So You Like Ormonde Jayne Woman Then Try Ava Luxe Moksha

    To this day Ormonde Jayne Woman is sort of a wonderful fluke in women's fragrances because it is so utterly its own thing in scent and offering. It is clearly a grownup scent yet it has none of the qualities that make it seem fussy or big and booming that are often associated with grownup scents it is serenely elegantly and smooth but does not rely on the usual notes to get there. It is based around sap and green shoots with just hints of amber but overall it is a fragrance of subtle mystery that will never overpower but rather is worn like a second skin. The colors are dark green, umber, dark gold, rich velvet grey, and inky black much like the color palate above. So what on earth do you do when you love Ormonde Jayne's Woman and would like something different but in the same vein then I suggest you check out Ava Luxe's Moksha.

Ava Luxe's Moksha is a little more vibrantly woodsy relying on a citrus opening but like Ormande Jayne's Woman becomes a rather warm musky wood scent that enchants the wearer and brings about an instant serenity. They both share a wood sap like quality that I adore that rather reminds me of as a child going to my family's ranch and constantly touching the pine sap much to the chagrin of my family because I thought it smelled so good.

Andrew Bird's Yawny At The Apocalypse conveys how these fragrances feel to me.

Notes for Ormonde Jayne Woman: Cardamom, coriander and grass oil, Black hemlock, violet and jasmine absolute Vetiver, cedar wood, amber and sandalwood. 
Notes for Moksha: Indian Sandalwood, Himalayan Cedar, Agarwood, Silver Pine, Gaiac wood, Cypress, Cashmere Musk, Mandarin tangelo. 

image by Yasunari Ikenagi

Pop Culture Perfume Series: Claire Underwood of House of Cards

Earlier this year my boyfriend and I were very very addicted to Netflix's House of Cards and I still think it was one of the best things I watched this year (I have actually watched a lot of phenomenal tv this year now that I think of it). The character that fascinated me the most was Claire Underwood played by Robin Wright. Claire Underwood is perhaps one of the most interesting female characters on television this year she is ruthless, powerful, fierce, intelligent, and above all wants power and prestige from her work. She is a rare sight in television and while I could be abhorred by her actions I found her the most fascinating because Wright could every once in awhile show a glimmer of vulnerability underneath that rather onyx like facade maybe just maybe a little regret over a few of her choices. My fascination with her quickly came to what perfume would this woman wear. I then came to the conclusion that I would have to make three choices for her dictated by what facade she was showing that day Claire Underwood the politician's wife, Claire Underwood during business, and Claire Underwood who randomly every once in awhile likes to think she is bohemian.

First up Claire Underwood playing at bohemian, this side of Claire is rare, and comes out when she is having her affair, the truth is this not really who she is but rather a character she every once in awhile she likes to think she is. You will not find her putting on random perfume oils but rather I suspect she would reach for Serge Luten's Chergui. It's a cold interesting soft mellow scent of musk, tobacco, honey, and incense that undeniably makes other's lean in to smell but at the same time it does not scream seduction rather whispers of sensuality.

So coming up with Claire Underwood's everyday scent was harder let's face it this woman does not wear florals. No, I had to go to the variety of woodsy and chypre. I then remembered Ormonde Woman by Ormonde Jayne, this is a soft chypre but a chypre none the less with an amazing hemlock note. This scent is easily workable but it is powerful in that it does not play on traditional notes considered feminine.

Finally there is Claire Underwood the politician's wife, this is the glamorous side that Claire uses to help her husband to navigate and win in Washington. I like to think she puts on Estee Lauder's Private Collection Jasmin White Moss when she wants to comes off as serene, a chypre that radiates coolness and clarity yet is very strong.


Claire Underwood image provided by www.btchflcks.com

Its been a long month....

Well I didn't fall off the face of the earth or go into the jungle and get lost or visit the moon and meet an alien who took me to the center, rather I did what so many do after a break-up and a ton of work, I went into hiding, and had a few meditative thoughts. But after a month of doing that...well...one can only handle so much of it. So I decided to share somethings I enjoyed this month:

I took my Dad to go see the new Harry Potter movie, which I thought was really cute, and it just made me really happy to see my Dad happy.

The Chicken Piccata I made my Dad for his birthday. The excellent recipe was provided by Giada de Laurentiis.

The making of apricot preserves. My favorite recipe can be found here.

Making my favorite homemade lemon liquor, which can be found here.

The perfection that is Blueberry Buttermilk Cornmeal Pancakes, I've never been fond of regular pancakes, but these are divine, and the recipe is here.

I come from a family that is bacon connoseurs, so I rather love bacon, but quite frankly I suck at cooking it stove top, but then I found out you can do it in the oven, and my bacon world has been saved, also this is perfect if your having a crowd over for breakfast, instructions here.

Watching the Wallender series starring Kenneth Branagh, just wow, the photography in this was exceptional, and I really just loved seeing Sweden as I have never really seen it before.

Which brings me to Emily Barker, the intro to Wallender has one of the most haunting songs I have heard in a long time, and I was utterly taken by it. The voice of Emily Barker is haunting and the song that captured me, Nostalgia:

As for fragrance, I am rather haunted by the beauty of Ormonde Jayne's woman, the scent of sap from childhood.

image provided by artnet.com

image: Red Lanterns July 24 2007 by Donald Sultan

video uploaded by yuambari

SOTD: Ormonde Jayne Osmanthus

Quote of the Day: I've done the calculation and your chances of winning the lottery are identical whether you play or not. -- Fran Lebowitz

I am a morning person which seems to be a rarity in my generation; I have inherited this tendency from my grandparents who passed it onto my father who has passed it on to me, where as my brother can sleep in until three and stay up until 5 in the morning. I love the quiet of the mornings, but I honestly wish I had friends I could meet in the morning at cafes. This segways into Sunday in that I firmly believe Sundays should be spent in lazy relaxation, in my case getting up early enough to enjoy the cool breeze of morning but getting a nice nap later on. This once again will be not happening because I am working. The temperture is supposed to go up today and I plan to wear Ormonde Jayne's Osmanthus, which so far I have only really gotten grapefruit from, but supposedly blooms in heat. In the evening I plan on enjoying the sultriness of Dolce & Gabbana's Sicily which is gorgeous in the summer.

Fragrant observations:
-La Maison de La Vanille's Divine Vanille des Tropiques is really made for hot weather, just surrounds you in gorgeousness.
-Azuree Soleil has a gorgeous musky drydown; I often forget the many beautiful stages this fragrance goes through.

The ultimate music of summer is Jack Johnson and here is If I Had Eyes by Jack Johnson:

image provided by artnet.com

image: The Lemon Song by TJ Ahearn 2007

video uploaded by Oniracom