Here are a few more fragrance gift ideas for anyone who is joining me in doing all their holiday shopping online this year:
The perfect hostess gift: Bitter Orange potpourri by Agraria. $48 for a 2 liter presentation box (liquid refresher also available) at lusciouscargo…
One of my quests has always been a lilac-focused fragrance that would not only capture the opulent indolic sweetness of lilac, but also display its dewy freshness. A related wish was to find a candle that would allow me to recreate the evenings spent walking through my grandmother’s garden. Overgrown with ancient lilac bushes, it would be filled with the lush intoxicating aroma emanating from the blossom studded boughs. Yet, while Frederic Malle En Passant, Jean Patou Vacances and Kenzo Summer have managed to satisfy my lilac cravings, I have been less fortunate in the home fragrance domain. Most lilac scented candles and room sprays are too similar to Glade Lilac Grove to be satisfying.
However, Diptyque Lilas is the best lilac scented candle I have discovered thus far…
Sugar Cosmetics has launched Sugar Makes The Heart Grow Fonder, an Eau de Parfum with citrus, lily of the valley, violet, warm woods, sheer spice, vanilla, white musk, spun sugar and opoponax…
The aroma of baked peaches sprinkled with sugar is what Pêche de Vigne releases upon being lit. The luscious, mouthwatering scent fills the air quickly, conjuring preparations of a peach cobbler. At first, it is a fragrance of ripe fruit ready to be sliced and arranged under vanilla scented crumbs. However, it deepens quickly to attain a sugared quality as well as a touch of milky richness. It is as if caramelized peaches are layered with apricot scented cream.
Peaches are among my favourite fruit, and I associate their scent with summers spent on the Black Sea coast. For this reason, Pêche de Vigne has a comforting and relaxing effect on me. While the scent is gourmand, it is not overly sweet. Yet, I do not tend to burn the candle for more than 30-40 minutes at a time, given the fact that the fragrance is rather potent. Half an hour more than suffices for scenting a room, which makes Pêche de Vigne one of the longer lasting candles from Côté Bastide, beyond its stipulated 60 hours of burning time…
Pushkar is a scent of distant bonfires pervading the cool autumnal air. Sweet gentle incense derived from agarwood intertwines with a warm balsamic note creating a scent that is perfect for a day when one feels unreasonably stressed. Its serene soothing quality never fails to make one feel comforted. Unlike a citrusy element present in unburned frankincense or a charcoal redolent facet of its burned variety, the character of incense in Pushkar is soft and smooth, lacking sharp resinous edges. If it spoke, it would have a mellifluous voice. An almost floral character of its wood notes contrasts beautifully with a whisper of sweet smoke.
On the list of my favourite candle brands, Tocca is ranked quite highly, because not only do the candles have a lovely appearance, they are also very long lasting (with a few exceptions). Their white and robin egg blue presentation is excellent…