I'm not one to eat a lot of black licorice, but I do like it.

When our son was five, we had one of our most beloved exchange students from Finland. He came when he was 17, and until he was in our house, we didn't realize he was a twin. His brother spent the year in Maine, but on various school holidays he came to visit us or our student went there. During the year his parents and their older sisters also visited us. It was a grand year.

I'd always said I wanted twins, but I never thought I would get them in this manner. I skipped the bulk of the work.

One of the things he introduced me to was Finnish chocolate which is quite superb.

When I visited Helsinki a number of years later, I asked that they stock some of this chocolate for me. Imagine my dismay when his wife said she got me something better. It turned out to be chocolate with black licorice pieces in it. Who'd ever heard of such a thing!

Actually, it wasn't bad. Finns probably eat more licorice per capita than any other country. And when I especially miss him and Finland, I wish for some of the chocolate with licorice which is not to be found in these parts. I've been known to eat a piece of licorice with a piece of chocolate, but it isn't quite the same.

Two of my favorite perfumes are by Lolita Lempica:

with licorice flowers, anise seeds and violets, touches of veviter, tonka bean, vanilla and musk. Its a lovely blend in a beautiful bottle shaped like an apple. (Each bottle has the same shape, just with different colored decorations.)

Lolita Lempicka Midnight (Limited Edition) was introduced in 2004. It is a deeper juice with notes of Aniseed, Ivy, Myrrh, Iris, Amarena, Violet, Jasmine, Tonka Bean, Musk, Vetiver, Benzoin, and Vanilla. Its bottle is also beautiful.

And at one time there was a purse roll-on decorated in the same manner, quite lovely. I actually found it: Lolita Lempicka Midnight Fragrance .24oz ROLL-ON FRAGRANCE CONCENTRE DE PARFUM. It makes me feel good when I am carrying this with me.

To my nose, they smell very similar. But Midnight is headier. Except for the beauty of the bottles, you could choose one over the other and likely not miss the other one.

There is also a lighter version: Lolita Lempicka Eau Legere Light Fragrance Spray (Tester)

Lolita Lempicka Au Masculin for Men is the men's version, introduced in 2000. It is complementary to the women's versions and includes notes of licorice, vanilla, rum, cedar and bark. For myself on myself, I prefer the women's to the men's. The women's is sweeter. The men's is sharper and woodier.

I am quite surprised to see how much perfumes are discounted, if you know to look. Testers are generally discounted a bit more, but sometimes they do not include a cap. In the case of the women's Lolitas, there are no caps, so it is a moot point, making a tester a good buy. I've found through experience that I miss the cap, at least on some bottles.

And on the subject of teas again, there are two herbal teas with licorice that I love: Stash Wild Raspberry tea (hibiscus flowers, rosehips, orange peel, lemongrass, licorice powder, citric acid, raspberry and natural flavors) and Stash Licorice Spice tea (with licorice root, cinnamon, orange peel, star anise, sarsaparilla, vanilla, cardamon, and clove.) They both taste as good as they smell. I wouldn't mind a fragrance in either one.

Karin

And here is Finnish Idols 2007: Ari Koivunen singing Perfect Strangers. Whatta voice! I look forward to seeing him mature.

Originally posted 2007-03-05 07:17:45.

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