Independence Day

Picture: Finlands "Blue Cross Flag"
Photo from Facts.co

Today our beautiful neighbour Suomi-Finland is celebrating 100 years as an independent country.       Congratulations Finland!

Thinking of Finland, I suddenly remembered there was some entertaining fragrant readings with finnish connection on Fragrantica a year or two ago. And here I found them, written by Eeva-Helena Laurinsalo.

Fragrant Finland: A Fresh Affair

Fragrant Finland: Saunas, Babies and Rive Gauche

Fragrant Finland: An Emerging Scentscape & Tax Free Vikings

Fragrant Finland: Lumene, Beauty Born of Light

And last but not least: Congratulations to my son who is celebrating his 15th birthday today!

Fragrantica Perfume Awards

Picture: Fallen falleaves
Photo: Parfumista (c)

An exciting initiative from Fragrantica - " We at Fragrantica decided to organize our own community awards which will be fully driven by your suggestions and votes. You can nominate up to 5 fragrances in each category and vote for or against  of each nomination". 

The awardcategories, submitted & voted by the Fragrantica community, are:

1. Best Fragrance Of All Times for Women
2. Best Fragrance Of All Times for Men
3. Best Unisex Fragrance Of All Time
4. The Worst Fragrance Of All Time
5. Best Women's Fragrance Voted by Men
6. Best Men's Fragrance Voted by Women
7. Best Discontinued Fragrance for Women, Bring It Back!
8. Best Discontinued Fragrance for Men, Bring It Back!
9. The Legend of the Latest Decade for Women
10. The Legend of the Latest Decade for Men
11. Best Fragrance of 2017 for Women
12. Best Fragrance of 2017 for Men
13. Niche Fragrance of 2017
14. Most Innovative Fragrance of 2017
15. Perfume House Of The Year
16. Best Perfume Bottle of 2017
17. Best Perfume Flanker of 2017
18. Most Underrated Fragrance
19. Most Overrated Fragrance
20. Best Fragrance for Hot Days
21. Best Fragrance for Cold Days
22. Fragrance with the Best Longevity
23. Best Bargain Fragrance for Women
24. Best Bargain Fragrance for Men
25. R.I.P - Beloved Perfumes Murdered by Reformulation

The voting is open 24 Nov to 1 Dec - Don't miss the chance to  have fun and to influence.

Further fragrance reading...

Picture: Novemberrose
Photo: Parfumista (c)

I'm in some sort of writer's block but others have interesting perfumrelated things to share. Here some links to articles/posts I've appreciated recently.

Intresting thoughts about the battle between two versatile, very likable, everyday  fragrances launched in 2017  Chanel Gabrielle and Hermès Twilly - like them both.

And here comes reviews of them Twilly on Perfume Shrine and Twilly on Now Smell This Twilly on The Scented Salamander, Gabrielle on Bois de Jasmin and Gabrielle on Now Smell This, Gabrielle on The Scented Salamander.

An article about styling the winter wardrobe with perfumes on Fragrantica. The picture of the snowmen is just great :-)

Bois de Jasmin share us some words of wisdom from Christian Dior’s Little Dictionary of Fashion  timeless advices about style which of course including perfume.

More vintage, here about vintage perfume bottles

And last but not least - an inteview (with photo) with the mysterious perfumer Pierre Montale who many people doubt exist. Anyway, somebody is interviewed here 

Styling with perfume

Picture: The frame for the perfumes of last week
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Styling the SOTD with suitable outfits and accessoires is almost a science, especially under timepressure which is the ordinary state in the early mornings during a working week. I have found a routine to tackle this "problem". Doing some planning in advance gives the opportunity to concentrate on the choice of  SOTD the following mornings. I'm not organized like this often, but sometimes I got the "flow". Here is an example from last week:

First of all I chose a theme for the SOTD:s for the coming week which in this case was autumnal + oriental + dark fragrances + classic. Then I chose the beckground, the canvas for the composition, black dresses in jersey or light woolblend qualities act as a dark, simple neutral background. As the everyday frame to the composition, I chose the reaible accessories pictured above: Mulberry Chester in textured goat, my favourite November - December Hermès cashmere-silk shawl Collections Imperiales in black with pattern in muted autumn and winter colours, the Freywille Attersee bangle, vintage rings in gold with pearls and cabochon amethysts and a simple strand of pearls. The olfactory brushstrokes which completed the composition for each workday were:

Monday - Dior Eau Sauvage not an oriental but on the verge of beeing heavy applied the basenotes with moss, amber and musk are more pronounced. Still with the golden citrus glimpses and dark green aromatic accord.

Tuesday - Guerlain Shalimar Edp what a pleasure to wear this classic I imagine Shalimar as auburn in colour. Elegant, special, comforting and warm. Timeless.

Wednesday - Penhaligon's Halfeti not a classic but a representative of the western oud trend: Loud peppery saffron, oud  and woody notes over somoother and pleasant accords of a very dark red rose, creamy amber and leather. Potent and radiating, lasts for days on textiles and also with traces on skin after more then one showering. If it had a colour: Darkest of red and black.

Thursday - Chanel Coco Edt spicy, soft, cosy, strong and radiating but still elegant. A contemporary classic. Just as Shalimar, a real pleasure to wear.

Friday - Burberry My Burberry Black I like Burberry fragrances, it seems as their DNA suits my skintype. This fragrance is deep, dark, fruity, boozy, smokey, balsamic in a such pleasant and warming way. It also lasts for days on my shawl.

End of report from my well organized perfume week.

Blog anniversary 11 years

Picture: Violettes du Czar
Photo: PR Oriza L Legrand (c)

Last Wednesday 1 November, Parfumistans Blogg celebrated 11 years and I was wearing the intriguing leather, gasoline, violet Violettes du Czar from Oriza L. Legrand. Since a couple of years I have noticed that November is the time of the year when  I crave Oriza fragrances the most. Probably something in their nostalgic DNA that goes with the mood of the season.

Picture: Eau Sauvage
PR Christian Dior (c)

When writing this post I'm wearing a true classic signed the great Edmond Roudnitska, Dior Eau Sauvage, to honor my father, who passed away 10 years ago today, far too young. Eau Sauvage was his signaturefragance and it was like tailormade for him. I find Eau Sauvage unisex, with cirtus, aromatic, subdued  flowery, mossy accords. It's casual fresh in an elegant retrostyle and lights up any gloomy Novemberday as well as beeing refreshing a warm summer day.

So far this year it seems as I'm not in the right mood for the real, heavy autumn/winterfragrances, probably this will change when winter strikes. Probably there will be another day in Eau Sauvage tomorrow, and I definitly think more women should try it.

Puredistance - Warszawa

Picture: Puredistance Warszawa
Photo: PR Puredistance (c)

Puredistance Warszawa is a collaboration with the Missala family who sells Puredistance in their perfumeries in Poland. The perfume (extrait with 25 % perfumeoil) is created by perfumer Anotine Lie and is a tribute to Warszaw and it's people, inspired of the golden era of Warszawa in the begining of the last century. Warszawa was originally launched in 2016 and was sold exclusivity by Quality Missala for a year. Now it's at last avaible for the rest of us lovers of vintage styled fragrances.

The colour of Warszawa the fragrance is said to be dark green with some gold and grey, and that's is also my first impression of the fragrance. It's starts like an elegant, glowing fruity chypre and it reminds me very much of a restrained, darker and smoother variation of Yves Saint Laurent Yvrersse (Champagne). Yvresse is higher on the fragrance notescale and more extrovert whereas Warszawa is gentler and intimate in character. Warszawa is also less sweet and more flowery than Yvresse, more green where Yvresse has more of the golden glimmer, or to be correct, Yvresse sparkles and Warszawa glimmers. Galbanum is distinctive in the first part of Warszawa and it's then present during the whole dry down. In the middle notes the flowery accord first brightens with a fruity touch which gives me associations to the lipstick-textured fruitiness of Cartier Baiser Fou but in a darker and refined context. In one wearing the fruitiness stands out, the other wearing the more intoxicated, elegant, flowery notes. Warszawa is a fragrance with many layers and interesting twists. Later in the dry down an almost balsamic texture appears, wrapping the wearer in a gentle and mysterious skinscent. The basenotes are deep and dark green, with strikes of a mysterious golden glow, like the remains of a campfire in the dept of a big forest a dark night in the autumn.Warszawas slight cosmetic touch, without beeing powdery or too lipsticky also reminds me of a night in the opera or theatre in the pre WW1 era. Dim light, elegant women in fur, velvet and silk in dark jewellery colours, glowing gemstones, feather decorations, powder and heavy perfumes.



Pictures: Montage of Warsawa, Poland
Montage of  Foxy 1219 photos of  Radek Kołakowski, Marek和Ewa Wojciechowscy ,
 ekeidar, Marcin Białek, DocentX, Mateusz Włodarczyk
Wikimedia commons (cc) some rights reserved

Warszawa is a fragrance which has to be experienced in multiple wearings as new angles are appearing in each wearing. It's a fragrance for evenings around the year and for daytime wearing during the colder and darker months. The sillage is close, its a calm and quiet perfume, the longevity is for at least a day. A retro styled fragance in a contemporary interpretation.

Rating: 5

Notes: Galbanum, grapefruit, violet leaf, jasmin, broom, orris, patchouli, vetiver, styrax.

....and 5 other autumn frags

Picture: Maple leaves October 2017
Photo: Parfumista (c)

Last week was colder and autumn is now really here. Heavier stuff was worn, including some favourites such as:

White Oud (Montale): White, cuddling, with a white rose, something mashmallow-ish and a faint oudnote. Texture and smoothness like an angora kitten.

Amber & Spices (Montale): A pleasant, fizzy gingernote and warm spices with hints of a delicate rose and some oud. Smells like my grandmothers spice rack did.

Auburn (Andy Tauer): From the discontinued Pentachords-line (three fragrances built among just five notes). Auburn is warm, brown, cinnamon with tobacco and some white flowers. Even if a bit freaky synthetic, it's the ultimate autumnfragance. 

Sheiduna (Puredistance): Warm, embracing, spicy, balsamic whith some almost boozy notes. The ultimate pleasure to wear a grey, rainy day.

Incense Oud (Parfums de Nicolaï). Smells like the deep forest in autumn, damp and chilly, with dark green moss, tangy, slight herbal notes and earthy patchouli. A sort of refreshing fragrance.