Tropics with No Vacation In Sight: Elle L'Aime by Lolita Lempicka

I'm in school this summer. I've been able to chug away easily for the most part in my program since it began last fall but taking classes in the summer is officially a drag.  One of the things making it such a drag is I currently have one of the world's most overly verbose instructors.

What taking classes in the summer has meant the most though is that I have had no real vacation in awhile. I have had a week off between quarters and that has been since last December/January. Currently serving as one of my vacation getaway scents is Lolita Lempicka's Elle L'Aime. A scent that seems to have not reached the US fragrance counters with much ado. What that has meant is that online you can get an absurdly excellent price.

Elle L'Aime is maybe a perfect beginner scent for those of us leary of tropical scents. It is tropical no doubt but thankfully it is not overly heady or overly sweet. It starts off with a sweet lime and coconut accord that is perfectly blissful, in fact it is gone to soon. Then comes a rather lovely sweet creamy white flower heart with hints of ylang ylang (as you know a favorite of mine) just clean enough that it won't feel heavy in the heat. Finally the scent lands in a mix of creamy florals and woods. It is a shock that Elle L'Aime has  a good and unique dry down, the mixture of florals and woods creates a much more sophisticated scent than expected. Christine Nagel and Serge Majoullier are able to work some serious magic with undoubtedly very synthetic ingredients smelling surprisingly natural in the drydown. Christine Nagel's taming hand of heady florals can be seen in this scent also.

Overall Elle L'Aime suffers from the fact that the marketing of scent seems a bit juvenile and well the bottle leaves something to be desired. It is a polished take on an everyday tropical scent which you would think would have a fairly large audience here in the US considering how popular Estee Lauder's Bronze Goddess is or the many other tropical scents that are well loved here. Yet, Lolita Lempicka seems to have at some point given up on the American market.

Try Elle L'Aime if you like Estee Lauder's Bronze Goddess, the original Bath and Body Works Coconut Lime Verbena, or Serge Luten's Datura Noir.

First Image From: Argent du Buerre
Second Image: Johanna Burai

A Day at the Beach: Vanille Divine des Tropiques

I don't go to the beach often. Getting from where I live to the beach involves two very congested pieces of road in the summer and those are basically the only two ways to get there. On the other hand after yesterday I am determined to do it more often. The burnt out dry brittle summer of Northern California is getting to me, more so this year because of the intense blistering drought. I was born and raised here and yet I am not a summer person, give me cool wet autumnal weather and I am happy. The beaches of Northern California are not the warm tropical wonders or bright summer paradises that people consider ideal beaches. The beaches here are dark crashing wonders for the most part, the water always cold, and the sand never perfectly white, it is also frequently overcast and foggy. Yesterday, was one of those rare days when the sun peeped out but the cool breeze remained. I celebrated my beach day by wearing La Maison de la Vanille's  Vanille Divine des Tropiques a tropical scent that is a little different.

Vanille Divine des Tropiques first surprise is that it begins with aldehydes, not extreme aldehydes but none the less they are there. The aldehydes dissipate quickly and then it enters the creamy white floral stage part, what I find interesting is I get the distinct mentholated cooling impression of ylang ylang in this section yet ylang ylang is not mentioned on the notes but as they say you can't always believe the listing of notes. As the scent progresses a distinct animalic musk note enters, nothing frightening like the Musc Kublai Khan arena but it definitely plays a supporting role keeping the scent in check never letting it become too cupcake like. Overall I enjoy this tropical scent because it uses frequently unused notes in its tropicalness the aldehydes replace the role of citrus/pineapple and coconut base is replace by an animalic musk. It really allows for the blend of white florals and vanilla to be seen and play out on the skin.

Try if  you like: Songes by Annick Goutal, Sicily by Dolce & Gabbana, Dilmun by Lorenzo Villoresi, Sira des Indes by Jean Patou, Do Son by Diptyque, Grand Neroli by Atelier Cologne, Vanillary by LUSH, and Bronze Goddess by Estee Lauder.

Image of Aria Giovanni.

SOTD: Songes

Going with the lush, tropical, and dry scent of Annick Goutal's Songes. It really is an amazing scent for the time that it was released, it has a wonderful old school womanly quality, that I have not smelled in modern scent release since oh ever. It is timeless.

Quote of the Day: Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.) -- Walt Whitman, "Song of Myself

image provided by artnet.com

Tropical Forest with birds and Orquids by Ernesto Gualle

SOTD: Azuree Soleil

It is that time of year when you begin to year for things that are warm and balmy (especially if you are a student), my antidote right now, is Estee Lauders Azuree Soleil. A lovely tropical concoction that will be released again this year but apparently under the name Bronze Goddess (which is so much hokier than the wonderfully paradise evoking name of Azuree Soleil).

image provided from artnet.com

Like Milk For A Kitten by Irene Hardwicke-Olivieri

Datura Noir part. 1

I'm going to admit it now, I rarely wear tropical scents, what can I say I rarely think I can pull off the sunny lushness that tropical scents often have going for them, and yet Datura Noir by Serge Lutens is one of the few tropical scents that I can. I suppose if I were to sum this scent up it for its character it would be "a gothic tropical scent, a moodscape of the icy arctic meeting falling petals of creamy luscious tropical flowers." This is the scent of a jungle at night with the coldest white full moon in the sky illuminating everything in its brilliant silver light. And yet this scent is softly narcotic there is no screeching gardenias or tuberoses, the tuberose in this is mellow and edged with a buzzing green note, the osmanthus is the more promenent floral giving off its gentle greeness with its hints of apricots soaked in cream, the coconut is subdued never reminding of sunscreen but rather the scent of freshly cracked coconut, and the hint of bitter almond through out giving it that hint of high pitched sweetness that is cold and wonderfuly sweet. Datura Noir is a soft scent yet has a sharp edge with its unheady narcotic quality.