Some months ago, I recently received several samples of Divine Parfums from Dinard on the coast of Brittany. Four were for women; two for men.
I was charmed by this quote:
Creating a perfume is a noble art, comparable to music, painting and literature. An essence of life you share with others.
A great perfume is a masterpiece, stimulating meetings, exchanges and emotions. Expressing flights of fancy, ardent impulses and love, D I V I N E gives to each woman her allure and joy.
Have you ever thought of creating a perfume as being a noble art, comparable to other arts?
Or have you thought of perfumes more as a luxury or as an afterthought, something less noble than art? something expendable? or is it for you, a necessity? something that makes your day go better? that enhances your moments?
There is an art to creating a perfume. Different noses have a sort of signature that runs through their fragrances and particular fragrance houses have their own notes, such as Guerlinade that works its way through the Guerlain fragrances, especially the older ones.
I was charmed with the scents wafting from the package. Nothing leaked, so it is possible that the insert was spritzed. Then I was charmed by the note:
Chere Madame…I hope Divine fragrances will charm you and that one of them will suit you…
By that time I was ready to be charmed. I certainly hoped one of the fragrances would suit me! I would have been disappointed if I had not been drawn, especially since the package itself, well, smelled Divine!
So, take your pick of any Divine fragrance…make a choice based on notes you know you like, or jump off the deep end into something new. Either way, you have had an encounter with a true art form. These perfumes are blended to perfection, smooth and delectable. Enjoy!
Have you tried them? which is your favorite?
D I V I N E perfumes are now sold in London, Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, New-York, Los Angeles and Vancouver. At a California outing about the time I first received my sample vials, it was noted that several of the women were wearing L’inspiratrice. At that time, I hadn’t heard of it.
As I revisit the scents, I will add my reviews. The links will work as soon as the review posts.
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Credit for photo: Autumn in Sepia by Rick Lundh (via gallery.photo.net)
Once again Elena from Perfume Shrine has gathered us together to celebrate fragrance, this time for fall, and Gaia came up with the title. I hope you enjoy this little foray. Be sure to check out the others — you’ll find their links at the bottom of this post.
Spring and Fall, my favorite times of the year
I have two favorite times of the year, spring and fall, and both of them are very short lived where I live. October is one of the hottest months, and last week had record breaking high temps. By October, certainly by the end of October, I am longing for a bit of cool breeze and a hint of fall. We are lucky to have a 10 degree break in the temperatures with the evenings cooler than the summer, but not by much. Sometimes October can feel hotter than the summer and it is exacerbated by wishing the heat would break.
Autumn Leaves…
A little jazz never hurts…plus, he is very cute…not to mention talented!
Sam Treggy, Sham Leftright…Autumn Leaves begins at 2:04, before that is Take 5.
Fall Foliage
I miss the foliage where I live. My recent trips to Michigan and California only whetted my appetite for more. There were more colors in CA, the reds were most evident. But the air was crisp in both places.
I love the scent of fall in the air! One way to catch this scent is to place dried leaves in a brandy sniffer, then inhale. Heaven! (I had a dear friend who would mail me leaves from Michigan. We learned a trick to mailing leaves: simply layer them with wax paper, no need to iron them. The wax evidently protects them. They last for years. And so does their fragrance.)
As a kid, fall was synonymous with the crunch (and fun) of jumping in leaf piles. There was always a hint of burning leaves lingering in the air, because we were allowed to burn them in my childhood. Can you hear the sound of the rake as it moves through the fallen leaves? Even the brisk air has a scent of its own, hinting of snow to come.
What price?
You can find comfort scents for the season at all price levels. Here are a few of my faves that evoke the season:
Do you wish you were on a motorbike under a canopy of trees?
Heeley Cuir Pleine Fleur (Fine Leather) ($$$)
Cabochard perfume ($$ or $$$)
Are you hungry for pumpkin pie?
BBW Sweet Cinnamon Pumpkin ($)
Fruits How about some pineapple for garnish?
L’Artisan Ananas Fizz ($$$) or BBW Pineapple ($)
Or apple?
D & G Light Blue ($$)
Or Pomegranate?
BBW Pomegranate Martini or Midnight Pomegranate ($)
Sweet Orange
Bigarade Concentree by Frederic Malle ($$$) or Mandragore By Annick Goutal ($$) or Theorema by Fendi (contains chocolate too)
When Vanilla is all that will do
Coty Dark Vanilla ($) or BBW Vanilla or Spiced Vanilla ($)
(Hot) Chocolate
Il Profumo Chocolate Amere or you might consider marshmallow scents such as Kilian Love Don’t be Shy ($$$) or many people love Yves Rocher’s Cocoon. ($)
Don’t forget coffee!
While I don’t drink it, I love the smell…
Dawn Spencer Hurwitz (DSH) Coffee Absolute
Fancy a brisk walk on an autumn night?
Neil Morris Dark Season ($$)
Comfort Scents for a Dark Night
Ayala Moriel Film Noir or Espionage or Finjan or … ($$)
A smokey fireplace
Sonoma Scent Studio (SSS) Fireside or Fireside Intense ($)
Tobacco scents
SSS Tobac Aurea ($) or Ayala Moriel Sabotage ($$) or Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille ($$$) or Jasmine et Cigarette by Etat Libre D’Orange or Kilian Back to Black ($$$)
Feeling sexy?
Anything Patchouli or Incense …or Shalimar (vintage)… or Vol de Nuit … or Mitsouko… ($$)
My completely subjective feelings
I think you could choose any fragrance whose notes you like from Kilian, DSH, SSS, Ayala Moriel, or Neil Morris and find something you would love for this season.
You could also choose any fragrance with the word ‘bois’ in it (woody) or woody fragrance. Serge Lutens has a number of Bois Fragrances.
Do you have a favorite scent for this season?
Leave a comment to be eligible for a stash of samples…
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L’Oeuvre Noire Black Masterpiece $225 for 1.7 oz; bottles may be refilled for $115 in the store, or a double size may be purchased to refill at home; also available in a travel set which also has refills. For women:
Prelude to Love – an invitation to love Love – don’t be shy
Beyond Love – prohibited
Arabian Nights $395/1.7 oz bottle [ouch!] Save your pennies!
Kilian approved the formulas for this line, when he was sure they smelled correctly to people he knew from the Middle East.
They like scents that are more animalistic and Oriental, scents closer to their culture. Kilian
Pure Oud $395 per 1.7 oz. bottle [Ouch!] Pictures here and in Nathan Branch’s blog. Back to Black — I shared my sample with a friend who is Arab-American, and immediately she said it smelled like something an Arabian woman would wear. I said she was exactly right. And it’s something both she and I like.
Do you have any of Kilian’s fragrances?
I have reviewed nearly all of them now, and will continue with others.
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These are no particular order, but they are fragrances I love and that work in the summer.
Ayala’s fragrances, those that are in your fragrance families
Bond: No 9 Scent of Peace
Chanel: Rue Cambon
Coty: Vintage Chypre
Lauder: Sensuous (lotion)
Guerlain: Plus que Jamais; Moscou; Sous le Vent (the saltiness in this evokes the beach); Vega
Hermes: Fleurs de Mediterranee (Neiman Marcus exclusive) Un Jardin sur le Nil; Kelly Caleche; Un Jardin Mediterranee
Madame Rochas
Ma Griffe
Molinards in the tall blue bottle: several of them, all light and nice
Fig; Heliotrope; Iris; Mimosa; Mure;
MPG: George Sand; Or des Indes; Sanguine Musk;Secrete Datura
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I keep getting refrains of songs in my head for this recap of summer scents.
How about Joe Cocker!
Ayala Sender of Ayala Moriel perfumes invited me to participate in today’s summer scent story. Ten blogs are participating and you’ll see the full list with links at the bottom of this post.
I’m a little late getting mine together, except in my mind, because I’m just newly back in town and catching up is more than I anticipated.
And truth be told, there are places I might wear very little fragrance — why waste it! — such as poolside or the beach (assuming I am going in the water.) I will wear scents that evoke the image, but I don’t wear them to the places. And for a summer night out here, I’d be careful of scents — too many bug critters. Whatever I wore in the day time would have to be what is left for the evening.
Best inexpensive: anything Bath and Body Works or Bathed and Infused and some Avon
Lots of nice BBW light fragrances. I like the pineapple, a less expensive alternative to Ananas Fizz.
Avon Tahitian Holiday
Not exactly tuberose, but a close cousin. Evokes the beach for me, with the tiare and coconut.
Best expensive: Kilian Love don’t be shy
Love this!
Top notes: Marshmallow, Neroli
Heart notes: Sambac Jasmine with Rose and Iris
Base notes: vanilla and musk.
Best summer incense: Kilian Cruel Intentions tempt me, hands down.
A little bit boozy, a whole lot sexy, this one starts out with a blast and softens to a delightful skin scent. My 13 yo raved about how I smelled when I first sprayed it, whereas I thought, what a surprise that she likes it on me. I was enchanted once again with the ending.
Fresh notes: Bergamot calabria oil, orange blossom oil,
Floral notes: violet accord, centifolia rose absolute,
Woody notes: agarwood (here is the oud again), Indian papyrus oil, gaiacwood oil, Haiti vetiver oil, sandalwood,
Animalic notes: styrax absolute, castoreum absolute, vanilla absolute, musk.
Best summer chypre: Guerlain Chant D’Aromes
Imagined as a scent for an idyllic island, Chant D’Aromes enchants. It is light and sexy. Who knew it was a chypre! Originally, I thought it was just an interesting floral, one I can wear, as I wear chypres well.
Top Notes: Mirabelle, gardenia, aldehydes, fruits
Heart Notes: Rose, jasmine, honeysuckle, ylang-ylang
Base Notes: Benzoin, musk, vetiver, heliotrope, moss, olibanum
Best remedy for humidity: YSL Elle
Floral and woody, soft but with presence. Compliment source. Love that patchouli in the heat.
Best clean floral: Avon Summer White
This is a floral I can wear. Fleeting, which is perhaps why I like it. I generally wear something more complex like Chamade.
Hints of sparkling florals blend with sheer jasmine and soft white musk, capturing the essence of a gentle summer day.
Best long lasting citrus: Is there such a thing? Bigarade Concentree by Frédéric Malle, Creator: Jean-Claude Ellena
Lasts a bit longer than some, but I don’t mind re-spritzing.
Guerlain eau de fleurs cedrat Pure Lemon
This is very refreshing, but it lasts about 5 minutes, or 5 seconds. Still, it is a terrific fragrance for the heat.
What’s with that!
Not exactly citrus but it is a fragrance that never quits: 24 Faubourg by Hermes
One I can’t wear as it just gets stronger and stronger and stronger and stronger on me.
orange blossom, amber, vanilla, jasmine, and ambergris
Best summer gourmand: Guerlain Gourmand Coquin
Chocolatey and sweet, but not like Iris Ganache, this one whispers rather than shouting. Nice. Warm. Enveloping. Jorganne, the manager of Guerlain at the Palazzo, wears this scent almost exclusively.
Gourmand Coquin notes: black pepper, rose, rum, chocolate.
black peppercorns and a trickle of chocolate. A dash of rum, and the spice and cocoa bean
Best sultry summer date night: Anything Kilian.
Or anything with some patchouli. Patchouli is cooling to me.
Best scent for a summer night out in the big city: L’ i n s p i r a t r i c e by Divine. (or anything Kilian) I love it.
Notes ylang from the Comoros and bergamot from Calabria, peony and white musk, vetiver blended with vanilla and tonka bean.
Best outdoor party/picnic/BBQ: Not for me to draw critters! I’d go with whatever is left from my shower or earlier in the day or the night before.
Best fruit salad: J Lo Live Platinum Smells lemony, some say.
Or anything with pineapple. Or fig.
marzipan, plum, ruby grapefruit, Christmas rose, heliotrope, orange blossom, vanilla, musk, white cedar wood and amber
Best scent that seems like it wouldn’t work in the heat but totally does:
Anything heady and oriental. I can wear them all in summer, and it’s a good thing because summer is 8 mos of the year here.
Best scent to wear while lounging in a hammock reading a book: L’Artisan Ananas Fizz
I can’t think of a time or place when this wouldn’t work in the summer. It’s a stand by! Light, with presence. Yummy!
Pink Grapefruit, Bitter orange, Rum, Victoria Pineapple, Lychee Sap, Cocoa Milk and Vanilla.
Best summer tuberose: Guerlain Mayotte
You can either wear this or you can’t. There’s no middle ground. It’s wonderfully warm and creamy when it works. This is the re-do (or else the same just different name) for Mahore, which was lovely but not well received. When it settles, it’s lovely. Both are sophisticated tropical floral orientals. Mayotte is more frangipani and ylang-ylang.
Tiare Mimosa is a lighter fragrance and perhaps more wearable.
Another good one is Divine by Divine. It’s sharper than Tiare Mimosa.
Best scent for gardening and/or the farmer’s market: Anything green, so long as it doesn’t draw critters. How about English Tweed unexpected for summer, but green and woody. Or Fidji — haven’t worn that for years.
Best scent for when you need a vacation but can’t get away yet:
A scent that evokes the place where you’d like to be or a place you’ve already been. How about Capri! Fig… 10 Capri by Carthusia or Fresh Fig Abricot or Aqua Allegoria Figue-Iris.
Best summer scent for dining out with your in-laws: Hermes Hiris
Top Notes: Orange blossom, rose, coriander seed
Heart Notes: White iris, black iris, cedarwood
Base Notes: Vanilla, ambrette seed, almond wood
Later today or tomorrow I’ll post a list of summer favorites, no categories, and in no particular order. There are so many that I love to wear. Just no time at the moment to compile it.
What do you like to wear in the summer? Do you have a favorite(s) ?
There was a time when I loved Jean Nate (can you evoke the scent in your mind?)
Meet you on the rooftop!
Karin
Check out the other blogs participating in today’s Best of Summer, 2009 piece: Ayala’s Smelly Blog
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