SOTD: Le Chasse aux Papillons

Perfectly beautiful spring day means super pretty fragrance, what do I reach for L'Artisan's Le Chasse aux Papillons, something unusual is happening today with it though, instead of lemon tinted tuberose and jasmine I usually get from it, I am instead getting warm linden blossom. Linden blossom is another scent I associate with my early teen years, along with loving the scent of muguet, I had a big love for linden blossom, and remember my bottle of fragrance spray of linden blossom by Pre de Provence. 

On other news: I am really pretty disappointed in Luten's Nuit de Cellophane, just not my cup of tea, but then again money saved. 

image provided by artmagick.com

image: Girl in a Cornish Garden by Thomas Cooper Gotch 1889

SOTD: Baghari

So I finally did it, I got a bottle of Baghari, a perfect little 30 ml bottle (why can't more companies make this size?). For years I have desired to have a Robert Piguet fragrance to call my own, but found neither Fracas nor Bandit to my liking, and then Baghari was released. I like to think of Baghari as the perfect aldehyde for beginners there is no sharpness to it, but at the same time there is no mistake that aldehydes are used in it. While I agree with Luca Turin on the wonderfulness of Baghari, especially the description of it being like "panetonne", I have to wonder where on earth he gets the idea that it's a chypre? There is nothing chypre about it. This always dries down on me to a warm ambered vanilla. 

image provided by artnet.com

image: Orange by Jeffrey Nemeroff 2006

SOTD: Un Matin d'Orage

Today is going to be hot, I already have the air conditioning set, on days like this you reach for scents that bloom in the heat yet are not overwhelming, so I chose Un Matin d'Orage. What amazes me about this scent is its starkness, in a way it is almost bone-bare, and what makes that even more amazing is that this is a gardenia scent. Gardenia scents are are often the epitome of voluptious fleshiness but this is the opposite, Annick Goutal seemed to make the point of not adding a single ounce of extra oomph in this, it was only meant to express one moment and nothing else. 

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image: Untitled by George Shumacher

SOTD: Fifi Chachnil EdT

I am always rather amazed by the vintage flirty quality of Fifi Chachnil, it smells like it is from a bygone era, but it only came out a few years ago. It is playful but full of womenliness the powder, tobacco, and amber are alluring yet the top notes of coriander, rose, and bergamot always keep the wittiness of the fragrance going. I would say it is the fully throaty giggle/laugh of having a glass of champagne and then hearing a really good joke. I'm going with the edt today because the rose and coriander are more pronounced making it far more appropiate for spring and daytime.

 

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image: La Coquette by Howard Chandler Christy 1920

SOTD: Angelique Encens

I was tempted to go with Fifi Chachnil today but the truth I am in no mood for the flirtyness of it, what I instead wanted was the perfect contemplative quality of Creed's Angelique Encens. For me this is the perfect embrace of hazy lily tinged vanilla, sweet green angelic, and dry luminous incense. And it is at this point I curse the price point of this fragrance because it is utterly perfect; when looking for solace I reach for Angelique Encens.

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image: Angel Resting by Fabiana Anton

SOTD: Osmanthe Yunnan

The last two weeks have a gone by in a blur my finals week was spent in the throws of an awful cold and pain of trying to focus on getting my finals done, finally though some calm has come. The weather is perfect, I'm sitting outside right now enjoying the shadows of leaves that sway in the mildest of breezes. I think I may have finally gone past my black plague thumb of gardening, my basil and oregano seem to be thriving and the other plants as well. I can reach down and touch the basil and at the meerest touch my fingers have the scent of it; the scent of fresh basil may be on of the most aphrodesiac scents in the world with its hint of spice. 

Put on Osmanthe Yunnan today and think I might go for something creamier in a bit. Just enjoying life for the moment. 

image provided by artnet.com

image: Peach Blossom with Books by Zhang Wei 

SOTD: Songes

Sometime early this morning I woke up to the scent of Songes in my nose, I'm taking this as a sign. I admit this is a sort of emotionally hard weekend for me, Mother's Day always is, my mother has now been gone for over 21 years, for most of my life, add in the fact I am on my menstraul cycle and you have the perfect combo for a little crying. What also makes this stupid is that I wore Agent Provocateur something about that scent always puts me on edge and yesterday once again it worked its magic. So today I will spend the day in the sweet dreamy embrace of Songes. 

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image: Untitled by Joe Muir

SOTD: Agent Provocateur

I suddenly had a deep dark mossy craving the kind tinged with darkness and cool because it doesn't see the light of day very often, the answer the original Agent Provocateur. I'm not much of a chypre girl, I admire the genre, and I admire those that can pool it off, but in general they are not something that settle well on my skin. Agent Provocateur is a scent I have long admired and because of this I keep around a large sample, some how it is working today, but who knows how that will turn out, we have an uneasy relationship.

image provided artnet.com

image: Untitled; Priscilla in moss by Yigal Ozeri 2007

Your Blog Is Fucking Fabulous Award.

Hehe, I got an award from the wonderful Rose at A Rose Beyond The Thames 

Here are the following Instructions and Rules:

1. You have to pass it (the award) on to 5 other fabulous blogs in a post.
2. You have to list 5 of your fabulous addictions in the post.
3. You must copy and paste the rules and the instructions below in the post. (easy Below)
Instructions: On your post of receiving this award, make sure you include the person that gave you the award and link it back to them. When you post your five winners, make sure you link them as well. To add the award to your post, simply right-click, save image, then “add image” it in your post as a picture so your winners can save it as well. To add it to your sidebar, add the “picture” widget. Also, don’t forget to let your winners know they won an award from you by emailing them or leaving a comment on their blog.

Giving out awards, love doing this:

1. For lovely reviews on organic or natural perfumes and products I love Scenthive

2. Because the ever lovely Divina always provides thoughtful reviews and a generosity that is a above and beyond and we both share the pain of student deadlines Fragrance Bouquet

3. Because I love the ruminations between nature and fragrance, Notes From the Ledge

4. Because she always offers lovely writing and thoughts, Daily from The Daily Connoisseur

5. And what would this be without mentioning the ultimate perfume knowledge junky out there, Helg from Perfume Shrine

And now for five f&%*ing fabulous addictions:

1. Perfume! Really this deserves no explanation.

2. Tea, yes my cupboards suffer the disease of too much damn tea.

3. Jezebel, because it keeps me sane when the world seems to be determined to be insane.

4. Cookbooks. I often like to spend my nights browsing through them dreaming up delicious things to eat.

5. My cat. I'm pretty positive I am hitting the crazy cat lady stage but she is so damn cute I don't really care. How could you not love a little plump squishy faced cleptomaniac kitty? It's impossible, besides she makes these hilarious bird noises.

SOTD: Chanel No. 5 pure parfum

So the new Chanel No. 5 advertisement movie with Audrey Tautou has finally premiered and it is lovely. What strikes me the most about is the sense of intimacy you get from it nnlike the Nicole Kidman one (alright I didn't like that one). This advertisement really resonates with the scent because of one of the many stories to go with the legendary scent was that Coco wanted a scent that smelled like a woman, which i have always thought Chanel No. 5 does, it reminds me always of skin freshly powdered right after a bath.  

image provided by http://www.celebritywonder.com/picture/Audrey_Tautou/AudreyTautou_Cohen_3846856.html

SOTD: Amour le parfum

It's cold and rainy outside to only thing to do, put on Amour le parfum. I love this creamy powdery incensey rice pudding of a scent, not boring but pure comfort.

image provided by artnet.com

image: Child (Harwood) with Doves by Achsah Barlow Brewster

SOTD: Diorissimo

Today is May 1st, so you know what that means, bring out the lily of the valley scents aka muguet. I keep around a sample of Dior's Diorissimo just for this occasion, because as I mentioned it before I not a big lily of the valley wearer because it is a scent of my tween years. On a plus side the boyfriend really liked it; he is a very floral guy.

On to deliciousness, last night we made steak Diane with garlic mash potatoes and a simple green salad, and this is where you will laugh, topped off with the kitschy of desserts, rice crispie treats. But I didn't feel too guilty considering steak Diane was created in the 1950's. It was all delicious. The recipes I used can be found here:

For Steak Diane:

http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/recipe-of-the-day-steak-diane-for-two/

For Garlic Mashed Potatoes

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Garlic-Mashed-Potatoes-103016

These recipes are really easy and really good.

Ended the night by beginning to watch the series Damages, watched the first two episodes, and we are hooked.

New favorite magazine: Mental Floss.

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image: Lily of the Valley by Judith McMillan