teacakery

Etat Libre d'Orange Putain des Palaces

2009-09-14T18:17:00.009+10:00

Putain des Palaces takes its name from a song by French singer songwriter Serge Gainsbourg, a man know for his lascivious womanizing, prodigious drinking and enjoyment in shocking people as much as for his musical genius.

Putain des trotoirs putain des palaces
Pour les mecs dans l'fond c'est le même tabac

Street whore, fine hotel whore
For the guys in the back it's the same thing

Ronsard, Serge Gainsbourg

Palaces means a luxury 5 star hotel rather than an actual palace as I understand it.

Putain de Palaces edp smells like day old underwear and the dusty violet of makeup that is no longer fresh. I can smell no leather. It does a good job of conveying the tired personal tragedy of a life selling your body whether it be in luxury or a back alley. It's simple. It is not skanky in a way that is at all sensual. Its realism is very plain and very gritty. A depressing scent.

Notes of:
Rose absolute, violet, leather, lily of the valley, mandarin, ginger, rice powder, amber and animalic notes

Placebo did a cover of Serge Gainsbourg's "The Ballad of Melody Nelson", here for your enjoyment.

Painting by Egon Schiele

Chanel #5, A History Exotic

2008-03-26T13:09:00.003+11:00

Chanel #5 is a fragrance of iconic status. Marketed as luxury, class and a beauty that stands apart #5's perfume story may surprise you as it includes black earth and melting ice. The creator of Chanel #5 Ernest Beaux {genuflects} has this to say about what inspired the fragrance:

"I’ve been asked some questions about the subject of the creation of No. 5. When did I create it? In 1920 exactly [launched in 1921], upon my return from the war. I had been part of the campaign in a northern region of Europe, above the arctic circle, during the midnight sun, where the lakes and rivers exuded a perfume of extreme freshness. I retained this note and recreated it, not without difficulty, for the first aldehydes I was able to find were unstable and unreliable."

Souvenirs et Parfums, by Constantin Weriguine

Weriguine tells us Beaux included the scent of tchernozium, a fertile black earth of the region and that #5 sought to create a "winter melting note".

Perhaps next time you wear or sniff Chanel #5 you can experience what the creator intended, something deeper than pearls and an expensive black dress. I've always loved #5 above all other Chanels and a perfume story such as this one only endears it to me more.

Thanks to FiveoaksBouquet and Michael Edwards "Perfume Legend's" for this story.

Arcana Filthy Viking

2008-03-25T21:48:00.004+11:00

I've often seen inquiries on perfume forums asking for fragrances with mint in them. The answers given are sparse and the fragrances suggested have mint only as a minor supporting note in what is otherwise a green or a chypre or a citrus. Why mint hasn't translated well into perfume is difficult to understand once you experience the variety and creativity with which it's been used in the world of perfume oils. Filthy Viking is a great showcase of this.

"Bracing Norwegian juniper, frigid Icelandic mint and the hardy wood of a longship."

An icy mint beginning will probably be too much for some but this soon softens and the wood comes to the fore. It's pine and planks and tar and mint, masculine but beautifully soft in the drydown. This is no novelty scent, it's development is very enjoyable. The wood note and the hint of tar create a warming balance with the mint and it takes little imagination to feel the worn deck of a ship and the sharp cold air. I have tried three of Arcana's mint perfumes and they each paint their own fascinating and very different story.

At first whiff Filthy Viking really cleans the sinuses!

Competition! Identify this photo and receive some free Arcana samples!

Arcana Soaps

2008-03-02T13:06:00.004+11:00

Over the next few blog-o-cycles I will be writing about the wonderful perfume oil company, Arcana. If any e-tailer could convert a Lutens sipping, Tauer tooting self-confessed fragrance snob to the joyful worship of a 5ml bottle Arcana would be it.

Fragrance collectors are often holy grail seekers. Long after they have given up the search for a One True Scent in favour of a grand gallery of scents they still long for bankable perfection in, if not a bottle, a house. Wouldn't it be wonderful if a dearly loved line always produced magnificence? If you adored Goutal and you knew that none would ever fall flat, if you rejoiced with each L'Artisan release and reached for your credit card unsniffed? There is always an edge to the disappointment of a poorly done scent when it comes from a house one dearly desires to exalt above all others.

I thought I was over all that but Arcana brought it back in a rush. I have tried ten Arcana scents and each has been a portrait of perfection, a beautifully rendered piece of art. Could this be IT, the Holy Grail house? Probably not and I would hate to put such a burden on poor Arcana's shoulders but I have certainly enjoyed this scent journey and I hope to share it you.

Birthed in Portland, Oregon in 2003 Arcana is the creation of Julia, surname unknown to me. Arcana began as a soap company and carries matching soaps and scrubs to many of their oils. Arcana has several dozen scents available at any given time including 5-10 seasonal scents with limited availability. Each one has struck me as a marvelously complete scent, a work of art that stands alone. Never too light, always evocative, beautiful labels. Arcana sells through a variety of etailers, most notably Magical Omaha and The Soapbox Company. International customers should head over to Magical Omaha as The Soapbox Company charges 37.00 to ship internationally.

We Interrupt the Perfume..

2007-12-01T20:54:00.002+11:00

Let me just say.. OMG. The emotion of Melissa's rendition of this old Petty thrasher both in her singing and face blows me away. Melissa Etheridge's raw voice and lyrics have always been cathartic therapy for me. What a cover, if I was Petty I would just bow down and grovel in the face of this divine interpretation of my anthem.

Currently wearing BPAL's War from the Good Omens series.

BPAL Project: Dia de Los Muertos 07

2007-10-09T11:43:00.000+10:00

Wow. This scent is an intense hit of burning garbage and food. Yes it's not much of a stretch to smell the churros. Fried stuff.. sugar.. dough.. overly ripe fruit. And like a pall over these confections a smoky burnt smell, "should they be burning that?"

Dia de Los Muertos is the olfactory equivalent of Found Art. The burning garbage smell pervades parts of Mexico and for the long time returnee it's part of the rush that says you are back. It's awful, it's refuse, it's true to a time and place and to experience it in a perfume oil celebrating the Mexican Day of the Dead is a wonderful thing.

Traditional foods used for Dia de los Muertos.

"..dry, crackling leaves, the incense smoke of altars honoring Death and the Dead, funeral bouquets, the candies, chocolates, foods and tobacco of the ofrenda, amaranth, sweet cactus blossom and desert cereus."

BPAL Project: Taurus 2007

2007-10-03T14:12:00.000+10:00

As the Zodiac oil of Taurus drew close I suspect Taurean BPAL fans were in a lather of anticipation over what earthy, hoof pawing, testosterone soaked leather their oil would be. How could it not be along the lines of BPAL's other macho Bull scent, Minotaur? Well it's not. And I would imagine this was something of a surprise to a few fans.

Taurus is a bull; Ferdinand the bull. This lovely children's book by Munro Leaf was published during the time of the Spanish Civil War. Banned in some countries for promoting pacifism "The Story of Ferdinand" is a simple tale of a bull who refuses to fight but instead sits down and smells the flowers. Taurus is a wonderful oil to wear in the cool spring air with the joy of all the sun's promises. The herbal notes peek through making this more of a meadow scent than a bouquet and as the florals fade you are left with warmed earth and grasses. Beautifully blended this is one of the loveliest BPAL's I've worn.

Ferdinand the Bull tattoos have been popularized by famous folk and they do look quite lovely. Here's a non-famous person's tribute to a boy cow and his love of flowers.

Fixed Earth: the essence of possession.
Rose, daisy, apple blossom, violet, poppy, columbine, thyme, and mint.

BPAL Project: Hecate

2007-08-31T19:28:00.000+10:00

In my long journey of perfume sniffing, huffing, inadvertently tasting and, with BPAL, slathering all over myself my dislikes are now overly familiar to me. Cumin? Check. Certain uses of Vetiver? Check. Lily? Sadly, check. Very few surprises with even the most insipid offering having some wearibility provided varying checks aren't there.

Sniffing Hecate from the vial I thought it a less complex version of Bastet with far too foody an almond for my tastes. In the mood for something sweet I almost poured half the vial on but instead just smeared a bit on the back of my hand. This restraint was surely an unsought gift on the part of the divine. For a very tiny span of time Hecate did something quite nice. It was almondy goodness with a smoky curl through it and it was lovely. So short was this phase that had I even been checking my email rather than sniffing my hand I would have missed it. What followed was beyond belief.

Hecate, possessed with murderous cyanide intent was a bitter horror that made me want to vomit. For a panicky moment I actually thought I had poisoned myself. I could see this oil being used to induce spontaneous abortion, violent stomach purging, the expelling of every life force. It is POISON. Hours later my mouth is still full of saliva and nausea. The most visceral reaction I've ever had to a BPAL. Immediately I remembered this painting.

Painting is Judas by Australian artist Albert Tucker, an artist whose works have made me literally step back and avert my eyes.

Transcript of an interview with Albert Tucker in which he discusses the theme of Judas.

Magnificent three-faced Goddess of Magic, the Dark Moon and the Crossroads. She is the Mother of Witches, and the midnight baying of hounds is her paean. Her compassion is evidenced in her role as Psychopomp for Persephone, and her wrath manifests as Medea's revenge. Deep, buttery almond layered over myrrh and dark musk.

BPAL Project: Bathsheba

2007-08-21T22:18:00.000+10:00

"Your faith was strong, but you needed proof
You saw her bathing on the roof
Her beauty in the moonlight overthrew you.."

Bathsheba has a prettified sensuality that men are wont to paint in broad brushstrokes when attracted to beautiful women, the kind of women that seem a cliché to their own gender but not to the men who pursue them. Bathsheba's eyes are doe-like with mascara smudged vulnerability. She carries her extra poundage like a downy comforter waiting to enfold her admirers. Her mouth.. does she ever close it or is it always open in that half-ready, half-pout expression? She perfumes her hair with highly scented oil and the moonlight is bright in the sheen on her breasts.

Below, in the servants quarters, the maidservants speak her name with derision.

On the roof, a man watches in the shadows.

In the moonlight, she bathes.

Beauty is not always a simple thing.

Photograph "Bathsheba, 2001" by Christopher Braddock

The Seventh Daughter, Daughter of the Oath. She was King David's lover, and the mother of King Solomon. Her scent is breathtakingly lovely, exotic and powerfully sensual in its innocence: carnation, sensual plum, and Arabian musk.

BPAL Project: Malediction

2007-08-02T21:39:00.000+10:00

Malediction: Evil incarnate. Revel in your dark side with this romantically cruel scent. Contains red patchouli and vetivert.

Evil incarnate, Ooooo I'm so scared.. other people's hyperbole is never as interesting as one's own. Malediction is a very masculine and meditative blend of patchouli and vetiver with the vetiver being the dominant note. I'd almost call this combination a poor man's oudh as the effect is the same: powderry darkness. If you are looking for a strongly masculine BPAL this is the one. Lovers of vetiver should beat the lab door down to try this. Wear Malediction when you want to feel silent and powerful.

photo: "Malediction" by Ann Hamilton

BPAL Project: Love Me

2007-07-31T23:41:00.000+10:00

I figured with this sweet little name, so different from BPAL's usual..{GOLGOMOTH'S URN}.. that this would be a sugary confection. Maybe a touch of heliotrope quickly drowned out with too much vanilla and finishing off with some standard bakery spice in the drydown. No No No! This is not the case. A very smoky scent with a warmer cream many hours later. Love Me could be all campfirey but there is an intensity to it which negates any cheery associations.

To wear Love Me is to baste yourself in the oil mixed ashes of your dead lover. A secret rite of those who know that love lasts long after fire. A rather intoxicating BPAL.

Love Me: A commanding, dominant oil that increases sexual magnetism, creates an intense and irresistible air of attraction, and amplifies potency.

"The time to hesitate is through. There's no time to wallow in the mire. Try now we can only lose. And our love become a funeral pyre." Jim Morrison

For an interesting perspective on Morrison's death and the rumours surrounding it you can read the blog of his lover, Mrs. Morrison's Hotel. The July 12 2007 entry addresses the latest information to come to light.

Photo by Thomas Hawk.

The Depressing Quality of Mediocrity, a perfume confession

2007-07-20T22:50:00.000+10:00

Today I ordered French Onion soup at a cafe I've previously enjoyed. First time I've seen it on the menu, I realized it's been many years since I had it. It's freezing out. I could not wait to enjoy it. What I received was not the mouthwatering robust broth of delight I remembered with its cheesy crust but rather a bowl of tepid brown liquid just rising above the surface of a huge clog of slimy onions. It looked like Klingon food and it tasted like Vegemite broth. It depressed me all out of proportion for what it was, a bad meal. My memories had failed, my anticipation had been jilted, I had to go back out into the filthy cold weather none the warmer and still hungry. I would have sent it back and not paid for it but I have a relative working in that cafe so I silently paid the bill, my soup left untouched.

Missing the train by one minute I wandered into the Chemist. A huge range of perfumes greeted me, not knock offs exactly but cheap scents in nice bottles each one smelling distinctly of a more well known fragrance. Angel, Chance, Beyond Paradise, Baby Doll.. they were all recognizable on first sniff. Most of them came from Paris Bleu, "this is REAL French perfume" the chemist girl assured me. I enjoyed playing with them and teasing myself as to how much of a snob I was, would my opinion be higher if they were a recognizable brand. I almost convinced myself this would be the case but by the time I was on the train the scents assaulting my nose from my light testing on my arms told me otherwise. In cheap perfumes the drydown is either non-existent as the fragrance vanishes or in the case of more dominant scents it turns unpleasantly harsh.

Arriving home I pulled out this month's issue of Madison to find the fragrance panel of SJP's Covet, not yet available here. I must confess that is the only reason I bought this magazine though I tried to convince myself there were many fascinating articles about affairs and fashion and societal trends that I would benefit from. Ripping away the strip I inhaled deeply.. (such a pretty bottle).. my conclusion is that SJP has wasted a lot of money on this advertisement because all it smells of is faint glue, magazine paper and a whiff of cleaning product. Is this what Covet will smell like? I hope not and given that it is described as being more potent than that vague thing called Lovely I can't see how this could be.

I think I am much more emotionally invested in smelling things than I realized. So disappointed! Now being disappointed over food is, perhaps, a little more normal but I need to walk away from a bad perfume experience untouched. It's not like a film where you can beat yourself up over wasting two hours of your life.

Perfume. It's not this serious:

A is for Architect

2007-05-31T15:18:00.001+10:00

Allure Sensuelle is a fragrance that synesthetically matches the bitter burgundy of its box. This is the exact colour of Allure Sensuelle, a perfume that gives structure to the idea that Chanel perfumes are "abstract". Allure Sensuelle is all angular design and vision, the perfect fragrance for an Ayn Rand heroine. John Galt, come sniff my neck!

I realize A.S. is supposed to be warm, cozy, erotic, sensual according to many people's response and the perfumer's own description but I get none of that myself. A.S. is a sober fragrance with an understated classical charm. A.S. is serious dark furniture in wood paneled rooms with tall windows showing grey skies. A.S. is a winter fragrance for days you must gird yourself in preparation for. In the lab of an alchemist A.S. would have the words "apply for strength" neatly printed on the label.

Top note : Bergamot, Mandarin Orange, Pink Pepper

Middle note : Jasmine, Rose, Iris,Candied Fruit, Vetiver

Base note : French Vanilla, Amber Patchouli, Frankincense, Sensual Note

"One of the models for our fragrance Allure is an actress called Anna Mouglalis. By accident, I happened to hear her voice one day, and it surprised me. It was a deep voice, strong and almost masculine. I was very surprised by it, by the contrasts. I liked the idea of creating a fragrance after a voice because I think that one's voice is very important, it reveals an inner dimension. I think that perfume also has to do with an inner dimension, you see, so I thought it was a nice poetic idea. That was the starting point." Jacques Polge, Perfumer, on the creation of Allure Sensuelle.

Jacques Polge

Escada edp

2007-01-13T23:59:00.000+11:00

Escada edp is the eponymous scent of a house of many bottles. Released in 2005 you would be forgiven for being surprised at how many Escadas (with actual names) preceded it. I am reminded of The Cure's 13nth album (depending on how you count them), "The Cure" though thankfully the quality of this odd fragrance does not cause grieving and renting of clothes as listening to that album does.

In the face of this not uncommon in fragrance-land names confusion Escada edp is often called Escada Crystal and Escada Signature. Neither of these names appear on the box, the bottle or any of the advertising. Where these names came from as used by varying stores and fragrance lists is a mystery.

This Escada, in a sparkling and very attractive green box has a vivid and simple appeal. It smells of American department store, the scent of cucumbers as presented by jillions of body products, and a round orange blossom note who's chalky center reminds me of Dior's Pure Poison. The American department store notes are not shrill or cheap but immediately familiar. I am almost ready to leave off browsing The Gap and make my way to the food court for an enormous pretzel. There is nothing bland about it and from this expats perspective the whole thing is kind of neat. It's a nifty place capsule that is well done and enjoyable in it's own right. It should be that Escada edp smells like many other fragrances but it is strangely non-generic. Perhaps it is more an interpretation of a place and time scentwise, a place and time with brightly lit shelves displaying bottle after bottle of American perfumes.

The advertising for this Escada captures it perfectly.

Escada edp was designed by Pierre Bourdon, of Malle's Iris Poudre fame.

Top note : Bergamot, Black Currant, Green Leaves, Cucumber, Lemon
Middle note : Magnolia, Jasmine, Lily-of-the-Valley, Orange Blossom, Rose, Peony
Base note : Amber, Musk, Tangerine, Vanilla, Iris, Patchouli,Sandalwood

Lancome Tropiques: Postcards from the Gift Shop

2007-01-07T22:52:00.000+11:00

Yesterday in the 34C heat I was happily making mango ginger marmalade. It came out perfectly. I filled a pretty, smaller jar to give away but now I'm keeping it because it's the best jam I've made in a while. About 8 small mangoes, 2 oranges, crystallized ginger and some lemon juice. And sugar of course.

Lancome Tropiques is a part of their travel series, limited editions released only to duty free outlets at airports. Asia and Africa will be coming out this year and the next. Throw in some ginger to Tropiques, and a touch of saffron and it could have been the Asian edition but Tropiques is definitely more of a hula number, though a somewhat stately one. Middle aged hula with little likelihood of anything falling off mid hipsway in the sand. For those that fear tropical means the pubescent punch offered up by Escada this is good news. Creamy mango with a faint touch of wood in the drydown the brightest moments are the fleeting top notes. I wish they lasted longer because they are quite delicious and I turn into a topnote huffer with this one, reapplying for my fix.

The dignified mango Tropiques settles into is quite unique. Often a perfume seeking to distance itself from youth but still include fruit will use the fruit as a minor chord but that is not the case here. It's mango. It's tropical. It's espadrilles and "maybe I'll go in the water tomorrow". Meanwhile, let's hit the gift shop!

It is extremely hot

2006-12-21T16:50:00.000+11:00

It is 37+ Celsius or nearly 100 Fahrenheit. The sky is WHITE, no not with snow clouds (though those are grey as I recall) but with smoke. Bushfires in the north east of the state have been burning furiously for over a week and the air is thick with their brimstonian waftings. Okay that sounds both hifalutin and inaccurate as brimstone is sulpher which isn't quite the same as thousands of hectares of burnt gum tree fumes but the whole experience is so oppressive that I'm falling into hyperbole. Venturing outside I can feel the smoke in my lungs and my eyes watering. There is no visibility from behind the house across the street, just whiteness.

Today I have lavishly applied ElizabethW's Sweet Tea. This is often described as being "just like ice tea, with sugar". Ice Tea is the sole remaining food item I miss from the mother country. Sure I can make it myself but I miss being able to buy it when out and drinking vast quantities of it over a sandwich. If I lived in the land of Ice Tea I would say goodbye to Diet Coke forever. Of course even though I knew it was going to be oppressive today I have not made any Ice Tea as that would require finding ice cube trays, waiting for tea to cool from boiling point and on and on. I don't do instant as I like it unsweetened and regardless instant tea does not exist in this country. Anyway, onto the perfume..

ElizabethW is an inexpensive line of perfumes from San Francisco. Sweet Tea is delicate with a lemony squeeze that avoids all the bad things I could say about lemon and fragrance. There is no citrus element. It does smell like tea in a simple and refreshing way and the sweetness distinguishes it from other tea fragrances. It is not a plant scent so much as a gourmand scent. In this weather I do not want complicated. I do not want to have to think. I just want to sit and sip and wait for the cool change to come blowing through. Sweet Tea accomplishes this very well.

"Gracious, spirited, elegant. Enticing oriental black teas, juicy fresh Amalfi lemons, and the sweetness of almond honey."

Robert Piguet's Fracas

2006-12-07T17:40:00.000+11:00

One of the strangest things I've experienced with the perfume journey is the disturbing idea that I know myself far less than I think. Had I been assigned in school to make a list of the 10 perfumes that most describe "me" it would have included many fragrances which I find truly unwearable. Certainly that brooding introspective artiste, Black Cashmere, would have topped the list but though I've tried to wear it numerous times I find I simply do not like it. Appreciate it, yes; I cannot fault it and consider it near perfect. But wearing it makes me depressed. That's really all there is to say about it.

Of course being surprised by what I don't like isn't much fun. Far more exciting to be surprised by totally unexpected loves, yet these are equally disturbing because again I question how well I know my own tastes.

"It's VERY strong.."

"An intense tuberose"

"sexy, bombshell blonde"

So obviously not me, the Introvert. And yet I am absolutely in love with Fracas. Every morning I want her, I look forward to applying her, I can't bear to think about all the samples and decants I am supposed to be testing because every moment spent with them is a moment away from her.

She is creamy and dramatic. Her drydown is beautiful, not just the basenotes but a confection of all she has to offer and the time spent getting there. Sometimes she is as sweet as frosting and other times there is a guarded quality to her as though it is not yet her time to bloom. In the heat--oh my. How a perfume manages to capture the soft and waxy feel of thick white petals I don't know but that is what Fracas does.

Of course I understand perfectly why many hate her. I am that person myself, one the anti-Fracas crowd who finds her vulgar and appallingly loud.. or so I thought. Such a wonderful surprise to be wrong.

Robert Piguet's Fracas was created in 1948.

Top notes: bergamot, orange blossom, leafy green essence, peach blossom, pink geranium

Heart notes: tuberose, jasmine, lily of the valley, white iris, carnation

Base notes: sandalwood, musk oakmoss, vetiver, cedar

With Love.. Hilary Duff

2006-11-16T17:25:00.000+11:00

With Love is a mellow sweet fragrance with a star anise note that raises its drinking age by at least 5 years. Young teens will buy this because it's NEW and Hilary Duff but they will not want to lick it off their arms like they do Fantasy. The delicate use of star anise saves this fragrance from being another gourmand, rather it is *gasp* a baby oriental. It warms my heart to think of pre-teens getting their feet wet in a grown up category. This would be a cozy scent to wear in the winter when looking for something lighter.

The real star of this fragrance launch is the packaging. A most beautiful creamy blue with a gold filagree border decorating even the square tester cards. This sweet girl-blue reminds me of bath and body products from the 60's with their opaque monochrome lending a solemn face to products of fancy. Didn't we used to have bicycles in that colour, heavy and perfect on Christmas? Where has this colour been for the last few decades? Mixed with pinks no doubt. How strangely retro to see it on it's own.

The photo fails to reveal the true wonderment of the Duff. So often that is the case.

Notes:
Mangosteen Fruit, Exotic Spice Blend, Chai Latte,
Mangosteen Blossoms, Cocobolo Wood, Amber Milk, A
Amber Musk, Balsam, Incense.

Brit Red and the Minions of Plaid

2006-10-29T17:15:00.000+11:00

After successfully ignoring the Burberry line for many years I have finally succumbed. Ever a wide-eyed child of advertising spin and my own imagination I have fallen for many a fragrance fantasy..

You will be scary and maybe kinky and definitely sexy and also Mr. LeCarre will want to write about you.

You are lying on your stomach under the magnolia tree, crushing the waxy petals into your palms as you read Empire of the Sun. Overhead, the drone of an airplane.

You were born to wear white and be at least 6 inches taller. Your hair, cut in a blunt bob at chin level, could slice cheese. You talk through your teeth; people not only listen, they defer.

How funny to become enthralled with the idea of a fragrance you "can wear every day". Oh yes, this is apparently high praise in MUA review land. "For every day wear!" "You can wear it at work and at home!" "This is a fragrance you can wear daily!" Wow, how exciting. Yet somehow after reading every Burberry review for every Burberry variety I wanted just that. A fragrance to wear every day because, you know, I am a normal person who wears pleasant, easy to wear fragrances. I am a nice girl, I wear a nice perfume that I was given for Christmas and since I wear it every day it will make the perfect Christmas present next year as well! I am not a person who's perfumes come with matching nipple balm.

And so Brit Red and I spent the evening together. Brit Red's bottle is an extremely delicious colour. Maybe my newfound desire for every dayness will progress to actual Burberry Brit who's bottle and juice are far more generic than that loudmouth Brit Red but hey, you have to start somewhere. Brit Red is everything everyone says about it; rhubarb, gingerbread, vanilla, amberry florals. It is nice. It is plaid. All the Burberrys are plaid and as I marinated in rubarb gingerbread goodness while watching a DVD plaid infested my thoughts.

The film "The Upside of Anger" is a lumpy, blandly acted and forgettable film with a very weird ending. It contains six incidents of plaid.

Curtains in Terry Ann Wolfmyer's house, blue plaid.

Upholstered dining chairs in Terry Ann Wolfmyer's house, blue plaid matching the curtains. The chairs and curtains clash bizarrely with the blue and white floral wallpaper, but perhaps this is a design gesture that has passed me by.

Plaid dress on daughter. I can't remember which one, they were all so muted. Very nice dress.

Two plaid shirts worn by Kevin Costner to help cement his character of a sports person, middle-age-spreading has been. Both shirts exceedingly dull and ugly.

Plaid living room pillow in Kevin Costner's house. Blue.

I am glad I have my MUA inspired fantasy to associate with Brit Red because otherwise I would be stuck with a wildly different fragrance association, that of chavs. Thank goodness I can live in almost ignorance of how the UK views the house of Burberry because Brit Red really is very easy to wear. I might wear it again tomorrow!

Photo is "Ground Burberry" courtesy of Stebbi's Photos.

pretty bottles with bad, bad contents

2006-10-15T11:07:00.000+10:00

Let me begin by saying that I am very proud of myself that I have never bought one of these beauties. I have been tempted. Just the other day I saw Live at a give-away price, the big wonderful bottle, and I didn't even stop for another spray to try and convince myself. After all it's not like I don't have perfectly lovely bottles I could display who's contents I also enjoy. And it's also not like I actually display any of them. No, they live in boxes in a closet. In the dark. Unseen other than for a few moments. All of which would make succumbing to the pretty bottle temptation particularly stupid.

Calvin Klein's Euphoria Blossom

EB is a delicate frosted rendition of the original, very charming. A trend for summer versions, Stella has produced two in this vein. Plummy pink frosted glass is incredibly attractive in the heat; someone should try making a drink bottle in this, it would sell. The contrast with the silver solidity of Euphoria adds to its charm. The fragrance itself is almost non-existant, stagnant water with petals floating on the bottom. Very light, it evaporates almost immediately. There is really nothing else to say about it, though if you are after a non-offensive gift at least it looks nice.

Alexander McQueen's Kingdom

Ohh.. Kingdom. Who designed this beautiful bottle, a ruby red geode? The summer editions are are also geodes, pink crystal wonders. The first time I saw Kingdom I was gaga over the design, I had to have it! My dad's rockhound phase had imprinted big on my young mind and anything cool and geological attracts me. One of the most fun things we ever did was pick out our own geode at a dusty shack somewhere in the midwest, pay for it by weight and eagerly watch it being sawn open--anything could be in there! Ours was dark with tiny dusky crystals. We were the first people ever to see it. It was beautiful. And so is the artistic representation of treasure within an egg of stone that is Kingdom. This ad for Kingdom makes me wonder if McQueen had something other than geodes in mind with the bottle design--Judy Chicago anybody?

When I first skin tested Kingdom it was so awful, so truly repulsive that I wondered if I had brushed up against some fetid curry while at the food court and this was mixing powerfully with the perfume alcohol. I expressed shock at what I was smelling. The sales assistant lowered her voice, "It's not very nice, is it." No. It's not.

Guerlain's Insolence

The Insolence bottle is one of the loveliest I've seen. It's a glass spinning top, roundly satisfying to hold, intrigueing to spray. You see it and you want to scoop it up and enjoy it. Had this fragrance been only bland and not horrid to me I think I would have been unable to stop myself from acquireing this bottle. Sadly the scent itself is not something I can ever see wearing other than for five minutes before a shower to remind myself what it smelled like.

J.Lo's Live

A lyrical vase with a touch of carnival glass the Live bottle has me sighing "ah.. perfume". Unmistakably a celebration of fragrance just writing about it makes me want it. Only the largest size has this appeal. While the 100ml could be a blown glass creation the 30ml looks like a stunted globule of a craft project gone wrong. Some things are cuter in miniature and.. some are not.

If Live was your basic floral fruity, I would like it enough to take the bottle home. The drydown which appears some three minutes after the topnotes kills it for me. Touted as "caramel" the same flat note is dressed up as "praline" "cupcake" and other terms of gourmandology in fragrances aimed at the young. When accompanied by whipped tonka, a patchouli filling and dusted with vanilla sandlewood the note does a good job if you like that kind of thing. In a fruity floral it is stale, stale, stale. What is it even doing there? If you want to sweeten the fruity floral mix in some pineapple juice, it works for Live Luxe. Unfortunately for Live Luxe the bottle colours are horribley garish, though the design is the same. If only there could be a mixup at the factory..

Guerlain Insolence

2006-10-01T10:38:00.000+10:00

Insolence or "the new Guerlain" as it is trepidaciously referred to opens with a sharp blast of surprisingly strong synthetic violets. There is a clear chord of iris but I could detect none of the "red fruits" listed in the notes. It's vivid, it's modern in composition and it's strangely choppy. I kept sniffing for aldehydes to transform it into something classical and befitting of the floral accord. As the intial blast wore off (very slowly) I was waiting for vanillas to gourmandize what was smelling, in fits and starts, like a fresh piece of Hubbabubba just popped into a passing teenager's mouth.

Insolence seems strangely lost, floundering for its identity. It's too purple to be sexy, takes itself too seriously to be youthfully fun and often too blunt to be pretty. There are some passably lovely moments in the drydown but that takes four hours to get to. An ugly woody phase reminded me of another unpleasant modern purple.. at one point Insolence was Aimez Moi with a shot of Hypnose.

Those on a perpetual search for the violet candies of their childhood may find Insolence makes a passing swipe at it. However Insolence has none of the delicacy lovingly remembered and is almost medicinal in strength. It's a good thing violet flavoured syrup was never a medicine option, but if it had been Insolence would be an unwelcome reminder.

Notes: Iris (Orris), Orange Blossom, Rose, Violet, Sandalwood, White Musk, Tonka Bean, Raspberry.

Why do the caged violet bears sing? Here is another photo and a spot of info.

Annick Goutal's Eau de Ciel

2006-09-29T20:37:00.000+10:00

Eau de Ciel is honeyed lucerne and clover flowers warmed in the sun. Avoiding the literalness some niche scents strive for Eau de Ciel is more of an evocotive painting that transports you to a memory of summer you cherish. Sweeter in the cool weather, greener in the heat, Eau de Ciel is full of shades and moments. Just when I think it has little staying power and has vanished it wafts like a gentle breeze that makes you look around for the simple beauties it speaks of.

Eau de Ciel, "Water of Heaven", Annick Goutal describes it as "aerial, fresh, soft, tender, natural". Not a description that would normally make my mouth water--why didn't they just include the word "vapid". How wonderful that I found Eau de Ciel and was not turned away by this wan blurb.

The first day I wore Eau de Ciel I wanted to paint it all over my body and forget every other bottle of fragrance I owned. This is a rare and wonderful response that took me completely by surprise!

Eau de Ciel is so perfect, so beautiful it makes me want to name a child after her.

Notes are Brazilian rosewood, violet, Florentin iris and lime blossom.

Painting is "View of Buffalo Pass" by Richard Galusha.

For 5722 images of hay as well as an exhaustive study of hay in literature I suggest you visit Hay in Art. You will not regret it. If you are an obsessive lover of reference material like myself you will be filled with awe!

OOoo°°Purple Haze°°ooOO

2006-09-17T19:18:00.000+10:00

A day of fragrance dallying. While glancing at a forum over breakfast, still unscented, I saw the word ~~rose~~. Never a favorite suddenly I had to be rosy and blushing with petals. Such an impulse and thankfully I do have one rose scent, Stella. Other people seem to smell this better than I do, the wateriness washes it all away. A beautiful draught of amberry rose that refreshes even as it vanishes. Thoroughly modern with not a single moment of powder--and of course it escapes any soap associations which is probably why it is in my collection.

Some hours later, over lunch with another forum scan, a mention of Paco Rabanne's Ultraviolet. I have a sample of this rolling around the bottom of the rather packed sample box, and after a lot of ferretting I found it. Powdery and candy-esque, reminscent of that flavour in childrens lollies immediately recognizable as "purple". Not sweet enough to put me off, and I was enjoying the powdery play when it unexpectantly went sour on me. Reflected on sour candy for a bit.. warheads, sour straps and other tartly purple goodness. Perhaps if it was dry and hot this would have been refreshing, but I eventually decided I was pushing the association buttons to no happy avail.

And so, come evening, on to Alien. Odd woody jasmine, woody the way an old vine would be, still spitting out some unenthused blossoms. Strange synthetic note that brings to mind the wonders of plastics in an almost reverent way.. Oh where would we be without them? Let us pay homage to how they have revolutionized our lives! The drydown has been likened to grape gum in the same way some experience Poison, but it seems to speak more of the old gum wrappers left in a wooden drawer, only faintly retaining their original scent. Now for some reason I find this whole experience worth repeating, judgeing by how much I have used of the bottle. I used to go back to the Guggenheim time and time again as a teenager as well, never sure if I liked a lot of what I was looking at. Perhaps not being able figure out my own response is what makes it so interesting.

Purple haze all in my eyes, uhh
Dont know if its day or night
You got me blowin, blowin my mind
Is it tomorrow, or just the end of time?

Laudering With Intent

2006-09-10T13:08:00.000+10:00

I recently spent some quality fragrance time at the Estee Lauder counter, and what a lovely time it was. I've always enjoyed Lauder, if not to wear at least to sniff. Old school big scents, I can happily sample knowing I will spared some of the tedious current obsessions in modern fragrances. No billowing fumes of tonka bean, breathing their fetid marshmallow warmth all over me, what a relief! Last outing I sampled 4 new fragrance offerings as proffered by the perfumeconnection gals, each one heaving "tonka tonka tonka" in my face. A bad experience, I was happy to return to the refined 70's notions of Lauder.

Some of the Lauder line is like a really groovy retro wallpaper, you adore it though it is too loud to consider plastering on your living room walls. But.. you appreciate it. You are glad it is there. You want to keep it around and you know it would be a design tragedy were it to disappear under a sea of mushroom and pastels. My recent samplings were of Pleasures and the newly released Pure White Linen.

Pleasures was probably the only Lauder I hadn't tried (other than Aliage which does not exist in this country). The name itself stayed my hand, though Pleasures Exotic had been card sprayed for me by a promo person when it first came out. When an enthusiast on a forum recently described it as "crisp" I was mortified; a little nomenclature snobbery had kept me from "crisp"! How very awful! Within moments of trying it I fell in love with the top notes. They were something I had been always looking for. A crisp green cut floral, evocotive of aldehydes but not heavy with them. Beautiful, a truly perfect moment. Unfortunately the drydown was more than disappointing, the crispness melting into a fussy hotel soap. This did not soften with time but retained a nostril burning harshness which was very sad. I could see I would be hitting the bottle for that top note high with alarming regularity. I did sample Pleasures Intense hoping for a greener experience but found it was an intense version of the drydown right from the start.

Pure White Linen was another matter entirely. Pure White Linen is beautitful through every stage, and will have it's own blog entry in the near future. Meanwhile I would like to thank Estee for yet another pleasant and refined sniffing experience. Her fragrances always give me a lot to think about.

Picture is one sample of Australian designer Florence Broadhurst's beautiful wallpaper.

Head Cold

2006-08-09T18:27:00.000+10:00

No BPAL for me while I work my way through the tissues. I did break down the other day and try Serpent's Kiss. There was a wonderful, almost brittle note that I loved. However after a rather vigorous nose blowing session a faint whiff of the hated BPAL cake mix spice came to me. Possibly both these impressions are dead wrong. I haven't got much Serpent's Kiss in the vial so I'm waiting until all is crystal clear to really test it. SK is one of the sticky oils which I kind of enjoy, impractical though it is to have your wrist smeared in honey.

Today I'm wearing a spot of Trouble and very lovely it is.

Photo is Charlotte Church's album Tissues and Issues

BPAL Project: Holiday Moon

2006-08-06T17:45:00.000+10:00

~Yankee Candle Revenge~

Oh how I have gloated over my Yankee Candle virginity when it comes to BPAL. Happily spared of this inescapable association I am free to enjoy, or not, oils that to others shriek candle spice. Oils can have their assignations in my brain with other perfumey institutions but the Yankee Candles do not even get a wave in. It has been nyah nyah to Yankee Candles.

Bamboo, oudh, green and white tea.. lovely, yes? I am sure it is but I am unable to process any of this as the demon of TeaTree oil stains the life and delicacy out of them all. I am sure many an antipodean would recoil in the same way having soaped and antisepticized and souveniered their way through countless TeaTree products in their life. TeaTree you pervasive predator be gone from my olfactory pathways!!

"Bamboo pulp and oude with green and white tea."

Photo is of the beautiful plant TeaTree growing along the shore.

BPAL Project: Stardust

2006-08-05T17:19:00.000+10:00

Stardust!

Champagne pale and effervescent, makes you smile over your white musk cocktail. This scent is pretty and glittery and makes me think of Rive Gauche and her slim blue-eyeshadowed friends. Yes it does smell 70's as far as fragrance composition goes and it's nice to revisit girly and glam. Stardust isn't worried about remaining true to any floral purities and is happily its own synthetic party. It's this love of the blend rather than the integrity of notes that makes it such a flashback scent (particularly if you've been smelling nothing but BPAL's for some time).

Stardust has great lasting power and unlike most BPAL's is linear from first application until your sleeves the next day. The white sandlewood is a gorgeous base; otherwise the notes individual are lost in the moment. And that's rather refreshingly creative.

"And I don’t need no superheroes,
I don’t care for gods with wings,
I hear teardrops on the pavement when Lady Stardust sings….
oh Lady stardust sing..lady stardust sing."

Lady Stardust - Lisa Miskovsky

BPAL's Own Stardust Novel:

"When the holidays roll around, not everyone has mistletoe, caroling and cookies on their minds. This scent is a paean to celebrating hard: nights covered in glitter and dusted with cocaine, flutes of Cristal clutched in shaky hands, leather and lace, the Spiders From Mars in the background, and twisting, sweaty limbs entangled in dark corners. Hairspray and cigarette smoke is the incense in this temple to decadence, strobe and mirrors replace the devotional candles, and Bolan sings the hymns. This scent is for everyone that has every drifted off into Quaalude-induced reverie to the beat of a tribal 4-on-the-floor: the sound of Mott the Hoople, Sweet, Slade or the Dolls. This scent reflects the futurism, self-indulgence and excess of the Glitter 70's: champagne, hyacinth, tuberose, ylang ylang and flashing white musk with jonquil, tobacco flower, white sandalwood and a pale poppy."

BPAL Project: Kuang Shi

2006-08-04T17:05:00.000+10:00

Enchanting and delicate the mandarine tingles in the background of this oil's gentle opening. The mango develops well, adding depth and roundness and more colour than fruit to the sandlewood which is tinged with spice. You wouldn't call this a fruity scent, rather it settles into a canvas of desirable orange. It makes me think of teak furniture and Bali sunsets. A secret scent, you will carry it with you like a fantasy jaunt you know you will take some day.

I could not by any imagination gymnastics connect this charming scent with zombies.

"Bust out the dzang dzi! This scent honors the zombies of Chinese lore. Mandarin orange, white musk, mango, and white sandalwood."

BPAL Project: Gaueko

2006-08-03T20:47:00.000+10:00

Fir trees, cinnamon and perfumey goodness. Nice in a pot-pourri kind of way, this smells like a Christmas wreath. Similar to other scents without having any stand out qualities, this would a be a good oil to go caroling by. I'm fond of all BPAL's resinous forest oils, this one is almost the starter base. Festive rather than dark.

"Blackened sandalwood and misty lavender, with curling wisps of smoky tobacco, nag champa, and labdanum."

BPAL Project: Siren

2006-08-02T17:23:00.000+10:00

"Bewitching, tantalizing and dangerously seductive. A thrilling, exotic blend -- deceptively sweet, but spiked with malice. White ginger, jasmine, and a touch of vanilla and apricot."

At it's best Siren has that intense crushed skins taste of apricot preserves done well. I can detect no ginger but there is an aromatic jasmine gently playing on the apricot. Unfortunately this is but a brief blooming of yumminess and it soon settles into a stale, vaguely fruity mishmash. The siren call of ants to the remains of afternoon tea perhaps.

BPAL Project: Jailbait

2006-08-01T19:20:00.000+10:00

Pink Bubblegum with stale undertones. Chewed too long it's gone old and cold and back to that rubber base. The drydown is more cool and knowing, with similar notes to Pink Sugar.

Not much of a crisis here unless you want to titter over the name.

"Innocence defiled. Sticky pink bubblegum and the thick, sweet scent of orange and cherry lollipops smeared over a breath of heady womanly perfume."

BPAL Project: Come to Me

2006-07-31T18:01:00.000+10:00

When dipping into my imp supply I like to vary how I go about testing them. Sometimes I look up a few oils to avoid testing too many in the same vein in a row. Often I am feeling adverse to a certain kind of scent, gourmand or lavendar or any manner of things and I want to avoid sampling something I'm distinctly not in the mood for. However I do love to just dip in and pick one out based on the name or colour and that's what I did with Come to Me. I assumed there would be some seductive quality to it, perhaps similar to Suspiro. Come to Me would wear a beautiful white dress that revealed rather more than you expected when the sun shone on it.

I did get the white dress right, but there is no come hithering here. This is the scent of CLEAN and showered, freshly laundered and dried in the sun and freshest of air. 'Fresh' and 'cleanly laundered' are usually code for dryer sheets--a comfort scent for some but chemicals to me. However this very light scent captures the hot sun on clean sheets blowing in the wind. Yes the detergent element is still there; how else did the sheets get clean? But it is light and clearly some enjoy the fresh laundry experience slathered on their arms.

I've never explored the clean sheets area of fragrance so I can't compare this to any other offerings in that realm. I do enjoy the hot sun on cotton waftings but over time I know the detergent element would irritate.

BPAL Project: Snake Oil Revisited

2006-07-30T10:34:00.000+10:00

My first BPAL review was of Snake Oil, the lab's most popular scent. I was very unimpressed. I did note though that I had at least two samples of Snake Oil and that there was much discussion in BPAL land about the wondrous ageing qualities of this oil. It seemed prudent to revisit, though I don't know the age of either sample.

My 5ml bottle is an entirely different creature from the imp I took my original sample from. Vanilla cream with none of that odious cake mix spice, the drydown has some solemn woods to it which beautifully compliment the still dominant vanilla. Twelve hours later the scent remains. Am I sniffing an aged bottle of Snake Oil or is this the fresh one and the imp the old soul? I guess I will have to order a new one to find out.

Painting by Vicki McDonald Leppek, Beginning & End, Minoan Snake Goddess.

BPAL Project: Mata Hari

2006-07-29T19:38:00.000+10:00

"Five roses with soft jasmine, warmed by vanilla, fig, tonka bean and mahogany, spiced with a drop of coffee bean."

*SOBS*

Look at these beautiful, beautiful notes! Oh My Goodness and other creamy things, how to seduce an oriental lover with near edible florals. Sigh.. if only it were true. Let me repeat that:

IF ONLY IT WERE TRUE.

This begins with horribly strong jasmine with a sweet undertone. I was sure the sweetness would soon dominate and the jasmine recede. The tonka was ever so softly discernible, for a very short time. Soon it was all nose burning jasmine and rose in the soapiest possible way. I waited for the coffee, I hoped for the coffee! All those warm dark sweet thangs well.. maybe they sank to the bottom of the vile.. oh, I mean vial.

The drydown has a slight staleness to it which might be the coffee (I was still hopeful).

Painting by Stephen Brayfield whose Fine Art section is lovely.

A Favorite Fragrance Ad: Egoiste Platinum Chanel

2006-07-28T16:20:00.000+10:00

A Fabulous Ad!

Surprising, almost hilarious, evocative. I am sure this fellow read The Magus far too many times in high school, with much underlining.

"Our accepting what we are must always inhibit our being what we ought to be."
John Fowles

BPAL Project: Numb

2006-07-27T20:05:00.000+10:00

Anaesthetic. I feel it should be applied with a swab, prior to a 'procedure'. Designed to wear in sweltering heat it does have a cooling effect, but so does an alcohol bath. If you find antiseptic soothing this may agree with you; but don't forget it only exists because you began with sepsis. I would wear Numb to a crummy hotel lobby hosting a UFO convention, dousing myself liberally at regular intervals in the ladies room. This would add authenticity to any tale I had to sell.

It is exactly the sort of odd smell you notice on someone that, while not offensive, causes you to minimize the conversation and keep your distance. Whatever they were doing to acquire this smell you do NOT want to know about it. You can't escape the notion that it involved unpleasant fluids.

Photo from Alien 3 "Alien 3 isn't a cheery film but then the experience of the last 15 years of Aids hasn't been either"

"Revel in the gelid polar frostiness that is Numb, and forget about the heat for a moment"

BPAL Project: Verchernyaya

2006-07-26T22:28:00.000+10:00

A little whiskey..

A little tobaccy..

A little patchouli..

A little post-coital sweetness.. or perhaps a little poppy seed paste.

This is a comfort scent that dries down to furs and lingering stories. I like it very very much. The poppy is that of poppy seed pastries with their sweet nutty quality rather than anything floral. Bury your face in a warm red fur, your ears burning in the cold and breath in deeply. Oh the leather settees in smoking rooms that fur has draped itself over.. the cedar chests at the foot of beds it has been discarded upon. How beautiful to think of fur gathering moments as the years go by and warming them for those who later seek them out.

"Vechernyaya: The Evening Star
Three white musks with poppy and patchouli."

YSL Cinema

2006-07-25T15:40:00.000+10:00

Cinema, released by YSL in 2004 is often poorly reviewed on fragrance forums. "Bland" "Banal" "Uninspired" "Boring floral".. these tags make me sad. Cinema is a beauiful amberry floral with curl of vanilla weaving gently into its base. Often it gives me the impression of warm hay, that delicately perfumed scent that has nothing to do with flowers and makes you want to breath in deep. But most compellingly Cinema smells like strong, fragrant, milky tea.. it is a comfort scent that warms a cold autumn day and sparkles in the summer.

Some 20 years ago I was happily drinking tea with milk, no sugar. Though I had drunk it black as a child a year spent in London soon cured me of that as you practically needed a bullhorn to make the cafes serve it to you that way. I had quickly acclimatized and continued on with my white habits for some years. Then one day in the throes of reading my way through all of Dostoevsky the words "samovar" "tea" "glass" "sugar" lit up in my mind. Suddenly I had to have some tea, black and in a glass with a teaspoon of sugar. I had no silver tea holder, but that did not matter. I went on a long jag of tea in a glass with 1 and when I got past that I ended up firmly a black tea drinker, no sugar, in any manner of cup. My black tea days continued on for 2 decades.

And then came Cinema. For all the world it smells to me, most divinely, of strong sweet and fragrant milky tea. Oh it is very enjoyable, a comforting and filling aroma in the chill of winter. I was happily lavishing it upon myself when once again I was gripped with a desire teaward and I found myself drinking cup upon cup of strong white tea, sweetened. Now not only have I preferred my tea black for these many years but I've considered white tea to be somewhat revolting. This notion is now quite dead! I am happily calcium enriched and probably consuming several hundred more calories a day.

I also fell in love with the bottle. Unfortunately in my search for bargainfulness I ended up with the 2005 Christmas Gold Collector edition which looks like some tacky glam bag. I'm making a little promise to myself that when the time comes to restock I will go for the original.

Top note : Clementine, Almond Blossom, Cyclamen
Middle note : Amaryllis, Sambac Jasmine, Peony
Base note : Amber, White Musks, French Vanilla, Benzoin

BPAL Project: Blood Kiss

2006-07-24T22:35:00.000+10:00

Very vanilla and honey in the nicest possible way. A sweet and delicate cake perched on a saucer to be had with tea. Unfortunately this contains a dusting of the generic BPAL spice that is horribly tiresome. At first I thought the amount quite forgivable but the drydown is mired in BPAL spice mix. If this doesn't bother you and you want a gentle sweet cake of a scent it does succeed at that, at least for a time. No doubt if this was promoted as a lustier scent the delicacy would be even more stifled by BPAL spice.

"Lush, creamy vanilla and the honey of the sweetest kiss smeared with the vital throb of husky clove, swollen red cherries, but darkened with the vampiric sensuality of vetiver, soporific poppy and blood red wine, and a skin-light pulse of feral musk."

Wan Fung Art Gallery

2006-07-23T15:12:00.000+10:00

The Wan Fung Art Gallery is an online exhibition of contemporary Chinese artists. The gallery itself is located in Hong Kong with branches in three Chinese cities. There are many striking works here to explore; I was thrilled to discover this site of treasures!

This print is by Dai Bin.

BPAL Project: Bliss

2006-07-23T15:04:00.000+10:00

This is pure milk chocolate, with a dusting of cocoa powder in the drydown. No florals or patchouli to grownup-fy it and not sickly sweet but just right. If milk chocolate is what you want then this is it. Not much staying power but chocolate is usually eaten pretty quickly.

"A shot of pure, self-indulgent euphoria! A scent that is very, very wicked in its own way: the serotonin-slathered scent of pure milk chocolate."

Taking Vetiver by Strategy: Brian Eno on Perfume

2006-07-22T14:49:00.000+10:00

A wonderful article by Brian Eno on his fascination with scent, perfume and the difficulty in finding objective language for olfactory truths. Thanks to POL for bringing this to my notice, what a treasure!

"You don't have to dabble for very long to begin to realize that the world of smell has no reliable maps, no single language, no comprehensible metaphorical structure within which we might comprehend it and navigate our way around it."

BPAL Project: DREAM FORMULA IV, Nanshe

2006-07-22T10:26:00.000+10:00

Nanshe is part of BPAL's Somnium collection, created to aid and abet sleep and dreams. Nanshe "opens up psychic sensitivity during sleep and aids in the understanding and correct interpretation of portents and symbols."

Down the loooooong dark tunnel of sleep into an interior greenly lit this draught if over applied would make a spiffy smelling salt. I suppose the idea is to wake within, after you have fallen into slumber.

Nanshe is fresh spruce, verbena and lemon. There are moments of ozonic after-rain scent which are quite fascinating but sadly the lemon soon dominates. The spruce opening is very bright eyed and the drydown settles quickly into verbena. Something nicer to wake to than burnt feathers.

Photo of the interior of the Spruce Goose.

Boucheron Trouble

2006-07-21T09:01:00.000+10:00

Top Note: Citron, Digitalis

Middle Note: Jasmine

Base Note: Precious wood, Vanilla,
Amber, Blue Cedar

Glancing through this blog I see a small theme unfolding; I have always considered "dry" to be a highly desirable attribute of perfume. I may enjoy my fragrances that embrace the word "lush" from time to time but my long term respect is lavished upon dryness. In revealing itself to be a non-sweet, dry vanilla Boucheron's Trouble has me kneeling at its feet.

My favorite posession is an antique Chinese altar table from the late 1800's. It is beautifully carved with the red lacquer darkened over time. If my table had a scent that scent would be Boucheron's Trouble. The wisdom of ages past distilled into one perfect red bottle, Trouble is a portal to universal truths. If Trouble were an oil it would be used to anoint the postulant seeker, wrapped in study and meditation.

Often compared to Dior's Addict I would offer this; Addict is richer but Trouble is wiser. Richness will make you ill after a time and needing respite but no one ever woke up with a hangover from too much wisdom.

I do wonder at the note listing choosing the word "digitalis" rather than "foxglove". Is there an actual difference there or is digitalis the dangerous, non-flowery choice? Digitalis make us think of poison, medication, the heart.. and foxglove reminds us of our grandmother's garden.

Trouble is in my Top 5 scents and though some on that list will vary with time Trouble shows no sign of doing so. Boucheron Trouble, I am quite besotted with you.

BPAL Project: Sophia

2006-07-19T22:25:00.000+10:00

We begin..

Almost eye watering freshly opened lavendar soap!

We settle for a spell..

Lavendar soap with a beautiful jasmine tea accord!

We dry down..

My, that was a pretty soap. I must buy some of this for Mother.

And a very fast scent journey this is, from oh-my-goodness strong to faint memory in less time than it takes to finish one's ablutions.

"The Gnostic goddess of Wisdom. A solemn, deeply profound draught of lavender, soft musks, star jasmine, black rose, delphinium, and gentle spice."

BPAL Project: Bordello

2006-07-19T17:05:00.000+10:00

Bordello starts off very sweet. The plum and blackcurrant are candied and enticing and soon develop into deeper and more delicious fruit. Amaretto adds a grownup nod in the background and very enjoyable it is. Once the candy fades you are left with an intoxicating liqueur, sweet but not for children. A wonderful rendition of purple fruits that puts the unending crop of fruity perfumes to shame. Yes I, a not very foodyscent much less fruity person, could just about chew off my arm! I love the way the tartness of fruit skins isn't lost but lingers in the background like an aftertaste.

This scent is remains wet and juicy thoughout its development. The drydown ages into a bosomy merlot. Unless you have been tainted by a childhood spent sucking blackcurrant pastilles all thoughts of candy are gone in the drydown.

The name is quite a misnomer and the description lost in this oil. "lusty"? Well perhaps in a very airbrushed portrait of a cathouse you might find wine and crushed fruit skins signifying "snarls of pleasure". I am more of a Mitsouko girl.

"A decadent, deep perfume, lusty and luxuriant. The scent evokes images of velvet-lined Old West cathouses, tightly laced corsets, rustling petticoats and coquettish snarls of pleasure. Bawdy plum with amaretto, burgundy wine and black currant."

BPAL Project: The Caterpillar

2006-07-16T13:54:00.000+10:00

"you flicker
and you're beautiful
you glow inside my head
you hold me hypnotized
i'm mesmerized...

your flames
the flames that kiss me dead"

From The Caterpillar by The Cure

The Caterpillar is a song of great charm from The Cure's seventh full length album, The Top. Whimsical as peyote fueled haiku, adorable and at times gripping, The Top is a one off Cure masterpiece. Pay no attention to Robert Smith's spouted opinion about The Top, he is wrong. He is also fond of saying any thing that comes into his head during interviews.

So, what does this have to do with BPAL's The Caterpillar? Absolutely nothing. The Caterpillar is a very well blended scent, sexy and perfumey in the classical vein. With neroli and jasmine dominant this starts out as a lovely floral, reminding me of what I had hoped for in Boucheron. The vetiver adds some real vavoom to this one, heady and seductive. The Caterpillar is far closer to classical perfume than other BPAL's I've tried. The drydown becomes warmer and sweeter, leading the floral into more oriental realms. A pretty and potent old school scent that is very grown up.

"Heavy incense notes waft lazily through a mix of carnation, jasmine, bergamot, and neroli over a lush bed of dark mosses, iris blossom, deep patchouli and indolent vetiver."

BPAL Project: Wanton

2006-07-15T14:34:00.000+10:00

A clean and watery rose
A reedy greeny smell..
The bathroom is so fresh!
A scent to perfume hell

No subtlety for those
Wantons wandering from the fold
The headache blast of aerosol gas
A harshness burns the nose

poem by A. Scrubber

"Feminine sexuality in it's rawest form. Palmarosa, red sandalwood, attar of rose, patchouli."

BPAL Project: Saint-Germain

2006-07-15T13:08:00.000+10:00

"We begin to take up people . . . the other day they seized an odd man who goes by the name of Count Saint-Germain. He has been here these two years, and will not tell who he is, or whence, but professes that he does not go by his right name. He sings, plays on the violin wonderfully, composes, is mad, and not very sensible. He is called an Italian, a Spaniard, a Pole; a somebody that married a great fortune in Mexico, and ran away with her jewels to Constantinople; a priest, a fiddler, a vast nobleman. The Prince of Wales has had unsatiated curiosity about him, but in vain. However, nothing has been made out against him; he is released, and, what convinces me he is not a gentleman, stays here, and talks of his being taken up for a spy."

Horace Walpole, 1745

If Comte Saint-Germain wore pomade in his hair I rather doubt he would have acquired it from the local barber--rather he would have made it up himself in his apothecary's lab and invested great meaning and purpose into every ingredient. Straight from the alabaster jar this hair pomade would have smelled like any man's cologne, fresh with lavendar and brisk. But combed thickly into the hair and warmed by the scalp Saint-Germain's pomade would soon give off the somewhat dirty scent of powdered roots, roots Saint-Germain believed would increase his intellect. The emollient would settle into something warm and aged, dry but still with the aromas of lavendar. Carnation, geranium, mosses; herbaceous and dead things sifted together into a promise of special erudition to the wearer. Secretly Saint-Germain would inhale his own creation. To the modern observer an element of foppishness is inescapable, but to an elaborate creative creature such as Saint-Germain his scent is an alchemy adding to both his powers and his mien.

"gilded amber, hypnotic lavender, brash carnation and deep mosses."

BPAL Project: Bastet

2006-07-13T21:58:00.000+10:00

Bastet is creamy white icing with grownup spices.

Bastet is sugared almonds with an addicts saffron.

Bastet is holy lotus with whispers of myrrh.

Bastet is intoxicating, delicious, an intense potion you wish you could lick off your fingers..

Bastet is a ravishing liqueur.

Bastet fades into the dryness of the desert, warm with a scent memory of perfume. This is perhaps Bastet's true wisdom.

A stunning BPAL who's scent journey from vial to drydown has a lifetime of experiences in it. A BPAL that will inspire me to always hope for every imp to be, again, The One.

Painting by Frank Frazetta

"Luxuriant amber, warm Egyptian musk, fierce saffron and soft myrrh, almond, cardamom and golden lotus."

BPAL Project: Fenris Wolf

2006-07-12T23:06:00.000+10:00

When I was a child just reading about dark forests would make the back of my neck tingle. They conveyed most vividly an interior world of fears and intensity. From "Where the Wild Things Are" to Mirkwood of "The Hobbit" these descriptions were incredibly real. I knew the dark forest intimately. I had feared it and known that one lost step could find me eyes wide, unable to make my way back to light and safety.

Fenris Wolf is a sticky dark red goo in the vial, like sap. It starts off a very natural incense woody resin. If you had ever forgotten that sandlewood was actual wood this will remind you. The rosewood is dominant, dry and very impressive. Soon a little spiciness emerges, the spiciness of earth and bark. Always this is the forest at night; a still, crackling, scary scent. The red dominates in the heat of the wolf moving through the cooling forest and the glow of his eyes.

This is a private scent. A power scent. The drydown is increasingly bitter as befits the deepening night. There is some green in there of crushed leaves and vines which brings a roundness to the bitter tone. Though never a sweet scent there are edges of sweetness to it. Multi-layred, Fenris Wolf is a masterpiece.

"The raw, untamable power of chaos. Rosewood, amber, red musk and a dribble of red sandalwood."

Farewell to Two Fine Gentlemen

2006-07-10T15:31:00.000+10:00

Last week I farewelled two fine gentlemen who have been living with me for a year or so. We went down to the local international point of departure office and, with much bubble wrap and a few tidbits to accompany them on their journey I sent them on their way. By now they will have traversed one of the most inhospitable deserts on the planet; they are quite some travellers as both of them were born in France. I expect they are now languishing in in a busy city center, waiting a tedious trip out to the 'burbs. I should be hearing from them this week.

I can't really say that I enjoyed their stay, though I did try. At one point the more distinguished fellow, Monsieur Ivoire I will call him, seemed to making himself slightly more agreeable than I had initially thought. I had read that others enjoyed a subtle raspberry note in Monsieur Ivoire and yes, now that it was pointed out, my impressionable self enjoyed it too. But a bit of red fruit repartee did nothing to cover up Monsieur Ivoire's indecorum in other areas. We all have our little standards and tastes and it saddens me that Monsieur Ivoire is so welcomed in other parlors but I am unable to appreciate him. Hopefully he will be loved and feted in his new home.

His cousin I am quite glad to see the back of. No regrets here, I gave up trying to appreciate his worldly ways some time ago. He may be revered in some circles but in my home Monsieur Cabochard has always been gauche. Harsh words yes, but harsh has been my experience with him. I will be glad to no longer be scrubbing his ashtray scent out of my skin and clothing. Maybe if he had taken up a pipe rather than his dreadful Gitanes I would have enjoyed some chummy moments.. but no, it is too late for any speculations. I shall not see him or his cousin again.

I hope all the best for them and not wishing to be churlish I do feel pleased to think they will be taking their rightful place in their new social circle. Charming, given to delicacy and able to show off their highbrow pedigree I expect they will both be very happy. Beaux esprits, as they were meant to be. Farewell, farewell!

BPAL Project: Dublin

2006-07-09T11:42:00.000+10:00

Something truly must be off kilter with my nose.

"Dublin: The scent of misty forests, damp alder leaf, and the gentlest touch of white rose."

Doesn't that sound fabulous? Even a poor rendition of just one of those things would be pleasant in its own way. In the vial there is a lovely green, piney, promising waft that made me look forward to sampleing this one. My response was SO far removed that I can only blame it on my skin rather than my tastes.

Other than a brief dabble in pine shortly after application all I get from this is.. Tutti-Frutti. I can just about taste that rock candy and its sugary stickiness of fruity impressions. There is nothing unpleasant about it but mist, damp, forest, leaf are no where to be found. I will be filing this one under "try again, temporary olfactory delerium".

BPAL Project: Les Infortunes de la Vertu

2006-07-08T12:56:00.000+10:00

Okay let's get this over with.. this is extremely boring. The drydown has some potential but this oil needs more of everything. It opens with a herbal blast that is blah men's cologne and soon a wee bit of leather makes itself know. The cologne is replaced with oak moss. When a bit of floral peeps through there is one very brief moment where this oil is prancing around playing at being Agent Provocateur. Unless you have your wrist glued to your nose you will have missed this.

The orange blossom sweetens the drydown and you can now see where this scent wants to go. Unfortunately it is too tired a leather and too muted a floral to get there. If by "monastic" the BPAL description means "an empty room" that is fairly close. This is the scent memory of someone who once slept in that cell but has been gone for some time.

"A pain-tinged, pleasure-soaked blend of leather, oakmoss, orange blossom, amber, and rose with a breath of virginal French florals and a hint of austere monastic penitential incense."

BPAL Project: Jack

2006-07-07T18:10:00.000+10:00

Jack is all about pumpkins and their pies, their season and their sentiments. Thankfully I live in a country where the pumpkin is a blue squash your mum made you eat before you could have ice cream so my scent triggers are untainted by years of Halloween body butters, candles and LE lip balms.

Buttery and sweet Jack begins as a typical foodie scent, pleasant but who knows what will happen after an hour. The first surprise is that this oil is STRONG. Powerful pumpkin! There is a cooler scent under the warm butteriness that soon becomes quite dominant. Yes it's RAW pumpkin, at least briefly, but before I can get caught up in reflecting on raw veggies and their fragrance merits it gets very fruity in a way which eventually settles on apple. I had two people drifting in the jetstream of my sillage comment they could smell apple. By now I was starting to be bothered by this seemingly inescapable pumpkin on steroids aroma.

Too much pie, too much apples-of-autumn, too much food. It was truly beautiful for a short time. The drydown some hours later is a little harsh and waxy, dare I say stale candy corn? Yes foody scents on the way out often smell like old food. Create a very apt fragrance portrait and the brain keeps running with it down well travelled paths. Jack is nice in that it has a fresh natural quality and escapes that "you are now sniffing pumpkin" blast that some products carry.

"The scent of warm, glowing jack o,lanterns on a warm autumn night: true Halloween pumpkin, spiced with nutmeg, glowing peach and murky clove."

BPAL Project: Belle Epoque

2006-07-06T12:52:00.000+10:00

Starting with the dreaded lily I initially thought this would be a transparent floral with soapy tones. That soon changed.

Belle Epoque dries down to a pretty sandlewood. The lily adds a certain coquetry to the sandlewood's warmth which is quite delightful.If there is any mandarine apparent I suspect it is the slight sharpness that keeps this scent fresh rather than creamy. Never heavy this is a lovely rendition of sandlewood that could be worn in all seasons. Very enjoyable!

"'The Pretty Era', France's Golden Time: an age of beauty, innovation and peace in France that lasted from the 19th Century through the first World War and gave birth to the cabaret, the cancan, and the cinema as well as the Impressionist and Art Nouveau movements. Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood."

BPAL Project: Undertow

2006-07-05T22:02:00.000+10:00

Long after this scent was washed off I decided that I do not like it. Some things I am indifferent to on first try and later develop a craving for; Undertow has had the opposite effect.

First impressions were unpleasantly of rotting melon. Honeydew to be exact. Perhaps this is the lotus? The melon too far gone pong disappeared quickly to be replaced by menthol. This scent is arctic cold.. the fruit gradually emerges. If you like cold scents and have a fondness for mint this is an interesting one, though the fruitiness/mint accord when most balanced has the unfortunate memory of chewing gum.

Unlike many BPAL's Undertow is STRONG. You don't need a lot and it has great staying power. I had a bit of a skin reaction to it.

Painting, "Undertow" to be found here.

BPAL Project: Coyote

2006-07-03T17:14:00.000+10:00

Coyote is a beautiful scent, dry with a gingery tone. It has the natural sweetness of grasses and is a wonderfully autumn. The amber weaves it's way through the varying layers but it is the dryness overall that charms. This is apparently a "masculine" scent though I would not have labelled it such myself, unless the absence of florals is enough to qualify. Warm and interesting this scent is also very light.. it's staying power is good but it is not very strong. Very nicely created, it was a pleasure to sample this one.

"The Native American Creator / Trickster God of Chaos and Change. The warmth of doeskin, dry plains grasses and soft, dusty woods warmed by amber and a downy, gentle coat of deep musk."

BPAL Project: Suspiro

2006-07-02T13:24:00.000+10:00

Suspiro "A Latin word that means to sigh or draw a deep breath, that also suggests longing, desire, yearning, and a passionate wish. Ylang ylang with white plum, white orchid, jasmine, calla lily and lily of the valley."

We begin with lily, a note I am usually avoidant of. It is only just bearable as the syrupy background mutes it. BPAL oils seem to have quite a rapid drydown and soon Suspiro is transformed into a fruity scent with lily drizzled over it. It is sweet in a pleasantly juicy way and in time matures into a beautiful summer evening scent. Very pretty. Both languid and liquid it avoids any hint of powder keeping the lily note fresh in a way new to me. Suspiro is both vulnerable and sensuous, at once desirable and a little too much. It is a scent I would miss and need to revisit on certain perfect evenings.

Photo from Fine Art Infrared Photography by Chris Maher. Many beautiful images to see there!

Suck My Spock

2006-07-01T20:53:00.000+10:00

Surely the best album title ever.

Warp 11 is boldly hilarious. Their website offers you some sample MP3's from their 3 unique albums. A delightful antidote to Roddenberry's commie tedium vision of Our Future. See how many eps you can find references to in this song (MP3 available on the website):

From their newest album, Boldly Go Down On Me

Rage Against The Federation

To boldly go - don’t you see?
Is just a ploy - it’s a f****** conspiracy
The final frontier
Is just a lie that kills thousands every year
‘Cause you and me - don’t you see
Brainwashed at the f****** academy
This red shirt - I’ll say it loud
It ain’t nothing but a f****** death shroud

The Red Shirts are dying
The Red Shirts are dying
The Red Shirts are dying
The Red Shirts are dying

We beam down, but not back
Before the break we were under attack
“Forward!” Captain cried from the rear and the front rank died
We get the orders - we make it so
We live fast but we don’t die slow
Our bones are crushed - our blood is spilled
The prime directive is to f****** get us…

The Red Shirts are dying
I ain’t lying
What they sellin’ you buying
While the Captain’s satisfying
His itch in a ditch with some green skinned b****
And the federation grows increasingly rich

I woke up
I went up
To where the captain’s gettin’ intimate
I showed up
I strolled up
I looked at him like I don’t give a s***
He looked up
His d*** up
But it fell before my scrutiny
He stood up
He f***** up
He didn’t know it was a mutiny

Mutiny!

So we breathe our last breath
Beamed into space or choked to death
A phaser blast, a Klingon assault
Drained of blood and drained of salt
Bat’leth, poison spores
While the captain gets laid by alien whores
Our essence, understand
Distilled in a shape and crushed in a hand

BPAL Project: Absinthe

2006-07-01T19:12:00.000+10:00

I love Absinthe. Not the drink as I've never had it but the BPAL oil. It is cold, cold, cold.. it is chilled pernod and lemon bitters. It makes you blink as it rushes into your eyes and then.. it makes your mouth water. If this was a drink I would have a serious summer addiction, its cool bitterness quenches thirsts I didn't know I had. All the more remarkable as I've had an aversion to any anise in scents, just a whisper has put me off completely. I wish this was an edt so I could buy the largest bottle and spend summer drinking it into my skin!

Staying power is poor.. this one is best as a secret vice you partake of only for you.

"An intoxicating blend containing wormwood essence, light mints, cardamom, anise, hyssop, and the barest hint of lemon."

BPAL Project: Dragon's Milk

2006-06-30T14:39:00.000+10:00

Today's Imp.. Dragon's Milk

Take some fairly fresh smelling cherry syrup and dump some spices in it.. mmmm.. yummy.. but perhaps some more spices would be better. Spicier, spicier.. oh no! The cherry freshness is suffocated under a bloom of euro-bakery spice. Hmm.. how can we save this. I know! A dab of almond and for a brief spell we have lovely spiced marzipan torte. But in the end there is no escaping the excess spice burden and with time the torte grows stale with the powdery melange.

Personally I think young dragons are nursed on a milk that tastes of saffron infused cognac. They have fire to develop and sticky cakes will never do the trick. Hopefully tomorrow I can choose a BPAL that has no foody element, this one was picked at random.

Pineapple Lumps

2006-06-29T23:28:00.000+10:00

I like to eat candy that amuses me. If these tasty kiwi treats were named Pineapple Squares I would have only eaten them when presented with a bowl of mixed lollies. I can't imagine buying them, not that they aren't yummy in their own way. However the charm of these little chewy blocks is in their fab name, Pineapple Lumps. Who can resist? I used to get them at the milk bar, 3 for 5 cents twisted up in the white paper bag. They are fresher bought in their packet though.. you can end up with soft and chewy Pineapple Lumps or ones that break your teeth depending on how old and air exposed they are.

It's like Violet Crumble vs Crunchie. Of course Crunchies are better but why eat something with such a prosaic name when you can partake of the glories of Violet Crumble?

hmm.. I guess this explains why I've never felt the urge to sample any fragrance dupes. It's not all about the juice. It's the name, the story, the portrait of what swirls inside the bottle. I don't care if Dupe #23 smells exactly like Mitsouko it fails to charm and beguile.

Pineapple Lumps in the news!

Pineapple Lumps Thrown At Gunman

BPAL : Project Sample-thon.. Snake Oil

2006-06-29T11:15:00.000+10:00

I recently swapped many lovely decants of fine frags for a mix of BPAL imps as well as other, as yet unexplored, natural oils. I was blown away to receive jillions and squillions of imps from this swapper! A kind of panic overcame me.. what if my One True Love is in there somewhere and sloth and lack of direction keeps me from him for a year? So I vow to try one imp a day. After my first sample I am wondering if I will wake each morn thrilled at meeting a new oil or if by the end of the week I will be "Oh Tedium.." Starting with the ones spoken most highly of seems best.

Today's Imp.. Snake Oil

First impression, headshop. Then the vanilla blooms, pleasantly foody. Soon spices (apparently Indonesian) pepper the vanilla and there is a brief woody phase that is very refined. However this has now vanished to be replaced by.. cake consumed in the headshop cafe. Had I never smelled a vanilla fume I would have been enchanted. Had I smelled this as a teen I would have bathed in it. It's very nice. According to the BPAL site Snake Oil is "By far, our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature." If the way to a man's loins is through his stomach I guess they could have a point but to me sexy is The Bal or Agent Provocateur.

Best Point: the spices retain a slightly woody quality.. if you hold your nose to your wrist and inhale deeply.

Ode to Pink Sugar

2006-06-27T19:24:00.000+10:00

I love your cotton candy fumes
I love the way you fill a room
I love your woody undertones
I love your many cheaper clones

Oh Aquolina! Who are you?
That brings us such a happy fume!
A mystery from across the seas
Your magic juice is sure to please

Your pinkness is a carnival
A delightful flight of fancy ball
Your bottle twirls and whirls to say
Come and dance with me today!

Most surprising woody oriental. Could have been voted least likely to please teacake. Very moreish! Never say never.

Top note : Sicilian oranges, raspberries, fig leaf
Middle note : lily-of-the-valley, licorice blossom, red berries
Base note : vanilla, caramel

Wine Cooler Madness

2006-06-27T11:37:00.000+10:00

I tested J.Lo's Miami Glow when it first came out.. eww, very unpleasant. However some rave reviews on POL sent me back one day to do a proper skin test. Apparently for some the drydown is a delicious coconut and I've been seduced by coconut before. So.. generous spray of unfragranced arm, off on walkabout for the afternoon. WELL. This is THE MOST disgusting thing I've tried in a loooooooong time. By the end of an hour I felt I'd doused myself in a cheapass pineapple wine cooler, or even more likely the sick-up from a teenage drinking bout of sugary alcohol goodness. I had to wash my jacket the next day because the smell was so pervasive, still retaining its acidity. Any coconut in there was added only to heavy the cooler hit to the unsuspecting adolescent drinker.

And to think my first impression was of suntan lotion. Bring on the Bain de Soleil, that was much more favourable.

Let us compare thee.. Opium Fleur de Shanghai and Opium Fleur Impériale

2006-06-24T19:49:00.000+10:00

It is refreshing to have a fragrance which truly offers a variation on a theme rather than the endless name dropping of perfumes who's eponymous sisters have nothing in common with each other. None could make this complaint about Opium's limited summer editions, rather a long spell between sniffs would leave many scratching their heads as to what was new.

Shanghai Notes

Top note : Mandarin Orange, Chinotto Sour Orange, Bergamot
Middle note : Chinese Magnolia, Star Jasmine, Carnation, Myrrh
Base note : Vanilla, Patchouli, Amber

Fleur de Shanghai, the 2005 summer LE is a beautiful, creamy ingenue of a fragrance that makes me smile. The lovely magnolia gives it a sunny disposition with happy spices. The drydown is a sweet vanilla that is a bit overpowering when worn in the heat, unless you have a sweet tooth. I find the vanilla almost gourmand. I enjoyed
Fleur de Shanghai very much, but I had to be ready for the sweetness if I was to wear it all day. I was eager to know how Fleur Impériale, the 2006 summer LE would differ.

Impériale Notes

Top note : Tangerine, Neroli, Bergamot
Middle note : Apricot Blossom, Fresh Jasmine, Carnation
Base note : Vanilla, Osmanthus, Myrrh, Patchouli, Amber

Impériale, Impériale, Impériale.. Flower of the Empire. Very much the adult, the ingenue unveils herself a year later grown into the vamp. Where Shanghai has a waxy beauty, Impériale is all spices resting on a much sharper floral. The vanilla is still there but it's oh so dry and the drydown is very sexy with a touch of civet to my nose (though not to the given notes). I was quite wowed! This is one I will miss when it disappears and I foresee a bit of stocking up. I could not say one is better, and it will be a personal choice which is favoured.

As to staying power, I do believe that Shanghai lasts quite a bit longer, though it is the vanilla with a little piquancy that remains.

Bond no.9 Chinatown

2006-06-07T10:09:00.000+10:00

Being an expat, no matter how tenaciously adjusted, leads to many unlooked for moments of sentimental ambush. Would I have the same child like expectations of the Bond no.9 series if was about London rather than New York? No, it would be more a curiousity. I had already been wowed by Little Italy's juicy gelati bursts that had rendered poor old Sicily (once loved) a stale flat mess. So I was very happy to receive a small decant of Chinatown from generous swapper.

The decant itself smelled candified in a good way but the initial topnote blast had something very bad in it. I know honey was not the intended impression but when you really loathe a note in scent any faint homage to it leaps out and cloys at you. This disappeared quite rapidly though and was replaced by the lightly incensical cardamon. No star anise which is certainly a dominant scent of the chinese groceries of my childhood. The spice notes are powdery, not in the classical perfume sense but in the literal sense of huge kilo bags of finely powdered spices piled up on shelves in the back of the store. It's a dry overload of fine particles more than any particular scent and were it cranked up just a bit more you would probably want to rub your nose. I remembered tasting that dry powder on my lips after wandering those shelves for a while. I imagine if you worked in such a store you'd be wiping it off your skin at the end of day. These middle notes recede into a very yummy drydown of brightly coloured happy florals. The sweetness which has been likened to caramel is more to my mind that of White Rabbit candy. The powdery spices and perfumed flavourings of a chinese grocery are still there but now you are wandering the aisles sucking on White Rabbit goodness. The condensed milk sweetness is a creamy pleasure that softens and blends what was an assault on the senses.

It's a rapid and choppy journey to the drydown and the end result is beautiful and unusual. My father adored taking us to a three story chinese grocery in Chinatown when we were children. My sister and I would wander the aisles whispering over the enormous bags of varied dried fungi, sniffing everything and always finishing up peering into the watery buckets of beche-le-mar in the fridge section. "Would you eat it for a hundred dollars?" We would buy beautiful miniatures for our doll houses, unusual candies that took our fancy (Haw flakes anyone?) and, when I got older, always a new kind of tea. Bond no.9 is a very changeable landscape and reminiscent of all the surprises a chinese grocery held for two little wasp girls.

Bal A Versailles

2006-05-30T22:24:00.001+10:00

Recently I came across a surprising addition to the history of that bacchalicious wonder, Bal A Versailles. Long my favourite, this creamy juju floral with a civet purr had apparently inspired a song by olden golden Aus rockers, Cold Chisel.

Bal A Versailles
lyrics, Don Walker

Aliester Crowley
And Bar Shem Tov
Are lyin' in the alley
Too stoned to move
Them and Aristotle
Are playin' swy
For one tiny bottle
Of Bal-a-Versailles

Over the ocean
Over the sea
From out of east of Eden
Pre-B.C.
To Terra Incognito
Anno Domini
Hits the libido
Bal-a-Versailles

People say it's an animal thing
A whisper of alien air
People say you're a fool if you fall in love
I say yeah, yeah, yeah

Dogs are barking,
The caravanserai
Rolls on, through the night
Bal-a-Versailles

People say all the usual things
Talkin' and kissin' the air
People say you're a fool if you fall in love
I say yeah, yeah, yeah

Reason for living
Reason to die
Take it as given
Bal-a-Versailles

Dogs are barking,
The caravanserai
Rolls on, through the night
Bal-a-Versailles

Now this was quite a surprise discovery. I haven't quite been able to wrap my head around this odd pairing, the Cheap Wine guys and this rich wonder of a 'fume who's 300+ ingredients once made it one of the most expensive perfumes you could buy. If anyone knows any more about Don Walker's song to this beauty I would love hear about it.

"god for the godless"

2006-05-14T19:54:00.001+10:00

An interesting site here . Quite a chocolate box of tales some with angsty centers and others a bit over chewy perhaps. Very moreish as each article is just long enough to read with a coffee, the perfect net break "I'll just read this interesting thingie before I return to my real world duties.."

I am more opinionated than I realised as I read many of these articles wanting to butt in and correct what I perceive to be a misconception on the author's part. "No that's not right... NO, you've got that skewed.. NO NO NO that's not what it means.." Eek. This site is full of fresh points of view that I haven't always had the priviledge of reading before. I want to read all of it! You can't say that too often.

Some article titles:

Jesus and I Broke Up
Brand Name Buddhism
The Temptation of Belief

Go on, have a sticky beak.

In which teacake begins her blogging life

2006-05-13T21:03:00.000+10:00

Today I returned to a forum I had cruelly deserted and come to miss. Oh, it was sweet to be back, all the more sweet because nothing ever changes. I was attracted to a thread on 'Nudity in the Cinema, what grosses you out'. I just knew that there would be an opportunity to defend Harvey Keitel's fetching spare tire and sundry male bits as seen in most beautiful film ever made, The Piano. Harvey is always flagged in these threads as the consumate example of grossness and the male body which is SO unfair. Sure enough he was listed on the first page of the thread! I kept reading while forming my Harvey apologetic in my mind, oh I was looking forward to it.. but it was not to be. The thread was hijacked by a most tired old piece of outraged claptrap, one I had read on that particular forum in many diverse threads. A European* posted that nudity is No Big Deal in Europe in comparison to America's fondness for it's puritan prudery roots. Different perspectives, different histories, different opinions of "grossness". Just a little sociological observation I would think but Oh My those words were fife and drum to the dearly beleaguered and Harvey's boy bits were lost in the fray. Cries of "bashing America" and "why are we always attacked" and endless declarations of "we are not all the same" (as though the posters themselves never generalize). Ugh. The right to bear offense was well and truly protected. And the thread, sadly, was marked CLOSED by moderators weary of political cat fights.

*European. A person who fails to remember how America SAVED THEIR ASS in WWII.