French niche line L’Artisan Parfumeur will launch Séville à l’Aube, the fragrance designed by Denyse Beaulieu of Grain de Musc and developed by perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour. The scent’s inspiration and development was detailed in Beaulieu’s book The Perfume Lover…
This winter has been an unpredictable one, so far, in the Mid-Atlantic region: no snow, mild temperatures, weirdly fluctuating humidity. It happens to suit my current state of mind: for me, the year opened on several notes of personal and professional disappointment, when nothing turned out quite as I expected it to.
However, wearing (and writing about!) perfume is always a reassurance to me. And over the past week or two, the temperature has finally dropped (and stayed low); we even received a light (if fleeting) layer of snow one night. Maybe something, even if it’s just the weather, will get back on track. Here, then, is my highly subjective list of ten fragrances that have been keeping me company during this season.
In the past I’ve thought of Guerlain Après l’Ondée as a springtime fragrance, but this year I realized that it’s also a good fit for where-is-winter days that alternate between chilly rain and pale sunlight…
Our series of holiday gift posts continues today with a selection of solid perfumes and perfumed jewelry. If you missed them, here are links to part 1 (scented body products), part 2 (travel sizes & coffrets), part 3 (more travel sizes & coffrets), part 4 (home fragrance) and part 5 (men’s fragrance). Coming up next: the luxury list.
From Providence Perfume Co, solid perfume balms: “Our vintage inspired solid perfume balms are blended in a base of pure shea butter, beeswax and oils. The soft buttery consistency is similar to the vintage solid perfumes popular in the 1950’s and 1960’s without the added petroleum and chemicals of the era. Solid perfumes are generously sized at 1/2 ounce and housed in thick retro glass tubs with distinctive silver caps evoking images of dressing table glamour. Solids are lavishly perfumed with natural ingredients and blended in artisan perfume fashion.” In Chiffonade, Jazmina, Lilium, Moonflower, $36-39 at Providence Perfume Co…
When I choose a wine, I often take one of two approaches. I’ll select a wine that complements dinner, but doesn’t match it — a spicy Gewürztraminer or honeyed Chenin Blanc for Thai food, for instance. Or, I’ll choose a wine that blends with dinner — for example, a barely oaked Chardonnay with roast chicken. I tend to do the same thing when I choose the day’s perfume. On a rainy day like today with leaf rot in the streets, I might go for the complement and choose a warm, soft fragrance. Flower by Kenzo Oriental, maybe. But if I were going to choose a scent that feels like today in all its chilled autumn magnificence, it would be L’Artisan Parfumeur Voleur de Roses.
Michel Almairac created Voleur de Roses (French for “rose thief”) in 1993. The L’Artisan Parfumeur website lists its notes simply as patchouli, rose, and plum. That sounds right to me. Voleur de Roses smells like a Syrah-soaked rose washed over with wet patchouli, moldering wood, and cold plum. The wet has an almost metallic edge, like the ocean. The fragrance’s patchouli is one of its main features, so if you don’t like patchouli, steer clear…
What is it: one 100 ml bottle of L’Artisan Parfumeur Batucada. I wore it lavishly to write a review, plus I made a few samples. It’s about 95% full.
How do I get it: For a chance to win, leave a comment telling me that you live in the US. Also, please tell us either a) a summer fragrance you like to wear in winter or b) where you’d like to go on your next vacation.
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