
image provided by search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fe20031002li.html (provides a very nice article on osmanthus or in japan as it is know kinmokusei
A couple weeks ago there was the question of joyous/happy scents going around the perfume community, I could not come up with one (what can I say I'm some one who usual goes with comfort and sensual scents), but today I realized that I do have one: Bvlgari pour Femme. There is something joyously yellow about this scent, it reminds me of blooming yellow mimosa and acacia (although it does not smell like either of these). There is a nectourous quality it smells of jasmine tea, honey, and bizarrely for the first time this morning I realized that I smelled a hint of juicy sweet bartlett pear in it. What is unique is that with a heart of powedery rose and violet, it retains crystilline nectar quality at the same time.
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Tea Party with the Artist's Daughter, Lois by Wilson Henry Irvine
As the sunday tradition continues I go with an easy casual scent and Dolce & Gabbana's Light Blue is the epitome of just that. The scent is bright and refreshing, but as it dries down on me becomes a rather delicious lemon cream scent. Perfect for summer and spring and early autumn.
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Cosmos vs. Light Blue Sky by Tony Mendoza 2004
Today I am sampling Susanna Lang's Midnight Orchid, at first it starts off very much reminiscent of the vanilla used in Un Bois Vanilla, but as the drydown is progressing, the florals are coming out and I am rather enjoying this one. It is becoming drier and more floral.
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Male and Female Anglo-American Raccoons by Nicolas Huet 1817
I can't explain the need for a white floral right now, I suspect once again it is the season, to simply put it Spring scents are the least loved in my collection and yet all the sudden I am wanting the scent of cool white florals and sappy new greens. I am mostly a child of winter and autumn scents, so this is a new one for me. Today I am sampling Diptyque's ode to tuberose and childhood: Do Son. Later on today when I stop at the mall to order contacts I will be trying Private Collection Gardenia Tuberose. Spring fever has definately hit and hopefully the stuffy nose caused by spring allergies won't be to awful this year.
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Easter Parade by Robert Kushner 1997
Un Bois Vanille by Serge Lutens
L de Lolita Lempicka by Lolita Lempicka
Euphoria by Calvin Klein
Infusion d'Iris by Prada
